The Triad's distraction is working well, as the Charmed Ones are now fully involved in protecting the coven, what remains of it. One of the aspects of the Charmed world that I have always enjoyed exploring, is how magic might function with other witches. This was something the TV series did not look at much apart from an occasional bit that was needed for the plot line. See "Black as Cole" or "Exit Strategy" for an example.
Matt is going to finally find out what a life with Prue is going to be like, at least the fighting side. Trying to design Matt's character was both easy and difficult. He is one of these people who is highly loyal, especially to those who have similar values. His early life, meant that he developed a strong sense of right and wrong, and a desire for the truth. This was one of the reasons he broke with his parents when they betrayed that sense (what they did to his middle eastern girl friend).
Now that Prue and her sisters are so obviously fighting on the side of good, he is prepared to back them to the hilt, even against his parents. On the other hand, this tends to make him inflexible so when some thing goes wrong and conflicts with those values, he tends to refuse to make any concessions. Prue like Piper and Leo, Phoebe and Cole is going to have a bumpy married life. I would imagine that there will be ups and downs like all marriages have, only lower downs and higher highs.
Phoebe, Cole and Leo's story
After spending some time trying to find someone who was prepared to talk and getting nowhere, Leo led them to the home of the oldest witch who unfortunately was one of the two killed. As a variety of people quietly entered the house to pay their respects, it was easy for them to join in. After carefully testing various items for a premonition, Phoebe picked up a photo of the killed witch who was posing with three other women. She immediately had a vision of four women being hunted through a forested area by several powerful demons. All four were killed, one by one, by the demon's fireballs.
Phoebe quietly repeated what she had seen to Leo and Cole however she had no idea where the forested area was. Her vision told her that it occurred in early morning so speed was now essential if they were to have any chance of rescuing them before the demons who were now hunting the witches, found them.
"Ok, they are in a forest like area, not a park, more like a wild area. I remember rock walls, like they were at the bottom of a canyon or something similar. I think they were some distance from here, the premonition felt that way"
Cole who was quietly examining the various photo's that covered the sitting room wall, stopped as one caught his eye. Waving to catch Phoebe's attention, he motioned her over. Quietly he asked "This one seems to match your description, what do you think?". As Phoebe looked at the photo, she realised that it seemed familiar in many ways, even as she knew that she had never been there. "Yes. thats the place, so where is it".
Leo turned and tapped a quiet young youth on the shoulder. "I am sorry but can you tell me where that photo was taken?". For several seconds it looked as if he would refuse and then he replied "That's where Mrs Sinclair would take her sister and niece for a picnic, its just past High Canyon road, about 15 miles from here".
As the young man looked at Leo and then across to Cole and Phoebe, he asked "Who are you, I don't recognise you". Looking more closely at Phoebe, he continued "You're a witch like Glenda aren't you ?, I can see it in you. What are you doing here?". Phoebe replied "We have been sent to help, to rescue your Glenda and the others". When Phoebe reached out to hold his hand, another premonition hit her. A picture of this man and another woman who Phoebe recognised as one of the witches from her earlier vision, first getting married. Then some time later, fighting a demon together, both using powers of their own. "And so are you. Don't worry we will find them". Grabbing Leo and Cole's hand, Phoebe turned to pull them outside.
Before Cole could say anything, Phoebe said "I had another premonition, we have to save those witches as that man is to marry one of them. I saw them fighting a demon together and they won".
"So we need to find that forested area, that shouldn't be hard but if its a large area, finding those four women in there wouldn't be easy" said Leo. Phoebe looked around the street and then walked quickly into the nearest alley as she pulled out her cell phone. "Why do we always have to do this in an alley?" grumbled Cole as he followed Phoebe in.
"Yeah, its getting almost like home" quipped Phoebe, "although no one tell Piper that, OK". As her cell phone call was answered, Phoebe quickly brought Prue up to date with what they had accomplished. Hearing that Prue was now back in the Manor with five of the witches, she then asked if Paige could join them so her sensing power could be used to more quickly search the large forest area.
Finding out that Paige was enthusiastic and the reason why, Phoebe couldn't help but grin, particularly when within seconds a relieved Paige orbed in alongside them. "Those witches were getting on my last nerves although if they bow to Piper one more time, something very nasty is going to happen". "And its good to see you too Paige" came from Phoebe.
Closing her cell phone, Phoebe said "We need to orb about 15 miles that way, a place called High Canyon road. Somewhere near there are the four witches and the demons who are looking for them. Leo turned to Paige and said "Follow me so we stay together". Holding Phoebe and Cole, he orbed out. With a sigh, Paige also orbed, taking care to follow Leo's orb trail. She found herself standing on a rough path that led along the top of a canyon wall".
Leo joined her and pointed down into the canyon, "Thats where we think they are, can you sense them". With a uncertain look on her face due to the distance, Paige reached out with her power, only to find that locating the four women was easy as they were the only humans for some distance. She also found some demons who were closing rapidly on the women with the sole intention of killing them. Pointing down to the left, Paige indicated where she could feel their presence. "Down there and there are demons chasing them further from the city. We need to hurry".
It took only seconds for Leo, Phoebe and Cole followed closely by Paige to orb down into the canyon, only to find themselves almost 100 yards in front of the four frantically fleeing women. Before they could do anything, one of the women collapsed and the other three turned to stand at bay. One woman dropped along side the fallen one to hold her tight while the other two faced the demons. The oldest of the two still standing, suddenly turned to push the younger one backwards, so she tripped over the others to land on her back.
One of the fallen women called out "Marie, don't" as the witch turned to run away from the group. Alongside her, appeared three other women who ran with her. The three demons turned immediately to continue the chase. Throwing fireballs, they rapidly closed on the fleeing group, until one fireball scored a direct hit on the first woman, who screamed as she burst into flame and was flung already dead into a tree. The other three women vanished as the illusion failed.
As the three remaining women prepared to run again, Leo, Phoebe, Cole and Paige orbed in alongside them. "Hold still, we are the Charmed Ones and we will get you out of here" said Phoebe. Cole reached down to grab one of the women while Phoebe grabbed another. Paige wrapped her arms around the youngest, who had got to her feet just as Leo orbed out with Paige only a second behind him.
All seven appeared in the Manor's hallway and collapsed into a heap as both Leo and Paige were now exhausted. The first five Rising Moon witches came running out of the sitting room to greet the survivors. Tracy wrapping her arms around the witch Paige had saved and bursting into tears, "Glenda, thank the Goddess you are safe" as she hugged her daughter. Karey and Sara also joined Tracey as they all held onto Glenda.
"Where is Marie?" said Zola as she looked around the group, only to see Samantha's tear cover face. With a cry of grief, Zola stepped forward to hold Samantha. Tessa, tired, hurt and grief stricken just sat on the floor as she wondered why she had survived and others had not.
Piper also ran over, to hug her husband and celebrate his return. He too couldn't help but hug his wife back as the joy at being home and safe rose through them. Cole helped Phoebe to her feet and pulled her of to one side where Phoebe simply put her arms around him and leaned against his chest. Paige sat on the floor looking around, and with a tired smile said "Where's a spare male or a relative when you need one?". A quiet laugh made her look around to find Prue looking down at her and holding out a hand. Grabbing it, Prue hauled Paige to her feet and hugged her. Releasing her, Prue said "Well done Paige, you have done so well", with the pride in her voice meaning so much more to Paige than the words.
Over the next hour, the coven worked out much of their grief, however both Tracy and Samantha understandably, would take much longer. Prue spend much of her time talking to Zola, Sarah and Glenda as they decided on what to do next. A quick visit from Inspector Cortez provided some relief for the coven women as he confirmed that their families were safe, at least for the time being. They had managed to arrest most of the human gang that had been harassing their neighborhood, due to the sudden and strange confessions from four of the gang members. He left after promising to make sure additional police patrols both in cars and on foot would remain for at least the next two weeks to discourage any further human interference.
Leaving the coven witches to bond and talk out their grief in the Living room, the sisters and their men gathered for a quick conference in the Dining room.
Piper "We need to return the woman to their homes as quickly as possible, there is no way these women can stay in the Manor, in particular Zola, she is standing firmly on my last nerve".
Prue "I agree but there is nothing that can be done until the threat posed by the demons is dealt with. If we send them home now, the demons out there will use them for target practice".
Matt asked "Then what are you going to do, you have rescued them but how are you going to keep them safe?".
Prue replied "We need to brew as much of the demon vanquishing potion as we can and give them to the coven. Piper and I can make the potion far quicker than the coven can and this will replace the potions they have almost run out of".
Phoebe added "If Paige and I can find the demons base of operations, we can then attack them. The coven identified them in the Book of Shadows, so we know they are Rat demons. They are a tribal group and can have as many as a hundred members".
"I think I can help you there" commented Prue as she pulled a necklace from her pocket. It had a short silver chain with a ugly looking pendant in the shape of a rat. "I took this off the gang leader we ran into, he was trying to hide it. I thought it might be useful".
Handing it to Phoebe who immediately stiffened as a premonition flashed into her mind. "Yes, thats them" she said as she saw a vision of familiar looking demons gathered in a cavern.
The surviving eight women from the coven gathered in the sitting room as all four sisters returned to the hall. As Matt saw the somewhat awed look on the new arrived witches faces who then again bowed to all four of the sisters, Matt began to understand the sisters reluctance to shelter the surviving women.
Prue snapped "Stop that" as a clearly irritated Piper and embarrassed Phoebe and Paige looked on. Zola the coven's eldest surviving member, however continued to show an almost total veneration of the four sisters. "You are the Charmed Ones, the four most powerful witches ever, you defeated the Source himself and have vanquished so many demons. If you had not come to our aid, then we could all be dead by now. It is an honor to be in your presence".
Piper and Prue retreated quickly to the kitchen to start making the potion. The quicker they could get the coven out of the Manor, the happier they would be. Matt followed them as he had not yet seen a potion being made and his curiosity meant that he couldn't resist.
It was Tessa who came forward, first to quietly and without fuss to thank them all again but then to offer to help with the potion making. Sara who had followed her said "Tessa and poor Sandy were the best potion makers in the coven, they were the two who were primarily responsible for the potions that had vanquished the demons". An intrigued Piper took Tessa to one side as they compared recipes for the potion.
The potion was one that they knew and could make quickly and easily. Piper gathered Tessa, Glenda and Sara who were the best surviving potion makers in the coven so that they could help her and Prue.
Matt watched in fascination as Prue and Piper started to make the potion that the coven would use to defend itself in case any of the demons decided to attack them again. Quickly and carefully, they added various ingredients to several large pots. To his delight, the potion started to first produce a white mist which flowed from the pots, over the islands top and disappeared as it started to fall over the edge. Then when the mandrake was added, a burst of flame that reached almost a meter high. Several other ingredients produced small explosions that startled only him.
As Glenda, with awe in her voice commented to Matt, "We have made this potion ourselves, but it takes us hours, the whole coven needs to say spells to infuse our magic with each ingredient. The Charmed Ones are so powerful that they don't need to do that, it comes naturally."
Meanwhile Phoebe, Paige and Cole headed for the attic to try and locate the demons lair, followed by Zola, Sarah and Samantha. Paige wrapped the necklace's chain around an athame so that the rat pendant hung down at the point. Hanging the crystal from the end of the athame, she moved it to swing the crystal in a circle. As she moved the athame over a wasteland area not far from the covens home ground, she felt a strong pull downwards.
Phoebe carefully counted how fast the crystal swung before it grounded itself on the wasteland. This gave her a good idea how deep the cavern was that her premonition had shown her.
As Piper returned to place another tray of potion vials on the dining room table, Zola once again crossed her arms and bowed to her. "Damn it" snapped Piper who had finally had enough, "do it again and I will turn you into a Toad". Placing the tray on the table and without looking at the coven, Piper headed back to the kitchen.
"She can, you know" commented a clearly amused Cole. "And will" came loudly from Piper who was now in the kitchen. Phoebe grinned and picked up a piece of celery from the vegetable dip platter and added "Personally, I prefer vegetables, they taste nicer". Crunching down on the celery, she also went to join Piper in the kitchen. Cole and Matt, couldn't help but laugh as Zola had to turn around to see if anyone was missing.
Within two hours the Charmed Ones had made enough potions to completely restock the covens supplies with additional spare vials that the sisters could use. Since they now knew where the demons base of operations was, they could now plan an attack.
Getting rid of the Coven
Not without a diplomatic sigh of relief, all four sisters watched as the Rising Moon witches got into four cars that had come to pick them up. Nervous drivers did not wait long and hurriedly drove off however Glenda did provide one bright moment.
As she, Sara and Karey approached one of the cars, the driver jumped out and wrapped his arms around Glenda who returned the favour. Phoebe easily recognised the youth from both the house and her premonition as the man Glenda was going to marry. The premonition had also shown that he was a witch and that both he and Glenda would fight demons together.
It looked as if the Rising Moon coven was going to change in the future and this change would be led by its youngest members. New members, both female and male would bring a new dynamic to the coven. Now all the sisters had to do was remove the threat to the coven so that they had the time to rebuild.
Returning to the Manor, the Halliwell clan prepared for the battle to come.
Standing quietly in the hallway, Matt watched as the sisters prepared for the fight. Unlike Cole who seemed to be looking forward to the confrontation, Matt recognised the signs of uncertainty and fear in all of the sisters and Leo. He had watched two SWAT teams and once a marine combat team prepare for combat and he recognised the similarities.
Turning to Leo, he asked "No modern weapons, why no guns or even swords?". Leo grimaced as he replied "Where we are going is a different world, magic rules and mortal weapons are not effective, especially against beings like demons. They are however potentially lethal to all of us through fortunately demons will not use them, even against mortals".
Still they prepared for the battle with care and attention to detail. Grey or black clothing that was loose enough so that movement was not going to be restricted and no nonsense shoes were selected. Hair was tied back and anything that glinted or rattled removed. Within minutes, everyone was ready and a last minute check by all, made sure that nothing had been forgotten.
Potions that they now knew would be effective against the demons were stored in five bags that allowed quick and easy access. As Piper commented, for once they were the ones attacking, not the ones being attacked. Matt watched as he tried to reach a decision of his own. It was both his pride in Prue's courage and fear for her safety that finally allowed him to make his choice. He stepped forward to stand alongside Cole and Leo.
All four sisters gathered in the conservatory to finalise the plan for the fight. Prue turned and sighed as she saw Matt join Leo and Cole who were waiting by the Dining room table. "No" she said to Matt, "you can't come with us, you could get hurt, and". She stopped as an angry expression appeared on his face as he stared into her eyes.
Stepping forward, Prue grabbed his arm and with a quiet "please", pulled him to one side. "We are going after some very dangerous demons, please remember we are witches with powers so we can defend ourselves, so can Leo and Cole. You have never been in a fight like this, the one you saw in the alley will be a minor skirmish by comparison. If the Triad turns up, we will need the Power of Three and you could easily be killed".
Matt paused and then added "No, I need to come. If I am to be part of your life, then I need this. If I can't be part of this, then how can I be part of anything else. Prue, I need to know what this life is like for you and what it will be like for me, to understand what is happening. Both Cole and Leo are going with you and I know that both have done this before. Believe me, I will be careful".
Prue just looked at Matt and still undecided, she turned to look at the others. Her sisters said nothing and Leo looked away but Cole spoke up, "Matt has the right, how would you feel if it was the other way round". Prue looked back to stare at Matt's face as an obvious conflict as to what to say, raged within her. Finally she stepped back and said quietly "OK, you can come" and then in a firmer voice added "and if you get killed I will never forgive you". Turning towards the table, she grabbed one of the potion bags and turned to thrust it into his hands. "Stay safe, if you get into trouble, throw these".
Turning to Leo, she asked "Paige can take Matt and me, can you take Piper, Phoebe and Cole?". "No problem" replied Leo as he and Cole each picked up one of the potion bags. The last two bags were given to Phoebe and Paige.
After taking a deep breath, Paige stepped over to hold Matt's left hand and then reached out to hold Prue's right hand. As Leo held one of Piper's and Phoebe's hands with Cole holding Phoebe's other hand, Prue said, "Ready, steady, Go". All seven disappeared in a large cloud of orbs.
