Sorry I haven't updated in a while...well, actually, a day to be exact, but
that seems long to me. Any day that I'm forced to go to school seems long
to me, though. Enjoy the new chapter!
Mel only nodded back. She wished with all of her heart that she could stop Wyatt, maybe turn him back to the light, but knew that she wasn't powerful enough. Only Chris had the power—not just magically, but in terms of compassion, too. From here on it would be a bumpy road for Chris.
Piper put a hand on her shoulder. "Can you sense Wyatt anywhere?"
Mel closed her eyes again. Even sensing didn't come very easily to her, even though she practiced the craft as often as she could. The only person she could easily sense was Chris, probably because she had done so many times before and was used to it by now.
"He's in the underground, below the park," she said suddenly, opening her eyes. "You know, San Francisco Park. By the bridge."
"Of course I know," Piper snapped. "Sorry. It's all a little hard to understand that Wyatt of all people would want to hurt people for PLEASURE. He seemed so innocent, so harmless...so pure..."
"Yeah, well, he had us all fooled," Mel cut in fiercely. "But don't dote on past mistakes, that'll only make it worse. Here, take my hand, I'll orb you there. I can sort of see where he is, and if I'm correct, there's a good little shadowy corner where Wyatt's standing. He wouldn't be able to see it. Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Piper responded, bracing herself for the dizzy sensation of orbing. She smiled internally, remembering the first time she'd orbed. She was mad at Leo then, just as she was now.
"Where are—"
Mel nudged Piper fiercely and clapped a hand over her mouth, afraid that somebody would hear them. They were only about five feet away from the closest demon, and just because they couldn't be seen didn't prevent them from being heard. She put a finger at her mouth for silence and Piper scowled. They remained looking at each other with hostile glares until a familiar voice caught their attention.
"They did manage to kill all of the demons," a voice laughed. It was Wyatt, Mel could see his feet. "This is all going according to plan. They'll never know that by doing what they did, they've only made it worse..."
Mel's heart pounded in her ears, deafening her. She could hear what Wyatt was saying, but could she believe it? How could vanquishing a demon make their situation worse than it already was?
"Master," a feeble creature interrupted. "I'm afraid I still don't understand my task, for I still don't understand what has been done. Tell me and I shall fulfill your every whim."
"I told you before!" Wyatt shouted angrily at the demon at his feet. The demon was small and skinny, crouching down to his knees to bow down. Wyatt only kicked him. "Those demons were neutrals, my 'school friends.' They don't know about magic, and never will. They weren't aware of what they were doing. I found a way to control them." Mel could see Wyatt's malicious grin through the faint glow of the firelight. "I made them demons, two with active powers to torture, just for fun. Then," he paused, grin widening and eyes sparkling with pride. "Then I made one with the power to inject Chris' poisoning and one to heal it. They are both dead. Chris cannot be saved. Unless..."
"Unless what?" the demon asked.
"Unless they find the antidote that can save Chris, that's what. You see, that is why I've sent you. The antidote can only be picked up by the purest being in the world, which I've concluded as Mel. Before they figure that out, you need to take it away, since you can disguise yourself as any being."
"Ah." Even the demon seemed to be smiling. "This is my favorite game of all time, masking my identity with those of others."
Wyatt kicked him again. "This is no game, this is very serious! I need you to get that antidote. Here's a picture of the girl, now do your morphing thing."
The demon lifted the picture off of the floor and squinted at it, reshaping awkwardly into Mel. "Mel" grinned. "I have done as you please, master," he said in a high-pitched voice like Mel's. "Now, tell me where I am to find this antidote of yours."
Mel held her breath to keep from screaming at Wyatt. How dare he? He was using her to get something that could save Chris! Wait—what had he said? That she was the purest of all beings? No, that...that couldn't be right...
"It's in the underworld," Wyatt told him, "inside of a large boulder. There are about five gigantic rocks down there, and one of them contains what I want. Knock three times and say "charmed" to get inside. Do you understand what I expect of you? If you're not here in—" he checked his watch. "30 minutes, then I'll find you—and kill you."
"Yes, master," the demon stuttered, shimmering away.
Wyatt began to laugh. "Little do you know that once that antidote is destroyed, you will go with it in the flames! Hahahahaha!" (cue the evil laughing). He orbed away, leaving the room abandoned and the fireplace nothing but faintly glowing embers, his laughing still echoing eerily off the walls.
"Mel," Piper breathed. "Did you hear that?"
"Of course I did," she snapped, grabbing Piper's hand and orbing her to the Magic School next to Leo. "Any progress?" she demanded urgently.
"No," Leo sighed, disappointed. He looked down at Chris, who was sweating and pale-faced. "Nothing. Phoebe's tried spells that don't work on him. Nothing's working at all, and I don't think we have much time. Did you find anything out?"
"Yeah," Mel replied. "That's why I gotta go." She orbed out just as Paige walked in from finishing orbing down the innocents.
"Where'd she go?" Paige asked. "What happened?"
"Why did she just leave?" Leo added.
Piper sighed, burying her head in her arms and unable to look at Chris. Finally, she took her arms away and stared at the floor. This was going to be a little hard to explain, but she'd have to take a whack at it. It wouldn't be as bad as what Mel was going to have to do.
"Well," she began, "it all began with Wyatt and a shape-shifting demon..."
()/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)()/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)()/)/)/)/ )/)/)/)/)
Mel had seen the underworld before—she'd been in it on several occasions, actually, but none as threatening as this one. Apparently everybody had heard of Wyatt's turning and fled the area in either fear or desire to join him. It was dead quiet, she could've heard a pin drop from a mile away.
On second thought...
The footsteps were muffled and hard to hear, but definitely there. She took a small step towards the noise, then realized: the footsteps, however far away they were, sounded just like her own. A chill went up her spine at the thought of that demon pretending to be her, being in her cloned body.
By following the footsteps she was lead into a room lit by fiery torches. There were five walls around her, each with a noticeable rock sticking out from them. 'Those must be the boulders Wyatt was talking about,' she thought.
From the corner of her eye she saw the demon knock on the first boulder. Panicking, she braced herself, ready to make a mad dash for the opening if he succeeded. Fortunately it remained closed. She silently breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief was quickly replaced by more frantic paranoia as she saw her demon clone advance onto the next boulder.
Yet again, nothing happened. She relaxed for a moment, then crept about ten feet behind him for the next boulder. He knocked once more, and a blinding blue light filled the room and his screaming—no, her screaming, technically speaking—pierced the room. She cringed at the demon's agony, seeing that he had been reduced to a pile of ash.
It hadn't worked. The boulder hadn't been fooled by the demon's clever antics, it still remained closed. She grinned and ran towards it.
Mel knocked three times. "Charmed," she whispered into it.
Nothing happened. She knocked again. "Charmed," she said, louder.
She tried desperately to open it, knocking and wailing "Charmed, charmed, charmed" as many times as she could, but the rock remained closed. She tried the other boulders all again, in case there was some kind of mistake, but there was none. Her knees fell to the ground and she sobbed openly. She couldn't save Chris, she wasn't capable, she wasn't the most pure. Then who was?
All of a sudden the thought hit her.
"If I'm not the purest," she choked, "then it has to be—"
I think I've just about set my own personal record for most torturous cliffhanger ever, thank you very much!! Don't kill me though, there's more probably by tonight or tomorrow morning. It depends on how long I put off my mountain of homework that I'm supposed to do this weekend!
Mel only nodded back. She wished with all of her heart that she could stop Wyatt, maybe turn him back to the light, but knew that she wasn't powerful enough. Only Chris had the power—not just magically, but in terms of compassion, too. From here on it would be a bumpy road for Chris.
Piper put a hand on her shoulder. "Can you sense Wyatt anywhere?"
Mel closed her eyes again. Even sensing didn't come very easily to her, even though she practiced the craft as often as she could. The only person she could easily sense was Chris, probably because she had done so many times before and was used to it by now.
"He's in the underground, below the park," she said suddenly, opening her eyes. "You know, San Francisco Park. By the bridge."
"Of course I know," Piper snapped. "Sorry. It's all a little hard to understand that Wyatt of all people would want to hurt people for PLEASURE. He seemed so innocent, so harmless...so pure..."
"Yeah, well, he had us all fooled," Mel cut in fiercely. "But don't dote on past mistakes, that'll only make it worse. Here, take my hand, I'll orb you there. I can sort of see where he is, and if I'm correct, there's a good little shadowy corner where Wyatt's standing. He wouldn't be able to see it. Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Piper responded, bracing herself for the dizzy sensation of orbing. She smiled internally, remembering the first time she'd orbed. She was mad at Leo then, just as she was now.
"Where are—"
Mel nudged Piper fiercely and clapped a hand over her mouth, afraid that somebody would hear them. They were only about five feet away from the closest demon, and just because they couldn't be seen didn't prevent them from being heard. She put a finger at her mouth for silence and Piper scowled. They remained looking at each other with hostile glares until a familiar voice caught their attention.
"They did manage to kill all of the demons," a voice laughed. It was Wyatt, Mel could see his feet. "This is all going according to plan. They'll never know that by doing what they did, they've only made it worse..."
Mel's heart pounded in her ears, deafening her. She could hear what Wyatt was saying, but could she believe it? How could vanquishing a demon make their situation worse than it already was?
"Master," a feeble creature interrupted. "I'm afraid I still don't understand my task, for I still don't understand what has been done. Tell me and I shall fulfill your every whim."
"I told you before!" Wyatt shouted angrily at the demon at his feet. The demon was small and skinny, crouching down to his knees to bow down. Wyatt only kicked him. "Those demons were neutrals, my 'school friends.' They don't know about magic, and never will. They weren't aware of what they were doing. I found a way to control them." Mel could see Wyatt's malicious grin through the faint glow of the firelight. "I made them demons, two with active powers to torture, just for fun. Then," he paused, grin widening and eyes sparkling with pride. "Then I made one with the power to inject Chris' poisoning and one to heal it. They are both dead. Chris cannot be saved. Unless..."
"Unless what?" the demon asked.
"Unless they find the antidote that can save Chris, that's what. You see, that is why I've sent you. The antidote can only be picked up by the purest being in the world, which I've concluded as Mel. Before they figure that out, you need to take it away, since you can disguise yourself as any being."
"Ah." Even the demon seemed to be smiling. "This is my favorite game of all time, masking my identity with those of others."
Wyatt kicked him again. "This is no game, this is very serious! I need you to get that antidote. Here's a picture of the girl, now do your morphing thing."
The demon lifted the picture off of the floor and squinted at it, reshaping awkwardly into Mel. "Mel" grinned. "I have done as you please, master," he said in a high-pitched voice like Mel's. "Now, tell me where I am to find this antidote of yours."
Mel held her breath to keep from screaming at Wyatt. How dare he? He was using her to get something that could save Chris! Wait—what had he said? That she was the purest of all beings? No, that...that couldn't be right...
"It's in the underworld," Wyatt told him, "inside of a large boulder. There are about five gigantic rocks down there, and one of them contains what I want. Knock three times and say "charmed" to get inside. Do you understand what I expect of you? If you're not here in—" he checked his watch. "30 minutes, then I'll find you—and kill you."
"Yes, master," the demon stuttered, shimmering away.
Wyatt began to laugh. "Little do you know that once that antidote is destroyed, you will go with it in the flames! Hahahahaha!" (cue the evil laughing). He orbed away, leaving the room abandoned and the fireplace nothing but faintly glowing embers, his laughing still echoing eerily off the walls.
"Mel," Piper breathed. "Did you hear that?"
"Of course I did," she snapped, grabbing Piper's hand and orbing her to the Magic School next to Leo. "Any progress?" she demanded urgently.
"No," Leo sighed, disappointed. He looked down at Chris, who was sweating and pale-faced. "Nothing. Phoebe's tried spells that don't work on him. Nothing's working at all, and I don't think we have much time. Did you find anything out?"
"Yeah," Mel replied. "That's why I gotta go." She orbed out just as Paige walked in from finishing orbing down the innocents.
"Where'd she go?" Paige asked. "What happened?"
"Why did she just leave?" Leo added.
Piper sighed, burying her head in her arms and unable to look at Chris. Finally, she took her arms away and stared at the floor. This was going to be a little hard to explain, but she'd have to take a whack at it. It wouldn't be as bad as what Mel was going to have to do.
"Well," she began, "it all began with Wyatt and a shape-shifting demon..."
()/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)()/)/)/)/)/)/)/)/)()/)/)/)/ )/)/)/)/)
Mel had seen the underworld before—she'd been in it on several occasions, actually, but none as threatening as this one. Apparently everybody had heard of Wyatt's turning and fled the area in either fear or desire to join him. It was dead quiet, she could've heard a pin drop from a mile away.
On second thought...
The footsteps were muffled and hard to hear, but definitely there. She took a small step towards the noise, then realized: the footsteps, however far away they were, sounded just like her own. A chill went up her spine at the thought of that demon pretending to be her, being in her cloned body.
By following the footsteps she was lead into a room lit by fiery torches. There were five walls around her, each with a noticeable rock sticking out from them. 'Those must be the boulders Wyatt was talking about,' she thought.
From the corner of her eye she saw the demon knock on the first boulder. Panicking, she braced herself, ready to make a mad dash for the opening if he succeeded. Fortunately it remained closed. She silently breathed a sigh of relief, but the relief was quickly replaced by more frantic paranoia as she saw her demon clone advance onto the next boulder.
Yet again, nothing happened. She relaxed for a moment, then crept about ten feet behind him for the next boulder. He knocked once more, and a blinding blue light filled the room and his screaming—no, her screaming, technically speaking—pierced the room. She cringed at the demon's agony, seeing that he had been reduced to a pile of ash.
It hadn't worked. The boulder hadn't been fooled by the demon's clever antics, it still remained closed. She grinned and ran towards it.
Mel knocked three times. "Charmed," she whispered into it.
Nothing happened. She knocked again. "Charmed," she said, louder.
She tried desperately to open it, knocking and wailing "Charmed, charmed, charmed" as many times as she could, but the rock remained closed. She tried the other boulders all again, in case there was some kind of mistake, but there was none. Her knees fell to the ground and she sobbed openly. She couldn't save Chris, she wasn't capable, she wasn't the most pure. Then who was?
All of a sudden the thought hit her.
"If I'm not the purest," she choked, "then it has to be—"
I think I've just about set my own personal record for most torturous cliffhanger ever, thank you very much!! Don't kill me though, there's more probably by tonight or tomorrow morning. It depends on how long I put off my mountain of homework that I'm supposed to do this weekend!