Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
A/N: You may be happy to know that I've about finished drafting the end of this. Updates will be posted when I have the time and when I'm sure I like the chapters. I've started writing a few chapters ahead so I can make changes as needed before posting.
Characters:
Wyatt Halliwell-power over earth, telekinesis, telepathy, healing, orbing, magical shield, sensing friends and family
Chris Halliwell-telekinesis, power over water, orbing, sensing
Laura Halliwell-molecular manipulation-freezing time and blowing things up, power over air, orbing, sensing
Elisa Halliwell- seeing into past and future, power over fire, empathy
Matt Halliwell-orbing, far-seeing-he can see things far away using his magic, echo effect with Jamie-the two of them can join their powers and amplify them.
Jamie Halliwell-orbing, teleportation, echo effect with Jamie
Morgan-power over the dead
Alyssa-telepathy, power over light
Chris orbed out of the way as Wyatt threw the baseball. Somehow, Wyatt was there, grabbing Chris and throwing him to the ground. Chris grabbed Wyatt's ankles and pulled him down. The two fought on the ground for several minutes before Wyatt pinned Chris and held him there. "Aren't you two supposed to be fighting with magic?" Alyssa's low laugh distracted them. She wore a white blouse and blue jeans. Chris noticed that Wyatt's gaze locked on her. "Yeah, well, we got distracted." Alyssa smiled wryly. "I orbed," Chris mock-protested. "Yeah, 'cause you really need to work on that," Morgan commented as she joined them. She wouldn't quite look Chris in the eye, but she didn't ignore him. "Hey, being able to run away is an important part of knowing how to fight," Chris retorted. He blinked as his mind spun in confusion. He didn't remember ever saying that before. Morgan's face turned pale. Chris looked at all three in turn. "OK, I'm confused."
"It's an old joke the two of you had," Wyatt said quickly. "Don't ask me to explain it; it makes no sense to me."
"If you have to explain it, it isn't a joke," Morgan muttered. "Piper says we have a demon to hunt," she announced. "All right, let's go check it out." Alyssa caught Wyatt's hand as he orbed them both up to the attic. Morgan and Chris followed.
"What do we have?" Wyatt asked. "Zombies that think, apparently," Elisa explained. "Then they're not zombies," Morgan answered dryly. "They're not called zombies anyway, that's a book and movie term."
"What are they called?" Chris asked. "Cannon fodder," Morgan smirked. Everyone stared at her. "They're called Remnants. But Remnants didn't do this. Shadows did."
"Shadows?"
"Dead spirits that feed on human life. There's a theory that the oldest ones were never alive in the first place; that they were some type of demon."
"All right," Chris commented. "Anything else?"
"Well, they're probably being controlled by a necromancer. A powerful one, if he can control Shadows."
"So, Shadows eat human flesh?"
"What? No."
"Then these can't be Shadows, because that's what they did."
Morgan stared at Elisa. "OK, then I have no clue."
"Maybe it's not a Dead creature," Alyssa suggested. "Well, I can go scout it out," Morgan stated. "I should be able to sense what it is."
"Excellent," Wyatt answered. "Take Chris with you."
Morgan opened her mouth to protest, took one look at Wyatt's face, and closed it. She turned to look at Chris. "The Dead don't like water. The rest of your powers probably won't have that much of an effect on them." She grabbed Chris' arm. A cold wind enveloped them both.
Shivering with cold, Chris looked around at the deserted alley. Morgan knelt down beside the corpse. Despite himself, Chris felt sick. He wouldn't have recognized it as a human being if he didn't already know. "If you're going to be sick, do it quietly," Morgan said absently. "Definitely a Dead Creature," Morgan said flatly. "And that means we are in a great deal of trouble." She softly whispered a spell, holding her hands over the corpse. Her face was a blank mask as she stood up. "A girl, a little younger than Elisa. She didn't deserve this." Her tone was casual, as though she were discussing the weather. Chris could sense the cold rage inside her. "Let's go. We'll need a plan."
Hearing the sound of crying, Chris paused to see Morgan sitting alone in the attic, shoulders shaking. Go to her, a voice inside him said. She'll kill me, he argued with the voice. She doesn't even trust me. Talk to her, the voice insisted. Chris knocked on the door. "Go away," Morgan mumbled. Her tone was what stopped him. It was defiant, with a trace of vulnerability. He sat down on a chair close to her, pretending to be fascinated by a candleholder. "He wants to lure me out," Morgan said suddenly. "Who?" Chris asked. "My brother. He's the one who sent the Dead creature." Chris, horrified,didn't know what to say.
"What will he do if he finds you?"
"Kill me. I'm destined to destroy him. It's why I was born."
"How do you know?" Chris realized how stupid that was as soon as he said it. Morgan shrugged. "My father was a necromancer, a powerful one. My brother was his heir. I was just one of his extra children, basically a tool to enhance my brother's power. When I was seven, I overheard a seer tell my father that I would destroy my brother one day. That night, Axel tried to kill me. For some reason, I survived." She swallowed. "I ran away that night. Some people found me sleeping in a park outside in the morning and called the police. The Elders hid me for five years and trained me, then sent me to your parents."
"How old is your brother?"
"Three years older than me. He was ten when he tried to kill me," Morgan added. "What about your other siblings?"
"They're dead. Axel would have made them into his slaves by now. That's the only reason they were born."
Chris frowned suddenly. "That Dead creature,"
"Could be one of them," Morgan finished for him. She shivered. "I'm sorry," Chris said quietly. "Don't be," Morgan answered. "Destroying them would be the most merciful thing we could do." She shrugged. "I barely knew them. We were considered expendable and raised to compete for our father's and Axel's favor. I was more or less Axel's favorite until he discovered what a danger I was." She looked at him. "And don't think that means he'll hesitate to kill me.Axelcares as much about human life as I do about cockroaches.Chris looked at the ground. "I'm sorry," he muttered, not knowing exactly what he was apologizing for. Morgan studied him. "Fair's fair. Tell me what your other life was like." Chris looked at her warily; her expression was adamant. Sighing, he began talking. He told her how Wyatt systematically took over the world. He told her how he and Bianca had come up with the plan to go back in time. He found himself telling her about his childhood as well. He told her about the tricks he and Wyatt had played on the adults, how the two of them fought repeatedly but always stuck together. "That's why he was so angry," Chris explained. "He couldn't believe that I would betray him." Morgan listened intently. She frowned a little. "If he wrote the spell the first time, why didn't he write it again?" Chris shrugged. Morgan looked up suddenly. "Let's go back to the house." She seemed edgy and nervous all of a sudden. Chris reached out, took her arm and orbed them both back to the Manor.
All of the cousins, even the twins, sat gathered in the attic. Alyssa was lounging on the floor. They all looked up as Chris and Morgan joined them. "You two all right," Wyatt asked sharply. The two witches nodded. Wyatt turned his attention to the entire group. "What do we know?"
"I think I know who is doing this," Morgan said haltingly. Wyatt gave her a sharp look. "Axel." Wyatt's face paled. "You're sure?" Morgan hesitated, then continued. "That might explain the Dead creature. It may have been one of my siblings. I sensed something…familiar…about the killing." Laura suddenly stood up, walked over to Morgan, and hugged her tightly. Suddenly self-conscious, Laura sat down abruptly. "Anything else?" Wyatt asked. "There have been a total of six deaths like this," Elisa announced. "Three children have disappeared from their homes," Laura added. "One of the kids at school found a bunch of dead animals," Jamie piped up. Matt nodded eagerly. Chris had to fight back a laugh, despite the circumstances, at the twins' eagerness to help. Wyatt kept his face serious. "I'll ask Seth, Leah, and Jake to look into these three for us. Morgan, Chris, and Elisa work on potions. Laura, can you look through the Book?"
"What should we do?" Jamie asked. "You and Matt help me," Wyatt answered. "We'll set up wards around the house." The family split up to work. Alyssa followed the twins and Wyatt.
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