Sorry for the long wait, but here it is; the second chapter of On the Edge. Reviews are appreciated, but only constructive ones. I will not tolerate flames.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Charmed. Jordan and Keith are my originals, though. : )
Enjoy.
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Jordan grunted as he tossed the pen down, and stood, throwing the balled up piece of paper in the already overflowing waste basket. Wads of discarded spells and ideas littered the floor around his feet, while the flickering light above him cast a foreboding shadow around the dim room.
This is not going well. We'll never get to Chris at this rate.
The young man had been trying to figure out how to reach his friend for the better part of three days. So far he had gone threw all of Chris's notes that he'd left on the subject of time travel, brewed all the potions he could come up with, thought up all the spells he could, but no matter what his crafty mind could come up with, there was still one big problem; he didn't have enough power to create a portal.
The young witch sat heavily in the wooden chair, wincing as it creaked under his unexpected weight. He sighed and put his feet up on the table near him, careful not to disturb all the papers spread everywhere. He put his head in his hands and let out a deep shuddering breath.
A hand on his shoulder made him jump. He hadn't heard anyone come into the room.
"Take a break, Jordan. I'll work for a while." A deep voice resonated in the otherwise dead quiet.
Jordan glared up at the owner of the hand tiredly.
"I can't take a break, Darryl. Chris needs me. He doesn't know what's happened," Jordan said. "He needs to know."
"You can't help him if you pass out," Darryl retorted, crossing his arms over his broad chest, one eyebrow strategically raised to irk the witch before him.
"I can't help him if I can't get to him, either." Jordan replied, meeting the eyes of his friend, his own burning with determination.
"Chris wouldn't want you to work yourself into the ground." The cop said, trying a different tactic.
Chris would not be happy with his godfather if he returned to the future and his best friend was sick from running himself into the ground. Before he had left, Chris had put Darryl in charge of keeping Jordan out of trouble, something which the young witch attracted just as much as, if not more so than, Chris.
Darryl frowned as he remembered Chris's words.
'Watch out for him Darryl, Jo can't always remember to do it for himself…'
Perhaps Darryl should have brushed up on his cop skills, as they seemed a bit rusty, for Jordan caught on to his plan.
Jordan glared. "Darryl, not nice,"
"You know it's true," He replied with an imploring look.
"…"
"Jordan," Darryl warned.
"Yeah, yeah," Jordan said grudgingly, running a hand over his face. "I hear ya," He sighed, his shoulders drooping as he looked up at the ex-cop. "I just don't want to let him down."
Darryl put a hand on his shoulder. "The only way you could ever let him down is by not trying. No one could ever accuse you of that." Darryl finished with a compassionate smile.
"Fine. I'll take a break. But only for a little while, then it's straight back to work. Chris has to know what has happened and the only way for that to be accomplished is for me to go back and tell him." Jordan said firmly, before standing and walking to the open door.
Darryl shook his head, staring at his young friend's back, an incredulous look on his face. Just like Chris. No wonder they're best friends.
"Watch out, Darryl, I might charm your face to stay that way."
And then Jordan was gone
Definitely just like Chris.
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"Phoebe, we can't just drop everything and rush to help Chris! He's not our problem!" Piper said as she stalked into the kitchen, Wyatt wailing on her hip. "Oh, don't you worry, sweet baby," she cooed in a warm high voice, bouncing him a little. "Mommy's going to feed you, don't worry."
"Piper, he's an innocent!" Phoebe pleaded, following her sister into the kitchen.
"Yeah? Since when?" Paige snorted behind her, crossing her arms. "All he's done is lie to us. Why should we help him?"
"Because of my premonition, Paige!" Phoebe whirled to stare at her, quick anger rising in her eyes.
"Was he really in trouble? Big trouble?" Piper asked, having quieted Wyatt with a bottle. Her voice was soft, yet itheld an undertone of concern.
"Are six demons trouble enough?" Phoebe asked, her anger deflating as she shrugged her shoulder, pleading with her sisters to understand the situation.
Piper sighed. "Fine."
Phoebe's shoulders sagged in relief and she went forward to hug her older sister with a squeal of thanks. She swooped down on Wyatt, too, kissing his cheeks over and over again, making the boy squeal with delight.
"But," Piper said, in her all commanding tone. Phoebe stopped and straightened, looking her sister in the eye. Paige looked to the oldest sister, too, her arms still crossed. "If we can't find him, then we stop."
Phoebe deflated but agreed nonetheless.
"Alright, upstairs. Let's get started."
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Chris held his breath as the last demon went by. He pressed himself as close to the rock wall as he could without fusing with it. The sharp edges dug into his back, but he'd rather take a few scratched than risk being caught.
Peaking out cautiously, he looked around to make sure there were no more demons coming. Sighing in relief, he shouldered the bag and quickly flitted over to the next hiding spot.
Looking out from his perch behind a boulder, he saw who he'd been searching for. There were two demons, relatively human looking, standing over a table with something spread out in front of them. The female, who had long black hair falling down around her shoulders, streaked with purple, pointed to something on the table, and the man shook his head in disagreement, curly black locks bouncing at the action. His companion's expression was thunderous.
Hell hath no wrath… Chris smirked at the ironic thought.
Chris frowned. He'd seen these two before somewhere. Back in the future, he'd seen them. But where and with who?
The male suddenly looked up, and Chris thought he had been caught. But he saw another demon, a behemoth really, walk through the cavern entrance. He was covered in intricate tribal markings and piercings, and looked as though he could shatter the boulder Chris was sheltered behind with a single flick of his finger.
The half-angel tensed. This was not part of the plan; there were only supposed to be two demons to deal with.
Chris patted his pocket, reassuring himself that the potion was still there. Just in case.
He shifted to get an atheme out of his bag when a small rock loosened and tumbled down to the cavern floor, creating a small, but recognizable echo. Chris froze, his scarcely beating heart leaping into his throat.
"I know I heard something, Whittier." The woman said, pulling a dagger from her belt and moving around the table.
"I heard it, too, Lyra. Someone's here. Decon, can you sense anything?" The man asked, nodding to the new arrival.
"Yeah, good. Someone who's good." Decon said, his booming voice putting Chris on edge.
"Witch? Whitelighter? What?" Lyra asked, her voice tense.
"Can't tell, but we can find out."
No sooner had the demon spoken, when Chris felt the boulder he was behind shatter, covering him in rubble. He quickly recovered and stood, kicking the bag out of sight before the demons noticed it.
"That wasn't very nice." He smirked, hiding the atheme behind his back.
"How dare you intrude!" Whittier bellowed, an energy ball forming in his hands. Chris ducked and rolled, waving his arm at the infuriated demon, sending him flying back into the wall.
Decon threw a fireball at him and Chris redirected it towards the woman. She ducked, but it singed her shoulder, sending her sprawling. Whittier took in the sight and with a roar, charged, another energy ball in his hand. Chris spun and avoided it, also kneeing the demon in the gut in the process.
He danced away from an atheme directed at him and threw his own at the woman, giving it an extra push with his telekinesis. She went up in flames, screaming Whittier's name.
Oh no, vengeful demon.
Whittier bowled him over before he had a chance to react, screaming curses at him. Chris managed to throw him off, but he was grabbed from behind by Decon, with whom he struggled and kicked until he finally hit a sensitive spot near the ribs, making the behemoth release him with an enraged cry.
He was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, and he quickly rolled away from the stomping foot. He spun into a kneeling position, a fireball forming in his hand. Decon gaped.
"Didn't know I could do that, did you?" Chris taunted with a cold smirk on his face. He hurled the flaming ball at the demon and watched him burn into nothing.
Chris suddenly realized that Whittier was nowhere to be found. Chris gave a surprised yell as he felt himself lifted off the ground and thrown into the nearest stone wall. He groaned as he glared up at the demon above him. Found him.
"You'll pay for what you've done." The demon hissed, his voice hard and sure as steel.
Chris began to think he had underestimated this group of demons as Whittier stalked towards him, tall and angry. There was a gleam in his eyes that was frighteningly unfamiliar to Chris.
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"Jordan, does the word 'rest' mean anything to you?" Darryl asked exasperatedly. He came into the room with a blonde man by his side, agitated to find Jordan hard at work again.
"Nope," Jordan said without glancing up. He was hunched over the littered table, a pen in pen hand and a few papers fanned out in the other.
The blonde man, who had a rather wild mohawk and nose ring, chuckled, "You're as bad a Chris, Jo,"
Jordan looked up at hearing the new voice. "Keith! Man, it's good to see you in one piece. What's up?"
"Nothing. Just came to give you some more potion vials. Darryl said you were low," Keith said, dropping a sack onto the table with a clink.
"Yeah, thanks. Never want to be out of these babies," Jordan said, eyeing the contents of the bag hungrily. "How'd scouting go?"
Keith frowned. "Actually, it's been quiet, and that scares me more than armies of demon assassins knocking on our door." He brushed a hand over his mohawk, looking rather uncertain. "There's nothing we can really do about it right now, but I have a bad feeling for the coming weeks."
There was silence for a moment, while Jordan took in the news.
Darryl's voice broke through his thoughts.
"Any progress?"
Jordon gave him a look as if to say, 'didn't you just tell me to stop?'
"Jordan, just because I wanted you to rest doesn't mean that I don't want to get to Chris, too." Darryl said, throwing his hands into the air in defense.
"Relax, Darryl, I'm kidding." Jordon chuckled, before sobering. "I've come up with a potion that might help, but it will require a spell, too."
"Why? I thought we didn't need spells in the past." Keith commented.
"We haven't, no, but only because we had Chris to compensate. He was pretty much our sole power source for the Big Stuff." Jordan said with a shrug. "If Chris had been making this potion- what am I talking about? If Chris were here we wouldn't need to make this potion-"
"Jordan." Darryl shot him a look.
"Right, sorry. Anyway, the point is that if Chris were making this potion, we wouldn't necessarily need a power boost, but this is a complicated potion, and without an experienced witch, granted an all-powerful, half angel witch-"
"Jordan." Darryl barked, trying to hide the exasperation on his face. Jordan's jaw snapped shut. Darryl turned to Keith. "Without an experienced witch, we don't have enough power to be completely successful, so we might be able to boost it with a spell."
Keith was silent for a moment. "That's why I'm just the head of the scout team."
Jordan laughed out loud, leaning back precariously in his chair.
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Phoebe paced the attic impatiently.
Her nerves were buzzing from the premonition, more than they should have been. She just couldn't shake off the feeling that something, besides the obvious, was wrong.
She glanced around the attic at her sisters, spying Wyatt playing happily in his playpen. Paige was in the chair next to the playpen, keeping an eyes on Wyatt and also on bother her sisters.
Phoebe sighed and continued pacing. She was still sort of frustrated with Paige for not believing her whole heartedly.
At Piper's voice, the empath's eyes snapped up and her pacing came to a halt.
"Pheobe, I can't find anything in the book about this. Are you sure you know what you saw?" Piper looked up from the book with a miffed expression on her face, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Piper, I've been having premonitions for a very long time. I know how to read them. And yes, I'm sure of what I saw." Phoebe said, exasperated with her sister's constant repeating question.
"Maybe you can give a little more of a description that 'tall and evil', Phoebes." Paige said from her spot on the couch. "Book!" The book appeared in her lap in a flurry of blue orbs. Opening it, she began flipping through the pages.
"Did these demons have any marks or symbols to indicate if they were part of some group or brotherhood?" she asked.
Phoebe thought for a moment. "Nah, I don't think so. All I remember is that Chris was in a big, lit cavern, and there were six demons with him. Tall ones."
"Well that should narrow things down a bit."
Phoebe rolled her eyes at her younger sister.
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Chris plopped to the cavern floor, panting heavily as he watched the flames consume the demon before him. He had barely escaped that one.
He sighed, getting to his feet quickly. He couldn't allow any time for rest if he was going to get this done. Sitting on the floor of a demon cavern was not that safe anyway.
Side stepping to the bag, he slung it over his shoulder and prepared to orb out. He stopped, though, and walked over to the spot where he'd vanquished the last demon, stooping low to snatch up the atheme that he'd dropped.
Feeling slightly more reassured with the weight of the knife in his hands, he orbed out to the manor, dissolving into small glowing, pixie-like balls of light-- only to be rebounded roughly back into the cavern.
Slightly shaken and trying to dispel the dizziness from his head, he got up quickly from his sprawled position on the ground. He frowned, swallowing uneasily as he continually moved his feet. He couldn't get out.
He tried reaching out to Leo with his mind, but all he got for his efforts was a sharp shock and a pain in his head.
Squinting through the throbbing in his head, he felt a slight shift in the air of the cavern. Someone was there.
"Come out, I know you're there," Chris said, his voice low and controlled. His handsome face was reserved, waiting for what would happen next.
A deep chuckle resounded throughout the cavern, and Chris tensed when he saw no one.
"You're good," the voice said, sounding as though it was coming from everywhere at once. "You are the son of a powerful witch."
A muscle clenched along Chris's jaw.
"A Charmed One."
The words seemed to lash out at his, chilling him to the bone. His knees threatened to buckle, but he stayed strong, a merciless glint in his eyes.
"Show yourself!" Chris demanded, his eyes hardening against this new threat. "Come out, you coward," He mocked, hoping to draw the being out into the open where he might stand a chance at defeating it.
"All in good time, little witch," the voice, definitely male, spoke in a slow way, with an almost amused tone. Not unlike that of Barbas, only with a bit more danger. "You need not see me yet. We have plenty of time to get acquainted."
"Who are you? What do you want?" Chris knew that whoever this demon was, it was stopping him from leaving. Of he could stall with questions, perhaps he could figure a way out. "Why won't you let me leave?" Maybe if I can distract him somehow, I can get out of this cavern and orb to the manor.
"Oh, you won't get out that way. I've spelled the whole underground within half a mile of here. And what makes you so sure I'm a demon?" The voice came again, amusement overflowing in his tone.
What? How did he know that? Chris paled slightly, an overwhelming feeling of dread creeping up on him.
"You've got it, I can read your mind," The voice said, a hint of malice seeping into the words. "And I know what you're thinking right now."
If you know that, then you know that I'm going to get out of here. Chris thought.
Just because you think you can get out doesn't mean I'm going to let you.
Chris suddenly gasped and fell to his knees, gripping his head as pain flared.
I'll have what I want from you before you are ever able to escape from here.
The cavern wassuddenly filled with a bright red light and Chris shut his eyes against the brilliance. He groaned and ducked his head as the light made his pain worsen.
The light died down soon enough and Chris chanced a glance up, sucking in a startled breath to find someone standing before him.
The man was tall, easily taller than him, with an average build and tan skin. He had an air of authority and the appearance of one who demanded instant obedience. He had dark eyes and dark tendrils of hair curled around his forehead. Everything about this man screamed evil.
Chris shuddered.
A faint light twinkled in the depths of his black eyes as he stepped forward to stand imposingly in front of Chris hunched form.
"You are right to fear me, halfbreed," he said, chuckling at the way Chris flinched at the name. "Yes, I know who you are- what you are. Your family can't save you now, Christopher," he said, tilting his head to the side.
The chain around his neck swung like a pendulum as he lowered his head to Chris's level, smirking at the barely hidden fear in his green eyes.
He leaned close to Chris's ear, lowering his voice till it was barely above a whisper.
"You are all alone."
Then all hell broke loose.
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Hah, there it is. Hope you all like it.
Review!
