Destiny Took Its Toll

Chapter 1

"Life can work in many ways. Sometimes it can go pretty well. Everything you want, you get. But life can also go bad. Attached to life, there's something we never want to experience, even though we must. Death. Death is a part of life, but it can be cruel. That's what happened to my family once too many. My great Aunt and great grandmother had both died at the hands of demons. And now.. Evil had gotten to my fiancee."

Darkness spread through out the city of San Francisco. With the Trifecta out, nobody knew what was going to happen to the world. Everyone went back to their routines while keeping a sharp eye out for anything weird that might or might not happen. Today, the Halliwell family would be attending a funeral. Jacob Moretti, Christopher Michael Halliwell's fiancee had died – murdered – by a demons hand. The paramedics and police ruled it out as a murder by some sick fuck who broke into the Moretti home, but the witches knew better. With Medilyn and Athulak causing so many problems, everyone knew that they had to have been behind it all.

At the church, there was a ceremony held in the memory of Jacob. Jenna and Chris sat in the front row. Jenna had been crying throughout the whole event, but all Chris could think about was the guilt he was carrying. Everything that happened was all his fault. He should have been with Jacob that night, but no. He went off with his brothers to fight a fucking demon who was out to kill them. Why? Why was the world so cruel? Why did the demons even exist? As these thoughts ran through the young mans head, he could feel hot tears run down his cheeks. He was the reason Jacob died. It didn't matter if a demon or another mortal killed Jake, it was all Chris' fault.

After Jacob's funeral, everyone had gathered at Piper Halliwell's restaurant for the reception. All the Halliwell's were their including Jenna, neighbors, and old friends from school. Laurel, Tyler's ex girlfriend was there. She and Jacob had been friends shortly after he transferred there, and were very close. Jenna was trying hard to look as strong as she could, but there were many times she had to excuse herself from the crowd. Everyone felt bad, and nobody bothered her. There were also moments when Phoebe and Prudence had to excuse themselves as well because they could feel Jenna's emotions. They were so strong, they almost broke down in front of the public.

"Are you okay?" It was a stupid question, Piper knew this. Guilt flooded her for asking such a foolish question. Jenna inhaled deeply, her eyes traveling all through the room, "No..."She stopped, but quickly cleared her throat, "Thanks for doing this for me Piper, and Jacob too. I know he'd appreciate this." Piper hugged her long time friend, telling her that she had a feeling that's Jacob agreed with his mother.

Chris meanwhile had been quiet throughout the whole reception. He occasionally offered condolences to Jacob's family, but other than that he was very distant and wouldn't speak a word to anyone, not even his family. Tyler saw his little brother. It was so painful seeing his baby brother so vulnerable. He was strong, Tyler knew this, but even he had his emotional meltdowns. Could you even blame him? Tyler never knew what it was like to lose a soul mate, and honestly, he thought he was never going to. Not that he was being selfish, but because he thought love was the most over rated thing in the Halliwell family. He looked back at Chris, and just knew Chris was asking all the questions everyone in their family asked themselves when they lost an innocent or even a loved one.

"How could I fail?"

"Why didn't I stop it?"

"Does he forgive me?"

Looking to see if anyone was coming his way, he quietly walked over to his brother, who was sitting down and looking at the floor, and sat next to him. He placed his hand on Chris' shoulder, and could feel the boy shaking. Tyler opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. What if this was a bad time? What was he even thinking, of course it was a bad time, but someone was bound to ask, right?

"Hey baby bro. How are you doing?" He didn't know what else to ask. Hell, what do you ask in these type of situations, you know? This always made Tyler feel uncomfortable, funerals and death, but he would always try his best.

Chris just looked over at his brother, and shrugged. Noticing Chris trying to talk, but nothing came out, Tyler felt his own heart break. Ever since coming back to San Francisco, ever since they started their new Destiny, Tyler had made a promise to always look after Chris. He wanted to make sure nothing ever happened to him, and now he felt like he failed both his brother and Jacob. In a random yet much needed move, Tyler pulled Chris into a hug, and he could hear his brother start to sob. Across the room, Andrew had a close eye on his brothers. Even though he was the middle child, he watched over both his brothers, to protect them. As hard as it was for Tyler to admit, he needed protecting too. Sighing, he leaned against the wall and covered his face. 'This shouldn't be happening.' He was so deep in his thoughts, that he didn't hear someone stand next to him.

"How's Chris doing?" A woman's voice. Andrew uncovered his face, and looked over at the visitor. "Jessica."

Jessica Maldonado had been in Andrew's Senior class back in High School. They also had a lot of classes together. "He's not doing too great." He watched as Jessica nodded, sadness shown on her face. She gave Andrew a hug before telling him she was about to go over to Chris. It wasn't until just after Jacob died that Jessica, and the rest of the boys' classes had found out about Jacob and Chris' engagement. "I already saw Jacob's mother. Poor woman, I hope she's going to be alright." Andrew just nodded, then Jessica turned away to walk over to Chris. As she and Chris talked, Tyler and Andrew's gazes met each other, then Tyler lowered his head.

Down in the Underworld, Athulak was pacing the Throne Room where many demons had come to claim their "rightful title" for eons. He was waiting for the arrival of several demons to inform him on the Trifecta and what it was doing. As he sat down on the surprisingly cozy, forgotten throne, he realized he had lost many supporters over the past couple months. Medilyn and Breos both were very powerful demons, and the Charmed Ones had just easily taken them out. How was that even fair? He didn't even feel proud that he himself was still alive. Was he next? Did the boys know about him? Was his plan in the beginning even worth it, anymore? Ideas rocked his brain, sweat formed on his forehead as he thought of a new plan. A way to kill those boys before they killed him. It wasn't like he had a choice, the circumstances has changed. Their bond as brothers and witches were stronger now. That was not good.

With the Trifecta out, Athulak had expected to two possible outcomes from all of this: A. Absolute Power, and B. The Apocalypse. Would absolute power be the Key to give him the whole Underworld? Would it all be a complete waste? And the most important question was... Were the Halliwell's planning on stopping it?

Up in the Heavens, the Angels and Elders were gathered together. They were feeling a major power forming, no doubt the Trifecta. The group was pretty much yelling at each other trying to get all their points across. "We have to close off the Heavens. If the Trifecta gets up here, we'll all be destroyed!" Life was about to continue her rant, but was interrupted by Choice. "We can't just close off the Heavens! What about the white-lighters? How will their charges be safe?" Life, Choice, and Destiny looked towards the Elder. "There are nine Halliwell's with whitelighter blood, including the Charmed Ones." The elder shook her head telling the Angel that there were actually twelve. "You forget about Brad, Caleb, and Morgan." The Angel laughed saying to her, those three didn't count anymore. She went on to say their Destiny had been erased due to private matters, and now they had to choose their own paths from now on. The Elder immediately defended the Charmed Ones. Why should Brad, Morgan and Caleb's destinies be erased and not Tyler, Andrew and Chris'? "It's a long story, but I'm surprised you're not aware." The Elder and Angel locked eyes with each other. "Tell me." The Angel took a deep breathe and began her story.

Later that night, Patience had decided to stay at the manor, and Prue along with Melinda had joined her. They were in the living room watching TV and discussing what's been going on in their lives. "Jacob's death was caused by a demon, I just know it. But which demon?" Prue looked at her sister and cousin who both had shrugged. There were absolutely no leads on Jake's death. They had found out that whoever did kill him, they had taken the murder weapon. There weren't even signs of a forced entry. The girls were very positive it was a demon who had committed the murder. Patience mumbled that if she ever found out who killed her cousins fiancee, she'd be the first to tear their skull off their body. Melinda and Prue both said she wouldn't, because they'd be the ones to beat her to it. Melinda looked at Prue with a curious look. "Do you think they're still at the house looking for clues and stuff?"

Prue just shrugged, "Why? What the hell do you have up your sleeve?" Melinda looked at Prue telling her she could get a possible lead from a premonition. "I mean I'd ask Aunt Phoebe, but she's probably busy. And I wouldn't even dare ask Chris to do it." Prue nodded, telling her she could definitely go over there and try to get a vision. Patience pleaded that if Prue did see the killer, that Patience would be the one to throw the first punch. Her sister smirked telling her sister not to worry. "If I do see whoever killed Jacob, we all can torture the sick fucker together. Deal?" The girls nodded, and beamed to Jenna's home. It was empty so the girls had free run of the place for now before anyone came back. Mel motioned her cousins to follow her into Jacob's room. They quietly entered, and had a quick look around. "Oh my god this is..." Melinda couldn't finish, feeling very uncomfortable. Prue and Patience looked around the place. "Remember to use the back of your hand, so you don't get fingerprints on anything." Prue nodded at Melinda and did just that. They had remembered long ago Phoebe had given tips at getting visions at crime scenes by using the back of their hands so they wouldn't get their fingerprints on anything. It always worked, so it was a normal thing for them whenever they helped the police as "psychics".

Patience was staring at photos which were sitting on top of the dresser. She sighed to herself unaware it was loud enough for both Prue and Mel to hear. "Why do they do this to us? It's so..." She couldn't finish the sentence. "Sickening." Prue and Mel had said finishing it up together. Prue approached the spot with blood stains on the wall and the floor. She knelt down, placing her hands over the spots like her mother had taught her to do once. Prue closed her eyes gently to concentrate. Mel and Patience waited until finally Prue had received a vision.

Jacob was in his bedroom sitting on the bed. There was a knock

on the door so he got up to open it. His face had showed confusion,

"What are you doing here?" Immediately he was pushed up against

a wall and whoever had come to his room, they stabbed him right in the

stomach.

Prue had finally come out of the painful premonition. She was covering her mouth and breathing very heavily. Patience asked what she saw, but all Prue could do was hold onto her stomach. After a few minutes, Prue told the girls everything she had seen. "Could it have been a demon?" Prue was still feeling a little pain, so she couldn't respond. Melinda told the girls they should be going before they were busted and caught by someone. Mel and Patience helped Prue stand up. "Are you okay?" Prue said she will be, and the girls beamed out just as a demon shimmered in. "Is this the place?" he was alone when he asked the question. After awhile, the demons expression started to change so it was obvious someone or something was talking to him telepathically. "Yes." the demon said quietly. "Yes ma'am." The demon looked over towards the dresser, took a picture, and shimmered out of the room.