"Sure. What would you like?"
"Let's see. What do we have here…" the demon tapped on the counter with long sharp nails as she pretended to scan the menu up behind the counter. "That dishwasher looks kinda yummy" she licked her lips again.
"No" the manager said firmly even behind a quavering voice.
"What do you mean no?" the demon smiled delighted.
"I mean… you know the king and the queen don't allow you to take them that young. So, could we offer you some bloody raw meat sandwich instead?"
"Umh… No. The king won't know, will he?"
"He will. I'll find a way to let him know you disobeyed the rules and you'll be as dead as me"
"We're not going without our lunch" the other demon finally spoke. She produced a fire ball and was ready to throw it, while Piper was ready to burst them on the spot; but before things got out of hand…
"I'll go!" said one of the cooks, who was a middle-aged woman. "Leave them alone. I'll go with you"
"Are you crazy?" the manager turned to her, outraged.
"Either I go or we all die, easy as that" said the cook hugging the manager goodbye, coming from behind the counter; a sigh escaping her as she closed the door latch in a naïve attempt to stop any of her co-workers from coming after her. The manager hung her head in defeat and didn't say another word, dropping her gaze away from her, fully aware there wasn't any better idea on the table.
"Good girl. Thanks. We'll sure be back some other time" the demons started to laugh.
"OK. That's it" Piper finally snapped and blew one of them away. "Wanna go next?" the demon, outraged, shimmered out of the Deli. "Is everybody alright?"
"Yes. Thank you, I guess" said the middle-aged cook.
"You guess?" Phoebe was outraged now. "She just saved your life"
"For now, but… they'll be back and we might not be so lucky next time" the cook made her way back to the kitchen, visibly displeased she had been saved. "I'll get your sandwiches" she said before disappearing into the background, giving the manager an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder. Her eyes clearly saying I tried.
Piper couldn't let what she had told the demon go.
"Excuse me" she approached the manager. "Why don't you ask… the king and the queen…" she could hardly pronounce the words without feeling like she was swallowing a rock. "to help you with the demons?"
"Cause unless we need to let them know someone is breaking their rules, we cannot approach them or they themselves would kill us" Piper's heart sank as she heard one of the many answers she was dreading to hear coming out of the girl's mouth.
"How would you reach them anyway?" Paige asked, eyeing Piper in her sorrow.
"They come to the surface when they need to or you can tell somebody from their family to call on them" The cook came with their order, left it on the counter and walked away. Piper wasn't sure what to say anymore, so she took several consecutive deep breaths as she opened her mouth to speak, but time and time again the words seemed to vanish into oblivion.
"Thank you. Let's go, Piper" Phoebe took the brown bag and tried pulling her away.
"You're Piper… Halliwell?" the young dishwasher came towards the counter.
"Yes…" she said uncertain why this was relevant.
"Give her back her money" he told the manager.
"What are you…?"
"She's the king's mother" he said sternly. The manager turned to Piper while she rummaged blindly in the cash register drawer looking for her exact same bill.
"Wait. You don't need to do that" said Paige seeing the sudden terror in their eyes. They stopped searching, but remained unmoving as if waiting for a command. "We'll just… go"
"Thank you" said Phoebe still pulling Piper away who still meant to say something, but understood that at this point anything she dared to say to them would feel threatening.
"Still think this is better?" said Paige.
"I never said… OK" Phoebe decided to end the matter, bickering about misunderstandings was something they could not afford to waste time on. They weren't sure how long the spell would last, but then again how much more of this were they willing to see wasn't exactly certain either.
"What next?" Paige stroked Piper's arm trying to help her swallow the increasingly bitter pill.
"Dessert?" said Phoebe pointing to an ice cream place across the street.
"Would you knock it off with the lunch thing?" Paige said irritated.
"No. Look" Phoebe kept pointing. "That's Chris, isn't it?" she held her hand up to her face trying to block the sun from her eyes. Piper was already crossing the street when she turned to face her.
"Chris…" Piper put her hand on this shoulder.
"Not quite. Although you keep telling me I look exactly like him, grandma" the young boy smiled as he saw Piper. He got out of his chair and gave her a hug.
"I… I do?" she smiled caressing his face. He was indeed the portrait of a much younger Chris, way taller than his father at his age though. "Where is your dad?"
"He is getting the ice cream. We wanted to save the table without actually having to scare people into giving it to us. Dad's always telling me that just because I can, doesn't mean I should"
"Wise words" smiled Phoebe.
"You guys want one?"
"No, sweetheart. We… just got lunch" added Phoebe raising the brown bag.
"Mom? What are you guys doing here?" said Chris coming out of the place, holding a double cone and a sundae. They stared at one another, unsure what to answer. "Not at it again, are you?"
"What do you mean?" asked Paige sincerely, but to Chris it sounded like a non-innocent answer.
"Come on, mom. I know it's hard to break old patterns, but it's the only way to stay on Wyatt's good side" he gave a sarcastic flinch at the word good.
"Yeah, grandma. After mom, he's taken good care of us. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my dad too" Chris grabbed his son by the back of the neck playfully. News kept getting worse and worse for the sisters, who had some difficulty swallowing their own spit the more their heard; but remained silent.
"I know it's hard to keep your head down after what happened to dad and Mel, but they saw to it that the ones responsible paid for it" Chris poked his Sundae as the bitter memories made it lose all appeal. This last piece of news was the last straw for them, they could feel Piper trembling now as they reached for her hand.
MEANWHILE IN THE UNDERWORLD…
Wyatt and Sam were in bed, lying next to each other, looking into each other's eyes, smiling stupidly. They hadn't changed all that much except they now carried the Source and the Nexus' power within them, which is why demons kept safely away from this particular chamber, since it was clearly out of bounds. Vizkaroth had gotten his wish and was proudly standing at the entrance of such chamber, working as a filter for those who sought an audience with the king and the queen. He knew better than to bother them if it wasn't a real emergency, but he wasn't frightened by the thought. He worshipped them beyond words and was his life's desire to serve such powerful creatures. He was honored.
"You've always look beautiful when you're pregnant, but…" he caressed her bare abdomen. "This is gotta be some kind of a new record" he kissed her gently on the lips, as her hand embraced his.
"Well, thank you, my king"
"You're very welcome, my queen" they started kissing slightly more heatedly, oblivious to the demons and creatures that chose to dwell underground alongside them, as something stirred just outside the guarding post.
"I need to see the King" demanded the she-demon shimmering from the Deli to present her complaint directly and without delay.
"I wouldn't advise you to disturb them at the moment…" Viz took one quick look inside the chamber and knew it was an inconvenient moment to be disturbed. He smiled to himself and turned back to the demon. "What's the problem?"
"We weren't breaking any rules" she cleared that out first hand. "The mortals were willing to comply, but before we could go on our way, a Charmed one blew my sister up! She had no right to do so!" she raised her voice in argument.
"I see. You are well aware of the rules" Viz said starting to circle the demon, who kept her eyes to the front. "Did you engage in combat with any of them?" he asked getting as close as possible to her face without making contact.
"Of course not, but…" she hesitated. "I demand justice"
"What's stopping you?" Viz walked back to his place in front of her. "You are also well aware that you can seek revenge as you see fit"
"I wouldn't be able to take on a Charmed one on my own and nobody…"
"Nobody would help you… and wisely so. If you want to retaliate, that is your right. Now, organizing against the mother of the king will cost you dearly"
"Which is why I need to speak to the king!" she repeated and stormed into the chamber. Viz didn't move a muscle, she had been warned. "My liege…" her pleads were the last thing ever heard from her, as she burst into oblivion as she got closer to the King and the Queen who went on about their business undisturbed.
"What is it, Vizkaroth?" Sam was the one who asked, hearing the demon's thoughts. "What about the king's mother?"
"She's not harmed" said Wyatt still kissing her neck, who was also able to hear them. Vizkaroth came in bowing down to them both.
"It's not exactly a demon being vanquished that's the problem, my queen… but the fact that the Charmed ones are revisiting old patterns again and if they don't see you dealing with this, there may be yet another attempt of insurrection" Wyatt sighed in annoyed defeat and sat on the edge of the bed.
"There's already one on the way" he said as he scanned the surface, closing his eyes. Sam caressed and kissed his back softly. "It appears our friend spread the word on her way to us" he turned to kiss his queen. "Feel like stretching your legs a little?" Sam smiled, nodding in agreement. "We'll deal with it personally. You may leave" Viz was dismissed out of the chamber.
Wyatt slowed time around them as they got ready to go up to the surface, making time seem meaningless. After what seemed like only a few minutes they walked out, fully ready, received by legions of demons who bowed to them without question. Their chamber was magic-proofed to avoid shimmering or orbing of any kind to happen within its walls as a precaution, not that they needed it. They thought of it as an effective way to avoid being overly disturbed. Once beyond its limits, they stared into each other's eyes once again and disappeared in a burst of purple black flames.
ON THE SURFACE…
"I think we've seen enough" said Phoebe worried Piper might have a stroke if they found out this got any worse. They hadn't even seen the half of it.
"Orb mom back home, please. And try to stay out of it, please" Chris genuinely pleaded, afraid for them. In that moment, there was the burst of dark flames in the middle of the street. Cars stopped on their tracks and headed the other way without a single complaint or honk. "Wyatt" Chris said nervously, standing in front of his son and his mother. "What brings you up here?" he said trying to sound casual.
"You very well know what" Wyatt turned to his mother. "Mother, I want you to see what you've caused today" Chris was on full alert ready to face his brother to defend them and perish, as his boy clung to his arm. He could suffer his way into complying with his reign, but would not tolerate him to harm them directly. Not that he'd ever tried. He simply asserted his position and warned them he was not to be crossed.
Wyatt waved a hand to the now empty street and a small party of dark looking subjects were summoned before them. "These demons and mortals thought they had a chance at getting at us" he spoke loudly, his voice echoing, making people, magical and non, from nearby businesses come out to bow down to them in fear. "They thought they could get to you, to get to me…"
"They've been thinking about it for a while too" Sam said smiling as she read it off of their heads without effort.
"And today you presented them with the perfect opportunity. Do you wish to end up like dad and Mel?"
"Don't talk to her like that, Wyatt. She's still our mother" said Chris without raising his voice.
"I simply want them to stay alive and they're making that a very difficult task"
"They can't help it… they've…"
"Enough!" Wyatt's voice boomed away into an echo. "I've made myself perfectly clear. I've avenged our loses, but you either come to terms that things have changed or you will perish. I will not allow any disobedience that may cause any of my children to get hurt. I won't wait to lose any of them to understand this is the way things need to be to keep them all safe. The only reason we allow them to live in the surface is because we got a firm run on things. You need to learn your place" he said in a menacing way, "You might not approve of our ways, but this has kept everybody safe all these years"
"Can you tell that to the people who died on that Deli's last attack?" said Piper heart broken.
"Can you honestly tell me you saved everybody in the old days? Can you realistically tell me you never lost an innocent?" Piper remained silent, her pain deepening at his every word. He wasn't lying and she couldn't help but wish he had been. At least, she would have been able to tell him so in terms he'd understand, but it was clear he had indeed lost himself completely. Everything she had taught them about what's good and right didn't seem to exist in him anymore; nothing she could tell him would make him see the error of his ways. Like Paige had said, it was too late…
"These people weren't that far away as it is" he told his mother, pointing to the angry mob standing by not far from them. They had been preparing to attack for weeks, but now the king was facing them head on, none of them were sure what the next move should be.
"We just gave them a little boost to get here" completed Sam. "To you" she added darkly.
"Let this be a clear example. If you even try to descend back into that chaos you used to call normal life" without another word, Sam raised her hands at the unfaithful mob lifting a handful of mortals five feet into the air with a smile they would have never imagined seeing on her. A smile of delight as her victims screamed in terror.
"You know humans are made of sixty percent liquid…" she told them not taking her eyes off her prey. "which freezes so easily" she mocked them as she turned their every vein into solid ice, painfully turning them into lifeless puppets before letting them drop, bored she could dispose of them with such minimal effort. They fell to the ground with a terrifying thud.
Wyatt followed her lead, making another handful disappear only to reappear two stories high. They were fully conscious when they faced freefall. This time, the sisters made an attempt to help them before they hit the ground; Piper tried freezing them, Paige tried orbing them down, but both were unable to do anything.
"What the hell?" said Paige waving her hands alongside Piper, desperate to affect the obvious outcome. Wyatt turned to them; their eyes solid black as they smiled eerily at them now. "He's never been this strong"
"Nor has anyone else" said Chris. "Nobody had successfully absorbed both the Source and the Nexus' powers without being destroyed" They closed their eyes as the screaming mortals finally reached the ground.
"Mercy is for the weak, so don't expect any from us" Wyatt's voice echoed again. Holding hands, they raised their free arms into the air and send an energy wave that effectively erased every demon or mortal left in the mob, who fired any weapon or power they had in their direction in a desperate, but futile, attempt to harm them before they were extinguished. Most of their attacks hit home but they did no damage whatsoever.
"Oh my God, Phoebe? Phoebe?" said Piper as Phoebe fell against her, having been reached by a few random bullet shots which might have ricocheted off the king and the queen. "Paige!" she urged her younger sister. She tried healing her, but it had no effect.
"Wyatt, stop it!" Chris yelled at his brother.
"Are we clear then?" he asked unbothered.
"She's dying!" Chris continued to yell at his brother.
"Are we?" he asked again. Chris turned to his mother and gave him a gloomy nod. Her face covered in tears, for her sister, for her boy…
"Yes!" she shouted at him, her heart breaking a million times as she said it.
The king and the queen disappeared back into flames and Paige was able to start healing Phoebe. It took some doing, but she was brought back, an inch from death. As soon as she was healed, the sisters were sent back to the attic in their own reality. The spell was over and it still took them a few minutes to feel safe from what they'd seen. They stood there holding each other for longer than they cared to admit, unsure what the next step would be.
