Author: Escargoat

Rating: Why don't we go FRM – I'm going to be on the borderline of FRT, and I prefer to err on the side of caution.

Part: (1/?)

Season: Season 8 AU

Summary: Basically a what if scenario. What if Phoebe had been the one to survive the "Ultimate Battle" and not Piper?

Disclaimer: I don't own. I'm making no money. Rights go to whole bunch of people such as the (now defunct) WB, TNT, the CN, Spelling Productions, and others. I'm not any of those people.

A/N: Let's see. There is violence in the following chapter.

Also, I'm not a Coop fan, sorry. I felt the relationship was forced so if you're looking for Phoebe/Coop shipping, leave now. I'm in firm Phoebe/Cole land. Always will be. This fic will include that in the future. Coop lovers will probably not like the story line.

Billie fans should really not read this as this will take place before her "redemption" in the final episode.

One more thing, I don't have a "Charmed fanfic" beta, so if you see any inaccuracies, they're all mine. Although, the show itself contradicts itself, so you should be used to that by now.

This started immediately after the "Ultimate Battle"

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Phoebe dazedly pushed herself to her feet. "Piper? Paige?" she croaked as she forced herself to look around the newly devastated manner. Her heart skipped a couple beats when she did not hear a response from either sister.

"PAIGE? PIPER?" She called more loudly. Still, there was no answer.

Panic began to set in as she desperately began to dig through the rubble.

A single hand with a wedding ring was exposed as she moved a picture of Grams that had fallen from one of the walls.

Phoebe let out a sigh of relief as she pulled her elder sister out from underneath a section of what used to be the ceiling. Her relief was short lived as she realized that Piper was not breathing.

"Paige!" Phoebe called out before she began to attempt CPR on Piper. Tears began to track their way down Phoebe's face.

"Paige," Phoebe brokenly whispered hoping that her younger sister would somehow appear, heal Piper and all would be well again.

"She can't help you child. They are both beyond your reach now," the Angel of Destiny said as she appeared in a swirl of lights.

"No, I don't believe that," Phoebe replied as she shook her head in denial.

"They are gone child. You must accept that. You have fought your battle. I must admit, I had hoped for a better outcome than this."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have taken Leo away then!" Phoebe snapped. "Did you really think that distracting Piper by taking away the love of her life would help anything? Where is he anyway? We've fought your 'Ultimate Battle.' I'm still standing. I think that means we won. Where is he?"

"I made that promise to your sister. Her husband is with her."

"WHAT? You can't… Their children need him."

"I am sorry. For all of this."

Before Phoebe could reply, the Angel disappeared in a swirl of lights.

Blankly, she stared at the remains of her childhood home. There was a shift in the rubble. Warily, Phoebe approached it hoping that somehow at least one of her sisters had been granted a reprieve from death. After all, Paige was already half whitelighter, wasn't she?

Hatred flooded through Phoebe when she saw a blonde head emerge. Not since she had sworn to be the Queen of the Underworld had she felt such malice pound through her veins.

Grabbing what was left of a leg from the dining room table, she swung it viciously at Billie's head.

The other girl shrieked in response and managed to roll away from the attack. Phoebe swung again. This time she managed to hit Billie in her mid-section.

Billie struck out with her foot and managed to almost knock Phoebe off balance. Quickly, the blonde witch scrambled to her feet. Angrily, Phoebe threw her weapon at the young betrayer. Billie dodged, but still took a glancing blow to her shoulder.

She glared at Phoebe. "You killed my sister."

Phoebe merely snorted in response before launching herself at Billie. The two traded savage blows, but Billie's youth had nothing Phoebe's superior skills.

The sound of sirens caused Phoebe to break her concentration. Taking advantage in the lapse, Billie used her powers to throw Phoebe into the air and into one of the remaining walls. She then ran as quickly as she could out of the house.

Phoebe tried to stand and chase after Billie. As she stepped forward, pain shot through her right ankle, and she fell over. Numbly, she realized that she must have landed on it after Billie has thrown her.

The thought of Billie energized Phoebe to get up and move. That second rate witch was going to go down – ultimate-mind-changing power or not…

As she stepped on her ankle again, she gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain. She made it about three steps before she passed out.

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White lights and white walls were what Phoebe saw when she opened her eyes. She wondered briefly if she had died after all. Then she heard her father's voice.

"Phoebe?" Victor's voice cracked as he said her name.

"Dad?" she responded as she turned her head to look at him.

He tried to smile at her, but the grief on his face barely yielded to the forced expression.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked as she belatedly realized that she was in a hospital room, and not in heaven.

"The police found you in the mansion. They brought you here. Phoebe… Paige and Piper," Victor stopped to try to take a breath.

"I know Dad," Phoebe interrupted softly. There was no use in forcing him to say what she already knew, and quite honestly, she did not think she could bear hearing him tell her that her sisters were dead. Tears came to her eyes. All her sisters were dead, all three of them. If it wasn't so sad, it would be ironic. The one sister who was always ranked as the lowest threat by the demon world was the one who was still alive.

Victor, unaware of his daughter's mental travels, started to speak again, "Henry and I, we told them that it was related to the crime you 'witnessed' last year. We said that there was a lingering threat that wasn't recognized. The press is saying that they rigged your gas line to explode… It was the best that we could come up with."

"How did you explain Christy?"

"Just that you and your sisters must have caught them in the act, and she didn't get away. Henry had them put out a warrant for Billie's arrest."

"He did what? Dad, if she uses magic…"

"I know, I know, but we can't do anything about that now. He's a hurt man Phoebe, and I'm not really all that sorry that he did it. She killed my daughter, and she damn near killed the only child I've got left. Besides, if the big shots up there don't have a way of dealing with her, I'm sure the ones below do. And I don't really care if they do something painful to her."

Phoebe had to admit that she really did not care if Billie met a painful end with the cleaners. Still, if Billie involved magic to deal with the police, they could track it straight back to Phoebe and, more importantly, to Wyatt and Chris.

"Where are the boys?" she asked as the thought occurred to her.

"Henry has them right now. He said he needed to focus on something else other than Paige. I can't say that I blame him."

"I have to do something. I can't just let this happen," Phoebe said as she tried to get out of bed.

"Phoebe! You're injured and not capable of going five feet at the moment. Let alone whatever type of magic you think you're going to do. You need to rest."

"What I need to do is figure out a way to reverse all this," Phoebe argued even as she lay back down on the hospital bed.

"What if you can't?" Victor gave voice to the thought that was nagging her.

"I will. I have to," she responded as she rolled over on her side and pretended to go back to sleep.