Again, I don't own anything. Also, incase you were wondering, this is AU.
Alyssa was trying to keep from loosing her head but just thinking about what happened got her worked up. It didn't matter that Celice forgave her; she was still to blame for this. Chris looked from the shaken up Alyssa, to Celice who was still waiting for an answer from the only two that could help them now. "So you guys pissed off the source of all evil and now we're supposed be thrown in the mix. What exactly makes you think we want to be attacked at all hours of the night too?" Spike knew exactly where this was going. "Chris, why don't we go and have a little chat in the kitchen real quick? Let these girls pull themselves together." "But I don't…." "No, in the kitchen." Spike pushed Chris toward the kitchen. They walked into the kitchen and checked that they were out of earshot. "Spike, I don't think we can help them. There's nothing we can do to throw demons off anyone's trail. If there was I'm pretty sure someone would have done it by now." "Look, I know we can't throw anyone off their trail with magic but maybe with a little help, they can throw them off all on their own." "What are you talking about? They've been chased for almost a year now. I really don't think that us getting involved is a good idea. You saw what happened. They're quite capable of taking care of themselves." "If they are so skilled then why are they here?" "How the hell should I know? For all we know this is a trap. Energy balls are a demonic power you know. Why would a witch use energy balls?" "Maybe there's more to this than we know. They really haven't told us much Chris." "You just wanna actually have something to fight now don't you? You're getting sick of potions and demons that are worthless. You still can't help but get off on a good fight!!" "I didn't say that you did, okay? Maybe I am looking for a good fight but the key word here is 'good'. They need our help and…" a loud crash rang out in the living room. The boys ran in only to find Alyssa on the floor and Celice gone. Chris looked at Spike in defeat, "alright, we'll help them. If this turns out to be some trap and I get killed, I'm haunting your ass till you go hell then I'm coming down there so I can kick your ass for getting me in this mess." "What if I'm already dead when you get killed?" "You're dead now! I'm still haunting you until you're insane." They went to help Alyssa up but she was unconscious. After a couple minutes of shaking, slapping, and ice water they got her to come to. "Alyssa, what happened?" She looked from one face to the other then looked for the third that was missing. "They got Celice! They all came out of nowhere. They took her. They…" "Alyssa, hey, remember me? Chris, the one that is supposed to be helping you. You have to give me more to go on than just 'they'." "They were after me. They thought she was me. There were three of them. Two were warlocks but the third seemed like he had a different agenda. He's the one that took her. He shimmered like she does so I'm guessing demon but must have been a good one. He pointed her out as me then took her away. The other two hit me from behind, but seemed terrified when the third came. It was almost as if he could have killed them with one mere look."
Celice looked around what looked like a mausoleum. The man that had taken her was pacing in thought. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here? Why haven't you tried to kill me yet?" "All very good questions my dear. Look, I don't want to kill you. I'm on your side. Running from the source. I know you're not Alyssa. I also know you're not a witch. The way I see it, I did you and your friend a favor. No demon would dare find you or attack you in my presence." "just who the hell are you? Last I checked there wasn't a demon whose power was to annoy everyone to death with arrogance. Wait, no way!!!! You're…." "Balthazar, that is correct. Of course I choose to go by Cole now. You see, when I heard that I wasn't the only one on the run, well, I figured you could use a hand." "Why did you take me and make them think I was Alyssa?" "Come on honey, I demon such as yourself can't be that naïve. They think the one they're after is now in the possession of Balthazar. No one will try for her with me. One or two just might but now days….." "So you're choosing to help us? Why? The great Balthazar helping the good guys doesn't seem too probable." "Come on, not you too. I already went through this with the sisters, I. Am. Good." "How'd you know which was which?" "Anyone with a brain knows demons shimmer not witches. I guess they were as dumb as I thought. One question though, why haven't you taken Alyssa to a parallel plane or something to hide out?" Celice looked down at her feet. She always felt embarrassed about her shimmers. "I can only shimmer in this world on this plane." There was no fighting the laughter building up inside of cole. "wait, wait, wait, you mean you can't go to the underworld, parallel plane nothing?!! Oh shit, that sucks. What good are you then?" "I protect Alyssa that's what good I am!!" Celice couldn't help but get a little fired up. She knew shimmering was useless in this world because it could be detected by anyone. That and she had done a lot to help out her best friend. "Sweetheart I didn't mean anything by it. No need to get angry. I've been watching for a while now. You two have put up one hell of a fight. What made you ask for help now?" "What made you decide to step in now? You've been watching but not helping." "I wanted to help when you really needed it. By asking you received." "We didn't ask you. Alyssa's former whitelighter told us that when everything got out of hand we should go to the charmed ones." "You've been talking to the son of the charmed ones. Don't you know they were taken out by Wyatt?" "You mean they are dead and can't help us."
"Pretty much. That's why I stepped in. I'm not sure exactly how helpful the baby boy and his pet vampire could be in your situation." "At least they were gonna try." "Yes but trying and succeeding are two very different things. We should get back before they start trying to find you and completely screw up this last shot at hiding. Before we go, there's something I have to know." "What?" "Why do you lie to Alyssa by telling her you don't blame her at all for all of this? I know you do. As well you should. You don't have to make her feel better by lying to her." Celice got that feeling again. That painful feeling in the pit of her stomach. The one that kept coming back everyday they were attacked. She knew she blamed Alyssa for this. She couldn't tell her that though. Alyssa was dealing with too much already. How could she let her build up more guilt that she was already shouldering? Celice knew that there was too much going on and it wasn't Alyssa's fault in the long run. It could have been her own fault if she had gotten caught killing the leader. "I don't fully blame her Cole. I do wish she had done as we agreed but she didn't and I knew she wouldn't. This is because of what she did but I could have done the same thing." "But you didn't." "I thought you said you were helping. Look, she made a mistake. It happens to all of us. Even you. Now that it's done I forgive her. That's all there is to it." She looked at him sternly hoping he wouldn't continue this conversation. The look in this eyes said that he wouldn't. It was almost like he understood exactly what she said. Or wished he's gotten the same courtesy as Celice was giving Alyssa. "Come on, I'll take you back to the manner. Remember, I'm on your side and trying to help. I think you may find me useful." A smirk crossed his face. Celice smiled back shyly. He reminded her of a long lost friend. One that comes back right when you think you don't have anyone. She could see he just wanted to help and appreciated it. Why he did was beyond her but he really did just wanna help. They shimmered back to the manor feeling much better about the situation at hand.