Returning Evil Part 2
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).
"We are leaving right now," Cole said suddenly. As he started to walk out of the office, he continued, "Take whatever you can carry, we are going into hiding."
"Cole, why? Who is the Founder?" Phoebe asked.
Cole turned and looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Think about what the name implies."
The sisters thought for a few seconds, and then Paige blurted out, "Are you saying he STARTED your side?"
"My ex-side, to be precise," Cole said, "but yes, he is the Founder of Evil. Back in the beginning, he unified and brought us together. He then left suddenly, but gave a prophecy that he would one day return and remake Evil and the universe in his own image."
"So, he's like the Source?" Piper asked.
"Comparing him to the Source is like comparing the power of a pistol and a nuclear warhead," Cole said in exasperation. "His power is so far beyond our comprehension that no matter how we call him, it isn't strong enough. I guess the best label is 'Dark God'."
"But why don't we try and fight him? We've vanquished powerful evil before," Piper said, "And we do have a few powers of our own, not to mention the powers of our children."
"You just don't get it," Cole said as he shook his head, "NONE OF IT MATTERS! Even if you wanted to get to him, you never could. Stop and think for a moment. What is the one thing evil beings have in common?"
"Besides being rather treacherous?" Paige asked.
"Exactly, but why are they treacherous?" Cole replied.
The sisters thought for a few moments, and then Phoebe said, "Because they are only concerned with power, and getting it for themselves?"
"Right. Evil can't work well together because their whole goal is to seize power for themselves. The Founder can change all of that. If he so much as vaguely indicated he wanted it, every being of evil would throw themselves at you instantly just so one of them can get a lucky shot. Can you really handle an army of demonic fanatics?"
"Well, maybe we can warn our side. Organize them like we did against Ezekiel's machine?" Piper said.
"We DON'T HAVE TIME!" Cole said in exasperation. "If we are even reasonably close when the Founder comes through the Gateway, we'll be." Cole stopped speaking as the girls looked at each other.
Phoebe then asked, "What would happen if we destroy the Gateway, or block it somehow?"
"Even if you could find it and get past the demonic priests and guards.I don't know," Cole said honestly. "It's never even been conceived of, so I just don't know."
The sisters looked at each other again, and then shouted together, "LEO!"
Leo orbed in with Gabriel and Melinda in his arms and looked around, "What? What's the emergency?"
"The Founder of Evil is coming back, and we need to get to the Gateway and stop him," Piper said, "Where is it?"
Leo paled, and then said, "The.Foun..Founder? I thought that was just a myth?"
"It isn't a myth," Phoebe said, "Now, where is it?"
"I don't have a clue," Leo confessed, "No one on our side does. It has never been revealed to us, nor have we found it. Best guess: it's somewhere in the Underworld."
"Well, that's just great.I don't suppose you know where it is?" Paige asked.
"Sorry, but only the Priests were allowed in. Even the Source was never told," Cole replied.
"The Underworld is a rather big place for us to just wander around in." Phoebe said, "There has to be some way to pinpoint the location."
"We know where it is," a new voice said. As the sisters turned, the eight Guardians appeared. Mortanos stepped forward, inclined his head toward Gabriel, and said, "My brother." He then glanced at the sisters, and said, "We will take you to the Gateway, and we will help you. The Founder cannot be allowed to return. It would be catastrophic for everything in existence."
"Thank you for your help," Pipe said, "So, anything we should bring? You know, a hat, a chair, a bazooka?"
Mortanos smiled, and said, "Actually, we have something a little different in mind." He then looked at Gabriel and Melinda, and said a few words. Gabriel looked serious for a few seconds, and then nodded. He and Melinda began to glow softly. As the glow intensified, they flew out of Leo's hands, who had frozen in shock. The floated above the ground shortly, and then landed. When the glow faded, both Gabriel and Melinda looked like small toddlers. Gabriel turned back to Phoebe and said, "Hello Mom. Don't worry, it's only temporary. I'll change us back as soon as this is over, but you'll need us down there."
Phoebe nodded and gulped. "Wait, so you can be any age you want?" she asked.
Gabriel smiled, and said, "I could, but then you would miss all the joys of childhood. Trust me; I don't like not being able to talk any more than you do. Anyway, shall we get started?"
Mortanos nodded, and said solemnly, "Gather round everyone. I'll teleport us there without being detected." As everyone got close, he continued, "Be careful, I don't know how the area will affect the powers of witches and whitelighter. Us Guardians should be fine, but until you figure out if anything has changed, don't assume anything."
Everyone nodded, and then Mortanos close his eyes and furrowed his brow. A few seconds later, the group faded out.
***
The group appeared on top of a cliff. Below them was a vast red sea, composed entirely of Lava. In the center of the sea was a small island, and the sisters could vaguely see some kind of structure there. About 10 beings were bowed before it. Suddenly, a gong sounded loudly 4 times. Phoebe put her hands to her ears and said, "What the Hell is that?"
"The Gong is to announce his coming. According to legend, when it strikes six times, the portal will open and he will return," Cole replied.
"It doesn't matter," Mortanos said tersely, "The portal will be gone before then. Let's go." The Guardians took off, and the sisters, Cole and Leo felt the ground disappear below them. They looked down, and saw only Lava. Phoebe instinctively tensed, and then she heard Gabriel in her mind. "Relax. I've got you, but it's harder when you're tensed up like that. I won't let you fall."
As everyone headed towards the island, Paige asked quietly, "Why didn't we just appear there?"
"Because we needed the element of surprise," Fiona replied. "This way, we can sneak up on them."
As the group got close, Mortanos said, "Fiona, NOW!" Fiona gestured, and a wave of lava overtook the island momentarily. When it passed, the sisters saw in shock that all it succeeded in doing was knocked the 10 demons to the ground. Fiona smiled grimly, and said, "If it were that easy, we'd have done it by now."
Meanwhile, the 10 demons looked up. One of them shouted, "PROTECT THE ISLAND! KILL THEM!" The demon all gestured and hurled fireballs at the group. Melinda held out her hands, and a blue field blocked them all. The group landed, and Mortanos said, "Spread out, and get rid of the demons." As he finished, the gong began to sound again. "And HURRY!"
As the sisters and Cole landed, two demons hurled fireballs at them. Cole deflected one back, but all it did was stun the demon slightly. Paige shouted, "Fireball!", but all that happened is the Fireball orbed through Paige. Paige looked at the others and said, "Guess Mortanos was right about our powers."
Piper gestured, and the demon fell back. She gestured again, and the demon fell back again. "Guess my exploding power is a little watered down," she said. She then ducked as another fireball came her way.
"We can't afford to fight like this," Gabriel shouted. "We have to get rid of them and destroy the Gateway." Gabriel threw his arms out, and a white wave shot out of his body. It went through the sisters, but it knocked the demons back. "I can hold them for a little bit, but not for long." Gabriel said in a strained voice.
"Nice job," Mortanos said.
"Why didn't any of YOU do that?" Piper asked as they turned towards the portal.
"Our powers work differently, and I wasn't strong enough down here," Mortanos said shortly. "Let's concentrate on the portal."
Just then, the Gong began to sound again. As the group watched, a point of light appeared in the center of the Gateway. As it began to expand, Fiona said, "Quickly, stop it!" Every Guardian but Gabriel held out their hands, and a multi-colored field surround the point. As the point came in contact with the field, the field flexed, but held.
"Hurry, destroy it!" Fiona shouted.
"HOW!" Paige asked.
Piper gestured, but nothing happened. Melinda pointed her finger and blue energy shot from her hand at the Gateway. However, it stopped short, and didn't even singe it.
"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked.
Suddenly, the Guardians were thrown back as a black wave shot out of the point. Before the Guardians could get back up, the point expanded until it was at the edge of Gateway. A shadow appeared, and then a figure appeared. He appeared to be about 25, 6'0 tall and with brown hair. He seemed to be nice, but his eyes held no emotion.
Before the sisters could move, Mortanos jumped forward and grabbed them. He said, "We have to leave, NOW!" As Gabriel and Melinda got close, The Founder gestured, and black tendrils shot out of him. Gabriel and Melinda held up their hands, and blocked a few. But the rest hit 7 of the Guardians in the chest. They fell over, and Mortanos closed his eyes. The sisters, Cole, Gabriel, and Melinda faded with Mortanos. The other Guardians got up, and then turned towards The Founder. They then slowly got on one knee, and said, "Master."
TO BE CONTINUED.
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).
"We are leaving right now," Cole said suddenly. As he started to walk out of the office, he continued, "Take whatever you can carry, we are going into hiding."
"Cole, why? Who is the Founder?" Phoebe asked.
Cole turned and looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Think about what the name implies."
The sisters thought for a few seconds, and then Paige blurted out, "Are you saying he STARTED your side?"
"My ex-side, to be precise," Cole said, "but yes, he is the Founder of Evil. Back in the beginning, he unified and brought us together. He then left suddenly, but gave a prophecy that he would one day return and remake Evil and the universe in his own image."
"So, he's like the Source?" Piper asked.
"Comparing him to the Source is like comparing the power of a pistol and a nuclear warhead," Cole said in exasperation. "His power is so far beyond our comprehension that no matter how we call him, it isn't strong enough. I guess the best label is 'Dark God'."
"But why don't we try and fight him? We've vanquished powerful evil before," Piper said, "And we do have a few powers of our own, not to mention the powers of our children."
"You just don't get it," Cole said as he shook his head, "NONE OF IT MATTERS! Even if you wanted to get to him, you never could. Stop and think for a moment. What is the one thing evil beings have in common?"
"Besides being rather treacherous?" Paige asked.
"Exactly, but why are they treacherous?" Cole replied.
The sisters thought for a few moments, and then Phoebe said, "Because they are only concerned with power, and getting it for themselves?"
"Right. Evil can't work well together because their whole goal is to seize power for themselves. The Founder can change all of that. If he so much as vaguely indicated he wanted it, every being of evil would throw themselves at you instantly just so one of them can get a lucky shot. Can you really handle an army of demonic fanatics?"
"Well, maybe we can warn our side. Organize them like we did against Ezekiel's machine?" Piper said.
"We DON'T HAVE TIME!" Cole said in exasperation. "If we are even reasonably close when the Founder comes through the Gateway, we'll be." Cole stopped speaking as the girls looked at each other.
Phoebe then asked, "What would happen if we destroy the Gateway, or block it somehow?"
"Even if you could find it and get past the demonic priests and guards.I don't know," Cole said honestly. "It's never even been conceived of, so I just don't know."
The sisters looked at each other again, and then shouted together, "LEO!"
Leo orbed in with Gabriel and Melinda in his arms and looked around, "What? What's the emergency?"
"The Founder of Evil is coming back, and we need to get to the Gateway and stop him," Piper said, "Where is it?"
Leo paled, and then said, "The.Foun..Founder? I thought that was just a myth?"
"It isn't a myth," Phoebe said, "Now, where is it?"
"I don't have a clue," Leo confessed, "No one on our side does. It has never been revealed to us, nor have we found it. Best guess: it's somewhere in the Underworld."
"Well, that's just great.I don't suppose you know where it is?" Paige asked.
"Sorry, but only the Priests were allowed in. Even the Source was never told," Cole replied.
"The Underworld is a rather big place for us to just wander around in." Phoebe said, "There has to be some way to pinpoint the location."
"We know where it is," a new voice said. As the sisters turned, the eight Guardians appeared. Mortanos stepped forward, inclined his head toward Gabriel, and said, "My brother." He then glanced at the sisters, and said, "We will take you to the Gateway, and we will help you. The Founder cannot be allowed to return. It would be catastrophic for everything in existence."
"Thank you for your help," Pipe said, "So, anything we should bring? You know, a hat, a chair, a bazooka?"
Mortanos smiled, and said, "Actually, we have something a little different in mind." He then looked at Gabriel and Melinda, and said a few words. Gabriel looked serious for a few seconds, and then nodded. He and Melinda began to glow softly. As the glow intensified, they flew out of Leo's hands, who had frozen in shock. The floated above the ground shortly, and then landed. When the glow faded, both Gabriel and Melinda looked like small toddlers. Gabriel turned back to Phoebe and said, "Hello Mom. Don't worry, it's only temporary. I'll change us back as soon as this is over, but you'll need us down there."
Phoebe nodded and gulped. "Wait, so you can be any age you want?" she asked.
Gabriel smiled, and said, "I could, but then you would miss all the joys of childhood. Trust me; I don't like not being able to talk any more than you do. Anyway, shall we get started?"
Mortanos nodded, and said solemnly, "Gather round everyone. I'll teleport us there without being detected." As everyone got close, he continued, "Be careful, I don't know how the area will affect the powers of witches and whitelighter. Us Guardians should be fine, but until you figure out if anything has changed, don't assume anything."
Everyone nodded, and then Mortanos close his eyes and furrowed his brow. A few seconds later, the group faded out.
***
The group appeared on top of a cliff. Below them was a vast red sea, composed entirely of Lava. In the center of the sea was a small island, and the sisters could vaguely see some kind of structure there. About 10 beings were bowed before it. Suddenly, a gong sounded loudly 4 times. Phoebe put her hands to her ears and said, "What the Hell is that?"
"The Gong is to announce his coming. According to legend, when it strikes six times, the portal will open and he will return," Cole replied.
"It doesn't matter," Mortanos said tersely, "The portal will be gone before then. Let's go." The Guardians took off, and the sisters, Cole and Leo felt the ground disappear below them. They looked down, and saw only Lava. Phoebe instinctively tensed, and then she heard Gabriel in her mind. "Relax. I've got you, but it's harder when you're tensed up like that. I won't let you fall."
As everyone headed towards the island, Paige asked quietly, "Why didn't we just appear there?"
"Because we needed the element of surprise," Fiona replied. "This way, we can sneak up on them."
As the group got close, Mortanos said, "Fiona, NOW!" Fiona gestured, and a wave of lava overtook the island momentarily. When it passed, the sisters saw in shock that all it succeeded in doing was knocked the 10 demons to the ground. Fiona smiled grimly, and said, "If it were that easy, we'd have done it by now."
Meanwhile, the 10 demons looked up. One of them shouted, "PROTECT THE ISLAND! KILL THEM!" The demon all gestured and hurled fireballs at the group. Melinda held out her hands, and a blue field blocked them all. The group landed, and Mortanos said, "Spread out, and get rid of the demons." As he finished, the gong began to sound again. "And HURRY!"
As the sisters and Cole landed, two demons hurled fireballs at them. Cole deflected one back, but all it did was stun the demon slightly. Paige shouted, "Fireball!", but all that happened is the Fireball orbed through Paige. Paige looked at the others and said, "Guess Mortanos was right about our powers."
Piper gestured, and the demon fell back. She gestured again, and the demon fell back again. "Guess my exploding power is a little watered down," she said. She then ducked as another fireball came her way.
"We can't afford to fight like this," Gabriel shouted. "We have to get rid of them and destroy the Gateway." Gabriel threw his arms out, and a white wave shot out of his body. It went through the sisters, but it knocked the demons back. "I can hold them for a little bit, but not for long." Gabriel said in a strained voice.
"Nice job," Mortanos said.
"Why didn't any of YOU do that?" Piper asked as they turned towards the portal.
"Our powers work differently, and I wasn't strong enough down here," Mortanos said shortly. "Let's concentrate on the portal."
Just then, the Gong began to sound again. As the group watched, a point of light appeared in the center of the Gateway. As it began to expand, Fiona said, "Quickly, stop it!" Every Guardian but Gabriel held out their hands, and a multi-colored field surround the point. As the point came in contact with the field, the field flexed, but held.
"Hurry, destroy it!" Fiona shouted.
"HOW!" Paige asked.
Piper gestured, but nothing happened. Melinda pointed her finger and blue energy shot from her hand at the Gateway. However, it stopped short, and didn't even singe it.
"What do we do now?" Phoebe asked.
Suddenly, the Guardians were thrown back as a black wave shot out of the point. Before the Guardians could get back up, the point expanded until it was at the edge of Gateway. A shadow appeared, and then a figure appeared. He appeared to be about 25, 6'0 tall and with brown hair. He seemed to be nice, but his eyes held no emotion.
Before the sisters could move, Mortanos jumped forward and grabbed them. He said, "We have to leave, NOW!" As Gabriel and Melinda got close, The Founder gestured, and black tendrils shot out of him. Gabriel and Melinda held up their hands, and blocked a few. But the rest hit 7 of the Guardians in the chest. They fell over, and Mortanos closed his eyes. The sisters, Cole, Gabriel, and Melinda faded with Mortanos. The other Guardians got up, and then turned towards The Founder. They then slowly got on one knee, and said, "Master."
TO BE CONTINUED.