Legacy 104: Halliwell Family Values
Xxx
In a dark cavern in the Underworld, a woman with dark skin dressed in a blood red cloak stood over a large cauldron with a boiling dark liquid. Her name was The Seer. A tall man in a dark suit stood across from her, though his face was obscured by shadows. As she stirred the cauldron, the woman spoke in a menacing voice.
"Tomorrow's harvest moon will be the one chance to impregnate your wife. The power of the moon combined with this tonic will make her fertile to a demon's seed. And if you succeed, the evil spawn growing inside her will influence her only for lenience so that when she does discover the truth, she will bend to your will."
A twenty-seven year old Phoebe Halliwell stood across from The Seer in the same dark cavern. As she backed away, she placed her hand on her young pregnant belly to protect her unborn child.
"You and I share the same gift." The Seer told her. "We both can sense the truth. From the moment Cole absorbed the Source's power, you've sensed something different about him. Something that's changed him forever. You know the truth."
"Cole is the Source." Phoebe realized.
"Yes. And he needs your help if he hopes to survive." The Seer said. "He needs your love. You can't keep fighting it. The maternal bond is too strong, listen to your body, Phoebe. Listen to your unborn son. He takes after his father."
"His father lied to me." Phoebe said as she looked down on her belly.
"He never lied about his feelings for you. And despite my best efforts he never stopped loving you." The Seer said as she walked forward and touched her belly. "Oh, your son was conceived in love, you know that. It's time to stop fighting it. It's time to embrace your new family, your new destiny, otherwise Cole and your son will die."
Phoebe, now with shorter dark hair dressed in a robe, entered the penthouse. Her love Cole stood near the windows with a Fire Ball in his hands, while her sisters and Leo stood on the other side of the room. Phoebe picked up a crystal from the floor.
"I'm sorry, it's, it's for the best." Cole said desperately.
"I know it is." Phoebe replied serenely.
Phoebe walked closer to Cole and he made the Fire Ball disappear from his hands. Phoebe leaned in and kissed him, one last kiss of true love. She then backed away from him with a saddened look.
"I'm sorry too." Phoebe whispered as she placed the crystal on the floor, forming a crystal cage around Cole.
With tears in her eyes, Phoebe backed away and joined her sisters. Cole desperately pleaded as the Charmed Ones started casting the vanquishing spell. Phoebe adverted her eyes as Cole screamed and erupted in flames. He exploded in a blast of fire that threw them all off their feet.
In a large cavern, a large metal cage stood surrounded by candles. A young and fearful Paige Matthews stood in the cage and watched in horror as Phoebe appeared in flames, her eyes consumed by darkness. Phoebe kneeled down before the Seer as she chanted a spell. A light emerged from Phoebe and the unborn child in her womb was transferred to the Seer. As the child left her body, Phoebe returned to her true self.
"My baby." Phoebe whispered as she felt empty.
"He was never yours, or Cole's." The Seer told her. "From the moment of conception this baby was mine."
Proudly, the Seer stepped forward about to vanquish all three Charmed Ones, trapped in the metal cage inside the coronation room. However, before she could, her head erupted in flames and she cried out in pain.
"It's the baby. He has too much power for her." Phoebe said.
When the flames disappeared, the Seer turned her attention back to the sisters. She held out her hand and a stream of intense blue fire shot at the cage. However, the Charmed Ones recited the Power of Three spell and it shielded them from the blast. The Seer raised another hand and increased the power of her magic. Suddenly, the stream rebounded and hit the Seer. As she cried out in pain, the stream erupted in several streams and hit every demon present. As the power become too much for her, the Seer was engulfed in a powerful that that vanquished all demons present.
In the underworld, a young man with short black hair and dark brown eyes walked through a dark hallway. He emerged in a large room with several torches and stopped in the center. He looked down on several scorch marks on the floor and a destroyed metal cage in the corner. He then look up at the ceiling and his eyes became engulfed in flames before turning pitch black.
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With a scream of terror, fifty-four year old Phoebe Halliwell shot up from her hotel bedroom completely soaked in sweat. She gasped for breath as she tried to calm down from that horrible nightmare. Next to her, her husband Coop groaned in his sleep and turned around. Not wanting to wake him, Phoebe slipped out of bed dressed in a long purple gown and locked herself in the bathroom. She walked to the sink and threw some cold water on her face.
"What is going on?" Phoebe asked herself.
She had not had nightmares like those in decades. Not since she had met Coop and had their three beautiful daughters. Her most dreaded memories had worked their way back into her mind once again. They had seemed so life-like, as if she had lived through them all over again. They were all connected to the darkest chapter of her life. A time she tried her best to forget. She tried to tell herself they were just memories, that it was all in the past. However, deep down, she knew she was lying to herself. The last thing she saw was not a memory, nor was it in the past. It was a premonition of the present.
Phoebe had recognized the young man in her dreams. She had seen him before. He was the Source of All Evil, in his new mysterious body that had sent chills down her spine he first time she had seen him. It was all connected to her dream, her memories. As Phoebe looked at herself in the mirror, she imagined her own eyes being engulfed in flames and turning black for a split second. She knew she could no longer deny the truth she had been suspecting for the last few weeks. She needed to get back to San Francisco and face it.
Xxx
Late at night, Chris Halliwell yawned as he leaned against the old couch in the attic while flipping through the Book of Shadows that was resting on his lap. Even though he was tired, he did not want to give up or go to bed. He needed to find a way to vanquish the Source before he destroyed his family. He was too great a threat to let rest, so they needed to go on the offensive. When the door opened, Chris looked and saw his brother enter the attic. He did not want to deal with him, so he stood up and walked over to the pedestal that usually held the book.
"What are you doing?" Wyatt asked.
"Trying to find a way to vanquish the Source." Chris replied as he dropped the Book of Shadows on its pedestal.
"It is the middle of the night." Wyatt replied. "You've been at this for three days straight and haven't found anything. Have you even been to work?"
"I called in sick." Chris replied impatiently. "What do you want?"
"I would like you to talk me to me." Wyatt said. "We barely said more than three words since Barbas happened."
"We don't have that much to discuss." Chris replied shrugging as he tried to leave the attic.
"Are you kidding me?" Wyatt remarked as he grabbed Chris by the shoulder as he tried to walk past him. "We have plenty to discuss. You need to get over this."
"Or what, you'll try to kill me again?" Chris snapped at him.
"You really don't understand, do you?" Wyatt said angrily. "I struggled with the fear of becoming evil half my life. It already nearly destroyed me once."
"No, you really do not understand." Chris replied. "I don't care about the fact you might turn evil, or have turned evil or whatever. I care that you did not trust me enough to tell me. You, our aunts and even mom and dad."
Before Wyatt could respond, Chris pulled himself loose and stormed out of the attic. When he reached his bedroom, he slammed the door shut. He did not have the time or the patience to deal with his brother right now. He needed a way to vanquish the Source and nothing seemed to work. He had tried dozens of potions and spells already, though without the Power of Three or something equally powerful, it seemed impossible. Frustrated, Chris kicked against a chair and it flipped over. Suddenly, black smoke rose from the floor and surrounded him. Chris tried to struggle and get away, though the smoke quickly surrounded him and teleported him away.
When the smoke cleared, Chris found himself standing in the middle of the Underworld, in a cavern lit by purple torches. There was a basin in the middle with a silvery liquid in it. Behind the basin stood a beautiful young woman in a revealing black dress. She had long and curly brown hair and olive skin, with a purple flower-like amulet around her neck, which accentuated her plunging neckline. She was quite attractive, but Chris sensed she was dangerous as well.
"Who are you?" Chris asked defensively.
"I go by many names." The woman replied. "Though most only know me by my title."
"Let me guess." Chris replied as he looked at the silvery basin. "You're a Seer."
"The Seer." The Seer corrected him. "Since all the other ones have been vanquished."
"Why did you summon me here?" Chris asked.
"We have mutual interests." The Seer replied as she let her hand slide across the basin. "A common goal to achieve. Only you find yourself stuck without answers."
"You want to vanquish the Source?" Chris asked skeptically. "You're a demon. Why should I trust a word you say?"
"You're quite judgmental, you know." The Seer remarked. "You condemn me just for being a demon, just like you condemned your brother for keeping something from you."
"We're not discussing my family." Chris said annoyed.
"That is exactly what we're discussing." The Seer said with a faint smile. "You seek a way to vanquish the Source, do you not?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Chris asked confused.
"All in good time." The Seer replied cryptically. "For now, let us focus on our goals. You asked me if I wanted to vanquish the Source. The answer is yes."
"Why?" Chris asked.
"We worked together for years, decades even." The Seer replied. "He came to me for help after dragging himself out of the wasteland. However, recently I have failed him and now he wants me dead. I have no interest in dying."
"So why come to me?" Chris asked with a frown.
"Because we seek the same thing, yet we both have something the other does not." The Seer said. "I know how to vanquish the Source, but I lack the power. You and your family have the power, yet you do not know how to use it against him."
"So what do you propose exactly?" Chris asked.
"It is quite simple." The Seer said. "I tell you what you need to know, you vanquish the Source. No strings attached. After this is done, we go our separate ways."
"I don't know if I can trust you." Chris said hesitantly.
"I know you want to vanquish him more than anything." The Seer said. "You blame him for what happened, don't you? It is through the power of the Source that Barbas was able to manipulate your family, causing all that pain. All I am offering is information. What you do with it, is up to you."
Chris carefully considered his opinions. He did want the Source destroyed, and there was no harm in accepting some information, right? "Alright, tell me." Chris said eventually.
"In order to vanquish the Source, you will need to tap into the power of your entire line of witches." The Seer said. "Though without the Power of Three, that will not be enough. You need something else, the power of nature itself. You will need to bring back the Nexus under your manor and vanquish the Source upon it."
"That is impossible, the Nexus was destroyed." Chris called out.
"Not destroyed, banished." The Seer corrected him again. "Which means it can be returned. A Nexus is nothing more than a spiritual point where the elements align."
"Even so, I still don't know how." Chris said. "How do we bring it back?"
"For that, you will need to ask those who wrote the banishing spell in the first place." The Seer simply replied. "Now It is time for you to leave. I have given you what you needed, so I expect you to hold up your end of the deal."
The Seer waved her hand and black smoke rose from the floor, surrounding Chris. Before Chris could respond or ask anything more, he found himself back in his bedroom alone. He still was not sure if he could fully trust the Seer, but at least he had a new lead to chase. It was the Elders who wrote the banishing spell in the Book of Shadows long ago, so they held the answer. However, Chris realized he was not able to enter the Heavens since rejecting his destiny. He needed a Whitelighter, and luckily he knew exactly where to get one.
Xxx
The following morning, Prue Halliwell arrived back in her parents' apartment in a flash of pink light, instantly followed by white wisps that formed into Matt. It had been three days since they had agreed to spend a week together and they had been all over the city. They had seen museums, taken walks down the beach and even went to the amusement park. They almost felt like actual dates, though each time Prue was painfully reminded of the fact that Matt was a ghost. She knew she had agreed to let him experience real life one last week, though she started to think that letting go after this week would only be harder for the both of them.
"That was amazing." Matt said with a smile. "That was the most fun I had since ever."
"At least you did not look like an idiot going on all those rides on your own, all the while talking to yourself. Those people thought I was insane." Prue replied.
As Prue went to the kitchen to get something to drink, Payton entered the apartment with a school bag over her shoulder, having just come back from the library. She sighed and dropped down on the couch.
"You do realize it is a Sunday, right?" Prue asked.
"Yeah, well too bad teachers don't seem to realize weekends are meant to be free time." Payton replied. "I will be stuck writing this stupid essay all day."
"Can't you just use magic?" Matt asked.
"Of course not, personal gain, remember?" Payton replied. "If I use magic to write the essay, I am afraid it will catch fire the moment I hand it in."
"Oh right. I forgot. I wasn't a witch for that long." Matt replied.
"So how are your dat... I mean, outings going?" Payton asked. She looked at Prue, who glared at her for her 'accidental' slip of the tongue.
"Amazing." Matt replied unaware. "Your sister is great."
"I bet she is." Payton replied with a sneaky smile at her sister.
"Didn't you need to write your essay?" Prue asked annoyed.
"Right." Payton replied as she rolled her eyes.
As Payton grabbed her bag and stood up, a column of orbs appeared in the middle of the room and took the shape of Noah, their new Whitelighter the sisters had met a few weeks ago. He was a handsome and tall guy with a cute British accent, though he could be quite annoying and none of the sisters really trusted him yet. They all suspected he was keeping some sort of secret.
"Hey. Am I interrupting something?" Noah asked surprised as he suddenly noticed Matt.
"What did we tell you about orbing in unexpected?" Prue called out annoyed. "What if Matt had been a mortal?"
"Look, I am sorry, but I did not sense anyone else was here." Noah quickly replied. "Which is really weird if I might add. How is that possible?"
"Matt is a ghost." Prue replied with a sigh. "We have been spending time together before he is ready to move on."
"Oh." Noah replied with a frown, clearly suppressing his opinion.
"Maybe it's better if I go." Matt said uncomfortable. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Prue replied with a smile.
Matt smiled back at her and disappeared in white wisps. Prue looked at Noah and saw there was clearly something bothering him. She wondered if he was jealous or something. She thought he was cute and all, but there was nothing going on between them. And for that matter, there was nothing going on with Matt either, at least that is what she told herself.
"Alright." Prue said annoyed. "Just spit it out."
"Okay." Noah replied. "Have you lost your mind? You clearly don't seem to realize what you're doing. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"
"What are you talking about?" Payton asked confused.
"You don't see how wrong this is?" Noah asked and turned back to Prue, who crossed her arms. "Matt is a ghost, he belongs in the afterlife, but he is actively refusing to move on because of whatever you two have going on."
"What is the harm in one week?" Prue asked defensively.
"One week is fine, I guess." Noah replied. "But what if he falls in love with you? What if he refuses to move on because of you? He could be trapped on earth of eternity. Do you know what could happen then? He will grow increasingly frustrated at his fate until his soul darkens. That is how evil spirits are created, Prue."
Prue did not know how to respond and felt uncomfortable. She was not sure if Noah was just saying these things or if he was right. She could not deny she had some of the same concerns. Was she putting Matt in danger, and herself in the process? She needed time to think.
Suddenly, another column of orbs appeared in the room, revealing her cousin Chris. As he appeared, he instantly turned his attention to Noah. "I need your help." Chris demanded.
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