DISCLAIMER: All characters and locations belong to Spelling Productions and Constance M. Burge. Text enclosed in brackets [] is a direct quotation from the show. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this story. Do no use without permission of the author.
"Prue, you will never believe what I just found," Piper says, standing amidst a pile of junk. The sisters are in the middle of their annual spring-cleaning and have started in the attic. Prue looks over to Piper just as Piper lifts up a tattered old teddy bear. "I don't know how he hid from us last year."
"Mr. Biggles?" Prue says in surprise. "Oh my God. Remember how much we used to fight over sleeping with him?"
"Oh yeah. We fought over him so much that Grams had to put a sharing schedule on the fridge," Piper says with a laugh. Then Phoebe walks in carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea.
"Break time!" she says cheerfully. She sees the teddy bear and smiles. "Hey! Mr. Biggles!" Prue and Piper walk over to Phoebe. Piper still has Mr. Biggles until Phoebe snatches him away. "Wow! Talk about memories."
"Yeah. Prue and I were just talking about how much we used to fight over him," Piper comments. She grabs a glass of iced tea and takes a drink. "Mmm. Good tea, Pheebs."
"Thank you. I try," Phoebe says. "Hey, where's Leo?"
"He went to the hardware store to pick up some stuff. He'll be back," Piper replies. "He's not getting out of helping us clean the house."
"He knows I'll use my power on him," Prue jokes with a smile. She glances over at the BOS and sees that the pages are turning on their own. Her smile fades and she points at the BOS. "Hey, look."
Piper and Phoebe look over. "Grams strikes again," Phoebe says as the three of them approach the BOS. "What does she want us to do now?"
"Can't she see we're busy?" Piper asks semi-sarcastically. They gather around the BOS and watch as it stops on a spell titled "Parallel Travel."
"'Parallel Travel'? What does that mean?" Prue asks.
"It doesn't say. There's just a spell," Phoebe says as she rests her hand on the BOS. Suddenly, that familiar feeling flows through her body, a tingling in her spine, ringing in her ears. She closes here eyes tight and gasps as the image fills her mind.
Piper and Leo. Something strange about Piper's eyes. Leo looks evil. Leo killing Piper with his touch.
The vision disappears and Phoebe stares at Piper in shock. She can't even talk.
"Phoebe, what is it? What did you see?" Prue asks. She feels like she asks those questions way too much, but there's not much she can do about it. She waits for Phoebe to answer, but she doesn't. Prue grasps Phoebe's shoulders. "Pheebs, snap out of it."
"Phoebe, what did you see?" Piper asks. "And why are you staring at me like that?"
"I saw Leo," Phoebe manages to say.
"What about him? Has something happened to him?" Piper asks, now worried. "Is he okay?"
"No. Well, I mean, I saw him. He was killing you, Piper," Phoebe replies.
"What? That's impossible," Prue says. "Leo would never hurt Piper."
"It's what I saw. He had his hand on her shoulder and then she collapsed."
"Even if Leo still had his powers, which he doesn't, he can't kill," Piper says. She is having a hard time believing Phoebe.
"It's what I saw. And this spell must have something to do with it," Phoebe says pointing to the "Parallel Travel" spell. "Parallel travel. Why does that sound familiar?"
"I don't know," Piper says. She is very upset by Phoebe's premonition. "I just want to know what the hell is going on."
"Calm down, Piper," Prue says, placing her hand on Piper's shoulder. "We'll figure this out. We always do."
"Wait! That's it!" Phoebe exclaims.
"What? What's it?" Prue asks, confused.
"Have you ever seen that show 'Sliders?'" Phoebe asks. Prue and Piper shake their heads. "It's the show with those people who travel to parallel worlds."
"What do you mean?" Prue asks.
"Okay. The whole idea behind the show is that there are several parallel worlds out there. Same time. Same place. Different people. Different circumstances," Phoebe explains. Prue and Piper still look confused. "Don't you get it? The Leo and Piper in my premonition were different. Well, obviously Leo was different, but something struck me as odd about Piper, too. They were from a different world."
"So we're supposed to go to that world and stop evil Leo from killing the other Piper?" Prue asks. "This is confusing."
"No kidding," Piper agrees. "How are we supposed to accomplish that?"
"Grams just showed us," Phoebe replies. "The 'parallel travel' spell. We'll go to the other world and do what we have to do."
"Well, I'm not quite buying it, but I guess we should give it a shot," Prue says. Piper still looks skeptical, but she doesn't argue. "Ready?"
Phoebe nods her head and Piper looks at Prue. Prue turns to the BOS and the three begin the spell.
Prue: Same place, same time.
Phoebe: A different world we seek.
Piper: We go there with this rhyme.
Prue: Hear the words we speak.There's a flash of light and then the sisters reappear in the attic. Except it's not the same attic. It is extremely cluttered and messy, and the BOS is not there.
"Did it work?" Piper asks.
"Well, wherever we are, this isn't our attic," Phoebe says.
"Yeah, where's the Book of Shadows?" Prue asks.
"We're different on this world," Piper says. "Maybe we don't like to run all the way up to the attic when there's a problem."
"I think we should go downstairs and check this world out," Phoebe says.
"I guess we should," Piper agrees. She walks towards the attic door. "We need to warn my alternate self about Leo."
The three sisters walk downstairs to be greeted by an irate golden retriever. He barks at them while they back against the wall. They hear someone approaching from the kitchen. All three of them gasp in surprise when they see her. She looks exactly like Piper. Except for her eyes. They look very strange.
"Duke, heel," she says. The dog stops barking and moves to her side. "Who's there?" she asks. The sisters are confused for a moment, and then Prue says, unable to contain herself, "My God, she's blind."
"What are you doing here?" she asks. She seems distraught by the sound of Prue's voice.
"I knew there was something wrong with her eyes," Phoebe says.
(I know this will get confusing, but I will refer to the blind Piper as "Piper1" and the normal Piper simply as "Piper." I hope you can follow along.)
"Oh no. Not again," Piper1 says as she backs away. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I said I was sorry so many times. Just go away!" She starts to cry.
"What is she talking about?" Prue asks.
"I don't know, but we need to calm her down, so we can explain ourselves," Piper says. Piper1 lifts her head at the sound of Piper's voice.
"There's three of you," she says.
"Look, um, Piper," Phoebe begins. "We need to explain something to you that you may not believe."
"You're actually talking to me," Piper1 says in surprise. "Before, you wouldn't talk to me. It hurt so much."
"Piper, we're not who you think we are," Prue tells her.
"What do you mean?" Piper1 asks.
"Maybe we could sit down and then we could explain everything," Piper suggests.
"Yes, I suppose that would be the thing to do," Piper1 says. She turns to the living room. "Duke." The dog follows her and the rest follow him.
* * * The three have explained everything that has happened to them up until they arrived in the alternate attic. Piper1 is taking it amazingly well.
"So, that's why we're here," Phoebe concludes.
"Okay," Piper1 says. "So, I guess it's my turn to explain," she says. Her voice takes on a storyteller quality as she speaks. "You were surprised by the Leo you saw in your premonition, so I'm guessing he's not a blacklighter on your world."
"No, he's a whitelighter," Piper replies.
"I wish I had been so lucky," Piper1 says. "I fell in love with Leo from the moment I met him six months ago. But after 3 months he revealed who he truly was. He loved me, too, and he wanted me to join him in doing evil. I refused. He killed Prue and Phoebe in a fit of anger and revenge. They didn't even get a chance to blink, it happened so fast. He said that goodness was blinding me of our love. That's when he decided to blind me forever. The first two weeks after their funerals I was pretty much dead to the world. I didn't care about life. Sometimes, I wished Leo would just come and kill me so I could be with my sisters. But then I realized how evil Leo was and that I had to keep him from hurting others, no matter what the cost. I called Brent Miller and had him come over. I needed someone to trust who would teach me how to live as a blind person. He was very receptive and understanding. He gave me Duke and started translating the Book of Shadows into Braille. He's been so supportive and I'm glad that he's around. I've been searching for a way to stop Leo, but I haven't found it yet. I'm hoping, now, that we can get rid of Leo forever."
"Wow," is all Phoebe can say. Prue and Piper are staring at the floor, thinking about all the hardship this woman has gone through.
"I can't believe how different our worlds are," Piper says finally. "All because he's evil. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault," Piper1 says. "We were dealt different cards and unfortunately my poker hand was crap."
There's a moment of silence and then Prue speaks up. "Well, we need to stop Leo from hurting anyone else. Grams showed us that spell, and Phoebe had that premonition for a reason."
"Where's the Book of Shadows?" Phoebe asks.
"Brent took it to his apartment. His computer has a special printer that prints Braille," Piper1 explains. "He said he'd try to bring it back as soon as possible."
At that moment, Brent walks through the front door. Duke goes to greet him. The four women can hear him talking to the dog.
"Hey, Duke. Where's Piper?" he says. He walks into the living room and his draw drops when he sees the four women.
"Brent, close your mouth and be polite to our guests," Piper1 says with a smile. Phoebe is about to ask how she knew his mouth was open, but decides not to.
"How?" is all Brent can manage.
"Sit down, Brent and we'll explain," Phoebe replies.
* * * "So you're from a different world," Brent says, confused. He looks at Prue and Phoebe. "Where you're not dead, Piper's not blind, and Leo's not evil."
"Exactly," both Pipers say at the same time. They both laugh.
"This is going to get confusing," Brent mutters under his breath. "So, what now?"
"We need to see the Book of Shadows," Prue says. "We're hoping to find something to stop Leo from hurting anyone else."
"There's nothing in there," Brent says. Prue looks at him skeptically. "I mean, I'm no expert like you all, but I went through the whole book today and didn't see any mention of blacklighters."
"Well, we'll just have to go through it again," Phoebe says. "There's got to be something." Brent smiles at her and shakes his head in amazement. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just," Brent begins. "You may be from a different world, but you're exactly like our Phoebe. She always got that same look of determination you just got." He lowers his head. "That's why I loved her."
The room falls silent for a moment and then Piper1 speaks up. "So you said you went through the whole book, Brent. Does that mean the Braille copy is finished?"
"Um, yes," he says as he reaches into his duffel bag. He pulls out the BOS and pulls several pages out of the back. He places them in front of Piper1. "Here you go."
"Wait a minute," Piper says. "How did you get the Book out of the house, Brent?"
"Yeah, what about the spell keeping anyone but a Halliwell from taking it out of the house?" Phoebe asks.
"I carried it to his car," Piper1 says abruptly. "So, why don't we start looking for a spell to get rid of Leo?"
* * * "Ugh! Nothing!" Phoebe exclaims two hours later. She stands and stretches. "I need some fresh air. I'm going to go for a walk."
"Brent, maybe you should go with her," Piper1 suggests.
"Sure," Brent replies. He and Phoebe leave the house together. Prue looks at Piper1 and smiles.
"Brent's right about the similarities between our two worlds. Neither of you are good at subtlety," Prue says with a laugh. Piper1 smiles, grabs a pillow, and takes aim in the direction of Prue's voice. The pillow hits Prue directly in the head. "Wow, good aim." Prue says with a laugh. Then Leo materializes in the living room. Prue and Piper jump up and Duke begins barking ferociously at him.
"Heel, Duke," Leo says as he sprinkles black dust over the dog's head. Duke stops barking and lies down. Piper1 lifts her head at the sound of Leo's voice.
"What are you doing here?" she asks nervously. Piper and Prue move over to her.
"So, it is true," he says. "I sensed that there were two of you here, and I had to come see for myself. You're both beautiful. Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that would you my dear?"
"Go to hell," Piper1 says. Prue puts her hand on Piper1's shoulder.
"No thanks," Leo says. "But you three can." Suddenly a crossbow materializes in his hand and before anyone can react an arrow is deep in Prue's chest.
"Prue!" Piper screams as Prue falls to the floor. Another arrow materializes in the crossbow. Leo fires at Piper. She tries to duck out of the way, but it hits her in the arm. Piper1 rises and is about to freeze the room when Leo blows a handful of black dust into her face. Her arms drop to her sides and Leo approaches her.
"You know, I've grown tired of tracking you, making sure you don't find a way to kill me," Leo says. He raises his hand and it's glowing red. "Time to say goodnight, Piper." He puts his hand on her shoulder. Piper tries to freeze him, but her injury has weakened her too much. Prue is lying on the floor in immense pain and cannot do anything to Leo. Finally, Piper1 falls, dead.
"It's been a pleasure," Leo says and then disappears in a black mist.
* * * Phoebe and Brent walk in silence for ten minutes and then Phoebe decides to start a conversation.
"So, were you and my counterpart a couple?" she asks.
"Yeah, you could say that," Brent says quietly. "I asked her to marry me a week before she died."
"I'm sorry," Phoebe says. "Did she say yes?"
Brent smiles. "Yes, she did." Then his smile fades. "I found them after it happened. Piper was just sitting on the couch, in shock. Prue and Phoebe were lying on the floor. I had come over because Phoebe had said she had something to tell me. Some secret that she felt I deserved to know if we were going to be married. Piper ended up telling me a week after the funerals."
They walk in silence for a moment. Suddenly, there is a black mist and Leo appears in front of them.
"You know, Brent. You shouldn't have left those beautiful ladies alone," Leo says. "They could get hurt."
"What have you done to them?" Phoebe demands. Leo turns to her.
"I don't know who you are or how you got here, but I suggest you leave as soon as possible," Leo replies. With that he disappears. Phoebe and Brent look at each other briefly and then sprint back to the manor. They burst through the door and run to the living room.
Piper and Prue are both sitting on the floor, very pale. Phoebe sees the arrows sticking out of them and hurries over to them, barely noticing the body under the sheet. Duke is lying next to Piper1's body, his head resting on top of her still form.
"An ambulance is on the way," Piper says to Phoebe.
"What happened?" Phoebe asks.
"Leo," Prue says weakly. She's trembling from the pain. Then, the three look over to Brent. He is kneeling next to duke, stroking the dog's head. He is just staring at the sheet silently.
"You have to stop him," Brent finally says. "The only reason she wanted to live after her sisters died was to get rid of Leo. You have to stop him."
"We will, Brent," Phoebe says. "I promise."
* * * Whether it's fate or coincidence, Inspector Morris doesn't arrive at the manor until after Prue and Piper are taken to the hospital. Brent gives his statement and then waits for Phoebe to call.
Outside, Inspector Morris is speaking with the first officer to arrive at the scene.
"There were three other women here," the officer states. "Two of them had been shot with a crossbow."
"A crossbow?" Morris asks.
"Yeah, one was hit in the upper right area of the chest, the other in the left bicep," the officer explains. "What's odd though is that the on with the injury to her left arm looked a lot like the murder victim. I guess they were identical twins or something."
"Or something," Morris says under his breath. He is not surprised that there would be some odd circumstances surrounding Piper Halliwell's death. He still hadn't solved her sisters' murder cases and they had all been killed in the same manner. Morris had always been confused when it came to dealing with the Halliwells, but he was never surprised. This case is no exception. "All right, I think I want to speak to Mr. Miller again. Thanks."
Brent has spoken to Phoebe and picked out some clothes for Prue and Piper. He's about to leave out the front door when he sees Inspector Morris headed his way. Brent ducks away and leaves through the back for the hospital.
* * * "What are we going to do about Leo?" Prue asks. She is lying in a hospital bed recuperating. Piper is sitting on one side of the bed, her arm in a sling, and Phoebe is on the other side of the bed.
"You mean what am I going to do about Leo," Phoebe says. Prue is about to protest, but Phoebe stops her. "You two are far too weak to face him."
"You can't face him alone, Pheebs," Piper argues. "What are you going to do? He'll kill you."
"I'm going to do the power switching spell with him and kill him with his own power," Phoebe explains.
"Phoebe, I've done that before," Prue says. "It's overwhelming, the amount of hate you need to use that power. I don't know if you can handle it."
"I have to Prue. I promised Brent," Phoebe says. Then Brent walks in. He looks rushed.
"Inspector Morris followed me here," Brent says quickly. "I'll stall him, but you three need to get out of here before he sees you. Here's some clothes."
With that Brent leaves the room to intercept Morris. Prue gets dressed and Piper changes her shirt. They look out the door and see that Morris' back is to them. They quickly sneak out while Brent distracts Morris.
* * * Realizing that they can't go back to the manor yet the sisters go to a crowded restaurant and get a table in the back. Prue is looking pale.
"Prue, are you okay?" Phoebe asks.
"I'll be alright. We need to figure out how to find Leo," Prue says.
"How? He just shows up whenever he wants to," Piper says. "We can't keep track of him."
"No," Phoebe says. Prue and Piper can tell she's coming up with a plan. "But he keeps track of us. It's clear that he doesn't want us here. So, if we don't leave on our own..."
"He'll come to us and make us leave," Prue completes Phoebe's sentence.
"So we should go back to the manor," Piper says. "No innocent bystanders there and you need to take a look at that spell."
"Okay," Phoebe says as she rises from her chair. "So we go back to the manor and wait."
* * * It's midnight. Prue is asleep on the couch and Piper has nodded off in an armchair, but Phoebe can't sleep. She has been looking through the BOS for another way to get rid of Leo. She was there when Prue had to kill Alec using his power. She saw how intense it was. Phoebe didn't feel like going through that, but so far she didn't have a choice. The BOS is turned to the power switching spell and Phoebe is staring at it. 'All because Leo is evil,' she thinks. Phoebe looks at Piper. The problems she has are nothing compared to what the other Piper had. Then Phoebe hears the front door open. Duke sits up and looks at the doorway to the living room. Brent walks in and sits on the floor next to Phoebe.
"I was afraid you were Leo," she says in a hushed voice.
"Leo doesn't like to use the door around here," Brent replies. He is expressionless, in shock.
"You cared about her a lot didn't you?" Phoebe asks.
"Like a sister," Brent answers. "Hell, she practically was. After I got my sight back, Phoebe and I started dating. Her sisters made me a part of the family immediately. I could joke with Prue. We would just have fake arguments, it was so funny. And Piper, she listened. If Phoebe and I had a fight, Piper would fix it. She supported everyone. She was the glue that held us together." Brent finishes the sentence and starts crying. Phoebe holds him and tries to comfort him.
"It's okay. Let it all out," Phoebe says.
"I can't believe this. It hurts so much," Brent says through his tears.
"I know, but you'll heal," Phoebe says. Brent pulls away and wipes away his tears. "And I'm going to finish Leo so he can't do this to anyone else."
"How?" Brent asks.
"I have a few tricks he doesn't know about," Phoebe says. She looks at Brent. "I have to isolate him outside of this room. If you hear that I'm losing don't go to help me. Just make sure they get home. Also, whether I win or lose I want you to destroy the Book of Shadows. Leo cannot get his hands on it."
"I understand," Brent replies. Phoebe looks at the power switching spell and stands to leave the room. Brent squeezes her hand. "Good luck."
Phoebe smiles and walks to the foyer. She waits ten minutes until Leo appears. He looks annoyed that she is there.
"I told you to leave, Phoebe," he says angrily. "You must enjoy death."
"Not really, but I like it when the bad guys lose."
"Not gonna happen, witch," Leo says. He reaches for her. She tries to get away, but he gets ahold of her wrist. Phoebe cries out in pain and then frantically begins the spell.
["What's mine is yours. What's yours is mine. Let our powers cross the line. I offer up my gift to share. Switch our powers through the air."]
Leo's death touch fades and Phoebe falls to her knees, in shock. Leo is looking at his hand like it is suddenly not there. Phoebe regains her strength and stands. She looks at her hand and it glows a fiery red. She looks at Leo and says, "This is for all the lives you've destroyed!" With that she thrusts her hand onto Leo's chest. He screams in pain and rage. Just before he disappears Phoebe repeats the power switching spell. He disappears forever as Phoebe's hand stops glowing. She looks at her hand as she processes the intense rage that she had to conjure up to kill Leo. Phoebe slowly walks back into the living room to see three concerned faces. She sits on the couch next to Prue. Prue watches as Phoebe crumbles into a fit of racking sobs and then she holds her baby sister, trying fruitlessly to comfort Phoebe.
"It's okay, Pheebs," Prue says, though clearly it is not. "It's over. It's over."
* * * The sisters decide that it is time for them to leave. They stand in the living room, saying their goodbyes to Brent.
"Remember to destroy the Book after we leave," Prue reminds him.
"And don't forget about the Braille copy," Piper adds.
"I'll take care of it," Brent says. He looks at the Book sadly. "Piper told me about all the things they had faced over the past year. It's sad to think that this world no longer has their protection from demons and other evils."
"I know," Phoebe agrees. "But hopefully there are still enough good people out there to face up to evil."
Brent looks at the floor. Phoebe grasps his hands. "Don't think that you failed them, Brent. There was nothing you could have done."
"But that's what you're thinking, isn't it?" Brent asks. "Piper wasn't afraid to die, and I don't think you three came here to save her. She knew that. You came to finish Leo off and you did that. You haven't failed anyone either."
"He's right," a voice says. The all look around, wondering where it is coming from. Then the alternate Halliwell sisters appear in the room.
"You haven't failed anyone," Piper1 says. "You did what we couldn't do."
"I know how you felt when you killed Leo, Phoebe. I did that once," Prue1 says. "You made a huge sacrifice in doing that."
"We can rest easy knowing that Leo is not able to hurt anyone else," Phoebe1 says. "And as for the world without the Charmed Ones, it will survive. It lasted a very long time without us."
"And this world isn't totally defenseless," Piper1 says. "There are other witches out there and whitelighters."
"So, what we're getting at is that we want to thank you," Prue1 says. "For getting rid of Leo and finally bring the three of us peace."
Phoebe1 approaches Brent. "Please don't be sad. I will always be with you. I love you."
Brent looks at her with tears in his eyes. "I love you, too," he whispers.
The alternate Halliwells join hands and stand back. "it's time we all went our separate ways," Prue1 says.
"Yes, we need to get back to where we belong," Prue agrees. She looks at the BOS which is open to the parallel travel spell.
"Goodbye Brent. Take care of yourself," Piper says.
"I will," Brent replies. He watches as the sisters join hands and do the spell. They disappear at the same time as the spirits of the alternate Halliwells. Brent sits on the floor, takes the BOS in his arms and just holds it.
* * * The sisters rematerialize in their own living room (or at least they think it's their living room) to see Leo asleep on the couch with the phone in his hand. Piper walks over to him, leans over and kisses him gently. He wakes up and sits up quickly. "Where have you been? I was so worried about you. I was close to calling the police. What happened to your arm?" Leo blurts out frantically.
"Well, I guess that's proof that we're home," Phoebe says. She looks over at Prue who is looking very pale and weak. "Okay, let's get you to bed. You need to get some rest." Phoebe supports Prue as they head upstairs to her bedroom.
Piper sits next to Leo and puts her good arm around him. "What's going on?" Leo asks, looking very confused.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later," Piper says as she rests her head on Leo's shoulder. "But right now I just want to be here with you and be thankful that you're not evil.
Leo accepts that and the two hold each other tight.
