Thanks to Kas for her reviews.
Chapter 11
Josiah, the modern-day witch disguised as his ancestor with the same name, entered the upstairs clinic of the peacekeeper and town's unofficial doctor, Nathan Jackson.
Nathan turned as he heard the door open and saw who he thought was a fellow peacekeeper, Josiah Sanchez. "Josiah, wasn't expectin' ta see you 'til later."
"Brother Nathan, I need some herbs for a friend in the next town over who needs some for a new headache cure he's trying to perfect, but I'm not sure if you have any suitable," improvised Josiah, hoping he could fool the healer. Although the vanquishing potion recipe only called for one herb, Josiah thought he might as well get a few extra while he was there.
"Sure, Josiah, I have some that'll be perfect. Wait in here and I'll just get ya some." Nathan went through a door to where he had some fresh herbs growing inside.
Josiah looked around the room, fascinated by the make-shift hospital that didn't have the modern-day gadgets he was used to seeing in hospitals.
Nathan re-entered the room and handed a few sprigs of green leaves to Josiah. "Here you are - just fresh this morning."
Josiah carefully put the herbs in the leather bag he'd borrowed from his ancestor. "Thank you, Brother. I shall see you later." Josiah hoped he was saying things the way his ancestor would, or Nathan could get suspicious.
"I could be a mite late - got a lot to do here first."
Josiah walked to the door and nodded to Nathan before opening it and leaving.
When the witch Josiah got outside, he thought to look cautiously over the balcony first to see if there was anyone nearby in the street below. Josiah didn't want any more distractions while he was on a mission to protect his brothers' futures. He spotted the peacekeeper JD Dunne standing around in the street, and instantly felt suspicious of the young man. He had a strong, but unexplainable, feeling that it was the demon, glamoured into a copy of the youngest peacekeeper.
Then, remembering that Ezra could blink from one place to another, the witch Josiah realized he could blink to somewhere out of the demon's line of vision to get past him undetected. He started focusing on a spot in the street where he wouldn't be spotted by the enemy - hopefully the blinking power would work for Josiah on his first attempt. He was in luck, as he blinked from outside the clinic to his chosen spot in the street below, out of the demon's line of vision. Josiah grinned - Ezra was truly blessed to have such useful powers. The oldest brother was very glad that he was the one to get those powers so he could make good use of them to help bring the two vanished brothers back and protect the ones who hadn't ceased to exist or died yet.
When Josiah and his father had found out Ezra was dead rather than wiped from existence, they hadn't been too surprised that the demon had actually killed the Standish descendant rather than the ancestor. The demon would likely kill any witch he knew was in the Old West, rather than their ancestor. As long as the demon didn't know the witch Josiah was there, Josiah would have the element of surprise if he encountered the Time-changer demon. He'd be able to use his magic against the evil-being and the demon wouldn't be expecting it.
Needing to tell Ezra how grateful he was for the use of his brother's powers, Sanchez looked up at the sky. "Thank you, Brother. I wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for you loaning your powers to me. The others and I will see you and JD back at home real soon, I promise."
The male witch continued on his way, wondering if his feelings had been right about peacekeeper JD really being the demon in disguise. Was there a power of Ezra's that told him who was really a demon? How was he going to find the REAL peacekeeper JD so he could get the final ingredient for the vanquishing potion?
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Once inside the saloon in Four Corners, the witch Chris was greeted by a pretty Mexican barmaid who asked him if he'd like a drink, obviously deciding that he was old enough to drink alcohol. Using what he'd learned from the history book, Chris decided what kind of drink to order, and once he'd been served he sat down at an empty table.
"Hey, Kid," greeted the peacekeeper, Vin Tanner, as he approached Chris. "I couldn' help noticin' ya look a mite lost. Can I help ya with somethin'?"
Chris was about to answer Vin when the peacekeeper, whom he remembered as the Old West JD Dunne, approached the table and looked at Tanner. "Vin, something weird's going on. There's a guy here who everyone's been mistaking for me. I've been at the Wells' place all morning."
Peacekeeper Vin's mouth fell open, stunned by what he was hearing. He completely believed what JD was telling him - although it sounded far-fetched - as the young man had earlier seemed strange in his opinion. That meant those wanted posters that 'JD' had shown them earlier must be fakes and the ambush could've been to arrest two innocent men.
"That's why I'm here," explained the disguised witch Chris, choosing his words carefully before continuing. "There's a dangerous outlaw on the loose who looks just like you and I'm here to capture him. Don't be fooled by how young I look - this is a disguise so he doesn't recognize me. He already escaped me once in another town."
Both men looked shocked, judging by their open mouths, by Chris's story.
"I need to track him down. Vin...um...Sir, where did you last see him?"
Vin closed his mouth and straightened his clothing, before speaking. "He was here not long b'fore ya entered. We better find Chris an' tell him there's an outlaw about."
The blond modern day witch stood up, preparing to leave the building. He was worried that if he met his ancestor he might seriously harm the time-line. "If you'll excuse me, Sirs. I need to capture him before he causes harm to one of the town's folk." Chris quickly left the saloon before he had to meet his ancestor, the gunslinger Chris Larabee.
"Put your hands up where I can see them," ordered a voice that sounded the same as the Old West JD Dunne's. Chris looked to his left and saw that it was the demon, still disguised as JD, and holding two guns pointed at him.
"I was just coming to look for you, Mr. Demon," said Chris, as he turned and put his hands up, unsure of what else he could do. Chris didn't know if the guns were loaded, so disobeying the demon's orders could get him shot. Hopefully something would happen to stop the demon killing him.
"You weren't my next intended victim, but since I make my own decisions now, I can kill whoever I please." The demon could sense the boy's fear and smiled - he loved feeling the negative emotions that emanated from his victims. As it was a public place, the demon couldn't use fireballs to hurt his victim, as it would have a very bad effect on the timeline, or so he'd been told by the warlocks. So instead, he had to threaten to shoot the witch disguised as a cowboy. The plan was to get the teenager to a more private place and then kill him.
"I wouldn't if I were you," warned a deep male voice from behind the demon. Then the man, who looked like the peacekeeper Josiah Sanchez, without making any contact with the demon, sent him flying into the wall of the nearest building. Josiah made the guns fly to Chris, who grabbed both and held them pointed at the demon. Luckily, there was nobody nearby to witness the magical happenings. "Chris, it's me, your brother, Josiah."
Chris walked to his brother, who looked and sounded like the peacekeeper Josiah, and bear-hugged him briefly, with his borrowed guns still pointed at the demon. "Josiah, I'm so glad to see you, even if you do look and sound different. Did you use a spell to change your appearance?"
'I mustn't reveal anything about the prophecy to him so I should just go along with Chris's assumption why I look this way,' thought Josiah. He answered Chris, "Yes, it worked like a charm, Brother. I found the Time-changer demon vanquishing potion recipe and spell in The Book and already have two ingredients for it, but need to find the real ancestor of JD Dunne to get the last ingredient. You haven't seen him around here someplace have you?" As he spoke, Josiah continued to use his telekinesis to keep the demon away from them.
"He's in the saloon. How are we meant to get his blood?"
"Leave that to me," said the voice of Nathan Jackson, as the man walked out from a nearby back-alley.
"Nathan?" asked Chris, unsure if it was their Nathan or the Old West version.
"Chris, I'm YOUR Nathan - I've come here to help since I feel terrible that I refused to before. I'm sure I coulda stopped Ezra from gettin' killed if I'd been here sooner."
"Nate, we need to get rid of this guy for good. We'll stay out here and watch the demon, while you go inside and get a drop of JD's blood. You can pose as their doctor and make up an excuse for needing some."
"Okay. Then we'll need to mix the ingredients together before we boil them. To do that we'll need a stove, and there's a hotel nearby, so I'm sure we can use theirs. Josiah? Can you keep the demon distracted long enough for us to get this potion ready?"
"Sure, sounds like fun," agreed Sanchez, grinning at the demon as he sent it crashing into the wall again. Luckily, there were no townsfolk nearby to witness the strange happenings.
"This place is too public," stated Chris. "If we don't want to risk exposure, we'd better move the demon to somewhere more private."
"I noticed a livery stable nearby," said Nathan, still keeping up the pretense that this period wasn't where he had been alive. "Chris, you go and persuade anyone inside to leave, then Josiah can go inside with the demon."
The men separated to play their part in Nathan's hastily thought up plan. While Nathan went into the saloon, Chris entered the livery and Josiah stayed outside and out of sight with the demon, which couldn't move while Josiah's telekinesis had a strong hold on him. For a few years, Sanchez had been able to use his telekinesis to keep people and objects still, as if frozen. The only possible explanation was that his power had grown stronger and that one extra use for it was the result.
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After entering the saloon, Nathan approached the table where the peacekeepers Vin and JD were talking. Nathan was dressed just like his living peacekeeper form so he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.
"Hey, Nate," greeted Vin, unaware that it was the angel of their friend and not the living version. "Ya seen Chris around? We need ta warn him 'bout an outlaw disguised as the kid." The men had been just about to leave the building and find the leader of their group of peacekeepers.
"Hey!" complained JD, annoyed at being called 'the kid' yet again.
"Sorry, JD."
Nathan smiled, happy to be back with his old friends if only for a short while. He got the feeling he might not be able to spend much time with the angel of Vin Tanner back in the present, after Vin AKA Michael had proved he might succeed to reveal the prophecy to the witches prematurely. "I don't know where Chris is right now. Maybe in the jail? I need to ask ya somethin', JD."
"Thanks, Nate," said Vin as he stood up and went to find Chris to warn him about the outlaw.
"Ask away, Nate," said JD, thinking Nathan might ask something related to his forth-coming wedding.
"Could I have a drop or two of yer blood?"
The request startled JD, who wondered why Nathan would suddenly want some of his blood.
"It's for somethin' I read about recently," Nathan quickly improvised. He took an empty glass off the table - that would have to do to transport the blood as he didn't have anything suitable on him.
"Okay, Nate."
Taking one of his throwing knives from where he wore them, Nathan gently pierced the skin on JD's left arm. Then JD held his arm up and let a few drops fall into the glass that Nathan held in place. Nathan had decided not to cut one of JD's fingers because doing that would spoil his aim with a gun until it healed.
"Thanks." Nathan handed JD the clean handkerchief he'd just taken out of a pocket. "Go and wash yer arm thoroughly, then hold this tight around yer arm for a while. I have ta take this back ta the clinic right away."
The youngest peacekeeper gratefully received the handkerchief from Nathan and held it over his pierced skin. He wondered what strange thing one of his friends would ask him to do next.
Nathan left the saloon feeling triumphant - they now had all the ingredients needed to make the vanquishing potion. The Whitelighter was glad that it only needed three ingredients, or they might lose more witches before they could vanquish the Time-changer demon.
As Chris, Josiah and the demon weren't outside, Nathan quickly walked to the livery, hoping they'd all be inside and the demon hadn't hurt anyone.
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When they'd orbed back to the heavens from the Underworld, Michael and Nathan had been met by Orion and Julius, who had been unable to sense how the two were doing on their mission as it was in the Underworld.
Orion stepped closer to them and walked around both the Whitelighters, looking for any signs that they'd been hurt. The Elders were always very concerned for the safety of their Whitelighters when they went on dangerous missions - especially when they didn't go with any witches who could use their powers to help protect them.
"It is good to see that you have both returned to us unharmed," said Orion, relieved that the two had at last returned from their mission.
"Piece o' cake," said Michael with a smile.
Julius looked at Michael suspiciously. "And you made no contact with the Potters' sons?" He didn't trust Michael's answer as he was sure it wasn't that easy to get rid of two highly intelligent warlocks who had most likely predicted the Potter family's every move.
Michael looked guilty. "I had ta summon one of my son's brothers ta stop him walkin' inta an ambush. He helped Nathan vanquish the warlocks while I remained invisible the whole time. Chris didn't even know I was there."
"So that was why Ezra was left on his own shortly before being killed by the demon?" Julius was furious with the Whitelighter for the action that had cost the half-demon witch his life. One of the Senior Whitelighters, who'd welcomed Ezra into the heavens, had reported to the Elder about a premonition he'd received of Ezra being captured and then killed.
Nathan intervened - it wasn't Michael's fault that Ezra was dead, as the Whitelighter had tried to summon both witches to the Underworld. "He tried to summon them both to us, but the incantation only managed to bring Chris to us and we didn't have time to attempt to get Ezra as well."
Orion looked at Julius angrily, and then turned to the Whitelighters. "It doesn't matter. Ezra's glamour and mind-control powers have transferred to Josiah, and Josiah is using them superbly in Four Corners as we speak."
"We know. The demon has a magical camera implant that broadcasts everything he sees and hears back to a screen in the Underworld. We saw that Josiah had turned into the older version of his ancestor with THE scar. We knew it couldn't be the real peacekeeper Josiah, as he wouldn't have that scar yet, so we could tell that someone else from Chris's family had traveled back in time to help vanquish the demon."
There was a well-known story in the heavens about how peacekeeper Josiah had received his very noticeable scar. It had been told by Josiah to his sister, Hannah, in Heaven, and she'd spread the story around until a much exaggerated version finally reached the Elders. They had summoned the ghost of peacekeeper Josiah and found out the true story from him. Now just saying "THE scar," always meant the scar Sanchez had received some years after JD Dunne had married Casey Wells.
"It's as though JD is still around," commented Orion after Nathan had finished talking at high speed.
"Ya think Nate inherited his chatterbox tendencies as well?" asked Michael with a smile.
Julius ignored Michael's question because he was still very upset by the youngest Potter son being erased from existence and didn't want anyone to replace the boy. He didn't want to acknowledge that JD was really gone, although it was hopefully only temporary. "Nathan, I feel they would benefit from having you there to help them. Terri can send you back to the heavens above the town where you lived for most of your life."
Nathan nodded in agreement. "I regretted having to go against Gloria's wishes earlier and would now be glad to join Chris and Josiah in Four Corners. Can Michael come as well? He can turn invisible so no-one sees him."
Orion looked questioningly at Julius.
Julius answered for them both: "It is better if he remains here with us. It is bad enough that the witch Josiah now knows of the prophecy of which he is a part. We don't want to risk more of the sons learning of it before the correct time."
"I'll see ya when ya get back, Nate," said Michael, hopeful that he would still be allowed to see Nathan in the future. He watched as Nathan orbed away to see Terri who was in a different part of the heavens.
Julius approached Michael, who looked at him nervously. "I'm sorry I tried ta tell the witches about the prophecy. From now on I'll keep my distance from 'em at all times."
"You are forbidden to leave the heavens at any time without my permission," said Julius sternly. "We can't risk having you reveal too much to good or evil. I know you have been reading a lot of books in our library ever since you became a ghost and now have a lot of information that mustn't fall into the wrong hands."
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After finding his witch friends unharmed in the livery and still in control of the demon, Nathan handed the glass containing the youngest peacekeeper's blood to Chris, who stood watching his older brother holding the demon floating above the ground.
"That's all the ingredients now, isn't it?" asked Nathan, being careful to talk like his Whitelighter persona and not his Old West one. If he talked to the witches like the healer, they would notice how similar he was and perhaps realize that he came from the time they were in - just like their ancestors with identical names.
"Yes, thankfully," answered Chris, who was holding the other ingredients that had been in the leather bag that Josiah had been carrying around. "Josiah, can you distract him for a while longer until we can come back with the completed potion?"
"Of course," answered Josiah, still glamoured into his ancestor of the same name.
"I was thinkin' that the best way to get to the hotel's kitchen would be to turn invisible," said Nathan, having already thought up an idea how they could get access to a stove without attracting any attention.
"I can't turn invisible, even if my mom could," said Chris sadly. He liked that for once, he didn't have to do all the planning on their current mission; even though there was a flaw in Nathan's latest plan.
"I can turn you invisible, Chris. Hopefully, the kitchen will be empty so we can use the stove without anyone seeing things moving around. Once we're both invisible, I'll orb us straight into the kitchen to save time."
Once the Whitelighter and blond witch had turned invisible and had gone, Josiah's glamour wore off, and Josiah turned back into his own form.
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About five minutes later, Chris and Nathan, both invisible, orbed into the nearby hotel's kitchen. Luckily, it was deserted, so the two men started to work on the vanquishing potion.
While Nathan mixed the pocket-watch, herbs and blood together, Chris told him about the costume party the Potters had been planning to have back in the present. Then Chris invited Nathan to join them and Nathan said he'd be happy to join in the festive celebrations.
"What will you go as though, Nate?" asked Chris curiously. "I'm sure no one will mind if you use your glamour."
"I was thinkin' I could commemorate how far my family's come since they first came to America, and dress as a plantation slave," answered Nathan, wishing his family could see what he had become. His parents weren't even ghosts anymore because of how long ago they'd died. They were in a special place where no one living or angelic could ever go. Nathan had long ago accepted that he couldn't see them ever again.
"That's a great idea," agreed Chris about Nathan's Halloween costume idea. "I'll be honoring my ancestor here by going as a gunslinger." As the Potters had never had any type of costume party before, they weren't restricting costume ideas to purely seasonal ones.
Chris spotted a large cooking pot hanging from a hook on the wall. While Nathan lit the stove, Chris stood the pot on the large table nearby and poured the mixture into it. Then he tried to lift it, but had to put it back down. "This pot's too heavy to lift now, Nate."
"Don't you wish you had Josiah's telekinesis power now, Chris?" asked Nathan, remembering a few occasions when Chris had mocked his older witch brother's power.
"I doubt he'd even be able to lift it that way."
Nathan walked over to the table and lifted the cooking pot as if it weighed nothing, then grinned at Chris. "You should try helpin' Gloria with the shoppin' more often - that would put some muscles on you." Nathan placed the pot down on the stove, and it began heating amazingly fast. "It's startin' to steam already!"
When the mixture was steaming a lot, Chris helped Nathan lift the heavy pot off the stove. It was now a mixture of molten metal with blood mixed in, and smelt of a cross between burnt metal and herbs. There was only a tiny amount of blood in it, so the smell of that was disguised by the other ingredients.
Chris took out the empty hip flask that had come with his costume, and Nathan poured the potion into it. The blond witch screwed the cap back on, and smiled. "It's almost over, Nate. Soon, everything will be back the way it was before the demon changed the past."
"We better orb back to Josiah - what if the demon managed to overpower him and escape?"
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Josiah was about to fling the demon against a wall of the livery for insulting him too many times, when Nathan and Chris orbed back there.
"Hey Josiah, you've changed back," observed Chris, surprised to see his brother there instead of Josiah's ancestor whom the brother had looked and sounded like. The blond had just gotten used to seeing and hearing the Sanchez ancestor instead of his older adopted witch brother.
"I didn't see any reason to stay in disguise for much longer," explained Josiah, still hiding that Ezra's glamour had changed him into a copy of his ancestor.
"We've finished the potion, Josiah. Have you still got your copy of the vanquishing spell?"
Josiah took a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it up. "Right here." He was very grateful to Ezra for telling their father all the details needed for vanquishing the Time-changer demon - it had saved them some time.
Chris handed the hip flask to Nathan. "You throw this on the demon and then Josiah and I'll say the spell which has to be said afterwards."
To be continued...