Chapter 140: Ch.25
I pampered Phoebe and watched as she vanquished demons with her sisters for three more weeks when a the first demon had, instead of going after the charmed ones, went after Piper and Leo's baby. After Paige went missing, I stayed home with Leo to watch over the baby.
When two parasite demons attacked, I took their powers and vanquished one of them while the other was left only with his ability to fade travel and he fled. When Piper and the rest showed up, I told them what happened and they left once again.
When they came back telling me about the demons they vanquished, I didn't need a run down as I could feel the chaos they'd caused. It was like a cool draught after years of thirst. While I reveled in it, Phoebe told me how she'd used the baby's powers to vanquish half the demonic market in a single blast that left a giant crater.
I chuckled and reminded her of the grater around the rock I was on in the demonic wasteland that went on for miles. "That was my full power blast. I'd say you're only just at the starting phase of that power."
She was freaked out and I sighed. "If it helps I can take the powers from the baby leaving it with only a forcefield and powers similar to Piper's baby until it's ready for them after it grows up. It won't leave it defenseless and it'll still have us until it's trained and ready to wield them."
She agreed. "Where will we store them?"
I chuckled. "I have a special place I can store them just like I store the powers I've collected from other demons. They'll be safe and locked away until it's time to return them. Besides, I doubt there will be anyone stupid enough to come after our baby after today."
She agreed and told me what the crime said about Wyatt. I nodded. "It's his birth right as the first born of Piper and Leo. All first born witches have the strongest powers and he wouldn't be any different though I have my suspicions, for now they're not worth mentioning."
She agreed while Piper names the baby Wyatt Mathews Halliwell. And asked Darryl to be Wyatt's godfather and Paige to be the godmother. I'd declined because I was too close and if they did end up passing, it meant I was already dead as well.
They agreed with my logic and went to Darryl with the information. A month passed before the next incident occurred as leprechauns began showing up with an issue.
Paige talked them into protecting themselves and I encouraged them to take all his luck at once and turn it against him. A literal meteor fell out of the sky and killed the demon while I merely looked at the two who followed him, incinerating them.
Phoebe began to get requests from her boss to come back as someone was buying the paper she worked for and she needed to meet the new boss. By now she was well into her third trimester so when she went, I went with her.
Her new boss that was meeting with everyone was a decent guy named Jason Dean. We got along well enough and after the meeting that I sat in for, I offered to make another donation as I was the single largest investor in the newspaper anyway.
He'd only bought the majority stock because I didn't want it when it was offered. It was too much power over Phoebe's own thing and I didn't want to control her life, I wanted her to enjoy it freely. When he accepted my offer to ensure it was more widely spread out across all of California with offices they could buy and use the money to start up there, I agreed so long as Phoebe could continue to work from home whenever she needed.
I wrote a donation check of a billion dollars and left it with him. He'd been shocked, mentioning using it to expand on a massive scale like the daily planet froM his favorite Superman comics. Phoebe and I left him to his plans and picked up her mail before heading home.
I let her use my laptop to do her work when the bots weren't helping her as she enjoyed doing it. They were only used when there was backlog now. Nearly a month later a familiar showed up and with it an lower level warlock that came after it.
The barrier up around the manner destroyed it when it tried to enter. My house elves were really efficient by now. The walls shimmered a bit as they purified the demonic energy away and the familiar thanked the girls.
I took Phoebe out on a date with just the two of us. She proudly wore her maternity dress and I couldn't be more happy by her smile. She'd always secretly wanted children and soon she'd have our child. She practically hovered over Wyatt as it is now.
When we returned to the house, Piper and Leo had just returned from their marriage counseling. They were going through a rough patch and ironing out their issues helped them a bit. Kit's return in human form no less, helped them a bit.
Another month soon passed and it was time for Phoebe's due date. When her water broke while she was resting in bed, I orbed her downstairs and into the pregnancy tub she wanted. I called the rest of the family and Piper helped her through it with Prue.
The whole reality shook as our child was born into the world. Her cries were the heard throughout the dimensions connected to this world and all of magical kind heard her.
I sighed and healed Phoebe while orbing her out of the bath and getting rid of it. When she was cleaned and in dry clothes thanks to my powers, she took Pandora Halliwell into her arms. I took her little hand in mine as I funneled all her powers except her basic gift which was to freeze things like Piper and her whitelighter powers she'd inherited from me.
The rest were made into nearly three dozen orbs that appeared around us. I waved a hand and put them away. Our next big issue was the three nymphs that included Paige, running around us. It was as if they were drawn to my nature heritage that had been passed on to Pandora.
When they heard something else I barely picked up as music, they fled outside, traveling through nature to what they were drawn to. Phoebe went to get up but I stopped her. "Stay, relax and hold our baby girl. I'll destroy whomever is ruining this moment and be back soon."
I set a soul sword in it's scabbard next to her just in case and traveled to where I sensed Paige had run off to. A demon was having her and the others open up the passage to the eternal spring. When they did, I made myself invisible and touched the waters, taking in a hundred gallons of it before burning the demon alive with a second thought.
The nymphs rand and I caught Paige before taking her into my inner world. With that done I closed the passage with the same magic in the satyrs flute and headed to the second demon that had originally attacked them. He was stronger as a mid level demon but he died just the same before I headed home.
I drained the nymph magic out of Paige and tossed her out of my realm and onto the couch before sitting beside Phoebe and holding her while she held Pandora. When Paige came to her senses, she asked. "What happened to me?"
I chuckled lightly. "I turned you back into the witch and killed the demons after the eternal spring. The nymphs are probably looking for another to make into their kind and another satyr as well. Think of it as a short but bad acid trip."
Pandora giggles and I smiled while phoebe told her the details of what all happened. Piper came downstairs with Leo and Wyatt while Prue came from the kitchen. They'd each been doing research and making potions to deal with the demons after the nymphs after Pandora's birth. Prue has agreed to be Pandora's godmother and Leo was the godfather this time.
I spent the next week going with Phoebe and Pandora to the doctors to get legal records and birth records done for Pandora as well as checkups. She was behaved enough for it and didn't orb anything though I had to erase the doctors's memory when she through you a forcefield when he drew a bit of blood for her record files.
Her baby prints had been taken and in eight months we'd have to come back for her immunity shots, not that she'd ever need them as she was immune to most diseases anyway.
A month of doing diapers and cleaning her while phoebe held her and loved on her went by. I didn't in fact hold her much as I didn't need to. All it took was to see Phoebe holding her to make me smile like all my children before now.
I did end up taking pictures and having them taken of myself holding her a few times for the baby book. Phoebe returned to working a light load the next month and spared the time to go to a carnival with us.
When a cursed monkey leaped at her, the ring zapped it back and deep fried it, dusting the poor thing. I had to erase a few minds really quickly but no harm no foul. Paige has to ask though. "What was that?"
I sighed. "A cursed monkey it seems. Otherwise the ring wouldn't have activated to protect her."
Phoebe asked. "What do we do now?"
I smiled. "It was after you so it's charmed ones business. I agreed to stay out of your charmed work unless your life was in mortal danger or it involved the baby remember? I'll watch over Pandora and Leo can watch Wyatt. It seems you girls have a demon or two to vanquish. Maybe find out whose sending them from the kazi demons that keep coming."
Leo and I walked away with our baby harnesses on while Piper harrumphed and stormed away with her sisters to do some gratuitous violence. When the crone showed up at the manor, I drained her powers and left her defenseless where the girls then vanquished her.
I gave Phoebe the Crone's premonition power after cleansing it and helped her adjust to it as her vision powers grew stronger. She could act in her premonitions now although limited to her own body.
With the Crone gone, everything went back to normal until the wiccaning ceremony we'd agreed on. Piper called down grams from the afterlife to perform it and almost immediately she was taken by the babes until she knew Wyatt was a boy and his name hadn't started with a P.
Then she'd almost called off the ceremony until the necromancer attacked. I'd let things play out as they beat him with a combination of a truth spell and a spirit vanquishing spell.
I stood proudly beside Phoebe as I held little Pandora while Grams performed the Wiccaning. They called on all of the Halliwell matriarchs to bless both children with love and goodness. When it was over Grams returned to the heavens and we had a little mini celebration.
With little Pandora with us and blessed now, I couldn't help feel a sense of urgency to get stronger. This world wasn't as safe enough to relax too much especially when there were actual titans locked up here.
Though they were only a little more power compared to the ones in the last reality I'd been in, they were still far stronger than I currently am so when I woke up the next morning, I left Pandora with her mother and flame traveled to the Santa Cruz Mountains nearby where I knew they'd be.
I found a demon there but I cloaked myself and went to the chamber he was working in and stunned him before shoving my fist into the ice and grabbing the frozen arm of Demetrias. I absorbed his powers over the weather and his near true invincibility. I froze the hole over again and did the same to Meta only taking her resistance and petrifaction powers.
I then went to Cronus and took his godlike immunity. All of which coalesced inside my body as it strengthened and my physical aspects took a giant leap forwards. I refroze the holes I created and messed with the demon's mind to the point where he'd tell them it must've been the elders that weakened them so.
They were all still immortal and almost impossible even now as their versions of immortality trumped even my own. I left the demon to his work as it was necessary for the future and went to the basement of the manor from there. I wasn't yet ready for my plans for the nexus yet but I did have plans if nothing else.
When I arrived, so did two black robed beings. The elder looking one spoke. "We've been watching you for a long time now and we believe you would agree to join us now. We are the avatars, and we wish for you to join with us, strengthening the collective for when the time is right to change this world."
I grunted. "I've done the whole evil thing and I've no desire to go back."
He spoke again more determined. "We are beyond good and evil. We exist outside the grand design like yourself and are not bound by such concepts."
I frowned. "And what can you offer me if I join you?"
The second one finally spoke. "You seek the power to protect that which you hold dear. We can give it to you. Invincibility and many other powers that which the collective holds will be available to you at your fingertips."
I frowned but sighed. "Give me a day and I'll call for you with my answer, but join or not, if you harm my family, you and the collective will die screaming."
They both nodded lightly and faded away. I sighed and went upstairs where Phoebe was rocking Pandora. She asked. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
I sighed. "Perhaps. Love, I have to ask. If it were to protect our girl, what lengths would you go to?"
She frowned. "That's a very serious question. But I'd have to say there aren't any as there isn't anything I wouldn't do to protect her."
I smiled and kissed her. "Thank you, you've solved an internal debate I've been having for a while now. So, would you like to relax and take a load off? I can feed her while you get into a bikini and once she's down for a nap I'll help you apply the lotion."
She grinned and sighed. "Alright but we're going to talk about your debate and question later."
I nodded. "Deal."
I fed our daughter the breast milk Phoebe was warming up and put her in the platoon for a nap. I put the netting over it to keep out bugs and put it under the beach umbrella outside before sitting down next to Phoebe and applying sun tan lotion to her back and legs.
I leaned back and enjoyed the relaxation for a while. Later that night she asked while we were putting Pandora to bed in her crib in the expanded closet that was the size of the living room now and was her bedroom. Luckily Piper and Leo had all the baby girl stuff they hadn't needed and I'd bought stuff for both genders.
I answered her solemnly. "I've been offered a place with a group of individuals that serve neither good or evil. They seek to build a utopian world eventually and I'm inclined to accept for now. I'll use the powers joining them will grant me to protect Pandora and you should you be unable to protect yourself."
She asked a few more questions but in the end she agreed to keep it secret for now until it effected either her charmed duties or the family. I didn't tell her what the group was called but then she hadn't asked. She just told me to make sure it wasn't evil before excepting and I'd agreed.
That night after she'd fallen asleep, I orbed to the old loft I'd been vanquished as the Source in and they appeared. I asked. "We're you listening?"
The older one nodded and said. "I believe we can show you our goals."
He tapped my forehead and I saw the utopian world they were trying to build and when I saw phoebe with Pandora and her two sisters I'd not known yet I decided it was time to join them.
He had me kneel and began chanting in an ancient dialect of what sounded like Sanskrit. In actuality it was a mixture of all the oldest languages as his tones shifted. I felt power begin flowing into me as I was connected to the rest of the collective.
When the link solidified, I felt all twelve of them and their powers. I felt as if I could tap into anyone of them with a thought and them mine or the ones I actively let them feel anyway. I'd hidden my absorbing powers and let them feel the rest. My body strengthened to an insane degree by my previous standards and they felt the raw power and magic I'd possessed as well as a bit of the lifeforce I held openly.
With that the leader, Alpha, as he called himself spoke. "It is done. Welcome brother."
I stood up and nodded. "I will not join the collective until it is time for the great change. My family comes first to me regardless of good evil or the entire world's destruction."
Alpha nodded and I sighed. "Use my powers as you see fit and I'll do the same but you should know that this change cannot happen without Leo Wyatt on our side and the charmed ones as well."
They seemed to agree so I left back home with a fiery blaze and appeared in Pandora's room. I watched over her for a bit before returning to bed. There I held Phoebe and entered her dream where I told her I'd joined them and that what they wanted wasn't evil but had it's downsides as well as up sides.
I didn't go into detail but instead showed her some of what I truly was as I showed her worlds and my lives. We started from the beginning and walked through my life excluding the bad parts to her annoyance. I'd only commented that it's not something I wished to revisit but that I'd already gotten past them like we'd gotten past the Source days.
She understood as I revealed everything more and more quickly. The magic learning was vague as I told her that information was blocked to me at the moment by my father. I showed her what I meant by that and what Lucifer really was.
I walked her through my wives, the kids and even my time as basically the warden of hell. It wasn't as bad as my other experiences because of my place in it at the time. Then I walked her through the memories of Nym and how she and us had been together until my father, being a bit of a dick, locked her inside Phoebe.
At first she was overwhelmed until I calmed her down and told her. "We won't leave your sisters behind as I plan to take them with us when we leave. It'll be up to our kids and grandkids to decide to come with us or not when it's time but as you've seen, I am not evil, nor am I a demon, well not really anyway."
"I'm just me, just a man that loves you and our beautiful daughter and is willing to do anything for you both. This isn't beyond you, this is a future you've had coming to you for all the good you've done. An eternity of happiness and family just as soon as I can figure out a way to get my father off my back."
I froze time outside with my own powers and let her have all the time in the world to work through it. When she was ready, I unfroze it and she asked. "What do I do? I mean, how do I not tell my sisters before it's time?"
I sighed. "Lock all the information inside your own mind, lock even this memory away and you'll forget until it's time not to. You're free to keep the memories of the demons so that you may effectively fight them and I'll help you but you should know Chris-"
She nodded. "I get it. The future isn't the same as what you know it to be and he might not come back or Pandora might come back instead or even worse yet she might turn evil."
I sighed. "Spot on love. But no matter how it turns out to be, I'll help you where I can and gather the strength to further our evolution. I've sealed the mimicry power in the demonic wasteland so that no demon or angel can get to it or find it."
"When it's time I'll take it back once more and transfer my powers to you before mimicking them once more. That plus the spell to triple our powers should be enough for when it's time to move on. For now though you must lock it away and forget for all our sakes."
I watched her silently while she did just that and even locked away my becoming an avatar or even mentioning it to keep her from asking the questions all over again.
A whole month went by and I felt Chris coming back only a week before the hottest day of the summer and when the Titans were released. Phoebe was swimming in the shallow end with Pandora, Piper and Wyatt as the held the babies and let them splash around in the cool water. The awning roof I'd made over the pool kept them from getting sunburnt whilst they played.
I sat in meditation, strengthening my mind and fortifying my defenses stronger than ever before as I'd had to start from scratch. This time I used a lot of power and many of the designs I'd seen over the years to form a reality itself inside my mind.
Each reality had it's doorways to others and in my case it was doorways to my wive's minds. Even locked away and asleep as they were I was still able to make a bridge of sorts to their minds and subconscious for telepathic purposes for when they do wake up.
Events kicked into overdrive as Paige mentioned her fiery dreams and wanting to find out the cause for it all. Eventually she took Phoebe and I sensed the titans taking the whitelighters. Piper had gone to her marriage counselor expecting Leo to show up and Phoebe left Pandora with me to go with Paige to find out what was wrong.
When they got back they were looking through the book of shadows while I rocked Pandora to sleep. When they decided it was the titans, Paige had her bright idea to summon them. I put Pandora in her room and had the bots and house elves watch over her there.
Paige summoned the Titan Meta by orbing in place. Paige got blasted back unconscious and Phoebe was knocked on her ass though the ring protected her from any danger. Chris showed up and started tossing the potions they'd made to fight the Titan and soon enough Meta left in a whirl.
I healed up Paige and helped her up while Chris helped up Phoebe. When both women were standing again, I asked the young whitelighter. "Who are you?"
He told them he was from the future while connecting with me mentally with Legilimency. He told me not to react and showed me the future. Apparently Wyatt had indeed turned evil and took the closest person with him as his most trusted lieutenant.
They'd come to me after they'd worked together to kill Paige and Piper. They asked for her inheritance and even demanded it knowing I wouldn't punish my daughter like that. I'd given Pandora her powers and took Phoebe, leaving this reality for good and not looking back.
The death of her siblings had broken my resolve as she'd killed them before they were old enough to ask for their inheritances as well and she'd shared her powers with Wyatt, ruling the world with absolute power.
Chris has barely managed to make it back and neither of them were willing to follow him back because they feared me stopping them outright and imprisoning them in my inner world.
I saw the loss and the toll it had taken on Chris and promised to do what I could to prevent that outcome. He agreed to my stipulations of not ratting me out for knowing the future or helping him.
I confirmed his case to the girls saying. "He feels like time magic so it's entirely plausible he's from the future."
Chris took out his time turner and I nodded. "There's only two of those in existence and I have one of them while my brother has the other. Time turners are a dangerous thing to use though."
Chris sighed. "I didn't use it. I just needed it as proof so you gave it to me before you left."
Phoebe asked. "Left? Left to where? What happened in the future?"
He shook his head. "The less you know the better. I'm only trying to change certain future events to prevent evil from winning and killing off millions before enslaving the rest of the world's population."
I nodded. "Time is a fickle mistress so long as you know what your doing boy, don't let it rule you or you'll drown in it's sway. How far are you from the present?"
He sighed. "More than twenty years."
I chuckled. "That's a hell of a spell. I can think of only one in this world that can do such a thing and that's in the book of shadows. Unless of course I sent you?"
He shook his head. "No, after you gave me this to help you left and I went back in time using the spell in the book of shadows."
Phone asked curiously. "Which book of shadows might I ask?"
He chuckled. "The original. Sorry, you're not my parents if that's what your asking. I had a friends help getting the book and used the spell to get to the past."
I nodded. "Well that's too bad. I think I'd be proud to have a son like you."
He stilled and I sighed. "Well, you're here to help so get to helping. I'll go check on Pandora. If you all need me just ask."
I flame traveled to Pandora's room and told the elves to go clean up. The bots I had stand in the corners of the room on guard while I sat with Pandora in my arms rocking her slowly. I didn't pay attention to what all was going on until I felt my mother Gaia's presence.
She sensed me as well because half an hour later she showed up in the room in Piper's body. She held out her hands and I didn't hesitate, I handed Pandora to her. She spoke evenly. "The witch won't remember this nor be able to tell anyone."
I nodded. "It's good to see you mother. How have you been?"
She gave me an indifferent shrug. "Nothing has changed yet. The battle of the gods is still approaching. You have grown well and from the feel of it you have a ways to go before you're ready to leave this reality."
I sighed. "I intend to raise my child before leaving so there is plenty of time before I do so. Speaking of which, how are my other children?"
She gave me wry smile. "Those that have ascended to godhood are in my territory growing much the same as yourself. The rest are in their realities awaiting the day of your return to pick them up."
Nodding I smiled. "Before you leave, can you convince the witch you're in to pass on her goddess powers to me when she's done with them?"
She stilled before nodding. "It's done. She might not realize it but when she gives them up they'll be given to you in secret."
I nodded. "Thank you mother. That will make my time in this reality much more relaxed."
She nodded. "There's something you should know. There's a well of primordial essence, the stuff that gods use to strengthen themselves. Us primordial gods of creation and destruction she'd it upon doing our duties and this reality has gone through several cycles of both."
"The beings of this reality call it the all but in actuality it's true form is a pool of primordial essence. Only one god has ever been here and he was demonic in nature. I destroyed him and left his corpse here as well. He'd been stronger than you are now as he was a chaotic god and would've taken it all for himself, destroying this reality before it's time with his greed."
She looked at me sternly. "You must reach his level before you leave this reality to take in the primordial essence. But you must also leave some to keep this realities energies in balance. It shouldn't take much as one percent of it would sustain this reality until it's time of destruction."
I smiled. "Thank you."
Piper frowned. "For what? How did I get in here and why am I holding Pandora?"
I shrugged realizing my mother was gone. "You came in here and took her from me and rocked her to sleep. I just assumed it was your Mother Nature instincts kicking in."
She handed Pandora back and left confused.
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