Hello everyone, I'm back! I just want to thank everyone who stuck by me and read 'Living up to the name' and 'Decode', you guys are the best and it is because of you that I am back with this brand new idea and brand new story. This is the outcome of my poll, you the people voted, and your answer was heard.
Disclaimer: All characters who have appeared in the series 'Charmed',except those I've created, are the sole copyright property of Aaron Spelling, Constance M. Burge, E. Duke Vincent, and the Warner Brothers Television Network. Also any of the songs used belong to the respected artists and record companies. Since this is set in the future and I have no idea what kind of music there is going to be or which artists will still be around. I haven't created any bands or anything, I've just been using what the world's got. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction.
A/N: First off I am so sorry it took me so long to post this, technical problems and all that. Hopefully that's the last of them and we can all enjoy this fanfic. Well gang this is the first chapter for my new story 'Guardians'. I am super excited to be writing this story because it explores the lives of Paige and Henry's three children as they embrace their whitelighter side. After all, most of the stories about the Next Generation are all about Piper and Leo's children because we learned about them the most during the course of Charmed. Well I decided to take a chance on the wild side and create a story that will revolve around the Matthews-Mitchell siblings and their whitelighter abilities. Of course the other Halliwells will appear but the story is mainly about Henry Jr, Charlie and Gracie.
Also if you haven't read my other stories; 'Living up to the Name' and 'Decode' don't worry, you'll be able to follow this. It is separate from those two stories. There may be a few things you don't understand at first but I'll go into them and explain. Also I have used the characters I created for those stories so the Halliwell kids don't change their names and you lot don't get confused. Please don't steal any of my characters or the story line or I will bring back a really, really bad demon and get him to hunt you down!
Please remember to review after reading, I really love hearing from you guys. Without any further delay… let's get on with it.
Summary: The Matthews-Mitchell siblings' destiny as witches was only the beginning. Now the new power of three has been chosen and they must embrace their whitelighter side to complete their own destiny, as the most powerful witchlighters of all time…The Guardians.
Guardians
Chapter One: No Rest For the Halliwells
Closing her eyes over in concentration she tried her best to block out the voice that was filling the inside of her head, this was the fifth time he had called her. Taking a deep breath she tried to blow out the anger through slightly parted lips. This was why men shouldn't have been allowed to use magic, this is why all of them should have been mortal, her granddaughters were meant to have daughters, lots and lots of daughters not sons. Of course she loved her great-grandsons and she loved the men her granddaughters had married but there was only so much she could take and this was beginning to annoy her. In fact it had been beginning to annoy her three calls ago. When was he going to give up?
"Mother." A calm voice sounded loudly causing the woman in question to jump slightly. Opening her eyes the current head Matriarch of the Warren line looked to find her daughter standing just a little away from her. Wearing an expression that looked less than happy. "Mother, this is the fifth time he's called. Don't you think at least one of us should answer him?"
Penelope Halliwell stood from the white chair she had been sitting on and sighed. "Well he's not going to give up until we do by the looks of things." She said irritated. "Men in the family was always a bad idea."
"Mother!" Patricia Halliwell shirked in horror, those were her grandsons she was talking about.
"Oh Patty, you know I meant it as a joke. With the male genes and the Halliwell stubbornness, it's a recipe for disaster." Penny sighed. "I guess I had better go down."
"Maybe I should go." Patty said looking at her Mother. Penny ment well but she wasn't always the most sympathetic person in the world. Right now the calling witch needed sympathy, kindness and love for this was a most delicate topic.
"It will be fine." Penny said looking at her daughter with a raised eyebrow. "You can watch if you must." With that golden lights swirled around Penny Halliwell and she disappeared from the beautiful peaceful area.
Patty stood amongst the clouds letting out a sigh. She turned and left, walking over to a bench she saw a young man sitting down on it. With a warm smile she took a seat beside him and placed one of her delicate hands down on his knee. "Don't worry." She said with a small smile. "Everything will work out."
Looking up at the Halliwell at his side he nodded his head once as a stray tear trickled down his cheek and rolled of the edge of his cheek before hitting the floor beneath them.
He stood with his hands down at his side waiting, he had been at this for fifteen minuets and no one had answered him. No one. He should have been answered, someone should have come down to answer him. If magic couldn't give him five minutes with the departed then what good was it to be a witch? What was the point in having all of this magical power if he couldn't use it. Magic owed him, they owed him and his family. Looking around at the still empty room he took a deep breath and looked skywards.
"I know someone can hear me!" He called. "I am my mother's son and I will not stop until someone floats their ass down here!". Looking back at the large book in front of him he placed his hands down on the two open pages before him and began to recite his spill, for the sixth time. "Hear these words, hear my cries,
spirit from the other side,
Come to me, I summon thee,
Cross now the great divide!" Looking up from the family book he stood with a stony expression waiting for someone to answer his call. If no one came this time he would orb himself up to the heavens one way or another.
His patience was wearing thin, he could feel the blood bubbling underneath his skin. They couldn't do this, they couldn't just ignore him. It was rude and bad karma, not even the spirits escaped it when they reached that better place, the big old magic school in the sky. Taking a breath he got ready to cast the spell, he was serious. He wasn't leaving until someone came down to talk to him. A crash of thunder sounded in the distance, the weather portraying the anger he felt underneath. Before he could begin the first line of the spell a familiar sounding jingle rang in the air. Looking up from the book he watched as a swirl of golden lights swirled in the centre of the room, a small smile appeared on his face as he watched.
"Greg?" He asked.
The lights disappeared leaving Penny behind. The older woman offered a smile and shook her head once. "I'm afraid not." She told the young man standing at the book noticing how he frowned slightly and thumped the open book. "Henry, what are you doing?" Penny asked softly.
Henry Jr looked up at his great-grandmother through watery eyes. Eyes that looked so much like his mother's. the same shade, the same warmth and love radiating from them. The same determination. "What does it look like?" He asked the spirit standing in the middle of the circle of candles he had arranged and lit. "I want to talk to my best friend." He said before he began turning the pages in the Book of Shadows violently.
"Henry darling," Penny said not moving from her spot in the circle. "He's been gone a long time now." She said softly. "You know that, you've moved on and accepted it. Why open up this can of worms now?" She asked.
Henry stopped turning the pages in the book. "Seriously?" He asked. "You of all people are seriously asking me that question?" Penny looked at him. "Some sick minded person decided to let my dead best friend be my spirit guide. They decided to let him bond with me again as we took a wonderful trip down memory lane and then they took him from me again." He said looking at Penny. "So there. That's my reason for opening the can of worms Grams."
Penny Halliwell frowned. "Henry you've been at this for weeks. Don't you think that if you could see him, he would have come to you by now?" she asked. "They thought it would have been easier for you. The powers-that-be were running out of ideas."
"Well it wasn't easier!" Henry Jr shouted. "How would you have felt if Grandpa Allen came back to you, to take you down memory lane?" He asked. "You should have stopped them." He said as he looked down and began to turn the pages of the book again.
"It's not the same thing." Penny looked down feeling very small indeed but she wasn't about to admit it. Looking back up at her great-grandson she let out a breath. "Henry, life isn't fair but you have to get on with it not worry. You don't have time to worry about it."
Henry looked up at Penny. "Grams what are you talking about?" He asked. He wanted to groan, this woman was about to give her usual load of cryptic crap and he had a feeling it was going to involve the words; 'Destiny', 'Evil' and 'End of the World'. It always did. Right now he didn't need this especially when there were no adults around to give their two cents.
"Henry darling, this is the year everything changes. The new Charmed Ones have been Christened and it's now time for you and your sisters and your cousins to embrace your sibling destinies." Grams said with pride pouring from her mouth. Henry frowned, that was one out of the three. "New enemies will arise and you will all need to learn how to work in your sibling groups and together. The fate of everything good in this world relies on your generation. Just as it relied on your mother and her sisters before hand. If you don't evil will win and…""The world will end as we know it?" Henry cut his Grams off. A loud flash filled the darkened air outside the manor and a loud rumble filled the air. Perfect timing, Henry thought with a slight frown.
"Not what I was going to say but ok." Penny said with a slight frown. "I know it's hard but everything happens for a reason. You'll learn more about what it truly means this year."
Henry let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his mousey brown hair. "You've got that parting tone in your voice." He stated.
Penny couldn't help but smile. "You know how this works all too well." She said lifting her arms. "Don't fret, things will be tough but they'll get better."
"They always do right?" Henry Jr said as he sent his great-grandmother a small smile.
"Right." Penny said with a smile. "Blessed be my darling, be safe and pass on my love."
Henry nodded his head and watched as Grams disappeared in a swirl of golden lights leaving the ring of candles empty. Sighing he walked away from the book and squatted down to blow out the five white candles. The thunder and lightning went at it again outside the manor causing Henry to glance to look out the windows as the rain came crashing down on the glass. Shaking his head he looked back down and continued to blow out the candles.
Just as he had blown out the last candle the floorboards creaked signalling the arrival of another person. Looking up, Henry watched as his little cousin Melinda Patricia Halliwell came running into the attic. "Darklighter!" She yelled as she ran over to Henry.
Henry quickly stood up and held his hands out to Mel, the younger girl grabbed them and the two Halliwells disappeared in a shower of blue and white orbs just as the darklighter appeared at the attic door.
"Damn it!" The darklighter cursed as he looked around the room. Stepping further into the room he noticed the candles and the open Book of Shadows.
Smirking he walked over to the Halliwell family's sacred book, if he managed to get his hands on it he would be the most powerful demon in the Underworld. As he reached the carpet covered with the candles he heard the sound of orbing. Turning he looked over his shoulder to see nothing. He frowned, something should have been there. Turning back round he made his way over to the book when he felt something smack him in the side of the head. The darklighter looked up in confusion after he hit the attic floor.
"Now!" Henry Jr called as he became visible again. The young witchlighter took a step back and watched as Mel stood up from behind Aunt Pearl's sofa. The young Charmed One lifted her left hand and threw a small glass vial filled with a vanquishing potion. "NO!" The darklighter yelled as the vial hit him in the chest. He lay on the floor and screamed in pain before exploding, becoming a shower of navy blue and black orbs. The dark orbs vanished leaving nothing but the crossbow behind.
Henry Jr stepped forward and squatted down to pick up the crossbow. Hearing the floorboard creak and a confused yell, he turned baring arms, ready to fire. Mel let out a laugh as she watched the other darklighter stand looking confused.
"You're not a darklighter." He stated.
"Nope." Henry Jr said as he pressed on the trigger and fired the poison coated arrow. The darklighter reacted to late pulling up his own crossbow. It did nothing for him and the arrow Henry had fired hit him in the chest causing him to explode just like his friend before him.
"Is it just me or is evil getting stupider?" Mel asked as she walked over to stand beside Henry Jr.
"Evil's getting stupider." Henry said turning to face his cousin, the crossbow in his right hand. "Just like you." He stated causing Mel to frown. "Why the hell didn't you call me?!" He asked.
"And have you orb into the firing line?" Mel asked. "I don't think so. I didn't know what else to do so I ran because not all of us can orb."
Henry sighed. "Hey don't blame me for that one, the Angel of Destiny and the whole 'Grand Design' are to blame for that."
Mel sighed. "I know, it just sucks sometimes." She said sadly. Her honey brown eyes looked around the room, spying the candles she turned to look back at Henry. "What were you doing anyway?" She asked. "I thought Wyatt had put you in charge of making that potion for him."
Henry nodded his head. "Finished it and I had time to kill." He said with a smile before walking over to the wooden table and placing the crossbow down. He picked up the vial to show Wyatt's potion to Mel. "So," he said casually. "Any idea why these darklighters keep attacking?" He asked.
The sound of breaks screeching to a halt filled the busy city street as a bright blue Volkswagen Beetle came flying round the corner mixing with the sea of yellow taxies and other cars following a group of leather clad people driving on bikes. Angry horns filled the air, only to be drowned out by the storm as the little beetle weaved in and out of the traffic, it looked as if the driver was trying to catch up with the motorbike gang which was now flying down the road and banking a right at the traffic lights just a head. A red light flashed above the beetle giving the driver no choice but to slam her foot down on the break causing the little car to come to a complete stop throwing the passengers forward in discomfort.
"For god's sake Charlie, will you slow down?!" A very shaken Gracie shouted from the middle seat in the back of the car. She winced as water hit the side of the car as they went through the drowning streets.
"We can't loose them!" Charlie yelled at her younger sister glancing at the young female in the front seat of her car.
Gracie let out a sigh as she watched the red light turn green, letting Charlie fly off down the busy road after the gang of motorbikes. Placing her hands on the two seats in front of her, to slow herself from an impact with them, Gracie watched as the bikes came into view again causing Charlie to speed up. The little beetle doing all it could to keep it's driver happy. Gracie loved this car, after the death of her mother's green beetle Paige had bought a bright blue one and then passed it to her and Charlie as a present for passing their driving tests. Well, Charlie had taken no interest in the car and much preferred orbing around the city at her heart's content until recently when she used the car, leaving Gracie the passenger as she was the youngest. Yes the car was old, but Gracie didn't care. She loved the beetle and right now her heart went out to Bernie because Charlie was killing him.
Gracie leaned forward to look at the girl sitting in the front seat, her seat, a small frown on her face. "Are you sure these are the guys?" She asked. "I mean what demons use motorbikes?"
The girl, Sarah, an innocent who had come to the twins for help, looked back at Gracie a slight frown on her face. Who did the young witchling think she was? Sure she was the daughter of a Charmed One, a Halliwell, a powerful source of good but that did not give her the right to act all high and mighty. "What witchlighters use cars?" The young female asked causing both Charlie and Gracie to frown slightly. "Yes I'm sure, they have my grandmother's amulet and if they get away…"
"They'll become unstoppable and they'll kill your family, gaining power eventually resulting in the world ending." Charlie cut off the female. "Yes we know, now can you two shut up? I need to concentrate." She said as she turned the steering wheel sharply, hitting the brake at the same time.
"Charlie!" Gracie yelled as she was thrown to the left as Bernie turned, smoke pouring from his tires and horns filling the air again. "You're a maniac!" Gracie cried pushing herself back upright. "How the hell did you pass your test?!"
"The same way you did." Charlie shot back as she hit the indicator, turning to the right as the last biker disappeared from view into the mouth of the cemetery. Slamming her foot down on the break, Bernie came to a stop and the eldest twin killed the ignition and threw her seatbelt off, exiting the car quickly out into the pouring rain.
Groaning as her organs caught up with the rest of her, Gracie threw her belt off and climbed out the left car door. She shut the door over and watched as the innocent rushed off after Charlie. They were breaking a lot of rules here, one; entering a cemetery without backup, the second; letting the innocent go with and three; not telling anyone! Rushing forward Gracie chased after her sister and Sarah.
Charlie came to a stop, looking around her warm brown eyes searched for the group on bikes. They had gone through the open, black iron gates and then disappeared. Looking around she saw people, alone and some together, visiting what was left of their loved ones, even in one of the worst storms in a long time. She hated coming here. Feeling a hand grab her own, Charlie turned to the side to see her younger sister.
"Where'd they go?" Gracie asked.
Charlie shrugged. "I have no idea." Turning Charlie watched as Sarah walked past them and started up the hill. "Sarah?" she asked, walking forward with Gracie.
"I feel it's magic." Sarah said in an almost trancelike state. Turning round to look at the girls she pointed at the mausoleum closest to them. "It's in there."
Gracie shook her head as she pulled on Charlie's hand. "I don't like this." She told her sister. "This is a really bad idea." She whispered as they watched Sarah walk up towards the mausoleum. "Maybe we should get help." there was an eerie feeling covering the cemetery and it wasn't because of the darkness covering it due to the storm.
Charlie shook her head causing her poker straight hair to swish. "No, we're big witches now." She said pulling Gracie forward. "We've faced scarier things than a mausoleum."
"Charlie." Gracie said in a desperate attempt to stop her sister.
"Stop being such a baby Gracie." Charlie whispered harshly. "It's our job to help innocents so, lets go help Sarah."
Gracie swallowed and allowed herself to be led up the hill to where the large stone building stood, she watched in fear as Sarah disappeared in the door. Reaching the doorway Charlie paused to look around for a moment, slowly she stepped down onto the steps and proceeded to pull Gracie down with her.
"Sarah wait up!" Charlie called as she reached the floor. She watched as the blonde disappeared round the corner. Hearing a scream Charlie dropped Gracie's hand and rushed round the corner, following Sarah's footsteps.
Reaching the open room she watched confused as Sarah began to laugh a column of flames in front of her. The young female turned round to look at Charlie as Gracie appeared behind her and smiled as the glamour faded. Sarah was left standing in a tight black outfit, the amulet in her hand. The blonde hair was gone and in it's place sat a crop of bright orange hair.
"What the…" Charlie didn't get to finish her sentence as she was lifted from the ground and sent flying into the wall.
Gracie watched her sister hit the floor in horror before turning to look back at the girl who had claimed to be in trouble.
"You helped the wrong demon." Sarah said with a smirk, throwing her hand out and sending Gracie into the casket in the centre of the room.
Groaning, Charlie pushed herself up and looked over to where her sister had landed. She hadn't gotten up yet and Sarah was killing other demons. Her insides where turning in anger, why was Gracie always right? How did she always know when things were going to end badly? Charlie debated about calling for help, who would she call? Everyone would have her head. Not only was it her idea to do this without the help of the family, it was also her idea to trust Sarah, both very bad ideas. If she called Henry Jr she would never hear the end of it, she could almost hear his rant; 'She's younger than you, you're meant to look out for our little sister! For God's sake Charlie what the hell were you thinking?!'
Henry was very protective over his sisters, but Gracie more so because she was the youngest of the three siblings and she always ended up getting hurt thanks to her older sister. Charlie quickly reached inside the pocket of her coat and used her right arm to pull a small green vial from her pocket. Quickly she raised her arm and threw the vial, it cracked allowing the liquid to come into contact with the demon's skin.
As the tell-tale scream of a vanquish filled the air, Charlie got to her feet rather quickly and rushed over to where her sister lay unmoving on the ground. Getting down on her knees beside Gracie, Charlie held her palm flat. "Amulet." She called, the object appearing in a shower of blue and white lights. Closing her fingers around the object, the air rippled causing her to groan.
Two male demons appeared, frowns on their faces. "Next time you won't be so lucky." The taller of the two said before disappearing again.
Placing the amulet in her pocket Charlie placed both hands down on her sister's shoulders and disappeared in a shower of blue and white lights back to the car. Arriving in the backseat of Bernie, the young witchlighter lay her sister down and placed the middle belt around her waist to keep her secure. Pulling off her wet coat she placed it down over Gracie in a pathetic attempt to keep her warm.
"Shit." Charlie cursed as she banged her head off the roof of the car as she climbed into the front seat.
Pulling the keys out of her pocket she placed them in the ignition and started up Bernie. Turning on the headlights, she turned and glanced over her shoulder at Gracie before pulling on her belt and taking off. Turning the wheel she manoeuvred the car away from the other ones that had been parked around her and headed off down the street, back they way she came.
Where could they go? Gracie needed help fast. Yes she could have healed her sister but then Henry Jr would have found out thanks to their sibling bond and Charlie couldn't deal with that. Pausing at the red light she looked around, the Restaurant was the closest. Glancing at the clock in the car she frowned, it was lunch rush. Perfect, she thought sarcastically to herself. Hitting the indicator she turned right and headed off down the street. Charlie didn't have the power of premonition, but she could foresee a grounding coming her way.
Everything had been planned out thoroughly, everyone had been told the plan, agreed to it and then forwarded ideas if they thought it was necessary. They had been ready but it would have seemed the world agreed with their children and plotted against them. Walking through the large quite hall of Magic School, the school she taught at, the school her children and nephews and nieces attended, Paige Matthews-Mitchell carried a large brown box down the hall and into the large library where her sisters were sitting chatting. Well when she saw them, it was more like Piper was doing all of the chatting, Prue and Phoebe just sat with looks of despair on their faces. Paige chuckled lightly and placed the box down on the table next to the large group of other boxes. Today was meant to be the end of an era, the day herself and Henry, Phoebe and Coop, Piper and Leo and Prue and Andy moved out of their family homes and moved in together so their children could start their own magical destinies but the raging storm back in their plane was causing some difficulties for everyone.
Paige waited a moment or two to watch Piper pace back and forward talking about some sort of magical problem before walking over to take a seat beside Prue and Phoebe. She walked over careful not to disturb Piper and took a seat in between her two older sisters. Phoebe was sitting with her head down on the desk in front of her and Prue was sitting back in her chair rubbing her temples as Piper walked back and forth in front of a large book case picking out a book every so often and placing it in her arms.
"She's still going at it?" Paige whispered.
Phoebe lifted her head off the table and turned to the side to look at her little sister. "Yeah." Phoebe answered. "She's driving me insane." Phoebe groaned as Piper started yet another topic of discussion and placed her head back down on the table.
"It's like being back at school." Prue commented, rubbing her temples vigorously. "Some stupid teacher going on and on about something we really don't need to hear."
Paige chuckled lightly at her older sisters. "What is she talking about?"
Both Prue and Phoebe looked at Paige. "Demons." They answered in unison.
A loud crash filled the air causing the three sitting sisters to jump and lift their hands up in defence and turn to look at Piper. "Where?!" Piper cried lifting her hands, ready to kill the first evil thing she saw, the books lying in a pile at her feet.
"For god's sake Piper!" Phoebe shouted as she placed her hands back down on the table in front of her and pushed herself upwards. "Prue and I were explaining to Paige what you were ranting about."
"Besides demons can't get in here." Prue said as she too stood up with Paige.
"They have before." Piper commented. "You should know you can't say things like that if demons aren't around." She stated folding her arms across her chest.
"I thought it was we weren't meant to scream." Paige commented causing all three of her sisters to turn and glare at her. "Tough crowd." She mumbled as she walked over to start picking up the books Piper had thrown to the floor. Paige squatted down and picked up the books frowning when she read the titles. "Uh Piper," She said standing up with the books in her arms. "You do know we are retired right?" She asked.
Phoebe sighed. "She doesn't understand the meaning of words like that."
Piper frowned and took the books form Paige and walked over to the table her sisters had been sitting at and placed them down on the top of it. "Yes I do." She replied. "But that doesn't mean we can't be prepared. I'm looking through these so we can make sure we haven't missed anything. I want the kids to be protected as much as possible. Get me your books."
"Piper." Prue whined. "You've checked them twice already and updated the Book of Shadows. I think we've done enough." Prue said noticing how Piper's look became rather cold.
"These are our children." Piper said turning to face her sisters again. "They are going to be fighting evil every single day of their lives until they are able to pass on the torch to their children. Nothing is enough. It never is."
Phoebe sighed softly. "Piper don't you think you're over reacting?" She asked. "I mean yeah we're scared for them but they'll be together. Penelope and Adrianna at Prue's, Wyatt, Kayla, Chris, Bell and Mel at the manor, Letti, Jenny and Skye at the condo and Henry Jr, Charlie and Gracie at Paige's. The houses are already protected by our magic and blood and the Books are filled with everything they'll need to know."
Piper looked at her sisters with fear in her eyes. "What if they're not?" She asked. "Everything's not in them."
"Piper." Paige softly. "They'll always come across something that's not in the book. It's happened to us too."
Prue nodded her head. "A number of times." She smiled. "But we made it through and so will they."
"I know." Piper said with a slight sigh. "I just want to be prepared." With that she walked off to another bookcase to add to her pile of books.
Phoebe groaned. "Why do I have the feeling it's going to be such a long day?" She asked.
Prue shook her head and walked over to the where the pile of boxes sat on the table and began to rummage through them. Opening and closing the boxes she came across the ones she had been looking for, waving Paige over the eldest sister decided the youngest sister should face Piper's judgement eyes first.
Walking to the table Paige waved her hand and a shower of golden lights appeared when the glamour she had cast disappeared so she could look at the treasure inside the box it had been hiding in. Looking at her gift caused her excitement to grow, it wouldn't be long now. All she had to do was wait for Sandra to speak to her children and then she could give it to them. Paige stood and looked at the large book hiding in the box, slowly she reached out and placed her hands down lightly on the cover.
After much discussion Prue, Phoebe and Paige came to a conclusion, ignoring the protests Piper had made, and decided to make their own versions of the book to pass to their children. After all the Book of Shadows was only one piece of heritage and that was hard to share between eleven people so the younger two sisters and the eldest had cast spells to duplicate the book and each version had appeared looking very different meaning Letti, Jenny and Skye had their own unique book as did Penelope and Adrianna and so did Henry Jr, Charlie and Gracie.
Paige's Book was a midnight blue colour with a silver full moon, and two silver half moons on either side of it, and in the middle of the full moon was a triqutra. A full moon and two half moons to represent Henry Jr and the twins and how they have a gift which lets them travel to the heavens and a triqutra to remind them they will always be Charmed. The powers-that-be had named the book, 'The Book of Light'.
Paige was proud of her children, she was proud of all they had accomplished and she only hoped that the pride continued to grow when they accepted their whitelighter side. She didn't care if she sounded selfish but she liked the idea of her children having the same whitelighter abilities as her, it made their connection stronger. Paige believed that her sisters felt the same in some way. Prue's children would help the trapped spirits of the world, their connection with their mother was that Prue had once been a ghost living in the afterlife. Phoebe's children would spread love and protect it, Phoebe Halliwell lived for love she had a heart of gold. Not to mention she married a Cupid. Piper's three, they were the Charmed Ones, they were the head of the gang so to speak, they would deal with a little bit of everything to make sure the world was left standing at the end and who better to coach them than Piper. Piper had seen lots and been through more, she knew what it was like to be caught up in the magical world and everyone was positive she would guide her children through it all.
Lifting the Book of Light out of the box, Paige held it close to her heart as she walked over to where Piper had taken a seat. She gently placed the book down and watched as her sister began to look through all the pages using the new books she had found to make sure it was good enough to pass onto her nieces and nephew.
Taking a step back Paige turned to watch as Phoebe walked over with her book, 'The Book of Love.' It had a cherry red cover and a gold triheart in the centre of the front cover. Paige turned to watch Prue get her book. Her book was purple with a silver symbol in the centre of the front cover. It was a circle with two arches coming from it, one pointing north, the other pointing south. It was to represent the only Power of Two in the family, based on the original triqutra. It was called; 'The Book of Life'
The next few weeks were going to be interesting for everyone, new destinies were being embraced and once again the magical community was being changed. With a smile Paige watched as Piper her hand and put back up the glamour, happy that the Book of Light was hidden, she exited from the room closing the door behind. With a strange feeling in her stomach, Paige sought out the phone, she needed a little help. Passing the window in the hall she saw another flash of light as the storm continued to rage over head, it would pass soon and when it did, the passing of an era would join it.
The sound of happy chatter filled the room as the lunch rush picked up, it had been going steadily for the last twenty minutes or so. Hearing the bell at the front door signalling the arrival of more customers caused the tall blonde to look up from the drinks he was making to see a large group of people dressed rather smartly arrive. Looking at the booking sheet next to the till his blue eyes saw the name of the large business company who had booked a table for twenty, it was one hell of a business lunch. Drying his hands on the rag underneath the counter he smoothed out his white shirt and walked round the bar and across the busy floor to the door where the large group of people stood waiting to be seated.
With a smile he greeted the man standing at the front of the group, he was dressed in a navy blue pin stripped suit and wore a salmon coloured tie with his white shirt. "Welcome to Piper's Cauldron." He said happily. "I'm Wyatt and acting manger for the day, you must be the McIntyre party."
The man at the front nodded his head. "Yes, we booked with Piper two weeks ago."
Wyatt nodded his head, his mother had been going on about this large lunch ever since it had been booked and then on the morning of it she had decided there were some magical problems that had to be taken care of, so she had left her children and nieces and nephew in charge for the day. Half of them at P3, the other half working at the restaurant. "We have a table set for you in our largest function room." Turning to his left Wyatt watched as Ebony appeared at his side with a pile of menus in her arms. "If you'd like to follow Ebony she'll take you to your table and get your drinks."
The eldest in the Next Generation of Halliwells watched as the young Phoenix who had become a close friend of the family led the large group of people through the main room through an archway and off to the left. Shaking his head as the business jokes filled the air Wyatt turned and took up his position behind the bar again.
During the 'year of change' Piper had decided to revamp her restaurant since she had extra time on her hands, especially now that her Charmed One duties were finished and with P3 doing phenomenally well she decided to dip into some of the money to make her wish come true. Operating under the new name of 'Piper's Cauldron', very ironic. Piper had changed the layout of her restaurant, with a new garden seating area outside, two large function rooms perfect for large lunches and receptions and new bits and bobs here and there. Piper had also employed a few new members of staff, mostly teenagers looking for a job and she had hired one new chef, who would be her first-in-command when she wasn't around and when Chris was busy at Magic School.
Her new chef was second-in-command for the day because Chris was in fact working his socks off in the kitchen. The two eldest boys had been left in charge of the restaurant with Ebony, Jason and Skye while Jenny, Letti, Penelope and Mel were at P3 auditioning bands. Henry Jr was in charge of his own task and the twitches had classes and work of their own to do as did Adrianna, meaning they got away from all the hectic for a few hours. Hearing the kitchen door swing open behind him caused Wyatt to turn and look. Chris stepped out dressed in his whites and smiled at his brother before walking over to a table where two elderly people sat with their younger family being served by Jason. It was the elderly man's eighty first birthday, his daughter had brought along a cake and by the looks of things Chris was asking her when she would like it brought out.
"Hey Wy." A voice said causing Wyatt to look to his right. Ebony appeared placing the round tray down in front of him.
"Hey." Wyatt smiled back at the young girl. "How's it going?" He asked.
Ebony shrugged. "The jokes are a little dry but they seem nice enough. Have you got those bottles of champagne?" She asked.
Wyatt turned and went over to the small fridge, squatting down he pulled it open and lifted out the green bottles with the little red ribbon tied around the neck. His mother had marked the things for the business lunch clearly, she didn't want it getting screwed up as the lunch was bringing her a lot of money. Wyatt brought the bottles over and placed them down on the tray. "Do you need a hand?" He asked.
Ebony shook her head. "No, it's fine." She said with a smile. "But could you be a sweetie and fix their drinks for when I get back?" She asked.
Wyatt nodded his head and took the notepad from the young waitress. "Got it." He said with a smile watching as Ebony left with the bubbly. Looking at the list of drinks Wyatt found it wasn't actually that bad, there wasn't any alcoholic drinks, clearly because they had to go back to the office afterwards. Just fruit smoothies and soft drinks.
Chris walked back over to the bar and walked round the side of it, usually when it was quite he would have just hopped over the top of it because no one would notice, during one of the busier times he had hopped over the counter top and got caught landing him in hot water when someone complained to his mother. Chris watched as his brother walked back and forth to the trays piling up the drinks. "Business lunch party here?" He asked.
Wyatt looked over at his brother and nodded his head. "Oh yeah. I'm giving Ebony a hand with the drinks."
"Where's Skye?" Chris asked slightly confused. "I thought she was on waitress duty."
"She is." Wyatt said placing a glass of orange juice down on the second tray. "She's over at the group of Moms with their kids."
Chris turned his head to see his younger cousin handing out packets of crayons to the group of small children. His sea green eyes drifted off around the room and he found Jason talking to a young woman who seemed to be laughing quite a lot at him. Abby had moved to the front door and was taking people to their seats, the other waiters and waitresses dotted other areas of the room with smiles on their faces.
"Shouldn't you be working?" Wyatt asked as he picked up the slightly heavier tray as Ebony came back over to the bar.
"I am." Chris insisted. "I was just taking a breather, it's incredibly noisy back there because Clive is PMS-ing today."
Ebony laughed at the younger Halliwell brother as she picked up the second tray. "Tough day?" She asked.
Chris nodded his head. "I am counting down the hours until this hellish sift is over. I wanna go home and sleep!"
Wyatt shook his head as he walked away with Ebony. "Get your butt back in that kitchen!" Wyatt called as he and Ebony disappeared through the archway.
Chris pouted slightly and turned walking back through the door to where there was hell on earth. Stepping into the noisy room caused him to wince slightly as Clive's voice bellowed through the air causing all of the other kitchen staff to jump and speed up in whatever it was they were doing. Chris frowned and walked over to his colleague. Being the son of the restaurant's owner and head manager and the better cook gave Chris the right to run the kitchen, when he wasn't around Clive was free to do whatever he wished but there was no need for the yelling.
"Hey Clive." Chris said calmly as he walked over. "You really need to turn down the volume before we start getting complaints from the customers and the staff." He said. "What is wrong with you today?" He asked.
"Piper's got that massive lunch, the place is booming and I can't find one so called chef to make a decent bowl of ravioli for a three year old!" He said his voice rising by the end of it.
Chris shook his head and looked at the clock on the wall before looking back at Clive. "Go and have your break and I'll deal with this lot ok?" He said with a smile. "I know it's lunch hour but you're no good to any of us stressed out." With that he turned and took the bowl of ravioli from the young chef who had approached. "And on your way to the staff room, take that." He said with a smile.
Clive let out a huff of annoyance before disappearing out of the kitchen. As the doors proceeded to swing shut Chris heard the phone ring behind the bar and groaned loudly. Were they attracting bad omens? He walked towards the door and stopped upon seeing Jason answer, turning back round Chris clapped his hands to get the kitchen staff's attention before shouting out his orders.
Jason Daniels leaned over the bar and lifted the handset from its bay underneath, pressing the green button caused the infernal ringing to stop. He lifted the phone to his ear and put the smile back on his face before reciting the greeting he had learned off by heart. "Hello Piper's Cauldron, Jason speaking how can I help you?" He said into the receiver.
'Jason!' The angry female voice shouted down the phone. Wincing Jason recognised it straight away, it was one of the Halliwell females.
"Letti." Jason said calmly as he waved Skye over to the bar. "What's up?" He asked confused.
'What's up?' Letti repeated. 'What's up? We've been attacked by darklighters twice at the club!' She yelled down the phone. 'And Melinda never showed up!'
"What?!" Jason yelled causing Skye to quicken her pace and practically sprit over to the bar. "Is everyone ok?" He asked.
'Oh we're fine.' Letti replied, the pissed tone only growing in her voice. 'After all none of us here are actually whitelighters but that is not the point.'
Jason replayed what Letti had said over again in his head before gasping slightly. "Wait, what do you mean Mel never showed?" He asked. "She knew she was meant to go and help you guys."
'Jason she didn't turn up and she's not answering her cell and we've been too busy to go and get her.' Letti told her eldest cousin's best friend. 'Do you have any idea where she is?'
"No." Jason replied. "But I'll grab the guys and come and get you ok?" He said. "This darklighter attacking is getting ridiculous."
'Thank you.' Letti said politely. 'See you soon.'
"Bye." Jason said before hanging the phone up and turning to face Skye. "We have a problem. I'm gonna go grab Wyatt and Ebony, you get Chris." Jason instructed. He paused and turned back to Skye. "You heard all that right?" He asked.
Skye looked at him and rolled her eyes. "It was Letti, I think everyone heard." She commented. The youngest Halliwell Cupid nodded her head seeing Jason's confused look causing her brown coloured locks to bounce. Rushing round the side of the bar Skye made her way into the kitchen only to stop when she saw Charlie standing talking to Chris, crying her eyes out.
'What is going on?' Skye wondered to herself. The family had been attacked by darklighters and demons more and more, the daily attacks were well beyond what they were meant to be. Rushing over Skye quickly cut in. "We've got a problem." She said causing Chris and Charlie to look at her.
"Yeah well join the club." Chris said as he pulled the white chef's jacket from his form leaving him in black trousers and a plain white t-shirt. "Gracie's out-cold in the car and Charlie can't heal her."
"Mel never showed up to P3 and isn't answering her cell." Skye told Chris causing him to swear under his breath. The young cupid looked around to see the kitchen was frozen, she wondered why it had suddenly gone quiet.
"Right," Chris said as he pulled on his grey coloured hoodie after orbing it into his hands. "I'll go with Charlie and heal Gracie and meet you back at,"
"The Manor." Skye said. She watched Chris grab Charlie and head out of the room. "Uh Chris!" Skye shouted causing Chris to come back in through the kitchen exit. "Kitchen." She said with a smile.
Chris groaned and flicked his right hand before disappearing. Skye shook her head as the kitchen went back to normal, picking up her cousin's chef jacket and exited the kitchen quickly. She looked at the bar to find Wyatt, Ebony and Jason standing there. Wyatt leaving Abby in charge and begging Clive to go back into the kitchen.
"Where's Chris?" Jason asked.
"He had to go and take care of something with Charlie." She said taking off her apron.
Ebony sighed as she pulled on her tan coloured jacket. "What is going on?" She asked as she grabbed her bag from underneath the bar.
"That's what I'd like to know." Wyatt said turning back round to look at the others. "Lets go." He said heading towards the door. Jason, Ebony and Skye quickly followed. "Where did you say Chris was?" Wyatt asked.
"Helping Charlie." Skye replied closing the door over after stepping outside.
Ever since the last battle with the Next Generation of Halliwells, the Underworld was looking a little worse for wear. Demons took every chance to snap at one another and try to kill one another. It was a mess, much like after the demons had told the Charmed Ones they wouldn't be ready until their children had grown. It was dark in the Underworld, darker than normal. It was a choking darkness, the kind that suffocated good souls, that let monsters run around unseen scaring innocent people. All in all, it was just another day in hell.
"None of them have returned." A demon voiced to the group he was standing with. "They're all gone."
"Rumour has it, Sarah started killing them and then she met her match." Another demon said.
"Wouldn't surprise me, she always was crazy." The demon leaning against the wall said. "She wanted all the glory." The other demons in the group nodded heads in agreement.
"What now?" The first demon asked. "Some one's going to pay for this and frankly I don't want to be the one who gets locked in the dungeon."
Demon number two let out a sigh. "If we don't get our act together those brats are going to ascend and we're going to be screwed. Forget the dungeon, we'll be burning in the fires of hell."
"Now why would I do such a thing to my loyal followers?" A voice asked causing the group of demons to stand to attention and bow in respect.
"My Liege." All of the demons chorused in response.
"No one made it back?" The leader asked as the demons stood to their full heights.
"No my Liege." The first demon said. "Sarah killed who she could and was then vanquished herself."
"By who?"
"Halliwells." The second demon informed the leader. "Paige's daughters."
"Such a pity." The new demonic leader said as they looked around the room. "Soon they will be accepting their destiny and as you all know we can't let that happen." Turning to look at the demons the leader smiled. "I have a mission for you three." The leader said looking to some of the demons. Turning to look at another three. "And a separate one for you. The witchlighters can not accept their destiny. If they do, the future will remain in the hands of good."
"Yes my Liege." All of the demons chorused again.
The dawn of a new age had begun in the Underworld, and this time they would not be beaten.
-To Be Continued-
Ta-da! That's the end of the first chapter. I know it wasn't that excting and all but it's just to set the scene. I am really nervous about this story because I don't know if people will like it because it's focusing on the Matthews-Mitchell siblings. I promise the other Halliwells will pop in and out at different points of the story. Please leave me a review, I promise to answer them all! =)
Until Next Time,
Dreamer x