Post by Jad on May 12, 2011 2:12:06 GMT -5
The Charmed Ones stopped short to take in the whole scene, but Bob rushed to the table and picked up one of the athames. "Bob stop, we don't know who is whom," Phoebe shouted.
Bob relaxed with the athame still in his hand; he looked over at Phoebe, "But, how are we to know what we should do?"
"Somethings not right, bob," Phoebe said wracking her brain for where she saw this before, "I had a premonition, but the cat was the one tied up."
"What, does that mean?" Bob questioned her.
Everybody looked at the two figures on the table again. They didn't say anything as if they knew that nothing they could say could help there case. They both looked as if they were pleading for mercy.
"What about a spell, a truth spell or something like it?" Paige asked.
"Spells on a whim, that's your department, Phoebe," Piper chided.
"Yeah," Phoebe commented, "Just give me a couple of moments.
Phoebe didn't take long to come up with something. Maybe it was this place and all the magical energy that was building around them, but what ever it was, it was the quickest power of three spell the Phoebe ever wrote.
We call upon the power of three
To enable these three witches to see
Through all illusion to what is true
To know which path we should pursue
Piper and Paige followed along on the first pass the best they could. They got a lot better the second time around and by the third time, they nailed it in unison.
From the point of view of the Charmed Ones, Raja and Fudgy started to phase in and out slowly changing places and then changing back. The changing got faster and faster until it stopped with the cat ties to the table and Raja sitting on the table.
In the middle of the change, Bob asked, "What's going on?"
"Can't you see it?" Paige countered."
"See what?" Bob asked perplexed.
But before this conversation could end, Raja spun around and pushed herself off the table. Paige called out, "Athame," and one of the athames on the table orbed right into Raja's back, throwing her into the far wall.
Raja slumped against the far wall for a moment but quickly recovered and started to chuckle while still facing the wall. When she turned around, she faced Bob and said, "You said this would work, Bob," and in a puff of smoke she disappeared.
The athame clanged as it hit the floor after Raja went up in smoke. Paige just stared at Bob and said, "What did she mean, Bob?"
"Yeah Bob," Piper said as she raised her hands in a threatening manner, "I haven't blown anything up all night, but it still hurts when I do"
All three sisters were now staring at Bob waiting for some answers. "Well, alright," Bob said as he bowed slightly to the Charmed Ones and winked, but before they could do anything, he flamed out.
Paige snickered, "Should have known he was a demon, Phoebe was attracted to him."
"Hey!" Phoebe complained. She looked at Piper for some support.
Piper shrugged he shoulders and smiled, "She's got you there Pheebs."
"Well, I did come up with that power of three true seeing spell in record time," Phoebe countered.
"Be that what it may, we still need to find our way out of here," Piper said."
"That should be easy," Paige said, "Follow me."
Paige walked out the door that they entered and into a short dimly lit corridor like the first one they entered the place, and Phoebe and piper follwed her. Just ahead was the large door that they lead out of this building, but as they reached the door and pushed, the door would not open. All three of them stood there and sighed in unison.
From a side door, a man stepped out into the corridor with them and said, "Relax, we are programmed to recieve. You can check out and time you like, but you can never leave."
Before any of them could react, Sylva, the lady elf, appeared out of another puff of smoke and said, "Good job, you did it."
Again, before any of the sisters could react, they found themselves in the attic of the manor with Leo frantically looking through the Book of shadows.
Upon seeing them all there, Leo stopped looking through the Book and said, "Where have you been the last half hour?"
"Sorry honey, but we don't quite understand what happened ourselves," Piper responded.
They all turned and looked at Sylva who was still with them.
"Ok," Sylva said, "Maybe a quick lesson."
Slyva shook her right hand and produced a quart sized bottle of clear glass in her hand, "You all know what a ship in a bottle is right?"
Everyone nodded at her, she continued, "Well, this is a universe in a bottle."
"Really?" asked Paige.
"No," Sylva responded, "this is just an object lesson. You see Raja and I shunted the world of high magic into a bottle so to speak over five thousand years ago, your time. It is still running, and everbody in it still thinks that there are living in the real world except Raja and me."
"Why did you and Raja do that?" Phoebe asked.
"How could you and Raja do that?" Paige asked.
"Long story, but cliff notes version," Sylva continued as she held the bottle up again, "In this bottle, powerful beings rule but keep everything as it was. There are beings in there that if they got out would turn this world upside down. So, Raja is one of those beings that wants out, and once some things start to get out, it puts cracks in the glass that let other things out."
"So, if Raja wants out, why doesn't she just leave," Paige asked, "You're out."
"I can't stay, and I can't do any magic," Sylva continued, "Raja and I were given the power to enact our will on the world if we could agree on anything. One of the oldest gods did this because he believed that one day it would help him get free. He caused so much trouble that the other gods and goddesses banded together to imprison him, but it's hard to keep one of the gods who created magic down. He had agents in my world, and one of them was Raja."
"Why are you working with Raja? She sounds evil and like a demon" Piper asked.
"That's a tough one," Sylva continued, "Our world was stuck in this endless loop between zombie wars and the Beauty Queen. The Beauty Queen rules because everyone who lokks upon her is compelled to love her and do whateaver she asks. The only way to stop her is to unleash an army of undead. She has no control over the undead. Raja is enthralled by the Queen, but I'm not. That's why Raja agreed with me to shunt our world of high magic into the bottle and leave this world in a neolithic era to find it's own way."
"What does that have to do with us? Piper asks.
"Well, Raja knows the transversal spell whereby she can change places with some one in the real world of high enough magical power," Sylva continues, "That was what that was all about. If you had stabbed Fudgy, you would have let Raja loose and never knew that you were trapped in an imaginary world."
"How do we know that we're not trapped in one right now," Paige demanded."
"There are two ways this can be undone," Sylva continues, "Some one on the inside can break out, or some one on the outside can become so powerful that they can break in."
"So, which way scares you the most? Which way has the biggest potential of working?" Piper asks.
Sylva puts her finger across her lips and thinks for a moment.
"Do you know the story of Edipus Rex?" Sylva finally asks.
The sisters and Leo all nod.
"Well, if I were to answer that question," Sylva answered, "it would put you on a path to stop it, and you'd only end up causing what you were trying to stop."
"Ok, she's good," Piper announced, "Only a being of goodness would answer so cryptically, so I conclude that we are not in an imaginary world. We are home and safe."
"You are correct," Sylva responded as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Wow." Leo beamed. "So that's what happened."
"Hey mister," Piper interrupted, "Not you too."
Leo looked at his wife, "What?"
"Speaking all cryptically," Piper smirked at him.
"No, no," Leo continued, "This answers a what happened to magic question that all whitelighters learn."
Now all the sisters were looking at Leo like he was from another planet.
"Yes," Leo continued, "There is a legend passed down from the Elders that magic was not always so weak in the world. It was out there an publis knowledge and all, no big secret. But, one day, it all passed away, and we were left in this world. The legend says that if magic ever becomes public knowledge again. The powerful magical beings that left will return. This is enough of a threat that even demons agree to keep magic secret."
"Really," Piper questioned with her hands upon her hips, "You've got to be kidding me."
Paige and Phoebe seem lost in their own thoughts while Leo and Piper continue.
After a while Leo and Piper lave the attic and Paige and Phoebe just look at each other. Phoebe asked Paige, "What do you think?"
"I think we have enough to think on for quite a few days, but for now, I think we should go to bed"
Paige and Phoebe quietly leave the attic together.
THE END
Bob relaxed with the athame still in his hand; he looked over at Phoebe, "But, how are we to know what we should do?"
"Somethings not right, bob," Phoebe said wracking her brain for where she saw this before, "I had a premonition, but the cat was the one tied up."
"What, does that mean?" Bob questioned her.
Everybody looked at the two figures on the table again. They didn't say anything as if they knew that nothing they could say could help there case. They both looked as if they were pleading for mercy.
"What about a spell, a truth spell or something like it?" Paige asked.
"Spells on a whim, that's your department, Phoebe," Piper chided.
"Yeah," Phoebe commented, "Just give me a couple of moments.
Phoebe didn't take long to come up with something. Maybe it was this place and all the magical energy that was building around them, but what ever it was, it was the quickest power of three spell the Phoebe ever wrote.
We call upon the power of three
To enable these three witches to see
Through all illusion to what is true
To know which path we should pursue
Piper and Paige followed along on the first pass the best they could. They got a lot better the second time around and by the third time, they nailed it in unison.
From the point of view of the Charmed Ones, Raja and Fudgy started to phase in and out slowly changing places and then changing back. The changing got faster and faster until it stopped with the cat ties to the table and Raja sitting on the table.
In the middle of the change, Bob asked, "What's going on?"
"Can't you see it?" Paige countered."
"See what?" Bob asked perplexed.
But before this conversation could end, Raja spun around and pushed herself off the table. Paige called out, "Athame," and one of the athames on the table orbed right into Raja's back, throwing her into the far wall.
Raja slumped against the far wall for a moment but quickly recovered and started to chuckle while still facing the wall. When she turned around, she faced Bob and said, "You said this would work, Bob," and in a puff of smoke she disappeared.
The athame clanged as it hit the floor after Raja went up in smoke. Paige just stared at Bob and said, "What did she mean, Bob?"
"Yeah Bob," Piper said as she raised her hands in a threatening manner, "I haven't blown anything up all night, but it still hurts when I do"
All three sisters were now staring at Bob waiting for some answers. "Well, alright," Bob said as he bowed slightly to the Charmed Ones and winked, but before they could do anything, he flamed out.
Paige snickered, "Should have known he was a demon, Phoebe was attracted to him."
"Hey!" Phoebe complained. She looked at Piper for some support.
Piper shrugged he shoulders and smiled, "She's got you there Pheebs."
"Well, I did come up with that power of three true seeing spell in record time," Phoebe countered.
"Be that what it may, we still need to find our way out of here," Piper said."
"That should be easy," Paige said, "Follow me."
Paige walked out the door that they entered and into a short dimly lit corridor like the first one they entered the place, and Phoebe and piper follwed her. Just ahead was the large door that they lead out of this building, but as they reached the door and pushed, the door would not open. All three of them stood there and sighed in unison.
From a side door, a man stepped out into the corridor with them and said, "Relax, we are programmed to recieve. You can check out and time you like, but you can never leave."
Before any of them could react, Sylva, the lady elf, appeared out of another puff of smoke and said, "Good job, you did it."
Again, before any of the sisters could react, they found themselves in the attic of the manor with Leo frantically looking through the Book of shadows.
Upon seeing them all there, Leo stopped looking through the Book and said, "Where have you been the last half hour?"
"Sorry honey, but we don't quite understand what happened ourselves," Piper responded.
They all turned and looked at Sylva who was still with them.
"Ok," Sylva said, "Maybe a quick lesson."
Slyva shook her right hand and produced a quart sized bottle of clear glass in her hand, "You all know what a ship in a bottle is right?"
Everyone nodded at her, she continued, "Well, this is a universe in a bottle."
"Really?" asked Paige.
"No," Sylva responded, "this is just an object lesson. You see Raja and I shunted the world of high magic into a bottle so to speak over five thousand years ago, your time. It is still running, and everbody in it still thinks that there are living in the real world except Raja and me."
"Why did you and Raja do that?" Phoebe asked.
"How could you and Raja do that?" Paige asked.
"Long story, but cliff notes version," Sylva continued as she held the bottle up again, "In this bottle, powerful beings rule but keep everything as it was. There are beings in there that if they got out would turn this world upside down. So, Raja is one of those beings that wants out, and once some things start to get out, it puts cracks in the glass that let other things out."
"So, if Raja wants out, why doesn't she just leave," Paige asked, "You're out."
"I can't stay, and I can't do any magic," Sylva continued, "Raja and I were given the power to enact our will on the world if we could agree on anything. One of the oldest gods did this because he believed that one day it would help him get free. He caused so much trouble that the other gods and goddesses banded together to imprison him, but it's hard to keep one of the gods who created magic down. He had agents in my world, and one of them was Raja."
"Why are you working with Raja? She sounds evil and like a demon" Piper asked.
"That's a tough one," Sylva continued, "Our world was stuck in this endless loop between zombie wars and the Beauty Queen. The Beauty Queen rules because everyone who lokks upon her is compelled to love her and do whateaver she asks. The only way to stop her is to unleash an army of undead. She has no control over the undead. Raja is enthralled by the Queen, but I'm not. That's why Raja agreed with me to shunt our world of high magic into the bottle and leave this world in a neolithic era to find it's own way."
"What does that have to do with us? Piper asks.
"Well, Raja knows the transversal spell whereby she can change places with some one in the real world of high enough magical power," Sylva continues, "That was what that was all about. If you had stabbed Fudgy, you would have let Raja loose and never knew that you were trapped in an imaginary world."
"How do we know that we're not trapped in one right now," Paige demanded."
"There are two ways this can be undone," Sylva continues, "Some one on the inside can break out, or some one on the outside can become so powerful that they can break in."
"So, which way scares you the most? Which way has the biggest potential of working?" Piper asks.
Sylva puts her finger across her lips and thinks for a moment.
"Do you know the story of Edipus Rex?" Sylva finally asks.
The sisters and Leo all nod.
"Well, if I were to answer that question," Sylva answered, "it would put you on a path to stop it, and you'd only end up causing what you were trying to stop."
"Ok, she's good," Piper announced, "Only a being of goodness would answer so cryptically, so I conclude that we are not in an imaginary world. We are home and safe."
"You are correct," Sylva responded as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Wow." Leo beamed. "So that's what happened."
"Hey mister," Piper interrupted, "Not you too."
Leo looked at his wife, "What?"
"Speaking all cryptically," Piper smirked at him.
"No, no," Leo continued, "This answers a what happened to magic question that all whitelighters learn."
Now all the sisters were looking at Leo like he was from another planet.
"Yes," Leo continued, "There is a legend passed down from the Elders that magic was not always so weak in the world. It was out there an publis knowledge and all, no big secret. But, one day, it all passed away, and we were left in this world. The legend says that if magic ever becomes public knowledge again. The powerful magical beings that left will return. This is enough of a threat that even demons agree to keep magic secret."
"Really," Piper questioned with her hands upon her hips, "You've got to be kidding me."
Paige and Phoebe seem lost in their own thoughts while Leo and Piper continue.
After a while Leo and Piper lave the attic and Paige and Phoebe just look at each other. Phoebe asked Paige, "What do you think?"
"I think we have enough to think on for quite a few days, but for now, I think we should go to bed"
Paige and Phoebe quietly leave the attic together.
THE END