Hello all, chapter 24 is here and the end is getting closer, i actually thought about just ending the story at chapter 23 just so i wouldn't have to end it properly, i was going to just abandon it and leave it all for you to imagine what happens but I couldn't bring myself to do that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters you are familiar with. I only own what you are not familiar with and this story, it is all mine. If you wish to use any of the characters for anything please ask first, no doubt I will say yes as long as I know what you would like to use them for. I will warn you now, I will set the crazy Elders on anyone who steals a character or scene or anything from this story
...They're watching...
A/N: I have some really scary news for all of you... There are only six chapters left in this story! It's scary I know, I'm scared, my friends are scared, hell my characters are scared! After all the Halliwells have to save the world and themselves and what's that I hear you all yell? Oh that's right GET HENRY JR BACK! =) Gosh there are a lot of characters appearing now, i hope you don't get to confused. Any doubts or questions message me! I'm happy to answer. Thank you everyone who has reviewed, I really do love hearing from you. Please stick around to see the end of this story, I know it won't dissapoint! Please continue to review! =)
A/N: P.S. I have a poll on my site page or whatever it's called lol, I'm asking you, the reader, what you would like to see after the end of Decode. Please cast a vote and if there is not anything there you like and you have a fabby idea then please message me. I would love to hear it! You never know it might inspire me and could turn out to be a story.
Anyway...
Summary: Two months have passed since the wedding nightmare and still Kayla has yet to be found. A new prophecy is uncovered and ancient magic from King Arthur's time is revived and the gang are thrown into one whirlwind of an adventure. Can they decode the ancient text? Sequel to 'Living up to the Name.'
Decode
Chapter 24-Forsaking All Elders
(When Magic Takes A Stand Part 2)
The blue and white lights faded from around Prue and Billie, the elder of the two dropped the younger witch's hand and watched as Billie walked over to the entrance of the cave, looking worried. Prue watched as Billie ran her hands over her face and then into her hair, she sucked in a deep breath and turned to look at the older witch, she was lost and confused. When they had arrived in the messed up house Billie's mind had been flooded with horrible memories, the memories from the ultimate battle. When Piper and her sisters had entered the room with people Billie didn't know, all she could picture was Phoebe lying in Piper's arms, Paige lying on the floor with her neck at a weird angle and it had scared her. For the first time in many years Billie was haunted by the events of the Ultimate Battle, they had escaped from the box at the back of her mind and she just had to get out of there, she had to get away from the Halliwells.
Prue looked at the young witch in sympathy. For all the times she had gone back to the family none of them had been quite as hard as this time. Prue knew that her family were in danger and now she had enough power to do something about it and she was afraid. She was afraid she had forgotten how to fight, after all she had been sitting on a cloud shouting while watching what happened below her. She wasn't going to judge Billie for wanting to get out of Kathryn's house, she to was glad to get away. This was all too much, it was happening too fast.
"I'm so sorry Pure." Billie said quietly as she looked at the older woman. "I didn't…"
"It's ok." Prue cut in looking at Billie with a small smile. "I'm glad you asked me."
Billie looked at the eldest sister confused, she opened her mouth to speak but closed it over when showers of blue and white lights lit up the cave at once. The two females stood with opened mouths as they watched lots of whitelighters orb in with what looked to be their charges and other members of the Magical Community. Prue looked around at the people who had arrived, some she recognised others not so much. Clearing her throat the eldest of the four Halliwell sisters watched as everyone turned round to look at her, she sighed in this dim light it was hard to see. She threw her hand out and balls of light escaped her palm just like Leo had done at his and Piper's wedding. She watched as some members of the community let out a gasp, others stood with smirks on their faces.
"Damn I didn't think Andy would be able to do it." J.D said as he looked at Prue, only glancing at Billie for a moment.
The young blonde looked at the man a little away from her, a shocked expression painted on her face. This had been the first time she had seen him ever since he had died, since she had discovered she had feel...
Billie opened her mouth and began to speak, her voice failing her. "What…" She coughed and started again. "What are you all doing here?" She asked looking around.
"Andy told me to listen for his call and sense for Prue." J.D told Billie. "He then told me to round up everyone who was willing to help." He said gesturing to the people who filled the cave.
Prue smiled a little. "Our very own Resistance." She said with a smile.
"Aye Lassie." One of the Leprechauns said with a smile. "It's about time the Elders' luck ran out!"
Cheers erupted in the cave causing Billie and Prue to look at each other astounded, they had the whole magical community behind them, minus a few. J.D folded his arms across his chest and looked at the girls. "Have you ladies got a plan?" He asked.
"Andy!" Prue called.
'Prue get me out of here' rang through Piper's ears over and over again as she stared at the spot her older sister and old friend had been moments ago.
It had thrown Piper off completely when she had spotted her sister and Billie standing in the hallway of Kathryn's destroyed home, she had been friends with Billie for years but seeing her amongst the rubble of the destroyed house brought back a few memories she would have liked to forget. Still she had thought them and so had Billie, then just like that Prue had orbed the young witch out of the house. Orbed, as in disappeared in a shower of blue and white lights just like a whitelighter. Prue was a whitelighter meaning she could stay with the family, they would be able to see her whenever they wanted and Piper was scared. Of course she had seen Prue after her death but it had only been a handful of times and she hadn't been able to talk to her about what happened after she had died. Piper stood looking at the spot on the floor, Leo's voice finally snapping her out of her trance.
"Honey are you ok?" He asked softly.
Piper shook her head and then turned to face Andy, the others gathered around them. "What's going on?" She asked.
Andy heard Prue's voice echo inside his head, it caused him to smile. J.D had gotten his call. He looked to Piper and smiled at her, it was a warm and caring smile. "I need you guys to clean up in here, just in case the Police get involved after the noise that was coming from here." Andy looked to Danny. "Think you could get your Dad to pay us a visit?" He asked.
Danny nodded his head and took his cell out of his pocket, he stepped over a broken bookshelf and headed off towards the kitchen to make the call. The other witches stood looking at the whitelighter very confused.
"Andy," Phoebe said her voice laced with fear. "What…"
"Clean up and wait here." Andy said as the orbs started at his feet. "I'll be back before you know it."
"But!" Paige called, this however did not stop the whitelighter. Andy disappeared causing her to sigh. "What are we going to do when you get back?" she looked to her sisters. "Was he always like that?"
The younger witches in the room watched as their parents and grandparents all broke away to begin cleaning up. The eight young witches stood with confused and worried looks on their faces, the knights and Merlin with them. Letti blew some of her hair out of her face as she began to feel everyone's emotions swirl towards her, it caused her to frown. Fear, Pain, Worry, Betrayal Anger, Hope and a sprinkle of faith were all hitting her creating one heck of an emotional smoothie. Taking a deep breath the young half cupid kicked a piece of broken wood away from her feet and then squatted down to pick up some of the books that where lying on the wooden floor.
Mel looked at Letti and swallowed before squatting down at her older cousin's side and helping her pick up the books. No one said anything, they all started to move in silence. No words were exchanged only worried looks. Everyone moved to clean up, some stayed on the ground floor, others went up the stairs. Merlin and his knights followed the twins up the stairs, Merlin had an idea and he needed to glance through the Book of Shadows. He was hoping he could do that while the others helped clean up Kathryn's unused attic.
Barbus stood in the corner of the room watching as Vivien and Leon stood discussing with an Elder, the demon of fear frowned as he watched them talk about getting the evil-doers into Magic School. The Elders effectively had full control over the magical world so it shouldn't be too hard to get them in there, they just had to make sure it worked. Barbus was not fond of this plan after all there were still going to be students and teachers at Magic School, Leo Wyatt may be off due to family reasons but that didn't mean the school closed while he wasn't there.
Barbus folded his arms across his chest and watched as the discussion got pretty heated, some shouting came from one of the Elder's mouths. He had worked with an Elder before and it had not ended well, yes the annoying future boy had died but the Twice-Blessed had lived, he was still living and evil couldn't use his sword. Thinking about it Barbus turned his head and looked at Excalibur, sitting in it's stone. A small smile crossed his lips as he looked at it, the silver shine was finally beginning to die down, it was slowly turning black. This was because the magical object had been surrounded by evil for too long, it was also a mirror of how Wyatt felt on the inside. He felt despair, pain and loss meaning that the sword was feeling it too. Letting it's guard down it would be able to be turned with in a matter of weeks, or that was what Vivien had said.
Vivien, the demon of fear frowned. Some plan that had been, he had been hoping for a smart evil enchantress who would be able to rid the world of the Halliwells in a matter of days, not a matter of months. Heck it was getting close to eight months, this trivial game had been going on for so long and the only thing that had gone to plan was the death of Henry Jr. Out of all their attempts that was the only one that had worked successfully. They had lost many demons, had killed Kayla and Bell only to have them come back, had discovered the real prophecy and lost Ebony to the side of good. When Barbus got his hands on that girl…no, when Leon got his hands on the damned young Phoenix he would killed her. She was just as annoying and as much of a pain as her older sister. Barbus just hoped Ebony met the same fait as Bianca.
"Barbus!" Vivien spat causing the demon of fear to turn his head and look at the old woman.
"Yes?" He asked with a slight hiss. He walked forward, his long dark cloak gathering dust as he walked across the castle floor and stopped on the other side of the round table. His eyes narrowed into slits as he looked down at the wooden table. Who did Vivien think she was? The next Queen of Camelot? She had created her own castle and then gotten her own round table, in fact it had been her friend Mordant's suggestion, a round table with a black pentagram carved onto the top of it.
"Marchello says we will be able to get into the Library of the school." Vivien said looking at her partner in crime. "They have blocked off the West Library to students and teachers."
"It is where we are keeping the prisoners." The Elder told Barbus, only causing him to frown.
Leon looked at Barbus. "They caught Ebony." he informed the demon before looking at Vivien and the Elder. "How are we going to keep this going?" He asked. "There are still students at that school, teachers. Pretty powerful people."
"Demons." Vivien said with a twisted grin. "Demons in every hallway and every room."
"Will they get in?" Barbus asked, his eyes locking on the Elder since the question was directed at him.
Marchello nodded his head. "Yes. We have gotten rid of the protection spells Leo placed around the school. They were strong, but not strong enough. Sage has taken care of it."
"This is all falling into place." Vivien said with a grin. She walked round the table her hand lightly tracing the rim of the wood. She walked over to where Excalibur sat and watched as the sword's golden shield came up around itself. It wasn't as big as it had been when she had first taken the sword and it wasn't as bright. The sword was loosing its' magic because dear little king Wyatt was loosing his faith in his own magic. "It won't be long now." Vivien said as she looked at the sword. She couldn't wait to be able to use it without the sting of good she had felt last time.
Barbus nodded to Leon and the younger demon excused himself from the room following the demon of fear. Once they were outside the room, the doors closed over with a wave of Barbus' hand. The demon with silver hair turned on the younger demon and grabbed him by the throat slamming him up against the stone wall. Leon frowned at the older demon and started gasping for air as Barbus tightened his hand around his windpipe.
"When you see Ebony I want you to take her from the room and kill her." He hissed. "Got it?" He said.
Leon nodded his head and Barbus let him go before storming off back into the room where the Elder and Vivien were standing. Leon stood to his full height and straightened himself out before running his hands through his dark hair. He frowned, Barbus shouldn't have done that. Leon didn't need to be told, Ebony had betrayed him and Evil, she would have to pay. Leon stormed off down the castle corridor to where all the other demons were meant to be preparing for battle, with a harsh, cold look on his face he headed off to announce the plan. He was going to make sure the Halliwells and their friends paid for taking Ebony away and then he was going to make sure Ebony paid. A twisted smile appeared on his face, revenge was going to be sweet. So sweet Ebony would have her clothes off in seconds.
Amy lay on the cold marble floor looking up at the high ceiling through the glowing blue force field that was keeping her in the one place. Hearing talking she rolled over onto her side and pushed herself up not using her injured arm as she watched two Elders walk back into the room, an unconscious Dylan floating on a cloud of orbs behind them. She frowned in disgust as she watched the Elders drop Dylan to the floor, his body jolted as he hit the hard floor below him. This was different from the last time she had been held hostage, at least this time she could still see the sun so to speak and this time the people who were behind the kidnapping weren't as vicious as the ones before.
"I swear to god if you touch him again I'll shock your ass so hard you'll be afraid to use your Elder bolts!" Kayla shouted as the Elders placed the crystals back round Dylan, trapping him once again. The young female was worried, she was scared as hell. This was wrong on so many levels.
The Elders were meant to be good, they were meant to look out for the good people that belonged to the magical community. They were meant to make sure innocent people didn't loose their lives during magical conflict. Basically they were meant to be doing the opposite of what they were doing just now. Kayla pushed herself up so she was standing, ignoring the shooting pain in her right leg. She was pissed off at magic and the Elders. She held their gaze as the Elders walked over to her. They stopped in front of her prison and looked at her with sick smiles on their faces.
"You might want to hold your tongue." One of the Elders told Kayla. "You don't want to end up like Derek do you?"
"It's Dylan!" Jason spat as he stood up also, looking at the Elders with hate filled eyes. "If you touch anyone else I'll personally issue you a one way ticket to hell!" Jason watched with a frown on his face as the library doors opened once again and this time another two elders walked in dragging Bell in with them.
The others quickly stood to attention as they watched Bell lifted her head weakly as she was pulled in, her feet dragging across the floor. The Elders who had brought Dylan back in turned their backs to Kayla and watched with smirks as Bell was pushed through the force field, causing her to grumble in pain as she was shocked before hitting the floor. The girl who had met death pushed herself back up not giving the Elders the satisfaction of seeing her in pain. Bell threw her head back causing all of her sandy coloured hair to fall back down over her shoulders to hang down her back.
"How did she react?" One of the Elders asked the ones who had just arrived.
"Resistant, Rankin." The Elder replied.
The Elder named Rankin sighed and shrugged. "Must have something with her being dead. No matter, I'm sure her lover felt that."
Bell frowned as she stood up to her full height, a threatening look on her face. "If you hurt him I'll kill you!" She shouted.
Rankin let out a laugh as the other Elders disappeared in showers of blue and white lights. The Elder turned on Bell and looked at her with a smirk. "I don't think you're in any position to threaten me." He stated. "I'll send you back to the afterlife before you get a chance to see Christopher."
"You can't do that." Ebony said folding her arms across her chest. "You don't have the power." She hissed.
Rankin turned and flexed his fingers at Ebony, lightening bolts escaped from his hand and hit the young girl causing her to let out a cry of pain before she disappeared.
"Ebony!" Bell yelled as she moved to step forward and was shocked by her prison.
"You no good son of a bitch!" Jason shouted as the Elder dissolved in a shower of blue and white lights.
"Oh my god." Kayla said as tears started to fall from her eyes. "She can come back right?" She asked turning to look at the others. "She can come back right?"
It was strange to think she had become such good friends with Ebony is such a short time, after all the young girl had stopped her wedding and let the bad guys torture her but with every bad action she committed she always did something good that seemed to counter it.
Before anyone could answer Kayla's question tiny particles swirled round in what looked like a tornado. Amy gasped as she watched some of the particles get through the force field, but they moved back inside it before she could get excited. The gang watched as the particles swirled round and then stopped as Ebony pieced back together in front of them.
"Thank god!" Bell said with a smile. "Are you ok?" She asked.
Ebony nodded her head as she flexed her fingers. "Damn that stung like a bitch!" She said with an angry expression on her face. "Next Elder to walk in here get's their head ripped off. Forget the Headless Horseman I'm gonna be so much worse!"
"You can't get out of there and your powers can't get outside." Jason stated as he sat back down on the floor and glanced over at where Dylan was lying, still out cold.
"But she did get out." Amy said causing the others to look at her. "Or at least I think she did."
"What?" Ebony asked confused.
"When you were reforming those little particles got through the force field but they moved back inside again just before you became whole." Amy explained. "Did you feel a shock?"
Ebony shook her head causing her dark locks to bounce. "No." She smiled a little. "Yay! Now I have a reason to piss of an Elder."
"You didn't need a reason." Bell said with a small laugh.
"No way." Jason said shaking his head. "We are not letting you get blown up." He stated. "It's not worth it."
"Aww!" Ebony said with a smile as she pulled her hair into a ponytail to keep it back off her face. "I wish Dylan was awake to see that someone actually cares enough about me to keep me alive."
The girls laughed as Jason's cheeks were painted a light red. The young witch coughed and then looked at Ebony again with a firm look. "You are not going 'pop' just to get out of here. There's got to be another way. There has to be someway we can alert the teachers and students. I mean there are classes going on right now. We must be able to get someone's attention."
"I think they've blocked off this area." Amy said with a sigh.
"Well while you think of that," Ebony said with a smirk. "I'm gonna see if I can shock myself until I go…as you put it 'pop'."
"I'd just wait for the Elder." Bell said with a grimace as she watched Ebony step into the wall. It shocked her and threw her back to the floor causing her head to hit off the other side.
"Ouch!" Ebony hissed as she sat back up.
"Well?" Amy asked.
"I felt a little of the tingle, not enough." She said before pushing herself back up.
"Kayla!" Jason cried. "Stop this madness please!"
Kayla frowned an powered up an energy ball, she threw it at the force field and watched as it shook but it wasn't enough to make a break. Then a light bulb sparked above her head, all she had to do was make a hole large enough for an energy ball to fit through so it could hit Ebony's cage and then shock her. It was a dicey plan but what else did they have?
Jason frowned as Kayla powered up an energy ball and threw it at the force field again, that was not what he had in mind when he asked her to stop the madness. He watched as the energy ball bounced back causing Kayla to dive to the floor. "Hey!" Jason shouted. "Committing suicide is not going to help you know! Not only would you be gone, The Elders would kill us and then Wyatt would bring us back and kill us all over again!"
"I'm trying to make a hole." Kayla informed the only conscious male as she stood back up and threw another two energy balls at the shield, one from each hand. "They might stop our powers from working outside them but if we break them long enough to send something out…"
"We might be able to stop Ebony blowing." Bell said with a smile as she caught on. The girl who had visited the afterlife closed her eyes over and tapped into her power boost hoping her plan would work. She placed her hands out in front of her and pushed them forward, a telekinetic wave hit the force field causing it to blink furiously.
"Ooh that looked like it might work." Amy said as she watched. "Try again."
Bell closed her eyes over again and concentrated really hard, she had been given access to her past life's powers so why couldn't she tap into them fully? Bell summoned all of the power she could possibly muster, her hands began to glow a strange white colour causing the others to stop what they were doing to watch.
"Bell…" Jason said as he watched. "I think you should stop."
Bell pushed her hands forward and opened her eyes to see the force field blink until it faded, she went to step forward but fell backwards as the whole room began to shake. The others who where standing where thrown to the floor as books fell from shelves, the bookcases toppled over, dust fell from the ceiling and two of the chandeliers fell and smashed on the tables. The witches watched with wide eyes and open mouths as a large crack appeared on the marble floor, splitting it in two almost. It ran all the way over to the doors. Suddenly all the shaking stopped and everything fell silent and the shield came back up around Bell.
"Well." Amy said a little shocked. "Maybe that got someone's attention."
Professor Vickers stepped outside of his advanced potions class with a frown on his face, he looked down the hallway to find that all the shaking had stopped there was nothing out of the ordinary. Slowly other teachers began to step outside their rooms to look around. There was no alarm going off which meant there was nothing in the school that wasn't meant to be there.
Inside Professor Vickers' class the pupils sat looking at each other with worried expressions, weird things had been happening for a while now. One of the girls Laura turned and picked up the pencil that had rolled off her desk, she squatted down her fingers brushed against it and she let out a gasp.
"Laura?!" Her partner, Chace, called with a frown on his face. He quickly made his way over to her side causing the other pupils to look on with worried expressions. Mark squatted down in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He watched as her eyes opened, the colour gone and the white clouded look replaced them. "Laura?" He asked again. "What do you see?"
"Professor Vickers!" A girl named Becky shouted.
The professor and Professor Hughes from demonology came running back into the class room as Laura began to talk.
"Darkness, demons, lots of them. They're coming…here. The Elders…six people…West Library." Laura spoke in cryptic short answers.
"What?" A boy named David asked confused.
The girl opened her eyes and let out another gasp, the ringing in her ears faded and she looked around the worried class with a horrified look on her face. She looked at Chace's confused face and then turned her head to look at the two teachers standing in the classroom. "Demons are coming here with the Elders. It's got something to do with the people in the West Library."
"That doesn't make any sense." Professor Hughes said with a confused look. "Demons can't get in here and The Elders would have announced themselves if they were here."
"Unless they didn't want anyone to know they were here." A young girl said. "We all know that they'd let us know where they were if they wanted to be found."
Professor Vickers looked at Laura as Chace pulled her back to her feet. "Are you sure?" He asked. Professor Vickers was a fairly young teacher, the boys in his class wanted to be him, the girls wanted to date him. The young girl nodded her bright blonde locks bouncing as she did so. He turned to Professor Hughes. "We can't take any chances." He said. The other teacher nodded his head in agreement and Vickers turned back to look at his students. "Do not leave this room, anyone that does will be kicked out of my class and have detention until next year. Got it?" He asked. The pupils nodded their heads.
Both teachers dressed in their long black cloaks quickly left the room, a few of the pupils raced towards the door to watch them take off down the corridor leaving the other teachers standing at their doors looking very confused. Professor White stepped out of her classroom further about to make her way over to Professor Vickers' class when the air rippled in front of her.
"Hello." A dark voice said as a man dressed all in black appeared. He moved his left hand and struck the Professor under the chin causing her to go flying backwards towards her own classroom. One of the boys standing at her door quickly stepped out and lifted both of his hands a purple field appeared around him and the fallen teacher as they were pulled back into the class, the door closing with a telekinetic push.
The demon turned round to look at Professor Vickers' classroom, the pupils quickly backed away from the door and closed the door over. They could hear a cold laugh coming from the other side.
"What are you doing?" Aundrea asked as she watched Marcus and Riley pull tables in front of the door.
The boys looked over their shoulders at the girl who had asked the question. "Buying time." They answered in unison.
Suddenly a loud noise filled the air and all of the lights went out, the School had gone into lock down because demons had entered.
"What now?" Becky asked as she looked to Laura and Chace.
"When will the Halliwells be joining us?" A young wood nymph with long dark hair asked Andy.
Andy had arrived almost an hour ago, since then the magical community had been discussing their plans for the day. They had to find out what the Elders were up to before they hid the Halliwells away from them, there would be no room for error or spies. This was a very delicate situation. Andy only whished that he could give everyone a test run before he threw them out on the firing line but he couldn't they didn't have enough time. The whitelighter was caught up in his own thoughts so much that he didn't answer the wood nymph's question. Instead Prue did.
"Soon." Prue answered causing everyone to look round at her, she literally had over five hundred eyes on her. She gulped and pushed her long dark hair back off her face, tucking a few strands of it behind her ears. She looked at all of the good people willing to help her family. It wasn't just her family however, she had to remember that the whole magical worlds, present and future was in danger. And while she would love to think it was just out of the love for her family Prue knew it wasn't, some of the people who had come were in fact doing it just to save themselves and to save their own kind and that was ok. They were allowed to think like that, no one was going to judge them. This was a very difficult situation, one which everyone had to get out of alive.
"Soon?" The wood nymph asked. "Why not now?"
"We can't endanger them." Prue replied simply. "We have to have a plan before we move my family. If the Elders have a spy down on Earth they are going to be waiting for us to move them so they can attack, the same with the demons." Prue looked around the room at the large number of young charges that had no choice but to come with their whitelighters. "Also we have to minimise the amount of casualties and hostages."
Andy who had snapped out of his day dream took over from Prue. "That's why any magical being, or charge under the age of seventeen or those who have no defensive/active powers will be going to another secret hide out where they will make the potions and prepare for any casualties."
Billie looked at Andy with her arms folded across her chest, that's what her husband and Andy had been talking about. She smiled at the thought of her husband agreeing to this, she could picture the look of horror on his face when all of these people arrived.
"So we're going to need to split up into teams." Prue announced. "A team to go into the city and pick up potion ingredients to take to the other safe place. A team to watch the Elders. A team to scout the area for anyone suspicious, A team to go to the Underworld, A team to put protection charms around the cave, A team to check the Halliwell Manor and finally a team to watch round the place where my family are."
J.D stepped next to Andy, away from Billie's side. The two had been standing in complete silence not saying a word to each other. It was just too hard for them at the moment. "All charges under the age of seventeen say goodbye to your whitelighter and then gather over there, all magical beings with no offensive powers stand with them please."
"How are you going to get them to London and create teams?" Billie whispered.
"Easy." Prue said with a smile. "We only need one whitelighter to orb them."
"I had better go." Andy said. "After all Fraser spoke to me."
"Come back soon ok?" Prue said with a small smile.
Andy nodded and walked past Billie patting her on the shoulder. The young blonde moved to stand beside Prue, she looked at the sea of people who had yet to move. She guessed that they would be the people staying behind. She watched as a small boy, he looked to be around five, walked over to J.D and gave him a hug. Billie watched with a small smile on her face as J.D squatted down in front of him and ruffled his hair before telling him to go and take a hold of one of the oracles' hands. The young woman dressed in a rather revealing outfit held her hand out and the little boy rushed over and took her hand holding onto it tightly. J.D stood back up and turned glancing at Billie, the young witch felt her cheeks heat up and she turned to look at Prue.
The Eldest Halliwell looked at her with a shake of her head before slinging an arm around her shoulders. Prue looked at the people who had stayed put, each of them watching as Andy organised the group of people getting ready to leave. There had to be around one hundred people staying behind, probably more. Prue didn't realise how many people where younger than seventeen in the magical community. She wondered what it would have been like if she had had her powers at that age. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to handle it, everything was tough at that age and adding demon fighting to that list would have been really tough. She watched as Andy lifted his hands and waved them in the air bringing them closer together, a large cluster of orbs appeared and the group of people standing in front of Andy disappeared with him, orbing out of the cave.
"Ok guys." Prue said as she took her arm away from Billie and clapped her hands together. "Any ideas to how we should go about this?" She asked.
Fraser walked out of his bedroom fully clothed, his pyjamas had been thrown under the duvet on his bed and his feet now had socks on them. The anxious man pulled at the collar of his yellow coloured t-shirt and straightened himself up, he was so nervous he could have very well be meeting the Queen. Walking down the stairs he headed into the living room and stopped in the doorway to watch his daughter, he had asked her to clear away some of her toys, however he didn't tell her it was ok to use magic to do so. Fraser folded his arms across his chest and watched as Abby stood next to the coffee table, she moved her right hand and her doll floated off the ground, she moved her left hand and picked up it's clothes. Fraser was pretty amazed at the control she had over her powers, but he had noticed that whenever he was around Abby didn't like to use her powers. It was strange.
Stepping fully into the room Abby heard him and turned round, her hands fell back down to her sides and the doll and clothes fell into the toy box. Fraser walked over and sat down on the coffee table, Abby standing at the right of him. He smiled at her as she looked at the floor. "That was pretty cool." He told her causing her to look up at him. "Can you lift the dolls house?" He asked out of curiosity.
"Yeah." Abby said nodding her head. She moved both her hands and the doll house floated off the floor, she flicked her right hand out and it floated over until it hit the wall, then it slowly lowered itself to the carpeted floor beneath it.
"Well done." Fraser said as he gave Abby a little round of applause. The little girl smiled at him and walked back over to the other toys. She began to put them away normally, causing Fraser to smile again. "I hope that didn't fall under personal gain." He mumbled to himself.
Hearing the sound of jingling Fraser and Abby both turned and watched as a large cluster of orbs appeared. Fraser stood up and Abby rushed over to his side wanting to be picked up, the father did as he was silently asked and the two of them watched as Andy appeared with a lot of people. Fraser's jaw dropped slightly as he looked at the number of people who had come. There had to have been at least fifty of them. Maybe slightly less.
"Hey guys." Andy said as he turned round and faced Abby and Fraser.
"Hi." Fraser said with a nervous smile as he looked at the people who had just arrived in his home.
Andy smiled. "Sorry about the number but this is for safety." Fraser nodded his head in understanding. "Um these people are under the age of seventeen or have no offensive powers so we thought they would be the best people to work behind the scenes."
"Ok." Fraser said his eyes drifting over the people. "What exactly are you using here for?"
"Well keeping this lot safe and we were hoping to use your kitchen for making potions and stuff and well we were hoping to bring injured people here for treatment we don't know if it'll be safe for whitelighters to heal out in the open with Elders watching."
"How will they stop watching here?" Fraser asked.
"Protection Charms." The oracle who was holding J.D's charge by the hand said. "Do you think Billie will have everything for potions here?"
Fraser shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know she's got quite a lot of stuff in the kitchen."
"That's ok. We'll be sending people here once we've got potion ingredients." Andy said with a smile. He turned and looked at the magical creatures. "Behave all of you, and I'll see you later." He turned back to Fraser and Abby. "See you later guys." With that he orbed out of the house.
Fraser swallowed. "Well, hi. I'm Fraser and this is Abby." He said indicating to his daughter. "Uh…well I guess we had better get started then."
"Right guys!" The young girl who had spoken earlier shouted. "Lock windows and doors, place crystals around the house, we're gonna need a room for injured people to go. Another room for the younger ones to go so they're safe and potion stuff out in the kitchen. We're gonna need offensive, defensive and any other kind of potion you can think of. Break!" she shouted.
The people began to move, a few of the sixteen year old charges began gathering up the young charges. The little boy who had been holding the oracle's hand was ushered to stand with the other charges. The oracle turned and looked at Fraser and Abby. She walked over to them. "My name is Raya." She said shaking Fraser's hand. "I'm an oracle, I see the future and what not. Good guy, well gal." She said with a smile. "How old is Abby?"
"Four." Fraser said.
Raya smiled at the little girl. "I think she should maybe go with the others. She'll be safe with them."
Fraser nodded and placed Abby down on the floor. A girl with short black hair walked over and took her by the hand before taking her away up stairs, the little boy holding onto her other hand.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Fraser asked as people continued to move around him.
Raya nodded. "Kitchen?"
"This way." Fraser smiled and led her and a handful of other witches and magical creatures through to his kitchen where they proceeded to hunt for potion ingredients.
Prue smiled as she watched the groups orb out to their designated areas, there were still lots of people left in the cave. It was their job to protect it to make sure the Elders couldn't sense any magical activity coming from it. Prue turned to see Andy orb back into the cave, she walked over to him a small smile on her face.
"We've sent everyone out, all that's left now is going to Kathryn's to get the family." Prue said.
"Did you send people to the Manor?" Andy asked.
Prue nodded her head. "Billie and J.D are in charge of that group. They're going to make sure the demons don't make it a base. I just hope they don't kill each other in the process."
Andy smiled. "So are we going to meet the group watching outside Kathryn's?" Prue nodded her head and took a hold of Andy's hand. The two disappeared in a shower of blue and white lights.
Lionel stood in the first floor hallway of Kathryn's home he was standing close to the wall looking out the window on the street below. He had pulled the lace curtain back and was watching confused, he was sure he had spotted someone walk past before. Someone that was dressed in a black skirt, someone who had walked past three times. The knight from the past frowned as he watched as the bushes in Kathryn's garden moved, he looked closer and spotted a girl with blonde hair, his eyes locked with hers for a moment before she disappeared and Lionel let the curtain fall back. He stepped away from the window and turned hearing the floorboards creak behind him.
"Hey you." Letti said with a smile as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled back and looked at Lionel confused. "What's wrong?"
"I think people are watching the house." Lionel answered her.
"What do you mean?" Letti asked. The young half cupid stepped forward and drew the curtain back only to see a vision of green hop from one bush to another. She frowned and stepped back from the window turning to look at Lionel. "You don't think the Elders got to…" Letti didn't finish her sentence. Instead she made her way down the stairs Lionel following behind her.
This was a new revelation, if the Elders had turned the magical community against the Halliwells they were well and truly screwed. The Halliwells were afraid of going up against the Elders, never mind the whole magical community. Letti hopped over the black bin bag sitting at the foot of the stairs and raced through the living room towards the kitchen where she hopped to find someone who would know what to do. Rounding the corner the young female stopped upon entering the room, she saw Chris doubled over with his brother and sister on either side of him. Leo and Piper watching helplessly while Kathryn stood mixing a potion.
"What's wrong?" Letti asked. It was a stupid question to ask because she knew what the answer would be.
"They're hurting Bell again." Wyatt answered his voice raw.
Letti frowned and watched as Wyatt stood up to his full height as painfully as Chris did. The Halliwell brothers composed themselves and put on their brave faces before everyone turned to look at Letti and Lionel.
"What's wrong with you?" Chris asked clearing his throat. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Letti sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "People are watching the house."
Piper frowned as the statement left her niece's mouth. This didn't sound good, but after the day they where having Piper wasn't that surprised. She wasn't as surprised as she should have been. "What do you mean?" She asked softly.
"I was watching out the window." Lionel started. "I saw a woman in a long black skirt walk past three times. Then I saw what I think was a girl in a bush."
Leo frowned confused.
"Wood nymph." Letti explained. "I saw her too, then there was a flash of green as another one moved to a different bush. I think the Magical Community are watching us."
"Well if they don't want to be found they're not doing a very good job." Mel said folding her arms across her chest.
"You don't think the Elders got to them do you?" Piper said turning to ask Leo.
The Ex-Elder simply shrugged, it was possible. If the Elders wanted to get rid of the Halliwells they would stop at nothing until they were dead. Even if that meant creating lies and scaring the whole community into believing them.
"They can't honestly believe that we're the bad guys." Chris huffed. "I mean after everything we've done."
Wyatt nodded agreeing with his brother, they had done a hell of a lot. They still had a lot to do. Wyatt sighed and walked out of the kitchen his brain going into overdrive again this was starting to get ridiculous. People were going to get hurt and Wyatt didn't like the sound of that. They had to stop Vivien, get the sword back and then get rid of the Elders. Before they did any of that however, they had to get back their missing friends. Wyatt rubbed at his right leg as he thought of the sharp shooting pain that had flowed through it not that long ago. Out of the pain he had felt during the last little while, that hadn't been too bad but that didn't make him feel better. Kayla had still gone through that pain.
Wyatt stopped in the living room and watched as his family looked up from the Book of Shadows. Phoebe and Paige turned away from the windows, both wearing frowns on their faces. Wyatt frowned and walked over to the window, Paige scooted out the way for him. The Twice-Blessed child pulled back the curtain ever so slightly and looked out onto the street, he frowned as he watched a girl wearing a black gypsy style skirt covered in little silver circles walked past again. Thankfully there was a rather large over grown bush blocking the window from her line of sight. Meaning Wyatt could see her but she couldn't see him. Wyatt frowned as a wave of recognition hit him, he knew who that girl was. She was the same age as Skye and Mel.
"Rory?" Wyatt asked himself.
"What?" Paige said knocking Wyatt out of the way to look out the window. The witchlighter let out a low whistle as she caught a glimpse of the girl. She had certainly grown up since the last time she had seen her. "Oh my god. That's Rory Nicolie!"
"What's she doing out there?" Phoebe asked.
"The Elders must have contacted everyone." Wyatt voiced.
"Oh come on Rory wouldn't sell us out." Paige said walking back from the window.
"She might if the Elders threatened her." Charlie voiced from her spot on the sofa. "I mean think about it. If the Elders orbed down and threatened to kill you, your friends, wipe out the magical community don't you think you'd probably join them?"
"She was never like that." Phoebe said turning round. "She's as sweet as her mother. It just annoys me that we lost contact over the years."
"Moving to France can do that Aunt Phoebe." Gracie said looking at her youngest Aunt.
"Still with all of the magic we possess…" Phoebe's little vent never got a chance to escalate because as a shower of blue and white lights cut her off. Jenny leaned forward and picked up the pink coloured potion that was sitting on the table, she held it in her hand ready to throw. Sir Kay and Sir Bediver wrapped their hands around the top of their swords.
Hearing the sound of footsteps Billie slowly looked over the top of the large wall that ran along the front of the Halliwell Manor, she watched as a man dressed in black made his way up the stairs and up to the front door. He didn't stop at the door, he pushed it open and walked inside closing it over behind him. This wasn't good. Billie looked to her right and watched as J.D, Susan, Isaac and Sydney turned to look at her. It would have been a funny sight, to walk past and see five people crouched down on the sidewalk spying on a house. The fact the neighbours around here were so nosey and this house happened to be the Halliwell Manor. Billie was glad Isaac could make people invisible. The last thing they needed was George Shaw to look out his window and call the Police.
"Got any ideas?" J.D asked in a slightly snippy tone.
Billie frowned, she wasn't happy being paired up with him either but there was nothing they could do about it now. "Well we could walk in the front door but that would be far too obvious." Billie said. "So I suggest the back door." She said with a small smirk. "Means we won't need to use any magic." Just like that she got up and became visible again.
Quickly she made her way up past the parked cars that belonged to the sisters and their husbands. Isaac, Susan and Sydney, a young witch and two whitelighters, followed quickly all of them becoming visible as well. J.D ran his hands through his hair before pushing himself into a standing position and following the four people in front of them. Quietly they made their way past the cars and round the back of the Manor. Billie walked over to the back door, her heels clicking off the slabs as she went. She turned her back to the people behind her and squatted down picking up a brick from the ground.
"What are you doing?!" J.D whispered loudly. "We're not breaking in!"
"It'll be noisy." Sydney pointed out.
Billie just smirked to herself and placed the brick back down on the ground. She stood up and held up a small gold coloured key in her right hand. "Who said anything about breaking in?" She asked. Billie placed the key in the lock and turned it, unlocking the back door. She pocket the key and waved Isaac over. Isaac turned himself invisible and slowly pushed the door over, he walked in first keeping an eye out for danger.
The young male witch walked into the kitchen and looked around, it was trashed. It looked like a bomb had gone off inside the house. Gulping slightly he continued on his way, Sydney, Susan and Billie slowly walked into the room J.D following behind them after he closed over the back door. Billie placed a hand over her mouth as she took in the sight of the kitchen, this was Piper's favourite room in the house. She could remember sitting at the kitchen table playing with Wyatt and Chris while Paige and Phoebe entered the room ready to go to work, she could remember Piper making them large breakfasts. Billie shook her head slightly coming out of her daydream suddenly noticing that Isaac, Susan and Sydney were gone.
"I think we need to talk."
Billie turned round to see J.D was still in the kitchen out off all the time in the world he picked now. She frowned slightly and folded her arms across her chest. Trying to shield herself from his words. "I don't think so."
"Well I do." J.D said a matter-of-factly. "We haven't spoken since…"
"How long have you been a whitelighter?" Billie asked cutting him off.
"A while." J.D answered.
"How long after you disappeared?" Billie asked. "Once we had gotten rid of that demon?"
"About two years." J.D answered quietly.
Billie shook her head and turned to walk out of the kitchen, she couldn't believe him. He was giving her a lecture about needing to talk and he hadn't spoken to her since he had disappeared, he hadn't contacted her to say he was alright, or help her through everything she had gone through that year and what followed. He was such a…
A hand grabbed her arm and she turned round looking at J.D with daggers.
"Don't flounce off, we're not done."
"There's nothing to talk about." Billie snapped pulling her arm free of J.D's grasp. "I nearly killed the Halliwell sisters, lost my sister, had to start all over again. I live in London, I got married and I have a daughter!" Billie said her voice was pretty loud. She would have shouted but she remembered they were following someone. "We have nothing to talk about." Billie said walking out of the kitchen.
J.D stood still watching the fiery-blonde leave him and the room. He let out a sigh and ran his hands through his hair before heading off to the sunroom.
Sydney walked out into the hallway and turned to go into the living room, she looked around the room and despair filled every inch of her being. The young whitelighter walked fully into the room and spotted a broken cabinet, glass was lying all over the floor. Squatting down she pushed some glass out of the way and picked up a broken picture frame, there were lots of them lying on the floor. The one she had picked up was a family shot, the whole family sitting on the front steps of the Manor. Sydney smiled sadly at it and placed it back down on the floor next to the photo of Piper and Leo's wedding. The young girl brushed her black hair back off her face and stood to her full height, she heard something strange. Turning round she watched as a man pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.
"Who the hell are you?!" He demanded looking at the girl with the gun pointing directly at her.
Sydney gulped and lifted her hands, palms facing the man. He was quite tall, dark hair, dark eyes. Looked like he wouldn't get hurt if a bus hit him.
"Sydney?" J.D called as he walked into the living room. He stopped looking between the young girl and older man. "Oh crap." He mumbled.
"What the hell is going on in here?" He asked.
"Who are you?" J.D asked lifting his hands to his side also.
"Daryl Morris." The man snapped. "Who are you? And what are you doing in the Manor?"
"J.D Williams. I'm a whitelighter." J.D replied. "You knew the Charmed Ones right?"
Daryl nodded his head. "Yes." He said looking around the room. "The only time I saw the house looking like this was when they vanquished Zankou. What happened here?" He asked still not lowering his gun.
"Elders and Demons gone wild." J.D answered. "Daryl right?" Daryl nodded. "Can you please put your gun down?" He asked.
Slowly the man did as he was asked and lowered his gun causing Sydney to breathe out a breath of relief.
"Guys there's nothing here." Billie called as she walked into the room with Isaac. "It's safe to say the demons and Elders aren't looking to… Daryl?" Billie asked as she stopped in the living room Isaac walking into the back of her.
"Hey!" The young male shouted. "Next time a heads up would be nice."
Daryl looked at the young woman who seemed to know who he was, he looked at her confused for a moment. He knew that face and that voice. A smile crossed his face when he realised he was looking at Billie Jenkins. He laughed and opened his arms as Billie stepped forward and hugged him tightly. They had only met on a few occasions, a few of the parties hosted by the Halliwells. Billie was just glad to see another friendly face.
"What went on here Billie?" Daryl asked. "Where is everyone?"
"it's a really long story." Billie explained. "But I guess I can tell you while we clean up in here and protect it."
Exhausted and sore Ebony sunk to the floor and fell back so that she was lying out flat on her back. The young Phoenix closed her eyes over and lay there listening to the terrifying sounds that were coming from the other side of the library doors. It had started with the alarm and then followed with the heavy sounds of footsteps, it sounded like a drill sergeant was marching troops across the floor, then came the cries of help and despair. The Elders had sunk as low as they could possibly go, they had let demons into Magic School and were allowing them to hurt innocent people. The young girl tried her hardest to block out the horrible noises that sounded like people being dragged off to their death.
'Ebony' floated in the air around her ears. The Phoenix opened her eyes and lay looking up at the ceiling with a confused look on her face.
Dylan who was now fully awake sat with his head resting on his knees, he too sat trying to block out the noises. They were trapped in the library while other people were being turned into tins of demon food. The young male lifted his head slowly so he didn't cause all the blood to rush around in his throbbing head. He looked around at his friends, each one of them feeling exactly the same as him. Guilty, useless and hurt. The young witch didn't realise how much control the Elders had, they controlled everything. He sighed, the Powers-That-Be really messed up on that one. Heck they messed up quite frequently and then sent The Cleaners into fix it for them…
The Cleaners, now there was an idea. It only took those two little words to send Dylan's brain into overdrive. Who was he kidding? That wouldn't work, they were clearly at the Elders' beck and call. They would have to kill a mortal and he wouldn't stand for that, neither would Jason, Kayla, Bell, Amy and Ebony. No one would stand for that.
'Dylan' whispered through the air causing Dylan to look up.
Kayla noticed Dylan's sudden movement and looked over at him confused. "You ok D?" She asked.
"Shh!" Dylan said as he listened again.
'Dylan' filled the air again.
"Do you guys here that?" Dylan asked.
"Hear what?" Jason asked pushing himself onto his knees.
'Ebony.'
Dylan frowned and looked over at the girl who's name had just been spoken. "Tell me you can hear that." Ebony nodded.
"Hear what?" Bell asked.
"Something's calling our names." Ebony said as she heard her name and Dylan's being called.
"Or someone." Jason said with a small smile. "What else is it saying?"
'Mystique. Lies'
"Ok I heard that." Bell said looking around. "Mystique? What does that mean?"
Kayla frowned. "That voice sounds like…Henry."
"It can't be." Jason said with a confused look. "I mean he's…"
'Lies.'
"I don't understand." Amy said with a frown.
The Underworld was quiet, far too quiet. The group of magical creatures Prue had sent to the Underworld crept along another dark and empty passageway. The Underworld could be quiet at times but this was ridiculous, there was no one anywhere. Hearing the sound of talking caused the group to sink down to their knees behind a large set of rocks. There was a whitelighter, two witches, wood nymph and a dwarf. They watched intently as the two male demons neared them, talking away to each other.
"God the Underworld hasn't been this quiet in a long time." The first demon voiced.
"Well Vivien has nearly everyone at Magic School." The second demon said causing the hiding creatures to frown deeply. "You would think after what happened the last time they tired to kill anyone at that school they wouldn't have gone."
"No one has a brain anymore." The first demon laughed. "Mind you I'd rather be there instead of watching the Manor."
"They're not watching the Manor anymore." The second demon explained. "They're watching the Grace household."
"Grace? As in Kayla Grace? Twice-blessed's fiancée?" The other demon nodded. "Ha, that's a pretty lame hiding place don't you think?"
The other demon nodded. "Yeah. Wyatt must be going out of his mind with worry. Chris too."
The first demon laughed. "I almost forgot their girls weren't with them." And just like that the conversation stopped, the two demons shimmering out of the cavern.
"What did he mean by that?" The young witch asked as she turned to the whitelighter she had been paired up with.
"I'm not sure but we had better get back. I think they're going to attack Kathryn's." The whitelighter said. Grabbing a hold of the others he orbed out leaving that section of the Underworld completely empty.
Everyone in Kathryn's household stood with open mouths as words kept flowing from Andy and Prue's lips. The two whitelighters were explaining their plan briefly, they explained how nearly all of the Magical Community where behind them and gone off to do different tasks all in order to over throw the Elders and keep the Halliwells safe. During the talk Piper found it hard to keep her eyes off of her big sister, every so often Prue's eyes would meet hers and there would be a flicker of awkwardness but both sisters let it die down until Piper couldn't take it any longer.
"So grab everything you need ok?" Prue said as she went to exit the room and headed towards the kitchen.
"Prue!" Piper called walking off quickly after her sister.
"Should we?" Henry asked looking to where the two females had gone.
Victor shook his head. "I think they need to be alone for a few minutes."
Piper walked into the kitchen behind Prue and watched as her sister turned round to face her, a strange expression on her face. Piper stood in front of her with fear etched onto her face. The younger of the two sisters stood frozen to the spot just looking at her elder sister waiting for her to say something. Waiting for her to say something to make her feel better, waiting for her to make everything ok. Like she used to do when she was alive.
Prudence Victoria Halliwell used to be a strong woman, she used to be a strong witch, she used to be a Charmed One. It was amazing what happened after you died, it was like you started all over again and had to watch as the world moved on without you. After her death she feared her sisters would never get over it, she feared they would end up in the same place as her and evil would win. Knowing that they hadn't, seeing them alive and well with families of their own filled her with something she couldn't quite describe but it didn't make it hurt any less. She had never gotten a chance to do any of those things, she never got married, didn't have children, she never got to be an auntie, didn't get to help when the kids were growing up and deep down Prue was jealous of her sisters. She was jealous of the lives they led and she only wished she could have a life like theirs but if she hadn't died, someone else might have and she wouldn't wish that upon anyone. Prue used to be a lot of things and now she was a lot of different things.
Prue's dark eyes met with Piper's honey eyes and the older sister felt her heart crack as she watched the tears roll down Piper's cheeks. Her death had hit Piper like a speeding truck and Prue would never forget that. Stepping forward Prue embraced her little sister and held onto her tightly, Piper's sobs got louder as placed her chin down on Prue's left shoulder. Her nose was filled with the same smell she used to smell around the manor, the smell that belonged to Prue.
"I've missed you so much." Piper sobbed as she held onto her big sister.
"I know." Prue said softly. "I've missed you too Piper. I've seen everything, I'm so proud of you."
"Really?" Piper asked not moving an inch.
Prue nodded her head. "Yes. I'm proud of you, Phoebe and Paige. You've created such an amazing family, the family is closer than I thought it would ever get."
Piper smiled as Prue's words filled her heart with relief she was so glad she had made her big sister proud. That's all she wanted to do, she had just want to make Prue proud. "I love you Prue."
Prue smiled as the tears rolled down her eyes, she had been waiting to hear that for a long time, she had been waiting even longer to return the message to her sister. To all three of them. "I love you too."
Hearing glass shattering behind him Chris turned and looked over his shoulder to see energy balls blow Kathryn's front door apart, he shielded himself from the debris that went flying across the room. The young witchlighter stood frozen as orbs appeared in front of him, he stood fearing the worst but was shocked to find that the orbs disappeared leaving two witches and a whitelighter behind. What caused his eyes to bulge out his head was the fact that the witches and whitelighter had arrived with a girl dressed in a long flowing green dress and a small man stood at her side shouting abuse at the demons.
Coming out of his shocked state Chris turned upon hearing more glass shatter. "DEMONS!" he yelled alerting the family.
The two sisters stood in silence enjoying the hug they were sharing. The hug was cut short thanks the rippling air that caught Piper's attention, seeing an energy ball come towards herself and Prue, Piper let go of her sister quickly and pushed her to the side. The glowing blue ball connected with Piper's shoulder and sent her backwards, landing against one of Kathryn's kitchen counters.
"Piper!" Prue yelled as she turned round to look at the demon. She wasn't a witch anymore, she couldn't use her powers. Prue dove out of the way of another energy ball, hearing another strange sound the whitelighter looked over her shoulder and watched as there was a flash of light, a young girl appeared after it had faded.
"Prue help Piper and get everyone out of here!" A young girl with long dark hair ordered.
Prue looked at the girl a small smile on her face as she made her way over to where Piper was lying. The young girl placed her hands on either side of her head and closed her eyes over in concentration, the energy ball that was nearing her suddenly changed direction and the girl opened her eyes and watched as it went back to the demon who had thrown it causing him to go up in smoke.
Piper groaned as she woke, she watched as Prue took her hands away from her shoulder and smiled as her big sister pulled her back to her feet. Seeing another demon shimmer into the room caused Piper to lift her hands and flicked her fingers causing him to combust. Piper's honey coloured eyes rested on the girl who was standing in Kathryn's kitchen.
"Rory?" Piper asked confused.
The girl nodded and quickly embraced Piper before rushing out to help the others as the sounds of more fighting filled the air. Piper watched the young girl go confused, her long dark skirt floating as she ran. The young girl, Aurora Nicolie, Rory to all her friends, was Ava Nicolie's daughter. Rory had been born the same year as Skye and Mel, she was really good friends with both of the girls but life tore them apart and Ava moved to France to live with her husband and his family. It was a troubling time for the young doctor, things had gotten difficult in her family and she found moving away would protect those she cared about. The family had kept in touch with her but eventually they just stopped talking, it happened sometimes and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
"Come on." Prue said as she took Piper by the hand and rushed out from the kitchen with her.
The family had spent ages trying to clean up the house, and they had it almost looking normal. Then demons just appeared and messed everything up again. Andy looked around, he wasn't sure how much time they would have. They had to get out of here before the Elders showed up. Seeing the Dark lighter's bow come sliding towards him, he quickly picked it up and fired it at the pesky man dressed in black causing him to explode in a shower of dark orbs.
Seeing Piper come back into the room with Prue, Phoebe raced over and separated their hands, pulling Piper over to stand beside Paige. Paige took a hold of Phoebe's hand and the three girls began to chant a simple spell. One of the most simplistic ones they knew but it packed a punch.
"The power of three will set us free." The sisters chanted as the family continued to fight around them. "The power of three will set us free." The demons began to groan and protest as their bodies began to fill with pressure. The witches and magical creatures, Nymphs, whitelighters and a few elves, stepped back from the demons they were fighting with.
"The power of three will set us free!" Piper, Phoebe and Paige chanted for the third and final time. The demons in the house let out screams of pain and disappeared, each one turning to dust after going up in flames.
"Nicely done." Henry Sr commented as he looked at his wife and sister-in-laws.
"Right lets get out of here." Prue said looking around. "We need to get you guys to safety." She turned to the magical creatures. "Make sure no one is watching the house and then back to base." They all nodded and disappeared, Rory included.
"Told you she would never sell us out." Phoebe said with a smirk as she glanced at Wyatt. Wyatt smiled at his aunt and shook his head.
"Where are we going?" Mel asked as she stood up straight after being thrown to the floor.
"The base." Andy replied. "Do you have everything?" He asked.
"We need the book." Skye said noticing none of her cousins were holding it.
Merlin and the knights came down the stairs at that moment. The old book was in the older man's hands. He stepped down to the hallway and passed the book to the young cupid.
"I think that's it." Kathryn said looking around her destroyed home. Demons were always so messy.
Picking up on her train of thought Gracie smiled a little. "Let the object of objection become but a dream as I cause the scene to be unseen." She cast. Bright lights filled the house as everything moved back to normal. Kathryn smiled at the young girl in thanks.
"Where about is this base?" Coop asked looking at Prue and Andy.
"We can't tell you that." Prue said with a little smirk causing Piper and Phoebe to frown. Seeing everyone was standing more or less together she looked to Andy who nodded. The two whitelighters lifted their hands and waved them in the air in complete unison. Blue and white orbs filled everyone's eyes as they were all orbed from the house in one big group. The lights disappeared, the house left empty.
The orbs disappeared leaving Sam, Kathryn and Victor standing alone with Andy in a very busy room. The three older people looked around confused and turned to look at the whitelighter.
"Where are the others?" Victor asked.
Andy frowned. "Henry should have come with us." He said a little confused. It didn't matter he could always go back and get him. "They aren't with us because you have a different job to do." He explained.
Sam frowned. "You're placing us on the sidelines." He said. It was more of a statement rather than a question.
Andy nodded. "We need you here so that you are out of danger and so you can help behind the scenes. There are plenty of other people here so you're not alone." Andy looked over his shoulder. "Fraser, I'm back!" He called.
"Fraser?" Kathryn asked confused. "Andy where are we?"
"Billie's house."
"But that's in London!" Victor said shocked. Not only had they been taken to another house without the others they were in a completely different country to them.
The gang currently trapped in Magic School had been sitting in silence waiting for the spooky voice to contact them again. If it was Henry -they hoped it was- then it meant what he was saying was a clue. The gang were blaming their dysfunctional brains on the sudden shock of being taken away from the Halliwells and being tortured by Elders. They had no idea what the voice was talking about.
Dylan ran his hands through his hair, ok so this voice was Henry Jr. He was pretty damn sure of it. Meaning that Henry was talking about something at least one of them knew and would understand there was only one problem, he had no idea what that was.
Henry Jr had been a simple boy growing up, he had shared the same views as his older male cousins played protector with them, he had once wanted to be a Parolee officer just like his father. He enjoyed hanging out with his family and friends, loved causing trouble and helping the family in whatever way he could. He had a pretty simple life in some aspects and all he seemed to need was people around him to love him and share his happiness. He was a golden-hearted guy, something he hated being referred to but it was true. No matter what way you looked at it, he had been blessed with a heart of gold and it wasn't easy to find many people like that. There was no one else in the world like Henry Jr.
Dylan smiled as he thought of the weekend tradition he had introduced to himself and Jason. Movie night, the guys and whoever else wanted to tag along would meet up on a Thursday night at someone's house and they would sit together and watch a movie while stuffing themselves with popcorn and junk food. Talking away about life and how the week had been so far. In a world filled with mortal troubles and Wiccan ones, it was a nice way to escape. It was something that Henry's Dad had introduced to him.
If his life had been a cartoon, part of a TV show the audience watching would see that Dylan had an idea, due to the fact there would be a large light bulb glowing over his head.
"Movies!" Dylan said loudly. "They were his thing, he's talking about a movie!" He was so happy with his realisation he could have gotten up and danced but it did not seem like the appropriate thing to do. Seeing he now had the others' attention he continued to tell them of what he had discovered. "Mystique, that's from X-men!"
"What has that got to do with anything?" Ebony asked as she folded her arms across her chest. Why would Henry Jr be talking about a film from his current position in the Afterlife? "Does he want a collection of DVDs sent up or something?"
Kayla sat with her thinking face on, if it was Henry Jr he was referring to a movie scene. Something he did quite often when he couldn't come up with a plan, it caused the others to make fun of him but they all found out that sometimes the guys in Hollywood knew what they were talking about. The young witch sat trying to think of everything from the film and the character Mystique. She sighed, wishing she hadn't fallen asleep during the film. Not only did Wyatt fall out with her she didn't know what happened for a good hour of the film.
"She was the blue woman right?" Kayla asked.
"Uh yeah." Jason said recalling the night he had watched it with Wyatt and Kayla. "She's a shape shifter, uses it to trick people and pretend she's on their side."
"Well what good is that?" Bell asked. "None of us can shape shift."
Dylan's face broke out into a little smile. "Henry my boy, you genius!" He shouted skywards. "He doesn't want us to shape shift he want's us to be on their side so to speak."
"Oh I get it!" Kayla laughed. "He want's Ebony to pretend she's on the bad guys team again."
"What?!" Ebony shouted. She looked around the room. "No way! I'll be eaten alive. I mean I've been double crossing them for a while and then I just left and came to you guys. It won't be easy to do. Besides Henry doesn't even know me well enough to suggest that."
"Maybe he thinks he knows you well enough." Kayla said with a small school girl grin. Thoughts of Ebony and Henry Jr together were causing her to smile. They would be a good couple, constantly try to out do each other, keep each other on their toes…
"No he doesn't." Amy stated rather defensively causing Kayla to look at her strangely. "But still, I think it would be a good idea for her to try. Ebony could use it on her sex toy."
"Sex toy?!" Ebony shouted spinning on the floor to look in the direction of Amy.
"I bet Leon would be willing to give you another chance." Amy said.
"Amy that was a bit harsh." Dylan said looking at the girl who had remained silent for the last little while came out with a shocking statement.
"He's not my sex toy!" Ebony shouted. "I've never even slept with him!" She yelled.
"Yeah right." Amy said rolling her eyes.
"HEY!" Bell shouted causing the bickering girls to look at her. "Shut up." She spat. "Listen it doesn't matter if she did or didn't, we know he likes her. So use it."
Ebony sat with a frown on her face, who the hell did this Amy think she was? Fine she had known the Halliwells longer than Ebony had but that didn't matter, she was a total bitch. Ebony pulled her hair out of its tie and let her dark locks fall down over her shoulders before folding her arms across her chest. She looked upwards and pressed her lips together tightly. 'I hate you Jr.' She thought to herself.
The orbs disappeared in the cave on the beach causing the group of Halliwells to look around confused, their eyes squinted at the sudden blast of fake lighting filled the cave. Jaws dropped and eyes widened as the group looked around to see lots of people from the Magical Community working together, they had no idea what they were doing but they knew it was to help them. Something the Halliwells would always be grateful for. More orbs filled the air and the gang turned to see Billie, J.D and their group orb back in with a man the family knew very well. With a smile on his face Danny Morris rushed over to hug his father, both father and son glad to see the other one was alive and well.
"Uh Prue." Phoebe said looking around. "Where the heck are we?" She asked.
Skye looked around confused, she couldn't see her grandfather, grandpa Sam or Kathryn anywhere. Andy was also missing in action. "Where are the grandpas and Kathryn?" She asked.
Prue answered her niece's question first. "They are at the safe-house." She said with a smile. "We don't want to risk them and also we could do with some extra help behind the scenes." Her gaze rested on Henry Mitchell and she frowned slightly. "You were meant to go with."
"No way!" Henry protested folding his arms across his chest. "I can help, I'm not useless."
"Henry…" Paige warned, her husband was embarrassing her in front of her eldest sister.
"No I mean it Paige. I may be a mortal but I've lived with you guys a really long time and nothing's…"
"Don't finish that sentence." Billie advised. "Don't want to jinx it now do you?" She smiled a little.
Prue sighed, she really liked her baby sister's man. He was just as stubborn as she was. "Ok fine, but first sign of trouble and someone will orb you to Sam, Victor and Kathryn. Got it?"
"Yes Ma'am!" Henry said with a smile.
Phoebe laughed. "Ok so my question?"
Prue smiled at Phoebe. "Welcome to The Resistance." She said with a smirk, noticing how both Wyatt and Chris winced at the word. "This is were every magical being who wants to help us kick ass came to lend a hand."
"But there's so many people." Jenny said completely awestruck.
"Yeah so you had better not let us down." A young man said as he marched over towards the group. "There are a lot of people putting their necks on the line for you and your family."
"Ben." J.D warned.
"Don't Ben me." The young man snapped. He looked at Wyatt. "If you had just used the sword…"
"I can't handle that." Wyatt said through gritted teeth. "It shouldn't be mine, I'm not ready to use it and whoever dished out this rule that I should be the one to take it, Got. It. Wrong." He was sick and tired of explaining how he felt to everyone. He didn't want the blasted thing, he was already Twice-Blessed, soon-to-be Charmed One, Witchlighter...He really didn't need anything else!
"This isn't about you! This is about the rest of the world having to deal with the choice you make!" Ben shouted as he looked at the Twice-Blessed. "It was given to you for a reason. It's about time you accepted that!" With that the young man turned and stormed off leaving the Halliwells in silence.
Letti and Mel stood looking at each other with shock present on their features. They had heard that sentence being used before. Wyatt turned his head away and shook it before walking over to the front of the cave, he didn't dare step outside, he wasn't going to endanger everyone who was trying to help.
The East Library was filled with students huddled together, their professor leaning against the wall to the left of them. The Librarian was sitting behind her desk looking over her half moon glasses, she watched as the men dressed in black walked back and forth across the marble floor. By now the whole Magical world had heard of The Elders' plan to get rid of the Halliwells, it had not gone down well with the staff and pupils of Magic School but no one could do anything at the moment. Everyone was being watched closely and they were only managing to catch glimpses of conversations. The Librarian sighed, she hoped that the magical world would change it's ways. They needed better leaders, the Elders were just useless.
The air rippled and a sudden burst of flames appeared and then disappeared causing everyone in Library to look over in the direction of the doors. The Librarian watched with fear in her heart as Barbus walked forward with a younger man at his left and an older woman at his right. What caused her to panic the most was the fact that the three people who had just arrived had brought Excalibur with them. The librarian recognised the Sword in the Stone straight away, then again who wouldn't? No one in the room said anything, instead they sat in silence and watched the people leave, the sword floating behind them, the alarm still going off over head.
"Someone shut that thing off!" Leon shouted, his voice echoing a few times in the large room. "I need to concentrate!" Leon ran his hands over his face before taking them away and looking at Barbus. The older man gave him a look to which Leon nodded in reply to. The demon walked towards the Library doors and watched as the demons standing guard pulled them open and let him out before closing them over again to keep the hostages in.
Vivien smiled evilly, her plan was finally coming together. After many weeks of planning and failed attempts she had a plan that was going to work very well for her. No one was going to be able to stop her, not with The Elders and the 'Greater Good' on her side. She was going to add to her name by getting rid of the Halliwells once and for all. She turned to look at the demons that were dotted around the room.
"Protect that sword." She ordered. "I'll be back to claim it very soon." She eyed the darkening metal before leaving the room. Soon she would have the sword and she would be able to kill the Twice-Blessed with his own legacy.
*Gasps* Well there you have it, Chapter 24 has come to an end. I really hope you enjoyed it, I know it was a lot to digest but you're all really clever people so it shouldn't be that hard to do. =)
Well there was a mention of Henry Jr in that chappy so I hope the Henry fans hate me less now =P So Vivien and her crew of stupid demons are taking over Magic School, how will they use that to their advantage? It might have something to do with all the innocent people trapped inside the school. You know how Halliwells get with innocents...I'm just saying!
Should you stay to read the next chapter? Yes. Why? because;
Kevin and Sandra try to help the Resistance,
Ebony tries to go along with the so called 'plan',
J.D tries to talk to Billie again and...
Wyatt, Chris and Mel share a heart breaking moment that will change them forever!
Please stick around for Chapter 25- School's in Possession!-
The End is getting closer! Please Review =)
Until next time,
D x