"Watching" (charmeddrabble response, but too long. Argh!)
Title: Watching.
Characters: Mentions the main ones, but told from a random outsiders POV.
Challenge: charmeddrabble's sentence challenge.
MS-Word Count: 1'500.
Author Note: Sort of future fic'ish -- it was an idea that came to me built on one sentence & I managed to include another one in the end as well. Sentences used are under the cut.
---
6. Nothing was solved when the fight was over, but nothing mattered.
9. "Without their death, their pain, without their sacrifice... we would have nothing."
11. Maybe we would become a legend, maybe not.
Sentences were altered a little to fit with the story.
---
I'm watching him as he paces before me, his agitation barely contained. He's young, just out of his teens; his blond hair is cut short, spiked, and his strange violet eyes glow with an inner light. He shocked everyone present when he appeared out of nowhere, he even shocked me and after nearly a thousand years ... well, it's rare that anything extraordinary enough happens to do that. I thought I'd seen it all, but that was before my colleagues chose to put the Halliwell clan on trial.
I didn't agree with their decision and I said so publicly. There were others who agreed with me but there weren't enough of us to win the vote: the trial proceeded. I watched as they brought the key members of the family back to living, breathing life. I watched the confusion on Piper and Phoebe's faces as Prue and Paige re-joined them as flesh and blood witches; I watched a teenaged Wyatt and Chris meet the aunt they'd never known and re-meet the aunt they'd lost.
I watched as friends were called to the stand, I watched as Andy was called forth from the spirit worlds and 'reborn' into mortal form for the purpose of being cross-examined as a witness to their early years; I watched as Darryl was cross-examined by my fellow Elders, his fleeting amazement at the situation fading as the gravity of what was happened sank in. I watched them, as I've watched them all their lives, as so many of us have.
The Halliwell line produced the Charmed Ones, twice over; the greatest force of good this world has ever seen. One battle lost, one bad and regrettable decision later and my colleagues turned against them. We thought that the battle we feared would come sooner, we first warned the sisters of it's approach when Chris was under a year old, but the battle came now and at a time when we didn't expect it, weren't prepared for it. I don't hold Piper accountable for the decision she made, even if the cosmic balance is in chaos and the future is uncertain. We placed such a burden on their shoulders: Piper and Phoebe, the only remaining Charmed Ones.
They fought the good fight, even after a warlock took Paige's soul and ended the Power of Three forever. They were strong even as Two, but they were never the same. This was to be their last battle, after this they would have stopped. It wasn't a secret and it made my colleagues uncomfortable. While the Charmed Ones, even two of them, were still fighting for our side, we didn't have to worry as much. Without them, the potential for demonic threats increased threefold 26 there were no other witches out there capable of taking their place.
Then the battle was upon us and the stakes kept getting higher; we'd worried about Leo's readiness for this war, more so now than ever. We didn't realise we were worrying about the wrong person; the wild card we should have feared wasn't Leo. In the end Piper sacrificed everything to save Phoebe, her last surviving sister from death's clutches. It was one of the only truly selfish choices she'd ever made but she'd already had to survive losing Prue and then Paige, survived Leo's descent into madness and evil and his slow recovery back to sanity. In that moment, staring death in the face, she reacted with a sister's instinct and it cost them all everything. I can't pretend that I wasn't hoping for a different ending but I don't think eradicating the Halliwell line from history is going to undo the damage that this decision caused.
I'm still watching the stranger - I believe he introduced himself, belatedly, as Ashlan - as he paces, ranting, but my eyes drift to the sisters as though drawn there magnetically. Prue, the would-be eldest, is sitting next to Phoebe who has an arm linked through hers, keeping her close. Prue seems completely calm and since my memories of her are crystal clear, I know that she often appears that way even when she isn't. The only sign of her distress is the death grip she has on Andy's hand; she hasn't let go of him since he was called, except to let him testify.
Phoebe stays close to Prue, her free hand holding Piper's. Phoebe looks pale and tired and considering she almost died, less than 24 hours ago, she's holding up well. She seems mostly stunned by everything that's happening and also appears to harbour some guilt over the decision Piper made. Piper herself is barely holding together, if Wyatt and Chris weren't present I don't think she'd be able to cope at all. Her will to be strong for them drives her through this, allowing her to control herself and leave the grieving for later. If in fact, there is a later.
She realises what she's done but as I watch her, I think to myself that if she had to make the choice again she may choose the same path. I don't think she would have been strong enough on her own, I think she quietly feared it after Paige's death and the fear, doubt and lingering insecurities from a lifetime of demons and painful events took control. Paige has a hold of her other hand, helping to anchor her into the here-and-now. Paige is quiet, her bubbly personality muted. Like her sisters, she can't quite believe this is happening.
It's a lot for them to take in, especially those who are still adjusting to being back in the world, and no one seems prepared to give them time to adjust. Those who are, like myself, have no say in these events. All I can do is watch the scene unfolding in front of my eyes.
"I come from a world where this single event undid all the good in the world!" Ashlan walks into my line of vision and my attention is drawn back to him. He has a magnetic personality himself and his words are drawing all of us in; this day can get no stranger, this turn of events can't run any further off track.
"Without their deaths," Ashlan looks at Patty as he speaks the words. Where he looks, everyone else seems compelled to look. Under the scrutiny of the collected Elders and Cleaners, Patty seems self-conscious for a split second, before she collects herself. "Without their pain," his eyes drift to Piper and Leo, who's sitting behind her with Chris and Wyatt on either side, "Without their sacrifices..." Now his eyes take in Prue and linger on Andy, "We would have nothing," he finishes, fixing his strange violet eyes on the selected Council. "We owe them, without the lives they led ... history isn't what it should be."
"If we erased them from all of history...."
"No," Ashlan looked at the Cleaner who'd spoken, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You can't erase such a powerful force of good, not completely. Traces lingered, those with Powers of their own; those who were sensitive enough, they could tell. We knew something wasn't right. We looked and we learnt and we questioned, until finally someone told us what happened today."
He looked at the Council, his eyes glittering with determination and belief. "We knew we had to stop it. Even you admitted this was a mistake. Whatever the state of the world now, it's bound to be better than the one you'll face if you do this."
I watch the faces in front of me, seeing every expression imaginable in one sweeping glance of the room. So much hung on the man we weren't even sure we trusted. He'd been here less than a half hour and he'd told us only what we didn't want to hear. Eradicating the Halliwell's would be a mistake of catastrophic proportion and if they survived this challenge intact, there would be more challenges than ever ahead of them.
Nothing would be solved, really, when this trial was over but nothing mattered right now other than ensuring their survival. The Halliwell clan were born to do this; stronger, more powerful and more focused than any other family of witches before them. Maybe they'll become a legend, the way I think that they're entitled to be, maybe not. Either way, I'll be watching to see the outcome and I'll be watching to see what happens in the aftermath.
I'll watch, because I have a feeling I'm watching the things legends are built from. I'll watch because I've been rooting for them since the beginning and my loyalty runs deep after everything they've done for us, sacrificed for us, and suffered because of us. I'll watch because I feel as though I've lived alongside them throughout their 'adventures', watching over them in the small ways I'm able. I'll watch because I can't bear not to watch.
I'll watch because they're Charmed and I can't wait to see what happens next.
Characters: Mentions the main ones, but told from a random outsiders POV.
Challenge: charmeddrabble's sentence challenge.
MS-Word Count: 1'500.
Author Note: Sort of future fic'ish -- it was an idea that came to me built on one sentence & I managed to include another one in the end as well. Sentences used are under the cut.
---
6. Nothing was solved when the fight was over, but nothing mattered.
9. "Without their death, their pain, without their sacrifice... we would have nothing."
11. Maybe we would become a legend, maybe not.
Sentences were altered a little to fit with the story.
---
I'm watching him as he paces before me, his agitation barely contained. He's young, just out of his teens; his blond hair is cut short, spiked, and his strange violet eyes glow with an inner light. He shocked everyone present when he appeared out of nowhere, he even shocked me and after nearly a thousand years ... well, it's rare that anything extraordinary enough happens to do that. I thought I'd seen it all, but that was before my colleagues chose to put the Halliwell clan on trial.
I didn't agree with their decision and I said so publicly. There were others who agreed with me but there weren't enough of us to win the vote: the trial proceeded. I watched as they brought the key members of the family back to living, breathing life. I watched the confusion on Piper and Phoebe's faces as Prue and Paige re-joined them as flesh and blood witches; I watched a teenaged Wyatt and Chris meet the aunt they'd never known and re-meet the aunt they'd lost.
I watched as friends were called to the stand, I watched as Andy was called forth from the spirit worlds and 'reborn' into mortal form for the purpose of being cross-examined as a witness to their early years; I watched as Darryl was cross-examined by my fellow Elders, his fleeting amazement at the situation fading as the gravity of what was happened sank in. I watched them, as I've watched them all their lives, as so many of us have.
The Halliwell line produced the Charmed Ones, twice over; the greatest force of good this world has ever seen. One battle lost, one bad and regrettable decision later and my colleagues turned against them. We thought that the battle we feared would come sooner, we first warned the sisters of it's approach when Chris was under a year old, but the battle came now and at a time when we didn't expect it, weren't prepared for it. I don't hold Piper accountable for the decision she made, even if the cosmic balance is in chaos and the future is uncertain. We placed such a burden on their shoulders: Piper and Phoebe, the only remaining Charmed Ones.
They fought the good fight, even after a warlock took Paige's soul and ended the Power of Three forever. They were strong even as Two, but they were never the same. This was to be their last battle, after this they would have stopped. It wasn't a secret and it made my colleagues uncomfortable. While the Charmed Ones, even two of them, were still fighting for our side, we didn't have to worry as much. Without them, the potential for demonic threats increased threefold 26 there were no other witches out there capable of taking their place.
Then the battle was upon us and the stakes kept getting higher; we'd worried about Leo's readiness for this war, more so now than ever. We didn't realise we were worrying about the wrong person; the wild card we should have feared wasn't Leo. In the end Piper sacrificed everything to save Phoebe, her last surviving sister from death's clutches. It was one of the only truly selfish choices she'd ever made but she'd already had to survive losing Prue and then Paige, survived Leo's descent into madness and evil and his slow recovery back to sanity. In that moment, staring death in the face, she reacted with a sister's instinct and it cost them all everything. I can't pretend that I wasn't hoping for a different ending but I don't think eradicating the Halliwell line from history is going to undo the damage that this decision caused.
I'm still watching the stranger - I believe he introduced himself, belatedly, as Ashlan - as he paces, ranting, but my eyes drift to the sisters as though drawn there magnetically. Prue, the would-be eldest, is sitting next to Phoebe who has an arm linked through hers, keeping her close. Prue seems completely calm and since my memories of her are crystal clear, I know that she often appears that way even when she isn't. The only sign of her distress is the death grip she has on Andy's hand; she hasn't let go of him since he was called, except to let him testify.
Phoebe stays close to Prue, her free hand holding Piper's. Phoebe looks pale and tired and considering she almost died, less than 24 hours ago, she's holding up well. She seems mostly stunned by everything that's happening and also appears to harbour some guilt over the decision Piper made. Piper herself is barely holding together, if Wyatt and Chris weren't present I don't think she'd be able to cope at all. Her will to be strong for them drives her through this, allowing her to control herself and leave the grieving for later. If in fact, there is a later.
She realises what she's done but as I watch her, I think to myself that if she had to make the choice again she may choose the same path. I don't think she would have been strong enough on her own, I think she quietly feared it after Paige's death and the fear, doubt and lingering insecurities from a lifetime of demons and painful events took control. Paige has a hold of her other hand, helping to anchor her into the here-and-now. Paige is quiet, her bubbly personality muted. Like her sisters, she can't quite believe this is happening.
It's a lot for them to take in, especially those who are still adjusting to being back in the world, and no one seems prepared to give them time to adjust. Those who are, like myself, have no say in these events. All I can do is watch the scene unfolding in front of my eyes.
"I come from a world where this single event undid all the good in the world!" Ashlan walks into my line of vision and my attention is drawn back to him. He has a magnetic personality himself and his words are drawing all of us in; this day can get no stranger, this turn of events can't run any further off track.
"Without their deaths," Ashlan looks at Patty as he speaks the words. Where he looks, everyone else seems compelled to look. Under the scrutiny of the collected Elders and Cleaners, Patty seems self-conscious for a split second, before she collects herself. "Without their pain," his eyes drift to Piper and Leo, who's sitting behind her with Chris and Wyatt on either side, "Without their sacrifices..." Now his eyes take in Prue and linger on Andy, "We would have nothing," he finishes, fixing his strange violet eyes on the selected Council. "We owe them, without the lives they led ... history isn't what it should be."
"If we erased them from all of history...."
"No," Ashlan looked at the Cleaner who'd spoken, cutting him off mid-sentence. "You can't erase such a powerful force of good, not completely. Traces lingered, those with Powers of their own; those who were sensitive enough, they could tell. We knew something wasn't right. We looked and we learnt and we questioned, until finally someone told us what happened today."
He looked at the Council, his eyes glittering with determination and belief. "We knew we had to stop it. Even you admitted this was a mistake. Whatever the state of the world now, it's bound to be better than the one you'll face if you do this."
I watch the faces in front of me, seeing every expression imaginable in one sweeping glance of the room. So much hung on the man we weren't even sure we trusted. He'd been here less than a half hour and he'd told us only what we didn't want to hear. Eradicating the Halliwell's would be a mistake of catastrophic proportion and if they survived this challenge intact, there would be more challenges than ever ahead of them.
Nothing would be solved, really, when this trial was over but nothing mattered right now other than ensuring their survival. The Halliwell clan were born to do this; stronger, more powerful and more focused than any other family of witches before them. Maybe they'll become a legend, the way I think that they're entitled to be, maybe not. Either way, I'll be watching to see the outcome and I'll be watching to see what happens in the aftermath.
I'll watch, because I have a feeling I'm watching the things legends are built from. I'll watch because I've been rooting for them since the beginning and my loyalty runs deep after everything they've done for us, sacrificed for us, and suffered because of us. I'll watch because I feel as though I've lived alongside them throughout their 'adventures', watching over them in the small ways I'm able. I'll watch because I can't bear not to watch.
I'll watch because they're Charmed and I can't wait to see what happens next.