Charmed
Another Side, Another Story
III
A World Apart
(Part 12)
Phoebe is about to close the book and pace with it. She doesn't know what else to do, so she hopes this might give her an idea. Then, she remembers Grams. She looks above.
"Grams!" Phoebe calls. "I can't do this. I need help."
She watches the pages flip. They land on two full pages written in a language that isn't English.
"What is," Phoebe looks it over. "This is Latin. I don't know Latin." She looks above again. "Grams, I don't know Latin!"
~!~
Coronado opens his eyes. He has returned, and he heard Phoebe. He stands and sees her slumped over the book. He joins her.
"You can do this," Coronado says.
"Coronado!" She's semi surprised and semi excited to see him back and up and at it. She shakes her head. "I can't do this. Coronado, Piper's in danger and so is Prue. They're in the painting."
"I know," Coronado says. "How do you know?"
"I saw it through a Premonition," Phoebe says. "How do you know?"
"I was with Piper," Coronado says. "I have a variation of Astral Projection as one of my powers."
"One of the family powers," Phoebe says. "I've read about it." She says nothing for a moment. "You've got more than one?"
Coronado smiles. "Yes. I've got two active powers: that and Invisibility"
Phoebe shakes her head. "I hate you."
"I love you too."
"So, Piper's okay, and Prue?" Phoebe asks.
"We don't know," Coronado says. "That's a problem, but we have another one."
"The Warlock that attacked Piper," Phoebe says.
Coronado nods. "He knows how to escape from the painting, and once he gets out he's coming to destroy the painting and everyone inside of it."
"What's the Warlock got to do with this?" Phoebe says.
"His name is Teague," Coronado explains. "He set up my friend Zach out of revenge against Zach's ancestor. It's a lot, but don't worry about that. We can save them. Piper says you can save them."
Phoebe looks down at the pages full of Latin. Then, she looks back to Coronado. "Coronado, how the heck do I save them?"
Coronado looks to the book. "We're half way there. You're where Piper and I were. We needed Prue because the answers are in Latin."
"I don't know Latin," Phoebe tells him. "I'm not smart like Prue and Piper, I didn't finish college, and as a Witch my premonitions only get me so far."
"Phoebe, they went to college and finished," Coronado says, "but that doesn't mean you're not smart." He looks her in her eyes.
Phoebe doesn't want to let her sisters down or Coronado. It's not that she's not smart. She looks down at the book. She just doesn't know Latin. But she knows how to remedy that.
"Follow me Coronado," Phoebe tells him. She heads up the stairs but stops on them, turning back to Coronado while he stands by the book. "Oh, grab the painting too." She continues up the stairs mumbling. "across the land...begun...heaven..."
Coronado grabs the painting, not really sure why, and follows her lead.
She goes to her room, grabs her notepad and pen, and starts writing.
"What are you doing?" Coronado asks while standing at Phoebe's doorway.
"Prue asked me to step up," Phoebe says. "Piper believes in me. And you? You reminded me. I am smart. May be not like Piper and Prue, but we're The Charmed Ones. We all bring something to the table. I need them, and they need me."
Coronado sees her writing fast and furiously. He realizes she's writing a spell.
"Here we go," Phoebe says: "Spirits, send the words from all across the land. Allow me to absorb them through my hands. From now until my deed is done, I will understand all meaning of the words under the sun."
"You just cast-" Coronado questions.
"A smart spell," Phoebe answers with a sly smile. "I got to see if it works." She goes to her vanity and sifts through her make-up, some clothes, and some fast food wrappers to find her book on Jeet Kun Do. She places it on the bed. She places her hands over it. The book opens, the pages flip casting off a faint glow, and the book closes.
"Did it work?" Coronado asks.
"Yeah," Phoebe says. "I think I just became a black belt. Actually, make that a seventh-degree black belt." She jogs past Coronado, Coronado follows, and she heads into Prue's room. She searches through Prue's bookcase and eventually finds one of her old Latin books. She places it on Prue's bed and absorbs its words. "I know Latin! Let's go." She passes Coronado at Prue's doorway, heading back downstairs, and Coronado follows.
"I'm carrying the painting in case Teague shows up," Coronado says.
"Yep," Phoebe says as they head down the staircase.
"I could've just made it invisible," Coronado says.
Phoebe gets to the book. "Did I tell you I hate you?"
"You did," Coronado says, placing the painting back were he got it. "I'll get us too." He makes the painting invisible along with Phoebe and himself. Better to be safe than sorry.
"I can read it," Phoebe says. "I'll find the spell and you can astral back into the painting and get everyone out."
"True," Coronado says, "but we still got to get rid of Teague. We'll need time to find Prue, and we don't know how much we've got with him out there bent on destroying the painting."
~!~
Teague blinks back into the hall. He looks around and sees that the painting is gone.
"The painting," Teague says. "Where is it? The fuck could it be? The Witch, Zach, and Coronado...they were in the painting. It has to be here. Unless there are more Witches... Wait. Could this house belong to those three Witches?"
Meanwhile, Phoebe runs and jumps at Teague, kicking him into the door.
"Phoebe," Coronado whispers harshly.
Phoebe shakes her head. "I read about him in the book. He has an x-ray vision power." She goes to the painting. "Verba Omnes Liberant!" Words Free Us All. Phoebe translates it in her head. Words...free everyone...
Nothing happens.
"There you are," Teague says, sounding happy and too pleased with himself. He activates his x-ray vision and sees Phoebe, the painting, and Coronado. He unleashes flames from his hands, aiming for the painting.
Phoebe sees the flames and reacts, jumping into the living room, but the flames engulf the painting.
"Destroy Nell's Descendant, the painting, and the three Witches."
Phoebe gets on her feet. She wants Coronado to go get her sisters and his friend, but Coronado can't leave... She realizes the trance he has to put himself in would just put his life in danger. Teague might kill him.
"Hey!" Coronado yells. He walks toward the flames. "You're not going to make it out of this one!"
"I'm a survivor Coronado," Teague says, extinguishing the flames from his hands. "I'll be fine, but you-"
Phoebe runs toward Coronado.
Teague blinks.
"Move!" Phoebe shouts.
Coronado moves out of the way and onto the staircase.
Teague blinks in behind where Coronado stood.
Phoebe punches Teague. "Absolvo amitto amplus brevis." She grabs him before he has a chance to recover, and flips him onto his back, using her hip and her center of gravity. "Semper mea!" She and Teague get sucked into the painting.
~!~
"We changed the future," Piper says, "and I'm still going to be burned alive." She starts to shake a little, even though she was trying to make light of the situation.
The castle is on fire. Smoke is everywhere. Zach is coughing.
"Don't talk like that," Prue commands. "We are getting out of here." She uses her Telekinesis to force the window open. "Phoebe is going to get us out of here."
"I sure am," Phoebe says. She appeared behind them at the door of the bedroom. Teague is nowhere in sight, and Phoebe doesn't care where he is.
"Here you three are, The Halliwell Sisters," Zach says before another coughing fit.
"You can call us The Charmed Ones," Phoebe says, grabbing hold of Zach and pulling him toward her sisters. "Verba Omnes Liberant!"
Teague blinks into the room from the other side of the door upon hearing them. "No!"
"Yes!" Phoebe says. She, her sisters, and Zach disappear before Teague's eyes.
~!~
Teague blinks down to the dungeons, but they are engulfed in flames. The mirror has fallen and shattered into pieces. The shards are blackening. He grabs the biggest piece. It burns his skin. He doesn't care. This is the end.
"Issim," Teague says. "You asshole. Avenge me. The Three Witches? They're known as The Charmed Ones. You'll find them in a manor at 1329 Prescott Street."
Teague closes his eyes. The flames engulf him and vanquish him.
~!~
Phoebe and Piper watch Prue extinguish the painting's flames with an extinguisher.
"That's done," Prue says.
Piper hugs Phoebe. "Thanks for saving us."
"Anytime," Phoebe says.
"Looks like you're more capable than you thought," Prue says. "We had nothing to worry about." Prue smiles, making Phoebe smile.
Prue gives her attention to Zach, who has gone to stand across from Coronado.
Phoebe and Piper give their attention to Coronado, who has come down the stairs. A few seconds ago, he was happy to see them all alive and well.
"That's why you're called The Charmed Ones," Coronado had said under his breath when they had returned with Zach.
Now, Coronado looks uncomfortable and unsure. He does his best to hide this from Zach, but everyone in this room knows Coronado well enough to know when he feels out of his element.
"These two," Prue says, for only her sisters to hear, "what should we do about them?"
