Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed (which is just as well, after this long a break it'd have been cancelled)
Timeless Mistakes
"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Liam asked nervously as they looked into the room that they had been assigned to guard, where Wyatt's body was slowly being remade by the combined power of the Nexus, Neena, Regina and the scythe.
"No, not really. But Neena reckons it's the only chance we have." Sam said, looking morose as the reality of life without his older brother continued to press into him.
Liam looked worriedly at the Winchester, biting his lip and pondering exactly what he should say. Yeah he had never had a brother, but he had had a pack, and now Jackson was all that was left of his pack, the last vague remnants of Scott's pack now that the True Alpha was gone. Since the beginning, both Dean and Sam had always been there, a solid dependable part of the resistance, hell along with the Slayer and the Charmed Ones, the brothers Winchester were the original founders of the Firewall, that collective group formed to combat the darkness that threatened existence. But now with Dean gone, it was like some part of Sam had died along with him, and without anyone else of his closest allies left to turn to, Liam wondered just how long the old hunter would remain in one piece before he too finally gave in to the impending end of all things.
"If she's right, none of this will ever happen." Liam suggested hopefully, and Sam snorted derisively, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Yeah, but that's a pretty big if buddy. Look, I can see what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it, especially since you just lost Scott, but you don't need to worry. I'm not going to go against Neena, because like you say, this plan, despite how crazy it might seem, could actually fix everything that's gone wrong. The only person who needs to worry about me now, is Wyatt." Sam growled darkly before heading off on patrol around the crypt were they were resurrecting the former emperor, and Liam wondered just how much good Wyatt could do, especially when everyone would want to send him back to whatever hell dimension he had come from as soon as he was back.
Unheeded by his protectors, in the safety of Neena's spell, Wyatt's body continued to revive itself slowly, awaiting the time his baby brother would need him the most.
XX
"There's no sign of them anywhere my emperor." Cal Greene reported nervously, while Pratt glared out at the blackened sky before turning with cold indifference to face his deputy, who quivered a little as he looked the emperor in the eye.
"Then what use are you? Let me make one thing quite plain to all of you," he hissed, studying Greene, General Eventide and a decrepit, hunched old man on breathing apparatus hooked up to numerous IVs who was sitting in a wheelchair, "the last members of their so called resistance are wearing thin, they are on the run and unable to get far, we have prevented them from using magic so far. Wherever they are now, they don't have many other places to run to, if any. So find them!" he spat, and General Eventide stepped forward.
"With respect my emperor," came the strange disembodied voice of the being that resided in the armour, "we believe we actually have forced them to flee to the Nexus of the All. Once there, they are trapped. My forces are scouring the globe in order to find them, we will soon have them run down to ground sire, and then we will finally exterminate the supernatural once and for all." They vowed, and Pratt nodded, before dismissing the other two leaving him alone with the ancient man.
"This Nexus of the All, does it exist?" he asked, and the old man weakly opened his mouth to talk, before spluttering, black blood spraying against the breath mask of his breathing apparatus before he turned his wicked little eyes onto the world's emperor.
"Oh it exists alright," he promised while spluttering viciously, "and Eventide is right, that'll be where they're heading, the place where they can all make their final stand. But see, that's the thing that bothers me…Neena fled from here, but what was she doing here? We answer that, we figure out her plan, then we stop it, stop her, and all magic!" he spat before being overcome with another coughing fit, spraying black blood through his gas mask, and Pratt smiled as he helped the old man steady himself, clapping his shoulder, his evil eyes shimmering with excitement.
"We are reaching the end point my friend, we have lost many of our allies over the years, but our final victory is so close I can almost taste it. I'm just sorry that you won't be around much longer to share it with me." He lamented, as purple lightning streaked across the noxious sky outside, but the old man gave him a murderous smile.
"Oh don't you worry about me Nathaniel. Trust me, I won't die until I've seen to it that every supernatural freak is eradicated from this planet, and thanks to you, I can see it now. A little longer, and the supernatural will be wiped out once and for all!" Gerard Argent spat in triumph before being overcome with another coughing fit before stopping to take a breath in his mask, splattering it with more black blood while a smug and triumphant Pratt awaited the end of the supernatural which he had been planning for so long.
XX
"Hey sis need any help?" Paige asked brightly as she brought Prue a steaming cup of freshly made coffee while Prue poured over the various documents that Sheridan had given her in the sun room, sunlight streaming over her as she tackled the mountain of material.
"Unless you can help me figure out which of these guys is the best way for me to get close to the Mercers and hence get in close to their organisation, then no not really honey. Besides I thought you were taking Piper to the doctors? As you know, previously dead so, no licence, no money, no car and no life." She pointed out, accepting the cup gratefully, but Paige shook her head.
"No, Phoebe's taking her, and I think our very neurotic nephew is lurking somewhere in the wings, so I'm not needed." She admitted, peering at the documents with interest, but Prue, catching her at it, quickly pulled them towards her, a stern look on her face, which was offset by a mischievous smile.
"Hey, I told you, I don't want you lot any more than peripherally involved in all of this, you guys focus on the demons and on the threat against Wyatt, leave the human bad guys to me." She told her, and Paige pouted a little.
"Well it's not fair, we have demonic problems we don't need mortal ones, and besides, you're back from the dead, you and I should be rocking it up!" she insisted and Prue smiled and squeezed her baby sister's hand.
"I know my sweetie, and while I would love to have some more bonding time with my baby sister, I do kind of need to come back from the dead legally or being alive isn't going to be much of a life at all." She reasoned sadly, and Paige then cocked her head, looking at her eldest sister curiously.
"Wait a minute, you don't want my help because you don't the three of us getting endangered by what you're doing. But surely that would reason that you plan to just use your normal face right?" she asked suspiciously, and Prue, looking completely at sea, nodded hesitantly.
"Well yeah, it's part of the reason I'm ok with the dye job, but if they do rumble me I don't want them targeting you guys, especially with there soon to be two kids in the manor." She reasoned, and Paige nodded, a slight smile on her face.
"You know, Piper warned me about your martyr complex," she teased, and Prue opened her mouth in outraged protest, "and while we appreciate it there is a better way my dear." She told her, which took the wind out of Prue's sails slightly.
"What better way?" she asked suspiciously, and Paige grinned.
"Just use a glamour, I know you don't want to use magic to fix all of it, and believe me I get it, but a little will go a long way. And fortunately for you, the Halliwell master of illusions is willing to waive her usual fee in order to instruct her eldest sister in the fine art of glamouring, follow me!" she urged, and rolling her eyes in amusement Prue followed Paige up to the attic.
A half hour later, Prue had all but mastered the art of glamouring, and grinned at her sister.
"You know Paige, you really are a life saver, who knows how much trouble I could have gotten us into with just my normal face but provided no one follows me, I can use this glamouring spell to be anyone I want, all the work and reward but none of the potential for discovery." Prue said as she clicked through various glamours, under Paige's proud and delighted supervision.
"Hey I learned from the best, I had a lot to live up to, you know with you being super witch and all." She admitted, and returning to her normal form, Prue squeezed Paige in a brief one armed hug.
"Well, being stuck up there I did watch out for you and was very proud of you, you have such a gift for the craft. Say, once I throw in the towel tonight, what do you say you and I bond over some of my more interesting spells?" she asked with a grin, and Paige smiled widely and nodded excitedly, just as Chris orbed in, struggling with a large flat box.
The two sisters stood for a moment, watching as Chris struggled to lower it to the ground, and he breathed out in relief as he set down the awkward package and turned, before noticing his two aunts standing with sharp, suspicious expressions on their faces and he suddenly looked very guilty, and fidgeted a little, refusing to meet their eyes.
"Chris, what you doin?" Paige asked in a sing song voice, and he gnawed his lip a little.
"Nothing." He replied, convincing no one, when had he gotten so bad at lying, true they had caught him in the act but still.
"Scrappy…" Prue chided leadingly, and he rolled his eyes irritably.
"Alright fine, I have borrowed a mobile double sided whiteboard from Darryl." He admitted, and Prue raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"And does Darryl know that you've borrowed it from him?" she asked perceptively, and Chris looked guilty again, which was all the answer they needed.
"Chris!" Paige scolded, and he glowered.
"Well I told him it would be handy, and he even admitted it himself, and besides, I borrowed it before it got properly checked into the station, all he has to do is say it never turned up and he won't get charged, besides he can get it back when we figure out who's trying to hurt Wyatt." He defended, and the two sisters shook their heads, and Prue did have to admit, her sticky fingered nephew's actions aside, the board could come in very handy.
"Oh alright we won't grass you in, like you say it could be useful, you get one side I get the other, deal?" she asked, and he grinned.
"Pleasure doing business as always." He chirped happily, and she grinned as Paige shook her head in dismay.
"You're not meant to encourage him, but yeah could be useful." She admitted, and he grinned, before sensing curiously, and apparently becoming slightly alarmed when he didn't sense his mother.
"Where's mom?" he asked worriedly, and Prue patted his cheek affectionately.
"Don't get in a flap, she's fine, she's at the doctors for a checkup to see if you're fine." She told him, and Paige looked thoughtful for a second.
"Hey how do we know you'll still be a boy when you come out? I mean with the timeline having changed, you might wind up being a girl!" she pointed out, and Chris looked rather alarmed at the prospect, and discreetly touched his groin to make sure all was as it should be.
"What? No! I like being a guy! How long does it take babies to decide what they're going to be? I have to go!" he wailed in a panic and orbed out, leaving Prue and Paige standing in the attic, before exchanging a look and the two sisters then erupted into laughter.
XX
"What is it with people?" Piper asked grouchily as she avoided the outstretched hand of the person she had just frozen who was about to touch her swelling belly.
"They're enjoying new life Piper, now why not unfreeze the nice lady?" Phoebe cajoled, looking harassed, fearing someone would come around the corner and Piper, scowling as she did so, reluctantly unfroze the woman who stumbled as Piper was no longer where she was to support her, and Phoebe made sure she was alright before following her irate sister into the lift.
"Yeah well they can enjoy their own lives, I've got quite enough on my plate enjoying mine, and I don't appreciate being prodded like a pincushion by every tom dick and harry who goes past!" she grumbled as she hit the button to take them back to the car park, and Phoebe gave a patient sigh.
"I know honey, and we all know you're not the most gracious of pregnant ladies, but you could have gotten us caught!"
"Ah we were fine, and just be thankful I didn't blow her up, which I am considering as a valid approach to the next person to try to fondle me." She said dangerously and Phoebe rolled her eyes.
"God no wonder Chris grows up to be such a neurotic little freak." She teased, and Piper turned to face her when said neurotic little freak orbed into the lift with them.
"Are you ok?" he asked anxiously without preamble, and Piper smiled, and showed him the sonogram picture she had in her hand.
"Yes, I'm fine and you will be relieved to know that you are too, and that you're a boy!" she told him brightly, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank god, Paige had me worried that might have changed with the timeline." He sighed, and the two sisters grinned, until Phoebe cocked her head at the picture curiously.
"How do you know, where is it?" she asked with interest, and Piper pointed to a part of the picture happily before Chris swiped the photo out of their hands.
"Hey, do you guys mind? Wait…where is it?" he whined and Piper sniggered and showed both her son and sister what they were looking for.
Exiting the lift, they were headed to the car, teasing Chris when something flickered in the side of Chris vision. Grabbing his mother and turning her out of the way a gaunt white skinned woman slashed at her, Piper shrieking as she fell towards the bonnet of a car while the demons long nails slashed into Chris neck, Chris giving a cry of pain as he did so.
"Chris!" Phoebe yelled, levitating and kicking the long black haired demon in the chest, throwing the demon back as Chris stumbled to the ground, gasping in pain as he clutched at his bleeding neck.
"Chris!" Piper roared, having recovered and turned to the demon and blasted at her, the very picture of maternal fury at yet another demon having the sheer audacity to try and attack one of her kids.
The first blast nearly got the woman, who had glowing red eyes and vicious white fangs which were dripping in fluid. Ducking away from one blast she slashed out at Piper, the slash nearly ripping open Piper's protruding belly but Piper recoiled at the last moment, flicking her hands into the demon's face. Screeching in pain as Piper blasted her right in the face, the demon flailed backwards, allowing Phoebe to take her legs out from under her, dropping the demon to the ground and allowing Piper to go in for the kill
Seeing she was outmatched the demon raised a hand and blasted spider web at the two sisters, but Chris flicked the web away with his powers. Hissing in vexation, the demon gave a last hateful look at the sisters before she turned into a spider and scuttled off, several of an enraged Piper's blasts just missing her as she made good her escape.
"What the hell was that? Are you ok?" Phoebe asked her sister, taking her arm and Piper nodded impatiently.
"Yeah I'm fine, are you ok sweetie?" she asked in concern.
"Yeah I'm fine she never got me!" Phoebe said brightly, then realised her sister had removed herself from her sister's grip, "oh Chris, you meant Chris I see."
"I don't know, am I?" Chris asked nervously and allowing a worried Piper and Phoebe to inspect the bleeding wound on his neck, where three deep talon marks had more than left their impression.
XX
"So, all set?" Paige asked up in the attic as Prue used her side of Chris stolen whiteboard to plan out her plan of attack with the Mercers, and with just a little bit more tweaking she could put it into practice.
"Nearly, and while I dearly appreciate your company and your able bodied assistance, would you be terribly offended if I asked you to leave me alone while I get to grips with my cover?" Prue asked, kissing Paige's temple, and Paige grinned.
"Yeah sure I'll go and see Darryl or something." She said, not entirely innocent, and Prue snorted derisively behind her, a shrewd look fixed on Paige's back.
"Yeah, right you just want to go and see Henry." She teased, and Paige went a little red before there was a small yelp from downstairs.
"When did they get back?" Paige asked as the sounds of Piper, Phoebe and Chris drifted up the stairs prompting the two sisters to investigate the source of the commotion.
"Are you sure I'm ok, you know, mini me?" Chris asked worriedly down in the kitchen as a concerned Piper dabbed at his neck, making her son hiss in pain as she cleaned the cuts the demon had inflicted while Phoebe made them some tea.
"I'm alright she didn't get me at all thanks to you, thank you. The guy who's car I dented might not be so keen but hey-ho." She said with a slight smile, remembering with a slight bit of guilt the dent in the hood of the nice BMW she had left.
"Here you go, are you ok honey you look kind of peaky." Phoebe asked worriedly, laying her hand against Chris' forehead, frowning in concern as she realised he was all clammy.
"I don't know, I feel kind of queasy. Ow!" he protested as Piper continued to clean the cuts, and Piper rolled her eyes.
"Stop fidgeting honey, I need to get this cleaned. There was a fair bit of blood lost, but either way I'm calling your father he needs to heal you." She said in concern, Phoebe was right he did look peaky, and she had a horrible feeling it wasn't just from blood loss.
"You can't, I can't sense him he must be in the underworld." Chris replied, and Piper scowled.
"Typical, he's like a cab that husband of mine, never here when you actually need him. There it's clean but I'm not liking it, as soon as your dad comes back aboveground you call him mister." She said sternly, and he nodded looking anxious.
"Ok mom, but if you think I'm fine, then why do you two look so worried?" he asked, and Piper shook her head dismissively.
"I'm not worried." She assured him, but he sent her a puppy dog look, and she sighed, but Phoebe got there first.
"She's worried about the force field, and quite frankly so am I." she said, chewing her lip thoughtfully, and Piper rolled her eyes in irritation.
Chris looked between his aunt and mother, looking severely confused.
"What force field?" he asked suspiciously, and Phoebe, apparently on a roll, continued.
"The force field she had when she was pregnant with your brother." She told him easily, and Piper groaned, rubbing her temple wearily, looking at her son with a look of resignation about her.
Chris looked between them, and then it suddenly clicked and he looked equal parts annoyed and upset, which only made Piper shake her head sadly before taking Phoebe's hand in hers and patting it.
"Phoebe, dearest, remember when we were talking to Prue and filling her in on all the weird and wacky things that happened when I was pregnant with Wyatt?" she asked sweetly, and Phoebe looked shamefaced and slightly apologetic.
"Yes." She replied sheepishly, and Piper tightened her grip slightly, looking sweetly murderous.
"And do you remember when I said that there's some things that we're probably better not telling Chris?" she asked, and Phoebe nodded, not meeting her sister's gaze.
"Yes."
"And you realise what you just did?"
"Yes. I think I'll go and look in the book and try to ID the demon." She admitted in a subdued voice, and left the kitchen, patting Chris shoulder as she left, feeling kind of bad.
"Thank you." Piper said in a voice of immense patience, as she looked at her crestfallen son.
"Wait, from the womb? From the womb! He had powers from the womb? How is that fair, I already have an inferiority complex with him as it is! And besides, I'm the mommy's boy, it's not fair that he should be protecting you, if it should be either of us it should be me!" he protested as Phoebe, wincing at the trouble she had caused, left Piper to deal with her son's latest neurotic outburst.
"What's going on?" Prue asked as she and Paige came down the stairs while Chris ranted to his mother in the kitchen, and Phoebe could visualise Piper rubbing her temple torn between exasperation, commiseration and amusement while Chris went off on one.
"I kind of let the cat out of the bag and told Chris about Wyatt's force field." She admitted and both sisters looked at her with equally admonishing looks and both yelled at her at once.
"Aww Phoebe!"
"Phoebe!"
"I'm sorry it slipped out! Anyway, I need the book I need to see if I can find the demon that attacked us." She said, and both her sisters looked alarmed.
"Demon? What demon?" Prue demanded, and Phoebe shrugged.
"I don't know, think cross between banshee and vampire from the looks of her, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say she was a spider demon as she turned into one. She was tough too, Piper blasted her right in the face and it only pissed her off." She explained, and Prue looked concerned as Chris continued his diatribe through in the kitchen.
"I've read about her, nasty, only feeds once every century, are you guys alright?" she asked worriedly, and Phoebe nodded.
"Yeah, well me, Piper and the baby are, but I'm not so sure about Chris she clawed him and it looks nasty, and Leo isn't up here so we can't even get him to heal him, and I don't think Chris is lying I don't think he'd deliberately worry Piper like that." She said, and Prue suddenly split into a wide smile, leaving her sisters looking at her feeling slightly wrong-footed.
"This is great!" she exclaimed excitedly, and Paige looked at her, completely lost.
"That Chris was attacked?"
"No, it's just a normal, good old fashioned demon hunt, no fate of the world stuff, just a normal demon of the week, I'm so excited! Come on Pheebs, let's check the book!" she said excitedly and sprinted up the stairs while Paige and Phoebe looked at each other, both of them suddenly at a loss for words while Chris continued along his tangent through in the kitchen.
XX
The oldest Charmed One and her two youngest sisters were in the attic reading the book while Chris rested under a concerned Piper's watchful eye. She had tried to call for Leo, but had received no response which did seem to confirm the fact that he was in the underworld, most likely hunting Rennek.
"I'm fine mom." Chris mumbled in slight protest as she checked his temperature, and Piper furrowed her brow in her concern, he was still feverish and his eyes were dilated, and she shook her head.
"No you're not and until I can get hold of your father you're staying where I can watch you baby."
"But mom, I need to look into things I need to-" he protested from his seat on the couch where she had all but forced him, but she put a finger to his lips to quieten him.
"You need to let me look after you. Sweetie, I died in your time and left you all alone. Surely letting me make a fuss is a good thing?" she asked softly, and he looked at her in slight protest before giving a slight half smile, a slight puppy dog expression on his face.
"Ok mom." He muttered, torn between resisting her, protesting the treatment, and also secretly enjoying it, having his mom look after him when he wasn't feeling his best just like she had done when he was a child, and she smiled a little in smug victory as he relented.
"Anyway what's so important?" she asked, frowning as she laid her hand against his forehead, yeah he was getting more feverish and she was beginning to consider summoning Leo just to make sure he got here quicker.
"I was talking with my contacts, there's a new power in the underworld and whoever it is, they're very powerful and don't want to be found out, it's making the demons nervous." He told her, and she frowned, looking at her son in slight alarm.
"What, is it stronger than Barbas?" she demanded, and he nodded, looking equally grim.
"Yeah, which is what has got me worried too." He told her, and she gnawed her lip worriedly, not noticing as a large spider clambered into the open window, it's eyes fixed in on Chris before they glowed an ominous red.
As Piper considered the implications of this potential new threat the spider turned its gaze onto Chris, its glowing eyes focused on him hungrily.
"You can hear me can't you beloved? You feel my touch spreading through your body, making you strong. Don't resist me little one. You want to please me don't you? Embrace the powers I gave you, they make you strong, they can make me strong!"
"No…" Chris protested weakly, the psychic link barging into his brain as the spider demon upped her attack.
"Come now, we can be so very happy together you and I. You don't need her, bring me her."
"No, leave her alone…" Chris protested, her psychic connection overwhelming him as his fingers started to generate spider webs as the power of the spider demon threatened to overwhelm him.
"I think not little Chris. Come on Chris, you and I can have so much fun together, if you just get your nasty mother out of the way."
"No, go to hell!"
"I am getting impatient Chris, join me, use your gifts that I so courteously gave you, or watch me sever your mother's carotid artery with my bite and inject her so full of venom that little baby you will be dead in seconds!"
"Mom!" Chris yelled as the spider demon broke through and Piper turned just in time to see her son's tortured face before his eyes went crimson and he raised his hands and attacked.
Upstairs the other three sisters were looking at the entry on the spider demon in the book, confirming Phoebe's suspicion that that was indeed who had attacked them.
"An evil creature that emerges once every one hundred years to feed off the most powerful magical being it can find," Prue read from the book, and Paige shrugged.
"Ah well, guess that answers who out of the two of you is still the most powerful witch at least." She pointed out, and Prue shrugged, she didn't really care if Piper was stronger than her, after all Piper had more than stepped up to the plate and led the family when she had died, she could be the strongest if she wanted, and besides she herself had missed three years of life and of her powers developing to boot. And in addition she wasn't pregnant with a second powerfully magical child either.
"She can be vanquished by a potion blessed by the power of three, cool must mean we don't need all four of us…uh oh." She muttered, rapidly running her finger under the last few lines on the page, her eyes growing in alarm as she did so.
"Uh oh? What's uh oh?" Phoebe asked worriedly and Prue looked at her sharply.
"How badly was Chris cut by her?" she asked breathlessly, looking panicked, and Phoebe felt her heart fall.
"Quite deeply, why?" she asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer as it would undoubtedly be bad news.
Prue however didn't answer and sped from the attic, Phoebe and Paige right behind her as they hurtled down the stairs. Arriving at the top of the stairs, she was Chris, his skin now white and pasty, wrapping his mother in webs emitting from his hands wrapping her in some sort of cocoon, and upon seeing Prue he snarled, his eyes now blood red and sprayed web at her and her sisters too.
Paige orbed and Prue hurtled over the bannister, but Phoebe wasn't quite so quick on the uptake, the web spraying onto her and attaching her to the wall, binding her in place. As Paige rematerialized, Paige reformed while Prue faced down her scarlet eyed nephew.
"Sorry honey." She said before flicking him through the room, crashing him to the wall where he dropped down, unmoving.
"Hey guys, little help here." Phoebe called from the staircase where she was bound against the wall, but she was unheeded by her sisters as they surveyed the web cocoon that held their other sister.
"Ok what have we missed?" Paige asked in confusion, and Prue sighed irritably as she tried to pull at the web surrounding Piper only to be zapped by the web, and the eldest Halliwell hissed in pain as she withdrew her hand.
"According to the book, anyone hurt by her claws is doomed to become an arachnid just like she is, which unfortunately includes Chris in this, he's now effectively her minion. Which as the most powerful witch here in the present other than Piper and maybe me presents us with rather a large problem. Specifically our nephew trying to kill us in order to feed our sister to his new boss." She mused, while Phoebe struggled against her bonds.
"Hey, little help here." She yelled irritably, but Prue held up a finger to quieten her which made Phoebe all the more furious.
"Hey, I need down!" she stormed.
"Shush! We have problems Phoebe! Alright, she's gotten Chris but if we make the potion and cure him then he'll go back to normal, but we still need to get her so we can vanquish her, pronto. Ok, I'll see if I can get Phoebe down, Paige if you-"
"Prue!" Phoebe yelled, but not out of anger this time, but out of alarm, and Chris was back on his feet and before either of his remaining aunts could react webs sprayed from his hands and blasted them back, slamming Paige into the wall with a thud and spraying her with webs, securing her in place in the corner of the stairs, next to Phoebe. Prue couldn't react in time either and was then blown across the room and sprayed into the place against the cupboard door, trapping all three remaining Charmed Ones in place.
"Chris, you don't want to do this, she's your mom, you love her more than anything else! Don't do this sweetie!" Phoebe implored, and Chris, whose eyes were still blood scarlet, wavered as he raised his hands to pick up Piper and transport her to the spider demon.
As Chris hesitated, Prue took advantage, squinting her eyes and with a fair dollop of guilt, blasted him away from his mother and crashed him through the sun room windows, and he went properly limp this time as he landed outside, out cold.
"So, while we're going for aunt of the year award, how do we get out of here and prevent our nephew letting his mother and his baby self get eaten?" Paige wondered aloud, as she tried and failed to orb out of her bonds.
"Good question. Alright, astral isn't working either something in the web must be blocking it." Prue admitted after several failed attempts, and Phoebe sighed dramatically.
"You know what, this might not have happened if you had listened and gotten me out when I asked! Least he isn't trying to kill us this time." She mused, and Prue looked worriedly to where her nephew lay unconscious outside in the garden.
"Yeah but for how long, with the spider demon calling the shots? Ok powers aren't working, so when in doubt…LEO!" she yelled, and quickly taking their lead from her, her two sisters followed suit.
"LEO!"
XX
A final Darklighter gave a scream as Leo finished him off, panting furiously. He had been at this for hours, hunting down various Darklighters and attacking them, torturing them to try and find any hint of where it was that Rennek had disappeared to, but none of them had known a thing, either that or they were that steadfastly loyal that they were willing to take whatever information they did have with them to the wasteland. Nothing, except two more dead charges, Rennek had clearly struck two more of his former charges and had left them butchered for Leo to find, his own private taunt, his own way of drawing Leo towards an inevitable showdown.
Sighing in frustration, he orbed to the top of the bridge and was about to sense all his former charges when Gideon materialised beside him, looking stern.
"Gideon, don't start." He complained and the other Elder fixed him with a steely glare.
"Apparently I need to though. Believe me, I understand the threat that Rennek poses, and I understand how personal this is for you, but you are leaving yourself, and by extension all Elders, vulnerable." He chided, and Leo sent him a bored look.
"Gideon, you know why I'm doing this and you said yourself that he's a threat that needs dealt with."
"Indeed he is Leo, but surely not by you? I gave you leave to track him down, believing it would be done quickly, but you've had no such luck, so perhaps you should return to the heavens and allow the sisters to take point on this, it is after all their job." He reminded him, but Leo shook his head stubbornly.
"I can't Gideon, Prue is trying to get her life back, and Piper's pregnant with Chris, meaning she's more vulnerable to Rennek than usual, not to mention Wyatt and Paige. I promise, I'll return when Rennek is finished." He vowed through gritted teeth, and Gideon sighed wearily.
"And then something else will prevent you from accepting your responsibilities Leo. I know this is hard for you my boy, but when you became an Elder, you agreed to sacrifice the ties that bind, it is distasteful, yes, but it is for the greater good." He urged, but Leo shook his head once again.
"No, the Elders took me from my family before, and in the original timeline, doing that got worse and made me into something I wasn't proud to be. Ever since Chris came back, we've been trying to protect the future, and that includes me being there for my family. So if you want, I'll still go and be an Elder, but I'm not going to abandon my family again, not for the Elders. Now excuse me, the girls are calling me." He said, orbing out before Gideon could stop him, leaving him standing in a contemplative silence as he vanished.
Hmm, Leo was proving to be more obtuse than he had thought. He had hoped that the Triad's reckless hiring of Rennek would at least persuade him to return to the higher realm but that hadn't happened unfortunately. He needed Leo out of the way if he was to make his move on Wyatt, but while he was still so close to his family and refused to leave Piper and his sons that would be practically impossible. And then there was the fact that that madman Rennek was on the loose. But perhaps, well if Rennek was already out and about causing trouble, perhaps Gideon could orchestrate it so that he and Rennek would have their showdown at the same time as he made his move…
Yes, that could work, he mused as he orbed away in a flurry of purple orbs.
XX
Orbing into the foyer of the manor, Leo took one look around, clocking Piper wrapped in a web cocoon, Chris unconscious outside a broken windowed door, and the other three sisters trapped against the wall by spider webs.
"What the hell is going on around here?" he demanded, crossing to the sisters and yelping in pain as the webs holding Paige in place electrocuted him, and she sent him a nettled look.
"Cliff notes version, spider demon emerges once every hundred years to feed on an all-powerful magic being, which in this case is Piper, but she infected Chris, who turned on us and is now her minion, explaining the situation we're currently in." she informed him, and he looked impressed, that really was a concise version.
"Wow that really was short. So if the spider demon has turned Chris against us, how do we fix him?" he asked, and sent a slight jolt of lightning into the web which allowed him to pull the bonds apart, freeing Paige from her predicament and allowing him to move onto Phoebe.
"There's a potion in the book that if the three of us can bless, we can get Chris back to normal. The spider demon herself though will be back, and we don't have a hell of a lot of time." Prue told him as Phoebe was released from the wall, looking rather irritable.
"What do we do with Chris?" she asked, casting a nervous look at her nephew as he laid in the shattered glass outside the sunroom.
"Stick him in the basement for now, I'll get the book and find out what we need to make the potion, Leo can you see if you can get Piper out of the cocoon?" Prue asked, casting a nervous look over her cocooned sister.
"Don't worry, she's in there, she's safe, she's just unconscious." Leo assured her, as Paige orbed Chris into the basement and went to put an anti-orbing spell on the room to ensure that he didn't escape when he woke up.
Phoebe then turned and skelped Prue on the arm, looking irate as she glared at her sister.
"And you were excited for a demon of the week!" she scolded, and Prue rolled her eyes.
"Well how was I to know said demon of the week would turn our nephew to the dark side, which by the way isn't exactly great, considering he's capable of standing up to the four of us, and we're a man down. Anyway, we have work to do. Leo, how are you getting on?" Prue asked sharply as she climbed the stairs to go and get the book, and Leo followed her, leaving Phoebe and Paige looking at Piper's immobilised form and keeping an eye on the basement should Chris wake up and start causing them trouble again.
"I'm still no closer to finding Rennek. Every Darklighter and demon I've come across is just stubbornly refusing to talk." He grumbled, looking slightly apprehensive about Piper and Chris' current condition as they climbed into the attic.
"He'll show up, he'll have to in the end. We're missing something here Leo." She advised darkly, and Leo nodded grimly.
"I reckon you're right. You agree with Chris?" he asked shrewdly, and Prue nodded, looking pensive.
"Yep, absolutely. I learned in the future that his instincts, just like mine, are very rarely wrong, and if he is right that there is someone else planning something in the underworld we need to be ready." She declared, picking up the book, just as Leo placed his hand on her wrist, looking at her worriedly.
"And you? How are you getting on?" he asked pointedly, and she smiled.
"Funny how easy we all slip into bad habits. You mean how am I dealing with my resurrection?" she asked, and Leo smiled slightly.
"Well you seemed to be doing fine, but now you're suddenly bring thrust back into being the leader of the Charmed Ones, a sister down, a demon after us…" he mused, and she grinned.
"Strange though it sounds Leo, and despite the mess Piper and Chris are in, I'm kind of enjoying it. All the time when I was dead, stuck, ripped in two because I was unable to move on because of the damn prophecy of the Power of Three," she recounted, and for the first time, just by being silent, he could hear the raw power and emotion in her voice, the damage that her tragic early death had inflicted on her even in the afterlife, "all through it, you know what I missed most? Just doing things with my sisters, Charmed gig or not. Obviously as soon as I died, Piper and Phoebe found Paige, and I helped them, believe me I was just as pissed as Piper was that we had another sister we had no clue existed, and they took out that bastard Shax, and then they had their big showdowns with the Source and all that, and it further shattered me, ripped me asunder not being able to help them with that, not being there to help fight our archenemy, our nemesis…but it was normal stuff, even just random attacking demons that we weren't able to do together that killed me the most. I just wanted to be with them, to get to know Paige, to be there for Piper when she was trying to get pregnant, to throttle Phoebe when she went to the dark side," she growled, and Leo grinned a little, "I wanted us just to be sisters, who happened to be very good at what we do, vanquishing some smart ass demon who reared his ugly head, or just hanging out, squabbling over eating the Special K or which James Bond was best, all that stuff. It destroyed me being dead Leo. Utterly and totally, and I remember the loneliness, the pain, the anger that just kept growing inside me all the time I was dead until the Elders brought me back…and despite not having my sisters, I coped, I had a nephew who needed me, and then you lot came, and I finally fit again, and then all this…" she said, gesturing her hand, grinning with excitement and wonder.
"It's just like old times." Leo finished for her, and she grinned even wider than before.
"Yeah, exactly. Now come on, we need to fix your son and wife." She ordered, taking his arm as the two of them headed downstairs.
XX
"I know you can hear me sweet one. You failed me, utterly! You let me down, how could you do that to poor little me?" the spider demon taunted as Chris stirred down in the basement, struggling to exert enough power to liberate himself of her control, but it was to no avail.
"No, leave me alone." He protested weakly, he had to keep control, he had attacked his mother, she was hurt because of him, it was all going to happen again…
"I don't think so. See, now my little pet, I'm both hungry and angry, instead of just hungry. And now, I am going to devour you, your mother, your aunts, and your father, I think a girl deserves a treat, don't you?" she taunted, and Chris, his skin white, fangs dripping, eyes crimson, screamed as her telepathic voice bored into his skull, ripped at his head to try and shut her out.
"No, I won't help you, I won't become you!" he cried, even as webs started to materialise from his fingers, and he cried out in despair as he started to become a spider before his very eyes.
"Oh sweet one…you don't have a choice!"
XX
"One blessed potion." Phoebe stated happily as she watched Prue bottle their potion up into several bottles, just to be safe, eyeing her smiling sister in amusement, clearly enjoying being back in her element as a kickass leading witch.
"Good, now all we need to do is fix Piper and somehow feed this to our very hostile nephew, any ideas?" Paige asked dubiously, contemplating the potions as she suddenly heard a metallic scraping sound, and looked around nervously, seeing nothing.
"Paige?" Leo asked, seeing her preoccupation, and she looked at him nervously.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, and the others looked at her in confusion.
"Hear what honey?" Phoebe asked, before letting out a loud shriek as a large spider had emerged from the grate and was scuttling through to the living room.
"She's back!" Paige cried, and Prue looked in alarm towards the uplifted grate, and shook her head.
"No, that isn't the spider demon, it's Chris!" she realised as they charged through after their currently eight legged nephew.
Bursting into the living room, Chris, his skin now pasty white, looking feverish, his eyes blood red, with malevolent fangs, turned to face them angrily just as the spider demon herself crawled into the foyer and transformed into her human form, flexing her fingers as she looked at Piper's cocoon hungrily.
"Deal with them while I have my dinner." She ordered, and the three sisters exchanged a brief look of alarm before leaping to the floor as Chris hissed, casting powerful lightning at them, the vicious bolts blasting into the wall above their heads, leaving smoking craters in its wake.
"Great, she's not only made him a demon, but now he's using his Elder powers against us, why couldn't you have been a normal joe bloggs whitelighter when you knocked Piper up?" Phoebe demanded as she and Leo crawled through into the sun room, narrowly avoiding another blast of lightning.
"Oh yeah, like this is my fault!" Leo snapped angrily, considering getting to his feet but thinking better of it when a combustive orb flew round the corner and would have taken his head off had he stood up.
"Any ideas?" Prue asked as Chris hissed violently, stalking towards his cornered aunts and father, and Paige risked a peek around the corner, watching as the spider demon licked her lips, preparing to plunge her claws into Piper's cocoon.
"Well one, and it involves you battling Chris. Sorry." She added lamely in response to Prue's scandalised expression, but Prue took a deep breath, pressed her potion into Paige's hand and sprung to her feet, drawing her arm back, pointing with her two fingers, and thrust forward.
Seeing Prue charge towards him, Chris conjured a combustive orb and threw it at his aunt, but to his surprise a shimmering blue and yellow shockwave accompanied by a shockwave of sheer power blasted her nephew through the air, and he screamed as he was blown back in the maelstrom, hurtling the length of the manor and slamming hard into the front doors.
The spider demon staggered, trying to retain her balance as she too was assailed by the attack, but now she was stripped of her protector. Phoebe then appeared round the corner, and before she could sink her claws into her sister, Phoebe kicked the spider demon in the face and she was sent crashing to the ground with a snarl, and looked urgently at a feebly stirring Chris, giving Paige the opening she needed before the two of them recouped their losses.
Paige slew potion over the web cocoon, and there was a pungent burning smell as the cocoon suddenly developed a hole in it, resulting in a bewildered looking Piper staggering out of her prison.
"Piper!" Leo cried in relief as Paige caught her sister.
"No!" the spider demon hissed and sprayed webs at the three of them, but Prue flicked the webs into the wall, and panicking, the demon transformed into her spider form, trying to make a run for it.
"What did I miss?" Piper asked, blasting at the escaping spider as Prue and Phoebe tried to intercept the demon, but they were distracted as two combustive orbs flew at them as a crimson eyed Chris got back to his feet, hissing malevolently.
"Never mind, just drink this!" Paige cried, handing her the other potion, and with Piper's gaze fixed upon her arachnid of a future son, she downed the potion just as he fired a jet of lightning at her, his crimson eyes narrowed in hate.
"Piper!" Leo cried in terror as the bolts lanced towards her, but Piper held firm, and as she looked imploringly at her son, she saw his eyes return to their usual bright green and his expression of hatred turned to one of horror, as his skin returned to normal and he redirected the bolts crashing them into the ceiling before they hit his mother.
"She's getting away!" Prue cried, but Piper then turned, blasting the spider as it scuttled up the wall, and as it fell back, Prue flicked it into the ceiling, before, with a smug grin, flicking it through the air, down the corridor into the kitchen, and through the kitchen into the microwave, slamming the door shut with a final gesture.
The spider was scraping at the glass in panic as the four sisters charged into the kitchen, the entire microwave shaking as it tried to break free, and with a final flick, Prue turned the microwave on. As light and radiation poured into the spider, it swelled in size, screaming and scraping inside the microwave, before exploding in an eruption of green goo that covered the entirety of the appliance. And with a last satisfied harrumph, Piper flicked her hand and blew the soiled microwave to smithereens, taking the last remnants of the spider demon along with it.
"Ew." Phoebe complained, looking slightly nauseous, and turned to congratulate her sisters on a job well done before she realised Piper was no longer beside them.
"Mom, I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop it, I would never-!" Chris cried as Piper kneeled down in front of him through in the foyer, wrapping him in a hug, smiling ruefully.
"Aww honey it's alright, I know you wouldn't hurt me willingly. Besides, you're not a real Halliwell till you've gone demonic on your family at least twice." She told him wryly, rocking him slightly as he buried his face in her shoulder, allowing her to kiss the top of his head.
"Wonderful, you are now a part of the tribe!" Paige told him cheerfully, patting his shoulder and he snorted in amusement as she did so, while Leo, relieved to see all was well, turned to an extremely smug looking Prue.
"How do you feel?" he asked, and she grinned, thrusting her arms into the air in victory, and was beset by Phoebe hugging her, laughing as she did so.
"Bloody brilliant, we're back baby!" she cried in delight, and the others then joined in the laughter as well, and for the first time in three years, the four sisters finally and truly felt whole.
XX
"The spider demon failed." Xar commented idly, ignoring the glares he received from the other members of the Triad as he did so.
"There are plenty of other demons, and we still have Barbas, and besides our powers grow daily." Candor reminded him, and Xar looked merely bemused by the whole thing.
"Yes, but we can't go up against the Charmed Ones, as you well know." He reasoned, and while Candor did continue to glare, he couldn't deny that he had a point, to his great frustration.
"Brute force doesn't work, and neither did turning the boy against them. Even with Rennek distracting the Elder, we need to up our game, but that means we need to get the Elder to play his part, but we need to grind them down first." Baliel mused, and Asmodeus contemplated the situation, and then a small smile came to his face.
"Not to worry my friends. I think I have the beginnings of an idea." He told them, and the other three turned to hear his plan.
XX
"Um, mom, what you were, if you were all hairy, you weren't a wendigo." Chris told her as he sat on her bed while she sorted away the washing, having filled him in on all the various things they had all been turned to at some point in order to make him feel better, and Piper looked at him in confusion.
"The Book…" she began, and he smiled slightly and shook his head.
"When that entry was written, the witch who wrote it had heard tale of a wendigo, and believed that it was, but it wasn't actually a proper wendigo. Trust me, that is one beastie we don't want to turn into. Mind you there was one we had in the resistance…" Chris mused whimsically, but before Piper could ask her son exactly what he meant by that, there was a knock on the door and her three sisters traipsed in.
"We need to talk honey." Phoebe said hesitantly, though looked rather terrified about the prospect of what she was about to do, and Piper narrowed her eyes as she saw a similar expression on Paige's face.
"Well that sounds ominous." She said suspiciously, and the two youngest sisters looked to Prue, who sent them a nettled look before taking a deep breath.
"Piper, please don't hate me for what we're about to say, but…we've been talking, and well, after what happened today," she said, looking apologetically at Chris who hung his head in shame, "we, and we hate to say this honey, but we think it might be best if you got out of the manor for a while."
Silence reigned, and Chris jerked his head up to look at his mother, who was standing with her mouth slightly open in shock, and blinked a little as she tried to grasp what her sisters were saying.
"Wait, hang on, you're kicking me out of my own house?" she stormed angrily, as what they were saying finally sunk in.
"Hurts doesn't it?" Chris asked mildly, surveying his fingers, and earned a glare from his mother and two youngest aunts, while Prue winked at him in slight amusement.
"Piper, the spider demon was gunning for you specifically, and without the forcefield," Phoebe said diplomatically, only for Piper's glare to now be mirrored by Chris too, "you can't take the same risks you did when you were pregnant with Wyatt, and you just aren't moving as fast anymore. And if we weren't busy, if we had one of us always here, then it would be different, but with Chris in the underworld half the time, Prue going after the Mercers, me going to work, Leo chasing Rennek who will surely be after you too because of how much he hates Leo, and Paige picking up all the slack, you're too exposed here. I hate to say it, and we don't want it to be true, especially when we all just found each other again, but it would only be a temporary thing!" she insisted, quailing under Piper's furious stare.
Prue crossed over to the bed and kneeled in front of Piper, stroking her sister's long brown hair and her sharp green eyes bored into her sister's hurt, angry chocolate coloured ones.
"I'm so sorry Piper, believe me, I don't want us to be split apart after all this, and I definitely don't want you to think I'm kicking you out so I can be head witch or anything like that. But I'm back Piper, and my first priority, like yours, is my family, and I just think that this might be an idea we can try. If you don't want to do it, then we'll say no more about it, but-" Prue began, and to her surprise, Piper gave a wistful sigh and squeezed her hand.
"But if I don't, my two kids and my sisters will all be in danger, and I don't want that. This sucks," she growled, glaring at her swollen belly, before turning her gaze onto Chris, who looked a bit miserable as though he was blaming himself, "come with me?" she asked softly, and being asked so earnestly by his mother broke down whatever resistance he might have had.
"Sure mom." He replied, and she smiled at him fondly, and looked back at Prue, who looked thoroughly miserable and tortured at the thought of asking Piper to leave their house.
"Thank you scrappy. Piper…" Prue began, turning back from Chris to look at Piper, who harrumphed, but a small sad smile.
"I know. You're right, however much I might hate it." She lamented sadly, and Prue sniffed a little and stroked Piper's cheek affectionately.
"It won't be for long my sweetie. As soon as the Mercers are down, or we figure out who's after Wyatt, or Phoebe gets fired for sleeping with her boss," Prue said, grinning a little.
"Been there, done that." Phoebe admitted ruefully, and Prue turned to her in shock, looking scandalised.
"Phoebe!"
"You've been dead, there's a lot to catch you up on!"
"Anyway, as I was saying, as soon as something gives, you'll be right back here where you belong honey. Besides, I missed your first pregnancy, and this two muscled into my territory as best sister, and I am not missing anything of this one, as soon as the Mercers are down and out, Lamaze classes, ultrasounds, health checks, you'll never be rid of me." She promised, and Piper leaned in and hugged her sister.
"I know Prue. You're right. But thank you." She whispered into her ear, and the two sisters hugged before Piper got to her feet, Prue following suit.
"Alright then, if I'm going to magic school I better get packing. Now remember Prue, you're in charge of these yahoos." She said, pointing to Phoebe and Paige, who's faces were the masks of innocence, and Prue grinned.
"Oh don't worry, they're both in for a boot camp." She assured her baby sister, and Piper laughed while Phoebe groaned and Paige looked rather apprehensive.
"So you're in charge, and remember, don't let Paige watch any sci fi movies after nine pm and that Phoebe snores." She told her big sister, and Phoebe looked most disgruntled, crossing her arms irritably.
"I do not snore!" she protested, stamping her foot, and Chris grinned.
"Yeah, you do." He told her, and she glared at him while the others laughed, and Prue hugged her sister to her with one arm.
"Yeah I know I remember. So, if it's safe you can still come and see us, Chris can coordinate between us while he investigates the underworld, I can focus on the Mercers, Phoebe can focus on our income, Paige can look after the club and deal with any magical threats here, and you can brainstorm threats against Wyatt. Sound like a plan?" she asked, and everyone present nodded.
"Yeah, sounds good. If this house devolves into anarchy in my absence, you and me, issues." Piper warned, and Prue smirked, casting a wicked eye over her sisters.
"Do you really think I'm going to let things slide Piper? We'll make this work, and on the plus side you'll be removed from the usual demon of the week nonsense, you can relax a little, so you don't wind up with toxaemia like you did with Wyatt." She pointed out, and Piper's nostrils flared as she turned to the other two.
"Alright, who blabbed?" she asked expectantly, crossing her eyes, and Paige looked very furtive rather a sudden, and as Piper turned to berate her, she clicked her fingers.
"You know what, shoot, I forgot I'm meeting Henry for a drink tonight, I better get ready!" she exclaimed, and orbed out before any of the others can stop her.
"What, already? Paige, hang on!" Prue and Piper yelled in unison, and went through to her room to have words while Phoebe sat beside Chris on the bed, as he looked kind of miserable.
"This is my fault." He mumbled, and she shook her head and wrapped him in a comforting hug, resting his head on her shoulder.
"No it isn't squirt. It would have had to happen eventually, and at least your mom now knows how crap it feels to be kicked out of her own house by people she loves! By the way, I do not snore." She sniffed with dignity, and Chris grinned as she got to her feet.
"Yeah you do."
She glared at him irritably, and shot him a dirty look before smiling slightly.
"Well make the most of it mister, that's the last time I comfort you until you recant." She teased and walked off to join her sisters in ganging up on Paige, and Chris chewed the inside of his lip thoughtfully as he considered their plan.
It was good, and he understood all the reasons for it, and yeah, of course he didn't want anything to happen to his mother, but that didn't mean he had to like the entire plan. And then there was Paige, who had now met Henry and the two of them were apparently starting their relationship two years earlier than previously planned, and he wondered just what ramifications that would have for them all further down the line. And without worrying about an increasingly pregnant Piper, Prue would be able to focus on the Mercers and bring them down that much faster, and he would be going back and forth between them all as well of course. But all that being said, he mused as he got a suitcase ready for his mother's departure, there was something that filling him with a sense of foreboding about this whole affair, and he prayed that it was just because he had inadvertently gotten his mother banished to magic school and not because of anything else.
XX
"Thank you so much for this Gideon." Piper said gratefully as he showed her to the room she was to share with Wyatt and Chris, and the Elder waved it off.
"Don't mention it Piper, I'm delighted to have you here, and Leo said he would pop by later when I bumped into him on top of the bridge earlier, he thinks it is a splendid idea. You are most welcome, and the entirety of the school and I myself am at your service, and should you need anything else and I'm not around, Sigmund will be more than willing to help you out." Gideon assured her, and Chris nodded at him respectfully.
"Thanks for this Gideon." He said, and Gideon inclined his head.
"Make nothing of it my boy. Now I'll leave you to get settled but I will see you all later." He told them, and clapped a cooing Wyatt on the head, as he left, and to his great relief, he didn't generate his shield.
Leaving the room and closing the door, outside Gideon breathed a sigh of relief before a delighted smile came to his face. This was beyond perfect. This had been their original plan, to separate Piper from her sisters, but in a bizarre miracle, the ever pragmatic Prue had created the very situation that he had thought would take numerous demon attacks in order to achieve. Even better, he had Piper's trust, and had even made some headway with Chris, which would make the final accounting that much easier as well. But most vital of all, the boy hadn't generated his shield when he had touched him, which meant for now the boy trusted him, something which would make the final stages of his plan that much easier.
By no means could he afford to take it easy however. Just because the Charmed Ones were now split up, that didn't diminish their bond or their power, and with Piper now removed from the rigours of her ordinary life, she and Chris would undoubtedly spend all of their time trying to unravel who was after Wyatt. The sisters, Leo, Chris, even their extended family of the girl's father and their police friend, would all have to be accounted for before he made his move, and of course Cole was floating around somewhere as well. But nevertheless, this was a vitally important first step and would be of great use to the Triad as well.
As such, with a satisfied smirk knowing that he was indeed on the right course and that destiny was hence providing for him, he set off to inform his allies of the progress they had made.
XX
Smicks screamed as the energy ball ripped into him, and Barbas rolled his eyes as Nomed shimmered away, having vanquished his minion before fleeing.
"Well that was a bit uncalled for, I only wanted to ask a question!" Barbas cried to the empty cave and an amused chuckle came from behind him.
"Demons are running scared Barbas. You can't blame the kid for bolting." The voice came, and he turned to see a tall, striking caramel headed demon fiddling with a weapon lurking against the wall.
Barbas sized her up, looking at the demon, he could sense her power, and as she stepped out into the light, she was seen to be clad in a leather and velvet bodysuit, and then something long forgotten twigged in his memory.
"Ah, Katya isn't it?" he asked her, and she nodded, cleaning her nails with her sai.
"Correct. You know, ever since the four Charmed Ones joined together, things have been kind of testy in the underworld. And now here you are, chasing down a demon who's basically at the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, while some great power stirs in the deepest parts of the underworld. Demons nowadays are many thing, but one thing they aren't, is stupid. So, if you want my help, and since the kid just took out your minion you need a bit of help, why not tell me exactly what's going on?" she asked, and intrigued enough by her reputation and her audacity that he decided not to kill her, he allowed himself a small smile.
"And what exactly do you have in mind?"
Well who thought I was dead? I am relieved to say that I am not, however the main reason for my extended absence was the fact that I couldnt use my laptop without it being on life support, and I didnt trust it to last even if it was plugged in, so now that I have gotten myself a new laptop, which is a spend i could have done without but not to worry its all for the best, I am now back! And for those of you who are still interested in this story, I am very thankful to you for keeping reading it and very sorry for such a long wait, and all my other stories will be updated in due course
I am afraid that my return to Charmed isnt much in the way of fanfare, but things will start to accelerate, especially now that the girls have separated, we'll see Prue beginning her attack on the Mercer crime family, see the Triad and Barbas cause demonic shenanigans, and of course Gideon is the main threat and he is preparing to make his move on Wyatt, made all the easier now that he's got access to him in magic school
I dont plan for there to be nearly so long a gap between this and the next chapter, and if you are still reading, please keep doing so and if its not too cheeky to ask after such a long break, please read and review!