Hi, sorry for the delay in updating- I have had a lot of work to complete, plus I started writing another story which was, looking back on it, not my best idea to date. Plus I experienced minor writers block on the second half of this chapter to such an extent that I almost scrapped it, so you know- better late than never.
Any way, thanks for the reviews keep them coming and we pick up from just before we left off last time.
"What?" Asked Chris nervously. "I thought you had her."
"I did." Agreed Wyatt calmly. "And then she escaped. I know her, she would run back to anyone she thought she could trust, and right now that is you. So I'll ask you again, where is she?" Chris looked up into his brother's eyes, trying to ascertain what his brother actually knew. Chris' face remained neutral, but he relaxed slightly as he realised Wyatt knew nothing. He was just hoping Chris had taken her, as that would be a far better thing for him than their Aunt Paige being free to move against him, with enough power to break free of his charms.
"I don't have her." Chris insisted, maintaining eye contact with his brother, "Honestly, when would I even have had time, I spent the evening with you, mum and Leo and then you sent me off chasing Welsh wizards in central park. Wyatt sighed in frustration but seemed to accept Chris' response as he released his grip on Chris' arm.
"Good." He replied with a nod, "But this does mean I have to move forward with my plans quicker than I had intended." Chris' heart beat faster, hoping he might finally learn of Wyatt's intentions. "I need you to distract Adric and the sisters until tomorrow as I take care of some final preparations." Chris nodded despite his disappointment- although on the bright side, with Wyatt being gone for the night, they would be able plan in the manor rather than the gloomy cave.
The moment he arrived back there, however, he was disappointed to find a whole new argument had ensued. Paige was clearly unhappy with the new arrival and was making her objection known. Apparently she had persuaded Phoebe to her cause as the pair of them stood opposite Prue and Adric who were attempting to counter their points. The moment Chris orbed in, silence fell and all eyes turned to him.
"What's happened?" He asked.
"Chris, can I have a word please?" Asked Paige with forced civility. "Now." She added when her nephew hesitated. Chris nodded his head, and took Paige's hand, orbing them to the park; he figured Paige would want to go outside after all the time she had spent cooped up not only whilst they had been in the past, but also in the resistance headquarters.
Paige didn't even take the time to acknowledge the fresh air, however, as them moment they landed she pulled away from Chris and hit him several times on the arm.
"Ow!" Exclaimed Chris, recoiling from his aunt, "What did I do?"
"You swore to me!" Exclaimed Paige angrily, "When you asked me and Phoebe to risk everything- including our children- and join the resistance, you swore that you would be honest with me!" Chris nodded, remembering how long it had taken to persuade his family that he wasn't on Wyatt's side "You promised you would keep nothing from us, yet since the moment we got here, I've been finding out more and more of the lies you've been telling."
"What are you talking about?" Questioned a genuinely confused Chris, jumping back a few more paces to avoid her renewed attacks.
"We were safe." Continued Paige desperately, ignoring Chris' objections, "We were hidden from you're brother and working out a way to stop Wyatt all together, but you drew us into the resistance, and as a result I lost my sister, my husband and my brother in law!" Chris bowed his head in guilt, but he still couldn't see why she wanted to discuss this now. "Do you remember the day Phoebe disappeared?" She asked, "A rebel group had almost thrown Wyatt's forces out of Peru, and Phoebe and Coop went to help." Chris nodded slowly, his mind steadily joining the dots. "Do you remember who Wyatt sent to put down the uprising?" Chris sighed.
"You don't know the whole stor..."
"Your 'friend' kidnapped my sister, and now you want to work with him?" Her voice began to choke as she finished her sentence,
"Paige, I know what happened, but you have to believe me when I say Adric had nothing to do with it. Yes it was him in charge of the campaign, but he planned the battle so as to ensure as few fatalities as possible- Phoebe would have been killed by those demons if Adric hadn't have insisted she was taken alive."
"But she was killed!" She retorted slightly hysterically, "Only rather than being killed nobly in battle with her allies and friends, she was murdered in a cold cell under the gaze of your brother, by her own husband!" Chris paused, his eyes wide.
"How do you know that?" He asked, although he already knew the answer. "Wyatt..." He sighed, scarcely wanting to imagine what his brother had put the youngest Charmed One through.
"How could you keep that from me?" She yelled not bothering to confirm Chris' guess, "How could you stand there and tell your own cousins that their father was dead! How could you just abandon him?" Chris shook his head.
"Because of this." He replied, trying to stay calm, "Because I knew that if you knew the truth, then you wouldn't be able to let it go- you or Prue would go after him, and that's exactly what Wyatt wants- it's a trap Paige, that's why I lied to you before, and that's why Wyatt told you today. He wants to capture you, and then when you're under his power too, he knows Prue will come for you both and then he'll have everyone he views as a danger in his grasp." Paige shook her head in disgust.
"So you just abandon him?" She accused, "Your own uncle?"
"Of course not!" Objected Chris, "I've tried dozens of times to free him, but it's impossible and besides..." He cut off- Paige didn't need to hear the rest of his explanation, but Paige wasn't about to let her nephew keep anything else from her.
"What?" She asked hesitantly, "What is it Chris?" Chris sighed but conceded.
"Besides what's left of Coop isn't worth the risk of losing you, Prue or giving me away." Paige looked horrified at this claim, but Chris put held up his hand to stop her from interrupting. "I just mean that when I said he was dead that wasn't entirely a lie. The Coop you know is dead- he's a cupid, and Wyatt forced him to kill the woman he loved above all else- do you really think he could ever recover from that? He's a shell of the man he used to be- do you really want your nieces to see what he's become?" Paige thought about this for a second but couldn't remain angry at Chris despite the deceit.
"I still won't trust that man." She stated, crossing her arms defiantly. Chris smirked.
"Adric or Cole?" He asked, "People change a lot in twenty years Paige. I mean, the original Charmed ones are alive here, you don't believe you're a witch, Adric is simply a street performer and Cole isn't yet the source of all evil. I'm sorry I kept him from you but stopping Wyatt needs to be our only priority right now." Paige smiled. Her nephew had grown up so much in the last few years and she could scarcely believe this was the same boy who used to run around naked in her paddling pool. Chris offered her his hand so they could orb back down to the cave together, but Paige grabbed it and pulled him into a hug.
It was early the following morning and all four Charmed Ones, Leo Chris and Adric were sat in the living room of the manor. Paige had taken much persuasion to believe it was safe, but Chris knew Wyatt was out on a mission and wouldn't return for hours yet. Most of the group hadn't slept, but they all shook off their exhaustion as they set their minds on the task of figuring out Wyatt's plan. They leafed through the book of shadows, but it was no use for predicting the future- so it was largely up to Paige and Chris to describe the situation and predict what Wyatt might be after. Surprisingly however, it was not Paige or Chris who finally worked it out, but Adric.
"I just don't understand." Sighed Paige, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and sinking back into the familiar old sofa. "Wyatt has conquered the whole world, there's nothing more he could want!"
"Did he?" Questioned Adric, who had been silently listening up to that point, Paige confirmed her statement, but Adric continued to frown. "But if that's true then why, if Wyatt gave me the choice of any country to rule, would I pick Canada and not my own country? What happened to Britain?"
"I like I said- Wyatt conquered the world, no county survived his attacks for long." She explained impatiently- still unhappy that the conjuror was amongst there number. Chris however, was uncertain.
"Actually, I'm not sure if that's true." He contradicted, "When Wyatt started his world domination, he couldn't do it all at once- there weren't enough demons, so instead he travelled West- he knew countries like China and India would be more magically prepared to fight him, so he wanted to attack them before they could mount a defence. And he was right, Asia took years to subdue, whilst Europe fell in a few months- well most of it did. Wyatt saved Britain for last- he wanted to form a new Camelot and rule with Excalibur- it was meant to be his new capital but it never happened."
As no one apart from Paige and Chris knew Wyatt was heir to Excalibur- given the lady of the lake wouldn't give Piper the sword for years- this explanation was met with blank looks from most of the group, Adric, however, nodded as if everything was suddenly falling into place.
"I think I know what happened." He announced. Paige rolled her eyes at his boasting, but Prue looked noticeably proud of the man. "Years ago, back in the original time of Camelot, Arthur had been able to join together the five kingdoms, magic was accepted and peace was restored." He begun- his showman voice emerging as he told his tale. "In this time, Merlin began to train other warlocks and witches to protect the kingdom, and after Arthur died, and he was left alone, he decided he was no longer needed so he cast an enchantment. He put himself to sleep until such a time when Camelot needed his help again. He chose the five most powerful magical families of the age to act as guardians- so as they could call him from his sleep if ever he was needed."
"So you're saying Merlin protected Britain from Wyatt's attacks?" Questioned Piper sceptically.
"Haven't you ever heard of Merlin's ring?" Replied Adric. Piper shrugged, and the question was met with a similar response from most of the rest of the group. "It's the resting place of Merlin. I'm guessing that when your brother began to be seen as a threat, the guardians were awakened and they summoned Merlin so he could conjure some sort of barrier to protect Britain from his attack."
"Stonehenge?" Clarified Leo- referring to the prehistoric circle of stones in England. Adric nodded.
"So what do you think he's planning in our time?" Asked Prue; "Is he going to force these guardians to summon Merlin so he can kill him in this time?"
"If he is truly the heir to Excalibur as you say then using that sword against him would not only kill him, but the wielder would also take his powers- the witch would become practically unstoppable." This announcement caused a stir amongst the group. Phoebe, Paige and Prue jumped to their feet- looking ready to orb to Britain right now to prevent this, but Adric held up a finger, requesting them to wait. "There's no need to act rashly." He scolded, "Wyatt will not be opening the gate tonight. Not all of the Guardians even have their powers yet. Most of the original families died out and when that happened, their powers attached themselves to the next most powerful witches without their knowledge- they'll only gain the required knowledge when Britain is in actual danger and I believe Wyatt may have already come up with a far less messy option."
"What are you talking about?" Asked Prue; "Is there another way to summon Merlin without the Guardians?" In answer Adric pointed firstly at Piper, then Prue, Phoebe and finally himself. "And Wyatt makes five." Finished Prue. "Would that work? Can any witch with enough power just summon Merlin?" Adric shrugged and nodded.
"As long as they know the right spell- which I'm guessing is what Wyatt is searching for, and given that Wyatt had been trying to keep all of us onside it is the most logical conclusion." He pointed out. No one disagreed, but then the conjuror frowned. "Of course, if anyone else were to attempt to summon him, the guardians would be called to remove the threat, but I guess if he took them out first..." His eyes suddenly grew wide as he fully understood what Wyatt was up to this night, but before anyone could question him he had disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The Future
Bianca was bound with power restraining hand cuffs and lead down a series of entwining corridors through the base until they reached Darryl's office. Behind them followed what seemed like half the resistance as everyone wanted to know why the Assassin Witch was there. Darryl opened the door, allowing Bianca in before him, before turning to the assembled men, woman and children, dismissing them back to their tasks. Many of them- particularly the senior leaders protested- wanting to be let in on the discussion, but Darryl refused- he wanted as few people as possible to know of Chris and Paige's mission until they were safely returned.
"What the hell is going on?" Demanded Bianca as soon as they were alone. Darryl didn't answer however, but rather walked across the room to take a seat behind his desk.
"You don't ask the questions here." Stated Darryl mater of factly- gesturing to the restraints on Bianca's wrists to emphasis this point. "I have just allowed an assassin witch who works for the enemy into our base, allowed her to see a large number of our members and then locked myself in a room alone with her. Now forgive me if I'm going to need some sort of proof that your story is true before I divulge even more of our secrets." Bianca rolled her eyes but nodded.
"Fine, what do you want to know? That my mother was assigned the task of tracking down the remaining Halliwell children, and when she didn't succeed, he killed her as a demonstration of how he responds to failure? That I planned to kill Wyatt in retribution, but Chris found out and talked me out of it- offering me a better means of revenge in joining the resistance and working for him as a spy? How I'm the one giving Chris most of the information he gives you including every rebel breakout you helped to support?" She Asked.
"I said evidence- not an unverifiable fairy tale." Said Darryl. "Can anyone confirm this story?" Bianca thought about this for a moment but the problem with her work being kept a secret was that there was no real evidence bar her and Chris' words.
"Doesn't the fact that I have the key to resistance mean anything?"
"You could have stolen it."
"The key only works for certain people- if I had stolen it wouldn't have done me any good."
"Wyatt is exceptionally powerful; if you have indeed owned that key for six months then I'm sure he could have found a way to make it work."
"How about the fact that the Halliwell girl had a premonition of me and Chris together. She received it from Chris, not me, so I couldn't have manipulated it."
"Chris is a nineteen year old boy, it doesn't surprise me he found you attractive enough to fall for your charms, what would surprise me is if you were convincing enough for him to trust you with his secrets."
Bianca threw her arms up in the air in frustration at Darryl's unreasonableness, but before they had a chance to continue their argument, Steven- another leader of the resistance poked his head around the door.
"Err boss, I know you wanted to be left in private, but I think you'll want to see this. We have another visitor."
Darryl wasted no time in following Steven out of his office, Bianca also attempted to follow but the door swung shut the moment Darryl left, and nothing Bianca tried granted her freedom.
As Darryl followed Steven in the direction of the entrance hall, he found himself having to battle against the heavy stream of members hurrying the other way. Before, when Bianca had arrived, they had all hurried to the scene- eager to watch events unfold- if they were running away, that could only mean whatever new guest had arrived, it was far worse than just another demon.
By the time he reached the entrance hall, there were only a few of the most elite guard there, desperately trying anything they could think of to contain their latest guest who, unlike Bianca, was unperturbed by the crystal cage- the five crystals of which he had casually circling around him. There were no introductions needed this time- most of the world would recognise this face- his fame being second only to Wyatt's. It was Adric- the King of Canada and one of the most powerful witches in the world.
The moment Adric laid eyes on Darryl he smiled and Darryl was surprised that it wasn't a cruel or malevolent smile, but more of a boyish grin. The man, barely looked older than twenty five, and yet Darryl knew he had to be at least Paige's age. As he grinned, he allowed the crystals to fall to his feet, and he gave a small bow to Darryl. The resistance guard tried to use this momentary distraction to launch another attack on the man, but he seemed to have conjured some sort of shield to keep them at bay.
"My apologies for dropping in unannounced." He said, his Welsh accent still strong despite his many years living in Canada and fighting at Wyatt's side. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"I knew it." Growled Stephen, who was standing just next to Darryl with his arms crossed angrily. "We let one of them in and now we're under siege- we need to evacuate!" Adric was watching the pair intently, but still made no move to attack.
"I hate to contradict you, but don't you think that if I wanted to attack, I might have done something more than drop round for tea?" He pointed out. "Not that anyone drinks tea anymore." He added as an afterthought- and Darryl noticed the man seemed genuinely put out by that fact. No one was quite sure what to do next- this was not the man they had heard about in stories there he was a tyrannical monster who was no different from demons, he destroyed anything in his path, and brought only fire and destruction. He wasn't meant to be polite or despondent over the decline of the tea supply."
"So what are you doing here?" Asked Darryl, taking a tentative step towards the witch. "And how did you even get in here? You don't have a key, and you didn't even set off any alarms."
"That's an excellent story- but one for another time I feel." He replied cryptically. "I think the bigger question is who else you've let in here." He closed his eyes, and the resistance members exchanged uncertain glances. The witch's eyes flicked around behind his closed eye lids for about a minute before they flicked open. He frowned for a second, clearly trying to figure out a problem, before his original boyish grin returned. "Do I sense a Phoenix's power? Has Bianca grown bored now she is unable to toy with Chris' innocence?" He asked with a smirk.
Once more the resistance members exchanged nervous looks, but before anyone could respond, Adric set off down the corridor in the direction of Darryl's office. The guards, Stephen and Darryl followed closely behind, none of them daring to challenge the powerful witch. Door closed horridly, as they past, and they heard muffled screams and nervous shouts as they approached new corridors. Somehow the witch seemed to have a perfect knowledge of the layout of the base, and he led them quickly to the row of offices where all the key resistance leaders worked.
Just before the group reached Darryl's office, however, their came a sudden angry shout from behind, and Darryl turned around just in time to see Prue sprint round the corner, her arms raised, ready to send out a magical blast. Junior and Parker followed her, desperately trying to stop her from doing anything stupid, but Prue was already in firing distance of Adric, and she flicked her fingers, in theory exploding, or at least injuring the witch.
What actually happened, however, was far less spectacular. Adric easily extinguished the blast so Prue's attack barely singed his suit. Prue's eyes widened and she stumbled back seeing the sudden look of annoyance on the powerful man's face. Adric's anger was, however, not directed at Prue, but rather at down at his shoulder where his suit was still slightly smoking.
"My suit!" He mumbled sadly, "I love this suit!" He turned his head suddenly up to look at Darryl, and the leader noticed he seemed just as sad about this as the lack of tea in the world. "Why did she attack my suit?"
"You killed my mother!" Screamed Prue before anyone could stop her. "She was just trying to help people and you turned her over to Wyatt and all you care about is your stupid suit?" Emboldened by Adric's non-violent response, she blasted the witch again and again, and even though each time the man simply extinguished attack, it seemed to help as after a minute, her anger had evaporated, and she allowed Parker and Junior to pull her back from the man.
"You must be Prue." He said when he got a chance, remembering all of Chris' tales about the Halliwell family. "I am truly sorry for your loss, but I promise you I did everything I could to save her life." He said, bending down slightly to be on the same eye level as the girl.
"Liar." She spat. "You're nothing more than a murderer, you shouldn't be here!"
"Shouldn't I?" He replied. "Well then I promise I will leave just as soon as possible. Regarding the accusation of murderer however…" He turned away from Prue, focusing on the other Halliwell children. Penny and Philippa had now also joined the group, and his eyes quickly flicked between the four. "Hmm... White-lighter, astral projection, adopted, ahh... premonitions." He knelt down in front of Parker, smiling kindly at the terrified girl. Prue yelled at him to stay away from her, but Adric ignored her. "Hey sweetie." He said kindly, offering his hand. "You seem a little nervous. Hey, do you like kittens by any chance?" Parker nodded slowly, too scared to speak, but Adric didn't seem to notice as he waved his arm and suddenly a dozen kittens were projected into the corridor. Parker's eyes widened in delight, and before she could object, Adric took her hand and she suddenly gasped as she received a vision.
Her eyes were closed for less than a minute, but when she returned she looked at Adric in a new light. The pair exchanged knowing glances, and the girl looked close to laughing as Adric gave her a wink before standing up and returning his attention to the rest of the group.
"So what do you think, can they trust me?" He asked. Parker nodded certainly, but when everyone pressed her for what she had seen, she shook her head and refused to tell. "It doesn't matter what I showed her, all that matters is I'm not a threat to you, and now that's settled, we need to move on. I'm here for a reason, and it can't wait any longer." Darryl nodded, although he was obviously still uncertain. He opened the door to his office letting Bianca see what was going on.
"What the hell is he doing here?" She spat in disgust. "He's the enemy you're supposed to be fighting against!"
"Lovely to see you too, Bianca." He replied. "So, Darryl, about why I'm here..."
"No, I'm serious." Insisted Bianca. "He's Wyatt's left hand man- with Wyatt gone, he is literally ruling the world and you're letting him just walk around here!"
"I believe him to be an ally." Replied Darryl simply- taking into account the fact he got into the base with no keys and no alarms, the lack of demons and Parker's premonitions.
This time, Stephen and the resistance guard were not content with leaving their leader alone with two high level members of Wyatt's inner circle so they followed Darryl and Adric into the room. The Halliwell kids tried to follow as well, but the door magically closed again before they could cross the threshold.
"He's not an ally!" Argued Bianca, "Chris told me everything to persuade me to join him, and he's told me everything else since, and he never once even hinted that the King of Canada was secretly working for him."
"That's funny- he told me about his demon whore." Retorted Adric, a small smirk on his face. Bianca looked like she was about to slap the man, but she restrained- Darryl suspected this wasn't the first confrontation these two had had, and he also suspected Bianca was rarely victorious. "And besides-" he continued, "-I never said I worked for him."
"What then?" Challenged Bianca sarcastically, "Are you going to reveal you're secretly working with him? That you're actually the fourth resistance leader?"
"No." He replied, "I'm the first. I founded the resistance." A silence descended following that statement. Bianca and several members of the guard looked at him in clear disbelief, but for Darryl it explained a great deal- not only Adric's easy entrance and knowledge of the base, but also how Chris, who hadn't even been seventeen when his brother had begun his campaign, had been able to set up the whole resistance so successfully, right under his paranoid brother's nose. "But that's not important right now." Continued the witch with a dismissive gesture, what matters is what has happened to Chris and Wyatt. It's madness out there, the demons are becoming uncontrollable. If the source doesn't return soon, then there is nothing I'll be able to do to prevent anarchy." Darryl sighed- he had hoped to keep the mission a secret from as many people as possible, but he knew everyone in the room had a right to know the truth.
"Very well." He conceded. "Chris, Wyatt and Paige are currently at some point in the past. We don't know when, we don't even really know if they're together. All we know for certain is that someone summoned Wyatt from this time to another and that Chris and Paige used a spell from a replica book of Shadows to attempt to follow him." Bianca looked panicked by this news, as did most of the resistance members. Adric, however, looked like he had just had the meaning of life explained to him.
"Wyatt's gone back in time?" He clarified "You're sure?" His face seemed to age and his boyish grin vanished. "I know when they are."
As ever, thank you so much for reading this, I'll be updating again... sometime and I promise in the future the Charmed ones will be doing more than you know... watching Adric solve mysteries :) Bye!
