Chapter Three – A new job?
Phoebe ran to Appylus, who was barely capable of standing upright on his own. She helped him lay down on the couch, and motioned for Paige to try and heal the wounded Elder.
Piper, however, focused on getting the information they needed from the Elder, more than a little worried about her husband. "What's going on? What happened to you?"
Appylus closed his eyes while Paige was healing him, and kept them closed while he spoke. "Some time ago, we felt a power shift in the Underworld. We didn't worry too much, since there can't be a new Source without the Grimoire. But somehow, the new power that had arrived in the Underworld has managed to force the Council of High Priests into obedience."
"The Council of High Priests?" Piper and Paige had never had any dealings with them, but Phoebe had. "The Council of High Priests is the evil equivalent of the Council of Elders. They sort of rule the Underworld in the absence of a Source, but there's so much dissension in the ranks that the Underworld is chaos without a Source. Usually one of them becomes the New Source."
"And you know this how?" Phoebe looked away, trying to force away her nasty memories. "I was Queen of Evil, remember? I had dealings with them every day. Well, I vanquished one of them every day any way."
"But if there's so much dissension, then how did they ever get around to choosing a new Source. I mean, if they obey him then he is the Source, even if he hasn't been crowned yet. Or ever will."
"He has lured them with the promise of more power. And I fear that the only powers the Council of High Priests wants are the powers of the Council of Elders. That's what happened to me, and to virtually every other Elder in the Council."
"What happened?" Appylus opened his eyes and looked directly at Piper. "It was a carefully planned operation. They used magic to summon us, tare us right out of Sanctuary and into the Underworld. They tried to use an athame to drain me of my powers. I barely managed to get away, but I fear the other Elders weren't so lucky."
"You mean the Council of Elders is…dead?" Appylus closed his eyes and nodded. "I'm the last one still alive, and I'm afraid that they will stop at nothing to get my powers as well. If they don't, their plan won't succeed."
Before Phoebe could ask what plan, a demon dressed like a monk materialized next to the old clock. Phoebe stretched her hand and unleashed a long, powerful jolt of electricity like only the Elders could.
But the demon, which Phoebe recognized as a member of the Council of High Priests, stretched out his own hand and deflected her powers. As the jolt sped towards Paige, she orbed out, leaving Piper as the jolt's next target.
Piper threw her hands into the air, wanting to freeze the jolt, but before she had activated her powers the jolt sped back towards the demon. Paige orbed back into the manor, just before the demon seemed to deflect the jolt again and it sped towards Phoebe. But to Piper's big surprise Phoebe seemed to absorb the jolt into the hand she had fired it from and the demon disappeared once again.
"What just happened?" Phoebe, Paige and Appylus all looked at Piper. Suddenly a thought came to Piper and she aimed her exploding power at the place where the demon had appeared just as the same demon reappeared and was blown to bits.
"Now that was weird," Piper said, before passing out.
She feeling like every ounce of her energy had been drained, Piper somehow managed to summon enough strength to open her eyes. She was lying down on her bed, and Phoebe was playing with Chris and Wyatt in a chair near her bed.
"What happened?" Her voice was a mere whisper, but Phoebe still heard her. "Don't you remember?" Piper's head was pounding, but she still tried to remember what had happened.
"Appylus…I remember Appylus…telling us about some plot this new Source has…and then this demon attacked." Piper cringed as the pain in her head seemed to increase in strength exponentially, and Phoebe called for Paige.
"I sensed the demon before he even materialized, so I tried to vanquish him with my future power. He deflected that towards Paige, but she orbed out and then you…" IN that instant, Piper remembered it all to great detail.
"I turned back time. I turned back time, and we retained our memories of the event. But how did I do that?" Suddenly the door to Piper's bedroom opened and Paige walked in, followed by Appylus.
"Well, Appylus was just about to explain that to us. Weren't you, Appylus?" The Elder nodded as Phoebe and Paige helped Piper sit up. "The Elders, as you know, did not always walk the Earth. In the time of darkness before we came, many great powers walk the Earth. Amongst them some you have battled, like the Titans and the Egyptian Gods, and others long ago vanquished."
Appylus inhaled deeply before continuing. "Of those great powers, four were witches; the Elementani. These four were not ordinary, modern-day witches. How do I describe them? Remember the power of the Titans and the Egyptians, and try to imagine them fearing these witches like demons today fear the Charmed Ones."
He looked around to see if he had made clear how powerful the witches he spoke about were. And he had, judging by the look on the Charmed Ones' faces. Aside from Piper, that is, who had a look of absolute exhaustion on her face. He decided to continue.
"The reason they were so powerful, is that each of them was the embodiment of one of the elements. Earth, Fire, Air and Water personified. But they were different to their contemporaries in another way. They were the first beings of Good as we know it, and it was their wish to create a world in which innocents could prosper. But more than anything, they didn't want to die and leave their children in a world in which their power was coveted by all."
What he was to tell them next, Appylus himself couldn't believe. Though he was one of the eldest of the Council of Elders, he had not even been alive at the time of the event he was about to tell them about. He had been borne 1500 years ago, the event had occurred more than a thousand years before.
"They gathered on the most sacred day of the year, after having left their children with people they could trust. Together, they summoned all their power and called out to the fifth element, Spirit. And it responded, though at a high price. The cosmos seeks balance, it always has. To call forth Spirit they had to sacrifice not only their own powers but their children's as well. But as the mighty spirit descended upon them, they were transformed. They became the very first Elders, and made it possible for the world to be as it is today."
Paige, Phoebe and Piper were all taken back by what Appylus had told them. "There's one thing I don't understand. What about the Source?" Appylus looked at Paige. "In a way, the Source of Evil is also one of the cosmos' ways of seeking balance. For every good thing you receive, you get something bad with it. By creating Good, they also created Evil. That's the way it is, the way it has always been."
"Okay…but does this has to do with what is happening now?" Appylus sighed at Paige's question, but Phoebe answered before he could. "Don't you see? Everything is clear to me now. The lines of the Elementani, they're still intact right? By vanquishing the Elders, the embodiments of Spirit in this plain, the balance will shift again. The powers of the Elementani will return to this plain, to the descendants of the Elementani. That's what the new Source wants. He doesn't care about the power of the Council of Elders; he wants the powers of the Elementani!"
Now Piper was confused. "But if the Council of High Priests have taken the powers of the Elders, doesn't that mean the fifth element is still on this plain?" Appylus was about to answer when once again Phoebe beat him to the punch.
"No, it doesn't. Remember when the demon of vanity took our powers? He tried to freeze us, but he failed. Just because we lost our powers, didn't mean we stopped being witches. It's the same with Elders. They're the embodiment of Spirit, stripped of their powers or not. But what does all of this have to do with our freakish advancement in power?"
This time Paige was the one to answer. "Balance…it's all about balance. The Council of High Priests has gained a lot of power today, right? The universe must be trying to balance it out by increasing our powers as well. I bet the powers of all good witches have increased today."
Appylus cut in. "It's not that simple. Not only has the Council of Elders gained a lot of power today, but Good has also lost a lot of it. The universe is trying to balance it out, but not the way you think."
He suddenly had all of the Charmed Ones' attention, but he didn't even notice as he closed his eyes. "Yes, of course," he said and he looked directly at the Charmed Ones.
"Your powers are the only ones that have been increased. I believe you're supposed to take over the responsibilities of the Council of Elders. In our absence, you girls are the greatest power of Good. And now, the universe itself has given you this task."
Piper was a little slow. "What are you talking about?" Appylus looked at the girls intensely. "Isn't it obvious? You are the new Elders."
T.B.C.
I apologize once again for the delay in update…I usually update pretty fast, but this is kind of hard to do without my own computer. I promise to do my best to get the next chapter up next week.
Please review both chapters I've updated…….
