33 TFB: The Final Battle
"I put my armor on, show you how strong how I am/I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am/I'm unstoppable"
-Sia, song "Unstoppable"
5 pm, Simulation, Day Before Final Battle, April 5th, 2046, Living Room, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington
It was Phoebe who provided the warning, having had a premonition. Everyone had taken to wearing their fireproof full-body suits at all times. Piper ingested the potion Mel provided, which instantly rendered herself temporarily invisible. The four fiery servants and the familiar leering face of the Portender appeared before them in a torrential, emblazoned hurricane. The first flame spawn reared its flickering head but was frozen in place by Matilda's spur-of-the-moment pyro-immobilization. Meanwhile, Maggie began her pathokinesis toward the three flame minions (A, B, C, D), two of which (C and D) began viciously pummeling each other while B attacked A, distracting A enough so that Matilda could successfully vanquish it. One down, three to go.
Macy employed telekinesis to obstruct the Portender's path, aided by Paige at turns. At this point, Mel began inserting herself near Jordan, sprinkling a mixture of powders and potions to confuse the opposing forces while Paige telekinetically stripped all of the minions' weapons with Piper's dexterous assistance, tossing them to both sets of the Charmed Ones. B was soon vanquished, while C and D continued to fight each other to the death. Matilda snuck up on both and successfully ended them, leaving just one more. The Portender. Who apparently had enough power to turn into a blue-colored flame when provoked. Matilda made to immobilize him, but her powers, having long since been depleted, were of no use—
But both sets of Charmed Ones mobilized together, creating a force field large enough to engulf and capture the Portender, with an enchantment strong enough to imprison him in a nearby object—looking around, Wyatt noticed a rather chic postmodern Ming vase laying around and orbed to retrieve it as Mel and the others continued chanting. He threw the vase in the center as the Portender was trapped within, bellowing in all its anger as it found itself immobilized in its ceramic-lined prison…
"Harry, what's your verdict?" asked Macy, as everyone found themselves back in the cozy confines of Vera Manor's living room.
"I think…we're finally ready," Harry stated, much to the relief of all.
8 pm, Vera Manor Garden, Seattle, Washington
Wyatt and Matilda sat outside by themselves after dinner, surrounded by the glow of the trellised Vera Manor Garden tealights; on a whim, she reached for her phone and played an Astrid S. cover song, "If the World Was Ending." "A New Zealand singer," she said by way of explanation. "Reminds me of—"
"Camp Wanaka?" Wyatt completed the sentence. She nodded.
"Dance with me, Wyatt?"
"With pleasure."
They slowly rose to their feet as the melody began, Matilda's hand outstretched as Wyatt took it gently in his own, as her other hand cradled his shoulder.
"But if the world was ending, you'd come over, right?/You'd come over and you'd stay the night…" Astrid's voice crooned as the two glided across the makeshift brick cobblestone outdoor dance floor, Matilda's curly-haired visage nestled into the crook of Wyatt's neck, wondering what it would be like had they grown up in a different time—a safer time—a more normal time—where all they had to do was have a day job, the closest thing to drama being two people wearing the same designer dress to a high-profile office party.
"Would you love me for the hell of it?" they swung each other around slowly, Wyatt savoring the touch of Matilda's tapered fingers upon his own, the scent of her curls intermingled with his own, and wondered why this moment couldn't last just a bit longer.
They were going into battle, here, at Vera Manor, with no guarantee of survival, no matter how many simulations they managed to do. All they could do was hope for the best. And Matilda knew, deep down, that sometimes doing one's best just wasn't good enough. She witnessed Maggie's intervention earlier with Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, and how heartbroken they were over their missing sister who should have been fighting alongside them this entire time. Could that be my mom? Aunt Mel? Aunt Maggie? Would this tear our entire family in two?
"The sky'd be falling and I'd hold you tight" Astrid's lilting voice continued on its dark apocalyptic themes as Matilda tilted her visage upward to meet Wyatt's own, a tear falling onto her cheek as Wyatt tenderly kissed it away.
"I'm scared," Matilda whispered.
"Me too," replied Wyatt. "At the same time, we're surrounded by family who love us, and our lives have led up to this moment. We have firsthand knowledge and ways of fighting pure evil—not everyone's nearly so lucky."
"Lucky?" Matilda laughed, her curls flying about as she shook her head. "Lucky?"
"Our powers, I mean," Wyatt clarified. "There aren't a lot of us out there. As Peter Parker once said, "with great privilege comes great responsibility." It's up to us, y'know?"
"I know. Doesn't make it any easier though," Matilda responded softly.
"Val," Wyatt paused as the music reached its end. "After all this is over…would you consider marrying me?"
Matilda tilted her head. Was he serious? After detecting earnestness in his eyes, she bit her lip flirtatiously. "How 'bout conquering Portender and his minions first, then let's chat?"
He grinned. "Sounds like a plan."
4:06 pm, The Final Battle, April 6th, 2046, Living Room, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington
It was Phoebe who provided the warning, having had a premonition at noon. The blue lapis lazuli shellacked features of the Portender as he cackled aloud, surrounded by his flame servants—his minions—as her vision swerved to the nearest analog clock, which read 4:06 pm on the dot.
Everyone had taken to wearing their fireproof full-body suits at a quarter past one—Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Macy, Matilda, Mel, Maggie, Harry, Jordan, Wyatt. We've got this, Matilda told herself. We can do this, we can do this, we can do this—as she watched Jordan recheck the multiple fire extinguisher canisters then providing two thumbs-up. All systems ready to go. Mel uttered hydro-electric enchantments and protection wards to prevent the Portender and his minions from entering anywhere other than the living room.
Piper ingested the potion Mel provided, rendering herself temporarily invisible. Her camouflaged self hovered on the outskirts of the Vera Manor living room, armed to the teeth with various kitchen implements as the need became necessary. A couple of well-chosen stainless-steel what-have-yous.
The four fiery servants and the familiar leering face of the Portender appeared before them in a torrential, emblazoned hurricane. "Matilda," the smirking Portender stepped forward slowly. There was, after all, no rush. "Surrender now and join me in the quest for power—"
"Never!" Matilda cried.
"Then you give me no choice!" the Portender snarled as he snapped his fingers, calling the four flame persons to attention, their fingers miniature, flickering flames that shimmered ominously.
As Matilda long since suspected, the flame minions had the ability to set everything aflame and divide and re-convene at a whim, but she wouldn't give them that opportunity. Mel and Piper had collaborated earlier that morning on a fire-proof fire protection spell; while it wouldn't very long, Matilda was certain that it would at least linger for the duration of the battle itself. Doing so would avoid prying non-magical eyes and unwanted paparazzi attention.
The first flame spawn reared its flickering head but was frozen in place by Matilda's spur-of-the-moment pyro-immobilization. Meanwhile, Maggie began her pathokinesis toward the three flame minions (A, B, C, D), two of which (C and D) began viciously pummeling each other while B attacked A, distracting A enough so that Matilda could successfully vanquish it. One down, three to go, as Wyatt orbed around, extinguishing stray bursts of flames alongside Jordan.
Macy employed telekinesis to obstruct the Portender's path, aided by Paige at turns. At this point, Mel began inserting herself near Jordan, sprinkling a mixture of powders and potions to confuse the opposing forces while Paige telekinetically stripped all of the minions' weapons with Piper's dexterous assistance, tossing them to both sets of the Charmed Ones. B was soon vanquished, while C and D continued to fight each other to the death. Matilda snuck up on both and successfully ended them, leaving just one more.
The Portender. Who apparently had enough power to turn into a blue-colored flame when provoked. Matilda made to immobilize him, but her powers, having long since been depleted, were of no use, as the Portender lodged a flaming dagger—when suddenly a petite figure materialized, screaming, "NOT MY NIECE, YOU BASTARD!" shoving Matilda out of the way, absorbing the brunt of his force. Aunt Abigael, Matilda realized with a shock.
"No, NO, NO!" she cried as she saw her aunt's limp body on the living room floor.
4:20 pm, The Final Battle, April 6th, 2046, Kitchen, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington
"LET GO OF ME!" Matilda screamed, realizing then that Harry, her father, had orbed her out of the living room for her own safety.
"Tilly," Harry placed a hand on her shoulder as she found herself in the kitchen. "I need you to stand guard here—make sure none of Portender and his minions infiltrate the rest of Vera Manor. I need you to stay calm." Matilda made as if to protest, but Harry shushed her with an uncharacteristically somber expression. "You've done magnificently, darling, now its up to mummy and her sisters to finish the job." Matilda nodded, gulping back tears as Harry affectionately kissed his daughter's forehead, orbing back into the chaos of the living room leaving her alone in the shadows of the incandescent lamplight.
4:22 pm, The Final Battle, April 6th, 2046, Living Room, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington
Both sets of Charmed Ones mobilized together, creating a force field large enough to engulf and capture the Portender, with an enchantment strong enough to imprison him in a nearby object—looking around, Wyatt spotted a Grecian-style Wedgwood blue Horner' English Toffee Tin which Jordan tossed to him as Mel and the others continued chanting.
The Dual Power of Three we now decree,
Timor est virtus feminae
The Dual Power of Three will set you free,
quod sint vobis in ultimum finem.
The Dual Power of Three will destroy thee!
Tu miedo es la fuerza de la mujer
Your fear is the strength of women
que será tu fin último.
which will be your ultimate end.
The Dual Power of Three we now decree,
The Dual Power of Three will set you free,
The Dual Power of Three will destroy thee!
When Phoebe gave him the signal, Wyatt threw the opened, empty toffee tin in the center of the dual Charmed Ones' circle as the Portender became trapped within, bellowing in anger as it found itself immobilized in its ceramic-lined prison…
4:30 pm, Recovery Scene, April 6th, 2046, Kitchen, Vera Manor, Seattle, Washington
After ensuring all fire minions were successfully vanquished (they were), and that the Portender was completely sealed within the English toffee tin (he was), Mel unsealed the living room as everyone poured into the kitchen, making way for Macy, Wyatt, and Harry who carried a limp Abigael, laying her body on the floor.
"Heal her, Harry!" screamed Macy, who continued to kneel at Abigael's side.
"Macy, love," he said with tears in his eyes. "She's already gone."