Knowledge
Sequel to "Dreamscape". I do not own any part of Charmed; I just write about it.
"Morning honey, how'd you sleep?" Piper asked as Paige walked into the kitchen.
"Alright, I guess." Paige murmured.
"What's wrong?" Leo questioned.
Paige sighed, and commented, "I just can't get over what happened to us a few days ago."
Piper nodded and added, "It was rather intense."
"It's not the experience that is making me wonder," Paige explains, "I just don't understand HOW we did it? I mean, where did we get the spell, and how'd be both know when to chant it?"
Piper sighed, and nodded. Ever since they had all given their powers to Cole in Phoebe's mind, she had been trying to understand for herself the consequences of that event. When it happened, Piper had felt like she was a part of something so much bigger than herself, and she could feel the minds and presences of so many people. Prue, her mother, even Grams, they were all in there, and it had given her a feeling of completeness she had never felt before. "Those are very good questions.Leo, do you have any idea what could have happened?"
Leo looked at them, and then said, "No.I've checked with the Elders, and there has never been anything like this that they know about. They don't know how you came up with the spell, and they also don't know how it worked, or why it worked on a non-blood member."
"I spoke with Sara, and she also had no idea what happened," Paige chimed in. "But, well, I need answers. I don't know about you, but I need to know what happened to us, and how we did it."
Piper nodded and confirmed, "I agree. So, how do we go about doing that?"
"What about the Library?" Michael chimed in as he walked down the stairs. The group turned as he explained, "I don't know much, but I know that it's your best bet. The Library has the most complete records of good magic, and they'll have the answer if anyone would."
"Good thinking.should we get Phoebe?" Paige interjected.
"Phoebe snuck out with Cole and Gabriel early this morning," Piper mentioned. "I have no idea where they went, but I got the feeling they were going for some quality family time. But I had no other plans for a Saturday, and I'd love to do some research on the subject."
"I'd better stay out," Leo chimed in, "I'd love to go, but I can't sense my charges in the Library, and someone needs to stay with Melinda."
"Good idea," Michael added approvingly. He then looked at Paige and Piper and asked, "Shall we?"
***
"Is all in readiness?" Saldor demanded.
His minion bowed deeply and added, "My liege, our forces await your command. Say the word, and we will descend on our target."
"Excellent," Saldor stated with a tight grin.
"My king, if I may, how are we to gain access?" his top general asked. "I mean no disrespect, but there power is great, and we have never before been able to penetrate the shields."
Saldor turned and stared at his general. The general bowed quickly and added, "I'm sure you have a perfect plan, forgive my questions."
Saldor glared at his general before mentioned, "See that you don't ask any more. This plan will work, for we have an edge we've never had before. Now, see to our forces. Today we begin the fight to assume our rightful destiny."
"Yes my liege," the general said as he turned and walked out.
Saldor reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. It was ancient, made of some unknown metal, and it seemed to have a slight purple glow. A feral grin crossed Saldor's face as he remarked, "With this, I will finally have my revenge."
***
"What about the spell of Unity?" Paige asked softly.
"Let me see that," Michael remarked. He glanced at the entry, and shook his head, "No, that was to give each member of the coven the same powers."
"Could it be some kind of enhancement of that spell?" Paige countered.
"I doubt it," Michael explained as he shook his head, "This spell would only work if there was a link of blood, and Cole is not related genetically to any of you. Keep looking."
"We're trying, but this is SO frustrating," Piper pointed out. "The Library has so few entries about anything similar. I thought it was supposed to be a massive source of knowledge."
"It's not a problem with the Library," Michael soothed, "the kind of spell cast by you is rare, so rare there are few cases of anything even similar. To be honest, I am shocked the spell even worked."
"Why?" Paige wondered.
"A spell to merge even two personalities and strength requires not only immense power but years of study," Michael explained, "Your spell merged every Halliwell witch that ever lived, and not even in a family member. It was in a member by marriage. The spell should not have worked, I don't see."
"What?" Paige finally demanded as a bemused look came over Michael's face.
"Nothing, I'm just wondering if we're looking in the wrong area." Michael commented.
"What do you mean?" Piper questioned.
"Well, we're focusing on the spell itself, trying to figure out how the mechanisms of it work. But what if it isn't the spell that made the difference, but the vessel?" Michael remarked. "Cole is not human, which all these instances are. I'm wondering if something in his Azarian heritage allowed him to.that's strange."
Michael trailed off as there was a slight tremble. It felt like a small earthquake, and when it was over, Michael had a strange look on his face.
"What's wrong with an earthquake?" Piper asked.
"That's just it, this area is not only seismically active, but the Library has shields to prevent earthquakes from affecting it," Michael said, "No, it seems more like the feedback from a massive counter-spell, but there's nothing in the Library strong enough to cause.oh, no!"
As Michael shouted, the sisters saw one of the Founders running up to them. He looked extremely worried, and he skidded to a stop before them. "You must leave the Library at once," the Founder commanded.
"What, we just got here," Piper argued.
Michael and the Founder shared a look, and then Michael said, "We're getting out of here, NOW!"
"Michael, what's going on," Paige demanded.
"The only spell strong enough to cause that tremor is the shields around the Library," Michael said as he moved rapidly for the portal back to his shop, "If it's been countered, that can only mean."
"Someone is attacking the Library," Piper gasped. As Michael nodded, Piper said, "Well then, we're staying. We can help, and we're not going to."
Michael spun and confronted Piper, "No, we have to run. Anything strong enough to overwhelm the shields of the Library is much too strong for us to handle. We need to regroup and get the others, preferably before."
Whatever Michael was going to say was cut off. A tall, gray skinned monster appeared in front of them. The creature was about seven feet tall and had a face that reminded Paige of a jackal. With a scream of rage, the creature leaped at the group.
Piper gestured, but nothing happened. The group dove away as the monster landed. The creature turned and took a swipe at Paige before she could react. Long gashes appeared on her arm, where the creature hit. Paige brought up her other arm in a vicious hook, knocking the creature back.
As it stumbling, Michael pointed and shouted, "Ngaezi Feratex!" a blast of force shot from his hand and slammed into the creature, throwing him ten feet and forcing him to hit a bookcase with a sickening crunch. The creature slid down the bookcase and collapsed, either unconscious or dead.
As Piper tried to help Paige tend to her wounds, she demanded, "What the HELL is that!"
Michael looked at the creature before saying grimly, "A Kobold. They're an ancient race that the Founders banished centuries ago. They've been looking for a chance at vengeance ever since."
"Why'd Piper's powers have no effect," Paige winced. Her arm hurt, and there was a faint burning that told her it was probably poisoned.
As Michael led them towards the way out, he said, "Kobolds have an incredibly high resistance to most magical effects. Piper's powers probably just weren't strong enough to get past it. How's the arm?"
"Hurts, and I think it's poisoned," Paige remarked.
Michael nodded, and added, "If I remember right, Kobold claws have natural venom that is highly dangerous and usually fatal. I'd say your whitelighter half is helping you counter the effects, which is why you're still conscious. We're here."
"I still think we should stay and fight," Piper remarked.
"Don't worry, we'll be back. And next time we'll drive them out," Michael reassured her. He then opened the portal and led them back into his shop.
***
"How goes the battle?" Saldor demanded as he watched several of his troops feast on one of the bodies.
"Excellent my king," General Skasdos replied, "We caught them completely by surprise. None of their early warnings systems worked, and we've managed to kill a vast majority of the Founders. This place is huge, but rest assured we will find them all."
"Leave me," Saldor said suddenly. "I wish to contemplate my victory."
His general bowed and left. As soon as he was gone, a voice said, "Your troops failed you."
Saldor shook his head, already knowing who spoke. He turned and gazed at his sapphire-eyed ally. "How so?"
The man glared at him and added, "Certain people escaped, people who you needed dead."
Saldor shrugged, and said nonchalantly, "No problem. We can track them down later."
"You won't need to track them down. They'll be coming for you, with more power than you can stop. If you don't stop them first, you'll lose," the man pointed out.
Saldor snorted, "No force on this world can stop me, or my forces. Let them come, I'll feast on their corpses,"
The man shook his head and replied, "You fool."
Saldor's face narrowed, and his features took on a stern look as he remarked, "Careful. We may be allies for now, but don't test my patience."
"You better not test mine," the man retorted in a cold voice that made Saldor shiver despite his best efforts, "I gave you the Key and allowed you your vengeance. I kept up my end of the alliance, and you'd do well to hurry up with your end of our agreement." He then faded out.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Sequel to "Dreamscape". I do not own any part of Charmed; I just write about it.
"Morning honey, how'd you sleep?" Piper asked as Paige walked into the kitchen.
"Alright, I guess." Paige murmured.
"What's wrong?" Leo questioned.
Paige sighed, and commented, "I just can't get over what happened to us a few days ago."
Piper nodded and added, "It was rather intense."
"It's not the experience that is making me wonder," Paige explains, "I just don't understand HOW we did it? I mean, where did we get the spell, and how'd be both know when to chant it?"
Piper sighed, and nodded. Ever since they had all given their powers to Cole in Phoebe's mind, she had been trying to understand for herself the consequences of that event. When it happened, Piper had felt like she was a part of something so much bigger than herself, and she could feel the minds and presences of so many people. Prue, her mother, even Grams, they were all in there, and it had given her a feeling of completeness she had never felt before. "Those are very good questions.Leo, do you have any idea what could have happened?"
Leo looked at them, and then said, "No.I've checked with the Elders, and there has never been anything like this that they know about. They don't know how you came up with the spell, and they also don't know how it worked, or why it worked on a non-blood member."
"I spoke with Sara, and she also had no idea what happened," Paige chimed in. "But, well, I need answers. I don't know about you, but I need to know what happened to us, and how we did it."
Piper nodded and confirmed, "I agree. So, how do we go about doing that?"
"What about the Library?" Michael chimed in as he walked down the stairs. The group turned as he explained, "I don't know much, but I know that it's your best bet. The Library has the most complete records of good magic, and they'll have the answer if anyone would."
"Good thinking.should we get Phoebe?" Paige interjected.
"Phoebe snuck out with Cole and Gabriel early this morning," Piper mentioned. "I have no idea where they went, but I got the feeling they were going for some quality family time. But I had no other plans for a Saturday, and I'd love to do some research on the subject."
"I'd better stay out," Leo chimed in, "I'd love to go, but I can't sense my charges in the Library, and someone needs to stay with Melinda."
"Good idea," Michael added approvingly. He then looked at Paige and Piper and asked, "Shall we?"
***
"Is all in readiness?" Saldor demanded.
His minion bowed deeply and added, "My liege, our forces await your command. Say the word, and we will descend on our target."
"Excellent," Saldor stated with a tight grin.
"My king, if I may, how are we to gain access?" his top general asked. "I mean no disrespect, but there power is great, and we have never before been able to penetrate the shields."
Saldor turned and stared at his general. The general bowed quickly and added, "I'm sure you have a perfect plan, forgive my questions."
Saldor glared at his general before mentioned, "See that you don't ask any more. This plan will work, for we have an edge we've never had before. Now, see to our forces. Today we begin the fight to assume our rightful destiny."
"Yes my liege," the general said as he turned and walked out.
Saldor reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. It was ancient, made of some unknown metal, and it seemed to have a slight purple glow. A feral grin crossed Saldor's face as he remarked, "With this, I will finally have my revenge."
***
"What about the spell of Unity?" Paige asked softly.
"Let me see that," Michael remarked. He glanced at the entry, and shook his head, "No, that was to give each member of the coven the same powers."
"Could it be some kind of enhancement of that spell?" Paige countered.
"I doubt it," Michael explained as he shook his head, "This spell would only work if there was a link of blood, and Cole is not related genetically to any of you. Keep looking."
"We're trying, but this is SO frustrating," Piper pointed out. "The Library has so few entries about anything similar. I thought it was supposed to be a massive source of knowledge."
"It's not a problem with the Library," Michael soothed, "the kind of spell cast by you is rare, so rare there are few cases of anything even similar. To be honest, I am shocked the spell even worked."
"Why?" Paige wondered.
"A spell to merge even two personalities and strength requires not only immense power but years of study," Michael explained, "Your spell merged every Halliwell witch that ever lived, and not even in a family member. It was in a member by marriage. The spell should not have worked, I don't see."
"What?" Paige finally demanded as a bemused look came over Michael's face.
"Nothing, I'm just wondering if we're looking in the wrong area." Michael commented.
"What do you mean?" Piper questioned.
"Well, we're focusing on the spell itself, trying to figure out how the mechanisms of it work. But what if it isn't the spell that made the difference, but the vessel?" Michael remarked. "Cole is not human, which all these instances are. I'm wondering if something in his Azarian heritage allowed him to.that's strange."
Michael trailed off as there was a slight tremble. It felt like a small earthquake, and when it was over, Michael had a strange look on his face.
"What's wrong with an earthquake?" Piper asked.
"That's just it, this area is not only seismically active, but the Library has shields to prevent earthquakes from affecting it," Michael said, "No, it seems more like the feedback from a massive counter-spell, but there's nothing in the Library strong enough to cause.oh, no!"
As Michael shouted, the sisters saw one of the Founders running up to them. He looked extremely worried, and he skidded to a stop before them. "You must leave the Library at once," the Founder commanded.
"What, we just got here," Piper argued.
Michael and the Founder shared a look, and then Michael said, "We're getting out of here, NOW!"
"Michael, what's going on," Paige demanded.
"The only spell strong enough to cause that tremor is the shields around the Library," Michael said as he moved rapidly for the portal back to his shop, "If it's been countered, that can only mean."
"Someone is attacking the Library," Piper gasped. As Michael nodded, Piper said, "Well then, we're staying. We can help, and we're not going to."
Michael spun and confronted Piper, "No, we have to run. Anything strong enough to overwhelm the shields of the Library is much too strong for us to handle. We need to regroup and get the others, preferably before."
Whatever Michael was going to say was cut off. A tall, gray skinned monster appeared in front of them. The creature was about seven feet tall and had a face that reminded Paige of a jackal. With a scream of rage, the creature leaped at the group.
Piper gestured, but nothing happened. The group dove away as the monster landed. The creature turned and took a swipe at Paige before she could react. Long gashes appeared on her arm, where the creature hit. Paige brought up her other arm in a vicious hook, knocking the creature back.
As it stumbling, Michael pointed and shouted, "Ngaezi Feratex!" a blast of force shot from his hand and slammed into the creature, throwing him ten feet and forcing him to hit a bookcase with a sickening crunch. The creature slid down the bookcase and collapsed, either unconscious or dead.
As Piper tried to help Paige tend to her wounds, she demanded, "What the HELL is that!"
Michael looked at the creature before saying grimly, "A Kobold. They're an ancient race that the Founders banished centuries ago. They've been looking for a chance at vengeance ever since."
"Why'd Piper's powers have no effect," Paige winced. Her arm hurt, and there was a faint burning that told her it was probably poisoned.
As Michael led them towards the way out, he said, "Kobolds have an incredibly high resistance to most magical effects. Piper's powers probably just weren't strong enough to get past it. How's the arm?"
"Hurts, and I think it's poisoned," Paige remarked.
Michael nodded, and added, "If I remember right, Kobold claws have natural venom that is highly dangerous and usually fatal. I'd say your whitelighter half is helping you counter the effects, which is why you're still conscious. We're here."
"I still think we should stay and fight," Piper remarked.
"Don't worry, we'll be back. And next time we'll drive them out," Michael reassured her. He then opened the portal and led them back into his shop.
***
"How goes the battle?" Saldor demanded as he watched several of his troops feast on one of the bodies.
"Excellent my king," General Skasdos replied, "We caught them completely by surprise. None of their early warnings systems worked, and we've managed to kill a vast majority of the Founders. This place is huge, but rest assured we will find them all."
"Leave me," Saldor said suddenly. "I wish to contemplate my victory."
His general bowed and left. As soon as he was gone, a voice said, "Your troops failed you."
Saldor shook his head, already knowing who spoke. He turned and gazed at his sapphire-eyed ally. "How so?"
The man glared at him and added, "Certain people escaped, people who you needed dead."
Saldor shrugged, and said nonchalantly, "No problem. We can track them down later."
"You won't need to track them down. They'll be coming for you, with more power than you can stop. If you don't stop them first, you'll lose," the man pointed out.
Saldor snorted, "No force on this world can stop me, or my forces. Let them come, I'll feast on their corpses,"
The man shook his head and replied, "You fool."
Saldor's face narrowed, and his features took on a stern look as he remarked, "Careful. We may be allies for now, but don't test my patience."
"You better not test mine," the man retorted in a cold voice that made Saldor shiver despite his best efforts, "I gave you the Key and allowed you your vengeance. I kept up my end of the alliance, and you'd do well to hurry up with your end of our agreement." He then faded out.
TO BE CONTINUED.