Fic: My Heart Nearer to Thee (14/15)
Title: My Heart Nearer to Thee
Rating: PG
Warnings: character death
Summary: When Phoebe's husband and son are abducted to a dangerous alternate universe, the sisters must travel across reality to save them.
*****
When Paige and her alternate self rejoined the rest of the group, they found them in the middle of an argument. Her sisters and Prue were arguing in favor using the power relinquishing spell on their alternate selves, and Leo and Cole were arguing against, claiming that spells were too unreliable, and the only way to truly render the evil Piper and Phoebe powerless was through a potion. Paige exchanged a wry look with her alternate self when their arrival didn't even make a dent in the argument, but before she could do anything, the ghost put two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
"I believe the floor is now yours," her alternate self said, gesturing at the staring group.
"Thank you," Paige replied. Turning her attention back to her sisters, she added, "Leo and Cole are right. There's one, big flaw in the relinquishing spell."
"What kind of flaw?" Prue demanded.
"How about the one where the relinquishing spell needs to be said three times for our powers to be given up?" she pointed out. "We don't exactly have a coherent Power of Three going on down there. Unless I said the spell," she added, hesitantly.
"No way in Hell," Piper said, immediately. "Even though we're in an alternate universe, there's no way to guarantee that you'd be giving up her powers-" she nodded sharply at alt-Paige - "and you could wind up sacrificing your own."
"Not to mention," Leo spoke up, "that the Power of Three was irrevocably shattered when Piper and Phoebe killed Paige. The relinquishing spell will only work on a whole Power of Three."
"You couldn't have mentioned that sooner?" Piper retorted, and Leo shot her an irritated look.
"I was trying," he muttered. "You wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise."
"Okay, the two of you need to stop bickering." Prue interrupted whatever Piper was going to say with a pointed glare and a stubborn tilt of her chin. "We need to figure out another way to take away my sisters' powers."
"Potion," Cole said, succinctly. "We need to use a potion."
"We can't," Phoebe said, quietly, shaking her head.
"Phoebe, a potion has the best chance of succeeding," Cole protested, "and our friendly ghosts can still possess your evil clones and make them drink it."
"We can't use a potion," Phoebe said, insistently. "We can't do anything to take away their powers."
"Phoebe-" Piper started, but Phoebe quickly shook her head, cutting her older sister off.
"Don't you remember what that notebook said?" she asked Piper, pleadingly. "It said that their magic was the only thing keeping Prue alive. We can't do anything to take their magic away, because then we - we're -"
She broke off on a choked sob, burying her face in her hands. Understanding, Paige moved to her side and wrapped her arms around Phoebe, stroking a hand through her hair when Phoebe clung to her.
"You knew, didn't you?" she demanded, hoarsely. "After you read that notebook, you knew what would happen to Prue-"
"Yeah," Paige agreed, softly, and Phoebe pulled away to glare at her.
"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked, incredulously.
"Because I didn't want her to," Prue interrupted, as gently as she could. "I knew that it could distract you and Piper, if you knew-"
"Knew what?" Piper broke in, anger creeping into her voice. "Does someone want to fill me in on what the hell you're all talking about?"
Prue sighed, her shoulders slumping as she looked over at Piper. "I'm only alive because of the spell that my sisters cast," she reminded her. "As soon as we take away that magic, I'm going to die, again."
"No," Piper protested, instantly, but Prue shook her head.
"It's the only way," she said, quietly.
"It can't be," Piper insisted, and Paige could hear tears in her voice.
"It's not," Phoebe said, suddenly, getting more and more excited as she talked. "What if we transferred the spell? It's already active; all we need to do is switch the source that it draws power from. And if the spell is suddenly powered by three, rather than two, it's going to be stronger, right? And-"
"Phoebe, breathe," Cole coached, her, as she rambled without pause. Beside her, Josh was giving his mother a worried look, like he expected her to pass out at any second.
"We can make this work," Phoebe enthused, undaunted. "You don't have to die, Prue."
"But, you'd have to stay here, for your magic to power the spell," Prue reminded her. "I can't ask you to give up your lives like that. Not for me."
"You can come with us," Piper said, catching onto Phoebe's enthusiasm. "Back to our reality. We can be a family, again."
Prue looked tempted. Paige could see the longing clear on her face. And there was a large part of her that wanted to beg Prue to come back with them, to not break their family up, again. But, she kept quiet. The only person who could make this decision was Prue, and she couldn't do anything to make it harder.
The moments of silence until Prue spoke were some of the longest Paige could remember experiencing. But, from the look on Prue's face, she had the feeling she already knew what the answer was.
"I can't," she finally said, quietly. "I don't belong in your world. You already had a sister, your Prue, and I don't want to replace her. I can't replace her. And I can't ask you to replace my sisters."
"So, you're just going to die?" Phoebe asked, a plaintive note in her voice.
"She won't be alone," Henry spoke up, as he and alt-Paige stepped up beside Prue. "We'll be with her."
"I belong here," Prue said, softly, apologetically. "Besides, someone has to protect the Innocent after you're gone."
"This sucks," Piper declared, after a few moments of silence.
"Seconded," Phoebe declared. Heaving a sigh, she added, "All right, focus. What do we need for this potion? Do we use the same one I made for Cole?"
"What about the potion that Aunt Gail used to take our powers and give them to Cryto?" Prue suggested.
"Who's Gail, and what's a Cryto?" Paige interrupted.
"Witch and demon," Piper said, succinctly. "No, that potion takes too long. Remember, it took nearly half an hour to take effect the first time. I really don't think that we have that kind of luxury, right now."
"Yeah, but Paige and I could hold them off for half an hour," Prue argued.
"Speak for yourself," Paige muttered under her breath, when she heard Prue's comment.
"And, then you and Phoebe would be able to get their powers," Prue said, as if Paige hadn't even spoken.
"Including all the demonic powers they've picked up over the last year and a half," Leo spoke up. "Yes, that spell specifies a witch's powers, but with Piper and Phoebe, their demonic powers have become irrevocably entwined with their witch powers. There's no separating them, at this point."
"Okay, yeah, that's a bad plan," Prue agreed. "I guess we're going with Phoebe's plan."
"She'll never change," Piper said to Phoebe, clearly trying for a light tone. "Prue still pouts when we don't go with her plan."
"I do not pout," Prue protested, and Piper rolled her eyes.
"You totally pout," she informed her older sister. Quieter, she added, "And you have no idea how much I miss it. Miss you."
Prue surprised all of them by stepping forward and pulling Piper into her arms, for a tight hug. After a moment, she reached out and snagged Phoebe, too. She held onto the two of them for almost a minute, and then the three of them, finally, reluctantly pulled away.
"I'm going to miss you, too," Prue said, her voice thick with tears. "All of you," she added, glancing back at Paige.
"Ditto," Piper told her, softly. Turning to Phoebe, she added, "Come on. If those two are going to be doing the heavy lifting, the least we can do is get the potion ready."
"I'll orb you down to get supplies," Leo offered. "I can shield you, keep you from being detected."
Paige put her hand on Prue's shoulder as Piper and Phoebe walked away, keeping her older sister from following them. Prue turned around to look at her, a quizzical expression on her face.
"What's going on?" she asked, and Paige sighed, breath shuddering out of her.
"When we go down there," she said, softly, "I need you to take Piper. I'll take Phoebe, I just - not Piper. We're trying to take them alive, and I - I don't trust myself not to kill her, right now."
"What happened down there?" Prue demanded, and Paige blinked, feeling tears rush to her eyes. "Paige?" Prue asked, worriedly. "Talk to me, honey. What's wrong?"
"I found her, Prue," Paige whispered, her voice cracking. "Pax was down there." Prue gasped, her eyes wide, and Paige nodded, jerkily. "I had her back. She was in my arms. And then-"
"Piper found you," Prue guessed, and Paige nodded, again, pressing her lips into a tight line to keep from crying. She didn't trust herself to speak. "Oh, Paige. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry."
Paige looked away from the sympathy in Prue's eyes, over to where her alternate self was breaking the same news to Henry. She saw a shocked look on his face, and she had to blink back a fresh spate of tears.
"I know she's not really my daughter," she said, shakily, "she's hers." She gestured to her ghostly counterpart. "But, Pax died in my arms, and I can't - I can't face Piper right now. I might do something that I'd regret later."
"Leave Piper to me," Prue reassured her, gently. "Me and Henry," she amended, looking over Paige's shoulder, to where the ghosts were talking. "I think he's trying to convince Paige to take Phoebe, instead."
"You both know us, so well," Paige commented, wryly.
"It's annoying, isn't it?" her doppelganger remarked, as she and Henry joined them. "And just think, I'm looking at all eternity with them."
"Oh, you love us," Henry teased, and Paige cracked a grin.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "Always have, always will."
Nearly half an hour later, Leo orbed back up with Piper and Phoebe in tow. Both women were holding glass vials filled with a light blue liquid.
"You guys ready?" Piper asked, without preamble. "Because I want to take our evil twins out, and then get back to our own reality. Not that it hasn't been great," she added, hastily, "but-"
"Yeah, but," Paige agreed, emphasizing the word. "Yeah, we're ready."
"All right," Prue said, briskly. "So, plan. You and Phoebe," she told Piper, "are going to stay out of the way until Paige and Henry have possessed your alternate selves. Then, you come in with the potion. Paige, Cole, and I will hold them off until our ghost posse can take control."
"And Josh stays with Leo until everything is safe," Phoebe interjected, fixing her son with a stern look. "Don't even think about arguing."
"I wasn't," Josh said, holding his hands up, quickly. "I've spent a week with them, already. I have no desire to spend any more time with those people."
"Smart kid," Cole remarked, affectionately.
"Josh and I will go get Darryl," Leo replied. "We're going to need him, after."
"Are you okay with this?" Piper asked, carefully. "I mean, she is your wife-"
"My Piper died the day she chose to take an innocent life," Leo said, flatly. "And with the options we have available," he added, softer, "I'd rather see her in jail, than dead."
"Let's go, then," Prue declared, and Leo nodded, orbing himself, Josh, Piper, and Phoebe out of the clouds. Paige followed behind, orbing Prue and Cole with her back to Earth.
Continued here
Rating: PG
Warnings: character death
Summary: When Phoebe's husband and son are abducted to a dangerous alternate universe, the sisters must travel across reality to save them.
*****
When Paige and her alternate self rejoined the rest of the group, they found them in the middle of an argument. Her sisters and Prue were arguing in favor using the power relinquishing spell on their alternate selves, and Leo and Cole were arguing against, claiming that spells were too unreliable, and the only way to truly render the evil Piper and Phoebe powerless was through a potion. Paige exchanged a wry look with her alternate self when their arrival didn't even make a dent in the argument, but before she could do anything, the ghost put two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
"I believe the floor is now yours," her alternate self said, gesturing at the staring group.
"Thank you," Paige replied. Turning her attention back to her sisters, she added, "Leo and Cole are right. There's one, big flaw in the relinquishing spell."
"What kind of flaw?" Prue demanded.
"How about the one where the relinquishing spell needs to be said three times for our powers to be given up?" she pointed out. "We don't exactly have a coherent Power of Three going on down there. Unless I said the spell," she added, hesitantly.
"No way in Hell," Piper said, immediately. "Even though we're in an alternate universe, there's no way to guarantee that you'd be giving up her powers-" she nodded sharply at alt-Paige - "and you could wind up sacrificing your own."
"Not to mention," Leo spoke up, "that the Power of Three was irrevocably shattered when Piper and Phoebe killed Paige. The relinquishing spell will only work on a whole Power of Three."
"You couldn't have mentioned that sooner?" Piper retorted, and Leo shot her an irritated look.
"I was trying," he muttered. "You wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise."
"Okay, the two of you need to stop bickering." Prue interrupted whatever Piper was going to say with a pointed glare and a stubborn tilt of her chin. "We need to figure out another way to take away my sisters' powers."
"Potion," Cole said, succinctly. "We need to use a potion."
"We can't," Phoebe said, quietly, shaking her head.
"Phoebe, a potion has the best chance of succeeding," Cole protested, "and our friendly ghosts can still possess your evil clones and make them drink it."
"We can't use a potion," Phoebe said, insistently. "We can't do anything to take away their powers."
"Phoebe-" Piper started, but Phoebe quickly shook her head, cutting her older sister off.
"Don't you remember what that notebook said?" she asked Piper, pleadingly. "It said that their magic was the only thing keeping Prue alive. We can't do anything to take their magic away, because then we - we're -"
She broke off on a choked sob, burying her face in her hands. Understanding, Paige moved to her side and wrapped her arms around Phoebe, stroking a hand through her hair when Phoebe clung to her.
"You knew, didn't you?" she demanded, hoarsely. "After you read that notebook, you knew what would happen to Prue-"
"Yeah," Paige agreed, softly, and Phoebe pulled away to glare at her.
"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked, incredulously.
"Because I didn't want her to," Prue interrupted, as gently as she could. "I knew that it could distract you and Piper, if you knew-"
"Knew what?" Piper broke in, anger creeping into her voice. "Does someone want to fill me in on what the hell you're all talking about?"
Prue sighed, her shoulders slumping as she looked over at Piper. "I'm only alive because of the spell that my sisters cast," she reminded her. "As soon as we take away that magic, I'm going to die, again."
"No," Piper protested, instantly, but Prue shook her head.
"It's the only way," she said, quietly.
"It can't be," Piper insisted, and Paige could hear tears in her voice.
"It's not," Phoebe said, suddenly, getting more and more excited as she talked. "What if we transferred the spell? It's already active; all we need to do is switch the source that it draws power from. And if the spell is suddenly powered by three, rather than two, it's going to be stronger, right? And-"
"Phoebe, breathe," Cole coached, her, as she rambled without pause. Beside her, Josh was giving his mother a worried look, like he expected her to pass out at any second.
"We can make this work," Phoebe enthused, undaunted. "You don't have to die, Prue."
"But, you'd have to stay here, for your magic to power the spell," Prue reminded her. "I can't ask you to give up your lives like that. Not for me."
"You can come with us," Piper said, catching onto Phoebe's enthusiasm. "Back to our reality. We can be a family, again."
Prue looked tempted. Paige could see the longing clear on her face. And there was a large part of her that wanted to beg Prue to come back with them, to not break their family up, again. But, she kept quiet. The only person who could make this decision was Prue, and she couldn't do anything to make it harder.
The moments of silence until Prue spoke were some of the longest Paige could remember experiencing. But, from the look on Prue's face, she had the feeling she already knew what the answer was.
"I can't," she finally said, quietly. "I don't belong in your world. You already had a sister, your Prue, and I don't want to replace her. I can't replace her. And I can't ask you to replace my sisters."
"So, you're just going to die?" Phoebe asked, a plaintive note in her voice.
"She won't be alone," Henry spoke up, as he and alt-Paige stepped up beside Prue. "We'll be with her."
"I belong here," Prue said, softly, apologetically. "Besides, someone has to protect the Innocent after you're gone."
"This sucks," Piper declared, after a few moments of silence.
"Seconded," Phoebe declared. Heaving a sigh, she added, "All right, focus. What do we need for this potion? Do we use the same one I made for Cole?"
"What about the potion that Aunt Gail used to take our powers and give them to Cryto?" Prue suggested.
"Who's Gail, and what's a Cryto?" Paige interrupted.
"Witch and demon," Piper said, succinctly. "No, that potion takes too long. Remember, it took nearly half an hour to take effect the first time. I really don't think that we have that kind of luxury, right now."
"Yeah, but Paige and I could hold them off for half an hour," Prue argued.
"Speak for yourself," Paige muttered under her breath, when she heard Prue's comment.
"And, then you and Phoebe would be able to get their powers," Prue said, as if Paige hadn't even spoken.
"Including all the demonic powers they've picked up over the last year and a half," Leo spoke up. "Yes, that spell specifies a witch's powers, but with Piper and Phoebe, their demonic powers have become irrevocably entwined with their witch powers. There's no separating them, at this point."
"Okay, yeah, that's a bad plan," Prue agreed. "I guess we're going with Phoebe's plan."
"She'll never change," Piper said to Phoebe, clearly trying for a light tone. "Prue still pouts when we don't go with her plan."
"I do not pout," Prue protested, and Piper rolled her eyes.
"You totally pout," she informed her older sister. Quieter, she added, "And you have no idea how much I miss it. Miss you."
Prue surprised all of them by stepping forward and pulling Piper into her arms, for a tight hug. After a moment, she reached out and snagged Phoebe, too. She held onto the two of them for almost a minute, and then the three of them, finally, reluctantly pulled away.
"I'm going to miss you, too," Prue said, her voice thick with tears. "All of you," she added, glancing back at Paige.
"Ditto," Piper told her, softly. Turning to Phoebe, she added, "Come on. If those two are going to be doing the heavy lifting, the least we can do is get the potion ready."
"I'll orb you down to get supplies," Leo offered. "I can shield you, keep you from being detected."
Paige put her hand on Prue's shoulder as Piper and Phoebe walked away, keeping her older sister from following them. Prue turned around to look at her, a quizzical expression on her face.
"What's going on?" she asked, and Paige sighed, breath shuddering out of her.
"When we go down there," she said, softly, "I need you to take Piper. I'll take Phoebe, I just - not Piper. We're trying to take them alive, and I - I don't trust myself not to kill her, right now."
"What happened down there?" Prue demanded, and Paige blinked, feeling tears rush to her eyes. "Paige?" Prue asked, worriedly. "Talk to me, honey. What's wrong?"
"I found her, Prue," Paige whispered, her voice cracking. "Pax was down there." Prue gasped, her eyes wide, and Paige nodded, jerkily. "I had her back. She was in my arms. And then-"
"Piper found you," Prue guessed, and Paige nodded, again, pressing her lips into a tight line to keep from crying. She didn't trust herself to speak. "Oh, Paige. I'm sorry; I'm so sorry."
Paige looked away from the sympathy in Prue's eyes, over to where her alternate self was breaking the same news to Henry. She saw a shocked look on his face, and she had to blink back a fresh spate of tears.
"I know she's not really my daughter," she said, shakily, "she's hers." She gestured to her ghostly counterpart. "But, Pax died in my arms, and I can't - I can't face Piper right now. I might do something that I'd regret later."
"Leave Piper to me," Prue reassured her, gently. "Me and Henry," she amended, looking over Paige's shoulder, to where the ghosts were talking. "I think he's trying to convince Paige to take Phoebe, instead."
"You both know us, so well," Paige commented, wryly.
"It's annoying, isn't it?" her doppelganger remarked, as she and Henry joined them. "And just think, I'm looking at all eternity with them."
"Oh, you love us," Henry teased, and Paige cracked a grin.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "Always have, always will."
Nearly half an hour later, Leo orbed back up with Piper and Phoebe in tow. Both women were holding glass vials filled with a light blue liquid.
"You guys ready?" Piper asked, without preamble. "Because I want to take our evil twins out, and then get back to our own reality. Not that it hasn't been great," she added, hastily, "but-"
"Yeah, but," Paige agreed, emphasizing the word. "Yeah, we're ready."
"All right," Prue said, briskly. "So, plan. You and Phoebe," she told Piper, "are going to stay out of the way until Paige and Henry have possessed your alternate selves. Then, you come in with the potion. Paige, Cole, and I will hold them off until our ghost posse can take control."
"And Josh stays with Leo until everything is safe," Phoebe interjected, fixing her son with a stern look. "Don't even think about arguing."
"I wasn't," Josh said, holding his hands up, quickly. "I've spent a week with them, already. I have no desire to spend any more time with those people."
"Smart kid," Cole remarked, affectionately.
"Josh and I will go get Darryl," Leo replied. "We're going to need him, after."
"Are you okay with this?" Piper asked, carefully. "I mean, she is your wife-"
"My Piper died the day she chose to take an innocent life," Leo said, flatly. "And with the options we have available," he added, softer, "I'd rather see her in jail, than dead."
"Let's go, then," Prue declared, and Leo nodded, orbing himself, Josh, Piper, and Phoebe out of the clouds. Paige followed behind, orbing Prue and Cole with her back to Earth.
Continued here