Post by Tim on Aug 17, 2016 18:31:45 GMT -5
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on the series, Charmed, that was created by Constance M. Burge. All Charmed characters are the property of Spelling Productions.
Prue Halliwell sat at the kitchen table, early Sunday morning. She was reading the Dilbert comic strip, a personal favorite of hers. For some time now, she had felt trapped in an endless cycle of demons and monotonous work. It was the holiday season and she was expected by 415 magazine to do a "Martha Stewart"-esque piece. Yech!!! 415's supposed to be hip and trendy, not arts and crafty. Prue thought to herself. "Poor Dilbert, I feel his pain." she said. Prue spied the Halliwell cat, Kit, sneaking about in a mischievous manner. Then Prue noticed that Kit had something light and purple in her mouth, like Prue's silk blouse, which was purple. "Kit!!! What are you doing?!" Prue rushed over to the panicking feline to see Kit chewing a silk cloth. However it was not her blouse, or as far as Prue knew, anything that belonged to any of the Halliwell sisters. "What the heck could this be?" She stole the scrap from Kit and examined it with much the auctioneer's eye. It was a light, fluid-like cloth, having a light smell of Belladonna. Belladonna, we're out of that. Prue thought: Pheebs was going to go get some today...this isn't ours I don't think. Prue stood in the hallway just staring like an idiot at the cloth. A loud explosion hit the front door and a laughably small man walked inside. "Demon!" Prue shouted, but then stopped. She found it hard to believe such a small person could do much harm. She burst out laughing uncontrollably.
"Shut up, witch!" screamed the short man. He was dressed in your normal demonic get-up; long trench coat, hard wearing clothes, etc...
"I'm sorry, little boy, are you lost!?" Prue couldn't help it, she was now starting to cry from the sheer humour.
"You know, witch, I was brought here with the understanding that I was to help you, but seeing as how you're being so rude..."
Prue was somewhat shocked out of her delirium by his calm articulate speech. "What do you mean 'help'?"
"You know what? I think we'll have a little fun with you. Yes, I think a world of fun."
Prue was no longer amused, and where were her sisters? The bang of the front door should have been enough to wake them, especially at 9 am. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm just not used to demons so short." Prue said this with a half snort, trying to charm him into good graces.
"You know, I think I'm gonna like this...you look like a fun person."
"Wait a minute." Prue stated: "Like what? Okay, no more fooling around. Piper, Phoebe!"
"Oh they can't hear you. That's why I'm here, but we'll save that tidbit for later."
Prue tried to throw shorty against a wall, but he was protected by some magical barrier. Great, what a time for immunity. she thought. What happened next surprised her, she was shoved backwards, most likely by her own power. Somehow, the floor was missing. Prue fell and fell into an infinite distance.
"Have fun! Oh, I forgot to mention something, call me Sida, the Demon of Irony!" With that, the Manor and all light disappeared, all leaving Prue falling into eternity.
"Piper! Phoebe! Leo! Help me!!!" Prue screamed, but the screams went unheard.
Sida looked down at Prue's unconscious form, smiled and turned to the figure that stood in the door. "It worked, Belthazor. Prue Halliwell is trapped in the dream of falling forever."
"Very well." Cole said as he came into the Manor:"She won't be permanently harmed, will she?"
"No." Sida replied: "But why would you care about that?"
"I have my own reasons." Cole said: "And it's really none of your business. Just do as you're told, Sida!"
"All right." Sida said and whispered under his breath: "Sheesh, what a grouch!"
"What was that?" Cole asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Uh nothing!" Sida quickly said: "Just clearing my throat."
"Now leave my sight." Belthazor yelled to Sida. "I will contact you when I am ready to continue my plan for the witches. If you dare to mention this to anyone, you will suffer a thousand deaths. Be gone with you!" After Sida left, Belthazor bent over Prue's still body and felt for a pulse. Her pulse was strong and her breathing was normal. "She won't be having any sweet dreams, but she will be okay. I can't have her interrupting my plans."
Meanwhile, upstairs, Phoebe was awakening from a very deep sleep. She felt groggy and slightly sick to her stomach. When she sat up, she noticed that there was a light purple silk cloth laying next to her pillow. She picked it up and caught the faint smell of Belladonna. That's funny. Phoebe thought. The last time I checked we were out of Belladonna. I wonder where this came from. Belladonna can be used for a poison so I guess that would explain why I don't feel so great. This can only mean one thing: Demon on the loose! I hope Piper and Prue are okay. Phoebe jumped out of bed and almost fell over. "Whoa! Someone really did me over with the Belladonna. Piper!, Prue! Can you hear me?" Phoebe yelled as she ran into the hall.
"What's with all the yelling, Pheebs?" Piper asked as she stumbled out of her room.
"I was just worried, that's all." Phoebe replied: "Have you seen Prue?"
"No." Piper replied: "But of course, I just got up. Let's check her room." the two of them checked Prue's room, but she was not there. "Let's check downstairs." Piper suggested.
Cole heard Piper and Phoebe coming, and hid Prue's sleeping form in a closet. "Cole!" Phoebe said as she and Piper arrived on the first floor. "What brings you here?"
"I was in the neighborhood." Cole said, making it up as he went along: "I thought I would drop in. Your front door was open, so I thought I would check up on you. Is everything okay?"
"Well, I'm fine." Phoebe said: "Although we seem to have misplaced Prue. Have you seen her, Cole?"
"No I haven't."
"That's odd." the puzzled Phoebe said.
"Maybe she left for work already." Piper suggested.
"Yeah, maybe." Phoebe said, but she was not convinced. Deep down, Phoebe had a feeling that something was very wrong.
"Are you sure your okay, Phoebe? You look a little pale." said Cole. No matter what his plan was for destroying their powers, Cole just couldn't help worry about the effect his latest plan would have on Phoebe. He decided that he would have to leave Prue's body there for the moment and come back later. The silk scarves that Sida placed near all three women were supposed to have put all three of them into a deep sleep until Cole was ready to execute his plan. Now Prue was under a spell and lying in the closet. Things just never seemed to work as planned when dealing with the Halliwells.
"I'm okay." said Phoebe. "I am just really worried about Prue."
"I have to get to work." Cole said. "Let me know if you need anything. I'm sure Prue is fine." He seriously doubted that Piper or Phoebe would look in the closet for Prue. His plans would have to wait for now. He was going to put all three women under a strong sleeping spell and hide them from the Source until he could find away to strip them of their powers. After wards he would hope that Phoebe would understand. He couldn't kill her, but he had to make them harmless to Source. Cole reasoned that Phoebe would forgive him, she was blind when it came to seeing his faults. He was protecting her life after all.
Once Cole was out the door, Piper turned to Phoebe and gave her a worried look. "You do look sick, Pheebs, and I don't feel so good myself."
"Something is going on." said Phoebe. "Look, it's already 9:30. You never sleep this late, Piper. Come back upstairs with me. I want to look for something." As they walked up the stairs they saw Kit sitting at the top, playing with a bit of purple silk. "That's what I was wondering about." said Phoebe. "Did you notice if there was one of those scarves on your bed when you woke up?"
"No." Piper said. "Lets look. What are you thinking, Phoebe?" As they entered Piper's room they spotted the scarf on Piper's bed. "There was one on my bed and I'll bet there was one on Prue's. Someone wanted us all to be in a deep sleep." Phoebe said: "They put Belladonna on the scarves and sneaked them up to us during the night. That would make us vulnerable to anything. I wonder if someone put a spell on us? The question now is did Kit take Prue's scarf away to play with before it had any effect on her, or did the person who left them take Prue away while she was sleeping? I hope she is out doing something, but I have a really bad feeling about this."
"One way to find out is to call her cell phone. Let's hope she answers." said Piper. She dialed the number and they heard ringing coming from the kitchen. When they got there, they saw Prue's purse sitting on the counter. "Well that answers that question." Piper said. "Whoever it is has already been able to breakup the Power Of Three. We are in serious trouble, Pheebs. I only pray that Prue is okay."
Prue was definitely not okay. She was trapped in a nightmare of eternally falling because of Sida's spell. She couldn't stop herself, she couldn't use her magic, and worst of all, she couldn't contact her sisters. She was alone, and seemingly trapped in an endless void of nothingness.
"Okay, we need to take this one step at a time. See if you still have your powers, Piper" said Phoebe as she tossed an apple into the air. To both of their great relief, Piper was able to freeze it with no problem.
"See if you can get anything by touching any of the scarves, Phoebe." Piper urged. Unfortunately no images came to Phoebe as she held the bit of purple silk. She looked at Piper and shook her head no. "Pheebs, you go up to the attic and see what you can find in the Book Of Shadows." Piper said: "Look for anything that has to do with Belladonna or inducing sleep. I'm going to look around the house to see if I can find any clues on where Prue might have been taken." Piper began looking around for clues on what happened to Prue when she saw Kit pawing at a closet door. She cautiously opened the door to find a deathly still Prue."Oh my god! Phoebe, come quick! Leo, we need you! LEO!"
At that same time, sitting in his car, which was parked outside in front of Halliwell Manor, Cole was trying to rethink his strategy. The scarves Sida had placed near the sisters were supposed to make it easier for him to take them away from each other one at a time. He figured that it was much easier to deal with the Halliwells on a one to one basis. It would also be easier to take Phoebe away while she slept. That way he would not have to deal with the hurt and accusations he knew he'd see in her eyes. He really did want to find a way to strip them of their powers without killing them. Part of him truly cared about Phoebe. He also knew that the Source would never stop hunting them down unless the sisters became harmless to him.
Meanwhile, sitting in Golden Gate Park, Sida was hopping mad. "How dare he cast me aside like that." the little demon fumed: "I don't care if he is Belthazor! I'll show him, and I have found just the patsy to do it!"
In one room of this institution, a young woman lay sleeping. Her name was Abbey Packard. Until recently, she had been the bartender at P3. Then it was revealed that Abbey had been stalking Prue, in fact had tried to become Prue. After her arrest, Abbey had been placed here, pending a hearing to see if she were fit to stand trial. Suddenly, Abbey moaned as she found herself trapped in a strange dream....
Abbey was standing in a small meadow. "Where am I?" she asked: "How did I get here?"
"I brought you here." a new voice said: "I am borrowing your dreams for a few minutes."
"Wha...." Abbey said and whirled around to see what appeared to be a little man standing there. "Who, or what, are you?"
"My name is Sida." the little man replied: "And I've come to help you."
"Help me? How?"
"I know all about your desire to assume Prue Halliwell's life, and I can make it possible for you to achieve that dream."
"No, it can't be done. I'm a loser!" Abbey said, dejectedly.
"But that can change. The Source can grant you anything your heart desires."
"The Source?" Abbey asked.
"The power I represent." Sida replied: "Let's not get bogged down in details. Bottom line is, both of us have a common goal, to punish the Halliwells. All I ask is that you come and work for me."
"I don't know..." Abbey said and trailed off.
"Oh it's entirely up to you, Abbey." Sida said: "If you say no, I will leave and you will never see me again, but consider this: Right now, only two paths lay before you. They can find you fit to stand trial, in which case you will go to prison. On the other hand, they can find you unfit to stand trial, and you'll be shipped off to an institution. Either way, Abbey, you are going to be locked up for some time to come. If you take my offer, you will have your freedom. Also, as I said before, anything you desire. To top it all off, you CAN be Prue Halliwell. The Source can make it happen. So what's it going to be?" With this, Sida fell silent and waited for Abbey to make up her mind.
"Yes, let's do it!" Abbey said, with a look of determination on her face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that's why they call me the Demon of Irony..." Sida laughed to himself. He knew Abbey would go for his offer, for he had been watching her for some time, and thus knew of her hidden desire to be Prue Halliwell. However, before he could find a way to exploit that to his own use, Abbey had made her own ill-fated attempt to become Prue. Still, he had not given up on his plan to use Abbey as his pawn, and how here that time was.
Back at the Manor, Piper yelled once again, "PHOEBE! LEO!" This time they heard her. Leo orbed in and Phoebe came down the stairs as fast as she could. Leo's face turned to one of pure shock when he saw Prue.
"Is she...she..." Phoebe trailed off, not wanting to say the word.
"No, I checked her pulse, she's still with us..." Piper said, trailing off, not sure if Prue was actually with them. "Leo, can you move her to the couch?"
"And see if you can heal her, a demon did this to her!" Phoebe said, sure of herself.
"Okay." Leo responded. He picked Prue up and moved her over to the couch. He raised his hands about to heal her when the front door burst open and Sida and Abbey walked in confidently. Piper gave a squeal of laughter when she saw Sida. Seconds later a mad Belthazor shimmered in.
"We're in big trouble." Phoebe muttered. "Real big trouble."
"Abbey, where did you come from, and who is your nasty looking little friend?" asked Piper.
"Uhh, Piper, right now I'm more worried about Mr. Big, Red, and Ugly who just popped in." shouted Phoebe. "Freeze them, Piper!" Piper brought up her hands and nothing happened. "Piper, this is no time for a sudden loss of power." Phoebe stated: "Try again." This time when Piper brought her hands up she, Phoebe, and Leo were the ones who became somewhat frozen. They could move a little, but felt as if they were trying to pull themselves through sand. There was no way they could fight back.
"Good morning, ladies!" said Sida. "Let me make the introductions. My name is Sida the Demon of Irony. Everything you try to do gets turned around. You know Abbey, of course, and the big red guy with the skin problem is Belthazor. Are we having fun yet?" Sida asked with a grin. He enjoyed being in control of the situation.
"Leo, can't you do something?" asked Piper.
"Sorry, witch. Not even he can help you now." said Sida. "We came to get the sleepy one." Sida said as Belthazor picked up Prue's body. "We'll be back for you two later. I love this." Sida laughed. "The Power Of Three will never be!!!."
Sometime after the invading trio had left, Phoebe and Piper could move again. "We have to find them!" Phoebe said with fear in her voice.
"I know." Piper replied: "Any ideas, Pheebs?"
"Just one. We can use the magic amulet over and map and try to trace Prue's location."
"Good idea, Phoebe. Let's get busy!" Piper said.
"I'll consult with my bosses and see if they can help." Leo said and orbed out.
At that moment, Daryl called: "Piper, I have bad news..."
"Abbey escaped from the hospital." Piper cut in: "Yeah, we know. She just paid us a visit with a couple of demons. They took Prue."
"Demons. That would explain how she got out." Daryl said: "She was there last night. But when they took a morning head count of their patients, she was gone. They're puzzled as to how she got out without being seen or tripping off any alarms."
"Child's play if demons were involved." Piper said.
"Any way I can help?"
"No Daryl, not right now. However, we'll keep you posted."
Meanwhile, the two demons and Abbey had taken Prue to an old abandoned house on the edge of town. They laid Prue down on a dusty old couch. "Watch her." Belthazor told Abbey: "Sida and I need to have a private conversation." The two demons left the room.
"Still think I'm a loser, Prue." Abbey said mockingly to Prue's unconscious form: "Well, I'm not a loser anymore! From now on, I'll be the winner." Abbey began to laugh.
Meanwhile, Belthazor and Sida had gone upstairs. "What the hell are you thinking?" Belthazor hissed to Sida: "Involving that human, Abbey?"
"I knew that she that desire to be Prue Halliwell, so I took advantage of it." Sida replied.
"But she knows me as Cole! She used to work at P3 and saw me there a few times!"
"That doesn't matter." Sida said in a matter of fact voice: "It's not like she is going to be around to say anything. Once she has served her usefulness, we will dispose of her."
"What, may I ask, is her usefulness?" asked Belthazor sarcastically.
"Temper, temper." replied Sida. "I have a plan. We will have Abbey use Prue's body to lure the other two witches here. She can go home and tell them she managed to escape. They'll be so happy to see her; therefore, they probably won't ask too many questions. Abbey will lead them back here to supposedly vanquish us and instead we shall kill them. Oh the irony! Instead of good saving an innocent from evil, it will be evil using an innocent to destroy good. I love it!"
"Very well." Belthazor said as he decided to go along with the plan for now and intervene later to save the Halliwells from death. He was relishing the moment when he could do away with Sida, for he was an annoying little creature who was getting on Belthazor's nerves.
Abbey was still watching Prue when Sida and Belthazor returned. They quickly told her about the plan. "Remember, Abbey, you will now belong to the Source. Everything you do will be for him. Should you cross him you will find yourself facing a fate far worse than prison. Your only job is to lure Piper and Phoebe here. Do nothing to harm them. We will be saving that pleasure for ourselves." warned Belthazor. With those words of caution, Belthazor had Abbey lay on the floor next to the couch, on which Prue was lying. His hands glowed and shook as he pulled both women's souls out of their bodies and switched them. "Go quickly now" ordered Belthazor. "Do not let us down." He also briefed Abbey on Prue's powers. Since Abbey was inhabiting Prue's body, she now possessed Prue's powers.
After listening to what the demon said, Abbey stood up and smiled. I'm so cool! She thought to herself as she skipped out of the place and headed towards Halliwell Manor.
After 35 minutes of walking, Abbey finally reached Prescott Street. That's where she started debating. "Ooh, do I want to do this? I have what I want, besides, Piper was always so nice to me when I worked at P3..." She saw Piper and Phoebe getting into the jeep and starting it up. She quickly hid behind some bushes and waited until they left. Abbey smiled as she used Prue's powers to open the front door and entered the Manor. Running up the stairs, she found Prue's room and found some suitcases. Opening them up, she threw almost all of Prue's wardrobe and belongings in them. She ran downstairs, grabbed Prue's keys and purse, and threw everything into Prue's car. Starting up the ignition, Abbey smiled evilly. If I can't be Prue...no one will. Abbey thought as she drove down Prescott Street. She now had everything she wanted, she was now Prue Halliwell. "Good bye, loser Abbey." she said: "Hello, winner Prue!" she stared into the reflection in the rear view mirror and smiled as Prue's face looked back at her.
Meanwhile, Piper and Phoebe were driving towards the abandoned house in Piper's jeep. "Are you sure about this, Pheebs?" Piper asked.
"Positive." Phoebe replied: "The amulet directed us here, so this is where Prue must be. Trust me."
"It's taking too long! They should have been here by now!" Belthazor snarled.
"Patience." Sida said: "They'll show soon enough." Soon the two of them heard Piper's jeep pull up. "See." Sida said as the two of them went to a nearby window and watched as Piper and Phoebe got out of the jeep.
"Where is Abbey?" Belthazor asked: "She was supposed to return with them! Where is she?"
"I don't know..." Sida said, stumbling for an answer: "She must have betrayed us."
"You stupid, pathetic fool!" Belthazor roared: "You have made your last blunder!" he raised his hands.
"No, Belthazor! Please no!" Sida screamed just before he burst into flames and exploded.
"He's had that coming for some time now." Belthazor said and morphed into his human form of Cole: "Guess I'll take over now."
At that same time, Abbey, still in her hijacked body, had checked into a small motel in Oakland. She was tired, but sleep was not easy in coming, for she was still excited about having Prue's body, plus the powers that came with it. As she lay there, Abbey's mind began to drift back to her childhood. Abbey's mother had died of cancer when Abbey was only two years old, and her father had then turned to alcohol to ease the pain. Often Abbey would come home to find her father passed out on the floor, empty bottles littered around him. Abbey could do nothing but cope (she was an only child). When Abbey was fifteen, her father died of alcohol poisoning, and Abbey was sent to live with her paternal grandparents, who treated her okay, but were really too elderly to give Abbey the love and attention she needed. High School was no better, and Abbey could still hear the taunts of "loser", "dweeb", and "nobody" in her ears. The worst part was when Chuck Bolson, the captain of the football team, had asked her to the senior prom. The surprised Abbey had accepted, and when they got there, Chuck suddenly jilted her, for it had all been a cruel joke. Abbey remembered the pain and humiliation of standing there with everyone laughing at her. The laughter grew in her ears, and finally Abbey sat up in the bed and yelled "STOP IT!" She waved a hand, and a lamp flew off the bedside table and crashed into the wall. As she slowly reigned in her temper, Abbey vowed that Chuck and all the others who had hurt her would now pay for it! "I'll get even!" she vowed, for now she had the powers to do so.
Back at the old house, Cole watched Piper and Phoebe walking towards the front door. He then realized that there was no possible explanation for him being there right now. He quickly slipped out the back before the sisters entered the house.
When Piper and Phoebe walked through the front door they saw Abbey's body lying on the floor. Piper walked over to her to see if she was still alive. Abbey's pulse was strong and her breathing was normal, it looked as if she were merely sleeping. Leaving Abbey where she lay, Piper walked around the large dusty room with Phoebe, looking for any clues as to what might have happened. "I don't get it." Piper said.
"Don't get what?" Phoebe asked.
"Why would they spring Abbey from the hospital, only to leave her here. It doesn't make sense."
"You're right, it doesn't add up." said Phoebe: "Let's keep looking for clues."
"It looks as though one of our demons has been vanquished." Piper said as she noticed a charred ring on the old wood floor. "One down and one to go. My bet is that Sida was destroyed by Belthazor."
"I guess they had a major falling out." Phoebe replied.
Piper moved towards an old couch: "It looks as though the dust has been disturbed on this old couch. Pheebs, see if you can pick up any premonitions by touching the couch or Abbey."
Phoebe touched the couch and the image of Belthazor switching the two women's spirits came rushing into her head. "Oh my God, Piper! Prue's spirit has been put into Abbey's body and Abbey is walking around as Prue." Just as she was saying that, Cole walked through the front door.
"Cole! What on earth are you doing here?" asked Piper.
"You two were so worried about Prue this morning I decided to come back to the Manor to help you find her. Just as I got there, you were leaving, so I followed you here. Is that Abbey?" asked Cole. "Did she somehow escape from the hospital and begin to stalk Prue again? Should we call the police?"
"NO!" both women replied at once. "What I mean is that we can handle Abbey." Phoebe said quickly.
"Are you sure?" Cole asked.
"Yeah."
"Well I..." Cole began and then stopped as Piper froze time.
"What is it, Piper?" Phoebe asked when she saw the concerned look on Piper's face.
"I was just thinking that if Abbey has Prue's body, that means she has Prue's powers." Piper replied.
"You're right." Phoebe said: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yes I am." Piper said: "Remember what happened to poor Dr. Williamson when he got our powers? Abbey was never mentally prepared to handle those powers. Also don't forget that she already had mental problems to begin with. Who knows what affect having Prue's powers will have on her."
"You're right, Piper. We have to find her and switch them back, fast!" Phoebe said.
So that is your plan! Cole thought to himself. Of course, he was not really frozen, but was faking it. He listened to the whole conversation.
"Okay, unfreeze Cole and let's get Ab- Prue out of here." Phoebe said.
"Okay." Piper responded, flicking her hands. Cole unfroze immediately.
"Look, Cole, we'll take Abbey down to the police station and make sure she's in good hands. I'm sure you have some cases to solve. So go close some cases!" Phoebe said all of this nervously.
"Uh...okay..." Cole stammered, playing the confused look on his face. "I'll just call you tomorrow?" He asked.
"I'd like that." Phoebe smiled. "Could you help us?" She trailed off, motioning to Abbey's prone body.
"Oh, sure!" Cole said. Once Abbey was laying in the spacious back of the jeep. Cole got into his car and drove off. He turned into an alley and stopped the car and got out. He smiled faintly and shimmered.
Phoebe and Piper got into the front seat and started driving. They had been driving for about 10 minutes when Belthazor shimmered into the back seat and leaned over in between Piper and Phoebe. "Boo." He said calmly.
"Holy sh...." Piper screamed and slammed her foot down on the brakes. The jeep came to a screeching halt. Piper and Phoebe jumped out and watched as Belthazor got out and came after them.
"Where the hell did he come from?" Phoebe asked.
"Never mind that!" Piper said: "We gotta take him down!" Quickly, Piper froze the demon and Phoebe levitated over and kicked him in the face. Belthazor flew backwards into a brick wall and slid to the ground.
"Let's get out of here before Tall, Dark, and Ugly wakes up." Phoebe said. The two sisters got into the jeep and drove off.
A few minutes after the girls were gone, Belthazor got up and morphed back into Cole. It had worked perfectly, he had put on a convincing show. Cole hoped that this would give the idea that he still meant to kill the Charmed Ones. I just hope the Source is convinced. Cole thought to himself.
At first there was only darkness for Prue, but then slowly light began to creep back in. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in the living room of Halliwell Manor, with Piper and Phoebe standing over her. "Oh, thank God...." Prue began and then stopped when she realized that her voice didn't sound right. Slowly she got up, looked in a mirror, and uttered: "WHAT THE HELL??" For the face of Abbey stared back at her. Prue turned to where Piper and Phoebe were standing and said: "I suppose there is an explanation for this!?"
"Well of course there's an explanation. I don't know if you want to hear it though." replied Phoebe.
"Where is my body?!" demanded Prue.
"Well, we aren't really sure right now. We were just going to try to figure that out when you woke up. How do you feel?" Piper asked.
"How do you think I feel?!" said Prue.
"Try to calm down." said Piper. "Phoebe, bring the map and the amulet over here. Hurry! We need to track Abbey. I have a feeling Belthazor and the Source are going to be looking for her too. Abbey will be easy to destroy because she won't know how to handle the powers she got when she entered Prue's body." Phoebe held the amulet over the map. It swung to a residential area north of San Francisco.
"Lets go." said Prue, and they all went outside and climbed into the jeep. "We have to find her before anyone else does." Prue said as they got under way: "We also need to find her before she gets into trouble. Now that we are on our way would somebody please tell me how this happened!?"
"Well... " began Piper and explained what she and Phoebe had found out.
"I think I know the rest." Prue said: "The demons went to Abbey and dangled the possibility of her assuming my life in front of her eyes. Of course, she went for it. The poor girl has no idea what she's gotten herself into. Trust a demon to exploit an emotionally vulnerable person such as Abbey."
Meanwhile, Abbey had left the motel and was slowly driving down a side street, looking at the addresses. She found the house she was looking for and stopped the car. "This is gonna be fun! It's payback time. You made my life hell in high school, now you are going feel some of my pain!" She walked up to the front door with a big smile on her face and rang the doorbell.
Charles "Chuck" Bolson was sitting in his living watching a football game, when the door bell rang. "Always in the middle of a good game." Chuck grumbled and went to answer the door. Standing there, was an attractive dark haired woman. "Well hello there." Chuck said, switching on the charm: "Come on in."
"Thank you." the woman said and entered the house.
"What can I do for you?" Chuck asked, giving the young woman a good look up and down.
"You don't recognize me, Chuck? No, I guess you wouldn't." the woman said: "I'm Abbey Packard."
"What?" Chuck replied, trying hard not to laugh: "You can't be Abbey! No plastic surgeon is THAT good!" he broke into laughter.
"What does that mean?" Abbey asked, anger creeping into her voice.
"I mean Abbey was a first class dweeb! A nerd! A geek!" Chuck dissolved into more laughter.
"Think again!" Abbey said, just before she used Prue's power to throw Chuck into a wall.
"Well this is the place." Piper said as the Halliwells arrived at Chuck Bolson's house.
"Looks like we got here just in time." Phoebe said, pointing to Prue's car, which was parked nearby.
"Let's go!" Prue said and they headed for the house.
"Dweeb, huh?" Abbey said as she advanced on Chuck's unconscious body: "Nerd? Geek? I'll show you, Mr. Chuck Bolson, who the geek is." Abbey raised her hand.
"Abbey! Wait, stop!" a new and familiar voice called out. Abbey turned around and saw herself standing there, with Piper and Phoebe Halliwell.
"What are you doing here?" Abbey asked with confusion.
"I'm here to talk to you. To try and help you." Prue replied.
"I don't need your help, Prue. I have everything I want!"
"Are you sure, Abbey? Do you really want to have my life?"
"Yes I do." Abbey declared: "You've had a great life, while I had nothing!" she went on to explain her childhood, her father's alcohol problem and her miserable high school life.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Prue said, once Abbey had finished: "But believe me, my life has been far from perfect. My father walked out of my life when I was four, my mother died when I was six. Two and a half years ago, my grandmother, who raised me and my sisters, died. A year after that, I lost a man I deeply cared about, Andy Trudeau. Abbey, you are not the only one to face pain in life, it happens to us all."
"But you are so beautiful, and I'm an ugly duckling." Abbey continued, but with much less conviction her voice.
"You are only as beautiful or ugly as you feel." Prue countered: "Besides, you have to get out of my body, before they come after you."
"Come after me?" Abbey asked: "Who?"
"The same kind of beings who said they would help you, Abbey. Demons and Warlocks. They said they would help you, but they were only using you. That's how evil works, by exploiting innocents. So long as you have my body, and my powers, Demons and Warlocks will come after you, you will be a magnet to them. Is that what you want, Abbey, to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?"
"Well I..." Abbey began, and then trailed off as Prue's words sunk in. Maybe her old life wasn't so bad after all. Maybe with a little help, she could put her life back together. "Okay, Prue, you win. How do we get things back to normal?"
"Come with us, Abbey. We can straighten things out." Prue said. After making sure Chuck Bolson would be okay (plus a spell to wipe his memory of Abbey's visit), the Halliwell's and Abbey headed back to Halliwell Manor.
A short time later, the four of them were in the attic of the Manor, and the Halliwell's recited the following spell from the Book Of Shadows:
Together we chant, and bang a gong.
Let the two misplaced souls return to where they belong!
With that, the souls of Prue and Abbey returned to their proper bodies. "Well that takes care of that." Prue said as she looked in a mirror and saw her own face looking back at her.
A quick phone call and Daryl Morris was on his way over to the Manor to pick up Abbey and take her back to the hospital. "I just wanted to thank you all." Abbey said, as soon as Daryl arrived and was escorting her to his car.
"Thank us?" Phoebe asked.
"Well after all the trouble I caused, the fact that the three of you still wanted to help me." Abbey said: "Maybe this is a good sign. Maybe I can be helped."
"Of course you can." Prue said: "Our job is to help the innocent. You got lost for a while, Abbey, but hopefully now we helped you find your way."
"I'll remember that." Abbey said and then followed Daryl to his car.
"You think she'll be okay?" Phoebe asked as the Halliwell's watched the car drive away.
"Yes, I do." Prue said: "I think that Abbey, after some help, will be able to lead a normal life. It's good to know that we didn't lose her to evil."
"Speaking of which, what about Belthazor?" Piper said: "He's still out there, somewhere. When do you think he'll strike next?"
"Who knows." Prue said as she led them back into the Manor: "But when he does, we'll be ready."
Sitting in his car, which was parked down the street, Cole watched the sisters re-enter the Manor. Inside he was pleased that his plan had failed. The Halliwell's were safe, for now. But soon the Source would want him to attack again, and Cole could not help but dread that moment.
Prue Halliwell sat at the kitchen table, early Sunday morning. She was reading the Dilbert comic strip, a personal favorite of hers. For some time now, she had felt trapped in an endless cycle of demons and monotonous work. It was the holiday season and she was expected by 415 magazine to do a "Martha Stewart"-esque piece. Yech!!! 415's supposed to be hip and trendy, not arts and crafty. Prue thought to herself. "Poor Dilbert, I feel his pain." she said. Prue spied the Halliwell cat, Kit, sneaking about in a mischievous manner. Then Prue noticed that Kit had something light and purple in her mouth, like Prue's silk blouse, which was purple. "Kit!!! What are you doing?!" Prue rushed over to the panicking feline to see Kit chewing a silk cloth. However it was not her blouse, or as far as Prue knew, anything that belonged to any of the Halliwell sisters. "What the heck could this be?" She stole the scrap from Kit and examined it with much the auctioneer's eye. It was a light, fluid-like cloth, having a light smell of Belladonna. Belladonna, we're out of that. Prue thought: Pheebs was going to go get some today...this isn't ours I don't think. Prue stood in the hallway just staring like an idiot at the cloth. A loud explosion hit the front door and a laughably small man walked inside. "Demon!" Prue shouted, but then stopped. She found it hard to believe such a small person could do much harm. She burst out laughing uncontrollably.
"Shut up, witch!" screamed the short man. He was dressed in your normal demonic get-up; long trench coat, hard wearing clothes, etc...
"I'm sorry, little boy, are you lost!?" Prue couldn't help it, she was now starting to cry from the sheer humour.
"You know, witch, I was brought here with the understanding that I was to help you, but seeing as how you're being so rude..."
Prue was somewhat shocked out of her delirium by his calm articulate speech. "What do you mean 'help'?"
"You know what? I think we'll have a little fun with you. Yes, I think a world of fun."
Prue was no longer amused, and where were her sisters? The bang of the front door should have been enough to wake them, especially at 9 am. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm just not used to demons so short." Prue said this with a half snort, trying to charm him into good graces.
"You know, I think I'm gonna like this...you look like a fun person."
"Wait a minute." Prue stated: "Like what? Okay, no more fooling around. Piper, Phoebe!"
"Oh they can't hear you. That's why I'm here, but we'll save that tidbit for later."
Prue tried to throw shorty against a wall, but he was protected by some magical barrier. Great, what a time for immunity. she thought. What happened next surprised her, she was shoved backwards, most likely by her own power. Somehow, the floor was missing. Prue fell and fell into an infinite distance.
"Have fun! Oh, I forgot to mention something, call me Sida, the Demon of Irony!" With that, the Manor and all light disappeared, all leaving Prue falling into eternity.
"Piper! Phoebe! Leo! Help me!!!" Prue screamed, but the screams went unheard.
Sida looked down at Prue's unconscious form, smiled and turned to the figure that stood in the door. "It worked, Belthazor. Prue Halliwell is trapped in the dream of falling forever."
"Very well." Cole said as he came into the Manor:"She won't be permanently harmed, will she?"
"No." Sida replied: "But why would you care about that?"
"I have my own reasons." Cole said: "And it's really none of your business. Just do as you're told, Sida!"
"All right." Sida said and whispered under his breath: "Sheesh, what a grouch!"
"What was that?" Cole asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Uh nothing!" Sida quickly said: "Just clearing my throat."
"Now leave my sight." Belthazor yelled to Sida. "I will contact you when I am ready to continue my plan for the witches. If you dare to mention this to anyone, you will suffer a thousand deaths. Be gone with you!" After Sida left, Belthazor bent over Prue's still body and felt for a pulse. Her pulse was strong and her breathing was normal. "She won't be having any sweet dreams, but she will be okay. I can't have her interrupting my plans."
Meanwhile, upstairs, Phoebe was awakening from a very deep sleep. She felt groggy and slightly sick to her stomach. When she sat up, she noticed that there was a light purple silk cloth laying next to her pillow. She picked it up and caught the faint smell of Belladonna. That's funny. Phoebe thought. The last time I checked we were out of Belladonna. I wonder where this came from. Belladonna can be used for a poison so I guess that would explain why I don't feel so great. This can only mean one thing: Demon on the loose! I hope Piper and Prue are okay. Phoebe jumped out of bed and almost fell over. "Whoa! Someone really did me over with the Belladonna. Piper!, Prue! Can you hear me?" Phoebe yelled as she ran into the hall.
"What's with all the yelling, Pheebs?" Piper asked as she stumbled out of her room.
"I was just worried, that's all." Phoebe replied: "Have you seen Prue?"
"No." Piper replied: "But of course, I just got up. Let's check her room." the two of them checked Prue's room, but she was not there. "Let's check downstairs." Piper suggested.
Cole heard Piper and Phoebe coming, and hid Prue's sleeping form in a closet. "Cole!" Phoebe said as she and Piper arrived on the first floor. "What brings you here?"
"I was in the neighborhood." Cole said, making it up as he went along: "I thought I would drop in. Your front door was open, so I thought I would check up on you. Is everything okay?"
"Well, I'm fine." Phoebe said: "Although we seem to have misplaced Prue. Have you seen her, Cole?"
"No I haven't."
"That's odd." the puzzled Phoebe said.
"Maybe she left for work already." Piper suggested.
"Yeah, maybe." Phoebe said, but she was not convinced. Deep down, Phoebe had a feeling that something was very wrong.
"Are you sure your okay, Phoebe? You look a little pale." said Cole. No matter what his plan was for destroying their powers, Cole just couldn't help worry about the effect his latest plan would have on Phoebe. He decided that he would have to leave Prue's body there for the moment and come back later. The silk scarves that Sida placed near all three women were supposed to have put all three of them into a deep sleep until Cole was ready to execute his plan. Now Prue was under a spell and lying in the closet. Things just never seemed to work as planned when dealing with the Halliwells.
"I'm okay." said Phoebe. "I am just really worried about Prue."
"I have to get to work." Cole said. "Let me know if you need anything. I'm sure Prue is fine." He seriously doubted that Piper or Phoebe would look in the closet for Prue. His plans would have to wait for now. He was going to put all three women under a strong sleeping spell and hide them from the Source until he could find away to strip them of their powers. After wards he would hope that Phoebe would understand. He couldn't kill her, but he had to make them harmless to Source. Cole reasoned that Phoebe would forgive him, she was blind when it came to seeing his faults. He was protecting her life after all.
Once Cole was out the door, Piper turned to Phoebe and gave her a worried look. "You do look sick, Pheebs, and I don't feel so good myself."
"Something is going on." said Phoebe. "Look, it's already 9:30. You never sleep this late, Piper. Come back upstairs with me. I want to look for something." As they walked up the stairs they saw Kit sitting at the top, playing with a bit of purple silk. "That's what I was wondering about." said Phoebe. "Did you notice if there was one of those scarves on your bed when you woke up?"
"No." Piper said. "Lets look. What are you thinking, Phoebe?" As they entered Piper's room they spotted the scarf on Piper's bed. "There was one on my bed and I'll bet there was one on Prue's. Someone wanted us all to be in a deep sleep." Phoebe said: "They put Belladonna on the scarves and sneaked them up to us during the night. That would make us vulnerable to anything. I wonder if someone put a spell on us? The question now is did Kit take Prue's scarf away to play with before it had any effect on her, or did the person who left them take Prue away while she was sleeping? I hope she is out doing something, but I have a really bad feeling about this."
"One way to find out is to call her cell phone. Let's hope she answers." said Piper. She dialed the number and they heard ringing coming from the kitchen. When they got there, they saw Prue's purse sitting on the counter. "Well that answers that question." Piper said. "Whoever it is has already been able to breakup the Power Of Three. We are in serious trouble, Pheebs. I only pray that Prue is okay."
Prue was definitely not okay. She was trapped in a nightmare of eternally falling because of Sida's spell. She couldn't stop herself, she couldn't use her magic, and worst of all, she couldn't contact her sisters. She was alone, and seemingly trapped in an endless void of nothingness.
"Okay, we need to take this one step at a time. See if you still have your powers, Piper" said Phoebe as she tossed an apple into the air. To both of their great relief, Piper was able to freeze it with no problem.
"See if you can get anything by touching any of the scarves, Phoebe." Piper urged. Unfortunately no images came to Phoebe as she held the bit of purple silk. She looked at Piper and shook her head no. "Pheebs, you go up to the attic and see what you can find in the Book Of Shadows." Piper said: "Look for anything that has to do with Belladonna or inducing sleep. I'm going to look around the house to see if I can find any clues on where Prue might have been taken." Piper began looking around for clues on what happened to Prue when she saw Kit pawing at a closet door. She cautiously opened the door to find a deathly still Prue."Oh my god! Phoebe, come quick! Leo, we need you! LEO!"
At that same time, sitting in his car, which was parked outside in front of Halliwell Manor, Cole was trying to rethink his strategy. The scarves Sida had placed near the sisters were supposed to make it easier for him to take them away from each other one at a time. He figured that it was much easier to deal with the Halliwells on a one to one basis. It would also be easier to take Phoebe away while she slept. That way he would not have to deal with the hurt and accusations he knew he'd see in her eyes. He really did want to find a way to strip them of their powers without killing them. Part of him truly cared about Phoebe. He also knew that the Source would never stop hunting them down unless the sisters became harmless to him.
Meanwhile, sitting in Golden Gate Park, Sida was hopping mad. "How dare he cast me aside like that." the little demon fumed: "I don't care if he is Belthazor! I'll show him, and I have found just the patsy to do it!"
SAN FRANCISCO MENTAL HOSPITAL
In one room of this institution, a young woman lay sleeping. Her name was Abbey Packard. Until recently, she had been the bartender at P3. Then it was revealed that Abbey had been stalking Prue, in fact had tried to become Prue. After her arrest, Abbey had been placed here, pending a hearing to see if she were fit to stand trial. Suddenly, Abbey moaned as she found herself trapped in a strange dream....
Abbey was standing in a small meadow. "Where am I?" she asked: "How did I get here?"
"I brought you here." a new voice said: "I am borrowing your dreams for a few minutes."
"Wha...." Abbey said and whirled around to see what appeared to be a little man standing there. "Who, or what, are you?"
"My name is Sida." the little man replied: "And I've come to help you."
"Help me? How?"
"I know all about your desire to assume Prue Halliwell's life, and I can make it possible for you to achieve that dream."
"No, it can't be done. I'm a loser!" Abbey said, dejectedly.
"But that can change. The Source can grant you anything your heart desires."
"The Source?" Abbey asked.
"The power I represent." Sida replied: "Let's not get bogged down in details. Bottom line is, both of us have a common goal, to punish the Halliwells. All I ask is that you come and work for me."
"I don't know..." Abbey said and trailed off.
"Oh it's entirely up to you, Abbey." Sida said: "If you say no, I will leave and you will never see me again, but consider this: Right now, only two paths lay before you. They can find you fit to stand trial, in which case you will go to prison. On the other hand, they can find you unfit to stand trial, and you'll be shipped off to an institution. Either way, Abbey, you are going to be locked up for some time to come. If you take my offer, you will have your freedom. Also, as I said before, anything you desire. To top it all off, you CAN be Prue Halliwell. The Source can make it happen. So what's it going to be?" With this, Sida fell silent and waited for Abbey to make up her mind.
"Yes, let's do it!" Abbey said, with a look of determination on her face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, that's why they call me the Demon of Irony..." Sida laughed to himself. He knew Abbey would go for his offer, for he had been watching her for some time, and thus knew of her hidden desire to be Prue Halliwell. However, before he could find a way to exploit that to his own use, Abbey had made her own ill-fated attempt to become Prue. Still, he had not given up on his plan to use Abbey as his pawn, and how here that time was.
Back at the Manor, Piper yelled once again, "PHOEBE! LEO!" This time they heard her. Leo orbed in and Phoebe came down the stairs as fast as she could. Leo's face turned to one of pure shock when he saw Prue.
"Is she...she..." Phoebe trailed off, not wanting to say the word.
"No, I checked her pulse, she's still with us..." Piper said, trailing off, not sure if Prue was actually with them. "Leo, can you move her to the couch?"
"And see if you can heal her, a demon did this to her!" Phoebe said, sure of herself.
"Okay." Leo responded. He picked Prue up and moved her over to the couch. He raised his hands about to heal her when the front door burst open and Sida and Abbey walked in confidently. Piper gave a squeal of laughter when she saw Sida. Seconds later a mad Belthazor shimmered in.
"We're in big trouble." Phoebe muttered. "Real big trouble."
"Abbey, where did you come from, and who is your nasty looking little friend?" asked Piper.
"Uhh, Piper, right now I'm more worried about Mr. Big, Red, and Ugly who just popped in." shouted Phoebe. "Freeze them, Piper!" Piper brought up her hands and nothing happened. "Piper, this is no time for a sudden loss of power." Phoebe stated: "Try again." This time when Piper brought her hands up she, Phoebe, and Leo were the ones who became somewhat frozen. They could move a little, but felt as if they were trying to pull themselves through sand. There was no way they could fight back.
"Good morning, ladies!" said Sida. "Let me make the introductions. My name is Sida the Demon of Irony. Everything you try to do gets turned around. You know Abbey, of course, and the big red guy with the skin problem is Belthazor. Are we having fun yet?" Sida asked with a grin. He enjoyed being in control of the situation.
"Leo, can't you do something?" asked Piper.
"Sorry, witch. Not even he can help you now." said Sida. "We came to get the sleepy one." Sida said as Belthazor picked up Prue's body. "We'll be back for you two later. I love this." Sida laughed. "The Power Of Three will never be!!!."
Sometime after the invading trio had left, Phoebe and Piper could move again. "We have to find them!" Phoebe said with fear in her voice.
"I know." Piper replied: "Any ideas, Pheebs?"
"Just one. We can use the magic amulet over and map and try to trace Prue's location."
"Good idea, Phoebe. Let's get busy!" Piper said.
"I'll consult with my bosses and see if they can help." Leo said and orbed out.
At that moment, Daryl called: "Piper, I have bad news..."
"Abbey escaped from the hospital." Piper cut in: "Yeah, we know. She just paid us a visit with a couple of demons. They took Prue."
"Demons. That would explain how she got out." Daryl said: "She was there last night. But when they took a morning head count of their patients, she was gone. They're puzzled as to how she got out without being seen or tripping off any alarms."
"Child's play if demons were involved." Piper said.
"Any way I can help?"
"No Daryl, not right now. However, we'll keep you posted."
Meanwhile, the two demons and Abbey had taken Prue to an old abandoned house on the edge of town. They laid Prue down on a dusty old couch. "Watch her." Belthazor told Abbey: "Sida and I need to have a private conversation." The two demons left the room.
"Still think I'm a loser, Prue." Abbey said mockingly to Prue's unconscious form: "Well, I'm not a loser anymore! From now on, I'll be the winner." Abbey began to laugh.
Meanwhile, Belthazor and Sida had gone upstairs. "What the hell are you thinking?" Belthazor hissed to Sida: "Involving that human, Abbey?"
"I knew that she that desire to be Prue Halliwell, so I took advantage of it." Sida replied.
"But she knows me as Cole! She used to work at P3 and saw me there a few times!"
"That doesn't matter." Sida said in a matter of fact voice: "It's not like she is going to be around to say anything. Once she has served her usefulness, we will dispose of her."
"What, may I ask, is her usefulness?" asked Belthazor sarcastically.
"Temper, temper." replied Sida. "I have a plan. We will have Abbey use Prue's body to lure the other two witches here. She can go home and tell them she managed to escape. They'll be so happy to see her; therefore, they probably won't ask too many questions. Abbey will lead them back here to supposedly vanquish us and instead we shall kill them. Oh the irony! Instead of good saving an innocent from evil, it will be evil using an innocent to destroy good. I love it!"
"Very well." Belthazor said as he decided to go along with the plan for now and intervene later to save the Halliwells from death. He was relishing the moment when he could do away with Sida, for he was an annoying little creature who was getting on Belthazor's nerves.
Abbey was still watching Prue when Sida and Belthazor returned. They quickly told her about the plan. "Remember, Abbey, you will now belong to the Source. Everything you do will be for him. Should you cross him you will find yourself facing a fate far worse than prison. Your only job is to lure Piper and Phoebe here. Do nothing to harm them. We will be saving that pleasure for ourselves." warned Belthazor. With those words of caution, Belthazor had Abbey lay on the floor next to the couch, on which Prue was lying. His hands glowed and shook as he pulled both women's souls out of their bodies and switched them. "Go quickly now" ordered Belthazor. "Do not let us down." He also briefed Abbey on Prue's powers. Since Abbey was inhabiting Prue's body, she now possessed Prue's powers.
After listening to what the demon said, Abbey stood up and smiled. I'm so cool! She thought to herself as she skipped out of the place and headed towards Halliwell Manor.
After 35 minutes of walking, Abbey finally reached Prescott Street. That's where she started debating. "Ooh, do I want to do this? I have what I want, besides, Piper was always so nice to me when I worked at P3..." She saw Piper and Phoebe getting into the jeep and starting it up. She quickly hid behind some bushes and waited until they left. Abbey smiled as she used Prue's powers to open the front door and entered the Manor. Running up the stairs, she found Prue's room and found some suitcases. Opening them up, she threw almost all of Prue's wardrobe and belongings in them. She ran downstairs, grabbed Prue's keys and purse, and threw everything into Prue's car. Starting up the ignition, Abbey smiled evilly. If I can't be Prue...no one will. Abbey thought as she drove down Prescott Street. She now had everything she wanted, she was now Prue Halliwell. "Good bye, loser Abbey." she said: "Hello, winner Prue!" she stared into the reflection in the rear view mirror and smiled as Prue's face looked back at her.
Meanwhile, Piper and Phoebe were driving towards the abandoned house in Piper's jeep. "Are you sure about this, Pheebs?" Piper asked.
"Positive." Phoebe replied: "The amulet directed us here, so this is where Prue must be. Trust me."
"It's taking too long! They should have been here by now!" Belthazor snarled.
"Patience." Sida said: "They'll show soon enough." Soon the two of them heard Piper's jeep pull up. "See." Sida said as the two of them went to a nearby window and watched as Piper and Phoebe got out of the jeep.
"Where is Abbey?" Belthazor asked: "She was supposed to return with them! Where is she?"
"I don't know..." Sida said, stumbling for an answer: "She must have betrayed us."
"You stupid, pathetic fool!" Belthazor roared: "You have made your last blunder!" he raised his hands.
"No, Belthazor! Please no!" Sida screamed just before he burst into flames and exploded.
"He's had that coming for some time now." Belthazor said and morphed into his human form of Cole: "Guess I'll take over now."
At that same time, Abbey, still in her hijacked body, had checked into a small motel in Oakland. She was tired, but sleep was not easy in coming, for she was still excited about having Prue's body, plus the powers that came with it. As she lay there, Abbey's mind began to drift back to her childhood. Abbey's mother had died of cancer when Abbey was only two years old, and her father had then turned to alcohol to ease the pain. Often Abbey would come home to find her father passed out on the floor, empty bottles littered around him. Abbey could do nothing but cope (she was an only child). When Abbey was fifteen, her father died of alcohol poisoning, and Abbey was sent to live with her paternal grandparents, who treated her okay, but were really too elderly to give Abbey the love and attention she needed. High School was no better, and Abbey could still hear the taunts of "loser", "dweeb", and "nobody" in her ears. The worst part was when Chuck Bolson, the captain of the football team, had asked her to the senior prom. The surprised Abbey had accepted, and when they got there, Chuck suddenly jilted her, for it had all been a cruel joke. Abbey remembered the pain and humiliation of standing there with everyone laughing at her. The laughter grew in her ears, and finally Abbey sat up in the bed and yelled "STOP IT!" She waved a hand, and a lamp flew off the bedside table and crashed into the wall. As she slowly reigned in her temper, Abbey vowed that Chuck and all the others who had hurt her would now pay for it! "I'll get even!" she vowed, for now she had the powers to do so.
Back at the old house, Cole watched Piper and Phoebe walking towards the front door. He then realized that there was no possible explanation for him being there right now. He quickly slipped out the back before the sisters entered the house.
When Piper and Phoebe walked through the front door they saw Abbey's body lying on the floor. Piper walked over to her to see if she was still alive. Abbey's pulse was strong and her breathing was normal, it looked as if she were merely sleeping. Leaving Abbey where she lay, Piper walked around the large dusty room with Phoebe, looking for any clues as to what might have happened. "I don't get it." Piper said.
"Don't get what?" Phoebe asked.
"Why would they spring Abbey from the hospital, only to leave her here. It doesn't make sense."
"You're right, it doesn't add up." said Phoebe: "Let's keep looking for clues."
"It looks as though one of our demons has been vanquished." Piper said as she noticed a charred ring on the old wood floor. "One down and one to go. My bet is that Sida was destroyed by Belthazor."
"I guess they had a major falling out." Phoebe replied.
Piper moved towards an old couch: "It looks as though the dust has been disturbed on this old couch. Pheebs, see if you can pick up any premonitions by touching the couch or Abbey."
Phoebe touched the couch and the image of Belthazor switching the two women's spirits came rushing into her head. "Oh my God, Piper! Prue's spirit has been put into Abbey's body and Abbey is walking around as Prue." Just as she was saying that, Cole walked through the front door.
"Cole! What on earth are you doing here?" asked Piper.
"You two were so worried about Prue this morning I decided to come back to the Manor to help you find her. Just as I got there, you were leaving, so I followed you here. Is that Abbey?" asked Cole. "Did she somehow escape from the hospital and begin to stalk Prue again? Should we call the police?"
"NO!" both women replied at once. "What I mean is that we can handle Abbey." Phoebe said quickly.
"Are you sure?" Cole asked.
"Yeah."
"Well I..." Cole began and then stopped as Piper froze time.
"What is it, Piper?" Phoebe asked when she saw the concerned look on Piper's face.
"I was just thinking that if Abbey has Prue's body, that means she has Prue's powers." Piper replied.
"You're right." Phoebe said: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yes I am." Piper said: "Remember what happened to poor Dr. Williamson when he got our powers? Abbey was never mentally prepared to handle those powers. Also don't forget that she already had mental problems to begin with. Who knows what affect having Prue's powers will have on her."
"You're right, Piper. We have to find her and switch them back, fast!" Phoebe said.
So that is your plan! Cole thought to himself. Of course, he was not really frozen, but was faking it. He listened to the whole conversation.
"Okay, unfreeze Cole and let's get Ab- Prue out of here." Phoebe said.
"Okay." Piper responded, flicking her hands. Cole unfroze immediately.
"Look, Cole, we'll take Abbey down to the police station and make sure she's in good hands. I'm sure you have some cases to solve. So go close some cases!" Phoebe said all of this nervously.
"Uh...okay..." Cole stammered, playing the confused look on his face. "I'll just call you tomorrow?" He asked.
"I'd like that." Phoebe smiled. "Could you help us?" She trailed off, motioning to Abbey's prone body.
"Oh, sure!" Cole said. Once Abbey was laying in the spacious back of the jeep. Cole got into his car and drove off. He turned into an alley and stopped the car and got out. He smiled faintly and shimmered.
Phoebe and Piper got into the front seat and started driving. They had been driving for about 10 minutes when Belthazor shimmered into the back seat and leaned over in between Piper and Phoebe. "Boo." He said calmly.
"Holy sh...." Piper screamed and slammed her foot down on the brakes. The jeep came to a screeching halt. Piper and Phoebe jumped out and watched as Belthazor got out and came after them.
"Where the hell did he come from?" Phoebe asked.
"Never mind that!" Piper said: "We gotta take him down!" Quickly, Piper froze the demon and Phoebe levitated over and kicked him in the face. Belthazor flew backwards into a brick wall and slid to the ground.
"Let's get out of here before Tall, Dark, and Ugly wakes up." Phoebe said. The two sisters got into the jeep and drove off.
A few minutes after the girls were gone, Belthazor got up and morphed back into Cole. It had worked perfectly, he had put on a convincing show. Cole hoped that this would give the idea that he still meant to kill the Charmed Ones. I just hope the Source is convinced. Cole thought to himself.
At first there was only darkness for Prue, but then slowly light began to creep back in. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in the living room of Halliwell Manor, with Piper and Phoebe standing over her. "Oh, thank God...." Prue began and then stopped when she realized that her voice didn't sound right. Slowly she got up, looked in a mirror, and uttered: "WHAT THE HELL??" For the face of Abbey stared back at her. Prue turned to where Piper and Phoebe were standing and said: "I suppose there is an explanation for this!?"
"Well of course there's an explanation. I don't know if you want to hear it though." replied Phoebe.
"Where is my body?!" demanded Prue.
"Well, we aren't really sure right now. We were just going to try to figure that out when you woke up. How do you feel?" Piper asked.
"How do you think I feel?!" said Prue.
"Try to calm down." said Piper. "Phoebe, bring the map and the amulet over here. Hurry! We need to track Abbey. I have a feeling Belthazor and the Source are going to be looking for her too. Abbey will be easy to destroy because she won't know how to handle the powers she got when she entered Prue's body." Phoebe held the amulet over the map. It swung to a residential area north of San Francisco.
"Lets go." said Prue, and they all went outside and climbed into the jeep. "We have to find her before anyone else does." Prue said as they got under way: "We also need to find her before she gets into trouble. Now that we are on our way would somebody please tell me how this happened!?"
"Well... " began Piper and explained what she and Phoebe had found out.
"I think I know the rest." Prue said: "The demons went to Abbey and dangled the possibility of her assuming my life in front of her eyes. Of course, she went for it. The poor girl has no idea what she's gotten herself into. Trust a demon to exploit an emotionally vulnerable person such as Abbey."
Meanwhile, Abbey had left the motel and was slowly driving down a side street, looking at the addresses. She found the house she was looking for and stopped the car. "This is gonna be fun! It's payback time. You made my life hell in high school, now you are going feel some of my pain!" She walked up to the front door with a big smile on her face and rang the doorbell.
Charles "Chuck" Bolson was sitting in his living watching a football game, when the door bell rang. "Always in the middle of a good game." Chuck grumbled and went to answer the door. Standing there, was an attractive dark haired woman. "Well hello there." Chuck said, switching on the charm: "Come on in."
"Thank you." the woman said and entered the house.
"What can I do for you?" Chuck asked, giving the young woman a good look up and down.
"You don't recognize me, Chuck? No, I guess you wouldn't." the woman said: "I'm Abbey Packard."
"What?" Chuck replied, trying hard not to laugh: "You can't be Abbey! No plastic surgeon is THAT good!" he broke into laughter.
"What does that mean?" Abbey asked, anger creeping into her voice.
"I mean Abbey was a first class dweeb! A nerd! A geek!" Chuck dissolved into more laughter.
"Think again!" Abbey said, just before she used Prue's power to throw Chuck into a wall.
"Well this is the place." Piper said as the Halliwells arrived at Chuck Bolson's house.
"Looks like we got here just in time." Phoebe said, pointing to Prue's car, which was parked nearby.
"Let's go!" Prue said and they headed for the house.
"Dweeb, huh?" Abbey said as she advanced on Chuck's unconscious body: "Nerd? Geek? I'll show you, Mr. Chuck Bolson, who the geek is." Abbey raised her hand.
"Abbey! Wait, stop!" a new and familiar voice called out. Abbey turned around and saw herself standing there, with Piper and Phoebe Halliwell.
"What are you doing here?" Abbey asked with confusion.
"I'm here to talk to you. To try and help you." Prue replied.
"I don't need your help, Prue. I have everything I want!"
"Are you sure, Abbey? Do you really want to have my life?"
"Yes I do." Abbey declared: "You've had a great life, while I had nothing!" she went on to explain her childhood, her father's alcohol problem and her miserable high school life.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Prue said, once Abbey had finished: "But believe me, my life has been far from perfect. My father walked out of my life when I was four, my mother died when I was six. Two and a half years ago, my grandmother, who raised me and my sisters, died. A year after that, I lost a man I deeply cared about, Andy Trudeau. Abbey, you are not the only one to face pain in life, it happens to us all."
"But you are so beautiful, and I'm an ugly duckling." Abbey continued, but with much less conviction her voice.
"You are only as beautiful or ugly as you feel." Prue countered: "Besides, you have to get out of my body, before they come after you."
"Come after me?" Abbey asked: "Who?"
"The same kind of beings who said they would help you, Abbey. Demons and Warlocks. They said they would help you, but they were only using you. That's how evil works, by exploiting innocents. So long as you have my body, and my powers, Demons and Warlocks will come after you, you will be a magnet to them. Is that what you want, Abbey, to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?"
"Well I..." Abbey began, and then trailed off as Prue's words sunk in. Maybe her old life wasn't so bad after all. Maybe with a little help, she could put her life back together. "Okay, Prue, you win. How do we get things back to normal?"
"Come with us, Abbey. We can straighten things out." Prue said. After making sure Chuck Bolson would be okay (plus a spell to wipe his memory of Abbey's visit), the Halliwell's and Abbey headed back to Halliwell Manor.
A short time later, the four of them were in the attic of the Manor, and the Halliwell's recited the following spell from the Book Of Shadows:
Together we chant, and bang a gong.
Let the two misplaced souls return to where they belong!
With that, the souls of Prue and Abbey returned to their proper bodies. "Well that takes care of that." Prue said as she looked in a mirror and saw her own face looking back at her.
A quick phone call and Daryl Morris was on his way over to the Manor to pick up Abbey and take her back to the hospital. "I just wanted to thank you all." Abbey said, as soon as Daryl arrived and was escorting her to his car.
"Thank us?" Phoebe asked.
"Well after all the trouble I caused, the fact that the three of you still wanted to help me." Abbey said: "Maybe this is a good sign. Maybe I can be helped."
"Of course you can." Prue said: "Our job is to help the innocent. You got lost for a while, Abbey, but hopefully now we helped you find your way."
"I'll remember that." Abbey said and then followed Daryl to his car.
"You think she'll be okay?" Phoebe asked as the Halliwell's watched the car drive away.
"Yes, I do." Prue said: "I think that Abbey, after some help, will be able to lead a normal life. It's good to know that we didn't lose her to evil."
"Speaking of which, what about Belthazor?" Piper said: "He's still out there, somewhere. When do you think he'll strike next?"
"Who knows." Prue said as she led them back into the Manor: "But when he does, we'll be ready."
Sitting in his car, which was parked down the street, Cole watched the sisters re-enter the Manor. Inside he was pleased that his plan had failed. The Halliwell's were safe, for now. But soon the Source would want him to attack again, and Cole could not help but dread that moment.
THE END
