A/N: Wow. Has it really been two months since my last post? Apologies – the chapter just wasn't coming out the way I envisioned so I had to start from scratch numerous times. My God – sometimes it feels like I'll never complete this damn thing. However, contrary to my belief, we are heading into the final few chapters. I don't think it will be much longer than 20 chapters, if I even make it to there. Rest assured – I WILL complete this fic…even if it kills me.
Thanks to Sparkling Cherries, zeria, Icantthinkofafnick, charmedtomeetyou, Charmed Ravenclaw, Rosalene, Sabrina, and shyeye for reviewing the last chapter and all of you who've been sticking with me through this long, slow and arduous process.
The End of All Things
Chapter 15
San Francisco
"So you think Jeremiah was lying to us? That the whole time he's been working with the demons?" Michael puffed as he jogged alongside his brother. On the other side of D.J., Kyle was walking briskly in an attempt to stay apace with the fast walking Morris son, all the while attempting to look vaguely unruffled. The trio were on their way to the west hall to question Jeremiah one last time before heading out to check out the meeting place the prisoner had used to meet Zankou.
D.J. continued his quick pace, saying brusquely, "I don't know what I think. But I do know we didn't push him hard enough."
Michael shot a glance over D.J.'s head at Kyle as he told his brother doubtfully, "I don't know. I think we pushed him plenty hard yesterday."
D.J. snorted, "Bullshit. That's just what he wanted us to think. That bastard broke his leg and wouldn't let Leo heal him. He's certainly not going to be scared of a couple of bruises that we threatened him with yesterday."
About to open his mouth to argue with his brother, Michael snapped his mouth shut as a pair of men abruptly cut off their path, "What the hell?"
The early morning hour meant that the city streets were fairly quiet and most people at home asleep. The two men, both stocky in nature, wore badges on their upper left sleeve – an indication they were part of what Sheridan had termed her 'neighbourhood watch', a throwback term for sure. The taller of the two men nodded politely at the trio, "Morning. You folks seem to be in an awful hurry."
Resisting the urge to snap back, D.J. smiled weakly, "We're here as guests of Sheridan. Just on our way to see her now."
The human guard dog nodded again, his eyes swiftly moving over the group, obviously assessing the truth of that statement. D.J. almost groaned at the silver of doubt he saw in the man's eyes as he eyes alighted on Kyle warily, "You want to show me your ID cards, please?"
"Look," D.J. attempted to reason with the pair of men, not liking the look in the taller man's eyes as he scanned first D.J.'s and then held out his palm for the others. "We're sort of in a hurry here. We really need to get to city hall – I told you, we're guests of Sheridan!"
"I don't care if you're here as guests of the bloody Pope," the guard retorted. "This will only take a second."
"Oh, for Christ's sakes, you fucking got to be kidding me," Michael groaned, before patting around his pockets. Sighing, but resigned, he produced the plastic card, handing it over to one of the guards. "Happy?"
The other guard, who had been silent up to this point, gave the card a cursory look before nodding politely, "Thank you."
"Well, will you look at this," his companion said softly, reading Kyle's card. "Looks like we've got a live one here." He tapped the card lightly, flipping it towards his partner as his eyes narrowed at Kyle, "Magical being, eh?"
Not liking the guard's tone, D.J. stepped closer to his friend, his shoulder touching Kyle's. D.J.'s soft tone belied the steel underneath, "There a problem?"
"Just trying to keep track of them all," the guard returned evenly. He nodded at his companion, "Jim, why don't you radio it in?"
Nodding, Jim moved to the side, unbuckling his radio from his holster to speak into the unit. "This is unit Alpha Beta Niner. Come in, Checkpoint Charlie. We've got a live one here. Name: Kyle Brody. Request confirmation."
"Unfucking believable," Michael shook his head, flexing his fingers unconsciously as he traded a heated gaze with his brother.
The two guards ignored the trio as the crackle of the radio interrupted. "This is Charlie. We've got a 5-0 on Brody. Checked in this morning. He's golden."
Trading baffled looks amongst each other, D.J. merely raised an eyebrow at his brother and Kyle. As the two guards waved them past, D.J. decided now was not the time to question their good luck and grabbing Kyle's arm hard, dragged him away, resisting the urge to break into a run.
"Ever get the feeling that one of these days we're going to get a response we're not going to like," Michael shot a careful look over his shoulder, noting the two guards were still staring at the trio as they quickly crossed the main square towards city hall.
"Still feel like helping out at the hospital?" D.J. directed at Kyle, his tone laced with acerbic bite.
Kyle sighed, "Let's just question Jeremiah, okay?"
Somewhere in the Underworld…
The witch made his way slowly through the twists and turns of the seemingly maze-like tunnels of the Underworld, crossing his fingers behind his back for luck. Ahead, he could make out the soft glow emanating from a side chamber – ultimately his destination.
After the confrontation with Phinks, Chris and Duncan had moved to the next phase of their plan – somehow involving Duncan to glamour himself as the now vanquished demon informant with the intention of luring Zankou out and away from his demon supporters to the more vulnerable location above world.
All in all, a simple enough plan on paper…at least so it had seemed when they were crafting the initial idea back at headquarters.
Now the execution…well, that was a whole other ball game.
Somehow I don't think is one of Chris' better ideas, Duncan sighed to himself. How did I let myself get talked into this again?
He could hear voices murmuring in the background as he approached the entrance – meaning Zankou was not alone, making his job all the harder.
Great, Duncan thought sourly at the prospect. Just fucking great. Could this go any worse? A pause and then, I can't believe I just said that. Now I'm screwed for sure.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, you little prick!"
As if on command, Duncan jumped slightly as a demon suddenly rounded the corner, bumping into him and causing him to stumble back against the cavern wall. Rubbing his shoulder, Duncan resisted the urge to vanquish the SOB and tried to react how he imagined the snivelling Phinks would – by glaring balefully at the offender and mumbling half-heartedly, "Sorrys."
The demon's lips pulled back in a condescending sneer, "Didn't hear you there, little man."
Dropping his eyes, Duncan attempted to shuffle past the hulking brute, muttering, "I's gots to go. Don't want no problem."
An arm shot out, effectively blocking Duncan's escape route. The demon grinned evilly, "I think there is."
Hunching his shoulders and trying to look intimidated, Duncan pitched his tone as a whine, "I's gots a meets with Zankou, I do. My lord's 'pecting me, he is." Duncan could see the open debate playing across the demon's features. He decided he could push his luck just a bit, "He'll be mad, he will, if I's delayed."
Snarling, the demon pulled his arm back, allowing Duncan to pass, spitting on the ground as Duncan slipped by timidly, "You ain't worth it."
Nodding in agreement, Duncan scampered away, suppressing his natural inclination to plant his fist in the smirking demon's face and vanquish its sorry ass. Keeping his mind focused on the mission, Duncan quickly left the disturbance behind, ducking into the open chamber ahead.
Firelight climbed the walls, giving off the eerily orangey glow Duncan had used to spot the chamber earlier. Keeping his back to the wall, he assessed the situation silently, taking in as many details as he could.
Six hostiles, not including the target, Duncan thought almost absently to himself, as his eyes quickly swept the room. Ten o'clock, five o'clock and 8 o'clock, noting their positions relative to himself. Great, just fucking great. Wasn't that just becoming his mantra for this mission?
Zankou's back was to him, his voice cultured and chilling as he coolly instructed his demons. There was no sense of failure, no sense of urgency – just a sense that if Zankou wanted it done…it would be done.
One by one the demons received their orders, shimmering out until only Duncan and his mission remained. As he pondered how Phinks would grab the powerful demon's attention, Zankou's voice sliced through the silence, causing Duncan to start involuntarily.
"I thought I told you to watch the humans," Zankou's tone was deadly as he slowly turned around to face what he thought was his snivelling demon. "Are my orders so hard to follow?"
Duncan shook his head frantically, injecting his voice with what he hoped was the right amount of whininess, "No, no. I watched. I dids. But…"
Zankou's right eyebrow quirked upwards as he drawled, "But?"
"Buts I thinks there's be a problem," Duncan stumbled over his words, cursing Phinks for his grammatically challenged speech. Most people had to make a conscious effort to speak accurately, not the other way around. Who knew trying to mimic a low level demon could be such a pain?
"Yes," This time Zankou tapped his foot impatiently, his patience clearly wearing thin as he waited for his informant to spit out his meaning.
"Jeremiah – he says he wants meets with you's," Duncan sniffed loudly, wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve, hiding his grin as he saw Zankou look away in disgust. "He says nows. Big troubles. Must sees you's nows."
"Did he say what about?" Zankou said laconically as his eyes narrowed.
Duncan shook his head. He and Chris had agreed to keep the story as vague as possible. Less chance of Zankou catching him on a mistake if he kept the facts hazy. He could tell Zankou was frowning unhappily, the demon obviously reluctant to leave his haven. Struggling with what to say, Duncan tried another tactic, "I thinks he thinks theys know."
"Who knows? And what do they know?" Zankou glared at Duncan, clearly irritated by the piecemeal information he was receiving. "Just spit it out, you pathetic piece of vermin."
Trying to make it look like he was shaking in his boots (which, Duncan thought ruefully, wasn't all that difficult under the current circumstances), Duncan tried again, "I's don't knows. He says, brings you to the spot. We's needs to leave. We's needs to leave, now," Duncan said urgently, wringing his hands desperately. "Yes? Yes?" Duncan felt his stomach clench in fear, unable to read Zankou's guarded expression. Had he pushed too much? Would Phinks have not been so assertive? As the silence stretched uncomfortably, Duncan reached into his back pocket, his fingers curling around the vial that would allow him to teleport and take him to Chris.
Zankou nodded once, before shimmering out. "Very well."
That was close…too close…Heaving a sigh of relief, Duncan withdrew the potion vial from his pocket. Throwing down the potion, he grimaced as the smoke swirled up to engulf him, transporting him away.
All right, Chris. I sure as hell hope you're ready for this. Because God knows we won't have a second chance.
The Resistance's Headquarters…
"Where the hell are Piper and Leo?" Phoebe grumbled, frustrated beyond reason. She and Paige had combed the entire base…twice. And still, nothing. She grimaced as she realized she had now passed the same hall three times in the last hour. "Are you sure you can't sense them?"
Paige stopped abruptly, her hand shooting out to grab Phoebe's arm to halt their progress in the hall. "Nothing. Phoebe, face it. If I can't sense them, then they have to be in the Underworld. That's the only place where I wouldn't be able to get a lock on them."
Phoebe dismissed the suggestion with a quick shake of her head, "No. No way. Piper would never go down into the Underworld by herself. She knows better than that."
"Even if it meant saving her son?" Paige said sceptically. "You know Piper when it comes to her kids. Her judgment gets cloudy."
"Even if what you're saying is true, Leo would know better. He wouldn't let her go down there without us. No," Phoebe began to pace back and forth in front of her sister. "No, they have to still be on base. Maybe you can't sense them because of some sort of spell."
"I don't know," Paige replied doubtfully. "I mean, it would have to be a pretty powerful spell to block my whitelighter sense."
"Well, maybe…maybe it's not a spell on us," Phoebe began to think out loud. "Maybe…maybe it's a spell on them – making it hard for us to find them."
"Let's say you're right, how are we going to find them?" Paige asked exasperated, throwing her arms in the air. "We've been up and down every hallway in this damn place, calling out their names."
Phoebe snapped her fingers, "Then we search every room."
"Every room?" Paige groaned. "Phoebe, there are hundreds of rooms in this place!"
"Well, we know the two were going to talk to Chris right? Let's start there, and maybe work our way back," Phoebe suggested. Seeing the doubtful hesitation in Paige's face, Phoebe offered, "Hey, it's a start at least, right?"
"Right."
San Francisco
Ungrateful lout, Michael grimaced, staring at their prisoner from across the room. What the hell is his problem? The trio had managed to persuade Sheridan to let them speak with Jeremiah once again. Grumbling about inconvenience and how didn't they just do that yesterday, Sheridan had given in rather ungraciously – with the provisio that Kyle do some healing.
It was the least he could do, Sheridan had pointed out dryly.
He knew he was being petty, but Michael hadn't wanted to agree to anything. After all, the son of bitch had murdered their friend…hell, he'd murdered Sheridan's friend Elise! But all he had gotten for pointing that out was a narrow eyed look from the former red-headed inspector. He's a human being, Sheridan had shot Michael a warning look. In my book, that means he's still entitled to medical treatment – or in this case, whitelighter healing.
Before the discussion could descend into another argument on the rather questionable statement of whether Jeremiah was entitled to medical treatment (or any thing at all, in Michael's book), D.J. had cut him off neatly to agree with Sheridan's request. D.J.'s sharp look had clearly said to Michael that he didn't give a rat's ass what Michael thought – they were here to do a job, and if D.J. had to bargain with the devil himself, he'd sell his soul and Michael's too to finish it.
So rather than argue with his brother further (Michael knew that stubborn look on his brother's face better than anyone), he'd sighed and settled for glaring down his nose at the object of his contempt.
The lout in question was currently levelling a baleful glare at the Morris brothers and their whitelighter friend. His lips curled in a sneer, "I told you before, I don't need any of your patsy white-ass healing me."
"Look," D.J.'s voice held a touch of impatience. "I really don't care what you want. I think you're under the mistaken impression that I give a shit." Leaning down so that his nose practically touched Jeremiah's, "I want to know everything you know and to do that, I've agreed to let my friend here heal you. So shut up, sit back and let him do his work."
Motioning over his shoulder at Kyle to come closer, D.J. began to back away when Jeremiah suddenly leapt up from the table, shoving his chair back violently. The metal furniture hit the back wall with a bang! as the man held his hands up to ward off the whitelighter, "You don't touch me, you fuck! I told you, stay the hell away from me!"
"Jeremiah!" Sheridan's tone cut across the room sharply. "He's just trying to help you! For God's sake! Your leg is broken! Just let the whitelighter do his work, would you?"
His eyes wild, Jeremiah looked from face to face and seeing no escape, his face began to redden alarmingly, "I told you before – stay away from me! Don't you touch me, you dumb fuck!"
Irritated as hell and wanting nothing more than to get on with it, Michael snapped. Pushing himself away from the wall where he'd been so casually leaning against, he closed the distance between himself and Jeremiah in a few short steps. As Jeremiah's face swung in his direction, Michael shot his arm out and with a quick snap!, sucker punched the other man across the chin.
Jeremiah dropped wordlessly to the floor.
Ignoring the chiding look Kyle was shooting him, Michael massaged his knuckles lightly, "He's all yours."
Kneeling down next to the prone man, Kyle rolled his eyes slightly, "Thanks. I think."
"Was that really necessary?" Sheridan demanded, her arms crossed over her chest, her tone a touch hostile.
"Only if we wanted to leave this hellhole sometime today," Michael retorted, swallowing an even nastier reply that'd been on the tip of his tongue.
As Sheridan opened her mouth to continue the argument, "Look, you –,"
"Uh, guys?"
Michael's eyebrow rose, hearing the insult in Sheridan's tone, "You want to say something to me?" He shoved at his brother who tried to step between the two.
"Uh, guys?"
"Where the hell do you get off?" Sheridan uncrossed her arms, taking on akimbo pose. "The last time I looked, I was still in charge here…"
"Guys!"
Three startled faces turned towards a rather adamant whitelighter. Blinking, D.J. was the first to recover, "Kyle? What's wrong?"
Kyle pulled back his glowing hands and stood up, his eyes still boring into the unconscious body of Jeremiah, "I can't heal him."
"What?" Sheridan asked, confused. "What do you mean, you can't heal him? I mean, aren't whitelighters suppose to be able to heal all humans?"
Kyle bit his lip, "Exactly."
"Which means," Michael whispered as understanding dawned.
"That Jeremiah…" D.J. continued, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Is a demon," Kyle finished flatly.
Swallowing nervously, Chris steadied himself mentally – using a technique that his fiancé had taught him long ago. He blocked out all distractions, his world narrowing to himself and Zankou, everything else fading to the background. He let his senses bubble forth – sight and sound honed to deadly focus. His fist clenched involuntarily as he stepped out from his position, his eyes glaring daggers at the back of the demon's head.
"Phinks?" Zankou's voice was annoyed. "What the hell? Where is Jeremiah?"
"I don't think he's going to make it…" Chris' voice carried across the clearing. "But I'm sure he passes along his regrets."
Slowly, Zankou turned to face Chris. The demon's lip curled in contempt, "You? You really think you can take me?"
Chris' gaze was steady, his voice and stance projecting all the confidence he wished he felt, "Me."
The Resistance's Headquarters…
Piper threw up her hands to blow up the cage again. She could feel her temper rising incrementally as the electrical bars bent but didn't break. "I can't believe he did this!" Piper stormed at the unmitigated gall of her youngest son. "How dare he! I mean, how dare he!"
"Piper…" Leo tried to interrupt.
"Who does he think he is? Who does he think I am? I'm a Charmed One, for God's sakes! If anyone can vanquish a demon, it's me!" Piper's eyes were dark with anger fuelled by the fear that her son was probably, even now, facing off against an enemy he didn't have a hope in hell of defeating. "What the HELL does he think he's doing?"
"He's trying to protect us," Leo grasped at Piper's hands, bringing them together and holding them against his chest. "He's trying to protect you." Seeing the unshed tears in Piper's eyes, Leo gentled his voice, "Piper – stop. You've been trying to blow up the cage for hours now. It's not going to work."
"Than what do you want me to do, Leo?" Piper jerked her hands free from Leo's to swipe angrily at her eyes. "I can't just sit here, Leo. I can't. Not when our son needs us…"
"Look, I don't like the situation any more than you do, but there's nothing we can do. Hopefully someone will come along…"
"And what if they don't?" Piper demanded. "Leo – for all we know, Chris could be dead!"
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Leo shook his head. "No. No, he's not, Piper. He's not."
"How can you be so sure?" Piper sniffed.
"Because I'd feel it here," Leo brought his hand up to his heart and placed his other hand over hers. "And you would too."
Rubbing at her reddening nose, Piper glared at her husband. There was only so much whitelighter mumbo jumbo she could stomach. After all the years they'd been together, she figured she'd been pretty patient so far. Opening her mouth to retort that the only thing she could feel were the electrical bars of the cage, her mouth snapped shut as the door burst open, "Phoebe?"
"Oh thank God we found you guys! We've been looking all over for you!" Phoebe babbled, rushing forward with Paige right on her heels. She stopped abruptly as she realized there was a magical cage in front of her, "Why are you guys in there?"
"Don't worry about that – just get us out of here!" Piper demanded. She pointed at the various crystals around the room. "We've got to get to Chris!"
Quickly grasping the situation, with a wave of her hand Paige called for the crystals. The cage disappeared as the crystals reappeared in her open palm. She stared at them curiously, "Man, these must be pretty powerful if they can hold your powers, Piper."
"Find Chris now, be Magic School professor later," Piper snapped at her sister, her eyes swinging to her husband who's eyes were currently closed. "Well?" Piper tapped her foot impatiently.
Leo's eyes popped open, "I think I've got a lock on him. It's faint – but steady."
"Thank God," Piper nearly collapsed in relief. Grabbing her husband's arm, she commanded, "Let's go. Now." And as if in afterthought, she glanced over at her two open mouthed sisters as she disappeared in a swirl of blue orbs, "Follow us!"
Shooting a puzzled look at Phoebe, Paige shrugged and grabbing her sister's hand, muttered, "Don't look at me. Apparently, I'm just the chauffeur."
Zankou sneered, "You're more foolish than I thought."
"And you talk too much," Chris replied evenly, his eyes never leaving his opponents. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a puff of smoke as Duncan, glamoured as Phinks, appeared. He didn't even bother turning his head, sensing his friend fall into position behind him, "About time you got here."
Duncan shrugged, "Sorry."
Zankou's eyes widened slightly, before narrowing shrewdly, "You're not Phinks."
"Nope," Duncan nodded, releasing the glamour spell to resume his natural appearance. "Thank God."
"That little…" Zankou sighed, almost indulgently. "He's outlived his usefulness to me anyways."
"Such concern," Chris mocked, his heart beating a mile a minute, trying not to betray his nervousness. What the fuck? Were they going to play this game all day? He had never been good at the waiting part. Bianca had always warned him about that – wait for it, Chris. You're too impatient. Impatience leads to mistakes…and when it's a matter of life or death, you can't afford mistakes. Not even one…because one mistake could be your last.
Zankou shrugged, "I never liked that pathetic waste of space – he didn't deserve to be even associated with me, let alone be a demon." He eyed Chris and nodded lazily at Duncan, "Hardly seems fair – two against one."
"Fuck you," Chris replied coldly. Rules of engagement went out the window when dealing with demons – at least in Chris' mind. You couldn't trust them to follow the rules so why should you?
"Your parents would be proud," Zankou chided softly, slowly circling the young witch and his friend. He continued to provoke, "Such honour."
"A little calling the kettle black, you don't think?" Chris shot back, eyes following Zankou's every movement. His back protected by Duncan, Chris let his shoulders settle, his stance casual but fighting ready.
Zankou smiled almost gleefully, "I am a demon."
And without a word of warning, the demon's hand shot out, the fireball barrelling towards Chris within seconds.
Shit!Pushing Duncan out of the way, Chris tucked and rolled to the side, the heat of the fireball grazing his neck. Jumping lithely to his feet, he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead as he faced his opponent again.
Zankou smiled evilly, "Nice move."
With a blur, the demon shot his arm out again, the energy ball this time whipping towards Chris with lightening speed. This time, Duncan pushed him out of the way, the two of them clumsily tumbling backwards.
The demon laughed heartily, his hands gesturing left and right as energy and fireballs alike shot forward.
"Move!" Chris shoved at Duncan, the hairs on his neck rising as the two friends narrowly missed being hit again. Scarcely dodging another attack, Chris cursed – the demon's firepower was too much too fast. They barely had time to anticipate the next attack and move away before another was upon them, let alone stand and mount their own attack.
"Chris! Down!" Duncan shouted a warning.
A hard shove and Chris was eating dirt. Before he could roll to his feet, he heard the sickening cry from his friend as Duncan collapsed on the ground next to him.
"Duncan?" Chris' voice trembled as he looked at his fallen friend. Duncan opened his eyes blearily, his mouth moving but no sound emerging. Chris felt his throat dry, "Duncan?"
"Another one bites the dust, eh?" Zankou chuckled. "How many is that now?"
"You bastard," Chris bared his teeth and all rational thought left his brain. Anger and frustration artificially fuelled his burst of speed and leaping to his feet, he barrelled towards the demon.
FUCK!"Christ! Are you telling me he's been a demon all this time?" Sheridan asked, aghast. "Hell, I knew Jeremiah from even before the war started."
"Not a demon, per se," Kyle shook his head. "It feels…different. I think he's possessed."
D.J. exchanged a look with his brother, "Like a phantasm?"
Kyle nodded solemnly.
"Fucking bastard lied to us…" Michael murmured, his mind going over yesterday's interview. Remembering Les, Michael felt his anger renew, "Son of a bitch!" Two short steps and he was within reach of the unconscious body – he yanked Jeremiah upwards, giving the possessed human a violent shake, "Wake up, you fucking asshole!"
With a groan, Jeremiah's eyes opened. As he looked at his audience, the phantasm realized the gig was up. He hissed, "Stupid humans…"
"Who are you calling stupid?" Michael was livid, Les' death still so fresh. Grappling with his emotions, Michael glared into the black eyes of the possessed human, "I don't think you understand your position here. You pissed off the valkyries – one of the most powerful beings around. If anyone's stupid, it's you."
The demon wearing Jeremiah's features smirked, "Even if the valkyries know about me, it doesn't change anything. Humans are weak. It's in your nature to prey on each other – I merely helped to focus the efforts," the demon laughed heartily. "Now that the idea has taken seed…"
D.J. snorted, "I don't think you give us enough credit."
"No?" the demon jerked its head in Sheridan's direction. "Do you really think that even after you tell the valkyries about me that they'll welcome you with open arms? That the humans will accept that it was all a misunderstanding? If you do, then you don't understand your own nature – human nature."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Sheridan returned hotly, her eyes blazing with indignation.
"Oh please," the demon scoffed. "Humans are so predictable. You always fear what you don't understand – in this case magic. And fear always leads to violence. Do you really think I could have mustered so much hatred if it hadn't already been there, bubbling beneath the surface?" His lips pulled back in a sneer, "You give me too much credit. I merely helped things along its natural path."
"Go to hell," Sheridan spat, her eyes burning now with rage.
"You first," the demon smiled evilly. "Like I said – humans…so pathe – oof!" His words were abruptly cut off as Kyle clipped the demon's jaw with a swift uppercut, the demon once again dropping to the floor unconscious.
Flexing his fingers, Kyle tore his gaze away from the unconscious demon to meet three pairs of surprised eyes. He blinked innocently, "What? Sorry – sometimes I have an involuntary twitch."
D.J. was the first to recover from the shock of seeing his normally calm and collected friend from cold cocking a demon. His right eyebrow shot upwards questioningly, "Is that what they're calling it these days?"
As Kyle shrugged nonchalantly, Michael could feel the corners of his mouth turn up, "That's got to be the smartest thing you've done all day."
Sheridan cleared her throat, "As much as I'm enjoying this display of…male bonding, I think we've got bigger problems."
Michael quickly sobered, "Chris."
Kyle nodded, "He doesn't know Jeremiah's possessed – nor do the valkyries."
"You need to get Ben and get that phantasm out of Jeremiah," D.J. pointed at Kyle. "And we need to tell Chris. Maybe we won't need to worry about the valkyries anymore after we explain everything."
"All right. I'll head back. What about you guys? You coming with me?" Kyle began to head towards the door, with the Morris brothers and Sheridan on his heels.
D.J. shook his head, "I still want to get a look at that clearing, the one where Jeremiah…I mean, the phantasm…said he was meeting Zankou."
Sheridan shut the door to the cell, eyeing it warily. "I'm going to stay here. Keep an eye on things until Kyle comes back and de-possesses Jeremiah."
"You really shouldn't do that alone," D.J. frowned.
Sheridan shook her head, "No worries. Send Greg and Dan in on your way out, will you? They should have arrived for their morning shift a half hour ago."
"Will do," Michael tilted his chin towards his brother, "So Kyle goes back to base, Sheridan stands guard here and we go investigate that clearing outside?"
"Sounds like a plan," D.J. nodded at his friends. "We'll meet you back here in an hour."
Every nerve ending burned, screaming out in unbearable pain as the bright light exploded in his brain. Behind his eyelids, lights exploded like fireworks and he fell to his knees, his breath leaving him as the pressure on his chest crushed him.Son of a bitch…was all Chris could think, curling in on his side protectively. He could feel tears of pain seeping through his eyes, running down his face and tasted the saltiness on his lips. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to open his eyes only to find Zankou standing over him gloatingly.
"Foolish child. Did you really think you stood a chance?"
Chris closed his eyes against the pain, trying to block out the demon's voice. Gotta move…His body was rigid and trembling, every muscle screaming for him to roll out of the way.
"Get away from him!"
The shout came from the edge of the clearing. Forcing his eyes open, Chris watched in alarm as the Morris brothers came rushing into the area. He coughed weakly, blood sputtering forth as he tried to make his mouth work, "D.J. Michael – no…"
Drawing their weapons, Michael and D.J. let loose with gunfire. The demon laughed, before waving a hand in the general direction of the two humans. A burst of orange and the fireball shot towards them.
A warning shout…from D.J.?…was all Chris heard before the gunfire resumed. He could only guess that the brothers had gotten out of the way in time and were returning fire, however futile, in order to buy him time.
Even with his eyes closed, Chris could feel Zankou's shadow over him, blocking out the midday sun as the demon stood arrogantly over his prone body while dealing with his friends. What now, Bianca? Panic and fear surged through him, causing him to temporarily freeze. As always, Chris beat it back through sheer willpower, using the adrenaline surging through his veins to give him more strength than he knew he normally had. It was an old trick – something Bianca had taught him many moons ago.
He could hear her now, feel her guiding his hand.
Don't let the fear control you, Chris, she'd say. Use it to your advantage. A healthy dose of fear can make you move that little bit faster, that tiny bit quicker. Wield it like you would any weapon – take no prisoners.
That little bit of ruthlessness, that matter of fact advice – it had saved Chris on more than one occasion.
Christ, Chris, he berated himself mentally. Move! Move! Move! He pushed past the pain, ignoring his screaming muscles and forced himself to dive to his left, tucking into a neat roll before unfolding quickly to his feet all in a fluid motion.
"Have you mortals learned nothing from our war? Bullets don't harm us," Zankou sneered, completely unaware that Chris was now standing threateningly behind him.
"No, but swords do," Chris' voice cut in just before he plunged Excalibur deep.
"No," Zankou whispered, almost wonderingly. "It can't be."
The Morris brothers had distracted the demon's attention away from Chris long enough for the young leader of the Resistance to summon Excalibur.
Gritting his teeth, Chris summoned all his strength and thrust the sword down, hard. He could feel the soft flesh of the demon give way to the steel of the sword, like a hot knife through butter. He glanced up, catching Zankou's look of genuine surprise.
Chris jerked the sword free, "Bite that, you ass." Yelping, Chris let go of the sword, nearly setting himself on fire as flames exploded forth, engulfing the demon.
LIGHT!The sword dropped to the ground with a THUD!
"Chris!"
Christ…was Chris' final thoughts before the darkness rose up to claim him.
Throwing her arms up to protect her eyes, she was a touch too slow and the brilliant white light blinded her. Blinking rapidly, Piper tried to clear her vision, still seeing bright spots. Reaching out blindly for her husband, she asked, "Leo? I can't see anything."
"Here," Leo answered, his voice coming from her right. "I can't see yet either."
"I think I'm blind!" Phoebe exclaimed. Her voice caused Piper to start involuntarily who didn't expect her sister to be standing right behind her.
"What the hell just happened?" Paige demanded, her voice sounding like it was coming from several metres behind Piper.
"I'm not sure," Piper began as the spots began to give way to vague shapes and colours. "I'm just starting to get my vision back."
Shaking her vision clear, Piper blinked again as the colourful blobs finally took shape, lines and colours suddenly sharpening. In the back of her mind, she registered the tall fence in the near distance as the city's walls while her eyes searched and found her goal.
There, laying in the middle of the scorched earth of the clearing, lay her son.
"Chris!"
To be continued…
