Author's Note:
First, I am so thankful for all the people who supported me. I finally, FINALLY, have the first "episode" out. It was July 3rd, 2007 when I first published Legacy Credits. And on July 4th, 2008 (my bday!), I will be able to show the work to everyone who wants to read it. I would have done it sooner, but you have to wait two days for FanFiction to verify your account! So I'll take some time out of my birthday to publish it for you guys and I really hope that everyone will like it. Hopefully I'll get some new fans and I hope the old fans are satisfied! I want to give a special shout out to Jenn. Thanks for supporting me. If it wasn't for you, I honestly don't think I would have continued Legacy. You rock. It's been really hard for me to figure out how to split the episodes or chapters. I went back and forth from changing it to Chapter 1 with Roman Numerals and then back to Episode. And I think my ultimate decision is to keep it in Chapters, because when does an Episode really end? I think for me, it's much less pressure with Chapters. I'm still very hesitant. It sounds so stupid but it's so crucial to how people will view it.
I like to get visuals for stories, so here are some of my visuals for some characters, other than the main 9, of course. Check out the character list with pictures on legacyepisodes./characterlist.html.
I really hope it's everything it hyped up to be! Stay cool everyone!
Chapter I: The Legacy Begins
"Do you, Patricia Mitchell-Halliwell, take Alexander Joseph Evans, to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"
Patricia's deep brown eyes stared into her love's sparkling baby blues. She took a breath.
"I do." His smile deepened, his eyes staring deep into hers.
"Do you, Alexander Joseph Evans, take Patricia Mitchell-Halliwell, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love, comfort, honor, and keep her for better or worse, for rich…"
"Yes," he cut off. Quiet laughter came from the family around them. Patricia found herself giggling the way that could make any guy fall for her. He looked embarrassingly down.
"I mean," he looked up, "I do."
The priest, slightly smiling, gently closed the book, "You may now kiss the bride."
Alexander passionately placed his arm around her waist and kissed her. She embraced him in a hug as family started clapping. The clapping seemed to slow down in her mind, forming into a peaceful, melodic rumble. Her mind set everything in slow motion, in which simultaneously everything seemed happened at once. The first noise that traveled to her ears was the clapping turning into a horror mess of shocked noises and chairs crashing. She broke away from the kiss to see a group of men, wearing sleeveless black shirts, with the grungy black leather to match. They were exerting vivid green energy balls at everyone in sight. She saw the surprised look of her new husband and reached for his arm, attempting to use her powers. A demon shimmered in before her eyes. She stopped in her tracks, surprised. Her mind seemed to go numb.
"I don't think so," the demonic voice broke out. With her attention focused on the demon, she failed to see the energy ball that was aimed directly at Alexander. It hit him hard, flying him backward into the glass of the church. Patricia turned viciously around, screaming out his name as he crashed through the glass. He fell onto the grass, staining the green a dark red.
Patricia jolted out of bed in a cold sweat. She panted and turned her way to the clock. It read 2:32 A.M. Still out of breath, she put her hand to her head, placing her other hand near her heart, trying to calm herself down. Her short breaths turned into a panic mess. She started quivering. Tears broke through her lids. She sat in bed, letting the tears come out. The silent weeping stirred her sister. Though she was across the apartment, she could hear anything a mile away. She ran out of her room and rushed to her sister's side.
"Tricia?"
Alarmed by the sound of her name, she looked up. She stared into her sister's eyes and shook her head. Helen ran to her side and wrapped her arms around her, rocking her back and forth. Within short hours, the sun rose up, greeting the day. Helen and Patricia lay next to each other, still in a embrace. Helen slowly opened her eyes and noticed Patricia was still sleeping. She climbed out of the bed quietly and stopped at the door. She turned to stare at her sister. Her body was crunched in the fetus position, looking as fragile as a child. She headed toward the bathroom, thinking.
It has been over eight months since Alex has died. The dreams can't be coming back. Not now. Not when she was almost ready to let go.
She sighed and prepared herself for the day.
Meanwhile, the morning had started hours earlier for Penelope Halliwell. She hustled around her loft, carrying several bags and attempting to open her front door. Close to succeeding, the door swung open itself, surprising her and knocking her down, sending her bags flying. Her eldest cousin, Wyatt, emerged from behind the door. He saw her on the ground, with bags strewn out. His eyes widened.
"What are you doing?" he ran to her side and helped her up. She angrily glared at him.
"I was on my way out but you had to, oh so rudely, open the door in my face," she clapped her hands together and started picking up her numerous bags.
He held his hands up.
"Sorry, sorry. I thought you'd need some help bringing the stuff over to the Manor," he said, reaching for bags.
"Yeah, I do. Thank you," she said. They headed out towards the street to their cars.
"How long have you been up?" he asked.
She chuckled to herself. "Uhm, more like when was the last time I slept. I stayed up pretty much all night."
He shook his head.
"What are the plans for today?"
"Well, Mom said she won't be home 'till five o'clock and she's asked Susan to close the restaurant up for the night," Wyatt said.
Penelope nodded. "Okay, leaves us plenty of time to set up and make sure everyone's ready."
He placed his bags in the car, took Penelope's from her arms, and slammed the door. She got in the passenger seat and waited until he got in.
"I think it's really great that we're doing this for her. She always knows when we're gonna surprise her, but this time I think we got it. She's turning fifty-five. I mean, that's huge," she commented on her aunt's birthday.
He nodded. "Yeah, especially since Mel moved out. She feels like she's losing her kids, one by one." They headed toward the Manor. The ride silenced.
"How are you doing?" Wyatt asked, filling the awkward silence. "I felt like I haven't seen, let alone talked to you, in days."
She shrugged. "I don't know. You know that Mom and Dad aren't too happy with me because I'm not going to college."
He nodded. "You have a job though. And you're doing what you've always wanted to. You're actually good at it."
She laughed. "Well thanks, I was hoping I was. It's such a great opportunity. Leela Motinski is one of the best wedding planners out there. And for me to get a chance to not just intern with her, but actually get paid for it. That's so hard to do. I mean, the hours are long. I get that, but I also get that I love to do this. What I don't get is why they can't just be happy for me."
"You know that they need time. I think they're worried about you. I mean, this obviously interferes with your charmed life," he said with emphasis.
"Yeah, you know I thought about that too. It's going to be so hard to tackle work and demons, but Mom did it. Why can't I?"
He turned to her. "You could do it. Just don't give up. Doing what we do, the most important thing is to never forget about what you want."
She nodded. "Leo trained you well."
He laughed. She smiled, looking out the window.
"Don't you think this is a bad idea, Zotar? I'm tired of attacking. The same thing always happens. We lose men. We lose the battle. Only the mentally damaged and suicidal go after them. They are just too damn strong. Especially with their children slowly taking over as the new powers…" a dark haired, black eyed demon spoke to his partner and group of followers.
"We just can't act foolishly. Demons; They think too highly of their power. They believe they can do it all on their own. It's not in their nature to work with other demons. Betrayal is the first thing we learn. Don't you see that we've changed things already by working together. With more power, comes more success. Looking at past history, demons just tend to attack out of nowhere. Surprising the witches barely ever works. They've been doing this as long as we have been demons. But we will not make that same mistake," Zotar, a six foot tall demon, wearing all black, responded, with a grin.
"So are we still working on the original plan?" his friend questioned.
He thought for a moment. "Yes. It has to work. The girl is still naïve about her powers." He looked at his partner.
"You do your job as planned out, Xyler, and in no time, we get more powers and we will control," he said with a grin. Fire enveloped his body and he disappeared.
"You know, family gatherings are always dangerous. At least in our family," Junior said to Chris and Melinda. He had just arrived at the Manor to help with setting up.
Melinda shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're dangerous," she impulsively, childishly answered back.
He stared at her with a confused expression. "What?"
She shook her head again. "Just shut up. We've set up blessed crystals. Any uninvited intruders will get electrocuted..." she paused. "…or killed."
Chris nodded, in agreement. "Make sure that's uninvited demonic intruders. We don't want to be killing the UPS delivery guy here."
She nodded.
"Okay, but don't forget what happened at Aunt Phoebe's birthday. Piper almost didn't make it after the demon shot her with an energy ball, so let's just hope Phoebe or my mom or any of us don't get hurt at Piper's," Junior responded.
"You're so negative," a voice said to Junior. He turned around to see his older cousin, Pandora, whom everybody referred to as Dora, standing in the doorway.
"Hey," he started in defense, resting his elbows on the counter of the kitchen and leaning over. "Do not blame me for being realistically cautious here. Don't forget who we are, and what demons do to us on a daily basis."
"Well, I'm proud to say that demons have not attacked any of us for weeks now," Dora said.
"Hey. Don't go jinxing us," Chris replied, laughing a little.
She scrunched up her face at him. Junior shrugged.
"I don't know about you guys but those charges Wyatt and I are looking after...It's like all of a sudden, every demon decided they wanted them dead," he said.
"Maybe that's why the Elders assigned them to Wyatt. They knew he would be able to protect them," Melinda said. Junior shrugged again. Dora revealed bags of deflated balloons.
"There are 108 here so you guys want to start getting these blown up?" She sheepishly grinned.
Melinda echoed her brother's laugh. "Yeah, right. You are not getting away with us blowing those up for you. You signed up for balloons, so it's your responsibility."
Dora sighed and explained herself. "Not fair. I was the last one to pick. I've been busy with Magic School."
Her Uncle Leo and Aunt Paige co-owned the Magic School and they had given Dora a class to teach future Cupids. Her dad, a Cupid, taught her and she intended to pass on the knowledge to future Cupids.
"You shouldn't have been late. Just use a balloon pump or something," Junior responded, reaching for the mini sandwich Melinda had spent the last ten minutes setting up on a plate. She slapped his hand. He grabbed one and extended his hand in the air, out of her reach. She glared at him.
"Hey, you were not last. Helen gets stuck with cleaning up," Chris reminded.
"Right," Dora remembered. "But you know everybody's going to help with that. And besides, you know Helen. She'll just recite a spell."
They laughed, Junior the loudest. He knew his sister. She loved magic and used spells on anything possible. 'Personal gain' was not in her vocabulary.
Chris glanced at his watch. It read 1:49 P.M. "Speaking of Helen, where is she?"
"She called an hour back. She'll be here… with Tricia soon. She also said… that there might be a problem," he said, in between swallows.
"Oh no," Dora said.
"Tricia had the dream again," he said, finishing his food.
Melinda and Chris exchanged glances. "The one with Alex?"
Junior sullenly nodded. Dora fumbled with the packages of balloons.
"What does this mean?" Melinda questioned, stopping what she was doing.
Junior shrugged, leaning back, "She could just be overwhelmed with work. It has been eight months since it happened. And there have been more cases at work than usual."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as they flashbacked to the day of the wedding.
Patricia quickly ran outside to her husband's side. She grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Alex? Alex, baby? Alex! Damn it," she screamed through tears. Junior ran to her.
"Tricia," he said, extending his arm towards her. She looked back at him in tears. Her dress quickly soaked up the red blood. She started crying and rested her head against Alex. His eyes, full of sorrow, followed Alex back to Tricia. He gently walked over to his sister's side and kneeled down. He placed his hand on her back. She let out a weep. Sounds of demons and crashes died down. Paige appeared, running out of the church.
"Are you guys ok…?" She stopped short in her tracks when she spotted Tricia.
Bewildered people emerged from the church, and stood by, watching the new bride grieve.
Tricia glanced at the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her, with blank eyes. She didn't seem to recognize herself. Scared, she broke away from the mirror and looked down. She pulled a strand of her shoulder-length, chestnut brown hair behind her ear. She breathed in slowly and let out a long breath. She turned around to see Helen leaning against the doorway, with arms crossed. Her eyes were narrowed, staring at Tricia. Tricia closed her eyes.
Helen started to say something but her sister interrupted her.
"I'm okay. You know that I'm okay. I don't need a lecture," she brushed past her. Helen nodded to herself. Enough words were said. It's not like she hasn't witnessed her sister's denial before. It had been like this ever since that day. She turned around on her heels.
"We better head out," Tricia said, reaching for her purse. "We don't want to be late and we have to pick up Dad from work since his car is in the shop."
Helen nodded. They headed out the door, locking the door of the apartment they shared with their brother behind them. They drove their way to pick up their father, who was a parole officer. They came to a halt at his office. Tricia turned to her sister in the passenger seat.
"I need a favor, Lene," she used her nickname for her sister. Helen nodded.
"Don't tell dad. I mean, he has enough to worry about and I don't want this to be a big deal. I'm sick of always being the one everybody's worried about."
Helen nodded, "Sure. I won't tell him. But you have to promise me you won't run away from it. Not again."
"I promise," she said too quickly.
Helen stared doubtfully back at her. She got out from the car to get her dad.
The door swung open. Dora jumped, startled by the loud bang. She saw Wyatt and Penny enter, followed by her cousins and uncle.
She placed her hands on her hips angrily. "Where have you all been?"
Penny shrugged. "We left early, but we needed to make some stops and then traffic got crazy."
Tricia nodded. "Yeah, Monday traffic sucks around here."
"At least we're not too late," Dora's favorite uncle, Henry, added in.
"Did you make sure to park away from the house?" Dora asked.
Wyatt nodded. "Got the neighbor's approval. Hopefully Mom won't pay attention to the overload of cars next door."
Dora nodded and grabbed the bags of party supplies, walking into the dining room. She started to set up. They followed her and headed to the kitchen, where the rest of the family was. Everyone was bustling around, placing bags around the kitchen and walking in and out. Penny made herself busy and grabbed a banner from the table in the kitchen and walked into the dining room. She jumped up, trying to reach a spot to tape the banner that read "Happy Birthday". Helen walked in and observed. She saw Penny jump again and sighed.
"Don't say it," Penny commented, feeling her cousin behind her. Helen shook her head, mumbling "say a spell" as she walked away. Wyatt brushed past Helen's mumblings as he turned to Penny. Stepping on his tiptoes, he lifted the sign higher, towering over her. She thanked him. A bright pink light appeared before them, in the shape of a heart. Her Mom, Dad, and Uncle Leo appeared before their eyes. Wyatt's face lightened at the sight of his Dad.
"Dad!" he exclaimed excitedly. He walked over and hugged him. He hadn't seen him for weeks because of his recent involvement with his new charges. His father happily enveloped him in a similar bear hug. They got involved in setting up around the living room. Phoebe said her quick "hellos" and went to the kitchen, hurriedly.
Melinda shouted from the kitchen, "Where is Prue?" On cue, the door slammed shut. Prue appeared in the dining room, wearing a school backpack. She dropped her bag to the floor and hugged her dad.
"Hi dad," she said as she pulled away from the hug. She took a quick look around. "Wow, this all looks great."
Penny nodded and punched her in the shoulder.
"Thanks for the help," she said. Prue laughed.
"Hey, I try my hardest."
"Come on Ladybug, Pumpkin; let's go help out," Prue's dad said to his two eldest daughters.
Penny and Dora walked back into the kitchen, followed by their dad.
It was a rare occasion her whole family, all fifteen of them, were able to be in one place, at one time, not involving a demonic attack. They even managed to invite her Mom's and Aunts' dear friend Darryl Morris and his wife, Shiela, along with their two sons. She walked into the busy kitchen. It consisted of her own siblings, Dora and Penny, to her numerous cousins. The only person missing was her Aunt Piper, whose surprise party it was that night. The clock read fifteen minutes to five. She walked over to a bowl of chips and ate one. Dora caught her and glared at her. Prue shrugged, nonchalantly.
"Hey, why don't you help out and take all that stuff to the dining room," Dora said.
"Fine, fine," she answered, picking up bowls with force.
Dora playfully bumped her and smiled. Prue grinned. The mood of the moment was high energized and positive. Everyone was excited and anxious to see if Piper would be surprised this time.
Footsteps were heard running through the house.
"She's here! She's here!" Helen yelled crazily, waving her arms in the air. Everyone broke into chaos and started running around. Somebody shut the lights off, making everybody break into even more havoc. Everyone ran to the living room. People spread out in their own little hiding places. Prue squeezed in a tight corner of the room, by the brand new buffet table.
"Shhhhhhh," somebody whispered. The door opened. Everyone silenced.
Piper's familiar footsteps walked the creaking floor. She turned on the lights.
A loud chorus of "surprise" rang out. Piper's eyes widened and she almost stumbled backwards. Her lips turned into an unexpected upright smile. Leo walked over, followed by the rest of the family reaching in for hugs. Darryl gave his oldest friend a giant bear hug.
"What...guys...you..." her words came out broken. Melinda smiled brightly, her eyes shining.
"Happy birthday!" she exclaimed, excitedly.
Piper shook her head in disbelief, "How did you even manage this without me finding out?"
"I don't know. There are so many of us, one of us were bound to spill," Helen said, astonished by how they managed. Piper smiled.
"I cannot believe I'm fifty-FIVE. I feel so old," she said.
Leo embraced her in a passionate hug.
Somebody turned on music and everyone spread out in the living and dining room, sitting and chatting with each other. Knowing that they wouldn't all be together in a family gathering like this for a while, they spent the night laughing and talking.
Melinda walked over to Junior and smirked at him. He shook his head and sipped his drink.
After a long while, Prue walked out of the room and into the silent kitchen. The voices became muffled as the door shuffled shut. She rested her head on the sink counter.
She turned the faucet on and poured water into a nearby glass. She drank it hurriedly and let out a breath. She looked down and examined the new ring on her right hand. It was placed on her thumb. She fidgeted, fingering along its intricate carving, with her left, free hand. Somebody suddenly burst through the door. She let go of her glass in surprise and watched as it descended downwards. She tried reacting by grabbing for it, but the glass seemed to slow down itself, as it landed perfectly upright on the floor. She looked down and followed the feet of a person to her cousin's face.
"Chris!" she exclaimed. He reached down for the glass.
"You okay?" he questioned, curiously.
Prue shook her head, coming to the realization her cousin had used his freezing power to manipulate the glass from falling and shattering into pieces.
"Yeah. Yeah," she repeated, trying to convince herself. She patted her hand, making sure to secure her ring in its familiar spot.
Chris stared at her as Prue hid her face and turned halfway to the sink.
She quickly changed the subject and faced him. "So, it's been a great party, huh?"
Chris nodded, brushing the issue off.
"Yes, yes, definitely. I, uh, came in here for some more drinks," he reminded himself. Prue nodded, pointing off to the kitchen closet, where the drinks usually were.
He nodded, reached in, and emerged with a six-pack of soda.
"Everything okay?" he asked again.
Prue brushed past him, surprised at how easily agitated she became. "Yes, fine."
Annoyed by his prying, she made an effort to slam the door behind her. He closed his eyes and sighed, walking after her. She inconspicuously headed up the stairs, avoided by the rest of her family. He dropped off the six-pack in the dining room and ran after her. As they reached the top of the stairs, he grabbed her arm and turned her around. She looked at him with bewildered eyes.
"No, everything is not fine. What is going on with you?" he questioned, raising his voice. Her eyes flickered to the end of the stairs. He turned his head and noticed Wyatt, giving him looks. He breathed in deeply through his nose and turned back toward her.
"Tell me what's going on with you," he said again, in a hushed voice.
She pushed her lips together. She felt the words coming up. She wanted to talk to him. He was one of the only people she could regularly talk to, but she stopped short.
"Let go of me," she managed out instead.
He realized his grip was tight and loosened it. She ran off, free from the grasp. He made his way down the stairs, with a puzzled look on his face.
"What's going on?" Wyatt curiously asked.
He rested his body against the railing, crossing his arms. "If only I knew."
