The Closing Chapter 6
Xxx
Billie woke up and instantly felt a throbbing headache. It took her a while to remember what had happened, but when it all came rushing back to her, she screamed. She tried to get up but felt metal chains on her arms and legs, holding her in her place.
Billie looked around, she was in a dark cave, lit by only a single torch on the wall. The cave had a door, a heavy wooden door with a small barred window. She had to be in the underworld, but how did she got there? Something about the cave seemed familiar, as if she had seen it before.
There was movement outside of her cell.
"Hello?" Billie called out. "Who is there?"
Footsteps were coming closer and Billie hurt the door being unlocked. The door opened and Christy stepped in.
"Christy!" Billie said angrily. "What did you do to me? Where are we?"
"Don't you recognize it?" Christy asked while walking around the small cell. "I sure do."
Billie followed Christy's eyes as she looked around the cell. Suddenly she noticed something written on the wall. There were carvings, drawn with a sharp rock or something. Billie looked closer and noticed that it weren't carvings, it were drawings. She saw a house and trees, a sun and a rainbow, they all looked like they were drawn by a small child.
Then Billie realized where she was. This was it, the cave that Christy had been held captive in for most her life, after the Triad had her kidnapped. Though she had only seen it twice, it was something she could never forget. What were they doing here?
"Christy, why did you bring me here?" Billie asked.
"So you finally know where we are?" Christy asked ignoring Billie's question.
"The cave the Triad kept you in." Billie said. "But why?"
"You don't like the stroll down memory lane?" Christy asked. "This was my home, when you were safe and happy with mom and dad, forgetting about me."
"We never forgot about you, Christy. We didn't know where you are or how we count find you." Billie told her. "Mom and dad spent years looking for you."
"Well, they didn't look hard enough." Christy said.
"They couldn't have saved you, Christy. They were mortals. How could they free you from the Triad?" Billie asked. "You can't blame them."
"I don't blame them, Billie." Christy said. "I used to, but I realized that all of this was to prepare me for my destiny. I should thank them."
"How can you say that?" Billie asked with tears in her eyes.
"The Triad showed me my true purpose, I needed to get away from them. And from you. Your humanity made you weak, and it would have made me weak as well." Christy said.
So Christy didn't even consider herself human anymore? Billie thought.
"So it's better to be brainwashed by the Triad to become evil?" Billie asked.
"I really don't have time for this discussion again, Billie. We both made our choices." Christy said and she turned around and walked to the door.
"You can't leave me here!" Billie yelled.
"Don't worry, you're safe here." Christy said.
"We're in the underworld, Christy, how is this safe?" Billie asked.
"What makes you think we are in the underworld?" Christy asked with an evil smile.
Then Billie realized what had truly happened. Christy had possessed her in the platform room. All of this, the cave, the underworld, it wasn't real. They were inside her mind, and Christy was in control. She had taken over her body and had put Billie in her own personal hell.
This had been her true plan all along, she was incorporeal, so she needed a body to take her revenge on the sisters. She had lured Billie into a trap.
"You planned all of this from the beginning." Billie said. "Coming to my dorm room, knowing that I would go to the sisters. All of this time you were planning to possess me so you could use me to kill them."
"True." Christy simply stated. "Though there was still a part of me that hoped that you would join me. It didn't have to be like this."
"You manipulated me once, Christy. You should have known I would never trust you again." Billie said.
"You're my sister, Billie. I wasn't going to give up. But now that you have stabbed me in the back twice, we're done." Christy stated.
"And what is going to happen now?" Billie asked. "If you manage to kill the sisters? What will happen to me?"
"'We'll see. For now you can enjoy my worst nightmare." Christy said.
Christy closed the cell door behind and walked away without looking back. Billie was screaming at her from her cell. A smile formed on Christy's face, she could finally take revenge of the Charmed Ones and fulfill her destiny. And they wouldn't even see it coming.
Back in the platform room, Billie was lying unconscious on the floor. Suddenly her eyes shot open and she quickly got to her feet. She stared down at her body and an evil smile formed on her lips. As she left the platform room her eyes briefly glowed orange.
Xxx
Back in the main hall, the remaining tribal demons gathered around their leader. Their numbers has been dropping rapidly, and only a small group of about ten was left. The Charmed Ones had proved to be too much to handle.
"We should get out of here while we still can!" One of the demons said.
Several other demons nodded and yelled in agreement.
"There is no point in staying here, waiting for them to vanquish us." Another said.
Their leader listened to their arguments in silence. He knew they were scared of the Charmed Ones and that they knew they didn't stand a chance. Little did they know, however, that they were never meant to defeat them. They were merely a distraction until the witch was ready. And once the witch finally vanquished the Charmed Ones, he would get unlimited power.
"We're staying." The leader finally said.
"Are you crazy?" One of the other demons yelled. "They'll kill us all!"
"You dare to question me?" he said threatening while forming an energy ball in his hand.
"You are leading us to our doom. Why are you doing this?" his subordinate demanded to know.
"Enough!" the leader yelled and threw the energy ball, vanquishing the other demon. He then turned to the rest. "Any of you have anything to add?"
"We do." Piper's voice sounded from behind.
The tribal leader quickly spun around with an energy ball ready. The Charmed Ones were standing in the door opening.
Before the leader could react, Piper had already raised her hands and blasted him. The leader was blasted in the chest and was thrown back against a desk.
"He is stronger than the others." Paige said.
"Ya think?" Piper remarked.
"Kill them!" the leader screamed.
Several demons threw energy balls at the sisters, but Phoebe threw a couple of potions that intercepted them, creating a huge explosion in the center of the room. Before the smoke had a chance to clear, Phoebe and Paige threw the last of their potions, vanquishing two demons, while Piper blew a third one up with her powers.
Meanwhile the tribal leader and gotten back up on his feet and threw an energy ball at Piper. The energy ball hit her in the shoulder the blast threw her back into the corridor.
"See, they are not invincible!" The tribal leader yelled at his men.
The other demons continued throwing energy balls but Phoebe managed to deflect them using her empathy to tap into their powers. Meanwhile Paige ran back to Piper and started healing her.
"Every single time." Piper said annoyed. "Why do they always aim for me?"
"Guess you're just lucky." Paige said while healing the large burn wound on her shoulder.
"Guys, hurry up! I can't keep this up much longer." Phoebe yelled.
The straining use of her empathy was quickly tiring her out as the demons kept throwing energy balls at her. The energy balls were deflected.
"All finished." Paige said as Piper's wound completely closed up.
"I've had enough on this, let's finish it." Piper said as Paige helped her up. "Phoebe, any spells left to get rid of them?"
"Yeah, I got one, it's a power of three spell so we need some time." Phoebe almost whispered, almost exhausted.
Paige and Piper ran back to Phoebe. Paige looked around and saw a large bookcase that had fallen over. She held out her arm and called it out. As soon as the bookcase became surrounded in orbs she flung her arm at the demons. The bookcase was thrown across the room, smashing into the group of demons.
"Quickly, the spell." Piper said.
Piper and Paige gathered around Phoebe, who grabbed a small note from her pocket. The sisters shared hands and started chanting the spell Phoebe held out.
"Within this school, place of power,
Evil roams and demons cower.
We call upon the power of three,
To clear this school and set it free."
While the sisters chanted, the tribal leader got up and prepared to throw an energy ball. Piper noticed him in time and freezes him without interrupting the spell. The tribal leader proved to be too strong for her freezing power and immediately started resisting it.
Hear now the witches' calls,
Rid all evil from these walls.
Demons, spirits and other ghouls,
We banish you from this school."
As soon as they finished the spell a powerful transparent force field formed around the sisters that started expanding rapidly. The force field was crackling with energy. As soon as it reached the demons they were vanquished by the pure force of the field. One by one the demons were vanquished as the force field reached them.
The tribal leader, who had just broken free from Piper's freeze, tried to shimmer away right before the field reached him. He was caught in a half shimmer and screamed as he exploded.
The force field started expanding faster and then broke apart, sensing a powerful energy blast through the entire school.
Xxx
Christy, still possessing Billie's body, was walking through the empty corridors when she suddenly lost telepathic contact with the tribal leader. Fool, she thought to herself, vanquished already. She never expected him to outlive his usefulness anyway. It was just her and the Charmed Ones now, nothing could possibly stop her now.
Christy stopped as she felt something coming closer. It felt like an unstoppable force heading straight for her. She looked up ahead the corridor to see a wall of energy coming at her.
She quickly threw up her arms to cover her face right before the blast reached her. Christy screamed as the blast threw her back through the corridor, slamming her into a wall behind her.
Xxx
Meanwhile in the underworld cave within her own mind, Billie was sitting against the cold wall, blankly staring at the opposite wall. She had tried to break free from her chains, but they seemed unbreakable. Inside this place, she didn't have her powers, she was helpless.
She could only hope that the sisters would see through Christy before it was too late. She would stop at nothing to kill them. But how were the sisters going to stop Christy?
Billie wondered how this was going to end, if the sisters fought Christy, it could very well mean the end of her as well. They were sharing a body after all. It was a sacrifice Billie herself was willing to make to pay for her mistakes, but would the sisters be able to do it?
Suddenly, a powerful force blasted through the cave. Billie screamed and tried to cover herself as she was hit by the force.
It was gone as sudden as it had appeared. Billie realized that the blast hadn't affected her, but when she lowered her arms, she noticed that it had broken her chains.
Billie quickly took of her chains and threw them aside. She got up and ran to the heavy wooden door. It was still locked. She peeked outside the small window, for the most part she only saw more caves, but then the noticed something else.
On the other side of the room, there was a door, but not just any door. It was completely black, and a bright light was shining through the cracks. It had to be a way out.
Xxx
Christy opened her eyes and quickly got up, the blast had knocked her out for a moment. She was still in control of Billie's body, however.
That blast must have been the work of the Charmed Ones. Only they could produce something that powerful. She had been lucky that she had already possessed Billie when the blast hit, as her astral form would have been destroyed by it.
Christy tried to take a step forward, but found that the blast had injured Billie's body more then she expected. She wasn't used to feeling pain anymore. The Triad had trained her to block it out in ways she didn't want to think about. She quickly pulled herself together, she was too close now to let a little pain get in her way.
Xxx
Back in the main hall, the effects of the spell had worn off. Piper, Phoebe and Paige let go of each other and looked around. Their spell had destroyed every demon in the room, but left the room itself unharmed.
"Did it work?" Piper asked curious.
"Of course it did, didn't you feel that power coursing through you?" Paige asked.
"The power of three never stops surprising me." Phoebe said.
"Well, we know it took care of the tribal demons." Piper said."But we have no idea if Christy is still out there."
"We need to find Billie." Phoebe said. "I know she wanted to handle Christy, but I'm not sure if she can."
"It was your idea to let her go off alone." Piper said.
"I know, but now I'm not so sure anymore. I just feel like something is wrong." Phoebe said concerned.
"Paige, she is your charge. Can you sense her?" Piper asked.
"I'm ready trying." Paige said with her eyes closed. "Our bond hasn't been that great lately, so it's kinda difficult."
After a short silence Paige opened her eyes.
"I can't sense anything." Paige said. "I don't feel her presence anywhere."
"That can't be good." Piper noted.
"We need to go to the platform room." Phoebe said worried.
They turned around and walked to the doorway, but suddenly Billie came walking in the room. The sisters stopped and took a step back. They were both relieved as well as a little suspicious.
"Hey guys." Billie said.
"Billie, what happened?" Phoebe asked, looking at Billie's injuries.
"I ran into a couple of demons, I took care of them." Billie said.
"What about Christy?" Piper asked suspicious.
"I..I dealt with her." Billie said with sad face. "There was no other way."
"How?" Paige asked surprised.
"It was like we said." Billie told them. "She was tied to the platform, just like the Triad. I destroyed the platform and she just vanished."
"Just like that?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, there wasn't really much she could do. She was a sprit. She only had a couple of demon body guards." Billie explained.
"So it's over now. Christy is gone and Magic school is in the hands of good again." Paige said.
"Right." Billie said and she smiled.
The sisters exchanged concerned looks, none of them were buying the story Billie told them. Phoebe took a few steps closer to Billie and tried to use her empathy to get a reading. She felt nothing, absolutely nothing. She took a step back and shook her head. Her sisters got the message and surrounded Billie.
"What are you doing?" Billie asked confused.
"You're not really expecting us to believe this, are you?" Piper asked.
"Why not?" Billie asked. "Guys, come on I'm telling you the truth. Look, I know we had our differences but you can trust me now."
"Oh, we do trust you, Billie." Phoebe said. "The only problem is that you're not Billie."
"What are you guys talking about. Of course it's me." Billie said.
"Just drop the act, its over." Piper said.
"Fine." Billie said, suddenly her tone and expression seemed completely different, cold and full of hate, revealing that it was in fact Christy.
"What have you done with Billie?" Paige asked.
"I've done nothing to Billie. She's here with me." Christy said.
"You're possessing her?" Piper asked in disgust. "How can you do that to your own sister?"
"She's not my sister anymore." Christy said. "She stopped meaning anything to me when she betrayed me for you."
"Billie, can you hear me? I know you're in there somewhere." Phoebe said, hoping to reach Billie.
"Oh please, that's really desperate." Christy said. "Billie had left the building, there is no way you can reach her."
"Sorry, but we don't believe you." Piper said.
"What is it you want, Christy?" Phoebe asked.
"You know what I want." Christy said.
"Yeah, us dead." Paige said. "But the Triad is gone. There is nothing to gain from killing us."
"Killing you will fulfill my destiny." Christy said. "I am doing this for the greater good. The Triad has shown me my path."
"Are you really that stupid?" Piper asked. "The Triad were evil. You are not working for the greater good. They used you."
"I don't care what you say." Christy said.
"Fine" Piper said and she flicked her hands, trying to blow Christy up. It didn't do anything, however, Christy just stared at her with a smile.
"Piper, how could you do that? What if you had blown up Billie?" Phoebe called out.
"Oh please." Piper said. "I had a feeling you wouldn't come out to face us like this."
"Looks like I need to think of something more original." Christy said and then faded away.
"Astral projection… Of course, I should have known." Phoebe said.
"We need to figure out what to do, find a way to extract her from Billie." Paige said.
"We should check the book." Piper added.
"No." Phoebe said determined. "We can't leave Billie."
"I'm sure she's fine. Christy is possessing her for a reason, she needs her alive." Piper said.
"For now. But what if she no longer needs Billie?" Phoebe asked.
"She does have Ultimate power now, imagine what she could do with Billie's projection power." Paige said.
"All the more reason we need to get out of here and check the book before she comes at us with full power." Piper said.
"All right. But we should hurry." Phoebe said.
The sisters got together and Paige grabbed both of her sisters' hands. They started to dematerialize in a swirl of orbs but a sudden explosion threw all three of them in different directions across the hall. Each of the sisters crawled up from the floor and saw Christy walking into the room with a ball of fire in her hand.
"You're not going anywhere." Christy said.
xxx