Ch.32

As demons were dying off, I felt it time I began my own training to improve myself once more. For the next two weeks the sisters and Leo were constantly killing demons in large swaths and not just upper level demons either.

In all that time I was taking care of the kids and training for millions of years inside my special room. I'd absorbed all the powers they brought to me and fused what I could. What I didn't use became fruits that were fed to my mental beasts that protected my mind from intrusions.

During that time I also managed to complete my first two mental realities. With their completion I felt a lot less strain as my will solidified into pillars that circled around my inner core.

As well my body reached a plateau I'd have to finish my plans for if I'm to continue training with. I fused with three of the twelve available nexus pools, causing my magic capacity inside me to nearly triple.

I was fairly certain I could fill up half the collectives max magical power by myself now. I'd only stopped because the demon powers had slowed down. It seemed it was nearly time for the change. I went to magic school and saw them gathered together.

Alpha told me. "It is time."

I nodded as my clothes changed to match theirs and I went to encircle the sisters as they held onto an interesting cartouche. We, through the bonded link of the collective and the power of three feeding from the cartouche, began the change.

The spell kicked in as my senses told me that everyone around the world had fallen asleep except us. Although the sisters were a bit twitchy, it was minimized for now as their Occlumency held firm. Now it was time for their basic cleanup sweep. I let my senses sweep across the world and felt all the demons hiding on it, pretending to be humans.

I left them there to complete their own objectives and hopped all around the world, slaughtering those demons as I took their powers. In a little more than an hour the only demons on the surface were in San Francisco where the girls were patrolling.

I watched invisible while Zankou made his moves. I did him a solid and juiced the crystals effects, helping it passed the sisters Occlumency shields for what needed to happen. Sure enough it worked and Beta was killed. While the collective could suffer her death, I couldn't.

I was right there waiting and took the powers she had when she died, through the bond I'd masked from the rest. Still, her magic was lost and it weakened the collective enough that Alpha and Gamma decided to implement the change all at once.

Agent Brody was dead and for some reason I couldn't find it in myself to shed a tear. Either way it didn't matter to me. I joined the collective after giving them the impression that I was gone and that it was for the best.

I did the same for Leo and changed me features amongst the collective to make myself inconspicuous. Once everything was complete, we had Utopia all of less than a single day before shit hit the fan. While the others were looking for conflict, I was watching Phoebe and Pandora.

Both seemed happy and content. Well, they did until Leo pulled Phoebe aside started telling her of loss. Once Gamma and the others erased Leo, I knew it was nearly time. An hour later the sisters disappeared from all screens. Several hours after that the Avatars took notice and became worried, that is until they showed up where we were.

They demanded free will back and I smiled as my form shifted back. Phoebe was clearly shocked as I asked. "Is that what you desire love?"

A tear fell from her eyes and she nodded. I sighed. "Very well."

I drew on the powers of the collective, not just the magic, but the powers themselves as I drew them all into myself, stealing them from the individuals in the collective. They weakened to no more than human levels and Alpha asked. "What have you done?!!"

I sighed. "A great evil. It seems the avatars are no longer necessary in this world, goodbye."

With a thought they all caught fire. I leaned against the round table and assimilated all that I've taken before turning to Phoebe and her sisters as well as the demon behind them. "They were right about one thing. Since I've assimilated all their powers and the remaining power of the collective, I can truly say it's not enough to turn back time and prevent Agent Brody's death."

Paige shed a tear and I sighed. "Not because of the time issue, but because the Elders have interfered and taken his soul to be reborn as a whitelighter. I can prevent this and make him human and alive or I can reverse time to just before the change. I need to know which to do."

Paige sighed. "Reverse time."

Piper asked. "Will it bring back Leo?"

I nodded."Everything will be as it was before except for the actions I myself have taken during that time. Those things can't be undone, not even by me anymore."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and as if I was inhaling time itself, it began to flow backwards until everything was as it was before. I felt tired afterwards but nothing unusual for using so much power to do so.

I would recover and it would be fine but now it was time to tell a certain demon to piss off. I opened my eyes and told them. "It's done. The Avatars are dead, time is rewound and Leo is alive and at the manor where he was erased. All those that were erased before are back as well."

I turned to the demon. "Now that the Avatars are gone and I e taken their collective powers, those potions won't work on me, though your free to try. But I should warn you, once you leave here I'd best never see your face again. Else I might be tempted to end you for good."

He threw the three potions he had at me and they busted, only to do nothing. It was true, I'd given up my Avatar status and the bonds of the collective were destroyed with their deaths. I waved a hand, sending him flying against the wall saying. "You can go now."

He flamed away with a look of fear across his face. I waved another hand, destroying and removing the evidence of the Avatars existence before with a thought, the room spun and changed.

We were soon standing in the parlor with Leo and the kids. I turned to Phoebe and hugged her while she kissed me. When we could pull ourselves away from each other I explained to the rest what I'd done.

Leo sighed. "You weren't wrong, it was a great evil."

I nodded. "One I Hope I won't have to repeat again. Now that there are no more Avatars I'm afraid even the connection between you and I is gone. That makes you only an Elder now I'm afraid."

He nodded. "And I'll probably pay dearly for my transgressions when the other Elders decide what I'm to be charged with."

I shrugged. "If they give you too much trouble you can always tell them I'll kick their collective asses for free. It's not like they or the demons combined can beat me now. Though I won't actually be bothering with them yet. I've many things to do now and many more powers to assimilate. Then there's that business with Anubis."

Phoebe asked. "What business?"

I sighed. "Anubis, the one who found the Avatar killing potion before and led the revolt wasn't a mage or wizard."

Leo frowned. "What was he then?"

I smiled. "A god of course. After he and his fellow gods got their ass kicked by the titans, they fled into what they called the Duat. Which is essentially a place where mortals go to be reborn and reincarnated. Sound familiar?"

Leo nodded. "Limbo."

I sighed. "If only it were so simple. They went inside the portal to reincarnation but as gods they are boundless and infinite in their lifespan. Connected to the planet in such a way that they've been able to hold on and build a place inside to keep them anchored and safe from all others. I've since discovered that they were the idiots that worked together to possess me during the trail of the tribunal. If I'm to become stronger I must eliminate them as their presence is like a festering wound on my own soul. One made worse when you plucked the feather from it."

Piper sighed. "What can we do?"

I shrugged. "Do what you do best, protect the world from evil. Let me deal with the simpering has been a waiting to come out when the time is right for them to seize power again."

I gave Phoebe a kiss and told her. "Sooner then you might think, you'll have a life without demons. Evil won't be gone entirely as witches can still turn bad but it won't manifest into such beings as demons, it won't be strong enough to, so just hold on and a few more years it'll all be over for good."

She nodded and kissed me while the others smiled. I gave Pandora a hug and kiss on the forehead as well before I retreated to my training room. This time Phoebe knew I'd be in there for a long while so she agreed to wait for me to come out before I shared more.

Months passed as I took in the last nine of the nexus pools and absorbed the power of the nature gods before slowly taking in all the essence of the gods from the vase the elders put it in. Once I'd absorbed the last bit of it, the vase crumbled into dust and I absorbed all the extra powers I'd taken into my coins.

All that remained inside was the powers of the hidden one from the previous reality and it wasn't yet time to assimilate them. I meditated to finish solidifying my mental defenses in the realities I'd created in my mind.

When that too reached a plateau, like my physical strength, I knew it was time to return to the world. Nearly two hundred and fifty million years went by inside the training room and yet only three months had passed outside it.

When I came out I sensed a demon in the house and went to it with a thought. It was in my wife's body and talking my sisters-in-laws into going after a demon. I growled when they saw me. "That's not Phoebe."

I waved a hand, freezing the demon and Piper and Paige backed away from her while Piper asked. "Are you sure?"

I snorted. "Really Piper, you don't think I'd know my own wife by now?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "You have been gone a long time. Maybe you don't know her as well as you think you do."

I sighed. "I'm aware of my marital problems and transgressions Paige. It still doesn't mean I can't see a demon hiding in my wife's body."

I waved a hand and unfroze Phoebe's head. "You've one chance demon, tell me where my wife is and I won't shred your essence making your death last eternity."

She sneered. "You wouldn't dare! If you kill me, you kill her!"

I chuckled. "Hardly. I can expel you from her body and keep it preserved until I find her. To bad for you, you just wasted your chance. Enjoy the agony of eternal death."

With a wave I ripped her essence of black smoke out of Phoebe's body and with a wave, shredded it causing untold agony as the face of it's owner screamed out and I banished her into the void of space for eternity. I refrozen Phoebe's body and with a thought, brought a crone looking woman that looked eerily like the demon I just banished, into the room in a cage.

With another thought, the cage shattered and crumbled to dust as did the demon that showed up looking for it. I smirked. "Why love, you've changed. While I'm certainly not going to divorce you over your new looks, I truly don't think demon looks good on you."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "It's good to see you honey."

I returned her smile and waved a hand, ejecting her from the Crone demon's body and back into her own before destroying the demon body as well. When Phoebe was back in her own body she turned on Piper. "How could you not tell that wasn't me?!!"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Oh come on! I've been busy! I barely have time to even speak with you now days and you've been just as busy with world and raising Pandora that you haven't said more than a handful of words to me in weeks."

I sighed. "That's my fault, forgive me. I should've-"

I didn't get more out as Phoebe leapt at me and nearly tackled me to the ground while kissing me. I returned her passion fiercely in between promises to make it up to her and Pandora. After it started to get serious I flames us both to bet and we shook the rafter as it were.

When she couldn't go on, not for lack of enthusiasm but for fear her body couldn't handle much more stimulation, we lay panting entwined in the sheets. She told me what all had happened, starting with Leo's fall from grace, Zankou attacking the manner and Pandora's box and not our daughter in this instance.

Finally ending with her most recent news of being body swapped with a demon and having a psychologist go over her columns. I offered and she accepted that I give her all the information for a doctorate in psychology. It was stuff I never used anymore anyways so it was more than fine.

Finally she asked. "How did it go in the training room?"

I smiled. "I've completed my mind and body training and absorbed all the extra powers from the coins. Now all that's left is to deal with the way wards gods hiding in limbo and find more powers to either strengthen my body, mind or magic. The nexus below has nearly refilled compared to before because of the fusion of all the nexus ley lines but it's no longer of any use to me specifically. Now that you girls have grown more though, I guess it's time I open the training room to you as well. Don't worry, I can temporarily stop your aging processes when you go inside and so long as you take in the nexus together you'll be fine."

She agreed and I sighed. "I'm going to make it up to you and Dora I swear. I know I've been a bad husband and father and I'll make-"

She put a finger over my lips. "Don't. You've been doing this to ensure our futures and stop the demons from ever attacking again. It's ok, I understand and Dora, she'll understand as well."

I sighed. "Alright then. I'll be off to Limbo and once I get back I'll teach you girls to harness and absorb the magic of the nexus and make it your own. Then while you're training, I'll help Leo take care of the kids."

She kissed me saying. "Hurry back."

I smiled and flamed into the dimension between realms where the gods were hiding. I could feel them now, just on the other side of the portal, feeding off the power of reincarnation and the energy of life that's created anew with each soul that passes through reborn.

I walked to the portal and summoned my blades before shoving them in. For a moment the portal flickered and glowed a deep red before I felt the power of an entire pantheon of gods being absorbed into the blades and the coin at the hilt.

Once it was done, the portal returned to it's natural serene look and I chuckled before flaming back to the house. Time moved differently in different dimensions so I wasn't surprised to feel the sisters in the basement.

I went down and with their permission, I entered their minds and left all the information they required, including how to build a vast mind scape and strengthen their mental defenses to my degree and how to work the training room.

When I finished, I stepped back and gave them access to do as they pleased while promising it wouldn't take more than a couple days and a week at most because of the time difference.

I slowed their aging process to damn near immortality without actually granting that and they began by summoning the nexus pool. When it moved to me, I blocked it and split it into three, sending it into them. Their eyes went grayish black and I told them. "Don't let the power consume you. Go, use the room and assimilate the powers and magic. You know how."

They left in a swirl and I cleaned up the basement while putting a massive anti demon barrier around the property. I went to take care of the kids to Pandora's happiness and I sang to them while they played and did magic tricks like orbing toys and levitating them.

I clapped and encouraged them while sending them thoughts telepathically without entering their minds. It was mostly basic magical training exercises as well as thoughts of pride and love. They certainly seemed happy as they played.

Leo had apparently been informed because he came home through the magic school door. Seeing it and him, I told him. "It's not yet time for you to rise in power I'm afraid. But if it helps, I'm back!"

He gave me a wry smile. "It's cool. By the way I have to ask, the elders say someone broke into the vaults up there was-"

I nodded. "I needed the gods essence vase and a sword, well the sword is for you but you get the picture."

He frowned. "Wait, what sword?"

I took out the Empyreal sword and held it up. "It's a weapon forged when the the Elders were divided on what the whitelighter's roles would be. Either warriors of light or guides for those below. Obviously it was never used and it's a prototype, but the power is still there and it could very well bring out that spark inside you that's still an Elder or whitelighter, making you into a warrior angel."

I put it away and sighed. "When the time is right you'll understand I promise. For now though, it needs to stay a secret. As for the vase of the gods, it's already crumbled to dust, no longer useful. Trust me, when it's time I'll have you more than prepared for the final battle. After that, we'll be free of good and evil and the grand design they force on this world. The only evil that will exist will be in the hearts of man and the good will be personified by the magical beings as well as in the hearts of man."

He frowned. "What about the balance?"

I rolled my eyes. "The only balance that has ever truly been has been the balance of life and death. The rest is all creations by higher beings to fuel the perpetual battles to keep the magicals and humans feeding their own powers and agendas. Trust me when I say that once it ends, there will only be the freedom to choose and the ability to live peacefully if that is what you choose."

"There will still be magicals and kids to learn and even whitelighters after a fashion but the elders and demons will be gone, along with the angels of destiny. Life was never meant to be dictated by those fools or any other. No one will be in charge as there will be no limits to what humanity can reach after that. No more fear of Wyatt and Chris's or Pandora turning evil."

He frowned. "It sounds too good to be true, just like the Avatars."

I shook my head. "The Avatars wanted to dictate the power flow and decide what was good and bad. I want to remove all those in power and give that same power, the power to choose what was good or evil, to those below. I won't dictate or rule. I just want to raise my daughter and live my life with Phoebe until it's time to leave."

He frowned. "Leave? Leave where?"

I smiled. "Some day I plan to find out. Perhaps you'll come with us, you Piper, Paige and her eventual husband. That isn't important for now as it's at least fifty years from now when our kids are gown and have kids of their own. For now, just know that what I do is to ensure our family's future. Once I've done that, retiring and becoming a magical teacher for a while sounds good. Perhaps seeing this world with Phoebe on a world tour."

He sighed and smiled while I told him how I was encouraging the kids and teaching them subtly about control and love. He agreed it was a good thing and for the next week I handled all the girls stuff as I dealt with Phoebe's column, Piper's club, Paige's whitelighter duties and raising the kids.

I was super dad/uncle during that time and when the preschool teacher called about Wyatt and Pandora acting weird, I went to see for myself and vanquished the demon after reading his mind.

Wyatt cried and I explained to him carefully that it was a bad guy trying to hurt him and Dora. He looked sad but I took him out for ice cream and chocolate messes as they made all over themselves. Once I left them back at the house with Leo and Chris, I went demon hunting and wiped out all the demons after ripping away their powers.

They were all once future witches that'd been influenced down the wrong path and went dark, turning into demons and warlocks. By the time I returned to the manor the girls were just coming out, happy and seven million years older soul wise.

They were much more mature and from the feel of it ten times more powerful, apiece. Leo filled them in while I took the kids to eat something substantial. When I heard Piper's screech I sighed and went to the living room to calm her down. "Relax, I dealt with it. It seems the demons were trying to get them to trust them so they'd turn evil over time. I just got back from destroying them all and neither Wyatt or Dora had trusted them by the time I put a stop to it."

She calmed down and went to see her babies while Phoebe asked. "They didn't get into the manor did they?"

I shook my head. "I had a barrier up all week. It would've zapped even upper level demons like mosquitos if they'd tried. Now that you're out and have clearly mastered your new powers, I think it's time I take it down anyway."

I waved a hand and brought down the barrier while she sent me a telepathic message that she and her sisters wanted to go through with Zankou and the nexus debacle but not fake their deaths.

I agreed reluctantly and we formulated a plan over time to fool even the Elders for a time. Once everything was in place and they had the spell they needed, I drew on the ley line formation and drew in the power it would naturally pool over time at an accelerated rate.

Once the power reached double the usual amount it originally had, I released the ley line formation and we began our plans. They weakened the protections on their book of shadows and left it out as the dead started haunting Phoebe and soon the rest of them.

Soon enough Zankou and the alchemist made their moves and the girls played their parts until Zankou got the book of shadows. By then all the important stuff was sealed away in the vault and the house was returned to normal for mortals eyes.

The house elves were at magic school with the kids and Leo while I stayed at the house under death's cloak. Leo sent the students and teachers home once Zankou had taken the house. The girls had used the connection I'd formed between them and the nexus pool to forcefully eject it from him and I sent Leo and the kids to Victors house where Prue and he would watch over them.

When Zankou took all their powers with potions, I helped them with the final part as inspector Sheridan had shown up during Zankou's reign over the manor and he'd killed her.

The police and FBI were surrounding the central manor with S.W.A.T. It was perfect now and once they astral projected in with a spell, they destroyed the Nexus pool and Zankou with a supremely powerful banishing spell. It destroyed the basement and half the manor. The only places untouched were protected by my own magic.

The mortals moved in but the girls had been spotted inside and the crater it left behind led them to conclude we'd all died in the blast. Luckily I was still cloaked as I did a massive memory charm to change the bomb like explosion into a gas leak and made the cops forget about seeing the girls in the house at all.

I erased all the evidence and went to several federal and legal offices erasing tapes and proof of it being anything more than a gas leak. By the time I finished, news was out and the only reason the cops believed they were there was because they thought there was a sighting of a known most wanted member hiding inside while we were all on vacation.

I'd even got the city to want to pay for the damages and replace all the furniture and stuff by the time I got off the phone with the mayor three days later. I'd decided against it but couldn't help patting myself on the back for a job well done.

I then went to homeland security who was leading the charge as it were and found their paranormal division. After two weeks of relaxation on the beach of a private island the Elders assigned Paige a new charge.

It drove her nuts but it was a sign that it was time to return. We moved into the newly rebuilt manor, thanks to the house elves, and almost immediately the girls went on a shopping spree. I took Leo and the kids to magic school where we found it being used by demons.

Annoyed, I drained and vanquished them all within seconds before putting up a barrier that would instantly destroy anything evil. Then Leo and I walked the halls with the kids and I repaired the school back to it's former glory.

Soon enough the house elves showed up and cleaned up the basic messes and put away the books while I destroyed the inverted pentagram on the wall and repaired the wall itself.

It looked to be a preparation for a ritual but not one I particularly cared about. I did pick up a phosphorus cauldron so it wasn't totally boring. The cauldron itself wasn't shaped special or anything but it was enchanted to store all kinds of magic.

In essence it was a bit like my binding stone coins in that way only they stored more than just magic. I put it away and told Leo. "Spread the word, magic school is officially safe again. I'll put up wards and reinforce it to block everything possible. Nothing evil or with evil intentions can get in from now on. Tell the sisters to inform the magical communities. I'll need you to inform the old students and their parents."

He frowned. "Magic school was protected by purely good magic before, how do you plan to protect it without the Elder's blessings?"

I snorted and showed him and he gulped. "That would definitely do the job."

I nodded. "I'll be doing the same to the manors soon. It's almost time for war Leo. Just a bit longer. I'll put up the wards now, can you watch the kids for a bit?"

He nodded. "Do what you need to do."

I sat down cross legged and my magic bent to my will as tunes etched themselves all over the school, leaving nothing nailed down unmarked. Once I finished that I went to the basement and took out three massive soon to be ward stones and shaping them up before marking them with runes and pouring magic into them to tie them to the ley lines around the world.

It was all interconnected and now you'd have to destroy the earth itself to get inside magic school with evil or evil intentions. If a demon is summoned in from a book, it would be instantly destroyed. My wards were no joke and now that they were completed they couldn't be messed with by anyone weaker than me.

I left the basement after putting them in a connected and protected pocket dimension only accessible through the basement of the school. I went up and found Leo messaging people while watching the kids. All three kids were in the play room, happy and safe.

Soon enough people started showing up and after a while a few demons tried to sneak in as well but everyone watched as they were deep fried. Seeing they really were safe here, magic school really would become a haven from now on.

I watched the kids play with my senses and held a coin of magic in front of me while I absorbed the powers of the Egyptian pantheon. The magical sensors looked at me with fear and fascination while whispering to those that couldn't feel what I was doing and how much power I was drawing out from the stone.

Soon enough I'd finished take it all out and rolled the empty coin on my palm. I felt it orb away and chuckled when I saw Pandora playing with it like I had been. Leo asked. "Is it safe for her to be playing with that?"

I shrugged. "It's empty so it's fine. So long as she doesn't loose it it's fine."

I closed my eyes again and assimilated all the essence and powers into my own at a rapid pace. By the time Leo announced magic school was opened and safe again, magicals from all over came to visit as things were getting hectic out there.

Lower level demons were on killing sprees trying to rise in power and level. Many of the surviving upper level demons that had gone in hiding during the Avatar and Zankou's reign were coming out and competing for the throne of the underworld.

Leo and I went home after assuring the magicals that it was safe to stay. When we left with the kids, more demons attacked but were destroyed by the barrier all the same. Paige had brought her charge home surprisingly and told us what she planned.

She wanted to train Billie, her witch charge to take over for them for a while so they could take a break from magical issues. I didn't care one way or the other telling them my plans to make the manner evil proof for good. If they wanted to go out and fight evil that was up to them but evil would not be able to enter without instant death, even the Source would be vanquished by the power i was going to put into the warding.

They thanked god and me, giving hugs and in Phoebe's case, kisses. I repaired the nexus which I told them I'd have to do in secret, and got to work. Soon enough the last of my massive semi sized ward stones was used in the manor's protections.

Once the barrier and wards were up, the house was officially safe for good. House elves were a bit sad as their would be less cleanup but the rest of the family was satisfied.

Several months passed in a blink as Billie and the sisters occasionally fought demons and I finished assimilating the Egyptian pantheon into my own power between taking care of Pandora and occasionally other kids, enjoying dates and sweet time with Phoebe and teaching at magic school.

I did end up taking the golden belt of Gaea from the homeland security lockup and paranormal cold case warehouse. With Leo's help and my instructions, Billie wore it long enough to zap me. I absorbed all the belts powers and destroyed the curse, leaving it as just a belt made of gold.

I returned it to the homeland security lockup and was completely satisfied with the upgrade it gave to me physically. My physical strength had begun to rise once more, although only slightly. But then at my power level, slightly was a lot for a simple five minutes of work.

I thanked her by telling her. "Your sister is alive."

She went bug eyed and asked. "Where is she? Who took her?"

I sighed. "From what I can feel, it's the triad."

Leo frowned. "Didn't we destroy the triad before?"

I shook my head. "Those were three disciples. The real triad never served the source. I've no idea where they are but I do know their goal is to use Billie and her sister to kill the charmed ones."

I turned back to Billie. "Something that will never happen no matter how powerful you become."

She gulped and asked. "Enough about that how did you find out who has her?"

I shrugged. "I go to the underworld and slaughter demons and take their powers from time to time. The more intelligent ones I read first and I heard whispers in one or two's memories of the triad's plans. I haven't mentioned anything before because I've been hesitant about what you might do. I get that you want to save her, but if she turns her against you, I don't want to have to end you Billie. Phoebe likes you and so does Pandora. But if you come after my family there's only one fate for you and it's very final."

She shivered and I nodded before leaving her and Leo there are magic school.