Hi there, I'm back. Sorry for taking so long. But my computer and my internet access have conspired against me!
Chapter twenty-five: Any problems with Lara?
The boys bedroom, morning
They staggered back in their room.
For a few seconds, neither one said a word.
Finally Alex blurted out: "Can you believe what we just have seen?"
Nicky shuddered at the sheer memory: "I'm afraid I have no other choice but to."
"You think that's funny?" His brother lashed out. "Our uncle has been literally "enchanted" by her! What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
Chris old apartment, early morning
Jesse was restless.
Chris had left a few hours ago, promising to get Nicky and his brother back.
Jesse still couldn't believe his good natured, caring and unique son could have a twin – and Wyatt as a father for that matter!
Powerless or not, having the cold hearted, cruel, merciless ruler of the magical community around didn't exactly set his mind at peace!
He still had trouble accepting the fact that someone so cold could have such a sweet kid, which made Jesse wonder what Nicky's twin was like.
Although he couldn't be so bad either, as far as he could tell, Adrianna was a strong and brave woman, he was sure she did a good job in raising him.
Anna had left the living room to make some more coffee – which was half an hour ago!
Curious, he went into the kitchen, stopping at the door frame.
His wife was sitting slumped down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs, head in her hands.
He felt his heart bleeding for her.
Slowly, Jesse stepped towards her, taking a seat on the chair next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders, softly pulling her to his chest. Their eyes met for a few seconds before she turned away, pressing her head under his chin.
"Don't worry.", Jesse said, sensing the reason for her distress. "Everything will be ok. We will get him back."
"I hope you're right.", she answered sadly. "It's funny, really. When he spent a few days at Brian's place, it didn't bother me that much. Now he's been gone for less then a day and I'm sick with worry. I miss him Jesse. I just want my baby back!"
By now, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"And you will!" Jesse replied as he took her chin into his hand and lifted it 'till her eyes met his. "I swear you Anna, if Chris doesn't get him back, I will! No matter how good Lara's place is protected!"
Suddenly, they heard screams and the sound of shots coming from the living room.
"You stay here!", Jesse declared before he rushed to the door frame to peek around the corner into the living room.
What he saw made his heart drop in his chest.
Adrianna was lying on the floor, a big puddle of blood was forming around her midsection.
Benji was leaning against the side of the couch. The hand holding his arm was also covered in blood.
Bianca was fighting with a strange woman, who was also dressed in a black leather outfit, her half-automatic machine-gun was currently resting on the floor a few feet beside them.
The fight of the two women was hard and brutal.
Kicks and punches were flying with lightning speed between them.
"Ahr!"
The strange woman let out a pained scream as Bianca twisted her arm behind her back.
Jesse could swear that he heard bones breaking!
But the next second Bianca went sailing over the the woman's right shoulder and crashed hard onto the wooden couch table, staying down.
Seeing his fiancèe in danger, Chris, who had obviously sought shelter behind an arm chair, did something very brave – and very foolhardy!
He jumped onto the woman's back, sending both of them crashing to the ground.
With the elbow of her good arm, the assassin knocked him brutally in the face, sending him rolling off of her.
She quickly got to her feet again and pulled an athame from her belt, preparing to stab him when suddenly some more shots followed.
Incredulously, she stared a few seconds on the blood spots soaking her tight leather top, before lifting her gaze to find Wyatt with the machine-gun in his hands.
Apparently he had used the distraction to snatch it from the ground and was now still aiming it at her, his face a cold mask.
Jesse could see something flickering in her eyes – was it resignation? – before she collapsed dead to the ground.
The boys bedroom, morning
Nicky hesitated. "I think we have to try to tell our father about what has happened here.", he answered after a few moments.
Alex nodded in agreement. "Right... and which one?"
Nicky rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... You told me that your version of dad has been caught in a Labyrinth – I think he wouldn't be much help."
"Given the task that he stays there.", Alex countered.
Nicky furrowed his brows. "And how do you wanna get him out of there?"
His twin started pacing the room once again. "Damn good question! You know, I was thinking about that. I'm not stuck in this... , well, world – maybe I could be able to get him out?"
"Do you have an idea how to manage this? Maybe it would be more easy to get help from another person.", Nicky mused.
Alex looked curious at his brother. "Like whom?"
Nicky shot him a pointed look. Alex could be a bit slow sometimes. "Our other version of dad of course!"
The other teen started chewing at his lip before shaking his head. "Don't think so. In this time, he's powerless – that much I have found out."
Nicky wracked his brain. "What about...mom? I mean our mom?"
Alex gaped at him. "I thought she's dead?"
"Yeah." Nicky confirmed. "Should this be a problem for us?"
Now he had his brothers full interest. "So, you wanna.... what? Make a seance?"
Nicky nodded. "Yeah... Why not? After all, we are witches, aren't we?"
Alex seemed to contemplate this idea. "Well, it's worth a try. Lara said this room is aimed to please our needs, isn't it?" Not waiting for a reply he went on. "Ok then... Quija-board!"
Nothing happened.
"Maybe there's a list of things we can't summon, like drugs, alcohol or weapons.", Nicky came up with an explanation.
"Or magical things for that matter?" Alex grumbled.
His twin shrugged. "Looks like it."
But Alex wouldn't give up so easily. "Ok then. Pen!"
A pen appeared on the nearby table.
"Sheet of paper."
"Glass."
The two things appeared beside the pen.
Alex grinned triumphantly. "Now that's more like it."
Nicky was bemused. "What do you want with these things? Do you wanna play 'moving the glas'?"
Alex gave him a confident smile, which mimicked exactly his fathers. "That's the plan. As far as I know, it works the same way a Quija-board does."
Nicky looked impressed. "Well, if you think it works... let's try!"
"Yeah."
Alex began to write the alphabet on the sheet but suddenly his brother interrupted him: "Just, how do we make sure it's mom we are talking to?"
Alex mind was blank. "I have no idea – damn it, now we could use our father!"
Nicky nodded in agreement. "Problem is, as long as he's awake, we can't get into his dreams."
Alex grinned. "Right. As long asbeing the keyword here!"
Nicky couldn't help but return the grin. "So, what? You wanna cast a sleeping spell on him?"
"Exactly."
"Do you know one?"
"No, but we should be able to invent one."
Nicky looked concerned. "Then let's pray that this one will work better than our last creation – otherwise we'll have two sleeping beauties to wake!"
Alex shrugged. "Whatever. As long as we get "your" version of dad asleep, we will get help in any case."
Nicky closed his eyes, murmuring: "Forgive me father, for I'm gonna sin."
At that, Alex laughed. "You will be forgiven. Now stop being so dramatic and let's get this over with!"
His twin shot him a dark look. "Pardon me for having twinges of remorse to knock my own father out!"
Alex just rolled his eyes. "Believe it or not, I'm also sorry for having to be so rude, but we don't have another choice if we wanna get out of this cage!"
"True.", Nicky admitted. "So, let me think about it, ehm..., maybe it would be good to call on some higher powers with the spell?"
Alex now raised an eyebrow in appreciation. "Could work. So.. the higher powers we now call... ehm what rhymes on "call"?"
Nicky furrowed his brows in concentration. "Call? Hmm, all, fall, mall..."
"Fall, huh?" Alex repeated thoughtfully. "Yeah! In a deep sleep our dad shall fall. Now you!"
"When we are done... we will be gone?"
Alex contemplated this briefly. "Nah. Not really. But something like that. Maybe this way: When with his dreams we then are done..."
"the effect of this spell will be gone.", interrupted his brother.
Seeing Alex raise his eyebrows at him he scolded: "What? I just wanna make sure he will wake up again!"
His twin gave him a look. "We won't kill him!"
"Let's hope so, by goodness!"
Alex just shook his head. "Yeah. Ok, let's try this!"
They both flopped next to each other on Alex bed and started to chant:
"The higher powers we now call.
In a deep slumber our father shall fall.
When with his dreams we then are done,
the effect of this spell will be gone."
Chris old apartment, early morning
"Chris was right.", Benji panted after a few moments of silence. "Now that she's got the twins, we are outlawed."
"Just great!" Jesse muttered, feeling again like a resistance member. "Care to share what do we do now?"
The sound of Anna shrieking made him and the others turn towards her.
Wyatt had gotten up again and was leaning at the table; apparently he had knocked over a vase, soaking Anna in the process, who, now that the fight was over, had come back into the living room.
The boys bedroom, morning
After a few moments the twins looked unsure at each other.
"Do you think it worked?", Nicky finally asked.
Chris old apartment, early morning
Wyatt didn't know what was wrong with him.
He suddenly felt so tired! Feeling his eyes drop and his knees buckle, he tried to stabilize himself on a nearby table, throwing down a vase in the process.
The last thing he registered were his brothers arms catching him as he lost consciousness.
The boys bedroom, morning
"Well, there's only one way to find out. Ready?"
"As ready as I can be." Nicky replied.
They both started to chant the spell from before:
"I want to enter my father's mind.
A way in his dreams I wish to find.
To meet him there and get a clue,
What the hell I'm supposed to do."
Once again the two of them sank back on the bed.
Dream 1
He was back in his house. Only now it looked like a hurricane had rushed through it.
Everything was in pieces! The living room, the bedroom – everything!
Wandering down the hall he frowned even more. The door to Chris former room was ajared, a burned stuff animal lying on the floor.
Curious, Wyatt stepped into the room.
He noticed with surprisement that Chris room had been turned into a nursery; of course it was just as destroyed as the rest of his home.
The cupboards had been smashed, the cradle was turned upside down. Pieces of glass and furniture lay everywhere on the floor.
Suddenly he heared a voice behind him: ".God!"
When he turned around, he saw his son standing in the door frame – the question was only which one of the twins was this time in his head?
"Alex?" He asked unsure.
"That's not me.", came the answer.
"Nicky?", he tried again.
"That's me." Nicky smirked before he stepped over to his father.
After taking another look around, he blurted out: "Jeez, why do you always dream of creepy places?"
"The more interesting question is, why am I dreaming at all?" Wyatt replied sharply, noticing the slightly guilty expression of his son.
"Well, that would be our fault.", Nicky answered sheepishly.
Seeing his fathers expression darken, he added quickly: "But believe me, we had a good reason!"
His dad gave him a pointed look. "I'm listening – five words or less!"
Nicky folded his arms in front of his chest. "..- Badly!"
Now Wyatt got concerned. "Why? What's wrong? Any problems with Lara?"
His son snorted. "With Lara? No! Except for the fact that she has turned uncle Chris into a lovesick puppy!"
His father turned paler than a piece of chalk. "She did WHAT?!"
"You should have seen them playing tonsil-tennis – now THAT was a reason to get pale!", Nicky commented, shuddering at the pure memory.
Despite the situation, Wyatt started chuckling at his son's disgusted expression.
Getting a hold of himself, he asked: "Do you have an idea how she did this to him?"
"With her tongue?", came the sarcastic answer.
Wyatt rolled his eyes. "No, I mean how she enchanted him. Did she use a spell? Or a potion?"
Nicky frowned. "I guess it was a potion. Perhaps she did something in his drink."
His dad looked unbelieving at him. "They had a drink together?"
Nicky nodded. "After nearly killing each other, yeah."
Wyatt shook his head. "Now this is what I call "Kiss kiss bang bang"!", he murmured.
"Anyway." Nicky went on. "We need as much help as possible. Can you tell me how to communicate with a ghost?"
His father gaped at him. "You wanna tell me that you don't know this?"
Nicky returned his look. How in Gods name was he supposed to know that? "No, of course not."
"Did Chris teach you anything at all?", Wyatt asked, the disapprovement evident in his voice.
"Yes! I know what a whitelighter is!" Nicky retorted aggressive.
This time, Wyatt couldn't suppress a face palm.
Dream 2
Alex was once again surrounded by high walls.
"What a nice neighbourhood!", he thought sarcastically. "No wonder dad's going nuts!"
When he rounded another corner, he found a little boy with black locks and a teddy bear in his arms sitting on the floor.
"Hello?", he replied unsure. After his encounter with that White Lady he had gotten more careful.
The little boy turned around, his cute little face smiling up at him. He couldn't be older than five or six years.
"Hello.", the kid replied. Alex took a step forward – and regretted it the second he saw the chubby hands ripping the teddy's head off.