Legacy: Cradle of Faith
by Lady Dawson
Chapter Six: Saving the Future
Susan screamed as Max pulled the trigger, grabbing Connor and Faith, pulling them to the ground as Wyatt ducked for cover while shielding Chris with his body. Brooke took cover behind some trash cans as Susan glanced up at the lunatic who was whirling around the pistol.
"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled at him as Faith let out a soft moan, clutching her chest painfully. Connor moved towards her, helping her to stand as she painfully got to her feet, taking care of her injured ribs.
"I'm here to take my girl back to where she belongs and if you were smart, little girl, then you'd stay out of my way," Max sneered at her, his eyes dark with menace.
"Well, with a boyfriend like you, I can't imagine why she'd want to leave," Brooke countered as she moved to stand next to Susan, who was in front of Faith and Connor. "We're gonna do you a favour. Just turn around and walk away and we'll give you a five minute head start before we call the police. Heck, you might make it out of California if you're smart."
Max laughed menacingly as he leered at her. "And what makes you think that two little girls are going to scare me away?"
Brooke's dark eyes narrowed. "You don't want to mess with us," she growled at him.
"She's a hair-puller," Susan added helpfully.
"And besides," Chris added, his voice slightly slurred and stumbling over his feet as he managed to stand up with his brother's help. "It's not just two 'little girls' that you're going to have to worry about." His green eyes were unfocused as he looked at Max, but Susan noted he was still slightly sober from the way that he understood everything that was going on around him.
"You're dealing with all of us," Wyatt assured Max, who hesitated as he tried to point the gun, unsuccessfully, at all of them. "How many bullets you got in there, buddy? How many of us can you kill before you have to start shooting at police? Because somebody's bound to hear the noise and call them."
Max swore at him, his teeth gritted. "You people should really stay out of this," he hissed.
"Where have you been, Max?" Susan asked him. "It's 2024 and beating up your girlfriend is against the law."
"It's not like it's going to do any good," Faith whispered, trying to move past Susan, who blocked her. "The police never do anything; I have to take the law into my own hands."
"And if you do that, that's when you cross the line from being a protector of the Innocent to a punisher of the guilty," Chris told her, not unkindly. "We were given these gifts for a reason, Faith, and they weren't to punish, they were to protect. I get how you feel this way, I do. But it's not our job to deal out punishment like this. No matter how a person treats us," he said, casting a quick glance at Susan, who met his eyes evenly before looking away.
"What are you people talking about?" Max demanded, looking around at them all.
"Let me let in on a little secret of the world, Max," Susan said sweetly. "The world that you think that you live in doesn't exist. Even though you're an evil, careless excuse for a human, there are things that are far worse than you in this world. And we're chosen to stop it. Now why don't you hand over that gun before somebody gets hurt?"
"Namely you," Wyatt put in, still supporting his brother as he glared at Max, who hesitated as he looked between all of them, seeming to realise that he was outnumbered.
Faith was looking at Max with such hatred that Susan wondered if somebody should get her out of there, because she had no doubt that she meant what she had said; she would kill Max if he tried to hurt her again. And it would unleash a series of events that nobody would be able to stop. They wouldn't be able to stop the terror that was the future that Connor had just come from.
But Faith just pushed Susan's hand out of the way as she walked forward, her dark eyes glittering with hatred and vengeance. "I want you to know, Max," she said finally, her voice calm. "That I am going to forget you after this moment never think of you again. But if you think of me or if you come near me or any of my kind ever again, I swear, you will be rotting in jail cell for years to come. I'm not the same girl that you beat up on. I've changed."
Max swallowed. "You're not afraid of me anymore," he commented. Faith shrugged. "You'd really call the police, after everything that I've done for you?"
"And what about everything that you've done to me?" Faith countered. "If I'd stayed, how long before you killed me? If I'd stayed, I might be dead right now." She took a step closer. "Now get out of my sight."
For a moment, her ex just looked at her, then swallowed at the dangerous look on her face. Taking a step away from her, he dropped the gun onto the ground and fled, never once looking back. Faith took a long breath as she sank to her knees, her shoulders trembling. Susan was the first to move, kneeling down beside her and setting a hand on her shoulder.
Faith let out a small sob and buried her head into Susan's shoulder, the tears that she had held back for too long finally surfacing. The witchlighter wrapped her arms around her, holding the witch tightly as she let out all of the sorrows, fear, and anguish that she head kept buried for far too long.
Only when Faith managed to get control of herself did Susan pull away and help her to her feet.
"Now what?" Brooke asked her. "I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but what about Ramnes? He's still going to come out of hiding tonight and how do we know that he's not going to make someone else bear his child?"
Susan opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, an explosion erupted not ten feet away, sending all of them backwards. Faith gasped upon seeing the demon that emerged, his red eyes gleaming at her.
"Finally, the witch who will bring my child forth!" he hissed at her. "I have chosen you, Faith McKnight, as my bride and mother of my child!" He waved his hand at her, but nothing happened.
"Your plan failed, Ramnes," Connor taunted as he walked up behind him. "She's still pure. You can't take her."
He hurled a potion bottle at the demon and it struck, causing fire to explode around Ramnes and he howled in pain and anguish and rage, turning into a ball of fire before he exploded, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the blacktop where he had stood.
"I love it when they clean up after themselves," Wyatt commented as he hoisted his brother up. "Come on, little brother, let's get you home and you can throw up everything that you put into your stomach." He looked at the girls. "Will you guys be all right?"
"We took care of the bad guy, we should be okay for the rest of the night," Brooke assured him as she walked over and kissed him. "Go take care of your brother, we'll be fine."
The moment that Wyatt orbed Chris back to the apartment, Susan looked around at the group. "So, anybody up for partying?" she asked. Connor, Faith, and Brooke all raised their hands. "All right, let's go," she said cheerfully as they headed back into P3, where she found Bobby and Patty's band setting up on stage.
Bobby saw her and gave her a smile in greeting before sending a slightly questioning look. Susan smiled at him and gave him a reassuring nod and a thumbs up sign, letting him know that everything was fine. He grinned as he slid the guitar over his head before looking at his friends and they began to play.
We belong together
like the open seas and shores
wedded by the planet force
we've all been spoken for
The hammer may strike, be dead on the ground.
a net to my hand, a cross on his crown.
we're done if, who we're undone,
finished if who we are incomplete.
as one we are everything,
we are everything we need.
we belong together
like the open seas and shores
wedded by the planet force
we've all been spoken for
What good is a life, with no one to share,
the light of the moon, the honor of a swear.
we can try to live the way in which you speak,
taste the milk of your mother earth's love,
spread the word of consciencness you see,
we are everything we need
We belong together
like the open seas and shores
wedded by the planet force
we've all been spoken for
All this indecision
all this independent strength
still
we've got our hearts on safe
we've got our hearts on safe
someday when you're lonley,
sometime after all this bliss,
somewhere lost in emptiness,
I hope you find this gift...
I hope you find this gift..
I hope you find this gift.
"I want to thank you guys for helping me tonight," Faith said suddenly and Susan looked over her, well aware of how lost the dark-haired witch looked. "I've . . . I've never been good at being alone. Maybe that's why Max found me, because I was an easy pick."
"You can't think like that," Susan told her. "Besides, you'll never be alone here, Faith. So long as we're around, you won't be alone. That's what friends do for one another."
A small smile passed across Faith's lips. "Friends?" she echoed, looking happy at the word.
"Well, I think we've got the potential," Brooke offered and Susan grinned, looking sideways at Connor, who looked pensive for a minute.
"What's up, buddy?" she asked her son, who was tapping the counter carefully, his blue eyes curious.
"Well, there's just one thing that I'm curious about," Connor said after a minute, turning in his chair to look at the three girls. "If Max went after Chris and Wyatt in my future, then how come they didn't know about it when I said that I was coming here?"
"Maybe they didn't connect the dots," Brooke offered. "I mean, we didn't even know that Faith was a witch until you told us about it." Connor paused and conceded her point.
"We may never know what really happened in your future, Connor," Susan told him gently. "And it really doesn't matter. It's changed. That dark future you came from doesn't exist anymore."
Connor grinned happily as he glanced up towards the stage, his eyes lingering on Patty and Bobby, singing together with stealthy smiles towards each other. "Yeah, well, I can't wait to get home. I want to see my mom and dad so badly."
"I'm sure they're waiting for you," Susan said, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, Connor, we'll get you home."
"That demon," Faith spoke up. "Was he the reason you travelled back here? Was he really going to . . ."
"Impregnate you with his demon child?" Brooke said helpfully. "Yep. And your son would've taken over the world and send witches into hiding, the world would've been sucked into darkness, yada, yada, yada . . ."
"Okay, that's getting really annoying," Susan told her, rolling her eyes. "Okay, let's listen to a couple more songs and then let's get back to the apartment."
"Friends of yours?" Faith guessed, nodding towards the stage.
Susan smiled faintly, looking back at her little brother and his girl. "It's kind of a long story," she said with a sigh. "I'll tell you someday, when it's safe to tell."
"Don't worry," Connor said, grinning. "Everything's gonna turn out fine on that end. He'll be okay."
"Still," Susan said quietly, "that doesn't give me much comfort."
--
AN: The song that Bobby and Patty's band sings is Gavin Degraw's "We Belong Together."