The Neighbors
Three months after Wyatt's arrival, leaving a five month pregnant Piper and an eight month pregnant Gina Clay, Phoebe went upstairs to see which of the three was posted up there this time.
You always knew you could find one of the three up in the attic. They were always so busy, always distant with the adults. They knew it was because they were dead in the future. As expected Phoebe found Laveda up there. What she hadn't expected was for the young woman to be passed out on the couch with the book lying on her chest. It was a position they'd often found Chris in but never her.
Phoebe went to the young girl and pulled the book off of her sleeping chest. She sat it on a nearby table then grabbed a blanket. She placed it over the sleeping young woman only to be pulled into one hell of a premonition…
-x-
The first memory Laveda ever made was when she was her third birthday. She was in her bedroom as her parents argued again. Her hands covered her ears. All the rest of her siblings are at school but she's the only kid home.
She can't handle it so she runs down the stairs. Her parents don't notice her as she passes them by. She runs out into the street. She doesn't see the car that nearly hits her.
However, she feels it when an invisible hand pushes her backwards out of the street. She looks around only to look up. In one of the windows she sees a little boy with brown hair with his hand up to the glass.
After a moment she stands up and looks out to see the car is gone and there are no other cars are coming. She looks up at Chris. She is then enveloped by white lights and shows up in the little boy's room.
"Hi," he says with a smile. He's sweaty, pale. He doesn't look very healthy with bags under his eyes and he looks feverish.
"Hi," she states with a smile. Then she cocks her head to the side. "Are you Chris?" He was the little boy next door she'd never met. According to her sisters they use to play until he was about a year old. Then he was always getting sick and they kept him mostly isolated. She knew Wyatt though. He was always hanging around Ebony and Ebony allowed it because she liked having a powerful person around paying attention to her. The boy nodded his head at her. "I'm Laveda."
"Nice to meet you," he states before coughing. She moves to his side, grabbing the glass from his table and handing it to him. He drinks it slowly then hands it back. She sits it down on his bedside.
This event made them friends. After that day he orbed her home with her parents none the wiser and the same was true for his family. It would be three months that the adults caught on to what they were doing.
-x-
The Halliwell family was in the back yard of the manor. Piper stood there with her two kids, Phoebe and her baby girl were there, her husband's back could be seen from the street, and Paige was nearby. Laveda, who was no older than four or five, looked at her mom who was walking towards the house.
The young girl stood next to the car watching her mother fight with a fourteen-year-old, eleven-year-old, and ten-year-old as they entered the house… completely ignoring the youngest daughter. Laveda glanced back and forth between her own family and the Halliwell's across the street.
As she watched the Halliwell family she saw Chris turn towards her with a smile on his face. His smile was bright and enthusiastic as he waved at her from the yard. Then he held out his hand while nudging his head to her telling her to come join the party. She smiled and looked both ways before running across the street towards him.
Once over there she glanced back to see her mom close the door to the Clay house having forgotten all about her. Laveda turned her back to the Halliwell family. Chris's hand was still held out to her and she took it. He led her into the party and she followed him without question.
As they entered Wyatt came over to them and joined in the playing.
-x-
Four and a half year old Laveda is sitting on the side of Chris's bed. He's pale, sickly. He's feverish again but she didn't see anything wrong with him. This was the boy she was best friends with. It didn't matter if he was constantly sick or not.
"Thank you," Chris whispers to his best friend as she pulls a couple ice chips out and hands them to him. He takes them and begins to suck on them.
"No need to thank me," she says before smiling at him. He smiles at her.
"You my best friend, Vida," he mumbles through the Ice chips.
"You're my best friend too, Chrissy. Get better then you'll get to play in the pool your mom is putting up," Laveda tells him only to freeze when she hears Piper's voice begin to get loud followed by Christopher's loud voice. As the arguing gets louder Wyatt enters the room, followed by Robert. Both are either six or almost six.
"Mommy and daddy fighting again?" Chris asks his older brother as his hand grabs Laveda's for strength.
"Don't worry about it bro,"Wyatt states. That's when the voices disappear. Chris smiles as silence crept in. His eyes closed and quickly fell asleep. Laveda mouths the words 'thank you' to Wyatt who shakes his head.
"You don't have to thank me," Wyatt whispers to her. "He's my brother. It's my job to protect him." She cocks her head to the side, surprised. She doesn't understand this.
"Why?" she asks, not sure she understands.
"Because… it's the job of the older and more powerful people to protect the younger and weak," Wyatt explains and she nods at him determined, engraining those seemingly simple words into memory. Unbeknownst to him those words will shape who she will become in the future.
-x-
Five-year-old Laveda sat on her bed, watching the clock bouncing. Just then it turned seven and the alarm began going off. She smiled, even as her sister groaned in her sleep. She quickly slid on a pair of blue jeans and a tee-shirt. Then she slid on socks and her shoes but they hurt.
As she looked at them she realized they were on the wrong feet. She quickly slid them on the correct feet. From there she grabbed her black school robe and backpack. She was excited for her first day of magic school.
She quickly ran from the house with those things in hand to the Halliwell Manor. She got to the door and was about to knock only for Chris to open it before she had a chance. He was standing there in a magic school robe.
A smile lit up her face as he let her in. Piper was standing at the kitchen table, serving breakfast. She ushered Laveda over for scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. She quickly downed the food before sliding on her own magic school robe.
The duo then linked arms and closed their eyes. Their faces were focused while Wyatt watched from the next room proudly. Just then a door formed in front of them at the small landing in the stairs. The duo looked at each other smiling proudly. They never unlinked arms as they walked up the steps.
They were two excited kids after all. Best friends attending school for the first time.
-x-
Six-year-old Laveda sat at the table in the dining room while everyone talked around her. They talked at her or not even that. She kept trying to speak up but her quiet voice kept getting brushed aside and ignored by the older family members.
They kept getting louder and louder and she felt like she was going to crack. She quickly went to the kitchen under the pretense of getting more to drink and seconds of food. Instead she sat her plate in the sink and went out the back door. She made her way down the side of the house, so as not to be seen by her family. She even ducked under the downstairs bathroom window.
Once in the clear she ran from her yard to the house across the street. Her little hand knocked on the front door. It opened and Piper let her in without questioning it. This wasn't uncommon for the household.
Inside Chris and Wyatt were sitting at the table playing Candy Land and Chris had just drawn a double blue winning the game. He was wrapped up in a blanket, sick again. At least he was out being allowed to sit anywhere other than his bed. Seeing her they didn't even speak as they made a space for her. Then they reset the board and shuffled the cards, making a whole new game for her to join.
-x-
Seven-year-old Laveda heard the cries early in the morning. It was two in the morning and she could hear five month old Vera Clay crying in the next room. On cue Laveda stood up and hurried to her niece's little bedroom. It was the bedroom that Vera was suppose to share with Talbot but Talbot had disappeared… again.
They all had gotten use to this happening over the past few years. Talbot would disappear for a week or two with some man she was shagging only to come back claiming her heart was breaking. Within a month she'd disappear again and repeat the cycle.
That cycle was how Vera had come into existence. And Laveda's parents hadn't even tried to control their third oldest child who was only eighteen. The other two older sisters had moved out as had seventeen-year-old Ran Clay who was off at college right now – graduating early due to decent grades and scholarship offers from swimming competitions.
Slowly Laveda lifted the five month old into her arms and it instantly quieted to a whimper.
"What's wrong baby girl?" Laveda asked. She ran her thumb gently along the little girl's cheek and the girl touched it with her small fist. As she did a picture of Chris flashed through Laveda's brain. It was black-and-white but clear as to who it was. This was thanks to the girl's ability to project telepathic images through touch. They figured it'd turn into telepathic mind control as well as plain old telepathy one day.
The baby girl giggled as she looked at her before showing her again.
"Sorry, baby girl, but Chris is in bed asleep. He needs his sleep just like everyone else," Laveda said, trying to stifle a yawn of her own. The girl, as if sensing what she meant, began to cry again. Laveda bounced her, trying to calm her. Nothing worked.
As if on cue Chris orbed in, wearing bright blue pajamas while rubbing his eyes which were hidden by shaggy brown hair which needed to be cut.
"I sensed she was upset, is she okay?"Chris asked and the girl instantly calmed.
"Yeah, she just wanted you," Laveda says while sitting down on Talbots rarely used bed. He moved to sit next to her before laying down the right way. She followed his lead, putting the girl in what her sister called a baby basket before putting it in between them. Both of their hands went inside the 'basket' while they looked at each other. Quickly they both fell asleep, as did baby Vera.
-x-
Laveda was now eight. She was sitting on her bed; the curtains open to her side. Still, her eyes weren't looking out it and her mind wasn't full of childish things. Instead all she could focus on was the voices echoing through the house. They were loud. They were angry. They were painful.
She covered her ears as tears stung her eyes. Her knees were to her chest as she hid her eyes. She wanted to get lost, wanted to disappear. Her parents were arguing again. They argued about money, about magic, about everything.
But most often they argued about her. Her mom didn't want to deal with being the mother of the most powerful Clay child in existence. She wanted to toss her off on her aunt Diana Todd who didn't have any kids and was unmarried. Diana Todd was the most powerful of the Todd daughters even though she was the oldest.
Her mom figured she could give her more time and attention. Laveda didn't want to go live with her aunt Diana though. Her mom didn't care what she wanted.
Outside Laveda could hear rain hitting the window and the gray lighting entered the room. She thought it was poetic, the rain would fall now.
Sitting there she was full of sorrow till she felt something or more appropriately, someone. She glanced across the street to see Chris in the window straight across from hers. He held up a dry erase board with red writing on it.
'They Arguing Again?' Chris asked through the writing and she nodded before grabbing for her dry erase board. 'YES,' she put in dark blue writing on hers. He quickly wrote more on his. 'Anything I Can Do?' She shook her head though obviously in tears.
She went to write a response only to feel herself get swallowed up by orbs. When she reappeared she felt her best friend holding her as she cried into his shirt. He just held her like any good best friend would.
-x-
Two ten-year-old children walked through the streets of Paris, France laughing and joking. They were having a great time looking at the sights.
"You know, Piper is going to be really mad at us when she finds out we skipped school to orb to France for the day," Laveda tells Chris and he laughed.
"After last night my mom will hardly notice anything. She's too worried about Leo to notice me at this point," Chris stated as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped hers around his.
"Sorry, he's being a jerk again?" Laveda asks as they walk through the streets.
"Yeah," he said flatly, obviously not comfortable with the conversation.
"So… where do you want to go next? We've been to the Louvre; we've seen the Eifel tower and a couple other places… where to next?" she asked looking at him as if he were her tour guide. They were kids; they didn't know much of the world yet.
"I heard someone mentioning there was a fountain down this way," he stated while nodding down the path. She smiled knowing he knew how much she loved fountains.
They arrived and he watched as she looked at it in awe. Quickly she dug in her bag and pulled out a little silver coin. She turned around and closed her eyes. Then she threw it into the fountain over her shoulder.
"You make a wish?" he asked and she nodded. A blush crept onto her cheeks and she didn't look directly at him. "What was it?"
"Not going to say, you have to guess," she stated while looking at him.
He snorted before speaking. "Let me guess, you wished that Wyatt liked you?" Her brow furrowed confused as to where that came from.
"No… why would I wish for that?" she asked completely confused.
"Because you like him," he stated teasingly. She missed the jealous glimmer in his eyes; only saw the arrogance in his words. It made her angry.
"I do not… yeah, when we were little I use to think I had a crush on him. That was only because he was older than me. No… that was a long time ago, Christopher Perry Halliwell," she stated and he scoffed.
"Right," he mutters. "If that's so then you are the only person in existence not in love with Wyatt."
She glares at him, getting very angry. "I suggest you take me home right now or I'll call your aunt Paige to come and get me. She will give you an earful for skipping," she stated and his lips pinched tight showing he was getting irritated.
He led her to one of the nearby alleys and orbed her to her house. He left her in her bedroom before orbing out. Her parents came in half an hour later screaming and yelling at her. She ignored them as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
At that moment she didn't care if they sent her to live with any of her aunts whether it was her single Aunt Diana Todd, her married Aunt Jeana Hart who had two kids, or her Married Aunt Paula Mann who was pregnant with her first.
-x-
Ten-year-old Laveda was standing in magic school as the year ended. She was gathering her books when Chris came over. It had been over three weeks since the argument in France and neither had spoken since then.
"I'm sorry. What I said was uncalled for. Are we still friends?" Chris asked and she nodded.
"Yeah," she stated though she didn't look at him as she went out to the hallway.
"So I'll be seeing you over the summer, like always," Chris said excitedly as they walked towards the exits. "Mom bought a new pool for the yard and I hope you come over a lot. Otherwise it'll be just Wyatt and myself, maybe Ebony every once and a while since she seems to like Wyatt. Other than that no one else will be over in it."
"I can't," Laveda said without looking at him.
"Why not?" Chris asked huffily and she turned to him.
"If you weren't such a jack ass," she yelled and everyone turned to look at them. They were known around school as the impossible pair. That was because they were said to be impossible to defeat in battle. Even during the friendly fighting competitions the school held they had been undefeated. "You would know that I'm being sent to New York City to live with my Aunt Diana. I won't be returning home till school starts in the fall. That's why."
"V," he began, obviously in shock and she shook her head.
"Whatever, I need to go," she told him. With that everyone moved out of her way so she could get home to where all her belongings were packs and her aunt was waiting. There she changed out of her school uniform into a pair of blue jeans and a white peasant blouse. She also slid on sandals.
From there she carried all of her bags to the taxi waiting downstairs. Then she collected three-year-old Vera's bags before she got in the cab. Her aunt Diana got in, carrying Vera who squirmed, crying for her 'daddy' who she hadn't seen since the fight. As they pulled away she watched Chris run from his house in a tee-shirt and shorts, completely barefooted. He was yelling at them to wait. She looked at him while in her seats, watching but unable to stop him.
Tears once again fell from her eyes, tears initiated by Chris Halliwell.
-x-
It was late as her parents continued to argue. It was angry and hateful. Laveda, now eleven, was sitting on her bed listening to them argue again. That's all her childhood had been – one long fight. Laveda was thankful that Talbot had decided to take Vera with her for the week. That meant she didn't have to hear another fight.
Seventeen-year-old Ebony was lying on the bed across the room sitting up glaring at her as if all of this was her fault. Laveda felt that it might actually be. After all, according to everyone who spoke, their marriage had been perfect before she'd been born.
"I want you out of here," Ebony hissed. "I don't want to see you. Go sleep somewhere else, not in this room." Laveda nodded before collecting the bag she now kept under her bed full of her essentials including clothes for tomorrow.
Then she picked up a flashlight and flashed the light three times. She waited a moment before flashing it three more times. Another pause happened when she got two flashes back.
She sighed before slipping it under the bed, where she'd gotten it. Her sister scoffed but made no more noise.
Laveda slid out of the room and went to the far window at the end of the hall. There was a siding beneath it meant for plants to grow up. She didn't think as she slipped out with the bag over her shoulders. Then she climbed out the window and down the planter. Once on the ground she ran across the street to the far window in the back. She looked up and saw Chris waiting.
Slowly she grabbed onto the drain pipe there and pretended to climb while Chris held his hand down to her. In reality that hand was raising slowly allowing her to raise up with it. At the window she slid in and he took her to his room quietly. They passed by the rooms of thirteen year old Wyatt and his mom who all slept peacefully.
Inside his room he laid down in bed and she lay down next to him, not caring if it was inappropriate or anything. She needed a friend and he was there. He'd always been there for her.
-x-
Twelve-year-old Laveda sat on the front stoop of the Clay house with five-year-old Vera in her lap. The little girl was giggling as Laveda told her a story. Across the street Leo and Chris were in the front lawn of the Halliwell Manor. Leo was screaming at something that had clearly been Wyatt's fault but he wouldn't hear it.
Wyatt looked furious from the second story window but he didn't do anything. Laveda sat there keeping the attention of the child on her but her gaze kept wandering over to her best friend. He kept avoiding her gaze.
He yelled back at his father who just waved a hand and walked back inside. Chris's eyes were angry and for most that's all most could see. However, Laveda wasn't most people. She saw the tears that threatened to fall, even as he glared at where Leo had just been.
Laveda pulled the girl in her arms and carried her hurriedly across the street.
"Uncle Chrissie" the girl called and Chris smiled at the girl who still didn't understand he wasn't related to her biologically. She was five but she was shielded just like Chris and Laveda had wanted for her. Laveda made Chris sit down on the steps next to her and pulled him into a hug, sitting the girl on his lap.
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and he leaned his head on her shoulder while holding the girl protectively on his lap. The tears fell down his face as she held him close.
None of them said a word, not even little Vera, who seemed to sense the situation merited it. Not that words were needed between these three. It wasn't necessary. They knew each other well enough that they knew when to talk and when to just be there.
-x-
Thirteen-year-old Laveda was walking down the halls of Magic School excited. She was wearing her school robe so she blended into the mass of moving bodies. She hurried down the hall towards Chris's locker. She'd just gotten an A in the class he'd been helping her study for and she wanted to share that with her best friend.
As she got close to the locker she saw Chris and some pretty brunette standing there next to Chris. He was turned towards the female, leaning in extremely close, whispering in her hair. The girl was pretty and this caused Laveda to stop in her path.
Just then Chris leaned in to kiss the girl on the cheek. The girl had other ideas as she turned her head so that their lips met. Laveda bit down on her lower lip as tears welled up in Laveda's eyes. She glanced down at the report card in her hand. That A didn't seem very important anymore.
With that she crumpled it up in her hands. It caught fire as one of her newest powers took control for a moment. She watched the paper become nothing but ashes in her hand.
She then turned back the way she came which was the direction of her next class. She never knew that was the moment Chris looked up, searching for her as if sensing her but he couldn't find her in the crowd.
-x-
Chris was fourteen and standing in a coal black suit on the beach. Laveda was in a black dress and flats. Tears were in Chris's bright green eyes but he refused to let them fall. Slowly but confidently Laveda reached out and grabbed his hand in hers.
"It'll be okay, Chris," she whispered to him comfortingly.
"I should have been there… as she died," he whispered into the breeze. His voice broke slightly. "I can't get the… vision… of her covered in blood… out of my head."
Laveda looked at him, obviously uncomfortable and not sure what to say to him. She'd never lost someone that close to her like he just did. She still had all her siblings and both parents… she even had her aunts and both grandmothers as well as a grandfather. She decided to take him somewhere more peaceful. With that she stepped out of her flats.
Chris noticed. "What are you doing?" he asked confused.
"Take off your shoes, Chris," she ordered.
"Why?" he asked, not making a move to follow her orders. She knelt down and began to untie his shoes rather than answer him. He sighed before pulling them and his socks off. "Okay, there off. Why did you have me do that?"
"Come with me," she said as she began to pull him towards the ocean water.
"No," he stated, beginning to pull away from her grasp. She turned to look at him with a serious look in her eyes. He froze at that look.
"Please, just trust me this once," she whispered to him. Her grip was loose so if he let go he'd have no trouble getting out of it. She waited. He nodded to her before tightening his grip on her. Slowly she led him into the water. Soon it was at their chests but strangely still beneath the surface. No tide pulled at them so they could stand there without issue.
That's not to say there wasn't a monster wave heading straight towards them.
"We should go inland," he stated but she looked at him.
"I know you don't trust easily but please, trust me, just this once. Nothing will happen to you," she stated and he felt his head nod slightly. She smiled at him. "Close your eyes." He hesitated but eventually closed his eyes like she asked. She stepped farther out into the water, pulling him gently with her as she did. She lifted her free hand above the water.
Just as the wave came crashing down over them a bubble formed around their heads and they began to float though Chris wasn't aware of that. Slowly they floated out to sea as the water began to drain from the bubble forming a stronger one around them.
Feeling the water leaving Chris opened his eyes to see a sphere forming around them. His eyes looked at her questioningly.
"What, how?" he asked as he looked around puzzled. A fish swam past the now waterless globe as they floated farther out to sea.
"Magic, Chris," she whispered before touching his shoulder. That was all she said as a wave bounced them a bit. A shark swam over head. He watched her move her fingers in a direction and the bubble took off in that direction.
It was a little faster than expected so they both fell on their butts. Luckily, the sphere was strong so he didn't fall through. Still, he felt the sphere rippling around them. He was also dry, all the water having been drained from his clothing.
They floated around for a long time, in silence. They saw so many beautiful things. Two mermaids swam past them picking up shiny trinkets. They saw beautiful fish, a giant squid, found a sunken ship with a couple gold dubloons which Laveda brought to them. He held it before she made him put it back, not allowing him to keep it.
After nearly an hour Laveda spoke up. "It's peaceful here. Nobody can hear you, nobody can see you. You can sit here and think, not worrying about anyone else disturbing you," she stated. "It's just you and me down here, Chris. Please, tell me everything and don't hold any of it back."
He looked at her and she looked at him. He slowly began to talk.
-x-
Fifteen-year-old Laveda, Chris, and a seven, nearly eight-year-old sat in the living room of the Clay family home.
"Hey, I want a root beer float, either of you want one?" Laveda asked knowing the answer would be yes on both fronts. The child nodded her head enthusiastically while Laveda stood.
"Yes, Aunty V," Vera called, her blonde pigtails bouncing as she nodded overly enthusiastic.
"Cool your jets, Vera," Chris said smiling. Then he picked the girl up in his arms. "We'll help you, Vida. Won't we, Vera?" The child nodded again with a huge Cheshire cat grin plastered on her face.
"Okay, let's go then," Laveda said laughing as she ushered them towards the kitchen. She grabbed onto Vera's free hand. The duo began their path down the hall but stopped when the door flung open.
They all turned to see a strawberry blonde, blue eyed woman stumble into the house. The woman fell to the ground covered in blood while demons shimmered in after her.
"Mommy," Vera cried as she struggled in Chris's arms to get towards her mom.
"Get her out of here," Laveda ordered Chris before turning to concentrate on the demons. Several, as she glared, burst into flames. Chris didn't do as she said and waved his free hand tossing them telekinetically away. Chris saw an atheme in the one's hand so he sent it into the owner's gut, out the back and into the demon behind him, vanquishing two demons with one blade.
Soon enough all the demons were vanquished. Even the late arrivers were vanquished. That's when the girl got away from them.
"Mommy, talk to me. Please, talk to me," Vera cried as she touched her mother's blood stained powder blue shirt.
"Talbot, Tabby, speak to me. Come on sis," Laveda begged from her older sister.
"Leo, Leo," Chris called all but screaming. "Wy…" Talbot grabbed his hand as he began to call for Wyatt shocking them all.
"Wyatt did this," Talbot rasped, blood leaking from her mouth as she spoke. "I heard him… he and Ebony… planning. Demons… they killed the elders… with Wyatt's help. No one will come. This was… the … first wave."
"Please don't talk mommy," Vera cried, tears leaking from her bright blue eyes. Tears were falling from the eyes of Chris and Laveda but they were looking at each other with disbelief. Could it be true what Talbot just said?
"My poor baby," Talbot rasped as she touched her daughter's face with shaky hands. Laveda glanced at Chris and saw his face was blank. She knew he was remembering his own mom's death. "Be strong… and listen to Chris… and Laveda. Only they… can save us… now. Stay with… them… and be… safe."
"Chris, take Vera out of here," Laveda ordered and she locked eyes with him. He nodded and left the room carrying Vera who cried.
"Little V," Talbot whispered, her words beginning to slur slightly. "Protect my baby. Keep her safe."
"I promise, I'll protect her. Nothing bad will happen to her," Laveda stated determined.
"You need to be strong,"Talbot whispered. "I know I'm asking a lot… but I need you to… grow up… quickly. I knew this day… was coming," her sister rasped. Her voice was becoming strained but she couldn't stop. It was getting harder to understand. "I saw it… like you'll… see it… too."
"What?" Laveda asked confused as Talbot placed her hand on top of Laveda's.
"What's mine is yours, what's yours is mine. Let the powers cross the line, I offer up my gift to share, transfer my powers through the air," Talbot chanted and her magic physically left her body and transferred into Laveda through their touching hands. "Remind me to thank the Halliwells one day."
Laveda swallowed. Tears were in her eyes.
"Don't cry, little V," Talbot whispered with a smile. "This isn't… the end. We will… see… each other… again… sooner… or later. Perferably… later." With that last phrase Talbot's eyes fluttered closed and her head lulled to the side. Her hand grew limp.
"Good bye, Tabby-Cat," Laveda Whispered to her sister.
-x-
Later that same night, only hours later, the family was standing around in shock and Grief. Chris had gone home to check on his family and hadn't been back so Laveda didn't know what had happened and who, if any one, had died.
Instead she stood there mourning not only Talbot but her father – Flash Clay, her mother – Gina Clay , her aunt Jeana and her two kids had also been killed, Kacey was also dead leaving her husband with her two children, and Grandma Navid who died of a heart attack when she learned so many relatives died.
"What do we do?" Sadira asked while looking towards their grandmother.
"I don't know," her grandmother Ira stated as she cried.
"We fight back," Laveda stated as she looked at what was left of her family. "We fight against this. We can't let this happen again."
"You are just asking for trouble, Laveda," Aba stated while looking at them. "I will not be any part of that."
"Granddaughter," Grandpa Bubba Todd said while holding his wife's shoulder comfortingly. "What are you going to do, go on as if we didn't just lose a bunch of family to magic… pretend you are normal."
"Exactly," Aba said before walking out on her family. She would die a month later during the second wave, refusing to fight back with magic.
They watched her go and Vera, still in tears, ran out of the house. Laveda followed her to the Halliwell manor which was just as sad. Vera didn't even knock and the rest were sitting there looking at them.
"Are you guys okay?" Laveda asked while grabbing the seven-year-old so as to stop her running.
"We lost Paige, Prudence, and Penelope," Chris stated while looking around his family. Phoebe looked broken as did they all. "How about you?" he asked.
"Mom and Dad are gone, so is Grandma Navid. Aunt Jeana and her two kids were killed, so was Kacey. Talbot you already knew about," Laveda said with a swallow. She didn't want to cry, she couldn't. She had to be strong like her sister said.
"Sorry," he said before glaring at something. She turned to see he was glaring at a picture of Wyatt. "What about Ebony… did she really join him?"
"Yeah, so did Robert," Laveda stated and he turned slightly shocked before shrugging it off.
"Should have known… once a demon, always a demon," Chris states and she doesn't respond.
-x-
"Hey, grandpa Bubba," Laveda called while knocking on his bedroom door at the Headquarters of the newly formed resistance. It had been three months since the first wave, two since Aba died, and a month since Wyatt got complete control over the world.
The current resistance head quarters is the home of the Valkyries who were, too, destroyed in the first wave, caught off guard by the attack.
Laveda didn't hear a response from inside so she opened the door to see her grandfather lying in bed. He looked like he was asleep but the closer she got the easier it was to tell he was dead.
She bit her lower lip and smiled a watery smile at her last living grandfather. He was one of the few people who ended up dying peacefully in his sleep of natural causes.
-x-
One year into the war, leaving Laveda now sixteen, she looked at the crew set for going out to collect supplies. It was a simple supply run. Still, it was always dangerous.
"Grandma Ira, Sadira, you don't need to go out there. Especially you Sadira. You should wait to do another run until after the baby girl is born," Laveda tells her older sister. She looks at the thirty-year-old sister who smiles.
"I'll be fine Vida. Just keep an eye on my boys. Especially Callahan, he's had a slight fever the last few days. Make sure it doesn't get too much higher," Sadira states and Laveda nods at her older sister.
"I will. You just be careful, this family has lost too much already," Laveda states while looking at both of them. They both nod.
"Don't worry, I'm going to be around. I've got to be if I want this little girl to be born. You'll never guess what I'm thinking of naming her," Sadira said and Laveda shrugged, not sure what her sister's evil mind was up to this time. "Laveda, after her heroic aunt who is out to save the world."
Laveda blushed and beamed at her sister before hugging her sister tightly.
"That's sweet," she whispered to her older sister. Her sister laughed before stepping back. That's when they saw Darryl.
"What about me, don't I get a protective warning?" he asked and she smiled before hugging the man who had been like her uncle.
"Be careful… protect them," she states and she feels him nod before they pull away. With that they all walked away, touching the charm which opened a portal to the rest of the world. They walked through. Laveda went to the medical wing to find Aunt Diana standing over Callahan while Xander was in one of the nearby seats. The boys were brothers, best friends. Xander was older and was five-years-old. Callahan was only three.
"He's very sick, Missy V," her aunt said while glancing her way. "He's got an infection and we are out of antibiotics to combat it. Unless they bring him some back there is nothing we can do."
"We can get a Whitelighter to heal him," Laveda said looking around but Aunt Diana shook her head.
"All of the Whitelighter are out in the battle fields as we speak. We can't call one away from injured fighters just because we want to. You know that," her aunt stated and Laveda looked at the boy.
"Then we have to hope they'll bring antibiotics," Laveda stated though she knew there was little chance of that happening.
"It'll be okay, Missy V," Aunt Diana began when an alarm went off.
"Stay with him," Laveda ordered her aunt while five-year-old Xander followed behind her towards where the alarm was going off. She didn't notice until they got there. She watched him run towards the collapsed form of his mother who was soaked in blood.
"Ebony," Sadira said with one last gasp before the life left her eyes. Laveda moved just in time. Instead of the blade entering her spine it entered her right shoulder. She cried out before kicking backwards. She reached back with the other hand and pulled it out. From there she held it out in front of her. This was the first time she'd ever held a sword in her hands.
"Damn witch," Ebony spat before shimmering out. In a moment Laveda turned to see her sister appear standing over Sadira and Xander.
"No," Laveda screamed as Ebony broke the boy's neck without remorse. Then she shimmered out. She ran to him and pulled him to her. Tears fell down her face. She couldn't feel. She just held him to her. He was only five. He was too young to die. He was a baby.
She looked around, noticing Darryl's dead body nearby but her grandmother wasn't there. She searched for her but couldn't find her.
The next day would have Callahan dying of the infection which spread quickly through his small system. A few days after that her Grandma Ida's body would be found completely mutilated in a field. With her they found the body of Paula Todd-Mann and her daughter, Laveda's aunt and cousin. They also found Persephone and Henry Jr. Mitchell in that field.
-x-
Another year had come and gone. Eighteen-year-old Laveda Clay laid there in her bed with her face in the pillow. Tears were running down her cheeks. Wade Anderson, Kacey's four-year-old son, had died in one of the bathing houses. He went into the deep ends and couldn't swim. He'd drowned. Phoebe had died a few days before that in the battle. Her death had symbolized the death of the last Halliwell Sister, the end of the Charmed Ones. Hope seemed to have depleted since that occurring.
The drowning had been a completely preventable death and she felt guilty. Her brother-in-law died a year into the war meaning she'd been raising their two children just like she was raising Vera. They were her responsibility and she failed.
There was a knock at the door which Laveda ignored. She heard the door click as multiple forms came running in.
"Aunt V," Olivia, Wade's older sister, said before grabbing onto her.
"Aunt Vida," Vera's voice whispered as they sat on either side of her. Olivia had only just turned seven while Vera was ten now.
"Laveda," Chris whispered softly as he sat nearby. His hand rubbed circles on her back comfortingly. "This wasn't your fault. None of this was. You know that don't you."
"I should have been watching him better," Vida cried, her voice breaking as she spoke. It was hoarse.
"You couldn't watch him twenty-four seven, Vida," Chris stated. "Not with all of our responsibilities."
"Yeah," another young voice whispered. In walked Pandora Mitchells. She was only a kid, nine at the time. "We all are responsible. Everyone should watch out for the little ones but we don't. Don't blame yourself Laveda."
Laveda sat up as they sat surrounding her. She cried a bit longer as they all talked about the good times. They talked about anything and everything.
-x-
This time they'd skipped years. Ran had died over a year ago making Laveda Twenty-two. Ran had been killed by Ebony out in the battle field the same day Olivia was killed, having snuck off with her platoon. Olivia had been nine years old. Aunt Diana had been captured by Wyatt shortly after Wade died. After hunting for over a year they found her in one of his torture camps.
She'd been a mess both physically and mentally. They got her out of there and she killed herself a week later. Laveda was the one who found her. That had nearly destroyed Laveda who saw her Aunt Diana as more mother to her than her biological mother had been.
Chris was standing there in his red tee-shirt. Bianca was in her sweatshirt next to the door.
"Be careful," Pandora told him while hugging him.
"I will be… same goes for you," Chris said while hugging his baby cousin, the last of his family. He didn't count Leo who was hidden away with the rest of the surviving Elders. They hadn't been seen in over four years in this seven year war. Chris let go and moved on to Vera.
"Please come back safely," Vera whispered with tears in her eyes.
"Come on, this is me. Who would threaten me?" Chris joked and Vera snorted. "Don't worry, Vera, I'll be safe. I'll keep my guard up at all time. You don't have to worry about me. You be careful too."
"They will, won't you kids," Laveda said coming towards them. She stood there, refusing to look at him. Her eyes were looking at the kids.
"You'll be careful too, won't you," Chris asked Laveda. She just nodded. Their friendship had become strained over the past year. He didn't know why. He didn't realize what had caused a strain.
-x-
That was when Phoebe awoke from her vision, her head pounding from the vision overload. She looked at the young lady surprised by the life she'd seen… what did this have to do with anything.
[Sorry about the long delay. This chapter was harder to write than I thought it would be. Hopefully the next update won't take as long since I'm not going to have anymore flashbacks and don't predict it'll take over fourteen pages like this one… well, what did you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Or are you neutral? Comments are always appreciated… Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who's commented so far… TvObsessed]
