Wow. I would like to thank everyone for the reviews. That's the most I've had after posting one chapter and I'm really happy that my story is attracting other readers. I do hope that everyone continues to enjoy this story. I try my best.
Queen Of Gabb 488, AlyssaP3, PrUe AnD AnDy, CSM, -0-charmed-freak-0-, du1387, charmed1979, Ciphets, and Babes.
Now on with some responses:
Queen Of Gabb: lol, I'm definitely familiar with computer problems but I'm really glad you were able to catch up with the story. Thanks for your words of encouragement.
AlyssaP3: lol, uh, yeah. Coincidence my you know what. I mean, I wasn't exactly born yesterday, if you know what I mean?
Okay, first thing that caught my attention in your reply and made me chuckle:
"hope the same for Leo, who by the way i think shouldn't even get a quarter of what the elders got besides wasn't Leo not really an elder just had the powers cos of magic school? can't that count for something? i hope so :D"
After reading this, I thought, hey, maybe I should have had you defend Leo before the Afterlife Council instead of Coop (wink)? Haha.
On a more serious note, yes, you are partially correct. Leo's role as an Elder is only delegated to running the Magic School. That's why he was given his powers back (good attention/memory to detail, btw, that was introduced near the beginning of the story). Here comes the "but." Leo is still technically an Elder. It's just that his duty is unique, in the sense that he isn't required to perform all the other duties that the other Elders do. His mortality hasn't been affected by it which means he will age like a mortal. However, as a functioning Elder, he would still be bound by following the same universal codes/guidelines. We will see. It is an interesting loop hole/argument in Leo's favor which you have presented. However, I do have a twist I'm putting on it that deals with his former "mortal" state and you may find it similar to what you've pointed out. A "technicality" in his favor.
Also, I'm glad you like the other lighter moments. I'll continue to try and stick them in there when the opportunities present themselves in my story. Even though the story is alot of drama, it is good to have some of those moments in there as well.
PrUe AnD AnDy: lol, your response made me laugh. Thanks. I really did need it this past chapter.
CMS: Hey, welcome. So happy you're liking this story and, yes, this story will continue to unfold and reveal alot as you continue to read. No worries, all your questions should most likely be answered at some point.
-0-charmed-freak-0-: Thanks. Happy you're still reading and enjoying.
du1387: Hey! Thanks for reading and welcome onboard with the others. I'm happy to hear you found it worth your time. Hopefully, you'll stick around. There's alot more to go.
charmed1979: There you are! Kidding, lol. I know life can get busy. You can just review whenever you get the chance. Good analysis on the last chapter. I am definitely trying to bring some of loose ends together because they do tie into some of the new stuff being introduced down the road.
Things are going better. Thanks. Hope it stays that way.
Ciphets: Hey there. Yes, as a matter of fact, the next/new chapter should be coming up right about now. Is that soon enough for you, hehe? Kidding, lol. Not about the next chapter of course but glad that you've stopped in and decided to give my story a chance. I hope that you'll continue to like where it's going.
Babes: Welcome. Glad you like, hehe.
Okay, quick comment.
I'd like to thank I'll Be Watching You Drown for inspiring the next chapter title. Their comment made in their review reply from Chapter 28 just fit perfectly for what I plan to do with this chapter and I was able to put a spin on it.
Chapter 29: Skeletons Out of the Closet
Leo stared at the men sitting directly across from him.
He was trying hard to keep his composure; however, deep down, he still feared the possibility of never being able to see his wife and children again. As a former whitelighter and Elder from the past, he was well aware of some of the more serious consequences for breaking the rules.
Soul reincarnation was one possibility. Any immortal beings who are granted special placement in positions to help maintain the order of the immortal realm are initially allowed to keep their former identities which were the same identities they had as mortals. However, if an immortal position is stripped away due to any inherent violation, that person risked having their soul recycled back into the mortal realm. This would mean a new identity as a new person and a blocked memory from anybody they once knew from the life that came before.
Another consequence could be his soul remaining somewhere within the immortal realms. He would not be subjected to the physical reincarnation process; however, he would be stripped from all contact pertaining to the mortal realm. Granted, soul reincarnation and soul placement in the immortal realm was a common supernatural occurrence for all beings but it could serve as a form of punishment to those already granted the special privilege of serving in the immortal realm with their mortal memories kept intact.
"As we have stated before, this Council is deeply disturbed by the actions of both parties," a voice rang out around them.
"And we would first like to call forth the parties responsible for interfering with the coming of an ancient prophecy pertaining to the Ultimate Power!" they declared together.
Phalmis, Ramar, and Xenus looked to each other nervously before glancing in Emeritus' direction. Emeritus didn't even bother to acknowledge their looks with one of his own. Instead, he sat staring straight ahead and then slowly arose to his feet until he was standing completely upright. The other Elders followed his lead.
"We beg the Council to show some mercy?" Emeritus began in their defense. "At the time, we were only operating under what we believed was for the greater good."
"Gideon was the head of the Council during that time," Phalmis spoke up after Emeritus. "He believed this power to be dangerous and a grave threat to the greater good."
"Evil has been seeking it out for some time," volunteered Ramar.
"That may all very well be true," the voices replied in unison. "But how do the Elders in question justify hiding this prophecy from the greater good?" they questioned.
"If by the greater good, you mean the Charmed Ones, then we have ample reason to justify it. The prophecy was given to Melinda Warren through her gift of premonition. The Charmed Ones were not destined to exist until centuries later. It was too dangerous to allow the incantation to remain in the Book and be made available to any evil that got its hands on it!" argued Emeritus.
"But the Book possesses the ability to protect itself from evil, does it not?" one of the voices challenged.
"Yes but even the sisters, themselves, pose a risk," Emeritus defended. "Evil has been provided with chances, and has been successful, in acquiring both the Power of Three and the Book of Shadows from the sisters. So we feel our concerns from the past were justified. We could never allow that same risk to apply to the Ultimate Power in the past, present, or future."
"But the sisters have prevailed against all that," Leo suddenly argued back in defense of the Charmed Ones. He immediately stood to his feet. "It's true that the Power of Three and the Book of Shadows were put at risk a few times but they've always succeeded in vanquishing the evil behind it."
"That's irrelevant!" Emeritus countered. "The Ultimate Power is far more dangerous. It can't be allowed to pass through the hands of evil. Not ever. Not even once. The past has shown that the sisters have the tendency to be lax and allow evil to infiltrate their bond as sisters putting their power base at risk."
"So what? Evil has challenged them on occasion. Big deal," Leo addressed the Afterlife Council. "What matters is they overcame it. Besides, this isn't about the sisters' ability to handle the power," Leo spat back at Emeritus. "This is about your accountability in interfering with something you had no business interfering with!"
Leo had been sitting quietly listening with great interest to the new revelation. This was the first time he was hearing about an original prophecy that predicted the coming of an Ultimate Power. The only prophecy that he had been aware of, or thought existed in the Book of Shadows, was the Charmed prophecy that predicted the coming of the three Charmed Ones, a Power of Three, and how they'd be the most powerful witches the world had ever seen. However, this revelation did shine some new light on the confusion surrounding Paige's sudden emergence over five years ago. Apparently, it was known that four sisters were somehow predicted to exist after all.
Amazingly, for the first time, the Afterlife Council had permitted the exchange between Leo and the other Elders to go down without interfering. However, when silence ensued and Emeritus did not respond back to Leo's allegation, the Afterlife Council did break in with a question of their own.
"Emeritus?" one voice interjected. "How is it that evil came to be aware of this power to begin with?"
"Yes," a second voice followed. "The Book of Shadows has been guarded against evil since its inception, despite some of these attempts made by evil to thwart it. The destined line of Warren Witches would have been the only ones with direct access to the book. No evil seeking out the book has ever acquired the Ultimate Power inspite of the claims that they have been seeking it out."
"Correct," the first voice continued. "And since you had the prophecy removed, it signals to us that evil had to find out another way."
All of the Elders swallowed nervously. It was the part of the story that none of them wanted to be forced to address: the Avatar. In truth, they only knew what Gideon had relayed back to them but they all realized they would still be held accountable for their participation.
Emeritus cast his look downwards. "We don't know," he lied.
Leo narrowed his eyes and observed the suspicious body language of all four Elders. Emeritus was lying. He could definitely tell that they were all hiding something big. "How can you not know?" he countered back at Emeritus. "You were the ones that stole the incantation in the first place. Which means you have to know where it is."
"We don't!" Emeritus rose his voice and shot his head up in Leo's direction. The Elder was staring Leo down in a very hard manner. "Gideon dealt with the matter himself. Not us. We only knew what we were told."
Leo didn't believe him. "Right. How convenient," he mocked Emeritus.
"The Council will now call order!" the voices rang out together. "We have heard what we needed to regarding this matter. Now, we shall turn over to addressing the actions of the other Elder in question. Leo Wyatt."
A brief moment of silence passed as Leo cast one of his own hard looks in Emeritus' direction and then resumed with sitting back down in his chair.
X
It was another bright and sunny California day at Golden Gate Park. The light breeze was gently swaying tree tops back and forth.
A smile passed over Prue's face while she watched all the young children in the playground. Molly was close by to Wyatt who was climbing the stairs to the small slide. Finally, they were getting along for a change and having a good time together. Behind them at a swing set, Andy was helping to assist Chris into one of the baby swings. Prue noted that the little guy would probably be outgrowing those swings soon.
Prue's smile faded when her thoughts returned to the real reason they were here today. Prue had broken the news to both Phoebe and Paige that she intended to tell Andy the truth about Billie. Both sisters were left back at the manor working on advanced potion mixes to help take out the scatter demons so they could rescue Henry. They insisted she take all the time she needed but Prue still felt bad. Afterall, the more they worked together, the quicker they could find Henry and bring him home.
Andy lifted Chris out of the swing and placed him on the ground. His ran and his little feet swiftly carried him across the playground and into the small sandbox. Prue had volunteered to take all the kids for this playground excursion so the others wouldn't be distracted. Phoebe and Paige had allowed them to take both cars so everyone could make the trip.
Andy walked back over to the bench to sit down.
"Okay. What's that frown for?" he smiled and then sat down beside her. "Did I wake up this morning and dress myself that bad?" He laughed.
"Isn't that on loan from Coop?" she made a face.
Andy smirked. "Right. Point taken. There's definitely alot we need to do to get our lives back on track." Then he turned serious. "I know you've told me there's alot going on but I was thinking about looking into my old job back at the precinct. If not there, then somewhere else. We'll have to decide what we want to do about living arrangements."
Prue sighed. "Andy, look, I do know it's a bit crowded and everything but I really can't afford to leave the manor right now," she objected.
"Crowded?" Andy countered. "Prue, that's a bit of an understatement. There's not enough space and you've even got the other girl living there too."
Prue closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Billie," she corrected.
"Right, Billie. So unless she plans on leaving anytime soon, I really have no idea where you expect Molly or the new baby to go," he pointed out to her.
Prue stared straight ahead. "Actually, I think that Piper and Leo might need us to stick around and help for a little while. With some of the extra expenses around the house. Pregnant or not, I need a job. Piper's medical expenses are alot. Their medical insurance barely covered anything. The club's gone so Piper doesn't have a source of income to rely on anymore. The insurance claim is being held up because that Inspector assigned to the case ... " she rambled on about all the problems they were facing. She couldn't help it.
Andy placed a hand against her back. "Okay. I get it. I really do," he offered to calm her down. "So we put off moving for a bit," he conceded.
Prue smiled. "Thanks."
Andy smiled back. "Well, what can I say. I guess the kids can always take the basement and we can have the roof?"
They both shared a laugh then checked on the kids. Wyatt and Molly had joined Chris inside the sandbox.
"So what was it that you needed to get off your chest?" Andy suddenly asked her. "You seemed a little distant last night. What was so important that it needed to wait?" He turned to look at her.
Prue stayed silent for a few seconds before attempting to explain. She looked around and then released a deep breath. "Uh, yeah, actually there is," she admitted. "I, uh, found out something. After I got back. While you were gone."
Andy nodded his head. "Okay," he pushed, urging her on.
Prue began picking at her cuticles. "Please don't hate me for this," she muttered.
Andy heard it. Instantly, he placed his hands over hers to halt her own nervous attack against her fingers. "Prue?"
Prue gathered up her courage. "It's about the girl staying at the manor. Billie?"
"Okay. What about her?"
Andy contemplated her words carefully. Honestly, he was feeling rather confused and didn't understand where this was going or why it would make Prue feel on edge. Then the next three words changed all that.
"She's our daughter."
X
Lana followed closely behind Billie and JD. They walked up the small steps. When she read the small white print found above the door, she immediately froze in her tracks.
"A shelter?" there was abhorrent disgust in her tone. "Forget it," she turned back around and headed for the sidewalk.
Billie and JD both turned around on their heels, racing back down the steps. Lana was a few feet ahead of them on the sidewalk and they ran to catch up with her. Billie stepped to one side of her while JD walked on the other.
"Where exactly do you think you're going to go?" Billie demanded. "Back to that run-down shack in the woods? If my vote counts, which I highly doubt it does for you," she cracked, "that's a bad idea."
Lana stopped and turned on Billie. "It's better then wasting my time hanging around with a bunch of loosers and whiny brats attached to their sides. No thank you. I'll pass." She resumed walking.
"Whoa, hold up," Billie called out. She didn't even bother to keep pace with her this time, instead, opting to keep a comfortable distance behind her. "For your information, those 'loosers' as you so eloquently put it, are not loosers at all. They just so happen to be real people with real problems who could use a little help. Just like you. So how about you stop acting like a whiny brat," she stressed. "Better yet, stop with all the complaining already and just take the damn help."
"Lana," JD interjected. "The shack in the woods isn't safe. You said Dumain kept you there when you were younger and what if the other demons know about it? That could be one of the first places they try to look for you," he reasoned.
Lana stopped walking again but she didn't turn to face them. "I've been staying there since I left the Underworld for good and I've been perfectly fine!" she stubbornly insisted. "Dumain is dead. They're not going to find me there."
"That doesn't mean they won't," Billie countered. "Look, it's just temporary anyway. Just to buy us a little time so JD and I can search." Billie crossed her arms. "Hey, just consider the human interaction practice for when you meet your mortal family. Because you can really use some work and a few pointers on what it means to be human."
Lana narrowed her eyes at Billie before turning smug. "What pointers would that be?" she mocked her in fake sugary baby voice. "Glass ware, table etiquette, and learning how to keep a smile plastered across my face while I endure Piper's incessant chatter or your lectures on what it means to do good?"
Billie bit her tongue and began pacing.
"See?" Lana plastered on a fake smile then dropped it only to roll her eyes.
"Lana, look," JD jumped in before a fight broke out. "All you have to do is keep to yourself and abide by the rules of the shelter," he pointed out. "That's it. And no powers," he lowered his voice, remembering that there were passersby coming and going on the sidewalk. "They'd definitely be able to track and then find you that way," he reminded her.
"I'm not stupid!" she protested. "I know that but how do I even know for sure there's anybody out there to find?"
Billie and JD glanced at each other.
"Well, that's what we're going to try and found out," JD sighed. "And Billie's going to try and work on finding a way to make you completely mortal. Then you won't have to worry about your powers anymore."
Lana glared at them. Finally, she uncrossed her arms and sighed heavily, an indicator that she was deciding to give in. "Fine. Whatever," she relented, walking back down the sidewalk in the direction of the shelter.
Billie rolled her own eyes after she passed by her and then she turned to share a look with JD again. JD just shrugged his shoulders and both of them followed behind Lana.
In the distance, a figure hidden in the shadows watched very intently. His focus was on the young woman with the golden shade of hair and the stubborn nature. He watched as she strode up the steps and into the building, the other two following closely behind her. He continued to watch until they all disappeared from sight.
Soon. He would make his move soon.
X
He was shocked.
No, actually, shock didn't begin to cover what he was feeling at the moment. He knew he heard the words but he couldn't accept that he had heard them right. Prue observed his reaction closely. Did he even believe her?
"She's our daughter?" Andy repeated slowly.
"That's what I said," she replied softly.
Andy stared at her before breaking into a small fit of laughter. If it wasn't clear before, it was definitely clear now. He wasn't taking the revelation seriously.
Prue sighed, closing her eyes. "Andy, don't laugh. It isn't funny."
"Yeah, Prue, I don't think this is funny," Andy's laughter ceased. "That's not why I'm laughing."
It was clear to him that she wasn't joking around at all. Prue threw her face down into her hands, releasing a groan of frustration. She really hated that she was now in a position to have to explain all this. Albeit, acknowledging that it was partially her own fault for not telling him years back even though she couldn't remember any of it. She had been given the explanation by her sisters. Apparently, Grams had taken it upon herself to cast a spell and wipe her clean of that particular memory.
"You're serious," he arched his brows, "because I don't even know where to begin," his face carried a serious expression.
"Yes, I'm serious," she nodded. "Why would I make something like that up?"
"Oh, I don't know, Prue," there was an edge to his voice. "Maybe for the same reasons you can't be upfront about everything else?"
Prue flinched. "Andy?"
Andy put up his hand. It slipped but he didn't really want to go there. "I don't understand," he cut in, his tone sounding more hurt this time around. Why would she have kept something like that a secret? "When?"
Prue felt some guilt overtake her. "High school," she admitted solemnly. "I think it was during my senior year. When you went off to college."
"You think?" he spat back.
Prue visibly flinched again. Andy momentarily regretted that his response came out that way but he couldn't help it. The shock turned into hurt. Which, in turn, was turning into anger.
"Uh, yeah. That's the other part of the story. I don't remember any of it. I don't remember being pregnant and I don't remember having her. And I don't remember giving her away either," her voice drifted and was barely audible.
Andy huffed. He crossed his arms in a defensive manner. "You don't remember?" he interrogated. "Prue? I really think it's a little late to be pulling the I can't remember card out of the deck," he told her. "Don't you? The Elders unblocked our memories. So please explain to me again how it is you don't remember having a baby and then throwing her away to complete strangers?" he accused.
Prue became defensive. "Okay, first off, she wasn't thrown away to complete strangers. She was adopted. Secondly, me not remembering has nothing to do with the Elders, okay? Grams cast a spell. I guess it was supposed to serve like a memory blocker because she wanted to protect our future as the Charmed Ones."
Andy laughed sardonically. "Grams? Right, Grams," he nodded. "Ya know, I always did love that woman," he mocked. "And ya gotta' admire a woman who knows how to get exactly what she wants," he spat.
Prue sighed. "Andy stop!"
"Stop what, Prue?" he countered angrily. He stopped and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Even if what you're telling me is true, all that means is you don't remember now. But what about back then? You never told me when you found out. I doubt your grandmother cast the spell then. Which means, no surprise here," he shook his head, "we're right back at square one."
"What does that mean?" Prue challenged.
"It means what it always means," he looked her square in the eyes. " Your disregard and inability to be upfront about everything," he argued. "Or to put your trust into this relationship. Just like in the same way you couldn't even come clean with me about who and what you were years ago. You told me, what, you needed to use a truth spell?"
"Exactly, and if my memory serves me correctly, you weren't too happy with the truth," she countered him back. Apparently the Billie revelation was opening up a whole other can of worms that spread into every area of their past relationship. "Please tell me what exactly I was supposed to put my trust in?"
"Me!" he exclaimed at her. "All I needed was some time. Maybe some space. I would have come around eventually."
"Oh, really?" Prue mocked. "That's not what I remember when we were at Buckland's. I listened to you explaining how you wanted a normal life to come home to one day. Something that I just wasn't going to be equipped to give you, remember?"
"Okay, that's twisting it bit," he defended, before realizing this argument had gone way off course.
"What exactly did I get wrong?" she countered.
Andy brought a balled fist up to his forehead. "Look, lets not do this," he requested, closing his eyes and fighting against the oncoming migraine. "I don't want to say something I'm going to regret."
Prue threw herself back against the bench. "Fine."
Andy was far from okay but wanted to separate himself from it for the time being. Both he and Prue observed Molly and Wyatt approaching their direction with Chris not too far behind.
"Didn't you say you were going to try and see Piper after this?" Andy asked.
Prue glanced at him. "Yeah. Why?"
The question sounded like an excuse to get rid of her.
Andy stood up as Molly came charging at him. "Go ahead," he instructed. "I'll take the kids back to the house." He plastered on a grin for show as he scooped Molly up and turned her upside down. She started giggling.
"Mommy, look at me?" she announced. Her strands of longer hair were all flowing in the direction of the ground. She continued to laugh.
Prue smiled back at her.
Wyatt jumped up with a smile on his face. "My turn."
"Your turn?" Andy played along with him. "Alright, come here," he beckoned playfully. He put Molly down and grabbed for him next. Wyatt was turned upside down. Chris tried to swat playfully at his brother.
After noticing that she was still standing there, Andy brought his gaze back up to meet hers. "We'll talk about it some more later," he told Prue.
Prue reached for her purse on the bench. "Right," she mumbled.
Andy watched her turn around and she started walking down the long path in the direction that would lead her to the parking lot and Paige's car.
X
Phoebe threw the remaining ingredient into the huge pot. The result was a loud explosion and an array of smoke filtered into the faces of both Phoebe and Paige.
"Phew. Talk about your need to spice things up?" cracked Paige, as she and Phoebe both waved the heavy smoke away from their faces.
"That potion better spice things up," mocked Phoebe. "At least for Henry's sake."
Phoebe and Paige had been at work for hours in the attic trying to come up with the right amount of potion ingredients to work against the scatter demons. It had become an exhausting daunting task. Either the potions tested too weak or they came out too strong. The stronger side of things wouldn't have been too much of an issue if it weren't for Henry. They knew they were fooling around with the original potion mix and they didn't want to risk something happening to Henry in the process. He could very well be with the demons when they finally went after them. Otherwise, taking out a few miles of their underground dwelling didn't phase the sisters.
"So. How do you think that little chat is going?" Paige piped in, making reference to Prue telling Andy the truth regarding Billie.
"Eh. If it didn't go well, which it probably didn't," Phoebe rolled her eyes, "I'm sure Prue will just suck it up and try to pretend everything's fine. Andy will probably give some song and dance about Prue keeping secrets and her trust issues," she explained to her baby sister in a distracted manner.
Paige looked back at the pot. "Oh. So like a marital explosion of sorts," she compared. "I think I'll stick to the potion kind."
"Yeah," Phoebe sighed, "hopefully, it's followed by the make-up sex. Believe me, you'll get used to their pattern fast."
"Oh. Lovely," Paige remarked, rolling her own eyes.
Phoebe laughed. "Oh c'mon, Paige. After living through the Cole and Phoebe saga, anything you see coming from Prue and Andy won't be that bad."
"Yes, and while I have absolutely no doubt that's true," Paige nodded dramatically, "I'm still kind of glad I won't be living here to see it."
"Sisterly support, Paige, sisterly support," Phoebe scolded her in a teasing fashion.
"Hey, I'm all about the support," Paige smiled and teased back. "It's just that it will be over the phone like it is for Piper."
At the same moment, they were interrupted by Billie, who waltzed into the attic unexpectedly.
"Hey you," announced Phoebe. "What'cha up to?"
"Yeah, it's Saturday. You're young. You're single. And you should be living it up somewhere," Paige teased her in good humor.
Billie approached the table with a smirk. "Uh, right. Where would that be? The Underworld throwing a secret rave I should know about?" She sighed and observed what the sisters were doing. "Need some help?" she inquired.
"Sure. Pull up a chair," answered Paige.
Phoebe pushed some of the potion vials over in Billie's direction.
"Wow," she lifted a vial into the air and looked through it. "You really think you're going to need all of these?"
"Oh yes," Phoebe stressed. "I'm really beginning to think it's by no accident that they're called scatter demons," she cracked. "These things are scattered. Everywhere."
Both Paige and Billie shared a laugh together.
Phoebe grinned. "Seriously. How many of them can there be?"
Billie began scooping up the potion into the vials and placed them together on a soft cloth that was spread across the table. It kept the vials from rollig off and breaking. Carefully, Billie contemplated the best way to break into the subject she needed to because she was pretty sure it would be a sore spot.
"Hey, Phoebe?" Billie began tentatively, catching Phoebe's attention.
"Yeah, what is it sweetie?" Phoebe looked at her.
Billie had grabbed Paige's attention too. "I was just curious about something," she treaded, while continuing to fill and place vials on the table. "From before. You were really in love with that Cole guy, weren't you? The one who turned out to be a demon?"
Phoebe froze. Of all the topics for Billie to bring up, she hadn't expected that to be anywhere near the top of the list. She had made a conscious decision to close the book on that chapter of her life a long time ago. Besides, she had Coop now. She was happy and there was absolutely no point in dragging up the past when it couldn't be changed.
Paige cast a questioning look in Phoebe's direction.
"Why the sudden interest?" Phoebe tried to regain her composure. "Cole's gone, Billie. All of that doesn't matter anymore."
"Oh no. I know. And I'm not trying to bring up any bad memories or anything. It's just," Billie paused. "I kind of remember you bringing him up last year? Back when I thought I was helping Christy and you guys went after the Triad?"
"Yeah?" Phoebe was sharing the same questioning look with Paige.
"Well, you said something about him being able to take the Triad out because he was such a powerful demon. Like them?" Billie halted what she was doing. "I was just wondering if he was ever willing to give up his demon life so that he could be with you?"
A part of Billie cringed on the inside. She knew she was being deliberately cagey and not being completely upfront with them. She didn't like it especially after what had happened last year. However, still, she had made a promise to JD that she would keep the secret until he at least tried to fulfill his promise to Lana. Her inquiry was the best route to try and go to make sure everyone could be safe.
"Billie, why the sudden interest in Cole?" Paige was a little suspicious.
"Oh, well, when I was skimming through the Book of Shadows the other night I just happened to come across Belthazor," Billie quickly came up with an exuse. "His demon form? It got me thinking that since he was already part human were there any magical ways to keep him that way? Like if he really wanted to," she added. "Could he have gotten rid of his demonic powers or was he stuck with them forever?"
Phoebe looked down. Then she attempted to answer the best she could. "Billie, Cole made his choice and it wasn't the right one. At least, not for us. But we did come up with a stripping potion for him early on, if that's what you mean. It would take away his powers and keep him mortal. Unfortunately, though, there's no real way for us to know if it would have stuck because Cole gave into his darker nature."
"Cole became the Source," Paige volunteered.
"The Source?" Billie questioned. "Wait," she snapped her fingers. "That really ugly looking half face thing that went after Wyatt in the Magic School?"
"Well, yeah, that was one version of him," Phoebe nodded. "But after he was vanquished, it actually took over Cole," Phoebe clarified.
"Yup, but still, he became the Source of All Evil," Paige followed up after allowing her sister to do most of the explaining on this particular subject. "He tried to conquer, we destroyed. Cole even came back again after the Source and the end still wasn't pretty."
"Oh."
Damn, thought Billie. The information for the stripping potion hadn't been as forthcoming as she would have liked. If she asked anything more about it, she might be drawing too much attention to it. The only other resort was to try and find Lana's family and then come completely clean with the sisters right after that. Maybe they could come up with a way to at least bind Lana's demonic powers? This certainly wasn't going to do wonders for her fragile relationship with a Charmed mother and aunts.
JD so owes me big time, she thought.
Billie decided to drop the subject matter. Phoebe and Paige did the same thing as they all resumed finishing the task of filling the potion vials.
X
Prue brought herself up to the hospital's fifth floor like she had done a day ago. This time she was alone and not with Billie or her sisters.
After getting off the elevator, she glanced at the nurse's station and saw that it was completely empty. She swiftly turned and headed in the opposite direction down the long corridor. She definitely wasn't in the mood to go through the hassle she and her sisters had encountered the last time they tried to visit.
Piper had to be in one of the rooms. She passed by several while trying to discreetly peer in where she could. When she got closer to the last room, she got lucky. She heard the familiar sound of her sister's voice but just before Prue reached the entrance, a nurse exited. Prue turned around quickly and pretended to be distracted with something else. The nurse rushed by.
The door was left open and Prue immediately caught sight of her sister.
Piper sat in a wheelchair which was positioned near the window. She was resting her chin against the palm of her hand and staring out over the parking lot. She appeared to be lost in her own contemplative thoughts and had no idea that Prue was standing a couple feet outside her door watching her. However, that changed after she heard the gentle knocking that pulled her from her daydream.
"Prue?" she questioned, shocked by her sister's unexpected appearance.
"Hey there."
Prue gave a faint smile then took some tentative steps forward into the room. Piper quickly turned away, embarrassed by her own appearance.
"What are you doing here?" Piper pleaded. "You shouldn't have come."
Ignoring her sister's protests, Prue pulled a chair over and positioned it so she was sitting directly in front of her. She sat there for a moment without saying anything but Piper still refused to turn and look at her.
"Honey, look at me?" Prue pleaded gently. "There's nothing wrong with you," she tried to offer reassurance. "At least, nothing that a little magic can't fix?" she tried to throw in a little bit of humor. She reached out to take her sister's hands with her own.
However, Piper still refused to give any response. Prue released a heavy sigh at her in vain attempts to get her sister to communicate. Gently, she released her hands and went for her purse. After opening it up, she pulled out a few folded pieces of construction paper.
"Here," Prue tried again. "The blue one is from Wyatt," she attempted to hand it over to Piper and smiled while doing so.
Piper looked down at the piece of paper being handed to her. Slowly, she reached out to grab a hold of it. When she had it, she opened it to reveal a rather colorful display in the form of a get well card. The stick figures indicated to her that Wyatt had attempted to draw his family members. A small smile broke out across her lips.
After taking note of the positive reaction, Prue decided to reach out with the next one. "And the orange one is from Chris. As you can clearly see," Prue laughed a little.
Piper saw the scribble that was clearly made by Chris and it made her smile brighten a little more. Finally, she received her last special card of the day. The pink one she had been handed came from Molly. She opened it up and it revealed the little girl's amusing attempts to tell Auntie Piper to get better.
"Um, yeah, Molly said that since you were a girl you had to get a pink one," Prue mused.
Piper smiled. Then she gently folded the papers in her lap. "How are the boys?" she finally opened up to her sister.
"Safe," Prue offered first. "But they really miss you. And Leo," she added.
Piper flinched a little at the mention of Leo's name. "Yeah. Well, who knows when he'll be back. No thanks to those damn Elders," she spat out. She sighed again. "But, hey, on the bright side at least you have Andy back," she offered on a lighter note.
Prue sent her a questioning look. "How do you know about Andy?"
"Let's just say I paid a little visit before the Afterlife Council in my time away," she explained. "I got to see the decision play out for myself. Those Elders were desperate to try anything," she stressed. She also explained the information pertaining to the In-Between Realm and what all that meant.
"Right," Prue willingly accepted. "Well, they really haven't been much help to us here either during the time you were gone," she made reference to the Elders.
Piper made a face, not liking how that admission sounded. "Should I even dare to ask what's been happening while I was away?"
Prue smirked before answering. "Uh, no, better not. At least not until you're doing better. But please don't worry, we've got it under control," she tried to assure her. She didn't want Piper to spend all her time worrying about everything else except getting better.
"Uh Prue? You always use to claim to have everything under control," she called her sister out. "Which usually means you don't have everything under control."
Prue closed her eyes and smiled. "Uh-huh. Funny. There are some problems that we're dealing with," she admitted. "But that's all," she attempted to pacify her sister for the time being. She decided that Piper really didn't need to know the full extent of it all until she was recovered and well enough to jump back into the swing of things.
"Mm," Piper mumbled. She wasn't sure whether do buy it but apparently it would seem that Phoebe and Paige had gotten comfortable with Prue running things while she wasn't there. "I guess we'll see," she relented. Then she changed the topic back to Andy. "So, then. How is Andy adjusting to everything?"
Piper watched Prue's body language shift. She suddenly appeared very uncomfortable.
"Prue?" she pushed. She sent her sister a puzzled look.
"As of an hour ago, not that well," Prue finally broke, with a solemn expression in place. She used her fingers to run them through her long hair. "I, uh, broke the news to him about Billie before I came here."
Piper observed her sister closely. It obviously hadn't gone down all that well. "Okay," she drew out. So the truth had to come out eventually, right? Now it's out. I'm sure it had to be somewhat shocking for him to find something like that out. He'll come around, Prue."
"Maybe," Prue acknowledged. "But I know he's mad at me. And now I keep thinking back to everything before all this. How it really isn't fair to him anyway. I mean, before he died, he wanted a life free from magic and ghosts and demons," she vented. "And now here he is smack dab in the middle of it all again. He probably could have just hightailed it right outta' here if it weren't for Molly and the baby coming. And who could really blame him, ya know?" she vented. "This type of life isn't really suited for anyone outside of magic." She was suddenly thinking about Paige's own predicament with poor Henry.
"Prue, don't be ridiculous," Piper shook her head. "Andy's with you because he loves you," she insisted.
"But he really didn't have a choice, now did he?" Prue countered back. "I mean, one minute he's dead and the next minute he's whisked away from the afterlife so he can live a life with me that he doesn't even remember having from before. And since I'm the one who accepted that stupid arrangement, that kinda' makes it my fault."
Piper sighed. "But, Prue, you didn't know that Gideon was going to bring Andy back when you agreed to do it?" she volunteered. "That much I know. I saw it for myself. Don't make more out of this than it is. Just give him some time and space to come to terms with everything."
Prue absorbed her words before abruptly changing the subject. "Okay, enough about me." She used a finger to wipe underneath her eyes to prevent crying. "I didn't come here to depress you. How is that physical therapy coming along?"
Her sister was doing the avoidance thing again. That much about her sister definitely hadn't changed in over five years but Piper decided to let it go.
"It's coming," Piper cracked. "Actually, no, I was able to balance myself on the bars and take a few steps," she admitted, getting serious. "I had my session this morning and another one in the afternoon. The therapist says things should move along smoothly. After all, it's not like I've been in a coma for years but try lugging around an extra twenty pounds and see how easy it is to try and keep your balance?" she joked while glancing down quickly at her expanding waist-line.
Prue smiled wide and almost laughed.
"As long as you're both okay," Prue offered back. Then she glanced at her watch. She noted that she needed to get going in order to catch up with Phoebe and Paige on the Henry front. But she didn't want to alert Piper to that trouble. "Uh, honey, I really hate to cut this short but I do have to get going," she announced.
"Oh, okay. Sure," Piper sighed.
Prue stood up from her chair and reached out to her sister's head. Gently, she cupped her hands against the sides of Piper's face and kissed the top of her head. "But I'll back. We love you."
Prue grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
"Prue?" Piper called out before her sister made the exit. Prue turned around to face her. "Uh, tell Phoebe and Paige to stop by. I've missed them."
Prue smiled, blew her a final kiss, and then departed down the long hospital corridor.
X
(2 Weeks Later)
Billie sat in her dorm room in front of her laptop computer. She was scrolling down the main web page belonging to the LA Times. JD sat to the side of her, anxiously awaiting any piece of valuable information that could turn up.
Spring semester classes had also started up a couple weeks ago. It provided Billie with a convenient excuse to stay on the campus and away from the manor. The truth of the matter was that things were somewhat tense lately and she was doing the avoiding thing. Avoiding the sisters. Avoiding the new-found parents. Alot had been going on.
Paige was feeling more on edge then ever with each passing day and it was making her short-tempered with all the people around her. The scatter demons were not making it easy to rescue Henry. The sisters had made several attempts at recovering Henry from the Underworld only to have the location switched each and every time they got there. It was like the demons were playing games and enjoying it. The end result was while they now had a stronger potion developed, there was no location to go to.
There was the situation with the bio parents. Billie knew Prue had broken the news to Andy about who she was and what had happened. However, after the revelation went down, she witnessed some of the awkward moments between the two while deliberately keeping her distance. Most of the information came through the grape-vine, so to speak and mostly from Phoebe. Billie knew she wouldn't be able to avoid the situation forever.
The biggest thing bothering her was her continued involvement in keeping Lana's real identity a secret from the sisters. She made the promise to JD but that did little to alleviate the guilt she kept feeling whenever she interacted with them. Billie convinced herself the sisters didn't need anything else added to their already full platter anyway. Besides, it wasn't like she planned on keeping it a secret forever, she reasoned.
The only positive development was Piper and her recovery. She and the sisters had made visits to the hospital and Piper was improving with each passing day. This was a good sign because it meant the sisters were closer to being able to unite as the Ultimate Power so they could bring down that wretched Gideon and the rest of the Triad members.
Billie's concentration turned back to the task before her. "JD, we've been at this for almost two weeks," she complained, while entering in her password so she could access the archives of the newspaper on-line. "We've been checking out newspaper articles from newspapers for, like, every major city in this state. And nothing. T here's nothing that comes close to what we think we're looking for."
"No, there has to be something," he tried to remain positive. "We're just missing it."
Billie rolled her eyes. "Missing it? Okay, first off, we don't even know if the information she gave is accurate? Let alone if we're looking in the right place? I mean, what if she was kidnapped from another state, another country, or something like that?"
"I doubt it," JD countered. "Lana has clear memories of that shed. Why would a demon bother to bring her to California just to hide her instead of just bringing her straight to the Underworld? I think she had to have been taken from close by," he insisted.
Billie rested her hand against her forehead, releasing a sigh of clear frustration. She watched an assortment of links pop up to guide her into many different directions.
"I don't know," she relented.
Suddenly, she perked up and pulled the desk drawer out. Reaching for the folded piece of paper inside, she pulled it out and unfolded it. JD watched every movement and his facial expression reflected bewilderment.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Just for a little inspiration," she answered cryptically, a small smile in place. "To help point us in the right direction," she expounded upon her explanation.
"Is that a spell?" he finally pieced together the meaning behind her words.
"Just a small one. I can put my own little spin on it for what we're doing. I copied it down from the Book of Shadows when I was looking for possible stripping potions the other day. Which by the way, probably won't work on Lana. Most of the ones I found are for demons with lower level powers. Oh, and I didn't have much luck on the Phoebe/Belthazor front either. We might have to settle for trying a temporary binding spell," she shared with him.
JD listened to her explanation and watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. After reopening her eyes, she continued on with reciting the spell.
"Okay, here it goes," she whispered lightly. "In this present time while I desire direction; Lend forth a hand so I find inspiration. As I seek out right now Lana's own mortal kin; Open the door and please guide me in."
Billie had just finished reciting the spell when the sound of the door opening was heard. Both she and JD had jumped while Billie's instinctive reaction had been to crumple up the paper that held the spell within her hand.
X
Leo listened with a detached stance to all the offenses being listed off that he had allegedly committed during his time serving as both a Whitelighter and Elder from the past. However, the one shaded area of his past that appeared to have the biggest impact on the Afterlife Council was his brief conversion to an Avatar.
"I offer no defense," Leo answered to the allegations. "Except that I lost my way at the time."
"Please clarify what that means!" instructed the Council.
"Gideon was serving as Head of the Elder Council. He was behind a plot to murder my son; a plot that ultimately would have led to a disastrous future. One in which my other son, from that time line, died trying to change. Gideon killed him. I became jaded about what the greater good was supposed to represent," he explained solemnly. "I killed him."
"We see but this new revelation still concerns us," they suddenly declared.
"Well, then do what you will with me," Leo responded in a defeated tone. "But I won't apologize about Gideon. I did what I had to."
"No. That is not what we speak of," the voices corrected. "Our concerns lie in the wake of your admission, Elder," they informed Leo. "Your claim is to have ended his immortal life. Yet the soul in question has yet to pass through our realm. Judgement nor replacement has never been re-issued to the Elder Gideon."
"What?" Leo exclaimed. "That's not possible."
Leo noticed that even the other Elders standing before the Council appeared genuinely surprised with the startling news. How was it possible? He killed him. Leo knew for a fact that he had killed the other Elder. Suddenly, his fears shifted in a new direction. His immediate concerns were no longer with the Elders present but with the Elder from the past. If he was alive, where was he? Gideon had been responsible for Prue's other life. Was he somehow connected to how the Underworld found Prue? The more he thought about it all, the more he realized the pieces fit into place and he wasn't liking it. He needed to get back to his wife and her sisters.
"We speak the truth!" the voices countered back. "But that matter can be addressed after this Council decides the fate of those present."
Leo readied himself to learn his fate.
"We have come to a consensus and will offer our proposal to all who are here," one voice spoke.
"Yes. And after listening to both sides, we find everyone to be in contempt!" another voice concluded.
Grunts and moans of protest began to filtrate through the Elders until the Afterlife Council broke in.
"Silence!" the loud voices instructed in unison. "Let us finish."
Total silence permeated the air as everyone standing before the Council eagerly awaited what the proposal would be.
"However," one voice picked back up. "While we do find offense from both ends, we do acknowledge the circumstances for what they were. Leo?" the voice turned to him. "Some of your excursions we find troubling. But technically your Elder status was removed at one point and you were made mortal."
"And to you, Emeritus? And remaining Elders?" a second voice addressed the other men. "Although we do not accept the interference extremes taken by you, we do accept that you were misled under the influence of said Elder, Gideon."
"Therefore, instead of enacting some of the more severe penalties for your actions, we have opted to use discretion," the voices had collaborated once again.
"Leo?" he was addressed by a single voice. "We hereby classify the actions of your past as time served for the period of time you became a mortal again. However, your offense for accessing the Mystic Realm without permission to enter this realm must be addressed. So we agree to apply the same penalty issued to the Elder Dimitri in this matter. A temporary stripping against your Elder powers."
"And to the other Elders present," the second voice continued. "We will not strip your Elder status completely but you must agree to step down from the Elder Council, effective immediately."
"If all in our presence do not agree to the demands, we will move forward with the enactment of standard penalties," all voices announced and concluded together.
It was clear to Leo that Emeritus and the other Elders were far from happy. However, he suspected they would move to accept the terms if only to avoid receiving the much harsher penalties that everyone would wind up being subjected to. While losing his powers couldn't have come at a worse time, Leo realized he was getting off easier than he would have. There was also some comfort in knowing that Emeritus and the others would no longer be serving on their own council. In the end, all that really mattered now was getting back home.
"I agree to the conditions," Leo volunteered first. He eyed the other Elders for their reactions.
Phalmis, Ramar, and Xenus took a moment to gather each other's thoughts on the matter before turning to address Emeritus, who also looked back towards them. For a brief second, he cast Leo a rather forlorn expression in his direction before reluctantly agreeing.
"We will accept," he replied.
"Good. So be it!" the Afterlife Council concluded for the final time.
It was the last declaration heard before all the remaining Elders were whisked away from the realm and into their own appropriate settings.
X
Orbs materialized inside the attic once again. The sisters had returned from another unsuccessful mission.
"Damn it!" Paige cursed loudly, stepping away from Prue and Phoebe. Her back was turned to them and the high amount of frustration that she felt was clearly evident in her body language. "How the hell are we supposed to find Henry if we're not even allowed to find the damn location first?" she yelled.
Prue and Phoebe stepped back, allowing their sister some time to vent. The situation had taken its toll on poor Paige and with good reason. Henry had been missing for three weeks now and the closest they came to the clan of scatter demons was the one time they were unable to effectively take them out. Now they couldn't find the clan at all.
"Honey, I know," Phoebe finally spoke out. "I'm sorry. This is hard."
Paige turned around to face her sisters. "Hard?" she mimicked. "Uh, hard doesn't even begin to cover it. This is ridiculous. Absurd! A clan of demons, that shouldn't be that hard to vanquish by the way, have us running around in circles like chickens with our heads chopped off. What we've been doing isn't working!"
"Paige, look. We'll keep trying until we find something," Phoebe tried to reason. "They're going to slip up eventually. We'll find him."
"No we won't!" Paige protested. Paige turned back around and boldly stepped in the direction of the floorboard. "Not if Gideon, and whatever those stones are, have anything to say about it," she argued.
Both Phoebe and Prue eyed the movements of the youngest Halliwell.
"Uh, Paige? What are you doing?" Phoebe voiced with concern.
"What we should have done before," she declared.
Phoebe released a nervous laugh. "Paige, if that means what I think it's supposed to mean, then you can forget it. We've been over this already. Under no circumstances are we bringing the Ultimate Power incantation into the Underworld with us."
Paige halted her movements in order to confront her sister.
"Yeah, well, guess what? As far as I'm concerned, your vote no longer counts where Henry is concerned!" Paige snapped back at her sister.
"Uh, Prue? A little help here please?" Phoebe pleaded in an annoyed manner, turning to her oldest sister for some back-up.
However, Phoebe didn't receive exactly what she was looking for. Prue remained in the background only listening. She stood with her arms crossed. What was there really to say? The truth was that they were lost on this one and didn't have the right solution on how to fix the problem. She sent Phoebe an apolegetic look.
"Oh Prue? No way!" Phoebe protested. "How could you even consider it?"
Prue glanced between her two sisters and then sent Phoebe another apologetic look. "Phoebe, believe me, I understand the risks," she opted to explain. "But we are running out of options. And probably even time."
Nobody wanted to think it could already be too late for Henry.
"Uh good," Paige openly mocked. "Two to one. It's settled then. Phoebe's out voted!" She resumed the task of retrieving the incantation from its hidden location. "I'm getting the incantation," she announced.
"It's settled?" Phoebe mimicked, feeling upset. "Nothing's settled except the fact that you two have clearly lost your minds! What's wrong with you guys?"
Prue sympathized with Phoebe's argument. Normally, she wouldn't have stopped to consider it either but it was the only thing left to try. They were desperate.
"Phoebe, we'll be extra careful. And maybe we can try to cast some type of protection spell over it or something while it's with us," Prue suggested.
Phoebe huffed, releasing a sigh of disbelief. She crossed her arms together and shook her head in annoyance.
Paige bent down and opened the loosened floorboard found in the attic intent on retrieving the one piece of paper with the special incantation written on it. However, the disagreement was short-lived because after she reached, she received the shock of her life. Frantically, she began shuffling her hand around inside.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no!" she chanted.
Paige's cries of protest immediately caught the attention of the other two sisters who looked over towards her kneeling form. Phoebe uncrossed her arms as both she and Prue stepped forward.
"What's the matter?" Phoebe pleaded.
"It's gone!" she answered frantically. "That's what's the matter!" Paige stood back up and began to pace back and forth.
"Gone?" Prue panicked. "What do you mean, gone?" She instinctively took steps towards the opening in the floor and went in search of it herself then yielded the same results from seconds before. Nothing.
"Okay, think Paige. Think, " Paige muttered and instructed herself. She kept her eyes closed and ran her hands through her hair as she continued to pace anxiously.
"Okay, Paige, this isn't funny," Phoebe laughed nervously, in utter disbelief.
She walked over to join Prue, who had gone in search in a second attempt to try and recover the hidden incantation. How the hell did the incantation disappear? Or worse, who could have found out and gotten their hands on it?
Paige took the time to stop her pacing and address her sister.
"Does it look like I'm laughing?" she countered. "We have a serious problem here!"
"Uh, I don't think serious even begins to cover this," Phoebe vented, mimicking her sister's own words from moments before.
"Paige? You're sure you put it here?" Prue asked to be safe. "There wasn't anywhere else, like maybe you moved it somewhere and just forgot?"
"No!" Paige exclaimed, somewhat offended. "How could I forget something like that? I put it in there shortly after Piper's accident so only we would know were to find it."
"Okay, okay!" Prue asserted, trying to keep herself from panicking.
Prue released a deep breath before standing back up and addressing her sisters. With some quick thinking, she marched over to the podium and flipped to the front of the Book, straight to the page holding the initial incantation that gave them back their powers and the Power of Three. Prue used her hand to tear the first page out and then walked back over to meet her sisters.
"Prue, what are you doing?" Phoebe interrogated, a confused expression crossing her face.
Prue walked back and stood in front of her sisters. "This!" she announced, holding up the paper. "Hopefully, it'll buy us some time. Just in case." Prue turned back towards the table, the same table holding the scrying materials. Prue reached for some potions. "Grab some of these," she instructed of her sisters. "And we need to scry again!"
"Just in case what?" Phoebe questioned.
Both she and Paige made their way back to the table and where Prue stood but she really already knew the answer to her own question. Prue meant in case one of the demons, working for the Triad, had managed to locate the incantation and bring it back to the Underworld. Which meant that they needed to move and move fast before word of that spread to the scatter demons. There would be no point in keeping Henry alive anymore.
"Just in case the Triad already has it with them," Prue answered.
"But, Prue, we don't even know how long it's been missing!" Phoebe pointed out. "I mean, maybe that's why we're having the trouble we've been having lately?"
"Maybe. But we have to chance it," Prue insisted.
"What are we going to do exactly?" questioned Paige, not wanting to focus on Phoebe's insinuation that maybe it was already too late for her husband.
"Find another location and then draw them to us using this," Prue indicated of the page she held within her hand. "We're going to let them think we brought the other one. Worst case scenario: If they tell us the Underworld already has it? We play it off like that one is really the fake."
The sisters glanced between each other hoping the plan would work.
X
Billie sighed in relief when she realized that it was only her roommate who had startled them by entering the room.
"Hey girl!" she announced.
"Hey," Billie came back with her own greeting.
Then after noticing the young man sitting to Billie's side, her roommate smiled wide. "And hey there to you," she added. The girl stopped and narrowed her eyes in to place where she remembered seeing him before. "Hey? You're that guy. The same one who was hanging out with Billie near the library last semester, right?"
Confused and taken aback by the young woman's sudden inquiry of him, JD began to stutter and he glanced back and forth between the two girls. "Uh. Um. Yeah, I guess."
Billie's roommate stepped forward, extending her hand. "I'm Billie's roommate."
JD smiled gently and extended his hand.
After she gave Billie an approving look, Billie just rolled her eyes and went in for the appropriate introductions. "JD, this is Jasmine. Jasmine, JD." She turned to address JD. "Jasmine likes to pretend that she knows what's going on when she really doesn't have a clue!" Billie turned back to look pointedly at her roommate to avoid anymore unwelcome digs concerning the state of her relationship with JD.
Jasmine rolled her eyes in response. "Hey. I just have a flare for pushing things in the right direction," she cracked. "But, no problem, if you don't want my help? Your loss," she teased Billie while eying JD. A smirk broke out on her face.
"Bye!" came Billie's loud brush-off but in a joking manner. She rolled her eyes again. "We're in the middle of homework here."
Jasmine laughed. "Right, homework. I'm outta' here in a few anyway," she replied. "No worries. Room's all yours. Just came back to get my other books for my next class. Although, I can sure think of things to be doing that homework doesn't even compare to." She couldn't resist throwing the dig at Billie.
Billie gave an embarrassed laugh. "Right. Aren't you going to be late or something?"
"I'm going." Jasmine laughed and grabbed for her books. "See ya later."
"Bye."
After her roommate left the dorm room, Billie shared a moment with JD. They both shared a smile that was born out of amusement by her roommate's not so subtle antics. However, Billie's attention quickly reverted back to her laptop screen and the link she was now being provided with.
"Oh, I think we got something," she announced, suddenly grabbing JD's attention to it.
Billie clicked on the link and then received the shock of her life. There in bold print the newspaper caption highlighted a criminal court case. Her eyes briefly scanned the contents of the article: a murdered sister, a missing baby, and the guilty conviction that was entered against the man. That small bit of information was not what shocked Billie. It was the picture of the man.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, staring at the man's picture. The name printed underneath the photo read Richard but she would know that face anywhere.
"What? What is it?" JD's nervous reaction followed.
"That's Coop!"
X
Lana exited the building. It was stuffy inside and she needed some fresh air.
She made her way to the sidewalk. Lana was intent on taking a walk to clear her head. In truth, she had thought it would be more difficult than it actually had been. Her situation that is. With a little effort, she had been able to control the part of herself that had become accustomed to reacting: her demonic side, the part that didn't give much thought to the consequences of her actions. The demonic part of herself that would always there. It turned out she wasn't feeling as disgusted or turned off by her living situation as she had thought she would be. In fact, being in such close proximity to the other mortals was beginning to have the same effect on her that she had begun to experience earlier. When she had watched some of the mothers with their young children, those repressed feelings from her early childhood had resurfaced.
A figure in the distance kept watch on the young woman after she had exited the building. It was about time, he would approach her. However, not more than a second later, the cell phone belonging to the figure began ringing. The caller ID registered as Inspector Richardson.
"I can't talk right now," he answered. "I'll get back to you later."
Hastily, he ended the call so that he wouldn't lose sight of Lana. She was walking down the sidewalk, coming in his direction. Carefully, he walked out onto the sidewalk and pretended not to notice or see her. As they both came into closer contact, he swiped past her on purpose, almost knocking her down.
"Hey!" came her automatic response. Then remembering what she was trying to change, she brought her tone down a notch. "I mean, excuse me," she corrected.
The man stared at the young woman after reaching out to steady her balance.
"My fault," he volunteered.
She simply stared back.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked in a conspicuous manner. Patiently, he waited for her to take the bait.
Although an odd feeling of deja vu grabbed ahold of her, she looked at the man before her as if he had lost his mind. "No. I don't," she stepped back.
The man plastered on a fake smile. "Allow me to introduce myself." He extended his hand before finishing. "Richard."
Lana threw him a peculiar look as she looked down at his outstretched hand.
X
It was now late and past dusk within the mortal realm.
The man in the dark attire waited for the third time in two weeks for his call to be answered. It was the Avatar and his patience wore thin.
Suddenly, flashes of blue and white materialized before the Avatar and he straightened out his stiffened posture as he awaited the full arrival of his guest. Then, out of the orbs appeared the Elder which the Avatar was seeking out. Emeritus.
"It's about time!" the Avatar declared. "I thought you wouldn't show and that would be such a wasted shame seeing as how I've accomplished obtaining what it is you seek," he slightly taunted, holding up the incantation he stole from the Book of Shadows so long ago.
He waved it back and forth between his fingers.
"Good. You've found it," Emeritus announced. "Now, give it to me." He reached out to grab it; however, the Avatar quickly pulled it back.
The Elder glared at the Avatar before continuing.
"I was stuck before the Afterlife Council in their realm," he explained begrudgingly. "Otherwise, I would have been here sooner. But I've kept true to my word and left your name out of it," he reassured the man standing before him. "So the incantation please. Now," he demanded with his outstretched hand.
Emeritus had taken his own initiative to seek out the Avatar responsible for assisting Gideon and the other Elders during their quest to eliminate the Ultimate Power culmination. The other Elders were unaware that he had found him before they were sequestered before the Afterlife Council. It was really the only way to find out for sure what had become of the missing page from the Book of Shadows so long ago. Much to his dismay, Emeritus had discovered that the incantation had in fact not been destroyed at all. He struck a deal with the Avatar for its return. In exchange, the Avatar would never be mentioned or heard from again.
"And what of the others?" the Avatar questioned, referring to the rest of the Elders who were aware of his involvement in the past.
"They are none the wiser," Emeritus admitted to the Avatar. "They don't even know I went looking for you. Now hand it over," he demanded a third time.
The Elder's only agenda was to be rid of the Ultimate Power threat once and for all. After he had it in his possession, he fully intended to destroy it so that evil would never have the chance again. While the Avatar reached out to release it, an arrow shot through the air out of nowhere hitting Emeritus square in the chest.
"Yes, excellent idea! Hand it over this way, please?" a new voice rang out.
It was a familiar voice and it rang through Emeritus' memory senses as he hit the ground, the incantation clutched in his hand. The Avatar glancing briefly over towards the two approaching figures in the distance, faded out almost immediately. Unbeknowest to the Avatar, the darklighter managed to successfully track his comings and goings and he had tracked him to this realm of purgatory twice before this. He had reported his findings back to the Triad.
As the two figures came directly into his sight, Emeritus quickly noted the darklighter. However, it was the other figure that startled him, the figure standing on the darklighter's left side that astounded the Elder the most. Emeritus lay there dying but noticed the black robe and the pentagram symbol found in the center. It belonged to the Triad.
"Gid, Gideon?" Emeritus barely got out, blood flowing out and around his mouth. This wasn't possible. He couldn't be seeing what he thought he was seeing could he, he questioned of the two figures hovering above him. "Ho, how? Wh, Why?" he stuttered.
Gideon stared down at the man below him. It was a man he once considered to be a dear friend in their fight to protect and balance the greater good. Only now, they were sworn enemies. His gaze traveled to what he sought in the Elder's hand. He bent down and yanked it from Emeritus.
"The how's and the why's are not important," Gideon answered, standing back up. "But I am afraid that your time has come, old friend," he concluded, as he turned back around and signaled to the darklighter to finish the job.
The darklighter did as he was instructed. While stiffening his posture, he pulled back on the bow as he prepared to launch one final arrow down at the dying Elder below. However, Emeritus managed to use what little strength he had left and forced himself to orb out and he aimed back in the direction of the Elder realm.
To Be Continued: Alright, thanks for reading and don't forget to review. I'll start working on the next chapter as soon as I can.
Coming Up: Both Leo and Piper return home, the sisters attempt another try at rescuing and bringing Henry back home, the mystery surrounding Lana opens up, and the sisters seek a way to recover the missing/stolen incantation.
Stay Tuned