This story's not coming along as quickly as I thought it would, and for that, my bad. But I'm doing what I can, so as usual, kindly bear with me!

chyp: I got one word for you…'thanx.'

Raya: Heresy, betrayal, traitor; those are just some of the words I think of when I read that you like Matthew better than Wesley! Don't even think such horrible things!


An hour had passed and neither Matthew nor James had returned home from their respective places. Wesley sat in the living room, watching television and eating popcorn, a new pastime he had recently acquired. As he was watching a rerun of his favorite television show, Charmed, Matthew burst through the door, panting and holding a bag of melted ice over his head. Wesley quickly ran over and helped him stay upright, which was quite a job considering Matthew weighed almost sixty pounds more than him. Together, they made their way to the couch, where Matthew promptly plopped down.

"What happened to you?" Wesley asked.

"Demon attack," Matthew said.

"One attacked you?" Wesley asked. "In the daytime?"

"Not exactly," Matthew responded. "One was attacking a little girl and I just happened to be in the area, so I went to check it out. The next thing I know, I'm lying on the ground and they're both gone."

"And that doesn't sound peculiar to you?" Wesley asked, concerned.

"What?" Matthew asked.

"You're driving along," Wesley said, "and all of a sudden, a little girl and a demon are on the side of the road and you just conveniently happen to be there. Sounds like a set up to me."

"Think so?" Matthew asked.

"I do," Wesley said. "Meanwhile, Jimmy thinks you set him up for failure about getting the lights in the dining room fixed. I couldn't get a lot out of him about it. He just did the usual hoopin' and hollerin'. Some things never change, I guess."

"Oh, crap," Matthew said. "I took his truck. Think he's that mad?"

"Better you than me," Wesley said. "And he'll get over it anyway. Now, what happened with the lights?"

"Demon," Matthew said simply. "It sucks because they always attack here, and the guy who usually helps us out is on…"

"Vacation," Wesley completed Matthew's sentence. "Jimmy told me that much."

"Oh," Matthew said, "then you're up to speed."

"Well," Wesley said, changing the subject, "I guess we should try and figure out who attacked the girl, and apparently got her."

"She had powers," Matthew explained. "I don't know what kind, though. She just kinda zipped from place to place, although it looked like she couldn't go very far."

"Zipped?" Wesley asked. "Superspeed?"

"Maybe," Matthew said. "The man had red eyes that glowed and he shot these weird black energy balls. I was barely able to phase through it, and I looked behind me and the energy ball just decimated a huge tree like it was nothing. When I turned back around, that's when I got knocked out."

"I thought you were a boxer," Wesley said.

"Anyway," Matthew continued, "the girl kept saying something about the man not stopping until he got her, and that there was nothing I could do."

"Did you see what he looked like?" Wesley asked. "He could be in the Book."

"He was about my height," Matthew said, sizing himself up. "Dressed in black, the usual. Red eyes. I don't think there was anything particular about him. Pretty powerful though, I mean, if he was able to knock me out."

"What is that," Wesley asked, "a cover up? I'll give you a seven for your effort. Let's get the Book and try and ID this guy before classes start. I don't wanna start this year off on a bad note."

"No need," Matthew said, quickly standing up. "He's here."

A black fog slowly drifted into the living room from under the front door. It made its way towards the two brothers. Soon, it began to take the shape of a man, the same man who had attacked Matthew earlier in the day, although he remained in the fog-like state. His eyes glowed the red color that Matthew had just told Wesley about, and Wesley quickly jumped behind Matthew, peeking his head over Matthew's shoulder.

"What the hell is that?" Wesley asked.

"It's what knocked me out," Matthew said.

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?" Wesley asked frantically as the man drifted closer to them.

"Well, smart guy," Matthew said, "you freeze him and I'll…grab the minivac?"

Matthew pushed Wesley out in front of himself and took a defensive stance. Wesley threw his hands out to freeze the demonic fog, but he found that his powers had no effect. He tried again, but both times proved useless. The man smiled slightly as he continued to approach his targets, his eyes glowing even brighter than before.

"He's not stopping!" Wesley shouted.

"I see that!" Matthew replied. "Plan B!"

"We don't have a Plan…" Wesley started to say. "Matt, watch out!"

Wesley jumped back as the man suddenly materialized into a corporeal form, dressed in a long black robe, and launched himself at Matthew, who was standing closest to him. Matthew reacted immediately, despite his headache, and used his leg as a baseball bat. He kicked the demon in midair, sending him flying in Wesley's direction. Wesley tried to freeze him again, thinking that since he was now solid, it would work. To his chagrin, his powers failed him again and the demon flew at him, knocking him out cold as they both crashed into a bookshelf.

"Damn it!" Matthew cursed at himself.

"Good thinking," the man said, sneering.

The man raised himself off of Wesley and conjured a black orb of energy in his hand, preparing to hit Wesley with it. Before he could throw it, Matthew was already in the air; he had leapt up and was about to kick the man, trying to prevent Wesley from suffering the same fate as the tree had before. He tackled the demon and caused the energy ball to waver off course and hit the television, instantly reducing it to a pile of ashes. Matthew went to punch the man in the face, but the man quickly turned into a fog, which sucked Matthew into it. Then, as mysteriously as the fog had appeared, it vanished.


Oh no! Matt! MATT! What's happened to him? Y'all will have to wait until the next chapter to get anything else out of me!