A/N: Very very sorry for the long wait. Perhaps this chapter will make up for it. There have been several reasons for the delay. The most obvious being laziness. The second being the Holiday season and I've been on vacation in my old hometown in California. But lastly was that I was having serious writer's block. I wanted this one to be perfect since it expands on two of the most important relationships in the story. So I hope you can find it all in your hearts to forgive me. Once more, I do not own Charmed, the Suite Life, or any of the songs referenced in this chapter, nor do I profit from writing this. I do it strictly for fun. Thank you.
Chapter 12: Infiltration
---Tate Charity Ball, Boston Children's Museum---
The Museum had closed early for the big event tonight, and outside the building, prestigious guests, dressed in evening gowns and tuxedoes were pulling up in their limousines. The plaza had been decorated with lights and a stage had been set up for the entertainment. There was also food for the guests. Each of them were reputed guests that Abigail Tate invited every year provided that they make a generous donation to the establishment for the good of "the young minds of our future". However, around the back of the "Milk Hood"; an ice cream stand that stood in another part of the plaza shaped like a giant carton of milk, some uninvited guests were arriving, not in a limo, but in a cloud of orbs.
"Whew, that takes a lot out of me," Max wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, "orbing three people at once."
"Alright, so we're all clear on the plan?" Cody said again for the umpteenth time.
"Thanks for your concern." Max retorted.
Cody ignored her. That was getting easier since her jibes were so frequent now. "Zack, you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah I'm fine."
"Look, I know you're rattled. Gwen betrayed and used all of us. You're bound to be a little off your game. Just try and concentrate."
"What? Oh… yeah. No, I get it. Nicole's the priority. We get to one of them while they're alone, and get Nathan to blink them out. Then we use them to get past security at the manor and find out where they're keeping Nicole. So who are we going after?" Zack tried to put on his all-business front to not let on to his brother and Max what was really on his mind.
---Suite 2330, Tipton Hotel Boston, three hours ago---
"Your mistrust is understandable." Nathan said, keeping his voice irritatingly level while Zack continued to rage at him. He had been waiting for his chance to grill Nathan, and now that the two of them were alone, he was going to let him have it.
"You think?! I don't care what Nicole thinks of you, You've crossed the line too many times for me to just welcome you onto our team!"
"I understand that Zack. I've done terrible things. I'm the first to admit that. But you must know that everything I did was for her. Nothing matters more to me than her safety, and I am sincerely asking for your help in getting her back. I don't expekt you to forgive me, just help me."
"I'm not helping you, I'm helping her. And if you want my opinion, I'm doing a way better job of it than you!"
Nathan rose from the couch and stepped closer to the younger witch. Zack only came up to his chest, but he was determined to keep staring him down. "What do you know of what I've gone through for her? I've been on the run with her for ten years, keeping her from people who would have no sekond thoughts about taking me out to get to her, my own family no less. I turned my back on everything I knew for her. What have you done? You led one of the most dangerous witches on the planet right to her."
"Gwen found Nicole because of you!"
"No, you led Gwen to Nikole. She found her bekause you needed to play the hero for the magikal kommunity again. Your need for danger and attention is pathetik. What did Gwen do that got you to trust her? Bat her pretty eyes at you? She used to do that when she wanted to stay up later or skip dinner and get dessert. I kould have seen through that. Think on that and tell me you're doing better than I am."
"It wasn't like that!"
"Please. I know your type. You thrive on attention. You love the glory you're no doubt konstantly receiving for saving the day. You're so ready to take on the world with only your fists that you never stop to use your brain! Far be it from you to see through a pretty face."
"Okay, well what did you do? You went and turned yourself into a demon! That's a great way to protect her. How safe do you think she is, on the run with a monster!"
Nathan's nostrils flared and Zack heard a growl deep in his throat. It made him shrink back, something he was ashamed of himself for. It had been wise though, because the whites of Nathan's eyes began to darken. But Zack wasn't about to back down now, no matter how smart that might be.
"Ooo did I hit a nerve? I'm right aren't I? Admit it. You've done everything wrong. There were way better ways of keeping the Tate's away from her. Did you even think of going to the Elders?"
Nathan seemed to get smaller as he stepped back, and Zack couldn't help but smirk at his retreat. "I kouldn't. Gabriel was the only way. The family wasn't the only thing I was trying to protekt her from. Gabriel also allowed me to drop from the Elder's radar."
Zack's smirk faded. "Why would Nicole be in danger from the Elders? They'd do anything to keep her and you safe. They have protection programs and whitelighters, and all kinds of things to help you. You could have sent her to Magic school."
"In kase you've forgotten, I tried that. But… I knew it wouldn't last long. I kouldn't risk them finding out about her. Even if they'd be willing to protekt me, a member of the notorious Tate family, they'd never protekt…" he stopped, taking in Zack's expression. Whatever he was about to say, he definitely expected a reaction.
"They'd never protect what? Why wouldn't they want to help Nicole?"
"Bekause it goes against their precious rulebook to help a demon."
Zack felt a strange sensation through his head. He had felt this before once, when a bully at school had sent a powerful left hook into the side of his face. He had almost lost a tooth. But that was a sissy tap next to this. Nathan's eyes fixated on him were the first things in the room to come back into focus. "You're… you're lying. She's… she's good. There's not an evil bone in her body."
Nathan sighed, and then in the blink of an eye, he wasn't there anymore. Zack heard a quick sharp grating sound, and then Nathan reappeared behind the couch. He had blinked. But Zack had always seen him shimmer whenever he made an escape. "I kan't shimmer. Nikole kan."
Zack nearly fell back into the armchair by the couch. "Does… does she know?"
"No, I've kept it from her ever since she was young. She'd be devastated if she ever found out. She is half witch, half demon. For so long, those headaches of hers konfused me. But when you diskovered she was an empath, it made sense. She kould only feel anger at first bekause demons are pre-disposed to it." Nathan knelt by the side of the armchair to see eye to eye with the younger witch. "From the moment I met her, I knew what would happen if she stayed at that orphanage. Abigail had it under her kontrol, and I knew she'd see Nikole only as a tool, a weapon, something to be used. It's what she does. But Abigail doesn't know about her yet. And if we kan get her away from the family, I'll make sure it stays that way. But for that I need your help."
---Present---
"Thomas." Cody's voice pulled his brother back to the present. "He's the one we're nabbing. As far as we know, his only active power is shooting darts, so he's the weakest."
Zack nodded. "Yeah, I think I can take him."
"Don't be cocky."
"It's not cocky if you're good."
"Put a cork in it you two." Max grimaced. "Trevor, are you ready with the glamours?"
"Yep. But it's been awhile since I've done this on other people. I can't guarantee any of you ending up sexy."
Cody glowered. "As long as it gets us in without being noticed, I don't care."
"Alright." Sykes rubbed his hands together and spread them out. Then he snapped both fingers. There was a flash, like from a camera, and when it cleared, the Zack, Cody, Max, and Sykes were no longer hiding behind the comically oversized carton of milk. Instead there were four strangers. Three of them were laughing at the fourth.
"What?" the glamored Cody asked. Max, who now looked like a green eyed blond, pulled a small pocket mirror out of her purse. When she held it up to Cody, he saw a filthy disgruntled hobo looking back at him. He looked at another member of the group who now bore a striking resemblance to Zack Effron. "Very funny. Now take it off."
"You said you didn't care." Sykes chuckled. The hobo grabbed him by the shirt.
"I said, give me a different face!"
"Cool your jets. I was only kidding. Let go of my shirt, or I'll make you a woman." He snapped his fingers again causing the same flash. "There."
Cody looked back into Max's mirror to find a dark haired face with a deep tan and dull brown eyes, a far cry from his usual face. Zack was wearing a similar disguise, and the two of them were dressed in semi-formal with white button down shirts and black vests and black ties. Their shirts remained untucked, and their ties hung loose, but their appearances were so mundane and everyday that they were very unlikely to be noticed. Max on the other hand was now wearing a shimmering scarlet evening gown that showed more of her torso than she would prefer. When she looked at it for the first time (only after she noticed Cody blushing and looking away) she wasn't at all happy about it.
"Something a little more tame please? And not red, what am I a temptress?"
Sykes rolled his eyes. "You people are no fun. What's the good of being able to change how you look if you're not going to let me play around a little?" He snapped his fingers once more to find a more agreeable whitelighter in their midst, now that she was wearing a simple blue blouse with flowers and a knee-length black and gray plaid skirt.
"Much better." She smiled. "Who knew you had fashion sense?"
"I just know what looks good on you."
Cody grimaced. "Oh brother."
After giving each other one last once over to make sure they'd blend in (and make sure Sykes didn't have any more surprises for them) they made their way towards the gathering of bright lights and guests at the plaza. They reached the outer fringe of the crowd and stopped, trying to figure out the best method of entry that would draw the least amount of attention.
"Alright, I think if we split up and meet up at the buffet we can blend right in, and then it won't look like we came in together. Now we just need to find Thomas and—"
"Can I help you boys?" The turned around slowly to find that they had been approached from behind by a mountain of a man with shades and an earpiece with a long coiled cord that disappeared behind the collar of his shirt. The suit he wore looked like it might come apart at the seems and give way to his bulk; a bouncer. "I said can I help you?"
"We um…." Cody stuttered.
"We were invited." Zack said at once. "Gwen asked us to come. We're… kousins." He did his best to pull off the accent that had become very familiar to him in the last week.
"Nice try." The bouncer smirked. "But if you're not on the list, I'll have to escort you out." He reached up to his earpiece and muttered an order into it. "Hey Jerry, eight o'clock, see if these guys are on the list." He waved to another man in shades across the dance floor and pointed to the group of teens in front of him. "What'd you kids say your names were again?"
Zack tried to think fast to find a name that had the slim chance of being on that list of guests, but it was a stroke of luck (or perhaps not) that he was saved by a very unexpected musical voice.
"It's alright Ricky, they're with us." Zack whirled around to see who had come to their rescue, and his stomach tied itself in a double knot. She stood clad in an evening gown of deepest crimson silk with black drawstrings down the front and an opening in the skirt. Her left shoulder remained bare while her right arm was draped in a long sleeve that hung elegantly at her forearm. The deep red made her already moonlight pale skin almost glow, and her long waist length hair of sandy blond hung in ringlets down her back. And those glistening hazel eyes seemed to glow in a dance of colors in the lights of the party.
The bouncer lowered his shades to show the girl his eyes. "Miss Guinevere, enjoying the evening?"
"Very much so. I'm sorry I didn't put them on the list. It was awful short notice. I'm glad you kould make it Zack. This is the boy I've been tutoring."
"Oh so these are the little dreamboats you've been telling us so much about." That unpleasantly shrill sentence marked an even more ominous entrance. The thin pink scar on Zack's cheek seemed to throb with her every word. Rose stood just behind Gwen in a gown that was a girlish shade of pink. Her bright blond hair hung to her shoulders while a part of it had been done up in a bun with synthetic pink rosebuds entangled in it. She had been well hidden among the crowd despite her shimmering attire. Though she was clearly a little older than Gwen, she was a very slight woman, and if they didn't know her she'd hardly be intimidating at all. She looked past Zack to his brother. "It's Kody, right?" She grinned with fiendish congeniality. "I've been just dying to meet you."
How did they know who they were? Zack glanced back at his brother briefly and was astonished to find his mop of straw colored hair back where it had been before they had glamoured themselves. Max was a chocolate eyed brunette once again, and Sykes had gone from his dreamy Zac Effron look back to his pale wiry freckled self. It was safe to assume that his own disguise was gone as well. How had their glamour been removed? He kept his face straight so he wouldn't let his surprise alert the guard.
"Well alright then," the bouncer relented politely, "if they're with you I guess they're good to stay."
"That's very kind of you. If you don't mind, I think you're needed backstage. The entertainment needs help setting up."
"I'll get right on it." Ricky smiled before nodding to the youngsters and heading for the back of the stage. With no one near enough or interested enough to hear them, the group stared intensely at the two women who remained smiling as though the enemies in front of them were honored guests.
"Surprised?" Rose cackled. "We kast a spell on the plaza that negates any aktive powers being used. We had a feeling you'd kome in disguise. We didn't want to miss you."
"You didn't need to sneak in." Gwen said in her soft musical voice. "All you had to do was ask." There was silence between the two parties. She seemed to be expecting something from them. "Well go on. Ask."
Zack and Cody exchanged glances. It was one of those looks that only twins could share where they didn't have to speak to know what the other was thinking. They'd play her game for now if it got them in. Once again, Zack acted as the spokesman. "Can we come to your party?"
"Well since you asked so nicely," she sneered "I suppose I kould let you through." He made to step forward, but she held up a hand to stop him. "On one kondition. Your first dance is with me." She held out her pale hand which was adorned today with blood red fingernails. Zack reached for it, but found his brother's hand on his shoulder.
"Are you nuts?" Cody hissed in his ear.
Zack looked him in the eye and whispered back. "I'll be fine. I've been waiting for this. Keep an eye out for Thomas." He took the witch's pale hand and allowed her to lead him to the dance floor. The two of them were soon lost from sight in the crowd.
"Think he'll be okay?" Sykes whispered.
Cody had no answer for him. He just kept staring blankly into the place in the crowd his brother and their friend-turned-enemy had vanished in.
"Well Kody, I must say you klean up quite nicely. And you look like you kould be quite the dancer." Rose smiled wickedly at him. "Perhaps you'd like to take a fine lady once or twice around the floor?"
Cody gulped, but before he could answer Max stepped in front of him. "He's with me."
Rose narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't aware the two of you were an item. You wouldn't want to look overbearing now would you? What's the harm in a dance?"
"I said he's dancing with me, now beat it." The whitelighter stood firm in her resolve. The blond witch glowered, but there was something in her eyes that didn't add up in Max's mind. Rose was afraid of her. But after what she had done to her and Cody, the little harpy had good reason to be scared of what Max would do to her if she got the chance. She was easily the bigger of the two of them.
Rose glowered back at her for a few more moments before snorting outward. "Fine, have your man-meat for now. But keep a tight leash on him bekause I always get what I want." And then she turned around so fast her blond hair spun with her before she stomped back into the party, her tiny blond head lost in the crowd.
Sykes gave Max a teasing glance. "Reeow." He said, making a cat's claw gesture.
With Rose gone, Cody was all business again. "Alright, you heard Zack. Fan out and find Thomas."
"Right you are." Sykes grinned. "I think I'll look for him over at the buffet."
Cody started to head into the party with Max at his side. Despite their spats lately, he always felt a little safer with her around. As they fell in step with each other, he put his hand around hers and whispered in her ear. "Thanks."
"For what? Look, I know we haven't been best pals lately, but you didn't think I'd let you dance with short blond and creepy did you?" He felt her grip on his hand tighten a little. He didn't know if it was to keep up their act, or if it was because she had missed this as well.
The music that had been playing earlier toned down as the party lights turned a soft shade of blue. The light a cappella harmony marked the beginning of "Falling For You" by the Cheetah Girls. Cody felt his face grow warmer. He looked at her and when she felt his eyes on her she looked at him as well. But her face turned a rosy shade of pink and she quickly looked away.
"They're playing our song." He stammered. Before he knew what he was doing he had his arm around her waist. She sighed and in her eyes he saw a mix of frustration, anger, and surprisingly sadness.
"Don't try to be all smooth with me now. You can't just get all schmaltzy and dance to something that used to be our song and then brush me off later." Her words cut him deep and he could tell she meant them, but she didn't fight his lead as they began swaying to the music.
"Max…" it took him awhile to find his words. He had gotten better with girls over the years, and he didn't freeze up around them the way he used to, but no girl had ever managed to break through his every defense with their gaze the way she could. "Are you telling me you regret when we were together?"
She looked at him long and hard before she answered. "No. I could never regret it. But that doesn't change things. I think we made the right choice. I guess that's why they don't want witches and whitelighters to be together."
"You can't keep blaming yourself for that. Anyone would have done the same thing if that had happened."
"How would you know? We're supposed to protect innocents."
"You had a choice; save Jane or save me and you chose me. Jane couldn't blame you for that, and she came out just fine."
"She came out with one eye."
"But if you hadn't orbed me out of the way, I might not be here. Do you think you made the wrong choice?"
Again she had to pause. "Look, you're right, I was caught up in the heat of the moment and I made the choice anyone would have made. But when I saw Jane like that because of what I did… it made me realize that we might be a little distracted. Jane was lucky, but the next innocent might have been worse off if I did it again."
"And we talked about this and we both decided you were right. So why are you so angry at me all the time?"
She sighed. "Just forget it."
"No I won't. We need to get this out in the open. We're worse off now than we were then. We're always sniping at each other, it bugs Zack, it throws off our focus, it hurts me, and I can tell it hurts you too." She didn't have an answer for that, and it was in that moment of silence that he let a confession slip. "It kind of makes me wish we had given it another try." Max set her mouth into a hard line and scrunched up her nose the way she did when she was miffed, and stomped on his foot. "Owe! What was that for?"
"No! You cannot have second thoughts. You've already moved on."
"What are you talking about? Owe!" He yelped again as her foot came down unforgiving again over his toes while she still stepped in perfect time to the music.
"What am I talking about?" She brought her foot down again with the emphasis on the word. "How about Irma, or Barbara, or Vanessa, or Jessica, or Janice, or Bailey?"
Cody winced as his foot started to lose feeling. It was a wonder to him how she could romp his toes with such venom and still be in time to the song. "Irma was before we were going out! You can't get mad over her. Vanessa doesn't really count either. We only went out for one day. Actually, why are you getting mad at all?"
She grumbled a curse under her breath. "It's a whitelighter thing. You wouldn't understand."
"I'm trying very hard to understand Max. But it would help if you'd tell me. Why would you be jealous if it was your idea to break up in the first place?"
"It's stupid… and kind of selfish."
"Tell me." He pleaded.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I was happy you moved on at first… until I realized something. I couldn't move on." He didn't quite know what she meant, so she did her best to explain. "I don't have a whole lot of options. How close can I actually get to someone when I'm supposed to be dead? And on top of all that, I have this double life. How normal a relationship can I have when I'm orbing all over the place with you and Zack to vanquish demons or save an innocent? I don't know how you can do it? I can't blend in as easily as you." She looked down at the floor. "And I won't lie; it wasn't easy seeing you with other girls. You seemed so happy with them, and I couldn't be a part of that anymore."
They were silent again. It took a great deal of nerve for Cody to speak again. "I was happy with them. I got a few great friends out of them. I still do. But there was always something missing." He edged his face closer to make her look at him. "They weren't you." She froze and they both stopped dancing. "Max, tell me something. If you could go back to that night, and the warlock threw an energy ball again, and you'd have to make the same choice, what would you choose?"
Her chocolate eyes seemed to look past him at something very distant as the song faded out. Then after what seemed like forever she opened her mouth. "Zack."
"Zack?!" Cody's jaw dropped.
Max shook her head and pointed to something behind him. Cody turned his head to find that she actually was looking at Zack who was visible now, dancing very closely with a woman whose red silk gown and waist length hair gave her away even though they couldn't see her face. Zack and Gwen's eyes were locked on each other's. When they turned and Cody could see her face, with the look she wore, one would never guess that she was dancing with her arch-nemesis.
She inched her face forward to whisper something to Zack. "Such a skary face. What's that for?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know." Zack growled.
"You're kute when you're angry. Hey, it was nothing personal. I was only akting on orders." The song changed then to David Archuleta's "Desperate". The music was faster and demanded a change of mood. Letting the music draw him in, helping him forget who he was with, Zack put his arm tighter around her waist, tightening their stance. "Ooh my." She almost giggled in surprise. Then she tightened her own grip around him. "You know, in the Tate family it's the women who lead." She began pulling him in one direction, but found that he swiftly pulled her in the other.
"Well that's not how I roll."
"Forceful… and a little arrogant. I like that." The two of them continued struggling for the lead, but they were quickly syncing into harmony with each other. Not to mention gathering an audience. More and more of the guests seemed taken with the fiery couple in the middle that had begun to tango and spin in the center of the floor. Zack was an excellent dancer, and Gwen in her red dress and her long hair that spun back and forth with her was truly stunning.
"So why do the women have all the power anyway?" Zack asked. The music was loud enough that only Gwen could hear what he was saying. "Matthew Tate was a Warlock. Isn't he the patriarch?"
"Matthew Tate is exaktly the reason that only women kan be heads of the family. But it's a long and boring story that's been told to me over and over ever since I was a little girl. You wouldn't be interested."
"I love a good story. Try me."
Gwen smiled slyly. Apparently she wasn't as bored with this story as she had claimed. "Alright then. Matthew Tate was foolish with his powers, arrogant enough to believe that he kould trick Melinda Warren herself; the most powerful witch of her time. But before that he tricked another witch. A woman named Selene from the Netherlands. Once he had her powers he was going to do away with her just as he had done to so many others. But he akted too late. By the time he was ready, she was karrying his child."
"She was having his kid?" Zack asked in astonishment.
"Twins aktually. Not even Matthew Tate was kruel enough to kill his own children. So he decided to pretend a little longer until he kould take the children. But by then, Selene had kaught on to what he was up to. So she put him to sleep with a potion, and while he was out kold, she stole his horse and rode as far as she kould. He tried to find her, but before he kould, the Source rekruited him in his plot against Melinda Warren whom he had foreseen would be the key to his demise. So Matthew vowed to kontinue his search after he was through. But of kourse we all know he never got a chance. Melinda sealed him in a pewter locket in revenge for betraying her and her koven."
Zack spun her again and she came back into his arms a little too eagerly. "So what happened to Selene?"
"She lived out her days in a town kalled Ipswitch. She did give birth to the twins, one girl and one boy. The boy she named Thomas, and the girl she named Rosalind. But she noticed that the boy was so like his father, ambitious, kunning, and manipulative. She feared that he would follow his father's footsteps and bekome a wicked being. So she made Rosalind her heir, and asked her to look after Thomas so that he wouldn't use his powers foolishly. And it has kontinued that way ever since. Her union with a warlock is also the reason that good and evil have always warred within our bloodline. Both sides of the skale exist within us."
"Cool story." Zack admitted. They stepped into another maneuver, and he lifted her into the air. He was a little surprised that she didn't resist. But he became distracted by something in the corner of his eye. Something that had been hidden by her sleeve, but had just revealed itself now that it had fallen away. She had always worn long sleeves, so he had never caught a glimpse of it before, but it was glaring at him now. On the inside of her wrist was a strange birthmark. At first it looked like a long red oval, but a closer look at it showed that it more closely resembled a flame… or was it a bird. But he lost sight of it again when he set her back on her feet. They finished with him spinning her into a dip to look up at him. Then the song finally ended. "So do you think Selene was right? That men can't handle their power?"
She pulled herself back up so they could see eye to eye again. "Well I'd say it's just a story, but look at what's bekome of my dear Unkle Nathan."
"True. But what about me and Cody? We're part of the Seven."
"You and your brother are… unique. And you… I've never seen a witch with such passion for what they do… what they are. There's something very special about you." For the first time since he had known her, Gwen seemed hesitant. When she had been his friend she had always shown him a strong resolve. When he discovered that she was really his enemy, that resolve had transformed into an iron will. But to hear her struggle with her words and not seem to know what to say was all very new to him. He could tell she didn't like it either. "Why did you kome here tonight?" she asked abruptly. "You didn't really think we'd drag Nikole here would you?"
"No." he admitted. "But we were at least hoping to find out more about where you have her."
"You have Nathan with you. He kould tell you all about our various estates, inkluding the one on the outskirts of town that Abigail is staying in right now. There had to be another reason you kame here."
He grimaced at her. She had them figured out. "But we can't get in with all the protection you have set up."
"So you kame to get leverage. Very klever. I would have done the same thing. I was expecting you to kome after us here while we were all in public where we kouldn't use our powers. That's why I took out a little insurance policy."
Before he could figure out what she meant, Rose's voice came over the speakers. The blond woman was standing on stage to make an announcement over the mic. "Welkome all, and on behalf of our esteemed representative Abigail Tate, who made all this possible. She regrets that she kould not be here tonight, but she sends her best wishes, and reminds you all to be generous with your donations as they all go straight to the funding for the Boston Children's Museum, of which our establishment has been a proud sponsor for many years. And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, tonight's entertainment is a real special treat. They've just returned from the final leg of their tour with their band, and were kind enough to agree to perform tonight with only a day's notice. Please welkome to the stage, Kurt and Karey Martin!"