Confrontation
The sequel to "Surprise." I do not own any part of Charmed, I just write about it.
As Paige came down the stairs, she heard rustling in the kitchen. She smiled, knowing already who was there. "What are you making Piper?" Paige asked as she walked in.
To her surprise, Phoebe was the one who looked up at her with a half- hearted grin. Seeing Paige's slight surprise, she replied sardonically, "Not who you were expecting?"
Paige slid into her seat and remarked, "Not really, Piper's the usual kitchen master."
As Phoebe stirred the eggs sizzling in the pan, she looked over at her and said, "Piper is a much better cook than me, but that doesn't mean I don't like to cook every now and then."
"Well, this is a nice surprise," Piper stated as she entered the kitchen. "What's the occasion?"
"No real occasion," Phoebe murmured, "I just figured we could have a nice simple breakfast, just the three of us, like old times."
"Yeah, who'd have thought everyone else would be out today? I mean, what are the odds?" Paige questioned.
"Well, we've known Michael had to work the crazy morning shift today," Piper supplied, "and Leo took Melinda up to visit some of his side of the family,"
"How do you feel about that anyway?" Phoebe asked.
Piper grinned, and said, "I am happy that Melinda will get to know both her grandparents, but it is slightly intimidating."
Neither Paige nor Phoebe said anything, only touched Piper's arms in unspoken support. Piper grinned at them, and then frowned, "Well, that covers our side, but what about you Phoebe? Where is everyone?"
The smile disappeared on Phoebe's face as she replied, "Gabriel is out hunting Angel with Gerald, and Cole said he 'had something to take care of'."
"Are you worried about him?" Paige sensed.
Phoebe sighed, and said, "Yes. I can feel when he's trying to hide something from me, and I know he's doing acts he'd rather I didn't know about."
Paige touched Paige's arm and mentioned, "You know Cole. There is no way he'd be doing anything you wouldn't approve of."
***
With a sickening thump, the demon hit the wall and slowly slid down it. Cole kept his face expressionless, even though he was inwardly sickened by what he was doing. But some things are worth any price.
"I'm telling you, I don't know anything, he can't be down here," Notus almost whined.
Cole merely glared at him, and said coldly, "I don't care what you think. The man I'm looking for is hiding, and this is the best place to hide. He's somewhere in the Underworld, and I want him found. Your faction is the largest in the Underworld right now, and I'm sure you have the resources to make my desire true."
"What's in it for me," Notus demanded.
Cole said, "If you don't find him for me, I promise you that I'll bring everything I have to bear, including the Charmed Ones and the Guardian of Life, down on you. Do you honestly think you'd maintain a faction under those circumstances?"
Notus paled, and softly mentioned, "Alright, I'll help you. I'll have my faction ask around. If this creature is hiding anywhere in the Underworld, we'll find him. But don't think I'll forgive this,"
Cole didn't say anything about the threat, merely waited until the faction leader had shimmered out. Only then did he slowly sit down and feel his own self-loathing and anger come to his face. He hated doing this, it felt wrong. Even though Notus is evil and a demon, it felt despicable to threaten him. The funny thing is, as short as a year ago, Cole wouldn't have cared. But so much had changed in the last year, and now he had a son. Despite how 'special' Gabriel is, Cole knew he was still his child, and so a great deal of his personality would be molded by Cole's own actions. Cole had to behave like a man should, for how else would Gabriel learn?
Thoughts of his son caused Cole's face to briefly go dark as he remembered the reason that drew Cole down here. Somewhere out there was an ancient power that had plans for his son. Cole had never met the real Angel, only a vision of him, but that had scared him enough. Angel must be found before he did whatever he was planning.
***
"Thank you, and have a nice day," Michael called as his customer walked out. He then sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Long night?" his partner asked.
Michael looked up and smiled, "With the Equinox coming up, and with the rare celestial event occurring at the same time, sales of magical items are up. A lot of our customer seem to think this event has some sort of magical significance, and they're eager try their magic during it."
"I forget, how often does it occur?" his partner wondered.
"Well, the Equinox is fairly common, but the celestrial event is only once every 1000 years," Michael explained, "And having the Equinox at the same time.I don't even know how often that occurs."
"It's tomorrow night, right?" his partner questioned.
Michael nodded, "Yep. Listen, I'm heading out. I'll talk to you later."
His partner had already turned and was checking the inventory. Michael sighed, stretched, and started to walk towards the door. He was almost there when he heard a voice say, "Michael, please wait."
Michael turned and found a Founder walking out of the Library door and walking towards him. Michael waited, too shocked to say anything. The Founder stopped before him, and said, "Can we go to your home? We need to talk."
***
"Anything?" Gerald asked anxiously.
Slowly, focus came back to Gabriel's eyes and he shook his head, "I can't sense any Azarian power or blood in this realm. He's not here.I think."
"What do you mean you think," Gerald wondered.
Gabriel slowly sat down on a nearby rock and sighed, "I mean, Angel knows more about how to use his powers than I can even imagine right now. He's had millennia more experience, and to be honest, he's probably more powerful than me,"
"So what you're saying is he could have hidden himself so completely you wouldn't be able to find him?" Gerald finished as a shiver went down his spine.
For a moment, fear flashed across Gabriel's face to be replaced by concern. "I'm fairly sure if Angel was hiding in such a manner, it would take so much of his power that he would be unable to do much else.but I have no idea, and it scares me."
Gerald walked over and put a comforting hand on his nephew's shoulder, "We'll find him, boss. He can't stay hidden forever. Now, let's get back to the manor and get some food. I don't know about you, but I'm starved,"
Gabriel smiled and nodded. As Gerald turned to leave, Gabriel's visage darkened as he gazed out over the horizon, "I just hope we'll be able to stop him when he does come out of hiding."
***
"Paige!" Michael shouted as he entered the Manor.
"Hey honey, how's it.what's he doing here," Paige began as she saw the Founder come in with Michael.
"Who else is here," Michael asked.
"Well, just the three of us. I don't know where Cole, Gerald, or Gabriel are," Paige mentioned.
"Right here," a new voice said. Paige turned to see Gerald and Gabriel shimmer into the room. "What's going on?" Gabriel wondered aloud.
"I'll tell you in just a moment," the Founder mentioned. "Let's get everyone together so I won't have to tell it twice."
"Give me just a moment," Gabriel said. He closed his eyes, and there was a brief white outline around him. A few seconds later, Cole, Leo, Melinda, Piper, and Phoebe appeared in the room with bewildered looks on their faces.
"What the." Leo began.
"Sorry guys, but this was the fastest way to get everyone together," Gabriel apologized.
"No problem.I suppose." Piper mentioned, "Just make sure if you do it again not to expose us to some mortal."
"So what brings a Founder to our humble house," Phoebe interjected.
"We've completed our clean-up of the Library from the last assault," the Founder began. "And an inventory was taken. Most of our items were damaged by the Kobolds, but we've discovered that one of our artifacts is missing a piece,"
"Is it possible it was just misplaced, or also damaged," Piper asked.
"For any other artifact, that is a possibility, my lady," the Founder continued respectfully, "but in all the years this item has been in our possession, we've never been able to so much as mar it's surface. Believe me when I tell you, the piece of the artifact is gone,"
"What was it?" Gabriel demanded.
"An amythist gem," the Founder explained, "it was set in the pommel of one of the most powerful swords in the history of Good. The gem looks to have been simply disengaged from the pommel. The weird part is the gem was supposed to just have been a decoration."
"Is it possible the Kobolds took it?" Cole asked.
The Founder shook his head, "Highly unlikely. The sword was strong enough to prevent such damage to it. It would take immense power to remove the gem."
"Angel," Gabriel stated firmly. "For some reason, he wanted that gem, and now he's got it. That must have been why he helped the Kobolds get into the Library.although I'm not sure why he didn't do it himself."
"Wait, remember what you told me," Gerald interrupted, "you said to hide himself he must use most of powers to keep you from detecting him. Maybe he couldn't get in without exposing himself, so he used the Kobolds?"
"That is possible.but the main question is, what was so special about the gem?" Michael mentioned. He turned to the Founder and asked, "What did you know about the gem?"
"Not much," the Founder admitted, "We know it was ancient, but it didn't seem to add any power to the sword, so we figured it was decorative."
"You said it was ancient.could it be Azarian?" Cole wondered.
"Yes, that is possible," the Founder admitted, "but I freely admit our knowledge about the Azarians is very limited."
"There has to be some way to figure out what we need to know," Gerald stated.
The Founder hesitated, and then said, "There is one place we could go.if we can get in."
"Where?" Cole demanded.
"There is an Library that predates even us," The Founder admitted, "Unfortunately, the keeper of the Library has never allowed anyone in before. We've made numerous attempts, but never been able to even get through the door."
"There's no choice.we're heading there now," Gabriel stated firmly. ***
"Are you sure about this?" The shadowy figure asked.
"Do what I tell you, and everything will be as it should be," Angel stated.
The shadowy figure bowed, and said, "As you command."
Angel smiled, and said, "And so it begins."
TO BE CONTINUED.
The sequel to "Surprise." I do not own any part of Charmed, I just write about it.
As Paige came down the stairs, she heard rustling in the kitchen. She smiled, knowing already who was there. "What are you making Piper?" Paige asked as she walked in.
To her surprise, Phoebe was the one who looked up at her with a half- hearted grin. Seeing Paige's slight surprise, she replied sardonically, "Not who you were expecting?"
Paige slid into her seat and remarked, "Not really, Piper's the usual kitchen master."
As Phoebe stirred the eggs sizzling in the pan, she looked over at her and said, "Piper is a much better cook than me, but that doesn't mean I don't like to cook every now and then."
"Well, this is a nice surprise," Piper stated as she entered the kitchen. "What's the occasion?"
"No real occasion," Phoebe murmured, "I just figured we could have a nice simple breakfast, just the three of us, like old times."
"Yeah, who'd have thought everyone else would be out today? I mean, what are the odds?" Paige questioned.
"Well, we've known Michael had to work the crazy morning shift today," Piper supplied, "and Leo took Melinda up to visit some of his side of the family,"
"How do you feel about that anyway?" Phoebe asked.
Piper grinned, and said, "I am happy that Melinda will get to know both her grandparents, but it is slightly intimidating."
Neither Paige nor Phoebe said anything, only touched Piper's arms in unspoken support. Piper grinned at them, and then frowned, "Well, that covers our side, but what about you Phoebe? Where is everyone?"
The smile disappeared on Phoebe's face as she replied, "Gabriel is out hunting Angel with Gerald, and Cole said he 'had something to take care of'."
"Are you worried about him?" Paige sensed.
Phoebe sighed, and said, "Yes. I can feel when he's trying to hide something from me, and I know he's doing acts he'd rather I didn't know about."
Paige touched Paige's arm and mentioned, "You know Cole. There is no way he'd be doing anything you wouldn't approve of."
***
With a sickening thump, the demon hit the wall and slowly slid down it. Cole kept his face expressionless, even though he was inwardly sickened by what he was doing. But some things are worth any price.
"I'm telling you, I don't know anything, he can't be down here," Notus almost whined.
Cole merely glared at him, and said coldly, "I don't care what you think. The man I'm looking for is hiding, and this is the best place to hide. He's somewhere in the Underworld, and I want him found. Your faction is the largest in the Underworld right now, and I'm sure you have the resources to make my desire true."
"What's in it for me," Notus demanded.
Cole said, "If you don't find him for me, I promise you that I'll bring everything I have to bear, including the Charmed Ones and the Guardian of Life, down on you. Do you honestly think you'd maintain a faction under those circumstances?"
Notus paled, and softly mentioned, "Alright, I'll help you. I'll have my faction ask around. If this creature is hiding anywhere in the Underworld, we'll find him. But don't think I'll forgive this,"
Cole didn't say anything about the threat, merely waited until the faction leader had shimmered out. Only then did he slowly sit down and feel his own self-loathing and anger come to his face. He hated doing this, it felt wrong. Even though Notus is evil and a demon, it felt despicable to threaten him. The funny thing is, as short as a year ago, Cole wouldn't have cared. But so much had changed in the last year, and now he had a son. Despite how 'special' Gabriel is, Cole knew he was still his child, and so a great deal of his personality would be molded by Cole's own actions. Cole had to behave like a man should, for how else would Gabriel learn?
Thoughts of his son caused Cole's face to briefly go dark as he remembered the reason that drew Cole down here. Somewhere out there was an ancient power that had plans for his son. Cole had never met the real Angel, only a vision of him, but that had scared him enough. Angel must be found before he did whatever he was planning.
***
"Thank you, and have a nice day," Michael called as his customer walked out. He then sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Long night?" his partner asked.
Michael looked up and smiled, "With the Equinox coming up, and with the rare celestial event occurring at the same time, sales of magical items are up. A lot of our customer seem to think this event has some sort of magical significance, and they're eager try their magic during it."
"I forget, how often does it occur?" his partner wondered.
"Well, the Equinox is fairly common, but the celestrial event is only once every 1000 years," Michael explained, "And having the Equinox at the same time.I don't even know how often that occurs."
"It's tomorrow night, right?" his partner questioned.
Michael nodded, "Yep. Listen, I'm heading out. I'll talk to you later."
His partner had already turned and was checking the inventory. Michael sighed, stretched, and started to walk towards the door. He was almost there when he heard a voice say, "Michael, please wait."
Michael turned and found a Founder walking out of the Library door and walking towards him. Michael waited, too shocked to say anything. The Founder stopped before him, and said, "Can we go to your home? We need to talk."
***
"Anything?" Gerald asked anxiously.
Slowly, focus came back to Gabriel's eyes and he shook his head, "I can't sense any Azarian power or blood in this realm. He's not here.I think."
"What do you mean you think," Gerald wondered.
Gabriel slowly sat down on a nearby rock and sighed, "I mean, Angel knows more about how to use his powers than I can even imagine right now. He's had millennia more experience, and to be honest, he's probably more powerful than me,"
"So what you're saying is he could have hidden himself so completely you wouldn't be able to find him?" Gerald finished as a shiver went down his spine.
For a moment, fear flashed across Gabriel's face to be replaced by concern. "I'm fairly sure if Angel was hiding in such a manner, it would take so much of his power that he would be unable to do much else.but I have no idea, and it scares me."
Gerald walked over and put a comforting hand on his nephew's shoulder, "We'll find him, boss. He can't stay hidden forever. Now, let's get back to the manor and get some food. I don't know about you, but I'm starved,"
Gabriel smiled and nodded. As Gerald turned to leave, Gabriel's visage darkened as he gazed out over the horizon, "I just hope we'll be able to stop him when he does come out of hiding."
***
"Paige!" Michael shouted as he entered the Manor.
"Hey honey, how's it.what's he doing here," Paige began as she saw the Founder come in with Michael.
"Who else is here," Michael asked.
"Well, just the three of us. I don't know where Cole, Gerald, or Gabriel are," Paige mentioned.
"Right here," a new voice said. Paige turned to see Gerald and Gabriel shimmer into the room. "What's going on?" Gabriel wondered aloud.
"I'll tell you in just a moment," the Founder mentioned. "Let's get everyone together so I won't have to tell it twice."
"Give me just a moment," Gabriel said. He closed his eyes, and there was a brief white outline around him. A few seconds later, Cole, Leo, Melinda, Piper, and Phoebe appeared in the room with bewildered looks on their faces.
"What the." Leo began.
"Sorry guys, but this was the fastest way to get everyone together," Gabriel apologized.
"No problem.I suppose." Piper mentioned, "Just make sure if you do it again not to expose us to some mortal."
"So what brings a Founder to our humble house," Phoebe interjected.
"We've completed our clean-up of the Library from the last assault," the Founder began. "And an inventory was taken. Most of our items were damaged by the Kobolds, but we've discovered that one of our artifacts is missing a piece,"
"Is it possible it was just misplaced, or also damaged," Piper asked.
"For any other artifact, that is a possibility, my lady," the Founder continued respectfully, "but in all the years this item has been in our possession, we've never been able to so much as mar it's surface. Believe me when I tell you, the piece of the artifact is gone,"
"What was it?" Gabriel demanded.
"An amythist gem," the Founder explained, "it was set in the pommel of one of the most powerful swords in the history of Good. The gem looks to have been simply disengaged from the pommel. The weird part is the gem was supposed to just have been a decoration."
"Is it possible the Kobolds took it?" Cole asked.
The Founder shook his head, "Highly unlikely. The sword was strong enough to prevent such damage to it. It would take immense power to remove the gem."
"Angel," Gabriel stated firmly. "For some reason, he wanted that gem, and now he's got it. That must have been why he helped the Kobolds get into the Library.although I'm not sure why he didn't do it himself."
"Wait, remember what you told me," Gerald interrupted, "you said to hide himself he must use most of powers to keep you from detecting him. Maybe he couldn't get in without exposing himself, so he used the Kobolds?"
"That is possible.but the main question is, what was so special about the gem?" Michael mentioned. He turned to the Founder and asked, "What did you know about the gem?"
"Not much," the Founder admitted, "We know it was ancient, but it didn't seem to add any power to the sword, so we figured it was decorative."
"You said it was ancient.could it be Azarian?" Cole wondered.
"Yes, that is possible," the Founder admitted, "but I freely admit our knowledge about the Azarians is very limited."
"There has to be some way to figure out what we need to know," Gerald stated.
The Founder hesitated, and then said, "There is one place we could go.if we can get in."
"Where?" Cole demanded.
"There is an Library that predates even us," The Founder admitted, "Unfortunately, the keeper of the Library has never allowed anyone in before. We've made numerous attempts, but never been able to even get through the door."
"There's no choice.we're heading there now," Gabriel stated firmly. ***
"Are you sure about this?" The shadowy figure asked.
"Do what I tell you, and everything will be as it should be," Angel stated.
The shadowy figure bowed, and said, "As you command."
Angel smiled, and said, "And so it begins."
TO BE CONTINUED.