Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to their respective creators: that would be Chris Carter for the X-Files cast, and Constance M. Burge for the Charmed one. I'm borrowing them all for a few moments but I'll give them back.
Scully stood against a wall in the Halliwell Manor living room. For years, she had carefully defended her scientific views to Mulder. Even with everything she had seen, she had never completely accepted most of what they had investigated during their time in the X-Files. And now, in the space of only a week, she'd had to accept that magic did exist. She could not argue against what she had seen. Luckily, it looked like the good guys had powerful agents in the Charmed Ones and their families.
It was quite disturbing to learn that you had been protected by and from magic since near enough the beginning of your career. It was also a bit reassuring, considering what they were about to do. Scully watched as Mulder spoke quietly with Leo, Henri, and Coop. He seemed to have struck a particular friendship with them, bonding over dinner last night. They had exchanged sports talks, and they'd become instant friends. Even when they seemed to support different teams. She knew it was his way to both calm his nerves and make nice with potential contacts. Not everyone could brag to know an ex-angel, a love expert, and a parole officer.
A little coo sounded at the vicinity of her feet and Scully looked down to see little Prudence smiling at her, and holding her arms towards her. With a little smile, Scully picked the child up and Prue immediately grabbed hold of a lock of her hair, babbling as she went. Scully leaned back against the wall, settling the child's weight onto her hip. She caught Mulder looking at her and smiled to reassure him.
So much had happened, and so much more was going to tonight. Mulder and Scully had spent last night at Halliwell's, exchanging stories with the witches about past demonic fights and past cases. And now, the equivalent of an archangel would turn up within the next hour or so to give up her powers in order to move on. And a demon wanted those powers for himself and had attacked the Charmed Ones because they had been asked to protect Elder Cassandra while the power exchange was taking place.
Prue's babbles brought Scully's mind back from its wanderings and she smiled at the little, dark-haired angel in her arms. Well, dark-haired half-Cupid, half-witch. At least, Mulder had kept his I-told-you-so looks to a minimum. Prue played with the long strand of light auburn hair, moving it around in the light coming from the chandelier.
"I'm sorry. I think she likes the color of your hair," Phoebe said as she entered the room, getting a playpen out and setting it in one corner, away from the windows.
"That's all right," Scully answered, carefully settling Prue into the readied playpen. "My nephew used to do the same. I suppose longish, red hair isn't common."
Scully handed a toy to the little girl who gleefully took it off her. The grandfather clock chimed eight, and the men stopped talking.
"All right, people," Piper called as she entered the room. "Let's get this done quickly. And if we're lucky, we'll save the furniture from being blown up this time. Coop, please take the children out. Paige, if you could…"
The youngest Charmed One remote-Orbed a crystal to her, effectively bringing down the protection on the Manor, even as the Cupid Beamed out with all the children. Within seconds, Elder Cassandra Orbed in.
"Leo, I want you to know it has been my pleasure to teach you and watch you becoming the powerful warrior you are now. And thank you to everyone here for trying to make su…"
Cassandra was cut off by a fireball flying at her head. Piper reacted just in time to blow it up before it got too near. Scully had her weapon out and she shot the demon before he could prepare another, surprising him long enough for Piper to blow him up.
Mulder and the other men fell back around Cassandra and Coop Beamed in their midst. Mulder threw a look at Scully as he thumbed the safety off his gun, and she couldn't help but smile back at him. She supposed it had been a while, but Mulder seemed quite happy to help out on this one.
Three more men appeared into the living room. Demons, Scully thought to herself. And they Shimmer. That's the term for it. She sighted them but didn't fire, watching as the sisters threw vials at the men and they burst into flames. Mulder and she were back up. A last line of defense in case things went wrong. It wasn't really their fight, after all. They dealt with mutants and aliens. But they'd help if it became necessary because as Cassandra had said, they were Champions of Good. And although they were supposedly untouchable, they knew that Jorax's assassin would more likely be happy to take a shot at them if he could.
Scully risked a glance at Cassandra. The woman seemed perfectly calm, standing there and watching the demons sent to kill her. For a moment, Scully was reminded of another Cassandra she once knew. A woman who believed in extra-terrestrials, who thought they were here to help, who was ultimately manipulated by her own husband, a pawn in his power play to survive the end of the world. She'd been so unbelievingly calm about it all. Until she'd learned the truth at least.
More demons Shimmered in and Scully shifted her stance. She counted six of them, but she knew there were more of them. She'd heard footsteps in the hall and Mulder's weapon was trained that way, covering their backs. Leo took a step forward and away from Cassandra, throwing vials of potions at the demons, causing them to burst into fire.
Scully returned her gaze to the fight in front of her. She watched as Piper blew up a demon and Paige redirected an energy ball at another. Phoebe roundhouse-kicked a third before stabbing him with an athame. But as the sisters turned to their next foes they were blasted backwards even as the next wave of attacker Shimmered in. Piper slid to a stop at Scully's feet and the doctor stepped forward to help, even as she recognized Jorax's assassin. As he and his cronies called up fire and energy balls to throw at the sisters, both Mulder and Scully fired at the demons.
And Scully learned there was quite a difference between being told that her gun would be as effective as it usually was, and seeing the demons shrugging off their bullets. Jorax's assassin turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing at he identified his first attacker. He turned his attention to Mulder who stepped in front of Cassandra, weapon leveled at the intruders.
"I'm not missing this time!" the demon grunted, calling up two fireballs.
"Xaphan! You heard Jorax. They are not to be touched."
But the demonic assassin ignored his colleague and released his power. Scully was moving before the fire ball even left his hand, hoping to draw his fire away from Piper who was still struggling to get back to her feet. She dodged the attack and looked up to see Xaphan aiming his next attack at Mulder. Cassandra stepped around and in front of Mulder, taking the hit for him and sending the both of them crashing backward against the stairs.
Scully felt the shock in her system as she watched her Mulder slide to a stop at the bottom of the last step. Her finger reflexively squeezed the trigger repeatedly and she turned back to watch Xaphan jerk back with each shot. But it was still largely ineffective as he turned to face her. Scully didn't stop firing until she had emptied her clip.
"I don't miss!" The demon smirked at her.
"Neither do I," an unfamiliar voice said.
Another Demon appeared behind Xaphan and stabbed him. Xaphan screamed as he vanished in a burst of flames.
"My apologies, Miss Scully. I had given specific orders that you and Mister Mulder were to be left alone, whether you decided to stand with the Charmed Ones or not."
"Jorax! Hi!" Piper waved her hands and blew the demon's shoulder off.
But he only smirked and waved his hand back at her, sending her flying into a wall.
"I'm sorry, Miss Halliwell. But I'm afraid you require the Power of Three to vanquish me. And I made sure no one ever came up with either that spell or potion. Although I suspect you might now."
But Jorax now turned his attention to Cassandra and Scully slowly reached for a spare clip at her hip, trying not to attract too much attention. Mulder grunted as he struggled to a crouched position, keeping himself between the fallen Cassandra and the demon who was after her powers. But the Elder was holding his hand, preventing him from standing to protect her.
"I'm afraid, Jorax, that neither you nor the Council of elders are going to be very happy with me."
"Why is that, old friend?" The demon smiled, and that almost stopped Scully.
It was almost tender, truly like an old friend was speaking with another.
"One cannot stop destiny," Cassandra sighed.
The Elder smiled and her body suddenly dissolved into brilliant orbs of light. They shimmered in place of her body for an instant before they split, first going to Mulder and dissipating within his body then doing the same with her. The Charmed Ones gaped at them and Scully was pretty sure that her face reflected her own confusion.
The booming sound of laughter made pretty much everyone jump and turn to Jorax.
"Always the unpredictable one, Cassandra," the demon huffed. "Destiny, indeed. I shall be looking out for you all. I suspect we will meet again, eventually."
Jorax looked pointedly at Mulder and Scully then Shimmered out.