How the Armageddon Began
Paige was in her kitchen, mixing a potion while holding Henry Jr. When she put the final ingredient, there was a small explosion and he started crying.
-Hey, don't worry, sweetie! It's just something to help mommy fix things. –She said looking at him. –You know, there's a very, very bad man, and he makes mommy do some things, and then forget about it, but now, she's creating her own way out of this trap.
Henry just looked at Paige, and then giggled. She smiled back and then put him on the floor, next to his toys.
She put the potion in a bottle and then hid it in her coat's pocket. She had just done that when Sigma appeared.
-Speaking of the devil. –She whispered.
-Hello, dear. –He said. –I need you to come with me. Now!
-No! In case you haven't noticed, I'm with my son.
-He can wait, I can't. –He said and then waved his hand, teleporting Paige away.
As soon as she disappeared, Henry was orbed to the room.
-Hey buddy! –He said to his son. –Where's your mom?
…
Paige and Sigma were in the Underworld, in front of a statue; next to them, were Christy and the other 2 members of the Triad.
-What did you do? –Where are we?
-We're about to complete our plan. –Sigma responded.
-I'm not part of it!
-Yes, you are. –Tetrax said.
Sigma, Tetrax and Omicron formed a circle and chanted something, turning the statue into a living being: Zankou!
-Oh no. –Paige said.
Zankou was confused for a minute, but Tetrax held him before he could leave.
-Now, we move to part 3 of our plan. –Sigma said.
-What were parts 1 and 2? –Paige asked.
-Collecting enough demon energy. –Omicron said.
-From strong demons vanquished by The Charmed Ones. –Tetrax added.
-And finding three guardians. –Omicron continued.
-Guardians for whom?
-For The Source, of course! –Christy said. –We'll summon him to take over the world.
-The Source? Is that your big plan? We've vanquished him a couple of times already.
-But this time, he'll be stronger; with the strength of all your defeated enemies. –Sigma said. –Now, let's continue, shall we?
He walked to Christy and held his hand over her head, chanting something. Red smoke covered her body for a second and then disappeared. He went to Paige.
-Get away from me! –She shouted and he just laughed.
-But before we complete the ritual… -He said putting his hand in her pocket and grabbing the potion. –Let's get rid of this. –He threw it on the floor. –You underestimated me, dear.
-Well, you underestimate me too. –Paige said smiling. –If there are two things I learned from my family, one of them is always have a second plan and the other is how to do an astral projection spell. –She snapped her fingers and then disappeared.
The Triad seemed surprised for a second, and Paige, the real one, came behind them and freed Zankou, who flamed away.
-Oh, and Sigma, you're never gonna control me again. –She raised her hand and a paper appeared on it; it was the contract liking her to him. She ripped it in two and orbed away.
-No! –He shouted.
-We must continue the plan. –Tetrax said. –There's not time to waste.
-We can't, for the hundredth time, you know the prophecy. –Sigma replied.
-He's right. –Omicron said. –Let's go after them, and then we'll complete the ritual.
…
Paige orbed into her room; she walked to her room to grab a few things because she knew that the manor was the only safe place now. Before she left, she found a note over the table, it was from Henry:
"Paige, I don't know what happened, but I was brought to Henry Jr. this morning and he was alone; I left him with my parents and the twins. I'm worried about you, but the Elders told me that soon I'll probably be able to see you again, so please just have patience and don't do anything dangerous, well, more than usual. With love, Henry."
She put the note inside her purse and orbed to the manor; she could already feel herself getting weaker again.
…
Phoebe was in her room with Coop.
-Phoebe, don't worry, Cole will be back soon. –Coop said. –He's just talking to some seers, some far weaker than the last one you faced. He'll be fine.
-I know, I'm more worried about our daughter; what's gonna happened to her?
-You, of all people, should know that the future is not always as it seems and that it can be changed. Don't worry. –He placed a kiss in her forehead.
-Thank you. –She said. But now I've got to leave, I'm meeting Prue for lunch and I'm gonna tell her about the premonition.
-Are you sure?
-Yes, it's the right thing to do. See you later. –She said leaving. As soon as she left, though, she received a call from Paige, asking her to go to the manor.
...
In the manor, the four sisters, Billie, and Leo were all together, as Paige explained the Triad's plans.
-That's crazy! They're crazy! –Piper exclaimed.
-We need to stop them before it's too late. –Phoebe said.
-They said that they need three guardians, but they only have one, so we're one step ahead. –The younger sister said.
-We need a plan, they'll probably come after you. –Leo said.
-I know; that's why I came here. –She said.
-We've vanquished the last Triad, why don't we just lure them here and do the same? –Piper asked. –We're stronger now, and we have more people on our side.
-They won't come to us. This time they're smarter. –Paige said.
Suddenly, Zankou flamed into the room, but before he could say anything, Piper attacked him; she waved her hand and tried to blow him up, but he evaded in the last second.
-Wait! –He tried to say, but Prue and Phoebe were already attacking him too. He evaded both attacks and then sent a fire wave through the room, knocking everyone down.
-Listen to me! –He shouted. –I come in peace.
-I can see that. –Phoebe said looking at a bruise in her arm.
-You attacked me first. –He said. –I was just defending myself.
-What do you want? –Prue asked.
-Wait, I don't know you, who are you? –He asked.
-She's our sister, but you didn't come here to meet her, did you? –Paige asked. –What do you want?
-I want to propose an alliance; the Triad wants me and you. –He said pointing at Paige. –So I figured that the best way to beat them is working with you. It's not like we've never done that before.
-We don't want anything with y… -Phoebe started to say, but Paige interrupted her:
-Ok.
-What? –Phoebe exclaimed. –You do remember how it ended last time, right?
-Yes, but it's our only choice. –Paige said and Zankou smiled.
Later that day, Phoebe and Paige were together in the kitchen.
-I still can't believe you wanna work with Zankou. –Phoebe said.
Paige looked around before answering.
-I'm not gonna work with him, I'm gonna use him as bait. The Triad don't have much time, so they're gonna come after us soon, and I know they'll go after him first.
-You're a genius! You found a way to lure them here.
-I know, I know. –Paige said laughing.
At the same time, Piper and Prue were in the attic, looking at The Book of Shadows.
-Piper, is everything ok? You look worried. –The older sister asked.
-Yeah. I was just thinking about what Paige told us; she worked for the Triad, and even if it was to protect us…
-Piper, she did what she had to do. Don't tell me you think she's turned evil…
-No, of course not, I'm just worried about her. The way she pretended everything was fine…
-Was just like the way any of us would have done it. You're overthinking it, Piper.
Piper was about to say something when they heard a noise downstairs.
-What happened? –Piper asked when they got there.
Zankou, Phoebe and Paige were fighting against Christy.
-Wait! I thought we had vanquished her. –Prue said.
-I think Paige skipped this detail. –Piper said.
-You what? –Billie asked. –What are you talking about?
-We fight now and talk later. –Piper said waving her hand and trying to hit the demons that were appearing after Christy.
Billie went after Christy, to attack her, but she was stronger now.
-I never thought I'd have to attack my sister like that. –She said. –But then again, I also had never thought you'd be the one to kill me.
-Christy, I had no choice, but now I do; I can help you.
-Don't you see? I don't want your help! I'm better now. –She said sending a fireball at Billie, who evaded. The older sister, then, disappeared.
The fight kept going on, and in the confusion, Sigma appeared and kidnapped Zankou.
The sisters had vanquished all the demons before they found out that Zankou had been taken.
-Damn! –Paige cursed. –All that for nothing!
-And now they've got Zankou. –Prue said.
-We can't let it end like that. –Phoebe said. –Let's go after them!
-No, we can't. –Paige said.
-Why not? We've always done that! We're the Charmed Ones and we always win! –Phoebe insisted.
-Fine, but I think Paige should stay here, they want her there. –Piper said. –I can stay here with her. –She offered.
-But… -Paige tried to argue.
-I agree with Piper. –Prue said. –I can go with Phoebe, just to bring Zankou back.
-But what about Christy? –Leo asked.
-Forget about her. –Billie said. –Taking her won't help us now.
…
Prue and Phoebe appeared in the Underworld. They hid behind a wall and looked for Zankou. They found him next to Christy, Sigma and Tetrax. The three of them left for a while, and the sisters took the chance to go after the demon.
-What are you doing here? –He asked.
-We're here to rescue you. –Prue said.
-Who'd have thought that we would say that to you? –Phoebe added.
-Yes, who would? –He said mysteriously.
As soon as they set him free, he started to scream:
-They're here! They're here. –He attacked them and held Prue.
Tetrax came back with Christy.
-Did you really think we wouldn't turn him as soon as we got here? We don't make the same mistake twice. –Christy said.
Prue pretended to be surprised, but then, waved her hand and sent Zankou away.
-Phoebe, run! –She shouted while running away.
They ran through the caves while trying to find a safe spot to teleport away, until they found a bifurcation.
-Which way? –Prue asked.
-Left! –Phoebe said after thinking for a while.
They ran and ended up in a closed room, full of cages. Only one of them was holding a prisoner: Jake.
-Oh my god! –Phoebe said. –Prue, let's go, that's our chance. And we're taking him.
Prue didn't question, she just grabbed the potion and threw it on the floor, next to the three of them.
…
They went home and told everyone about the failure of the mission. Paige stayed in the manor, just to be safe. Billie was alone in her room, in Paige's apartment, when she heard a noise. She went to check it and found Christy standing there.
-What are you doing here? –She asked.
-Billie, I regret what I've done, please help me. –She said pretending to cry.
-You want me to fall for that?
-You're right. –Christy said smiling. –But I was just the distraction.
Sigma appeared behind Billie and covered her with the red smoke.
-I wanted the other one, but you will do. –He said.
They teleported to the Underworld and Sigma continued the ritual to bring the Source back. He chanted the words and a dark vortex appeared on the floor; it kept whirling and sending lightnings at every direction. One of the lightnings hit Omicron and absorbed him.
-What happened? –Tetrax asked.
-We're the final sacrifice! –Sigma shouted before being hit and absorbed by a lightning.
-No! –Tetrax shouted and then was hit too.
The room was filled with a strong light and then The Source appeared.
-I'm back. –He said.