Charmed: The Next Generation (A futurefic)
Please note: I don't own any Characters from Charmed, but I've added a few of my own to this story.
Summary: Told through the eyes of Penny Halliwell-Dean, Phoebe's daughter. The Charmed Ones are killed by a powerful force of evil leaving their children to fend for themselves.
Chapter 3: Ghostly Guidance
At Magic School:
I awoke in my room at Magic School. For a moment I thought maybe I'd dreamed the whole nasty event. Maybe my mother and aunts were still alive and well at home, waiting for me and my cousins to return from school. But as my eyes focused I could make out the figures of my beloved cousins Wyatt and Chris comforting poor Uncle Leo. Dear Uncle Leo, what pain he must be in. He'd lost the love of his life.
I sat up carefully. I was wearing different clothes. Someone had obviously dressed me. And my wound was healed. Uncle Leo must have taken the time to heal me before collapsing in grief. "Wyatt?" My voice was shaky. The three men...yes Wyatt and Chris were men now...turned to me. Wyatt rushed to my side. "Are you ok Penny?" I nodded, trying to take on my mother's rigid strength. "They're dead, aren't they?" It was all I could say. The tears were welling up. Wyatt nodded. He was close to crying too. I resisted the urge to throw my arms around him and cry in his shoulder like a child. I wasn't a child anymore.
Swallowing hard, I got up from the bed. "And the creatures?" Chris picked up The Book Of Shadows. He must have gone back for it. It was open to a page about The Source. Chris could see my confusion. He explained. "It's him. He somehow returned more powerful than ever. He completed his ultimate goal. He killed The Charmed Ones, but he has a new goal now. He wants us gone too. Wyatt wounded him, but we couldn't vanquish him." He gave me a moment to take in that information before flipping to another page. Balthezor. I knew that page well. I'd studied it many times after catching my mother staring at it. She had loved him. Well, she'd loved the human form of that demon. Chris went on with his explaination. "The beast is Balthezor. He's changed too. Become stronger, bigger. Too powerful for a simple vanquishing spell." Basically what I got from that conversation was that we were screwed.
Later That Day In Magic School:
I was left alone in my room for a while. Chris and Wyatt had gone to the library to see if they could find anything there that might help us. Uncle Leo had orbed off somewhere to be alone. I sat on my bed, thinking about my mother. I missed her face, her laughter, the smell of her perfume. Growing up without my father had been tough, but Mom had been my strength. She had raised me with enough love for two parents.
The Book Of Shadows was still lying on my desk. I remembered that there was a spell to summon a ghost. I wondered if it would work, if I could summon my mother.
The candles were arranged in a circle. I lit them all carefully and recited the spell. Nothing happened. My legs folded under me. I fell to my knees. I screamed out between my sobs, "Why! How could you let this happen!" I didn't even know who I was screaming at. The Elders. God. Whoever was responsible. I hated them.
Small glowing lights appeared. At first I thought it was the candle light being refracted in my tears. Then I saw a form begin to materialize. "Mom?" I wiped my tears away so I could see better. It wasn't her. It was a woman I didn't know. There were pictures of her in an old album in the attic. No one had ever told me who she was and I never had the guts to ask. The woman became solid. She stepped out of the candle circle and pulled me up. Her dark head was just about level with mine. Her blue eyes sparkled with something I can't explain. She was beautiful and most definitely a Halliwell.
The woman's hands held my shoulders and she looked deep into my eyes. "You have to be strong Penny." More confusion added to my muddled mind. She smiled. "Of course I know your name. I've been watching over you you're whole life." I nodded. I'd felt her sometimes, but I'd always dismissed it. "I have much to say and very little time. Come." She pulled me gently to my bed and we sat down. She took my hand. "My name's Prue. I'm your aunt. I died a long time ago. Before you were born." That made sense to me. She continued. "You and Wyatt and Chris are The Charmed Ones now. You have to take over the family destiny. I know it's hard because you're so young, but remember you are never alone. We are all with you. Always." Those words were comforting and suddenly I could feel what she was telling me. I could feel my mother, Auntie Piper, Auntie Paige, and many other Halliwell's within me, around me.
Prue kept going. "Wyatt is powerful. He's a leader, but he's afraid. You have to help him to accept his destiny." I nodded again. "And Chris needs help to find the source of his greatest power. He has many powers that remain hidden because he's jealous of Wyatt and careless with his magic." That certainly made sense. I could help him and so could Wyatt. "And you Dear Penny, are powerful too. You have already learned about your premonition and levitation powers, but also you have powers that haven't been discovered yet. Find them and help the boys to harness theirs. When you've done that, you will truely be The Charmed Ones. And you will be more powerful than any coven before you, even more powerful than your mother and Piper and Paige and I were." This was hard to accept. Prue wanted us to vanquish the demons that killed our parents.
Prue held out a small silver necklace to me. I took it and looked at it. It was engraved with the name Phoebe. "She sent it to you. To remind you that you are strong because you are her daughter, because you are a Halliwell." Tears filled my eyes once again. Prue hugged me. "My darling niece. You're journey will be hard, but don't despair. Whenever you need me, just call." She let me go and stepped back into the candle circle. The candles all went out at once and Prue disappeared. "Thanks Prue." I whispered. Then after thinking for a moment, I slipped my mother's necklace around my neck and whispered, "Thanks Mom."
I stood up and wiped away the last tears I would ever shed. I was strong. I was Phoebe's daughter. A Charmed One. A Halliwell. It was time to follow my destiny. My little twelve year old body shook with a mixture of fear and excitement. Wyatt, Chris, and I had work to do. Training to complete. Evil to vanquish.
Please note: I don't own any Characters from Charmed, but I've added a few of my own to this story.
Summary: Told through the eyes of Penny Halliwell-Dean, Phoebe's daughter. The Charmed Ones are killed by a powerful force of evil leaving their children to fend for themselves.
Chapter 3: Ghostly Guidance
At Magic School:
I awoke in my room at Magic School. For a moment I thought maybe I'd dreamed the whole nasty event. Maybe my mother and aunts were still alive and well at home, waiting for me and my cousins to return from school. But as my eyes focused I could make out the figures of my beloved cousins Wyatt and Chris comforting poor Uncle Leo. Dear Uncle Leo, what pain he must be in. He'd lost the love of his life.
I sat up carefully. I was wearing different clothes. Someone had obviously dressed me. And my wound was healed. Uncle Leo must have taken the time to heal me before collapsing in grief. "Wyatt?" My voice was shaky. The three men...yes Wyatt and Chris were men now...turned to me. Wyatt rushed to my side. "Are you ok Penny?" I nodded, trying to take on my mother's rigid strength. "They're dead, aren't they?" It was all I could say. The tears were welling up. Wyatt nodded. He was close to crying too. I resisted the urge to throw my arms around him and cry in his shoulder like a child. I wasn't a child anymore.
Swallowing hard, I got up from the bed. "And the creatures?" Chris picked up The Book Of Shadows. He must have gone back for it. It was open to a page about The Source. Chris could see my confusion. He explained. "It's him. He somehow returned more powerful than ever. He completed his ultimate goal. He killed The Charmed Ones, but he has a new goal now. He wants us gone too. Wyatt wounded him, but we couldn't vanquish him." He gave me a moment to take in that information before flipping to another page. Balthezor. I knew that page well. I'd studied it many times after catching my mother staring at it. She had loved him. Well, she'd loved the human form of that demon. Chris went on with his explaination. "The beast is Balthezor. He's changed too. Become stronger, bigger. Too powerful for a simple vanquishing spell." Basically what I got from that conversation was that we were screwed.
Later That Day In Magic School:
I was left alone in my room for a while. Chris and Wyatt had gone to the library to see if they could find anything there that might help us. Uncle Leo had orbed off somewhere to be alone. I sat on my bed, thinking about my mother. I missed her face, her laughter, the smell of her perfume. Growing up without my father had been tough, but Mom had been my strength. She had raised me with enough love for two parents.
The Book Of Shadows was still lying on my desk. I remembered that there was a spell to summon a ghost. I wondered if it would work, if I could summon my mother.
The candles were arranged in a circle. I lit them all carefully and recited the spell. Nothing happened. My legs folded under me. I fell to my knees. I screamed out between my sobs, "Why! How could you let this happen!" I didn't even know who I was screaming at. The Elders. God. Whoever was responsible. I hated them.
Small glowing lights appeared. At first I thought it was the candle light being refracted in my tears. Then I saw a form begin to materialize. "Mom?" I wiped my tears away so I could see better. It wasn't her. It was a woman I didn't know. There were pictures of her in an old album in the attic. No one had ever told me who she was and I never had the guts to ask. The woman became solid. She stepped out of the candle circle and pulled me up. Her dark head was just about level with mine. Her blue eyes sparkled with something I can't explain. She was beautiful and most definitely a Halliwell.
The woman's hands held my shoulders and she looked deep into my eyes. "You have to be strong Penny." More confusion added to my muddled mind. She smiled. "Of course I know your name. I've been watching over you you're whole life." I nodded. I'd felt her sometimes, but I'd always dismissed it. "I have much to say and very little time. Come." She pulled me gently to my bed and we sat down. She took my hand. "My name's Prue. I'm your aunt. I died a long time ago. Before you were born." That made sense to me. She continued. "You and Wyatt and Chris are The Charmed Ones now. You have to take over the family destiny. I know it's hard because you're so young, but remember you are never alone. We are all with you. Always." Those words were comforting and suddenly I could feel what she was telling me. I could feel my mother, Auntie Piper, Auntie Paige, and many other Halliwell's within me, around me.
Prue kept going. "Wyatt is powerful. He's a leader, but he's afraid. You have to help him to accept his destiny." I nodded again. "And Chris needs help to find the source of his greatest power. He has many powers that remain hidden because he's jealous of Wyatt and careless with his magic." That certainly made sense. I could help him and so could Wyatt. "And you Dear Penny, are powerful too. You have already learned about your premonition and levitation powers, but also you have powers that haven't been discovered yet. Find them and help the boys to harness theirs. When you've done that, you will truely be The Charmed Ones. And you will be more powerful than any coven before you, even more powerful than your mother and Piper and Paige and I were." This was hard to accept. Prue wanted us to vanquish the demons that killed our parents.
Prue held out a small silver necklace to me. I took it and looked at it. It was engraved with the name Phoebe. "She sent it to you. To remind you that you are strong because you are her daughter, because you are a Halliwell." Tears filled my eyes once again. Prue hugged me. "My darling niece. You're journey will be hard, but don't despair. Whenever you need me, just call." She let me go and stepped back into the candle circle. The candles all went out at once and Prue disappeared. "Thanks Prue." I whispered. Then after thinking for a moment, I slipped my mother's necklace around my neck and whispered, "Thanks Mom."
I stood up and wiped away the last tears I would ever shed. I was strong. I was Phoebe's daughter. A Charmed One. A Halliwell. It was time to follow my destiny. My little twelve year old body shook with a mixture of fear and excitement. Wyatt, Chris, and I had work to do. Training to complete. Evil to vanquish.