"You're lying," said Phoebe.
"Oh, I can assure you,' said the warlock, "I have absolutely no reason to lie."
"That's impossible," said Phoebe. "I haven't done anything that would cause something like this. In fact, I don't have that kind of power."
"It's quite true," said the warlock. "All of this is courtesy of you. And the longer it continues the stronger the magic gets until eventually it will be so strong nothing will be able to stop it. At that point this reality will become the Land of Oz permanently. Nothing will be able to change it back."
"I'll find a way," said Phoebe. "My sisters may not remember who they are but they are still the Charmed Ones. Remember how we got out of that movie? Even without their memories the Power of Three still functions. All I have to do is have them help me cast a spell to undo all this."
"Nice thought," said the warlock, "but it won't work." He moved over and pulled back the drapes on the front windows to expose the Emerald City outside. "Look around you. This is no longer San Francisco. It's the Land of Oz. Which means magic must now operate based on those rules. And that means you can never defeat me."
"It'll be a cold day when we can't defeat a warlock," said Phoebe.
"My point exactly," said the warlock. "Since we are now literally in the Land of Oz, everyone is reverting to the roles assigned them when they were in the movie, your younger sister taking the older ones place. Call her an understudy if you will. That being the case, I'm sure you remember which role I was cast in."
"The wizard," gasped Phoebe.
"Precisely," said the warlock. "The great and powerful Oz. The ultimate force in the Land of Oz. The one being that no other being compares to in power. I have ceased to be a warlock. I am now the Wizard Oz. And Oz cannot be defeated in his own land."
"You're forgetting something," said Phoebe. "Oz turned out to be a charlatan. A con artist with no real power."
"True," said the warlock, "at the end of the movie. But this is no movie. It's real. And since there's no end to come, Oz remains the ultimate force in this land. A force greater than the Power of Three."
Phoebe looked at the others. She could tell the warlock was right. Even Paige, the powerful Wicked Witch of the West, was cowering in fear before the warlock. If even half of what the warlock was saying was true even the Power of Three might not be able to change things back to the way they were supposed to be.
"I must really thank you," said the warlock. "I only had thought to steal your powers. In this altered reality not even the Source nor the Elders are a match for me. So I have to thank you for allowing me to gain even more power than I thought possible.
"Once the magic has altered things enough I'll be able to kill even you and take your powers. The only way to stop me is to end this before that happens. And there's only one way to do that. But even then that will allow me to kill your sisters and take their powers. So no matter what you do, I win."
The warlock just laughed and then suddenly blinked out of the manor. Phoebe looked at the others who relaxed noticeably when the "wizard" was no longer there. Phoebe had no idea what she was going to do. She didn't even know what was causing all this.
The warlock said she was doing this. But that didn't make any sense. As she had told the warlock she hadn't done anything. She hadn't even cast a spell in the last few days that might have caused this. She wasn't even sure a Power of Three spell could accomplish what was going on. And she had no idea how to fix things.
"Dorothy," Cole asked, "are you okay? You look unhappy."
"I just don't know what to do," said Phoebe. "This isn't a movie so we can't even use a Power of Three spell to get us out like we did last time. I don't know how to undo the magic that's causing all this."
"I do," cackled Paige. "Give me the ruby slippers. I can use their magic. They are of no use to you. Give me the slippers and I can use their magic to set things right again."
The ruby slippers, thought Phoebe. That's it. They were supposed to contain great magic. Maybe the greatest magic in Oz. She could use their magic to turn everything back.
Phoebe ran to her room as fast as she could and threw the closet door open. She noticed the red glow in the back of the closet. She immediately located the glowing slippers and ran from her room.
Once back in the living room she placed the slippers on the coffee table. It was all so simple. She could use the magic of the slippers to counter whatever magic was doing this. As the warlock had said, this was no longer San Francisco. It was the Land of Oz and magic had to operate on the rules for Oz. Phoebe looked at the ruby slippers sitting on the coffee table and suddenly made a terrible realization.
She didn't have the first clue how to use the magic of the slippers.