Legacy 107: Soul Searching
Part 4
Xxx
As the clock headed toward midnight, Phoebe paced around the hotel room with concern. None of her children had returned and they had been gone for hours. She was starting to worry. When the hotel door opened, she spun around, though it was only Coop. He entered the room with a dish and placed it on the table.
"You've barely eaten." Coop said. "You need to eat something."
"Where are they?" Phoebe asked. "Can you sense them?"
"I'm sure they are fine." Coop assured her. "Come on, sit. You need to take of yourself."
"Okay." Phoebe said reluctantly as she sat down. She lifted the dish and saw it was her favorite salad. "So we never got to finish our conversation." She said as she ate her salad.
"What more is there to say?" Coop asked. "Whether I like it or not, Julian is part of your life and the lives of our daughters now."
"I don't want you to be hurt or feel left out." Phoebe said.
"Phoebe, I love you." Coop said as he took her hands. "If this means so much to you, I will try to find a way to accept it."
"That is all I can ask of you." Phoebe replied. "Thank you."
The door opened and Prue entered. Phoebe got up and ran over to hug her daughter. "I was so worried about you."
"Don't be. I just needed a moment to vent." Prue replied. "I am sorry I disappeared on you."
"As long as you're okay, that is all that matters." Coop said.
"Where is Penny?" Prue asked as she looked around.
"I sent her after Julian, she's not back yet." Phoebe replied.
"Should we go look for her?" Prue asked.
"No need. I'm here." Penny's voice sounded.
Phoebe turned around and saw Penny heading through the door with Julian following her. She could not even describe how relieved she was to see them both. Something had changed in both of them, she could sense it. Could it be that they were beginning to accept each other?
"I'm glad you're both here." Phoebe said.
"Are you sure?" Julian asked.
"Of course." Phoebe replied. "I care for each of you."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you before." Julian said dismissively as he looked at the floor.
"Don't worry about it." Phoebe said. "I should not have used my powers without your consent. All I wanted was for us to be able to talk."
"I get why you did it." Julian replied. "I guess it worked, since here we are."
"I guess I should apologize as well." Prue said as she stepped forward. "I know I was harsh in judging you. I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just trying to protect my family."
"Yeah, I think I am starting to get that." Julian replied as he looked at Penny to his side.
"Alright, I think that is enough drama for one evening." Penny remarked dryly. "We need to deal with the issue at hand here, the Wraith nearly got me."
"What!? Are you okay?" Phoebe called out.
"I'm fine, mom." Penny replied as she looked at her brother. "Thanks to Julian."
Phoebe smiled as she stood up and walked over to her son. She placed a hand on his arm and waited. Julian seemed uncomfortable and swayed a bit, though for the first time, he did not reject her right away. She wanted to reach out to him, but she realized she should not rush it. If she wanted to get to know him better, she needed patience. There was still a long way to go.
"Thank you." Phoebe said.
"It's not a big deal." Julian remarked. "We should focus on the Wraith."
"Right, right." Phoebe replied as she let go. "So that raises the question, how do we kill an undead demon?"
"The only thing it seems to fear is fire, but even that is not powerful enough to stop it." Julian said. "At least my fire is not strong enough. I am not nearly as powerful as before."
"Then we'll need a spell or a potion or something." Prue replied.
"What if we banish it like we did with the Spirit Killer?" Penny suggested.
"The Wraith can cross realms." Phoebe said. "So that will only be a temporary solution. No, we need to destroy it, end the threat once and for all."
"Except the Wraith is not the real threat." Julian said. "It is merely a weapon, sent after me."
"By Elizabeth." Phoebe concluded with a nod. "She is the cause of this."
"She has the Grimoire, maybe it has a spell to destroy the Wraith." Julian said.
"But the Grimoire is dark magic. It's evil, we can't touch it." Penny said.
"I can." Julian replied.
"You want to use dark magic?" Phoebe asked concerned.
"It is the only way." Julian said. "We need to stop both the Wraith and Elizabeth. She's obsessed with getting me back. She is never going to give up. As long as she is out there, she will be a threat."
"Then we go after her." Penny said determined.
Both Julian and Prue nodded and Phoebe had to admit that it was probably the only way. Still, she was worried, since Elizabeth was very dangerous. This was the woman who raised Cole as a demonic hitman and handed Julian over the essence like a vessel when he was just a child. There was no telling what she was capable of or what she would do. She looked at her husband and noticed he shared the same concerns.
"How would you even find her?" Coop asked.
"I think I might be able to sense her." Julian said. "She claims to be my mother, even though she is not, but we're still connected by blood through my father."
"Won't she be able to shield herself?" Penny asked.
"No, she wants me to be able to find her." Julian replied. "She still has the delusion I will join her."
"It's worth a shot." Prue said.
"We will need to be careful. Elizabeth is extremely dangerous." Phoebe warned the others.
"She is right, Elizabeth is ruthless. She will not hesitate to kill you." Julian added. "Any of you."
"Maybe I should come with you." Coop said.
"No, that will only put you in danger." Phoebe replied. "Besides, if this thing goes wrong, I need you to be here for Payton."
"It won't come to that, right?" Prue remarked a little worried.
"You don't need to risk yourselves for me." Julian said.
"Yes, we do." Penny replied. "That is what family does. Granted, we're not exactly a nuclear family, but still."
"Alright, will you be able to follow me?" Julian asked.
"No problem." Prue replied.
Julian closed his eyes to focus. Meanwhile, Phoebe joined Prue and Penny and waited. She had grabbed some potions from her drawer earlier and held them in her hands. When Julian opened his eyes, he nodded and disappeared through flames. Phoebe held on to her daughters and disappeared along with them in a flash on pink light.
Xxx
When Julian reappeared through intense flames, he found himself standing in a large loft apartment with very few pieces of furniture. He looked at the window and saw the skyline of a city he did not recognize. Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen. A moment later, his mother and sisters appeared in a pink glow. It was weird to think of them like that. He still wasn't fully comfortable with it, but still, they actually seemed to want to help him. It took some getting used to.
"New York." Phoebe said as she looked out the window.
"Beautiful city, isn't it?" Elizabeth stated as she appeared at the top of the stairs. "It has been my home for…, well, ages. I see you came to return what is mine."
"You have no right." Phoebe replied.
"Don't I?" Elizabeth asked as she headed down the stairs. "I am the one who gave birth to him and raised him, all after you discarded him."
"He is still my son." Phoebe said.
"No, he is not." Elizabeth replied with a glare.
"Enough!" Julian snapped at them both. "I can speak for myself!"
"Sorry." Phoebe said.
"We came for to end this once and for all." Julian said as he turned to Elizabeth. "You have controlled my life for long enough. It ends tonight."
"Controlled?" Elizabeth asked. "I only wanted the best for you. Power, unlimited power."
"I never wanted any of that." Julian replied. "I just wanted to be able to live my own life. Not the life of the essence, or your warped version of what I should be."
"So you would rather be with them? These witches?" Elizabeth asked. "The people who, up until a day ago, feared and hated you? They will never accept you like I will. Not the real you."
"I am not like you, and I am not like them either." Julian said. "My demonic half does not defy me, my choices do. But that is something that you will never understand, because you don't have a soul."
"Alright, I see you're still not willing to see it my way." Elizabeth said. "That will change once the Wraith has taken your soul."
"It won't get to that, because we're going to stop you." Penny said.
"Oh please, do you think I did not see you coming?" Elizabeth replied unimpressed.
"Did you see this coming?" Phoebe said.
Phoebe raised her arm and threw a potion at Elizabeth. However, Elizabeth reacted quickly and threw an Energy Ball. The two attacked collided mid-air and exploded. Elizabeth's eyes turned pure red and she unleashed a sonic scream that forced everyone to their knees, clutching their ears in pain as the windows around them shattered. Julian waved his arm and telekinetically threw Elizabeth against a pillar, causing the screaming to stop.
"Seriously, how annoying is that?" Penny remarked as she and the others got up. "Can we just end this now?"
"Gladly." Elizabeth said as she rose to her feet.
Elizabeth extended both her arms and sent two Energy Balls flying at Prue and Penny. However, Prue held up her hands and channeled her powers, stopping the Energy Balls before they hit. She screamed as she pushed them back at Elizabeth, who shimmered away and reappeared on the other side of the room. Julian threw a Fire Ball at her, though she avoided it.
Elizabeth whispered something in a demonic language and pointed at Prue and Penny. Both their eyes glowed for a moment and they collapsed. Phoebe ran over to check on them. At the same time, Elizabeth cast another spell and pointed at Julian. He could feel his body being paralyzed and was suddenly unable to move a muscle.
"What the hell did you do?" Julian asked angrily.
"Just a few spells I picked up from the Grimoire. It was getting a bit crowded here." Elizabeth replied. "This is between us."
"No." Phoebe said as she stood up. "This is between the two of us."
"You." Elizabeth hissed angrily. "You already stole one son from me. I am not going to let you take another."
"He is not your son." Phoebe said. "And I did not take him, or Cole for that matter. You chased them both away. You're a monster, incapable of love."
"Shut up!" Elizabeth screamed.
Elizabeth threw an Energy Ball, which Phoebe easily avoided. She then held out her hand and replicated her power, forming an Energy Ball of her own. She threw it at Elizabeth, who barely managed to duck in time. Meanwhile, Julian struggled to move, but his body was frozen in place. He looked over at his sisters and saw they were both unconscious. Suddenly, a screech sounded and the Wraith flew in through the window.
"Oh crap." Phoebe remarked.
"Finally." Elizabeth said smiling.
The Wraith screeched as it observed the room and flew at Phoebe. She avoided it by ducking behind a table and ran toward Elizabeth. She tackled the demon and they rolled over the floor. Elizabeth unleashed another sonic scream, through Phoebe grabbed her by the throat to silence her. She channeled her powers and pointed at Julian, breaking the spell Elizabeth had cast. Julian realized he could move again and quickly threw a stream of fire at the Wraith. It screeched and flew out the window.
"Move!" Julian yelled at Phoebe.
Phoebe quickly moved away from Elizabeth and Julian held out his hand, telekinetically throwing her against the wall and holding her in place. She gasped for air as his hold on her throat increased.
"You think you can kill me?" Elizabeth asked. "I am your mother!"
"No, you're not." Julian replied. "And now I will be free of you."
Julian threw a Fire Ball at Elizabeth and she was incinerated with a horrifying scream, leaving only a black mark on the wall. When she was finally gone, Julian felt a wave of emotions rush over him and he stumbled back. She could no longer control him, he was free. He felt Phoebe placing a hand on his shoulder and did not resist.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah." Julian replied. "I think so."
"It's okay to feel conflicted. She was a huge part of your life." Phoebe said.
"No, I am just glad she is gone." Julian said. "Does that make me a horrible person?"
"No, it doesn't." Phoebe said. "It makes you human."
There was a groan from across the room and both Prue and Penny got up slowly, the spell had apparently been lifted once Elizabeth had been vanquished.
"What did we miss?" Prue asked.
"Oh, nothing much." Phoebe replied.
"We still got the Wraith to deal with." Julian said determined.
Julian walked over to the Grimoire lying on the table and tried to open it. For a brief second, it zapped him and he withdrew his hand. Phoebe noticed and smiled, though he convinced himself it meant nothing. When he tried a second time, the book allowed him to open it. Julian held his hand over the book and telekinetically searched for the right spell. Luckily, Elizabeth had forced him to learn several demonic dialects as a child.
Julian started chanting the spell and a strong wind appeared. The Wraith flew in and circled around them. It tried to attack, but the spell cast a protective shield around them. As Julian continued the spell, the Wraith screeched in pain and started to glow in a bright white light. When the spell was finished, Julian closed the book and the Wraith exploded in white light.
"Now it's over." Julian replied.
"And what about that?" Penny asked.
Julian looked at where she was pointing and noticed the Urn of Asar on the table, still holding the essence of the Source. They would need a way to keep it safe, so the essence could never be freed again. Suddenly, an unknown figure appeared in the room in a puff of black smoke. It was dressed in black like some kind of demonic ninja. Before anyone could move, it shot across the room in high speed and stormed out. When it was gone, Julian looked down and saw the urn had disappeared.
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