Chris and Wyatt orbed into a large, empty rock cavern. Chris glanced around the cave before giving Wyatt a nervous look.
"Uh, Wy, do you think we're in the right place?" he asked. As he spoke, a fire ball soared past, missing the two by inches.
"Die, Witches!" a voice snarled from the shadows. Wyatt shot his younger brother a resigned look.
"Oh, I'd say this is the place." He blinked in the direction of the hiding demon, blowing it up. He looked around. "Still, I think I expected something a little…grander. I mean…" He gestured to the walls. "…Ardariaen is the Supreme Bad Guy, in line to be the next Source, and he can't even conjure up some wall-hangings or something?" Chris snorted, and Wyatt grinned at him. "What do you say we go exploring, huh?" he asked. Chris nodded, and they headed for the entrance of the cave.
Thirty Minutes Later
"Okay, this is just ridiculous," Chris grumbled as they snuck down the umpteenth identical rocky corridor. "I hate this place. It's cold…
"Shut up, Chris," Wyatt told him from between gritted teeth.
"…and dank…"
"I swear to god, Chris…"
"…and boring…"
"Chris, I'm warning you…"
"…and I swear we passed that outcropping that looks like your nose ten times alre…ow!"
Wyatt grabbed Chris by the ear and twisted, hard. Chris yelped and grabbed at his brother's wrist, digging his fingers into the tendons. Wyatt hissed in pain and dropped Chris' ear, but managed to elbow him as he brought his arm down. They tussled silently for a couple more moments, then stopped and glared at each other. After a couple of seconds they came to an unspoken agreement, shrugged, and continued along the corridor. After a minute or so of silence, Chris spoke up.
"I say we look at the map again."
"Why?" Wyatt asked, glancing at him. "There's no point: we're already here." Chris shrugged.
"I know. But the map's pretty cool…it's got that weird quick reference thing. Maybe it's got a zoom feature, too."
Wyatt considered for a second, then shrugged. "It can't hurt."
"And it might help," Chris added, finishing the phrase. Wyatt arched an eyebrow at him, and Chris shrugged again. "We have our Dad for a father and you're wondering why I know crap like that?" he demanded. Wyatt shrugged one shoulder.
"It's not that I'm surprised you know it…I'm surprised you actually retain it…" He ignored the dirty look Chris shot his way and continued along the corridor until he found a crevice big enough for the two of them to hide in. Once they were safely ensconced within he pulled the map out of his jacket and carefully unfolded it. They stared at it for almost a minute.
"If there's a zoom feature, I ain't seein' it," Chris said, sounding disappointed. Wyatt shrugged.
"It's a map, Chris, not a GPS," he reminded the younger witch. Chris frowned.
"Yeah, but it's a magic map," he argued, a stubborn look coming over his face. Wyatt sighed, and was about to resign himself to a Chris-Rant when a noise from down the corridor caught his attention. He risked a peek into the rock hallway, then made a slashing motion across his throat, cutting Chris off. His brother stopped talking instantly and arched an eyebrow in askance.
"Demons," Wyatt mouthed in explanation. Chris nodded.
: How many? : he asked telepathically. Wyatt raised two fingers. : That's it? : he demanded silently. Wyatt nodded. : We can take 'em! : Wyatt shook his head. : Why not? :
Wyatt rolled his eyes. : We're not here on a demon-hunt, Chris! Remember Eryn? Dad's charge, who you thought was our new Whitelighter? The witch/Whitelighter-demon/Darklighter we said we'd take care of, who got kidnapped by her father and we couldn't even stop it? The girl we're here to save? Remember her? : he demanded. Chris nodded, then frowned and cocked his head. : What? : Wyatt asked.
: I think those demons are talking about Eryn, : he replied. Wyatt's eyes widened, and the two brothers immediately leaned closer to the opening to their hiding place, listening intently and watching as the demons walked past.
"D'ya fink da Boss'll be able ta kill 'er?" one of the demons slavered, a substance that looked suspiciously like human blood dripping down its chin. "I mean, He's powerful an'all, but she's goddall dat good magic in 'er veins. Wharrif…"
"What you're saying could be perceived as treason," the other demon snapped, its cultured voice making a distinct contrast to its partner's barely understandable drawl. "We could lose our heads for even thinking it! Put all such thoughts out of your minuscule mind and hurry up: we need to collect her from the dungeons for the ceremony."
After the demons passed them, Wyatt arched an eyebrow at Chris. : What do you say we follow them? : he queried. Chris rolled his eyes.
: What say? :he replied sarcastically, extricating himself from the crevice and walking silently down the corridor after the demons; Wyatt followed him.
----
Five minutes of fast walking later, Chris and Wyatt glanced around a rock out-cropping to see the two demons stop beside another pair of demons who appeared to be guarding one of the doorways lining the corridor.
"We are here to escort the witch to Lord Ardariaen for the ritual," the cultured demon announced in formal tones, handing one of the guards a large black crystal. It examined it, then nodded and took a step back and gestured for the demons to pass. Chris glanced at Wyatt.
: Are you thinking what I'm thinking? : he asked. Wyatt grinned.
: If it entails snatching Eryn right now before those demons can take her to that ritual they were talking about, then yes, I am. : He glanced around the outcropping again, then looked at his brother. : You take the short one and Mr Culture, I'll take out the Brute and the...uh... : He gave the mental equivalent of a sigh, then added: ...Stoli. : Chris shot him a grim smile.
: Hey, for once I gotta say, better you than me, bro, : he told him. Wyatt rolled his eyes.
: Funny. Okay, three...two... : He conjured an energy ball then ducked out into corridor, tossing it towards the demons as he finished: ...one : Chris followed him into the hallway, TK'ing the cultured demon into a wall with his right hand as he threw the orb bolt he'd been conjuring with his left. The bolt hit the short demon in the centre of its chest, and it exploded in a shower of blue goo before it even had a chance to scream.
The remaining demons ducked for cover as Wyatt threw another energy ball at them, then the Brute screamed in agony as Wyatt managed to get him in his sights long enough to explode him. The Stoli and the cultured demon remained under cover for a moment longer, then emerged, throwing energy- and fire balls as they did so. Wyatt and Chris managed to blow up the first volley, and Chris deflected the next into a wall. The two demons ducked back behind their outcroppings, as did Chris and Wyatt.
"Well, that went better than I'd hoped," Wyatt said calmly. Chris shot him an incredulous look.
"Wy, I hate to break it to you, but while that may 'have gone better than you'd hoped', we've still got another two demons to vanquish. And did you see the size of that Stoli? It's well over seven feet tall...seven foot four, maybe. That's fourteen powers it's collected, Wy...six more than you."
"But who's counting?" Wyatt asked sarcastically. Chris arched an eyebrow at him, and he sighed. "Okay, so maybe we've got our work cut out for us. But we've dealt with worse before...we can deal with this. It's just two demons, for chrissake."
"Speaking of which, what are they doing?" Chris asked. Wyatt glanced around the outcropping, then craned around for another look.
"I have no idea...I can't see them." He frowned and turned back to Chris. "It's like they've..." His eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of something.
"They've what?" Chris asked. Wyatt swallowed, then pointed over Chris' shoulder. Chris turned.
Oh-oh... he thought. Now they knew what the demons had been doing. Instead of discussing like he and Wyatt had - Why do I ever open my mouth? he asked himself morosely - the two demons had used their knowledge of their surroundings to shimmer in behind them. And they were standing there now, both looking very pleased with themselves, each armed with their weapons of choice: energy ball for Mr Culture, a fireball in each hand for the Stoli.
"Die, Witches!" the cultured demon snarled, the energy ball leaving its fingers. The moment before it hit Chris, however, it stopped. It hovered in mid-air for a second, wavering as if unsure, then it sped back from whence it had come, hitting the demon in the centre of its chest. For a second it just gaped down, staring at the gaping hole in its chest, then it screamed, and imploded. Wyatt stared in shock at where the demon had stood, then met his younger brother's surprised gaze.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Chris nodded slowly.
"Um...yeah, actually. I'm fine. I..."
"Won't be for much longer," finished the Stoli as it hurled its twin fire balls at the Halliwells. Before the two witches could react, however, the same phenomenon occurred: the two fireballs halted in their course a mere foot away from them, then doubled back and hit their conjurer in the chest. With an awful scream, the two boys were treated to a repeat performance of what had happened in their attic the previous day. For a moment they stared in amazement at the scorch marks on the stone floor that marked the Stoli's final resting place, then they turned to each other.
"Did you do that?" Chris demanded. Wyatt shook his head.
"I assumed you did...you've got a quicker reaction time on your telekinesis than I have," he returned. Chris shook his head.
"It wasn't me."
They stared at each other for a moment, then Wyatt murmured, "The spell...the oath...what about the oath?"
"What about it?" Chris asked, then it clicked. "Eryn made Ardariaen promise that neither he nor his minions could hurt us, didn't she?" Wyatt nodded, grim satisfaction on his face.
"Yeah...she was fairly specific about it, too, remember?"
Chris shook his head in wonder. "She thought she was protecting us from him later on, but she was actually helping us to rescue her...or do you think she knew?" Wyatt shrugged.
"Just one more thing to ask her when we get her back," he replied. "Come on."
----
Eryn was sitting, back against the wall, twiddling her thumbs when she heard the demons asking for her. She slowly got to her feet, wincing as the chains twined about her wrists dug in slightly.
Well, it's been fun, she thought wryly...then she heard the unmistakeable sound of an energy ball sizzling through the air. There were yells as the demons scrambled for cover from...something. Eryn growled in frustration: being chained to a wall kind of restricted your view of anything beyond the confines of the room.
An odd sound - like the whistle of a shell dropping, combined with the sound of (unless she was mistaken) orbing - came into her hearing, then she heard an explosion. A splatter of blue goo hit the wall to the antechamber opposite her door. A moment later there was the deep, agonised scream of a Brute Demon, and the sound of a demon exploding.
Then there was silence.
Eryn strained against the chains binding her, trying to get far enough across the chamber to see something, anything, but the chains dug deeper into her wrists, and she had to bite back a yelp of pain. Ow ow ow... she thought, wincing. Okay, so I won't be seeing anything. Fine. The crackle of energy balls and the hiss of fire balls soaring through the air caught her attention, and she listened intently as a chorus of explosions signalled the the end of one lot of missiles. This was immediately followed by the sounds of a second volley being released, then the wall to Eryn's right shook. Dust and small rocks rained down on her, making her cover her head, and a fine crack appeared from the top left corner down through the centre of the rock. She stared at it.
"Oh, not good," she whispered to herself. She almost yelled, "Hey, important prisoner in here! Try not to damage me!" but stopped herself at the last moment. The less notice she attracted to herself at this time the better, she decided. But this is one hell of a time to settle a blood-feud or whatever the hell it is, a small part of her said waspishly. Then she frowned.
There was silence. No sound of energy balls, no fire balls, no explosions...nothing. She shifted uneasily. What the... she began, then she heard the sound of an energy ball, then a horrific scream and an imploding sound. Straining her hearing, she then heard the faint rumblings of a Stoli demon speaking, then the sound of a fire ball...then the Stoli screaming, and the familiar sounds of a Stoli being vanquished. Her frown deepened. This was getting more confusing by the second.
She was about call out to ask what was going on - consequences be damned - when she heard footsteps. They were coming towards her cell.
Fully expecting to see demons, she was completely blind-sided by what - who - did actually enter her cell.
----
Wyatt and Chris entered the cave-like room to find Eryn standing at the back of it, looking a little dusty, but none the worse for wear. They watched as her eyes widened in surprise.
Clearly, Chris thought, she wasn't expecting us. There was silence for a few moments, as they looked at each other, then...
"Do either of you know what moron means?" she asked them finally. They looked at each other. This was not what they had expected.
"Um…no." Wyatt said. Eryn's eyes narrowed.
"Okay, let me inform you. Moron means a person with a mental age not exceeding five years." She glared at them both. "And I see here before me two - not one, but two - prime candidates for Moron of the Year nominations."
For a moment she was silent, then she - quietly - exploded. "What, are you both freaking insane? Have you both lost your minds? I swear my life away so the two of you could stay safe, and what do you do? Come strolling on in here like you've got nothing to lose, when you could lose your lives…" Chris arched an eyebrow at her.
"You quite done?" he asked calmly when she paused in her raging. She glared at the two of them for a second longer, then shrugged.
"Yeah."
"Then come on, let's go," he said, beckoning. She snorted.
"What, you reckon I'm standing over here because I want to?" she asked. She turned slightly, and they could see the thin chain that was looped tightly around her wrists and secured to the iron ring in the wall, binding her to it.
"This is as far as I can go," she explained, turning back to face them. "They don't want me being able to hide in a corner and attacking them. Besides, this chain…" She turned so they could see her hands, then flicked her fingers at a rock on the ground. The chain glowed, and she gave a faint hiss of pain.
"…is enchanted," she concluded, looking at them. Wyatt shrugged.
"No problem," he told her, walking over. "Move as far away from the chain as you can," he instructed. She did.
"What are you gonna do?" she asked.
"Blow up the chain," he told her. She stared at Chris in dismay.
"I'm gonna lose a hand, aren't I?" she asked him worriedly. He grinned.
"Nah, a finger, two tops," he said in a mock-assuring voice. She groaned and closed her eyes. Wyatt turned and glared at him.
"Uh, Chris, hello, not helping!" he whispered fiercely. Chris rolled his eyes.
"Sorry," he muttered. Wyatt glared at him again, then turned back to the chain. Holding his breath, he flicked his hands at the chain. With a small poof, the chain blew up. Eryn opened one eye.
"How many did I lose?" she asked. Wyatt glared at her.
"None," he growled, then added, "You ready to get out of here?"
"Hell, yeah. Just one tiny problem."
"And what's that?" he asked. Eryn tapped herself on the chest meaningfully.
"I've still gone and sworn my life away, in case you haven't noticed."
"Well, um, not exactly," Chris interjected. Eryn frowned.
"Not exactly?" she echoed. Chris nodded.
"Yeah. You left yourself a loophole. When you made the deal. You said you'd go with him if he left us alone…but you never actually said you'd stay."
Eryn stared at him, then a slow grin curved her lips.
"If I leave now, it doesn't matter. I've upheld my end of the bargain: I went with him. Now he has to uphold his," she murmured, almost to herself.
"And now we can help you without getting hurt for it," Chris added. Eryn laughed.
"Oh, this is great. I love it! Ardariaen, the lowest, scummiest, back-stabbing, slipperiest demon around brought down by a loophole..." She grinned at them. "Talk about poetic justice." Chris grinned in return, then gestured upwards.
"You ready to go?" he asked. She nodded, then shot him and Wyatt a sheepish look.
"Um...would either of you mind giving me a lift? The Oath of Aureolus took a bit out of me, and I'm not sure if I'd be able to get out of the Underworld," she told them. Chris nodded, then reached out and gently took her hand on his.
"Let's go," he told her. Her fingers closed around his, and he gave them a quick squeeze before he orbed them both out.