It wasn't unusual for the Halliwell manor to be in chaos. In fact it had become customary for it to be so. Everyone knew what to do when that happened. All three children would gather and Wyatt would put up a force field while Chris would cloak them. If worse were to come both Wyatt and Chris would orb themselves and Melinda over to Grandpa Victor's place. That had become standard procedure. What wasn't part of their routine was for some strange kid to appear out of nowhere and for their parents and aunts to argue in the conservatory with men in white robes that orbed in not long after the child appeared.
Wyatt and Chris were old enough to know how the hierarchy in the heavens worked, so it didn't take long for them to figure out these men were Elders. These beings formed part of a council that commanded and guided whitelighters to preserve the greater good. They were supposed to be good, but when their mom gave the order to orb upstairs and to put up their shield, they didn't question it and followed orders. Well, almost. The boys orbed everyone to the staircase where they were in good hearing range of the exchange between their family and the intruders.
They took a moment to notice their new companion's reaction. Orbing had obviously caught him off guard, other than that he seemed to take it better than expected. It was as though he knew he shouldn't say anything. Once they realized the boy wouldn't do anything that could jeopardize their whereabouts Wyatt and Chris focused on the conversation downstairs.
"Piper that boy, as you call him, is the spawn of a demon." An elder argued.
Chris and Wyatt starred at each other horrified by what he said. They then looked back at the boy who looked just as scared as they were. He looked down in shame and stepped back from them, as if doing so would secure the siblings' safety. Any previous thoughts of exiling him from the shield disappeared, replacing it instead with guilt for even thinking of doing so.
"His mother may have been a demon, but his father was human. Being half demon doesn't make him evil. For crying out loud the boy just lost his father, who, by the way, left me to care for him. You are not taking that boy away." Piper counteracted.
"Yeah, and besides when he was a baby Phoebe didn't get an evil reading from him." Paige urged.
"And Wyatt got along just fine with him. He didn't sense him as a threat either." Phoebe continued.
"You were friends with a demon?" Chris whispered to a stunned Wyatt. Wyatt didn't register his brother talking to him. All he could do was stare at the boy who he had, apparently, befriended. He didn't remember ever being friends with a half-demon, though. Looking at the eyes of the said hybrid, he saw the familiar look of surprise by this new found revelation. The half-demon was the first to look away, once more, he seemed to be too ashamed of his origins to even face them. He sat in one of the steps and wrapped his arms around himself.
Melinda was just as surprised as her brothers by the fact that the boy in front of her was half-demon, but when her mother said he lost his father she couldn't help feel sad for him. The thought of not having either of her parents alone made her want to cry and she didn't understand why the boy hadn't cried this whole time. She decided that demon or not, he must feel lonely and sad. She went over and patted his head because if it were her she'd want someone to do that.
"That's exactly the problem. Surely you understand our concerns on this matter, after all the struggle of protecting Wyatt from evil you shouldn't allow this…child to be around your own children. He could influence them into-"
"That's enough! My children are for me to raise! I'm raising that boy with them whether you like it or not." Piper finished but the Elders weren't through speaking.
Angel kept his eyes closed trying to ignore the conversation regarding him. Unfortunately that only caused the images of his dying father to resurface in his mind. He had been covered in blood and he kept telling him not to cry. If you cry they'll be able to find you. You have to be strong Angel, don't worry about me, they'll take care of you. She promised she would. Be good. Be good. The words kept ringing in his ears and he had to bite his bottom lip to prevent sound from coming out. The evil creatures that killed his father wouldn't get him. He promised his father he wouldn't let them. He would be strong. As he kept reaping that to himself he felt a pair of small hand on top of his head. He turned to see the face of a little girl that gave him a sad smile. She looked like she was holding back tears of her own behind the depths of her coffee colored eyes. For a moment he wished she could cry for him because he wasn't allowed to do so.
"Good boy." She told him. He didn't know what to say so he lowered his head and allowed her to continue petting him.
Wyatt had kept an eye on his sister since she approached the half-demon. To his surprise and dismay Mel was petting his head until she eventually hugged it in a protective manner. For an instance she looked like their mother when not long ago she protected all three of them from a warlock that tried to get their powers. He realized Mel wasn't going to let anyone take him away, she wanted to protect him. Wyatt took one last glance downstairs where the adults were fighting to keep this so called demonic progeny safe. He knew whose side he would be on, just as he knew this time his mother and aunts might not be enough to protect one kid who had the misfortune of having a demon as a parent. He made up his mind and nudged Chris, if he was going to do this, he would need his brother's help.
Chris had been too concentrated on the arguments between the adults when he felt Wyatt's elbow against his arm. He turned to him with questioning eyes before he noticed Mel was with the demon kid. He jumped up and was about to run and rescue her when Wyatt pulled him back.
Wyatt placed his index finger in front of his mouth signaling to stay quiet as his gaze travelled upstairs to the attic. After both boys challenged each other with their stares Chris reluctantly lowered his and bowed his head in defeat. They orbed themselves as well as Mel and the demon boy to the attic.
Once in the attic, Chris chided Wyatt for answers. "So what do you have in mind?"Chris knew his brother better than anyone and orbing to the attic meant he had decided to help the demonic child. He wasn't a fan of fighting a loser's battle, and this, he knew, was just that. His mother and aunts were protecting him, Mel seemed to have grown attached to him, and now Wyatt seemed to be rekindling his friendship with him. Opposition was hopeless so he might as well help cause the least damage.
Wyatt didn't respond to Chris, choosing instead to go over to the boy and Mel. He approached them cautiously, not so much because of the boy, but because Mel was looking at him with calculating eyes. For a six year old she sure had an intimidating stare. His eyes journeyed back to the boy who appeared to be about his age. He reached to touch his shoulder which caused him to jerk up in surprise. He glanced around the room for the first time noticing they weren't in the staircase anymore.
"Hey…umm… I'm Wyatt" He then pointed at his brother "This is Chris, my brother, and that little girl is Melinda, we call her Mel, our sister." He explained.
Angel looked uncomfortably around to the other three kids. He didn't' even realize he had shimmered to a different room until now, or had they brought him here like before with the staircase? As the other kids were introduced, he got the feeling they were waiting for him to do the same. "I-I'm Angel. Angel Shiel." It was important for him to say his last name because demons didn't have last names. Only humans did. He was raised as human, because despite having powers that humans don't have, he wasn't evil so he must also be human. That was what his father had told him and although it may not make a lot of sense Angel chose to believe his father.
Wyatt took charge after Angel introduced himself. He had to do this quickly. "Okay, Angel, nice to meet you. Sorry to hear about…um- your dad. I'm sure he loved you a lot."
Angel looked down at the ground and replied with a nod. "He did" he answered in a broken voice.
"I heard it was a demon attack. If you look in the Book of Shadows I'm sure you'll be able to ID the demon and-" Wyatt was interrupted before he could finished his explanation.
"I know who killed my father." Angel responded aggressively. "I don't need a book to tell me that." He finished with a glare against the blonde.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to -"
This time it was Chris who interrupted his brother. "Don't apologize to him." He scolded before turning to Angel. He had caught on to what Wyatt was doing and he knew this wasn't getting them anywhere. "Look, those people down stairs don't think you're good. They see you as a threat because of your demon parent. Mom said you are going to live with us and that means you're part of the family. We protect family, but we can't do that if you don't cooperate. The Book of Shadows is for good beings. If you're evil, it won't allow you to touch it. So if we want to prove to them you are good then you have to hold the book." He finished and turned to Wyatt to continue.
"Yeah, what he said." Wyatt has wanted to tell the boy in a more gentle manner, but as usual Chris went for the direct approach, he didn't think there was anything else he could add, but that was before he took a good look at Angel. He was hesitant about their plan, he couldn't blame him but now was not the time to hesitate, even he knew that. "Aunt Phoebe said you and I got along when we were little. I don't remember that, but everyone says I would put up my force field subconsciously when evil beings were around…but it seems I didn't do so with you." He noticed he got Angel's attention so he continued. "I don't think you're evil. Otherwise your dad wouldn't have sacrificed himself to save you and our parents and aunts wouldn't be trying to protect you right now. You can do it Angel." He encouraged him once more.
Angel stared back at Wyatt who gave him a supportive nod. He then felt someone holding his hand.
"You can do it Angel." Little Mel reassured with a smile.
He turned back to the other boy who didn't seem to like him much less trust him. "What are you waiting for? If you were evil you would have hurt us already, wouldn't've you?"
With the last encouragement he went to stand over the book, probably the biggest book he had ever seen. He lifted his hand and reached over to open it. I am good. I am good. I am good. He kept repeating to himself. He closed his eyes and quickly reached to open the all mighty book. Nothing happened. Had he been able to it? He allowed himself to open his eyes and once more reach for it, this time he witness how nothing happened. It was like opening any other book, he had done it. He was good, just like his dad said he was. He turned back to the others. "I did it. I am good now, right? They won't do anything to me. I can stay?"
Mel was the first to respond as she went over to hug him. "Yeah, you can stay, you can be my big brotwer too, Angel."
Angel patted her head and looked over to the other two to get their support.
"Welcome to the family Angel." Wyatt congratulated him and went over to clash shoulders with him. Angel gave him a weak smile and looked back at Chris who kept a safe distance from them. "There are two conditions to be part of this family. If you promise you'll do them then I'll accept your stay." He warned.
"Chris don't-"
"It's okay," Angel interrupted Wyatt as he proceeded to nod towards Chris.
"First, you have to be good, you're not allowed to let the demonic side of yours get the best of you, and second, you have to protect the family no matter what. Us, guys, can take care of ourselves, but girls aren't like that. Can you do that?"
Angel didn't have to think of the answer. He touched the book, didn't he? He was good. So he met the first condition. The second was to protect the family. He wasn't able to protect his father, and because of that he would never be able to see him again. He looked down at little Mel who still had her arms wrapped around his waist. He would never allow anything to come close to touching her. No demon would ever take something precious from him again. He looked back to Chris and locked eyes with him. "I can do it." He promised.
Chris analyzed Angel's body language, and knew he wasn't lying. "Alright then it's time for you to meet the rest of the family." He looked over to Wyatt who seemed to know where Chris was getting at. "Yeah, you're right, but can we do it."
"Well neither one of us can go because we would have to lower our shields. There's no other way."
Wyatt stayed thoughtful for a moment until he let out a resigned sigh. "Okay, I saw a spell in the Book of Shadows. I'm sure we can improvise it a little." Wyatt moved Angel aside and searched for the spell.
"I'll get the things we need then." Chris stated. His mother had taught him this ritual in case there was ever a need for it and he knew for a fact that all the ingredients needed were in the attic.
Angel looked back and forth between the two brothers, "Can't this wait? Shouldn't we go show them I'm good first?"
"We can't do that yet." Wyatt answered.
"Why not?" Angel asked confused about the situation.
"Because…" Chris continued where his brother left off. "We're just kids and the book has been tricked before."
"So…I might be evil?" Angel felt his strength diminished. He might not be able to keep his promise after all.
"No, no, you are good there's no doubt about that, but if our mom and aunts can't convince them I doubt us kids and the book will. We just need more people so they will pay attention to what we have to say. Don't worry everything's going to be okay."
It surprised Angel that Chris was trying to put him at ease. "I wasn't worried." He established.
"Good, because I wasn't trying to comfort you either." Chris retorted.
"Okay, all done." Wyatt announced before Chris picked a fight.
"You sure it will work?" Chris asked Wyatt.
"I'm sure it'll be better than anything you would have come up with." Wyatt joked.
Chris glanced at the spell and let out a laugh. "You only changed one word."
Wyatt blushed with embarrassed. He never thought Chris would figure it out so soon. "It's my first spell and the basics are the same. Trust me one word makes all the difference in this case." He pronounced with authority.
"Oka-ay, but I don't think this can be considered your spell since you just changed one word."
"You just worry about getting the things we need, okay?" Wyatt retorted. He knew Chris wouldn't ever let him live it down.
Chris gathered the ingredients by the table where potions are often made. He placed a silver mortar in front of him and added a pinch of rosemary, a sprig of Cypress, and yarrow root.
"Fine." Chris replied. He took one last glance at the paper and back to Wyatt. They shared a nod and began chanting as Chris grinded the ingredients with a pestle.
Power of the cousins rise
Course unseen across the skies
Come to us who call you near
Come to us and settle here
Chris grabbed a dagger and pricked his finger causing drop of blood to spill into the silver mortar.
Blood to blood, I summon thee.
Blood to blood, return to me.
In a matter seconds white lights appeared and presented them with their six cousins. They all looked disoriented until they realized where they were. The first to respond was six your old Prue, aunt Phoebe's eldest daughter, who happened to be carrying her new born sister. "What are we doing here?" She didn't give anyone a chance to speak as she answered her own question with an accusation. "You brought us here."
Wyatt didn't bother answering as he was more concerned with how the child was carrying an infant. He went over to take the baby out of Prue's arms. He was seriously beginning to double think this plan, even if it did work, both him and Chris would be grounded for some serious time, if nothing else for summoning their baby girl cousin.
"Uh-oh you're in trooouble. Mom said we couldn't cast any spells." One of Aunt Paige's twin daughters pointed out. No one could tell them apart and they had a suspicion even their aunt had a hard time distinguishing them. "Wyatt, Chris, what's going on?" The other twin asked the brothers.
"Well…you see-"
"Chris, I'll explain it." Wyatt informed his brother. Chris had a tendency to forget that their cousins were much younger than them and didn't see things the way he did. He also didn't want to scare them with the fact that a demon was with them, something Chris would be sure to do. Besides he was the oldest, this was his duty.
Chris waved a hand at his brother signaling him to go on.
"All right girls and Henry." Wyatt had the need to specifically mention the boy since, for a four year, he was a little too sensitive with how people always included him when referring to the girls. Wyatt couldn't afford to lose one of them to a simple gesture as pointing out that he, in fact, was not a girl. "Here's what's going on. Our moms are trying to protect an innocent and they need our help."
"He's going to be part of the family. I'm going to have another big brother." Mel added.
For the first time the kids took noticed of the boy standing with their cousins.
"Yeah, what Mel said, but there is something you need to know…"Wyatt stopped talking when he realized he no longer had the attention of his family. They were all surrounding Angel, who looked petrified by all the attention he was getting."
"Guys back off." Wyatt was surprised by Mel's outburst. Who would have thought she would come to Angel's rescue. An even bigger shock was the fact that everyone seemed to be hypnotized by what she said. They followed her instructions and kept a safe distance between them and Angel, giving him plenty of personal space.
"Angel's good. We have to protect him." Mel declared.
"He is able to hold the Book of Shadows." Chris supplied. Everyone took noticed of how indeed, the boy was touching the book.
"Prue I need you to get a reading on Angel. Tell me what you sense from him." Wyatt ordered. He knew his cousin had developed a power to sense other people's feelings. What had his mother called it? Epa- epathy- empathy. That was it. She was an empath and if she could sense that Angel was not evil then they would have a better chance of convincing the Elders of his innocents.
Prue didn't question him and went to work. She focused on the boy, who she assumed was Angel. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate as her mom had explained to her. She began to inhale and exhale is a rhythmic pattern until she felt something coming from the so called Angel.
It was pain. Lots and lots of pain. "Prue are you okay?" She heard Wyatt's voice and opened her eyes. To her surprise, she felt tears run down her cheeks. Wyatt was looking at her worriedly as he rocked her baby sister in a slow rhythmic motion. She couldn't find her voice to speak and tell him she was okay.
"It…it…it hurts. He's in pain Wyatt. He's scared." She didn't know how to explain the emptiness she was getting from Angel. It was like nothing she ever felt before. She felt as if there was nothing good in the world anymore and yet there was a determination to keep living. He wanted to live. He didn't want to die. This feeling was foreign to her and she hoped she never experienced it firsthand. Prue took a glance at the boy that looked like Wyatt's or Chris's age and couldn't believe someone like her cousins could feel this way. No one should ever have to feel the way he did, especially not a kid. She didn't know why he felt this way but at the moment she longed to be in her parents' arms while they told her everything would be okay. Her mom and dad always made everything okay for her.
Wyatt thought back at how Angel's dad had just died and was stupefied at how he hadn't thought that the boy would be grieving for his father. He had completely dismissed his pain because he hadn't shown any signs of hurting, but that was no excuse. Any child would grieve for a parent, demon or not. He should have known better. He thought back at the objective on hand and stared back at Prue who didn't seem like her usual self. But this was important, he remind himself. "Prue, I know it's painful but I need you to look further than that." Wyatt told her feeling guilty over putting her in this situation.
Prue didn't want to feel what Angel was feeling anymore. She didn't like it. But Wyatt had asked her to, and she knew he wouldn't if it wasn't important. She didn't understand a lot of things that happened around her family but she knew that aside from her parents, aunts, and uncles, Wyatt was the next, who would protect all of them. He and Chris were like big brothers to all of them and they needed her to d0o tthis and be the big girl her mom always told her she was. She wiped her tears away and turned to her cousin. "What…what do you wa-want me to find?" she stuttered.
"Do you sense anything…anything evil coming from him?" Wyatt was taken aback by the fierce glare his cousin send him.
"He's not evil. He's hurting. How can you think he-he…" Prue ignored everyone in the room and began crying. Her younger sister was by her side in an instant crying by her side.
Chris, noticing the panic, went over to hug Prue and her sister. If they cried the others would soon follow suit and they would give away their whereabouts. "There, there, Prue, it's okay. We don't think he's evil either. Wyatt doesn't think he's evil." He corrected himself before he pulled away and squatted to be in eye level with the girl. "Look, Prue…" Chris stared at his cousins who had suddenly surrounded him. He figured he might as well tell them all the truth. "The boy holding Mel's hand…his name is Angel and he…he is half demon." He watched everyone's reaction and before they could process the information he quickly continued, "He is also half human. He can touch the Book of Shadows and Prue, you don't sense evil in him. That means he's not evil but an innocent, right?" He directed the question to everyone in the room which even he found it absurd since they were all either six or four year olds…or an infant, but she would probably be the easiest to deal with unless she needed a dipper change. In that case she was all Wyatt's.
"Mom said demons were evil." One of the twins needlessly informed the group.
"Well some witches are evil, so wouldn't that mean some demons were good too. And, besides, he's only half-demon" Chris wasn't so sure if this logic worked with them, but by the looks of it, it did.
"He's good." Prue confirmed.
The first to take a step closer to Angel was Aunt Paige's youngest child, Henry Jr. "Henry come back here." The twins exclaimed in unison but the boy stood firm besides Angel. "No, he's a boy. I want another boy in the family." Henry Jr. didn't seem to realize the gravity of the situation but it worked on their favor so neither Chris or Wyatt minded that having them both was not enough for the four year old.
Prue's younger sister had been silently clinging on to her. She usually didn't say much but that was because like Prue she was telepathic so she usually communicated with Prue that way. She might have also been able to sense Angel's pain but they didn't know yet if she was also an empath.
All that was left were the twins who were surprisingly stubborn, then again it's not every day they're told a half-demon will be joining the family.
"Are you really, really, reaaaally, sure mom is trying to protect him?" One asked.
Chris and Wyatt nodded in response.
"And Prue, you really don't sense him to be evil?" The other questioned.
Prue responded by parting away from Chris and going over to hold Angel's free hand while she held her sister's in the other.
"He's good." She finally answered.
"Okay, how can we help?" They both asked.
Wyatt didn't have time to answer them as the magical beings that were speaking with the adults orbed into the attic. Wyatt quickly went over to where his family was and made sure the force field was tightly wrapped around them all. He had been able to keep it up this whole time but he wasn't sure how long it would last if they were attacked. And he was carrying a baby. This was looking more and more like the worst idea he could have possibly had.
As he continued to worry, Chris grabbed his arm. "I can help keep the force field up."
"But the cloak-" Wyatt tried to argued.
"They already found us so it's useless. Come on Wyatt I'll hold it, you talk to them." Wyatt knew Chris was right. His little brother had a force field of his own though he rarely used it because Wyatt simply had better control of it, that never stopped Chris from practicing keeping it up though. He handed their baby cousin over to Chris and stepped forward to speak as everyone else hurtled around Angel.
"We're not- we're not handing Angel over to you." He proclaimed to the so called Elders. He was sure he had never met them before but as he stepped forward he found new courage and confidence in his defiance.
"Listen, young one, you don't know what he is capable of-"
"He's not evil. He can touch the Book of Shadows and Prue, she's an empath, and she didn't sense evil." Just as he finished he remembered his father had told him Elders also possessed the power of empathy. "You should be able to tell too, since you're the all powerful Elders."
His last statement earned a small chuckle from a woman Elder that stood behind the old man before him.
"Ah, the boy truly is the son of Piper Halliwell." The woman noted amused.
"This is no time for games Sandra." The man that seemed to be the leader scolded the woman.
"But Odin, it's just as the child has said. We are also able to channel into the boy's emotions and so far all I can get from him is his distress of losing his father, the one and only family he ever knew."
The children gazed at Angel, shocked by the news. They didn't know he had lost his father. They turned back to the Elders and noticed more orbs had appeared.
To their relief the orbs came from their mothers who had orbed from down stairs. They did not look in good shape and most figured the attack had come from the very beings that stood before them. Without thinking it twice all children held hands and a strong wind blew through the closed window. It turned into a small tornado as objects began to fly around the place. That seemed to get the attention of the Elders.
Once again Sandra laughed. "Careful Orin. It seems you might have angered the next generation. They might be formidable enemies in the future." Orion scowled in response.
The Charmed Ones, on the other hand, turned to see all nine of their children present and account for surrounding Angel, the once half-manticore baby. Piper took notice of how her children were avoiding her and had a strong suspicion they were responsible for whatever was going on. For now though this could come in handy.
She turned back to the Elders who still couldn't come in terms with the power their little ones possessed. "You think you can take the power of twelve Halliwells," she bluffed. There was no way she would endanger the children, but hey, if Wyatt had scared the whole underworld when he was just two she doubted the same couldn't be done to scare these old geezers out of her home.
"Now Piper there won't be any of that." Sandra told her. "Your eldest son made a pretty powerful argument on the boy's defense. I'm sure we can trust you to lead him into the right path."
"For now," Orion warned before they all orbed out of the manor.
Once out of sight the Charmend Ones turned to their children and Phoebe carefully took her baby out of her nine-year-old nephew's arms.
"You boys have a lot of explaining to do." Piper informed her sons with crossed arms and one foot tapping the floor.
The boys exchanged a surrendered look and gulped down awaiting their punishment.