The Closing Chapter 5
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Magic School seemed deserted, the main hall was empty and quiet. The toll that the demons had taken on the school was clearly visible, the once grant and beautiful hall had decayed to a crack house. Everywhere there was broken furniture, torn up books and scorch marks of fire and energy balls. Ever since the magical defenses around the school had fallen, it had become a war zone for rivaling demons wanting its power and secrets.
A trail of orbs descended down from the ceiling and took the shape of the Halliwell sisters and Billie. As soon as they were fully materialized they ducked down and quietly looked for cover behind a tilted desk.
"Do you see anything?" Phoebe whispered.
"No, this place seems deserted." Paige said back softly as she glanced over the desk.
"Be careful, it could a trap." Piper whispered.
"So what is the plan?" Billie asked.
"Well, we vanquish everything we can find." Piper whispered.
"And how are we going to find them?" Paige asked. "Marco Polo is out of the question, since that would kinda ruin the whole element of surprise thing."
"What makes you think this will be a surprise?" Piper asked. "If Christy really is here, she knows we're coming."
"Guys, keep it down. We don't have to lead them straight to us." Phoebe whispered.
"So how will we find them?" Paige asked.
"I can help with that." Phoebe said and pulled out a piece of paper out of her jeans pocket.
She unfolded it on the floor and revealed a badly drawn map of Magic school.
"Did you make that yourself?" Piper remarked.
"Don't even start, it will do." Phoebe said.
"Do what?" Billie asked.
"Just watch." Phoebe said and revealed a small bottle of white powder. She opened the bottle on held it above the map. Then she pulled out another piece of paper and started whispering a spell.
"On this map, I conjure thee, show me what I wish to see, reveal the evil in this place, let it show its ugly face."
As she chanted the spell she sprinkled the powder out over the map. At first nothing happened, but then small red lights started appearing all over the map.
"Are those demons?" Billie asked about the red lights.
"Yes. Now we can see exactly where they are." Phoebe whispered.
"Well, the good news is we won't have to look far." Piper said in a serious tone as she pointed at the map.
Everyone looked on the map and noticing that most of the lights were lined up in a large circle, surrounding them.
"Okay, so we can now assume that this is indeed a trap." Paige said.
"Wait, there is something odd on the map." Billie said. "Look!"
She pointed to a large red light that was fading in and out and was further away from the others.
"Isn't that the room where that weird platform thing was?" Paige asked.
"Yes." Piper said. "Which means it has to be Christy."
"Good, then I know where I'm headed." Billie said and quickly got up.
"Are you crazy?" Piper called out and pulled her back down just in time, as two green energy balls barely missed her.
"They're here! We found them." A demon called out.
Paige peeked over the desk to see two of the tribal demons standing the main corridor. As soon as they saw her they both threw another energy ball at her. Paige quickly waved her hand and called out the energy balls, telekinetically orbing them back and vanquishing the demons on the spot.
"Two down and countless more to go." Paige said.
"We need to move now!" Piper said with her eye on the map.
Every single red spot on the map was now quickly moving in their direction. The witches jumped up and started running down one of the corridors.
A group of demons suddenly busted out of a side door and threw energy balls at them.
"Stand back." Phoebe said as she stepped forward.
She closed her eyes and focused, calling out her power of empathy to channel the emotions of the demons. Right before the energy balls hit her, she raised her hands, blocking them all mid-air. She then opened her eyes and pushed her hands forward, sending the energy balls back at the demons with an angry scream.
Most demons were vanquished by the reflected energy balls, but some managed to duck aside. Piper stepped forward and blew two of them up with a flick of her hands while Billie send a third one flying across the hall with her telekinesis. He crashed into a medieval armor and was vanquished when he was impaled by the ax it was holding.
"Okay, keep moving." Piper said.
They kept running down the corridor and fled into one of the room when they heard the demons coming closer. Piper closed the door behind them and peeked through the keyhole. She saw the demons passing them and relaxed.
"They're gone, for now." Piper said.
"How are we going to vanquish all those demons?" Paige asked while catching her breath.
"We need something to distract them." Piper said.
"Well you guys can take care of that, I need to find Christy." Billie said.
"No, we shouldn't split up." Piper said, especially not you, slipped into her mind right after.
"Piper is right, we can only take on these demons if we fight them together." Paige said.
"Actually, I think Billie may have a good point." Phoebe said. "We need to deal with Christy as soon as possible, but the demons are on our way."
"But Phoebe.." Piper started.
"We need to trust Billie now, Piper." Phoebe said, sensing her sister's hesitation. "I think she is the only one who can deal with Christy."
"Thanks Phoebe." Billie said with a smile.
"Okay, so Billie goes after Christy and we deal with the demons first." Paige summed up. "But we still need a distraction."
"I already thought about that." Phoebe said. "Since I knew this fight would take place in Magic School I decided to use its history to our advantage."
"What do you have in mind?" Piper asked suspicious.
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Meanwhile, in the grand hall, the tribal leader of the demons had surrounded himself with a group of his strongest and most faithful demons. He walked around and spotted the map Phoebe had used the spell on.
"What is this?" he said and he picked it up.
He stared at the map and then realized its purpose. "Smart witches, but this kind of magic can work both ways." He said. He closed his eyes and whispered in a strange, mysterious language.
The red lights on the map started to disappear and instead four green lights appeared in their place.
"Found you." The tribal leader said with a smile.
His pleasure soon turned to confusion when suddenly a fifth light appeared on the map, moving toward them at high speed. As it drew closed, the demons could hear a strange galloping sound getting louder.
"What is that?" one of the demons asked.
"Sounds like a horse." Another replied.
At the end of the hallway, a horseman suddenly appeared. He rode a demonic looking black horse and was dressed in a black cape. The most disturbing thing was that the horseman was headless.
The horsemen pulled out his sword and his horse reared high on his hind legs, loudly neighing. The horsemen then pointed his sword towards the demons and his horse charged at them.
"What the hell is that thing?" one of the demons yelled in panic and they all backed up in fear.
"Ignore it, it must a distraction, an illusion of sorts." Their leader called out unsure.
The horseman charged at the demons and swung his sword as he reached the first one. The horseman sliced his head straight off and the demon's body was vanquished as his head rolled down on the floor before going up in flames as well.
Another demon panicked and threw and energy ball, which the horseman deflected with his sword. Many of the demons cowered in fear and started running for their lives.
"You fools, where are you going?" their leader screamed in anger.
The horseman continued to vanquish two more fleeing demons before turning his attention of the tribal leader.
"Oh crap." The leader said as the saw the horseman charge at him.
Right before the horseman's sword could reach his neck, the tribal leader quickly shimmered away. The horseman angrily swung his sword and then turned to pursue the fleeing demons.
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Back in another part of Magic school, a search party of demons was trashing one of the class rooms, searching for the sisters. Suddenly Paige orbed in the middle of the room.
"Hi, guys. Bet you can't catch me." She cheerfully said before orbing out again.
"Kill her!" One of the demons yelled.
The demons stormed out the class room into the corridor, where Piper and Phoebe were waiting for them with potions ready. The demons screamed as they were vanquished in a fiery explosion. One demon that had remained in the class room stepped back and charged an energy ball in his hand. Unknown to him, Paige orbed back in behind him.
"Energy ball!" she called out as she raised her hand.
The energy ball disappeared in a swirl of robs and reappeared in her hands. The demon quickly swung around with surprise in his face as Paige threw the energy ball at him, vanquishing him like his friends.
"That takes care of them." Paige said as Piper and Phoebe entered the classroom.
"This isn't working, they're spread out to thin. It will take forever to hunt them all down." Piper said.
"Yeah, the horseman gave them quite the spook." Paige said. "Nice thinking by the way."
"Thanks." Phoebe said. "To bad his time is almost up, the conjuring spell was only meant to last a short period of time."
"Thank god, the last thing we need is the headless horseman terrorizing this place again." Piper remarked.
"Good point. I like my head where it is." Paige said.
"But how are we going to track down the remaining demons? We lost the map." Phoebe said.
"Then we need to find the leader. They'll gather around him." Piper said.
"Maybe we should stop looking for the demons and let them find us." Paige suggested.
"And what if there are too many left to fight off?" Phoebe asked.
"Easy." Piper said confidently. "We trust in the power of three."
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In the platform room, Christy was staring at the empty platform that once held the spirits of the Triad. They had trained her well, taught her everything they knew and she was grateful that they had led her to her destiny. But then they betrayed her in the end by killing her parents. It was something she could never forgive them for. That is why they had to be killed, they had fulfilled their roles, and now she was going to finish their plan.
The tribal leader shimmered in behind her.
"The Charmed Ones are here." He said.
"I know." Christy said calmly.
"You know!" the demons called out. "Do you also know that my men are getting killed out there? How about you do something?"
"Ï don't care about your men, idiot." Christy said as she turned around and faced him. "We had a deal, you distract the Charmed Ones to matter what. I will deal with them when I'm ready."
"How long will that take?" the demon asked.
"Not long, their final moment in getting closer step by step." Christy said.
"So what's the big plan, huh?" the demon asked. "Why don't you fill me in on?"
"I don't owe you an explanation." Christy said. "You just stick to your part of the deal and I'll give you what you want when it is over."
"It had better be worth it, witch. I'm down half my tribe already." The demon said.
"It will be. Now get lost, I need to have a little talk with my sister." Christy said with a cold smile.
The tribal leader shimmered away and Christy turned to the platform again. It was almost time, Billie was getting closer. Soon she would fulfill her destiny.
The last bit of her humanity wished that Billie had stood by her side and still even had some love for her. But that was just a small part of her. During her time with the Triad, she had learned to seal away that little bit of humanity she had left. Though she had always been human, she felt more like a demon then she had ever felt human.
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Billie sneaked through the deserted corridor, careful not to make a sound. She could easily take a few demons if they spotted her, but she couldn't use the distraction. Her attention needed to be focused on Christy now. She still had no idea how she was going to deal with her, however.
If Christy really was some kind of spirit like the Triad, destroying the platform would sever her connection to this realm. She would probably be send to some kind of Limbo because even though she was evil, her soul was still human.
Billie wondered what Christy's end game was, or if she even had one. All she seemed to care about was killing the sisters, no matter what. But Christy would know a tribe of demons like this wouldn't be enough, what was she really up to?
The halls Billie was walking looked familiar, she was getting close to the platform room. This was it, she needed to be strong, from now one anything could happen. Billie felt the power stripping potion in her back pocket, she still hadn't figured out its exact purpose, but she knew that it would help somehow.
Billie neared the door to the platform room, she could feel chills running down her spine. Her hand reached for the door handle and let out a sigh before opening the door.
The room was completely black, with the platform being the only source of light. Christy was standing in the middle of the room, near the platform.
"I've been waiting for you." Christy said.
"I know." Billie said as she closed the door behind her.
"Come to vanquish me?" Christy asked.
"It doesn't have to be like this, Christy, it's not too late." Billie pleaded.
"Yes it is, Billie, and you know it." Christy said.
"Please…" Billie almost whispered.
"Come on, Billie, it shouldn't be that hard, you already vanquished me once." Christy said.
"It was self defense. You left me no choice." Billie said.
"No, you didn't leave me a choice! You betrayed me! For them!" Christy screamed angrily.
"I did what was right, Christy. The triad used us." Billie said.
"The triad showed us our true destiny, what we were meant for." Christy replied.
"Did they really mess you up so bad that you actually believe that?" Billie asked.
"The triad choose us. Together we are the Ultimate power. We were the only ones." Christy said.
"But there is still right and wrong, Christy, good and evil. Or doesn't that mean anything too you?" Billie asked.
"It has never been about good and evil, why can't you see that? It is about power!" Christy said.
"You're crazy." Billie stated, finally realizing that her sister was truly beyond hope. "This has to end, Christy."
"What are you going to do?" Christy asked with an evil smile.
Billie remained quiet as her hand reached into her pocket to get a potion. Christy wasn't moving, she was just staring at her. Billie stared back at her, but her eyes soon drifted to the platform. If Christy really was tied to the platform, destroying it would end it all.
"Go ahead. Try it." Christy said.
"Reading my mind, are you?" Billie asked.
"I don't need to. You're predictable, Billie." Christy said. "Go ahead, destroy the platform. It might just kill me for good."
"Well, let's see, shall we?" Billie said and she threw the potion.
The potion smashed on the platform, causing a huge explosion. The force of the blast send Billie flying into the wall behind her. The entire room quickly became filled with smoke.
Billie coughed and waved away the smoke with her hand, she slowly got back up on her feet and looked around. As the smoke started to clear, Billie looked at the platform. It had been shattered and the creepy light had died out. Could it really be over?
"Well, that didn't work." Christy said as she stepped out of the smoke, completely unharmed and unimpressed.
"How?" Billie asked shocked.
"Please, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Christy remarked.
Billie quickly reached for another potion and threw it at her sister. The potion flew right through her and broke on the floor behind her.
"What are you?" Billie asked. "Some kind of ghost or spirit?"
"I'm more like an astral echo." Christy said. "I'm a powerful telepath, so strong that my powers kept me alive while my physical body was destroyed."
"What is keeping you on this realm?" Billie asked.
"I won't be around for long, I'm fading away as we speak. But I still have enough time to take the Charmed Ones with me." Christy said.
"I won't let you." Billie said determined.
"You can't stop me, Billie." Christy said.
"Maybe not, but I'll sure try." Billie said.
Billie flung her arm, trying to use her telekinesis on Christy, but it had no effect.
"I'm incorporeal, Billie. You can't hurt me. And your potions are useless." Christy said.
"Looks like there is a little flaw in your plan as well, sis." Billie said. "If you're busy being incorporeal, how will you kill the sisters? You can't hurt them anymore than we can hurt you. And you don't really think that your little group of demons will be enough, do you?"
"Think you got it all figured out?" Christy asked with a smile. "You never were the brightest."
"At least I'm the prettiest." Billie remarked.
"And soon I'll be both." Christy said coldly.
"What do you mean?" Billie asked, scared by her tone.
"You'll see." Christy said with a smile.
Christy suddenly became transparent, glowing in a fiery orange light. This was the true extent of her power, her true astral self. She had become much more than a simple witch, she was ready to fulfill her destiny and nothing was going to stop her. Not even Billie.
Billie stumbled back against the door, but she felt it was locked. There was no way out. She was too scared to think of anything. She couldn't believe what her sister had become.
"You and I will become one, and then I will be the Ultimate power." Christy said.
Her transparent form broke apart in streams of energy that started to surround Billie, who tried in vain to fight them off. Billie screamed as the energy entered her body, taking her over.
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