Legacy 105: With Mortals Like These
Part 5
Xxx
In a column of orbs, Chris and Penny materialized in the hall of the Halliwell manor, having barely escaped a crowd of possessed mortals in the club. The moment they appeared, Chris called out to ask if his brother or anyone else was there. Meanwhile, Penny walked over to the living room and sat down on the couch. Chris followed her and noticed her arm was hurt, it was bruised, like someone had grabbed it roughly.
"What happened?" Chris asked concerned as he sat down and looked at it.
"Ouch, one of those idiots at the club grabbed me." Penny replied painfully. "Can you do something about it?"
"You know I can't heal." Chris replied. "And I am just an orderly, not a nurse. Wyatt can take care of it once he gets here."
"Where is everyone?" Penny asked. "Could those freaks have gotten them?"
At that moment, a demonic scream sounded from somewhere in the manor and Chris jumped up. Something crashed through the window and he saw it was a brick as it rolled over the floor. Chris looked at the window and saw a man with demonic black eyes crawling through. He quickly flung his arm and threw him back outside.
"What the hell is going?" Chris asked.
Suddenly, Wyatt ran into the room, followed by Henry and Melinda. He raised his hand and created a force field around the window to prevent other possessed people from climbing in. Chris looked outside and recognized some of the possessed as their neighbors.
"Is the entire city possessed?" Chris asked.
"This happened to you as well?" Wyatt asked confused.
"Yeah, we got attacked at a club." Chris replied. "Penny is hurt."
"A little healing please." Penny added as she stood up and pointed at her arm.
"Oh god." Melinda said worried as walked over to her cousin.
"I'll heal you." Wyatt said. "Henry, go place the crystals."
As Wyatt walked over to Penny to heal her arm, Chris looked at Henry and noticed he was carrying the box containing the magical crystals from the attic. He instantly realized that Wyatt intended to form a protective circle around the manor, a smart idea. However, he could do it quicker. Chris waved his hand over the box and all crystals disappeared in swirling orbs. They magically reappeared all around the manor and connected, forming an electrified shield around the entire manor.
"Thanks." Henry remarked as he dropped the box on the table. "That should keep the walking dread out."
"Where are Prue and Payton?" Penny asked as Wyatt finished healing her.
"We don't know." Melinda replied. "We tried calling but there was no reply."
"Then we need to find…" Penny started, though before she could finish, a column of orbs appeared and formed into Prue, Payton and the whitelighter Noah.
"Are you okay?" Melinda asked concerned.
"That is a matter of opinion." Prue replied with a sigh. "I went out go get shoes, met up with some friends and had a nice dinner, until they decided to attack me!"
"Were you hurt?" Chris asked.
"They got my shoes!" Prue said distraught, as if was the most horrible thing in the world.
"Right." Chris replied with a raised eyebrow. "So how did you get out?"
"I called Noah." Prue replied.
"I orbed her back to her apartment." Noah added. "Which was where we found Payton barricaded in her room."
"I am fine." Payton added. "When I got home, I had a premonition about the neighbor attacking me, so I pretended I was not home and barricaded my room just in case. So can someone please explain what is going on?"
"It looks like all mortals in the city are possessed." Wyatt replied. "And they seem determined to kill us for some reason."
"What could possess that many people at once?" Prue asked.
"Ryan said something about the worst kind of evil." Melinda noted with a sad expression.
"Ryan? Oh god, Melinda. I am so sorry." Prue replied as she walked over to hug her cousin in comfort. "Is he alright?"
"I don't know." Melinda replied.
As Wyatt explained how they had tied Ryan up in the basement, Chris walked over to the window and looked outside. Even more possessed people were gathering outside. The way they were standing there, it felt like Chris was trapped in a zombie movie. Most of them were just waiting, though a few were pounding against the crystal cage shielding the manor. Each time they touched the cage, it zapped them and threw them back. Luckily, the charge was not strong enough to actually hurt them. However, Chris started to wonder something else. He looked at one of the crystals and he noted it was flashing faintly.
"Guys, how well charged are these crystals?" Chris asked.
"Uh, last time we charged them was… I have no idea." Wyatt admitted. "So that could be a problem."
"What do you mean?" Melinda asked. "What does that mean?"
"Each time the possessed hit the field, it zaps them, which costs energy." Chris explained. "If they keep going like this, the crystals will only last a few hours or so."
"And then what?" Payton asked.
"Then they can get it." Henry replied simply.
"Well, when that happens, we can just leave, right?" Penny suggested. "I mean, half of us can teleport."
"And then what?" Wyatt asked. "These people are innocents, we can't leave them."
"If it means saving ourselves…" Penny replied with a shrug.
"I am not leaving Ryan." Melinda said determined.
"And even if we decide to run, they will keep coming after us." Chris said. "Wyatt is right, we can't leave them like this."
"So what do you suggest?" Henry asked. "Even if we can make the dispossession potion, we will never have enough to save the entire city."
"Perhaps I should go consult the Elders." Noah suggested.
"I think that would be a good idea." Prue added. "We need to get a clear view of what we're dealing with. How many people are infected, where it is coming from, stuff like that."
As Noah dissolved in orbs, Chris thought about where all of this was coming from. He remembered what Roxy had said to him about the essence of evil. It seemed like there was only one explanation. The true essence of evil was the essence of the Source of All Evil, and there was only one person who was connected to it recently.
"Isn't it obvious?" Chris said. "It has to be Julian."
"What?" Prue asked confused. "Why would he do this?"
"He has been possessed most of his life." Chris reasoned. "He is probably insane. Maybe he hates us and thinks this is a perfect way to get revenge."
"It's not like we had anything to do with him being possessed." Penny remarked.
"Well, Chris does bring up a good point." Wyatt replied. "I mean, technically, we are related to him, so he probably sees us as everything he missed out on."
"Not to mention the fact that he is half demon." Henry added.
"But still, aren't we jumping to conclusions?" Payton asked. "We know nothing about him, we have never even met him without the essence."
"Guys, this is not the time to argue." Wyatt called out. "I think we have some bigger concerns than who is behind this. We need a way to neutralize and save the innocents. Henry was right about the potions, we will never have enough, so we need another plan."
"No, Wyatt. If we want to end this, I think we need to go after the one who started it." Chris said.
"I don't care!" Melinda called out in frustration. "All I care about right now is saving Ryan, so I am going to make that dispossession potion."
"I'll help you." Prue said.
As Melinda and Prue walked off to the kitchen, the others gathered around the table and sat down. They were all feeling lost as they tried to figure out what to do. Even though the mortals wanted to kill them, they were just possessed innocents, meaning they could not hurt them. Chris thought it was simple, Julian had to be connected to this somehow.
Suddenly, the sound of a doorbell echoed through the manor and a door magically appeared on the stairway. When the door swung open, Leo rushed through it and the door disappeared behind him. He was still dressed in a Magic School robe and looked concerned.
"I heard what is going on." Leo said. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine, dad." Wyatt replied. "But you shouldn't be here. You're mortal, you can get possessed."
"I am not leaving my children to fend for themselves while the entire city is after them." Leo said determined. "Besides, I need to check on your sister. This must be especially rough on her."
"It is, but we're going to try a dispossession potion." Chris said.
"That is a good idea." Leo replied. "But do you think it is safe to keep Ryan here? I could take him to Magic School, perhaps we can figure out something there."
"At least he would be out of harm's way. If he breaks free, he will be a risk to us all." Wyatt reasoned.
"Agreed." Leo said with a nod. "Let's go talk to your sister."
"Wait, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Henry asked pointing to himself, Penny and Payton as the brothers got up and headed over to the kitchen.
"Try checking the Book of Shadows." Chris replied. "We are going to need spells or something. Find something that could help us put them to sleep or something. And keep an eye on the street, just in case the crystals give in."
The others nodded and headed up to the attic while Chris joined his father and brother on their way to the kitchen. As he walked past a mirror in the hall, the surface of the mirror rippled and Elizabeth appeared observing them with a devilish smile.
Xxx
In his childhood mansion, Julian Turner watched from a distance as he saw his supposed cousins in a full-length mirror, which had been carried in by some demonic minions. Elizabeth was observing them closely with a content smile, thrilled that her plans were working. When the cousins left the view, Elizabeth waved her hand over the mirror and it rippled until her reflection returned. She then waved her minions away and they left the room in silence.
"Neat trick." Julian remarked.
"Thank you." Elizabeth replied. "I do enjoy sitting in the front row."
"But your plans seems a bit flawed, doesn't it?" Julian said. "The cousins are safe in the manor, and even if the possessed break in, they can just teleport away."
"I am well aware of that." Elizabeth said as she walked over to a large cabinet against the wall and retrieved a small bowl and an athame.
"What are you doing?" Julian asked.
"Ensuring the Halliwells will have nowhere to run to." Elizabeth explained as she walked over to the table and placed the bowl on the table. "Give me your arm." She added as she pointed the athame at him.
"What? Why?" Julian asked confused.
"You share a blood connection." Elizabeth explained. "I need it to cast another spell."
"I never said I would be part of your plans." Julian replied defiantly.
"So why are you here exactly?" Elizabeth asked. "What is it that you want?"
"I want to know who I am." Julian replied. "Without the essence. What am I supposed to do?"
"I will tell you who you are, whether you want to hear it or not." Elizabeth said as she came closer and grabbed his chin with her sharp nails. "You are my son and the heir to the Source. You are a demon and your destiny is to rule."
"That is not who I am!" Julian replied as he grabbed her arm and pulled it away. "That is who you wanted me to be, not the real me."
"So what? You think you can be a witch?" Elizabeth called out angrily. "Don't fool yourself, boy. There is evil inside you. Evil that will never leave, so just embrace it. Help me destroy the Halliwells and free yourself of them."
"They don't matter to me any more than you do." Julian replied harshly. "Neither of you is my family. At least that much is clear to me."
"You ungrateful little brat." Elizabeth hissed as she lashed out with the athame in her hand, slashing open his arm.
Julian stumbled back and grabbed his arm as he screamed in pain. He looked at his red blood and realized he had never felt actual pain like that. Without his powers, he was weak, mortal even. So was this what it felt like to be human? Meanwhile, Elizabeth walked back to the table and grabbed the bowl from earlier. She headed back and extended it to him.
"Give me your blood." She ordered.
"No." Julian replied.
"You need to learn some manners." Elizabeth said as she held out her hand and telekinetically pushed him against the wall. "I raised you better than that. Once the Halliwells are destroyed, I do believe some discipline is in order."
As Julian struggled to break free from the wall and her telekinetic hold on him, Elizabeth walked over to him and let some his blood drip in the bowl. He wanted to kill her. She meant nothing to him, she was just the cruel woman who handed him to the Source as a meat suit. He wanted to make her pay, even more so than the people that had conceived him.
"Thank you." Elizabeth replied as she waved her fingers, causing Julian to drop to the floor. "From your blood to theirs, I will be able to cast a spell to prevent them from teleporting."
Elizabeth went back to the table and flipped through the Grimoire with her back turned to him. As he tried to stop his arm from bleeding, Julian suddenly noticed the athame lying on the floor. He carefully crawled over and picked it up before standing up and hiding it behind his back. When Elizabeth began casting a spell in an unknown demonic language, Julian slowly crept up on her. When the spell was finished, a red smoke emerged from the bowl, but Julian ignored it.
Just before Julian was about to stab her to death, Elizabeth turned around and telekinetically ripped the blade from his hand. Her eyes then turned red in anger and she unleashed a powerful sonic scream that forced Julian to his knees as he grabbed his ears in pain.
"You ignorant boy. How stupid do you think I am?" Elizabeth said after she stopped screaming. "Why do you keep fighting me? We are the same. I saved you before you were even born, I gave you life."
"You are not my mother, you bitch." Julian replied hatefully. "I am nothing like you."
"Then I guess you are useless to me after all." Elizabeth replied. "Once again, it seems my children will always disappoint me. In that case, mommy will just have to handle this herself."
Elizabeth raised her hand and Julian was thrown across the room from one wall to another. He groaned in pain as he hit the floor. It did not matter in how much it hurt, he would not give in to her. He was more than just a demon, even if he did not know what exactly. As Elizabeth raised him off the ground with telekinesis, Julian passed out and the pain faded.
xxx