PROGENY: ANGELS & DEMONS
written by LexiCharmed
DISCLAIMER: "Charmed" is a trademark of Spelling Television Production Charmed and all related elements © Spelling Television Inc, and TheWB Television Network, in Association with Paramount Pictures.
All rights reserved.
This is a non-profit fanfiction, and is in no way affiliated with any of the copyright holders. No copyright infringement is intended nor implied.
Story © Lexi's Charmed Spin-Offs 2007-2010
Author's Notes: Progeny: Angels & Demons is an Alternate Universe spin-off, loosely based on the ending shown in "Forever Charmed". All differences are made very clear in this first chapter, starting with the death of matriarch Piper Halliwell.
Just to keep things straight, here are the members of the family:
LEO & PIPER HALLIWELL:
WYATT MATTHEW (Wy) - 27
CHRISTOPHER VICTOR (Chris) - 26
PRUDENCE MELINDA (Pru - Meli to Patti and Holly) - 21
COOP & PHOEBE HART:
PATRICIA GRACE (Patti - Gracie to Pru and Holly) - 21
PATIENCE BRIANNA (Pay to her sisters) - 19
POPPY CHARLOTTE (Pops to her sisters) - 17
HENRY & PAIGE MITCHELL:
HENRY ROBERT, JR. (Hen) - 21
HOLLY PENELOPE (Loppi to Patti and Pru) - 18
HALEY JANET (Hales to her siblings) - 18
BOOK ONE: "CHANGES"
CHAPTER ONE: "When One Destiny Ends..."
September, 2031
CHRIS' OFFICE
P4, San Francisco, California
Christopher Victor Halliwell sat at the desk, the desk that had once been his mother's but was now his, going through some paperwork. They'd closed P4 – the restaurant she had named after herself and her three sisters - for a week, but soon they would have to reopen it. Chris didn't want to, but he knew they had to, and he knew that it would be he who would somehow have to pull it all together.
With a sigh, the 26-year-old rubbed his green eyes tiredly, before opening a drawer and taking out a framed picture - one of himself as a child, sitting on his mother's lap. He reached out to touch the picture of his mother's face. Again he sighed.
"I always knew I'd take over the family restaurant someday, Mom. I think I knew it when you first brought me here and put me in my playpen here in the office. But I never dreamed it would be so soon. But somehow I always thought you'd be here to help.
"And I just feel so alone, Mom. Dad's here, but this is hard on him, very hard. He can hardly do a thing, hardly say a word. He doesn't do much but work on his antique car and try to straighten out P3. We've closed both the club and the restaurant for awhile while we're trying to, well, adjust, and that means a lot of work, as you would know. As you also know, that's keeping him busy.
"When Wyatt isn't at the hospital, he's still trying to find the demon who, who, well, you know.
"And Pru? If Patti didn't talk to Aunt Phoebs each night, we'd have no idea how Pru is doing - she went back to school as soon as everything was over and now she won't take any of our calls."
"You're not alone, Chris. I'm here."
At the sound of this voice, Chris looked up, a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "No, I'm not. Thank you so much for coming - it's as if you knew I needed you."
He stood up and walked over to Dana Marshall, his whitelighter girlfriend of the last two years. She hugged him as he hungrily took her mouth, enjoying the comfort of her hug and the kiss. When he released the kiss, Dana put up her hand and brought his head to her shoulder. He wanted to break down, but couldn't quite let himself do it.
Even as she continued to stroke his hair in comfort, Dana told him something that she knew wouldn't bring any to him. "I'm sorry, Chris, but there's another reason why I came here."
Chris sighed, saying the word like it was something sour. "The Elders?"
Dana shrugged. "Sort of. They know who the demon was who, who..."
Even as she spoke, Chris pulled his head off her shoulder so he could look her in the eyes. She didn't have to say anything else. "Have you told Wyatt?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not yet. I came to you first." Even as he nodded with a small smile, she continued, "But I am trusting you to go to Wyatt for help. This demon is strong."
Chris nodded. "Tell me about him..."
A WAITING ROOM
San Francisco Memorial Hospital
"Mr. and Mrs. Winters?"
At the sound of this voice, a couple nervously waiting, looked up to see Dr. Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, dressed in scrubs, four interns standing behind him.
Mr. Winters jumped to his feet and hurried over to Wyatt. His wife nervously stood and crossed to stand behind her husband.
"How is she?" Mr. Winters asked.
The 27-year-old doctor smiled, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm glad to say that your daughter's surgery went well."
Huge relieved smiles bloomed on both faces. "Thank you, Doctor!" cried Mrs. Winters. "Can we see her?"
Wyatt nodded. "Yes, of course, although she may still be asleep. She's back in her room."
Mr. Winters grabbed Wyatt's hand, shaking it as he joined his wife's exclamation of thanks, before both turned, running towards the elevator.
Wyatt smiled as he watched them go, although his smile was sad. Then he turned around to face the interns. "I've got some personal things to take care of. Go and see Dr. Bailey. She said she will find you something to do this morning."
The interns nodded and then dispersed. Wyatt sighed as he rubbed his brown eyes – much as his brother was doing in the office at P4.
"Dr. Halliwell?"
At the sound of the voice, Wyatt turned around to see Nurse Ebony West, his girlfriend of the last year. Her professional look turned to one of concern. "Wy?" she asked. "Is everything okay? You look tired."
Wyatt shrugged. "I just need a few minutes."
"It's only been a week," she pointed out. "Maybe you should take more time off."
"I don't need any more time off!"
Ebony backed up, taken aback by Wyatt's forceful words. He sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ebi. I just don't get it. Why? Why can I save everyone, everyone except..."
Ebony smiled sympathetically. "Except your mom." She reached out to take Wyatt's hands. "You're not on your own, Wy."
He sighed. "Yeah, I know." He looked deep into her eyes. "Thank you so much for being here, Ebi. I don't know what I would've done without you. I need you so much."
She smiled sweetly, the smile he loved so much. "The same way I needed you when my parents died. That's how I know how hard this is for you."
He took a deep breath before taking his hands away from hers, reaching up to rake them through his dark hair. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take a few minutes for myself before my next surgery."
"See you for dinner tonight?"
"Of course. I'll see you later, Ebi."
He turned and walked away, his head down. Ebony watched him leave, the sweetness in her eyes turning into an evil glint. [i]So you need me, Twice Blessed. Just the way my father plotted it.[/i]
MIAMI-DADE COLLEGE CAMPUS
Miami, Florida
Two young women, both 21, one the oldest of her family, the other the youngest of hers, but still best friends walked of one of the buildings that made up Miami-Dade College. As the other students scattered, Patricia Grace Hart laid a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Pru, are you okay? You were falling asleep in there."
Prudence Melinda Halliwell shrugged. "I just haven't had that much sleep; that's all."
Patti looked at Pru and then sighed. She looked away, shaking her head. Pru glared at her. "What?" she demanded.
It was Patti's turn to shrug. "Nothing."
Pru rolled her eyes. "Go on. Just say it," but Patti decided to ignore Pru and kept on walking. Pru stayed where she was, putting her hands on her hips. "Go on, Patti. Say whatever you want."
Patti shook her head. "I promised I'd meet Holly for…"
Pru ran, catching up to her cousin, pulling on Patti's arm to stop her from walking. Patti sighed and looked to the ground, making Pru frown. "Whatever it is you want to say to me, Gracie, just do it. Since when have you stopped talking to me?"
Hearing Pru call her the nickname she'd used since childhood got to Patti. She sighed and told her. "Since my mom calls me so that your dad can find out how you are."
Pru stared at her, shocked. "What?"
Patti spun around to face her cousin who was also her one of her two best friends. "Meli, it's true. My mom calls every night, and every night she asks how you are. And every night I tell her you're fine because I don't want to worry your dad."
"And?"
"It's all a lie, Meli. You're not fine and you know you're not."
Pru firmly shook her head. "No, that's the lie. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Again she tried to shrug it off. "So my mom died. She died fighting a demon, something that we knew could happen since we were just little kids and first found out our moms were Charmed. We always knew something like this would happen and now it has. It just happened to be my mom who it happened to, but it's no big deal. I'm fine, Patti; I'm really fine! Now consider this subject closed!" and she angrily marched away, leaving Patti standing in shock.
As Pru stalked towards a corner of the building, Patti sadly watched. [i]No, Meli, you're not. How can you be? And if you could only admit it - if you could only grieve - then maybe you could start to heal.[/i]
Once Pru knew she was out of Patti's sight, she stopped and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. Without wanting to, she found herself going back to the last time she had spoken with her mother, less than a month earlier:
Pru is downstairs, finishing her workouts to keep herself in shape for cheerleading, after also practicing the karate that Patti's mother, her Aunt Phoebe, taught her. She climbs the steps, opens the cellar door and steps into the kitchen. There her mother is stirring the contents in the large pan on the stove. Hearing her, Piper turns to smile. "How was your workout?"
Pru smiles. "Good. I'm going to miss it when I go back to college."
"I do keep saying you can come home whenever you want." Pru rolls her eyes even as Piper continues. "Anyway, why don't you come over here and help me with this?"
Again Pru rolls her eyes. "Since when do you need help with anything, Mom?" But even as she sighs again, she walks to her mom's side and looks into the pot. What she sees makes her raise her eyebrows. "A potion? Why are you making a potion? You know demons aren't going to come back and try to kill you all of a sudden."
Now those words made Pru shudder, but her memory continued on.
Her words makes her mother shrug. "It's not for that. Can't I just stock up on some useful potions? Like that teleportation one you like so much?"
Again Pru rolls her eyes, getting frustrated, because she knows fully well what her mother is getting at. But when her mother actually says the words: "You know that you're going to have to be the one who does this someday," Pru blows her top.
"Mom! Not this again! I know how to cook, okay? You've taught me since I was old enough to handle a pan of boiling water! But that isn't something that I want to do with my life. I know you'd prefer me being a cook, but I want to be a journalist. Can't you support me just once in my life?"
But her mother isn't really listening, like she has for so much of Pru's life, or so Pru thinks. "I used to love to cook with your great-grandmother. It made us feel very close."
These words make Pru feel even more frustrated. "And I love cooking with you - it always makes me feel close to you. But it's not what I want to do with my life. I don't want to be doing this every minute of my life. I enjoy cooking, yes, but that's because I do it when I want to. You can keep saying that when you were my age all you ever dreamed of was owning your own restaurant, but I'm not you."
Her mother stops stirring and turns to face her, now beginning to grow angry. "But what about the family? The restaurant and P3 are a part of this family and it's always been my dream to pass them down to my children, so they could continue the tradition."
Pru shrugs. "Well, you're not going to die any time soon so maybe one of my kids or one of Wyatt's or Chris' kids will want to be part of the family business, maybe even one of my grandkids, but not me!"
"But your brothers..."
Pru rolls her eyes so hard they almost roll out of her head, she's heard so much about her brothers who are the perfect sons. "I know, I know. Wyatt's a doctor just like Dad used to be and Chris wants to manage P3 someday. But that's because Wyatt loves being a doctor and Chris has always wanted to manage a business. I don't love to cook, okay? And I don't want to manage a restaurant, okay?"
Pru takes a huge deep breath and then tries to be reasonable. "Look. I've worked for you in that restaurant longer than I can remember. It helped me get my job at Trick's. But it's not what I want to do with my life!"
"Pru," her mother begs. "You're my only daughter! You were named after my sister, my best friend..."
But Pru has heard this one time too many and now she snaps. This is the reason why she insists on spelling her own name without the "e" that her aunt added to her own. "But I'm not you and I'm not her! I'm me, Prudence Melinda Halliwell, not Prudence Victoria Halliwell! And I like being me, a cheerleading mechanic who is going to be a world-famous journalist, not a cook! And if you can't accept that, well, then you can just go to hell!"
And with that Pru storms out the kitchen door, her mother's heartbroken voice saying her name floating back to her.
Now, leaning against the wall, remembering that heartbroken "Pru...", a single tear rolled down Pru's pale cheek.
THE LAIR OF THE SOURCE OF ALL EVIL
The Underworld
"Your sister is well on her way with her part of the plot. Now it is time for you to do your job." Theo, a large demon dressed in a black cloak, addressed his black-clad son.
Damien West, who was born on the same day as Wyatt, rolled his eyes. Like his father, he spoke very formally - with grudging respect, but no love. "Father, the Charmed One is dead. My part—"
"-is not completely finished," Theo interrupted. "There are still three sisters descended from that damned Melinda Warren who can access The Power of Three and become the third set of Charmed Ones. We need that threat eliminated."
Damien nodded, also seeing that need. "Shall I use the same demon?"
Theo considered it and then also nodded. "Yes, that demon. He was good, a very good choice, Damien. I am proud of you. "
His son nodded with a pleased smile. "Thank you, Father."
"When your time comes, you will make a strong and formidable Source."
At these words, Damien bowed his head with both respect and pleasure – there was no greater compliment that his father could give him. "Father, with your permission, I have a demon to find."
Again Theo nodded. "Yes, my son. Go."
No sooner did Damien blink out than Kartos, a human-looking demon with a tribal mark on his right arm, shimmered in. Seeing Theo, he dropped to a knee and bowed his head. "My liege, you sent for me?"
"Yes. I need you to check on my daughter. I need you to make sure that everything is going according to the plot. I know I sent you two weeks ago, but now is more important since it is time to send demons to kill one of the never-to-be third set of Charmed Ones."
THE ATTIC
Halliwell Manor, San Francisco, California
Wyatt orbed in, finding his brother flicking through The Book of Shadows. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at P4 today."
Chris shrugged. "I was."
"Demon?"
"Something like that."
At the tone in his brother's voice, Wyatt frowned and made his way over to Chris so that he could also look at The Book of Shadows. There he saw the name Knolav written in large black letters, along with the picture of a green-and-black demon – similar to Belthazor. Immediately Wyatt became worried. "Knolav? You were attacked by this guy?"
Chris shook his head.
"So why are you looking at his page?"
His brother looked at him, a sad look in his eyes. Wyatt frowned, staring back. But suddenly he could feel the color leech from his own face as he realized why Chris was looking at that particular page. "You're kidding, right? You're not going to tell me that this…this is the demon who killed Mom!"
Again Chris shrugged. "All that searching in the Underworld and all along he was here in The Book, hey?"
Wyatt shook his head in disbelief. "Christopher Victor, do not tell me you were thinking about going after him alone. I know you're impulsive and a risk-taker, but you're not suicidal nor are you stupid."
Chris quickly raised his hands as if warding off his brother's words. "Wyatt, I was just looking. I would never go against this guy. Not without you. I thought we could and should do it together. For Mom."
Wyatt shook his head. "We don't have the power to go up against him. He's an upper-level demon. It will take a potion made with his flesh and we don't have it."
It was Chris' turn to shake his head. "No, I don't think it will. Not against your powers."
"Powers that I've never had to use," Wyatt reminded him. "Before Mom, we never had a demon after us, never had to fight. Sure, we've practiced using our powers but we never once had to use them in battle."
"But you're The Twice Blessed!" Chris protested. "You have the power to—"
"-stop an upper-level demon?" Wyatt interrupted as he shook his head. "In theory, maybe, but I've never had to use them against a real demon, especially an upper-level one. I don't have any confidence in them, Chris. I mean, Mom was Charmed, the strongest of The Charmed Ones after Aunt Prue died, so she had more than enough powers to protect herself and..and…"
He bit his lower lip before softly saying, "Chris, you didn't see what I saw."
Chris glared at his brother, but he couldn't disagree.
"I will not see a member of our family looking like that again," Wyatt swore. "Especially not you!"
And without wanting to, Wyatt went back in his memory to the worst day of his young life:
He's just orbed into the Manor kitchen, calling out for his mother as he has so many times before.
But this time she doesn't answer back. There is simply silence.
A bit nervously he calls out, "Mom? It's me. Where are you?"
But there is still only silence.
Frightened now, he hurries into the dining room, which is also empty. "Mom?" he calls out, now hopefully. "You here?"
But again he's only met by silence, so he hurries into the foyer. As he does, he has a chance to glance into the living room. To his shock, he sees that the Grandfather clock has been broken into pieces. That sight makes it clear that there has been a fight.
Now he's beginning to panic, yelling out his mother's name as he notices the burn mark on the wall above the mantelpiece. Gasping in horror, he hurries through the living room and into the sun room.
The sun room isn't as destroyed as the living room, but there is still evidence of a fight. Then he spots a pair of pale-white feet and legs, sticking out from one of the wicker chairs, knocked over on its side.
Screaming out "No!" he rushes over, pulling the wicker chair away.
And there he sees his mother, lying in a huge pool of blood, various cuts and bruises visible all over her body. He screams as he stares at his mother's beloved face, her brown eyes, eyes just like his own, open, staring lifelessly.
Screaming hysterically, he drops to his knees and places his hands over his mother's body. He's The Twice Blessed. Of course he can save her!
But nothing happens. His hands don't even turn golden!
"No!" he screams. "C'mon, work! Work, damn it!"
But nothing happens so the doctor in him helps him move to start CPR. "C'mon, Mom, breathe. All you have to do is take one breath and then I can orb you…"
But she doesn't, so he looks up at the ceiling and starts screaming, wanting his father, but knowing that his father won't be able to get to him quickly enough to help, he screams for the only one who might be able to do something. "Chris! Chris, I need you! Now!"
Almost immediately, his brother orbs in. Chris starts to ask what's going on, but then he sees their mother, and immediately grows angry. "What the hell? Heal her! Not like that! Use your powers!"
Wyatt sadly shakes his head. "I tried. This is the only way to bring her back. I'll keep doing this; you call 911."
But Chris doesn't move a muscle, staring at his mother and his brother.
Impatiently, Wyatt orders, "Call 911!" But when Chris still doesn't move, it's Wyatt's turn to become angry. "Do it, Christopher! Now!"
Chris looks at his mother one last time and then turns and runs towards the phone.
Wyatt looks back down at his mother, tears falling down his cheeks. He tries CPR a few more times, but then he looks into her eyes and shakes his head.
Finally, he takes a long deep breath and lets it out in a long deep sigh, accepting the fact that he's too late.
Wyatt Matthew Halliwell places his hands over his mother's eyes and closes them forever.
Now Chris spoke softly. "You know I've never blamed you for Mom. I know you tried to heal her and I know it was too late. It wasn't your fault, Wy. You did everything you could."
But his brother looked away, bowing his head in shame.
Chris grabbed his brother by the shoulders and and forced him to look at The Book, slapping the page. "This guy here – he is the reason why we lost Mom, Wy, not you...We'll find a way to get some of his flesh. Maybe we could…maybe we should talk to Patti…"
"No." Wyatt firmly shook his head.
"Wyatt, she is part of The…"
"No, Chris."
"Patti's power will help," Chris insisted. "She can slow down time enough for…"
"Christopher! No!" Wyatt shouted. He sighed deeply as he raked his fingers through his hair. "This demon already killed our mother. Do you want him to kill our cousin, too? "
Before Chris could reply, Wyatt sarcastically added, "I know. How about we throw our little sister in there, too?"
Again before Chris could reply, Wyatt turned serious. "Do you want to even risk that? We don't even know where this demon is or have any way of finding him. Do you really want to risk our cousin, just because she and her sisters will someday be The Charmed Ones, when we only know what is in this Book?"
Chris sighed and Wyatt knew he had gotten through so he finally took a deep breath. When he spoke again, it was in his normal voice. "I have to get back to work. I'm surprised I haven't been paged yet."
Chris nodded. The lack of interruption from Wyatt's pager had surprised him, too. "Go. I'll call you if I find out any…"
"You will also go back to work," Wyatt interrupted. "We'll look for the demon tonight when I finish my shift," and he orbed out.
But Chris didn't go back to work. He kept going through The Book of Shadows, still looking for information, nervously tapping his foot, getting more impatient the longer he looked. He wanted to find and get rid of this demon who had stolen his mother from him. And he wanted to do it now.
Suddenly he stopped tapping his foot. "Screw this," as he slammed The Book of Shadows shut. "If Wyatt won't help then I'll just have to take care of this myself. Now I just need to find him."
HOLLY'S DORM ROOM
Miami-Dade College
Holly Penelope Mitchell stood in front of the wall mirror in her part of her dorm room, putting on her makeup while checking to see if there were any dark roots showing in her golden blonde hair, when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," the 18-year-old called. She watched the reflection of the door open and smiled when her cousin walked in. "Hey, Patti! I was starting to get a bit worried..."
Patti smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Holly, I was walking across the quad and got stopped. Has Pru come by yet?"
Hearing their other cousin's name, Holly stopped doing her makeup and turned to face Patti. "No, why?"
"I was talking to her earlier and I think I pushed a few wrong buttons."
A worried frown crossed Holly's pretty face. "Maybe she's back at your apartment."
Patti sighed. "Maybe. I called Ryan and he's gonna check for me."
Again Patti sighed as she sat on Holly's bed. Holly tilted her head and watched Patti, even more worried. "What happened, Gracie? Was it Aunt Piper?"
"Yeah," Patti admitted. "I said a few things about her that maybe I shouldn't have."
Holly's eyes grew large. She knew how touchy Pru had been the last week. This could not be good. But all she could say was "Oh."
Patti had been thinking the same thing since Pru stalked away from her. "It's only been a week, Loppi. I know Meli hasn't dealt with it yet. I should've known better. I shouldn't have pushed those buttons."
"Wanna go find her?" Holly asked.
Her cousin sighed. "I wouldn't know what to say to that girl."
Holly smiled. "I think I would."
Patti frowned at Holly questioningly, but before she could ask or Holly could answer, Knolav shimmered in.
Both cousins jumped up from the bed, screaming, unsure what to do. The large demon smirked evilly at Patti. "They were right – here you are. Now to kill another Charmed One!" and he lunged towards Patti.
But he'd spent too much time talking. Patti quickly put her hands up in defense, flicking them, and Knolav slowed to a freeze.
"What do we do?" screamed Holly hysterically.
Patti said the only thing she could think of: "Run!"
She pushed her cousin out the door and they both ran out, just as the demon started moving again.
He looked around in confusion. "Where did they go?" His eyes grew large as realization sank in. "She's the one who can stop time." But he knew that wouldn't stop him – after all the Charmed One he had killed could both slow down the space around a person so the person would freeze or speed up that space so they would explode. To his knowledge, this one only had one of those powers. It wouldn't stop him from claiming his next victim. Smirking, he shimmered out.
THE MIAMI-DADE COLLEGE QUAD
Both Patti and Holly were running. They weren't sure where they were running to - they just knew they had to get away.
Halfway across the quad, Patti looked behind her and then broke into a walk, so Holly also slowed down to a walk, also glancing behind her. Both were out of breath, panting from the exertion.
"Has he gone?" Holly screamed, hysterical with fear.
"I'm not sure," Patti admitted, also scared, but trying to stay calm for her younger cousin's sake. "But I don't think he's following us."
Holly didn't hear a word Patti said. "What are we gonna do? Patti," she screamed, still hysterical, "what are we gonna do?"
Patti took a deep breath, trying to control her own breathing, trying to think.
Holly was still panicked, now rambling in her hysteria. "What are we…what can we do? I've never come up against a real demon before. I mean, I've heard about them, of course, I have, and I've read about them but I've never…I've never…"
Seeing her cousin starting to hyperventilate, Patti tried to reassure her. "Hey, don't worry. Breathe, Holly. Just breathe." But Holly wouldn't or couldn't calm down, so Patti grabbed her by the shoulders, looking into her hazel eyes. "Holly Penelope, listen to me! Breathe. C'mon, just calm down. There's no need to panic."
That just made Holly more hysterical. "No need to panic? But the demon…"
"I froze him," Patti spoke as slowly and as calmly as she could, the way she would to her baby sister Poppy when Poppy was just a little girl and woke up screaming from a nightmare. "Remember? He won't know where we've gone. For all he knows you could have the power to orb and you could have gotten us out of there. Now, we need to stay calm and we need to find out who the demon is and what he wants."
Her words and her demeanor had their desired effect as Holly calmed down. But remembering what the demon had said, she was still frightened. "We know what he wants. He said he wants a Charmed One. That's you, Patti. You were the only Charmed One in the room."
Patti disagreed. "I'm not Charmed yet."
"But you will be. In a year's time when Poppy turns 18…" Her eyes grew wide as she made the connection. "Wait, that's what he's doing! He...he broke The Charmed Ones once and now he's trying to break the new set before you guys have a chance to access The Power of Three!"
For the first time Patti was worried, not just frightened. "We need to find out who that demon is. And we need to find your mom."
That confused Holly. "My mom?"
"Yeah. We need to find out if The Elders can help us. She can go Up and ask."
"But The Elders?" Holly had never heard that word before, except in bedtime stories her mother would tell of her adventures with her sisters before the truce. "How can They help us? Without The Charmed Ones there's nothing…"
Patti interrupted. "Hey, there are plenty of demons out there who don't need The Charmed Ones to vanquish them and maybe he's one of them. We can do it, Holly. We may not be as powerful as our moms put together, but together we are more powerful than any of them apart, especially if we add Pru."
Holly frowned, not convinced, so Patti continued, "C'mon, we're gonna find Pru and then we're gonna find out who that demon is. The three of us can get rid of him."
Holly still wasn't convinced, but she let herself be pulled away.
TRICK'S GARAGE
Miami, Florida
Two legs were visible under a bright red sports car, up on a jack.
Pru walked in, dressed ready for work but still tying her long chocolate-brown hair back into a scruffy bun. She noticed the legs and smiled. "You're never happy unless you're under her, are you?"
"Sorry?" asked a muffled voice.
The set of legs drew up so their owner could slide out from under the car. Tall, dark and handsome, 27-year-old Ryan Dalton was dressed in oil-stained overalls. His face and hands were also oil-stained, but Pru didn't notice - she was too used to seeing her friend looking this way. "The car," she explained. "The past two days that I've come in here, you've been under her."
Ryan shrugged. "There's a lot of work to do." Pru raised an eyebrow with a smirk, so Ryan had to admit, "Okay, and she is a gorgeous car. You've gotta agree with me there."
Pru sighed. "I would if I could get a look under her. But I guess I'll just have to make do with Doc over there," and she pointed towards the old-looking car that had obviously taken a beating once or twice.
Ryan glanced over at "Doc" and then back at Pru with a smirk. "Not my fault you've also gotta study. After all, I flunked out of college."
Pru simply rolled her eyes and went over to "Doc".
Ryan watched her. The young half-Manticore had been best friends with Wyatt since he and The Twice Blessed Child shared a playpen when Wyatt's mother brought Ryan and his father back together. He knew Wyatt's sister wouldn't want to know what he was going to tell her, but he also knew that it was her right to know.
"Oh, by the way," he started, casually. "Wy called. He said he's been trying to get a hold of you for the past couple hours and thought that maybe you were here."
Pru made a face at the mention of her brother's name. "I'm ignoring him."
Ryan sighed and looked to the ground. Pru realized that she had sounded harsh so she shook her head at herself and then looked back to Ryan, softening her tone. "What did he want?"
Ryan looked up. "He wanted to make sure you were okay and wanted to know if I was looking after you."
As expected, that got Pru's dander up. "Ryan Derek, you might be my brother's best friend and you're definitely my cousin's boyfriend, but you are not my babysitter! Tell him to get lost - I don't need someone always looking out for me! Just because the truce between Good and Evil has now come to an end does not mean I've got demons coming after me!"
And now Ryan knew he had to tell her the other thing Wyatt had told him, the reason he had even mentioned Wyatt's call. "Chris thinks he's found the demon who…who…"
Pru sighed impatiently, wanting to hear about Chris even less than she did about Wyatt. "Who what?"
Ryan looked down, unable to look her in the eyes. "Who, well, you know...Aunt Piper…"
He now had her full attention, staring at him in shock before sighing as something hit her. "He doesn't want me to know, does he?"
And Ryan had to admit it. "No, he told me hoping I'd go to the Demon Bar to see if I could find out anything but I'm not gonna keep something like that from you. His name is Knolav and he's upper level, so don't even think about using him to get rid of all that pent-up anger."
Pru had to smile a little and agree - Ryan had always looked out for her as if she was his own younger sister.
Ryan knew how to make that smile bigger. "I'm gonna go and find out some information later today. Wanna come with me, 'Chelsey'?" he asked, using the name that he'd invented for his mortal "girlfriend" when he went spying at the bar.
As he expected, her big brown eyes grew large as did her smile. "Really?"
He nodded with a smile of his own. "Yeah, I know Patti hates me going there but I like to know what's going on in the demonic world from time to time, especially at a time like this. Besides, I figured that it would be good for you. What do you say?"
She nodded. "Thanks, 'Sam'," the name Ryan had invented for himself.
"Don't think I'm doing you any favors," he warned her. "In fact I could be getting you in trouble."
Pru turned back towards "Doc". "I didn't mean because of that."
That puzzled Ryan. "Then what did you mean?"
Pru shook her head, raising "Doc's" hood so she wouldn't have to look at him.
That's when it hit Ryan. "I understand. Don't worry, each of us deal with this in our own way. Just remember, I'm here for you to talk to when you're ready. You're practically my baby sister, Pru."
Pru sighed, hating the fact that Ryan looked at her the same way as her brothers did – the baby who needed to be constantly taken care of - but she thanked him anyway before going back to "Doc".
Ryan sadly watched her for a moment, wishing there was more he could do for her, but knowing there wasn't. Then with a sigh, he turned back to the beautiful car he had dubbed "Emily".
PATTI AND PRU'S APARTMENT
Miami, Florida
Patti and Holly walked in, disappointed to find the apartment empty. "She's not here," Holly sighed.
Patti closed her cell phone, putting it back in her pocket. "She's not answering either. My only other option is that she's at work. I can't remember if she said she was working today or not."
"It's Wednesday, isn't it?" When Patti nodded, Holly added, "Doesn't she usually get Wednesdays off because of cheerleading?"
Patti shook her head. "She took a few days off last week for the funeral. I have a feeling she'll want to make them up, especially if she's mad at me. She'll go there to relax - that's what she does around cars. Why do you think Aunt Piper's was always in perfect condition when we were in high school?" and Holly had to grin with a laugh.
Then she turned serious. "So what are we gonna do, Gracie?"
Before Patti could respond, Chris orbed in. "I need your help."
Patti rolled her eyes and sarcastically showed her older cousin how that conversation should've gone:
'Hi, how are my two favorite cousins?'
'We're great, Chris, thanks for asking. How are you?'
'Well, I'm not too bad, but I could use some help if you wouldn't mind…'"
During all of this, Holly couldn't help giggle but she swallowed it when Patti first glared at her and then glared at Chris. "Well, if you don't mind, Chris, we're in the middle of something here."
"Like what?" Chris wanted to know.
"A demon attacked," she stated.
"You," Holly put in. "A demon attacked you, Patti."
Immediately Chris became concerned. "What? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," and she turned her glare back on Holly. "I'm fine," before turning back to Chris. "I'm not hurt. I froze him and everything's fine."
All of those "fines" bothered Chris, but he wasn't quite sure how to respond, so he just said, "Okay, that's fine," before frowning a bit towards Holly, silently asking for more information, but the youngest of the three merely shrugged, so Chris sighed and turned back to his own concerns. "Well, maybe this demon could wait a bit. Dana came to me with information about a possible demon who…who…well…killed…"
Both of his cousins stared at him in shock. "And you want us to help!" cried Patti
"Not just that," cried Holly, knowing her older cousin. "You wanna go after him! Chris, if it is that demon, he got the better of…You really want to go after him without Wyatt?"
That reminded Patti. "Actually, why aren't you telling Wyatt?"
"I did tell him," Chris replied defensively, "but he had to go back to work. He wants to take care of it later, but we have no idea what this demon could do in the mean time. We have no idea what they're plotting down there now that the truce is over. We need to do something now."
Remembering the demon who had attacked them, Patti couldn't disagree. "Okay. What do we need?"
BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
On the other side of the country, Chris' older brother was walking down the hospital corridor, followed by his interns. He inwardly smiled when he saw Ebony coming from the opposite direction.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Halliwell."
Wyatt loved it when she was in professional nurse mode. "Nurse West."
The two shared a smile but continued walking to their own destinations. Ebony quickly made her way into the nurse's lounge. She checked to make sure that she was alone and then walked towards a large lamp, placing her hands on her hips. "What do you think you're doing here?"
And the lamp changed shape, turning into father's minion, Kartos. "Your father told me to come here. He wanted me to check on your progress."
Ebony glared at him. "My progress would be much better if it wasn't for you constantly checking up on me. How am I supposed to come across as normal if I've always got someone watching me?" She glared at him, but he didn't say a word. She sighed, knowing he was waiting for a response he could pass on to her father. "You can tell my father that everything is working exactly how he plotted it."
Kartos nodded and then told her, "There's been a development."
Ebony did her best to hide her interest. "And what would that be?"
"You father is plotting the death of one of the future Charmed Ones, before they can access The Power of Three."
Ebony rolled her eyes. And here she thought he was going to tell her something important. "What am I supposed to do about that?" she demanded. "That is Damien's part of this big plot, not mine!"
Kartos tried to soothe her. "Your father just wants to make sure The Twice Blessed is not suspicious of you."
That did not have the desired effect. Ebony rolled her sky-blue eyes as she shook her head, still upset. "No, he is not, and he will not be if you can go one month without checking up on me! The more you do that, the more suspicious it looks for me. Tell him that!"
Kartos did not want to relay that particular message, but knew he'd have to. He nodded and then shimmered out.
Ebony sighed just as her pager beeped. She looked at it and groaned, before turning to head out of the room and go back to pretending to be sweet, caring, loving Nurse West, when what she really wanted to do was kill every last one of her so-pitiful patients.
Someday... After she and Damien executed their own plot...
THE BACK ROOM
P3, San Francisco, California
Leo Wyatt sat at his wife's desk, looking at the photograph in his hands. "I miss you, Piper; I really do. Much more than I ever dreamed I would."
A knock at the door interrupted his reverie. "Come in."
The door opened and his two sisters-in-law, Phoebe Halliwell-Hart and Paige Matthews-Mitchell, entered, matching soft expressions on their faces.
"Hi, Leo," Phoebe greeted. "We thought we'd find you here."
"Phoebe, Paige?" Leo asked. "What can I do for both of you?"
Paige smiled teasingly. "Can't we check up on our grieving brother-in-law?"
"I'm fine," Leo insisted, having no idea how much he sounded like his daughter. "Really."
"You're not fine, Leo," Phoebe insisted in her best "Ask Phoebe" voice. "I know the signs. You've thrown yourself into getting P3 back to running as close to normal as possible and going next door to help Chris." She sighed as she took the photograph from her brother-in-law, smiling sadly when she looked at the picture of her older sister and Leo with their two boys on either side of them looking at Piper holding a newly-born Pru.
Again she sighed. "Leo, you can't hide away in your work. I did that after we vanquished Cole and I can now admit that it wasn't good for me. It's not good for you either."
Leo knew she was right, but he didn't want to discuss it, so he used the tactic he'd used on the sisters for years - he simply changed the subject. "I hate to question why you're really here, Phoebe, but I know it wasn't just to check up on me."
Phoebe sighed and looked at her younger sister. Paige shrugged with a not-so-innocent look. "I guess you got us there, Leo."
Leo managed a small smile. Even though he hadn't been a whitelighter for over 25 years, he still liked helping people, especially members of his family. "So then, what can I do for you both?"
"Well, we were thinking," Phoebe started.
"Never a good sign."
Phoebe playfully hit his arm and he smiled before leaning back in his chair. Phoebe perched on the desk while Paige sat down on the couch in the room. Leo was surprised to see them making themselves comfortable. "This must be serious."
Paige nodded. "It is. It's about our children. All of our children."
"What about them?" Leo asked.
"Well, we're not Charmed anymore, since I don't think another half-sister will be popping up anytime soon." Phoebe threw a playful smile at Paige who grinned, making Leo chuckle.
"And I would say that this truce between Good and Evil is over," Phoebe continued.
"I'd second that one," Paige quickly interjected.
"Well, yes, I'd agree," Leo admitted, "but..."
"Well, we've always known that Patti, Pay and Poppy can't take over the role as The Charmed Ones until Poppy turns 18," Phoebe reminded him.
"And Dana reminded me of that fact at the whitelighter staff meeting this morning," Paige added.
Leo looked back and forth between the two of them. "I'm still not sure what the two of you are getting at."
So Phoebe just came out and said it. "We need some way of accessing The Power of Three while Poppy is still 17."
Leo had to grin. "I'm taking a wild guess that you two have an idea."
Paige nodded. "Only if The Elders will go for this."
This surprised him. "Well, why don't you go Up and ask Them? I can't do anything, Paige. In case you've forgotten, I lost my wings a long time ago, and I'm very glad I did."
"Well, I was planning on asking Them," Paige admitted. "But we wanted to run this idea by you first, since it will affect you, too."
Leo frowned and looked between the two sisters. "What do you want to do?"
BACK TO THE HALLIWELL ATTIC
Holly flipped through The Book of Shadows while Chris and Patti sat at a small wooden table, a large city map covering the table. Chris held a scrying crystal.
Patti wasn't certain if Chris' idea would work. "Chris, is it possible that your mom wasn't his latest victim? He could have gone after other witches."
Chris shook his head. "It wouldn't make sense for him to do something like that."
Both his cousins glanced at him, both confused.
Trying to think logically was Wyatt's thing, not Chris' – he just wanted to go out and do something and do it now. But he knew he needed his cousins' help so he tried to sound like his older brother. "If you'd just killed a Charmed One, you wouldn't go after another innocent, not yet. You'd be lying low in case the other two Charmed Ones came after you. Not to mention the fact that there are three other sisters who could take over the role of The Charmed Ones."
Holly's eyes grew large in horrified realization. "Wait, if you'd already stopped one set of Charmed Ones, you'd go after the other possible set, wouldn't you?"
Chris frowned at Holly, confused at where she was going with her thoughts, but Holly was looking at Patti. "The demon who came after us," and Holly pointed at The Book of Shadows. Patti quickly made her way over, looking at the page as Holly said what she was thinking: "We should have looked at this right away, Patti. This is him."
"You're right," Patti verified before looking up from The Book to Chris. "And I think I know how to vanquish this demon," and all three of them looked down at the drawing of Knolav in The Book of Shadows.
DAMIEN'S LAIR
The Underworld
The real Knolav knelt in front of the son of The Source, terrified.
"What do you mean, you failed?" Damien was demanding.
"I'm sorry, but please," begged the demon who had killed a Charmed One. "Vanquish me now rather than telling your father."
Damien smiled evilly. "He would make your vanquish much more painful, wouldn't he?" He folded his arms and looked down at the quivering Knolav. "However, he does have a right to know. He needs to know that you failed to kill one of the future Charmed Ones."
"But, Master," Knolav protested. "They [i]are[/i] the new Charmed Ones! Killing a Charmed One was luck, not just skill - it was all about timing."
"They aren't Charmed yet!" Damien screamed, his formality with someone he considered lower than himself gone with his anger. "They can't be Charmed until the youngest one turns 18! That's why we're attacking now!"
Knolav was now visibly shaking while Damien tried to control his temper.
"I'm sorry, Master," Knolav begged. "I guess I am weaker than you thought of me. The two witches..."
"There were two?" Damien interrupted.
"Yes, Master. One of the cousins, I presumed."
"Which Charmed One did you attempt to kill?" Damien wanted to know as he regained his composure and his formality.
"The eldest, the one who can freeze time."
Damien sighed impatiently. "I mean, this new set."
"The eldest," Knolav repeated.
Damien rolled his eyes. "No, according to the prophecy of The Charmed Ones, the eldest should have the strongest power, the power of telekinesis."
"She doesn't, Master," Knolav insisted. "She has the power to freeze time. At least, that would be the only way the two could have evaded me. One moment they were there; the next they were gone. And she was the one who held out her hands, not the other one."
This amazed Damien. "So, their powers have affected them differently." He started to pace again, thinking hard. He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Knolav, who bowed his head again.
"The youngest one," Damien decided. "She will be your best bet. But take help this time - they will know who you are now and will have had chance to check their wretched Book of Shadows for you. They will be trying to find a way to procure a piece of your flesh for a potion."
"Yes, Master."
Damien glared at the demon. "I suggest you do not come back if you fail to kill the youngest of their progeny. If you fail, I suggest you let them vanquish you – it will make for a better fate than if I or The Source find out you have failed yet again."
Knolav had to nod before shimmering out, because he knew that Damien was right.
No sooner was he gone than Damien yelled out loud and quickly formed a fireball. Angrily, he threw the fireball into the wall. [i]Someday,[/i] he swore. [i]Someday soon, I will do that to the last of the Warren line and wipe them out forever![/i]
THE KITCHEN
Halliwell Manor, That Evening
Holly worked on a potion, trying not to listen to her cousins argue.
"This is ridiculous, Patti," Chris insisted. "It isn't safe."
"Maybe not," Patti admitted. "But it's the only way we can find this demon. He wants me, then maybe we should let him find me. At least it'll give us enough time to get his flesh and throw it into this potion."
Chris turned to look at Holly, who kept her head down, staying out of this one – she knew her cousins too well. Chris turned back towards Patti. "Okay, just as long as you know if you get killed, I'll be bringing your ghost back to life and killing you again myself."
Patti couldn't help rolling her eyes and Holly had to bite her inner cheek so she wouldn't burst out laughing.
PRU'S ROOM
Patti and Pru's Apartment
Pru towel-dried her still-damp hair as she walked over to her closet, opening the door.
"I'm guessing with the door open, you're decent."
Pru turned, smiling when she saw Ryan tapping on her bedroom door. "Yes, I am, Ryan. You can come in."
"Good." He made his way into the room and perched on the bed. "You're too much like a sister to me now, just like Jen. And just like with her, I think I'd be scarred for life if I ever saw you semi-naked."
Pru smirked. "Right back atcha. Why do you think I always ask Patti what you're doing in the bathroom? I don't want to see you in just a towel no more than I'd want to see Wyatt or Chris," and Ryan had to laugh.
"How close are you to being ready to go?" he wanted to know.
Pru smiled. "Nearly there. I was just looking for a jacket, I borrowed it off Poppy last year and haven't given it back to her yet...Ah! Found it."
Pru put her hand on the jacket and suddenly she gasped as she was pulled into a premonition:
Poppy, her youngest cousin, is sitting on her bed, Indian-style, drawing on the large drawing pad resting on her lap, drawing pencils scattered on the bed.
Suddenly a large demon shimmers into the room, a demon Pru recognizes as Knolav, the one who killed her mother.
Poppy looks up at him. Before she can do a thing, he forms an energy ball and throws it at Poppy, hitting her in her chest. Poppy's upper body falls backwards and hits the bed hard.
Pru let out a breath as she opened her eyes. Ryan was hurrying towards her, recognizing the signs. "What did you see?"
Pru felt the color fade from her face and tears burning her eyes. "It's Poppy! She's going to die!"
To Be Continued...