Charmed
Underworld Calling: Part 1
The Halliwell Manor was silent, but the debris left by Shax's attack spoke volumes. Dr Griffiths lay slouched over the frame of one of the front windows, blood trickling from his ear. Prue and Piper Halliwell were in a similar state, in a more restful looking state of unconsciousness but still covered in blood and debris.
Phoebe stood anxiously in the dark cave that was the underworld with Cole and Leo at either side of her.
"Is it done yet, has time reset?" Phoebe asked them
Four demons shimmered before the three of them, energy balls at the ready.
"I'd say that's a yes" Cole said.
"Leo…" Phoebe faced her brother in law "You need to go and heal them"
"But what about you?"
The demon's prepared to launch their attack.
"Go now!" Phoebe ordered and Leo orbed out just as an energy ball was flying towards him.
Cole threw an energy ball and hit one of the demons square in the chest, causing him to explode in a fiery blast.
Phoebe scissor kicked one demon then round house kicked the one next to him and stood between them anticipating their next move. They both got themselves up and simultaneously launched energy balls at Phoebe. Phoebe quickly levitated and, hovering just above her two opponents, she watched as their respective energy balls caused the other to burst into flames.
The one demon left got ready to attack Cole, but Phoebe hovered above him and dropped herself on his shoulders bringing him down to the ground. She quickly rolled off of him and Cole threw an energy ball at the ground, vanquishing the last demon.
Phoebe and Cole smiled at each other.
"We make a pretty good team huh?" Cole smiled.
"Don't get used to it Belthazor" a deep voice that came out of nowhere echoed. Suddenly The Source flamed in, his dark robe and hood concealing the monster but still intimidating. "Your witch is mine!"
[Opening Credits]
Leo orbed into the Manor and saw his wife and sister-in-law unconscious on the ground. He rushed over to the sisters lay his hands over them and began to heal their wounds. He waited anxiously for the magic to take full effect and breathed a sigh of relief when the blood began to fade.
Prue and Piper finally opened their eyes and sat up amongst the rubble.
Piper moaned, still aching slightly. "What happened?"
"You almost died, that's what happened" Leo answered.
"Yeah well what else is new?" Prue quipped. "Where's Phoebe?"
"She's in the underworld with Cole, we need to help them fast" Leo rushed.
Piper looked confused "But Phoebe just went upstairs to the book…"
"Long story" Leo interrupted, "I'll explain on the way"
Before they could make a move, Darryl ran into the Manor and found the mess, as well as the dead body hanging over the window frame. "Oh my God" Darryl gasped.
"Darryl we need to go" Leo said.
"Go?" Darryl said. "Go where? Are you kidding?"
"It's Phoebe" Prue said.
Darryl inhaled and tried to calm himself. "I'll get the body moved, say one of you had health issues but he didn't realise you were on vacation… and ended up getting murdered!"
Piper raised her eyebrow at him. "That's your story?"
"Or cry witch!" Darryl suggested.
"…. cause it's fantastic, nice work Darryl" Piper saved.
Cole went flying and hit a wall, his chest smoking from the impact of the fireball. The Source stood calmly and confidently. Phoebe ran towards The Source, levitated off ground and repeatedly kicked him in the chest until he collapsed backwards to floor. The Source rose up magically, barely phased by the attack. Cole stood and threw an energy ball which the Source simply waved out of his direction and caused it to hit the wall beside him.
"It is useless to fight!" he roared. Raising his hand, a scroll flamed into his hand. He unrolled it.
Cole saw what the Source was doing. "Phoebe stay away from him!"
Phoebe turned around to look at Cole. "Why? What is it?"
As Phoebe had her back to him, the Source waved his arm and the shoulder of Phoebe's white top tore, blood spilled from it as scratches materialised on her skin. The Source pointed at her and a few drops of the blood floated from her shoulder and splattered on the paper he held.
"No!" Cole cried. Before he could make a move, the Source knocked him out with another fireball.
Leo orbed in with Prue and Piper.
"You're too late!" cackled the Source.
"Wanna bet?" Prue waved her hand and The Source flew back up against a wall, but still making sure he had hold of the scroll.
Phoebe smirked. "Can't beat the Power of Three"
The Source rose once again. "I thought I'd already mentioned" he held up the scroll "You're no longer part of the power of three!" He laughed.
"This is ridiculous, we're out of here" Piper went to grab Phoebe but was blasted back by some kind of force field.
"Piper!" Phoebe and Prue yelled. Prue rushed over to her now unconscious sister along with Leo. Phoebe was about to do the same but couldn't move.
"What the…?" Phoebe tried to move her legs but was unable. The she noticed The Source with his finger extended in her direction with the scroll now glowing in his other hand. "My blood" Phoebe realised.
The Sourced laughed once again.
"You guys have to get out of here!" Phoebe ordered.
"We're not leaving you!" Prue told her.
"You need the book, there's got to be something to get me out of this in there" Phoebe explained.
"Don't count on it" The Source muttered. A fireball appeared in his hand.
"Go!" Phoebe panicked.
Leo grabbed hold of Piper and Prue, and Prue reached out and touched Cole's hand just in time for the four of them to orb out and dodge the fireball.
Piper and Leo stood behind the Book of Shadows in the attic, as Cole sat overwhelmed by his failure and Prue paced trying to think of a plan.
"Anything in there?" Cole asked Piper.
"Not seen anything yet. You'd think since we deal with demons as much as we do there's be more on blood pacts"
"Well there's got to be a loophole, especially when the blood wasn't given willingly" Leo said.
Prue thought as she walked around the attic. "I could distract The Source with my astral form, move the scroll out of his hand and then Piper could use her power to burn it to a cinder"
"We're seriously going to rely on my power right now?" Piper pointed out.
"Well I know you still can't freeze, but I doubt that'd work on The Source even if you could. Besides, I think the more fire power the better right now"
"Wouldn't work anyway" Cole said depressed. "The Source's scrolls can't be destroyed like that. You have to destroy the deal before you destroy the scroll, not the other war around"
"What deal?" Piper questioned. "Phoebe get's turned into his slave, what is it that she's getting in return?"
"Your lives spared" Cole answered.
Prue stood still and turned to Cole "You knew about this?"
"Well we haven't exactly been speaking recently Prue" Cole defended.
Prue raised her eyes and carried on pacing.
"But Phoebe's potion fixed all that, she made it for me so that…" Cole explained.
"Yeah Leo filled us in thanks" Prue interrupted.
"Hey I might have found something" Piper announced.
Prue rushed behind the book with Piper and Leo. "The Ritual of Anubis" Prue read out loud. "The keeper of the gate the underworld, Anubis may be called upon to trade the souls of the dead for those of the living or to make deals for the undoing of underworld blood deals" Prue cringed slightly. "Sounds risky, couldn't we just use the spell we cast to undo mom's deal with that warlock?"
Leo shook his head. "Time would go on as normal in the Underworld just like it did when Tempest reversed it" he told them "But you're right, this is risky, Anubis will want something in return"
"If there's any consequences then they'll be able to deal with it better with the power of three" said Cole.
"We have to get Phoebe back" Piper said.
The four of them stood in silence for a moment. "Let's do it!" Prue said.
Prue and Piper sat cross legged across from each other in the middle of the attic, ten black candles burned between them, Leo sprinkled a circle of salt around the sisters and Cole sat and watched anxiously.
"You ready?" Prue asked holding the book in her lap.
Piper nodded.
Prue began: "Anubis, keeper of the gate, we invoke thee. Grant us your presence here. Into our circle we now call you. We bargain with life, soul and blood. We humbly ask thee to be our saviour!"
The candle flames grew unnaturally tall and flickered violently. The room darkened and a cold wind blew. Smoke formed within the circles centre and took the shape of a jackal's head. It spoke: "Witches! How dare you summon me?"
"They wish to make a deal" Leo said.
"In which case the deal makers and only the deal makers shall speak to me white lighter!" Anubis growled. "What is it you wish to bargain for?"
"Our sister, Phoebe Halliwell" Prue answered.
"Ah, The Sources new play thing" Anubis sniggered.
Piper resisted the urge to yell at the beast.
"The magic of the scrolls is notoriously difficult to break" Anubis told them. "Only the soul of a living mortal will be enough to compensate"
"What? We can't do that. We can't chose a mortal to die" Prue said.
"You wouldn't" Anubis corrected. "I would"
"We'll do it" Piper agreed.
"Piper!" Prue scolded.
"We can't lose her Prue!" Piper said.
"Only when both the deal makers have agreed can I free your sister" stated the Jackal.
Prue closed her eyes and thought.
"One mortal soul, for the hundreds of innocents the power of three could still save" the beast tempted.
Prue opened her eyes. "Agreed"
Leo looked in despair as the Jackal faded away, the candles blew out and everything was normal again.
Piper and Prue looked at each other, both with shame in their eyes.
"So where is she, where's Phoebe?" Piper asked.
"You broke the deal, but you'll still have to get her out of the Underworld" Cole said.
Prue sighed. "Fine, let's get ready"
Phoebe sat on a large stone as the Source looked over his scroll. It burst into flames in the palm of his hands. He cried with anguish as the scroll was burned to ash.
"No!" he cried.
Phoebe smiled and the Source saw her do so. "Don't smile just yet witch!" he warned. He waved his hand and a minion shimmered in.
"Send Shax to the Halliwell's home" he commanded. "It's time he finished what he started!"
Piper grabbed her boat from the hook next to the front door as the bell rang. She opened it to see Darryl looking very nervous. He forced his way in.
"You know, I love you girls like sisters but I can't keep doing this" he said.
"I know Darryl, we're sorry" Piper assured.
"It's one thing when you go elsewhere to kill a big scary ass demon, but when it's in your own house and like a bombs gone off I find it harder to help!" He said looking around the Manor and seeing that everything was fixed. "I'm guessing you cast a spell?"
"Yeah, nifty huh?" Piper quipped. "Look Darryl, we're going to save Phoebe, if you want you can wait in the attic and we'll be back to talk about all this quick as a flash okay?"
Darryl nodded as he followed Piper to the attic.
Prue, Cole and Leo all waited behind the book.
"Darryl hey" Prue greeted.
"Hey, so are you guys going to… hell?" he asked.
"The Underworld specifically" Cole corrected.
"You got the spell to get down there?" Piper asked.
"Yes I have, shall we?" Prue asked.
Suddenly a tornado blasted through the attic door and hit Darryl sending him crashing into a sofa and smashing it to smithereens on impact.
"Darryl!" Leo yelled, going to heal him. But before he could, Shax blasted him with a bolt of energy and knocked him unconscious.
Shax sent another bolt of energy at the sisters. Prue raised her hand and sent it flying back; Shax was barely hurt.
Piper noticed Shax was standing directly under a light. "Just relax and fire, relax and fire" she whispered to herself. She waved her hands and the light exploded, broke off the roof and fell on Shax head.
Cole repeatedly hit Shax with energy balls as Prue flipped through the book as fast as she could. "Let's hope the power of two will do"
The sisters joined hands and chanted. "Evil wind that blows, that which forms below, no longer may you dwell, death takes you with this spell!"
Shax began to glow and screamed in agony, his entire body shook as the energy crackled through his skin. He let out one final cry before exploding in a blast of smoke, fire and sparks.
Leo began to wake up. Piper rushed to him and saw Darryl led on the floor. Prue went over to Darryl and gasped. "Leo, get over here!"
Piper and Leo ran over to Prue and Darryl and were shocked to find that one of the pieces of wood from the sofa that Darryl collided with had impaled Darryl through the stomach. He was awake, but dazed as blood trickled from his mouth.
"You need to get the wood out" Leo said.
"Piper take his hand" Prue said.
Piper grabbed Darryl's hand and squeezed it tight as Prue telekinetically removed the wood as quickly as she could. Darryl screamed in pain.
"Okay heal him" Prue told Leo.
Leo held his hands over the bloody wound and his hands glowed. He waited for Darryl to be healed but instead was shocked to see sparks flying from his own hands. His hands started to burn and Darryl's wound was not getting any better. Leo jolted back and stopped the healing.
"It's not working" he said regretfully.
"What do you mean?" Piper yelled. "Why not? He's still alive!"
"The deal" Leo said welling up. "It must be the deal"
Prue began to cry "No!"
Prue and Piper held Darryl and sobbed as his awareness began to fade.
"Thank you" He said.
"For what?" Piper cried. "What do you have to thank us for?"
"Everyday I saw evil, at times I thought that if there were any higher powers out there, then they certainly weren't on our side" Talking became harder. "But when you guys shared your secret with me, it gave me my hope back" he smiled.
Prue blubbered. "But if you didn't know us you wouldn't have got roped into our stupid deal"
"Let me make you a deal" Darryl struggled.
"What?" Prue asked.
"If you tell my family everything, tell them all the good I helped you guys do… I'll tell Andy you said 'hi'" he said.
Prue held his hand and kissed it as Darryl began to drift. The sisters broke down as their friend passed away.
The Source stood in his chamber, seemingly alone. But a female voice in the shadows spoke to him. "So, did the sisters asked as you expected?"
"Exactly as I expected, exactly as I intended" The Source answered.
"Well then, I guess everyone evil wins" the voice said.
"What do you intend to do with your winnings?" The Source asked.
A woman with curled brown hair floated out of the shadows. "I'm a collector, I need more good souls for my collection, otherwise it will never be complete" She smiled as she held out the palm of her hand as a sphere of fire appeared in it. "Now the Charmed One's friend's soul burns in my fires. It'll do until I get their's"
"You might want to hide that Charon, the sisters already know of you from your last encounter, they'll try to save him" he told her.
"Ah yes, when they were young witches full of joy and happiness" she hovered next to him "I'm hoping now that you've begun to crush that in their lives, you could bring me closer to getting my trophies"
"All in good time my sweet, all in good time"
-To be continued-