Another "Cousin"
Part 4
Disclaimer: Any of the characters which do appear or have appeared in Charmed are not mine. Any other characters which do not appear in Charmed, the concept of Firebrights, and the storyline are mine. Leonora and Cassandra were co-created with theladyofLorraine. (her fic will be up here someday)
Sorry this took so long. My muse has left me. I'll try to survive without her, but if the story sucks, it's her fault.
Phoebe was in the living room, sleeping, when the phone rang. By the time she woke up, got Kit off her chest, and got to the phone, the answering machine had taken over. "Hi Phoebe. It's Clarence from English. Just checking in. Bye."
Clarence?
Clarence from English?
Who was this mysterious Clarence?
Oh, Phoebe realized. The guy from the parking lot the day Melinda showed up. It just so happened that she lend a pen when his ran out. So why was this Clarence phoning her?
Maybe he's just infatuated and has no idea why he's calling, she considered.
Wait a minute.
I never gave this Clarence person my phone number.
Definitely infatuated and witless.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Machria cursed the mortal. He was scared, and greedy. Punishment should be given. It was a day already and Machria was no closer to the Charmed Ones or the Firebright. The longer that Machria waited, the more chance that the Firebright would leave.
He muttered a spell, and reached for a poppet. That couldn't happen. The mortal had to be taught a lesson.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Melinda had been out running when Clarence called. Phoebe hadn't wanted her to leave, but, as Melinda pointed out, she had almost grown up in the area. It was a nice change to see the strip mall that to her had always been there had once been a park.
She walked through the trees, taking a rest, when she was jumped. A large form lunged out from behind a tree and attatched itself to her shoulders. Melinda crouched down, letting the person's momentum carry them over her head to slam into the dirt. In a flash she was sitting on his stomach with his arms pinned behind his back.
The person turned his head to look at her. Before she could properly look at him, his face mutated into a gruesome mask.
Man, she thought, can't I even go jogging without getting jumped by warlocks at every street corner? "You just attacked the wrong girl." She said.
She had just begun muttering a vanquishing spell when a voice behind her said, "Is there a problem?"
She looked around and turned bright pink. "Oh, hello, Inspector Morris."
He frowned. "Have we met?"
Oops, she realized. Wrong decade. "Uh... I don't think you know who I am. I'm a...cousin... of the Halliwell's."
"Another one, huh. They must come from a large family. Who's this that you're sitting on?"
This one was pretty easy at least. "I have no idea. I was out running and he jumped me out of the wild blue yonder."
He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, really. Well, we can take him down to the station."
Melinda stood up, still grabbing the guy's wrists. "Here you go."
The guy flinched. "Machria," he muttered.
And blinked himself out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Well, this matches up with the information we have." Leo said, flipping through the Book of Shadows. The council said the demon was after Melinda. I'm guessing the warlock who jumped you was a servant of his, or you'd be dead right now."
Melinda sighed. "Here I was, hoping for a nice little holiday, and I get attacked by a servant of a class 3 demon, and get caught at it as well. I am not happy."
Piper looked worried. "Caught? by who?"
"Morris. Didn't I tell you?"
Piper groaned. "Don't tell me that twenty years from now we're still going to be dealing with Morris so much that my children will know him by sight. Couldn't he just move or something?"
"First, let's get to the important part. How do we vanquish this aforesaid class 3 demon?"
(My muse just called. She's in holiday in Mexico, lapping up sun and tequila, and is sure I can finish without her. So here we go...)
"Machria is a demon of shadow, darkness, and illusion," Leo read. "He lives and works only in mirrors. A witch improsoned him in a mirror a long time ago. He uses warlocks to bring powerful innocents, usually witches, to him."
"Yeah, and someone like Melinda sounds right up his alley." Piper said. "And she-" She looked around for Melinda.
"Is gone." Phoebe finished, pointing at the open door. None of the adults had even heard her leave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Piper found Melinda in the backyard. Melinda was going through something that looked like palm pilot. "Hey."
Melinda looked up. "Hey."
"Honey, what's wrong?" Piper decided to be direct.
Melinda sighed. "Everything was going so well. It was like... normal. Like most families are. Like the girls at school. They're so carefree. They worry about boys and makeup and nail polish." She sighed again. "And I go from day to day, always watching my back, no rest, because the moment I let my guard down they're gonna kill me. And if I don't die, if, then I'll be a full-fledged Firebright. That's the only thing that keeps me going. But then, I was so low on energy, I just fell ill. And nearly died, not from anything supernatural, but from exaustion. And I'm starting to get sick of it."
Piper hugged her. "I know exactly how you feel. As if life would just be so much simpler. But I kept butting my head up against that brick wall. And I learned. You can't fight who you are. It took me so long to learn that."
Melinda stared in astonishment. "You? Invincible, infalliable you? That doesn't seem... possible."
"But it is. I didn't ask to be a witch, any more than Leo asked to be a Whitelighter. Someday, you just have to think... Is my life, and being carefree, and safe, worth more than the good I do, or the people I save? Just ask yourself that. I hope what took me years to learn, and hurt so much to learn, will help you."
"Okay." Melinda digested this. Suddenly she changed the topic. "See this?" She held out the electronic thing she had before. "It's an electronic photo album. I was looking at it." She pressed a button. The first picture was taken with San Francisco Bay in the background. Piper stared. It was a group shot. She could see herself, Leo, Prue and Phoebe, and Melinda at one end of a horde of at least eight children, as well as two men Piper didn't recognize. The caption read: The whole fam-dam-ily.
Melinda grinned at the horror on Piper's face. "I'm not saying how many are yours, and how many are cousins." she said teasingly. She pressed a button.
The next had a little girl in the foreground holding an ice cream cone. The ice cream scoop was at her feet and she looked about to cry. Behind her was an older girl with an evil grin on her face. This caption read: Leonora discovers the more entertaining aspect of power. Note: this is right before Cassandra hurls the ice cream into Leonora's face.
Piper groaned. "Leonora? Please say that none of us were ever so cruel to our children to name a daughter after the father."
Melinda said nothing for a minute. Then she looked at Piper. "What are we doing? We have a demon to vanquish."
And that's the end of that chapter.
Halfway through the last subchapter my Muse came crawling back. For those who don't know, a Muse is a greek goddess of... in this case, literature, if you could call it that. She's the one that supplies your inspiration.
Almost the same as before: No reviews, no more, and the next is the conclusion, and here's the kicker: IT'S HALFWAY FINISHED. (evil grin) so just scroll down a little more, write a review, and you get to see if Melinda gets killed or not and what happens overall. I'm having fun. (evil laugh)
Part 4
Disclaimer: Any of the characters which do appear or have appeared in Charmed are not mine. Any other characters which do not appear in Charmed, the concept of Firebrights, and the storyline are mine. Leonora and Cassandra were co-created with theladyofLorraine. (her fic will be up here someday)
Sorry this took so long. My muse has left me. I'll try to survive without her, but if the story sucks, it's her fault.
Phoebe was in the living room, sleeping, when the phone rang. By the time she woke up, got Kit off her chest, and got to the phone, the answering machine had taken over. "Hi Phoebe. It's Clarence from English. Just checking in. Bye."
Clarence?
Clarence from English?
Who was this mysterious Clarence?
Oh, Phoebe realized. The guy from the parking lot the day Melinda showed up. It just so happened that she lend a pen when his ran out. So why was this Clarence phoning her?
Maybe he's just infatuated and has no idea why he's calling, she considered.
Wait a minute.
I never gave this Clarence person my phone number.
Definitely infatuated and witless.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Machria cursed the mortal. He was scared, and greedy. Punishment should be given. It was a day already and Machria was no closer to the Charmed Ones or the Firebright. The longer that Machria waited, the more chance that the Firebright would leave.
He muttered a spell, and reached for a poppet. That couldn't happen. The mortal had to be taught a lesson.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Melinda had been out running when Clarence called. Phoebe hadn't wanted her to leave, but, as Melinda pointed out, she had almost grown up in the area. It was a nice change to see the strip mall that to her had always been there had once been a park.
She walked through the trees, taking a rest, when she was jumped. A large form lunged out from behind a tree and attatched itself to her shoulders. Melinda crouched down, letting the person's momentum carry them over her head to slam into the dirt. In a flash she was sitting on his stomach with his arms pinned behind his back.
The person turned his head to look at her. Before she could properly look at him, his face mutated into a gruesome mask.
Man, she thought, can't I even go jogging without getting jumped by warlocks at every street corner? "You just attacked the wrong girl." She said.
She had just begun muttering a vanquishing spell when a voice behind her said, "Is there a problem?"
She looked around and turned bright pink. "Oh, hello, Inspector Morris."
He frowned. "Have we met?"
Oops, she realized. Wrong decade. "Uh... I don't think you know who I am. I'm a...cousin... of the Halliwell's."
"Another one, huh. They must come from a large family. Who's this that you're sitting on?"
This one was pretty easy at least. "I have no idea. I was out running and he jumped me out of the wild blue yonder."
He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, really. Well, we can take him down to the station."
Melinda stood up, still grabbing the guy's wrists. "Here you go."
The guy flinched. "Machria," he muttered.
And blinked himself out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Well, this matches up with the information we have." Leo said, flipping through the Book of Shadows. The council said the demon was after Melinda. I'm guessing the warlock who jumped you was a servant of his, or you'd be dead right now."
Melinda sighed. "Here I was, hoping for a nice little holiday, and I get attacked by a servant of a class 3 demon, and get caught at it as well. I am not happy."
Piper looked worried. "Caught? by who?"
"Morris. Didn't I tell you?"
Piper groaned. "Don't tell me that twenty years from now we're still going to be dealing with Morris so much that my children will know him by sight. Couldn't he just move or something?"
"First, let's get to the important part. How do we vanquish this aforesaid class 3 demon?"
(My muse just called. She's in holiday in Mexico, lapping up sun and tequila, and is sure I can finish without her. So here we go...)
"Machria is a demon of shadow, darkness, and illusion," Leo read. "He lives and works only in mirrors. A witch improsoned him in a mirror a long time ago. He uses warlocks to bring powerful innocents, usually witches, to him."
"Yeah, and someone like Melinda sounds right up his alley." Piper said. "And she-" She looked around for Melinda.
"Is gone." Phoebe finished, pointing at the open door. None of the adults had even heard her leave.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Piper found Melinda in the backyard. Melinda was going through something that looked like palm pilot. "Hey."
Melinda looked up. "Hey."
"Honey, what's wrong?" Piper decided to be direct.
Melinda sighed. "Everything was going so well. It was like... normal. Like most families are. Like the girls at school. They're so carefree. They worry about boys and makeup and nail polish." She sighed again. "And I go from day to day, always watching my back, no rest, because the moment I let my guard down they're gonna kill me. And if I don't die, if, then I'll be a full-fledged Firebright. That's the only thing that keeps me going. But then, I was so low on energy, I just fell ill. And nearly died, not from anything supernatural, but from exaustion. And I'm starting to get sick of it."
Piper hugged her. "I know exactly how you feel. As if life would just be so much simpler. But I kept butting my head up against that brick wall. And I learned. You can't fight who you are. It took me so long to learn that."
Melinda stared in astonishment. "You? Invincible, infalliable you? That doesn't seem... possible."
"But it is. I didn't ask to be a witch, any more than Leo asked to be a Whitelighter. Someday, you just have to think... Is my life, and being carefree, and safe, worth more than the good I do, or the people I save? Just ask yourself that. I hope what took me years to learn, and hurt so much to learn, will help you."
"Okay." Melinda digested this. Suddenly she changed the topic. "See this?" She held out the electronic thing she had before. "It's an electronic photo album. I was looking at it." She pressed a button. The first picture was taken with San Francisco Bay in the background. Piper stared. It was a group shot. She could see herself, Leo, Prue and Phoebe, and Melinda at one end of a horde of at least eight children, as well as two men Piper didn't recognize. The caption read: The whole fam-dam-ily.
Melinda grinned at the horror on Piper's face. "I'm not saying how many are yours, and how many are cousins." she said teasingly. She pressed a button.
The next had a little girl in the foreground holding an ice cream cone. The ice cream scoop was at her feet and she looked about to cry. Behind her was an older girl with an evil grin on her face. This caption read: Leonora discovers the more entertaining aspect of power. Note: this is right before Cassandra hurls the ice cream into Leonora's face.
Piper groaned. "Leonora? Please say that none of us were ever so cruel to our children to name a daughter after the father."
Melinda said nothing for a minute. Then she looked at Piper. "What are we doing? We have a demon to vanquish."
And that's the end of that chapter.
Halfway through the last subchapter my Muse came crawling back. For those who don't know, a Muse is a greek goddess of... in this case, literature, if you could call it that. She's the one that supplies your inspiration.
Almost the same as before: No reviews, no more, and the next is the conclusion, and here's the kicker: IT'S HALFWAY FINISHED. (evil grin) so just scroll down a little more, write a review, and you get to see if Melinda gets killed or not and what happens overall. I'm having fun. (evil laugh)