Episode Two: Merciless Devotion
TEASER
INT. MAGIC SCHOOL, CLASSROOM, DAY
Wyatt, Chris and Jennifer were standing in an empty classroom. The Halliwell brothers had been made into teachers and it was draining all their free time – hardly leaving them a chance to do anything else than potions, spells and all kinds magic-related books.
"How many books can there be for one little demon?" Exclaimed Jennifer after Wyatt had telekinetically dumped another big stack of books on the table.
"A lot, apparently." Wyatt didn't sound happier about the whole teaching matter either. "The librarian keeps giving me more and more volumes."
"Well, he has to run out of books sometime, hasn't he?" Chris said, unsure of the answer himself.
"Let's hope he does, or mom will make us read all the books in Magic School." Wyatt hoped his mother wouldn't do that.
Jennifer looked at her watch. "Guys, I gotta go. I promised my mom to go shopping with her. Can you orb me home?"
"Sure. We'll still see you tonight at the cinema, right?" Chris had wanted to see a movie for so long and finally had a chance to.
"Yeah, of course." Jenn smiled. "Looking forward to it."
EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, STREET, NIGHT
Chris, Wyatt, Melinda, Jennifer, Izabelle and Kyle had just been to the cinema and were discussing the movie. Melinda teased her big brother.
"You're just mad because I solved it before you did." She had known what would happen in the movie long before it had ended.
"Am not. Can we drop the subject?" Chris really didn't like it that both his brother and sister were always teasing him. "Let's just leave it at 'the movie was really great'."
"I agree with Chris. We should just enjoy this demon-free night." Jennifer liked the company of the Halliwells, especially Chris and Wyatt's.
"So, can I buy you guys some coffee?" Kyle suggested.
"I'm coming with you." His sister wanted to stretch her feet. She turned to the others. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Why should we mind getting free coffee?" Chris smiled at her and she laughed. "Go on."
Izabelle and Kyle headed to a nearby coffee shop. When Kyle was about to go through the door, Iz heard a sound and went into the alley next to the shop. She saw a man throwing a potion in the feet of a woman. When the vile broke, a puff of dark red smoke appeared and the woman dropped to the ground and didn't move anymore. Izabelle was afraid the same would happen to her if she would go near the woman and waited until the man walked away and checked if the woman is alive, but the potion obviously did its job. A little pinkish glow rose from the woman's body and went into Izabelle's. She got up and walked towards the alley's exit.
Elaya had finally found a new witch to possess, after the boyfriend of her last hostess had killed his loved one. And she liked this Izabelle. She was attractive by human standards and was going to serve her well. Elaya walked to the group of humans, obviously waiting for her hostess. Using Izabelle's memories, she recognized Kyle, the younger brother of the witch, Wyatt Halliwell, the legendary twice-blessed, Christopher Halliwell, his brother, who Izabelle called always by his full name, Melinda Halliwell, their younger sister, and Jennifer Trudeau, a new friend who Izabelle didn't seem to have an opinion about. The seductress decided to act as much as Izabelle as possible, to avoid being revealed.
Kyle handed her a cup of coffee "Is something wrong? You didn't go in with me."
"I thought I heard a sound, but it was nothing. An alley cat, I guess." Elaya lied without blinking an eye.
"Okay, let's go." Wyatt addressed his sister. "Mel, we gotta get you home in..." He looked at his watch. "Half an hour."
"Why? You guys are gonna stay up way longer…"
Wy interrupted. "Because we are older. I know it sucks to be the youngest."
"Yeah, right… Okay, can we talk about something else?" Piper's daughter suddenly got a unusual idea. "I feel like going to the park."
"In the middle of the night?"
"Why not? C'mon."
"Okay, okay. You don't have to drag us there."
EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, GOLDEN GATE PARK, NIGHT
The group was sitting around a park bench – Melinda, Jennifer and Kyle sitting, Wyatt standing and Izabelle and Chris sitting on the back.
"Now, don't you agree that we should do this more often?" Melinda asked, happy of how the evening went.
"It was fun – magic free and all." Jennifer said. And then a demon shimmered in front of the bench. Elaya recognized him from the memories of one of her previous hostesses. "I spoke too soon."
"Can I count on you?" Chris turned to Iz.
"'Till Hell freezes over." Elaya used one of Izabelle's favourite responses.
Chris went into hand-to-hand fighting with the demon, using telekinesis every once in a while and Elaya was standing close by. None of the others were showing any signs of panic, but were ready to step in. Chris seemed to have experience with martial arts and was doing just fine, until he was knocked down by the demon. Then Elaya stepped in and seemed to have a more aggressive approach to fighting. In the end she won and the demon ended up knocked out.
"So much for our demon-free night." Jenn concluded.
"Mel, it's getting late and we need to get you home."
Chris was getting up. "What about this guy? Should we vanquish him?"
"I don't think this is random." Wyatt, like his aunt Paige, believed that everything happened for a reason. "Let's orb to the Manor. We have to get the crystals from there."
"Why waste our time with him? Elaya allowed herself to say something uncharacteristic for Izabelle. "Let's vanquish him right now."
"No, we're taking him to the Manor. And that's final." Wyatt, as a firstborn, made the final decision and everyone agreed.
Well, almost everyone. One of Elaya's most annoying reasons to leave a body was to be exposed too early by a petty low-level demon that could recognize her and warn the witches. Sure, she would transport to another body, but it wasn't a painless process nor for her, nor for her hostess. No, she wanted more time to execute her revenge on those who had escaped her when she was in the last body. And Elaya would have so much fun possessing Izabelle – an attractive and extremely powerful hostess.
'For now, I'm safe. No one suspects a thing.' The seductress thought. 'I think I'll start with that Christopher boy. It will be easy.' Then, unbeknownst t o the others, a smile appeared on Izabelle's face.
END OF TEASER
PART ONE
INT. HALLIWELL MANOR, ATTIC, DAY
The whole group orbed in with the still unconscious demon. Wyatt used his Whitelighter powers to make a crystal cage.
"So, what do we do now?" Jenn was still new and didn't know what to expect.
"Well, we wait until he wakes up." Elaya tried to sound bored, but she wanted to get rid of that demon as soon as she could get the chance to. "You guys go downstairs. Kyle and I will call you when ugly over there wakes up." She saw that the older brother was about to say something, probably disagreeing with who he thought was Izabelle. "Don't worry, I'll be okay – my little brother's got my back."
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Wyatt still wasn't convinced.
"What's the worst that could happen? He's in a cage – no way he's getting out." She looked at the blonde. "Go, I'm completely safe."
"Yell if you need us." And everyone left the room, leaving Elaya and the unsuspecting Kyle alone with the demon.
"Well, I might as well lie down for a while. Tell me when the demon wakes up, sis."
"Don't worry, I will." And as Kyle closed his eyes, Elaya walked over to the cage and looked at the demon.
'You are going to be dead soon and all you can do is lie down there, defenseless.' Elaya though, putting a smile on Izabelle's face.
She walked around and waited until Kyle was quietly snoring and took an athame off of a shelf and again came closer to the demon. She removed one crystal, thus destroying the circle and the cage. Next step was to come even closer and stab the demon. He was vanquished so fast, he didn't even get a chance to scream. After that the seductress casually walked next to Kyle, picking up a candlestick on the way, stopped next to Izabelle's brother's head and almost screamed at him.
"Kyle, look out!" The man jumped up and at the same time received a blow to the head with the candlestick.
Then Elaya knocked over a table, in the meantime breaking a few objects, messed up her hair and clothes and screamed with all her throat.
"Christopher! Get up here!" The seductress really made an effort to sound scared.
"What? What happened?" The half-Elder looked very concerned for the well-being of Izabelle.
"The demon… He somehow got out… I must have pushed one of the crystals…" She stopped, supposedly to calm down. "He attacked Kyle. Get him healed, now!" That sounded more than hysterical.
Wyatt was called by his brother and came up immediately. He went in the direction of Elaya's pointing hand gesture and kneeled down to heal Kyle.
"And the demon? Where is he?" The younger Halliwell asked, then turned to his brother. "You better get him downstairs – we need to clean up here."
"Okay, come down when you're done." The blond orbed himself and Kyle somewhere in the Manor, probably in the living room. So now Chris and the seductress were alone, with the latter already plotting he half-Elder's doom.
INT. UNDERWORLD, DEMON MASTER'S CAVE, ETERNAL NIGHT
There are numerous demons in the cave, all the attention focused in a cove of the cave. The self-proclaimed Demon Master was hiding in its shadows.
"Welcome to all – demons, Darklighters and fiends of all parts of the Underworld. You are probably wondering why I gathered you here and who am I to believe that I can make you come. Well, I am the demon that will bring the Halliwell witches their death and destruction. I am the one who will bring demons victory in the war against good. Now I come to you with an irresistible offer." Some of the demons in the crowd looked up. "We all felt the shift in power recently. And we all know what it means – the Dehitre is awakening. That is a danger to us."
"And why should it be?" One demon laughed and was vanquished with a fireball for his insolence.
"Fool! The Dehitre bloodline is the only living link to the old power – the Source, the Triad – they're dead. And if the heir awakens, we will all be forced to bow down before that power! I know I won't." The demon decided to stop and see who would be on his side. Killing the Dehitre was a key point in his plan. No Dehitre bloodline – no hierarchy in the Underworld.
"So, what is that offer of yours?" A voice came from the furthest end of the cave.
"Whoever brings me the head of the Dehitre heir on a platter will become my most trusted ally. And that means to one day be the right hand of the demon that will rule the worlds both of demons and people."
"To kill the Dehitre? Have you completely lost your mind? That will get us vanquished. There is a reason why laws forbid it." The same voice came again.
"Are you blind?!? There is no one to punish us for killing the precious Dehitre. Or do you fear the pacifist, peace-loving Elders? We are free to do whatever we want now, when there is no Triad or Source to stop us." A majority of demons looked like they agreed. "And there is one more thing. A seductress has surfaced. Her name is Elaya. Whoever captures her, will be rewarded richer than a god."
"And how are we supposed to know who she is possessing?"
"Did I say it was going to be easy?" The demon master smiled. "Now go." The demons shimmered away one by one.
INT. HALLIWELL MANOR, ATTIC, DUSK
Elaya and Chris were both sitting on the couch. Chris was trying co calm down the woman next to him and Elaya was trying her very best to make Izabelle look miserable.
"It's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself." Chris said softly.
"Of course it's my fault. If I hadn't pushed the crystal, the demon would probably be in the cage right now."
"Well, nothing went wrong. Everyone is okay."
"If it wasn't for you and Wyatt, Kyle could have died."
"Do you really believe that? There's no way that could've happened. He's one of the good guys."
They both smiled and Chris embraced Elaya. When she pulled out, their faces were inches apart. Then she leaned closer to him and started kissing him. For Chris' surprise, he kissed back. Then, in between kisses, Elaya started saying things.
"You want me."
Chris replied. "I want you."
"You crave me."
"I crave you."
And with each word said, Chris sank deeper into Elaya's seduction.
"Chris, do you mind orbing me home? I wanna go to P3 later."
"Okay." Chris obeyed right away. The effect of Elaya's spell was already getting stronger. He grabbed her arm and orbed them both to Izabelle and Kyle's apartment.
EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, P3 ENTRANCE, NIGHT
Izabelle was waiting on a line to get inside the club. She was wearing a very short dark red dress with a black scarf and silver bracelets on both her wrists and high leather boots, her hair straightened. She entered casually and the doorman even greeted her.
"Hey, Iz."
"Hey." Elaya didn't pay much attention to the rest of the people, even though the men were all turning their heads to get a better look at her. She was searching for someone particular. The half-manticore named Michael, who befriended the Halliwell family long before Izabelle and Kyle and who was now in charge of the music in P3. She spotted him on his usual place, next to a small laptop. He was sipping a drink and almost chocked on it when he saw Izabelle.
"Hey… You look… different."
"You mean like a slut, don't you?" Elaya teased with the half-demon.
"Maybe." He smiled in response.
"Can you do me a favor?"
"What kind?" A suspicious note sounded in Michael's voice.
"Oh, something small." Elaya kneeled down next to him and whispered something inaudible in his ear – it made him smile, though.
"Fine, but Wyatt's not gonna like it."
"So, what can he do? Hex us?" The seductress laughed.
"Don't say that, he might hear you." Michael frowned, but still did what Izabelle asked him to. The latter smiled and went to the dance floor.
INT. SAN FRANCISCO, P3, CORNER TABLE, NIGHT
Wyatt and Chris were sitting at the same table their mother and aunts used to sit so often in their demon-fighting days. They could see the whole dance floor from there and Wyatt was taking advantage of it. The club manager scowled at the music Michael had chosen. It was a very slow and quiet song that didn't really fit the club. But the he saw something that literary made his jaw drop. Izabelle, in a shamelessly short red dress, was dirty dancing with someone, who was obviously a complete stranger to her, and was making all efforts to look like a slut. And it was paying off, because all men were staring at her.
"Chris, look at Izabelle. What's she doing? I think something's wrong with her."
"I think she looks normal. Even more beautiful than before."
'There is something very wrong in this picture.' The twice-blessed thought. And he didn't know how much he was right. 'I gotta fix this.'
END OF PART ONE
PART TWO
INT. UNDERWORLD, ORACLE'S CAVE, ETERNAL NIGHT
The demon was again standing in the shadows and was observing the Oracle as she was looking into her crystal ball.
"Well, what do you see?" The master was anxious to find out who the Dehitre was, in order to kill her sooner.
"I see one very inpatient demon who, if not careful, will loose his life while searching for the Dehitre." The Oracle replied with a slight smile.
"Don't toy with me, Oracle!" The demon master snapped. "I want to know who she is, and I want to know now."
"There is a cloak, probably many years of age, made by a great power. It won't be that easy to see through it."
"Well, if you treasure your existence, you better see through it. I will be back soon." And with that, he flamed out.
"Oh, I know you will be. I saw it."
EXT. SAN FRANCISCO, SOME ALLEY, NIGHT
Elaya was walking in a deserted street somewhere in the city, obviously challenging fate. She knew demos would attack her sooner or later, but there was a full moon and they didn't stand a chance against her. The seductress was leading her hostesses' body to a flat. It belonged to the man that killed the last witch Elaya had possessed. That stupid mortal had caused her pain by doing so, and she was going to tear him apart.
Tom had been standing on his window, observing the quiet city. San Francisco was dark, silver light coming from the beautiful moon. He was still trying to cope with his loss – he had to kill the woman he loved, and why? Because she had been possessed by a seductress – the most terrible of demons. Tom looked down to the street and saw something that made his blood run cold. At no more than fifteen feet from his apartment building, leaning against a tree, was a woman. Her gaze was fixed on him and Tom noticed she was wearing a dress, similar to the one Samantha wore hours before she died. And then he knew. That was Elaya's next victim. But if it was up to him, her last.
Tom turned around and hurried to his bedroom, where he kept the potion vials. But once he opened the door, there she was – looking at his with a sly smile on her face.
"How… How did you?" He couldn't even finish his sentence, he was so surprised.
"You mean how did I do… this?" With her last word, Elaya was standing behind him, holding an athame to his throat. He knew he didn't stand a chance, so he hoped he would die fast and painless.
Elaya pushed him hard and he fell on the floor. The seductress formed a fireball in her hand and threw it against the defenseless witch. She watched the fire spread around her victim's body, without hurting him. His eyes widened in shock as he understood the seductress' intentions. The fire grew until everything in the apartment, except Elaya and Tom, was ablaze. And then the flames swallowed him too. In his last moments, Tom screamed wildly and probably woke up some of the neighbors. But she didn't care whether they would find the body or not – she had done what she came for. With one last look at the fire, she disappeared.
INT. THE BOY'S APARTMENT, KITCHEN, MORNING
Chris and Wyatt were sitting around a table, both staring at the TV. It was tuned to a channel airing morning news. A female reporter was standing in front of an apartment building with what was supposed to be a sad expression on her face.
"The San Francisco Fire Department was called to this scene around 2 a.m. last night, only to discover that Tomas Harding's second storey apartment completely swallowed by flames. The emergency call was made by a neighbor, who had heard screams from the flat. We remind you of Samantha Bowden, Harding's girlfriend – another tragic even that took place just two days ago. She was found dead and the police are still trying to find out what caused her death. Murder is suspected, as the body was found in an alley near the '24' coffee shop and witnesses saw a woman leaving the alley around the estimated time of death. If anyone has information that could help solve the two cases, please call the San Francisco Police Department." After that, Wyatt turned his attention from the TV to his brother and suddenly got a brainstorm.
"Hey, didn't Kyle buy us coffee from that '24' place?" His little brother had spaced off to somewhere, so the older raised his voice. "Chris!"
"Huh? What?" The brown-haired witch returned to reality. His brother repeated the question. "I don't remember where he got it from." He though a little, then said. "Have you seen Iz lately?" Chris couldn't explain it, but since they had kissed, he thought about her more that usual. His brother got the wrong idea.
"You're right. Maybe she saw something." He looked at Chris's seat. "Hey, are you okay? You haven't touched your food."
"Oh, I'm fine. I was just… thinking." The younger replied and went back to his thoughts.
Wyatt shrugged and headed for Izabelle and Kyle's apartment and muttered something about paying attention, innocents, etc.
INT. APARTMENT BUILDING, HALL, MORNING
Wyatt knocked on the front door of Iz's apartment and patiently waited to get a response. The door opened slightly and showed Izabelle's head, wrapped in a towel.
"Hey, Wy." She smiled to him.
"Hey. This a bad time?"
"Oh, no, come in." She opened the door and Wyatt could see she was only wrapped in a towel that covered her chest and legs to above the knees. Wyatt felt he blushed slightly and looked away from her. "So, what do you want to talk about? I mean, you are here to talk, right?"
"Yeah, exactly. Do you remember the night when we went to the cinema?"
"Yes, I do." Elaya thought that he knew and prepared herself for the possibility of a fight. "What about it?"
"The café you and Kyle went to – '24'. A woman was found dead in the alley next to the shop." Wyatt carefully watched the reaction and it was very strange – indifference. He knew Izabelle and thought that was very uncharacteristic of her.
"I told you that night, I'm telling you now – I didn't see a thing. It must have been after we went there." The blond saw that she was getting pissed off and didn't understand why. "Now do you mind – I have things to do." She pointed to the door and walked towards her bedroom.
'Okay, something is definitely wrong here.' The twice-blessed thought while walking to his apartment.
He opened the door and walked straight to the kitchen, intending to ask his younger brother if he had seen a change in Izabelle lately. But when he got to the room, it was empty.
"Chris?" He called out. No response. Then he got worried and sensed for his brother. The twice-blessed orbed off to the attic of the Manor.
INT. HALLIWELL MANOR, ATTIC, MORNING
Indeed, on the couch was sitting the half-Elder in question. He was staring into the nothingness, obviously thinking about something.
"Chris, why are you here? You scared me when you disappeared." Wyatt was beginning to worry about the behavior of both his little brother and his best friend – Izabelle.
"I don't really know… I was just sitting in the kitchen when I orbed here." Chris seemed to have no idea of what had happened.
"What were you thinking about?" Piper's eldest knew more than well that orbing was triggered by thought of some person or some place.
"Well…" The brown-haired looked a bit embarrassed. "…I was thinking of Izabelle."
"Wasn't she on your mind earlier too?"
"Yeah, that's been going on a lot lately."
"Wyatt smiled. "Oh, and why's that?"
"Remember the night she vanquished the demon? We kinda… kissed then." He didn't have to say a word more, because his older brother read it in his mind. "And since then I've been thinking about it all the time – I even forgot to eat a couple of times. Or sleep, for that matter."
"Something is definitely wrong." He turned his head towards the ceiling. "Hello, we need some help." Nothing happened. "Hey, Chris might be in trouble here." The pages of the Book of Shadows started turning. "Thank you."
Wyatt walked over to the Book. It was still standing in the same spot it was when the Halliwell sisters had became the Charmed Ones almost thirty years ago. The writing on the page brought a grim expression to the Twice-blessed's face. He started muttering the words to himself, careful to not let his brother understand what he was saying. The title was 'Seductress' and there was a drawing of a beautiful woman to the left of the text.
The text itself was: "Very powerful demigods that were created by upper-level demons with the help of the Source in the time of the titans. Their only purpose is to seduce men and to wreak havoc on Earth. After the Greek gods defeated the titans, Aphrodite tried to send the seductresses to the demon Wasteland, but could only destroy their bodies. They became incorporeal demigods and started possessing female witches to keep on existing. They can not be destroyed or completely vanquished with a potion. The only way to make the seductress leave a body is to kill her hostess. Only one kiss is enough to seduce a man and after that he can only think of the possessed witch. He forgets every other thing – even sleep and food, and eventually dies. There is no known antidote to reverse those effects…"
Wyatt had had enough. He knew that if he wanted to save both Chris and Izabelle, he needed to think of a summoning spell and a way to get that demon out of his friend.
END OF PART TWO
PART THREE
"Chris, won't you at least look at me?" Wyatt was setting up crystals for the summoning spell and in the meantime worrying almost to death. His younger brother was quiet and indifferent to his surroundings.
The blond finished the circle and there was a brief glow from the crystals.
"Well, here goes nothing." The twice-blessed said with a sigh. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand and started chanting.
Izabelle's presence I crave,
Bring her here so I may save
My friend and my brother
From doom by one another.
Bring the demon to this crystal cage,
A seductress with no name and age.
The spell seemed to work and Izabelle appeared, surrounded by Halliwell magic. She looked very pissed at Wyatt and tried to simply walk out of the circle. But it didn't work, as she found out when she was thrown back. Her next move was, to the blond's surprise, throwing a fireball. Again, zero success.
"When I get out of here, I am going to kill you." Izabelle's newly acquired British accent sounded strange.
"You're not getting out of here soon." Wyatt finally looked up. "So, a seductress? Haven't really heard much about your kind. Do you have a name?"
"Oh, you mean that stupid human habit to limit their descendants? Yes, I have one. At least I had one, when I had a body of my own."
"What do you mean by limit?" The twice-blessed wondered.
"You really are a newbie in this, aren't you? One name limits your freedom, your energy and your power. But it depends on the name. Some actually come from demonic languages and can make you stronger." Elaya made Izabelle grin. "My, my. Looks like I gave you a free history lesson. I am sure that you are interested in hearing the rest. If you want to, you can come over here and maybe we'll work something about that. But do you want to hear my name, honey?" The familiar sly smile appeared on her face.
"Don't you dare call me that." Wyatt said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, sensitive, aren't we?" Elaya sat down, of course within the cage, and in the meantime her brain was working on a way to get out of the situation. Izabelle was a powerful witch and the seductress wasn't going to ignore that. "Even though you were ill-mannered, I'm still going to tell you my name – after all, mortals can't accept anyone without a name, as sad as that is. But you have to know it, so you can remember it when I kill you."
"I would love to see you try." It was Wyatt's turn to smile.
"Here's some advice for your twice-blessed highness. Never underestimate a demigod. You're forgiven… This time." She paused a little. "The name's Elaya." She held out her hand, to shake it with Wyatt. The blond witch didn't move a bit, so Elaya shrugged. "Oh, well. Next time."
"Well, Elaya, you can shut up now." He put emphasis on her name. "I need to find a way to vanquish you."
"And you're cocky too." Then she snapped. "Do you know how many have tried and failed? I've been around for so much longer than you and I've seen so much more than you. What makes you think you can be different? That you can destroy me? I've outlived the very gods that tried to banish me. I've outlasted the Source, the demons that created me…"
"Will you please shut up? Or I'm gonna kill you right now."
"But you won't. You can't. She is too important for you. I know what's in your head, Wyatt. She's the older sister you always wanted. The one who will protect you. The one who will take the blame if needed. The one that will…"
"Shut up!" Wyatt practically screamed. He wanted to make her stop, because she was telling the truth. He didn't want to be the oldest, the twice-blessed, the responsible one. He wanted to be more like his brother – free, having fun, being fun. To blow off some steam, he threw a small energy ball at the crystal cage. Of course, it crashed and did no harm, but it was a release.
"Oh, enough about me and enough about, surprisingly, you." She turned to the still standing on the couch half-elder. "Chris, sweetie, will you take care of this cage for me?"
The brown-haired witch snapped out of his catatonia, got up, walked over to Elaya and started to reach for one of the crystals. Then he suddenly stopped moving – his older brother had used his power to freeze witches. Wyatt made a little hand gesture and the still frozen Christopher slid over to the couch. After that the twice-blessed turned to Elaya.
"You bitch!" He was furious. How could she use his little brother like that? She wanted to get out of the cage and she almost did. Now the energy ball thrown at Elaya was significantly bigger. Wyatt looked towards the seductress with such hate, it made her fear him. He turned to the Book – his only hope.
He then heard his cell phone ringing – a text message. Half-mindedly, he pulled it out of his pocket and read. It was from Michael and said 'Jenn's waiting. Where r u?' Wyatt quickly typed the response. 'Demon. Don't tell her. Get here. Now.' Five minutes later, Michael shimmered in.
"What took you so long?" Wyatt jumped right to the point.
"Yeah, hi to you too. I went through the apartments. So, what kind of demon are we talking about?" His gaze fell on Izabelle. "Why's she in a cage? What'd she do? Make a bad cocktail?" The half-manticore grinned.
"She is the demon, Mike. She's possessed." Wyatt pointed to the book and his friend went over to see the entry in it. He whistled.
"I've heard of them. Really nasty demon; hard to contain, too."
"You mean there's way to contain them?" Wyatt hoped there was – he couldn't let Elaya kill any more witches. "Can you ask around down there?"
"Oh, sure. No problem." And with that he shimmered off to the Underworld, leaving the Halliwell brothers and the possessed Izabelle in the attic.
"Okay, time to get out of here." Elaya got up and, before Wyatt could do anything, started to chant.
Powers of good, to me yield,
Let me penetrate this shield.
Help me break this crystal cage
And let out upon thee my rage
After the last word of the spell, the seductress simply stepped out of the circle. Wyatt's jaw literally dropped, but before he could do anything, a Darklighter orbed in.
Madoc looked around – he had no idea where he was. The one thing he knew for sure was that Elaya's new hostess was somewhere near him.
"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Said a dark-haired woman with a British accent. "So we meet again, my dear Madoc."
"Elaya? Is that you?" Memories rushed in his mind.
"Yes, it's me. It been a long time, hasn't it?" She smiled. "How do you like the new me?" She ran her hands down her waist and hips.
"You're even more beautiful." He materialized a cross-bow. "But I have my orders. He shot an arrow at Elaya, but it went up in flames long before it reached her.
"Oh, come on. That was so predictable. Wanna have another go before you die?"
"You've always been so confident of yourself and your powers. It will lead to your doom."
"Maybe, someday it will. But not today." She sent a fireball at him, but he orbed off and reappeared behind her. Madoc shot another arrow at Elaya.
The arrow caught her off guard and hit her in the stomach. Madoc then was engulfed by flames, as Elaya's fireball hit him. The seductress couldn't stand on her feet anymore, so she fell on the floor.
"Looks like you'll get rid of me, after all, honey."
"No, you're not killing Izabelle. I'm not going to let you."
"You'll have a hard time pulling that arrow out of me – half-Whitelighter and all."
"If you let Izabelle die, I swear I'm gonna..."
Even though he hostess was bleeding and very close to dying, Elaya still could master up a very threatening tone. "You're going to what? I'm a demigod, I can't be killed."
Wyatt was already panicking and called for the first non-Whitelighter relative that came to his mind. It was his youngest cousin, Hope. And as soon as she could, Phoebe's daughter hearted in.
"What is it, Wy? What happened?"
"Look around, what do you think?"
Hope did what she was asked – Chris was standing on the couch, doing absolutely nothing; Izabelle was laying on the ground, wounded with a Darklighter arrow. Wyatt just looked miserable. The half-cupid opened her mouth, to ask what had been going on, but her oldest cousin just pointed to the Book of Shadows with a tortured expression.
"Oh, and can you pull out that arrow? You know I can't." He then added. "And put her in the crystal cage."
"What did she do?" Hope removed the arrow, carefully placed it on a chair, and reformed the circle of crystals around the still unconscious Izabelle. After that, she walked over to the Book. When she started reading, she just said "Oh."
"And I have no idea how to fix Chris' condition. He's gonna die if I don't do anything."
"Wyatt, cheer up. I have good news. I can help him."
"How?"
"My powers, silly – pheromone manipulation. I can make him stop feeling for her."
"You don't know how much I love you, cousin." Wyatt finally smiled a little.
Hope walked over to Chris and ran her right hand across his cheek. A light-violet glow appeared for a short while. Piper's youngest son immediately snapped out of his catatonia.
"Wyatt? Hope? What happened? How'd I get here?"
"Oh, Chris, you don't remember, do you? We'll tell you later." Wyatt said with a warm smile, thankfull that his brother was going to be okay.
"Hey, guys, I have good news." Everyone turned to Michael, who had just shimmered in. He was holding a wooden box and a piece of paper. "I found a way to contain the seductress."
"Um, if anyone hasn't noticed, Izabelle is bleeding over there." Chris pointed uot, not knowing she was the demon in this situation.
"Yeah, I'll take care of that." The twice-blessed kneeled down next to her and the golden glow started emitting from his hands. But it didn't quite work – the wound didn't heal. "It must be because she's possessed. Chris, come over here. I need some help with this."
So the two brothers healed together, the younger through the help of the older, and the wound disappeared, as if it had never been. The walked out of the circle, before Elaya could wake up, and headed towards Michael.
"Now, Mike, tell us." Hope looked at the half-manticore expectantly.
"Well, I found an old demonic ritual. We just have to spill some of our blood and chant in Latin." He stopped. "But there's a catch."
END OF PART THREE
PART FOUR
INT. HALLIWELL MANOR, ATTIC, DAY
"There's always a catch. What is it?" Wyatt asked, worried for the possible answer.
"The seductress has to be out of her hostess' body at the time we do the ritual."
Wyatt buried his head in his hands.
'I might have to kill her, after all.' He thought. 'This is so tiring.'
"Well, you better think of something soon. I can't stand being in one place too long." Elaya obviously was awake.
"Do you ever shut up?"
"Well, if you ask me really nice, maybe I will."
"I've had enough." Wyatt waved his hand and Izabelle fell down, unconscious.
"Nice one, Wy." Michael smiled. "Now all we gotta do is push… whatshername out of Izabelle's body."
Hope then had a brainstorm. "That's it!" She looked up. "Henry!!!"
The part-Whitelighter in question appeared in a swirl of blue and white orbs.
"What is it? You sound like…" He stopped, because he saw what had happened in the attic. "Wow."
"Well, I wouldn't put it exactly that way, but, yeah, "wow" pretty much sums it up." Hope pointed at Izabelle. "She's possessed. Can you fix it?"
"Yeah, I… I think so." Henry Paused. "But she's gotta be awake."
"That's the least of our worries, believe me." Wyatt turned to Michael. "So, how does this work and who'd you kill for it?"
"Very funny, Wy. One demon, just one. And we need blood from three witches, which will seal the box. But the ones who give the blood give energy – lots of it."
"So, we need two others." Chris announced.
"You're not doing it, Chris. You're already exhausted – that ritual could drain you." Wyatt said with a final tone.
"Look around, Wy – the only witches here are you, me, Hope, Henry and Iz. The last two obviously can't do it, so it's up to us and our little Ladybug." For the last word, Chris got a pinch from Hope.
"You know I don't like being called that." She turned to Wyatt. "You can't protect everyone. Not this time. This time you need us."
"She's right – it's too heavy magic for one person." Michael put down the box. "Even if he is twice-blessed."
"I just don't want you guys hurt."
"Do you even hear yourself, Wyatt? We fight demons now. No way we're gonna get out without a scratch." Chris looked towards Izabelle. "Come on, we have a friend to save."
"Fine, you win… This time." Wyatt teased with his little brother. "You're as stubborn as mom, maybe even more."
"I know, that's why I'm the younger."
"People, if we're gonna do this, now's would be the perfect time. Izabelle's waking up." Michael handed three pieces of paper – to Wyatt, Chris and Hope. "Henry, your turn." Chris looked at his piece of paper – shouldn't be too hard."
Henry walked over to the crystal circle and started concentrating. Soon his head dropped on his shoulders and astral-Henry appeared.
"Take your places – I won't be able to hold her off for long."
"You heard him." Hope said. "Let's get this show on the road."
Hope cut her index finger with an athame and let some blood drip on the box. Wyatt and Chris followed her example. Astral-Henry then stepped within the crystal circle and simply merged with Izabelle. The latter screamed, but a little pinkish glow rose from her body. It tried to get out, but the cage stopped it. The Halliwells started chanting.
Mulier con osculum qui neca masculos,
Captamos in vasa praeclusa con nostrum saguem
Mane in vasa in aeternum et noce numquam ruso neminem!
The glow, which was actually the incorporeal form of Elaya, was pulled in the box and the top glowed with a bright red energy that was pulled from Wyatt, Chris and Hope. When the glow disappeared, the three of them collapsed on the floor. Henry returned to reality and looked around.
"Well, it worked. You guys okay?"
"Not really, but we will be. After a gazillion hours of sleep." Hope grinned.
"You need to take her home." Wyatt nodded towards Izabelle.
"Okay." And with that, Paige's eldest orbed Izabelle to her apartment.
"Michael, you need to put that box somewhere safe. Maybe in the Underworld in some abandoned cave. Make sure no one will find it." Wyatt turned to the half-Manticore.
"Don't worry about it."
INT. IZABELLE/KYLE'S APARTMENT, IZABELLE'S BEDROOM, DAY
Even though it was almost eleven, Izabelle was still in bed. Two days had gone by since she woke up in the attic of the manor. And for that time nor Wyatt, nor Chris had spoken to her. But she hadn't the slightest idea why – Henry told her she had been possessed, but all memories of that were blurry and like in a dream. She tried to ask, but people either didn't know or didn't want to tell her anything. Izabelle really didn't care about the rest – she just wanted her friends back. And she was going to get them back, no matter what.
Izabelle got out of bed and quickly dressed. She knew Wyatt would be home, because it was Sunday, so she marched over to his apartment.
INT. APARTMENT BUILDING, WYATT/CHRIS' APARTMENT, THRESHOLD, DAY
Wyatt was tidying up the living room, when the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door and opened. There stood Izabelle with a guilty expression on her face.
"Can I come in?" She asked.
"No." Was the short reply. Which Izabelle, of course, ignored and entered the apartment.
INT. WYATT/CHRIS' APARTMENT, LIVING ROOM, DAY
"Why haven't you spoken to me, Wyatt? What did I do that was so bad?" Wyatt just stood there, watching her quietly. "Will you please tell me? I don't remember the things I should be regretting! I have no idea what happened and no one wants to tell me."
Wyatt had no intention to forgive what Izabelle did, even though she was possessed. He continued to tidy the room, ignoring what she had just said.
"Wyatt, will you please talk to me? Won't you say even one word to me?"
He finally opened his mouth. "What am I supposed to say to you? 'Oh, you were possessed, so I forgive you for trying to kill my brother.' Would you be happy if I did say it?"
"Wyatt, I… I don't know what to say…"
"Well, 'sorry' is a start."
"I know you – 'sorry' wouldn't cover it."
"You're damn right it won't. That's why you should leave, before things between us get even worse."
"But I came here to apologize…"
"And you came in vein. This time I'm not forgiving you."
"Wy…"
"Get out." Wyatt orbed Izabelle to her own apartment, leaving her devastated. And determined to fix things.
INT. UNDERWORLD, CAVE, ETERNAL NIGHT
This was the cave Michael had put the box in. The Demon master had used some of the tracer demons to find it's exact location and now he was in the cave. The seductress would be an excellent ally. He didn't mind her killing a few innocents in the way.
'Oh, there you are.' He thought. 'I've been looking all over for you.'
He walked over to the box and carefully looked around for spells. But those stupid witches had left the box unprotected, counting on the remoteness of this cave. So much the better for him. He picked up the box and shimmered off the his own cave.
INT. HALLIWELL MANOR, ATTIC, NOON
Unbeknownst to his brother, Chris had orbed off to the Manor. He wanted to see what the book said about seductresses.
"Very powerful demigods… created by upper-level demons… the Source… only purpose is to seduce men… wreak havoc on Earth… Aphrodite… send the seductresses to the demon Wasteland… destroy their bodies… They became incorporeal… started possessing female witches to keep on existing… can not be destroyed… only way… to kill her hostess… one kiss is enough… can only think of the possessed witch… forgets every other thing… sleep and food… eventually dies… no known antidote to reverse those effects…" He mumbled to himself. "They only have the powers of their hostesses…" Chris' jaw dropped. So Izabelle had all those powers? He needed to tell his brother. But then he glowed for a moment and forgot all he was intending to do. He wondered what he was doing in the attic and orbed home.
INT. IZABELLE/KYLE'S APARTMENT, IZABELLE'S BEDROOM, NOON
The reason Chris suddenly forgot, was that Izabelle had laid out some herbs and wrote a few words on a piece of paper. Not just any words, but a spell. A spell to make people forget. She lit the paper with a lighter and started chanting.
Passions by the seductress inflamed,
For those I wish no longer to be blamed.
Chris and Wyatt
To me are quiet
Make them forget
What I should regret.
And now I want to recall
That, which took me to this fall.
And the spell worked. Izabelle remembered and the boys forgot. But when she remembered the things she did she wished she hadn't.
Author's notes: Michael is the half-manticore the sisters saved in 'Little monsters'; the spell in Latin roughly translates to:Woman with a kiss that kills men, We trap you in this box mixed with our blood, Stay in there forever and never harm anyone again. (I am eternally grateful to Jordan-Daniel, who made it for me )
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