Legacy 105: With Mortals Like These

Xxx

As the last guests made their way to the doors of Les Trios late in the evening, twenty-three year old Ryan Lancaster let out a sigh and he leaned against the bar. It had been a busy night at the restaurant and he was glad everyone was finally gone. He had already sent the rest of the staff home, so all they needed to was close up. As she closed and locked the door, his girlfriend Melinda Halliwell let out a similar sigh. She was dressed in a simple black dress and looked gorgeous as usual. She did not even need to make an effort to look good, which was one of the things he loved about her.

"Want a drink?" Ryan asked as she sat down at the bar.

"From my favorite bartender, always." Melinda replied with a smile. "And I need it, god, I am exhausted. Today was crazy."

"I know." Ryan replied as he handed Melinda her favorite drink and grabbed a beer for himself. "It was a nuthouse."

"I'll say." Melinda replied.

Ever since her mother Piper had died about two years ago, Melinda and Ryan had taken over the restaurant at the request of her father and the rest of her family. The restaurant was a huge success, and typically things ran smoothly, but on days like these it was truly exhausting. One of the chefs did not show up, there was a wine spill in the basement and they had a group of very difficult guests, the kind that made you actually want to spit in their food. But it was all worth it, as Ryan got to spent almost all of his time with his girlfriend.

They had been dating for almost three years now and things were better than ever. The last two years had been difficult, as Melinda had lost her mother and they had taken over the restaurant, but it had also brought them closer together. Ryan now knew the truth about her magic, and although it was still strange to him, he slowly started getting used to it. Luckily, Melinda had no interest in magic herself, so he wasn't confronted with it that much.

"What do you say we get Lindsey to manage the restaurant tomorrow night?" Ryan suggested. "We've been working so hard we deserve a break. Let's go out ourselves for a change."

"I really want to, but are you sure Lindsey is ready?" Melinda asked.

"Mel, you have been training her for months. You need to let her prove herself." Ryan said. "Besides, I already checked with her and she is available."

"But…" Melinda started.

"And I already asked Kim to stand by just in case." Ryan added before she could continue to make excuses. "Everything is taken care of."

"Well then, mister Lancaster." Melinda replied with a smile. "It seems you have it all figured out. Alright then, surprise me. I am going to close up in the back, can you take care of things here?"

"Sure." Ryan replied.

Melinda leaned over the bar and kissed him for a moment. She then smiled and headed to the kitchen. Ryan waited until she was gone and pulled a small black box from his pocket. He opened it and stared the beautiful gold engagement ring he had bought a few weeks ago. He had been searching for the perfect moment and tomorrow night was it. Tomorrow was the day he would ask Melinda to marry him.

Xxx

Across town, in the apartment share by Prue and Payton, the three cupid sisters were just finishing a take-out dinner of the couch while watching a romantic movie. They were dressed in sweats and comfy clothes and were having a night in. The last few days had been difficult for all of them, since they had just found out they had a demonic half-brother, so they were taking a break to process everything that had happened.

Prue was still very confused and upset by the whole situation and could not believe it had actually happened. She still hoped it was some very realistic nightmare she would wake up from. The Source that had tried to kill them several times already was actually their brother. It was insane.

"Want to watch another movie?" Penny asked as the film ended.

"Sure, why not." Prue replied with a shrug.

At that moment, Payton got a message on her phone and quickly turned away to reply. She then put the phone away and tried to act fake casual, which only made her seem more suspicious. Prue exchanged frowning looks with Penny and they both looked at their youngest sister, who grew more uncomfortable by the second.

"Who was that?" Prue asked.

"Oh, just a friend, nothing important." Payton quickly said and stared at the TV.

"I don't believe you." Penny said. "You are acting suspicious, like you are trying to hide something."

"Alright." Payton admitted as she stood up and started pacing in front of the TV. "I have been talking to mom."

"What?!" Prue and Penny called out at the same time.

"Payton, how could you do that? We agreed we would not talk to her for a while." Prue said. "In case you missed it, we're still angry with her."

"Okay, hear me out. I think we're being cruel to her." Payton said. "The way we reacted, the way we're treating her now. She was as shocked and upset by all of this as much as we were, probably even more. I don't think it is fair to take it out on her."

"Why not?" Penny remarked. "She created the demonic spawn in the first place."

"Because she was tricked." Payton retorted. "She loved Cole. She did not know he was possessed by the evil essence. She was manipulated. And she did not even know the child had survived in the first place."

"She may have been manipulated, but that doesn't mean she is blameless." Prue replied. "There are still choices she made on her own, such as never telling us the whole story. Whenever things get difficult, she acts all innocent or blames others. She needs to admit her mistakes."

"She is trying, but you won't talk to her." Payton replied. "How is she supposed to make up for her mistakes when her own daughters won't hear her out?"

"It is too early." Penny said. "I need time to deal with all of this."

"Yes, can we please just talk about this some other time?" Prue added. "Everything is already messed up, I don't want to fight with my own sisters."

"Okay." Payton replied with a disappointed look.

Payton sat back down on the couch and they started another movie. Prue could sense her sister was still upset, but she really could not talk about it now. A little into the movie, Prue went to make tea and put the film on pause. As she poured the boiling hot water, she thought about her mother and felt bad as she remembered the times they used to drink tea together and gossip. However, that did not change things. She could not just get over it with a few sentimental memories.

"Do you guys ever think about him?" Penny suddenly asked.

"Him?" Prue asked confused. "You mean our half-brother?"

"Oh god, please don't call him that out loud." Penny replied annoyed. "He might share some Wiccan genes, but he is not family."

"I think about him sometimes." Payton admitted. "What he is like, what he could have been. Imagine growing up with an older brother."

"We already have Wyatt and Chris for that." Penny replied. "Okay, they are our cousins, not brothers, but they still act the part."

"I think it would have been different." Payton said.

"I don't want to think about it." Prue said. It did pop up in her mind once in a while, but each time she buried the thought and focused on something else. "I doesn't matter. We can't change the facts. He was possessed by the Source nearly his entire life. I doubt he even has human emotions."

"You're right, let's drop it." Penny replied.

There was a knock on the door and Prue put down her tea. She walked over to the door and opened in. Noah was standing in the hallway. He looked as handsome as ever, but this time she was not falling for his charming smile and cute looks. She was convinced that he was involved with Matt leaving sooner than planned. Noah had interfered in her personal life when he had no business there. It was things like that and his mysterious behavior that made her feel like she could not trust him. He was keeping something from her, as he always seemed nervous around her.

"What do you want?" Prue asked impatiently.

"Okay, hello to you too." Noah replied with a confused frown. "What is with the hostility?"

"You tell me." Prue replied as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, I assume this is about Matt?" Noah asked.

"You're damn right it is." Prue said angrily. "I know you had something to do with him leaving."

"I only suggested that it was in the best interest of both of you." Noah said. "It was dangerous for him to stay around. I wanted to spare you both the pain of a difficult goodbye."

"You had no right." Prue said. "You might be our Whitelighter, but that does not give you the right to invade my private life."

"You're right, and I apologize." Noah said. "It will not happen again."

"Not good enough." Prue replied stubbornly.

"Well, what you do want me to do to prove it?" Noah asked. "I will do anything."

"Anything, huh?" Penny remarked with a devilish smile. "Just kidding." She quickly added as Prue shot her an angry look.

"How about you start telling the truth, Noah?" Prue eventually said. "From the very moment you came to us, I feel like there is something you're hiding. That spirit killer even warned us about you."

"Well, you can't trust the word of a Darklighter." Noah quickly said.

"No, but I can't seem to trust the word of a Whitelighter either." Prue replied.

Before Noah could reply, Prue slammed the door shut in his face. She could sense his disappointment and frustration. She then noticed a blue light under the door and realized he had orbed away.

Why was everything so difficult? Sometimes she thought that Melinda had made the smart move to stay away from magic and lead a normal life. After all, she had a hot, living boyfriend. Magic seemed to bring nothing but problems. Prue shook off her worries and sat back down on the couch with her tea. Right now, she wanted to enjoy the movie and not think of anything else.

Xxx

On a dark street, a large fire suddenly rose up from the ground and Julian Turner appeared through the flames, dressed in a long black coat. It was been almost a week since the essence had been expelled and he had been freed, though he still felt like he was trapped. He was stuck, unable to move forward or backward. What the hell was he supposed to do now? All he felt was anger and confusion and he wanted to lash out at the world. However, he knew that would only be a distraction. He needed some answers, a purpose. He needed to know who and what he was, and there was only one place he could find answers.

Julian looked ahead and found himself standing in front of a large and dark mansion. The place he had grown up in, where he was prepared for his role as vessel and where he became one with the Source of All Evil all those years ago. He stepped forward and flung the gate open with a wave of his hand. When he reached the front porch, he formed a ball of pure flames in his hand and threw it at the door, causing it to combust.

"Anyone here?" Julian called out as he stepped inside. "I am home."

As he walked down the hall, two large and burly demons in black leather ran in from different rooms on both sides of the hallway. Each of them threw an Energy Ball, though Julian simply deviated them back with a stare and they were both vanquished by their own power.

Suddenly, a third Energy Ball flew through the hallway and hit him in the chest. Julian flew back and crashed into the wall behind him. It was a low-voltage attack. As he looked up, he saw a woman with short black hair and bright red lips stepping forward. She was dressed in a dark brown dress with black leather boots. Julian was shocked to see her, as he believed she was vanquished long ago.

"Hello grandmother." Julian remarked as he stood up.

"I am more than that, Julian." Elizabeth Turner replied. "I am the one who gave birth to you, named you and raised you. I am your mother, treat me with some respect. You destroyed my door."

"You are the one who handed me off to the Source." Julian replied bitterly. "I should kill you where you stand."

"All I did was help you achieve your true potential, your true destiny." Elizabeth said. "You should be thanking me."

"It was never my destiny to become possessed." Julian said angrily. "I spent my entire life trapped inside my own body. You call that potential?"

"You were only trapped because you never truly accepted the essence." Elizabeth said. "If you had only stopped resisting, you would have become one and the same."

"How is that any better?" Julian asked with a frown.

"You could have been the greatest force of evil, the ruler of our kind." Elizabeth snapped at him. "Instead, you acted like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum. You have destroyed everything I have worked decades to achieve. The legacy of my family is in shambles, you are weak just like your father."

"Shut up!" Julian screamed angrily and raised his hand, unleashing a bolt of lightning.

Elizabeth smirked and disappeared in a shimmer before the bolt of lightning struck. She reappeared behind him and before Julian could spin around, her eyes turned bright red and she unleashed a powerful sonic scream. Julian cried out in pain as he fell through his knees and grabbed his ears until he was finally overwhelmed and fell down. Dazed and confused, he felt Elizabeth kneeling down next to him and running her hand through his hair.

"You have been a naughty boy, Julian." Elizabeth said with a taunting smile. "Luckily, mommy always has plan B. Things are not lost yet."

Julian groaned in pain as he tried to move, but his body felt heavy and powerless. He wanted to scream at her that she was not his mother, that he hated her, but the words would not come out. Instead, his sight darkened and he passed out into a deep sleep.

Xxx

The first part of a new Legacy story. Please review. For people unfamiliar with Melinda and Ryan's story, please read my story "Four Witches and a Funeral". Also, I am experimenting with the length of my chapters, so they may vary.