DISCLAIMER: This story may contain traces of nuts. The author may also contain traces of nuts, only this time as in the mental issues. Anyway this story may also contain things that don't belong to me, however unwillingly I admit it.
Several minutes later, after separating potion vials and the like, Chris went about 'gathering the troops', with Ben laughing the whole time.
"Do you think you can drag Bridget along?" Chris asked hopefully into the phone, pacing the kitchen and looking at the clock.
"If she's dried off, that is," Ben added, examining the potion bottles.
Chris rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Is Ben there?" Nixa questioned, hearing the voice in the background.
"Yeah, he is… Apparently he has nothing better to do than stand behind me and listen in on my phone calls…" Chris glared at his friend.
Ben scowled, glaring up at Chris. "Was that a hint or did you just want me to leave?"
"Heh. You're funny… What Nixa? He's standing here making faces…"
"Am not!"
"Shut up… Huh? Oh, sure…" He paused and then spoke again, slightly tentatively, "Hi?"
"Who's there?" Ben asked as Chris swatted him away. Rolling his eyes, he left the kitchen.
"Oh," A very annoyed female voice answered. "Your call waiting was Chris?" It was Bridget this time, "I'm still mad at you, by they way."
Chris smiled to himself, knowing exactly what Bridget needed. "Would a demon to kill make it all better?"
"Hm…" Bridget groaned, debating jokingly if it would be worth her while. The sound of a door closing filled the silence as she shut the rest of her house out. "I don't know, what say you, Nix?"
"Uh…" Nixa was back on her phone this time. "I think things are looking up for him…"
They were having a three-way conversation and Chris was listening to the banter, hoping for a yes. There was a slight clatter on the phone.
"Who else is there?" Bridget and Nixa asked together.
Chris turned to see Ben walk back into the kitchen with the other cordless to his ear.
"Is it Ben again?"
"Yeah, it's me again," He told them, laughing at Chris, who made another swipe at his head.
"He picked up the extension." Chris filled them in.
"Too right I did… Look, Bridget. Do you want to come hunting or not?"
"Drox has my family somewhere; I need you for this one…" Chris pleaded, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Dude, he took all of your family?" Bridget asked, "Jeez, you're gonna need firepower…" She was quiet for a minute, then in a much sweeter voice, she said: "If you orb over and ask real nice like, I'll come with you…"
"Why can I see this ending with you on you're knees and a contract for indentured servitude?" Ben wondered, hopping up onto the counter and drumming his fingers on the edge.
"And if that's Ben mumbling that, bring him too," Bridget added evilly, a smirk very evident in her voice.
Ben looked horrified and quickly hung up the extension before he could do any more damage, putting it on the kitchen island. "Couldn't keep that one to myself could I?"
Bridget laughed this time. "I'm off to polish some blades. I'll expect you guys in a few?"
"Sure, bye," Bridget hung up and it returned to a two-way call.
"It's scary how demon-killing cheers her up to no end, isn't it?" Nixa asked.
"Yes. Very, very scary… See you soon, ok?" Chris said, hanging up and turning back to Ben, who was backing away. Chris lunged for his arm and grabbed a handful of his friend's jacket. "And you are coming with me to get Bridget," Chris smirked as Ben's whine was lost in a cloud of orbs.
"We're here!" Ben announced, stepping out of the orbs into Bridget's bedroom. Being as Bridget's parents were frequently out of town, and she an only child, she got the master suite. Dark purple walls were plastered with posters of movies and rock bands, red bathroom rugs covered places on the hardwood floors and black lace curtains hung over the windows.
Bridget grinned, taking her legs off of her desk where they were kicked up. "You sound so thrilled."
"Oh I am. Getting dragged along for the ride is always fun."
"More fun than making sarcastic comments on the phone to me?"
Chris chuckled softly to himself and Ben went rather pale. "Heh… Yeah, I'm gonna shut up now."
"Are you coming?" Chris asked, looking expectantly at Bridget, who was pulling her hair back into a tight braid.
"Wait, wait, wait. Does servitude sound familiar to you?" Ben was being glared at by Chris and smiled sweetly at by Bridget. He didn't know which was worse.
Ben gulped. "Maybe?" he answered weakly.
"Well anyway…" She walked to the end of her bed where there was an open trunk full of weapons. "What's a girl to choose?"
"This is the part where you want help… matching them with your outfit, right?" Ben asked, looking doubtfully into the stash.
"Coordinating. I need help coordinating my outfit. Get it right Ben."
"Whatever…" He delved quickly into the trunk, hoping to get this over with fast, so he grabbed the first thing that looked promising. Pulling out an athame with a handle of mother of pearl, he waved it around slightly. "This one is the same colour as your tennis shoes, so… And this one is…" He grabbed another athame. "Black. And uh, black goes with black, right? And you seem to have a thing with the whole black Angel of Death-type deal…"
"Servitude mounting up…" Bridget warned, looking at Chris out of the corner of her eye. He was trying very hard to contain his laughter.
"Ok, ok…" Ben looked helplessly and desperately back into the trunk. "The blade is silver, you like silver, right? And I don't know what that is." He dropped it was a distasteful 'clunk' onto the carpet. "Uh… Ow! Ok, it's sharp. Huh. Ok… An axe, interesting. More silver… And - Can you actually carry anything else pointy?"
"Keep going," Bridget nodded with a deceptively sweet smile and tone.
"Ok." Ben said, kneeling down and nicking the back of his hand on something, "Great, thanks for the tetanus."
"Servitude, Benny darling."
"Not if I die of tetanus," Ben reminded her sarcastically, "Uh-huh. I don't know what that is either. Cool, you have a sword?" He unsheathed a long samurai sword and admired the colour and balance of the blade. "Hey cool, there's an engraving on the blade.
"Thank you…" She took it from him and slung it over her back.
"And because you like pointy things, have another sword," He handed her a broadsword and closed the lid of the trunk, "Happy now?"
"You are scarily good at that," Chris told him.
"Well that's great! If being a witch falls through I can make a career in the army matching guns to camouflage gear."
"Riiight. Are you ready yet?" Chris asked Bridget, hoping to get away quickly.
"Weeelllll…" Bridget said as she studied her nails, "I'm going to have to do my nails again. The polish is going to get so chipped." She waved the digits at him and he grabbed her hand so she wouldn't do it anymore.
"Ok, fine, I'll paint your damn nails." He said in frustration, glancing down at the black polish.
"And afterwards I might need to unwind with a movie or two." She added, smiling at her entertainment centre, which she had brought up from the living room while her parents were out of town.
"No!" Chris pleaded instantly. "I know the sort of movies you like." Chris whined.
"Servitude?"
"I really hate you right now," Chris told a grinning Ben, who was sucking the blood from the back of his hand.
"Sorry." He apologized. "Come on I think the princess is ready now…" He missed Bridget's glare and ploughed on. "The sooner we do this, the sooner you two can watch Bridget's collection of action movies… or her S&M porn. Never can tell what you like-" Bridget was beginning to look rather annoyed. "Okay, shutting up now."
"Does servitude mean nothing to you people?" Bridget walked over to the other end of the room and into her large, walk-in closet. Ten minutes later she came out again wearing blue this time. "Sorry, looks like my weapons don't match any more…" She tossed them back in the trunk and Ben gaped wordlessly and reluctantly started again.
"I still don't get why you're wearing pink…" Nixa repeated, trudging through the trees with her three friends, "Happy, girly, way too Barbie/Pink Ranger. It's not you…"
"It's the most awkward colour she could find," Ben said, earning a smack on the shoulder, "And it wasn't even the first or second colour she changed in- Ow!"
"Stop whining…" Bridget ordered, sniggering as his foot sunk in mud. "You know you like it when I wear leather," she added, referring to the hot pink, faux leather pants she was wearing, which Nixa had bought as a joke. The beam of her flashlight swept over the ground in front of her, catching out what appeared to be a huge mud bath right in front of them.
"My pink boots are going to get all dirty." Bridget sighed. "Brown doesn't come out of pink…"
"We could throw you over," Ben suggested under his breath.
"Whatever you were muttering, I doubt it was nice. You'll be my first candidate as the human bridge then?"
"Heh. No." Rolling her eyes, she looked up at her next option.
"Chris?"
Rolling his eyes, he shrugged. "Why don't I just orb us?"
"Because you'll set off any radar that the demon might have," Nixa repeated patiently, enjoying her spectator spot of the torture. "We already said stealth was our best option." She saw Chris slump dejectedly.
"Come on, you know you want to… Oh, wait, you have to, servitude, remember?"
"Bridget..." Chris whined. She crossed her arms, pouting to humour him.
"Be nice? Because the Pink Ranger could always kick ass…" She scolded, smiling now.
"Fine, I'll carry you…" Chris said, rolling his eyes. Bridget set about un-strapping weapons so she could be carried easier and soon there was a small pile on the ground amongst the twigs and leaves.
"My hero." Bridget sprung lightly onto Chris's back and he marched dutifully through the mud for her.
"When did you become such a girly-girl, anyway?" He asked, getting out the other side to find his jeans were covered to mid-calf in mud.
"Ever since I could get away with it, of course." She explained, grinning as he scraped the glutinous substance off of his clothing.
"You know they say mud is good for the skin…" He looked up at her through a curtain of dark hair, a handful of mud in his hand; an evil grin not unlike the one Bridget usually wore on his face. Her eyes narrowed.
"You wouldn't dare…" She threatened, sounding slightly uncertain.
"Wouldn't I?"
"Touch me with that, Chris Halliwell and I swear that I'm gonna ram something sharp and pointy up your-" She broke off as an axe hit her foot. She bent down and collected it. "Perfect. Wait-"
She looked back over the mud patch, which was now glittering and smooth, frozen completely solid. Ben and Nixa skidded neatly to a stop next to the weapons they had slid across the ice.
"You…" Chris gaped at Ben in disbelief. "You could've… That reeks of personal gain, just so you know," Ben grinned apologetically.
"Yeah, well about that…" There was a loud crack as Chris raised his hand and split the ice open before using the same power to push his friend backwards, sinking him up to mid-calf as well. "Oh, thanks…"
"Not a problem." Chris nodded with a grin, extending an arm and together they heaved out of the mud.
"When you two have finished acting like five-year-olds -" Nixa broke in impatiently, no longer entertained. "We actually have a demon to kill. Have you got the potions?"
"Yes, we have the potions," Ben repeated; now scraping his own jeans. He felt in his pocket and the presence of the three vials there was comforting, wrapped in the piece of paper with a spell on if it was needed.
Suddenly, Ben was lifted off of his feet by an energy ball to the stomach. He flew through the air and hit the ground, rolling over before trying to sit up. He winced and looked down at the tattered remains of his shirt.
"Great…" He said through gritted teeth, wincing again as he stood up.
The remaining three rushed forward. "Are you ok?"
"I'll live…" He grunted. Another energy ball flew towards the group and he created a small ice shield in the air that shattered on impact with the energy ball but dissipated the glowing orb. Ben put his hand in his pocket and made a fist around the first potion vial.
"Bring it on!" Bridget yelled, unsheathing her sword with the sound that Ben loved. Apparently, her samurai sword went with pink, as well as dark colours – he couldn't see how, but apparently it did.
"Whoa! Duck!" Chris yelled and the four of them threw themselves flat on the floor as energy balls blew over their heads from all direction, setting bushes ablaze and turning tress into soggy sawdust.
"There's more than one demon?" Nixa asked, lifting her head as much as she dared and blowing hair out of her face.
"I thought there was only one!" Ben shouted, using both hands to created two ice shields.
"Apparently not!" Bridget leapt into the air, spinning and slicing two energy balls in half with her sword. The balls disappeared. Encouraged, the rest of the teenagers got up too.
"Ok." Ben suddenly felt energy leaping and crackling inside him. It had come from somewhere but he didn't know where, it was just there. He raised his hands and a blast of energy burst forth in a ring that blasted everything in his radius, turning the trees to ice and smashing his friends off of their feet. Nixa hit an iced tree, but Chris and Bridget just landed painfully on the ground a little way away.
"What the hell was that?" Chris screeched, panicked as he scrambled to his feet and helped his 'master' up with him whilst she scrabbled for a dropped athame.
"I don't know but it felt amazing!" Ben said in a dazed voice, his eyes oddly crossed. "All that power-"
And he fell to the ground unconscious.
I saw Thunderbirds today! Yay! Lol, it's a good film if you get the chance to check it out do. It gave me lots of little bouncing plot bunnies… Hehehehehe… Ahem… Anyways thanks for all of your reviews.
succubus-69: - It took me a while, didn't it? I'm so sorry about that but thanks for reviewing.
CaliforniaChick: - Lol, thanks.
Dominique: - Thank you and I shall. Luckily I'm not so tired any more and was up until 0230 this morning perfecting it. Thanks for reviewing.
NoAlias: - Lol, thanks, I think… Alas no ass-kicking Chris yet but watch this space, look there it is… Watch it fly… There it goes…
MerlinHalliwell: - I guess you'll have to wait and find out =P
HollyShadow: - I got plenty of sleep I slept past midday… Heh… Anyways thanks for reviewing and worrying about my sleep-loss lol.
Claddagh Ring: - Yeah, soon… More than a fortnight later, perhaps? Hm, sorry about that. Don't worry about being tired; I was ready to fall asleep over my keyboard when I was writing that last chapter… Good job I didn't, really…
Charmed Amber: - Lol, I made you rave… Or maybe you were like that already… Who knows lol? It sucks that you're back at school now but to be fair it's not as if it's summer for you to have a summer vacation is it? Lol, thanks for reviewing.
cherry7up56: - I agree, he is a jerk. Lol.
Chattypandagurl: - Whoa, two 'Leo is a jerk' reviews together Amazing, no? Thanks for your review.
Crimson Amber: - Soon… Yeah… No, the trilogy is called Meant to Live, but the 3rd part of it is called Learning to Tango. The three together are called Meant to Live, ya?
Queen Isa: - I live in the South of England, just above the Isle of Wight so London isn't all that far away. Far enough to not get the traffic from is but close enough for things like attractions etc. thanks for reviewing and I did quite like Greenwich, although it could have been slightly more exciting.
DoRK47: - Thanks, sorry about the delay, though.
princesscatie21: - Sorry it took so long but I'm afraid it did. Thanks for reviewing!