Degrees of Evil Part 2:
With a gasp, Phoebe returned to her body lying in the attic of the Halliwell manor. The disorientation was even worse than before, and Phoebe found the world spinning. Sensing something was wrong, Paige and Piper bent down to help her up.
"Phoebe, is everything alright?" Piper asked anxiously.
"I don't know," Phoebe replied honestly, "Every time I'm teleported somewhere I feel a large sense of disorientation. I can't explain it, but it's getting worse?" Piper turned to Leo and said, "Leo, can you please take a look, and see if something is wrong?"
"Sure," Leo said, and he hurried over. With practiced ease, his hands roamed over her body, trying to seek a possible source for her disorientation. He paused slightly over her abdomen, and a puzzled look came over him. Shaking himself slightly, he finished his examination and pronounced, "Well, I don't detect anything biological. If you want, I'll go ask the Elders about it?"
Phoebe responded, "Not now, we don't have time."
"Why? Is Cole behind it?" Paige asked.
"No, I'm pretty sure he's not. But he knows something. When I told him that we destroyed the Grimoire, he got scared. He told me to run and hide, and then he was gone. I don't know what to make of it."
"Well," Piper said, "Paige and I glanced through the Book of Shadows while you were gone. We don't have any clue what could possibly put people into comas like that." She pauses for a second and then adds, "I'm kind of surprised Grams didn't give us a hand. We tried to get her to, doing the whole 'we're clueless' thing, but nothing happened."
"Grams can't help you if she doesn't know anything." Leo said helpfully. "The bottom line is no one up there has a clue what's going on, but they're really worried." "Well, that's just great." Phoebe said sarcastically. "No one has a clue what's going on, and we have no clues to go off of. We have no way to find this demon, and Cole isn't being helpful at all. What are we supposed to do, keep an eye on every saint and scum in town till this thing strikes?"
"What we really need is for you to have a premonition." Paige remarked.
"Yeah, that would be nice," Phoebe began, "but it's not like my premonitions will just appear out of nowhere, I mean."
Suddenly, Phoebe jerked, and entered premonition mode. She saw the Church of St. Michaels, and heard the clock toll noon. In the church was a priest who was praying to God. Suddenly, a demon shimmered in behind him. He was about 6 ft with long black hair and an athletic body. The demon spun the priest around and slammed his right hand into the priest's forehead. The priest started screaming, and Phoebe 'watched' as something seemed to be ripped from the priest. After a few moments, the priest fell over, completely comatose. The demon smiled, and then he was gone.
As Phoebe came out of it, Paige turned to Piper and said, "Did she just have a premonition appear on request? How did she do that?"
"I don't know," Piper confessed, "Maybe her powers are growing. Phoebe, what did you see?"
"I saw the demon attacking a priest at the Church of St. Michaels. Oh, my god." Phoebe exclaimed. "What time is it?"
Leo looked at a clock, and said, "Ten till noon, why?" Phoebe's face went ashen, and she said, "We have ten minutes to get there, or we'll lose our innocent. Paige, hurry up and orb us there!"
Quick as a flash, Paige grabbed her two sisters and they disappeared in a swirl of blue lights.
Leo looked around, and said, "Time to check with the elders." Then he was gone. *** "Holy father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." As the words of the prayer left Father Damien's mouth, he felt an inner peace overwhelm him. He knew that he wasn't perfect, and that he had his faults. However, his life had a purpose as long as he spent it helping others, and doing his best to spread the Lord's work.
As he was finishing up his prayers, he saw a flash of blue lights out of the corner of his eye. Puzzled, Father Damien turned just in time to see Paige, Piper, and Phoebe orb in. With a start, he backed up and shouted, "My GOD! Who are you?"
Piper held up her hands, and said, "Relax, father. We're here to keep you safe from a demon that is going to attack."
"Are you angels?" Father Damien asked.
"Well, I'm half angel," Paige offered.
Suddenly, the demon was there. He grabbed Father Damien and spun him around.
"Hurry, Piper, freeze him!" Phoebe shouted.
Piper gestured, but nothing happened. The demon placed his right hand on Father Damien's forehead, and Father Damien began to jerk and scream. Small white orbs seemed to leave Father Damien and flow into the demon, and each orb caused the Father to struggle less and less.
"I can't, he's immune!" Piper shouted.
Phoebe ran over and delivered a crushing blow to the demon's jaw. The demon didn't even flinch. She followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the demon's chest. Startled, the demon staggered back a little, and Father Damien fell to the floor. He was pale, but still conscious.
The demon looked at Phoebe, and then said, "Three witches. This was an unexpected treat." With a gesture, Phoebe went flying back into her sisters.
The demon smiled, and said, "Well then. Shall we get started?"
Paige looked around, and spotted a chalice sitting on the altar. "Chalice!" she shouted, and the chalice disappeared in a swirl of blue orbs. Paige threw it at the demon. It hit him squarely in the chest, with no effect. Piper gestured, but nothing happened.
The demon's smile widened, and he remarked, "Surely three witches can do better than that?"
Piper shouted, "Paige, grab the Father, we need to fall back! Phoebe, hold him back." Phoebe levitated up and delivered a series of kicks to the demons face. The demon's head jerked back at each kick, but otherwise he was unchanged. Quickly, Paige grabbed the priest. "Got him!"
Piper and Phoebe grabbed Paige, and then they were gone in a swirl of blue. The demon looked up at the altar, and then he said, "Gaza!"
A small impish looking demon appeared in front of the demon. "Yes master?"
"Return to the Chamber and keep guard. We have new players in the game, player's who wish to stop me from my purpose."
The imp bowed, and then he shimmered out. The demon's smile widened, and then he said, "Let them try, it'll be fun to destroy them." Then he faded out. *** As the three sisters orbed back into the manor, Piper shouted, "LEO!" Leo appeared, and said, "How did it go?"
"We got our asses kicked. Heal him." Piper said. As Leo bent over to heal the semiconscious priest, Piper turned to Paige and said, "Paige, go get the Book of Shadows, it's time to find out who our mystery demon is." Paige nodded, and then ran up that stairs towards the attic. Piper turned to Phoebe and asked, "How are you feeling? Any disorientation?"
Phoebe swallowed slowly, like she felt sick. "Some, but I won't let that stop us." She sat down heavily. "That demon was toying with us, and you know it Piper."
Piper sat down next to her, "I know, but it will be his mistake. He may be able to handle us separately, but no demon can handle the Power of Three. Leo, WHAT is taking so long?" Piper asked irritably.
Leo looked at Piper worriedly. "I can't heal him. Whatever's wrong with him, I can't fix it."
"Can you at least tell us what is wrong with him?" Phoebe asked. Leo looked down at the priest. "It's nothing physical. It's like a piece of his soul is just.GONE."
Paige came back down with the book and said, "Got it, let's get to work."
"Don't bother. He won't be in there." A voice said out of nowhere.
Spinning around, the three sisters watched as Cole appeared behind them. He looked distraught, and scared.
"Cole, who IS he?" Phoebe asked. "Tell us, please."
"Phoebe, for the last time, RUN! Don't stay and fight him, you can't stop him. No one can." Cole said desperately.
"Look Cole," Paige said impatiently, "We're not running. The Charmed Ones have never backed down from a fight, and we're not going to start now. So, either tell us what you know, or leave."
"I can't leave, I have to protect someone."
"Cole," Phoebe said, "I don't want or need your protection. I don't want anything to DO with you. Just tell us what you know and leave."
A mysterious smile touched Cole's lips as he said, "What makes you think I'm here to protect you?"
"Huh?" Phoebe asked in puzzlement.
"Never mind, it's not important. I guess I'll tell you what I know." Cole said. He sighed, and said, "Eons ago, when the lines of good and evil were just being drawn, evil had a leader by the name of Balkos. He was the first Source, and he was brilliant. The man had a plan for everything. He even planned what would happen if it looked like evil was going to lose the war."
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"I mean, Balkos came up with a contingency plan in the deepest secrecy of what to do if the side of evil ever seemed on the brink of destruction. He designed a Chamber that would take a being and make them the most powerful evil being ever. It didn't matter whether they were evil to start with. The machine would make them evil, and enhance their power a thousand fold. He then created a demon, the most powerful demon at the time, bar none, whose whole purpose was to choose a vessel for the machine and to activate it. This demon was called Ezekiel."
"So you're saying we've been fighting this demon? But I don't understand, if the demon's whole purpose is to find a vessel to make evil, why is he killing people?" Paige asked.
Cole looked at Paige in disdain and said, "What exactly do you think powers a machine like that?"
"Souls," Piper uttered.
"Exactly. The machine requires an equal amount of good and evil souls, or pieces of souls, to function. Since the machine was never activated, I don't know how many are needed, and I think the 'level of good or evil' a soul has increases its power."
"So, this demon has been stealing people's souls to power this Chamber?" Phoebe asked worriedly. "Wait, where has this demon been all this time? If he has only one purpose and that is all he thinks about, why hasn't he done it before?"
Cole smiled, and said, "Because when Ezekiel was first created, he tried to do just that. Balkos realized that he had to find a way to contain Ezekiel until he was needed, so he and his top demons got together and designed a prison for him, and then they placed him in it. 5 of the most powerful demons ever seen started the battle with Ezekiel, and only Balkos survived. But, in the end, Ezekiel was imprisoned."
"So, how did he get out?" Piper asked.
"You let him out." Cole said.
"WHAT!" Everyone said together. "How did we do that?"
"It's simple." Cole finished, "The prison Balkos created was a book, a book of such evil that it eventually became the centerpiece of the underworld, and I'm sure you can figure out what book that was."
"The Grimoire." Phoebe said, her face going ashen. "Are you saying that when Leo destroyed the book, he freed Ezekiel?"
"I'm afraid so. Balkos knew that evil would never destroy the book: it was too important. So, he reasoned that if good ever became strong enough to capture the book and destroy it, then it was time for the Chamber to be used."
All of the Charmed Ones faces had gone white, and they all said at the same time, "My God!"
"Now do you understand why we have to run?" Cole asked.
"We're not running," Piper said.
"What! Even after everything I told you, you're still going to fight him?" Cole exclaimed.
"Cole, we have to. This is all our faults. We caused this mess, it is our job to fix it." Phoebe said.
"You don't understand," Cole begged. "You CANNOT vanquish him. It took the strongest evil just to contain him, and nothing like that exists now. The only way he can die is when the Chamber is activated. Then, his purpose is complete and he dies."
"Cole, we do understand." Phoebe said gravely. "But we still have to try."
Cole sighed, and then he said, "Then I'll help you. We won't win, but I won't leave."
Suddenly, they could hear clapping reverberating throughout the room. They all turned in time to see Ezekiel appear. He was smiling, and he said, "How touching and surprising. A Source with a heart."
"I'm not the Source." Cole muttered.
"Oh, sure you were Cole. Admittedly, you weren't the dominant part of your soul, but you're still the Source. After all, only the Source knew that story. It was my job to give it to them when they said the oath, so they knew what to do if I was ever needed. But I stray. Will you please move out of the way so I can deal with the Father? I really do need the rest of his soul."
"Not a chance." Piper said as she got between Ezekiel and the Father.
Ezekiel smiled. "Oh, well. I haven't had a good fight in.well, eons. Shall we get started." With that, he threw an energy ball at Cole, who blocked it and returned the favor. As the energy ball struck Ezekiel, he smiled and said, "My, powers have grown since I was last out. I believe you are about twice as strong as Balkos was, which makes you about.100 times too weak to kill me." As Ezekiel turned towards the Father, he said, "We'll continue the battle in a moment, let me just finish what I started." Suddenly, he was behind Piper and touching Father Damien again.
"NO!" Phoebe shouted as she launched herself at Ezekiel. She delivered a crushing flying kick to his head, but he didn't move. Ezekiel's smile widened, and then he said, "Once I have someone, nothing can break my grip. I let go the first time. I wanted to see what you were made of. Now, I have no such desire." Just as he finished, Father Damien fell to the ground, in a coma with the pentagram on his forehead. Ezekiel held up his right hand and Phoebe saw a pentagram shape glowing on his hand. "Shall we continue."
Suddenly, Cole slammed into Ezekiel, dragging him to the ground. "RUN!" he shouted as he began to wrestle with Ezekiel. As the sisters and Leo ran upstairs towards the attic, Ezekiel looked at Cole. "That was stupid." *** Just as the sisters and Leo got upstairs, Cole broke through the floor. He flew up and slammed into the roof, and then he fell to the ground, unconscious. A few seconds later, he faded. Apparently, the battle had caused him to lose whatever willpower or strength kept him in this realm. Ezekiel shimmered in, and wiped a piece of dirt from his shirt. "He really should have kept his guard up? Oh, well. This is getting boring." Ezekiel said as he began to walk towards the sisters.
"NO!" Leo shouted as he hurled himself at Ezekiel. He began to punch and kick Ezekiel, trying desperately to stop him. Ezekiel's smiled, and he said, "A whitelighter who is willing to fight? What a rare thing." With a gesture, Leo went flying and hit the wall. He slumped down, and lay still.
"LEO!" Piper shouted.
"Don't worry. He's just unconscious." Ezekiel said. "I wouldn't destroy something as rare as an aggressive whitelighter. You however." As Ezekiel continued his approach towards the sisters, Paige said, "Let's get out of here." With that, she grabbed the sisters and began to orb out with them. Ezekiel simply looked at them and said, "No." With a scream, Paige and her sisters landed back where they were. Paige stumbled back and said, "That hurt.A LOT!"
"I can see I'll have to make you understand the futility of fighting me." Ezekiel said. With a gesture, Piper and Paige went flying, and hit the wall. Suddenly, rope came out of the wall and wrapped themselves around their wrists, ankles, waist and neck. Within seconds, Piper and Paige were trapped. Ezekiel looked at them, and said, "You are going to watch as I take your sister's goodness. I want you to remember this, and remember how powerless you are to stop it." Phoebe was backing up, trying to figure out a way to fight back. Ezekiel simply said, "It is time." Quick as a flash he had slammed his right hand into Phoebe's forehead.
"NO!" Piper and Paige shouted. They struggled futilely to break free. Phoebe had both hands on Ezekiels arm, trying to rip him off her forehead. Ezekiel said, "Very impressive, few have the strength to try and fight back. Now, watch and remember," Ezekiel said to Piper and Paige.
Meanwhile, Phoebe could feel herself growing weak, could feel her strength and purpose being leeched out of her. Her arms lost all power, and she felt them fall to her sides. It can't end like this the inner core of Phoebe thought. There must be something I can do she thought as she looked within herself. Someone, please, help me! And suddenly, someone was there, another presence who simply said I can help in her mind. Let me help, please. Without remorse or hesitation, Phoebe gave herself over to that other presence inside of her.
Meanwhile, Piper and Paige watching with growing horror as Phoebe fought back less and less. When her hands fell to her sides, Ezekiel smiled and said, "It's all over now." Suddenly, his smile disappeared, and he looked down at Phoebe. "What the." Phoebe's eyes, which had close recently, suddenly opened back up, and they glowed with pure power. Phoebe's right hand pointed at Ezekiel, and suddenly Ezekiel was hit by a beam of energy. He flew back and slammed into the wall. Phoebe got up, and looked at Piper and Phoebe. Suddenly, the restraints were gone.
As Ezekiel got back to his feet, he realized two very disturbing things. 1) His grip had been broken, which COULD NOT happen, and 2) He was bleeding. No one had ever made him bleed. Even when Balkos and his allies attacked him, they just held him long enough to put him in the Grimoire. What was going on?
"WHO ARE YOU!" Ezekiel shouted, a look of never before seen rage entering his face. Piper and Paige were staring at Phoebe in astonishment, and Piper asked, "Pheebs?" Phoebe looked her way, and a smile touched her lips. Then, she turned back to Ezekiel, and the smile vanished.
"You want to see power," Phoebe said in a masculine voice, "I will show you power." As Ezekiel and the sisters watched, Phoebe clenched her fists and began to glow. Lightning began to course around her, and the glow intensified. The ground started to shake, and Ezekiel backed up in fear. Never had he seen such POWER! Knowing he had no chance, Ezekiel shimmered out.
Phoebe turned towards Piper and Paige, and a smile touched her lips. Then, her eyes stopped glowing, and she collapsed. *** As Ezekiel returned from battle, he shouted "GAZA!"
The little imp came over and said, "Yes master!" he then gasped as he exclaimed, "Master, you're bleeding, what happened? Did you get the priests soul?"
As Ezekiel sat down and Gaza began to tend his wounds, he said, " I got more than that." Ezekiel suddenly got up and looked towards the Chamber. "I found our vessel."
*** When Phoebe came to, she found Piper, Paige and Leo hovering over her.
Piper was the first to speak, and when she did, you could hear the awe in her voice. "Phoebe, what happened? How did you get so strong?"
"What does it matter?" Paige asked, "All that matters is she is stronger, and we learned that Phoebe can kick Ezekiel's ass. Too bad Cole got sent back to the wasteland. It would have been cool to see the look on his face."
"That's not all we've learned." Phoebe said suddenly. As she got up and walked to the window, she said, "We've learned something else, something that may be even more important and dangerous than Ezekiel ever could be."
Piper and Paige looked at each other, and then said, "What do you mean?"
Phoebe stared out the window for a few seconds, as if gathering strength for whatever she had to say. She then sighed, turned towards Piper, Paige and Leo, and said, "I'm still pregnant."
To Be Continued.
With a gasp, Phoebe returned to her body lying in the attic of the Halliwell manor. The disorientation was even worse than before, and Phoebe found the world spinning. Sensing something was wrong, Paige and Piper bent down to help her up.
"Phoebe, is everything alright?" Piper asked anxiously.
"I don't know," Phoebe replied honestly, "Every time I'm teleported somewhere I feel a large sense of disorientation. I can't explain it, but it's getting worse?" Piper turned to Leo and said, "Leo, can you please take a look, and see if something is wrong?"
"Sure," Leo said, and he hurried over. With practiced ease, his hands roamed over her body, trying to seek a possible source for her disorientation. He paused slightly over her abdomen, and a puzzled look came over him. Shaking himself slightly, he finished his examination and pronounced, "Well, I don't detect anything biological. If you want, I'll go ask the Elders about it?"
Phoebe responded, "Not now, we don't have time."
"Why? Is Cole behind it?" Paige asked.
"No, I'm pretty sure he's not. But he knows something. When I told him that we destroyed the Grimoire, he got scared. He told me to run and hide, and then he was gone. I don't know what to make of it."
"Well," Piper said, "Paige and I glanced through the Book of Shadows while you were gone. We don't have any clue what could possibly put people into comas like that." She pauses for a second and then adds, "I'm kind of surprised Grams didn't give us a hand. We tried to get her to, doing the whole 'we're clueless' thing, but nothing happened."
"Grams can't help you if she doesn't know anything." Leo said helpfully. "The bottom line is no one up there has a clue what's going on, but they're really worried." "Well, that's just great." Phoebe said sarcastically. "No one has a clue what's going on, and we have no clues to go off of. We have no way to find this demon, and Cole isn't being helpful at all. What are we supposed to do, keep an eye on every saint and scum in town till this thing strikes?"
"What we really need is for you to have a premonition." Paige remarked.
"Yeah, that would be nice," Phoebe began, "but it's not like my premonitions will just appear out of nowhere, I mean."
Suddenly, Phoebe jerked, and entered premonition mode. She saw the Church of St. Michaels, and heard the clock toll noon. In the church was a priest who was praying to God. Suddenly, a demon shimmered in behind him. He was about 6 ft with long black hair and an athletic body. The demon spun the priest around and slammed his right hand into the priest's forehead. The priest started screaming, and Phoebe 'watched' as something seemed to be ripped from the priest. After a few moments, the priest fell over, completely comatose. The demon smiled, and then he was gone.
As Phoebe came out of it, Paige turned to Piper and said, "Did she just have a premonition appear on request? How did she do that?"
"I don't know," Piper confessed, "Maybe her powers are growing. Phoebe, what did you see?"
"I saw the demon attacking a priest at the Church of St. Michaels. Oh, my god." Phoebe exclaimed. "What time is it?"
Leo looked at a clock, and said, "Ten till noon, why?" Phoebe's face went ashen, and she said, "We have ten minutes to get there, or we'll lose our innocent. Paige, hurry up and orb us there!"
Quick as a flash, Paige grabbed her two sisters and they disappeared in a swirl of blue lights.
Leo looked around, and said, "Time to check with the elders." Then he was gone. *** "Holy father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." As the words of the prayer left Father Damien's mouth, he felt an inner peace overwhelm him. He knew that he wasn't perfect, and that he had his faults. However, his life had a purpose as long as he spent it helping others, and doing his best to spread the Lord's work.
As he was finishing up his prayers, he saw a flash of blue lights out of the corner of his eye. Puzzled, Father Damien turned just in time to see Paige, Piper, and Phoebe orb in. With a start, he backed up and shouted, "My GOD! Who are you?"
Piper held up her hands, and said, "Relax, father. We're here to keep you safe from a demon that is going to attack."
"Are you angels?" Father Damien asked.
"Well, I'm half angel," Paige offered.
Suddenly, the demon was there. He grabbed Father Damien and spun him around.
"Hurry, Piper, freeze him!" Phoebe shouted.
Piper gestured, but nothing happened. The demon placed his right hand on Father Damien's forehead, and Father Damien began to jerk and scream. Small white orbs seemed to leave Father Damien and flow into the demon, and each orb caused the Father to struggle less and less.
"I can't, he's immune!" Piper shouted.
Phoebe ran over and delivered a crushing blow to the demon's jaw. The demon didn't even flinch. She followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the demon's chest. Startled, the demon staggered back a little, and Father Damien fell to the floor. He was pale, but still conscious.
The demon looked at Phoebe, and then said, "Three witches. This was an unexpected treat." With a gesture, Phoebe went flying back into her sisters.
The demon smiled, and said, "Well then. Shall we get started?"
Paige looked around, and spotted a chalice sitting on the altar. "Chalice!" she shouted, and the chalice disappeared in a swirl of blue orbs. Paige threw it at the demon. It hit him squarely in the chest, with no effect. Piper gestured, but nothing happened.
The demon's smile widened, and he remarked, "Surely three witches can do better than that?"
Piper shouted, "Paige, grab the Father, we need to fall back! Phoebe, hold him back." Phoebe levitated up and delivered a series of kicks to the demons face. The demon's head jerked back at each kick, but otherwise he was unchanged. Quickly, Paige grabbed the priest. "Got him!"
Piper and Phoebe grabbed Paige, and then they were gone in a swirl of blue. The demon looked up at the altar, and then he said, "Gaza!"
A small impish looking demon appeared in front of the demon. "Yes master?"
"Return to the Chamber and keep guard. We have new players in the game, player's who wish to stop me from my purpose."
The imp bowed, and then he shimmered out. The demon's smile widened, and then he said, "Let them try, it'll be fun to destroy them." Then he faded out. *** As the three sisters orbed back into the manor, Piper shouted, "LEO!" Leo appeared, and said, "How did it go?"
"We got our asses kicked. Heal him." Piper said. As Leo bent over to heal the semiconscious priest, Piper turned to Paige and said, "Paige, go get the Book of Shadows, it's time to find out who our mystery demon is." Paige nodded, and then ran up that stairs towards the attic. Piper turned to Phoebe and asked, "How are you feeling? Any disorientation?"
Phoebe swallowed slowly, like she felt sick. "Some, but I won't let that stop us." She sat down heavily. "That demon was toying with us, and you know it Piper."
Piper sat down next to her, "I know, but it will be his mistake. He may be able to handle us separately, but no demon can handle the Power of Three. Leo, WHAT is taking so long?" Piper asked irritably.
Leo looked at Piper worriedly. "I can't heal him. Whatever's wrong with him, I can't fix it."
"Can you at least tell us what is wrong with him?" Phoebe asked. Leo looked down at the priest. "It's nothing physical. It's like a piece of his soul is just.GONE."
Paige came back down with the book and said, "Got it, let's get to work."
"Don't bother. He won't be in there." A voice said out of nowhere.
Spinning around, the three sisters watched as Cole appeared behind them. He looked distraught, and scared.
"Cole, who IS he?" Phoebe asked. "Tell us, please."
"Phoebe, for the last time, RUN! Don't stay and fight him, you can't stop him. No one can." Cole said desperately.
"Look Cole," Paige said impatiently, "We're not running. The Charmed Ones have never backed down from a fight, and we're not going to start now. So, either tell us what you know, or leave."
"I can't leave, I have to protect someone."
"Cole," Phoebe said, "I don't want or need your protection. I don't want anything to DO with you. Just tell us what you know and leave."
A mysterious smile touched Cole's lips as he said, "What makes you think I'm here to protect you?"
"Huh?" Phoebe asked in puzzlement.
"Never mind, it's not important. I guess I'll tell you what I know." Cole said. He sighed, and said, "Eons ago, when the lines of good and evil were just being drawn, evil had a leader by the name of Balkos. He was the first Source, and he was brilliant. The man had a plan for everything. He even planned what would happen if it looked like evil was going to lose the war."
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"I mean, Balkos came up with a contingency plan in the deepest secrecy of what to do if the side of evil ever seemed on the brink of destruction. He designed a Chamber that would take a being and make them the most powerful evil being ever. It didn't matter whether they were evil to start with. The machine would make them evil, and enhance their power a thousand fold. He then created a demon, the most powerful demon at the time, bar none, whose whole purpose was to choose a vessel for the machine and to activate it. This demon was called Ezekiel."
"So you're saying we've been fighting this demon? But I don't understand, if the demon's whole purpose is to find a vessel to make evil, why is he killing people?" Paige asked.
Cole looked at Paige in disdain and said, "What exactly do you think powers a machine like that?"
"Souls," Piper uttered.
"Exactly. The machine requires an equal amount of good and evil souls, or pieces of souls, to function. Since the machine was never activated, I don't know how many are needed, and I think the 'level of good or evil' a soul has increases its power."
"So, this demon has been stealing people's souls to power this Chamber?" Phoebe asked worriedly. "Wait, where has this demon been all this time? If he has only one purpose and that is all he thinks about, why hasn't he done it before?"
Cole smiled, and said, "Because when Ezekiel was first created, he tried to do just that. Balkos realized that he had to find a way to contain Ezekiel until he was needed, so he and his top demons got together and designed a prison for him, and then they placed him in it. 5 of the most powerful demons ever seen started the battle with Ezekiel, and only Balkos survived. But, in the end, Ezekiel was imprisoned."
"So, how did he get out?" Piper asked.
"You let him out." Cole said.
"WHAT!" Everyone said together. "How did we do that?"
"It's simple." Cole finished, "The prison Balkos created was a book, a book of such evil that it eventually became the centerpiece of the underworld, and I'm sure you can figure out what book that was."
"The Grimoire." Phoebe said, her face going ashen. "Are you saying that when Leo destroyed the book, he freed Ezekiel?"
"I'm afraid so. Balkos knew that evil would never destroy the book: it was too important. So, he reasoned that if good ever became strong enough to capture the book and destroy it, then it was time for the Chamber to be used."
All of the Charmed Ones faces had gone white, and they all said at the same time, "My God!"
"Now do you understand why we have to run?" Cole asked.
"We're not running," Piper said.
"What! Even after everything I told you, you're still going to fight him?" Cole exclaimed.
"Cole, we have to. This is all our faults. We caused this mess, it is our job to fix it." Phoebe said.
"You don't understand," Cole begged. "You CANNOT vanquish him. It took the strongest evil just to contain him, and nothing like that exists now. The only way he can die is when the Chamber is activated. Then, his purpose is complete and he dies."
"Cole, we do understand." Phoebe said gravely. "But we still have to try."
Cole sighed, and then he said, "Then I'll help you. We won't win, but I won't leave."
Suddenly, they could hear clapping reverberating throughout the room. They all turned in time to see Ezekiel appear. He was smiling, and he said, "How touching and surprising. A Source with a heart."
"I'm not the Source." Cole muttered.
"Oh, sure you were Cole. Admittedly, you weren't the dominant part of your soul, but you're still the Source. After all, only the Source knew that story. It was my job to give it to them when they said the oath, so they knew what to do if I was ever needed. But I stray. Will you please move out of the way so I can deal with the Father? I really do need the rest of his soul."
"Not a chance." Piper said as she got between Ezekiel and the Father.
Ezekiel smiled. "Oh, well. I haven't had a good fight in.well, eons. Shall we get started." With that, he threw an energy ball at Cole, who blocked it and returned the favor. As the energy ball struck Ezekiel, he smiled and said, "My, powers have grown since I was last out. I believe you are about twice as strong as Balkos was, which makes you about.100 times too weak to kill me." As Ezekiel turned towards the Father, he said, "We'll continue the battle in a moment, let me just finish what I started." Suddenly, he was behind Piper and touching Father Damien again.
"NO!" Phoebe shouted as she launched herself at Ezekiel. She delivered a crushing flying kick to his head, but he didn't move. Ezekiel's smile widened, and then he said, "Once I have someone, nothing can break my grip. I let go the first time. I wanted to see what you were made of. Now, I have no such desire." Just as he finished, Father Damien fell to the ground, in a coma with the pentagram on his forehead. Ezekiel held up his right hand and Phoebe saw a pentagram shape glowing on his hand. "Shall we continue."
Suddenly, Cole slammed into Ezekiel, dragging him to the ground. "RUN!" he shouted as he began to wrestle with Ezekiel. As the sisters and Leo ran upstairs towards the attic, Ezekiel looked at Cole. "That was stupid." *** Just as the sisters and Leo got upstairs, Cole broke through the floor. He flew up and slammed into the roof, and then he fell to the ground, unconscious. A few seconds later, he faded. Apparently, the battle had caused him to lose whatever willpower or strength kept him in this realm. Ezekiel shimmered in, and wiped a piece of dirt from his shirt. "He really should have kept his guard up? Oh, well. This is getting boring." Ezekiel said as he began to walk towards the sisters.
"NO!" Leo shouted as he hurled himself at Ezekiel. He began to punch and kick Ezekiel, trying desperately to stop him. Ezekiel's smiled, and he said, "A whitelighter who is willing to fight? What a rare thing." With a gesture, Leo went flying and hit the wall. He slumped down, and lay still.
"LEO!" Piper shouted.
"Don't worry. He's just unconscious." Ezekiel said. "I wouldn't destroy something as rare as an aggressive whitelighter. You however." As Ezekiel continued his approach towards the sisters, Paige said, "Let's get out of here." With that, she grabbed the sisters and began to orb out with them. Ezekiel simply looked at them and said, "No." With a scream, Paige and her sisters landed back where they were. Paige stumbled back and said, "That hurt.A LOT!"
"I can see I'll have to make you understand the futility of fighting me." Ezekiel said. With a gesture, Piper and Paige went flying, and hit the wall. Suddenly, rope came out of the wall and wrapped themselves around their wrists, ankles, waist and neck. Within seconds, Piper and Paige were trapped. Ezekiel looked at them, and said, "You are going to watch as I take your sister's goodness. I want you to remember this, and remember how powerless you are to stop it." Phoebe was backing up, trying to figure out a way to fight back. Ezekiel simply said, "It is time." Quick as a flash he had slammed his right hand into Phoebe's forehead.
"NO!" Piper and Paige shouted. They struggled futilely to break free. Phoebe had both hands on Ezekiels arm, trying to rip him off her forehead. Ezekiel said, "Very impressive, few have the strength to try and fight back. Now, watch and remember," Ezekiel said to Piper and Paige.
Meanwhile, Phoebe could feel herself growing weak, could feel her strength and purpose being leeched out of her. Her arms lost all power, and she felt them fall to her sides. It can't end like this the inner core of Phoebe thought. There must be something I can do she thought as she looked within herself. Someone, please, help me! And suddenly, someone was there, another presence who simply said I can help in her mind. Let me help, please. Without remorse or hesitation, Phoebe gave herself over to that other presence inside of her.
Meanwhile, Piper and Paige watching with growing horror as Phoebe fought back less and less. When her hands fell to her sides, Ezekiel smiled and said, "It's all over now." Suddenly, his smile disappeared, and he looked down at Phoebe. "What the." Phoebe's eyes, which had close recently, suddenly opened back up, and they glowed with pure power. Phoebe's right hand pointed at Ezekiel, and suddenly Ezekiel was hit by a beam of energy. He flew back and slammed into the wall. Phoebe got up, and looked at Piper and Phoebe. Suddenly, the restraints were gone.
As Ezekiel got back to his feet, he realized two very disturbing things. 1) His grip had been broken, which COULD NOT happen, and 2) He was bleeding. No one had ever made him bleed. Even when Balkos and his allies attacked him, they just held him long enough to put him in the Grimoire. What was going on?
"WHO ARE YOU!" Ezekiel shouted, a look of never before seen rage entering his face. Piper and Paige were staring at Phoebe in astonishment, and Piper asked, "Pheebs?" Phoebe looked her way, and a smile touched her lips. Then, she turned back to Ezekiel, and the smile vanished.
"You want to see power," Phoebe said in a masculine voice, "I will show you power." As Ezekiel and the sisters watched, Phoebe clenched her fists and began to glow. Lightning began to course around her, and the glow intensified. The ground started to shake, and Ezekiel backed up in fear. Never had he seen such POWER! Knowing he had no chance, Ezekiel shimmered out.
Phoebe turned towards Piper and Paige, and a smile touched her lips. Then, her eyes stopped glowing, and she collapsed. *** As Ezekiel returned from battle, he shouted "GAZA!"
The little imp came over and said, "Yes master!" he then gasped as he exclaimed, "Master, you're bleeding, what happened? Did you get the priests soul?"
As Ezekiel sat down and Gaza began to tend his wounds, he said, " I got more than that." Ezekiel suddenly got up and looked towards the Chamber. "I found our vessel."
*** When Phoebe came to, she found Piper, Paige and Leo hovering over her.
Piper was the first to speak, and when she did, you could hear the awe in her voice. "Phoebe, what happened? How did you get so strong?"
"What does it matter?" Paige asked, "All that matters is she is stronger, and we learned that Phoebe can kick Ezekiel's ass. Too bad Cole got sent back to the wasteland. It would have been cool to see the look on his face."
"That's not all we've learned." Phoebe said suddenly. As she got up and walked to the window, she said, "We've learned something else, something that may be even more important and dangerous than Ezekiel ever could be."
Piper and Paige looked at each other, and then said, "What do you mean?"
Phoebe stared out the window for a few seconds, as if gathering strength for whatever she had to say. She then sighed, turned towards Piper, Paige and Leo, and said, "I'm still pregnant."
To Be Continued.