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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 9, 2016 0:25:33 GMT -5
Charmed: Heritage
Episode 1X10 – The Demon of ConfusionPrologue – The Demon Attacks Monday February 22, 2027 Wyatt’s bedroom was a mess, but then Wyatt’s bedroom was always a mess. Clothes were strewn around the room. Even the covers on the bed were crumpled, but they did a fairly good job of covering the topless body of Wyatt Halliwell, so Wyatt didn’t care. And if Wyatt didn’t care, who was to object?
Chris’ room was the exact opposite of his big brother. It was neat, everything its place. Even the sheets covering the sleeping body of Chris Halliwell were neat, which was no small feat considering he was under them.
In the Halliwell Manor only one bedroom was occupied these days. It was shared by Wyatt and Chris’ parents, Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt. Like Chris’ room, it was neat and orderly. In a large bed with the headboard against one of the walls Piper and Leo lay sound asleep. In his sleep, Leo was spooned up against his wife and had his arms around her.
Back in Wyatt’s room the air distorted and formed into a creature with pale green skin. His hair was short, slick, and white. His eyes were an amber color, big and bright. He walked over to the bed where Wyatt lay asleep. As he stopped a few inches from the bed he held up his right hand and held is still as it slowly began to glow red. Once it was bright and pulsing he brought his hand down and held it against Wyatt’s forehead. Several seconds passed and the demon raised his hand. His hand still bright and pulsing, the demon shimmered out. He shimmered to the other side of the apartment when Chris’ room was. He walked up to the bed, brought down his hand, and held it against Chris’ forehead. Chris stirred in his sleep causing a frown to grow on the demon’s face. When nothing more happened, the demon relaxed and removed his hand. He looked at it and sighed, satisfied. His task there complete, he shimmered out without any more movement from Chris. This time the demon shimmered across town to the Halliwell Manor. He appeared on Leo’s side of the bed. He walked over to the bed and placed his glowing hand against Leo’s forehead, holding it there for several seconds before removing it. Instead of shimmering out, the demon walked around the bed to Piper’s side. He stopped there and placed his hand on Piper’s forehead for several seconds. Once he lifted his hand he turned it over to look at the palm. On the palm of the demon’s glowing red hand were four pale blue circles and four pale yellow circles pulsing even faster than the glow of his hand. He shook his hand causing the circles to merge into one large, pale green circle. He closed his hand and shook it again. When he opened his hand the circles had separated and there were four pale green circles in the place of the large one. The demon lifted his hand close to his lips and blew on it. Four pale green balls of light whisked away from his hand, two of them landing on Piper’s and Leo’s foreheads, two of them flying out the window, even as the demon shimmered out of the room. In his sleep Leo rolled away from Piper and onto his side.
If you haven't read the previous episode, click here and enjoy. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 9, 2016 0:27:43 GMT -5
Chapter One – Me, But Not Me The sun was beginning to shine through the window of Wyatt’s bedroom. The alarm in the night stand was ringing. Wyatt groaned in his sleep. He slapped at the wall instead of at the night stand. His eyes popped open the second his hand connected with the wall. “What on earth?” Wyatt’s eyes widened even farther. “Whoa! That’s . . .” his voice trailed off, but the sentence continued in his thoughts, not my voice. Only the thoughts didn’t belong to Wyatt, because even though the body was Wyatt’s, everything else about him was Chris. Chris in Wyatt’s body sat up and looked around. The sheets fell revealing his bare chest. And this is not my room. He slapped the alarm clock in the night stand. Why am I in Wyatt’s room? He pushed the covers off the rest of the way and climbed out of bed. Clad only in pajama bottoms he walked over to the bedroom door and pulled it open. He exited his room, turned left and then left again into the apartment bathroom. Chris entered the tiny apartment bathroom. On the left of the room was a bathtub with an attached shower. On the right there was a toilet by the apartment wall and a sink with a mirror over it nearer the door. Chris looked in the mirror and started breathing hard. This is bad. In the mirror he saw only his older brother’s face, with no sign of his own. Chris turned around and left the room. Chris exited the bathroom and turned left, again. He stopped in front of the door to his bedroom and turned the knob. He gulped and pushed open the door. Inside he saw himself, fast asleep on the bed. The sheets were no longer neat, something that bothered him a little. He entered the room and walked over to his bed. He stopped next to it and looked down, trying to see something that would indicate this wasn’t really him. Apparently I am still in bed, but how is this possible? He reached down and shook the other Chris, the Chris that looked like Chris. “Wake up.” Chris’ eyes opened, sleepily and he looked up at Chris. “Wyatt? What are you doing here?” Great, Chris thought to himself. It’s not Wyatt. Who’s in my body?Chris frowned as he looked around. “What am I doing in your brother’s room?” He frowned, his voice bothering him. Chris gave him a wry look. “My room actually. I’m Chris. Whom am I talking to?” It was an odd question to ask, but Leo had already figured out something was wrong. Chris? His mind questioned the words at the same time he accepted that if what his senses where telling him was right, then most likely this was Chris. “What’s going on and why do I have your voice?” Chris sighed. “My voice, my body, my bed. I repeat, whom am I talking to?” “Your dad,” Leo informed him. Chris shook his head, trying to clear it. Wy must be somewhere else. Turning his attention to his dad he said, “We need to get over to the manor.” He closed his eyes and tried to orb out of there, but he just stood there. He frowned and opened his eyes. “I can’t orb.” “That’s okay,” Leo told him softly. It wasn’t exactly, none of this was, but all things considered, a lack of orbing wasn’t that big of a deal. Besides, while, he son couldn’t orb, Leo was almost certain he could, a feeling he had felt in over two decades. “I think I can. Go get dressed.” “Dressed,” Chris looked down at his body, remembering that he hadn’t dressed yet. “Sorry.” He groaned as he remembered why the alarm had woke him. “Work.” “What?” Leo asked, not sure how work had come up in the conversation. “Wyatt’s alarm woke me,” Chris informed him. “He has work today. Am I supposed to go in for him?” “If you think you can do the job,” Leo hesitated trying to make a decision, finally deciding that this probably could wait for a little while, “it’s probably best. Do you have work?” Chris nodded. “At eight. Ever worked at a department store?” Leo shook his head. “I grew up during the Depression. I was lucky to get a newspaper route. After high school I went to medical school and then to war. I certainly never worked in a department store as a whitelighter. However, I think I’ll manage for one day.” It might even end up being fun. “Keep in mind,” Chris reminded him, “I’m the assistant manager and the manager’s not in today.” Remembering events from the past few weeks he added, “Oh, and be careful around David. He’s kind of a friend, but he thinks I’ve gone insane lately.” “Don’t worry,” Leo assured him. “Just get dressed and figured out how you are going to do Wyatt’s job at the museum.” Leo looked around his son’s room. The clock in the wall told him that there wasn’t a whole lot of time before he had to get to Centennial, if he was going to go. “I’ll go see if I can find your brother and check on your mother.” Chris nodded. He turned around and headed for the door, mumbling as he went, “I knew I hated demons in my room and there is no way this isn’t a demon.” |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 9, 2016 0:33:03 GMT -5
Chapter Two – To Get Out of Bed or Not In the Halliwell manor, the covers of Piper and Leo’s bed where twisted around Piper. Leo shivered. With his eyes closed he began to complain, “Leo, you’re hogging the . . .” and that was as far he got before Piper finished the sentence in her mind, blanket. Piper’s eyes flew open and she looked around. I’m on the wrong side of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and froze as another problem became apparent. Those are not my hands. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and turned to look at the other side of the bed. She groaned as she saw herself sound asleep with the covers wrapped firmly around her body. What is going on?By the window blue-white orbs turned into Leo in Chris body. He grinned, enjoying the feeling of being able to orb, and looked around. In the time since his conversation with Chris he has changed and was ready for the day. He spotted Piper in his body and frowned, suddenly understanding how Chris must have felt when he first spotted Leo in his body. “Piper or Wyatt?” What? was the first thought that came to mind as she turned to look where Leo was standing. “Did you just call me Piper? I’m your mother . . .” Not wanting to hear that particular sentence, ever, Leo interrupted her, “Let’s not go there. I’m not Chris. I left Chris in the apartment, getting dressed and picking up Wyatt’s room.” That had been rather amusing. Chris had said that since he didn’t know how long this would last, he wasn’t going to deal with Wyatt’s messing room if he could help it. Piper stirred in her sleep causing the real Piper to frown and look at her. “Then, that’s . . .” “Probably Wyatt,” Leo confirmed. “Oh good grief,” Piper complained. “I’m not liking the idea of switching bodies with my son.” She looked at Leo. “And husband. No make that sons and husband, right?” Leo nodded. “So far as we know, but you’re going to have to wake yourself up before we know for sure.” Piper frowned. “And another thing,” Leo continued on, “something is up with the boys’ powers.” Piper’s frown deepened. “You orbed here. Chris can. . .” She stopped and stared at her husband. “You orbed here!” Leo nodded. “And Chris couldn’t. Watch.” He gave her a half smile as a blue shield came up around him. It disappeared after a few seconds. “Chris shouldn’t be able to do that. It’s Wyatt’s power.” Piper considered this. “So you aren’t just in Chris’ body. You have Wyatt’s powers.” When Leo nodded, Piper continued her line of thought, “So it stands to reason that I don’t have my correct powers and I don’t have yours.” Leo smiled at that. “I don’t normally have powers.” “Okay,” Piper corrected herself, “so I don’t have your lack of ability.” She got out of bed and looked around. “Paige makes this look easy. Let’s see if I can do this.” She holds out her hand and calls out, “Pillow!” A pillow disappeared from the bed in blue-white orbs and reappears in Piper’s hand. She gave it a disbelieving look and then looked at Leo. “I just orbed that.” “That means the boys have our powers,” Leo commented. “That means one of them has no powers,” Piper reminded him, a tinge of worry in her voice. She frowned at Piper asleep on the bed. Piper moaned and turned over in her sleep. Her eyes blinked open and a frown grew on her face. Unlike everyone else, Wyatt didn’t start with talking. He already knew something was wrong. What on earth? Where am I? He pushed himself up against the headboard and looked around. Spotting Piper and Leo he frowned. That is odd.Piper and Leo looked at each other. In a whisper, Piper urged Leo, “Ask.” Leo shook his head and whispered back, “I’ll pass.” “I’m serious, Leo,” Piper pushed. “I am not asking someone in my body if they are my son.” “What’s going . . .” Wyatt started finishing silently, on. While he had figured something was wrong, he hadn’t quite realize how much. His thoughts were somewhat panicky as he thought, Not my voice. “What did . . ?” He covered his mouth with his hand. Still not my voice. He frowned. “Why do I sound like Mom?” Piper walked over to the dresser and started looking through one of the drawers. She pulled out a hand mirror and walked over to the bed. She held it out for Wyatt to see. “Sounds like. Looks like. The question is, how on earth did you end up in my body, Wyatt?” Wyatt gaped at the mirror and then looked at Piper with wide eyes. Disbelief was in his voice as he asked, “Mom?” When Piper nodded he turned his eyes to Leo. “Chris?” When Leo shook his head, Wyatt moaned. “Right now, Chris looks like you, Wyatt,” Leo informed him, using his son’s name to remind himself that this wasn’t his wife he was talking to. “Is there anything he needs to know about your job?” Wyatt looked at his father suspiciously. “What? Why would Chris need to know anything about my job?” “Because we agreed to deal with this after work in order to avoid unneeded questions,” Leo answered him. Wyatt glared at him. “You mean unneeded questions like, ‘Piper, why did you burn the food? It’s so unlike you.’ This is impossible!” “Wyatt, calm down,” Piper warned. “Seeing as I own the restaurant, I don’t normally have to go in.” Wyatt sighed, but before he could truly relax, Piper continued. “Today, however, I do have to be there for a while,” Piper told him. She forged on even as Wyatt groaned. “There is no cooking involved. In fact, I implore you not to try, not at the restaurant.” The unsaid, “in my body” rang loud and clear in Wyatt’s ears. “Then, why do I need to go there?” Wyatt wanted to know. “I have an interview set up with a potential employee,” Piper informed him. “I need you to conduct it.” Wyatt looked at her, distressed. “Can’t Drinka conduct it or something?” Piper laughed a little at that. “Much as you may think Drinka has all this authority, she is technically the restaurant hostess.” Which was how both Piper and Drinka liked it. The public seemed to love Drinka, so she made an excellent hostess. She was efficient, but the only other place Piper could have put her was as her secretary or something, and not only would Drinka have hated that, but it would have robbed Piper of a valuable employee. “It will have to be you.” “Fine,” Wyatt sighed. “I guess I can handle that. It’s not like I haven’t interviewed anyone before. I just haven’t done it looking like my mom.” And there in lay the problem. He started to push back the covers and freaked out, pulling them up to his chin. “Nope! Nope! I am not getting out of this bed until you fix this. There is absolutely no way I am dressing you, Mom.” Piper nodded at this. “A very good point. I can’t say I relish the thought of letting my son dress me. I’d probably end up looking a mess.” There was also the potential for a son who was scared for life if Wyatt was anything to judge by. He was made of stronger stuff than that and they both knew it. Wyatt looked between his parents and frowned in concentration. “I guess I could try a spell. Maybe a spell would change me into some day clothes.” Looking his mother in the eye he asked, “Mom, what do you want to wear?” “Let’s see,” Piper hedged as she walked over to the closet and started looking through clothes. She pulled out a pantsuit and turned around. “I think this will work.” Wyatt closed his eyes and climbed out of bed. He held out his hand. Piper walked over and handed the suit, hanger and all, over to Wyatt. Eyes still closed, Wyatt stood there for a moment before chanting. “My mother I must dress, so let’s not make a fuss. Switch the outfits in the air. So day clothes I can wear.” Nothing happened. “Did it work, because I don’t think it did?” |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 9, 2016 0:42:06 GMT -5
Chapter Three – Plans For the Day “It didn’t work,” Piper had to tell him. She looked at Leo “Chris must have my powers, which means Wyatt doesn’t have any.” Wyatt’s eyes popped open as the words reached him. “What did you say? Because I thought I heard you say I was powerless.” “Not powerless,” Piper refuted, “just without magic.” “Great!” Wyatt exclaimed, annoyed. “Not only am I in the wrong body without my powers, but apparently without any.” “Let me try,” Piper offered. Wyatt shrugged and closed his eyes, again. “Please do.” Now what was that spell Wyatt used? Piper thought as she considered her options. Spell writing had never been her thing. And if the spell worked when she said it, it proved that Wyatt didn’t have powers. Remembering she thought, Oh, yes. Now, I just need to modify it a little. She walked over to Wyatt and took the hanger out of his hand. “My body I must dress, so let’s not make a fuss. Switch the outfits in the air, so day clothes I can wear.” Blue-white orbs surrounded Piper’s body and the clothes in Leo’s hand, hanger and all. When the orbs lifted the outfits had been switched. The nightgown even hung from the hanger. Piper smiled. “It worked.” Leo shook his head smiling. “Yes, it did. I’m going to go to Chris’ job now.” Piper frowned. “Are you sure that is the best thing? I mean Wyatt’s going to have to go to that interview, but do you have to go to Chris’ job? “Best not to rouse suspicion,” Leo reminded her. “Besides Chris didn’t seem to like the idea of missing work, and he’s going to Wyatt’s job.” Wyatt sighed. “Something to say, Wyatt?” Leo asked, easily picking up on his son’s discontent. Wyatt shook his head. “No, just the idea of Chris doing my job at the museum.” “You doubt your brother’s ability to do it?” Leo queried. Wyatt shook his head. “Not exactly. I imagine Chris can do the job, especially for only a day. He’s smart enough, just not interested.” “Then, what’s the problem?” Piper asked. Wyatt shrugged. “I just can’t see Chris, of all people, telling someone he’s me. He hates lying.” Piper and Leo looked at each other. Both remembered back to a time long ago, when Chris had been an adult before he was born, when Chris lied as easily as he breathed. And yet he is so good at it, Piper thought. “What?” Wyatt looked between his parents. “What did I miss?” Piper shook her head. “Nothing. It’s nothing much. I’m sure Chris will manage.” “I guess,” Wyatt admitted. “He’s awfully good at avoiding answering a question.” He cast his parents an accusatory look. When there was only silence, he sighed. “Fine. Whatever. Don’t tell me anything.” I’ll find it out eventually. “Anything you want to tell me about this interview before I drive over there?” “Not that I can think of,” Piper told him, trying to think. “All I can recall is that the young lady is applying for a job as a waitress and we’re in need of a new one. Hire her is you thing she can do the job.” Wyatt nodded. “All right. I’ll see you in a while.” He headed toward the door. “Wyatt.” Wyatt stopped and turned around to look at his mother. “Remember to brush my teeth and hair before you go anywhere,” Piper told him. Wyatt reached back and pulled up a handful of long hair. He sighed. “Why did you have to have such long hair?” “No comments, buddy,” Piper instructed. “I happen to like my hair.” Wyatt shrugged and headed toward the bathroom. Piper turned to Leo. “Did you have plans for the day?” Leo nodded. “You know how I’ve been helping Hank learn how to use his whitelighter powers?” When Piper nodded, Leo continued. “Well, with everything that happened last week, he is determined to learn absolutely everything he can, so I have been going there every day. I’m afraid you would probably be little help. Piper considered this. It was true that she didn’t know all that much about whitelighters, especially their powers despite marrying one and having two sons who were half whitelighter. “I suppose I can go over there anyway. Maybe Paige or one of the kids has some sort of idea on how to fix this.” Leo nodded. “I’ll see you in the evening. Call if you come up with something.” Piper smiled and raised one eyebrow. Blue-white orbs formed around her and Piper orbed out. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 9, 2016 0:52:50 GMT -5
Chapter Four – Chris at the Museum Wyatt’s blue mustang pulled into an empty parking space in front of the San Francisco Museum of Natural History. The door opened to the car and Chris stepped out, still in Wyatt’s body. Wyatt’s body. Wyatt’s car. Wyatt’s job. This was going to be some day. Who ever thought I’d be here to work? At least it’s only for a day. This is almost as boring as Centennial. He shook his head. Oh, well. For Wyatt I have done a lot more uncomfortable things than working at a museum. He headed toward building, not sure he was ready to do this, but ready to try. How hard could it be?
A little while later Chris had found Wyatt’s office. It was a relatively plush office, especially for someone only in his mid twenties. Still Chris knew his brother had earned it. He just hopped that he didn’t mess anything up for his brother. I wish Wyatt had at least called with some sort of instructions. I haven’t a clue what to do.The door opened and Wyatt’s co-worker, Nathan Hensley, entered the room. He looked at ease as he glanced into the room. There were papers dangling from one hand. “Hey, Wyatt. The boss asked me to bring up some things for you to look at since I was on my way up.” Chris looked at Nathan’s hands, trying to disguise the weariness he felt. “Let me take a look.” Nathan closed the gapped to Wyatt’s desk and handed Chris the papers. “It’s about the new exhibit. I can’t believe that lady is giving up all this stuff.” Chris didn’t say anything as he looked at the papers. I hope he doesn’t expect a coherent answer. I haven’t the slightest clue what there are. He froze as his eyes fell on a figure on the page. Does that decimal place belong there? Who on earth gives away things worth this kind of money?“Well,” Nathan said, breaking the silence, “what do you think?” Chris looked at the paper rather doubtfully. “Did he say what he wanted me to do with them?” Nathan shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably work your magic and make everything fit into that tiny room and still look good.” Magic? Chris shook his head, trying to clear it. It’s just a word. Snap out of it, Chris. There is no hidden meaning here.“Wyatt, are you okay?” Nathan asked, concern filling his voice. “Sorry,” Chris gave him a wry look, “I’m not exactly myself.” Truer words there never were.“Yeah, okay,” Nathan accepted easily. “I hope everything works out.” He turned around and headed toward the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned back to look at Chris. “Hey, Wyatt. I wanted to say thank you.” “For what?” “For helping out a couple of weeks ago so I could get home early,” Nathan reminded him. “Lacey and I enjoyed the extra time.” Right. Wyatt told me that was why he was still at work when Kali called for help. “Glad that helped.” This is going to be a very long day. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 9, 2016 1:02:03 GMT -5
Chapter Five – “And So It Begins” Leo walked down the sidewalk in front of the big department store where his son worked. He stopped and looked up at the sign that said “Centennial” in big letters. Who ever thought the first time I actually entered Chris’ work is would be pretending to be him. He sighed. I really hope I can do this. He entered the building through the double glass doors.
Inside the Centennial break room, Rose Laughlin was sitting with her head in her hands as Jody Powell paced the room. “Oh, Jody. I just don’t know what to do. David means well, I think, but I don’t know what to tell him.” “It was foolish of him is what,” Jody scoffed. “You’d think he’d know better than to ask such a thing.” “Surely it’s not that bad,” Rose protested. “It could cost him his job, company policy about employee fraternization.” “It’s not as if either of us is in management,” Rose reminded her. “He . . .” Her voice trailed off as the door opened, letting Leo in. She closed her mouth and looked at Jody before sighing. “Good morning, Chris,” Jody greeted, nothing in her voice indicating the previous conversation. “Ready for the day?” I will be when I figure out what Chris does at work, Leo thought as the door opened a second time. David Vandemark entered the room and looked around. The girls looked at each other and Rose gave him a warm grin, “Good morning, David.” Leo turned to look at David startled. So that’s the young man Chris warned me about.David’s eyes narrowed as he noticed Chris’ eyes on him and he groaned. “Jody, Rose, would you mind getting on the clock and setting up for work. I need to talk to Chris.” Jody scowled at him. “You aren’t our boss and you aren’t on the clock either.” David gave Leo a slightly pleading look. “Chris, you’re second in command her. Some help please.” Great. Leo considered his options and decided that he’d best talk to the boy, see what was up. “Actually, why don’t we go to my office to talk?” Hopefully he’ll lead the way because I don’t know where that is, only that he has one.David nodded. “If that’s how you want to do this, fine. If that will get you to talk.”
They reached Chris’ empty office a minute or so later. David entered before Leo and stood in front of Chris’ desk. Leo walked around the desk and sat down. Both of them stood in silence until Leo needed to know what the boy was thinking, why he wanted to talk to him and what he thought he knew. “Well?” David sighed. “What is up with you, Chris? First, it’s amnesia. Then, you remember again, but you’re different. Now . . .” His voice trailed off, not sure what was wrong. “What makes you believe something is wrong?” Leo asked, wondering if David really did know something, or if he was bluffing. “I said nothing, did nothing to make you believe that.” “It’s there all the same,” David replied, his voice uncertain. “Will you tell me?” No, Leo thought, I don’t think Chris would thank me for doing that, but if he’s willing to help, perhaps I can use that somehow. “There is something up, but I don’t think it is something you should worry about.” David frowned. “How long? How long do I have to cover for you?” Leo looked at him surprised. “I’m not asking you to cover for me.” And I sincerely hope Chris hasn’t been either.“I know,” David sighed, wearily. “I just keep hoping this is a temporary lapse and you will soon be back to normal.” But Chris would never be back to what he was before. The second set of memories had taken care of that. Why does Chris think this boy plans to bring him trouble?“I guess I’ll be stocking in the back if you need some help,” David told him, giving up. “Just stay out Mr. Hollis’ way. He’ll know something’s up, too.” When Leo nodded, David continued. “I’m going to go clock in. I’ll see you later.” Leo nodded, again. And so it begins. He pushed his chair back and stood as David left the room. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 10, 2016 9:46:07 GMT -5
Chapter Six - No Cooking Allowed Piper’s white sports car pulled into the back parking lot of her restaurant. The engine turned off and a moment later the door opened letting Wyatt out. Here goes nothing. He walked around the building toward the front. What if I hire someone Mom wouldn’t or I don’t hire someone she would? Why couldn’t she have postponed this? He sighed. Why? Because we don’t know how long this will take. It would be rather rude to tell someone “Sorry, but I can’t interview you for a while and no, I don’t know when I’ll be available.” It’s bound to annoy most. Besides, the business doesn’t go away just because we have problems. Hope Callie doesn’t mind staying. Hope no one wants me to cook. He grimaced as he stopped in front of the doors to the restaurant. Here goes nothing. He pulled open the doors and walked inside.
Just inside the entry way Drinka Deguilio stood behind the hostess booth. When Wyatt entered from outside she looked up, her usual smile on her lips. “Good morning, Mrs. Halliwell. “Not good,” Wyatt mumbled, “and not Mrs. Halliwell.” Drinka frowned. “What was that?” Wyatt stopped and looked at her. He sighed. “I’m not Mrs. Halliwell. Our bodies got switched around.” “Oh.” Drinka’s eyes widened. “Who are you then?” “Wyatt.” His tone was flat. “Oh,” Drinka blinked. “Is this permanent?” “I hope not,” Wyatt groaned. “I like my body. I want it back.” And right now my brother has it.Drinka frowned and considered his words. “You will stay away from the stove, won’t you?” Wyatt sighed at the oft repeated words. “I have been warned several times about that. I’m to let Callie do the cooking while I interview someone and then I am to leave.” Realizing he didn’t know anything about the person he was interviewing he asked, “Is the person I am to interview here?” “She is,” Drinka assured him. “Ty told me she is sitting at the booth near the kitchen. We aren’t too busy so you shouldn’t have a problem finding her.” “Thanks,” he offered glad at least that part would be easy. This had better go well.“Good luck, Mr. Halliwell,” Drinka wished him, all too cheery in his opinion. He gave her a less than reassuring smile as he replied uncertainly, “Yeah.” Steeling himself he turned away and entered the main dining area. He was halfway to the kitchen when he stopped to see if he could find his interview. Now, where is she? And who is she for that matter? No one has mentioned a name.A young woman in her late teens, early twenties stood up from one of the booths. She had long blonde hair and delicate features. A grin grew on her face and walked over to Wyatt. “Hello, Mrs. Halliwell. I’m Emily. I’m here for the interview.” She extended her hand and Emily Colson smiled at him. Wyatt gulped at he looked at her. No one mentioned she was pretty.“Mrs. Halliwell?” Emily queried a little concerned. He took her hand and shook it. “Sorry,” he apologized. “It’s nice to meet you. Why don’t you go sit down while I get some stuff from the back?” “All right,” she smiled. “It’s good to meet you. I love this place.” “Thank you,” was all he could think to say before he walked toward the kitchen as Emily sat down.
In the kitchen Callie Ranard was at the stove cooking when Wyatt entered the room from the dining area. She looked up at the sound of the doors swinging. “Hello, Mrs. Halliwell. Did you find your interview?” “I did,” Wyatt acknowledged. “Do you know where her application and résumé are?” “On your desk, I think?” Callie frowned at him. “Is everything okay?” As if I can tell you, he thought before saying, “Something’s up, but don’t worry about it. It will get fixed, but I’m going to have to leave after the interview.” “Leave?” she asked, frowning. “Yeah,” he nodded, “can you stay longer today? I understand if you have plans, but I really can’t stay.” Understatement. If I stay, I’m caught, because I really can’t cook.“Yeah, sure,” Callie agreed confused but amicable. “It’s Monday. I’m free. You know you might want to hire another cook." “Chef,” Wyatt countered without thinking. It was an argument he had heard his mom have dozens of times, usually with Callie. “Whatever,” Callie shrugged. “I cook. I don’t chef. Just think about it. I’ll get one of the waiters to help out in the kitchen today. One of the requirements of the job,” she added wryly. To work at The Manor, you have to be able to cook even if you’re just a waiter or waitress, he mentally recited the words that more or less kept him from ever working for his mom. Yeah, yeah, I know. Let’s hope that this interview goes well. With that he headed toward his mom’s office ready to have this over with. |
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Post by Chrisaholic on Jan 10, 2016 10:08:47 GMT -5
I still laugh here and get a headache! Good work, StoryGirl!
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jan 10, 2016 15:01:50 GMT -5
I still laugh here and get a headache! Good work, StoryGirl! Glad you're enjoying it. Here's some more.
Chapter Seven – Problems Bigger Than Powers Hank Mitchell, the youngest child and only son of Henry Mitchell and Paige Matthews-Mitchell, was having a very frustrating day. He sat on the couch in the back den where his mom kept her magical supplies. In his lap was a large, untitled book containing spells his mom had taken from the official Halliwell Book of Shadows. It was mostly there so that his older sisters didn’t have to drive over to the manor to look up spells. He wasn’t even sure they considered him using it. After all, unlike his sisters, he could orb. His eyes were scrunched tightly closed as he finished off his latest attempt at casting a spell. “. . . To be unseen.” One of his eyes slid open and then the other. He looked around and sighed as he realized nothing had changed. “Nothing!” He exclaimed in exasperation. “Nothing, nothing, nothing. Why can’t I even cast a spell? What kind of witch can’t cast a spell?” The sound of the doorbell ringing from the front of the house forced him to stop his self pity and head to the front of the house. He left the spell book on a table and closed the door to the den behind him. His sisters were upstairs working on something girly, he didn’t actually know what, but they weren’t going to answer the door. His dad was at work. He wasn’t quite sure where his mom was, but that only confirmed that it was up to him to answer the door. Besides that, it was most likely Uncle Leo here for his lessons and if anyone in the house heard the bell, they knew that. When Hank reached the front hall he didn’t bother asking who was there. He just pulled open the door and offered Piper a half smile. “Uncle Leo, come in. I was wondering when you would arrive.” Except something was wrong. His whitelighter sensing powers were going nuts. This wasn’t what he thought it was, perhaps even this wasn’t who he thought it was. When Piper entered the house and closed the door behind her saying nothing, Hank grew only surer. “Is something wrong?” “Yes.” One word confirming what he was already sure of, but what was the problem? “Care to share?” “A demon or something did something to my family last night,” Piper told him as dread filled Hank. “I’m not your Uncle Leo.” “Uh,” he mumbled. He hadn’t expected it to be laid out quite that plainly or to be right that this wasn’t Uncle Leo. “Okay. Who are you?” “Piper.” Twin eye brows rose and Hank stared at her. “Aunt Piper? You sure look like Uncle Leo.” “Yes,” Piper agreed glancing in a mirror in the front all, seeing her husband’s reflection staring back at her. “Our bodies and our powers got switched around.” Hank frowned and looked at her. “Wait, so you have Uncle Leo’s body, but you have powers?” “Chris’ powers as best we can tell,” she offered before chuckling. “Leo’s giddy playing around with Wyatt’s powers. I think he misses being a whitelighter.” Sadness filled her eyes as realization mingled with memory, “Which is my fault.” “You know he doesn’t blame you,” Hank assured her, having had conversations on the topic with his uncle more than once. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I don’t get it.” “So are you just here to tell me that in person?” Hank asked confused. “Nope,” she denied. “I was actually hoping that I could get your mom to brainstorm with me.” Looking at him with a smile, she hurried to add, “Or if you want I could try giving you some lessons in something. Leo’s said that’s what he’s doing.” “Yeah,” Hank agreed, “he’s trying to help me learn how to use my whitelighter powers. Do you know anything about whitelighter powers?” She chuckled, “Not much from experience, but I have two boys who are half whitelighter.” Grinning Hank glamoured himself to look like first Wyatt and then Chris. His shoulders shrugged as he turned back into himself. “Yeah, but can they do everything a whitelighter can do or do they deal in witch powers, too?” “They have both,” she admitted a little confused, “but so do you.” “Do I?” Hank quirked a brow at his aunt, a gesture he had learned from her. Piper quirked an identical eyebrow right back. “Is something the matter?” “Probably not,” Hank waved a hand dismissively, trying to make it sound nothing like as important as it was to him. He didn’t like worrying people. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll go see if I can find Mom. I think she’s about.” “You sure?” Piper asked, again. “Yeah, I’m sure,” Hank told her, forcing his face to look carefree. “Switched bodies tops about anything I can come up with in my life.” Piper laughed, assured that everything was all right, but she didn’t see the sadness in Hank’s eyes as he walked away and she didn’t understand her son’s powers enough to realize exactly how much they would be telling her if she only listened. |
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Post by Chrisaholic on Jan 15, 2016 14:20:57 GMT -5
Good luck! This can be an interesting and long day for the Halliwells! *grins*
Keep going!
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 20, 2016 11:48:32 GMT -5
Good luck! This can be an interesting and long day for the Halliwells! *grins* Keep going! That's for sure. They definitely don't want to stay this way.
Chapter Eight – Grilled Cheese Interview Back at The Manor Wyatt headed back into the dining room, papers in hand. He walked over to the book where Emily was sitting. Emily smiled as Wyatt put the papers down onto the table between them and sat down across from her. He looked down at the résumé on top before he looked at Emily. Just how old is this girl? This résumé is almost nonexistent. “It says here that you have never worked at a restaurant before.” Emily nodded. “That’s correct.” “In fact it says that you have never worked anywhere before,” Wyatt added. “It’s not a blank piece of paper you know,” Emily reminded him, slightly annoyed. Did she just sass me? Wyatt asked himself, trying to keep his eyes steady. Emily composed herself and smiled apologetically. “Sorry. I’ve spent the last few year helping my mom take care of her grandmother. She died six weeks ago. This was one of Granny’s favorite places to eat, so when I thought of places I’d like to work now that she’s gone, I thought of here.” She paused before adding, “I can do the job.” And then she smiled just a little bigger. I can’t tell if she’s telling the truth of not, he worried as he tried to size her up. And that is such a pretty smile. I need to be careful, but I need the answer. “Why don’t we start with why you want to work here and how you think you can help this mu . . . er, restaurant?” I can’t believe I did that, Wyatt held back a moan. His mom was going to kill him. This isn’t the museum.Emily frowned. “What?” After a brief pause she shrugged it off. “As I already told you, I love this restaurant. Amazing food, amazing atmosphere. And I hear you’re a most congenial boss.” Is she talking about Mom? Apparently she didn’t know his mom all that well, but then she didn’t claim to. “I have high expectations of my employees.” Emily just smiled. “I’m sure you do. To run a place this good, you’d have to.” Wyatt scribbled something on the paper, wondering if she worked as well as she flattered. “And what do you think you bring to this restaurant?” “I’m a hard worker,” Emily assured him, “and a friendly person.” She grinned, “and I have great navigational skilled. What? Wyatt blinked with that one as it drew a blank. “Navigational skills?” “You know, for navigating around tables and people while waitressing.” Oh. And that would not have occurred to him. “I see.” He scribbled something else on the paper and looked back up at Emily. “Can you cook?” It was Emily’s turn to stare blankly and blink. “Cook? I’m applying for a waitressing job.” Oh boy. Wyatt thought as he processed that. Was that a ‘no’? Quoting his mom he informed her that, “All employees are required to cook from time to time, if we get busy and need their help.” And that was why he would never work there. “I see.” Emily was silent as she considered this. “I can cook, nothing fancy, but I can follow a recipe and make is taste good.” Then you can do better than I can, he mentally retorted before saying. “In that case why don’t we go to the kitchen and see what you can do.” Emily’s eyes widened as she protested, “But I don’t have anything prepared.” “That’s okay,” Wyatt was quick to assure her. “Nothing fancy. I’d be fine with a grilled cheese sandwich or a well put together salad.” She glanced around, speculatively. “You would?” It’s more that I can do, Wyatt thought wryly, well, the sandwich anyway. I can manage the salad . . . maybe. “Well, a grilled cheese sandwich isn’t our normal fare here, but it will do for a test of your cooking ability. If you were applying as an assistant chef that would be different. And Callie would be quite thrilled, he admitted silently to himself. It was really too bad Chris didn’t work there. He could cook. “Since you are applying for a waitressing job, grilled cheese should work or something similar.” “What happened to a salad?” Emily asked, slightly amused. “I decided it wouldn’t be much of a test of your ability to cook,” Wyatt admitted. She smiled a little at that. “True. I can manage a grilled cheese sandwich.” Wyatt stood and looked down at her. “All right then. Let’s head to the kitchen.” |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 18:15:25 GMT -5
Chapter Nine – Sisterly Payback Piper was sitting on a long couch that curved from the only door in the room left to the corner and all along the next wall. When Hank entered the room followed by his mother, Paige Matthews-Mitchell, she looked up at her sister. Paige looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Hank tells me you’re my sister.” Piper scowled. “Yes, Paige. I’m Piper.” “So Leo’s in your body?” Paige asked, curiously. The “again” at the end just lingered in the air. And so it was to Paige’s surprise when Piper shook her. “No, Wyatt is.” Paige faulted and actually looked worried. “Wyatt? Is he at The Manor? Pretending to be you?” Piper nodded. “I had an interview, so he’s doing that. After that’s over, he’s supposed to come here, unless you don’t want to help.” “Are you kidding?” Paige fairly beamed. “This is awesome . . . I mean,” she changed, trying to look contrite and failing, “I’d love to help.” “You don’t have to be so enthusiastic,” Piper scowled. Paige shrugged. “I miss magic and this is so much less stressful than last week.” “I don’t want to stay in my husband’s body with my son’s powers, Paige,” Piper informed her. “This is stressful.” Paige gave her a look. “And yet . . .” “Mom!” Hank exclaimed, shocked she would imply such a thing. “Don’t worry,” Paige was quick to assure him. “We won’t leave them this way.” Piper scowled, again. “You’re not supposed to mock me.” Paige tried to look serious, but failed. “I’ll try.” She turned to her son and suggested, “Would you go find your sisters?” Once Hank nodded and left the room, Paige turned back to her sister. “Now, why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me what you know.” |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 18:20:25 GMT -5
Chapter Ten – Good Enough? Wyatt and Callie stood several feet from the stove watching Emily as she worked on slicing a block of cheese. Callie leaned over and whispered, “You had to interview a waitress. We need a replacement for Jen.” Jen? Wyatt thought puzzled. Oh, right, the chef that quit before Christmas.Not knowing Wyatt’s thoughts, Callie kept whispering. “It’s been almost two months. We can’t keep doing this.” She watched as Emily grabbed a skillet and kept working. “I can’t believe you suggested she make a grilled cheese sandwich.” I don’t cook, he thought to himself, knowing he couldn’t voice the thought, and I can’t name half the stuff on the menu here . . . what was I supposed to suggest?“So how it the interview going so far?” Wyatt realized that this time she wanted an answer, so he whispered back, “She is friendly.” It was the only answer he could come up with. Callie frowned and looked at him. “What?” It was then that Emily came over with two plates saving him from having to answer. “I figured I’d make one for each of you.” She held out the plates. Callie looked at it suspiciously, as if she hadn’t eaten something so ordinary in a long time, but she did take the plate. Wyatt took the proffered plate and picked up the sandwich. After he took a bite, he smiled. This is good. “Thank you, Emily. Why don’t you go back into the dining room and I’ll be with you shortly.” Emily smiled, brightly. “Yes, Ma’am.” Ma’am, the word reverberated through his mind. Mom wouldn’t like that too much. He watched as Emily left the kitchen before turning to Callie, wondering how one got advice without appearing to get advice. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 18:26:11 GMT -5
Chapter Eleven – The Book Paige had listened closely as Piper explained what she knew. The longer Piper talked the longer the frown on Paige’s face grew. And it wasn’t as if there was much to be said either. It just worried her. “Well, that’s not much to go on.” Before Piper could respond a voice just outside the room called their attention to it. “Mom?” Paige looked up as her twin daughters, Alanna first, and then Janice peeked in. Hank was right behind them, his face kind of wry. “Come in, girls.” The three teens entered the room and Alanna plopped down on the couch next to Piper. “Hank says you’re Aunt Piper.” Piper sighed. “Yes, Alanna.” “Then, why don’t you look like her?” Alanna wanted to know with the open curiosity of someone a decade younger than her seventeen years. Janice and Hank walked over to the couch, but both remained standing and silent. Janice’s eyes mirrored her twin’s curiosity, even if as the more reserved and quiet twin, she wouldn’t easily ask. “I don’t know what caused this,” Piper informed her. “And I don’t know how to change it. It’s not like I can just flip a switch and fix it.” “Why not?” Alanna wanted to know. “Hank also said you have Chris’ powers, so why don’t you just glamour?” Piper frowned. “I don’t even know if that’s one of his powers, but even if it is, I wouldn’t begin to know how to use it.” Alanna turned to look at her younger brother. Though she spoke to Piper, she asked for confirmation from him at the same time as she stated, “Hank can teach you.” Hank raised his eyebrow. It was quite like her to volunteer him, but no one ever volunteered him to teach magical things, especially to adults who had practiced magic longer than he had been alive, adults who had taught them magic. Piper considered the idea and looked at Hank. “It’s worth a try, if you are willing. You obviously have control of that ability, if what I saw at the door was anything to go by.” Hank frowned at that. “Not really,” he informed them trying to figure out how to phrase his response. “It’s just something I can do. I think about someone I want to look like and suddenly I change so that I do look like them.” He looked at his mom. Trying to take the attention off him he asked, “Mom, you can glamour, can’t you?” Paige nodded. “I suppose I can. It’s been a while since I’ve tried.” “Then, you need to start relearning your powers, Mom,” Janice spoke up for the first time since entering the room. “If only half of what I’ve heard these last several weeks is true, then we need to be prepared. Magic is back, yes, but so is evil, and evil has not changed what it wants. It wants us. And it wants those most innocent, those we are to protect. That’s what you taught us, Mom, you and Dad.” Piper and Paige looked at each other before Paige turned back to face her daughter. “I think sometimes I forget that, but you are right.” She glanced back at her sister for a moment and then back at Janice. “And since you are right, what is your take on this situation? Do you have any ideas here?” Janice sat down on the couch next to her mom. “I think it’s a distraction. No one’s attacked, right?” “Right,” Piper agreed. “So I think we have two problems,” Janice continued, “the obvious one and the question of what’s going on while we are distracted.” She looked worried at her mom. “But I don’t know what to do about it.” Paige considered this and looked at her three children. “I think what we need to do is work on both problems, but I don’t see any way to find out what this demon wants without finding out who he is, so we’ll need the Book of Shadows.” “We could check the one you made first,” Alanna suggested. “It has a lot of info in it. Maybe the demon is in there.” “Isn’t there any other way we can try looking for this demon?” Hank asked, almost forgotten by the others in the room. Piper looked at her nephew as she thought about that. “Maybe, but only if we can find something of the demon’s.” “Or get a premonition off of something,” Hank retorted. Alanna looked questioningly at her brother, surprised at his tone, before she got up from her seat and left the room. “Which we can’t do with Phoebe missing,” Piper returned, “so it’s no use bringing it up.” She turned to Paige. “Any luck on that front?” Paige shook her head. “I haven’t found anything. I even summoned Grams. At least I can say with some confidence that she isn’t dead.” Piper sighed. “That’s something anyway.” She looked across the room at a clock in the wall. “I worried about Wyatt.” Janice and Hank both looked at her curious. Paige turned her head to look at her, but like her two younger children, said nothing. “He’s at my restaurant,” Piper explained, “pretending to be me.” “He’s not cooking is he?” Alanna asked, horrified at the thought. Hank rolled his eyes heavenward. “Wyatt can cook.” Three sets of eyes were on him instantly, making Hank squirm. “Well, he can. I’ve seen him. I’ve eaten his cooking.” “You ate something Wyatt cooked?” Piper asked stunned. Hank nodded. “It was something out of a box and he messed up with the first attempt, but yeah, I’ve eaten something he made and it tasted good.” Piper shook her head, amused. “Wow. I still don’t feel comfortable with him at my restaurant pretending to be me.” Hank shrugged. “Unless you started cooking stuff out of boxes and didn’t tell us, I imagine you still have reason to be. He can make dinner for himself, but he’s not the cook you are.” “Chris says he burns water.” “Chris also says that Wyatt is in charge of dinner every other night and that they don’t always have take-out.” Hank grinned. “He doesn’t like cooking.” Piper sighed. “I’m not sure what’s worse, a son who can’t cook or one who won’t.” Paige laughed. “Focus, Piper.” Piper sighed. “And it was so nice to not focus on the fact that I look like my husband for a moment there. Alanna returned to the room just then with the unmarked book her brother had been reading spells from earlier. She sat back down on the couch, this time next to her twin and opened up the book. She looked over her twin at her mom. “Did you only copy specific spells to this or just as much as you could?” Paige chuckled. “I’ve had almost twenty years to work on it, Sweetie. That book has every spell, demon, and family history I could find. So I guess, yes, if the Book of Shadows has anything, it should be in there, too.” “Great,” Alanna looked over at Piper. “So, Aunt Piper, you never saw the demon, right?” Piper nodded. “That’s right.” “Then, we are going to have to put this together using what he did to the four of you.” Alanna opened the book and peered down at the image drawn onto the page in her mother’s artistic hand. She held out the book for her mother and aunt to see. “This name is familiar. Who is he? A demon?” Paige and Piper looked at the picture and exchanged glances. Paige sighed and turned to her daughters. “A demon, yes, but not a normal demon. He was only half demon and he’s been gone for many years.” “Half demon,” Hank spoke up. “Like Seth?” Paige laughed. “Yes, like Seth, only unlike Seth he was raised as a demon. If you three want, I will tell you about him and some of the other demons in there, but after we get this problem fixed.” “May I see the book?” Piper requested. When Alanna had handed it over to her, she started flipping through. She looked at the pages, hundreds of them, pages she hadn’t looked at much in years. This demon was something new to her and this was going to take time, time they didn’t know if they had. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 18:38:46 GMT -5
Chapter Twelve – To Hire Or Not Back at The Manor, Wyatt looked toward the door swinging closed behind Emily, before turning to Callie. “What do you think?” Callie shrugged. “It’s your decision, Mrs. Halliwell.” Yeah, Wyatt retorted mentally. As far as advice goes that’s no good. Trying to come up with a better way to respond he said, “Yes, I know, but I’d like your opinion.” “She seemed pleasant enough,” Callie offered. “She can make a grilled cheese sandwich, though I still can’t believe that’s what you had her make.” Yeah, yeah, he scoffed. I know, but do you think Mom would hire her?“I can’t really say if you should hire her,” Callie continued, not knowing what he was thinking. Fine don’t help, he thought frustrated. I hope I make the right decision. “Thank you. I’d better go back in there.” Callie looked at him for a moment. A strange look crossed her face as she said, “Tell me when she’s going to start.” “Huh?” Wyatt had no idea what to make of that statement. “I recognize that look,” she informed him. “You’re planning on hiring her. I am? Wyatt thought skeptically. ‘Cause I hadn’t decided that yet.“You had that exact same look when you hired Chelsea last year.” Who? Wyatt thought, even more confused at the unfamiliar name. Still all he said was, “I see,” and then he headed into the dining room in search of better advice. He walked right past Emily and into the entry hall and stopped at the hostess booth. “Who is Chelsea?” Drinka blinked and looked at him. “Excuse me?” “I asked Callie advice,” Wyatt informed her, “and she said I looked like I did when I hired Chelsea. Who’s Chelsea?” “One of our waitresses,” Drinka relented. “She’s on maternity leave right now. She should be back in about three weeks.” Wyatt frowned. “How come I don’t recognize the name?” “She works mornings when you are usually working yourself,” Drinka explained. “Speaking of which is Piper at your job or were you off today?” “No such luck as a day off,” Wyatt lamented,” but it’s Chris who’s there, not Mom.” “I see,” Drinka replied slowly, though she was becoming more and more lost. “Can you give me some advice on this girl, Drinka?” Wyatt pleaded. “I want to make a decision Mom would.” “I only saw her for a moment,” Drinka reminded him, “so I can’t advise you on her, but you know what you mom looks for. You most likely either know or have a good idea if this girl has the qualities your mom wants.” He nodded, realizing that he did know this. “Then, you know if you should hire her or not,” she informed him. He smiled a little. “Thanks, Drinka.” “No problem, Mr. Halliwell.” He turned around, now almost sure what to do. He walked back into the main dining room, thinking, Mom’s right. We do think of Drinka as more than just a hostess. He walked over to the table where Emily was sitting, but remained standing. Please be the right decision. “Hi.” Emily smiled. “Hi. Do you have any more questions?” “Just one,” he told her, hoping it was the right one. Since Emily just waited, he asked, “If I hire you, when would you be able to start?” She grinned at that. “Tonight unless I have trouble getting the clothes I need for a uniform.” Impressive, he thought as he processed that. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t ask someone to start on the same day a hired, but if you would like I’ll have you come in tonight to follow around one of our waiters or waitresses to see if you can do the job.” “I have the job?” Emily asked as she stood. “A one week trial,” Wyatt informed her. He figured that would give them enough time to fix this problem and give his mom enough time to decide for herself. “You will be paid, of course, and you will need to dress appropriately, but unless you cannot do it, then yes, you have the job.” Emily grasped his hand and shook it. “Oh, I can. Thank you. You won’t regret this.” Let’s hope now, he thought as he let go of her hand. At least she didn’t think the trial weird. He knew his mom would. He picked up the papers off the table and pulled one out. He handed it to Emily. “This will tell what you need to have tonight and some basic rules. If there is a problem getting anything call and leave a message for me. You’ll get more information when you arrive tonight. Emily nodded as she took the paper and looked at it. Wyatt eyed her. “Are you sure you want to start tonight?” “Yes,” she nodded. “Thank you.” “All right,” Wyatt relented, “will seven o’clock work?” When she nodded, he informed her that, “I don’t know if I will be in tonight, as I have some family things to take care of, but if I am I’ll see you then.” Or hopefully Mom will. He walked away in the direction of the kitchen thinking, Now to put this stuff away, tell Callie that’s she’s right, and get out of here. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 18:45:53 GMT -5
Chapter Thirteen – Tricky Lady  .....................................................as ........................................................  and Mrs. McGrath had been doing a fairly good job of keeping people from being suspicious and of doing Chris job. It had been a busy morning, so keeping occupied had been a fairly easy task. As his son left The Manor, Leo was talking to a customer, a woman who seemed to be trying cause trouble. Jody had been running one of the cash registers all morning, but when she finished with the customer she was on, she walked over to Leo and offered a quarried look at the woman Leo was helping. “Mrs. McGrath, are you giving Chris a hard time?” “Would I do that?” the customer, Mrs. McGrath, sounded more amused than annoyed. “Really now, girl. Didn’t your mama teach you better than that?” Leo looked between the two women. Is she a regular or someone Jody knows?As if to answer his question, Jody introduced them. “Chris, this is my neighbor, Adela McGrath. She likes to come in and play pranks on my coworkers. What was she asking for?” “Something that hasn’t been made in a while,” Leo informed her. Mentally he added, Something that hasn’t been made since my mother was a little girl.Jody gave Mrs. McGrath a look. “Quit messing with him. He may not be his self today, but this guy is one of my bosses. He could get me in trouble.” She pursed her lips and gave a good impression of a pouty child right down to the high pitched tone of her voice as she said, “Please, Mrs. McGrath.” Mrs. McGrath laughed. “All right. I’ll leave this one alone.” Jody grinned. “Great. Is there anything you actually want, Mrs. McGrath?” Mrs. McGrath shook her head. She smiled as she walked away. Jody turned her attention back to Leo. “So you have been acting kind odd lately. Today, yes, but for over a month. Is everything okay?” How do you answer that? He thought as he looked at the young woman in front of him. Obviously this is about more than just today.“Come on, Chris,” Jody looked at him searchingly. “You’ve more or less turned over responsibility to David most of the time. That’s not like you. Or it wasn’t before New Year’s. Did something happen then?” This is something that my son is going to have to deal with. If he hasn’t been doing his job, I can’t fix that. Not sure what to say, Leo looked at her and said, “I can’t give you the answers you want, Jody.” I don’t know them. He was relieved at the site of a customer approaching the register. It was time to get back to work. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 18:49:15 GMT -5
Chapter Fourteen – Lunchtime It had been an enlightening morning for Chris. So far he hadn’t had to deal with too many people. He’d learned a lot about Wyatt’s job, enough to know he did not want to do this forever. Some of the things he didn’t like about Centennial where things Wyatt enjoyed doing. As a result, these were things he had to deal with. He had been looking at a set of papers for over half an hour, puzzling over them. Try as he might, the numbers refused to add up. He didn’t know if it was something he did or if it was actually the numbers. A knock on the door was a welcome relief, even if it meant having to pretend, again. “Come in.” The door opened and Nathan entered. “You still in here.” Chris just nodded. Am I not supposed to be?“Have you looked at the clock?” Nathan asked a bit curious. “Lunch is half over all ready.” They have set lunch breaks? They sure didn’t at Centennial. Apparently there was something to be said for this place. Nathan stared at him for several seconds. When he spoke it wasn’t at all what Chris expected him to say. “Who are you?” “What?” Chris asked, stunned. Does he somehow know?“You heard me,” Nathan stated. “You are not acting at all like yourself, Wyatt. What’s going on?” Chris frowned. What on earth do I say? “What if I told you that I wasn’t Wyatt?” Chris replayed the words in his head and sighed. In for a penny . . . “What if I told you I was his little brother somehow in his body?” Hopefully he thinks I’m crazy. “What would you say then? Would you believe me?” Nathan frowned and shook his head, slowly. “No, that doesn’t make sense. I’ve met Chris. You don’t look anything like him. But then, I guess you did say somehow in Wyatt’s body, so I’ll go with that can’t happen. People can’t change bodies. It just doesn’t happen.” Well, it isn’t exactly normal for me either, Chris thought silently. “Too bad it’s impossible,” Nathan commented. “It would explain everything.” He laughed. “So are you coming down to eat or not?” Chris grinned. “Yeah. Lunch sounds good.” |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 19:01:08 GMT -5
Chapter Fifteen – Identification When the doorbell rang, Hank excused himself and headed to the front door. He pulled open the door and chuckled at the sight of his cousin. As weird as it was to see his aunt in the body of his uncle, it amused him even more seeing his cousin in his aunt’s body. “Hi, Wyatt. Come in.” Wyatt entered the house with a wry smile on his face. “You don’t know how good it feels to hear my own name,” he began checking himself at the sound his mother’s voice, “even if I still don’t hear my own voice.” Hank smiled warmly as he closed the door behind Wyatt. “Come on. Our moms and my sisters are in the living room. It will be nice to have another guy in there.” He grinned even broadly. “Even if that guy does look like a woman.” Wyatt reached out his hand and smacked his cousin. Hank laughed. “How was Aunt Piper’s interview?” “I managed,” Wyatt informed him as they walked down the hall. “Did you hire someone?” Not the question he wanted to answer. “Sort of. Can we change the subject?” Unfortunately Hank wasn’t ready to get off the subject. “How do you sort of hire someone?” “Trust me,” Wyatt confided. “It’s possible.” When they reached the living room, Hank entered in front of Wyatt and stepped out of the way. He walked over to where his sisters were sitting and sat down. Wyatt gave his mom a tentative smile. “Hi, Mom.” “This kind of mirror I could do without,” Piper commented. “How’d it go?” “I’ll tell you later,” he told her as he walked over to look at the book Alanna and Janice were perusing. “What’s this?” “The workings of a deranged artist,” Piper teased. Wyatt frowned and turned his questioning gaze toward his aunt. Paige gave her sister a shove. “Be nice, Piper.” “Have you learned anything useful?” Piper sighed. “Not much. We are still trying to give a name to this demon.” “Wait!” Paige exclaimed, startling everyone. “Alanna, turn that page back.” Alanna shrugged and turned the page back and looked at the two images on the pages. Neither name sounded anything like what they were looking for. “I don’t get it.” “Alanna, read the last paragraph on the first page.” “All right.” She traced the page with her finger until she reached that paragraph and then she began reading. “This demon was said to get to his victims using the aid of another demon called a Sjelmikser. There is not much known about the Sjelmikser or Soul Mixer because once he attacks he never comes back. They appear to only have interest in causing confusion by switching around the bodies and powers of their victims, making them vulnerable to attack. Other demons such as this one then come in and attack before the victim can learn how to function as someone else.” Alanna looked up at her mother. “How did you know?” Paige smiled. “Honey, everyone word and image in that book, I copied into there by hand. I may not remember immediately, but I know that book.” Wyatt turned to Piper, a big grin on his face. “We’ve got our demon. Now, let’s find out how to reverse what he did.” |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 19:02:59 GMT -5
Chapter Sixteen – Ask Leo Leo entered the break room. It had been a long morning and he was glad for the break. It had been a long time since he had felt so busy and he liked the feeling. He needed something more to occupy his time. He enjoyed teaching his nephew, but he wanted to do something that helped people more, maybe like his older son he could volunteer at the hospital, use some of the skills learned both in med school and on the battlefield a lifetime ago. He’d once wanted to be a doctor, but he’d gotten off that track, so very far off that track. Was one hundred and two, nearly one hundred and three too old to go back to back to medical school? He laughed at the thought, but it lingered in his mind. Did he dare? “Chris?” Leo looked up surprised. He realized that he wasn’t alone in the break room. One of the young ladies his son worked with was sitting curled up on one of the chairs sipping some coffee. “How are you doing?” Rose. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that was her name. “I’m fine,” she assured him, but her voice was unsteady. “Are you sure?” he asked, sure he was right. Rose laughed nervously. “Yeah. I just . . . I have something to decide. It’s important so I don’t want to decide wrong.” She shrugged. “But you’ve never been unsure of your decisions, have you?” “I think everyone is at some point or another,” Leo told her. “Some just hide it better than others. Can I help?” She sighed. “I don’t know. It’s just . . . David.” David? The guy who works here? He looked at her puzzled. “Do you want to talk about it?” Rose laughed slightly. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know what to do. Jody just tells me forget the whole thing and Brian says he doesn’t know any of us well enough to venture an opinion. I don’t trust anyone else at work enough to even ask. And you’re David’s friend . . . or closer to him that anyone else at work. Promise you won’t just side with David.” I hardly know the guy, he thought as he nodded. “That I can promise.” Her smile brightened and she climbed off her chair to get some coffee. Her back was to him as she talked. “You know that we’ve been dating a couple of months now. And I’ve known him since he started working here last year, of course.” Leo didn’t know that, of course, but he wasn’t about to mention it. Chances were high that Chris did know these facts. She turned around and lifted the cup to her lips. When she had taken a sip she said, “There were some problems in my apartment, and I have to wait a month before I can move back in. Since it’s my landlord’s fault, I’m not being charged. I stayed with my sister for the last two nights, but she’s got a two bedroom apartment, a husband, three kids, and a parakeet. It’s kind of cramped and noisy. The baby’s just two months old and he doesn’t sleep the night. And the twins are only two. They don’t always sleep the night through. I can’t go on staying there, not for a whole month.” She talks too much, he stared at her, not sure where any of this was going. She didn’t seem to notice his silence as she kept on talking. Apparently once she started, she just kept on going. “I mentioned this to David last night. And that was after only one night at my sisters. He suggested I move in with him, for the month or longer if I wish.” She sighed as she sat back down. “I’m not ready for longer, but I don’t know if it’s wise to even move in with him for a month. Jody thinks I should just tell him to forget it, but I like him. I really do, Chris. What do you think?” What do I think? He considered this. “Is there a third option?” “Not at present,” she mumbled before taking another sip of coffee. “My landlord just told me and the others in that particular building to find places to stay for the month while he gets it fixed.” “What exactly happened to your apartment, anyway?” She grimaced. “Someone rather annoyed at my landlord decided to destroy his property. Windows, doors, walls. He managed to make it through all four apartments in my building before someone called the cops and he was stopped.” “Didn’t anyone notice the noise of breaking windows?” Leo asked trying to keep amusement out of his voice. He really shouldn’t be amused. She shrugged. “One of my neighbors has been known to break windows on numerous occasions. People gotten deadened to the sound of breaking glass. The vandal was actually rather careful only to ruin things owned by the landlord, so the tenants’ property was unharmed. I didn’t lose anything, but I have no place to live. So it’s my sister’s or David’s.” “What about Jody?” She frowned up at him. “What about Jody?” “Can you stay with her for a month?” Rose laughed. “We’d probably drive each other mad after a week. She’s rather bad about keeping roommates. I think she’s without one right now.” She sighed. “Still I don’t think I should be suggesting such a thing.” “She doesn’t think you should live with David. See if she’s willing to offer an alternative, because from the way you talk I don’t think you want to live with him either.” “Perhaps not. I just . . . I don’t know that it would all that good for our relationship.” He looked at her surprised. “How’s that?” She shrugged. “I read. Stats say that couples who live together are a lot more likely to end a marriage in divorce if they even get that far. I’d really rather not put a handicap on this relationship before it’s even had a chance.” He’d lived with Piper before marrying her. And while they had plenty of problems, that hadn’t even come into the equation. “I see.” She laughed a little. “You don’t do you.” He said nothing. She smiled. “That’s okay. You helped. I hadn’t thought of asking Jody, but I imagine I’d get more sleep living with her for the month that I am with my sister. And if she’s no, I’ll think of something else. Thank you.” She smiled as she put her mug in the sink and headed out of the room, leaving Leo unsure what to think of the whole encounter. |
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Post by StoryGirl83 on Jun 21, 2016 19:04:33 GMT -5
Chapter Seventeen – Breakables as  headed back to Wyatt’s office with a smile on his face. His brother had some interesting friends. And it was clear that they were his brother’s friends, something he couldn’t really claim about his own co-workers. He’d been teased about working through lunch and he wondered where Wyatt was. His brother would have known when lunch was. As he walked he didn’t notice shimmering behind him in the empty hall until he heard a crash. He swung around and a saw a pedestal coming at him. His eyes blinked closed and if he’d had his own powers, he would have panic orbed. There wasn’t time to think before the pedestal slammed into him, throwing him to the floor. As he was trying to get up another crash was all the warning he got of a second pedestal slamming into him. Pain throbbed through him has he pushed himself against the wall and swung out his arm. Nothing happened. Right. No powers. He winced in pain. But Dad had powers. Whitelighter powers. Another crash distracted him and he waved his hands in front of him trying to protect his face from the newest projectile. And nothing happened. After several seconds his body started to relax. He opened his eyes and dropped his hands. His eyes widened as he saw the pedestal about a foot from his face, unmoving in mid-air. He scrambled out of the way, almost screaming in pain as his right leg moved. He ignored it and tried to stand. Mom’s power. His leg buckled and the thought was lost. The freeze broke and the pedestal hit the wall. Chris stumbled against the wall, his right leg refusing to support him as the demon raised a hand and another of the decorative vases that lined the hall crashed to the ground. The pedestal it was on came careening at Chris and he waved his hands. The scene in front of him froze. Okay, Mom, if I have your powers then how do I blow something up? He looked down at his hands as memories flooded through his mind, memories of another life.
Chris orbed into the manor and started talking to the three women in front of him, not even noticing the three women at his side. “You wouldn’t happen to know any gremlins would you?”
In front of him the three blondes* postured. Next to him, though, the three women sighed in relief. “Ah, it’s about time!” exclaimed one with wavy shoulder length reddish-orange hair.
“Chris, thank God!” exclaimed a second one with sleek brown hair capping her head. “Look at them. Look at them. They’re imposters. They stole . . .”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” Chris exclaimed, stopping the flow of words from her mouth. “Slow down. Who are you?”
“They’re witches,” said one of the women across from him, the one who he thought was Piper, his mother. “They’re the ones that killed that guy across the street.”
The brunette closest to Chris looked at her with disbelief. And the blonde next to Piper, his aunt Phoebe, to his mind, grinned before gasping as if the thought had just occurred to her.
“No, Chris,” said the third woman to his side, a woman with long, dark brown hair. “She’s lying. Remember this morning when you said something was going to happen to the book? Well, this is it. It’s happening now.”
Phoebe let out a sound of disgust. “Enough of this. Piper blast them.”
Chris stepped between the two groups of women and looked at the long haired brunette. “How do you know what I said to Piper?”
“Because she is Piper,” the red head told him. “And I’m Paige. And this is Phoebe.” She didn’t stop as the short haired brunette waved a hand in greeting. “And they cast an identity spell to make the entire world think they’re us.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said the third blonde, the one he thought was Paige, but was she? “Everyone knows the Charmed Ones are blonde.” She flipped her hair.
“If your Piper,” said the blonde Piper, “then show me your powers. Blast me.” She folded her hands in front of her, confident that nothing would happen.
“I can’t,” the brunette Piper said, reluctantly. “You stole them.”
Chris looked at her in disbelief.
“Okay, so we stole your identities and your powers,” the blonde Piper restated, bragging in her voice. “Wow, we must be good.” And then she said something very odd. “Definitely worth more than a paragraph.”
“Oh, yeah,” agreed the blonde Paige.
“It’s time to take care of you witches and your delusions,” the blonde Piper stated, her voice starting to sound menacing.
“Wait!” the redheaded Paige called out. “Wait. I can prove that we’re telling the truth. I can still orb. I’m half whitelighter.”
“Okay,” Chris agreed easily. “Go for it.
The redheaded Paige inhaled sharply and closed her eyes, but nothing happened. She tried it a second time, but still nothing.
“What do you think of my anti-orb spell?” Chris could barely make out one of the blonde sisters whisper.
“Oh you,” came the whispered reply even softer than the first.
And it made Chris wonder. He shook the thoughts filling his head away and turned back to the blonde sisters. “Go ahead, Piper, blast away.”
The blonde Piper held out her hand with a flick of her wrist the stained glass windows behind the dark haired sisters shattered.
“She missed!” the dark haired Phoebe exclaimed. “Chris, when have you ever known Piper to miss?”
“Even I’m entitled to a bad day,” the blonde Piper offered with a worried shrug when Chris turned to look at her.
A sound of agreement came out of the blonde Phoebe’s mouth and the blonde Paige looked at her sister urgently. “Come on. Try again.”
The blonde Piper flicked her wrist, again and a potted plant exploded behind the dark haired sisters.
“Uh, Chris, a little help here,” the redheaded Paige requested urgently.
Chris looked back and forth between the two sets of sisters, no longer sure which one to believe.
“Oh you know what,” the dark haired Piper said, taunting, “she’s getting angry and our powers don’t work so good when we’re angry.”
“We got them now,” the blonde Phoebe encouraged.
“Yeah,” agreed the dark haired Piper, still taunting, “you got us now, so why don’t you blow us up?”
“Piper,” the dark haired Phoebe cringed as she looked at her sister, “death bad, life good.”
“Don’t worry,” the redheaded Paige assured her, sounding more confident. “This bimbo couldn’t hit the broadside of a beauty parlor. Check out that dye job.
The three blonde sisters exclaimed in different degrees of affront, but it was the blonde Piper who replied, “How dare you!”and with both hands blasted them, causing a bigger explosion than before and the three dark haired sisters to duck and cover.
Chris stared back and forth between the two sets of sisters, trying to decide what was going on.
“Run,” the dark haired Piper ordered her sisters and they used the confusion and the smoke to exit the room.
Chris had a lot to think about.
Chris’ eyes brightened as he recalled just how the warlock masquerading as his mom had used her power. He flicked his wrists at the scene frozen in front of him. The pedestal headed at him exploded into thousands of pieces as the demon started moving, again. “You picked the wrong witch to mess with,” Chris informed the demon with more bravado then he felt as he flicked his wrists. Annoyance flickered on his face as the demon only flinched. He flicked his wrists, again and again, certain if the demon didn’t leave very soon he wouldn’t be able to remain standing. The demon flinched each time and finally scowled at Chris. He said nothing as he shimmered away. Chris relaxed and slid down the wall to a sitting position. He surveyed the mess in front of him and moaned. He closed his eyes and in whispered words he chanted, “Let the object of my objection become but a dream as I cause the scene to become unseen." Around him the scene shimmered and changed, but Chris didn’t notice. He’d lost consciousness.
*For those of you who want to keep them straight, the Stillman sisters are Mabel, Mitzy, and Margo impersonating Piper, Phoebe, and Paige respectively. |
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