A/N: Well, here you go, The Star of Ivy. It's my longest chapter yet for this story, and yet... I don't think I am very happy with it. It will have to do though. For anyone who has not totally caught on yet, has not found some wild theory that fits the plot, the explanations will come in the next chapter, along with a family reunion. Of sorts.

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'Oooomph!'

There was a soft, indignant exclamation, as Melinda Halliwell-Wyatt, and Bekky Halliwell-Turner each landed on the dirt floor with a thud. There was a moment's confusion, before Melinda managed to extract her limbs from those of her cousin's, and focus instead on her surroundings. Melinda blinked in confusion. The room's poor lighting didn't help in the slightest, but from what Melinda could make out, they seemed to be in some sort of cave. A dank, musty smell lingered in the air, and on first impressions, Melinda didn't like the place one bit, it was just creepy.

'Where are we?' asked Bekky timidly, her hand reaching out for her cousins reassuring presence. Melinda took the hand in her own and held it tight, as the two slowly got to their feet.

'Can you see anything?' asked Melinda, blinking and trying in vain to make out more details of said cave.

'No, not really.'

'Oh how silly of me!' Both girls jumped at the unexpected voice. 'Light.' Almost instantly candles on every side of the girls sprang to life, little yellow flames flickering and dancing, allowing the girls to take in their surroundings better. Silver shackles hung on the far wall, Kaitlyn's wrists tightly secured in them. Her eyes darted fearfully over Melinda and Bekky, warning them, almost as if she were trying to tell them to get out of there. In the middle of the room, facing them stood Ben. His eyes seemed cold, lifeless, and a twisted smile played upon his lips. Beside him stood a relatively short woman. Her dark skin was quite a contrast to Ben's pale, white skin, and she too was smiling somewhat maliciously.

'Charmed children, greetings, how absolutely charming it is to meet you. Please, please, do stick around, won't you? I believe Ben has something he would like you to watch,' said the woman, her voice a deadly sinister whisper.

Both Melinda and Bekky noticed fearfully that Ben was tossing a dagger from hand to hand, the candlelight reflecting off the sharp double-edged knife.

'Melinda, Bekky, get out of here,' pleaded Kaitlyn.

'I think not,' snapped the woman. 'They would prefer to watch you die.'

Kaitlyn's eyes widened with horror as Ben rounded on her, raising the dagger until it was at eyelevel.

'Still playing games, are we?' came a man's voice. All eyes whirled around to the intruding voice, only to come face to face with Cole. He had an amused smile on his face, and his arms were folded across his chest.

Divinus hissed. He wasn't going to ruin her plans; he'd messed with her for the last time. She stalked towards him, an energy ball forming in the palm of her hand. Cole looked at her calmly; somewhat oblivious to the danger he was in.

'Dad, move,' said Bekky softly. 'Move.'

Cole stayed where he was, gaze fixed on Divinus.

'No,' mumbled Bekky, stepping towards her father in an effort to prevent what she knew was coming. She'd seen them before, and she remembered quite well what energy balls could do. She'd seen her little cousin, Sophie, being killed by one. She had seen her father, driven to madness by not being able to help his niece in time. She'd seen their family torn apart, shattered like glass upon an unforgiving tile floor… 'No!' yelled Bekky loudly, as she reached her father, and turned to face Divinus.

'You've got until five to move out of the way, child of Charmed. Your daddy and I have some… unfinished business… to attend to,' snapped Divinus, her eyes as cold as ice.

'One… Two… Three… Four… -'

'Cole! Catch!' something silver darted through the air, and out of surprise, Cole reached up to grab it. Bringing it down, he opened his hand to inspect his catch. The locket. Melinda's locket. It was as if someone had unlocked a door to a part of his life that Cole had missed. Memories crashed forth from every direction, knowledge Cole had forgotten was there. It was as if his flame for life had been rekindled, he knew who he was, he knew where he was, he knew who these people were. Suddenly Cole realized what was really happening. If this was a game, then they were about to lose.

'Five.'

The energy ball was let loose, but it never hit it's intended target. It whizzed through the air and hit the wall instead, dissipating with a crash. In the split second between when the potentially lethal weapon had been released, and when it would have hit its target, Cole had grabbed Bekky's shoulder, and shimmered them both out of harm's way. He shimmered back in next to Melinda, and let go of Bekky.

'The Seer. Now I remember… I must say, this is quite a surprise. Aren't you supposed to be dead?' asked Cole, feigning a would-be innocent expression. Divinus, or as most people would call her, the Seer, turned to face Cole once more.

'Funny, I could ask the same of you,' said the Seer, grinning manically. 'Of course, the same could also be said about Ben here. You do know Ben now, don't you? The Source's heir? Ring any bells?'

Cole's big brown eyes blinked.

'If you're implying then what I think you are, then yes, isn't he supposed to be dead as well?' asked Cole, his face betraying no emotion. If one might have glimpsed a look inside his mind, however, they would have been witnessing quite a battle. One half of Cole's conscience was telling him quite clearly that if Ben were the Source's heir - his heir - then why did Phoebe and her sisters think him dead. On the other hand, Cole found himself picking out all the similarities between the boy and his family, weighing up the odds. If the Seer were alive, then what proof was there to say the boy wasn't?

'It's funny how fate plays out,' commented the Seer dryly. 'Anyway, on with the job, shall we?' She turned back to Ben, and gave him a swift nod. He raised the dagger once more, hands trembling, his conscience torn between right and wrong. But the Seer was his mother, right? Why would she lie to him? This had to be for the better.

'Stop, Ben, you're not evil.'

Ben turned again, this time to find Serenity standing next to Cole, Melinda and Bekky.

'You're not my mum,' hissed Ben. 'You lied to me, all these years, you lied.'

Without thinking, Ben raised his hand and hurled the dagger at Serenity. The blade through the air with a certain grace, and almost immediately Ben regretted having let it go. But instead of harming Serenity, it simply passed straight through her body and clattered to the ground behind her. She smiled, before she began to flicker, almost like a faulty TV screen. In seconds she had been replaced by a small girl, an almost identical replica of Paige, except the little girl's hair was ebony coloured instead of Paige's fiery red locks.

'Good thing I'm not real, eh?' questioned the little girl softly.

Throughout this distraction, none of them had seen the energy balls building up in both of the Seer's palms, and so it came as a surprise when she let them loose. Melinda cried out as she was thrown backwards, and Cole doubled over momentarily as the unexpected force hit him. In a split second Bekky had thrown herself towards the Seer, small fireballs spurting forth from the child's hands. This took the Seer somewhat by shock, but she quickly recovered enough to retaliate with her energy balls, sending the child flying backwards.

Unnoticed for the time being, Melinda scrambled across the floor on all fours, intent on freeing Kaitlyn. She was stopped however, as a sharp kick to the ribs sent her crashing into the dusty floor.

'Oh no, that one dies,' said Ben, his voice sinister and unforgiving. 'Actually, come to think of it, perhaps this one dies too.'

Melinda threw a hand out, latching on to Ben's dagger that lay across the room. Instantly it zoomed towards Ben, but he merely put a hand out and caught it without so much as flinching.

'Making my job easier, are we?'

For a child of only ten, Ben acted far too mature.

'She's not your mum!' yelled Melinda, using her hands to try and keep the dagger away from her. Ben was strong though, and the blade sliced through the skin at her wrist as he swung the dagger around with force. Without warning, the dagger fell from her clutches, and Ben spun around, throwing the dagger away from Melinda. Melinda realized with a jolt of panic that it had been directed at Bekky, whom had copied Melinda's idea, and was also trying to reach Kaitlyn unnoticed, since the Seer was once more focusing her efforts on Cole.

Bekky threw up her hands to freeze the dagger, but in her fright she had managed to trigger her power twice, causing it to unfreeze barely seconds later.

Bekky screamed with fright as the dagger drove into her shoulder. She felt herself stumble backwards, before she hit the ground heavily. Sitting there, she reached up to pull the knife from her shoulder, visibly wincing as she did so. Ben smirked, but it didn't last as his feet were swept out from beneath him. He crashed to the ground. Melinda stood up and calmly dusted herself off, before heading towards her cousin.

A sharp cry caught their attention. The Seer had somehow forced Cole up against a wall, and as Melinda turned to look she saw the Seer pull an athame from Cole's chest. He gasped as the pain shot through his body, before he dropped to his knees. Melinda's locket, which he had still held in one hand, slipped to the ground. The Seer stood over him, a triumphant smile across her face.

'You… forgot… athame… won't vanquish… me,' gasped Cole. 'I'm… not… evil.'

'So? You will still die; it's a mortal wound. This way however, I get to see you suffer.'

Caught up in the chaos of the moment, the Seer, Cole, Ben, Bekky, Kaitlyn and Melinda had all forgotten about the illusion of the little girl. Since she could neither handle objects, or come to harm by them, she had been ignored, and had stood to the side to watch the battle play out. Now she began to chant, her eyes staring unseeingly ahead of her.

'The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies… The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies… The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies…'

Her voice was getting louder each time she repeated the chant, and slowly all turned their attention to her. Kaitlyn was the first to catch on.

'The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies…' chanted the little girl again. Only this time, she wasn't chanting by herself. Kaitlyn's voice chanted in time with her, and the corners of the little girl's mouth seemed to twitch upwards in a smile.

'The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies… The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies…' Bekky and Melinda joined in now, drawn in, seemingly enchanted by the tune of which they could comprehend no meaning.

Ben looked torn. The tune beckoned to him, over and over, whispering to him, enticing him. It wrapped gentle tendrils around his mind, dragging him in, lulling him to speak it's words. He opened his mouth, while bringing his eyes up to meet those of the Seer's. Anger flashed in her eyes, warning, but for once Ben just didn't care. The tune felt natural, as if it were a part of him somehow. And so he too began to chant.

'The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies… The Star of Ivy lift up to the sky, set us free, undo the lies…' A soft, white light seemed to be illuminating each of the five children now, surrounding them and slowly growing bigger. Cole watched on fearfully, but pain was claiming him quickly and he could do little but surrender to unconsciousness, while still fearing for the kids' lives.

The light was unbearably bright now, and the Seer watched on with frightened eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen, they were supposed to have chosen evil! Her plans her failed! All her hard work would go to waste, all those years of waiting - they would be for nothing! In a last ditch effort to prove her worth, the Seer lunged at Bekky, whom seemed the closest target. Hate blazed in her eyes as she stormed towards the child.

The Seer never made it. The bright light burst forth suddenly, exploding like a million fireworks all going off at once. The Seer let out an anguished cry, before she vanished in a pile of flickering hot flames that had come from seemingly nowhere. Ben too gave a cry, as a dark shadow seemed to rip forth from his soul, hovering in front of him as a little black cloud, before it too was consumed in flames. Then all of a sudden - the light vanished.

All five children took a couple of seconds to comprehend the meaning of what had just happened, before Bekky, Melinda, and Ben followed in Cole's actions, each simultaneously slumping over and surrendering to the peaceful clutches of darkness.

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TBC

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