Legacy 104: Halliwell Family Values
Part 5
Xxx
Confused and disoriented, Phoebe Halliwell looked on ahead and saw nothing but caverns in front of her. It looked like she was still in the Underworld, but something felt wrong. The world around her seemed liquid, inconsistent and rippling instead of solid. She looked down at her arms and felt her face. She had been rejuvenated, from a woman in her fifties to a younger version of herself. She knew this world was not real, it was an illusion or a memory. Clearly, there was something he wanted to show her, and she wanted to know the truth.
Phoebe followed the cavern and suddenly saw a figure walking ahead of her. A woman dressed in a black cloak with silver linings. However, she could not see her face. The woman disappeared as soon as she had appeared. When Phoebe arrived at the end of the cavern, she saw she was in the coronation room. In the middle of the room stood the Seer with her hands resting on her belly as the unborn child in her stirred. A circle of demons surrounded her.
Phoebe over and saw herself and her sisters trapped in a metal cage. She remembered this, as it was in her dreams just yesterday. As the Seer fired a stream of intense blue fire at the cage, she and her sisters cast the Power of Three spell to protect themselves.
"Why are you showing me this?" Phoebe whispered.
The stream of fire deflected from the cage and hit the Seer before erupting in every direction, vanquishing all demons present. Suddenly, the woman in the black cloak appeared besides Phoebe. She held out her gloved hands and chanted something. As the Seer screamed and exploded in a blast of fire, a white light traveled through the air and entered the cloaked woman. Phoebe saw her belly swell as her unborn child was transferred to her womb. The woman then disappeared into the shadows.
"So that is how you survived." Phoebe stated more to herself than anyone else. "But who is she?"
Suddenly darkness surrounded Phoebe and she felt herself being pulled away. Her initial response was to resist, but she knew it was the only way to uncover the past, so she let go and was swept away into darkness once more.
Xxx
Back in the Halliwell manor, Payton suppressed her emotions and tried not to panic, which was pretty hard as her mother had disappeared into thin air. Meanwhile, Wyatt and Penny helped Prue to her feet after being blasted away after casting the spell in the book. She wanted to help as well, but as long as she was trapped in spirit form, she felt pretty useless.
"Oh, what happened?" Prue asked.
"Something blocked you from reaching aunt Phoebe." Chris replied as he studied the book. "Whatever it is, it must be really powerful."
"I don't understand any of this." Penny called out. "My mom shows up at the manor without telling anyone, casts a spell to teleport her to god knows where, and now she trapped?"
"We don't know for sure if she is trapped, only that we can't reach her." Wyatt replied.
"We should call dad." Payton said. "And aunt Paige or uncle Leo."
"But if aunt Phoebe did not tell them either, they won't know what to do either. We would only worry them." Chris stated. "Noah, can you check with the Elders to see if something is going on that we don't know about?"
"Sure." Noah replied before disappearing in a column of orbs.
Payton walked across the attic and stopped in front of the Book. Where could her mother be? If only she could touch the book to get a premonition. If only she had not cast the personal gain spell, then she could have done something. Now she felt guilty for being useless. For all she knew, her mother was in danger somewhere. As she thought about her mother being hurt, Payton suddenly gasped and felt herself being pulled into a premonition.
In a dark cavern in the underworld, Phoebe stood across from the Source, they were arguing. He threw a fire ball, but she threw it back at him. Then he telekinetically threw her across the room and she hit the wall. The Source then hovered over her with an evil glare.
"Oh my god!" Payton called out as she was pulled out of her premonition.
"Payton, did you just have a premonition?" Prue asked confused. "You did not even touch anything."
"Guess her power is evolving." Wyatt reasoned. "At least we know she had powers in this form."
"I saw mom, he has her." Payton said after catching her breath.
"He?" Chris asked carefully. "He who?"
"The Source." Payton replied. "I recognized him from before. He has her trapped in the Underworld, he attacked her."
"Is she still alive?" Penny asked.
"She has to be." Chris replied before Payton could. "She would not have gotten a premonition for no reason. If that is what Payton saw, it means we still have a chance to save her."
"I hope you're right." Prue said.
"Wait a minute." Henry suddenly said. "I thought aunt Phoebe used a spell to teleport herself. The Source did not take her. Could she have gone there herself?"
"Don't be ridiculous." Penny snapped at him. "The spell is for finding lost loves."
"I don't know, something here feels wrong." Wyatt said. "Like we're missing something."
"Does it really matter?" Prue asked. "The Source has our mother. Chris talked about a preemptive strike. Well, it is not preemptive anymore. Right now, it might be the only thing we have to get our mother back."
"I agree, it is now or never." Penny added. "We need to save mom. Payton?"
Payton did not react, as she barely heard what the others were saying. She was still distracted by her premonition. She felt like she had only seen a small piece of a much bigger picture. There had to be a reason her mother confronted the Source.
"Payton!" Prue called out to her, snapping her back to reality. "Do you agree?"
"Yeah… I guess. We need to save mom." Payton mumbled.
"So we're all in agreement, then?" Wyatt confirmed, at which point everyone nodded. "Alright, Chris, tell us what we need to do. How do you want to handle this?"
"Yeah." Chris replied, though he seemed distracted as well. "The spell is downstairs, on the scroll. I need to check on something." Before anyone else could respond, Chris left the attic and the others exchanged confused looks.
Xxx
Chris stepped into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door and sighed. He realized there was more going on than he originally believed. However, none of it seemed to make sense to him. There was only one person who could tell him more.
"I know you can hear me." Chris said aloud to the empty room.
Suddenly, smoke appeared in the full-length mirror in the corner and the beautiful face of the Seer appeared in swirling smoke. Chris walked over to the mirror.
"You lied to me." Chris said.
"I did not lie." The Seer replied casually.
"Well, then you have been keeping things from me." Chris said annoyed. "Something more is going on here, and you know more."
"I always know more." The Seer replied. "That is why they call me Seer."
"And you always seek to manipulate things so they suit your own needs." Chris said. "It is what you do. So what is in this for you?"
"I already explained that." The Seer replied. "The supposed Source and I don't see eye to eye. He wants me dead, and I have a keen interest in surviving."
"What do you mean supposed?" Chris asked confused.
"While he is the true Source, he has yet to officially assume leadership of the Underworld." The Seer said. "For that, he needs to coronated. That ceremony happens to take place tonight."
"So that is why you contacted me now." Chris concluded.
"I figured it was fitting." The Seer replied with a smile. "Let the entire underworld witness his vanquish once more. A humiliation from which he will never recover."
"I need to know one more thing, the most important thing." Chris said. "How is Phoebe involved in all of this?"
"Phoebe?" The Seer asked confused.
"Yes, don't tell me you didn't know. You must have foreseen it." Chris replied.
"No." The Seer replied a little concerned. "I see the future as it is supposed to happen. However, each action can alter the course of time in a million ways. If Phoebe herself had a premonition that caused her to act, the future I have foreseen may already be altered."
"What are you saying?" Chris asked.
"That I don't know what role she will play in this." The Seer said. "Those with the power to see the future can create their own paths. I cannot help you more than I have already done."
"I don't believe you." Chris said. "Even if you cannot foresee the future, you can still see the past. You must know why my aunt is involved."
"I'm sorry." The Seer remarked with raised eyebrow. "I don't involve myself with matters of blood. Whatever this is, your family will have to figure out yourselves."
Before Chris could reply, black smoke filled the mirror and when it withdrew, Chris found himself looking at his own confused reflection. Matters of blood, what did that mean? Her cryptic words did not make much sense to him. However, he could got get distracted by her, he needed to save his aunt, and finally ridding his family of the Source.
xxx
Still in her youthful form, Phoebe Halliwell found herself standing on a dark street in the middle of the night. She was in a wealthy neighborhood and in the distance, she saw the skyline of San Francisco. Phoebe turned and saw she was standing in front of a large gothic style mansion. It seemed very old and dark, like an evil presence surrounded it.
When she heard screaming from inside the mansion, Phoebe ran past the fence and headed inside. The mansion was just as dark on the inside. The screams came up upstairs, sounding like a woman in pain. Phoebe ran up the stairs and stopped at what appeared to be the master bedroom. She opened the door and saw an antique looking canopy bed with the dark red curtains closed. Only then did Phoebe recognize the clear sound of a woman in labor. She held her breath and a moment later, she heard a child cry. He had been born.
"Oh my god." Phoebe whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.
A strange feeling suddenly drew Phoebe away from the master bedroom as maids rushed in past her unaware of her presence. She walked across the hallway like there was another answer waiting for her. As she heard her son crying in the distance, she looked out a window and up at the bright sky. She saw the northern lights shine in the sky and realized what day it was.
xxx
When Chris arrived in the dining room, he noticed everyone was studying the spells they would have to perform. They all seemed to realize now that it needed to be done, not just to vanquish the Source, but to save Phoebe as well. However, now Chris himself was the one doubting. The Seer had thrown him off balance, her words were always twisted and Chris did not know whether to believe her or believe the exact opposite.
"What happened?" Wyatt asked as he looked up.
"Nothing, a false lead." Chris lied. "How is it going?"
"It doesn't seem that complicated." Prue replied. "The tricky part is to get the timing exactly right."
"And we need to be divide across these locations around town to channel the five elements." Wyatt added as he pointed at the map.
"Don't worry about the timing." Penny said. "I think I can create a telepathic link that will reach far enough. We'll know when the time is right."
At that moment, a column of orbs appeared on the other side of the room and Noah reappeared from the Heavens. Everyone looked at him hopefully.
"I wish I had better news." Noah said. "But the Elders were unaware of Phoebe's involvement."
"They don't know anything either?" Chris asked surprised.
"What do you mean either?" Noah replied to his question with a frown.
"Never mind." Chris quickly said. "We need to do this spell and fast."
"I agree." Noah said. "While the Elders did not know anything about Phoebe, they do suspect something big is about to happen in the Underworld. Dark forces are gathering."
"Why?" Wyatt asked worried.
"I wish I knew." Noah replied.
Chris hesitated. He knew he needed to come clean about what he knew from the Seer. They needed to know, despite what they might think of it. "The Source is being coronated tonight." He admitted.
Everyone fell silent and looked at him. "How do you know that?" Noah asked with a frown.
"Last night, I was contacted by the Seer." Chris replied as he stared down at the table. "She told me, just as she told me about the nexus."
"Are you kidding me?!" Prue called out. "We're doing all this on the word of a demon?"
"You have clearly lost your mind." Henry added. "I knew something was up."
As everyone continued to scream at him, Chris looked up at Wyatt, who had been remarkably quiet. He had not said a word, though he was looking at him with a look that Chris could only describe as hurt and disappointed. Chris then realized his mistake. He had condemned Wyatt for not telling the truth, and now he was the one lying and dealing with a demon in secret. How could he be so stupid?
Suddenly, his brother stood up and slammed his fist on the table, causing everyone to fall silent. Wyatt was typically kind and gentle, so they were all shocked by his outburst.
"Enough." Wyatt called out. "Yes, Chris was wrong by trusting a demon, but does it really matter? We got the spell from the Elders, we can trust them. And right now, it is the only way we have to aunt Phoebe."
"Yes, Wyatt is right." Noah added as he cleared his throat. "Wherever the idea came from, the Elders provided the means and you're the ones performing the spell."
"Okay." Prue eventually said with a sigh. "I don't like it, but it is our only choice. Tell us how this is all going to work."
"Okay." Chris said somewhat hesitantly. "In order to perform the spell, one of us has to stay here while the other five head out to five points to channel the elements. The person that remains here, starts the spell and the others call upon the element when the time is right. Once the spell is cast, the elements will connect and bring back the nexus."
"So who goes where?" Prue asked as she looked at the five spots on the map.
"Most of them are easy to reach." Wyatt replied. "We can teleport there. The only problem is the bay. We need to be on the right spot, which is on the water. Penny, can you levitate that far?"
"No, it's too far." Penny replied frustrated.
"Guys, you're forgetting you have a spirit here!" Payton suddenly said with a smile. She closed her eyes and suddenly rose a few inches of the ground.
"That is both creepy and strangely awesome at the same time." Henry remarked.
"Okay." Wyatt said somewhat surprised. "I guess Payton will take care of the water element. Prue and I can orb and beam Henry and Penny to any of the spots before going to our own."
"So you want me to be stay here and do the spell?" Chris asked with a frown.
"Yeah." Wyatt replied. "No matter how you got it, this was your idea."
Chris nodded in silence, he had not expected his brother to react like that. He wasn't quite sure how to take it, though. He would have preferred Wyatt to be angry at him, instead of acting like nothing was wrong. Perhaps they do needed that talk after all. He hated how thing were between them. The others discussed who should take what element.
"So is everyone clear on the plan?" Wyatt asked. "Just focus on the crystal and stick to the spell."
"We got it, Wyatt." Henry replied. "Let's do this."
"Hold on just a moment." Prue said. "I need to call Matt and tell him what is going on."
As she grabbed her phone and walked away, Noah turned to the others. "Yeah, I should probably report back to the Elders." He said quickly before disappearing in a column of orbs.
After Prue got back from her phone call, everyone got ready to take off. They agreed Chris would wait fifteen minutes before starting the spell, giving everyone enough time to get to their places and get ready. Penny used her telepathy to create a minor telepathic link, which would tell the others when the spell had started. Everyone then got ready and headed out to their destinations. This hard to work, Chris told himself. He stared at his watch and grabbed the spell before heading down to the basement.
xxx
In the apartment of Prue and Payton, Matt sighed as he hung up the phone and sat down the couch. Prue had just told him about what was going on with her family, which meant their romantic dinner was not happening any time soon. Even though he was a little disappointed, he just hoped her mother was alright. Nothing else mattered, not even the fact that his own time was running out as well. At dawn his solid form would be gone and he'd be a ghost once more.
Matt got up and walked over to the romantically set table, where he blew out the candles. With his solid form, his healthy appetite had returned as well, so at least the food he had prepared would not be wasted. He grabbed a plate and sat down in front of the TV. Strangely, holding a remote was one of the most basic things he had missed. However, before he could turn it on, a column of tiny blue lights appeared and took the shape of Noah, the girls' whitelighter.
"What are you doing here?" Matt asked concerned. "Is something wrong with Prue?"
"She is fine." Noah replied and Matt quickly realized that the whitelighter had come for a completely different reason. "We need to have a talk." He added in a serious tone.
"I figured as much." Matt replied. "Care for some dinner?"
xxx