Summary: This story is set in the future, sixteen years from the Season Six finale. Tasha, a girl whose past is unknown even to her, appears to the Charmed Ones, asking for help. Along the road to controlling her powers, an attraction springs up between her and Chris, but can their feelings for each other overcome the demons in her past--and future?
Dedicated to: Absolute everybody (everybody, everybody), absolutely everybody, yeah, yeah, yeah! does weird cheerleader type movement, but it comes out like she's possessed
I love that song.
Disclaimer: Yes! I own it! It's mine, all MINE! is surrounded by lawyers BACK OFF! My best friend's dad knows a magistrate! is thrown in jail oh, dammit.
Thanks: To everyone who reviewed. You are mucho wonderfullo mwahz mwahz
Important Note cough: I missed the finale. I suck. Feel free to spoiler me. SPOILER ME DAMMIT! LoL. Damn, I haven't watched Charmed in forever. Feel free to remind me of totally important facts. I always forget them. Like, how did Leo kill that Elder before he avatarized again? And did Leo stay human? hyperventilates or DIE!
Chapter Seven
Tasha shifted her weight and turned onto her side, glancing at the clock as she did so. The glow-in-the-dark hands told her it was roughly 12:17am. Why are the hands glowy and not the numbers? She wondered. Wouldn't it be much more useful to have numbers and hands glowy?
She sighed. She had been bone-tired when Chris had orbed her home. Completely drained, and totally exhausted. Why then, was she finding it so difficult to go to sleep? It's the worst state to be in. Dead tired, but unable to go to sleep. Her mind was buzzing with all that she had discovered, and nothing she had done to quell her restlessness had worked. Warm milk, TV…she had felt her brain rotting away after the first, enjoyable hour of Desperate Housewives. How many times could the same plots be recycled? Hidden beneath the guise of attractive men and perfect women?
She sighed again and turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She could see a swirling in it, just to the left of the bed. Yay, was this swirliness signaling sleep? She closed her eyes in anticipation.
Nope, just as non-sleepy as ever. She opened her eyes again and frowned at the swirl. It was bigger, and had a pretty, reddish tinge to it. As she watched, bewildered, it increased in size, until it had evolved from the magnitude of a penny to roughly the shape and size of a manhole cover.
And then something dropped out of it.
Tasha gasped and sat up in bed quickly, squinting through the dark at the shape on the floor. Something in her brain was ringing alarm bells and screaming at her to run. The shadowy form rose swiftly and Tasha could discern the shape of a person…extremely tall and hulking.
RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN!
In one swift movement, she tossed aside her quilt and jumped to her feet, dashing for the door. The shadowy form suddenly appeared, blocking her path. She stared up at it, trying to make out his…it's? features. Then, it spoke.
"Tasha." Its voice was somewhere between a growl and a croak.
"Stop running. Come with me. Let me take you to a place where you can embrace your true heritage…evil."
Tasha's tension broke and she rolled her eyes. "Who writes your dialogue? A straight-to-video hack?" she reached out and flipped the light switch next to the door. The light flickered on, illuminating the figure:
He was tall. Red eyes, black and yellow markings…like a snake. Sharp, tusk-like teeth. And very obviously, a demon.
Oh yay. My first demon. And guess what? I'M ALONE. WHERE ARE YOU, WHITELIGHTER BOY?
She gulped, and the monster grinned, revealing about five rows of teeth—and maybe more behind those. Tasha didn't want to stick around to find out.
"Listen, evil. That sounds good. Really. But…I have homework. So, no thanks. Gotta go!" she skirted around the demon and slipped through the door. She ran for the front door, yanked it open and dashed outside. She had almost made it to the sidewalk when there was a slight movement in front of her, like the heat waves you see rising from the pavement on a hot day, and the thing appeared, blocking her path once more.
Ah. Okay…scream now, then? Tasha opened her mouth and started screaming. Without warning, out of the blue, Chris appeared in a shower of blue orbs. In a split-second he surveyed the situation and grabbed Tasha's hand, pulling her backwards.
"Witch!" snapped the demon, raising his clawed hand. A fireball appeared in it, and came straight for Chris, who waved his hand, conjuring from nowhere a translucent blue shield that deflected the fiery orb.
"You got that right." Chris snapped. He waved his hand again, and the shield disappeared. He outstretched his hand towards the demon, and made a sort of tossing motion. In the blink of an eye, a tiny flame appeared in his palm. Chris repeated the tossing motion, and the flame left his hand and flew through the air towards the demon, enlarging as it went. When it reached the demon it covered him completely, and he screamed as the flames devoured him. With a baleful glance at Tasha, it spoke. "I'll be back for you." Its last words, as it exploded in very gory pyrotechnics.
"In your dreams, moron," spat Chris. He looked at Tasha, who was standing stock-still, eyes wide. "Are you okay? Sorry it took me so long, I was kinda…asleep."
"It's…I…um. Yeah. Thank you." she said, not able to tear her eyes from where the demon had stood.
"T? Are you alright?" Chris shook her gently. Tasha nodded. "Thank you. Oh my god, thank you. Did I mention how much you rock lately?" she asked earnestly. He chuckled.
"Nope. But feel free to anytime, I quite enjoy it."
"Very funny. Hey, you don't think there could be more of them, do you?" she looked around, glancing quickly behind her.
The idea seemed stupid, but Chris looked around as well, narrowing his gem-bright eyes. Without another thought he pulled on her hand, which was still clasped in his, and orbed back to his bedroom.
"What are we doing here?" Tasha asked.
"You're staying here tonight. And tomorrow night. And the night after that. At least, until we find out who the demon was and what he wanted with you."
"Oh. I know! He mentioned something about joining my 'true heritage' and turning to the dark side, or some such nonsense."
"What did you say?"
Tasha glared at Chris, his previous gallantry fading slightly from her mind. "What do you think I said? I told him his dialogue was shit."
Chris grinned. "Bet he liked that."
"He wasn't too crazy about it, no." she smiled back.
Of course, as fate would have it, Wyatt walked in just at that moment. He stopped, taking in the scene. Tasha, looking extremely disheveled, was holding on to his little brother's hand tightly, and he was smiling at her like she held the answers to the math final. Wyatt would know. Chris sucked at math.
Wyatt grinned to himself and announced his presence with, "So we're all with the coupleyness, then?" He beamed maniacally as two pairs of eyes swung towards him, glaring. Tasha dropped Chris's hand and cleared her throat.
"Not the time for tasteless comments Wyatt."
"No? Then when is the time, Tash?" he grinned evilly. "Nine months from now?"
Tasha's mouth fell open and she glared at Wyatt when her brain made sense of the jab. Chris decided it was time to preserve what little dignity the two of them had left, and spoke.
"Wyatt, Tash was attacked."
Wyatt tensed. "A demon?"
"Major demon. He said 'he'd be back', right before I blew him into yummy, bite-size chunks."
"Ew," said Tasha delicately. Chris glared.
"Listen, I'm going to get Dad. I think T should stay here until we find out more. Dad was worried this would happen."
"What would?"
"That since your powers were released demons would try and find you. To turn you,"
"Oh please. Could this night get any more clichéd?"
Chris and Wyatt looked at each other for a moment, grinning wryly.
"We ask ourselves that on a regular basis, sweetheart." said Chris.
"Sweetheart?" said Wyatt, raising an eyebrow.
"It's a figure of speech, asshole," said Chris, scowling.
Tasha cradled the mug of hot chocolate in her hands as she stood on the balcony and stared out over the quiet street. Leaves rustled, and the moonlight and streetlights laid an ethereal glow on the trees. Piper had insisted she stay at the manor, at least until whatever was after her showed its ugly face. According to Leo, the demon that had attacked her was probably just the mouthpiece of a bigger, darker evil. Despite her claims that she would be fine, Chris was looking out for her (which drew an evil smile from Wyatt); they refused to take no for an answer—to the point where Chris had suggested hitting her over the head and gagging her. She smiled despite herself. There was a slight noise behind her, and Chris padded over, cat-quietly.
"Hey," he said, grinning lopsidedly. "Thinking deep thoughts?"
"Nah, not really. Just hanging." Tasha smiled back. "You know, I didn't really thank you properly. For the saving, and letting me stay here."
"What, you thought I'd just leave my first charge in the jaws of death?"
"I wouldn't have died. However, that brings me to my next point. You have to help me use my powers." Tasha took a deep breath. "Something tells me that no matter what I do, these things will keep hunting me. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life running away. Therefore, the logical conclusion is to learn how to use my powers," she concluded. Chris smiled, amused.
"You've given this some thought, huh?"
"I just don't like trusting other people with my life. No offense."
Chris frowned. "None taken. Why not?"
"Because…I feel better knowing I've done what I could, not others. Does that make sense? It's like…say I'm driving a car right, and I crash into something and die. I'd rather that than someone else driving and crashing with me in the passenger seat. Either way, I die, but I'd rather I was at the wheel."
"You are not going to die," said Chris sternly.
"Oh, I know. I'm just using that as an example," she looked at him. "So, you'll help me, right?"
He nodded, and even though it was dark, she could see his smile because he was so close. His hand moved up to her shoulder and quickened her heartbeat. They stood there like that for a while, each trying to gauge what the other was thinking. The silence stretched on and on until it became uncomfortable.
"You know," said Tasha, more to break the silence than anything else, "I didn't see a balcony when I was outside the house." She looked up at Chris questioningly.
"Caught us," grinned Chris. "When Aunt Phoebe got married, there was all this indecision because the manor was running out of room. She wanted to move out. But obviously, that would be dangerous, so we cast a spell that makes the insides of a place bigger than the outside."
"Tricky," observed Tasha.
"You have no idea. Fortunately though, it enabled us to create little wings for everyone. Three in all…one for each of my aunts and one for me, Wyatt, and Pearl. Mom and Dad live in the real part of the house."
"So, where am I sleeping?"
"Um, in my wing. It's got the guest room." He looked slightly uncomfortable. "We can go back to your place tomorrow morning and get your clothes and stuff."
"Sounds good. In fact," she said, yawning, "I think I'm gonna turn in now."
"I'll walk you to your room."
Tasha tossed and turned on the bed, trying to find a position she could stay in for more than three seconds. Didn't we, she thought to herself, just leave this party?
She sat up. Maybe she was an insomniac. She pondered this for a moment. I wonder if I could do a spell or something that would make sure I never got tired. Then I wouldn't have to sleep, and I wouldn't be torturing myself like this. Tasha would have followed this train of thought further if it wasn't for the music she heard suddenly. Curious, she climbed out of bed and wandered into the hallway, searching for the source of the soft, melodic strains. She didn't have far to look; the melody came from the room beside hers. Chris's. She pushed the door open carefully. Chris was sitting on his bed, clad in only his boxers, eyes shut, hands strumming at a guitar. Tasha, entranced, crept in silently, and settled herself on a couch in the corner of the room, listening to his voice as he sang to the tune he was coaxing from the strings.
"…and be the one who catches all your tears/that's why I need you to hear/I found a reason for me/to change who I used to be/a reason to start over new/and the reason is you/and is the reason is you--" Chris stopped mid-verse as he opened his eyes and caught sight of Tasha. He nearly dropped his guitar as he stared at her in shock. "What are you doing here?" he asked loudly.
She looked hurt.
"I mean," he amended in a quieter tone, "what are you doing here?"
I heard music. I went to see what it was. Then I saw you, and you looked so cute in next to nothing that I just had to stay.
"I heard music."
"Of course you heard music, I was playing my guitar!"
Tasha raised an eyebrow. Chris turned red, and then glared at her, causing her to break out in giggles. He looked like a teddy bear trying to be vicious.
"So, what else do you know?"
Chris looked gratified at her question. "Um, what do you want to hear?"
"Absolutely anything," smiled Tasha, her face shining. "I love music."
"Oh, come on. I'm not gonna play a song you don't know."
Tasha scoffed. "I know 'em all."
"Yeah? Um, okay…what about," he started to strum the opening bars of Robbie William's Eternity.
"Ooh! Eternity, Robbie Williams!" she grinned. "I like this game."
Chris rolled his eyes. They lapsed into silence for a moment. This time, it was Chris who broke it.
"I learnt a new song the other day. It took me forever to find the chords. Wanna hear it?"
"Sure!" Tasha leaned back in anticipation. She paused. "You're singing along, right?"
Chris raised an eyebrow. "If I'm not?"
"Then I don't want to hear it." Tasha crossed her arms and tried to look petulant, before lapsing into laughter.
"Well, I'm wonderful enough to be so multitalented that I shall be gracing you with my angelic voice."
Tasha made a sound that, coming from someone less delicate, could be called a snort. Chris didn't dignify it with a reply, and instead started to play.
"Maybe it's intuition
Some things you just don't question
Like in your eyes I see my future in an instant
And here it goes; I think I've found my best friend
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy, but I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
There's just no rhyme or reason
Only a sense of completion
And in your eyes I see the missing pieces
Searching for I think I think I've found my way home
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy, but I believe
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I think I dreamed you into life
I knew I loved you before I met you
I have been waiting all my life…"
Chris trailed off, and played a final chord on the guitar before setting it down and looking up. Tasha was sitting there, a smile on her face and her eyes closed. She opened them slowly.
"That's one of my favorite songs. How'd you know?"
"Psychic," joked Chris.
"The scary thing is: I believe you."
"Hah! I wish I were psychic. It'd be another power to add to my pitifully tiny repertoire."
"Yeah? What can you do?"
"Nothing you haven't seen: the shielding, the fire-I'm pyrokinetic. And I can orb. That's it."
"Hey, don't be dissin' the fire. After having my ass saved by the fire, I love the fire. The fire rules."
Chris laughed. "I'm glad you appreciate the fire. Of course, if Wyatt was there he could've blown demon-boy up or thrown him into a wall using his mind."
"Do I detect a little jealousy?"
"Hey! You try being the brother of the 'chosen one' or whatever he's called."
"The one who will bring order back to the Force?" riffed Tasha.
Chris's emerald eyes lit up. "You like Star Wars?" he asked excitedly.
"Are you kidding? There was a time in my life where I carried my toy lightsaber everywhere. And for Revenge of the Sith, me and a coupla friends camped outside the cinema for tickets, and dressed in costume for the premier."
"Are you serious? So did I!"
"No way! Who did you go as?" asked Tasha, leaning forward, her raven hair spilling over her face.
"Han Solo." Chris shrugged. "I know it's the prequels, but the old ones are-"
"The best. I totally agree. I went as Leia."
"Which outfit?"
"Oh, the white one from Empire Strikes Back. Wish I could ask you the same, but Han dresses like you." Tasha said innocently.
"What's that supposed to mean?" cried Chris, making Tasha burst into laughter. "Speaking of clothes, nice pajamas, by the way." He smirked.
Tasha looked down. "And what's wrong with my pajamas?" she straightened her top indignantly. They were one of her favorites, a flannel pair with teddy bears and hearts decorating it.
"What's not wrong with them, sweetheart?"
"At least I'm wearing clothes!" Tasha said, motioning at Chris's outfit. Or lack thereof.
"Tasha, let me tell you right now," Chris looked at her earnestly, "if you want to walk around wearing shorts and nothing else, I would never say a word against your dress sense again."
Tasha shrieked and threw a pillow at him, which he easily ducked, and after a moment she joined in with his laughter.
Wyatt leaned on the doorjamb and smirked. Pearl walked by, flipping out her hair, damp from her shower, and caught sight of him.
"Wyatt?" she called shrilly. "What are you-"
"Shhh!" he hissed. "Come over here," Wyatt waved Pearl over.
"What?" asked Pearl, rolling her eyes. Her cousin was way into the whole cloak-and-dagger thing.
"Check it," said Wyatt, motioning to the room. "Little bro and Tasha seem to be hitting it off."
Pearl glanced in and an evil smile similar to Wyatt's crossed her face. Her green-eyed cousin was asleep on his bed, shirtless and holding a guitar. On the couch directly parallel to the bed, Tasha lay curled up.
"She must've spent the night in his room," observed Pearl innocently. Wyatt snorted.
"You know, this could be grounds for the tormenting of Chris," said Pearl, referring to the pastime that she and Wyatt regularly joined forces for. At least, when she wasn't teamed up with Chris and torturing Wyatt. Miss Pearl Halliwell was quite the double agent. Wyatt looked up at her.
"You have an idea?"
"Duh. Don't I always? Now, listen up…" With a wicked smile on her face, Pearl outlined her plan.
Wyatt stood back and surveyed his handiwork. Chris was lying on his side, arms locked around Tasha who had been moved to the bed. She had one hand splayed out on Chris's chest, and was pressed close to him.
Thank God they're both heavy sleepers, Wyatt thought, or I would be lying on the floor in little charred pieces right now.
Pearl poked her head around the door. "All clear?" Wyatt nodded. "Great! I got the water." She entered the room and appraised the scene. "Not bad,"
Wyatt frowned. "I don't know…" he flicked a finger, levitating Tasha slowly so that one of her legs was draped over Chris. "Too much?"
Pearl tilted her head to the side. "Nope. Perfect. You know, you hafta feel sorry for her."
"But the sorry feelings do not mean we back down?"
Pearl looked taken aback. "Of course not! What kind of witch are you?"
"Uh…the one from the West?"
"Funny. Funny. Now, can we wake them up?" Pearl held out a glass of cold water. Wyatt grinned. "I never get tired of you, do you know that, cousin?" he reached out and took the glass from her. He prepared to throw it when-
"Wait!" Pearl said. She whipped out a digital camera. "For posterior. I think I'll add the caption 'best prank ever played'."
"Good thinking," nodded Wyatt. "This way they can't deny it." With a quick movement, he threw the glass of icy water over Tasha and his brother.
Instantly, Chris woke up, gasping from the coldness. "What-" he looked, bewildered, at the girl in his arms, who chose that precise moment to awake as well.
"What the Hell?" Tasha tried to jerk away, but failed, they were too entangled. She looked up at him, getting lost in his eyes for a moment. "I could've sworn I fell asleep on the couch."
"Yeah, I coulda believed that too." He gazed at her for a second. "You know, this isn't as uncomfortable as I imagined it would be."
"You've imagined it?" she asked tartly.
"Very funny. Now, what in the world possessed you to take advantage of the situation last night and snuggle up to me oh-so-sneakily?" asked Chris comfortably, making no effort to remove his arms.
"Pfft. You probably orbed me into this position because of your insane, out-of-your-mind attraction to me," snapped Tasha.
"Exactly who is attracted to whom here?" he moved his face so close to hers that his lips were only a few centimeters away. And then less than that. And then so near that he must have been able to feel her breath. "You wouldn't be the first girl to fall for my charms."
She ignored the shiver that went through me as his breath played across her skin and struggled against his arms. "No, but I'd be the first human to," she retorted, squirming for all she was worth.
At this Pearl and Wyatt could no longer keep quiet and watch the scene (highly amusing as it was). They both exploded into peals of laughter.
"What--?" asked Chris, releasing Tasha and propping himself up on his elbows. "Wyatt? What are you—Pearl?" his voice was raised, and a red flush was creeping up his neck.
Tasha ignored his undignified drop and sat up too, glaring at the two cretins who were collapsed on the floor in laughter.
"Well. At least we know how I got here," she voiced out.
"Yippee." Chris said hollowly.