Jedi Alanna, Gideon's not dead, remember?
He's been working with Lana (the Triad daughter who everyone believed to be Christy). He's the unknown Triad member that the sisters are trying to find. I do plan on giving you guys/gals a small background that explains how Gideon is still alive, I'm just waiting to include that during the right point in the story.
PH2W: Thank you. I take your words as a very high compliment. It can be a daunting task at times trying to figure out how to make the characters sound and act just right. I'm honored that you think I portray them in a way that lives up to the wonderful actresses/actors that portrayed them.
Welcome to my new reviewers. It's really good to have you both on board.
Chapter 10: Ultimate Power Revealed
(New York City) Two Days Ago
Marie kicked her shoes off and sat down on the edge of the bed.
She felt exhausted after spending so many sleepless nights at the hospital. The good news was that Michael had finally gotten discharged. The doctors instructed him to take it easy over the next few days and to get lots of rest.
Darryl Morris had made a quick inspection of their apartment just to make sure everything was in order and that there were no further signs of the lurking intruder. Even though Marie felt somewhat on edge returning to the scene of where the incident had taken place, she tried to reassure him that everything was fine, that the extra fuss wasn't necessary; however, Darryl had insisted. A part of her was grateful and relieved, because what if that thing did eventually try to come back.
In all honesty, Marie was still confused on what to make of the police captain. How come he hadn't confronted her yet on what she was almost certain he had witnessed? It wasn't like she had been able to give an accurate account of what she had seen and experienced in the apartment. Yet, he hadn't challenged her version of events. She couldn't figure out whether his silence was a good thing or a bad thing.
Marie was lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling when her cell phone rang. Haphazardly reaching over to grab of her nightstand, she answered. "Hello?" she threw her head back against the pillow not having paid any attention to the caller ID.
"Prue? This is Darryl. Look, we really need to talk," came the urgent response. "There's an old, abandoned building by the precinct. Do you think you could meet me there in about a half hour?"
Prue.
Why did people keep calling her that?
She turned her head to look at the alarm clock. It was dark and already close to eight in the evening. "My name isn't Prue. And why, what's this about?"
"Listen, I don't think you realize just how much danger you're really in," he cut in.
"What are you talking about?" Marie argued. "You just checked the apartment and said everything was fine," she sat back up.
"This is serious," he stressed. "I know who you really are. You may not remember but others do. I need to talk to you. And the sooner the better."
"Yeah, well, you clearly have me confused with someone else," Marie replied sternly. "I'm hanging up now; bye," she rolled her eyes and went to end the call but not before she heard the plea coming from the other end.
"No please wait! At least hear me out first. Hear what I have to say."
Marie sighed. "I'm listening." She reluctantly brought the phone back up to her ear.
"I know who took your daughter," he revealed.
Marie's breath caught. He may not have had her attention before, but he did now. "Excuse me?" her eyes narrowed.
"I said I know about your daughter. I know things," Darryl rushed out. "Now are you going to meet with me or not?"
Marie felt both stunned and conflicted, but mostly stunned. Did he really know something about her daughter? How? Had he checked into them? Did he look into the kidnapping? He was a cop; it was certainly a possibility but there was something nagging at her regarding this entire exchange. Something felt off but her desire to know the truth won out.
"It's late," she relented. "Can it at least wait until the morning?"
"Fine!" Darryl agreed. "After sunrise. But come alone. And make sure you're not followed."
The line went dead.
"Okay," she looked down at her phone, "and bye to you too," she then put the phone back on the nightstand.
Brushing off the strange encounter, she prepared to settle down for the evening.
X
(Underworld) Two days ago
"Why have I been summoned here?" Lana demanded in her usual haughty manner. "This is ruining my plans for Billie and the Charmed Ones."
A demonic guardsman remained silent as he led her through parts of the Underworld she had never seen before. They passed by numerous chambers against the stone walls made from gravel. At the end of the narrow walkway, they encountered a hidden passageway. Its entrance was hidden because the gravel camouflaged it. As the door in the wall parted to reveal an opening, the guardsman stepped back allowing Lana room to enter.
"Aren't you coming?" she demanded.
"No," replied the guardsman. He turned around to guard the entrance.
"Whatever," Lana mumbled, walking inside.
The entrance sealed itself off behind her. While she continued to walk forward, she was greeted by the sight of four men in robes. Three of the men stood inside the center of a circle and were deep in trance. The fourth man in robe was no doubt Gideon and he stood off to the side. She immediately recognized the others.
The Triads.
Finally! We are at a complete resurrection.
Lana stopped in front of the circle and slightly bowed her head to demonstrate both a show of respect and obedience as a lower ranking member. At the sound of her voice, all three members of the Triad opened their eyes to look upon her.
"My lords," she greeted them.
"Lana!" the FIRST Triad addressed her, getting right to the point as to why they summoned her here. "There has been a change of plans where you are concerned!"
Looking to Gideon and then back to the others again, she felt confusion wash over her. Gideon smirked in her direction before she rewarded him back with an evil glare.
"What is this about?" she demanded. So help Gideon if he's trying to get rid of me, she thought.
The SECOND Triad member immediately sensed where Lana's concerns were and interjected. "Don't become testy, Lana. We have no plans to rid ourselves of you!" he replied.
"But we do intend to alter our plans," added the THIRD Triad. "It has just come to our attention that Dumain was mistaken about the Ultimate Power all along. It appears that it was never Billie at all."
"Oh?" Lana played along.
The THIRD Triad threw a glare in Gideon's direction.
"Yes, and it also appears that Gideon wasn't as forthcoming with us from the beginning as he should have been," sneered the SECOND Triad.
Gideon smirked. "Ah, yes, true, but then what use would that have been to me. You never would have initiated me into the Triad collective if I had told you from the beginning that the other Charmed sister was still alive. And that she united with her three sisters make up the Ultimate Power."
"Yes, but now we've wasted too much time on a plan that was doomed to fail at the start!" hollered the THIRD Triad.
"Your plan could have worked. In fact, it almost did!" Gideon challenged right back. "I provided you with the child's power so you could match it up with Billie's. You had Charmed power sitting in the palm of your hand."
"Still, it wasn't enough," interjected the SECOND Triad. "All we managed to do was set up Charmed Power against Charmed Power in the Ultimate Battle. Even with the Hollow, it was too evenly matched."
"But by using the Charmed One's own power base against them, you came closer to defeating them than any other demons before you have come. They didn't even see it coming because we used their next generation against them," defended Gideon.
"Close isn't good enough!" yelled the THIRD Triad.
"ENOUGH!" yelled the FIRST Triad putting an end to the whole debate. Up until now, he had remained quiet, listening to what each member pointed out. Silence ensued before he continued. "The point is that our focus in now in a new direction. We will now direct our energy into acquiring the Ultimate Power for ourselves before using it to destroy the Charmed Ones. With that kind of power at our disposal we will be eternally unstoppable. Then we can focus on thwarting their next generation with Pandora's Box."
"And how do we plan on doing that?" inquired Lana, standing on the side lines.
"By capturing the sisters and bringing them here," explained the FIRST Triad. "And Gideon knows which sister to start with, don't you Gideon?"
"Then the rest of the sisters should follow suit!" added the THIRD Triad.
"How?" asked Lana.
"When the sisters scry, they'll think they're coming for you and the shape shifter. Like you originally planned, Lana. Only now, they won't be. The shape shifter will be assisting Gideon in his task, while this will be leading them straight into a trap," offered the SECOND Triad.
"With their long-lost sister as the bait!" concluded the FIRST Triad member.
X
Marie made her way down the busy sidewalk.
Tons of people were hustling to get to their jobs. There were college students making their way to their morning classes. Careful not to wake her husband, she had quickly thrown on a pair of navy-blue jeans and a white tee before quietly leaving the apartment this morning and then deciding to stop inside a small cafe for a bagel and coffee.
It was after sunrise, and she was now on her way to meet Darryl Morris.
Michael had still been sleeping when she left but she had debated whether or not to tell him. In the end, she settled on leaving him a quick note just so he wouldn't panic when he woke and found her gone.
Slowing down, she stopped when thinking she may have located the building Darryl had told her about. It was definitely dilapidated, and the front entrance appeared completely blocked off with no conceivable way to get inside. However, she took immediate notice of the alleyway running parallel on the side. There was a brief moment of hesitation. She was getting a serious creep vibe off this, why would Darryl pick here of all places? She started having second thoughts. Taking a quick glance in the direction she could have kept walking in; she could make out the precinct was in fact just a few blocks down. So, sucking it up, she decided she needed to carry on and find out what was going on.
"Hello?" Marie shouted, resuming her steps down the narrow alley. "Captain Morris? It's Marie. Are you here?" All she could make out was a black dumpster positioned by a fence on the opposite side of the building. No Darryl Morris.
At the sudden sound of approaching footsteps from behind, she bolted around only to come face to face with two men. One of them looked like Captain Morris but the other man she didn't recognize.
"Who are you?" came her immediate inquiry.
X
Michael entered the precinct.
It was just after seven in the morning. He knew he should have taken some more time off per the doctor's recommendations, but he was getting a bit restless staying at the apartment. He wanted to be back at work, doing something, just to keep his mind off recent events. After waking, he found his wife gone and a small handwritten note explaining she was meeting up with Captain Morris to ID a potential suspect from the break-in, and not to worry, it shouldn't take long.
Though, he found the location of the meeting ... odd.
That type of identification was highly irregular. A potential witness is almost always brought to a precinct to ID a suspect. They are usually never brought to a location where a suspect might be apprehended.
Pulling his jacket off, Michael swung it over the back of his chair.
Captain Morris exited his office. Noticing Michael at his desk, he took in a deep breath and decided to head over in his direction. Darryl still felt very conflicted over keeping the truth from him after what happened, but he was determined to have his conversation with one of the sisters first. He honestly didn't know how much longer he could hold out.
Michael shot a quick glance at the phone sitting on his desk, briefly contemplating whether or not to call his wife and check in. Walking up behind him, Darryl patted the other man on the back, and he turned around to look.
"Hey, Michael. Didn't really expect to see you here today. Shouldn't you be at home resting or something?" It felt weird to be referring to his old partner by any other name except Andy.
A peculiar look covered Michael's face.
"What's the matter, you alright?" Darryl asked full of concern.
"Yeah, um," Michael stuttered, eyeing his Captain. "Hey, weren't you supposed to be meeting with my wife right now?" he asked, glancing at his wristwatch.
Uh oh, came Darryl's immediate thought. "No. Why would you think that?" he asked shaking his head.
"You didn't call her and ask to meet?" Michael pushed.
"Like I said, no idea what you're talking about," Darryl confirmed again. "Where did you get that idea?"
Michael pulled out the folded-up piece of paper from his side pocket. He slammed it down on his desk for the captain to read. "That's where I got the idea from!" he pointed, grabbing for the phone and dialing.
Darryl picked up the note and began reading, eyeing Michael urgently waiting for a response on the other end. It never came and Michael slammed the phone back on the receiver. "Damn it," he muttered. Next, Michael was grabbing for his jacket and the holster holding his gun. He headed for the exit in a hurry with Darryl hot on his trail.
"Whoa, where are you going, buddy?" The last thing he wanted was for Andy to go and get himself killed. Again.
"Exactly where it says she went," replied Michael, exiting the precinct in a hurry with Darryl still following closely behind him.
X
Marie stood still, waiting for the stranger to answer her. The man in the robe smirked, placing his hands together.
"I said who are you?" she demanded a second time in a much firmer tone of voice. Then she turned to address the man who looked exactly like Darryl. "And I thought you said to come alone?" she challenged.
"I did!" the shape shifter looking like Darryl sneered. Then he laughed. "I asked YOU to come alone. Which you did by the way, so thank you very much."
Marie took a few steps backwards. What the hell was going on?
"Well, well!" chided Gideon as he slowly resumed approaching the woman before him. "It's been quite a long time since we've last seen each other, hasn't it, Prue."
Marie looked between the two men advancing on her.
Gideon's features turned darker. "And of course, I do realize that I was one of the many Elders who promised you this wonderful new life with Andy but I'm afraid I'm going to have to renege on that little deal," he explained waving his arms all around him. "Sorry. I hope there are no hard feelings."
Marie went to grab for the phone in her back pocket but was instantly thwarted when the stranger threw out his hand, causing its temperature to rise. "Ouch!" she dropped the burning object from her hand, the phone impacting the ground. Carefully, Marie examined her hand and then looked back up to lock eyes with Gideon. Dammit, she cursed in her mind. Now would be a really great time to be able to send somebody flying on their ass.
"Make this easy on yourself," Gideon advised her. "Come with us now. If you don't, it won't matter; it all ends the same."
"And you're one egg short of a full dozen if you think I'd ever go anywhere with you willingly!" she boldly asserted. While concentrating really hard, Marie tried forcing herself to move the men standing there as far away from her as possible. She used her arm to swing but nothing happened.
Gideon, realizing what she was trying to accomplish, stopped advancing on her and let out a laugh. "I must admit I've always admired that unwavering determination of yours. You never give up do you?" He sighed. "But unfortunately, that's not going to save you this time," he informed her.
Come on, come on. Do it, Marie commanded herself, moving backwards.
Resuming his steps, Gideon suddenly reached the phone. Lifting one foot, he then stomped back down on it, crushing its remains.
Suddenly, Marie felt that all too familiar energy burning to be released. "Yeah, well admire this!" she directed and just as Gideon was about to reach out for her, both men were lifted off of their feet and into the air.
Both landed on the ground. Caught off guard, Gideon tried to regain his bearings.
Ha! It was about damn time, she thought.
Marie went to run past them but became distracted by the two men who were just turning the corner. They were beginning to make their way down the alleyway when she recognized who they were. Confusion spread through her. Darryl was running alongside her husband.
"Marie!" Michael shouted. "Go." he ordered. "Move." He reached for his gun while running down the alley.
Unfortunately, Marie was distracted long enough for Gideon to make his move. With her back turned to him, he lifted his hand and released an energy ball that carried just enough voltage to knock her out but not kill her. After hitting her back, she slumped to the ground unconscious.
"No!" Michael yelled, aiming his gun and immediately firing several rounds at the man hovering over his wife.
The man instantly faded out below the surface of the ground.
"What the ..." Michael witnessed the spectacle in shock.
Before disappearing, he had seen the man generate some form of energy from the palm of his hand and then throw it at his wife. Now the other man resembling Darryl was rising from the ground with a fireball in hand.
"Stop! Put your hands down!" Michael ordered, moving to aim the gun at him.
The shapeshifter was preparing to release the fireball at him.
"I said put your hands down, now!" shouted Michael and he fired multiple rounds when the man didn't listen. The man took each hit without faltering and the fireball was now heading in his direction.
"Andy, no! Get down!" exclaimed Darryl Morris as he pushed Michael to the ground from behind.
The fireball barely missed the top of their heads and instead hit the side of the adjacent building. However, just as both of them hit the ground, the shape shifter disintegrated into a pile of dust. Looking up, both Darryl and Michael noticed that the other man was back and had been the one responsible for killing him. In a flash, he latched onto an unconscious Prue and then vanished below the surface again.
"No, Marie!" Michael yelled out in vain. He was now panting from the adrenaline rush and brought his hands to his head. He turned on his captain. "What the hell just happened?"
Darryl was also panting and bending over with his hands resting on his knees. "I don't know, man, I really don't know."
Michael was angry. "And who the hell is Andy?" he demanded to know.
Darryl looked to the ground, shaking his head. All that was left were his own regrets for not telling them the truth sooner. Now Prue was in danger and there was only one thing left to do. Tell Andy the truth and hope that he listened because they needed to get to the sisters and fast. There would be no other help they could turn to.
"You, buddy!" came the answer to his former partner's question.
To Be Continued: okay, this chapter was a little bit shorter, but it was meant to take you back to show you how Marie came to be in the Underworld. The next chapter will pick back up in the present.