CHAPTER 3: Legacy
The whole car ride back to the Manor seemed almost surreal to Phoebe.
He was back. She was with him.
Even after five years apart, it seemed so right.
The drive back took no more than ten minutes. Phoebe and Michael quickly got out of his car and walked up to the front steps. Phoebe unlocked the door and allowed Michael to go in the house first.
"Ladies first," he said, giving her a polite smile.
Once they were inside, Michael started to look at the interior of the Victorian style house.
As Phoebe closed the door, she suddenly couldn't take it one moment longer.
The fire that had been rekindled in her heart was too much to handle.
With speed that took Michael by surprise, Phoebe pressed him against the wall.
For two seconds, they stared at one another, brown to brown.
Then Phoebe leaned in and kissed him, very, very hard.
As the kiss deepened, Michael felt as though every bit of heat on Earth was placed between their lips.
Neither one knew how long they stayed like that. Time had no meaning.
Eventually, Phoebe reluctantly pulled away from him. Michael could see the tears running down her cheeks, tears of joy that she had been holding back for so long. Michael held her close, whispering, "It's all right now. Everything's going to be fine. I promise."
"I missed you so much," she said between sobs.
"I missed you, too," he said.
After a few minutes, Phoebe was able to calm herself down to the point where she could think clearly. She led Michael into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Now that we got THAT out of the way, you can tell me your story," she said, giggling and smiling.
"Ok. Bear with me, because this could take a while," he warned.
"We have all the time in the world now," she said, snuggling comfortably next to him.
"All right," he said. "I guess I should begin by explaining my family's ancestry. The first ancestor in my line, believe it or not, was the wizard Merlin. Everything in the Arthur legend happened pretty much the same way it's described in all the stories. However, one glaring omission is that Merlin had a family after the fall of Camelot. With each passing generation, the powers of my ancestors increased in strength and number. Of course, they didn't survive on witchcraft and wizardry alone. Arthur had left half his fortune to Merlin. Eventually, that money is what my father used to finance my family's computer company.
"My powers weren't bound when I was born, but they didn't come out until I was twelve. I remember how it happened. My mom had cut herself while she was doing some kitchen work. As I went to put my hand on her cut to stop the bleeding, the healing light came out of my hand. Of course, I freaked out right after that, but I calmed down after my dad explained everything to me.
"He trained me for a few years after that. More powers started to come out, among them orbing, telekinesis, time manipulation, power copying, fireballs, energy balls, shimmering."
"I thought those last three were strictly demonic powers," interrupted Phoebe.
"Well, the power copying is responsible for those," Michael explained quickly. "Apparently, one of my ancestors copied those powers from demons and they remained in our bloodline." Phoebe nodded in understanding. Inwardly, Michael groaned, frustrated that he couldn't find himself able to tell her the whole truth...yet. "Anyway, by the time I was seventeen, I was fed up with it. I wanted to be able to live my life without worrying about looking over my shoulder for demons and warlocks. So, right after I left for college, I swore that I would never use my powers again.
"For a while, it worked. Allowing my powers to lie unused dropped me off the Source's radar. However, I always had this feeling in the back of my mind that I would end up using my powers again when they were absolutely needed. Of course, you and I both know when that was. But I wasn't completely convinced that I would have to finish training until my father's murder. You see, he was murdered by a demon."
"Oh, my God," said Phoebe, clearly shocked.
"After I left New York, I went to London first to straighten out my father's company, and then I went to my family's ancestral home, a huge castle near Stonehenge. Merlin himself appeared to me as a spirit and resumed my training from where my father left off. The rest, as they say, is history."
"That's a really cool story," said Phoebe. "So, now that you're going to stay here, what's going to happen to your company?"
"I've made arrangements to have the World Headquarters moved to our San Francisco offices," he answered.
"Well, I'm glad that you were finally able to tell me everything. I understand a lot better now why you had to leave," said Phoebe. She paused a moment, thinking. Then she took a deep breath and said, "I want you to stay with me tonight."
"Phoebe, are you sure?" asked Michael. "I don't want to pressure you back into a relationship with me if you're not ready."
"I'm sure," she said huskily, shifting position to sit in his lap. "I love you, and I want this." She leaned forward and began to kiss him. He responded, deepening it.
As they paused for breath, he said, "How about we go someplace more private before your sisters get back?"
"Absolutely," she said, grinning at him.
As she moved to stand up, he held her firmly in place, and said, "We don't have to walk upstairs." He pulled her back down for another kiss, and as he did so, he orbed them up to her bedroom.
****
Michael stirred in his sleep. For one horrible moment, he thought that last night had been only a dream. However, as he became aware of the warm body resting on top of his, he knew that it wasn't.
He opened eyes to see that his arms encircled Phoebe. She was still asleep, and had a peaceful look on her face. He smiled, a feeling of contentment spreading through him. He turned his head and saw that the clock on the nightstand now read 10:00 am. As much as he wanted to watch Phoebe sleep, he really wanted to spend time with her.
He gently ran his hand through her long, dark-brown hair and kissed her forehead. Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. A warm smile graced her face as her eyes found his. She leaned forward slightly and kissed his lips. This was not the desperate, passionate kiss of the night before; this was soft and gentle. "Good morning," she said in her baby voice.
"Hi there," he said. "I think we slept for about nine hours." He stretched carefully.
"Well, considering how much...fun we had last night," she said, grinning mischievously, "I'm not surprised." She kissed him again, a soft moan escaping her throat.
"As much as I would want to stay in bed with you all day, I think we should get up now," said Michael. The pout of mock sadness Phoebe put on was almost enough to make him change his mind. "Don't give me that look. You know it drives me nuts when you do that."
"It used to work a lot better," she said, her pout changing back to the warm smile, as she allowed him to get out of bed.
As he dressed, Michael became aware of the smell of French toast. "Wow that smells really good. It might even rival my own." He added a small chuckle.
"I guess you might have to challenge Piper to a cooking contest," said Phoebe as she finished getting dressed. She put an arm around his waist.
"I'll take that under consideration," he said, moving in to kiss her.
****
"C'mon, Piper, hurry up! I'm starving!" said Paige.
"You will WAIT until the French toast is ready, Missy Paige," said Piper, turning a sisterly smile to her.
"It's probably the just the Whitelighter metabolism again," said Leo, chuckling.
"I don't hear you complaining," said Paige.
"Well, since I've been a Whitelighter for far longer than you, I've gotten used to it over the years."
"You know, I don't remember seeing Phoebe when we got back last night," remarked Piper.
"I thought it was pretty obvious as to why that was," said Paige, smiling wickedly.
"You don't think that she and Michael..." started Piper. However, she never had the chance to finish that sentence, for at that moment, Michael and Phoebe orbed into the kitchen in each other's arms. Piper was speechless for a full ten seconds. "Phoebe, what the HELL is going on here?"
"Hey, I didn't know he could do that until last night either," she said innocently.
"Wait a second," said Piper, turning to Michael. "You KNEW who we were?"
Michael nodded.
"Uh...ok, I see," said Piper, a little confused. "So, seeing that you orbed, does that make you part-Whitelighter or something?"
"Actually, I'm a witch," said Michael. "And I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you or Paige right away. I didn't want to start freaking people out until after Phoebe and I...spent some time together." Phoebe delivered a light punch to his arm for that last comment.
"Well...I guess you just wanted to be careful," said Piper, regaining her wits.
"Exactly," said Michael. "I figured that if I started asking questions or told the truth right away, you'd either deny it or think that I was nuts."
"I think we have yet to determine whether the latter is true or not," said Phoebe playfully. Michael rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Care for some French toast?" asked Piper, noticing that it had finished cooking.
"Sure, I'd love some," said Michael, sitting down at the table. As Michael shared his first meal with the Halliwells, he reiterated his story to Piper, Paige, and Leo, who had not yet had the chance to hear it. When he'd finished, all three had astonished looks on their faces.
"That's really incredible," said Paige. "I mean, you were cut off from the outside world for five years. I can't even imagine what that must have been like."
"I wasn't happy about it at first either," admitted Michael, "but it grew easier as time passed." Suddenly, he said, "I can't believe I almost forgot to show you this. I mean, it's such a famous piece of lore that to not let you see it would be stupid." Michael stood up and gestured with his right hand. Instantly, the sword Merlin had given to him appeared in his hand. The power emanating from it was enough for the others to figure out what it was.
"Excalibur," said Phoebe, awed.
"Exactly," said Michael. "Its power is incredible. It can only be used for good; it's indestructible; and it can't be affected by dark magic. It is mine to wield and protect, a part of my family's legacy." The richness of his voice intensified as he spoke. He gestured again, and the sword vanished in a trail of orbs.
"So, where do your Whitelighter powers come from?" asked Leo.
"Well, evidently one of my ancestors was a Whitelighter." Piper and Leo exchanged a shocked look, which Michael noticed. "It was centuries ago, so I guess the Elders changed their mentality a few times since then."
Suddenly, without warning, ten warlocks blinked into the Manor.
"The Queen sends you her greetings," said the lead warlock to Michael. He quickly produced an athame and threw it at Michael. However, Michael's reflexes were very acute, and he snapped the athame out of the air about three inches from his face.
"Now, that wasn't very nice," he said. Michael gestured, and the warlock burst into flames and exploded. At this point, the other nine started to take action. One of them shot a lightning bolt at Leo. It missed, but it disintegrated the French toast on the dining room table.
"Oh, no, you did NOT just torch my cooking," said Piper angrily. She immediately blew up the offending warlock.
Meanwhile, another warlock went after Phoebe. She deftly levitated over his attack, and then delivered a kick to his head, breaking his neck. Paige called for another warlock's athame and threw it at him, and he was not fast enough to avoid it. Michael released two fireballs, which took out two more warlocks. The remaining warlocks, who realized they were no match against the Charmed Ones and Michael, blinked out.
"Okay, what the HELL was that about?" yelled Piper.
"THAT was a welcome back present for me from the side of evil," said Michael. "I figured the moment I orbed out of that protection shield Merlin cast, I'd be back on their radar. I guess the reaction was a little delayed."
"Why would they send so many after you?" asked Phoebe.
"My power level is extremely high, higher than any of yours individually. In fact, the only thing more powerful than my level is the Power of Three." Phoebe nodded in understanding. "You know, something that first warlock said is bugging me. He said that the Queen had sent them. The last I checked, which was before I went into the cloak, there was still a Source." Looking at the expressions on their faces, he said, "I'm assuming that you guys have something to do with the current lack of one."
Phoebe nodded, her expression switching to one of sadness. Noticing this, Michael said, "What's wrong, babe?"
"We need to talk," she said quietly. She took his hand and led him upstairs.
****
When Phoebe had finished telling Michael everything, his face was a mix of rage and pain. "I can't believe you suffered all of that. If only I had known..."
"There was no way you could have," said Phoebe sadly. "From what you've told me, the cloak didn't allow anyone to enter the castle, so you had no way of knowing."
"It's just so sad, and I'm not just talking about what happened to you. Cole, or at least the human Cole, was subjected to a level of suffering I can't even begin to comprehend. I just hope the poor guy found some peace." Noticing that tears had begun to fall down Phoebe's face, he held her close. "I won't allow anything like that to happen to you again, or to me, understand? I promise you that."
Phoebe looked up and smiled at him, wiping the remaining tears from her face. "I love you so much, Michael. You have kept every promise you've ever made to me, and that is one of the things that made me fall in love with you. Your devotion is unparalleled, and I admire that in you."
"You have no idea how much you mean to me, Phoebe," said Michael. As he leaned in to kiss her, he suddenly looked skyward. "You have got to be kidding me," said Michael toward the ceiling. "Of all the times..."
Phoebe giggled. "Did the Elders just call you?"
"Yes, which is kind of odd, considering I'm not really a Whitelighter," he said, sighing in obvious disappointment of having to leave. "I'll try to get back as soon as possible. When I do, I'll take you out someplace. We'll do something, just you and me. I'm not sure what yet, so you think about it while I'm gone. And..."
Phoebe silenced him with a kiss. "You plan too much," she said. "Relax. We'll figure it out after you get back from 'Up There'." As Michael stood up to leave, she said, "I love you."
"Never more than I love you, Phoebe," said Michael, smiling broadly. He orbed out, and Phoebe sighed in contentment, knowing that at she had found a happiness unmarred by evil.
THE END
The whole car ride back to the Manor seemed almost surreal to Phoebe.
He was back. She was with him.
Even after five years apart, it seemed so right.
The drive back took no more than ten minutes. Phoebe and Michael quickly got out of his car and walked up to the front steps. Phoebe unlocked the door and allowed Michael to go in the house first.
"Ladies first," he said, giving her a polite smile.
Once they were inside, Michael started to look at the interior of the Victorian style house.
As Phoebe closed the door, she suddenly couldn't take it one moment longer.
The fire that had been rekindled in her heart was too much to handle.
With speed that took Michael by surprise, Phoebe pressed him against the wall.
For two seconds, they stared at one another, brown to brown.
Then Phoebe leaned in and kissed him, very, very hard.
As the kiss deepened, Michael felt as though every bit of heat on Earth was placed between their lips.
Neither one knew how long they stayed like that. Time had no meaning.
Eventually, Phoebe reluctantly pulled away from him. Michael could see the tears running down her cheeks, tears of joy that she had been holding back for so long. Michael held her close, whispering, "It's all right now. Everything's going to be fine. I promise."
"I missed you so much," she said between sobs.
"I missed you, too," he said.
After a few minutes, Phoebe was able to calm herself down to the point where she could think clearly. She led Michael into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Now that we got THAT out of the way, you can tell me your story," she said, giggling and smiling.
"Ok. Bear with me, because this could take a while," he warned.
"We have all the time in the world now," she said, snuggling comfortably next to him.
"All right," he said. "I guess I should begin by explaining my family's ancestry. The first ancestor in my line, believe it or not, was the wizard Merlin. Everything in the Arthur legend happened pretty much the same way it's described in all the stories. However, one glaring omission is that Merlin had a family after the fall of Camelot. With each passing generation, the powers of my ancestors increased in strength and number. Of course, they didn't survive on witchcraft and wizardry alone. Arthur had left half his fortune to Merlin. Eventually, that money is what my father used to finance my family's computer company.
"My powers weren't bound when I was born, but they didn't come out until I was twelve. I remember how it happened. My mom had cut herself while she was doing some kitchen work. As I went to put my hand on her cut to stop the bleeding, the healing light came out of my hand. Of course, I freaked out right after that, but I calmed down after my dad explained everything to me.
"He trained me for a few years after that. More powers started to come out, among them orbing, telekinesis, time manipulation, power copying, fireballs, energy balls, shimmering."
"I thought those last three were strictly demonic powers," interrupted Phoebe.
"Well, the power copying is responsible for those," Michael explained quickly. "Apparently, one of my ancestors copied those powers from demons and they remained in our bloodline." Phoebe nodded in understanding. Inwardly, Michael groaned, frustrated that he couldn't find himself able to tell her the whole truth...yet. "Anyway, by the time I was seventeen, I was fed up with it. I wanted to be able to live my life without worrying about looking over my shoulder for demons and warlocks. So, right after I left for college, I swore that I would never use my powers again.
"For a while, it worked. Allowing my powers to lie unused dropped me off the Source's radar. However, I always had this feeling in the back of my mind that I would end up using my powers again when they were absolutely needed. Of course, you and I both know when that was. But I wasn't completely convinced that I would have to finish training until my father's murder. You see, he was murdered by a demon."
"Oh, my God," said Phoebe, clearly shocked.
"After I left New York, I went to London first to straighten out my father's company, and then I went to my family's ancestral home, a huge castle near Stonehenge. Merlin himself appeared to me as a spirit and resumed my training from where my father left off. The rest, as they say, is history."
"That's a really cool story," said Phoebe. "So, now that you're going to stay here, what's going to happen to your company?"
"I've made arrangements to have the World Headquarters moved to our San Francisco offices," he answered.
"Well, I'm glad that you were finally able to tell me everything. I understand a lot better now why you had to leave," said Phoebe. She paused a moment, thinking. Then she took a deep breath and said, "I want you to stay with me tonight."
"Phoebe, are you sure?" asked Michael. "I don't want to pressure you back into a relationship with me if you're not ready."
"I'm sure," she said huskily, shifting position to sit in his lap. "I love you, and I want this." She leaned forward and began to kiss him. He responded, deepening it.
As they paused for breath, he said, "How about we go someplace more private before your sisters get back?"
"Absolutely," she said, grinning at him.
As she moved to stand up, he held her firmly in place, and said, "We don't have to walk upstairs." He pulled her back down for another kiss, and as he did so, he orbed them up to her bedroom.
****
Michael stirred in his sleep. For one horrible moment, he thought that last night had been only a dream. However, as he became aware of the warm body resting on top of his, he knew that it wasn't.
He opened eyes to see that his arms encircled Phoebe. She was still asleep, and had a peaceful look on her face. He smiled, a feeling of contentment spreading through him. He turned his head and saw that the clock on the nightstand now read 10:00 am. As much as he wanted to watch Phoebe sleep, he really wanted to spend time with her.
He gently ran his hand through her long, dark-brown hair and kissed her forehead. Her eyelids fluttered and then opened. A warm smile graced her face as her eyes found his. She leaned forward slightly and kissed his lips. This was not the desperate, passionate kiss of the night before; this was soft and gentle. "Good morning," she said in her baby voice.
"Hi there," he said. "I think we slept for about nine hours." He stretched carefully.
"Well, considering how much...fun we had last night," she said, grinning mischievously, "I'm not surprised." She kissed him again, a soft moan escaping her throat.
"As much as I would want to stay in bed with you all day, I think we should get up now," said Michael. The pout of mock sadness Phoebe put on was almost enough to make him change his mind. "Don't give me that look. You know it drives me nuts when you do that."
"It used to work a lot better," she said, her pout changing back to the warm smile, as she allowed him to get out of bed.
As he dressed, Michael became aware of the smell of French toast. "Wow that smells really good. It might even rival my own." He added a small chuckle.
"I guess you might have to challenge Piper to a cooking contest," said Phoebe as she finished getting dressed. She put an arm around his waist.
"I'll take that under consideration," he said, moving in to kiss her.
****
"C'mon, Piper, hurry up! I'm starving!" said Paige.
"You will WAIT until the French toast is ready, Missy Paige," said Piper, turning a sisterly smile to her.
"It's probably the just the Whitelighter metabolism again," said Leo, chuckling.
"I don't hear you complaining," said Paige.
"Well, since I've been a Whitelighter for far longer than you, I've gotten used to it over the years."
"You know, I don't remember seeing Phoebe when we got back last night," remarked Piper.
"I thought it was pretty obvious as to why that was," said Paige, smiling wickedly.
"You don't think that she and Michael..." started Piper. However, she never had the chance to finish that sentence, for at that moment, Michael and Phoebe orbed into the kitchen in each other's arms. Piper was speechless for a full ten seconds. "Phoebe, what the HELL is going on here?"
"Hey, I didn't know he could do that until last night either," she said innocently.
"Wait a second," said Piper, turning to Michael. "You KNEW who we were?"
Michael nodded.
"Uh...ok, I see," said Piper, a little confused. "So, seeing that you orbed, does that make you part-Whitelighter or something?"
"Actually, I'm a witch," said Michael. "And I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you or Paige right away. I didn't want to start freaking people out until after Phoebe and I...spent some time together." Phoebe delivered a light punch to his arm for that last comment.
"Well...I guess you just wanted to be careful," said Piper, regaining her wits.
"Exactly," said Michael. "I figured that if I started asking questions or told the truth right away, you'd either deny it or think that I was nuts."
"I think we have yet to determine whether the latter is true or not," said Phoebe playfully. Michael rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Care for some French toast?" asked Piper, noticing that it had finished cooking.
"Sure, I'd love some," said Michael, sitting down at the table. As Michael shared his first meal with the Halliwells, he reiterated his story to Piper, Paige, and Leo, who had not yet had the chance to hear it. When he'd finished, all three had astonished looks on their faces.
"That's really incredible," said Paige. "I mean, you were cut off from the outside world for five years. I can't even imagine what that must have been like."
"I wasn't happy about it at first either," admitted Michael, "but it grew easier as time passed." Suddenly, he said, "I can't believe I almost forgot to show you this. I mean, it's such a famous piece of lore that to not let you see it would be stupid." Michael stood up and gestured with his right hand. Instantly, the sword Merlin had given to him appeared in his hand. The power emanating from it was enough for the others to figure out what it was.
"Excalibur," said Phoebe, awed.
"Exactly," said Michael. "Its power is incredible. It can only be used for good; it's indestructible; and it can't be affected by dark magic. It is mine to wield and protect, a part of my family's legacy." The richness of his voice intensified as he spoke. He gestured again, and the sword vanished in a trail of orbs.
"So, where do your Whitelighter powers come from?" asked Leo.
"Well, evidently one of my ancestors was a Whitelighter." Piper and Leo exchanged a shocked look, which Michael noticed. "It was centuries ago, so I guess the Elders changed their mentality a few times since then."
Suddenly, without warning, ten warlocks blinked into the Manor.
"The Queen sends you her greetings," said the lead warlock to Michael. He quickly produced an athame and threw it at Michael. However, Michael's reflexes were very acute, and he snapped the athame out of the air about three inches from his face.
"Now, that wasn't very nice," he said. Michael gestured, and the warlock burst into flames and exploded. At this point, the other nine started to take action. One of them shot a lightning bolt at Leo. It missed, but it disintegrated the French toast on the dining room table.
"Oh, no, you did NOT just torch my cooking," said Piper angrily. She immediately blew up the offending warlock.
Meanwhile, another warlock went after Phoebe. She deftly levitated over his attack, and then delivered a kick to his head, breaking his neck. Paige called for another warlock's athame and threw it at him, and he was not fast enough to avoid it. Michael released two fireballs, which took out two more warlocks. The remaining warlocks, who realized they were no match against the Charmed Ones and Michael, blinked out.
"Okay, what the HELL was that about?" yelled Piper.
"THAT was a welcome back present for me from the side of evil," said Michael. "I figured the moment I orbed out of that protection shield Merlin cast, I'd be back on their radar. I guess the reaction was a little delayed."
"Why would they send so many after you?" asked Phoebe.
"My power level is extremely high, higher than any of yours individually. In fact, the only thing more powerful than my level is the Power of Three." Phoebe nodded in understanding. "You know, something that first warlock said is bugging me. He said that the Queen had sent them. The last I checked, which was before I went into the cloak, there was still a Source." Looking at the expressions on their faces, he said, "I'm assuming that you guys have something to do with the current lack of one."
Phoebe nodded, her expression switching to one of sadness. Noticing this, Michael said, "What's wrong, babe?"
"We need to talk," she said quietly. She took his hand and led him upstairs.
****
When Phoebe had finished telling Michael everything, his face was a mix of rage and pain. "I can't believe you suffered all of that. If only I had known..."
"There was no way you could have," said Phoebe sadly. "From what you've told me, the cloak didn't allow anyone to enter the castle, so you had no way of knowing."
"It's just so sad, and I'm not just talking about what happened to you. Cole, or at least the human Cole, was subjected to a level of suffering I can't even begin to comprehend. I just hope the poor guy found some peace." Noticing that tears had begun to fall down Phoebe's face, he held her close. "I won't allow anything like that to happen to you again, or to me, understand? I promise you that."
Phoebe looked up and smiled at him, wiping the remaining tears from her face. "I love you so much, Michael. You have kept every promise you've ever made to me, and that is one of the things that made me fall in love with you. Your devotion is unparalleled, and I admire that in you."
"You have no idea how much you mean to me, Phoebe," said Michael. As he leaned in to kiss her, he suddenly looked skyward. "You have got to be kidding me," said Michael toward the ceiling. "Of all the times..."
Phoebe giggled. "Did the Elders just call you?"
"Yes, which is kind of odd, considering I'm not really a Whitelighter," he said, sighing in obvious disappointment of having to leave. "I'll try to get back as soon as possible. When I do, I'll take you out someplace. We'll do something, just you and me. I'm not sure what yet, so you think about it while I'm gone. And..."
Phoebe silenced him with a kiss. "You plan too much," she said. "Relax. We'll figure it out after you get back from 'Up There'." As Michael stood up to leave, she said, "I love you."
"Never more than I love you, Phoebe," said Michael, smiling broadly. He orbed out, and Phoebe sighed in contentment, knowing that at she had found a happiness unmarred by evil.
THE END
