Charming the Halliwells Chapter 40: Before and After Us
All rights to the Halliwells and Charmed go to The Wb and Aaron Spelling. This is a spin-off of his creation, of which we're all thankful for. Please do not plagiarize or anything. LOVE YA
As Kyle and I orbed into the mausoleum, I found myself slumped on the floor in a fetal position. I was devastated! I had just lost my best friend and fiancee. My wedding would never happen and unless I got real tough, neither would the rest of my pregnancy or life. I sat on the tomb, my body aching and I wondered how I was going to do this, to bring back my husband and brother. I sobbed for them, trying to make sense of what had happened. I saw it all happen in my head.
"What are you doing?" I asked Kyle, who seemed to be pacing now.
"I am trying to come up with an idea before they come after you." Kyle said.
"They?" I asked.
"The Source's assassins." Kyle answered, "Shax and countless other demons."
"I can take them." I said angrily, "Right now I can take the world."
"That's exactly the attitude that could get you killed!" Kyle shouted, "Look, I'm sorry but I just lost two charges."
"I just lost my baby's father. And my best friend!" I shouted, it echoed through the mausoleum.
"I don't know what to do." Kyle said slowly, "We have to get you somewhere safe."
"No...Coop. We have to get his ring." I said, "Save Wyatt and Chris."
"It's gonna be..."
The door blew off its hinges and Shax flew in. I ducked as he sent an energy ball at us and I froze the energy ball, and then blew it up, causing the energy ball to go back towards Shax! Kyle grabbed my hand and we orbed away.
Piper sat on the bottom of the stairs, bawling. She had just lost her two boys, her oldest children. She had even lost her in-law! Her anger boiled, but was watered with fear and sadness. As she looked up, Paige and Phoebe orbed in and looked around. Piper had come down the stairs and found her sons, but Phoebe and Paige had orbed to the kitchen in search for anybody, but didn't find anyone. Scared, they orbed instead of walking.
"Wyatt?!" Paige asked, looking at his lifeless body, "Chris!" she said, running to them.
Phoebe looked between them, "Oh God, no!" she said, looking at Piper, "Piper, what's going on?!" she asked.
"Shax came." Piper cried.
Paige joined them, "Where's Drake?" she asked, her tears wetting her face.
Piper shook her head, "I don't know." She said.
"What?! Piper! Think, where is he?!" Phoebe shouted.
"He's here." Kyle said, orbing in with me.
As I stood there, I looked back at Wyatt and Chris and the world stopped. Piper jumped up and hugged me, "Oh God, no!" I said, walking to Wyatt's body. I bent down and touched his face and started to cry.
"I'm so...confused. When..." Paige asked.
"I froze." I said, "It's my fault."
"No! No." Piper said, "You couldn't have known."
"We have to get Coop's ring, Phoebe." Kyle insisted.
I nodded, looking around, "Where's Warren?" I asked.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
"He was supposed to go with Wyatt and Chris." I explained, "Where is he?"
"I don't know." Phoebe said, thinking it over.
"I can't sense him." Kyle said, concentrating.
"Coop...now." I said, standing.
" What? What's wrong?" Phoebe asked.
"Shax is on a mission." I said.
"Coop." Phoebe said.
Coop teleported in, taking in the sight of two dead bodies, "Phoebe, what's going on?" he asked.
"Coop's ring." I shouted, causing the ring to orb into my hand.
"Hey!" Coop protested.
"I'm going." Piper insisted.
"No." I said, "I can do this. Besides, if anybody else goes with me, it could change too much."
"You can't go alone!" Piper said angrily.
"Then I'll go." Kyle said, "I can heal."
"But I have powers." Paige said.
"But I'm already dead." Kyle countered.
"Look, I'll be careful." I said, "I have to."
Piper began to cry and I hugged her, "Be careful."
I nodded and stepped back, putting the ring on my finger. As I did, the doors of the Manor blew open and the doors flew across the room, accompanied by energy balls! Piper immediately began to blast him and Paige and Phoebe leapt into action, but Kyle grabbed me. As we were about to leave, I saw my brother, Caleb, flame in. I hear someone scream, "Phoebe!" and before I could look, I was gone.
We appeared in the foyer of the Manor and I looked around trying to make sense of it. I nearly began to sob, but held it in. No one was home. I heard a car and ran to the door and saw my car pull up. Kyle closed the blind and looked at me.
"We have to do something; this is where I expose magic." I said quickly.
"But what?" Kyle asked.
As if the answer to our prayers were answered, Wyatt orbed in. He didn't say anything at first, just looked from me to Kyle. I could tell he was figuring something out for himself. The blood on my clothes wasn't exactly the new fashion.
"What's going on?" Wyatt asked.
"Wyatt. I don't have a lot of time, so, you've gotta hurry. I'm outside with the bags, don't ask how or why, but I'm going to do magic and everyone's going to see it! This is going to lead to you and Chris dying. Look, we're gonna be talking and then the baby's going to make the groceries orb! Stop that from happening." I said, watching his face try to figure me out.
"We've got to go." Kyle said, grabbing my hand.
We orbed out across the street in bushes. I watched as I unloaded the groceries and the other me looked around and almost saw me, then Wyatt came out of the house and we talked. I saw someone down the street with a camera and it was coming up on the point and Wyatt grabbed the bags.
"You're still gonna do it." Kyle said, worriedly.
"I call upon on the Warren powers, in this time and in this hour; freeze the paparazzi and all the cameras to help the couple save their glamour." I chanted. All of a sudden, everything stopped, but Wyatt and I. We looked around, trying to find what was going on. Suddenly, I was in my body!
"What was that?" Wyatt asked, still looking around.
"Me." I said, quickly, "You remember me in the house, well, I had to do something because...now I'm in my body."
"Huh?" Wyatt asked.
"I'll explain everything, but inside." I said as Wyatt and I hurried into the house. As the family gathered around, I told my story. Everyone looked at me, stunned at the information I had. I told them that it was about this time that I had been attacked and we came up with an idea. I walked downstairs and as I got off the stairs, the doors blew off their hinges and across the room. I ducked, narrowly avoiding the door! I lifted my hand and blew a chunk of his skin off! Shax growled and threw an energy ball at me and it went right through me. I smirked and dissipated, then orbed in with Chris and Wyatt. Shax threw an energy ball and Wyatt put up a shield, then we chanted, "The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free." And Shax writhed in pain and blew up!
"I did it." I exhaled.
"Ahem." Wyatt and Chris said.
"You have to get ready for the wedding." I smiled, kissing him, "I'll be back."
"Where are you going?" Wyatt asked.
"I'll be back." I said, leaving.
As I stood in my room next door, I thought about the future. Life was about to change for good. In a good way, hopefully. As I watched myself, I told myself that it would be better. I would be better and there was something I had to do. I turned to walk out the door and saw Caleb standing in front of me.
"Hey little brother." Caleb said quickly, grabbing his brother and shimmering into Halliwell Manor.
Next door, Wyatt was finishing up. Chris helped him while the rest of the family went downstairs. Chris sat across the room, watching the floor.
"Hey, Chris, cheer up! It's my wedding day." Wyatt smiled.
"Wyatt, there's something I have to tell you." Chris said.
Wyatt stared at him, "What's wrong, Lil bro." he asked.
Chris looked up at him, "When you and Drake were broken up, I slept with him." He said.
Wyatt looked at him, seething with rage, "What?!" he said loudly.
"The day he went all bad, we had just finished." Chris explained.
Wyatt threw Chris against the wall, "YOU BASTARD! How long has this been going on?!" he asked.
"Just once. While you two were broken up." Chris said, pushing Wyatt.
Wyatt stumbled back and punched Chris, but Chris tackled Wyatt as they fell through the doorway.
Back up the Hall...
"Hey big bro." I said, remembering the flaming he did, "Didn't really expect to see you here."
"NO RSVP...Sorry." He smiled, "You seem kind of nervous. Did I do something?"
"I know what you're up to." I said slowly, "It's not going to work."
"So, you know?" Caleb asked.
"Dad must have put you up to this and you don't have to..." I stopped.
"Wasn't Dad's idea. He just can't help himself." Caleb smirked, "Must feel really scary, not being able to control yourself. To always have power, and now you can't really control it, or me."
"I've never wanted to control you." I said.
"You always through you were better, because you had the power. How does it feel to not be the Wiccan brother?" he asked.
"I never thought...I..." I was speechless. I had never thought that. I thought the opposite. I felt like I was always messing his life up..
"I guess evil is genetic in this family." Caleb smirked, "Didn't you go evil a few months back?"
I was about to reply when I heard a clatter, "What's that?"
"I don't know." Caleb said sarcastically.
I ignored him and walked to the door, opening it and seeing Chris and Wyatt fighting. I telekinetically separated them in time for Piper and Leo to come up the stairs and separate them physically.
"What's going on?!" Piper yelled.
"DRAKE AND CHRIS SLEPT TOGETHER!" Wyatt shouted.
I looked from him to Chris in shock, "I had to tell him." Chris said, "IT" was when you two weren't dating, hadn't dated in forever." Chris shouted.
"You know I've always loved him and you were always jealous of everything I had; I just never knew that you would do this to me!" Wyatt said, orbing away.
"Oh no, what are we going to do?" Piper asked.
"Stall. I've waited too long to let this happen now." I growled.
"I'm sorry." Chris said, "I just..."
"Save it, Chris." I said, heading to the attic. When I got there, Wyatt sat on the soft, his shirt unbuttoned and opened and his hair, which had grown out of its ponytail, "What's the deal? Did a demon undo you?"
"Did a demon undo you? No, that was my brother." Wyatt spat.
"Go ahead, take your shots." I said, "But we weren't together."
"But you knew..."
"I didn't." I snapped, "There was a part of me that wished that we'd be together, but the rest of me couldn't help but feel that you were going to meet somebody else and leave. And Chris was there. I just kept getting dumped."
"I didn't..."Wyatt protested softly.
"I know. Deep down, I know I sabotaged some of this, but when I told you that I wanted you to go to college, I figured that you'd go away and orb back every day and we'd be back together before I knew it and when that didn't happen...Wyatt, do you not get that I moved to get away from this? To get away from you? To stop thinking about you, but I couldn't. I became a star for being my father's son. Something that almost everyone wants and I moved back here. Did it ever dawn on you that maybe I moved back to be with you?"
"You moved back with Tristan." Wyatt groaned, "And made it obvious that you loved him."
"And I was engaged. Then I wasn't." I said, "Do you not understand how hurt I was? How long it's taken me to just figure that out. Wyatt, I'm always going to love you, no matter what happens. I'm not scared to say it anymore. It was all scary earlier, now it's worse, but there's only been one thing that I've always been sure of...my love for you."
"You slept with my brother."
"Once." I said, "It was after and before us. Just once."
"So much is going wrong..."Wyatt said, "Do you think you're the only one that gets scared?"
"Honestly, sometimes." I said, "But it's not about me. It's about us. It's about Chris...the baby...the mass of demons that seem to want us dead. My brother, who is the mastermind behind demonalapalooza."
"Caleb?" Wyatt asked.
"And with all that, I'm just a guy. A very pregnant guy, standing here and asking you to be brave with me." I said emotionally.
Wyatt stopped and hugged me, "It was just..."
"Once." I said.
"I'm sorry about your brother." Wyatt said.
"Don't be. It's genetics." I said, and then the music came on, "I think that's our sign."
"I love you." Wyatt said.
"We love you, too." I said, "Now go."
As Wyatt left the room, there was applause.
"Very good, you're very good at getting out of your messes." Caleb smiled.
"I'm not going to kill you, not until I absolutely have to." I said.
"You did kill mom." Caleb said.
"I get it. You're trying to bring me down!" I said, my voice cracking, "But what you don't get, is that I've been down and every time, I've managed to pick myself up."
"I've known you for around twenty five years...and are you threatening me? Not really scary."
"I'm not just me anymore." I said, touching my stomach, "I have other people to watch out for, now. And if you haven't realized in the past twenty five years, I'm not easy to take down and you mess with my family, I'll kick your ass."
"Good job, I actually quivered a little." Caleb smirked, "I'm glad to hear you say your family...you haven't been in my family in a long time." He said, shimmering away.
I shook my head and head downstairs. When I got there, the music slowed to a stop. My white and black suit, complete opposite of Wyatt's black and white suit, made me feel sweaty and sick. I know some of that was the baby, though. I had an overwhelming feeling that I need to throw up and I pushed it all to the back of my mind. I just walked up to the altar, smiling around, and then at Wyatt, who sported a busted lip.
"I love you." I whispered.
"I love you, too." He smiled.
In the Underworld, there were screams as Warren was tortured.
Caleb, Drake's father, and Cole chanted, "Take the humanity, wash away his virtue, turn him to the Talik that we once knew." They chanted.
"Ready to have fun, Talik?" Caleb asked.
"Call me The Source." Talik smiled.