Disclaimer: I Don't Own Charmed
Hey guys! Sorry I keep taking this story down only to repost it. I am a perfectionist and it just was not right, I had no idea where I was going with it but now I do! It was also in need of a beta read. Anyways this chapter is pretty much the same and the next few will prob be too but then I promise new stuff ASAP! It will be worth it!
All Halliwells Eve
The air was cool and crisp and the moon shown full in the sky. The woods were dark but there was an opening where the people of Salem had gathered with their torches, illuminating the night. The crowd split to allow for a carriage to ride up to the center of the opening. The carriage stopped and a man in a black hooded robe walked to the back and pulled a young woman out of the cage. The man escorted the woman to the pyre and tied her to a stake. Another man emerged from the crowd, he had long dark hair as black as a raven and his piercing blue eyes burnt with hatred and cruelty.
"Come to enjoy your handy work Jonathan?" The young women, asks with hatred in her voice but never once did she loose her composure.
"This is your last chance Melinda Warren, tell me where the stone is and you may yet escape the pyre's flame"
"I will tell you nothing. You may kill me, but you cannot kill my kind. I vow that with each generation of Warren witches will grow stronger, culminating in the arrival of three sisters. These three sisters will be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. They will destroy all kinds of evil and shall be called the Charmed Ones." She yells and spits blood so that it hits where the black haired man stood.
"Have it your way." He replied softly so only Melinda could hear. Then he turned from her toward the crowd. "Let this be a lesson to all of those who stray from the path of good and righteousness." The man nodded to the hooded guard and he began to light the pyre. "Melinda Warren you have been found guilty of committing the darkest art, witchcraft. For this affront against God, I hereby condemn you to burn in the fires of Hell of which you so eagerly seek communion."
The flames began to grow and soon they engulfed Melinda and she was gone forever.
Melinda Halliwell shot up from her bed in a cold sweet, her heart was racing and her breath was hard and heavy and her head was pounding. She turned to look at the clock, which told her it was 9:15.
"Shit" She muttered to herself, grabbing her robe and heading for the door.
"Why didn't you wake me?" She complained as she enters the kitchen of the apartment she shared with her best friend Alice. The two had been inseparable since birth. Alice was the daughter of Billie Jenkins, making her a witch just like Melinda. The two had even trained together and went to magic school together and now attended College together. If it weren't for the fact that Alice had blond hair and Melinda had brown, people might have even thought the two were sisters, maybe even twins.
"Sorry, I figured you could use the rest." Alice defended, handing Melinda a cup of coffee, which she made a face at.
"You don't want coffee?" Alice said shocked. "Well that's a first."
"I have this awful headache, the coffee will probably just make it worse." Melinda groaned holding her head.
"You've been getting a lot of headaches lately, maybe you should go see a doctor or something."
"I don't know, I haven't been sleeping very well lately, I keep having these awful dreams, maybe that is what is causing it." Melinda confessed.
"Really? What are the dreams about?" Alice asked only half interested.
"Melinda Warren."
"What about Melinda Warren?" Alice asked more intrigued then before.
"Lately they have been about her being burnt at the stake." Melinda explained.
"Freaky, maybe you should tell your parents or brothers about this." Alice suggested. For normal people dreams where merely strange thoughts that ran through ones head while sleeping, but for witches, especially Halliwells, they could be much more important.
"I'm sure its nothing, besides they all have enough to worry about without my strange dreams." Melinda said. She loved her family but she didn't want to burden them with something that was most likely nothing.
"Well you better figure out something, don't want to look unrested for your birthday party tonight" Alice reminded her.
"God, I completely forgot that was today." Melinda confessed a little embarrassed she had forgotten about her own birthday.
"How could you have forgotten your own birthday? You're 21 now. That's a big birthday." Alice said.
"Damn I'm old." Melinda sighed. Then she looked at the clock to see that it was already 9:23. "Shoot, I'm going to be late for class." She said standing up and grabbing her backpack before heading towards the door. "I'll see you later." She waved and ran off to class.
"I wonder how long it will take her to realizes she left the house in her pajamas?" Alice laughed to herself as she continued to eat her breakfast.
Wyatt had been pacing the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Gwen, for the last twenty minutes.
"Come on man, just do it." He mumbled to himself in the mirror. "You love her and you want to be with her forever. Its not that hard you just say 'Gwen will you marry me?"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Wyatt jumped a little at the sound of his younger brothers voice.
"God, you scared me. I didn't even here you come in. How long have you been here anyway?" Wyatt asked, concern present in his voice.
"Don't worry your secrets safe with me." Chris smirked. "Though I don't know how big of a secret it really is. Mel, Hank and I have a bet going on how long it's going to take you. If you do it with in the next three days then I win."
"Well I am glad you are all enjoying my suffering." Wyatt said angry with his siblings and cousin that they would do something like this, not that it surprised him.
"Suffering? You're asking your girlfriend of three years to marry you, its not Chinese water torture."
"It might as well be. I mean what if she says no? And how am I supposed to go about it anyways? Its not something that just comes up in everyday conversation."
"Just relax will you. She's not going to say no, for whatever reason she has stayed with you this long. I mean I think she is crazy but if she was going bolt she would have done so by now so just calm down okay?"
"What are you doing here anyways? Don't you have work and your own apartment?" Wyatt asked attempting to change the subject.
"Is it wrong to want to come and hang out with my brother? Besides I got the day off from work." Chris said as he sat down of the couch and flipped on the TV.
"Strange day to have off. Don't most of the weird crimes happen on Halloween?" Wyatt asked sitting down next to his brother.
"Yes, but I told them it was my sister's birthday and I had to help set up for her party so they let me off for the day." Chris explained. Chris had been working as a detective under the supervision of Daryl for two years now. He loved the job but it didn't have the most flexible hours, though with Daryl as chief it was a little easier to work around his "family emergencies".
"Oh crap, that's tonight isn't it?"
"Don't tell my you forgot your own sisters 21st birthday?"
"Well I have been a little preoccupied with the whole proposal thing." Wyatt defended.
"Ya, well maybe you should just do it already and then you wont have to be preoccupied with it." Chris suggested a little harsher then necessary.
"Well I can't do it today, it's Melinda's birthday and that wouldn't be fair."
"Oh that's such bull, Mel loves you and Gwen she would be thrilled if you two got engaged on her birthday."
"No, I should probably just wait till next week." Wyatt said half to Chris, half to himself.
"You could always just do it tomorrow." Chris suggested
"You just want me to do it now so you'll win the bet, don't you?" Wyatt said, calling his brother out.
"Come on Wyatt, I have $200 ridding on this." Chris pleaded.
Wyatt just ignored him and proceeded to flip through the channels.
"Hi. I'd like a large caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso and whip cream, please." Melinda said to the coffee cart worker. She had already been to her early morning photography class and she had two more classes to go before she was done and since she had skipped her usual morning coffee she was in desperate need of caffeine.
"Coming right up"
Melinda fumbled through her bag and noticed in her haste this morning she had forgot to bring her wallet and only had a few dollars on her. "Wait, how much is that?"
"Four ninety five." The man replied.
Melinda fumbled through her bag to see she didn't have that much. "Okay, better drop the extra shot, what does that make it?"
"Four twenty."
"Hmm, better make it a small, how much is that?"
"Three fifty."
"What if I told you it was my birthday, what then?"
"I could put a candle on top." The man shrugged.
"Really?" Melinda asked surprised they would have candles.
"No." The man replied, he was beginning to get annoyed.
"Need some money?" Melinda heard a familiar voice behind her. "I'll take a small coffee and put the lady's on my tab too."
"Caleb, what are you doing here?" Melinda asked surprised to see her eldest brothers best friend at her college.
"Here's your coffee." The man said handing the two cups to Melinda and Caleb.
"Thank you." Melinda said rather insincerely as the two moved away from the coffee cart.
"I came to see you actually." Caleb confessed. Melinda had always thought Caleb to be extremely attractive. He was tall yet built, though not overly just the right amount Melinda thought. He had light brown hair like his father, Derek's, and the most magnificent Green eyes Melinda had ever seen.
"Really?" Melinda asked a little shocked.
"Well it is your birthday, isn't it?"
"Ya, but aren't you coming to P3 tonight for my birthday?" Melinda asked, still confused.
"Yes, but tonight I can't do this." Caleb said and pulled Melinda into a corridor and began to kiss her. The two kissed passionately for almost two minutes before a group of students walked by and the two pulled away slightly embarrassed.
"No, I suppose you couldn't do that tonight." Melinda sighed. She had been seeing Caleb now for almost three months now but she was too afraid to tell her family for fear that Wyatt would go berserk over the fact that his best friend and his little sister were together.
"We are going to have to tell them eventually you know." Caleb said, he didn't like keeping their relationship a secret but he also liked the idea of being alive and if Wyatt knew chances are he would kill him.
"He would never kill you, maim you maybe but not kill." Melinda replied as an answer to Caleb's unspoken fears.
"What?" Caleb asked confused
"Wyatt, if he found out he would probably just beat you up real bad he wouldn't kill you." Melinda said taking another sip of her coffee.
Caleb stood there confused as to how Melinda knew what he had been thinking.
"What?" Melinda asked seeing the confusion written on Caleb's face. "I was only kidding I'm sure he wouldn't hurt you."
"I never said he would." Caleb said eyeing Melinda.
Before Melinda could respond her headache came back, only this time the pain felt a million times worse. She grabbed her head and squeezed her eyes shut but the pain only intensified.
Caleb saw the pain on his girlfriend's face and insistently became concerned. "Mel are you ok?" He asked
"Ya I just have a headache." Melinda lied not wanting to show him how much pain she was actually in.
"It doesn't seem like just a headache." Caleb said becoming more worried by the second. "Mel you look really sick. Maybe I should take you home."
"No really I'm fine I just…" but before she could finish her sentence, her body collapsed to the floor and everything around her went black.
In the underworld a cloaked figure sat upon a high thrown. Surrounding him on every side were demons standing at attention ready to give their lives for the figure. Before the figure stood another demon. He was not as built as the others; in fact he was rather skinny and short. He cowered before the figure and in his hands he held a piece of parchment that looked to be a few hundred years old.
"Read it again so we can be sure." The figure yelled to the demon
"Of course my liege. The prophecy states that 'On the eve of her 21st year when the moon shows full and the dead may walk among the living, a warren witch will receive the gift to find the stone.' We believe we have located the girl."
"And you are certain it is the right one?" The figure asked leaning forward in his thrown.
"Yes my liege." The demon said shaking a little
"Good because if you're wrong, her head wont be the only one to roll."
Piper and Leo were at P3 setting up for their only daughters 21st birthday party. The couple had been hanging streamers and blowing up balloons for the better part of an hour now and the place still was not fully decorated. They had hoped to get some help from the rest of the family with the decorations but everyone seemed to be too busy with other things. The two did not mind that much though. They were excited to be throwing a party for their daughter. It had been their idea after all. Melinda was not fond of being the center of attention but her parents, mostly Piper, thought it would be fun and with 21 being such a big birthday and them owning a club, it seemed to make sense.
"Honey will you pass me those streamers?" Piper asked pointing to some yellow and pink streamers sitting on the bar.
Leo walked over and handed his wife, who was standing on a latter putting the decorations up on the banisters, the streamers. "Can you believe our little girl is 21?"
"Ugh, don't remind me." Piper joked, putting up the last of the streamers. Satisfied with her work she climbed off the latter to join her husband on the ground. "All our babies are grown."
Leo smiled at his wife and pulled her into a hug. "Maybe Wyatt will pluck up the courage to ask Gwen to marry him and then soon we can have some grandbabies to fawn over"
"It will be nice to have some little ones running around again. All the kids are getting so big. It seems as if over night they all just grew up."
"Excuse me will you stop discussing my future children, I am not even engaged yet." Piper and Leo turned at the familiar sound of their oldest son's voice.
"I am guessing this means you have not asked Gwen yet?" Leo said to his son.
"Nope, but if worse comes to worse I am sure him and his mirror would be very happy together." Chris joked walking in behind his brother who just shot him a dirty look.
"Don't listen to them sweetie, when the time is right you will know" Piper said walking over to comfort her eldest son.
"Thank you mom. Anyways, do you need any help setting up for the party?"
"Ya that would be great." But before Piper could show her sons what still needed to be done, Caleb shimmered in with an unconscious Melinda in his arms.
"Oh my god, what happened?" Piper said with worry in her voice.
"I don't know. One minute we were talking and the next minute she fainted." Caleb explained as he gently placed Melinda on one of the couches in the club.
"Where were you guys? Didn't she have class today?" Wyatt asked, a little suspicious.
"Roman left one of his books at my place so I was going to return it and I ran into her." Caleb lied poorly. Roman was Caleb's half brother. His father Derek had married Eva Nicoli, who was a friend of the Charmed ones and also a Gypsy. The couple had two children together, Roman who was 21 and one of Melinda and Alice's best friends and Arianna who was 18, the same age as Paige's twin daughters and Phoebe's second daughter.
Wyatt nodded, excepting his best friends answer though he was still suspicious.
"Melinda, sweetie, wake up." Piper said gently as she shook her daughter awake.
Melinda's eyes began to flutter open and surveyed their surroundings before turning their full attention on the five people standing around. "What happened? Where am I?" Melinda said weakly.
"You fainted" Piper informed her. "Do you remember anything?"
"I was talking to Caleb and then my head started to hurt and then everything just went black." Melinda recounted.
"Do you think it's magical or medical?" Piper asked turning to her Husband and eldest son who were both Doctors and whitelighters.
"Seems medical to me." Wyatt answered kneeling down next to his sister to check her pulse and other vital signs. "You were probably just dehydrated, it's relatively hot for this time of year."
"It didn't seem like dehydration. Before she collapsed she started screaming, drew a big crowd of on lookers." Caleb told Wyatt.
"Well how are you feeling now?" Wyatt asked turning to his sister
"Fine. A little groggy but other wise fine. I am sure it was nothing, probably just dehydration like you said." Melinda responded as she sat up trying to prove she was okay.
"Either way we should probably take you in to get looked at." Leo chimed in concerned that whatever this was, was bigger then just dehydration. He had believed it was just medical until Caleb had mentioned the screaming, now he was not so sure.
"Dad, I am fine this has nothing to do with magic." Melinda told her father.
"I never said it did." Leo said looking confused by his daughters comment.
"That, that happened before too." Caleb exclaimed.
"What happened?" Chris asked, becoming more and more confused with the whole situation.
"She made a comment about something we had not been discussing. Almost as if she was answering a thought I had, like she had heard what I was thinking and responded." Caleb explained
"You know I am sitting right here, you don't have to talk like I am not in the room" Melinda said a little annoyed.
"That's weird." Leo commented
"What's weird?" Piper asked, the concern growing in her voice.
"What compelled you to tell me this had nothing to do with magic? I never said it did, but I was thinking it." Leo asked his daughter, completely ignoring his wife.
"I don't know it just came out. Like it was all just part of the conversation." Melinda said.
"What happened right before you fainted?" Leo asked
"Like I said, I was talking to Caleb and then my head started to hurt really bad and I blacked out." Melinda told her father.
"And have you been having a lot of these headaches lately?"
"Ya how did you know?" Melinda asked, surprised that her father knew about her headaches.
"I don't think this is medical."
Alice stood outside her Art History class waiting for Melinda to arrive. The two always met up at this time to walk home together but Melinda was now over a half hour late. Alice pulled out her phone and dialed Melinda's number. It went straight to voice mail. Usually this would have sent up red flags in Alice's mind but Melinda had been so forgetful and all over the place lately and it was her birthday after all.
"Hey its me. Just calling to see where you are. I think I am going to head home but call me when you get this." Alice finished her message and clicked her phone off before returning it to her bag. She began to head for home when she heard a familiar voice behind her calling out her name. She turned to see it was Roman.
"Hey Roman. What's up?"
"Oh thank god I caught you. My brother just called, Melinda fainted. I was supposed to find you to let you know so you would not wait around for her."
"Well thanks I have been waiting here for 30 minutes so you did a really great job at that." Alice said sarcastically. "Is she okay?"
"Ya, I think so. Caleb said Wyatt just thinks she was dehydrated though he did not sound very convincing on the phone." Roman told her. "You want me to walk home with you?"
"I am capable of walking myself. I don't think any demons will attack in broad daylight."
"I know, I just thought you might like the company since Melinda is not here."
"Oh." Alice felt guilty now for having been so defensive. It seemed like everyone was always trying to protect her and her brain had turned to autopilot when it came to comments like that. "Sure Roman. That would nice."
The two friends began to head for the apartment that Alice and Melinda shared just off campus. Alice and Roman had been friends practically their entire lives. Their families knew each other even before they were born, thanks to the Halliwells. At Magic School, Alice, Roman, and Melinda had been inseparable. People used to call them the three musketeers because they were always together. When they got to college, Melinda and Alice decided to room together and Roman lived with Henry Jr., which often made Roman feel left out but the three were still freakishly close.
"So do you have a date for tonight?" Alice asked as they walked.
"Oh, I did not realize this was a date bringing kind of thing." Roman lied. He had someone in mind to ask but he was worried she would turn him down.
"Ya me either. You would think in a large campus filled with boys I would be able to find at least one decent one." Alice complained
"I'm decent." Roman joked
"Ya but you're my friend we can't date."
"You make it sound like it would be incestuous or something if we did." Roman said sounding a little offended.
"Well it kind of is. You are like a brother to me." Alice told him as the two entered the apartment building.
"I suppose you are right." Roman sighed. "But if you are dateless tonight and I am dateless tonight maybe we could go together, as friends."
"Ya that sounds good. I think I will just head upstairs and get ready and then head over early to make sure Melinda is okay. If you come over at around 5 I can orb us both over." Alice offered. Alice was part witch on her mother's side and part whitelighters on her father's side. Her father, Jonathan David Williams, or J.D. had met her mother when her and the Charmed Ones saved him from being trapped inside a photograph by a demon named Vaklav. The two hit it off but J.D. died to save Paige's father Sam and became a whitelighters. The two met up again a few months later at magic school and the rest is history. They got married and had Alice and had been together ever since.
"Okay, sounds great. I will see you then." Roman smiled at his friend before leaving to head to his own apartment. As he left the building he looked back at his friend who was already getting into the elevator. He smiled to himself "Guess I get to go with who I wanted after all."
"Hurry up girls. We are already late." Paige called up to her twin daughters Parker and Peyton. "I promised your aunt Piper we would be there at 2 and it is already 2:50."
"Sorry mom, I couldn't find the top I wanted to wear for tonight. Parker stole it and it took me a half hour to finally get it back." Peyton said and she came down the stairs. Peyton and Parker were identical twins but their personalities often clashed. Parker was a bit of a rebel. She loved using her magic when ever she got the chance and was always disappointed when she was not allowed to tag along with her older cousins and brother to go demon hunting. Peyton on the other hand was cleaner cut then her sister. Unlike her sister she was a stickler for following rules and very studious. Though their personalities didn't match, their appearances did. Both girls had dirty blond hair and fair complexions like their mother. They also had matching green eyes and dimples.
"It's not my fault, I thought it was my shirt." Parker defended herself as she descended the stairs behind her sister.
"Well it doesn't matter either way, we are late and we have to leave now." Paige said with an emphasis on the word 'now'. Before Paige could escort her girls out of the house though she turned to hear the familiar sound of someone shimmer in. She quickly turned and without thinking, called for assorted objects lying around to be thrown at the figure. The figure quickly shimmered out to dodge the objects being sent his way and shimmered back in behind Parker. He grabbed her and before Peyton or Paige had a chance to stop him, he shimmered out of the house with Parker.
"Oh my god what just happened?" Peyton asked, terrified by the event she had just witnessed.
Paige couldn't believe how quickly that had all just happened. She couldn't move, she couldn't talk, she just stood there staring at the empty space where Parker had been standing moments before.
The demon shimmered into a cave in the underworld and released his grip on Parker and threw her to the floor. He then kneeled before a hooded figure who was sitting on a grand thrown.
"My liege, I have brought you the girl." The demon said.
The hooded figure stood up and walked over to where Parker lay. She had been looking around, still in shock about what had just happened. When the hooded figure advanced toward her, she tried to move away from him, but she backed up into one of the walls in the cave and found herself trapped.
"This is the wrong girl." The hooded figure said after examining Parker for a few moments.
"No my liege, I promise you I have brought you the correct girl." The demon said cowering behind the figure.
"Do you think I am stupid?" The figure asked, turning to look at the demon. "I have studied the charmed ones, I know everything about them, including what they look like and I am telling you that this is the wrong girl. She is one of the twins and I asked you to bring me that twice blessed brat's sister. So no it is not the correct girl." The figure let out a scream of anger and sent fire from his hands to turn the demon into ash.
"Incompetent demon, I am surrounded by idiots." The hooded figure mused to himself. He then turned his attentions back to Parker. "Well, well what are we going to do with you? I could kill you." He said laughing a little to himself as Parker struggled to find a way out. "But then again" he said getting close to her face "you would also make excellent bait for the others." He laughed again as Parker got up and attempted to run, he knew there was no way out, she was trapped.
Leo and Wyatt went to go speak to the elders about Melinda's condition, while Caleb, Piper and Chris stayed at P3 to look after Melinda.
"Honestly guys. I am fine. I don't know what everyone is getting so worked up over. Not every little thing in our lives is connected to magic." Melinda said growing more annoyed by the second. She had been trying to prove to her family and Caleb that she was fine for almost twenty minutes and it was exhausting. Her father was convinced her condition had something to do with magic and had Wyatt orb the two of them, because Leo was a mortal now and could no longer orb, up to see the elders. Her mom had been frantically pacing back and forth in that nervous way she did when something bad happened. Caleb had been next to Melinda the whole time, trying to comfort her and make sure she was okay. Chris found it odd the way he was acting towards her and touching her and speaking to her. He couldn't put his finger on it but something was definitely up with the two of them.
"We just want to make sure that this has nothing to do with magic. Better safe then sorry." Caleb said as he motioned for her to drink more water.
"Why do we even need to check, this has nothing to do with magic. People faint all the time." Melinda said, ignoring Caleb's attempt to have her drink yet another glass of water.
"I don't know. When you fainted, it didn't look like anything I have seen before. You were clutching at your head and screaming bloody murder." Caleb recounted, shivering a little at the memory.
"I had a really bad headache, that's all."
"You said you have been getting these headaches a lot lately?" Chris chimed in.
"Well ya, but its just because I haven't really been sleeping well lately." Melinda explained.
"Why haven't you been sleeping well?" Chris asked
Melinda looked at him and then at Caleb and then at her mother who was still pacing up and down the room. She did not know if it would be a good idea to tell them the real reason for her sleepless nights. She thought her dreams were probably nothing to be concerned about and if she told her family she knew they would overreact and jump to some absurd conclusion about them. Still it didn't seem right to lie to them, when they all seemed so worried about her. "I have been having strange dreams lately." Melinda finally confessed.
"What are they about?" Piper asked, stopping her pacing and walking to her daughter's side.
"Melinda Warren." Melinda said. "Being burnt at the stake." Melinda added; Caleb, Chris and Piper were all staring at her with shocked expressions. She could not tell if they were looking at her that way because they were intrigued by her dreams or because they thought she had lost her mind. "It's probably nothing though." Melinda said trying to appease the tension that was rapidly building in the room. "They are just silly dreams. Probably a sign I am drinking to much caffeine."
Before any of them had a chance to grill Melinda further, Leo and Wyatt returned in a swirl of blue orbs.
"Well what did the elders say?" Piper asked, eager to know what was wrong with her baby.
"Well it looks like you have a new power." Leo told his daughter, though he did not seem excited about it.
"What do you mean? What power?" Melinda asked a little concerned.
"Telepathy." Leo said. "That's why you kept responding to our thoughts, because you can hear them."
Melinda didn't know what to say, she just stared at her father. This didn't make any sense. Telepathy had nothing to do with the powers she already had. Melinda had the power of telekinesis, which she always thought was rather lame and unoriginal. She figured with time her powers would advance but she always thought it would be through her telekinesis powers. Telepathy was nothing like telekinesis it didn't make any sense.
"But I can't hear your thoughts right now. I think I would be able to tell if there were other voices in my head."
"Well it's a relatively new power. It will grow with time. Right now you cannot hear clear thoughts but you can sense them and every now and then one will slip through that you can hear clearly. That is probably what happened before with Caleb and myself." Leo explained to his daughter.
"So soon I will just be able to hear everyone's thoughts all the time?" Melinda asked, her growing panic apparent in her voice.
"Eventually yes." Leo said rather solemnly to his daughter. "But you will learn how to control it. It's going to be alright."
"No it's not going to be alright." Melinda practically screamed, shooting up from the couch. "I can barely handle my own thoughts let alone everyone else's. Just tell the elders to take it back."
"It doesn't work that way Linnie." Wyatt told his sister. He understood his sister's frustration. He too had received powers that he wished he could return.
Before anyone could say anything else, Paige orbed in with Peyton. She was out of breath and there was panic written all over her face.
"Paige what happened?" Piper asked her youngest sister.
"It's Parker." Paige said through deep inhales. "She has been kidnapped."
Roman arrived at the apartment that Alice and Melinda shared promptly at 5pm. He had cleaned up since this morning. He was now wearing a nice dress shirt with a pair of dark jeans and his hair was clean and still a little damp from his shower. When Alice opened the door, Roman saw that she too had cleaned up for the party. Her hair was now in a half up half down up do and she was wearing a tight sequence dress with tall black heals. Roman couldn't help but stare at her.
"You look great." Roman finally said.
"Thanks. You too." Alice replied ushering him into the apartment. "Just give me two seconds, I have to finish wrapping Melinda's gift."
"So what did you end up getting her?" Roman asked, trying to make some small talk.
"A necklace. I saw her eyeing it in a store a few weeks ago. I hope she likes it." Alice said as she finished wrapping the gift and put a bow on top. "Ok ready to go?"
"Ya." Roman said and he reached out his hand to take Alice's and the two orbed out of the apartment.
They reappeared in P3 in a swirl of blue orbs.
"Huh, everyone must have gone home to get ready." Alice said looking around, noticing the club was completely deserted.
"That's weird. Its almost 5:30 and they haven't finished decorating." Roman said surveying the half hung decorations and the pile of balloons and streamers still sitting in a box on the floor.
"What does that have to do with anything, Roman?" Alice asked, thinking his comment was rather stupid.
"Well the party starts at 7. Don't you think its odd that they all just left with out finishing putting up the decorations?"
Before Alice could answer, the two heard a pair of feet coming down the stairs into the club.
"Hey guys, what are you doing here so early?" It was Gwen, Wyatt's girlfriend. She was a real knock out. She was tall and had legs that seemed to go on for miles and gorgeous red hair that bounced when she walked.
"We were looking for Melinda, but everyone seems to have disappeared." Alice told her.
"That's strange because Wyatt hasn't been answering his phone. Maybe there was a demonic problem." Gwen was a witch and often fought along side her boyfriend and his family. The two had met back in magic school and had been good friends but it wasn't until after college that Wyatt finally got up the nerve to ask her out.
"Do you think we should head over to the Manor and see if they need a hand?" Alice asked.
"I am sure they have it well in hand. If all of them are gone, they probably have more help then they need." Roman said looking around at the half decorated room. "But maybe there is another way we can help them out."
It did not take long for the family to gather in the attic of the Halliwell Manor. Patricia and Penelope, who were Phoebe's two younger daughters, were not old enough to go demon hunting so they stayed behind with Coop and Henry at magic school for protection. Paige, with the help of Peyton, was frantically flipping through the book trying to identify the demon that had taken her daughter. Melinda and Prue, Phoebe's eldest daughter, were in the corner using one of Parkers shirts to scry for her. Piper and Chris were brewing a vanquishing potion and Wyatt, Caleb, Hank, Leo and Phoebe were strategizing their plan of attack.
"It just seems to strange, why would a demon just shimmer in for no reason and take her?" Melinda mused to her older cousin as the two sat over a map waving a crystal above it with no luck.
"Beats me. Demons are really stupid. Its like they have a death wish or something." Prue said before finally slamming the crystal down in defeat.
"All right the potions are ready. Any leads?" Piper asked.
"Nothing." Paige sighed in defeat. "The demon was so generic looking, he was probably just a lackey for a more powerful demon anyways."
"Well we can't just go traipsing around the underworld." Wyatt said. "Any luck with the Crystal?" Wyatt asked turning to his sister and cousin.
"Nope nothing." Melinda told him sadly. "Maybe if we go down there, you will be able to sense her."
Wyatt shook his head. That would just be stupid. The underworld was huge and he may not even be able to sense her. His whitelighters abilities were often weaker in the underworld. Sensing people through all the endless caves and tunnels and twists and turns was not an easy task if you had no idea where the person even was.
"It's not a stupid idea, it could work." Melinda said angry at her brother for his thoughts.
"Did you just read my mind?" Wyatt asked.
"Ya I think so. Sorry I didn't mean to. I can't control it."
"Maybe we can use your new power to our advantage." Chris mused.
"If Wyatt wont be able to sense her, there is no way I will be able to." Melinda said.
"Maybe not, but a demon kidnapping a charmed daughter will be big news in the underworld." Caleb chimed in, catching on to what Chris was getting at. Caleb spent a lot of time in the underworld. He was half demon and often worked as a double agent to help out the charmed ones. He knew that Parker being taken would have all the demons in the underworld in a buzz.
"So?" Melinda asked still not seeing their point.
"So they will all be thinking about it and maybe one of them will even know who the demon was who took Parker and where she is being help." Chris explained.
"That's not actually a bad idea." Paige said, eager to jump on any lead they had.
"But I don't have control over the thoughts I hear. They just come in randomly. How do we know that I will hear the right one?" Melinda said, finding the flaw in their plan.
"We can't be sure of anything, but at the moment it is all we have to go on and we can't just sit her and wait for something better." Chris said.
Melinda nodded in agreement. She didn't think it was a very good plan but it was the only plan they had and somehow she would just have to make it work.
The hooded figure had placed Parker into a cage in the corner of the cave. He had taken off his robe and was wearing black from head to toe. Parker couldn't help but notice how young the man was. He seemed to be in his mid 20s and he had long dark hair as black as a raven and his blue eyes burnt with hatred and cruelty.
"You will never get away with this." Parker told the man. "My family will come for me and when they do, they will kill you."
"Is that so?" The man asked. "I have had you down here for over an hour and still I see no rescue party."
"They will come." Parker said half to convince the man and half to convince herself. "What do you want anyways?"
"That is really none of your business."
"I think it is. After all you kidnapped me. I should at least get to know why."
The man walked over to the cage and put his face close to the bars so he was looking right into Parkers eyes. "Your family has something that I want and I intend to take it, even if I have to use force."
"You really think you can take on my entire family and win? God, demons can be so stupid."
"I am not a Demon, I am a Warlock and perhaps I will lose this battle. But it doesn't matter, because I will win the war. Just you wait and see." The man said laughing a little to himself before leaving Parker alone in the cave.
Caleb shimmered in with Melinda, Wyatt, Chris, Hank and Prue. They could not orb in because it might alert the demons to their presence and they were all dressed in black, as to blend in with the crowd.
"We should probably split up." Wyatt said to the group. "We can cover more ground that way."
They all nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Chris you go with Prue, Hank go with Caleb and I will go with Melinda." Wyatt said, pointing to each individual as he said their name.
"I think I should go with Melinda, I know this place and the demons down here better so I will be able to get her closer so she can hear their thoughts." Caleb suggested.
Wyatt did not seem pleased with this new arrangement but Chris nodded and said "Ya I think that makes sense."
"Fine." Wyatt agreed reluctantly. "Everybody try and find out as much as you can about where Parker is. If you run into any trouble, teleport out and head for the manor. If you find her try calling for us. We may not be able to hear it but it's worth a try."
Everyone nodded in understanding and broke off into their groups to search for Parker.
"Wonder why Caleb wanted to go with Melinda so badly?" Prue mused as she and Chris walked through the underworld.
"What do you mean? He said it was so he could help her get closer to demons to read their minds."
"I don't know, did you see the way he was looking at her? Like he didn't want to let her out of his site."
"He was just being protective. He is like another brother to us, its what brothers do, be protective of their siblings."
"I hope that's not where those feelings were stemming from because I think that might make them incestuous."
"What on earth or you going on about?" Chris asked his younger cousin.
"I mean that they like each other, as more then just friends." Prue explained.
Chris stopped for a second to think over what his cousin had just said. She was talking crazy. Melinda and Caleb were practically siblings; they could never like each other in that way, it would just be to weird.
"So tell me the truth, did you really ask to switch partners just so you could help me get closer to the demons?" Melinda asked, suspicious of Caleb's true motives.
"Partly." Caleb said with a dorky smile.
"You know this isn't a laughing matter. Parker could be really hurt." Melinda said, the worry returning to her voice.
"Don't worry we will find her and we would know if she was dead because your family would be able to sense it. She is going to be fine." Caleb said trying to comfort his girlfriend.
"I hope you are right. I wonder what the demon wanted with her anyway?"
"I don't know, but I do know someone who might." Caleb said looking around as if to make sure they were going the right way.
"Where exactly are we going?" Melinda asked noticing Caleb was walking as though he was planning out where the two would end up.
"Like I said, I think I know someone down here who might be able to help."
"So have you popped the question yet?" Hank asked his eldest cousin as the two walked side by side through one of the tunnels in the underworld.
"No and I don't really think this is an appropriate time to be discussing that."
"Well I think you are right to wait." Hank told his cousin. "Give it a week, I think you will be ready by then."
"You bet I would do it next week didn't you?" Wyatt asked, he knew about the bet but he did not know when Melinda or Hank bet he would do it.
"Guilty." Hank smiled at his cousin but his smile soon faded as the two walked up to a cave at the end of the tunnel.
They could see Parker pacing back and forth in a giant cage while two brute demons stood guard.
"What do we do know?" Hank asked Wyatt who had no idea either.
Melinda and Caleb emerged into one of the many caves in the underworld. This one was very barren except for a large pool of water that stood in the middle. Next to it was a very beautiful and exotic looking woman. She looked at them as if she had been expecting their arrival.
"Caleb what are we doing here?" Melinda asked, concerned that her boyfriend had led them to what looked like a seer.
"We are looking for the Halliwell witch that was kidnapped." Caleb told the seer, ignoring Melinda's question. "Do you know where she is?
The seer nodded.
"Well you better tell us or you will be sorry." Melinda said trying to sound tough but it didn't really work.
"Do not threaten me witch. I am not afraid of you." The seer said offended by Melinda's words.
"Melinda calm down, she is on our side." Caleb said trying to ease the tension.
"She is a demon, how can she be on our side?" Melinda questioned.
"I am a demon." Caleb reminded her.
"But that's different." Melinda argued but he had a point.
"The girl you seek is very close. But I do not suggest going after her." The seer told Caleb and Melinda.
"Of course we are going to go after her. She is my cousin, I can't just leave her."
"He does not want her, it is a trap. He is using her as bait to lure the one he does want." The seer explained.
"And who exactly does he want?" Melinda asked, fearing the answer.
The seer looked up intently at Melinda, right into her eyes. "He want's you."
"Can you sense her?" Prue asked her older cousin.
They had been wondering around the underworld for a while now and they hadn't found any leads.
"No, I can't sense any of them."
"Maybe they already found her and they are all back at the Manor." Prue said with hope in her voice.
"Maybe." Chris said though he didn't really believe that was the case.
Just then the two heard several pairs of footsteps heading in their direction.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" one of the advancing demons yelled. "This is our territory, no trespassing."
"Ya." One other the other demons chimed in. "Do you know what we do to trespassers? We kill them."
"Maybe we should get out of here." Prue said to her cousin as the demons got closer and closer.
"I think you are right." And with that Chris and Prue teleported out of the underworld.
"Me, what would this demon want with me?" Melinda asked, shocked at what the seer had just told her.
"He is not a Demon, he is a Warlock. He plans to take the the vacancy left by the previous source but he is not powerful enough yet. He seeks the ultimate power, a power that would guarantee him the thrown."
"I am still not seeing what this has to do with me." Melinda said, growing impatient with the seer.
"There is a prophecy that states that ''On the eve of her 21st year when the moon shows full and the dead may walk among the living, a warren witch will receive the gift to find the stone.' He believes the power is contained in the stone and hopes to use you in order to get it."
"Well if that's true, why kidnap Parker?" Caleb said, chiming into the conversation.
"It was a mistake. He put a bounty out for anyone who could bring him the girl from the prophecy, but you know how demons are, not always the brightest creatures. They kidnapped the wrong girl and know she is being used as bait to lure the right one." The seer said.
"We have to get you out of here." Caleb said grabbing her girlfriend. "If it is you this Warlock wants then we have to hide you somewhere safe."
"I am not just going to run away and hide." Melinda said, offended by her boyfriend's words. "Parker is in trouble, we can't just abandon her."
"I am sorry Melinda but this is for your own protection." And with that Caleb shimmered the two of them out of the underworld.
"No one is answering, they must be to far away to hear me." Wyatt said defeated after trying to contact the others.
"Well we can't just leave her here. There are only two demons. We could easily take them."
"No if we attack, more will come. We have to think this through, we can't just rush in."
Before they could think of a plan, they saw a young man enter the cave and walk up to the cage where Parker was being held.
Caleb and Melinda returned to the Manor to find Chris and Prue but to their dismay Parker was not with them, and neither were Wyatt and Hank.
"What happened? Why are you guys back?" Melinda asked her brother and cousin.
"Large group of demon's tried to kill us and we weren't sure where you guys had gone of to so we came back here to regroup." Chris told her. "Why are you back?"
"Same thing." Melinda lied; she did not feel like delving into the whole story about the seer and the prophecy right at this moment.
"Well we have to go back we can just leave Hank, Wyatt and Parker down there." Prue said as she paced back in forth in the nervous fashion the Halliwell women did when they were anxious.
"Prue is right we have to go back." Melinda said, though Chris and Caleb seemed reluctant.
"We can't just go running back, we have no clue where they are." Chris said.
"Actually I think I do. When we were down there I caught a few thoughts of some of the demons, I know where Parker is being held and once we find her we can go and find Hank and Wyatt." Melinda told them; rather proud she could be of so much use.
"Will you be able to find the place, everything looks the same." Chris asked, still unsure if this was a good idea.
"I have a clear picture in my head, I can find it." Melinda said with confidence.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Caleb asked grabbing his girlfriend's arm in an attempt to reason with her. Prue and Chris found it odd the way they were interacting with each other. Chris couldn't help but wonder if maybe Prue had been right about their feelings for one another.
"Yes I do." Melinda said defiantly pulling away from Caleb. "But we should hurry, I don't like the idea of Parker being trapped down their for any longer."
They all nodded in agreement and took Caleb's hand and he shimmered them all back down to the underworld.
"No one is answering, they must be to far away to hear me." Wyatt said defeated after trying to contact the others. The two had planned to attack on their own but another demon, who they figured was the leader behind this whole mess, had entered the cave, and without knowing who he was or what he could do, they did not want to take him on their own.
"Well we can't just leave her here. There are only two demons. We could easily take them."
"No if we attack, more will come. We have to think this through, we can't just rush in."
Before they could think of a plan, they heard the familiar sound of shimmering behind them. They turned thinking they had been caught by demons but were relieved to see it was only Chris, Caleb, Prue and Melinda.
"How on earth did you guys find us?" Wyatt asked, shocked that they had located them.
"It was all Melinda, she used her telepathy to track you down." Prue said.
"Nicely done Linnie." Wyatt smiled.
"I do what I can."
"I hate to break this up but how are we going to rescue Parker?" Hank asked.
"It's obviously a trap." Caleb said, knowing full well that was exactly what it was. "We can't just barge in, they will be expecting that."
"I will orb in and distract him, Caleb, Chris and Hank you cover me if and demon's show up and Prue and Melinda you grab Parker. Once you have her don't wait for us, head straight home. Do you understand?" They all nodded at Wyatt. "Ok lets do this."
"You know I am starting to think your little family has forgotten all about you." The Warlock teased as he walked around Parker's cage.
"Think again." Wyatt said as he sending a huge blast from his hand, sending the demon flying into one of the walls of the cave.
While the Warlock was distracted by the surprise attack, Prue and Melinda rushed over to rescue Parker from her cage. Melinda broke the lock with telekinesis and grabbed Parker.
"Go before he gets up. We can take care of it from here just get her home." Wyatt assured the girls and Prue took her two cousin's hands and teleported the out of the underworld.
"You think you are so clever don't you Halliwell?" The Warlock scoffed as he got up off the ground. "You may have won this round but the game isn't over. I will rule the underworld and there is nothing you can do to stop me." And with that the demon shimmered out.
"Should we go after him?" Hank asked but Wyatt just shook his head. "We can deal with him another day."
The boys returned to the Manor to find their whole family waiting for them. Paige was off in the corner fawning over Parker who seemed to be more shaken up then anything else.
"What a day I am exhausted, I think I am just going to head to sleep." Melinda said heading for the door.
"Um, Melinda aren't you forgetting something?" Chris asked trying desperately to hold back his laughter.
"Like what?"
"Your birthday" Caleb reminded her.
"Shit, why do I keep doing that?"
The whole family and Caleb headed over to P3 for Melinda's birthday party. When they arrived all the decorations were hung and most of the guests had already arrived.
"There you are, we have been looking all over for you" Alice said as she emerged from the crowd to hug her best friend.
"Did you guys do all of this?" Melinda asked gesturing to the finished decorations in the club.
"Ya, it was Roman's idea. Figured if we couldn't help you with the demons, might as well do something productive. Speaking of which what exactly happened today."
"I'll explain later. Right now I could really use a drink, after all I am legal now." The two girls laughed and headed to the bar.
"Hey babe what are you doing out here?" Gwen asked as she walked over to join her boyfriend in the alleyway behind the club. Wyatt had slipped out side to clear his head, he couldn't think with all the noise going on inside.
"Just getting some fresh air."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Not at all." Wyatt said smiling at his girlfriend. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found her. Not only was she gorgeous but she was funny and smart and his best friend. He couldn't imagine life without her and knew he wanted to be with her forever.
"Gwen?"
"Yes."
Wyatt took in a deep breath and plucked up all the courage he had inside of him. He knelt before he and pulled out the ring he had been carrying around in his back packet for the last month and a half."
"Gwenevere Elizabeth Cooper, will you marry me?"