Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, but the WB does.
AN: A review would be nice!
Chapter 3: Selia
Piper noticing the worry on her husband's face began to get nervous herself. "Leo, what's wrong?"
"Well.," Leo began, thinking of where to start. "There has been a rise in demon power lately. We, the Elders, think the Underworld has united under a demon."
"Do you mean another Source?" Paige questioned.
Leo shook his head, let out a breath he had been holding. "No, I don't think so. The Underworld doesn't have the Grimoire, so they wouldn't be able to anoint a new one."
"How do we know the Underworld didn't get the book back?" Phoebe worriedly inquried, wondering how Leo could be so sure of himself.
Leo's eyes shot over to the middle sister. "Because I am the only one who knows where it is." He replied, a hint of irratation in his voice.
Paige sighed, hating the fact that the demon world would be attacking again. To think, she had just gotten her job back, too. "What do we do?"
"Nothing yet." Leo responded, shrugging. "We have to wait for the demons to come to us."
The Source stood over the alter that held the Grimoire, as he flipped through the pages gathering all the information the tome had to offer. An interesting passage in the middle of the book caught his eye. The archaic language showed how truly ancient it was. "The Prophecy of the Twice Blessed." The Source thought out loud. "Said to be the most individually powerful force in existence."
A voice from his side broke him out of his deep pondering. Looking up, he met the eyes of a nervous Melchom. "My Lord, the Oracle who was quite pivotal in freeing you is here."
The Source looked behind Melchom and grinned at what he saw. "Leave us, Melchom." He grunted, closing the Grimmoire and making his way over to the center of the lair. Melchom bowed, and rushed out, not wanting to anger the great demon. Waiting till Melchom exited and was out of earshot, the Oracle stepped forward. She was a beautiful woman, who had long brown hair, and was scantly dressed in what seemed to be gold silk.
She smiled slighty at the Source, showing her bright white teeth, and began to speak. "Hello." She said, simply.
The Source tilted his head at her, never seeing such disrespect before. "You dare disrespect me?" He grunted, almost threateningly. "Do you not know the power I possess? I could vanquish you twenty times over again twenty different ways, and still not be tired"
The Oracle's smile broadened, as she gained confidence. "I know of the power you have, but I also know you wont hurt me."
As she predicted, a laugh came from under the Source's hood. For the first time ever, the Source let down his guard and laughed. "I guess Xaphan was correct when he told me your visions are never wrong. He failed to mention how beautiful you are, though."
"My visions have never been wrong yet." The Oracle replied, while walking around the lair., checking out the different carvings and paintings that laced the walls. All the former Sources had left their mark in this cavern in one way or another, whether it be pictures, carvings, or paintings.
"I never got your name." The Source inquired, following her every movement with his eyes.
"Selia." She responded, continuing her stroll around the lair.
"Your name's quite ironic." The Source said with a smile.
"Yes well, my human mother chose it. She had no idea what I would become." The Oracle spoke, while taking a seat in the Source's throne. An action that, unsurprisingly to her, made the Source smile and take down his hood. She stared at his face, not fearing his features in the slightest.
"You're half human? So you have a soul, then?" The Source stated in shock. He had never met anyone remotely associated with humans before.
Selia nodded, grinning all the while. "As do you." She replied, knowingly.
The Source quickly changed the subject back to her, as he continued to wonder what made this Oracle so much different than the other occupants of the Underworld. "Then why did you choose evil?"
"Oh, I didn't choose evil. Nor am I exactly evil." Selia smirked, sitting up in the throne. The throne, which was made out of a granite, was much too enormous for her petite frame.
A confused expression crossed the Source's blue features. "But it was you who had the vision to find my tomb, right? Was it not you who had the vision that found the Elder who knew the location of the Grimoire?"
Selia's smirked never disappeared. "Oh, I did find the book. And it was I who found your tomb. But I didn't do that to help out evil."
"Then why?" The Source questioned, not understanding why she did it.
Selia gave one last smile as she disappeared in a glimmer of purple light. Her voice echoed throughout the lair, as she answered. "I did it for my own desires, my prince. I am very selfish indeed."
The sisters, and Leo were all sitting down to a nice, peaceful family dinner. A demon had attacked before, but it was easily vanquished by Leo. Leo's new elder powers were quite handy to say the least. "So you mean to tell us you were up there for four days talking about the Underworld uniting?" Paige asked between bites.
Leo swallowed and wiped his mouth with his napkin, before he answered. "No, that was only the last part of the meeting." He said, taking a sip of his soda. " I was originally called up there to discuss Gideon's plans."
"Who's Gideon?" Piper asked confused.
Leo smiled at his wife's confusion; she could remember potion ingredients from years ago, but she could never remember a face and a name. "You met him remember?" He prodded. "He was one of the few elders who approved of our union."
"Tall? Slicked back hair? Goatee?" At Leo's nod she continued. "What's his plan?"
"Well," Leo started, an aura of content overcoming him. "He's opening up a magic school."
"A magic school?" Phoebe asked in wonder. Since when was Harry Potter and Hogwarts real, she said to herself. She could have used a magical school to learn her powers when she first became a witch, that was for sure. Instead of being taught everything, the Charmed Ones had to learn from scratch.
"Yes, so children can learn and master their powers in safety." Leo said, smiling. As he was about to say something, the conversation was interrupted when Piper jumped up and flicked her hands. Looking to where Piper was facing, the others saw a frozen demon.
"Piper, why did you freeze him?" Leo asked bewildered. Usually Piper wanted the demon out of the house as fast as possible, not allow them to loiter in it.
"I want information out of him." Was Piper's quick answer. Flicking her hand towards the demons head, she unfroze him from the neck up. "Tell us who sent you." Piper yelled, hoping to sound menacing.
The demon scowled, looking down at his frozen body. "I wont tell you anything, witch."
Piper cocked an eyebrow, and with a flick of her hands, the demons left arm was blown off. "Now will you tell me?" She mocked.
"Cudlen sent me." The demon managed to get out, between screams of pain. He knew he shouldn't had answered Cudlen's call; but, being ever the soldier, he went running to his master like a lost dog.
"Has the Underworld's united under this Cudlen?" Leo asked joining the fray.
The demon shook his head, willing to say anything to get out of this predicament. His loyalty to evil only went so far, and his death was as far as it went. "No, Cudlen is just a pawn, like his brother was before him. A new Source has taken the throne."
All of the sisters looked at Leo, each asking a question with their eyes. "I thought you said you were the only one with the knowledge of the book's location?" Piper said, scowling lightly.
Leo's face took a grim expression, as he bit his lip in wonder. "I guess now we know why I was kidnapped."
"Who's Cudlen's brother? Who is this new Source?" Paige asked the demon, hoping to get a little more information.
"Ludlow" He answered, shocking the group. They remembered how the demon Ludlow sent his goons after that young boy Tyler, just a little over a year ago. "I don't know who the new Source is, however, since he has only been in power for a couple of days. Cudlen fears him, though. And Cudlen is not one to know fear."
Getting fed up Piper blew up the demon, allowing his particles to fly across the house. "Well, looks like there's a new Source in town."
"What are we going to do?" Phoebe asked, not looking forward to what was to come.
"Vanquish him of course." Paige replied, too confidently for her own good. She had no idea of the power this Source possessed, nor his intelligence. He would be a threat to them indeed.
"Hello, my prince." Selia whispered, as she appeared next to the throne. Her voice was low, but yet the Source could hear it from a mile away. It was as if she had a special power that made people hear her, no matter how loud she spoke.
The Source smiled down at the beautiful Oracle. He had become quite accustomed to her popping in the last few days, as she did it routinely. "Hello Selia, to what do I owe this pleasure?" He said, almost sounding as innocent as a regular human, rather than the Source of All Evil.
Selia's face lit up with a smile, loving how he felt so comfortable with her. "I wish to take you somewhere."
The Source cocked an eyebrow, which, considering he had blue and black skin, looked strange. "Where?" He questioned, getting up from his throne.
"Change our clothes to look like human's and then I will tell you." She told him, strolling over to him slowly. She had a small smile on her face, as if even the thought of going somewhere with him made her happy.
With a swish of his hand, Selia and the Source's clothes were changed into more appropriate human wear. He also took his human form—which was a tall, white male with long black hair that went to his shoulders, and deep blue eyes—for more affect. "Where are we going?" Selia grabbed the Source's arm, and glimmered both of them out of the underworld.
They arrived next to a large oak tree in a cemetery. Looking around, the Source flinched as sunlight entered his eyesight. This was, in fact, the first time he had ever been out of the Underworld. Following Selia, he began to walk a few feet till she stopped. Looking down, he read the tombstone she was kneeling in front of.
Cybele Latham.
Daughter, Friend, Wife, Mother.
Born: 1960
Died: 1996
The Source walked up to the tombstone, conjured a flower, and put it down next to the granite memoriam. As he was moving back up, his hand brushed it. Once his skin touched the surface, a flood of pictures came into his mind.
"Don't be ashamed of having human desires, Selia." A woman lying down in a bed said to a young girl. She looked awfully tired and haggard, and it looked as if her every move hurt her. But still, through the pain, she spoke.
The girl, who looked to be around twelve, smiled a teary smile up at the lady. "Don't worry, mother, I won't forget about you, and what you taught me. It'll stay with me always and forever."
Her mother ran a hand down the side of her face, wiping away a single tear that ran down the young girl's cheek. "Follow your heart, my child."
The image faded away, as another image flashed in his mind. This time it was at the same spot where his phyiscal body was standing; except the tombstone wasn't there, and an open hole took it's place. Looking down, he could see half of the black coffin that was place inside, as the other half was covered in a variety of colored roses.
Selia stood next to the hole, alone, with a red rose in her hand. Looking down into the hole, a tear escaped her eyes. Being motioned to hurry up, Selia wiped her eyes and smiled down at the ebony casket.
"Good bye, mother." She said, while throwing the rose into the grave.
The vision stopped there and the Source, after returning to his senses, looked up to where Selia was standing. She was watching him intently, a look of knowing in her eyes.
"She was your mother?" He questioned, although he already knew the answer.
Selia nodded, sadly. "Yes, she was. After I was born, my father told her that he was an oracle. She wanted me to embrace both sides of my ancestry. When she died, I had no one left, since my father had been vanquished a few weeks after my fifth birthday. So I went to live with the Oracles, where my aunt took care of me. She was vanquished two years ago, when she tried to protect the Source that had taken her hostage, actually." She said, scowling slightly at the thought of her dead aunt. It wasn't that she disliked her aunt in any way, no, in fact she loved her, it was just a matter of her taking a bullet for a Source that was nothing but disgusting to her that she found amusing.
"She died so young. That means you're around her age now, when she had you?" The Source asked, while getting up and standing next to Selia. He looked down at the tombstone again, wondering just how many people had died over the course of history.
Selia smiled, turning towards him. "She was twenty-three when I was born. She died when I was thirteen. I'm twenty-one now, but I'll look this age for the rest of my life."
"Lucky for us." The Source said, laughing. "We'll age; it just won't show on the outside. We'd make a cute couple for all eternity, King and Queen of the Underworld."
Selia's blush went unnoticed by the Source, as he was too busy looking around at the different memorials. After a few minutes went by, Selia broke the silence. "It's late, you should get going. I know what you planned today, I wish you luck."
"I'll be seeing you Selia." He said, watching her smile in response. Nodding his head, the Source took his demon form, changed his clothes back to a cloak, and flamed out.
Selia looked at the spot the demon lord was just standing on, a glisten coming to her eye. "Yes, you will be seeing me."
The charmed ones were interrogating yet another demon. This was the first demon they had all day, but the fourth since the first one that gave them information. They wanted answers, and they didn't care how they got them. "Who is the new source?" Phoebe asked the creature of evil.
"I don't know." The demon replied, fearing for his life. He was weak, a low level demon that Cudlen picked because he didn't want to lose any more good demons. Since, after all, he had lost three of his best demons already. "I've never seen his face."
Paige didn't by it. "What do you know then?" She prodded, knowthing this demon knew more than he was letting on.
The demon gulped in fear. "Please, I'll take you to him." He pleaded, hoping to save his life in exchange for the Source's head, or, at the very least, Cudlen's. "Please, just don't kill me!"
A fireball, which came out of nowhere, vanquished the cowardly demon. Spinning around, the sisters noticed the cloaked figure that stood in the doorframe. "That won't be necessary, the party is already here." A deep, echoic demon voice laughed. The sisters couldn't see his face, but they knew it was ugly.
"So you're the new Source." Piper sneered, keeping her eye on his frame. The second he lifted his hand to attack he was getting blown to bits. The Source, always one for a show, bowed in response.
"Paige, you know what to do." Leo whispered, as he orbed behind the Source. Seeing as Leo started the plan, Piper flicked her hands, hoping to blow the Source up. Her power proved useless, as all it did was push him back a few steps, unless, of course, you consider giving him some tickles useful.
"You call that power?" The Source mocked. "Let me show you true power."
A red beam was emitted from under his hood and flew towards Piper at great speed. As the beam hit her shoulder, it sent the witch flying into the wall, where she landed with a crunch. Not missing a beat, the Source threw a fireball in the oldest sisters direction, planning on killing her first, since she was the number one threat. Paige, acting quickly, orbed the ball back to its maker. The ball hit the Source with full force, creating a gash in his right arm. Leo quickly tried to follow up with a jolt of electricity, before the blue energy hit, a stream of flames came from the Source's hands, intercepting the lightning. Using his eyes, the Source sent another red beam of energy towards the sisters, this time it hit Phoebe.
Getting fed up; Paige called for the ace in the hole. "Crystals." The witch formed a circle around the Source with the crystals, and smiled when he was trapped.
"Good work, Paige." Piper muttered, rising to her feet slowly. The blow she sustained being thrown into the wall was tremendous, not to mention the red blast had hurt like hell, as well. The Source felt the sides of the light cage he was in. As his fingers touched, he got a shock of energy. With a sneer, he realized he would have to work to get out of this one, if he got out of it at all.
"Well, shall we?" Phoebe said, hobbling to her sisters. With a nod, they began the vanquishing spell that had vanquished the Sources that came before this one.
"Prudence, Patricia, Penelope, Melinda." Piper began, chanting her part of the spell. Leo watched as the Source closed his eyes, and began to chant as well. It was low, but Leo could hear it clearly.
"The power of the Twice Blessed, will save me from eternal rest." He said over and over, as if it were the Charmed One's 'Power of Three' spell.
"Helena, Laura, and Grace." Paige continued the vanquishing spell that called upon the power's of their ancestors.
Leo noticed with a shock that the spell was not working; no part of his body began to light with fire, like what had happened with the other demons that were vanquished with this spell. "Ahh, Piper" He muttered, confusion over taking his senses.
"Halliwell witches stand strong beside us." Phoebe recited her line, who, like her sisters, wasn't noticing the spell wasn't working.
All the sisters' voice rang out next, as the spell came to it's climax. "Vanquish this evil from time and space!" Waiting for the Source to be blown up, the sisters gulped when they realized it didn't work.
"What..How is this possible?" Paige said, her voice laced with a mixture of fear and confusion.
The Source was on bended knee, clearly drained of power. Looking up at the sisters, he laughed mockingly. "That was pathetic. Is that the best you got?"
Phoebe, angered by what he said, shouted, "I wouldn't laugh if I were you. You're the one trapped in the cage, after all."
The Source looked at his surroundings, noticing the crystals that entrapped him. "Teleportato." He chanted, holding his hand out towards the crystal. One of the crystals glowed red then appeared in his hands, just as he told it to. The sisters crowded together in fear; the vanquishing spell never failed. If this Source could protect himself from the magic of all the Halliwell line, they doubted anything could stop him. The Source, taking one last look at the group, flamed out, presumably to his lair.
AN: Selia means "blind"…As an Oracle, blind is something she never is…That's why it's ironic.