Legacy 101: Endings and Beginnings
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Author's Note:
This is the first chapter in my Legacy series, focusing on the next generation of Halliwells. It takes place in the same continuity as my pervious stories. If you have not read my previous stories, I suggest reading "The Once and Future Evil" and "Four Witches and a Funeral" first, as these stories explain how Wyatt lost his Twice-Blessed powers and how Piper died.
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Early in the evening, in a small and crowded Italian restaurant, several couples and groups were enjoying their dinner in the candlelight. The restaurant was designed like a small bistro, with small tables close to each other. A waiter tried to creep past a table with a trey of drinks and nearly drops a few glasses. He quickly corrected himself, though he got an angry look from his manager. Meanwhile a young couple at a table in the corner is having a heated discussion.
Among all of this, a demon shimmered into the middle of the restaurant, though nobody noticed him. Someone getting up to go to the bathroom even passes right through him. The demon had a youthful appearance, with short brown hair, dark eyes and strong eyebrows. The demon noticed the couple in the back and walked over to them. He raised his hand and a red glow appeared. He then pointed his hand at the couple and a ball of shadows flew at them, entering their bodies. Immediately, their discussion heated up.
"I can't believe you got fired!" The woman said. "How can you do this to me?"
"Are you kidding me?" the man yelled. "I always paid everything for you."
"Well, don't expect me to stay around when you're broke!" the woman yelled back.
"You ungrateful bitch!" The man yelled and he got up. "Fine, get lost. You know why I was fired? Because I was caught screwing my secretary on my desk!"
"You bastard!" The woman screamed and stood up, throwing her glass at him. She then walked away and knocked into the waiter, who dropped the glasses he was carrying.
"You idiot!" The manager yelled. "How many times do I have to warn you?"
The demon smiled and threw a ball of shadows at the waiter, which entered his body. The waiter straightened up and his face turned to rage. He picked up a plate from a table and threw it at his manager.
"I have had it. I don't get paid enough for you to insult me every single time." The waiter yelled. "I quit!"
The waiter stormed off and knocked over a table, landing a plate of spaghetti on a man's pants. The man jumped up and grabbed the waiter by his arm. The demon infected him with a shadow ball as well as the man suddenly reached for the waiter's throat. Meanwhile, the cheating husband had grabbed his wife's arm. The manager ordered a waitress to call the police and panic started to erupt within the restaurant. The demon smiled in glory and started infecting everyone with his shadow balls, creating more strife and chaos.
A few moments later the smug and satisfied demon stepped out of the restaurant and screams came from inside. He walked down the street, when suddenly flames appeared before him. From the flames a cloaked demon stepped forward.
"Hello Darius." The cloaked demon said.
"Who are you? how can you see me?" Darius asked.
"Who I am is not important." The demon said. "I know who you are, though. A Spirit of Rage. Your kind is becoming increasingly hard to find."
"What do you want?" Darius asked.
"I require your services." The cloaked demon said. "I want to hire you."
"What's in it for me?" Darius asked.
"You want to spend the rest of your eternal life causing little fights between mortals?" the cloaked demon asked. "I can promise you much more, when I get what I want."
"And what is it you want exactly?" Darius asked.
"I want to destroy the Halliwell line of witches, and I want their Book of Shadows." The cloaked demon said.
"Are you insane? I'm not going up against the Charmed Ones."Darius said.
"But the Charmed Ones are no more. With the eldest dead, the power of three is broken." The cloaked demon said.
"But their linage is powerful, even without the Charmed Ones or the Twice-Blessed, they are still powerful witches." Darius said.
"You don't have to face them directly." The cloaked demon said. "All I need you to do is infect them with rage. Then they will weaken themselves and the Book of Shadows. Once I have the book, I will grant you all the power you desire."
"Who are you?" Darius asked again.
"Let's just say I'm an old friend, looking to get my vengeance." The cloaked demon said.
The cloaked demon held out his hand for Darius, who hesitated. Facing the Halliwell's was like a suicide attempt, but he was getting bored with these stupid mortal quarrels. He took the demon's hand and shook it, sealing their deal. He would infect the witches with enough rage that they would destroy themselves.
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The following morning, forty-five year old Phoebe Halliwell sat in a large chair in the middle of a studio, belonging to the biggest talk show of the west coast. Her professional make-up made her seem years younger, although she still considered herself good-looking for her age. In her lap she held a copy of her third book "Cupid's Arrow". In the chair across her sat the host of the show, Kathy, a blond woman who had a little too much plastic surgery done. Meanwhile all the cameras were pointed at them.
"Good day and welcome back." Kathy said at the camera. "We are here today with famous advice columnist and author Phoebe Halliwell, who is currently promoting her third book, Cupid's Arrow. Welcome Phoebe."
"Thank you, Kathy." Phoebe said with smile.
"Tell me, with an advice column and three daughters, how did you find time to write your third book already?" Kathy asked.
"Well Kathy, I think I am just blessed with a wonderful and supportive family." Phoebe said. "My husband and daughters are a constant source of inspiration."
"Speaking about your husband." Kathy said. "I just saw him backstage and he is gorgeous. Where on earth did you find him?"
"Oh, he was just a gift from Heaven." Phoebe said jokingly.
"Well, you are certainly lucky." Kathy said. "Let's get back to your book. After 'Finding Love' and Marriage and Babies', do you think your third book will be a bestseller as well?"
"Oh, I can only hope." Phoebe said. "But as long as my readers still believe in the message I bring, I don't really care about the numbers."
"So is it true you are planning a nationwide promotion tour, starting in New York?" Kathy asked.
"What? Where did you hear that?" Phoebe asked shocked.
She had indeed been offered a tour by her publicist, though she had only discussed it with Coop. Now her daughters and the rest of the family would hear about it on life television.
"We have our sources." Kathy said. "Was it a secret? Were you planning to do a secret tour?"
"No of course not." Phoebe said with a smile. "I just hadn't had the time to discuss it with my family yet. So, surprise!"
"Well Phoebe, it was lovely talking to you." Kathy said. "But I am afraid our time is already up. Our last segment ran a little long, so we'll hope you'll be back after the tour."
"I would love to." Phoebe said.
Kathy then went on to say goodbye to her viewers, while Phoebe tried to think of a way to explain this to her girls. When the lights were cut, she quickly said goodbye to Kathy and left the stage. Meanwhile Coop was waiting for her backstage.
"I warned you we should have informed the girls." Coop said.
"I know, I know." Phoebe said in an annoyed tone. "You need to help me fix this. How do I tell the girls I am leaving them for a half year to tour the country?"
"Well, doing it on live television probably wasn't the best move." Coop said.
"I'll just have to explain tonight, at Piper's memorial dinner." Phoebe said. "As if this night wasn't going to be hard enough. Can you beam me home?"
Coop took her hand and dragged her into a dressing room, where they beamed home in a heart-shaped flash of light.
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Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Phoebe's oldest daughter Prue Halliwell made her way down the street in a hurry. The beautiful dark eyed brunette had overslept on possibly the most important day of her life. When she finally reached her destination, she ran up the stairs and snapped her heels on the steps.
"Are you kidding me?" Prue cried as she took her shoes off and continued barefoot into the Bay Mirror building, the newspaper her mother worked for.
After taking the elevator, Prue found herself on the floor she needed to be at. The twenty-two year old ran over to the receptionist and dropped her shoes on the counter.
"Hi, I am here for the job interview." Prue said.
"You're a little late." The receptionist said.
"I know, I had a little accident." Prue said as she help up her broken shoes.
"I see." The receptionist said in a monotone voice. "Your name?"
"Prue Cooper." Prue lied. She decided to use a fake name to get the job, since she didn't want her mother's popularity to influence their decision. She was a recently graduated and skilled journalist, and she wanted to prove it on her own.
"You may sit down and someone will be with you shortly." The receptionist said.
Prue said down and waited impatiently. She then noticed a TV in the corner and saw her mother on screen. She had completely forgotten about the interview, since she was too involved with her own stuff. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear what was being said as the volume was too low.
"Ms. Cooper?" A male voice asked.
Prue turned around and saw a man with glasses standing in front of her. He wore a stuffy suit had a cranky look. As she shook his hand, she got a distinct feeling of distain toward her through her empathic powers. For some reason, this man already disliked her. He introduced himself as Mr. Sheldon.
"Follow me." Mr. Sheldon said.
Prue followed him into his office and sat down in front of the desk opposed to him. He picked up her resume and studied it for a few moments without saying anything.
"So miss Halliwell, you want a job here?" Mr. Sheldon asked.
"Excuse me?" Prue asked upon hearing her real name being used.
"You can't fool me, miss Halliwell." Mr. Sheldon said. "I know your mother."
"Yes, of course." Prue said. "But I chose not to use my name because my mother works here. I wanted a fair chance."
"Of course you did." Mr. Sheldon said skeptical. "So why did you choose this paper then?"
"Well, because the Bay Mirror is the best-read newspaper in San Francisco. Plus I live in the Bay area, so other paper wouldn't make sense."
"Let me be frank, miss Halliwell." Mr. Sheldon said. "I dislike your mother. She is a troublesome employee often running out for these so-called 'family emergencies.' I also don't like people who try to benefit from their parents over other hardworking people."
Prue was shocked and didn't know how to respond. This man clearly had something against her mother and against her and definitely wasn't planning on hiring her. It made her angry.
"Sorry, but you don't know anything about me." Prue said sharply. "I graduated top of my classes, I had a summer internship for a respected newspaper in LA and my resume is spotless. You're not even considering me because of my last name."
"And now you're raising your voice at me during a job interview." Mr. Sheldon said. "You clearly are your mother's daughter. I am sorry, miss Halliwell, but there is nothing I can do for you."
"I see. Thank you for your time." Prue said while trying to control herself. "I'll let myself out."
Prue got up and walked away, slamming the door shut behind her. The receptionist gave her an annoyed look, but she didn't care. This day sucked and she wondered if it could get any worse.
Xxx
In a dark college dorm room, twenty year old Penny Halliwell woke up with a screaming headache. She sat up and looked around, wondering where she was. She then realized she was only half dressed. As she brunette searched for the rest of her clothes, she suddenly felt another person in the bed next to her, a very naked other person. Penny reluctantly looked down and noticed the very naked, and actually kind of cute, guy next to her still asleep. Unfortunately she had no idea who he was. She tried to remember last night, but could only remember flashes of a party and a lot of alcohol.
Penny got up, dragging the sheets with her as she searched for her clothes. Why did she keep doing this? Everyone always told her she was irresponsible and she had proven them right once again. She was never drinking again. After getting all her clothes, Penny sat down and the bed and got dressed. She then tosses the sheet over the naked guy to cover him up.
Curiously, she placed her finger on his head and tried to read his mind with her telepathy for more memories or at least a name. However, his drunken thoughts only added to her own hangover.
Suddenly Penny's phone rang and she guy stirred in his sleep. Penny quickly answered the phone.
"Hello?" Penny asked. "Prue, why I'm whispering? Long story. Brunch? Sure, as long as there is a lot of coffee."
Penny hung up and quickly left the dorm room, taking one last look at the guy in bed. She still couldn't remember his name. They'd eventually run into each other again, and it was already awkward. She quickly left to meet her sister for brunch.
Xxx
At the same time, the Halliwell brothers Wyatt and Chris orbed into an Underworld cavern. Both were dressed in dirty clothes, as if they had been hunting and fighting demons all night. Wyatt, the blonder of the two, looked around, while his younger brother Chris checked some sort of map.
"Are you sure they are around here?" Wyatt asked.
"Yeah, map we got from that other nest suggests the last nest in here." Chris replied.
"What do you mean suggests? Aren't you sure?" Wyatt asked.
"Reading demonic language is hard Wyatt." Chris said annoyed. "Not that you ever tried."
"Sorry, I'm tired." Wyatt said. "You said taking out these Scavenger Demon nests would only take a few hours. We've been at it all night."
"Yeah, I thought so." Chris said. "We're lucky we found the others had this map though, otherwise we would have missed a few nests."
"Why would Scavenger Demons create maps?" Wyatt asked. "I didn't even know they could read."
"They feed off the remains of others." Chris said. "Each nest probably has their own territory. And why wouldn't they be able to read?"
"Because they're creepy, and slimy." Wyatt replied.
Suddenly a stream of green goo shot down from the ceiling and wrapped around Wyatt's legs, dragging him up and hanging him upside down from the ceiling. Another stream was fired at Chris, though he avoided it in time by orbing out and reappearing on the other side of the cave. Three Scavenger demons jumped down from the ceiling, reptile like demons with black skin, covering in green ectoplasm.
"A little help?" Wyatt asked.
"A little busy here." Chris said as he flung his arm and telekinetically tossed the demons across the room.
"Are you kidding me?" Wyatt called out as he looked around.
Wyatt noticed a sharp rock lying on the floor and telekinetically orbed it to his hand. He then started cutting at the ectoplasm string. Meanwhile Chris reached for a potion and vanquished the first demon, causing the other two to disappear in the shadows of the ceiling. Suddenly, the demons started pulling Wyatt up into the shadows.
"Chris!" Wyatt called, trying to contain his panic. "These things are going to eat me."
Chris ran over and jumped up, grabbing Wyatt's arms and trying to drag him down. However, the demons proved to be too strong and pulled them both up.
"Wyatt, create a force field to sever the web!" Chris yelled.
"Oh right." Wyatt said.
Wyatt concentrated and generated a protective blue bubble around him and his brother. As the field hit the ectoplasm, it severed, causing both brothers to fall to the ground and shattering the field. The demons angrily screamed and fired two more webs, though Wyatt quickly raised a force field again. The demons jumped down on both sides of the brothers, ready to attack. Chris used his telekinesis to throw one against a wall, while Wyatt telekinetically orbed a rock against the other. Chris then threw a potion at his demon, vanquishing him.
"Still got the potion?" Wyatt asked.
"Just one, hold in." Chris said as he reached into his pocket.
Meanwhile the Scavenger Demon screamed and jumped on Wyatt, pinning him to the ground.
"You will pay for killing my kind." It whispered in a slithering tone as it raised a claw.
"Wyatt, I got the potion." Chris said.
"Throw it." Wyatt yelled.
"But…" Chris started to say.
"Just throw it!" Wyatt yelled louder.
Chris then raised his arm and threw the potion, which hit the demon in the chest just as it was about to slash at Wyatt. The demon screamed and exploded in green ectoplasm, completely covering Wyatt in green goo. Wyatt got up and glared at his brother as he wiped the goo from his face.
"I tried to warn you." Chris said.
"Don't even start." Wyatt said annoyed. "Let's just find the nest and destroy it, and don't speak a word about this."
Wyatt walked away, leaving Chris standing in the middle of the cave. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Wyatt always seemed to attract the more messy vanquishes. As he followed his older brother, Chris yawned, a night of demon fighting sure tired a guy out. He had almost forgotten what day it was today. Two years ago, exactly on this day, his mother was killed by a warlock, something he would never be able to forget.
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