That Old Black Magic

Piper knocked on Wyatt's door, 'sweety? Sweety, are you awake?' There was no response so she edged the door open. She looked round, not wishing to disturb Wyatt. The bed was empty. Pushing the door wide open, she looked around confused, 'Wyatt?' The room was empty. Piper began to panic. There was no sign of a struggle, no note, just a perfectly made bed and and a sonless room.

Milton Diggory stood once again on a train platform, he overlooked the Newark line. He could see Tyler and Sebastian sat at the end of the platform. He walked up behind them. Catching sight of him, Sebastian said nothing. Tyler looked into the bottom of a beer can.

'So I met Barbas.' Milton caught Tyler's attention. 'I won.' Tyler staggered upwards as if to move away from Milton. Milton pushed him back down onto the floor. 'Funny thing, first time I managed to control magic. Seems I had to face my fears. Tell me, Tyler, what're your fears?'

Tyler looked down at the ground.

'Maybe I can guess.' Suggested Milton, his voice wavered in anger. 'Losing the love of the Halliwells. Piper. Melinda? Taking responsibility for my dissappearance. Facing the truth?' Sebastian watched quietly. Tyler muttered into his beer can.

'What's the matter with you?' Milton yelled. 'Where's your courage?'

Tyler laughed hollowly, 'it's down the yellow brick road, with your memories.'

'Y'know Melinda's been looking for you.' Tyler didn't respond. 'She found the prophecy.' That caught his attention.

'Yeah. So we all know your dirty little secret.' Tyler dropped his head again. 'The funny this is though - no-one cares. Melinda, she's worrying about where you are and everything you had to go through. Piper's sorry that you didn't tell them. Leo's dissappointed that you didn't tell them but no-one cares that you sent me to my death.'

Tyler looked up and smiled, 'I thought you didn't die.'

Milton pulled Tyler up by the scruff of his neck. 'We're going home.'

The Halliwells had been tracking the Dark Son for weeks. The time in which they would have to face him drew near. Each morning, Piper would wake, particularly glad to be alive, particularly afraid that she and those she loved would soon not be. One such morning, she walked down the corridor to Wyatt's room. All her children had moved back home, when they first heard about Corben. They moved home to protect their parents and their parents insisted on it to protect them. Piper pushed the door open gently. She went into the room, 'Wyatt?' There was nobody there. The room was empty, the bed was made and Excalibur was gone. A chill ran down Piper's spine. She left breakfast on his bedside table, as if he were there and closed the door as she left. She walked into Chris's room. Chris lay asleep. Piper sighed gratefully and checked Melinda's room. She too was asleep, coffee mugs and college papers scattered across her floor. Piper smiled, picked up a coffee mug and pecked her youngest daughter on the forehead.

'Mum?' Melinda asked through bleary eyes.

'Go back to sleep.' Piper smiled.

'Mum?' Melinda looked down the hallway towards Piper.

'He's gone again.' Piper whispered.

'What?' Melinda strode towards Wyatt's room, in disbelief. She swung the door open noisily. 'Where?'

Piper looked into the distance, 'he never could leave things be. He always has to do something.'

Chris woke and looked towards the windows; it was light. Piper had left breakfast on his bedside table. He laughed and vowed never to leave the Halliwell house again. As he picked up a piece of toast, he wondered why the house was so quiet. Munching on the toast as he went, he walked out onto the landing. He could hear Melinda singing in the shower. He walked next door to Wyatt's room. He knocked on it, 'Wyatt? Wyatt! Wake up!' He shoved open the door and looked around. Seeing no-one there, he ran downstairs. There was no reason to panic and yet he felt it, rising through his chest. He burst into the livingroom. His mother and her two sisters stood seriously.

'Where's Wyatt?' Chris asked urgently.

'He's gone.' Piper said.

'Where?'

'To fight the Dark Son.' Paige said.

'What? No! He wouldn't do that.' He looked around, desperately.

Paige nodded calmly, 'I can sense it, Chris. So can you.'

Chris looked within himself, 'he's in the jungle.'

Phoebe looked up, hopefully, 'where? Can you sense where?'

Chris closed his eyes and concentrated hard, 'No, I can't... I keep losing him. He doesn't want to be found.'

'Well, we need to find him, dammit!' Piper cried.

'No.' Paige said, 'we need to go to the Underworld. Corben's army will be coming. It's time to fight. Wyatt is already doing so.'

Chris shook his head, dismayed.

'What about the elders?' Leo walked into the room. 'This is the perfect time for a coup. Wyatt is fighting Corben. You are all in the Underworld.'

'Not all.' Chris understood what was needed. 'The eight of us, the next generation, we'll go to the underworld. You must go up there, to the elders. The Power of Three must protect the future of good magic whilst your children defend its present.'

Paige smiled. Wyatt was the hero, the twice blessed child, but Chris was a brother. He would always come through for Wyatt.

Either Sebastian or Tyler could have fought Milton off but neither of them did. They went with him. They didn't struggle when he threw the transportation potion over them all and they didn't struggle when they stood outside the Halliwell manor. The time had come to face the truth.

Sebastian stood amongst the trees, hidden in their shadows. A hundred feet away, he saw Wyatt fencing with Corben. He saw the triquetra on the ground, glowing. He wondered why Wyatt had drawn it. It was Wyatt's magic, not the sisters' that was needed to defeat Corben.

'I have the world's evil. What do you have?' Corben's voice sounded tauntingly through the trees. A grimlock appeared next to Sebastian. He looked at it, pityingly and smacked a small bottle of potion into its face. It exploded into ash.

Moments later, two warlocks appeared. He threw two more bottles over them. They were Piper's potions, she'd been preparing for the battle for weeks. He glanced towards the fight, praying helplessly for Wyatt. He knew now that Tyler was right.

'I CALL UPON THE ANCIENT POWER, HELP ME IN THIS EVIL HOUR!' Wyatt's voice pierced through Sebastian. Sebastian gasped in wonder as the power of three sign burst into flames. It seemed to hold such comfort.

'The power of three will set you free.' He murmured. 'The power of three will set you free.' He did not know what his words could do but he repeated them helplessly nonetheless and he took strenth from each time he said the phrase.

He saw Wyatt mutter his final vanquish. Without being touched, excalibur had plunged into Wyatt's body. Wyatt looked towards Corben, never down at his own injury. They shared the same wound. Vanquished and vanquisher died together in the jungle. Sebastian walked towards them. A black cloud appeared around Corben and diminished him. Wyatt's body remained, noble and covered in blood. Sebastian looked down on his body and wept. He picked up Excalibur and wiped the blood off it.

'It is done.' He said.

Milton pushed Tyler in through the livingroom door. Melinda looked up, suprised. So did the rest of the family.

'Tyler!' She gasped.

'Thank god, you're back.' Piper breathed, looking at Milton.

Tyler was bruised where Milton had dragged him across the station. 'Heal him, Chris.' Melinda pleaded. Chris obliged, staring at Tyler all the while. Tyler could not meet his gaze, or any of their gazes. Unlike Tyler, Sebastian was able to look each Halliwell in the eye but he said nothing.

'Where have you been?' Melinda asked, hoping for a shred of recognition from Tyler.

Neither man answered.

'Every time I have met these two, they have been on trains. They sleep in the stations, on the platforms. They read the left over newspapers. They drink cheap beer and stink out the train carriages.' Melinda was shocked by Milton's venom.

'They lost alot.' She said.

'No more than anybody else.' He replied.

Tyler looked at Melinda, her sympathy drawing him out, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But I didn't know how... he was your brother.'

Tears ran down her face, 'and you brought him back to me.' She smiled.

'I wish I had never spoken of the prophecy.'

'If you hadn't,' Sebastian's voice was strong and firm, 'we'd all be dead.'