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Chapter 14: Innocents with Secrets
"Dad?" Phoebe repeated. "This is your dad?"
"Yes," Melanie replied.
"Oh great," Chris mumbled. "This just keeps getting better and better. It's like a damned soap opera around here." Paige slapped him on the back of the head. "What?!" he exclaimed, but Paige just gave him a look.
"So you guys are father and daughter?" Leo clarified.
"Yes," they replied in unison, never breaking eye contact.
"Isn't this the part on Oprah were you have a big tearful reunion hug?"
Paige just looked at Chris in exasperation. "Shut up!"
Chris just looked at her sheepishly. "I'm just going to go over... Yeah, I'm just going to go." He headed out of the room.
"Anyway," Piper said, getting back to the matter at hand. "Steve, Why didn't you tell us you had a daughter?"
"Because I thought she was safe."
"With a monster like this running around, how could you possibly think she was safe?" Phoebe inquired.
"She lived with her aunt, who was a witch. Her aunt said she could cast protection spells and charms on her to protect her."
Piper let out a laugh. "Hah. If those things actually worked, I'd be walking with them tattooed on my back."
"You mean they don't work?" Steve said, looking crestfallen.
Phoebe quickly intervened, not wanting the man to loose heart. "Sometimes they work, but not against a demon this powerful."
"Why is the Menatar even after you? You're not a witch, are you?"
"Me? Hell no. The Menatar killed my wife because it was prophesized that she would vanquish the Menatar. So he went after her before she could go after him."
"I'm sorry that happened to your wife, but why is the Menatar after you and your daughter if he already killed your wife?"
Steve let out a bitter laugh. "When the Menatar comes after you, He doesn't just come after you, he goes after your whole family, magical or not."
"Oh," was all Paige said.
"Alright. This demon is pissing me off to no end. I want him vanquished before the night is over."
"Don't you listen?! The one who could vanquish the Menatar is dead! You can't do it!" Steve was outraged that they wouldn't listen.
"We've vanquished unvanquishable demons before. This one is no different."
"Just because you guys vanquished The Source doesn't mean you can take on the Menatar! Even The Source avoided him."
"Vanquishing The Source isn't the worst force of evil we've vanquished. He was a whip compared to the Titans." Phoebe said, and Paige laughed.
"You may find this very funny, but I don't. I you guys want to commit suicide, it's fine with me. But you are not dragging me or my daughter into this."
"It's too late," Phoebe said. "Your daughter has been dragged into this whether you like it or not."
Piper and Paige looked at her in confusion, so Phoebe elaborated, "If her mother was meant to vanquish the Menatar, maybe she is too. The same blood flows through her veins, so why shouldn't she be able to do it."
"But I'm not my mother," Melanie said, talking for the first time in five minutes.
"No," Paige said, picking up on Phoebe's train of thought. "But you are like her. When Our older sister, Prue, died, destroying the Charmed Ones, I was able to step up and reconstitute the Charmed Ones, even though I am only technically half-witch and their half-sister."
"But we think of her as a full sister," Phoebe added and Paige smiled at her. Phoebe knew Paige felt a little inferior to Prue, but Phoebe loved all her sisters the same.
"Then why can't Melanie's aunt, her mother's sister, vanquish the demon?" Steve asked, frustrated.
"Because her mother was chosen to do this, and she passed it on to her daughter, not her sister."
"But you're not even sure this will work! What if it gets her killed?"
"It's chance I have to take," Melanie said, sticking up for her self, surprising everyone. "This demon kill my mom and has a plague on my life for the last seven years. I want him dead so I can move on."
Piper's mouth dropped open in surprise at how articulate this little eleven-year-old girl was. A plague on her life, the words resounded through Piper's head.
Steve's angry question brought Piper back from her space-out. "What are you even doing away from your aunt's?"
"I took a bus here so I could find you. If I'm not safe, you sure aren't."
"Does your aunt know?"
"I left Aunt Lydia a note."
"You are grounded as soon as this is over."
"How are you going to ground me if you're never around?"
Piper had to suppress a laugh. This girl is good. Piper just watched as the two argued a bit more.
Paige stomach suddenly growled loudly. "It's the Menatar!" Steve screamed and pulled Melanie into a crouching a position.
"Calm down," Paige said, laughing. "It's just my stomach. Even super witches like us get hungry. I'll go make us some sandwiches."
"I'm going to go tweak the Power of Three spell so Melanie can say it with us."
"She's not doing it," Steve protested, knowing it was a lost cause.
"We'll be with her the whole time," Phoebe assured him.
"Oh, that's comforting," Steve said sarcastically.
"Come on, Melanie. We'll go work on the spell in the attic. I'll even show you our Book of Shadows." Phoebe and Melanie went to the attic, and Paige went to the kitchen, followed close by Steve, who wanted nothing to do with magic. Piper and Leo were left alone, standing by the stairs.
"Piper," Leo softly called, and drew her into a hug. "How are you holding up?"
"Better now," she said, leaning into him. "I just whish we knew what happens to Chris in the future. I can't imagine us letting anything happen to him."
"What ever it is, we'll fix it, I promise."
"At least Wyatt was good in the future. We did one thing right."
"Yes, Wyatt was very good. Did you see him, an Elder?" Piper heard the pride creeping into his voice anytime he talked about Wyatt.
"Yes. And you were still an Elder too. Do you think that means..."
Leo put his finger to her lips. "Shhh. Don't think about it. I am going through with the ceremony so I can be with you and the kids. Nothing is going to stop that." Piper loved hearing his reassurances, but she knew as well as anyone that shit happens.
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Piper and Leo stood over a sleeping Wyatt in his bed, and Piper pulled the covers tighter over her little boy.
There was a knock on the door, and Piper softly called out, "Come in."
Paige stuck her head in and whispered, "Lunch is ready. Chris, Steve, Phoebe, and Melanie are in the attic eating."
"We're coming," Piper said, and that's when it happened.
A distinct rumbling tore throughout the manor, and it wasn't Paige's stomach this time.
Piper, Leo, and Paige spared a glance at each other before sprinting to the attic. On the way out, Leo called, "Wyatt, danger!" and Wyatt, half asleep, put his shield up.
When they arrived in the attic, the scene unfolded before them. The Menatar had Phoebe and Melanie cornered in one side of the attic, Steve near by. Chris stood to the left of Steve, while Leo, Paige, and Piper were behind the Menatar, near the attic door. The Menatar raised one of its menacing claws towards Melanie, but Steve did the unthinkable.
He jumped in front of the monster, pushing Melanie out of the way, but put him self in harm's way.
Leo ran towards Steve, but he too was thrown across the room, slamming into the wall and then to the floor.
"Leo!" Piper screamed, intending to go to her husband, but Paige grabbed her around the waist and led her to Phoebe and Melanie.
Once together, the four joined hands and began to recite the spell:
"Evil menace of the night,
Be gone forever
And end our plight"
The Menatar let out one last howl, shaking the foundation of the house. He melted into a huge pile muck, and was gone.
The girl's relief was short lived, though. Piper ran to Leo, cradling his head in her lap.
"Piper, wake him up," Paige said, examining Steve. "It looks bad."
Piper shook Leo awake, and he opened his eyes and looked at her. His eyes then turned next to him, where Melanie was crying of her father. He crawled over to Steve, and immediately began to heal him.
After three minutes of healing, Leo sat back on his heels, and everyone looked at him expectantly.
"He's dead."
Author note: I hope you guys like how the story is going so far. Sorry it took me so long to update. My computer had a virus, and it would barely let me on the internet, and if it did, it would only let me read and review stories. I plan on updating often now.
Upcoming: Some interesting Phoebe/Jason and Piper/Leo developments, as well as Leo unbecoming an Elder (I have quite a surprise in store for that!) Please read and review, I really appreciate your comments.
