Disclaimer: All rights for Charmed and the Halliwells go to the WB, as well as Aaron Spelling and Brad Kern. This story is a spin-off of the original Charmed series, categorized under fan fiction, and is not intended to imply any personal knowledge, or the actual sexuality of any of its celebrities.
This story is obviously fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place.
Skin Deep
Kane. The most powerful darklighter in the underworld, he is the leader of the Order of the Ebon Twilight, and a prominent member of the Seven. The Order is composed of darklighters, warlocks, and a manner of other dark assailants, and Kane himself is a master of espionage and psychological warfare. Common myth states Kane as old as Proteus himself, and as having converted more witches into warlocks than any other darklighter.
Lucy finished inscribing the last word into Kane's entry, and she gently closed the book. Lyla and Lex let go of each other, as Lex got up from the attic couch and attended to Aaron, who was leaning shirtless against the bookshelf. Lex touched the bandages on his arms and his shoulder. "Are you sure you don't wanna go to the hospital?"
Aaron smiled, benignly shooing Lex's hands. "Please. He didn't use poison, so these wounds will heal with time."
Lex gave a concerned frown, but Aaron waved it away a well. "By the way." Lyla began to ask. "Kane told me that the names we had for Biblios and Chrysle were wrong. I assume he was just tricking us?"
Aaron shook his head. "Actually, no. The Elders have known about the demons Barbatos and Ipos for a long time. In fact, they're really quite ancient."
"So..." Lucy cocked her head in curiosity. "I don't understand why the Halliwell Sisters didn't tell us their actual names."
"They didn't know." Aaron responded gently. "In fact, none of us knew until Kane led us on. See, the Elders thought Barbatos and Ipos were vanquished a long time ago. But when they tried to sense them again recently, the Elders were led to those two leaders of the Seven."
"Then basically, they changed their names when they came out as part of the Seven."
Aaron nodded at Lucy, who seemed to understand. "The demon you call Amy is just as old as Barbatos and Ipos, so the Elders know that's her true name... as for Kane; he probably has another alias as well."
"I don't get why Kane told me their names then." Lyla complained.
There was a silence. Aaron spoke rather quietly. "He must have had something planned. But then again, he might have just used information as a bargaining chip; you know, to gain your trust."
Lyla nodded. In the vein of the moment, Lex again tried to tend to Aaron's wounds. This time, Aaron didn't draw back. Lucy glanced at her watch. "My morning class starts in about half an hour, you guys. I should get going."
Lyla got up to follow her. "I'll escort Lucy. You know, now that we have four people, we can leave the house in pairs instead of all three of at once."
Lex nodded and waved goodbye, as Lucy and Lyla stepped out of the door. He continued to peel away some of Aaron's bandages, replacing them with fresh dry ones. Aaron gently grinned the whole time.
"How do you know how to mend wounds, Lex?"
Lex looked up from his work, unraveling the cotton gauze and spreading it with antibiotics. He gave a smile back. "I'm not doing the mending... Luce was the one who stitched you up." Lex motioned at Aaron's wounds, rather neatly but amateurishly sewn shut. "She's a doctor, you know. One of the youngest in the country. They call her a medical wunderkind. But she gets way too nervous in intense situations, so she had to become a teacher instead." Lex laughed. "She's the smart one. I just happen to wrap bandages nice."
"Well..." Aaron said thoughtfully. "I think they're perfect."
Lex felt himself blushing, and he laughed, tying off the knot in the gauze. "I'm sure you just haven't had many people tie bandages around you."
Aaron stretched a little, reaching behind himself and pulling out a button up shirt which he slipped on. "You'd be surprised. I actually had a lot of experiences in that, before I died."
"Hey..." Lex began to ask, cocking his head in curiosity. "What did you do before you became a whitelighter?" Aaron was silent, looking down at himself to match his buttons up to their holes. "Or... never mind. Sorry, rude question."
Aaron jerked his head, as though he snapped out of a daze. "Huh? Oh, no, it's okay. Sorry, you know, most charges don't ever ask." Aaron put his hands on his hips, and beamed with pride. "I, my friend, was the son of a preacher!"
Lex raised an eyebrow. "Wha?"
Aaron gave a boyish smile, as though that were the response he was hoping for. "For now, that's all you need to know."
"Wait, but... what preacher? Who? I'm not Christian, you know, I'm just saying. I'm a little confused-"
"Ah-ah" Aaron raised up his hand to silence him. "Don't worry, you'll find out in due time." Lex pouted. Aaron gave another satisfied laugh and gently ruffled Lex's hair, who couldn't help but softly giggle in response. "Do you want something to eat?"
Lex looked down at his belly. "I haven't been very hungry since yesterday, really. I'm okay."
Now Aaron looked skeptical. "You haven't eaten for an entire day?"
Lex nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not really hungry though. So I guess that's okay."
"No... it's not." Aaron took Lex by the arm and guided him out the attic. "Come on. We need to at least give you some protein."
"Ha! You sound like my mom!"
Opening Song! "Shifter" By Timo Maas
Thrill seeker Heartbreaker Shape-shifter Secret keeper I love to see ya Movin' it on shake your body down yeah I'm moving with the sound...
"These bacteria... will coat themselves in a shell of sugars, disguising themselves from being detected by the immune system." Lucy, satisfied, slammed the chalk on the board. "Sugar-coated bacteria. Nice, ain't it? Okay, it's 9:29, I'll let you guys out early. Please, memorize the methods in which a cell creates Na+K+ gradients, I promise it will be on the test!"
The rustling of backpacks and notes filled the room, as Lucy erased the board she filled up with diagrams and important notes, and Lyla began to gather Lucy's things in her cardboard box for her. Lucy spoke a lot less tense. "So how'd it go?"
Lyla shrugged. "I have no idea. If I understood a single word you said, maybe I would have something. But I didn't." Lyla lugged a particularly heavy gradebook into the box. "Oh, but you have some really cute guys in your class!"
Lucy finished erasing the board, wiping her hands on the back of her jeans. "I know. They're a couple of years older than me too. Please, don't remind me."
"Excuse me."
Lucy and Lyla turned around. A tall, gorgeous guy with a pale complexion and long brown hair was standing behind them, with a thin backpack and no books. He looked more Ambercrombie than UCSF. "Dr. Russel. Are you busy?"
Lucy shook her head, briefly breathless but lapsing back into calm. "I... have I seen you in class before? Do you need an add code?"
"Yah... I'd late add you to my Spring semester schedule anytime..." Lyla said audibly, and more even more ridiculous, seriously.
The student gave Lyla no heed, besides a knowing smile. "No. I was wondering if maybe I could get tutoring help from you. You said you would be willing to help anybody who was having trouble?"
"Oh! Oh, well..." Lucy exchanged a worried glance with Lyla. "Yes, I do normally help students with any questions they have... but recently, some things have come up, and I don't think-"
"Please, Dr. Russel. I promise, I won't be too much trouble." Lucy continued looking at Lyla for help, but Lyla was occupied twirling her hair between her fingers. "Dr. Russel. If I don't get help in your class, my parents will quit paying for my tuition. Please!"
After one final plea towards an unresponsive Lyla, Lucy sighed, turning back to her student. "Sure. Yes, I'll help you. What's your name?"
He broke out into a smile. "Thanks, Ms. Russel. I won't let you down. My name's Dorian."
"Dorian...? Alright. I'll add you to my rollsheet, and-"
"That won't be necessary. If we can just go somewhere now, and I can get help, then that would be great."
"Now! Oh... now?" Dorian nodded. "Oh. Would you excuse us one sec?" Lucy finally grabbed Lyla's arm, dragging her towards the blackboard. "What am I gonna do?"
Lyla shrugged, staring off into space. "Um... I dunno. You could violate your work ethics and totally date a hot student."
"Lyla! Now that he's my tutee too, that would be doubly wrong!" Lucy shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I'm really kinda nervous."
"Wow, it's been that long since you've dated?"
"No! I mean, about Lex. And us too. We need to get home, fast. Demons could strike at any moment."
Lyla rolled her eyes. "Alright! Fine... we'll take him home with us."
"What?!"
"If you don't sleep with him, somebody's got to do the job. And I guess a certain tramp's gotta do what a tramp's gotta do..."
"Oh my- Lyla! You little fu-flirt, you-"
Lyla ripped herself away from Lucy, approaching Dorian. "Alright, chap! Let's go home."
"I used to make butter, you know. And milk cows. And feed them too. The whole shebang, really." Aaron said, spreading butter in a hot pan and preparing to fry a pastrami sandwich. "I still haven't gotten used to all the technology that's come `round."
Lex shrugged, leaning against the counter. "You are old."
Aaron gave a wicked smile. "Better believe it."
"Aaron... I'm really just not hungry."
Aaron dropped the sandwich in, and the sound of frying bread reverberated in the kitchen. He yelled a little over the noise. "Then just swallow it down! It's not good to starve yourself!"
There was a clatter as Aaron placed the steaming sandwich on a plate in front of Lex, beaming. Lex couldn't help but smile back. "I can't believe you were bleeding to death just last night." Lex said.
Aaron cut the sandwich in two, grabbing the smaller half and taking a bite out of it. He spoke after swallowing. "Whitelighters heal quickly. We can't use the healing touch on ourselves, but we just naturally heal faster. The fact we're already dead has something to do with that."
"How did Kane hurt you anyway? I thought darklighter poison was the only way to kill a whitelighter."
"Well..." Aaron put down the sandwich on a napkin. "Things have really changed. The Seven didn't just create political ties with each other. They also melded a lot of their magic into new, improved hybrid techniques. I'm sure the warlock and darklighter magics of the Order of Ebon Twilight have interwoven a lot of skills, and got further influences from the demons of Zira's Sisterhood. So our whitelighters have been more vulnerable than ever."
Lex was lost in curiosity. "Is that why you carry bows now?" Lex asked.
"Yes. Whitelighters used to be strictly pacifist... but with threats from the Underworld at such a large scale, the Elders gave us a way to arm ourselves. I think the reawakening of the Titans about a decade and a half ago led to the decision too... a lot of Elders died that day. Hey, but did you know I'm one of the first whitelighters to handle one of those things? They're really pretty neat."
"I see." Lex nodded. "Um... Have you ever. You know. Vanquished a demon before?"
Aaron drew silent. To Lex's surprise, Aaron reached over and grabbed Lex's outstretched hand. Lex was nervous, yet a little more secure than before. "Lex. I know that you're new to this whole demon thing, and that you're having trouble vanquishing them."
"I don't-"
"Yes you do." Lex briefly pondered how Aaron knew before he continued. "As a whitelighter, I'm not here to pressure you to... make any particular decisions, or whatever. But I am here to give you advice, and to protect you. So I want to let you know that I'll be here for you if you need me. Just call my name if things get too tough."A little confused and still a little shaky, Lex nodded his head up and down. Aaron gave a bright smile. "Okay?"
Lex pursed his lips and curled into a grin as well before answering. "Okay."
"We're home!"
Aaron abruptly drew his hand back and stood up from his seat, much to Lex's dismay. He reluctantly followed Aaron into the foyer. Lucy was hanging her coat up along with Lyla's, and Lyla was holding a rather built student in her arm. "Hey guys!" Lyla said. She pointed at her company. "This is... Dexter?"
"Dorian." Corrected Dorian and Lucy in unison.
Aaron furrowed his eyebrows as Lyla hung onto Dorian's arm. He turned to Lucy, who simply looked flustered. "Who is this?" Aaron asked.
"Dorian's my student. Or something. Anyway, he needs tutoring, and Lyla thought it would be a brilliant idea to bring him here." Lucy added particular venom to the word "brilliant."
Lex and Aaron exchanged worried glances. Aaron approached Lyla, gently grabbing her free arm and pulling her away from Dorian. "Lyla, we should talk." Aaron pulled Lyla aside in a corner, and the sound of hushed arguing (particularly more vicious on Lyla's part than Aaron's) briefly filled the room before Dorian partially broke the hush, meandering into the kitchen. Lex gave a "what the fuck?" expression to Lucy before the two of them followed him.
Dorian immediately moved toward Lex's sandwich, seeming to gulp it down in one bite. Lex leaned in the doorway, as Lucy circled around the table to face him. "So, what do you want to get started on?" Lucy asked.
Dorian gave Lucy a curious expression before regaining a semblance of composure and swallowing his mouthful of food. "I dunno. What's important?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Look, no offense, but you're the one who wanted tutoring. I'm taking time out of my day to do this, and-" Like a housecat, Dorian quickly lost interest and strode past Lex into the foyer again. Lucy's mouth gaped open in disbelief. "-wha-Hey! The audacity!"
Lucy and Lex strode after Dorian, who was now cradling a vase filled with lilies in his hands. Lex raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Dorian quickly replaced the liles on the coffee table. He gave another trademark curious stare at Lucy and Lex, rather sharply cracking his neck. "Nothing." Dorian strode towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow,"
Lyla, out of the corner, flew after him. "Dorian!"
Aaron, in turn, chased after Lyla. The door slammed behind the three of them. Lucy and Lex nearly dropped to the floor in confusion.
"I don't even know what in the world just happened." Lucy said rather angrily, rummaging through the kitchen closet. "I mean, Dorian, whom I've never seen before in my life, just comes up to me and starts rambling on and on about oh, I need help,' or oh, my parents will kick me out,' blah blah blah... then Lyla convinces me to take him home, and he eats a sandwich and walks out. You tell me what that's supposed to mean."
Lex leaned against the dining table in the other room. "Maybe he's just weird."
"Or maybe there's something demonic afoot."
"No... You don't think so, do you?"
Lucy peeked out the door to see Lex. "Well, Aaron and Ly aren't back yet. Who knows what happened."
"It's only been a couple of hours."
"A lot can happen in a little bit of time."
Lex finally walked into the kitchen, ending his vigil at the window. He saw Lucy crouching down, flinging bags of candy out of the closet onto the floor. "What are you doing, Luce?"
"I figure we can get rid of a lot of this old candy... God, I tell you. Lyla buys these things in pounds, but she only eats like, an eigth of them."
"Candy?" Lex finally asked. "Why?"
Lucy briefly paused her business to give Lex an incredulous stare. "You do know it's Halloween tomorrow, right?" Lex bit his lip, averting his eyes. Lucy conspicuously dropped a bag of chocolates. "You didn't know. Oh lord, Lex, where have you been these last couple of weeks?"
"Well, it's... you know, my sense of time hasn't been very good lately."
Lucy sighed. "Hm. Maybe you forgot because this'll be the first Halloween where we won't have to dress up as anything." She gave a rather sarcastic laugh to herself, before quieting down a little. "Hey. Lex. Remember back when we were kids, and you used to make costumes for me?"
Lex smiled. "You mean before you were smarter than me?"
Lucy laughed. She procured a pumpkin from somewhere and placed it on a pile of newspapers on the kitchen counter. "I remember you made me a devil costume once. Do you remember how pissed off mom got?"
"Yeah..." Lex contemplated. "She went ballistic."
"Don't you think it's a little strange how angry she got?"
There was a brief pause before Lex answered, as though the question was rhetorical. "Well. Now that we know the truth, it's probably because she and dad fought demons for a living, right?"
Lucy looked skeptical. "That's what I figured. But still... I can't help but think there's little more to it than that."
Both their ears perked up as the doorbell rang. Lucy and Lex exchanged glances before heading towards the door. Lucy pulled it open, expecting to see Lyla or Aaron. She didn't.
A buxom woman with a tight mini-skirt stood on the doorstep. Her low-cut blouse and stilletto heels were all eccentric bright colors, and she held a number of paper slips in her hand. Her brown hair was hidden under a white hood. Lex noticed a peculiar string of red pearls around her neck.
She spoke wildly, pointing at Lucy, who awkwardly pulled back as she opened the door, and then Lex, who was a good five feet away from her. "You... You! You!"
Lucy widened her eyes in bewilderment. "Who?"
"You!" Quite uninvited, the woman pushed her way into the foyer, surveying the ceiling as if it were leaking blood. "I knew it!"
"Oh, this is ridiculous... wanna tell me who you are?" Lucy said, exasperated.
The woman did a double take to Lucy. "Rolline."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "Rolline?"
Rolline did not respond. She continued scanning the foyer. "Mm... Mmm..."
Lucy sighed. "For the love of Benji..." she raised her hands, freezing Rolline with a lime spotlight. She looked to Lex. "Get an athame from the attic. If this is a demon, I don't wanna be unprepared."
Lex nodded, running to the attic posthaste. He grabbed an athame. He jumped up as he heard Lucy scream at him from downstairs. "Leeex! Get down here!"
Lex hurried down the stairs. Lucy was still holding the green light on Rolline, but Rolline was beginning to move. One of her slips of paper had strange writing on it, which lit up with a red light. There was another burst of illumination, and Lucy's light was gone.
Lucy ran up the stairs next to Lex. Rolline, unphased, finally decided to notice them. "Did you activate my charms?"
"Uhh..." Lucy was reluctant to answer.
Lex answered instead. "We're sorry. We didn't know if we could trust you."
Rolline did not seem offended. In fact, she didn't seem to care that Lex had said or done anything at all. "Have you seen evil in this house? A dark aura... A daaark force..."
Lucy and Lex exchanged worried glances. Lucy spoke up. "I'd say yesterday, yeah."
"No!" Rolline asserted rather angrily. "The trail is fresh! Evil has invaded your lives... under the guise of a paper skin..."
Lex gasped, and Lucy came to the same conclusion. They looked at each other, and spoke at the same time. "Dorian." Lucy began up to the attic. "I'll check the book for a vanquish, we might be able to brew a-"
"This is no ordinary force!" Rolline waved her paper slips at Lucy, who stopped in her tracks. "I am warning you, it will take more than your... common witchcraft to banish this darkness."
"Rolline." Lex said rather slowly, still preparing to telekinetically push her out the door. "Who are you, exactly?"
Rolline gave a rather indulgent wave of her arms, embarassingly revealing a good deal of her cleavage. "I am a priestess. And I have vowed to destroy evil wherever I see it." Rolline paused a bit, as she seemed to examine Lex and Lucy for flaws. "But... But you are good. You are good?"
Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Why do you have to ask?"
Rolline blankly stared, as though in confusion. She shook her head. "Nothing."
There was another silence. Lex broke it. "Rolline, we know what evil you're talking about. Will you help us vanquish him?"
"Y-yes.... Yes, of course." Rolline nodded. "I will need more charms. Please. Excuse me." She turned for the door, then turned around again, as though forgetting something. Lex stepped down to meet her. Rolline reached into her blouse, pulling out a slip of paper with arcane blue writing on it. She handed it to Lex, who stingily held it between two fingers. "Use this when you see his true skin."
Lex didn't quite know what she meant, but he took it anyway. Rolline crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Lex was startled as she disappeared in a burst of glittering lights, like tiny stars.
Lucy swung around to look at the charm Rolline gave Lex. "Do you think we can trust her?"
Lex shrugged. "If Lyla was here, she could've sensed if she was evil or not... But I think Rolline's so crazy, she has to be good."
"...Huh?"
It wasn't until late into the night that Aaron and Lyla came home. Lucy was in the attic, still scrying until she heard the sound of orbs behind her. Lucy turned around. Lyla was leaning on Aaron's arm, and Aaron had a content smile on his face.
Lucy gasped in disbelief. "You little- I was scrying for hours! Lex and I were worried sick, where were you?!"
Lyla sleepily looked up from Aaron's arm. "Oh, no, Luce, I'm sorry. I chased Dorian and Aaron chased me, and... you know, I saw Dorian go down an alley, but then there was just this homeless guy, and..."
"Lyla. You're rambling."
"Lyla and I were just walking around the city." Aaron cut in. "We learned a lot about each other."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "You're not demons in disguise or something, right?"
"Oh, please."
"What's my middle name?"
"Desiree!"
"Thank you!" Lucy gave a rather frustrated groan, folding up the map and crystal. "Lex and I met a priestess while you were gone. Dorian's a demon."
"Is he in the book?" Aaron asked.
Lucy shook her head. "I don't know enough about him. The priestess will be coming by later again, to help us with a vanquish." Lucy began to walk out the attic, before turning around to address Lucy and Aaron one last time. "For one thing, Lyla. Do you know how worried Lex was about you? I'm going to go out on a limb here and play the guilt card, because you deserve it. You know how he gets." Lyla looked down in shame, and it seemed that Aaron did as well. Lyla turned to Aaron. "And you. Aren't you our whitelighter?"
Aaron, in a semblance of defense of himself, spoke in response. "You can call me at any time, just by saying my name."
Lucy looked in disbelief. "You don't think I tried that?"
"We must have gotten caught up in-" Lucy left in the middle of Lyla's sentence. She strode straight down the hall, locking herself in her room.
She didn't notice Lex, who had woken up from the commotion, and stealthily placed himself outside the door. He listened to Lyla and Aaron quietly continue a solitary conversation.
"Oh..." Lex heard Lyla's voice. "Aaron, I feel bad about today now. Lex and Lucy might have needed us."
Aaron's deeper voice responded. "Don't feel bad. I don't regret it at all. I got to learn a lot about you."
"Hehe..." Lex recognized Lyla's embarassed laughter. She only giggled like that when she was genuinely mortififed. "Aaron. Thank you for today. For listening."
"Lyla. I'm your whitelighter. I care about you."
There was a silence, and the sound of soft laughs. "So then you only care about you because it's your job."
"No... Lyla. You're special." Lex felt something strange. There was a brief silence. "Now, you should get some sleep."
"Will you orb me to my room?"
"...sure."
Lex heard the sounds of orbs from the attic. He didn't move for a while, just leaning against the attic door. He didn't quite understand what he was feeling. He didn't comprehend if he was sad, angry, or some combination of the two and more. Lex, after about five minutes, silently crept back into his room. He didn't sleep.
Lyla descended step by step. The morning outside was surprisingly clear. She stumbled on Lucy, who was eating cereal in the kitchen. Lucy gave her a kurt acknowledgment. "Where's Lex?" Lyla asked.
Lucy shrugged. "I dunno. Getting sleep I suppose."
Lyla pouted, taking a seat next to Lucy and wrapping her arms around her neck. "Sorry sis."
"Oh... `sis?'" Lucy chuckled a little, with a mouth full of corn flakes. "You are serious."
Lyla laughed. "But I think I'm kinda getting to know Aaron a little better." Lyla pulled up another seat to Lucy's left, crossing her legs on that one. She spoke in a bit of a whisper. "He's... he's really great."
Just before Lucy was about to say something in response, Aaron orbed into the kitchen. Lyla smiled. Lucy's expression was perfectly blank. Aaron scanned the kitchen. "Where's Lex?"
"He's in his bedroom, sleeping for once." Lucy said.
"No, he's not." Aaron responded. "I just came back from there. His bed's filled with pillows."
"What?!" Lucy and Lyla yelled in unison. Lyla continued. "Can't you sense him?"
"I tried, but it won't work."
"Oh no..." Lucy murmured to herself. "It must be because of the charm that priestess gave him! It probably negates magic, or something."
Aaron gave a worried scowl. "I'll keep trying then. If I work at it, I'll find him eventually through triangulation." Lyla nodded. Aaron orbed out.
As if by cue, the doorbell rang again. Lucy rushed to the door, followed by Lyla. No Lex. Again, it was Rolline.
Lyla yelled from behind. "Who's that?"
"This is Rolline, the priestess we were telling you about." Lucy looked at Rolline in curiosity, who was simply staring down at her. She was wearing almost the exact same clothes that Lucy saw her in earlier, but something was off. "What's wrong?"
Rolline did not say anything. She fumbled at the pearls around her neck, which were noticably paler than they were before. "Nothing."
Lucy raised her eyebrow, opening the door wider. "Will you come in?"
"Yes." Rolline quickly acknowledged, stepping inside, heels clacking. Lucy shut the door behind her.
Lyla stuck out a hand to shake. "I'm Lyla Russel." Rolline simply stared at it, then turned her back to Lyla completely, gving complete attention to Lucy.
Both Lucy and Lyla thought Rolline's action a bit odd. Lucy tried to break the ice. "Did you bring the charms?"
"Which ones?"
Lucy scoffed. "Uh. The ones you needed."
As though coming to some revelation, Rolline quickly nodded. "Ah, yes. I did." Rolline motioned behind her. "I posted a charm on threshold of the door. It will keep the oni away."
"Oni?" Lyla asked.
Rolline finally noticed Lyla. "Yes. Oni. That is what you are dealing with. But the charm will stop him. He will be no more."
Lyla clapped her hands. "Great! Okay, that's great! Thank you."
Rolline gave a solemn nod. She slowly walked towards the door. Before she disappeared completely, Lucy finally realized what was different in Rolline. Out of all the eccentric, wild colors of her outfit, it seemed every bit of red clothes she had on was just a shade paler.
Luc didn't have time to express her thought, as Rolline went out the door. Lyla spoke frankly to Lucy. "Hey, this means we can pass out candy."
"Think we can go trick-or-treating instead?" Lucy asked, but knew Lyla's answer already.
"No. Too dangerous."
Lucy sighed, disappointed. "I'll carve the jack-o-lanterns then."
Lyla followed Lucy into the dining room, where she had set up the pumpkins. "I'm still worried though. I mean, Lex is still missing, and I'm pretty sure Dorian's also out there too somewhere."
Lyla shrugged. "Well, yeah. But Aaron will find him. And besides, Dorian can't come near us with Rolilne's charm. We can worry about vanquishing him when we find Lex."
"Yeah." Lucy jabbed a knife into a pumpkin. "I guess."
Darkness crept over San Francisco, as the first trick-or-treaters came out; less than usual, due to the cancelled Castro Parade. But there were enough people for a lively parade of shouts and lights all around the city. Lex sat on a bench outside the Arboretum, largely unnoticed. He heard the sound of orbs behind him.
He didn't turn around as he felt Aaron tap his shoulder. Instead, Aaron circled around and sat down on the bench next to him. Lex felt his knee brush against his, and he tingled a little. Lex was staring at the ground. Aaron leaned over further so he could look him in the eye. "Are you okay?" Aaron asked gently.
Lex didn't say anything at first. He turned his head to Aaron, and tried his best to smile. "Yeah. I just wanted some air."
Aaron put a hand on Lex's knee. "Lex. I know that it must be really new to have a whitelighter, but-"
"That's... not a problem." Lex interjected. He laughed to himself, realizing how silly it was for him to be feeling upset. What was he expecting, after all? "Nothing's wrong, Aaron."
"Are you sure? I'm always here to talk, if you need me." Aaron said.
"You weren't last night."
Silence. Aaron wasn't sure what to say, and Lex continued after a while. "Sorry."
Aaron finally chuckled a little. He struggled to get more eye contact from Lex, but it was difficult. "Oh, Lex. I'm just as much your sisters' whitelighter as I am yours. I have to help Lyla, but I have to help you and Lucy just as much."
Lex gulped. His voice trembled a little. "Do you... remember when we first met?"
Aaron smiled. "You mean the strawberry drinks."
"Yeah. Was that the first time you were... watching us?"
Aaron hesitated. "No. It was the first time I had watched you or Lucille before. But I've been with Lyla for a long time. She didn't have her powers bound, like you or Lucy." Lex seemed to look away, disappointed. Aaron followed up, now swinging his arm around Lex's shoulders. "But I was really, mm... impressed by you. And I still am."
Lex raised an eyebrow, confused. "Huh? Why?" Aaron was quiet for a little bit. Lex continued. "I mean, I'm not as smart as Lucille... I'm not pretty or strong like Lyla. I can't do anything right, no one... no one ever likes me."
"Okay, my turn." Aaron said, rather lightheartedly. "Look at me." Aaron softly turned Lex's head in his direction. "I want you to remember something. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here right now." Lex opened his mouth to say something, but Aaron shushed him. "ah-ah. You stood strong against Kane, and you stayed dedicated to your ideals, even against your sisters. That dedication saved me." They were quiet again, before Aaron continued. "I've never been more impressed by a person." Aaron chuckled. "And I also think you're very smart. And very strong. And very, very pretty."
Lex blushed madly, laughing. "Aaron! You're such a flirt!"
"But seriously, Lex. I mean, I haven't ever met anyone quite like you. And I've been a whitelighter for... a little over a couple of centuries." Lex realized what a compliment this was, and smiled outside and inside. Aaron patted his shoulder. "C'mon. Let's get home before the trick-or-treaters come `round."
Aaron orbed Lex directly into the foyer. Lyla was sitting on the couch, reading a book by candlelight. She was wearing a deep red steepled hat when she turned around and smiled at them. "You found him!" she quickly strode over to Lex, and gave him a big hug. "Where were you, sweetie?"
Lex gave a small noise. "Nowhere. Sorry I got you worried."
Lyla slipped over to Aaron and hugged him as well. She whispered loudly. "Thanks for bringing him back."
Aaron laughed out loud, and Lex felt something growing inside of him again. But it was cut short when Aaron placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
There was the sound of a pot slamming against a table. Lyla, Lex, and Aaron turned around to face Lucy, who was wearing a dark emerald steepled hat to match Lyla's. She looked a touch angry. "Someone want to tell me why we've gotten no trick-or-treaters? At this rate we'll never get rid of this candy! Oh. Hi Lex, hi Aaron."
They waved at her. Lex cocked his head. "No trick-or-treaters? There were a lot outside."
"Well, I don't know. None of them are coming here." Lucy sighed. "It's like Rolline's charm is repelling everyone, not just Dorian."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "She came?"
Lyla nodded. "Yeah. While you were gone." she led Lex to the door, reaching out to the door and slowly opening it. "I think she posted it on the-"
Lyla stopped in her tracks, throwing the door open and stepping back. Lucy jumped back as well, and Lex gasped.
Rather suddenly, brooding and silent, a figure stood on the doorstep, wreathed in a curtain of night. It was dressed in a white cloak, plain and intimidatingly blank. It wore a macabre mask, flat and expressionless except for its blank eye holes and no mouth.
Lucy quickly raised her hands, shooting green light at the figure. To her surprise, her light subsided as the figure held up a paper slip; one of the same slips Rolline had. The figure threw the paper at Lucy with surprising aim. A nova of red energy burst out from it as it hit its mark, flinging Lucy to the ground.
Lyla flipped forward, attempting to simply kick the intruder out. The figure easily dodged all her kicks, even grabbing her leg and pushing her into the house. Lucy got up, grabbing Lyla to her feet as well. "You can't come in, Dorian! Your powers are useless against our charms!"
Shivers traveled up and down their spines, as a cold hollow voice echoed past the mask. The figure effortlessly crossed the threshold, step by step. "They said you would be easy to fool."
Lex gasped. "Oh my... My god. You killed Rolline."
Lyla and Lucy bundled together towards the stairs. "No! We saw her! She gave us the charm!"
Lex stopped stalling, pointing to the figure. "Push!" The familiar chime of his powers resounded, but there was no effect. The masked figure moved towards him now. Lex shook his head in horror. "She said, `your true skin.' You're a shapeshifter!"
The figure continued approaching him, effortlessly repelling Lucy's powers and Lyla's martial arts. "Yes. It's true. I enjoy many forms." There was the sound of folding. In a furious swarm of crumpling, the figure's cloak and mask collapsed into itself, and emerged into existance again. Lex was staring face to face with Dorian. "You might know me as Dorian. Or maybe..." The picture show restarted, Dorian's skin and hair folding in on itself and out again, this time as the heeled colorful figure of Rolline. "...your precious priestess. Whatever you feel like..." she changed into a homeless man, then a man in a suit, and a woman with a watering can; people Lex saw watching him at the Arboretum. It folded into Rolline again before lunging forward, grabbing Lex's neck and pinning him to the wall, cracking her neck and licking her lips. "And now you shall die!"
Suddennly, a flash of bright white light. Lex felt the grip around his neck thrown off of him, and heard the sound of crashing against the wall. He fell to the ground. Rolline was heaving against the hearth. The side of her was singed, as though her body and clothes were made of paper, and it had just been burned with a candle. Lex looked face to face witih his savior. Aaron stood with his bow in hand, restringing another arrow into it. As he drew it back, the tip glew with a pure white light. He briefly winked at Lex before shooting the arrow at Rolline.
The sounds of rustling echoed again. Rolline had shifted into an unsinged, short little girl, and the arrow shot clean over her head into the wall: vanishing in a burst of light.
Rather suddenly, Lyla and Lucy pounced on the little girl, attempting to double team her. To their surprise, she was able to block their hits with little effort, and even threw Lucy straight into the couch.
"Uh... Push! Whorl! Yield!" Lex continued yelling commands, but none of them worked.
Lucy yelled to him. "Lex, your commands have to be able to apply to whatever you're commanding! Its skin is protecting it!"
Aaron shot another arrow at the girl, and hit her straight in the chest. The little girl refolded again, this time into a muscular man as big as a wrestler. Aaron rushed to Lex's side. "Lex. Lucy told me that Rolline looked exactly the same, except all of her red was paler."
"So?" Lex was a bit panicked, and wasn't sure where Aaron was going with this.
"It's like it paints its skin, Lex! It just ran out of red!" Aaron ran to the other side of the room, helping up a fallen Lyla.
"Painted..." It finally struck Lex. The large man had just thrown Lucy off of him, when Lex confronted him head on. "Paper skin!" The man froze in place. Lex had him in his grip, and he grinned. "Unfold!"
There was a sound of ripping paper. As though an earthquake had emerged in his skin, a crack appeared vertically down the strong man's face, going down his body. The skin folded away, shed like a shell. Darkness emerged from it, accompanied by the smell of something rotting. A deformed red creature, with rough skin and a pot belly emerged. It had a long nose, piercing yellow eyes, and a large maw filled with sharp teeth. It was an oni.
Before anything else could be done, Lex reached into his back pocket, pulling out the slip that Rolline had given him before. He threw it at the oni. In a flash of azure blue light, there was the sound of a shriek. When the light vanished, the oni had gone as well.
Lucy got up, straightening her hat. Lyla and Aaron stood up as well, surveying the messed up foyer. The doorbell rang; there was the sound of yelling kids. Lucy sighed. "Happy Halloween."
Lex heard a knock on his door. "Come in."
Aaron let himself in, closing the door behind him. Lex was dressed in his pajamas, and was sitting cross-legged on his bed. "Hi, Aaron."
Aaron smiled, sitting on the bed as well. "Hey. You did great."
"Aw." Lex giggled a little. "You did help me out, though."
"Well, I'm not too sure what happened myself. Onis have never been able to shape-shift before. And using paper skins is... something we never would have thought of."
Lex pouted. "What does this mean?"
Aaron sighed. "It means that evil really is powerful. And more importantly, it's organized. Do you remember the oni saying `they?' It means that it was part of a bigger group." Lex was quiet. Aaron continued after a while, still in a hushed voice. "You know... I feel like I can kinda relate to shape-shifting."
"?" Lex looked curious.
Aaron laughed. "Never mind." he stood up, not completely facing Lex as he went out the door. "Good night."
"'night."
Aaron closed the door behind him. He stood in front of the door for a little while, sadly staring at the floor. For a second, he almost went back in, but he restrained himself. He heard Lyla's voice down the hall. With a melancholy sort of sigh, he took a last hopeful listen for Lex's voice before orbing away.
Lex drew his knees up to his chest. He stared at the door, hoping Aaron would come back through. He didn't. Lex sighed. Aaron cared about him. He cared about Lyla, and Lucy too. But Lex knew that Aaron cared for someone more than he let on. Aaron was always shifting. Did he just act nice to whoever he was with? Was he actually capable of that much love? Lex didn't know if he actually knew him.
Lex remembered the flustered feeling he got when Aaron complimented. His warm touch, and his warmer smile. The emotion that welled up inside him when he saw him with Lyla. What was this? Lex didn't know anymore. Lex curled up into a ball, prepared for another sleepless night.
Aww... now see, I wanted to release this on Halloween, but that didn't really work out :(. Hope it was good for everyone anyway (Hey, I think I'm in time to catch the tail end of Dia de los Muertos though :D)
Hm... Who is Aaron? Who does he love? Will he and Lex be an item, or not? What force of evil was the Oni working for? And what about Rolline? All these questions and more... may be answered, pretty soon. (Mwahaha!)
as always... thanks for reading this far!
Questions? Comments? Reccomendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail maybe? Wanna just talk about Charmed? email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!