Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed

Chapter One

A New Source

The Underworld was quiet. After the Charmed Ones had defeated Christy and the Triad, the demons had gone deep underground, avoiding drawing the Charmed Ones into a conflict, knowing that their powers were virtually untouchable now. Most of the upper level demons were dead, and the various smaller sects of demons were warring amongst themselves for power. It was ten times worse than after the Source had been destroyed.

There was a flash in the middle of the Room of Command, where the Source had once held court. The flash split into three, then from these three flashes, three spirits emerged.

Asmodeus, the foremost member of the Triad, raged.

"The Charmed Ones have escaped again! How do they keep doing this?" he demanded.

He was a powerful upper level demon, and was clothed in the black robes of the Triad. He was a bit taller than the others, with a receding hair line and large forehead.

Candor, the second member of the Triad, a man with a curly grey hair, rolled his eyes.

"Because they are more powerful than we can ever hope to be. They defeated the Source for goodness sake! And ever since the Underworld has been in chaos! They won the Ultimate Battle, escaped their fate and have further driven us into the gutter! They foiled the plan we had for fifteen years!" he stormed.

Baliel, the last of the Triad, sighed. He was a man with a goatee and a bald head.

"Let's face it. We gave it our best shot and they beat us again. And now, we're all on the run. If they wanted to, they could probably break the backbone of the Underworld altogether. How did we survive this one?" he asked musingly, as if suddenly realising that they were actually alive.

Asmodeus ignored him.

"It doesn't matter how we are alive. The thing that matters is the fact that we are. Which means we have another chance to strike against the witches, and destroy them!"

Baliel groaned.

"Give it a rest Asmodeus. We have lost. The Charmed Ones are all but invincible. And I don't think they'll fall for a trick like Christy again. We've lost. We are a spent force." He intoned.

Candor looked at Baliel, then reluctantly nodded.

"I suppose you are correct. Things haven't been this bad since the Source was last destroyed." He said, sighing.

His and Baliel's spirits headed to the centre of the room, pondering whether or not to give up. The Underworld was in chaos, their plans had failed, Billie was back with the sisters and they were the weakest they had ever been, and hence couldn't even impose order on the shattered remnants of their world.

Asmodeus's eyes then lit up.

"The Source!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Baliel demanded.

Asmodeus smiled.

"A plan has sprung to mind. One that will work." He said smugly.

Candor raised an eyebrow.

"We said that about Christy and Billie." He sniffed.

Baliel raised a ghostly hand.

"I think he has a plan. Explain brother."

Asmodeus smiled.

"We know turning other witches against them works, especially if they have an emotional connection to said witch. If Piper had had her way she'd have blown up Christy long before the other two let her. But because they cared about Billie and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, Piper's hand was stayed, allowing our plan to work." He said, pacing in his ghost form.

"Your point?" Baliel asked.

"If we can get someone the girls trust or love, and turn them to our cause, it would break them." He said, licking his lips in relish.

Candor raised an eyebrow.

"Are you referring to the brats? We wont get near them."

Asmodeus shook his head.

"No, that stupid Elder tried that and he got fried for his trouble. No...I have a different idea. It would totally break the Charmed Ones to carry it out. However, it would be...risky to say the least."

Silence reigned for a bit.

"Go on." Baliel said.

Asmodeus clasped his hands behind his back.

"If we were to get said person, and anoint them as the Source, the very fact that someone they know and care about being the Source would throw them completely."

Candor shook his head in amazement.

"You want to recreate the Source?" he spat.

"His power would exceed ours. That would be counterproductive." Baliel said.

Asmodeus smiled.

"But we would control the Source. I admit...we would come close to death once again. But if we did so, and had them anointed as the Source, we would reside within the Source, contributing our powers to theirs. And then, once the Charmed Ones are finished, we free ourselves and destroy him, as he'd be weakened."

The other two looked at each other worriedly.

"It involves a lot of risk. And what if the Source actually does destroy us? His vanquishing might be more permanent than the sisters'." Baliel asked.

"It's a qualified risk. But we would destroy the Charmed Ones while inside the Source, having immobilised them, and then we could destroy him from within. We'd take over, just stepping into the gap." Asmodeus explained.

"Granted, that is relatively good. But no friend of the Charmed Ones would agree to that." Baliel said.

"And we cant wait fifteen years." Candor sneered.

Asmodeus smiled.

"We don't need to. If we do what I plan, we can get someone fully grown, fully empowered and ready to go."

Candor looked at Asmodeus sceptically.

"Who do you propose as the Source? We wont get close enough to any of them for it to work."

Asmodeus smiled.

"The one we will use will not be with them. All we will need is a little help from an old friend." He said, grinning wickedly.

Baliel looked at him quizzically.

"Who would it be?" he asked.

Asmodeus smiled.

"The victim of the Source's greatest victory. Prue Halliwell."

Silence met this proclamation.

"A cunning plan my brother, but she would never turn against her sisters." Candor said.

"And there is also the small hitch that she's dead." Baliel pointed out.

"Hence the need of an old friend. We need Tempus." Asmodeus said wickedly, grinning.

Baliel pondered this.

"But even if we snatched her from the jaws of death…" he said musingly.

"She still won't betray her sisters." Candor warned.

Asmodeus smiled.

"Darklighter healing will taint her, making her more susceptible to the dark powers. We then allow her to vanquish a series of demons. In conjunction with a spell that we shall use, we shall get all the dark power floating around there to go into her, and when she temporarily defeats us, we too shall join with her. The amount of darkness within her will break her with ease. And if we get the Whisarmer's help…"

Baliel rolled his eyes.

"You know he doesn't like us. And he wont risk going against the Charmed Ones." he said.

"He will in exchange for power, he's been overlooked for years. He will pour his poison into her mind, and turn her against her sisters. Especially when he tells her of how easily she was replaced by a half-sister. This will turn her against her sisters. And besides, we need a Source to resurrect the dead upper level demons. With a new Source, we can rebuild the Underworld from the bottom up, and she would be the strongest one ever, and all would serve her. She would obliterate the Charmed Ones, then we would rip her apart from within." Asmodeus concluded.

The Triad looked at each other. Baliel looked thoughtful, and Candor looked concerned.

"We would need a lot of power to resurrect Tempus. And we will need to win over the Infernal Council for this scheme, and try to find a Dark Priest as well. And get the keys to the vault containing Grimoire." Baliel reasoned.

"We can get that power easily by returning to our bodies." Candor said thoughtfully.

"Which we shall need the Alchemist for. He's the only one who could do it without waiting to regenerate." Asmodeus said.

"But there's still the problem of the Dark Priest. Even if we return and resurrect Tempus and get Grimoire, we still wont be able to anoint Prue as the Source without a priest." Baliel grumbled.

"And as the Seer was the last one we had before she got herself blown up, we're stuck. Unless we make the Whisarmer one, but that gives him a lot of power in the plan, and may make him harder to get rid of later." Candor growled.

"True." Asmodeus reasoned, then smiled in realisation.

"Barbas is a Dark Priest. Or at least we can make him one when we return to our bodies. He can then perform the ceremony, and Prue will become the Source, and lead the Underworld to victory over the Charmed Ones!"

They all looked at each other.

"The plan has merit. It will be very risky, but it will work. Come, let us visit the Alchemist."

With that the three spirits vanished.

XX

The Alchemist was a powerful demon, but not strong enough to make any significant advances to take over the Underworld, much as the Whisarmer was. He was useful, as he could heal ailments or injuries of demons, so none went after him, and if they did they did so rarely. He was a crooked and bent man, with the beak of an eagle and villainous reptilian eyes. He turned to see three glowing white balls erupt behind him, revealing the spirit forms of the Triad.

"My lords." he croaked, bowing.

"Alchemist. We require your help." Baliel said.

"We have a plan to destroy the Charmed Ones once and for all." Asmodeus said.

"But we cannot put it into effect until we have a body." Candor admitted.

The Alchemist nodded.

"I see. A noble goal. Let us hope it works better than the last attempts to destroy them. But what will I get in return?" he demanded.

Asmodeus grimaced. They knew he wouldn't work for free.

"When we defeat the Charmed Ones, we shall give you all the potion recipes within the Book of Shadows to play with until your heart is content." Baliel said.

"Not good enough." The Alchemist said, turning away.

"And we shall get you a position on the Infernal Council as well." Asmodeus said.

The Alchemist smiled.

"Then we have a bargain." he said, his eyes flashing red.

XX

The potion he brewed was ready several days later. Their spirits had been floating around behind him all that time, making sure everything was right. With the promise of a position on the Infernal Council and a leading role in the scheme, he had been quite lenient and had forsaken all his other work in order to complete their task.

"There my lords. Now…" he said, and threw three vials of the potion.

There was a flash, and the three ghostly spirits became flesh and blood once more.

"Thank you Alchemist. We shall inform the Infernal Council of their new member." Asmodeus said, inclining his head, before they shimmered away.

XX

Back in the Room of Command, the reconstituted Triad gathered around the pentagram on the floor.

"We need Barbas. Once we make him the Dark Priest that we need, we can then resurrect Tempus." Asmodeus said as the three raised their hands to hold them over the centre of the pentagram.

"We better hope Barbas appears quickly or we wont have enough strength to summon Tempus. Then, we shall need to go to the Damned Council and get them into position and find the Infernal Council and enough high level demons to inaugurate the new Source. If it works." Candor grumbled.

Asmodeus rolled his eyes at his brothers scepticism and they began the chant.

"Oh Demon of Fear, we summon thee,

Across the bounds of eternity,

Cross these lands and enter our lair

So that our enemies shall know despair"

The power erupted from their hands, creating a bright flash. There was then a shimmering and Barbas appeared before them. He was a plain looking man, with long grey hair and looked quite unassuming. However, he was one of the strongest demons.

"The Triad. I thought you'd been wiped out." Barbas said, nodding in greeting.

"Welcome Barbas. We require your assistance." Candor said.

"Really? And what would the Triad want with little old me?" he asked, scratching his ear.

Asmodeus smiled evilly.

"Your powers as a Dark Priest. We intend to create a new Source who will destroy the Charmed Ones." He said.

Barbas raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Wont you lose power that way, as your brothers fear?" he asked silkily.

Asmodeus rolled his eyes.

"No. We shall control the Source. But we need you to anoint them."

Barbas surveyed his nails.

"I don't know. I don't see what's in it for me."

Baliel smiled.

"Most likely a lot of fear from the Charmed Ones."

Barbas shrugged.

"I don't see how. They know how to vanquish the Source, as they've proved." He reasoned.

"Not this time. As we intend to resurrect Prue Halliwell and make her into the Source." Asmodeus said maliciously.

Barbas stared at them in amazement. Then, he began to laugh.

"Hahahaha! That will be precious! Right, you have a deal! Done!" he said.

Asmodeus smiled and shimmied him out of the centre of the pentagram. He nodded and they raised arms again.

"Demons of gone life,

We come to you in our strife,

The Demon Tempus we need,

To accomplish our most wicked deed!"

Their power streamed from them, creating a glowing energy ball in the middle of the pentagram which shot down. A hole opened and a jet of flame erupted, and out of the column came Tempus, an old man with a sour expression. The Triad broke off the spell and he bowed before them.

"My lords, I owe you thanks." He said.

The Triad smiled.

"If you do as we wish my friend, you need not owe us anything." Asmodeus promised.

XX

The Whisarmer was an upper level demon shrouded in a cloak. All that could be seen of him was a long forked tongue and two slit like yellow eyes. He was powerful, but had never gone after the Charmed Ones, fearing his death at their hands if he did so. His power was to make people believe whatever he whispered to them.

Asmodeus appeared right in front of the Whisarmer.

"Lord Asmodeus. How can I serve?" the Whisarmer asked.

Asmodeus grinned.

"We require your help..." he said.

XX

The Triad. Tempus, Barbas, the Infernal Council and the Damned Council, along with the leader of all the Darklighters, Kane.

The Damned Council were the last resort, the ones who took over in the light of the Infernal Council being destroyed. It was made up of a Brute Demon, a Chameleon Demon, a Lazarus Demon, a Possessor Demon, a Rat Demon and a Thorn Demon. And it was they who were going to be sacrificed to Prue so she could gain their powers.

"All is in readiness. When Tempus acts, I shall heal her, tainting her. We then let her vanished the Damned, and you three and Tempus..." Kane said, before breaking off with a look from Candor as Tempus was approaching him.

Kane made a look of apology before continuing.

"Then, the Whisarmer will break her resistance and she will collapse. Barbas will then crown her as the new Source and we shall begin." Kane said.

He was a man with wild spiky black hair, a goatee and hard, cold eyes.

"This had better work." The leader of the Infernal Council said.

"It will." Asmodeus soothed, and nodded to the other Triad members, and they raised their hands.

"Swirling powers, we command you,

Leave not this room and seek she

Who the most power wields

In light and darkness."

The spell rippled across the room, effectively sealing them in.

Barbas grinned.

"All the delicious fear in here. They all fear that they may die." He said, closing his eyes in enjoyment.

"They are right to fear. Get Grimoire. Our time is now." Asmodeus said.

Barbas picked up the black book, and nodded as the Damned Council formed a circle around Tempus. The Infernal Council hid behind them, and the room was then filled with low level demons and Darklighters. Kane took his position near Tempus, and the Triad watched, while Barbas hung back.

They nodded to Tempus. It was time.

Tempus opened a portal. Within the portal, they saw the blue demon Shax, the Source's assassin, burst into the home of the Halliwells. Prue shoved their charge out of the way, and Shax then hit her with an energy ball, that threw her up through the wall and sent her crashing through it, landing heavily on the other side. Shax then dealt with Piper, before leaving. Tempus then stuck his hand through the portal, grabbed hold of Prue and dragged her through.

Prue's body lay on the floor of the underworld, and there was a white ripple as the timeline adjusted.

"That...wasn't easy." Tempus panted, looking weak.

Asmodeus nodded at Kane, who bent down and used his powers to heal Prue. He smiled as he watched darkness enter her, knowing that the process had begun. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw the Darklighter above her. She gasped, and hit him with her powers, sending him flying across the room. Prue leapt to her feet, terrified.

"How did all this happen?" she demanded, cowering as the Damned Council advanced.

The Triad then stepped into her view.

"Because we willed it." They said together, and fired three fireballs.

Prue shrieked in alarm and sent the attacks into two members of the Damned Council. Tempus and Kane stepped back as the Damned Council attacked as well. Fireballs hurtled at Prue, and she wildly deflected them, catching another two members of the Damned Council. Prue then deflected the last two attacks, and destroyed the last of the Damned Council. As their screams faded, Prue edged back towards the wall.

"Piper! Phoebe!" she called, panicking as the demons all came at her.

Asmodeus smiled as he saw the dark cloud of powers waiting at the top of the cavern. All was going according to plan.

Two Darklighters moved to attack, but Prue deflected their arrows into them, destroying them too. She started to pant heavily as the demons pressed in on her. Then, she spotted Tempus.

"You!" she cried in amazement.

Tempus looked at her, then at the Triad in alarm.

"Winds of time, gather'round

give me wings to speed my way.

Rush me on my journey forward

let tomorrow be today!" Prue chanted.

Tempus screamed in pain, as he realised the Triad had used him. He burst into flames and disappeared, bringing a stop to the demons. Barbas watched excitedly as the Triad went forwards.

"Cant any of you kill her? It's perfectly simple!" Baliel yelled, and the three fired energy balls.

Prue then deflected them back, and as planned, the Triad screamed and burst into flames. Their dark essences joined the others, and they swirled before diving back down and flashing into Prue. Prue staggered, and the attacks stopped.

"Now!" Barbas ordered.

The Whisarmer shimmered to her side.

"Your sisters have abandoned you. They have left you for dead. They dont care about you. You are dead to them." He said in his low, soft voice.

Prue shook her head, trying to fight the darkness inside her, and fight off his poisoned words.

"They replaced you as if you were nothing to them. They dont love you. They went on enjoying their lives without you." He continued.

Prue staggered as the dark powers struggled to enter her being.

"No...they wouldn't." She protested, her resistance fading fast.

"Really? Phoebe was glad that you had died. She was free of your nagging. Piper was able to live her life her own way without you interfering. And Paige was more than willing to replace you as if you hadn't existed." The Whisarmer continued, sensing victory.

The Infernal Council was eagerly anticipating the breaking of the Charmed One, as were the Darklighters, remaining demons and Barbas, who was savouring her fear that she wasn't loved.

"You aren't loved. Your life is meaningless. You sacrificed your childhood and your lover for your family, and this is how they repay you?" he asked and she broke.

Prue let out a scream of rage, and the darkness flowed into her soul, her heart and her mind.

"Welcome my lady." The Whisarmer said, bowing.

Barbas smiled as he beheld Prue in an entirely new light. Clad in a black leather jacket and black clothes, with long black hair to her shoulders, a woman of medium build, he had a good feeling about her now. Prue was now infected with darkness, and once she was crowned as the Source, she would be totally corrupted and their greatest leader ever.

Prue inspected herself, breathing heavily. She could feel the new power running through her veins, and she could also feel a burning desire for revenge against the Charmed Ones. Her sisters had abandoned her, left her to die and had then replaced her as well and had gone on with their lives. She could remember the fight with Shax, and assumed she had been rescued by the demons who were trying to liberate her from her family's evil. Very well. She would destroy that evil.

"My lady..." Barbas said, holding Grimoire before her.

Prue smiled.

"I shall become a new Source. And then I will destroy the Charmed Ones." She vowed, to cheers from the demons assembled.

She then placed her hand on the book, and Barbas began the ritual.

"His verbis invocamus

potentias tremendas

fontis ipsius

In hac hora descendat malum

Et coronam imponat

super virum electum!"

Prue looked up at Barbas as he finished the ritual. He smiled, and there was suddenly a great howling. Black spores of magic travelled from all over, gathering in a large ball that hung above Prue's head. Prue smiled and opened her arms welcomingly. The power then flashed inside her, and her eyes flashed black, before returning to blue.

"My lady." Barbas said, bowing.

The rest of those gathered, including the Darklighter she had thrown across the room, all got to their knees before her.

"Thank you. Now, give me Grimoir please Barbas. I have a lot of work to do. First, I shall resurrect our defeated allies. And then..." she smiled evilly.

"Then mistress?" The Alchemist, clad in his Infernal Council robe, asked.

"Then I shall destroy the Charmed Ones." She vowed.

Greetings to you all!

I thought I'd have a go at a Charmed story, especially after watching it on Living all last week.

The Triad is still not totally dead, despite being blown up again by the Charmed Ones at the end of season eight, and this time they have come up with a most insidious plan: make Prue the new Source!

Will this evil plan succeed? Will Prue destroy the Charmed Ones as the Source? Time will tell!

Please read and review, and I will hopefully update soon!