Post by MEG on Sept 12, 2023 12:59:43 GMT -5
●●●
i am the
monster
you
created
It hadn't taken long to gather those Piper trusted the most. They'd fashioned a makeshift meeting room at the heart of the safehouse they resided in, an incredibly large farmhouse that had provided them with ample land for crops and plenty of space for multiple people to live in. Piper was quick to cast the usual silencing charm on it once they were present - Marianna, Claire, Vitoria, Aelizia, Benny, among others gathered at the large table settled in the middle. They all gazed at her expectantly, albeit a bit apprehensively - they hadn't been called to meet so urgently in many, many years.
"Bear with me," Piper told them, still rather pale. She gestured to Claire, who had been helping to lead the charge at scouring through every possible spell and ritual they could find. Their pickings had been slim, but they'd managed to send multiple scouting parties out to find as much as they could. Claire, perhaps a bit skeptically, produced a scroll, placing it in Piper's hand. She rolled it out onto the table, leaning on both hands as she peered over it. Silence fell over them as she nodded slowly to herself, the light behind her eyes returning for the first time in a long time.
"We determined this wasn't going to work,"Claire murmured, shaking her head. Marianna was carefully examining her nails, though she glanced over them to peer at the scroll. It was one she had found initially, though they'd been quick to dismiss it as a group.
"At least not with Death being at full power," she said. "A containment spell of that magnitude could have worked once upon a time, but we're long since past that."
Piper shook her head. "No, we're not. Or at least, we weren't," she said. The four women in the room glanced at one another, and Vitoria was the first to speak.
"Piper, are you sure you're all right? You're talking nonsense," she said, her tone kind but tense. They'd all given up at this point, all caught up in how difficult everything had been. Piper didn't blame them for the skepticism, nor their downtrodden lack of hope. She'd been there herself... but, the years had not been kind to the lot of them, and a solution had presented itself.
"Benny?" Piper said, glancing at the boy. Tentatively, he fished something out of his pocket, placing it atop the scroll. There was a sharp intake of breath.
There, glimmering in tarnished gold, was a time turner.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Aelizia asked, standing to get a closer look at it.
"I've had it. Got it for school. Maggie wanted me to keep it to myself, just in case," Benny murmured. It had been no secret, that Death had been hunting down precious magical artifacts to destroy or enhance its power. That had been one of the first things that they'd learned during interrogations of some of Death's children.
"And you're just now bringing this to our attention?" Marianna asked, tone accusatory - though, it was not clear whether it was directed at Piper or Benny. To his credit, he didn't recoil, glaring directly at her.
"There were people around I didn't trust. Still are," he said, defiant. Piper reached out, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I didn't even know he had it. I knew he had, at one point in time - I processed all of the time turner paperwork for the few students we allowed to have them for their studies. It had been so long ago, I'd forgotten - and, let's face it, we'd all assumed that they were lost. Why would we have gone looking for something that no longer existed?" Piper explained. Claire nodded.
"We had written off time turners a long time ago, back when we thought we could fight this within a year. I never thought..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "It's risky, and the Ministry regulated ones can only take you back five hours."
"You were working on a spell a long, long time ago to break those limitations, weren't you?" Vitoria asked, directing her attention to Marianna. The former Dark Lady was quiet for a moment, eyes locked on the dull hourglass contained in golden rings on the table before her.
"I'd figured it out, actually. It was in that journal you gave me from your family. I never needed it, so I never used it. Too much of a risk, even when I had wanted to," she murmured. There was an unreadable expression that crossed Vitoria's face, something mixed with resentment and complacency. Piper knew that Vitoria's role in the release of Death ate away at her, even now, but she quickly regained her resolve.
"There's no guarantee it will work," Aelizia said firmly.
"It will," Piper said, sure of herself. All eyes in the room fell on her, but her resolve did not waver. "My Sight came back now for a reason. I Saw what I Saw for a reason. But, I'll run the risk if I'm wrong. I'll go back," she said firmly.
The room went silent, the members within glancing between one another. There was plenty of apprehension on their faces, doubt shrouding them.
"What other choice do we have?" Benny asked quietly. The women glanced at him for a moment, though the realization he spoke aloud had already spread through the room. Marianna took her wand from the pockets of her dress, moving overtop of the time turner. It took several minutes, with Marianna mumbling over the device while the others watched. Eventually, there was a soft sound, like that of a distant clock chime, and the device glowed with golden light before fading back to its normal, dull self.
"All right, we need to-"
Piper's voice cut off at the sound of distant screaming. Shortly after, the warning bells that they had rigged to ring began.
"Of course," Marianna hissed, rolling her eyes. "Those bastards have impeccable timing."
The sextet exited the room, wands drawn, with Piper taking up the Time Turner and the scroll on the table. They could deal with this attack, and move on - it was routine, at this point. They'd gotten adept at protecting their home.
However, the darkness that washed in from the formerly sunny day brought a chill over the group.
"No," Vitoria murmured, fear coating her tone.
Death had found them at last.
They'd been careful - they constantly changed the location of their base of operations, ensured that no child of Death could run back to their master.
But maybe, all this time, Death had merely been playing with them, lying in wait.
And now was the time for it to strike.
"Run!" Piper yelled. The group scattered as the windows blew open, the darkness rushing in. Piper thrust the scroll under her arm and took Benny's hand, pulling him with her as they sprinted down the hall. "Keep moving forward!" She commanded. Claire and Aelizia stood firm in the hallway, blocking them as Death materialized before them. As Benny and Piper rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of the pair of them, touched by Death, falling to the ground in two separate heaps.
Marianna and Vitoria followed in pursuit of Piper and Benny, with Piper taking her hand from Benny's as she began to turn the time turner rapidly. She murmured each rotation to herself, keeping count as accurately as she could. They darted through the hallways of the house, down the stairs of the cellar. There was an out underneath in the form of a heavy wooden cellar door that lead up to the ground behind the house.
Vitoria and Marianna slammed the door to the cellar shut behind Piper and Benny as they rapidly descended, and the sounds of the pair of women fiercely battling Death away could be heard for only a few moments before the door blew open behind them. Benny turned, watching their bodies tumble forcefully down the stairs.
Death descended in the darkness just as Benny and Piper reached the other side of the cellar, where the heavy door was firmly closed. Benny stepped forward to shove the door open, but was grabbed by Piper instead. She looped the chain of the time turner over his head and around his neck and slipping the scroll into his hands before stepping away.
"One more turn. It's up to you," she murmured. Benny did as told, reaching out to hold Piper and take her with him. As the final turn settled into place and the hourglass within tipped, his grip on Piper was stolen. He shouted for her, reached for her as the time turner took him, the world violently reversing as Piper was pulled into the darkness, away from him, and the world became a blur of color.
Benny landed forcefully on the stone of the cellar, stomach wrenching. With shaky hands, he did the only thing he could think to do - he reached for his wand and Apparated.
He landed once more - painfully, on his hands and knees - within a familiar office. Tapestries were hung on the walls, incense burning. It was nighttime - he could see the glimmering stars and moon from the outside of the window in the tower.
Professor Piper Steele emerged from behind a parted tapestry of the sun, her dark hair piled high on her head, donned in a satin emerald robe. Her Head of House pin glowed in the faint light of the room, and she hurried towards him.
"Mr. Preece? What are you-" she trailed off as she took him in, really took him in - his terrified, exhausted, aged face, the time turner in his hands.
"Oh," she murmured, recoiling slightly. Horror filled her features.
"Tell me everything."
"Bear with me," Piper told them, still rather pale. She gestured to Claire, who had been helping to lead the charge at scouring through every possible spell and ritual they could find. Their pickings had been slim, but they'd managed to send multiple scouting parties out to find as much as they could. Claire, perhaps a bit skeptically, produced a scroll, placing it in Piper's hand. She rolled it out onto the table, leaning on both hands as she peered over it. Silence fell over them as she nodded slowly to herself, the light behind her eyes returning for the first time in a long time.
"We determined this wasn't going to work,"Claire murmured, shaking her head. Marianna was carefully examining her nails, though she glanced over them to peer at the scroll. It was one she had found initially, though they'd been quick to dismiss it as a group.
"At least not with Death being at full power," she said. "A containment spell of that magnitude could have worked once upon a time, but we're long since past that."
Piper shook her head. "No, we're not. Or at least, we weren't," she said. The four women in the room glanced at one another, and Vitoria was the first to speak.
"Piper, are you sure you're all right? You're talking nonsense," she said, her tone kind but tense. They'd all given up at this point, all caught up in how difficult everything had been. Piper didn't blame them for the skepticism, nor their downtrodden lack of hope. She'd been there herself... but, the years had not been kind to the lot of them, and a solution had presented itself.
"Benny?" Piper said, glancing at the boy. Tentatively, he fished something out of his pocket, placing it atop the scroll. There was a sharp intake of breath.
There, glimmering in tarnished gold, was a time turner.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Aelizia asked, standing to get a closer look at it.
"I've had it. Got it for school. Maggie wanted me to keep it to myself, just in case," Benny murmured. It had been no secret, that Death had been hunting down precious magical artifacts to destroy or enhance its power. That had been one of the first things that they'd learned during interrogations of some of Death's children.
"And you're just now bringing this to our attention?" Marianna asked, tone accusatory - though, it was not clear whether it was directed at Piper or Benny. To his credit, he didn't recoil, glaring directly at her.
"There were people around I didn't trust. Still are," he said, defiant. Piper reached out, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I didn't even know he had it. I knew he had, at one point in time - I processed all of the time turner paperwork for the few students we allowed to have them for their studies. It had been so long ago, I'd forgotten - and, let's face it, we'd all assumed that they were lost. Why would we have gone looking for something that no longer existed?" Piper explained. Claire nodded.
"We had written off time turners a long time ago, back when we thought we could fight this within a year. I never thought..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "It's risky, and the Ministry regulated ones can only take you back five hours."
"You were working on a spell a long, long time ago to break those limitations, weren't you?" Vitoria asked, directing her attention to Marianna. The former Dark Lady was quiet for a moment, eyes locked on the dull hourglass contained in golden rings on the table before her.
"I'd figured it out, actually. It was in that journal you gave me from your family. I never needed it, so I never used it. Too much of a risk, even when I had wanted to," she murmured. There was an unreadable expression that crossed Vitoria's face, something mixed with resentment and complacency. Piper knew that Vitoria's role in the release of Death ate away at her, even now, but she quickly regained her resolve.
"There's no guarantee it will work," Aelizia said firmly.
"It will," Piper said, sure of herself. All eyes in the room fell on her, but her resolve did not waver. "My Sight came back now for a reason. I Saw what I Saw for a reason. But, I'll run the risk if I'm wrong. I'll go back," she said firmly.
The room went silent, the members within glancing between one another. There was plenty of apprehension on their faces, doubt shrouding them.
"What other choice do we have?" Benny asked quietly. The women glanced at him for a moment, though the realization he spoke aloud had already spread through the room. Marianna took her wand from the pockets of her dress, moving overtop of the time turner. It took several minutes, with Marianna mumbling over the device while the others watched. Eventually, there was a soft sound, like that of a distant clock chime, and the device glowed with golden light before fading back to its normal, dull self.
"All right, we need to-"
Piper's voice cut off at the sound of distant screaming. Shortly after, the warning bells that they had rigged to ring began.
"Of course," Marianna hissed, rolling her eyes. "Those bastards have impeccable timing."
The sextet exited the room, wands drawn, with Piper taking up the Time Turner and the scroll on the table. They could deal with this attack, and move on - it was routine, at this point. They'd gotten adept at protecting their home.
However, the darkness that washed in from the formerly sunny day brought a chill over the group.
"No," Vitoria murmured, fear coating her tone.
Death had found them at last.
They'd been careful - they constantly changed the location of their base of operations, ensured that no child of Death could run back to their master.
But maybe, all this time, Death had merely been playing with them, lying in wait.
And now was the time for it to strike.
"Run!" Piper yelled. The group scattered as the windows blew open, the darkness rushing in. Piper thrust the scroll under her arm and took Benny's hand, pulling him with her as they sprinted down the hall. "Keep moving forward!" She commanded. Claire and Aelizia stood firm in the hallway, blocking them as Death materialized before them. As Benny and Piper rounded the corner, he caught a glimpse of the pair of them, touched by Death, falling to the ground in two separate heaps.
Marianna and Vitoria followed in pursuit of Piper and Benny, with Piper taking her hand from Benny's as she began to turn the time turner rapidly. She murmured each rotation to herself, keeping count as accurately as she could. They darted through the hallways of the house, down the stairs of the cellar. There was an out underneath in the form of a heavy wooden cellar door that lead up to the ground behind the house.
Vitoria and Marianna slammed the door to the cellar shut behind Piper and Benny as they rapidly descended, and the sounds of the pair of women fiercely battling Death away could be heard for only a few moments before the door blew open behind them. Benny turned, watching their bodies tumble forcefully down the stairs.
Death descended in the darkness just as Benny and Piper reached the other side of the cellar, where the heavy door was firmly closed. Benny stepped forward to shove the door open, but was grabbed by Piper instead. She looped the chain of the time turner over his head and around his neck and slipping the scroll into his hands before stepping away.
"One more turn. It's up to you," she murmured. Benny did as told, reaching out to hold Piper and take her with him. As the final turn settled into place and the hourglass within tipped, his grip on Piper was stolen. He shouted for her, reached for her as the time turner took him, the world violently reversing as Piper was pulled into the darkness, away from him, and the world became a blur of color.
Benny landed forcefully on the stone of the cellar, stomach wrenching. With shaky hands, he did the only thing he could think to do - he reached for his wand and Apparated.
He landed once more - painfully, on his hands and knees - within a familiar office. Tapestries were hung on the walls, incense burning. It was nighttime - he could see the glimmering stars and moon from the outside of the window in the tower.
Professor Piper Steele emerged from behind a parted tapestry of the sun, her dark hair piled high on her head, donned in a satin emerald robe. Her Head of House pin glowed in the faint light of the room, and she hurried towards him.
"Mr. Preece? What are you-" she trailed off as she took him in, really took him in - his terrified, exhausted, aged face, the time turner in his hands.
"Oh," she murmured, recoiling slightly. Horror filled her features.
"Tell me everything."
MADE BY VEL OF GS