Legacy 211: Burning Memories

Part 8

Xxx

Before Wyatt even knew what was happening, he was shoved to the floor by Lincoln and felt something slash through the air above his head. He spun around and saw two samurai armors had come to life and were attacking them with sharp katanas. He quickly threw up his hand to form a force field between them, giving them a temporary defense. Wyatt quickly realized the samurai were being controlled by Ronan, as he had the power to animate objects. He turned to look at the wizard and saw he was getting ready to start the ritual.

"What are we going to do?" Wyatt asked.

"We need to take out Ronan now." Lincoln said. "Clear me a path and I can end this."

"He's surrounded by his cultists." Wyatt said. "You can't take them all on yourself. We need backup."

"We can't wait for that." Lincoln replied. "You said you'd help. Can you orb me behind him?"

"I can." Wyatt said hesitantly. "But…"

"Wyatt, this needs to happen." Lincoln replied. "This isn't about revenge; it's about stopping the ritual. Once he tears open reality, there's no going back."

Wyatt looked at Ronan again and saw the ritual was only moments away from starting. He knew Lincoln was right, he needed to be stopped, but at what cost? Once he was face-to-face with the man that killed his parents, Wyatt feared that Lincoln would go too far and lose himself in the process. However, he also knew that the last time the ritual was completed, reality was almost torn apart and Tyler ended up sacrificing himself to stop it. He had to put his personal feelings aside and do what was best for the greater good.

"Please don't make a mistake." Wyatt said.

"I'll try." Lincoln replied.

Wyatt waved his hand and Lincoln disappeared in a column of orbs, reappearing behind Ronan and the ritual altar. However, Wyatt couldn't see what happened next as the samurai managed to break through his force field. He jumped back and raised Excalibur to face them in combat, knowing he had to remember Lincoln's training when facing enemies skilled with a blade. He managed to block one attack but was quickly cut across the arm with the other katana.

"Alright, focus." Wyatt whispered to himself.

As both samurai attacked again, Wyatt pushed one back with a force field while countering the other with his sword. The samurai backed up and tried again from another angle, though Wyatt managed to parry his swipe by lowering his sword. As the first samurai leaped back, Wyatt quickly turned around and managed to block an attack from the other. However, he was then cut across the back and fell to his knees. He groaned in pain as he realized he was no match for two skilled warriors.

As both raised their katanas for a final attack, they were suddenly blasted back by a red force field. Wyatt looked up and saw Quinn entering the conference room along with Arthur and Violet.

"Thanks." Wyatt said with a faint smile.

"I owed you for earlier." Quinn replied. "It feels better to be on the same side."

As Quinn walked past him to trap the samurai warriors in a force field, Arthur and Violet helped Wyatt to his feet.

"Wyatt, you're hurt." Violet noted with concern.

"Just a little scratch." Wyatt replied. "We need to get to Lincoln before…"

Before Wyatt had a chance to finish his sentence, a furious scream sounded through the conference room, followed by a gunshot.

Xxx

When Lincoln rematerialized through millions of tiny blue and white orbs, he was right behind his target. He only had to take few steps to reach the man that killed his parents. Wyatt's warnings still echoed in his head, but his heart was full of rage. He needed to end it. He took a step forward, though he was forced to his knees by an invisible force. He looked to his side to see one of the cultists had spotted him and held out his hand to keep him contained. Ronan turned around and a vile smile appeared on his smug lips.

"Close, but not enough." Ronan remarked. "I take it you've come to avenge your parents?"

"Bastard!" Lincoln snapped. "Tell your lackey to release me and face me."

"Why would I do that?" Ronan replied. "I've come so close to finally fulfilling my destiny, so why would I waste time on you?"

"You killed my parents." Lincoln hissed.

"I gave your mother a choice, you know." Ronan said. "She valued the keystone more than her husband. If she had only given me what I wanted, both could have lived."

"I don't believe you." Lincoln said.

"Fine, you're right." Ronan admitted. "I probably still would have sacrificed them to the Eternal Night, along with everyone else there."

"You're a monster." Lincoln replied.

"A monster?" Ronan asked amused. "No, just ambitious. The Eternal Night will make me immortal. If a few people need to die for that, so be it."

"I'll kill you before that happens." Lincoln said.

"I highly doubt that. After all, you're just mortal." Ronan replied before turning to his cultist. "Crush him quickly so we can get started."

The cultist nodded and clenched his fist, causing the force that was holding Lincoln to increase and push him to the floor. He was unable to move or even scream as his body was being crushed. Just as he was about to pass out, he saw something small and dark shoot past him. He followed it and saw it transform into Finn, who quickly grabbed the cultist and snapped his neck. Instantly, the crushing stopped and Lincoln was able to move again. Finn grabbed another cultist and drank his blood while the other vampires also appeared to take out the remaining ones.

"What is this?" Ronan called out. "How dare you intervene? This is not your fight."

"No, it's not." Finn replied. "But you hurt one of our own, so consider it payback."

One of the other vampires, a blond girl Lincoln had not seen before, licked her lips as she finished drinking the blood of a cultist. Lincoln realized she was probably the vampire that had been captured by the cult, meaning they had been able to rescue her.

"We'll leave the rest to you." Finn said.

Finn winked at Lincoln as he and the others transformed back into bats, after which they flew out of the conference room. Ronan angrily slammed his fists on the altar as Lincoln managed to get on his feet. The wizard was all his and he wouldn't hesitate. Ronan needed to die. However, before he could get close enough, Ronan turned around and pulled out a gun from under his cloak.

"A gun, seriously?" Lincoln asked as he reluctantly raised his hands.

"It's beneath me, I know." Ronan replied. "However, I won't let anything get between me and my ascension again."

"The real question is, are you fast enough to use it?" Lincoln noted mockingly. "You're getting older, after all."

Ronan screamed angrily as he fired the gun, though Lincoln had been in enough gun fights to know how to avoid it. He ducked down and tackled Ronan to the ground. As the two struggled, Lincoln managed to grab the gun and get back up, raising it toward Ronan's face.

"Just a mortal, right?" Lincoln remarked. "Then you shouldn't have brought a gun."

Ronan remained silent as he got up and grew pale. Lincoln could see the fear in his eyes and realized how easy it would be to put a bullet between them. He could finally avenge his parents and end the threat by just pulling the trigger. As much as he wanted it, there was something holding him back.

"Lincoln!" Wyatt's voice sounded.

Lincoln looked up to see his boyfriend running in his direction, followed by Arthur and Violet. At the same time, Billie entered the conference room along with Paige and another woman, which he recognized from pictures as Phoebe Halliwell. He tried to ignore them as he turned back to Ronan. All it took was one bullet.

"Lincoln, don't." Billie said as she arrived at the altar. "It's over. We've got him."

"He deserves to die." Lincoln replied. "He'll never stop."

"You're right." Ronan said. "I'll never give up. The only way to stop me is to kill me, boy."

"That's enough from you." Violet noted as she waved her hand and froze him. "You've done enough harm."

"Don't listen to Ronan, Lincoln." Wyatt said. "You don't want to become like him."

"Why not?" Lincoln snapped at him. "Why should I take the high road instead of killing him just like he killed my parents?"

"Because that's not what your parents wanted." Billie said. "They never wanted to burden you with any of this. When she died, your mother pleaded with me to take care of you."

"So what?" Lincoln asked. "I chose to become an agent, I swore to protect people. Killing Ronan is the best way to protect all of you."

"You know it's not the right way." Wyatt said. "We're supposed to protect the innocent, not punish the guilty. Please don't cross that line."

"Revenge is not worth losing everything else." Billie added. "Ronan took your parents, but you still have people that love you. Don't let him take that away."

Lincoln stared at the wizard and realized his hand was trembling, which had never happened before. As an agent, he had been in this position many times, but something was different. He felt a weight on his shoulders. He knew it would be lifted once he took the shot, but what if it would only make him feel empty? He looked at Billie and remembered all the times he had spent with her family, which had become his own family. He then looked at Wyatt and felt the love they shared, which he wasn't ready to lose. He closed his eyes and dropped the gun.

"You fool!" Ronan suddenly called out.

Ronan dove for the gun and Lincoln realized he was only pretending to be frozen. However, he was too late and Ronan reached the gun before he could. The wizard got up and held him at gunpoint again.

"What?" Violet asked. "How?"

"Oh, poor Vi." Ronan remarked. "Did you honestly think I would risk letting you freeze me? I took precautions against that years ago with a little immunity potion."

"Ronan, enough." Arthur said. "It's over. Despite everything you've done, you're still family, so we promise you'll get a fair trial."

"We're not family." Ronan replied. "I'm nothing like you. Ambrose was my only true family and you killed him before I could even meet him."

"Well, your ego is certainly just as big as his." Billie said. "And you're just as much a coward, using your own family as pawns to get your way."

"You should have stayed out of this, Billie." Ronan hissed. "In many ways, you're to blame for it all."

Ronan turned around and fired at Billie, though she glared in his direction and telekinetically deflected the bullet back at him, hitting him in the chest. Ronan stumbled back and collapsed to the floor. Judging from where the bullet had hit, Lincoln could tell it pierced his heart and killed him almost instantly. He had expected to feel a wave of relief, but all he felt was pity for a man that was truly alone when he died.

"Are you okay?" Billie asked.

"I will be." Lincoln said. "What about you?"

"It's not the first life I took in self-defense." Billie noted. "He made his choice."

"We all did." Lincoln replied. "We still have a lot to talk about."

"We do." Billie said. "You know where to find me when you're ready."

Lincoln nodded as the others gave him some space. Billie headed to the altar to secure the keystone, while Arthur and Violet went to check on Quinn. Paige and Phoebe helped Wyatt sit down as the former started healing the injuries he had sustained from the samurai. Lincoln walked over and waited in silence for the healing to finish. Once Wyatt was fully healed, his aunts got the hint and gave them some privacy. Before Lincoln could speak, Wyatt got up and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so relieved." Wyatt said.

"Yeah, me too." Lincoln replied. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you and Billie hadn't talked me down."

"You still would have done the right thing." Wyatt said.

"I'm not so sure." Lincoln admitted. "I let my anger take over. That never happened during a mission before."

"This wasn't just any mission, Lincoln." Wyatt replied. "This was about your parents."

"At least it's over." Lincoln said. "And I know I'm not alone like Ronan was."

"You're not." Wyatt replied.

Lincoln looked his boyfriend in the eyes and kissed him gently. He was tired and wanted to leave this place and these dark memories behind. He finally knew the truth about his parents and where he came from, though that also made him doubt his future. There were things that needed to be settled, but that could wait. Right now, he just wanted it to be over.

Xxx

The following morning, Billie was in her kitchen making a Christmas breakfast as best she could, which was her attempt to make things up to her kids once they woke up. Sadly, she had never learned to be a good cook, so the kitchen had ended up a mess. She had only had a few hours of sleep, as the events of the previous day occupied her mind. The cult was gone and Ronan was dead, which meant the threat was over. It was never easy to take a life, but she would rather bear that burden than let Lincoln carry it. She knew it was all part of the job, both as director and as a surrogate parent.

There was a soft knock on the kitchen door and Violet walked in. Billie quickly took off her apron and gave her friend a big hug.

"How are you doing?" Violet asked.

"I've been through worse, so I'll manage." Billie said. "What about you?"

"I'm sad it had to end this way, but I'm glad we were able to get through to Quinn." Violet replied. "She and Arthur went to go see her mom and tell her what happened."

"That won't be an easy conversation." Billie noted.

"No, it won't." Violet said. "But that's the great thing about family, they tend to forgive each other."

"Yeah, sometimes it just involves a little bribery with breakfast and gifts." Billie replied.

"I was talking about Lincoln." Violet said.

"I know." Billie admitted. "Though that might take a little more time."

"Luckily we have time now that the Eternal Night has been stopped." Violet noted. "And now that we know it can whisper to people in their sleep, we'll be extra careful."

"Good, because it won't give up." Billie said. "I'm putting together a team to study it and track down anyone that gets any funny ideas."

"Like Tula?" Violet asked.

"Exactly." Billie replied. "She might have abandoned Ronan, but I doubt we've seen the last of her."

"I'm sure you'll be ready." Violet said. "And we'll be here when you need us."

"I know." Billie replied. "Thank you."

"I should join Arthur and Quinn." Violet said. "Say hi to the kids for me when they wake up."

"That could take a while." Billie said. "Let me walk you out."

The two friends shared another hug before leaving the kitchen and heading to the front door. As she opened the door, Billie was surprised to see Lincoln standing in front of her. Violet placed a supportive hand on his shoulder before using a potion to teleport away. Billie let Lincoln in and closed the door behind him.

"The kids are still asleep." Billie said. "We should talk in the kitchen."

"Looks like they had one of their famous movie marathons." Lincoln noted as he looked around. "I hope Charlie outgrew his nightmares about Cinderhella."

"Don't remind me." Billie remarked.

Billie and Lincoln headed into the kitchen and the former poured them both a cup of coffee. Both remained silent for an awkward moment, so Billie decided to bite the bullet.

"How did you sleep?" Billie asked.

"Surprisingly well." Lincoln admitted. "I stayed at the manor with Wyatt."

"So the two of you are okay?" Billie asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Lincoln said. "Things got intense for a moment, but you both talked me off a ledge and stopped me from making a mistake."

"I don't think I deserve credit for that, honestly." Billie replied. "I'm glad you two found each other. He seems to make you happier than I've ever seen you."

"He does." Lincoln said.

"Good." Billie replied. "But I doubt you've come here just to talk about your relationship."

"Right, we have other things to discuss." Lincoln said. "You've kept a lot from me all this time, Billie. It's not that I don't understand why you did it, but I deserved to know."

"I know." Billie admitted. "I thought that I was protecting you, but I was wrong. You deserve to know where you come from, which is why we also need to talk about this."

Billie walked over to her purse and pulled out the Keystone of Worlds, which she placed on the kitchen counter. Lincoln stared at it with a saddened look in his eyes.

"It belongs to you now." Billie said. "Your bloodline swore to protect it."

"I know, but I don't want it." Lincoln replied as he pushed it back towards her. "I don't want to be stuck in the past, I want to move forward. You can store it at MIND."

"If that's what you want." Billie said. "So what now?"

"Last night, I lost my focus as an agent." Lincoln replied. "I need time to think, so I'm taking a leave of absence until I figure out what I want."

"Of course." Billie said. "Take all the time you need."

"Thanks." Lincoln replied.

"So will you be staying for breakfast?" Billie asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Lincoln said. "I don't blame you, Billie, but I still need time to process everything."

"I understand." Billie replied. "Just know that you'll always have a home here when you want it."

Lincoln gave her a faint smile before finishing his coffee and walking out the door. Once he was gone, Billie took a deep breath and wiped away a tear. She knew it wouldn't be easy to win back his trust after everything, so perhaps this was the best she could hope for at the moment. Like Violet said, in time, families would forgive each other.

xxx