A Grave New World

[Patrick]

Charmed

"A Grave New World"

The Charmed Ones find their world shattering to pieces and the only way to stop it is to emulate a power greater than theirs.



Disclaimer: Charmed and it's associated content belongs to the WB.

---

Prologue

Piper Halliwell walked towards her Jeep while carrying a small grocery bag underneath her arm. All around her, she couldn’t help but notice how empty the town felt. There were fewer pedestrians, less noise and traffic. Of course, light traffic was always a good thing but Piper was still a bit curious as to why.

She loaded the bag into her trunk and slammed it shut. At the same time, a loud whizzing sound could be heard overhead. She looked up, as did a couple of others coming out of the grocery store. What she saw was unbelievable. Headed her way, was a fallen airplane. She could tell it was falling by the degree at which it was facing.

Within seconds, the plans had passed over the grocery store, now at a horrible few hundred feet. Piper knew it was only a matter of time before it crashed. She heard a woman gasp behind her as everything went surprisingly quiet. And then it happened.

A loud crash could be heard off in the distance as the ground shook violently. The windows to the store shattered as a few car alarms went off. Piper ducked instinctively.

After a few moments had passed, Piper slowly stood, her heart was racing. She dug into her pocket for her cell phone to contact her sisters and let them know she was alright. She ran to her driver’s side and got in. While inside her car, she opened her phone to see she had no signal. “Dammit!” She cursed and started her car, pulling out of the parking lot and racing back towards home.

*

Prue slunk into the kitchen wearing a wife beater and some pajama bottoms. Her hair was in a messy array and she appeared to be slightly drained.

Phoebe looked up from bowl of cereal and winced. “Gosh, Prue, what happened to you,” she asked as she took another bite of her Special K.

Prue groaned and headed straight towards the coffee pot.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow, “Okay, I would have expected a witty comeback but I’ll take it,” she watched Prue pick up an empty coffee pot and frown exaggeratedly.

Phoebe smiled, “Piper ran down to the store to pick some up. Had a long night?”

“Yes,” Prue said for the first time, putting the empty pot down and joining Phoebe over at the table. “I was up all night developing some photos for my portfolio.”

Phoebe stopped chewing her cereal for a bit, “Honey, are you still afraid that 415 is going to fire you?”

Prue shrugged, “I haven’t given them the best of my effort lately, I’ve been so focused on…,” she sighed and looked at Phoebe remorsefully, “Belthazor.”

Phoebe gulped. Prue didn’t know that Phoebe dind’t really vanquish Cole. This was definitely not the right time to share. So she played along.

“Yeah, well he’s gone now, honey. I don’t want you to stray from work anymore,” she told her older sister as convincingly as she could.

Prue nodded and turned towards the back door just as Piper stormed in with the grocery bag. “Yes! My hero,” Prue stood and rushed towards Piper, snatching the bag from her hands and placing it on the counter to take out its contents.

“Oh my god, you guys will never believe what just happened,” Piper breathed as she took a seat.

Phoebe and Prue both sensed something was wrong and turned towards her.

“What is it, honey,” Phoebe asked.

“A plane…just crashed over the bay,” was her simple answer.

“Oh my god,” Phoebe said. “Was anyone hurt? Are you okay?”

Piper nodded, “I’m fine. But all those people.”

“Come on,” Prue said walking out the kitchen towards the living room. “Let’s go see if anything is on the news.”

“What about your coffee,” Phoebe asked getting up.

Prue turned back toward her, “Oh, it can wait.”


To Be Continued...

[Patrick]

Part one


After a few minutes of trying to find the right news station, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe all stood there with mouths opened wide. They were witnessing several incidents that have been happening ever since last night; a church riot killing three people, schools breaking up fights, businesses in trouble because their employees haven’t been showing up, and even a helicopter crash.

“What has been going on,” Piper asked bewildered. “It’s like the freaking end of the world all over again.”

Prue and Phoebe shared grave looks. Jokes like that were not funny, especially considering who they were.

“Maybe Leo knows something about this,” Phoebe offered.
“Good idea,” Prue said while shouting, “Leo,” without taking her eyes off of the TV.

Nothing happened.

“Hmm,” Piper mused, “That’s odd. Leo,” she tried herself.

“Maybe he’s taking a whitelighter bathroom break,” Phoebe offered.

At that moment, Leo orbed in.

“Leo? What happened? Why didn’t you come when we first called,” Piper asked.

Leo had a desperate look on his face. “It’s hell up there,” he said realizing the hidden irony in his words.

“It’s hell down here too,” Prue said motioning towards the TV. “Do you know anything about this?”

Leo nodded, “That’s what I mean. The Elders have sensed a major shift in the universe and are in fear that we may have another apocalypse on it’s way.”

Prue and Phoebe looked towards Piper.

“What? I was joking,” Piper defended herself for the earlier jest she had made.

“Well this is no joke,” Leo said. “The Elders believe it can be fixed.”

“That’s great,” Phoebe said, “How?”

Leo grew silent. “I’m not so sure. But prophets have been predicting this day to be the beginning of the end for centuries. All we know is what they left for us.”

“And what’s that,” Prue asked.

Leo sighed, “A scripture of some sort,” he racked his memory to quote it correctly word from word, “The prince who served the gods will fall from the sky and disappear,” Leo recited.

“What the hell does that mean,” Piper asked.

Leo shrugged, “I got to go, there’s a lot to be done out there. Call me only if it’s important,” and with that he orbed out.

Piper rolled her eyes, “Thanks for the marvelous help,” she shouted sarcastically.

“What do we do,” Phoebe asked her sisters as she plopped down on the couch.

Piper joined her, “You got me. Prue?”

They both looked up to see Prue in deep thought.

“Something you want to share with the class,” Piper asked.

Prue snapped out of it and gave her sisters a doubtful look. “Well, during my time at Bucklands, I came across an artifact with the most interesting history.”

Phoebe nodded, “And?”

“And it had something to do with a king and gods and servants,” she rambled on, trying to remember.

Piper knew it wasn’t like Prue to forget facts. But the clues she was giving them was pretty broad, it was easy to get them mixed up. “What was it,” Piper asked.

“A sort of ewer,” Prue replied.

“Really,” Phoebe asked sarcastically, “That explains everything….Prue, what the hell is a ewer?”

“It’s a…sort of pitcher used for drinking and pouring. It was very old and unique. I keep all my notes stored on my laptop just in case; I’m going to go refresh my memory. Phoebe, maybe you can stop by the college library and see what they have about royals as servants. Piper, call Darryl, maybe there’s some sort of a trend in what’s going on, some kind of pattern.”

Piper loved when Prue took charge, she stood. “Sounds like a plan, I’ll get to the phone.”

Phoebe stood, “And me to school,” she started towards the door then turned back around as if realizing something, “Ooh. Piper can I use your car? Prue’s is sort of running low on gas.”

Prue turned towards Phoebe, “What?”

Piper saw what was coming, a big debate on car borrowing and gas charges and everything else so she quickly stepped between the two. “Hello, end of the world, remember? Phoebe, my keys are on the table.”

“Thanks,” Phoebe then disappeared around the corner. Prue proceeded towards the armoire in the foyer to retrieve her laptop as Piper went to get the cordless.

After about thirty minutes, Piper and Prue met up in the conservatory. Prue was seated at one of the wicker furniture pieces. Piper set the phone down on the table, “Darryl gave me a rundown of all the activity that’s happened as of lately. I have them here on this piece of paper,” she held up a piece of loose leaf paper. “Any luck in here?”

Prue nodded and turned the laptop screen so Piper could see. When she did, she gasped. “Oh my god, that’s it.”

Prue nodded, “Yup. The ewer. The prince. The gods in the sky. It all makes sense now.”

Piper and Prue were now staring at her laptop screen. And on it was a picture and short description on a topic that’s been studied for centuries. Astrology. And they were now staring at the most obvious symbol, a bit surprised at how they could have missed it. They saw a young boy, naked, pouring water out of a vase of some sort. The picture was and old painting, but Piper knew what it was. It was the zodiac sign of Aquarius.


To Be Continued...

[Patrick]

Part Two

"How could we have missed that," Piper asked, now sitting in the sun room with Prue.

Prue shrugged, "Maybe it's one of those things that are just too obvious to consider. But now that we know what it is, I say we start round 2. Got that paper?"

Piper handed her the piece of paper containing all of the incidents that have been happening lately...that still are happening.

"Let's see," Prue set the paper down and studied the links. "We have plane and helicopter crashes...riots," she thought outloud.

"Not just any riots," Piper injected, "Church riots. You think that means something?"

"It has to," Prue said, forming ideas as she read the list. "Inactivity in the workplace and rivalry everywhere, even in schools. Just as I thought."

"What," Piper asked, "What are you thinking?"

Prue turned her attention towards her laptop and started typing in a website, at the same time, sharing her thoughts with Piper. "The zodiac sign of Aquarius is depicted as a young boy, a water bearer. He's said to provide the earth with it's life giving energy, also known as water. He is the son of the King of Tros, which makes him a prince."

Piper nodded.

"The prophets said he will fall from the sky and disappear, so I'm assuming whatever influence he had on the earth would disappear as well." She found the site she was looking for and shared the information with Piper.

"Aquarius is an air sign. Coincidentally, we are in the Age of Aquarius, which means the world will take on all aspects of the Aquarius," Prue explained.

"Meaning...." Piper asked.

"Meaning that the world will become a place of intelligence. A place of air communication, air transportation. A place of life, of friends. Of ideas."

Piper nodded, "That explains the plane crashes. What about the riots?"

"Well Aquarius is the sign of ideas and understanding. Maybe everyone is having a hard time understanding others now."

"But why," Piper asked. "I still don't get it."

Prue continued, "The scripture said that the prince has fallen from the sky and disappeared. So I'm guessing Aquarius' influence will disappear as well. If this continues, I bet that the other eleven signs will fall as well and the world will slowly fade into a big black nothing."

They both grew silent. Just as Phoebe came in holding a few books.

"You guys will love me," she said cheerfully. "I figured it out. It's Aquarius."

Prue and Piper kept quiet, they could tell Phoebe was excited for finding out what it was. They didn't want to steal her thunder.

"Anyways," Phoebe said taking a seat, "I did some light reading and found out that Aquarius...or Ganymede was son of King Troy. He was spotted by Zeus, who swooped down and brought him to the heavens as his trophy."

Prue and Piper shared surprised looks, this was new information.

Phoebe continued, "But Zeus knew he couldn't keep Ganymede, because he had a wife. So he stuck him into the sky for the whole world to view his beauty, thus forming the Aquarius constellation."

"So, this Ganymede is what, some sort of boy toy for the gods," Piper asked.

Phoebe replied, "Not exactly. He's described to be very handsome and breathtaking. The kind of beauty that doesn't distinguish between gods and mortals...or male and females."

Prue nodded, "Right. So how does this help us now?"

Phoebe smiled, "Well, it's too soon to tell, but a few scientist at the college believe the actual constellation of Aquarius is fading. They've been observing the stars and find that the constellation is losing it's brightness every night. I'm guessing the constellation is starting to die out."

"And..." Piper said.

"And that means that this Ganymede person's energy is dying. But if what the legend says is true, we can fix it.," Phoebe told them.

"How the hell do we do that," Piper asked, "We're witches. We're not exactly known for going around powering up stars."

Phoebe said, "A ritual. Ganymede was a mortal. I'm guessing all we have to do is find an Aquarius and repeat whatever Zeus did long ago to put him in the sky in the first place."

"One problem," Prue said. "We don't know what Zeus did exactly and even if we did, he was a god. We're not gods."

Phoebe frowned.

"But it's worth a try," Piper said. "It's better than watching our world end. But what about the Aquarius we find. What will happen to them."

"Nothing," Phoebe said, "I'm guessing the only way to revive Ganymede himself, is to use an Aquarian's energy to power our ritual."

"Well, anyone know any Aquarians laying around," Prue asked.

Piper smiled, "I do," she said reaching for the phone.

"Who," Phoebe asked.

Piper pressed the redial button. "Darryl Morris."

[Patrick]

Part Three


"Okay, Darryl's on his way," Piper said walking into the attic. "Although we have to hurry. He's not sure when he'll be needed and from the looks of the world..."

She didn't have to finish her sentence, her sisters understood. Phoebe was busy writing the spell while Prue was gathering notes from the Book of Shadows.

"Damn it," Phoebe said crumbling up a piece of paper and staring all over.

"What is it," Piper asked.

"This spell," she said. "I have to word it just right to energize Ganymede. One wrong word and we may be responsible for sending our friend to the high heavens to be displayed like some star exhibit."

Piper walked over to her sister and touched her arm in confidence. "If anyone could write a spell that can copy an age old ritual performed by Zeus himself, it's you."

"Gee, thanks," Phoebe said sarcastically, "No pressure."

Piper smiled and smoothed her sister's hair. "What about you," she said walking over to Prue. "Any luck?"

"Some," Prue said. "If it's one thing our ancestors knew, it's rituals. You'd be surprised how much stuff is in here, it's amazing. Anyways, I think I have a possible ritual...created by Melinda Warren herself."

Phoebe and Piper both smiled at this.

Prue explained, "Looks like it was used to bless witches everywhere, using a designated high priestess. I'm guessing we can just switch some things around and instead of blessing witches everywhere, we bless the constellation using our designated Aquarius."

"Who should be here real soon," Piper said checking her watch.

"I'll get this set up," Prue said walking towards the door. "Anyone seen Grams' old vase? I swore we kept it up here."

"I moved it to the basement," Piper said. "Why?"

Prue smiled. "You'll see."

*

Within the hour, Inspector Darryl Morris stood in the attic. "You sure about this," he asked.

"Positive," Phoebe said, "I know this is a lot to ask of you, but trust us. You may be the one who saves the world."

Darryl shrugged, "What do I have to do?"

Prue gave him an old vase filled with spring water. "Just hold this and we'll do the rest.

Darryl took the vase without question and held it, hoping to get this over as soon as possible. "Three years ago, the biggest part I've played in something was to take down a guy who went after eight woman. Now I'm helping witches."

Piper smiled, "And when do you not help us?"

Darryl knew this was just one of many occasions he was of help to them. He just never really got to take part in the actual magic part. This was new.

Prue began to place eleven white candles in a circle. She then took some salt water and sprinkled Darryl.

"HEY NOW!" He said in surprise. "I just bought this suit."

"Sorry," Prue said. "But you need to be purified. The purer the better...unless your willing to get naked like the original Aquarius."

Darryl thought about it for a second, "Salt water's good," he said.

Prue giggled, "Thought so."

After a few more preparations, they were ready. Phoebe, Prue and Piper gathered by the edge of the circle to read the spell.

"Everyone ready," Prue asked. Phoebe and Piper nodded.

Darryl was still standing there, holding the vase. It was starting to get heavy but he didn't complain. He nodded as well.

"Okay, here goes nothing," Prue said, gesturing for Phoebe's spell. The three looked at the paper and recited aloud.

"For centuries past he's brought the rain
This fallen prince now dies in vain,
We offer up this man of love
To inspire his own in the sky above.
Let this magic flow to heavens high
Recreate what the gods provide,
With these words and the Power of Three
We send to save Prince Ganymede."

The three finished the spell just as the vase from underneath Darryl's arm started to glow. A warmth was felt throughout the room that made the sisters feel soft in the knees. The light from the vase slowly drifted into the air and then..died.

The light faded, the warmth disappeared and the candles blew out.

Darryl was the first to speak, "I'm no expert, but is that supposed to happen?"

"No," Prue said, "It's like the spell shorted out."

Piper sighed and slapped her thighs, "And there goes our world."

[Patrick]

Part Four

"I don't understand," Phoebe said pacing the attic, "That should have worked."

Piper said, "It was working, it just never left the room."

"Maybe it's the power behind the spell," Prue mused out loud. "We may be the Charmed Ones but let's face it, we're no gods."

Phoebe gave her a skeptical look. "Are you giving up?"

Prue shook her head, "No. Just the opposite. We may not be gods, but we can sure as hell do whatever they did if we use the right resources."

Piper put her hands on her hips, "What do you have in mind?"

Prue looked towards Darryl, then to her sisters. "I don't know. But I know there is an answer."

Then, a strong wind blew through the room, causing the Book of Shadows to flip violently.

"Whoa!" Phoebe exclaimed. "It's doing that flippy thing again."

The sisters positioned themselves behind the book to see what page the book had rested upon. Darryl took a step towards them but stopped.

"Is it okay to leave this thing," he motioned towards the circle of candles.

"Sure," Prue said, her attention on the book. "It's the ritual I used."

"Well how does this help? If we already used it, then why did they show us the page," Piper said as she shut the book closed.

The moment she removed her hands from the book, it violently flew open again, to the page as the ritual.

Phoebe whistled, "Looks like they wants us to reconsider."

"Unless..." Prue began, "It's not the Elders."

Piper looked at her older sister, "You think it's Melinda Warren?"

"It is her ritual," Prue said as she reread the page. "Must be something I missed."

Darryl's cell phone started to ring. He took it out and checked the caller I.D. He then excused himself as he turned from the sisters to take his call. But the minute he pressed the TALK button, his signal was lost.

"Hmm," he said, "That's never happened before."

"Sorry about that," Piper said towards Darryl, "Aquarius is an air sign. So everything by air signal is for the most part...down."

Darryl shrugged. He had no choice but to accept it.

Prue then formed an idea from the page. "Melinda designed the spell to have a worldly effect."

Phoebe raised an eyebrow, "And..."

Prue replied, "And Aquarius is a humanitarian. He cares for the world, that's why he still gives us life even though he's in Olympic heaven."

Piper squinted, "So what does that have to do with the spell."

"Well maybe the only way to revive Ganymede, is to give him the love he provides for the world. I don't think one Aquarian will do the trick. Maybe Aquarius is the only sign that incorporates all," Prue said.

"Makes sense," Phoebe said. "But I don't think we can fit the whole world in the attic, Prue."

Prue rolled her eyes, "That's what Melinda is trying to tell us. Maybe we redo the ritual, exactly as she written it. With your spell and Darryl's Aquarian energy, it should be enough to revive Ganymede."

Piper nodded, "It might just work."

Darryl's phone rang again, only to be cut silent by another failed signal. "Can we get this show on the road. I think I'm needed somewhere."

"Sure," Phoebe said ushering Darryl back in the circle.

*

Piper and Prue took out a few substitutes to copy Melinda Warren's ritual exactly.

"Okay, now everything is set," Prue said. "Phoebe, can you reword the spell a little?"

Phoebe smiled and held it up, "Already done."

"Let's do this," Prue, piper and Phoebe joined together again. Darryl was already in position, holding the vase in his arms.

The three chanted in unison,

"For centuries past he's brought the rain
This fallen prince now dies in vain,
We offer up a world of love,
To inspire a boy in the sky above.
Let this magic flow to heavens high
Recreate what the gods provide,
With these words and the Power of Three
We send to save Prince Ganymede."

Prue then stepped forward inside the circle and anointed Darryl with the water from the vase.

"Ganymede, shall you be free
I bless you now, so mote it be."

The vase began to blow again...as did Darryl. He looked down at his glowing body in amazement.

Phoebe felt the same warmth as before, only it seemed to be magnified. "I think it's working," she said quietly so only Piper could hear.

The light from Darryl fused with the light from the vase and drifted upwards. It stopped below the ceiling and hovered there for a moment. And then, it exploded. The light expanded so fast and wide, it was easy to miss it. Piper, Phoebe, Prue and Darryl turned towards the window to see the light spread throughout the city and beyond in a matter of seconds.

Without warning, a blinding flash consumed the world and all was settle again.

"I think it worked," Prue said smiling, still feeling the warmth from the love of the Aquarius.

"Yea," Darryl said, "It definitely did."

The three turned to see tears in Darryl's eyes. They've never seen him cry.

"Awww," Phoebe said as she embraced him in a hug. She knew what it was like to be affected my magic and love. "Your a hero."

Darryl smiled and wiped the tears away from his face. It felt weird yet right at the same time. "So what just happened?"

Prue stepped towards him ,"With your Aquarian traits and the natural love inside of you, you just blessed the whole world with what they've been missing," she smiled.

"And it caused the real source of love to shine brightly," Piper said.

"And what is that," Darryl asked.

"Aquarius," Phoebe said simply, still hugging Darryl. "Aquarius loved the world for centuries and we helped bring him back to life by returning it."

The End

[Patrick]

A short fan fic inspired by one of the most fascinating zodiac signs. This is dedicated to all of the Aquarians out there as well as the people who have a general love for their world.

If you've read this fanfic, any feedback would be much appreciated!

Thanks for reading.