Chapter 4: Nightmare Incorporated
"Forgive me my liege," the Seer turned around slightly shaking her head, "but this is preposterous! You can't keep switching bodies, or nobody will follow you. You will be weak and not able to control the host body, let alone the underworld."
"I took over Paige in four seconds. Cause this time I didn't have to convince her to use her own powers for evil, but overpowered them with my own. She is still a young and stupid witch. She had no idea she wasn't supposed to touch my powers even if drawn to them."
"I guess you were lucky. Her unfamiliarity with the evil side breeds curiosity. But that doesn't matter. My visions confirm that the underworld will not accept a leader who is in a former witch's body. You will have to go back to Belthazor before anybody finds out your powerlessness over getting trounced by the charmed ones once more."
"And how do you suggest I do that?" Said the Source in Paige's body, making her eyes narrow furiously at his subject. One of her palms formed a high energy blue ball, and she angrily slammed her other fist into it, creating a small explosion that forced the always unruffled Seer to duck behind her stone stall.
"You've got to calm down, my liege," she said in the same composed manner as before, "growing tense is not going to bring your dominance back. Some disquieting events had happened, but all we can do is see to it, so that all efforts were not in vain. I can still see you doing great things in Belthazor's body. You need to turn up at the manor, and act as if the inexperienced witch were not completely taken over. Surely they will try to do the binding spell again, play along, we will have done our black magic first. Make it look like your powers transfer where-ever they want it to, but in fact they will go back to Belthazor."
"It took me days to overtake his strong will the last time."
"That is why it will be immediate now. He already fought all the battles he was capable of. Besides, his witch is on our side, there's nothing to overcome. Let me summon a warlock to help me denote our spell that overrides theirs."
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"Leo! Come back!" That was Piper's reaction when she saw Paige orbing in towards the early morning hours as after all other efforts failing, Leo resorted to going up to the Elders for help about the situation for the second time. She approached her sister with caution, "Paige? Where is the Source?"
"I'm sorry, Piper," Paige answered, "that was..." She shook her head, "it was so intense...and it went a bit screwy."
"What did you do with it? Did it make you take it somewhere? To the Seer? It's okay Paige, we realize nobody can fight it alone."
"No," Paige shook her head, and orbed the crystals around herself, "quickly, you need to do it now or never, I'll say the spell, maybe one minute later I won't be able to, cause he will be too strong in me."
"That's impossible," Cole walked over and leaned forward, looking at the young witch incredulously with slightly parted lips, "the Source wouldn't let you if he was in your head. I'm surprised you can talk to us as it is."
"Well, Paige is a witch, and you are an ex demon, must be a big difference," Piper argued, raring to sort the situation as soon as possible.
"It might be a trap," Cole suggested.
"But we say our spell, it's the power of three, nobody could ever play against that as yet. Besides, do you have any other ideas? No? Well, I didn't think so. Thus, if you don't mind, I want my sisters back."
"That is why at least I'd suggest you use another altered spell, getting rid from not just the evil of the Source, but from the baby as well, at the same time. But no more jam jars. Actually, I second that, I never felt like eating jam when I was the Source, so he must not like it. Bring it on!"
"Okay, spell goes like this, there's no time for thinking," she started scribbling on the sheet herself, as the only sister not touched by the other side yet, and gave an exemplar to Paige as well, still standing in the middle of her own circle, "Phoebe join her in there and stop her if she wants to lift the crystals. Besides, you need to be in the focus of the spell as well," she rambled on, trying to do everything as quickly as it was possible for Paige's and consequently everyone's sake, "Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda, Astrid, Helena, Grace and Laura,
Halliwell witches stand strong beside us, contain all evil in the room in the jimmy jammy jar."
"We've done it!" Piper jumped to hug her two sisters as energy seemingly emanated from both of them. Leo and Cole joined them, and they hugged each other in a circle, inside the circle.
Cole pulled Phoebe away from the others, "I love you," he traced her ears.
"Aaah!" She jumped away from him, "listen to me," she started pulling the rest of them out of the circle, "just trust me, we need to do that spell again, Cole wasn't in the circle before."
"But...why? He could touch the book!" Leo argued.
"You have to!" Phoebe tugged them agitatedly, "he can never tell you if you don't do this! Come on, what can it hurt? Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda, Astrid, Helena, Grace and Laura,
Halliwell witches stand strong beside us, contain all evil in the room in the jimmy jammy jar."
"Thank you," Cole said after the energy that was in him inhabited the jar as well, "now how about we bury that pot all together?"
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"You!" Piper pointed at Paige as they went up the stairs from the basement, "don't do that again! And you," she indicated Phoebe, "and the same goes for you, Cole!" and they all laughed in relief.
"Unfortunately there's never a certainty in our world," Cole turned serious, "but at least there's nothing more powerful than the source, according to my knowledge, and we finally got him!"
"Cole, it's almost morning, I need to sleep," Phoebe tugged him along.
"In your old room?" Piper wondered when she saw the destination her sister was taking.
"That's where we stay from now on Piper, if you don't mind," Cole backed her up.
"Ah, Leo, why don't you just orb me upstairs, I'm too tired to climb..." Piper yawned.
The End.
