Legacy 210: Now You Seer Me

Part 9

Xxx

The morning after the events of Bodega Bay, Penny returned home after getting breakfast and coffee from her favorite place around the corner. When she entered the apartment, she found her sister in the corner of the living room, where she had set up a cage for their new pet. Having a former demon as a pet rat still sent shivers down her spine, but she had reluctantly agreed with it for Payton's sake.

"I got you a bagel." Penny said. "Where did you get a cage so fast?"

"From Mrs. Green downstairs." Payton replied. "I remembered she used to own a pet hamster."

"Sounds better than a creepy rat." Penny remarked.

"I think he's cute." Payton said. "And in this form, he won't cause any trouble either."

"We could have just vanquished him." Penny replied.

"This feels more like a fitting karmic punishment." Payton said. "After a while, you won't even notice little Cass is here."

"Maybe, just make sure not to change clothes in front of him." Penny noted.

"Good point." Payton agreed. "So, did you talk to Julian yet? I'm sure he's devastated after losing Talia again."

"Not yet." Penny replied. "What do you say to someone who just lost the love of this life again after just getting her back?"

"I don't know." Payton said. "Just that we're there for him, I guess?"

"I guess you're right." Penny replied. "I'll give him a call later. Right now, I have to deal with another problem."

"You mean DJ?" Payton asked.

"I told him I'd meet him for drinks at P3 tonight." Penny said. "He's going to have questions about Amber, especially now that she and Joshua disappeared and there was a fire in her shop. He won't believe it's a coincidence after I just asked about her."

"You could ask Noah to wipe his memories again." Payton suggested.

"No, I can't do that, it feels wrong to mess with his mind like that." Penny replied. "Besides, Noah said repeated use of memory dust decreases its effects."

"Then just be honest with him as best you can." Payton said. "Just leave out the demonic parts."

"Right, you make it sound so easy." Penny remarked as she rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let me think." Payton replied as she paced around the room. "We were shopping in Bodega Bay and saw Amber being harassed by some criminals. We chased them off, but Amber refused to call the police, which we thought was suspicious. That's why you called DJ. After that, Amber and her boyfriend set the shop on fire and ran, presumably for the insurance or to cover their tracks."

"Wow, its both impressive and worrying that you came up with that so fast." Penny noted.

"I read a lot." Payton replied with a shrug.

"It sounds like a logical story." Penny said. "I hope DJ will buy it, since he's already suspicious of me. I'll wear a revealing top just in case."

"You were probably going to do that anyway." Payton remarked. "Since you like him and all."

"Shut up." Penny replied. "Maybe I do, but it could only lead to trouble."

"It might, but I still want to believe he is a good guy." Payton said. "With enough time and the right situation, he could come around to the idea of magic."

"I know he's a good guy." Penny replied. "I'm not worried about that, but two people can be on the side of good and have different beliefs about justice. What if we never get on the same page?"

"There's only one way to find out." Payton noted.

"Yeah, you're right." Penny said. "I have to get to P3 to do inventory. I'll see you later."

Penny hugged her sister goodbye and headed to the club. DJ was on her mind the entire way, as she hoped he would believe their cover story. It was would a lot easier to cut him out of their lives and move on, but Payton was right. She liked him. She had no idea what was even possible between them, but it was too soon to close that door. She had never been lucky in love, but perhaps that was because she had never taken a risk like this.

Xxx

At the Halliwell Manor, Julian was in the attic, flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows. He had barely slept all night, as he could not sleep with the thought of Talia being trapped in purgatory. With her soul returned, he could only imagine the kind of torture and pain that Mephisto would put her through. He couldn't leave her trapped in there, not after he had finally gotten her back. There had to be something in the book that could free her.

"There is nothing!" Julian called out angrily.

Julian angrily slammed his fist on the book, to which it reacted by blasting him back with a protective force field. He crashed through a table and landed on the floor. He could sense the demon inside him howling in anger. Had the book sensed it as well? He got back on his feet and looked at the broken table, realizing that he would have to get a new one. A moment later, Henry rushed into the attic.

"I heard a crash." Henry said. "What happened?"

"The book and I had a small disagreement." Julian replied.

"I see, taking your frustrations out on a book that can protect itself is not a good idea." Henry remarked. "By the way, Payton just texted me. I know what happened."

"Great, so you've come to check if I haven't snapped?" Julian asked.

"No, I came to check on you because I'm worried." Henry said. "Your sisters are worried as well."

"I've got the demon under control." Julian replied.

"It's not just about the demon, Julian." Henry corrected him. "Believe it or not, we actually care about you. Something like this would be hard for everyone."

"I'm going to find a way to bring her back." Julian said determined.

"Of course." Henry replied. "We'll do whatever we can, but we're talking about fighting the literal devil here."

"He's not invincible." Julian said. "He might be an eternal, but that doesn't mean we can't find a way to trap or defeat him, just like the Source."

"I hope you're right." Henry admitted. "Because he's not the only problem we have. I made a huge mistake by trusting Ivy."

"What happened?" Julian asked.

His younger cousin took a deep breath before he started explaining everything that had happened with Ivy, the amulet and the demonic collector. Julian could not believe that Ivy would work with someone so dangerous as the Trinity. He had always known she was a threat to his family, but he never thought she'd take it this far. Also, he was rather disgusted with the idea of Ivy and Henry sleeping together. It was almost incestuous.

"What are we going to tell Wyatt and the others?" Henry said. "I might have doomed us all."

"We don't know that yet." Julian replied. "We have no idea what the Trinity is truly after."

"Well, I still screwed up." Henry said.

"Yeah, you definitely did." Julian replied. "But I agreed to your plan, so I guess we share the blame."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better." Henry admitted.

"That makes two of us." Julian said. "But we tell the others and just accept the consequences."

"You're right, we don't have a choice." Henry replied. "So what are we going to do about Ivy?"

"We are not going to do anything." Julian said pointedly. "You are going to stay as far away from her as possible."

"It's not like I'm going to sleep with her again." Henry remarked.

"Do me a favor and don't even mention that again." Julian said. "It's bad enough to know it happened the first time. It grosses me out."

"Yeah, I get it." Henry admitted. "But you know Ivy and I are not related in any way."

"It's still weird." Julian replied.

"Okay, we'll drop it." Henry suggested. "So what are we going to do about our little blue friend?"

"Find a way to defeat him once and for all." Julian said.

"That's easier said than done." Henry replied. "Especially since he knows you're coming for him. That's the whole reason he brought Talia back. He wants you."

"That won't stop me." Julian said determined.

"Do we know why he's after you?" Henry asked. "It can't be just about killing you."

"When I faced him, he wanted to draw out my inner demon." Julian said. "Whatever Mephisto wants, it had to do with him. He knew everything."

"Okay, so that's step one." Henry said after a moment of thinking.

"What?" Julian asked.

"We need to level the playing field." Henry said. "If Mephisto knows something we don't, we have to find out what, which means we go back to where we started."

"Find out the truth about Bangkok." Julian concluded.

Henry nodded in agreement and Julian reached into his pocket for the Soulthorn Ring. He realized his cousin was right. It was bad enough not knowing what happened, but the fact that Mephisto knew more made it worse. What if the blue-skinned demon was connected to all of it? He refused to be manipulated any longer or let Talia be used as a pawn. In order to defeat the lord of Purgatory, he first needed to confront his inner demon.

Xxx

In the fiery depths of Purgatory, a content Mephisto walked through the halls of his palace. Although he had failed to obtain the thing he truly was after, he took great pleasure in the fact that his schemes had caused such misery and pain. The tortured look on Julian's face when he saw his lost love was priceless and would live in his memories forever. One did not become the lord of Purgatory if he didn't enjoy the torturing of souls after all.

Mephisto entered his personal dungeon through a long spiraling stairway and opened the first cell door on the right. Talia was huddled in the corner of her cell, having been placed in the body of his creation. As she looked up, the demonic lord saw the tears in her eyes. She was broken.

"Having a soul again is not all it cracked up to be, huh?" Mephisto noted with a smile. "All those feelings of guilt and despair, the heartbreak. All intensified by being in purgatory."

"Why?" Talia asked. "Why bring me back?"

"Oh, dear girl, none of this is about you." Mephisto replied. "But you did steal from me, so I'm going to enjoy this immensely."

Mephisto raised his hand and Talia became surrounded in flames, burning away Amber's mortal clothes and replacing them with the dirty rags worn by lost souls. Even the colorful red streak in her hair disappeared, erasing the final traces of the fake persona he had created.

"He will find me." Talia said defiantly.

"I'm counting on it." Mephisto replied. "Until then, we're going to make the most of our time together."

Talia looked at him with fear in her eyes as she was wisped away, to be tortured in her own personal hell. Mephisto closed the cell door with a smile, after which he teleported back to his throne room through intense flames. Karliah was there waiting for him, sitting on her chaise longue next to his throne in a pretty little dress.

"Ah, you're back." Mephisto said. "How was the ball?"

"Interesting." Karliah replied. "I ran into an old friend and ruined her evening."

"Just like I taught you." Mephisto noted proudly. "I think we're ready to get started."

Mephisto sat down and prepared himself to condemn the newly arrived lost souls of that day. Normally it was the most enjoyable part of his day, but nothing could beat the feeling of punishing a soul for personal reasons. He was about to order the door to be opened when suddenly a dark shadow formed in the middle of his throne room. It formed into a round portal, through which a pale woman with long brown hair appeared. Mephisto knew exactly who she was, as there were only a handful of beings powerful enough to open a portal to purgatory without his consent. He dismissed Karliah with a wave and the Oracle disappeared in a gust of wind.

"Selene, what a pleasant surprise." Mephisto said. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I'm not here on a social call." Selene replied. "You know why I've come."

"Indeed." Mephisto noted. "But I don't see a reason to give it to you."

"Name your price." Selene said. "Whatever it takes."

"You have nothing to offer me, dear." Mephisto replied.

"You don't want me as your enemy." Selene said. "Trust me."

"Your threats are meaningless." Mephisto noted. "Tell me why you want it back so badly. He is the reason you fell from grace in the first place."

"Exactly." Selene replied. "Without him, all of this will have been for nothing. We never got enough time together. So, name your price."

"Forgive me, but my answer remains the same." Mephisto said.

"You're threatened, aren't you?" Selene replied. "You know you're nothing compared to him. You've lived under his thumb for centuries."

"Do not insult me!" Mephisto snarled. "Leave before this turns unpleasant for you, Selene."

The Dark Elder glared at him bitterly but decided to step back and summoned another portal of shadows. She stepped through and disappeared, but Mephisto knew it was only a matter of time before she came back. Today was an interesting day, to say the least, but he still had a job to do. He waved his hand and the doors opened, allowing lost souls to enter for eternal damnation.

Xxx

In the headquarters of the MIND program, Billie Jenkins sat at her desk, working late to approve several mission files. She sighed as she looked at the file of papers in front of her, realizing she was missing yet another evening with her children. The work of a director was never done, and since she had sent everyone home already, she got up to get herself a cup of coffee.

Billie left her office and walked to the break room. She stopped and turned when she heard a fluttering sound in the hallway, but there was nothing there. She shrugged it off. However, just as she was about to enter the break room, something flew right past her head. She ducked and threw her empty cup, which shattered against the wall instead of hitting her mark. A black bat circled the room and landed on one of the tables, transforming into a former friend.

"You're getting sloppy in your old age, Billie." Taylor noted.

"Well, we're not all immortals." Billie remarked. "What is the vampire queen of New York doing in my building?"

"Is that how you greet an old friend?" Taylor asked. "Not even an 'how are you?', just straight to business?"

"We're not friends, Taylor." Billie reminded her. "We have a mutual agreement, nothing more."

"Well, being friends with you is not exactly good for your health anyway." Taylor remarked.

"Did you just come here to rip open old wounds?" Billie asked.

"No, although what I'm about to tell you could do just that." Taylor said. "We agreed to keep each other informed, so I'm keeping up my end of the bargain."

"Alright, tell me." Bullie replied.

"The Trinity is making moves in the Underworld." Taylor said. "Baldr showed up and recruited the Furies, Manticores and Creeper demons among others. He's building an army to take witches off the playing field."

"I suspected that would happen, but it's faster than expected." Billie noted. "I take it you're staying neutral in this?"

"I'm not interested in war." Taylor replied.

"Good." Billie said. "So, what's the second thing?"

"This will probably be painful." Taylor replied. "You know that little cult you had problems with a few years ago? They're back. We found proof of their activity in New York."

"I see." Billie said, doing her best to keep a neutral face. "We'll want to investigate ourselves. Will you let a team into the city?"

"As long as my hive is unbothered." Taylor said. "As agreed."

"Deal." Billie replied.

"Good, then I'll let you have your breakdown in private." Taylor said.

The vampire queen smirked as she transformed back into a bat and flew out the window. Billie placed her hands on the table and did her best to suppress her tears. With just the mention of the cult, it all came rushing back to her. Everything that had gone wrong and everything she had lost that day. She always knew it would come back to haunt her and the ones she cared about, including a young boy she had taken in after he had lost his family because of her.

Xxx

The End