Disclaimer: I don’t own any Charmed characters. Just the story’s plot although technically it really belongs to Spelling Entertainment as well.

Phoebe whispered to the sky for Leo. She was in the living room where she lay next to a silent Prue. She had been trying to call for Leo for the fifteen minutes that had passed since the shooting. She couldn’t speak. Her words came in strained whispers; she lifted her hand to her throat, which felt warm and sticky. Blood covered her hand quickly and that’s when she knew she must have been hit in the neck with a bullet. Her world was getting dark and hazy; she could feel it dissolving around her. She pressed her hand tightly against the wound.

Prue was lying beside her. Phoebe tried to turn her head to see her oldest sister and could only see out of the corner of her eye that it was too dark to see the damage Prue had taken. But she could hear Prue breathing heavily and steadily. Phoebe hoped against hope her sister was going to be fine because she didn’t want to lose her again.

She tried to turn her head in the other direction and with some difficulty saw another one of her sisters in the corner of the room. She listened carefully and heard a ragged breathing. Phoebe knew that whichever sister it was wouldn’t last much longer. She couldn’t see in the darkness if it was Piper or Price.

Leo orbed into the manor expecting a quartet of laughing girls, maybe some tears of joy, but definite laughter. The sight that invaded his eyes immediately tore open his heart and made it stop beating. The furniture was overturned and scattered. Glass crunched beneath his every footstep. The doors were wide open and the only light was that of the floating orbs he threw into the air to find his way. His heart pounded as he heard a whisper, and then a different voice, something like an animal hurt, dying.

Phoebe saw the glow of Leo’s light and tried to call out to him. She heard him walk slowly at first and then a mad rush into the living room. Phoebe knew that with Leo there everything would be okay. She closed her eyes when she felt the warmth of his hands hovering above her neck. She could see the light even behind closed eyes. And the pain melted away. She opened her eyes and got up, slowly, pointing to Prue.

Leo was ahead of Phoebe. He checked Prue and healed her and then turned his attention to the figure in the corner of the room. Phoebe and Prue were right behind him as he crawled to the corner and lifted the Halliwell sister’s face to meet theirs. Piper was unconscious and it was when Phoebe looked toward her wounds that she realized she wasn’t breathing.

“Leo, heal her now!”

She saw the tears form in Leo’s eyes and saw his hands shaking as he tried to heal her and received no response. Prue shoved Leo out of her way and laid Piper on the ground. She immediately began to give her resuscitation. She pushed the palms of her hands into Piper’s breastbone and counted in brief whispers. She couldn’t heal the wounds but she wanted to get Piper’s heart beating so Leo could. She cried while working furiously to save her sister.

Phoebe put two fingers to Piper’s throat and waited. As she began to think that she would lose another sister she felt it. That miraculous thump-thump, beneath her fingertips.

“Leo! Heal her. Do it now.”

Leo laid his hands over Piper’s wounds and the soft amber glow came again, this time pulling the pain out of Piper and waking her. She looked up from Leo, to Prue and Phoebe. She realized what was missing, immediately and tried to stand. She felt lightheaded and remained in sitting position.

“Where’s Price? We have to help Price.”
********************************************************

Price didn’t care if the enemy thought she was weak, she let the tears fall freely. She was tired of having a steel heart and she wanted nothing more than to be back at the manor with her sisters. She thought painfully about the idea of her sisters having been hit by those bullets. By that ambush. Her world was dark. The blindfold across her eyes ensured her ignorance to her whereabouts and the gag in her mouth was painful and needless. The road was bumpy with gravel and Price was thrown around in the back of the vehicle. She had no idea where they were going. She only hoped that her sisters were okay and would find her soon for she knew she was not alone in the back of the vehicle. She could read what he was feeling and it wasn’t good.
***********************************************************

Piper, Prue, Phoebe and Leo searched the house but saw no signs of Price Halliwell. Prue stood in Price’s room collecting her thoughts. She picked up a new picture of Price with Phoebe and she set her jaw in determination. She knew who did this and why, and she knew that it had begun, Piper and Phoebe joined her in Price’s room and they knew as well. It was the first battle they would face as the Four Powers. It was the beginning of the war.

Prue laid the phone back down and turned to her sisters and Leo who waited patiently at the kitchen table. She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked from sister to sister and then to Leo. She needed to tell Piper and Phoebe everything she knew but she couldn’t talk about it freely with Leo listening. She took note that Leo was reading her thoughts as he excused himself to orb to the elders and inform them of the trouble. She realized then that Leo knew what was going on as well as she did. It was time to fill in her sisters.

“Okay, Prue, he’s gone, want to tell us what’s going here?”

Prue was taken back by Phoebe’s perceptive stare. She then remembered it was her younger sister that she was dealing with, the psychic, the girl with all the feelings. Prue let out a sigh and sat down at the table. She ran her hand through her hair nervously and could feel her heart pound as she gathered the truth in her head preparing to speak.

“Prue? Why do you look like death has visited? Who has Price, Prue?”

“Piper, I…I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, Prue, like Piper asked, who has Price?”

Prue thought back to all the information she had gathered in the months that she had been gone. She had chosen to not be near her sisters so that she could protect them from the dangerous situations she was creating while undercover in the underworld. She had been back in her sisters’ lives less than seven hours and already she had put them in eminent danger. And Price was the one sister who was most at risk.

******************************

“Hey Greer. Is this one of those Halliwell girls? Why can’t I have a little fun with her?”

Greer looked at Trogg with disgust and jerked Price out of the back of the van. He half pulled, half dragged her into the woods. He hated being his brother’s keeper. If their father weren’t the most powerful man in the underworld he would have killed his brother already.

“Trogg. How many times do I have to tell you the plan?”

“Until I get it?”

“Okay, one last time. We’re taking Price here to our father. He chose her a long time ago.”

“Can I have her please?”

“Damn it Trogg. Shut up. She’s powerful and one of the Charmed Ones at that and he’s the Source. Their offspring would be more powerful than we could ever hope to be.”

“So, Greer, does that mean we’re helping to create a child that would take over as ruler of the underworld?”

“Not just that, Trogg, but ruler of all the worlds.”

Price listened carefully to what the half-wits were saying. Her heart was racing in fear. She had been picked to be the concubine of the Source. What did they mean he had chosen her? She refused to be victim to the Source and she knew she would have to fight these two to prevent it. She just wasn’t sure when the time would be best. She read the feelings that hung in the air. She could tell that Greer held nothing but contempt for his younger brother and that Trogg was feeling nothing more than lust. Price decided the best way to fight the children of the Source wasn’t to overpower them with brawn but to fight them with brain.

The gag pulled tight across her lips as she was thrown down onto the ground and told to stay still. She could feel the cold air pass around her and hear a coyote howling in the distance. She listened again to Trogg speaking.

“Sure is high up isn’t, Greer?”

“We’re on top of a mountain, Trogg, what did you expect?”

Price’s heart quickened as she realized where they had to be and then the pieces came together one by one like a straight-to-video movie.

**********************
“Prue please tell us.”

“Let me start with the information I’ve uncovered. The truth.”

“Truth is good.”

“Okay. I went underground because I knew about Price and I knew about the Four Powers. I also knew what was going to happen the morning Shax came in here. I can’t explain why I couldn’t tell you guys everything, just know that I couldn’t, it was a choice I had to make. Anyway, as I began the undercover gig I found a lot of interesting things. For example, the source has two sons. Greer and Trogg. They are pretty powerful physically, but they’re idiots. Trogg is anyway and Greer, he’s just an ass. Anyway, they are the ones who trashed the place and took the mimic crystal.”

“You knew they trashed the place?”

“Of course Piper. Just because you couldn’t see me didn’t mean I wasn’t watching you guys. So, they made the mimic version of me and I destroyed it.”

“Wow, what was that like?”

“Weird, Phoebe, definitely weird. Anyway, before that I found out through different contacts I had made that the Source was looking to breed again, because he didn’t want his idiot sons to rule the Worlds.”

“Wait…worlds, as in plural? How is that?”

“I’m getting there. The child he is looking to create would be able to rule the worlds because it’s heritage would be a mix of all three of them. The Heavens, Earth and Hell.”

“That means he has to mate with someone that is of both Heaven and Earth. But who in the world…”

“Price…Piper, Prue’s talking about Price, aren’t you, Prue? Her father was a whitelighter, from the Heavens; our mother was a power on the earth. You’re talking about Price. ”

Phoebe kept her eyes on her oldest sister, looking for a reaction, any sign of there being a mistake in Phoebe’s conclusion, but Prue only nodded yes to the question. Phoebe’s heart raced and stopped and repeated the process. She couldn’t let their baby sister be hurt by the likes of the Devil himself. She had too much pain in her life. Wasn’t being hurt like that as a child enough?

Piper looked at Phoebe whose tears were not holding back. Then the realization hit her like an eighteen-wheeler on the interstate. She knew the identity of the Source.

“Prue please tell me you know the identity of the Source, you can’t be down there all this time and not know the identity.”

Prue looked at Piper and nodded. She did know the identity of the Source and she knew that if he got to Price before they did, Price would kill herself before the Source could ever touch her.

“I’m not following you two, tell me who he is.”

Piper looked at Phoebe, her emotions were overwhelming. The thought of him being near their baby sister gave her the chills and a tear slipped down her face. She didn’t look away from Phoebe as she thought of his name. And then she saw the look in Phoebe’s eyes, and realized that the silent message had been received. And then Phoebe, the courageous Phoebe found the voice to whisper the Devil’s name.

“Walter James…”

Prue took Phoebe’s hand and held it tightly as the name of the monster resonated on her lips.

“Walter James has Price? Prue how is that possible? She shot and killed him.”

“She did shoot and kill him, Phoebe. At least she shot and killed his human form. Then he went to hell and it turns out he was never really human to begin with. He was a demon waiting to be given his powers from his father, the Source before him. And in the mean time, Hell let him roam the earth to hurt our little sister. It was all part of a big plan. A war before the war. They’ve made the first move and it’s our turn as the Four Powers to fight back.”

“So we’re going to vanquish his sick-ass and make sure he doesn’t hurt her again

“Yes, that’s the plan Piper, but it’s more complex. When you take on the Source you’re taking on all the minions. It’s not going to be easy, but they still don’t know I’m alive so we have at least the element of surprise.”

Piper began to pace frantically across the kitchen floor as Phoebe looked pleadingly at Prue.

“We have to get to her Prue, Price cannot go up against that man. She can’t.”

“I know that Phoebe but where can we find her? You know the details of the story. You’re the one that she confided in. You tell us. Where would Walter James take Price for this sick plan of his?”

Piper stopped pacing waiting for Phoebe to answer. Phoebe thought hard about the story Price had told her. That awful, dark story. He started hitting her when she was 9. Celebrating her adoption. He just hit her then, Phoebe thought, so he wouldn’t take her there, it wouldn’t be special to him. She knew he would take her somewhere that meant something to him. Then she remembered, she knew where the Source, where Walter James, had taken Price. She had been 12, Phoebe thought, and he had taken her to the mountains. It was then that he had tried to make the 12-year-old child the mother of the future ruler of the worlds. Phoebe gagged on the thought and grabbed the keys. She was going to lead them to their sister. Prue stopped her as she was nearing the door.

“Phoebe, wait, we’re going to need these.”

Prue pulled the crystals from her pocket and handed Piper and Phoebe the crystals that belonged to each.

“If you’re going to wage a war, you better have the best weapon available.”

“But Prue, we don’t know how these things work.”

“Piper, relax, they just enhance your powers a little that’s all.”

Phoebe, Piper and Prue put the crystals, now tethered with leather strings, around their necks.

“Aren’t they going to glow or something?”

“No Phoebe, they’re only going to work when Price has hers. And then we can take the Source down.”

“Can Price have the honor of that one?”

Prue nodded, “as long as I get to take down that bastard Shax.”



Price was shaking throughout as Greer ripped off the tape on her mouth and removed the blindfold. The view was the same, the trees were the same. Price knew they were in the exact spot she had been attacked in 11 years earlier.

“She sure is cute, Greer.”

“Trogg! Go to the van!”

“But Greer…”

“No Trogg, you know what, I’ve had enough of you, go. You are not to look at this woman again, do you understand? She is to be our father’s. The mother of our future brother, stay away from her!”

Greer looked after Trogg as he trudged slowly back into the woods. He shook his head and returned his attention to Price. Price shuddered as she looked back at him. The man before her looked like a young version of the man who had raped her at that very place. Her mind felt fear mix with confusion in a frightening flashback cocktail. She was drunk from her own tears of exhaustion and disbelief. She kept telling herself over and over again that it couldn’t be real. Not real.

Greer watched the young woman with interest as she sobbed hysterically. He laughed and continued to watch her.

“Now, now little one, why do you cry? Is it because I look so much like him? Yes well, I guess that’s all part of the fun really? He should be here soon you know. Right here to your special place in the mountains.”

Price looked up, the tears gone, the fear taken over. She said nothing but continued to stare at Greer. He looked back at her and waved his hand in front of her face. She didn’t flinch, nor blink.

“Awe…you’ve got to be kidding me. I honestly thought the Charmed Ones would have been easier to defeat than this. Father will be so disappointed when you aren’t able to fight back. He always liked the struggle you know. At least that’s what he always said. Ah…speak of the Devil, pardon the pun, here he comes now.”

Her world was in slow motion as she turned her head to her right and out of the corner of her eye she saw him. She didn’t notice his red robe or hood, didn’t notice the men that flanked each of his sides. She only noticed his eyes. The cold, dark eyes. He stopped and stood above her. She was on her knees ready to beg for death. For death would be far more acceptable than fighting off this man.

“My precious Price. You look like you did when you were 12. Beautiful and radiant, fresh faced and innocent. Leave us.”

He waved his hand in the air and his guards departed heading through the woods in the direction Trogg had gone. Greer followed as well. Then the Source turned to Price and leered. He waved his hand again and his red robe disappeared along with the hood. He stood before her in the same clothes he had worn on the camping trip when she was 12. And he was ready to have her again.

Price could barely breath. Her lungs felt like ice in the mountain air and her legs were numb. Her heart pounded as though it wanted nothing more than to be free from her chest. Her soul ached for her sisters. She hoped they would somehow figure it all out. She hoped Prue had found out more than she had been letting on and was leading them all to the spot where her nightmares began. She hoped, she prayed, she wished, but the one thing she didn’t, couldn’t, do was scream. It was trapped in her throat and she was thrown back in time to when she was a 12-year-old girl, shy and inward. She was beautiful but she never knew it.

She felt his hands on her arms and saw that he was kneeling with her on the ground. He was chanting in a language unfamiliar to Price as he pushed her to the ground. She was too frightened to move, too frightened to fight. She remembered Phoebe’s face as she told her they were sisters, and Piper’s. She remembered how Prue’s hugs felt like Phoebe. She remembered the smell of Phoebe’s perfume and the brightness of Piper’s smile. Suddenly she realized she wasn’t 12 any longer. She was an adult and had begun to paint over the old horrific memories with new ones. With loving, happy memories.

She hit Walter James with every ounce of strength she could muster and he rolled to the side. She stood and took a fighting stance ready to defend herself and defend the integrity of what she knew was to be an incredible force, the Four Powers. She read a feeling in the air that belonged to neither her nor the Source. It was anxiety mixed with pure love. She knew her sisters were on their way.

“Well, well, well. My little Price. You’ve become a fighter. Doing well as a Charmed One are you? Well, it’s too bad you couldn’t have gotten to them sooner. You would have been part of something even more powerful than the Charmed Ones. But I had to go and kill the oldest didn’t I? What’s her name? Oh yes, Prue. What kind of a name is that anyway?”

“The name of someone who’s going to help kick your ass.”

Prue’s voice was strong and determined as she stepped up behind the source. Piper and Phoebe came in from his left and right sides and Price was in front of him. Phoebe looked to Price and checked for signs of pain and saw nothing but relief.

“Hey Price, catch.”

Phoebe threw the yellow crystal to Price and Price put it around her neck. Her voice was as strong as Prue’s as she spoke to the Source.

“Now the puzzle is solved Daddy dearest. I was their missing piece.”

The Source whirled around and looked at each of the Four Powers of the Worlds. He realized that he was surrounded and that he didn’t want to take a chance against them without assistance. He shimmered away.

“Guess we showed him huh?” Piper whispered as she looked down at the glowing blue crystal. She looked to Phoebe, Prue and Price and saw that there’s were glowing as well.

“So, Prue, how do we work these things?”

“What difference does it make Phoebe, we can figure it out later. The Source is gone for now and we need to get our baby sister home.”

“Well…uh…yeah…that would be good, but it matters because we’re going to need to deal with them first.”

The other three sisters followed Phoebe’s gaze to the edge of the woods where four demons awaited them. Trogg, Greer, a Grimlock and Shax stood waiting for the next battle in the war to begin. Over the wind the only sound that could be heard was that of Piper’s whispered voice.

“Oh, crap.”

Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Price backed away from the demons that stood before them.

“Hey guys, anyone want dibs?” Phoebe’s voice was shaky as she glanced at her three sisters.

Prue’s eyes narrowed, “Yeah, I already told you I get Shax.”

“Nothing like a good vendetta to get you through a fight.” Piper was relieved that she wasn’t going to have to fight the demon of tornados again.

Price looked nervously from one demon to the next and finally found her voice, “So I know who those two are, and I’ve heard about Shax, but who is the funky looking guy with no hair and looks like he could use some serious tanning bed time?”

“That would be a Grimlock, nasty little man.” Phoebe remembered vanquishing him more than once.

“So girls, Prue gets Shax, Phoebe, you’ve taken on the Grimlock before, care to go at it again? Price and I will take Dumb and Dumber”

They took their fighting stances as Prue gave the word, “Let’s do this.”

As the fight began it looked like an easy victory for the demons was imminent, but as the Four Powers continued to fight back the crystals around their neck grew brighter. Prue brought a roundhouse kick into Shax’s head and she watched him fly backwards. Everyone stopped fighting to watch how far away he would land. When finally he landed with a thud, the battling enemies spoke together, “Whoa.”

Prue turned to look at the rest of the group. She did not notice as Shax began to spin toward her too quickly for a reaction. Just as Prue was about to be hit, Piper threw up a hand and suddenly Shax molecules were floating in the air. Phoebe turned to high five Piper. And Price nodded her head in admiration. Piper boasted about the power she felt.

“That’s right, I’m bad. You just hate me, cause you ain’t me.” Prue rolled her eyes and shook her head at Piper who stopped bragging and turned to look fiercely at the demons. Price was trying hard not to laugh at Piper.

The three remaining demons backed away and shimmered out of sight. Prue, Phoebe, Price and Piper walked toward the woods to return to the manor. When at last the BMW pulled into the driveway, Piper and Phoebe got out. They were halfway up the sidewalk when they realized they were alone. They turned around to see Prue and Price still sitting quietly in the SUV, Prue behind the wheel and Price behind the driver’s side. Not talking just sitting together. Piper and Phoebe both hesitated on the sidewalk trying to decide what to do. The sun would soon be rising, their stomachs were empty, their clothes dirty and bloody, their hair a mess, and yet still their oldest and youngest sister sat in the car. Piper and Phoebe shrugged and realized what needed to be done. They returned to the car, Piper in the front with Prue, Phoebe in the back with Price. Prue started the car and wordlessly, they drove in complete silence to the beach.

Price sat in the middle with Phoebe, Prue to her right, and Piper to Phoebe’s left. Her sisters were beautiful she realized as she looked at them one by one, and they in turn smiled at her. She turned her attention to the horizon as the sun began to peek over the ocean. The beautiful array of color spread across the ocean stretching toward the hour Halliwells. Prue sighed deeply. Price tried to read her oldest sister’s feelings and realized there was nothing there. She couldn’t read her. Price began to worry that her power was gone so she tried to read Phoebe’s feelings. Immediately she picked up on fatigue and happiness. And from Piper she picked up a sense of belonging, a feeling of pride in her family. Turning her attention once again to Prue, her readings were useless. Her heart began to race with the possibility. How was it possible that she couldn’t read Prue? How?

“Do you guys want to go get some breakfast?”

“Phoebe, are you always hungry?”

“You know I am Piper, you know I am.”

“Maybe we should go home and clean up the mess that used to be the manor.”

“I think I’m with Piper there, Phoebe. The place is a mess.”

“Okay, can we clean it and then eat?”

“Yes Phoebe, we can clean it, and then, I, your loving older sister, will make you breakfast.”

“Oh thank you, thank you, Piper!”

As Prue and Piper walked toward the car arm in arm, Phoebe walked alongside a very quiet Price.

“What’s wrong?”

“What? Oh, nothing, I was just thinking.”

“About what happened last night? Price, we did get to you in time, didn’t we? I mean he didn’t get a chance to…”

“You got there just in time. I was so scared, you know. But then I felt you guys getting closer and I knew I was going to be fine. That was the first time I knew I was going to be fine.”

“Something else is bothering you, isn’t it?”

Price remained quiet as they still trailed Prue and Piper. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Phoebe about not being able to read Prue. It could be nothing, but it could be danger.

“No. Everything is fine Phoebe, everything is okay, now.”

She gave Phoebe a quick smile and watched as Phoebe ran and tackled Prue and Piper. As they got up from the sand, Prue looked back at Price. Price felt as though her oldest sister’s ice blue eyes could cut her they were studying her so closely.

“Maybe I’m being paranoid,” she thought as Prue half smiled at her. Then Price thought the smile changed. It became more like a sneer. Prue was glaring at Price. Tearing her apart with her eyes.

“What in the hell?” Price whispered to herself. The thinking inward, “What in the hell is she?”

*************************

The manor was spotless. Tables turned right side up pictures on the walls again. Phoebe sat down at the kitchen table looking pleadingly at Piper. Piper rolled her eyes.

“Fine Pheebs, I will make you some breakfast.”

Phoebe clapped and smiled like a five year old. Prue giggled at her two little sisters and then her smile faded as Price came in the room.

As Price entered the room, she immediately noticed the change in Prue’s demeanor. Yet, still she could read nothing from her oldest sister’s form. Prue was either not who she claimed to be or had the strongest wall she had ever encountered. Price shook her head. She couldn’t believe the thoughts that were running through her head. She felt eyes other than Prue’s on her and she turned to smile at Piper and Phoebe.

“Hi there kid. Did the shower help?”

“Yeah, Phoebe, it did, thanks. Good suggestion.”

Piper studied the youngest Halliwell. She noticed a crease in her forehead and a dark look in her eyes. Piper bit her lip as she pondered the possibilities of what, besides the battle they had fought, could be bothering Price. Piper and Phoebe both looked over their little sister and worried about the pale appearance of her face. Piper decided to confront her.

“Price, are you okay? You look really worried about something.”

Price wanted to blurt out to Phoebe and Piper that Prue was acting weird, but they knew her better than she did and telling them their long lost sister back from the dead wasn’t really their sister wasn’t the best way to confront the situation. Price closed her eyes for a moment trying to come up with the best lie she could.

“I’m worried that he’s going to come back.”

“Who? The Source?”

“Yes, Piper, Walter James, aka The Source.”

“Price we aren’t going to let him hurt you. Piper, Prue and I won’t let him near you, do you understand that. Piper, Prue am I right?”

“Of course she’s right,” Piper answered without hesitation. “Prue?”

Prue had been quiet listening to the interaction. She knew she had to be more careful in her reactions to Price or else there would be suspicions among Piper and Phoebe.

“That’s absolutely right, Price,” Prue said as she laid her hand on Price’s shoulder. “If anyone tries to hurt any of my sisters I will personally see to it that he or she for that matters dies a very horrible death.”

Phoebe looked at Prue with dismay, “Geez, Prue lighten up will you. It was a simple question, not the cue for the script from Faces of Death.”

Prue rolled her eyes at Phoebe and excused herself to the shower. She could hear the clanging of dishes as she headed up the stairs. She paused by her old room, the one Price presently occupied. She pushed open the door and walked in. She listened for footsteps, and when she heard none, she lowered herself to the floor on her stomach next to the bed. Lifting the bed skirt she saw the box. It was a small cedar box just big enough to hold the object she needed. She hadn’t seen Price with it yet, but she knew that Price had it. She opened the box and that’s when she saw it. Her necklace. The diamond heart pendant. She closed the box and pushed it back under the bed. She slipped out of the room and into the bathroom unnoticed. Once safely in the shower with time to think she developed the rest of her plan. She knew that her sisters would be hurt in the process, that their hearts would be broken when they realized that the Price they had grown to love and take care of was not who she seemed to be at all.

Price heard the shower running. She opened her bedroom door and got the feeling that something was out of place. She knew Pure had snuck in moments earlier because she had watched her come out of the room and creep into the bathroom. Chills ran the path of Price’s spine. She turned out of the room to go back to Piper and Phoebe and stopped in her tracks. Prue stood in the hallway, arms crossed, brow arched. She was waiting for a showdown. Price was scared of Prue. She was intimidated by her and by what she might be or might not be. She stood still as Prue eyed her head to toe.

Prue looked over the person who had presented herself as Price Halliwell. She couldn’t believe that a person would do that to her sisters, would come into their lives, make them care, make them love her and then turn out not to be who she says she is. Prue’s only concern was and always had been to protect Piper and Phoebe, at all costs.

“Okay Prue. We’re having a problem here aren’t we?”

“You could say that.”

“So, want to tell me what you are?”

“Price, I believe you’re the imposter here, aren’t you?”

“Me? I think you’re the demon imposter, Prue. I mean really…you come back from the dead just in time to save Phoebe from evil in that alley, how did you know?”

“Don’t forget that I helped save you too, Price. And I knew about what was going to happen in the alley because I’ve been watching my sisters from the day I left. And what about you. Why now do you decide to show up?”

“Because Grams told me to come. You saw the letter.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot.”

“Is this why you’ve been giving me the nasty looks?”

“Yeah. Is it why you’ve been looking at me like I’m going to kill you?”

“Prue. Can we talk in my room, I don’t want Piper and Phoebe to know that we’re discussing the possibility that we both thought the other wasn’t real or was a bad guy.”

Prue nodded and then followed Price into her old room. Prue sat in the chair by the window. Price sat on the edge of the bed. They looked at each other suspiciously, cautiously.

“Okay, Prue, how do we convince each other that we’re the real deal?”

“How do we convince ourselves?”

Price looked to the ground, was Prue beginning to doubt herself? Was Price beginning to doubt herself? Price shook the thought out of her head.

“Okay, when did you first think I wasn’t who we think I am?”

“After the fight in the mountains.”

“What happened?”

“When we parked in the driveway, before we went to the beach, I looked in the rearview mirror at you and something in your face, it scared me. It told me that you weren’t what you said. You eyes were blank and so far away. Like you didn’t really belong in this time, in this place.”

Price thought carefully about what Prue had told her and there was an explanation, she just wasn’t sure if she wanted to share it with someone who didn’t trust her, and who she didn’t trust. But she also knew that if this were indeed Prue, then she had to trust her.

“I can explain. It’s really kind of obvious, don’t you think?”

Prue thought for a while trying to decipher the tone in Price’s voice. She could tell that Price was going to be honest with her. Her eyes and her voice promised that. Prue’s expression softened leaving Price feeling confident enough to explain why she acted the way she had.

“Well, like I said, it’s kind of obvious. Prue, we went up against the man that destroyed everything in me.”

Prue’s heart dropped. How could she have been so insensitive, she asked herself. She looked at Price again. Instead of an imposter, she saw the depth of her eyes. She noticed the trembling in her hands. She was looking at a version of herself, and Piper and Phoebe. She was looking at the same very lost, very frightened girl she had found a few years ago. A girl abused and worn down fighting against hope to one day be loved in this world. She listened carefully.

“Walter James hurt me to the core, Prue, and I guess I was so scared when it was all happening that I didn’t realize until we were sitting there the magnitude of the situation.”

“I’m sorry Price. I should have been more sensitive, I should have thought, but I didn’t, and I can say nothing but I am sorry and please forgive me. Please.”

Tears began to roll down Price’s face. She really did love the oldest Halliwell. She was a protector and all Price wanted was to be protected. She allowed herself to curl up in her oldest sister’s arms. The warmth was all she needed to know that Prue was who she said she was and that she had been mistaken. She couldn’t control it any longer, the scene from the last 24 hours flooded her mind. Seeing Walter James had brought it all back. Phoebe being attacked in the alley although it was an attempt stopped by Prue, it brought her feelings of helplessness and shame to the surface. Price Halliwell cried in Prue’s arms and never wanted to let go.

“Prue, he was going to do it again.”

Prue’s heart sank again as she heard the scared whispers of the youngest Halliwell. She knew Price was right. If they hadn’t gotten there when they had the Source would have been successful in his plan. And the Four Powers would have failed. But worse than that, Prue thought, her sister would have been taken from her. She hugged Price tighter, a small frame, trembling and cold in her arms. And together, they fell asleep.

********************************
Phoebe walked back into the kitchen smiling at Piper. Piper looked at her puzzled.

“What are you grinning about?”

“Prue and Price are upstairs asleep, together.”

Piper looked at Phoebe and smiled back, she glanced toward the basement and Phoebe followed her eyes.

“Piper, what in the hell…”

With that Phoebe saw Piper raise her arm, frying pan in hand and swing. Phoebe’s world went black. All she could hear as she fell into unconsciousness was Piper laughing.

“Guess no one suspects a thing?”

**********************************

Prue looked around the room groggily and felt something in her arms, she looked down in the afternoon light and saw that Price was still asleep. She smiled knowing the bond they had created by talking was going to be unbreakable. She wondered where Phoebe and Piper were, so she slipped out of the room and down the stairs to find them. She heard nothing but silence and searched the living room. She looked out of the living room window and saw that all the cars were in the driveway. Prue’s brow furrowed in confusion. There was no noise, no cars. She decided to check the kitchen.

It was dark and the afternoon sun not as bright in the cold kitchen. Pans sat on the stove, half cooked food in them. Prue’s heart raced. She knew Piper would never leave her kitchen in a mess. She walked around the island and that’s when she spotted Phoebe lying motionless on the ground. Prue kneeled immediately next to her sister and felt for a pulse. Phoebe’s heart was beating strongly. Prue shook her to try to bring her around and that’s when she really noticed the knot on Phoebe’s forehead that partnered with a small cut. She knew then that Phoebe had been knocked out.

“Phoebe! Sweetie, wake up, it’s me, it’s Prue. You have to wake up and tell me what happened.”

Phoebe slowly began to move her eyes behind their lids. A small groan of pain slipped from her lips. She blinked several times before trying to focus on Prue.

“P...P…Piper.”

Prue looked around worriedly. Piper was nowhere in sight.

“That’s right baby, you have to wake up now so you can tell me what happened to Piper.”

“She hit me.”

Phoebe tried to sit up and the waves of dizziness washed over her like flames. She tried to recall clearly what had happened.

“What do you mean she hit you? Piper hit you?”

Phoebe shook her head yes. Prue grimaced at the thought of Piper slamming a pan into their little sister’s head.

“That can’t be right, Phoebe, are you sure?”

Phoebe thought some more about the incident. She shook her head yes again. She knew what she saw didn’t she? Then she remembered. The basement. She pointed to the basement and Prue stood and opened the basement door. The room below was dark and quiet. She didn’t really want to go into the place without back up.

“Price! Come down here! Price! Leo! Hello!”
***************************************

Shivering, cold. Lips trembling, hands numb. Shock always felt like that. Like a distant friend calling you home. The images had been terrible. She had only been a child. The images, flash, flash, flash, like lightning streaking across the sky, so bright, so fast, it hurt her eyes. She dared not move, she dared not breathe. She just simply stared ahead waiting for the flashes to stop. She didn’t want to see the images. The little, dark-haired girl with the big brown eyes. The littlest Halliwell. The images bore a hole into her memory as though she had been there. How long had she been seeing them. Days? Hours? Seconds? It was too much no matter what. Her heart died beat by beat as each image flashed. Flash, flash, flash. The tears searing her brown eyes like glass. Shaking, uncontrollably at what had been done. Her poor baby sister, Price.

****************************************

Phoebe covered her ears as Prue yelled for help. The screaming hurt her throbbing head further. She slowly gathered herself onto her feet. Her knees were wobbly. Her hands shook. She remembered now. Price quickly joined them in the kitchen.

“Oh my God Phoebe what happened?”

Price reached to touch Phoebe’s head and Phoebe flinched. Price read the room and felt something all too familiar to her. Fear. Fear and isolation. She couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. From Phoebe she picked up anger and pain. She looked at Prue and that’s when she realized that Prue didn’t have her wall up. She read fear from Prue, but a worried not knowing fear. The other fear and isolation came from someone who had been through or seen something they should never have. Price, Phoebe and Prue journeyed to the basement with a flashlight and hands tightly locked together. Prue held the flashlight in front of them and their gaze followed its beam around the room.

Then they saw her, huddled in the corner, tears falling. Prue noticed she was shaking. She noticed she was cold and saw that she was staring ahead into the concrete wall, rocking herself back and forth. What, they wanted to know, had gotten a hold of Piper Halliwell?

“Why can’t Leo hear us?”

Phoebe shrugged at Price’s question as she once again turned her attention to Piper while keeping an ice pack on her forehead. Prue paced the floor thinking about the possible outcomes and causes of the current situation.

“Phoebe, you’re telling me that there were two Piper’s?”

“Yes, Prue that’s what I’m saying.”

“And Piper’s not wearing her crystal. Do you think someone could have stolen it and mimicked her?”

“That’s definitely a possibility, Price, but that means they’re getting faster at the process.”

“I didn’t want to say anything but I can’t find my crystal either.”

“What? What do you mean you can’t find it?”

“Phoebe how many different ways can you interpret that. She can’t find it. Which means they may have mimicked you by now.”

Phoebe wanted to stop the talk about mimcs and crystals and wanted nothing more than to soothe Piper. She was about to lay a hand on Piper’s forehead, when Price snapped at her from behind.

“Phoebe, don’t touch her!”

Phoebe looked at Price annoyed and curious.

“Price, Piper needs us right now. Why do you not want me to touch her?”

“Well, what if you have a premonition or something about what it is that made her this way? Then what if what happened to her happens to you?”

Phoebe removed her hand from Piper’s presence. She looked at Prue and Prue nodded.

“She could be right Phoebe. We don’t know how this happened and until we do, you shouldn’t touch anything that will give you a premonition of what happened.”

“But Prue what if her vital signs start to fail or something? Then what? Am I supposed to stand by and do nothing?”

“Phoebe, her vitals are strong. Her mind though is filled with something that is causing her to be semi-catatonic.”

Prue walked to the couch and sat down next to Piper. Piper tossed and turned, eyes staring, wide-open, but not focused on anything in the plane occupied by her sisters.

“Prue? I can’t stand to see her like that. I have to know what happened to her. Please.”

Prue looked at Phoebe and then to Price.

“Price can you get a reading on Piper?”

Prue studied Price’s solemn expression. She knew Price was reading something from Piper and it didn’t look good according to the sorrowful, soulful look in Price’s eyes.

“Price? What is it?” Phoebe had noticed the look as well.

“I am getting a reading and it’s not unfamiliar.”

“I don’t understand Price.”

“Phoebe, Price is saying that she has read the feeling before.”

“No, you’re wrong Prue. I have felt that feeling before.”

Prue looked disdainfully at Price. She couldn’t completely understand what her baby sister was saying. Price read the confusion from both Prue and Phoebe.

“Piper is feeling fear and isolation. And it’s mixed with this incredible sadness, incredible desolation.”

“The way you felt when, Price?”

“When Walter James was in my life.”


*******************************************

Piper continued to see the flashes of Price’s life in her eyes. She saw the look on Walter James’ face, the trapped, suffocating feeling of being held down of being abused and unloved. Piper began to think outside the realm of the images. She heard other voices besides the ones screaming in her head. They were the voices of her sisters. She walked her mind away from the horror of the flashes and toward her sisters. Solitude was forming a tunnel behind her. She wanted nothing more than to hold Price and tell her she understood, that she was sorry for what happened, that she loved her. The Source, she thought, would not break them down that easily…the Source would prove to be beatable yet.

*****************************************

Phoebe was the first to see Piper blink and then focus her eyes on the light above.

“Piper? Are you okay? Piper? What happened? Are you okay?”

“Phoebe,” Piper whispered, “How’s your head? I saw it hit you.”

“You know me Piper, hard-headed and all. I’ll be fine. What about you.”

“Where’s Prue?”

“I’m right here Piper. What is it?”

Piper leaned in to whisper something to her sisters. Price, feeling a little left out stood back and waited. Prue and phoebe both looked up at her and smiled sympathetically and left the room. Price began to shake. She hated confrontation. Piper had managed to pull herself up into a sitting position and motioned for Price to sit beside her. Price slowly made her way next to Piper, and was surprised when Piper held out her arms for her. She immediately took her place wrapped in Piper’s arms.

“What happened Piper?”

“I saw everything that happened to you when you were growing up. The source is trying to break us down one by one. I know that, I can feel it. I don’t know who he will go after next, Price, but if he hurts anyone I love, including you, the way he has hurt you before, I will kill him, or I will die trying.”

Price’s heart stuttered, skipped beats, and continued to beat weakly as she thought about what Piper must have seen. She felt embarrassed, ashamed but mostly, she felt angry that the Walter James, aka The Source, would do that to her sister. Prue and Phoebe joined Price and Piper in the living room where they sat, plotting the next battle in their war against the source. This time they would bring down the sons of the Source.

THE END