Thanks people for the wonderful reviews.
First of all, Mellon123, who I did not mention in the last chapter: So sorry Anales that I didn't include you in the commentary last chapter. It's just that I didn't check for more reviews before I posted. Anyways, happy to have you back.
Raven's Sister: Thank you very much for the comment. I tried to make this story as close as possible to the real thing, and I'm glad to see that someone thinks it is.
Xoulblade: Sadly, I missed two weeks ago's episode of Charmed because my MYS concert happened to be at the same time as when it was on. breaks down and starts sobbing But I did see "I Dream of Phoebe" It was soooo sweet! But does that mean that Chris is Wyatt's brother? And I saw last week's episode, well the first half anyway. So, was Chris conceived at the end? Or did he vanish out of existence? And what happened to Piper and Leo on the Ghostly Plane?
ElvenWitch13: I finally got around to reviewing your stories! Can't wait to read more of them. I intend to finish this story, and already, I'm thinking about a sequel. Maybe I'm being too ambitious. Oh well, let's just see how this one turns out before I start to seriously consider writing a second one.
Imhyando: Lemme guess. This must be Roos, isn't it? The way you always end your reviews are a straight giveaway. Not to mention our lil inside thing with you being my muse. Well, I missed last week's episode of Charmed. . . again. . . but this time I have a good excuse: I had a concert on Sunday night. Theoden, a chauvinist pig? starts getting ideas If the Fellowship finds out that Angel's a witch by then, that sounds like a good idea. I know, you are impatient for the part where her lil secret becomes revealed to the Fellowship. Oh, and who won the cat-fight? Me, of course, being the almighty author and by threatening Angel that I'll let Belthazor blow Legolas into smithereens. Angel: seethes I could have blown you up, Gil. I let you live only because of my dedication to protect innocents. Me: Right. . .
Salem: New powers. . . just wait till you see what happens when they can't control them. Lol. The lil behind-the-scenes thing at the beginning of the last chappie was just something I decided to throw in for fun. Not that it was fun getting kicked repeatedly in the shin by my own character.
Miriellar: Did you get my review? I loved your story, though I skipped some parts. You know what I mean. But I know what happened. A lil angsty though, no? But it's not nearly as Mary-Sueish as most of the stories I've read, which is something rare and nice for a change. Nice to know that I'm living up to my readers' expectations.
Soccer-Bitch: Thanks for being a constant reader. People like you make my updates quick and give me the stamina to proofread even when I don't feel like it.
Nikki: Sugarhigh, huh? I can just picture you bouncing off the walls at school. . . and then all the teachers come out really pissed because you're disrupting their classes. Lol. I think you'll be glad that Angel's returning to Middle-earth soon.
Songbreeze1125: Calm down, you'll find out what happens to Borri soon enough. We're almost at that point in the story. Attempting to kill my own character was something I needed to take my irritation out on Angel. She deserved it for bitch-slapping me anyways. But of course, for the sake of the story, I had to let her live. Angel's full name is Angelyn, but she goes by Angel for short.
Lady Light: Chapter nine was a pretty action-packed chapter. But this one is a lot more emotional and depressing. Thanks for reviewing every chapter, I love the support (and attention).
OMG, I cannot believe we're on chapter 10 already! This is like an anniversary for the story somehow. birthday horn honks and streamers fly through the air I never really expected to get this far, but you guys have been the best!!! Luv ya all!
Special thanks to the following readers who have been so supportive through the chapters:
Roos
Salem
ElvenWitch13
Songbreeze1125
Nikki
Alandra
Lady Light
Lady Fae
Mellon123
Miriellar
Soccer-Bitch
Xoulblade
Cindy
Ch. 10: Part I
New Powers, New Responsibilities
Leo put a hand on Wyatt's shoulder. Both father and son were standing in the back lawn together. Wyatt was looking up at the starry heavens above. "Angel's leaving first thing tomorrow morning."
"We'll miss her," said Leo.
"She's needed there," said Wyatt resolutely. "Besides, fate has more in store for her."
'Love.' Leo knew the meaning of the unspoken statement. He was aware of the possibility of Angel finding a soul mate and the Elders' thoughts on the matter. But the mission was unpredictable, anything could happen along the way. Knowing that they were entering dangerous waters, he changed the subject. "You did well with vanquishing the Rowes."
Wyatt smiled inwardly at his father's praise. "Well enough to come home alive."
Leo beamed with pride at the son he had fathered, who had grown up to become a powerful force for good, and risked his own life everyday protecting the innocent. "How did you grow up so fast?"
Wyatt smiled, it wasn't a literal question, but he knew the answer. When his aunt Phoebe died, the Power of Three was shattered for good. The only choice was for her children to take on the position of the Charmed Ones in order to finish their work. And he had assumed the position of being their Whitelighter. So they didn't have the time to grow up the way they should have. "Let's go back in."
The Whitelighter nodded vaguely and followed Wyatt through the back door. Wyatt kicked off his sneakers on the doormat and walked through the kitchen into the living room. Angel was sitting on one of the couches with headphones clamped over her ears that were blaring hard rock full blast. Wyatt and Leo could hear Simple Plan booming through the headphones. It was mostly muffled to them, but they were sure that it must be deafening in Angel's ears. The TV in front of her was tuned in on WB 20. By the vacant look in her eyes, Wyatt could tell that she was not really paying attention to the TV or the CD player blasting in her ears.
Angel stared at the screen blankly where Lana Lang and Clark Kent were having a cozy little conversation in The Talon. The rock music blaring from the headphones were becoming a monotonous drone in her mind.
'I'm just a kid, my life is a nightmare–' Was letting Boromir die really something that needed to happen? '–I'm just a kid, I know this is not fair –' Suppose she did save him. . . could she possibly convert him back from the dark side? 'Nobody cares 'cuz I'm alone in the world–' What if Kendall was wrong? What if saving Boromir would result in something good? '–and nobody wants to be alone in the world–'
"Hey. . .um. . .Angel?" asked Leo uncertainly. There was no response. He started to walk up to her from behind and tapped her shoulder lightly. "Angelyn. . ."
Her train of thoughts broke as she felt the touch. She wheeled around with a surprised gasp and almost at once, the window to her left shattered. Angel winced at the sound of breaking glass and when the shards clattered to the floor. "Oh dammit," she muttered and took off the headphones so that they hung from around her neck. "Sorry," she said meekly to Leo and Wyatt behind her. "I didn't see you coming in."
They were both in frozen positions, Leo with his arms raised and Wyatt with a mildly surprised expression etched on his face. Angel raised her hands to unfreeze them, but thought better of it and waited for time to resume on its own. She would probably explode them if she tried. After several moments, time started again and the two fell a step back, blinking confusedly at the lapse in their memories. Angel mumbled her apologies again.
"It's alright," said Leo reassuringly. "I'm sure Piper can find a spell to fix that."
Wyatt looked up at the clock. It was a quarter after eight. "Shouldn't you be getting your things together now?"
"Oh. . . yeah." Angel set down the remote control on the coffee table and headed up the stairs toward her room. The incident only a few minutes ago made her even more nervous than before to return to Middle-Earth. She could have blown up her cousin and uncle! So far, her failure to control her new powers had not resulted in anything serious. And not only did she have little power over her new abilities, but it seemed that they were interfering with her control over her old ones as well. Angel had become a walking red zone. Anyone who came too close was in danger of being exploded, set on fire, or frozen.
But at least the power to compress the molecular density of air wasn't hers. They all soon figured out that that was one of Kendall's new powers when she sliced a fly in two as she was shooing it away from the dinner table. Adrian had gained the power of telepathy. As for Wyatt, his new powers hadn't made a show yet. Or maybe he had already learned to control them and didn't know. It was possibly considering that he was the most powerful magical being in existence.
Angel closed the door behind her as she entered her bedroom. She slipped on the headphones again and lay down on the bed on top of the hoodie that she had worn through the travels in Middle-Earth. Angel sat up and held the sweatshirt up to her nose. It smelled clean; it must have been through the laundry already. Feeling something solid in the front pocket, she reached in and pulled out the switchblade. 'I forgot about this,' she thought as she flicked out the six-inch long blade and fingered the cold steel gingerly.
It struck her as odd that the blade that could kill could also save lives. On its own it wasn't evil, though it could just as easily be used for right or wrong. It was the same with magic; as easily converted to good as it was to evil. It all depended on the wielder of the weapon.
Her train of thoughts were broken when she felt a sharp pain on her finger. Looking down, she saw fresh blood oozing from her finger. Angel stuck her finger into her mouth and sucked on it, but nearly choked on the coppery taste. She retracted the blade and slipped it back into the hoodie pocket.
'Okay, time to pack,' she thought and looked around the room. Angel picked up a
black shoulder bag with an adjustable strap. Kendall came in and closed the door behind her. "Thought I might help you pack."
Angel nodded and started to stuff several CDs into the bag. Kendall strode over and pulled them back out. "Nonononono!"
Angel stared at her, hands on hips. "What?"
"You are only packing what you need. The basic necessities of surviving with nine guys in the wilderness." Kendall held up the CDs. "Simple Plan, Antiflag, and Yellowcard are not basic necessities." She set them down on the CD rack.
"Kendall. . ." Angel whined, putting on her sappiest puppy face. "What am I gonna do the whole time there?"
Kendall was unaffected by her sister's pleading. "Fight demons, protect the Fellowship from Belthazor. It's not like you'll have much spare time there anyway." She giggled. "And when you do have free time, I'm sure you'd much rather use it to get to know that hot elf better."
The younger sister grinned in spite of herself. "Oh shut up. Just because I have the hots for him doesn't mean he does for me. The feeling has to be mutual for the chemistry to go to work." She held up an electric hair curler. "This at least is essential to survival," she stated before shoving it in the shoulder bag.
Kendall smiled with mild amusement. "Do you really think there are electrical outlets in Middle-Earth?"
Angel groaned and dumped the curler out onto the bed. "If Belthazor doesn't kill me, lack of modern equipment will." She trudged out of the room towards the bathroom with Kendall behind her.
Kendall opened the mirror cabinet. Inside was an assortment of Bath & Body Works products. She reached up and pulled out several bottles of scented lotion, shampoo, and a container of deodorant. "That is what I mean by necessity." She pulled out the drawers and added a brush to the bag.
Then they returned back to the bedroom.
"I should pack some clothes," said Angel as she opened the wardrobe. "I'm sure Aunt Piper won't mind if I borrow some." She riffled through the outfits for a few minutes, then pulled out a tank top and shorts. "How about this one?"
"Are you kidding? It's the middle of winter, you'll freeze!" Kendall chose a navy blue jacket, a purple T-Shirt, and jeans. It was both cute and looked warm enough too. Angel folded them and placed them neatly on top of the lotion bottles. Then she chose out another set of clothes to wear tomorrow and set it on the bedside table.
I owe everyone an apology. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this up. And this isn't even a complete chapter yet. This is half of chapter 10, and the second half will be up soon (I hope). I'm posting because this chapter is taking me a really long time, and I was sure that if I waited until I finished the whole thing people would be pissed for having to wait.