Charmed Reborn

Disclaimer: All rights for Charmed and the Halliwells go to the WB, as well as Aaron Spelling and Brad Kern. This story is a spin-off of the original Charmed series, categorized under fan fiction, and is not intended to imply any personal knowledge, or the actual sexuality of any of its celebrities.

This story is obviously fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place.

Hey guys!

This is rather unrelated, but, please take a moment to think about Haiti. There's some seriously screwed up shit being said by people out there (i.e. about Haiti "deserving it") and it's absolutely tragic that it's so difficult to get aid there. As I heard recently, the disaster may not be man-made, but the circumstances that let it wreak so much havoc certainly were, going as far back as French colonialism and stretching to the present day. Partners in Health, a fantastic organization focused on DIRECT relief and actually working with governments for long-term goals, is a great place to donate to help the cause. PLEASE, lives depend on it!!

http://pih.org/home.html

Okay! Now to the story!

Previously...

Phoebe sighed. "To answer your question, the Guardians are a new magical order that's fighting against the Seven. I think it's mostly Gypsy clans and witch doctors, and they specialize in spirit magic... In fact, we're old friends with the founder: Ava Nicoli. She's really grown."

"My organization could use more seers like you..." Mitzy fumbled in her robes until she pulled out a white card. She gave it to Lyla: it read, The Sibylla, with an address on it. "Think about it. I'll see you again sometime."

Lyla, Aaron, Mitzy, and Rolline surrounded Paige. Lyla gave Paige a small hug before stepping back. "Don't worry. We'll find the children."

Paige had an optimistic grin on her face. "Yeah, we're reaching a pretty big breakthrough. We'll keep you updated," she said.

Lucas sighed. "Look, Dr. Russel, I'll be honest. What're Rudi and I gonna do?

"I get the impression that you're not nearly in as much danger as before, now that we have the information that Mr. Seles had..." Lucy said. "But you're still in some danger. You can go back to your classes. But we'll ask the Elders to assign you a whitelighter, and you should be sure to know some other witches on campus... know a Kincaid Rowe? Hook up."

"A new Harpy queen has already risen to power." Kane clapped his hands. A burst of smoke and a small whirl of pink feathers. A young harpy, clad in a hooded robe, appeared. "Meet L'Amille."

L'Amille curtseyed to Amy. Amy raised an eyebrow. "Youngblood? ...I know Celeano. She wouldn't have chosen someone like you."

"I firsthand witnessed my Queen's death. And I promise... I will obey my superior to carry out my vengeance." she said, sickly sweet.

"You may go, L'Amille." Kane commanded. Amy opened her mouth in confusion. Kane dismissed her subordinate? But L'Amille listened, spinning around and giving a luscious smile to Kane before smoking out.

"What the hell is going on?" Amy whispered loudly in the direction of Kane.

"...Backlash." Kane said. "Just walk wise."

Postverta reached the wall first. Antevorte put her hand on the wall in unison, as it melted away into oblivion. They entered the crux of Cassandra's Eyes: the Marble Theater.

The sisters looked over the perfect, pure white circle of a room. There was the loud chanting a dozen voices in unison, eyes hidden beneath blindfolds, lithe hands and arms in the air. They circled around the edge of the Theater, stilettos ringing in synchronization. They clapped their hands. A spherical mirror conjured in the center of their circle, and in it flashed the vision of the past; the mystery of the future; the totality of the present...

Prophet Margin

Lyla, in her hands the business card, sat solemnly across from Lex. Lex shrugged as he crossed his legs and tapped a finger on the table. "...I think it sounds kinda cool," he said.

"Yeah, of course. But the point is that I won't be around nearly as much as I used to be. Do you think you and Lucy will be able to hold your own?"

"Um..." Lex briefly rolled his eyes into his head. "...well, now that Dragon'll be here more often, I think we'll be okay. I mean, you're still living here, right? The Power of Three will still be together, so the way I figure-"

Lucy entered the kitchen in heels and a white dress, hurriedly clipping magnetic jewelry onto her ears. Lyla looked up at her. "Luce! Hey, let's talk."

"No. Thank you. Sorry." She rushed across the kitchen, patting Lex's shoulders on the way, then procured a bagel from the refrigerator. "The Elders are gonna be here any second," she said.

"Why?"

"I asked for them. Lucas and whats-his-face need a whitelighter, and I'll be meeting them in a couple of minutes."

"...Well why are you so dressed up for? They don't care."

Lucy slammed the fridge door shut. She turned and stuffed the bagel into her mouth. "I'm dressed up to go with you. You're going, aren't you?"

Lyla took a moment to stare at her sister. She gave a desperate look to Lex, who just raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Alright. Fine. I'll go," Lyla finally conceded.

"Why are you so reluctant, anyway?" Lex asked. "It sounds like a lot of fun."

"I guess. I'm just worried about you guys." Lyla turned to Lucy. "But I still don't know why you're so dressed up!"

As she swallowed the last of her bagel, Lucy rolled her eyes and licked cream cheese off her fingers. "...I have reliable sources that indicate the Sibylla are associated with the Nightshade Guardians."

Both Lex and Lyla made an "Oh" noise in their heads.

"Changing the subject... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Luce, but it's Fall. I don't know who told you that it was okay to wear white."

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "...Sometimes I forget that you're a bimbo."

"Mm? Sometimes I forget you have the style of a turkey." Lyla jumped out of her chair and spun to Lucy's side. "Lemme make you over! You-know-who won't be able to take his eyes off you when I'm through." Lucy opened her mouth to respond but Lyla grabbed her hand before she could. Lyla winked at Lex. "You come too! Come on, I'll be Stacy and you'll be Clinton!"

Lex gave a very indiscrete cough, in which the words "Yeah, right" were decipherable.

A grandiose choral noise echoed from the foyer. Lucy tipped an invisible hat to her brother and sister, wrenching herself from Lyla's grasp. "If you'll excuse me..." Lyla mumbled "suit yourself," and Lucy went to greet the Elders.

Lux Sandra and Lux Odin stood alone, their celestial halos casting dazzling light on the walls. Lux Sandra nodded. "Hello, Lucille."

"Hi. So, how about Lucas?"

"First of all, I don't know why you didn't bother to tell us this earlier," said Lux Odin. "Secondly, we can only assign whitelighters to witches and innocents, NOT vampires."

"Yeah, but you see that's the catch. Rudi is an innocent in danger of becoming a vampire at any given moment."

"She raises a good point," Lux Sandra said, half serious.

Lux Odin winced. "...We agreed to assign a whitelighter regardless."

"Great. When can we meet him?"

"We're still sorting through candidates. Right now, we're-"

Rather abruptly, Lux Sandra and Lux Odin simultaneously froze, closed their eyes, and lifted their chins. Lucy furrowed her brow. "Hey. Hey, what's wrong?"

They opened their eyes again. "Where are your siblings?" Lux Sandra asked, with sudden urgency.

"Uh, the kitchen. What is wrong?" Lucy repeated.

"Get them. Now."

Lucy ran into the doorway of the kitchen, motioned for Lyla and Lex, who with annoyed compliance followed her. As soon as the three of them were face to face with the Elders, Lux Odin began:

"We have received an urgent message. Due to the circumstances, we are summoning Paige Matthews and a colleague of hers." Lux Sandra forcefully pointed to the space beside her. In a flash of brilliance appeared Paige Matthews, as well as a tall, handsome dark-haired man. Both were dead serious.

"Lyla. Lex. Lucy," Paige said, with conviction. "We've found them."

"I really appreciate this," Amy told Ipos, his white robes trailing the fanciful hall. "It's not like I don't trust him. All I know is that something is wrong with the harpies, and it has something to do with that L'Amille bitch."

Postverta and Antevorte, slim and ethereal in their silver heels and snowy dresses, contrasting with the far more butch and kinky booted Amy, giggled. "Oh, something is wrong..." Postverta said.

"...we'll be here to show you what," finished Antevorte.

Ipos stopped Amy at a dead end in the hall. The oracle sisters stepped up and raised their hands to the wall, and with a noise like the strings of a harp snapping it disappeared. They both smiled at Ipos, then, clutching their crystal balls to their chests they continued in.

Taking Amy by the arm, Ipos led her in as well. "Welcome to the Marble Theater."

The theater was dark, but for an enormous glowing orb of images, past and future, that shimmered in fast motion. In the flickering light Amy could make out the outlines of dancing shadows, wild yet coordinated in their action. The sisters effortlessly made their way to the orb, and Ipos led Amy further in. "I suppose you'll want the scoop on your harpy, hm?"

"Y-yes... yes, I..." Amy found herself distracted, lapsing out of politeness. "...okay, I have to ask. Who are the freaks dancing around?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ipos yelled over the dancers to Postverta and Antevorte. "Lights!"

They both clapped their hands in synch. Illumination reappeared in the Marble Theater, and the sight made Amy raise her hands to her mouth. Twelve women, dressed in white robes and blindfolds, writhed in the painful dance, their mouths open in misery, their steps heavy on the floor.

"I know them," Amy said with terror. Anger flamed up in her eyes. "I know them!"

"The Whites are the fount of our power," Ipos replied, surprised that Amy would be so furious. "Besides. This is what we do to allies of Good."

Amy raised a finger to Ipos' frail decrepit chest. "The Horae are off limits."

"Under whose jurisdiction?" Ipos' nasal voice rose in pitch, and across the theater Postverta and Antevorte gradually raised their guards. "We're all demons. The Whites always lent their powers to Good in the past. And now that we have the ability, we've simply turned their power to our advantage."

"At what cost? I'm not gonna stand by and watch any woman, good nor evil-"

"'Good nor evil?'" Ipos mockingly harmonized in unison. "Spare me. You have no sense of perspective."

"Ipos, mark my words, I won't stand for this!" Amy stood, her leather coat fluttering in rage. Postverta and Antevorte suddenly teleported to Ipos' side in a flurry of red crystals and blue fire. Amy directed her attention to them. "...And YOU. How could you betray yourselves like this?"

"Silly thing... gender is meaningless when it comes to the sanctity of time," responded Antevorte.

"Sanctity of-- you crazy bitch!" Amy spun and disappeared in a flash of pink light, reappearing in front of one of the Whites. She screamed in her face, "Hey! Hey, snap out of it!" No response. "What did you do to them?!" Amy demanded to know, but was met with deliberate silence. She narrowed her eyes, snapped her fingers, and vanished in another pink flash.

"Should we be worried?" Postverta asked.

Ipos looked to the Horae, his Women in White. "Oh, we'll keep an eye on her. Be sure of that."

The song of the episode!

"Aria"

By: The Mediaeval Baebes

I have wist, sin I couthe meen

that children hath by candle light

Her shadewe on the wal iseen

And ronne thereafter all the night

Bisy aboute, they han, they han ben

And whom they catchen it best wolde wene

The shadewe catchen they ne might

For no lines that they couthe lay

This shadewe i may likne aright

To this world and yesterday...

Paige introduced the man next to her with a flourish of orbs. "This is Kyle. We go back."

"Pleasure," Kyle said, shaking each of the Charmed Ones' hands. He winked at Lucy, at which she simply frowned in response.

"So, um... what's the deal?" Lyla asked, putting her hands into her back pockets. "You caught me before I was leaving, you know."

The Elders forwent asking where to, apparently preoccupied with bigger things. "I'd advise you listen carefully," said Lux Odin. "This may be the most important task you've ever completed as the new Charmed Ones."

"More like the only one we've completed..." Lucy mumbled under her breath.

Paige reached into her shirt pocket and handed a picture to Lex. It was a photo of identical twin girls, about twelve, with mousy brown hair and pink blouses. Lex's sisters huddled around him to gaze at them too. "Oh, your daughters." Lyla stated. She reached around Lex's shoulder to point at the girls. "See... Olivia always has her hair in a ponytail... and Lilia's always smiling, just like that..."

"Yeah. And they, like my husband and my son and all my nieces and nephews..." Paige began, taking the photo back. "...disappeared on the day we were killed. The good news: my sisters and I have been scrying for months, and we've finally got a lead on my girls."

"That's great!" Lex exclaimed. "Where?"

Paige averted her eyes. "We don't quite know that yet."

"I'm in charge of the search party," Kyle said, cutting in. "We're homing in on their life force, but a curse is throwing our triangulation efforts off. All we know is that they're in the Underworld."

Lyla crossed her arms. "I don't wanna be a party pooper, but that's not much more of a lead than you had before."

"Okay, we may not know their location, BUT, we reached a big breakthrough. Tracing the same curse that threw us off, we sensed and identified oracular magic."

"Cassandra's Eyes!" Lex thought aloud.

"Correct."

"Ok. So we know that Cassandra's Eyes have the Mitchell twins," Lyla recapped. "That's good. Now we just need to figure out where their stronghold is?" Kyle and Paige nodded. "Why do I have the feeling it's not that easy?"

"These are the best of the best demonic fortunetellers we're dealing with. Back in the day my sisters and I had trouble finding just one seer in the Underworld. Between Ipos and his oracles, their psychic defenses are almost impenetrable."

"That's encouraging," said Lucy with snark.

"Luce..." Lex nudged his sister, then looked to Paige and Kyle. "We'll try our best."

Lux Sandra beamed. "The power of Evil is great, but the Power of Three is stronger. I have faith that your powers pooled will guide us to light."

"Sure. Thanks," Lucy said. Lux Sandra and Lux Odin closed their eyes to orb away, but Lucy stopped them. "Oh wait! What about Lucas' whitelighter?"

They disappeared anyway in a swirl of pure light. She heard Lux Odin's voice: "We're getting to it! Save the Twins by any means necessary!"

Paige looked to the Russels. "You guys, I have to go back up and rejoin my sisters. But in the meantime Kyle will stay here and help. He'll be our link to you. Good luck." And before another word could be said counterwise she vanished as well.

Lyla sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "So, uh, wait. What are we supposed to do again?"

"You, as in, you three..." Kyle said, pointing, "...have to divine the position of Cassandra's Eyes. Once you've done that, we can storm the place and get back the Mitchell Twins."

"You say that like it's easy."

"I say that like it's your job."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What's your problem?"

Redirecting his attention to her, he smiled. She rather abruptly stepped back in confusion. Lex cleared his throat. "So, well... I can make a crystal nexus, maybe, if the Elders provide me with some quartz spheres."

"Hey!" Lyla smacked her forehead. "Like, duh! The Sibylla!"

"Oh, yeah!" Lex and Lucy said in unison, leaving Kyle speechless. "That's perfect, they specialize in that sort of thing," Lucy continued. "That's fine with you, right?"

Kyle shook his head. "No, we don't work with the Sibylla."

"Why not?"

"The Elders decided to cut off contact from both the Nightshade Guardians and the Sibylla. Even so, it's for good reason." Kyle mumbled, "They're kinda lax if you ask me..."

"Better lax than anal, I always say." Lucy said, heading for Lex's side. "So, when do we go?"

"Can't you- just-" Kyle fumbled as Lyla joined Lex as well. "I want to talk to your whitelighter about this!"

"Don't wait up!" Lyla said with a wink. Lex blurted "shine," and they vanished in a flash of blue light.

Aaron, in a black overcoat, stood out next to Atla, now in a t-shirt. "Dragon. You should consider dressing heavier when it's cold outside."

Atla raised an eyebrow, not fazed when another sidewalker bumped off of him. "Why? You do not feel cold, you of all people should know-"

"No, no, you're missing the point. Would you-" Aaron nudged him and subtly pointed at a group of preteen girls across the street, dressed in sweaters and hats. "-see, you don't look normal. You need to fit in."

"Lex told me that normal is boring."

Aaron rolled his eyes, knowing full well that was exactly the kind of thing Lex would say. "Yeah, but sometimes you gotta be boring to evade attention."

"What are we doing?"

They stopped in front of a shop window with gowns in it. "I'm getting Lyla an anniversary gift. What are you doing?" Atla remained silent. "What do you think, too formal?"

"What is an anniversary?"

Aaron, caught off guard, said under a heavy breath "I should have brought Lex" before answering. "It's when you commemorate the time passed after a special event."

"But you and Lyla Russel have only been together six months."

"Y-yeah." Aaron blushed. "It's to make up for the fact that we haven't had a honeymoon."

"What's a-"

"It's when you-!" Aaron inhaled, exhaled. "After you get married, you're supposed to go alone together, elope, I dunno." Aaron continued down the sidewalk and Atla followed. They walked into the jewelry store; the clerk, busy with another customer, ignored them as they browsed. "It's gotta be about timing. My timing is a disaster."

Atla, mesmerized by a strand of diamonds, spoke rather quietly. "For those like you and me, time is irrelevant."

"Yeah, but for those like Lucy and Lyla and Lex there's something called a 'Mortal Coil,' I'm sure you've heard of it."

"Time can be dealt with in magical means."

"Sh!"

"It is simply a force of nature like every other, personified as such."

Aaron shifted his eyes. He leaned in closer. "I don't know about you, Dragon, but on the light side, that would be unethical."

"Hey!" Aaron and Atla turned around. A handsome man with dark hair walked in and confronted them. "Aaron?"

"Oh, Kyle. What are you doing down here?"

Ignoring Atla completely, Kyle leaned in on the jewelry counter to whisper with Aaron. "The Charmed Ones are your charges, right? You gotta help me keep them on a leash!"

"...That didn't really answer my question."

Kyle gave him an impatient look. "They're divining the location of Cassandra's Eyes. I told them to stick to rational magic, but you know what they did? They went to the Sibylla!"

Aaron paused briefly in thought. "Well, yeah. Mitzy Stillman invited Lyla, so I'm not surprised."

"But you-"

"I think there are more constructive things you and I could be doing, honestly." With that Aaron continued to browse the jewelry.

"Perhaps you could assemble your own oracles, if you despise them that much," advised Atla.

Kyle finally looked over at him. "Who are you?"

Aaron intervened. "Look, Kyle, I know what the Elders said, but we've worked with both the Guardians and the Sibylla before. The point is that they're on our side, and they'll get the job done."

Twiddling his fingers and bouncing up and down, Kyle mumbled to himself in a sing-songy voice, "Not helping..."

In an "I give up" sort of motion Aaron rolled his eyes. "Fine," he conceded. We'll go and get them as soon as I'm done here."

"How about now?"

"How about I have three hundred years of experience to lord over you, so you can afford to wait for two hours."

"Ugh." It appeared that Kyle had to restrain himself from orbing out right then and there, as he made a noticeable overture to close his eyes before he caught himself.

The Charmed Ones flashed into what appeared to be the empty lobby of a large hotel, a sweeping marble entrance, a chandelier and elevators completing the picture, all with a distinctive yellow light to them. At the reception desks suited men and women appeared too busy with phones and paper work to even look up at the arrivals.

Lucy and Lex exchanged glances. Lyla led them to one of the reception desks, where a young woman in a pant suit was speaking on the phone. "Excuse me," Lyla said rather rudely.

She looked up from her phone. Covering the speaker with her hand, she raised her eyebrows at Lyla.

"Are you the Sibylla?"

She blinked at Lyla. Muttering "excuse me one moment" into the phone, she hung up then folded her hands. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Nonono, it's okay, we're the Charmed Ones."

"Uh huh, sure," she said with a smile. "Please don't make me call security."

Lucy snuck up behind Lyla. "Maybe you should ask for Mitzy..." she grumbled to her sister.

"Right! Mitzy Stillman sent us."

Again, the woman blinked. She picked up the phone and dialed an extension. "Hi, Mitzy, there's someone here to see you. Uh huh. Yeah, they're claiming to be the Charmed Ones or something?"

Immediately after she said that a door behind the desk flung open; blonde and grey-eyed Mitzy Stillman, dressed in her characteristic black robe, strode to the receptionist's side. "Lyla! Lex! Lucy!"

The receptionist looked up at her. "They're for real?" she asked. Rather clumsily she hung up her phone and stood out of her chair, rushing to open the swinging door through the counter. "I'm so sorry! I-it's an honor, really, I'm so sorry, so so so sorry."

"No biggie..." Lyla mumbled as the receptionist escorted all three of them behind the desk. She took her seat and Mitzy guided them instead, taking them through the door that she had just gone through. "So, Mitzy," Lyla began, "this is like, a pretty snazzy operation you got going."

"Hm? Oh, you mean the lobby. We front as a hotel. I'm glad you didn't have trouble finding us."

Lucy piped up from behind Lex. "Just out of curiosity, where are you taking us now?" She was referring to the long, fluorescent-lighted hallway that Mitzy was guiding them down. It was all tacky hotel carpet and doorless white walls, such that it almost seemed like a small tunnel.

"Ballroom 3. It's at the end of the hall."

"...Where's the end of the hall?"

"Um. Wherever and whenever Remedy feels like it." Still walking at a brisk pace, Mitzy yelled at the ceiling, "Hey! Remedy! Would you please?"

A sudden, harsh noise crackled in the air, and the hall ended; the four of them were in front of a large door. The Russels exchanged glances. "What just happened?" Lex asked, appropriately.

Mitzy turned around and grinned at him. "You'll like Remedy, I think." She took the heavy doors with both her hands and pulled them open.

Ballroom 3 was grand, and it was more than a ballroom; it was a hub. Men and women clad in a myriad of clothes, ranging from magical esoteric robes and dresses to business-formal suits walked to and fro with purpose. The room was diamond-shaped, and the door they had entered was in one corner; wide open doors to other gold rooms were in each of the two opposite walls, and directly across was a staircase, leading to a closed, bleak gate. In the center of the place, bathed under the light of an enormous golden chandelier, a circle of men and women sat around a three-level fountain, water cascading down in pyrite streams.

Mitzy led them to the Fountain, and as they approached they heard pleasing noises; the lapping of the fountain water suddenly overpowered the clamor of the busy people passing by, and crystalline tones underlay the aquatic noises like a gossamer laminate. Lucy and Lex simply furrowed their eyebrows, but Lyla found herself wrapping her mouth around words. "What is that noise? Mitzy, I hear something."

"Oh, of course you do. Water Harmonics; it's how we keep our eyes on everything at once." Mitzy motioned to the men and women intently staring into the fountain. "Temporal vibrations resonate through the Great Design, and we find their echoes in all the primary elements. 'Course we need at least a dozen seers at a time to tap into the any of the Harmonics, but it's well worth it." Mitzy put her hand on the shoulder of a woman in a baby-blue miniskirt that looked like an airline attendant's. Feathery blue jay streaks in her hair made it shimmer. She, like the twelve others, had her eyes closed, her back to the water and her hands folded in her lap. "Judy."

Without looking up from her meditation, Judy responded in a low murmur, "We're busy, Mitzy."

"Oh, come on, nothing's going on right now. I want you to meet the Charmed Ones."

Judy gasped, and her concentration was broken. The gentle mumbling of the fountain abruptly stopped. The other men and women in the circle groaned in frustration, all looking to Judy and Mitzy for an explanation. "Everyone! Listen!" Judy motioned to Lyla, Lex, and Lucy. "It's the Russels--the Charmed Ones!"

Then, bright and amazed whispers, exclamations. Two or three passing witches that had heard Judy stopped as well, and by the time the Russels realized it a small circle had formed around them. Judy, her eyes blazing, gave a small bow. "Judy Yi, Water Cantor. I've heard your voices in the Fountain more times than I can remember."

"Oh. Cool," Lyla said, lost for words.

Judy turned to her. "You must be Lyla. We've been waiting for you."

"Well... Madame Ava's been waiting for her, actually," Mitzy specified. "We should probably bring her there."

"Yeah! Yeah, do that. Sorry for holding you up," she said to Lyla in particular. With a sweep of her hand she regathered the circle and shooed the rest, and they repositioned around the Fountain, the soft mumbling again lacing the air.

As Mitzy continued to lead them, this time across the room to the staircase, Lucy couldn't help but ask, "Where are the Nightshade Guardians?"

"Oh, well they're here too." Lex gave a look to his sister, who seemed to be stifling her excitement well. "See, Madame Ava founded both of the factions; she's Concert Master of the Sibylla and President of the Guardians, so we just share headquarters."

Now that Mitzy mentioned it, the people passing to and fro did seem familiar; some carried the totem wands characteristic of witch doctors, others had a strange green glow about their eyes. They even spotted one or two men and women with snow white bows, whitelighters presumably accompanying Sibylla witches.

"So, um... this may be a dumb question, but who's Madame Ava?"

Lex's question wasn't dumb, but it may have been unnecessary. Mitzy led them up the stairs, towards the black doors. "You're about to find out."

The Twilight Citadel had become quite used to hearing Amy's voice, although the volume and magnitude of her scream and her flashing pink lights indicated that she was particularly irked this time. Barbatos tried to speak calmly, gripping the railings of his tower with trembling hands as he spoke, "Please! Dissension is weakness, you cannot fling calumny without good reason!" Amy briefly shut her mouth. "Now, please describe what you are accusing Ipos of."

Amy cleared her throat and slowly inhaled and exhaled before restarting. "He-" she pointed at Ipos. "-enslaved the Horae."

"So?" Kane exclaimed with his arms crossed.

"Look, I'm fine with any attack on Good! Whatever! But no- any objectification, any enslavement, any exploitation of any woman, I interpret as a personal attack on the Sisterhood."

"Just how did you manage to join our ranks with that wrinkly slug you call a brain inside your skull?"

"Kane, I swear I will blow your shit-lighter head off right here, right now."

"Need I remind everyone that if it weren't for our conversion of the Horae into the Whites, Cassandra's Eyes would not nearly be as powerful as it is now. Thanks to the powers of Olivia and Lilia Matthews-"

Amy grunted again. "And another thing! How come no one told me about the Halliwell Children?" An awkward silence among all the Seven.

Except for Kane. "Because you're stupid, babe. Because you're hot-headed and bad-tempered, and-"

"You shut your mouth! I am not kidding, if you wanna die, I will-"

"-and the only reason we let you into our circle was brute muscle! Emphasis on the brute!"

The entire Citadel erupted into indistinct arguments, Beleth's crystalline voice clashing with the deep one, Ipos and Kane crashing into Amy, Barbatos vainly attempting to mediate, only Gloom remaining grimly silent. But through all the noise, a statement from Amy flared over: "If you aren't gonna do anything about it, then I will!"

And then the silence. "What?" inquired Barbatos.

"Nothing." With bravado she flashed away. And indeed nothing was left as the rest of the Seven, consumed in heavy, almost fearful but mostly spiteful silence, disappeared into the darkness as well.

It was dark as death, like a night with the stars turned off. Mitzy had told them to hold hands before they entered, and for a moment the Russels did not understand why; now that the doors to Ballroom 3 were closed behind them, they could not see themselves, much less anything in front of them.

Mitzy led them in several feet before stopping. Her voice rang out like a vibrant ray of light. "Madame Ava?" No response, but a mysterious breeze suddenly tickled the still air. Lex wondered if he could conjure light, but figured it would be impolite. Besides, the dark they were entrenched in was unearthly, and he doubted his feeble blue sparkles could cut through much of it. Mitzy tried again, "Madame Ava, I have guests with me."

"I know," replied a voice, a voice whose qualities sent shivers up and down Lex's spine. In just two words he felt a fiery passion, an intense calculation, still with the placidity and coolness of a river. Lex restrained himself from speaking out in response, and judging from the tightening of his sister's hands he figured they were doing the same. "Forgive me, Charmed Ones, for the darkness. Nexus Points must be shrouded in it or else they run out of control."

Lex heard Lyla whisper "Nexus?" to herself. Mitzy yelled again, "Madame, may we please...?"

"Ah, very well." Four noises, indistinct yet strangely familiar. Gentle mumbles, fireworks, trembling chimes and rustling leaves, all flew outwards inwards, sucked darkness towards the middle like some sort of fluid. And vision returned slowly, so the Russels let go slowly, details of Ballroom 5 becoming visible. Gold pillars lined the walls, the floor was a black marble glaze. The ceiling seemed too high to be a hotel, and was more observatory-like in its distant, starry quality. Three other doors in the corners of the diamond-shaped room presumably led to the other ballrooms, all very even, logical diamonds making up a larger, more even and logical diamond. When the light returned to its full power, the Russels were surprised to see, in the middle of Ballroom 5, a giant sphere of concentrated shadow, floating in place like a swimming globe of outer space.

Mitzy, casually, as if a sphere of nothingness was normal, smiled at the Russels, and motioned to a raven-haired woman sitting in lotus position below the darkness. "Go ahead."

All three of them gave a slight nod in unison. They slowly walked to the woman, leaving Mitzy behind, Lex's sneakers and his sisters' heels making distinct squeaks and clacks on the floor. Madame Ava looked older than her age, fine wrinkles lining her face like spider webs, her delicate hands folded in an elderly repose. Her eyes, violet-glowing, were trained to the floor, and she did not look up at the Russels when they came to be in front of her. "I'm honored to receive the three of you. Lyla, Lex, Lucille."

"Honored to be here..." Lucy mumbled, still transfixed on the darkness. "Although at this point, I don't know why we're here at all."

"You're hoping I'll respond with some stoic, sweeping generality so you can shoot me with one of your snarky quips, aren't you, Lucille?" Lucy shut her mouth. They saw the wrinkled edges of Madame Ava's lips curl into a smile. "You are such a firecracker."

"Err, Miss- Madame Ava," Lex began timidly, "We came because Mitzy invited us. Or, uh, invited Lyla."

"I know that, dear. The question is whether your sister wishes to join our ranks."

"Oh. Oh!" Lyla suddenly yelped, realizing she was the subject of conversation all along. "I guess I can, sure. Is it that easy?"

"Well, there's a drug test involved, so you'll have to pee into a cup." The Russels exchanged glances. "Kidding," she said emotionlessly. And again, the Russels exchanged glances. It was unusual to see Madame Ava, a picture of arcane mysticism steeped in deep meditation, flatly crack off-beat jokes as though it were all part of a transcendent chant. "Anyone can join the Sibylla. It's not like there's a membership fee, we're not a steak club."

"Yeah, but, the thing is we need to ask you something."

"If you're referring to the location of Cassandra's Eyes, I'm afraid we don't know."

"Oh. Okay then, see you-"

"Lyla, dear, you're bright but not very smart." Lucy giggled just a little, but stopped when Lyla glared at her. "You're one of the Charmed Ones, last I checked. Your power alone would magnify our sight three fold. If you want your answer, you'll join us."

Lyla paused, as though to say, "Well, I want my answer, but I don't really want to join you." She looked up at Mitzy, who was still on the other side of the ballroom; Mitzy gave a small wave from her spot. "What do you guys do here?" Lyla asked with genuine curiosity. "Like, I was looking where that fountain was, and everyone was just sitting around, hella boring."

"Have you ever seen My Fair Lady?" Lyla made a "Huh?" noise. "Oh, never mind. You just remind me of Audrey Hepburn."

"Yeah, with hints of-"

"-of Eliza Dushku and Jessica Alba, I know. You're very predictable." It was now Lucy's turn to pout, and Lyla's turn to laugh. "The point is, girls and boy, that it would serve the Light well if we were to join forces. You, us, the Guardians, we'd make a good team, no?"

Lucy crossed her arms and shrugged. "I'm game."

"Yeah, me too," her brother agreed.

They both turned to Lyla. Lyla puckered her lips, put her hands on her hips, and purposefully glued her eyes to the floor. Both Lucy and Lex yelled in synch, "Ly!" and Lyla finally, with a grunt, conceded, "Yes! Alright, I'll do it. I'll join the Sibylla."

"Beautiful. Then we can start right away-" Madame Ava was interrupted by a spiral of blue lights and a celestial noise. Without blinking an eyelash, Madame Ava immediately switched her train of thought, telling the Russels, "Please tell your whitelighter that orbing is prohibited here."

Realizing what she had just said, the three of them turned to see the silhouettes of Aaron, Kyle, and Atla appear. Mitzy uncrossed her arms and strode to them, screaming on the way, "No orbing into Ballroom 5!"

Lyla yelled, "Aaron?" and Lex yelled, "Dragon?" while Lucy purposefully avoided Kyle's gaze. They converged in a confused huddle, Aaron and Kyle obviously spellbound by the grandiosity of the place. "What the hell are you doing here?" asked Lyla.

Not a word needed to be spoken, as all eyes trained on Kyle. Kyle smirked, raising his hands in admittance. "Look, I'm just doing my job," he said.

"Oh, like we need the likes of you here!" growled Mitzy. "Do you even know what you're doing? You're cutting off the only chance we have at saving the Mitchell twins, that's what you're doing. Good work, good work, my applause to the Elders."

"I don't need your sarcasm, lady! I have faith in the Charmed Ones, and I believe they can find Cassandra's Eyes by themselves..." Kyle looked up at Madame Ava, still in trance. "...without the aid of volatile magic."

"Kyle, please," Aaron said, reasonably. "The Elder's ban was utterly de facto. If we want to get the children by any means necessary-"

"-then these means are necessary," Lucy completed for Aaron.

Lex nodded emphatically. "The people here are good people," he proclaimed. "We know Mitzy, and Mikey, and now we've met Madame Ava, and there's nothing not to trust here."

"Don't be naive!" Kyle snapped.

Atla suddenly turned on him, sharp points of his teeth showing. "Lex knows what he's saying," Atla snarled.

"Hey! Dragon!" Aaron piped, although he was secretly pleased. Atla backed off, and Lex put a hand on his arm. Discreetly, Atla took Lex's hand off, and instead held it in his own. "Unfortunately, Kyle's right. We can't make any hasty decisions that might come back to bite us. We should reconvene at the manor first, and then talk about what to do."

Mitzy raised her eyebrows. "Hmph. Fine," she muttered. "If you come back, I'll be waiting in Ballroom 4." Aaron gave her a confused look. "The north one, you can't miss it."

Aaron and Kyle nodded. Lyla disappeared with Aaron, Kyle disappeared with Lucy, and Lex disappeared with Atla, to the manor to deliberate.

Rudi and Kincaid took a seat on the benches outside, streams of students pouring in and out of the buildings around them. Kincaid, tall and dark and lanky, in contrast to Rudi, short and pale, sighed as he pried his physiology book open. "So, Sodium-Potassium ATPase..." he muttered, mostly to Rudi.

"I can't do it," Rudi declared, not in grief but as though it were fact. "I mean, it's not like, I don't get it-" Kincaid looked harder at Rudi. "...okay, well I don't get it. But it's only because there's not enough time in the day to study, you know?"

"Time flies when you're having fun." Kincaid raised an eyebrow. "You are having fun, right?" Rudi shook his head. "Rudi--what has Lucas been telling you? Follow your heart, man! Leave the sciences!"

Rudi gave a gentle smile. "It's not that. And for your information, Lucas has been telling me the same thing."

"Then what's stopping ya?"

He didn't have a chance to answer. From nowhere, an exceedingly tall woman cut through the crowd like a flash; she wore a heavy rubber white trench coat, and snowy heeled boots could be seen under it. The lower half of her face was obscured by the tall collar of her coat, but a long flow of raven-black hair was visible, framing a pair of beautifully blue eyes. She held her hands out: white-gloved hands, of course, covered all the way to her elbows, and she expected both Rudi and Kincaid to take them. Neither of them did.

"What's wrong?" The woman asked.

"Err, who are you?"

No one you need be concerned about. An ally.

Rudi shook his head, and noticed that Kincaid had done the same. "Did you-" Kincaid simply nodded.

Please. Take my hand.

They did as they were told. She pulled them up with more strength than there seemed to be in her lengthy, fragile body. Rudi, looking up at her, thought she resembled a tower of ice in construction, cold and tall and strangely delicate. But she needn't be feared, apparently, and Kincaid agreed as she walked them through the crowd, hand in hand.

By the time Lucas had come to the bench, his book bag slung over his shoulder, they were gone. But he saw, in the ocean of people, a glimmer of white that vanished without a trace.

In retrospect, Lyla was in fact growing fonder of the Sibylla, of Mitzy Stillman and even to some extent, Madame Ava, whom she had just met an hour ago. Lucy, of course, was fine with it, and Lex as well. Much of the staunch opposition was from Kyle, and Aaron who had to follow out of obligation. While Kyle argued his case impassioned, Aaron argued it like a high schooler, half-baked, half-attentive, and only half-invested in what he was saying.

Of course, when Lucas crashed the party, the situation became far more heated. The living room, crowded enough already, had transformed into a crock pot of tension.

"Mr. Dawson, listen, let's just calm down," Lucy pleaded, pressing her temples. "You don't know they're even in danger. I trust Kincaid, he wouldn't deliberately lead Rudi into danger."

"That's just it--deliberately!" Lucas retorted. "Deceived? Maybe?"

"It could have been an Oni," Atla proposed in all seriousness. "Perhaps the two of them have already been eaten."

Silence. "Thank you, Sally Sunshine," said Lucy flatly. Atla's mouth hardened into a line.

"Oh, sh-" Lucas now confronted Lucy and Lyla, sharing the same couch, as one unit. "I thought you were getting him a whitelighter!"

"Well-" Lucy stuttered, but she couldn't find a valid answer.

Aaron wrinkled his brow in thought. "A woman in white, huh?"

Lucas nodded. Aaron and Kyle exchanged glances. "Not much of a demonic uniform, far as I know," Kyle stated.

"Hey, uh, no offense to whats-his-face-"

"Lucas!"

"Yeah, right. But can we deal with this, I dunno, some other time? When we don't have Halliwell children to search for?"

Aaron nodded. "Lyla's right. We'll split up priorities. Lex, Atla and I will work with Lyla on Paige's twins. Kyle and Lucy will go with Lucas."

Both Kyle and Lucy let out a moan of despair. "This isn't even my department!" Kyle whined, but shut himself up when Aaron gave him a glare.

"And I have better things to do than hang out with-" Lucy eyed Kyle intently, not bothering to finish her sentence.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but you're the one that took responsibility for this project." Lucy gave Aaron one last desperate look, but it was met with stiff resistance.

"Okay! Great. Meeting adjourned," announced Lyla. Still, another unsettling silence. Lyla motioned to Lucas, Lyla, and Kyle. "Well, go! Go!" Lucy shot daggers at her sister before she joined Kyle and Lucas, disappearing in a fading shadow of orbs. Lyla sighed. "Finally, he's gone! So, we're going back there, right?"

Aaron made no motion. "As much as I hate to admit it, Kyle had a point. The Elders will not be happy knowing we collaborated with the Sibylla. They're already upset about the Reflector that the Guardians gave you."

"But they can't argue with results, right?" Lex said with a shrug. "Hey, what exactly is their beef with Madame Ava, anyway?"

"Not 'beef' per se, Lex. Think distrust." Now a quizzical look from Lex. Aaron smiled. "Witch doctors and gypsies have burned the Elders in the past, even if they are on the same side. And after the death of the Charmed Ones... well, these days many Elders have a 'witch only' policy."

Lex pouted. "That's dumb," he remarked. "Besides, we have warlocks on our side now."

Then Aaron pouted as well. "Who ever said the Elders approved of that?"

Atla uncomfortably shifted in his seat. Lex, squinting thoughtfully, slid his fingers into Atla's. Not speaking to anyone in particular, he declared, "The Elders'll have to learn to deal with it." Atla smiled, gripping his fingers tighter.

Aaron made a note of averting his eyes, opting to look at his wife instead. "You guys can head back to the Sibylla. Do whatever it takes to find the Mitchells, alright? I'll try and figure it out with the Elders." With that Aaron faded away in his characteristic silver swirl.

"Oh! I'll get the Reflector." Lyla jumped to her feet, quickly running upstairs.

Now alone, Atla swiftly pulled Lex around, gently twirling him onto his lap. He nuzzled Lex's cheek with his face, and the tiny rough fuzz on his chin made Lex giggle. "Thank you, Lex."

"Ha! It's only true." Lex pecked Atla on the forehead and managed to wriggle from Atla's grip. After a bout of laughter, Lex knelt down and rested a chin on one of Atla's knees. "Hm. But you know. If Aaron's right, we may be in deep trouble."

"I don't care."

"I know. But we're gonna need allies somewhere." Lex looked up; Atla looked down. They exchanged a rather c'est-la-vie gaze before Lyla returned with her giant bronze shield.

"Alright, lovah-boys, let's get to it!"

Lucas, Lucy, and Kyle appeared at an empty bench, bathed in sunset. Lucas furrowed his brow. "How did you know to come here?" he asked Kyle.

"Oh. Well, I guess you wouldn't know. The Elders recently gave certain whitelighters the ability to track any charge hooked up to the Continuum, even if they're not specifically assigned to them."

Although this was not necessarily shocking to Lucas, it was to Lucy. "So wait, you can track Kincaid? And all of Aaron's charges?"

"Anyone's charges." Kyle motioned to the sky with his eyes. "Only the whitelighters that work up there are allowed to, though."

"Wh-why? Why would they give anyone that sort of power?"

"It's not like I have to beck to their calls or anything. But in case anything goes wrong, you know, I can find them."

Lucy shook her head in disgust, Kyle turning down the path as though following a scent. Lucas quickly followed in tandem. "Hey, where ya goin?" he asked loudly.

"Tracking's an imperfect process... Darklighters are better at it than whitelighters, but as for us we need to retrace our charges'-" Kyle stopped in his tracks, causing Lucas to bump into his back. Kyle looked up at the sky, mumbling, "he disappeared right here."

"Pardon?" Lucy said impatiently.

"No, he didn't disappear. He just moved." Kyle took hold of Lucy in one arm and Lucas in the other, and orbed without warning. They reappeared in a surprisingly beautiful place: a garden, stone paved, in a grove of full-bloom plum trees. It was night. The moon was out, a full white one, and it made the snowy petals glow like quiet fireworks.

Lucas opened his hand, catching a petal falling from overhead. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Judging from my coordinates, Japan. Hokkaido prefecture."

Lucy, still dreadfully irked, suddenly saw something in the far corner of the garden, isolated on a river-bound isle. It was a bright silver dome, perfectly contiguous and almost metallic in sheen, but luminous like a light bulb. Lucy went towards it with curiosity, first Lucas and then Kyle trailing.

"Mr. Rowe?" No response. "What's-your-face?" Still no response to Lucy's yells. Damning all caution, Lucy almost ran to the dome. By the time she got to the bridge, she was close enough to see what was the matter.

In the dome of light were both Kincaid and Rudi, for one. Neither were particularly agitated in any sense, and the same applied to the fact that they did not react at all when Lucy, Lucas, and Kyle came into view, no matter how much Lucas yelled out Rudi's name. But in the center of the dome, a woman with long raven-black hair, dressed in a white leather coat, levitated, cross-legged, in a fountain of orbs. Lucy's mouth opened agape. "...A whitelighter?"

"Lucas is referring to Yukiko. She is Rudolf's new whitelighter," Lux Sandra explained.

Aaron grumbled in frustration, having to yell over the wind at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. "Could Yukiko not sequester my charges while doing her job? I can't sense Kincaid at all! Just what kind of magic is she using?"

Lux Odin, standing beside Lux Roland, answered his question. "Yukiko is of a new breed. You, as well as the other elites who have been granted bows, are Protectors, practitioners of Angelic Art. Angelic whitelighters are all part of the old generation, and although they have been ample against darklighters and demons in the past, we have found the need to step up to the competition, so to speak."

"Yukiko is a Seraphic whitelighter. We call them Spirit Savers," Lux Roland said calmly. "In life, they were empaths; exceptional psychics. Imbued with the power of the Light, they are the most powerful defensive forces we have ever conceived."

Sensing Aaron's temper, Lux Sandra stepped forward and put her hands on his shoulders. "Aaron. It's been terribly busy up here, what with Paige's twins... if we've left you or any other whitelighters out of the loop, you must understand. Besides, you've been doing a marvelous job with the Charmed Ones, wi-with Lyla--"

"-Lyla's not a baby factory."

The Elders perked up. "Excuse me?" Lux Sandra asked through a confused laugh.

"It... it doesn't seem right. You know, we haven't even had a honeymoon, and you expect us to give you a baby?"

"We can discuss this later," Lux Odin interjected acutely. "Now that this confusion is cleared up, please elaborate on how the Charmed Ones are dealing with the Mitchell Twins."

It was now with smug satisfaction that Aaron announced, "They're collaborating with the Sibylla."

All three of the Elders exclaimed, "What?" in synch.

"I believe the words you used were 'by any means necessary.'"

"We didn't mean them!" Lux Roland yelped. "I thought we taught you better than that!"

Aaron smirked. "Who'd have thunk?" And, curtly, he orbed away.

Lex, Lyla, and Atla rippled into the golden lobby. Immediately the receptionist got up and out of her desk, running in her heels to greet them. "Hi, hi! Welcome back, we've been expecting you."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Lyla mumbled. The receptionist led them around the desk and to the back again, down the hallway that Mitzy was leading them down earlier. "So, we've decided that we want to work with the Sibylla."

"We know," The receptionist said with a smile. Noting the surprise on Lex and Lyla's faces, she clarified, "Madame Ava's been keeping us up to date."

Atla nudged Lex, pulling him aside. "Clairvoyance is no easy feat. Does this Ava woman have powers on the same level as Ipos?"

"I hope so..."

The familiar loud cracking, and again they came upon the large door. The receptionist opened it for them, although this time they entered a different ballroom; an identical chandelier dyed the room a pleasing yellow, but in the center was not a fountain, rather a golden bonfire. The dancing pyrite flames made the crystals in the chandelier sparkle with an unearthly light.

"Lemme guess," Lyla postulated, "Fire Harmonics?"

"Yes, but it operates differently than you've seen in Ballroom 3. Ballroom 2 operates on an ocular level." The receptionist motioned to the fire. "Do you want to try?"

"Err, no thanks."

The receptionist gave them one last smile and then left through the doors. As she departed, a young man that was huddled around the fire came to them. He was about the same height as Lex, and he was dressed in white and gold robes, leaning on a tall staff with a crystal globe atop it. When he approached close enough, Lex and Lyla could see that he was very handsome--blondish, boyish, although his dark eyes seemed to indicate that he was wiser than he let on. He shook Lyla, Lex, and Atla's hands. "Pleasure to meet you in person. I'm Remedy: the Fire Cantor."

"Everyone keeps saying 'in person,' or something," Lyla said as she shook his hand. "Have all of you seen us ahead of time?"

Remedy laughed. "I've seen you, Judy's heard you, maybe Harry's felt you. Mitzy's magic is complicated, so I can't speak for her."

"Mitzy's a Cantor?" Lex asked, a bit shocked.

"Oh, yes. Of Ballroom 4." Remedy spoke as he led them to the staircase in one corner of the room, the exact same setup as the one they had climbed in Ballroom 3. "See, there are four equally powerful Ballrooms, with a cantor for each. We all follow different magical paths, but Madame Ava can channel our collective divinations into the Nexus: Ballroom 5."

"So what would I be doing?" Lyla wondered.

Remedy reached the doors, wrapping his free hand around one of the handles. "To be honest, I don't know. That's up to Madame Ava. Still, whether you like it or not, Ms. Russel, you are one of the most powerful diviners alive today. It's an honor to have you on our side."

"Oh, you're making me blush! Ah, but thanks, really," Lyla said with fake modesty. Remedy grinned and opened the door for them before departing down the stairs, back to the fire.

"That man was a wizard," Atla said as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Man?" Lyla blew a raspberry. "That boy was barely legal."

Atla shook his head, repeating, "That man was a wizard."

"Is that a problem?" Lex asked.

"Not necessarily. But most wizards are either workers of the Underworld, or utterly self-interested agents. It's surprising to see one employed by Good."

Lyla bit her lip. "I'll keep that in mind." Not bothering to give any more attention to the subject, Lyla slipped past the door into Ballroom 5. Lex followed his sister, but Atla shot Remedy one more glance; Remedy looked up at him and, catching his eye, smiled. Atla quickly looked away before entering the darkness himself.

The three of them, no longer with a guide, stumbled through the ominous shadows like the blind. A bit scared, Lyla yelled out: "Madame Ava? We're here!"

Madame Ava's voice slithered out in response. "Could you shut the door behind you, please?" Realizing that a crack of light still illuminated the ground behind them, Lex ran to the door and shut it. Now it was pitch black. "Thank you, dear."

Lex suddenly felt arms around him, and warmth behind him; Atla, apparently plenty fine in the darkness, held Lex close to his chest. Lyla's voice rang out ahead of him. "It's kind of dark," she commented.

Not even bothering to dignify Lyla with a response, the darkness receded on its own. Atla reluctantly let Lex go as the shadows faded away, and again the gold Ballroom was bathed in light. The three made their way to Madame Ava, trenched in her meditation.

"If you want to find the Mitchell twins, we must act quickly," Madame Ava said without hesitation. "Cassandra's Eyes will fortify themselves too strongly if we fail. We need you, and you need us."

Lyla nodded. "Tell me what I have to do."

Now it was Madame Ava that smiled. Without looking up with her violet-glowing eyes, Madame Ava said to Atla and Lex, "Leave us."

Atla and Lex stepped back into Ballroom 2. Looking down at the floor, Lex noticed that the busy people wandering to and fro were no longer present; rather, there were only thirteen still figures, gathered around the fire. Lex saw witches, gypsies, and witch doctors, as well as Remedy, at the crown of the circle. Lex and Atla hurried down the stairs. "Remedy!"

Remedy looked away from the fire and smiled. "Hello again. Is something wrong?"

"Uhh, I was about to ask you the same thing. What's going on?"

"We're getting ready for a major divining. Now that Lyla's here, I suppose Madame Ava thinks we're ready to find Cassandra's Eyes."

"Well... can we help?"

Although Lex wasn't expecting a "yes" answer, it was exactly what he got. "Any assistance you could offer would be appreciated. I'm in charge of our defensive charms, but while we're casting the divination my power will be completely focused into the Fire Harmonics. In short, the Sibylla will be sitting ducks."

"Then what can we do?"

"It's simple. Just stay here, in the Ballrooms, and defend us while we work our magic." Lex certainly looked uncomfortable, and Remedy was quick to follow up. "Don't worry, you won't be doing it alone. The Nightshade Guardians will be by your side as well."

Rather suddenly, a silver funnel of orbs whirled into existence next to Lex. Aaron appeared, a bit harried but strangely satisfied. "Hi, Lex. Dragon."

"Is this your whitelighter?" Remedy asked, slightly offput by his interruption.

Aaron was quick to notice his faux pas. "Sorry. I'm Aaron, the Charmed Ones' whitelighter."

"Remedy. A pleasure," he said with his now characteristic grin. "I'm sure you'd be keen to defending your charges by defending us as well." Aaron opened his mouth to respond, but Remedy was faster. "Lex has already volunteered to guard Ballroom 2 here with me. Maybe the Dragon Warlock can take Ballroom 3, and you can head to number 4." Remedy's statements, commands disguised as suggestions, made Aaron flinch. His work apparently done, Remedy turned and went back to the bonfire, steeped in a silent, staring meditation.

"I've never protected anything before," Lex said to both Atla and Aaron.

Atla furrowed his brow. "I don't want to leave you alone, Lex."

"That's my line!" Aaron growled softly. He turned to Lex. "I spoke to the Elders. Kincaid and Rudi are fine--the woman in white? Apparently a whitelighter."

Lex raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's weird. Wouldn't you or Kyle have known that?"

"Yes. Or at least, maybe in the old order of things..." Aaron motioned to the ceiling. "I've told this story before, but everything's been getting dicey ever since the Halliwells died. The Elders have been taking action that they've never taken before. To be honest, it scares the Hell out of me."

"But... they're still Good. And they're still on our side. Right?"

Aaron hesitated. "...They don't approve of what we're planning on doing, so we better hurry it up."

"Lyla's in there with Madame Ava. According to Remedy, something big is-"

His sentence was cut short by a variety of noises: tingling, bell-like chimes and sharp flashes. Whitelighters with witches, witch doctors with gypsies, teleported into the Ballroom in a dozen blue and gold spotlights. The three of them were surprised to see Mikey Morris appear, arm in arm with two gypsies, their eyes glowing crimson.

"Oh," Mikey said with his own surprise. "I see you've found our secret hideout. Lex, Aaron, Dragon."

"Good to see you, Mikey," Lex replied. "You, uh... are you gonna help me protect this room?"

Mikey, disengaging from the two gypsies, looked around, eyeing the Fire Harmonics for just one second before responding. "I suppose so. From what I heard, Madame Ava's got something planned. Now that I see you here... I can assume it has something to do with you and your sisters."

"Lyla and your boss are working on finding Cassandra's Eyes," Aaron explained.

"Cassandra's-- what?" Mikey's serenity was briefly shattered, but he regained it quickly. "So this is serious. I'd advise that the two of you get to where you belong as well, fast," he said, looking to Aaron and Atla. They complied, exchanging a glance with each other before heading apart. By some tragic coincidence, both also leaned into Lex at the same time, whispering, "Be careful." Lex, with an awkward smile, nodded in both of their directions as they departed.

Mikey put a hand on Lex's shoulder. "Nervous?" Mikey asked.

"Well..." Lex simply nodded vigorously. Mikey chuckled in response. "Who exactly will we be fighting?"

"Most likely demons from the Shadows' Hand and Zira's Sisterhood... maybe several darklighters from the Order of Ebon Twilight out for whitelighter blood. It shouldn't be anything you haven't already handled in the past, Lex."

"B-but, but, uh, Mikey. You probably know this, but I've never vanquished a demon before!"

"Wha? Of course you-" Mikey took a moment to think to himself. "Oh. Hm. Well, then stick close to me or any of the other Nightshade Guardians. If you can't vanquish an enemy, then banish them. Alright?" Lex nodded in understanding. Mikey gave a wide grin. "Don't worry. If we all work together, then we can get back the Mitchells no problem."

A very pretty witch doctor in dreads and a white business skirt walked to Mikey's side, whispering something into his ear. Mikey nodded, "Thank you, Emma." He turned to Lex. "It's beginning."

"Madame Ava?" Overwhelming darkness and a loss of sensation. "Madame Ava!"

"Don't let your eyes adjust to the dark, dear: let your mind."

"I don't get it."

"Of course not." Madame Ava's voice quivered like a silver wire strung tightly over a valley. "Well, then let's just start simple for now. That's all we need from you, simple..."

"How do you expect me to do anything if I can't see anything? My powers-"

"I'm clairvoyant for a reason, you know. You don't have to state the obvious." Lyla pursed her lips, and through the shadows she felt like Madame Ava could still see her. Two fiery pulsars of violet light, Madame Ava's eyes, suddenly blazed at an arms length away. "Now. The Reflector. Hold it in your hands."

A pause as Lyla reached over her back, then flipped the Reflector repeatedly to make sure it was right-side-up. "'Kay, got it."

"Good. Now, I will serve as the focal point for your concentration. This means that for as long as I can hold, I will use the power of this Nexus to become Cassandra's Eyes."

"Become a place?"

"Yes. I may not be myself while it happens, but you have nothing to fear. Simply use your Reflector as you have always done; whether you like it or not, you may find yourself tapping into the power of the Nexus as well."

"A-alright."

"Very good. Then I'll start right away."

In the windy room, Harry Lightfeather, tall and strong, grabbed the hands of his dozen, A breeze swirled in the golden boughs of a magnificent oak, floating through shining leaves of heaven and entering their breath one by one; he could feel it in his heart, the gypsy next to him in her left arm, the with doctor to her right in his belly. Ballroom 1 had awoken.

In the fiery room, Remedy, somehow powerful and delicate at once, clutched his staff to his body. His dozen held their hands to their hearts as they gazed into the golden fire, and suddenly it was not a fire; it was an inferno, a conflagration of images, pictures, colors and shapes. Lex and Mikey stood side-by-side with their eyes fixed on the exit doors. Ballroom 2 had awoken.

In the watery room, Judy Yi sat serenely on the edge of the fountain, her dozen completing the circle. They listened with their hands in their laps, their heads down; music, words, sounds and whispers from the darkness overflowed in the bubbling gold. Atla, suddenly aware of a foreshadowed tingling in the air, conjured a spear of water in his hand. Ballroom 3 had awoken.

In the earthy room, Mitzy Stillman and her followers, standing like stone monuments, bowed their heads to the golden crystal, a glassine sepulcher that shone like wisdom. Thirteen notes resonated in tongues, in chants, and crystalline rocks like tiny sentinels levitated from the earth. Aaron, two other whitelighters by his side, notched an arrow into his bow, for something was coming. Ballroom 4 had awoken.

In the dark room, light was blooming. Not red light, like Lyla was used to, but golden light; there was a supernova on her forehead, and rays like diamonds in her hands. Her Reflector was Solar in the entire meaning of the word, bright and celestial and spinning, sunbeams breaking through the darkness like a thousand gossamer fingers. Madame Ava, now gripped, gasped; her eyes turned from violet to ghoulish white. Lyla saw her cue and focused on Madame Ava like a flame in the dark. Ballroom 5...

"Something is wrong!" Antevorte and Postverta yelled in synch.

Ipos swung around, his white robes rippling. "I feel a foreign presence. Where are the Seers?"

The twins turned to the steps of the Marble Theater and twirled their wrists. Twelve men and women in crimson armless robes appeared with iridescent outlines, their cloudy eyes glossed over. "What's the meaning of this?" Ipos yelled.

One of the Seers, a man with spiky white hair, spoke from his place like a statue. "A hybridized entity has woven itself into our protective curse. They are likely attempting to divine our location through scrying."

"Witches..." Ipos mumbled under his breath.

"In attempting to locate us, they've made themselves vulnerable," another of the Seers said, a boy with straight brown hair. "Their location has been pinpointed."

"Then, stop them!" The Seers nodded together, although they did not move from their places. Ipos gave orders to the Oracles. "Call the rest of the Seven--tell them we are under attack."

"All of them, Ipos?" Antevorte asked with skepticism.

A pause. "Very well, all except Amy. Make sure you're discreet."

"Of course." Antevorte burned in a column of blue flame, while Postverta crystallized and burst within red shards of ice.

The doors connecting Ballroom 2 to the adjacent Ballrooms slammed shut. Shadows suddenly encapsulated the golden aura of the bonfire, and it became apparent that something was coming.

In the now dark fringes of the Ballroom, Creeper Demons rose silently out of the ground, their mouthless faces illuminated only by the sparks of the Fire Harmonics. Lex gasped in fear. Without hesitation, the two red-eyed gypsies stepped forward, yelling "Waffediyok" at the top of their lungs. Beams of energy shot from their eyes, instantly vaporizing two of the Creepers.

They continued to appear, this time accompanied by robed plumes of smog: Smoker Demons. With their entrance, a curtain of black fog shrouded the entire room and obscured the incoming Demons. Remedy suddenly spoke up from his place, visibly concentrating harder on the Fire Harmonics. "They're using the smoke to try and break our sight," he declared.

Lex raised his palms in front of him. "Shimmer!" Ribbons of aqua light burst from his hands like an aurora. They exploded with outstanding speed and rode on a powerful wind, eradicating any vestiges of dark mist left. Smoker Demons and Creeper Demons, bathed in blue and gold, stood still in shock.

Taking advantage of the diversion, Mikey reached into his pouch and threw a shower of what appeared to be nuts at the Demons. He shone a rainbow light on them with his totem wand, and in a flash of fireworks they exploded.

"Is that it?" Lex yelled as the detonations continued. In the chaos, three yellow-skinned oni had appeared, paintbrushes in hand. A gypsy vanquished one with an Evil Eye, but another oni shot a missile of ink in her face, blinding her.

Mikey shook his head, gripping his totem wand tighter and running to the gypsy's aid.

Lucy and Kyle orbed into Ballroom 5, and instantly they were transfixed by the brightness of it. Lucy saw Lyla in the center, the Reflector spinning madly in her hands.

The sound of Kyle's orbs alerted Lyla to their presence. "Luce, get the fuck out!" she screamed, barely keeping hold of her concentration. Lucy opened her mouth to respond, but Madame Ava cut her off with a booming voice.

"NO. THEY MUST STAY. THEY WILL BE THE METHOD OF OUR EXTRACTION."

"Wha?" Lucy finally managed to ask.

"She means you have to get the Matthews Twins," Lyla replied.

Kyle's face, now red, looked on point of bursting as he pulled Lucy back by the sleeve of her shirt, finally saying, "No! We need permission from the Elders!"

"Permission my ass, you little fucker!" Lyla was now excessively vulgar, but she managed to muster the sense to say, "Think about Paige!"

While Kyle stomached her statement, Lucy seemed to be on the verge of panic. "Lyla, I don't get it! Where do we go?" she asked.

In the middle of Lucy's question, however, the golden-white light pouring from Lyla's Reflector contracted then burst--Ballroom 5 became painted in the brightness, so much so that Kyle and Lucy were completely immobilized, mired in blindness.

Then, over the noise, Lyla's voice somehow soared: "Do you see?" she asked. "Do you see where you have to go?"

And then Kyle's voice, feeble: "Yes!"

"Then GO!"

The light of Kyle's orbs was indistinguishable from the light of the Ballroom, but Lyla knew they were gone. If all went well, they would be returning with the twins: and if they failed, Lyla would have lost a sister.

Kyle and Lucy orbed into a white marble hall, facing an unusually blank wall. Flashes of Lyla's vision still lingered in their retinas, manifesting as brief clues of what to do next.

"Cassandra's Eyes are here, aren't they?" Lucy asked in a whisper. Kyle simply nodded. "Shit. You won't judge me if I say I'm scared, would you?"

"I would ask you the same thing," Kyle said in the most honest tone of voice Lucy had heard from him. He put a hand on the wall in front of him. "This is a Warding Wall. Your sister and that Gypsy woman must be working on breaking it psychically."

"So as soon as it's down-"

"-we make our move."

Lucy solemnly shook her head, leaning against one of the nearby columns. Eager to make conversation, Kyle changed the conversation topic. "Hey. Is your brother gay?"

"Is that a problem?" Lucy replied angrily, not bothering to look down at him.

"Nono! No. But, uh. Is he dating a warlock?"

"...Is THAT a problem?"

"So he is."

Lucy rubbed her face in her hands. "Shit. Yeah, okay, so what? He's right for my brother, he's saved our lives a bundle of times... we're tired of having to defend ourselves, just please, stop."

"...I'm obligated to tell the whole Elder council this, you know. Not just Lux Odin and Sandra."

For a moment, Lucy paused to wonder why neither Lux Odin nor Lux Sandra had let the other Elders know about Atla and Lex earlier. Lux Sandra was an old softy, but was it possible... that Lux Odin actually liked the Russels? She dismissed the thought. "I wonder how Lucas is doing with that whitelighter woman," she pondered, choosing to ignore Kyle's last comment.

"As frustrated as ever, I'm sure. Whatever. At least they're safe."

"But I don't get it. You didn't know whitelighters like her existed before this-"

"Neither did Aaron."

A pause. "And why wouldn't the Elders tell you about it? What makes her so different?" Kyle, after a long moment of silence, just shrugged. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I guess I'm overthinking it. Just another day in heaven, right?" she asked, jokingly. It spurred no reaction from her company.

In Hokkaido, meanwhile, Lucas remained encapsulated in light, sitting with Kincaid and Rudi, both of whom were unusually placid. It had been less than half an hour.

He thought he'd try talking to Rudi again, but even the most intimate of conversations starters had elicited nothing. So he instead decided to attempt conversation with the whitelighter, who had spent the entire span of time floating on her fountain of orbs.

"Hey," Lucas said, firmly, to no response. Again, "Hey!" And this time the woman turned her head. "What's your name?"

"Yukiko," she said. Her voice was gentle and quiet.

"Yukiko, could you let us out?"

"No."

"...Alright. Could you at least make Rudi and Kincaid more exciting to talk to?"

"No."

"Why not?!"

"It's easier to keep them placid, for now. I could do the same for you, if you'd like."

"No! God, you're impossible."

"I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm just doing my job."

Lucas sighed. He took a moment to ponder something. "You know," he began, "the Charmed Ones are pretty busy right now."

"That's right."

"I heard they need to get some twins from some place or something."

"Yes. The Mitchell Twins, from Cassandra's Eyes."

"You don't think we need to help?"

Yukiko shook her head. "I've been ordered to protect you three. That's all."

"That so."

"Yes. So please, just stay calm and wait." With that, Yukiko turned her back again.

Lucas grinned. He kicked at the black and white pebbles that dotted the ground beneath him, bent down on his knees, and started his work.

"What are they doing in there?" Lex cried, taking quick takes towards the closed doors of Ballroom 5. He ducked to avoid an oni, clad in the paper skin of what appeared to be a pterodactyl, that swooped down to attack him. "Paper skin! Unfold!" The armor crumpled away in midair, the oni crashing into the wall with a rather comical squeal.

Mikey, along with another witch doctor, shot majestic streams of lightning into an oncoming group of smoker demons. They evaporated into wisps of vapor. "I dunno, but as long as the Ballrooms are safe, we're good!"

The Fire Harmonics had remained stable, only one or two of Remedy's people having been struck down in the fight. As soon as any of them fell, however, a gypsy or witch doctor quickly took their place, stabilizing the golden flames once again. Lex, essentially inseparable from Mikey, had faced the chaos with a nervous energy that had so far served him well.

Red flashes: the hulking figures and bald heads indicative of Grimlocks suddenly filled the ballroom. Several witch doctors, flanking Lex and Mikey, scrunched over in pain, Grimlocks strangling them with their own colorful auras.

Before anyone could respond, however, the doors to Ballroom 3 burst open with an explosion of smoke; the great doors, flying outwards, cut over a dozen of the Grimlocks down in the span of a second. Lex and Mikey rushed to the now open doorway, both relieved to find the fountain on the other side unharmed.

Rather, it was Atla that stood among the rubble, strips of lightning traversing his large arms. He was breathing heavy, his clothes ripped into near tatters. "What happened, Dragon?" asked Mikey.

"Trouble," he growled. A sweet, soothing sound resounded behind him, although its source was veiled by what appeared to be fog. Mikey and Lex exchanged a curious glance.

Emma, the witch doctor in white, ran up and touched Mikey's shoulder, totem wand still in hand. "We've got it handled in here," she quickly told him. Mikey nodded, he and Lex joining Atla in Ballroom 3.

As soon as they stepped inside, the sound from before evolved from a indistinct hum into a full-fledged cacophony of songs, tens of distinct melodies clashing against each other in utter confusion. Cutting through the fog, the three of them passed by the fountain; Judy, her eyes shut and a troubled expression on her face, grabbed Lex's sleeve. "Stop the music," she said firmly. "We can't hear a thing!"

"I can't even see where..." Lex trailed off, pausing as his foot bumped into something. Peering through the fog, he gasped: a man no older than himself was curled up on the ground, asleep. "...what is going on?"

Then, far off in the fog, a deep blue light. It started as a soft beacon but multiplied in its brightness, and Lex realized it was because it was getting closer: a projectile? Atla suddenly pulled Lex to the ground. Mikey, on the forefront, reached into his pouch and threw a handful of brown dust into the bolt of light, dispersing it into a small cloud reminiscent of fireflies. As they diffused past Lex, he was awash with a sudden, overwhelming drowsiness.

Atla, however, apparently unfazed, stood up and pushed the palms of his hands together. A green sphere of wind exploded outwards from his body, sending the fog to the corners of the Ballroom. The sleeping bodies of witches, gypsies, and witch doctors dotted the ground. Lex saw the singers as well: long-haired, faceless specters with ghastly spindly fingers, floating legless, just above the ground. They swayed like tethered corpses in water.

"These are not demons," Atla barked to Mikey and Lex. "They are naiads."

Mikey grew pale, and Lex exclaimed in confusion, "Ocean spirits? But they're good, right? Right?"

Atla simply looked grim. Mikey turned to Lex. "We have to silence them without killing them. Whatever's going on here-"

Mikey was cut off by the echoing sound of a single water droplet. In front of the exit doors appeared the grotesque figure of a masked woman, her bare torso the complexion of dead seaweed, with the slithering and vile torso of an octopus. Her tall staff, topped with a deep blue crystal, shone with magic. Atla hissed, as though to himself, "A cecaelia."

"Lex, handle the naiads before Judy loses it!" Mikey ordered. He and Atla proceeded to guard the fountain. Atla wasted no time, launching a solitary bolt of lightning at the aquatic monster. The cecaelia, as though handling a lightning rod, plunged her staff into the floor in front of her, the blue electricity swirling around the crystal. She waved the staff, sending Atla's magic back at him; Mikey stepped forward, however, struggling to use his totem wand to absorb the bolts.

While they were embroiled in the fight with the cecaelia, Lex had run up to one of the ghostly naiads. A foot away, Lex found it hard to believe that phantom was a creature of good. Still, he was intrigued to find that they were mouthless; sound cascaded off of them like ambient noise. A telekinetic command would do nothing. Frustrated, Lex turned in place and pressed his fingers to his temples: he would have to write a spell.

"LYLA."

"Y-yeah?" Lyla managed to say without breaking her concentration.

"YOU HAVE FOUND THE LOCATION OF CASSANDRA'S EYES. BUT YOU MUST NOW BREAK THEIR DEFENSES."

"How do I do that?" she asked nervously.

"I AM YOUR NEXUS. THROUGH ME, YOU MUST BREAK THE SEERS."

"You want me to attack you?!"

"FOCUS. YOU'RE NOT AN IDIOT, DON'T-" Suddenly, a dramatic, painful gasp. Lyla managed to direct her attention towards Madame Ava, but as soon as she saw her white eyes, she felt a painful shattering inside her head: 12 sets of eyes, 12 angry voices, combining their psychic energy into a single, crushing blow. Lyla screamed, nearly losing her grip on the reflector.

"DO SOMETHING!" Madame Ava ordered.

Feeling a pressure building within her head, Lyla complied. The tingling in her body she once called intuition mixed with rage and pain, layering and layering on itself with exponents of intent. With a savage glare and a deep breath, Lyla shot the dark energy at Madame Ava.

The collective wails of a dozen seers echoed off the walls of the Marble Theater. Blood now trickled out of their ears, and they clutched their heads in pain.

Ipos looked on in panic, one of the seers yelling, "The witch is more powerful than we thought!" Postverta and Antevorte, appearing from the sidelines, grabbed Ipos by the arms and escorted him down a hidden hallway in the back of the Theater.

"You must hide," the oracles whispered to him.

He nodded helplessly, disappearing into the darkness.

The cecaelia, stationary, had repelled and reflected waves and waves of Atla's and Mikey's attacks with little effort. And it seemed, as she fought, the songs of the naiads only grew louder. Judy was squinting painfully by the fountain, just barely keeping her concentration.

Mikey reached into his pouch and pulled out one last nut; he flung it at the cecaelia and bathed it in his totem wand's light, wreathing her in an iridescent explosion. He and Atla slowly approached the glowing smokescreen, unsure of lay beyond it...

...only for Mikey to be struck by the butt of a staff, falling to the ground in pain. Before Atla could respond, the blue gem shone with an aquatic light, and he heard the gurgling indicative of the cecaelia's chants. He was instantly encapsulated in a huge pillar of water, floating, unharmed but powerless.

"The music of the sea/is no match for the Power of Three/I call upon the quiet ones/to make thy songs undone."

The spell Lex had finally concocted took effect immediately; bright blue flashes of light appeared around every one of the naiads, and their serene coos stopped. The cecaelia took notice, conjuring a bolt of high-pressurized water at Lex. Lex quickly raised his hands in front of him, saying, "Rebound!" The water took a quick about-face, and its speed took the cecaelia by surprise; it hit her square in the chest, flinging her backwards and causing her to drop her staff in shock. Lex took the opportunity to point at the column of water encasing Atla. "Water spout, staunch," he commanded, and with a chime the water splashed away as though a faucet had been turned off.

Atla fell on one knee, visibly angry. The cecaelia, unarmed, looked up at him in what appeared to be disgust, cursing in her marine tongue. Atla, with a sneer, exhaled a plume of flame; with a terrible scream, the cecaelia perished, withering away until all that was left was a desiccated mass of tentacles. The sight made Lex cringe. As soon as she was vanquished, the naiads, silenced, disappeared in small puffs of fog.

Judy smiled. "Let the carnage begin," she said softly, although what she meant by that Lex had no idea.

A sudden burst of strength, as though a source of power once stymied was now realized, free-flow. It coursed through Lyla's veins, poured into every bit of her body. The time was now.

Lyla felt the Seers still struggling against her, their powers now separate and feeble. But she was a creature of light, lost in her bright ecstasy and drunk on solar power. She held the Reflector in front of her like a shield, still spinning; focusing pure psychic energy, she let it rush from her hands to the Reflector and outwards, roaring in a grand beam of light towards Madame Ava.

The sound of explosions riddling behind the Warding Wall caught Lucy and Kyle's attention. They exchanged a nervous glance. As though it were an ice cube in the sun, the Warding Wall melted away into nothingness.

The duo stepped in apprehensively, unsure of what an empty amphitheater meant. The ominous red robes of seers littered the floor, although smoking piles of ash were all that were left of them. Kyle looked at Lucy, impressed. "Your sister did all this?" Lucy just shrugged, distastefully stepping over a smoldering bit of seer.

Suddenly, voices from above. "You dare enter OUR domain, witch?" they said in unison. "You think you can claim OUR power?"

Lucy put her hands up, ready to project a limelight, while Kyle conjured his bow and notched an arrow. "I thought you could predict our coming. What being prophets and all," Lucy replied to the dark ceiling.

"Oh, you witches think you're so clever. Scrying for our position. Vanquishing our defenses. Blocking our visions of the future."

"I don't remember doing that last one," Lucy mumbled to Kyle under her breath.

"We want the children back," yelled Kyle.

"Then your journey ends here."

The sound of ice breaking and the sound of flames. Antevorte appeared at one end of the theater, her dress wreathed in blue fire. Postverta appeared at the other end, red crystals falling around her. In unison they held their hands out, a crossfire of fire and ice about to intersect Lucy and Kyle.

Lucy acted fast, fortifying themselves in a green light that caused both elements to stop in their tracks. Kyle released an arrow at Antevorte; she blocked it with her crystal ball, but lost her concentration in the process.

While Kyle continued to sling arrows at Antevorte, Lucy released her light and simply ducked under Postverta's ice beam. Postverta, frustrated, now shot frozen red projectiles from her arm like a cannon. Lucy wrapped herself in an accelerating green light, her enhanced speed allowing her to dodge Postverta's attacks with ease. With a single blow, Lucy rushed forward and kicked the oracle in the chest, causing her to fall onto her back.

Although Kyle's aim was true, Antevorte had no trouble either blocking his arrows or incinerating them with small waves of her hand. At some point, Kyle took too long to notch an arrow, and Antevorte sent a blue wave of fire that fanned out like a cone. Kyle smelled his clothes singing before he managed to orb away in time.

Lucy pulled an athame out of her back pocket, preparing to dive in for the finish; however, she was too slow, and Postverta slapped her away, freezing a painful red mark on Lucy's face. Lucy cursed as Postverta jumped to her feet, flipping her long brown hair and flashing an arrogant smile. "You didn't think this would be easy, did you? Witch." Postverta sneered.

"Tch... Bitch."

"We're here!"

Both Lucy and Kyle briefly looked up from their fights to exclaim, in unison, "Lucas?!"

Yes, it was Lucas, and Kincaid and Rudi as well, although the latter two were obviously more confused than he was. Rudi, in fact, was shamelessly frightened, clutching Lucas' arm and whispering, "Where are we?" Lucas would have replied, but Postverta wasted no time in blasting an arrow of red ice crystals at the three of them.

Kincaid, instinctively, created an icy blue vortex that absorbed the ice. While Rudi ran to the sidelines, Kincaid quickly unleashed the crystals, with twice the speed and power, at Antevorte. Antevorte erected a flaming blue shield that instantly melted the frozen onslaught.

Kyle orbed next to Lucas. "What are you doing here, and how are you here at all?" he asked, harried.

"...Sumerian ritual to track a lost presence? See, I made a glyph with the pebbles-" Although Lucas obviously seemed very proud of himself, Kyle had little to no actual interest in the process, being more interested in Antevorte and Postverta who were approaching with rage in their eyes. Lucy, waving her athame in front of her, backed up into the boys as well. "-and then using Dr. Russel as a flagpoint, I teleported us here! Pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah, uh-huh, not that I don't appreciate it, but I don't know why-" Kyle shot an arrow at Postverta, which she bisected with a slash of her cold blades. "-you came here at all."

It was just as he said that, however, that the sound of a deep, sonorous bell rang out into the Marble Theater. Then, a monstrous flash of light that sent both the oracles and the witches into submission; appearing, between the two, was Yukiko, towering in both her stature and luminescence. She turned to Lucas, and still soft-spoken as ever, said, "Please do not leave my sight again."

"They're gonna hurt us," Lucas said with a less-than-discreet edge of self-delighted mischief, pointing at the oracles. Yukiko glanced at them both with little to no emotional reaction.

Antevorte and Postverta didn't respond so kindly. At once, they thrust their hands forward, sending concentrated beams of fire and ice at Yukiko. As though it were an automated impulse, Yukiko quickly raised both of her forearms to her face, upon which layers of pure white orbs created literal, sparkling shields. The beams ricocheted off of Yukiko's shields and into the walls. The oracles realized what would happen far too late. Their eyes widened in terror as the whitelighter, with calm calculation, adjusted the angles of her arms to just the right position. The reflected beams crossed paths. Postverta's crimson beam hit Antevorte square in the eyes, as Antevorte's sapphire one did to her sister. They screamed in unison, their white dresses madly spinning like twin tornadoes, and then they were gone, instantly and finally.

"My god," Lucy whispered, Yukiko's luster finally fading to normal ambient lighting. She dropped her athame to the ground, awestruck. It appeared that Kyle and Kincaid were similarly lost for words, as they simply stood with their mouths agape.

Yukiko, of course, acted like nothing was wrong at all. She simply surveyed the ground where the oracle twins once stood and said, with just a hint of cheer, "I believe you found your Mitchell children."

Unsure of what she meant, the group walked to Yukiko's side, gazing at the same thing she was: two glassy orbs within the folds of the oracles' dresses. One was a pearly blue, the other a passionate red. Kyle picked them up without hesitation.

Besides the brightness that they shone with, and the warmth that they bore with just the slightest touch, it was obvious these stones were more than just rocks. Kyle brought the orbs closer to the light. He inferred that it was not an optical illusion he saw when the light revealed identical girls, curled up and asleep, trapped inside.

Ipos sat in darkness, the Whites dancing sluggishly around him. The seers had been vanquished. The oracles, killed. By now the Mitchell twins had been discovered by the Charmed One and her lackeys. And Ipos had predicted none of it.

"Your control is fading," a voice from above said. Ipos opened his eyes as the voice continued. "The Horae will be back to themselves at any moment now, hm?"

"...What do you want, Gloriana?"

The vampire queen slowly descended from above, evidently unaffected by gravity. Her silk red ballroom gown stood out in the shadows like a bloody rose. "Unbelievable! Amy was right," she said with a laugh, "Without foresight you're just a narrow-minded coot!"

Ipos scowled, Gloriana landing just outside the Whites' circle. "You think you have more power than I? You have the audacity to mock me now?" Ipos' tone of voice had become confrontational, but he stayed rooted in position. "You are a dirty bottomfeeding-"

"Mon amour, there's no need to get so worked up." Gloriana walked counterwise to the Whites, twirling her parasol over her shoulder. "It'll be over soon. The point is, vampires are psychics too, and when you work with emotions like we do, it's so easy to create... mm... 'mental static,' no? Of course, your seers didn't notice a thing, they probably just thought they were having a bad day..." The queen gave a luminous laugh. "...a REALLY bad day! By the time the Ruby Guild was through with their heads, it was no wonder that Charmed One--ditz though she may be--was able to kill them all."

"I find it hard to believe that you blocked my visions," Ipos said with a sarcastic scoff.

This wiped the smile off of Gloriana's face. "'Your visions?' Ah! You mean, the borrowed visions of the women you enslaved. These fine ladies here and those..." She licked her lips. "...twins of yours. Shame you have nothing left anymore."

Suddenly, in a burst of speed, Gloriana took both of Ipos' arms behind him, bound them with her parasol, and drew his neck to her mouth. Ipos was panting hard, sweat dripping off of his face; the sight made Gloriana giggle. "Don't underestimate us, my sweet," she whispered playfully. "You won't get away with it."

Somewhere in the Underworld, in the darkness below a hidden marble theater, was the scream of a prophet.

The moment that Lyla had purged the Seers was abrupt and short-lived, and as soon as she had finished her job the white light had faded from her Reflector, Madame Ava's eyes returned to violet, and the shadows of the Nexus returned to Ballroom 5. They had done their job, and Lyla felt a strange sense of relief in knowing that, regardless of what was happening in the Underworld at the same time. Madame Ava, who had otherwise been in a trance for the entire divination, looked at Lyla, smiled, then continued her wordless meditation.

In the rest of the Ballrooms, meanwhile, demons were literally ushered out the doors as dozens of witches, gypsies, and witch doctors, no longer needed for the Harmonics, left their posts and blasted at demons like there was no tomorrow. Within five minutes Lex was awestruck to find the Sibylla completely demon-free, Remedy's protective spells apparently taking effect once more.

Still, the damage done was palpable. Nightshade Guardians and Sibylla alike had fallen, and it was Mikey who had taken charge of the body count. The number of dead he had recorded, 15, was negligible considering the work that had been done, but the number of injured was far higher. Ballroom 4, a radiant place with magnificent golden crystals cutting through the floor, had been converted into a temporary infirmary where whitelighters worked on the wounded.

It was in Ballroom 4 that Aaron, who had joined on the healing efforts, reconvened with Lex, Atla, and Mikey. Aaron himself was clad in tattered clothing, his hair a mess: apparently, he and Mitzy had been attacked by Hexcasters.

"I told you they were a part of the Seven," Atla said sternly. Aaron, bent over a sleeping witch, simply rolled his eyes.

"I'm just glad you're safe though," Lex told Aaron. "Those guys were tough the last time we had fought. How'd you manage to hold out?"

Aaron grimaced. "It was basically them versus a room full of whitelighters. Long story short, no one killed no one. Biggest stalemate of the century, if you ask me. I'm just lucky I wasn't in Ballroom 1. The Order of Ebon Twilight attacked them; there's still darklighter poison splattered all over the place. Anyway, how did you guys fare?"

"Well!" Mikey exclaimed. He put an arm around Lex, then immediately took it off when he saw Atla's glare. "Lex was fantastic help."

"He defended Ballroom 3 single-handedly," Atla added with shameless pride.

Although Lex was obviously blushing, the sight just made Aaron laugh. Mitzy, who had been convening in Ballroom 5 with the rest of the cantors, now emerged from the top of the stairs with Lyla in tow. She approached them with a tired grin. "There's my favorite helpers," Mitzy said.

"Yeah, good to see you too," Aaron replied, taking Lyla into his arms and kissing her on the forehead. "So? Mission accomplished?"

"I hate that wording, but yeah," answered Mitzy. "The Elders sent out a message to the entire magical community: Lucille got the Mitchell twins back."

"Aaaand," Lyla said from Aaron's arms, "Cassandra's Eyes have been destroyed."

"What?!" Both Lex and Mikey shouted at once. Even Atla was surprised, uncrossing his arms and furrowing his brow. Lex waved his hands in the space in front of him. "So wait! Ly! We defeated a member of the Seven?"

"Yeah! Ipos is dead, their headquarters is abandoned. We did it, Lex."

"'We' nothing." They recognized Lucy's voice in an instant; she had orbed in with Kyle, visibly exhausted but certainly happy. Lucy exchanged a small grin with Mikey before approaching the group. "I'll have you know, it was Lucas' new whitelighter that did most of the vanquishing back there."

Lyla pulled herself from Aaron's grip, taking Lex in one arm and Lucy in the other. "Well, whatever. We're still a good team," she declared. She scanned over Aaron, Mitzy, Mikey, Atla, and Kyle with serious eyes. "All of us."

"Ugh, I just threw up a little in my mouth," Mitzy complained. "Anyway, you guys have fun celebrating! I'll wrap things up here." She winked at Lyla, who just stuck her tongue out in response.

"I have one concern," Atla said, noticeably less jubilant than the rest of the group. "I do not doubt you power, Lyla..." Lyla grinned and flipped her hair. "...But Cassandra's Eyes were protected by a team of elite seers. The most elite living seers in the Underworld. It's hard to believe one witch, even a Charmed One, could be powerful enough to destroy them all."

"I hate to agree with the warlock, but it is mighty suspicious," piped Kyle with a shrug.

"Maybe we had help," Lex pondered. "You know, secretly."

The seven of them exchanged wary glances. None really knew what such a theory, if true, implied, other than the fact that the mission they had set out to complete, and more, had succeeded. For now, that was all that mattered.

"He was found in the maze below the Marble Theater. The Whites were gone without a trace, the oracles and seers vanquished." While Barbatos described the scene, the rest of the Seven looked on at the empty seventh tower, where Ipos and his oracles once proudly stood.

"The Charmed Ones..." Kane growled.

"No." Eyes fixed on Barbatos, whose expression was grim. "I examined the body myself. He died of mental and vital drainage. There were bite marks on his neck."

A dark silence lingered over the Twilight Citadel. The Seven, slowly, turned to look at Amy, who wore a self-assured smile.

Barely audible, she leaned forward the tiniest bit and whispered, "Don't. Fuck. With. Me." Shooting Kane especially a nasty glare, she disappeared in a bright pink flash.

"Fun" fact for fans!: Original drafts for this episode had some pretty crazy stuff. Angelica Parris coming to help attack Cassandra's Eyes, Lucy, Mikey, and Kincaid being real ninja-like, and not to mention Harry Lightfeather was more of a developed character. But Yukiko is pretty important, and Harry will always be around for another episode coming up...

OHEMGEE! Yes, I'm still alive, but barely breathing it seems :] I'm really sorry this is so late, I know it's especially frustrating since many readers will probably have to reread previous chapters to remember what's going on :[. I don't know why this took me a year to write, please don't ask, because it wasn't a particularly cerebral episode either. But at least it's done. And what a bunch of stuff to cover! Yes, Ipos is dead and Cassandra's Eyes is no more... Kyle is certainly back from his untimely death (I never really liked him, I'll be honest) and the Mitchell Twins are back in the hands of good. But what does Amy's betrayal mean for the rest of the Seven? What will the Elder Council think of Lex and Atla's relationship when Kyle blabs? Will Lyla and Lucy's involvement in the Sibylla and Nightshade Guardians reflect badly? And what does the rescue of Paige's children even mean? All these and more answered... and probably twice as many questions posed in the next episode :D

Stay well!

as per usual: thank you for reading!

Questions? Comments? Recommendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna just talk about Charmed? email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!

If you like Charmed Reborn, maybe there's the very vague possibility you'll like other stories I've submitted:

Final Fantasy Rosa (Celebrity), Pokemon: Amethyst (Celebrity), Teth (Fantasy), Diana Celes (High School), and Hallow (Sci-Fi/Fantasy).