Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters present on the show. I also, technically and legally, don't own any of the characters I've made up or anything to do with this story. The Archers, their boyfriends and girlfriends, the O'Reillys, none of them are legally mine, nor are the phrases, quotes, or anything else in here, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would ask me before using my characters and/or quotes. Thanks!
Here we go, last part of the first chapter! I hope you guys like this whole thing. You're going to hate me when you're done, but I promise the next chapter will be quite a relief… sort of (mwa ha ha ha!)
Carry on the Heritage: The Next Generation of Halliwells
Chatper One: The Whitelighter Trials Part Three
Preston looked around the room that he was in. It looked an awful lot like Parker's room, but it was different. There were pink flowery designs on the sheets and bed spread and makeup and perfumes on the vanity. Since when did Parker have a vanity? They were definitely in Parker's house though. Preston was seriously confused now. The last thing he knew was that he was in the white room with a bitching Heather telling him stupid stuff about how his family was afraid of him and now he was here. Before he had time to contemplate it any further though, he had to jump behind the vanity to hide from the person that was entering the room. He looked up in surprise when he saw it was his mother, clearly pregnant, followed by Cole who was helping her in the room.
"They can't see you," a voice said from beside him. Preston jumped.
"Damn, I thought I'd been lucky enough to lose you back in the white room," he sighed when he saw it was Heather again. She rolled her eyes, clearly fighting the urge to lash him with her tongue again, and walked out from behind the vanity. Seeing that it was safe, Preston walked out as well to get a better look at his parents. They looked younger, though that would be expected. This had to be while Phoebe was pregnant with him, about eighteen years ago. They really didn't look that different, though. A few less grays, but that was about it. Preston watched as Cole helped Phoebe onto the bed and then walked around the other side and sat down next to her. They both looked at her bulging stomach with two different expressions. Cole's was one of pride and happiness. Phoebe's was one of worry.
"What's wrong?" Cole asked, looking at the lines of worry etched across her face. She shook her head.
"I'm just a little worried I guess," she said.
"Why?" Cole asked in confusion. "Is it because of the demons?"
"Kind of," Phoebe replied.
"Well he'll be fine. All the kids will. We'll be here to protect them," Cole assured her.
"I know that. I'm more worried about having to protect them from him," Phoebe said, looking up at Cole.
"The baby? Preston?" he asked in bewilderment. Phoebe nodded.
"He's half demon, sweetie. He's got evil in him. It took you a hundred years to be able to suppress Belthazor. He's only gonna be a baby. How do we know he's gonna have the same strength?" she asked.
"Well… I mean, you don't think… he's not gonna," Cole stuttered, at a loss for words. He really didn't have a way to reassure Phoebe on this one. "I guess there's really no way to be sure."
"No there's not," Phoebe said sadly. Cole sighed.
"We could bind his powers maybe. Just until he was old enough that he couldn't be swayed by evil. It's the only way to prevent him from using them to do evil things. Every demon in the world will be after him if they know he's got his powers. It just takes one to take him away from us and turn him evil. At least if he doesn't have his powers he can't do evil," he said, clearly trying to convince himself that it would be the best thing for his son.
"We won't let any demons get him, sweetie. But maybe you're right. Maybe we should bind them just to be safe," Phoebe suggested. Cole nodded and kissed her. Preston stared on in disbelief as the scene faded away and he was brought back to the white room. He turned angrily to Heather.
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that? That didn't really happen," he said defiantly.
"Oh come on Preston! Did you think they'd put every single detail in that little book they made for you guys? They weren't going to tell you everything! Of course that happened! I can't make stuff up, here! I can only show you what's happened and what's possible to come. I know I'm good, but I'm not that good," Heather said smugly.
"Could you contemplate getting over yourself for one second?" Preston exploded. "If you've got something good to show me, then do it, but don't just stand here and act like you're the greatest human being to ever live because you're not. Greater people than you have died and for nobler causes."
"Like who?" Heather asked angrily.
"Like Kelsey! Like Frisco's sister and parents!" Preston said. Heather glared.
"So, because they died for a more 'noble cause', they're deaths were more important than mine? Because they weren't self-centered bitches they're deaths matter more? Contrary to your beliefs, Preston, people did love me. I did matter to some people. There were people who were actually sad that I died, people that weren't just using me to get back at an ex!" she exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes. Preston sighed.
"That's not what I meant. I just meant-"
"You meant that because you didn't care about me, my life just didn't matter," Heather finished for him.
"No! That's not what I said!" Preston protested.
"You don't have to say it to mean it, Preston, just like you don't have to mean it to say it," Heather pointed out.
"Well it's not like you ever meant half of what you said," Preston retorted.
"True, but it's too late for me to make up for that. You still have time to make up for your screw-ups. The question is, can you compensate for the screw-ups that your demon half has made or is going to make?" Heather asked.
"Oh Jesus, not this again," Preston groaned.
"Yes this! It's why we're here. How do you know that the demon in you didn't want me to die? You don't. Your human half won't let you even think about it. But that demon is in you and he likes to come out and play every once in a while," Heather said. The two were suddenly taken to a place that Preston never wanted to see again. Standing the halls of San Francisco Valley High, they watched as the next scene unfolded in front of them.
"And did it ever occur to you that he might have just forgotten himself for a second and flipped out?" Preston was saying to his cousins as they walked down the hall. "Not everything in our lives is demonically related." He remembered this. It wasn't all that long ago, actually. It was almost a year ago when someone was drugging his father to make Belthazor come out and destroy the Charmed ones.
"It is when the person in question is a demon," Patience pointed out.
"Belthazor hasn't been a problem for years, since before we were even born," Preston said defensively. Preston and Heather had to walk beside them to be able to hear the conversation, even though both of them already knew what was going to be said.
"No, but he is one of the most powerful demons out there. All he needs is one little hole in your dad's control and he's out and there's no telling what he'll do then. I'm not saying it's definitely that; it could have just been him flipping out for a second, but we need to be on guard just in case. While everything in our lives isn't demonically related, it is always magically related." Patience's words of caution hit the bottom of Preston's stomach like a twenty-ton rock sinking in water. Now that he was looking into her eyes, he saw something there. It was the faintest flicker of worry, not for his father, but for him. She was talking about Preston too. As quickly as the flashback had started, it disappeared again, but this time he and Heather found themselves in another situation.
They appeared in Cole's office at the law firm, only there was no Cole. Instead there was Preston again, along with Phoebe, Piper, Prue, Paige, Patience, Percy, Parker, and Julie, Cole's evil secretary. Piper had frozen Julie in mid attack and now she unfroze her head.
"What did you do to me?" Julie asked.
"I froze you. Now, you're going to have to answer a few questions for us," Piper replied smugly.
"What did you do to Cole?" Phoebe questioned immediately. Julie threw her an evil smirk.
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," she said. Preston watched as his past self emitted a low growl and rushed over, wrapping his hand around her throat and thrusting her into a wall and consequentially wearing off the freeze.
"You're going to tell me what you did to my dad, or I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully," he threatened. Julie gave in instantly, her fear overcoming her confidence.
"It's an anger potion. It brings out the inner demon in people," she gasped.
"How do we fix it?" Phoebe asked. Now that he was in a different position and the adrenalin wasn't rushing through his head, he could note the worry and familiarity in her voice. Whatever he was doing, it was reminding her of something. Julie hesitated to answer, knowing that what she was going to say would only cause her more pain.
"Answer her," Preston demanded, tightening his grip on her throat and crushing her windpipes.
"You… can't! Has… to… be vanquished," she choked.
"Bullshit!" Preston exclaimed.
"I swear," Julie breathed. Preston growled once more, backing down. Julie put a hand to her red throat immediately, but Preston showed no mercy and turned around instantly to vanquish her with a fireball. Once again, Preston felt himself being pulled back away from the scene and into the white room.
"What was that for?" he asked angrily. "Why did you take me there?"
"To remind you of what you come from. What Patience said about your father not only applies to him, but to you as well. Your demon may not have actually taken a physical form, but that doesn't mean he's not in there. You saw what you did to that girl. Just a little bit of anger and you flipped," Heather said. Preston's face reddened with anger.
"Are you kidding me? You're telling me that I'm evil because I hurt a demon! What are you, a demon's rights activist? She was trying to get my father to kill us! Do you not understand that it's my job, my destiny to do this? Are you that incredibly stupid that you need me to lay it all out for you? I am an Archer. I am on the side of good. As far as I know, that means it's my job to kill demons," Preston explained slowly.
"I understand that fully well, Preston," Heather said calmly. "Believe it or not, I was not a passenger on the short bus. I'm not saying that it was wrong for you to kill her. But you saw your reaction. You turned into a monster. And you heard your mom's voice. You reminded her of someone. You reminded her of Cole in the early days, when Belthazor was near the surface. She was scared for you."
"She wasn't scared," Preston said, pushing the doubts that were creeping to the front of his mind back again.
"Suit yourself. I guess we'll have to take another trip to get the point across," Heather said. They appeared outside somewhere. Preston instantly recognized the place as his own backyard, the old willow tree as calm and proud as ever. Under that tree, partly masked by the low hanging branches that swayed out of the way every once in a while due to the light breeze, Preston saw a child. He was no older than five, his dark curly hair messy and his Thomas the Tank Engine toys scattered around him. It was Preston himself. He had played under the willow tree in this backyard for hours while awaiting his cousins' arrival or just to be out of the way while some demonic crisis was happening inside the house.
Preston ducked under the tree branches and slowly walked over to his younger self. It was so strange to see this, to see how young he was. He would never be that young again, never be that innocent. Especially not since he and Leah had slept together. But that was beside the point. Presently, three other children were running out towards him, giggling and yelling as they dove under the tree. Little Preston looked up, a big grin on his face as Patience, Parker, and Percy settled in next to her, each with a toy in hand. Patience, with her long black hair in a ponytail and a little pink sundress on, had brought a Barbie. Parker set down his Green Goblin figure to push his tiny little glasses up his nose as they slowly slid down. Last, but not least, was Percy in a frilly green skirt with a little white tee. She cheerfully sat down with her Ken doll, adequately dressed only in jeans so as to show off his genuine molded plastic abs.
The four of them started to play with their toys, Parker having the Green Goblin tie Barbie down in front of an oncoming Thomas with a tiny maniacal laugh. Preston cracked a smile at this because he just couldn't picture Parker ever getting that laugh down pat. Then Percy had Ken fly in and save Barbie from the goblin just before Thomas smashed her into smithereens. It was the perfect moment. But like all good things, the fleeting moment of innocence was soon ruined as a warlock shimmered in. The kids looked up, their eyes wide in fear, but in true Halliwell fashion, those eyes hardened with determination and they stood up, ready to fight. Percy, ever the gun jumper, made the first move by launching a fireball at the warlock's legs. He stumbled back, his irritation clear.
"Do you think that puny little children like yourselves will be able to defeat me?" he asked angrily. Percy answered with another fireball. Archer or not though, her small body wasn't able to produce enough power to vanquish him yet, only piss him off. The warlock yelled with anger, immediately launching his own fireball at Percy. Just inches away from Percy's face, the fireball was extinguished by a stream of water, leaving a very relieved Percy and a very triumphant Patience.
"Stay away from my cousins," she ordered, her small demanding voice as powerful as ever. The warlock let out a laugh.
"You don't scare me, witch!" he declared, forming another fireball. This time Parker stepped in, blowing it out with a gust of wind before it even left the warlock's hand.
"Preston, help me kill him!" Percy called, turning to her cousin. Preston stayed still though, his eyes staring at the warlock as though he were frozen in fear.
"Yes Preston, help me kill them," the warlock said with an evil grin. Preston formed his own fireball, throwing it directly at Percy.
"Preston, no!" Patience yelled.
"Mom!" Percy screamed at the top of her lungs. Once again, just before it hit her, the fireball disappeared from in front of Percy, but this time in a cloud of orbs. It was redirected at the warlock and followed by two orb balls. With an angry cry, the warlock burst into flames. Preston stared on in shock. He felt himself being pulled away and grabbed at the air, desperately wanting an explanation for this, wanting to see what happened next. It was no use though, and he soon found himself back in the white room.
"What was that?" he asked in frustration, turning to Heather.
"It was a memory, a flashback. Paige was pissed that you tried to kill her daughter. She wanted your mom and dad to bind your powers immediately. They were close to it, too. Had it not been for the fact that they were afraid that you'd be vulnerable, they would have. That wasn't the last time they considered it, either," Heather explained.
"Why did I try to kill her? Why didn't I help? He must have had mind control," Preston declared.
"No mind control," Heather said calmly. "He was just your average, everyday warlock. You obeyed him because you wanted to. You were susceptible to evil then. You felt it calling to you, pulling you in. You still do. Things only ever happen because you're susceptible to them. The warlock, the Wendigo… both of them happened because you were susceptible."
"I am not susceptible to evil!" Preston yelled.
"Yes you are. I can give you hundreds of examples, Preston, but it just so happens that I don't feel like being here all day. Just admit it. You are evil," Heather said, her aquamarine eyes boring into his with determination. Preston felt the anger rising up like bile in his throat. With one swift movement he was across the room with Heather slammed up against the wall, his hand grasped tightly around her neck.
"I am not evil," he growled, his voice so low that it was barely audible. Heather shook off her shock and glared at him.
"You would have liked it to end this way, wouldn't you? Instead of that demon gutting me like a fish, you would have rather taken me out just like this with your hand around my throat so you could squeeze the life out of me. This is your favorite place to be. You like to have your hand around some innocent neck. That must be the demon in you," she said. Preston stayed still for a minute, still glaring at her angrily before closing his eyes and letting her go. He heard her feet hit the ground softly before opening his eyes again. This time he found the room completely black. As he looked around, it didn't take long to notice that the only thing in the room was a mirror with a dim beam of light falling directly on it and nothing else. At least there was no Heather.
Preston slowly stepped up to the mirror, his heavy footsteps making absolutely no noise at all. The mirror looked exactly like the one that he and his cousins had seen their evil counterparts in. When he was only inches away, he took a deep breath and looked up into the glass. Preston gasped at what he saw.
In his reflection, there was no Preston at all, evil, good, or otherwise. Instead there was a demon. He was tall and muscular with a bald head and two rows of sharp, pointy teeth. Perhaps the most striking thing about him though was his markings. They were tribal, much like Belthazor's. They were black, which seemed to be a standard color for demons of this type, but they were also an electric blue that made him both noticeable and intimidating. But the thing that Preston couldn't look away from was the eyes, for they weren't the eyes of a demon. They were the eyes of himself. This demon, whatever his name may be, was Preston without a doubt. Preston turned his back to the mirror, unable to look at the demon any longer. But when he did, he found himself face to face with the real thing.
"Who are you?" Preston asked.
"You," the demon answered, his voice deep and strong.
"No, what's your name?" Preston clarified.
"Drakaar." Preston felt a strange connection to the demon. It was almost like the feeling someone would get if they had never seen their parents before and suddenly came face to face with them and knew, without words or confirmation, that these were their parents. This demon, Drakaar, was a part of him, whether he liked it or not. Without warning, Patience, Parker, and Percy suddenly appeared.
"Come on Preston, we've got to get out of here!" Patience urged. Drakaar growled and threw an energy ball at her. She yelped and dodged it.
"What are you doing with this demon?" Percy asked. This time Drakaar aimed his energy ball at her and this time it hit its mark.
"Percy!" Parker yelled, running to her. As the three of them exchanged blows with the demon, Preston stayed motionless.
"Come on Preston, kill them. I know you want to," Heather whispered in his ear. "It's okay to give in to the evil." Preston looked on as Percy took another energy ball to the shoulder just as she launched her own fireball at him. He roared angrily as it hit him in the stomach. "Do it Preston. Finish it. You can take them out and turn to evil and never look back. It'll be so much easier. You won't have to worry about the war or anything. It's not that hard. Just do it." Preston looked down at the palm of his hand and watched as something formed there that never had before. The energy ball crackled with excitement as though pleading to hit something. It made him feel a power that he never had before. He looked back up his cousins and got ready to throw the energy ball. Percy looked up, locking eyes with him, pleading silently.
"Help me kill him!" she yelled. Then something snapped inside of him. He was brought back to the vision of he and his cousins fighting the warlock together when they were younger and the same pleading look in Percy's eyes when she had begged him to help her. Preston looked back at Heather and she shook her head, giving a small nod towards his cousins.
"You're evil," she whispered. Preston felt himself swell with anger.
"I AM NOT EVIL!" he screamed, whipping around to throw the energy ball at Drakaar. It hit its mark perfectly. With a tremendous roar that shook the room, Drakaar exploded and a brilliant white light filled the room again.
xxxxx
Percy looked around the darkened alley that she was standing in and immediately recognized the dull brown bricks as the ones that adorned the outside of SF Valley High. She figured that this was the one between the school and they gymnasium complex. She also managed to notice, much to her dismay, that her twin had followed her here. This was just like the Elders to stick her in a dark alley that smelled like rubber and sweat next to a particularly annoying version of herself. Her thoughts of strangling the Elders quickly turned to curiosity, though as two people rounded the corner. Her first reaction was to try to hide her face because anyone who knew her would be very suspicious to see two of her standing there. She very obviously didn't have a twin and even though she looked like her mom, she didn't look that much like her. Not to worry, though because the two people didn't even seem to notice either of them as they came closer.
Percy recognized these people as the both very deceased Jeff Hollingsworth and Tiffany Carlton. Great! Not only was she stuck in this smelly alleyway at her old high school with her annoying twin, but it wasn't even real. It was a flashback. A memory. Just her luck. Currently the two had stopped for a good snog up against the nearest wall, which just so happened to be inches away from Percy. She rolled her eyes and looked to her twin.
"Is there going to be a point to this anytime soon?" she asked impatiently. Her twin gave a knowing nod to the couple and Percy turned her head just in time to see Tiffany change into a tall, bumpy, fairly ugly red demon that looked very unlike the former cheerleader and Winter Formal Snow Queen of Sophomore year. Percy's first reaction to this was to form a fireball, but she found that she couldn't. Not that it mattered anyways because the demon managed to throw poor Jeff right through her. She wasn't done yet, either. She reached a bony red hand through Percy's left foot and pulled Jeff up by the neck before using the other hand to reach around his head, grab hold of his hair, and twist. Percy wretched at the sound that came from Jeff's neck, which had almost been twisted clean off. If her incorporeal stomach hadn't been completely empty of all acids, she would have vomited all over the already disgusting alley. As it were, a new sound brought her reluctant attention back to the scene at hand.
Patience was now hurtling around the corner as well, Kyle hot on her tail. She looked from Jeff's body, which was now lying limp and lifeless on the ground, his fading green eyes staring emptily into the afternoon sky, to the demon, which had suddenly turned back into Tiffany without Percy even realizing it. The guilt and sadness in Patience's stormy blue eyes was quickly pushed aside to be replaced with immense anger and hate.
"Stupid witch! I knew you'd catch me in the act sooner or later. That's why I hate witches so much. They're always sticking their noses where they don't belong. I guess I'll have to kill you and the boy," Tiff said. Raging flames flared in Patience's eyes and she pulled back to punch Tiffany squarely in the face, causing the demon to stumble backwards.
"My nose," Patience growled, punching her again, "will always be," another hard hook, "where people," now she opted for a kick to the stomach, "are hurting my friends!" She finished with a roundhouse kick to the demon's head, knocking her flat on her ass. "Show me your true face, you bastard!" Tiff grinned evilly and stood up, transforming back into the demon she, or he rather, had just been.
"You won't be able to kill me on your own, Archer. It takes four to complete the circle," he reminded her.
"Well four just got a lot smaller today," Patience said. Her eyes were now their swirled blue color and Percy could tell that she was getting ready to do a spell. "The life you've stolen return it now, to the earth where it was made. Your secret has finally been found and from this earth you shall fade." Percy felt a sense of pride towards her cousin as the demon withered away to nothing, but it soon turned to concern as she suddenly fell to the floor, sobbing over the dead body. She had heard about this incident, obviously. She was there with Patience at Jeff's funeral, but her cousin had been strong about it. But seeing it now, she realized just how hard this had been on Patience. Now that she thought about it, Percy realized that Patience and Jeff had been pretty good friends since they were in the same class in 2nd grade. She turned to her guide. The fact that she didn't look hurt or concerned to see Patience that sad angered her.
"Take me back," she ordered. Her twin grinned.
"Can't take it already?" she asked. Percy glared.
"Take me back," she repeated through gritted teeth. The alleyway dissolved around them and they appeared not back in white room like Percy had hoped, but in the Halliwell/Wyatt manor where the whole family, including Kyle and Leah, was eating dinner. Percy frowned as she scanned the faces. She didn't remember this. This was definitely something she would remember. Everyone looked so happy. "What is this? This never happened."
"Oh it happened. There's only one person in this room who actually remembers it though. As far as all of you are concerned, it didn't. As far as Preston's concerned… it was a nightmare he'll never forget." Before she could ask why, Percy saw the demon that shimmered into the room. No one at the table noticed and she was about to call out to them when she remembered that it wouldn't help. The table was blown apart as the demon's energy ball crashed into it, sending the dinner guests flying backwards.
Preston was the first one up as he started launching his own energy balls around blindly, giving Piper time to try to blow the demon up. Unfortunately, it had no effect. It took an orbed knife from Percy's mother to put the demon off and with one last energy ball, he shimmered out. The scene that unfolded around Percy next was tragic. At first, she didn't even realize what was happening. It wasn't until she moved around the table to see Preston trying fruitlessly to perform CPR on an unconscious Cole that it dawned on her. Her stomach turned over and her heart squeezed inside of her as she examined the bloody burn mark on Cole's abdomen. Tears stung at her eyes as she listened to a grief stricken Preston yell at Leah.
"You promised!" he screamed. "You promised nothing would happen! You said I wouldn't let it!" Leah could only reply with silent tears. Percy could feel the pain swell in the room like hot steam, suffocating them all as both Phoebe and Preston's sobs rang out like hollow, mourning bells through a gray morning sky. Before anything else could be said, Percy found herself back in the white room.
"What was that? What happened?" she asked, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes so as not to show her weakness.
"That was what originally happened. Cole had recently been stripped of his powers and Belthazor, which was why he was able to be killed at all. Right after that scene we just witnessed, you helped Preston go back in time to the past to fix this problem, back before Belthazor was vanquished. All that occurred after is what you remember," her twin explained.
"I can't believe Preston had to see his dad die," Percy whispered sadly.
"Yeah. Preston had to see someone he cared about die. Patience had to see someone she cared about die. And Parker… well that's one we haven't seen yet. Shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, the room swirled around them and the two were now in a church. Percy already knew what was going to happen. All the key characters were present, except for Kelsey. Parker and Alex stood at a standoff reminiscent of a very bad Western. She could almost hear the wind whistle through the otherwise deserted church. It took Percy a few moments to realize that the scene was frozen. She looked questioningly at her twin, who smiled innocently.
"Just get it over with," Percy ordered. Her twin nodded and the scene unfroze.
"You're the one. You're the one who shot Kelsey in my dream," Parker said.
"Good job Parker, you really are as smart as they say," Alex sneered. Percy couldn't believe that they were having a conversation while Alex had a gun pointed at Parker's head- a gun that he intended to use.
"Why?" Parker asked. "I thought you were good." Alex looked slightly more psychotic than usual now.
"Oh I was. I was the best kid in the world, but that never mattered to you… Dad," he spat.
"What?" Parker asked in bewilderment. The look of shock on his face would have been priceless had it not been such a serious situation. Percy too was almost shocked at this revelation, even though she already knew about this. To see it all unfold was… well it was horrible, but it also many other things that Percy didn't care to feel.
"Yeah, I'm your son and I spent my whole life just trying to get your approval, just once. But that never mattered to you. You acted like you didn't even care, like you didn't even know me because you didn't want Kelsey to find out about me," Alex ranted. Percy winced. Another thing Parker wasn't expecting.
"Wait, you're not hers?" he asked.
"Nope. I had to spend my whole life wondering what was wrong with me all because you couldn't keep it in your pants. You cheated on her, your wonderful wife. You got drunk and found some hot chick and screwed the almighty hell out of her, but you wanted nothing to do with the after math," Alex yelled. Percy felt the strong urge to punch him in the face numerous times by now. She listened as Alex explained that he was sent to kill Kelsey, to ruin Parker and to ruin the Archers. By who, he wouldn't say.
"You know that killing me will make you cease to exist," Parker pointed out. Alex shook his head.
"Oh I really don't care, as long as you're dead," he said venomously. Percy looked at him in horror as he raised the gun. How could he hate Parker so much that he would be willing to let himself die just to make sure he was dead? It wasn't logical. Parker squeezed his eyes shut as Alex's hand slowly pulled at the trigger. Percy followed suit. She couldn't watch this. The shot that rang out next seemed to pierce her eardrum and her heart all at the same time. When she opened her eyes, Parker was still standing. Kelsey was dead at his feet. The rage that covered Parker's features was instant and scary. Without any effort, he crated a tornado that launched Alex across the room.
"You bastard!" he screamed. "You killed her! I'm going to fucking destroy you!" He ran to Alex and landed a punch on his face. Percy winced as he did it again, and again until there was no sound but the continuous connection of Parker's fist with Alex's face. Finally, after what seemed like forever, it stopped. Alex's face was barely recognizable by now.
"Looks like I've done my job after all. Have fun with your new future, Dad. You'll die in the end anyways," he choked out painfully. With his last breath, Alex disappeared. Parker got up shakily and walked over to Kelsey, kneeling beside her. With no one there to hear him, he cried harder than Percy thought it was possible for anyone to cry. And because she couldn't help it, she cried with him. After a long time, Parker closed Kelsey's eyes and kissed her forehead gently.
"Goodbye baby," he whispered sadly. The scene disappeared in front of her and Percy and her twin were back in the dreaded white room. Percy spun around to look at her counterpart, her sadness now turned to anger.
"Why are you showing me this?" she yelled, angry tears spilling down her pale face.
"Because you need to see," her twin said simply.
"See what? See my cousins in pain? Watch my family fall apart over things that have already happened?"
"You need to see that you've dealt with nothing compared to them. They've dealt with death and loss and falling apart and you, you've dealt with none of that. You've had it easy. Everything's just been given to you," her twin said.
"That's not my fault!" Percy said defensively. "I can't help the fact that they died!"
"And where were you when they did? Off screwing Atli somewhere?" her twin accused.
"You shut your mouth!" Percy screamed.
"Why? Because I'm right? You don't give a damn about any of it, as long as you don't have to deal with the pain at the end of the day!"
"Don't you dare sit there and tell me I don't care about my cousins! I love them!" Percy argued.
"Then where were you when Patience was possessed? Where were you when she had to take on Fashkoff all by herself? She's supposed to be your best friend? Yeah right! And what about Parker? You let him try to defend Kelsey against an unknown killer all by himself! And Preston, you can't even stand him," her twin yelled. Fresh tears of frustration flowed down Percy's face. She was losing this battle, this battle for her sanity. And rightfully so. Her alter ego had a point. Everything she said was right. She was weak. She'd been through nothing. Except watching her friend die when she was younger, and always being so helpless when it came to helping her cousins. Percy's eyes hardened and she looked at her twin fiercely.
"I've dealt with pain. I've dealt with demons and death all my life. But I've dealt with something worse than that. I've dealt with the pain that my cousins and family suffered combined. I've watched them fall to pieces and each time a part of them dies, a part of me dies too. I am them. We are one. Whenever one cries, we all cry. Maybe I haven't suffered these things personally, but I've had to watch as the others have, knowing that there's nothing I can do or say to make any of it better. Yes, Patience is my best friend. And maybe I wasn't there when Jeff died, or when Kelsey died, or when Preston went through all the mess with his dad, but I was there for the aftermath every time. So I think, no matter what you say, that counts for something," she said. By now she was out of breath. She expected another retort from her twin, but only received a small smile before she disappeared into thin air. And then came that horrible feeling of being pulled of her feet again.
xxxxx
"Damnit! If I have to fall on my ass one more time I'm going to vanquish every Elder that ever existed!" Percy bolted upright at the sound of Patience's voice. She threw herself at her cousins, who appeared to have just come from their last tasks as well. They were still in the white room and none of them were sure why it was necessary to pick them up just to move them to the same place they just came from. A cloud of orbs appeared in front of them.
"Congratulations," Oden said cheerfully. "You've successfully completed all of your tasks. You may now receive your Whitelighter."
"This better be the best damn Whitelighter to ever be dead and revived as a magical being or I will be more pissed off than you really want to see me," Preston said angrily. Oden simply held his hand out and another cloud of orbs appeared, revealing their Whitelighter. The person in front of them was the last person they expected. Preston gaped open mouthed.
"What?" Patience whispered. Percy gasped.
"Oh my god."
Wow, so I seriously thought that was never going to end. And I know, I'm the worst for the cliffhanger, especially in the first chapter. But what did you expect? I had to come back right! Well don't be shy dearies! Let Laur and I know what you think! Review! Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but please don't get hopeless if it takes a while. Till next time!
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