A/N: As always, I like to thank Leeese for helping out.

Chapter Twenty Three

Witch Wars

Haley was really starting to get annoyed with Charlene. "You know, you are being really vague with your answers. Why don't you just stop beating around the bush for once?" she exclaimed angrily. "I want some answers. Why the hell would you turn against your own people? Why would you keep Lucas from the Scott family?"

"I was never one of them, Haley. And neither are you," Charlene told her. "You're just too stubborn to admit it."

Haley shook her head. "That's not true. Evil can't love."

"What do you know about love?" Charlene asked her. "You only knew Nathan Scott for a month before you two went off and got married. Is that love or is that just a desperate move to make sure that you wouldn't return to Brooke?"

Haley glared at her. "You can believe whatever you want to believe, Charlene. But Nathan is my husband and I love him. And true love breaks any spell. So even if you do try to convince me to be evil, it won't work. Because I know that the goodness of my heart will win over."

Charlene just smiled as she snapped her fingers and changed into a woman with long blonde hair. Haley gasped in surprise as the woman spoke. "I was hoping that you would say that."

Haley stopped her right there as she immediately recognized the voice. "You're the one who has been warning me of Brooke's lies all these years, aren't you?" she asked her. The woman nodded. Haley then came to a sudden realization. "You're my biological mother, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. I'll explain everything as soon as we save Nathan and your friends," Deb told her.

"You two aren't going anywhere," said a familiar voice as he appeared from the shadows. They turned to see Cooper coming towards them. "Well done on escaping, Deb. It's too bad that it's all for nothing. As soon as Ellie, Victoria and the Scott family are dead, you and my niece are both going right back to where you belong."

Deb tried not to laugh. "You're crazy if you think either of us will go back to being prisoners of the coven."

"It's either that or you join us, dear sister," Charlene told them as she appeared. Haley gave her a surprised look. "Yes, that's right. I am part of your family. I'm your mother's half-sister. In fact, I'm the matriarch of the coven."

Haley glared at her. "No wonder you were so determined to get me in the coven." She then walked towards her. "But I meant what I said. I'm not going to give into evil. So you will just have to kill me along with the rest of the Scott family."

Charlene gave her a look. "So our generation would die with you? Absolutely not."

Deb nodded in agreement. "You're right," she replied. Haley turned to her surprised. She couldn't believe that her mother just said that. "She will carry on with the next generation. However, she will be with Nathan. And their children will be sources of good magic. It's time that our family stopped reigning terror over mortals and other witches and started using their powers for good."

Charlene was quiet for a moment. She could see that her sister wasn't backing down. "If that is how you feel, then I'm afraid that I have no choice than to eliminate you." She then narrowed her eyes and got ready her telekinetic powers on her sister. However, Deb was prepared and easily deflected her powers.

Charlene was taken back as Deb gave her a look. "Did you really thinking that locking me up for all these years would keep me from practicing my magic?" she asked her. Charlene tried again, but her sister again blocked it. "I can go on all night like this, Charlene."

Charlene froze for a moment before she spoke again. "That's ok. You're not the person that we're after." She then snapped her fingers and disappeared. Her brother was right behind her.

"We've got to get back to the Scott mansion before they kill them," Haley told Deb in an urgent tone. She couldn't bear the thought of Nathan being killed.

Deb nodded. "I know, but we can't do it alone." There was a short pause before she spoke. "You have to convince Brooke to become good again."

Haley gave her a confused look. "But it's not Halloween night yet. The prophecy said that it is supposed to happen on Halloween."

Deb shook her head. "No, it's not. Just because Halloween is the most powerful day for a witch doesn't mean that it is when the prophecy takes place."

Haley didn't answer her. "We're wasting time. We have to help Nathan. Who knows what torture Ian and the others are making him go through right now?" she asked. Her punishments have been bad and she couldn't even think about what the coven had planned for Nathan and his family.

Deb knew what she was thinking. "Haley, I know that you don't want to use your powers on Brooke. But it's the only way to weaken her so that you can talk to her about becoming a good witch again."

"Why me? Why not Lucas?" Haley asked. "He is her one true love after all."

"Because she won't admit her love for him," Deb replied. "But she might listen to a person who knows what she has gone through." Haley didn't respond. "We don't have much time. And we can't do it alone."

Haley knew that she was right. She just wished that they weren't going to go to Brooke. She really didn't want to face her again so soon. Yet, she knew that she had to. She just didn't know if she had the confidence to kill her. It didn't seem right. She finally gave her answer. "Ok, I'll go. But I don't think she will listen to me."

"Great. I'll go and get help while you go and find Brooke," Deb told her. Haley looked at her surprised. She wasn't expecting to go alone. Deb gave her a reassuring smile. "Honey, you have to do this alone. Don't worry. You'll do great." Before Haley could respond, Deb snapped her fingers and disappeared from sight.

A few minutes later, Haley reappeared back at the Davis mansion. She wasn't even there for a moment before she heard a familiar voice. "You always keep crawling back here, don't you?" Brooke asked. "Well, this is the last time you will ever escape from me." Before Haley could do anything, she snapped her fingers and they disappeared from the room.

They reappeared in the attic. Owen and Julian quickly tied Haley to a chair before they left the two alone. Haley was relieved when she saw that she wasn't gagged. It gave her a chance to talk. However, Brooke spoke up first. "I've been thinking about it and I have decided that you're not worth keeping around anymore. I know that Charlene wants you to stick around, but I think that I'm doing you a favor by letting you join Nathan in the afterlife."

"How do you propose to do that?" Haley taunted her. "After all, we can't be killed by water or burned at the stake."

Brooke just smirked at her. "Have you ever heard of dying of a broken heart?"

Haley raised her eyebrows. "You want to kill me without a fair fight? Why? Are you afraid that you are going to lose?"

Brooke thought for a moment. "You're right. After all, you have powers now. So it should be easy for you to fight and kill me."

Haley gave her a look. "You and I both know that I wouldn't kill you."

"But you will defeat me. And you know how I hate to lose. So I think it's better for both of us if I just kill you," Brooke said as she walked over to her spell book that was on the podium. Haley tried to use her powers to loosen the ropes, but nothing happened. She tried again, but the ropes stayed tight. "The ropes are magic proof. Even your powers won't be able to get through."

Haley knew that she had to talk to Brooke before she killed her. "Brooke, do you know why Charlene wants me to join the coven so badly? Because I'm her niece and she wants to make sure that I don't ruin the family's reputation by becoming a good witch."

Brooke looked at her as she asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Why are you here instead of where the action is?" Haley asked her. "Because Charlene told you that I would return to the house?" She didn't let Brooke respond. "That may be what she told you, but that's not the truth. She knew that we brought Lucas back to life and didn't want you to know that. She knew that you still loved him and didn't want to lose you as an ally."

Brooke glared at her. "I don't love Lucas." Haley could see that she had pissed her off too much. "I think that it's time that you become quiet so I can talk." She then snapped her fingers and a gag appeared tightly in Haley's mouth. Haley's hopes of talking to Brooke were instantly dashed. Before she could do anything else, they heard a commotion downstairs. "I'll be right back," she told Haley before she snapped her fingers and disappeared from sight.

As soon as she left, Haley struggled to get out of her restraints. But it still didn't work. However, she knew that she had to keep trying. She didn't know how long it would be before Brooke would come back. Her heart stopped for a moment as she heard the attic door open. She was relieved to see that the person was Nathan. However, she could see that he had a couple of cuts and bruises. He tried to use her magic to untie her before he realized that he couldn't. He then rushed over to her and untied the gag. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

Nathan nodded as he untied her. "You wouldn't believe the fight that we had against Peyton and the rest of that coven. They may have ambushed us, but we were prepared to battle them. I'm glad that I had the vampire protection with me. Otherwise, Lily would have been Ian's vampire queen."

Haley stopped him right there. "Nathan, I know this may sound like a stupid question, but what is our phrase?" she asked him. Since she had been fooled too many times, she wanted to make sure that this was truly her husband.

Nathan gave her a comforting smile. "Always and forever," he replied proudly. He then embraced her in a tight hug. "I love you. And we're never going to be separated again." He held her in his arms for a few more seconds before they knew that they had to help the Scott family.

When they reached the first floor, it was chaos. Witches and warlocks were all over the place, casting spells and using powers on one another. Peyton and Lindsey were fighting each other. Clay and Katie were against each other. Dan was trying to defend himself against Renee. Haley saw that her mother, aunt and uncle were nowhere in sight. Neither was Karen. She wondered where they could be.

Haley then saw that Lily needed help getting away from Chris. She rushed to her rescue and used her powers on him to get him away from her. He just smirked at Haley as he got up from the floor. "Chris Keller likes it when you are feisty," he told her.

Haley just rolled her eyes as she used her powers on him again. This time, she managed to knock him unconscious. Lily looked at Haley in amazement. "How in the world did you stand him?"

Haley just gave her a smile as Nathan walked over to them. "Lily, why don't you head home? It's too dangerous for you here."

Lily shook her head. "But I want to help you fight the coven."

"Nathan's right. It's safer for you back at the mansion," Haley replied. "We'll join you as soon as we can." Lily didn't say anything, but snapped her fingers and disappeared from their sight. Haley then thought for a second. "Did you ever find the lamp?" she asked him.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, we managed to find it right before Brooke's followers brought me and Skills back to the house."

"Where's Lucas?" Haley asked him.

Nathan looked around and noticed that neither he nor Brooke were around. "I don't know. I lost him in the crowd." As he searched for his brother, Haley watched in horror as Lindsey fell to the ground, badly injured. Nathan could see that Clay needed help too with Katie. "Go and help Lindsey," he ordered Haley.

Haley didn't have to be told twice. She ran over to Lindsey and knelt down next to her. "Are you alright?" she asked her as she looked her over. She had been hit in the stomach and was bleeding pretty badly. "You're going to be ok." Lindsey struggled to talk. Haley didn't let her. "No, just sit back and rest." She didn't want her to panic, but she could tell that she was in critical condition. She knew that she had to stop the wound from bleeding out anymore. She started attending to the wound when Lindsey stopped her. She looked at her hard as Haley realized what she wanted her to do. Even though Lindsey wanted to give up, she didn't.

Lindsey finally managed to talk. "It's ok, Haley," she gently told her. "I'll be fine. Just promise me that you will tell Brooke that it wasn't me who Lucas cheated with."

Haley frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Lindsey explained herself between stomach pains. "Brooke thinks that Lucas cheated on her with me. And that's why she had to turn over to the dark side."

Haley then started putting the pieces together. She then could see that Lindsey was really struggling. "Hold on, Lindsey. Don't die on us yet," she told her as she got up from the floor. By then, the fighting had quieted down.

Katie and Renee had been killed. So had Carrie. Chris was still lying unconscious while Owen and Julian had run off after they had gotten hurt. Rachel was behind them. Nathan and their friends all had injuries, but none were as severe as Lindsey's injuries. Then again, they were still missing a few people.

"Where are Karen and Lucas?" Haley asked the group as they gathered around.

"I believe that Karen is helping Deb fight off Charlene and Cooper," Victoria replied. "And Lucas went after Peyton, but I don't know where they went."

They then heard footsteps and Haley was surprised to see Skills walking towards them. She and Skills exchanged smiles before he turned to Dan. "Well, you don't have to worry about Emily Chambers anymore. I took care of her."

Dan was pleased. "Good. Victoria, you and I are going to get the wounded back to the house." He then turned to Nathan and Haley. "You three go and see if Karen, Deb and Lucas need help."

"Do you think that Julian, Owen and Rachel will come back?" Nathan asked his father.

Dan shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't want to take any chances. Now go and find them before they get killed."

Nathan just nodded before he started his search. Skills was right behind him. However, Haley remained in her spot. Nathan turned to his wife. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

Haley was quiet for a moment. "I have to go find Brooke and convince her to come back to our side," she told him. Nathan was getting ready to protest when his wife stopped him. "Brooke isn't the real enemy. She is just a victim of this whole thing, just like I was. The real enemies are Charlene and Cooper." Nathan was about to ask her questions, but she didn't let him speak. "I don't have time to explain it right now, but just trust me. I know what I have to say."

Nathan gave her a reassuring smile. "I love you, always and forever."

Haley returned the smile. "I love you too," she replied before they shared a passionate kiss. They then pulled away before they embraced in a tight hug. "Always and forever," she replied. They held each other tight for a few moments before they finally pulled away and went their separate ways, hoping to see each other soon.