Destinies Toll Is Ending [3/3] (In Progress)

[Chris]

Destinies Toll Is Ending

The Final Part in the Destiny Series

Prologue

Long ago, in the year sixteen-ninety two, I was burned at the stake for being a witch. My lover, or who I thought was my lover, had seduced me and outed me for the true being that I am, a witch. As I stood on the stake, waiting to be burned, I knew I had to save my daughter, Prudence Warren. If I did not die on that day, the witch hunters would have taken my daughter and killed her, too. I told everyone who watched my execution that the Warren Line would grow and extend. That our powers would grow stronger and stronger until one day three Sister Witches known as the Charmed Ones would come to the Earth, and battle all the forces of Evil. There is however, something I did not get to share because I was killed too quickly. There is another prophecy, a prophecy very similar to my first.

As my family grew beyond The Charmed Ones, there would be another. When The Second Daughter returns to the Earth, the Power of Three would indeed change. Shifting into a form opposite. Three Brothers will band together to fulfill their own unique Destiny. As the Charmed Ones fulfilled their Destiny to take out The First Witch, the Charmed Sons would unite together to take out The Second Witch. Until then, my daughters and sons will grow, and keep growing until it is time for The Charmed Ones to pass down my... our powers, to help guide my Sons to their Destiny.

And now, as we approach the end of the Second Witch, I realize that I myself did not know that my Sons' Destinies would not be ending. Now is the time to be One. It is time that everyone comes together to protect, to guide, and to love my Sons. Because now, in the End of Destiny, they will be going up against their most tough battle. A battle in which Good and Evil will stop at nothing to get what we all want.

Will it be us, who will take the world back from its demolition and restore our beautiful home to what it once was? Or will Evil apprehend us and make us succumb into the depths of The Underworld and bring the world into utter chaos?

I, Melinda Warren, will always remain faithful to my own. I, and I ask all of you my friends and loved ones, to join me in guiding my Sons as they journey across the Darkness to bring back the peace and help the Earth flourish to once it was before.

I am Melinda Warren, Matriarch of the Warren and Halliwell Line, and I have faith in my Sons, that they will do whatever it takes to restore our world.

[Chris]

Chapter One

What does one do to complete their Destiny? Is anyone's Destiny ever finished? The Charmed Ones thought their Destiny was finished multiple times. The Source, The Ultimate Power. It wasn't until The First Witch came back to wipe the Charmed Ones out of the world that they realized their Destiny wasn't over. I don't understand why I became Charmed. It's suppose to a Chick Thing, right? At least that's my brother always said. Maybe he was right, or maybe he just didn't understand the whole picture. I had heard many stories about my ancestors. Melinda Warren, Prudence Warren, P. Baxter, Phoebe Bowen. My family grew up with women, that is, until my father was born. Wyatt Matthew Halliwell was the first male Warren witch to be born and raised by my grandmother, a Charmed One, Piper. Why did she have a son when she traveled to the future and saw that little girl? Was it the same reason Phoebe Halliwell didn't burn at the stake in two thousand nine? Why was I chosen out of all my ancestors when there was already three sisters to become Charmed? Not that Sarah would ever want to become a Charmed One. Is there a bigger picture out there, and I just don't realize it yet? Will I ever see my brothers again? Is this our new Destiny, to be separated forever?

‘What was that pounding, and what am I feeling?’ Stirring slowly, the male opened his eyes, and looked around the place he didn't feel familiar with. He moaned softly as he realized that he was feeling pain coming from his head. “Oh God,” he tried to shake his head, but the pain was so horrible, “what the Hell did I drink?” Lifting his head up, he was finally able to view his surroundings. He was laying on a couch, he realized, and to his left was a miniature kitchen. A small table with three chairs served as the places dining room. As he looked over to his right, a television stood on its stand. It didn't look sturdy, but whatever its condition may have been, it probably worked for whoever owned it.

The male, a boy of nineteen, stood up slowly on the hard floor. He could feel instant cool touch his feet. Looking down, Christopher Halliwell saw that he was barefoot. It struck him as strange, for he did not remember taking his socks or shoes off. As he ventured around the tiny apartment, Chris slowly walked his way over to the kitchen area. His feet, his legs, and his arms were so sore. At first, he wanted to go lay back down and just sleep, but then he realized he was quite thirsty. Touching his throat, he felt it was so f**k**g sore. Hopefully there was water or something in the fridge to drink. Maybe even a beer. Chris opened the fridge, and immediately frowned. There wasn't much in there, but when he looked in one of the fridges cabinets, his face lit up. Ah ha! He opened the little storage bin and took out a nice, cold bottle of Budweiser beer. “Score!” Popping open the cap, he started to guzzle the cold beverage down. As he felt it flow, his tongue reacted negatively to the taste, but he didn't mind it. His throat on the other hand, thanked the boy for such a refreshing drink. “Ah.”

Chris shut the fridge, and made his way over to the little table and chairs and sat down. As he was almost lost in his own world, he heard another pounding. “What the...” Chris looked behind him, realizing there was someone else in this place with him. Well, that was the be expected, wasn't it? Chris knew he didn't just waltz in here on his own, so of course there was someone else here. Still, he was cautious when he stood up and started making his way down the hall. Someone was in one of the back rooms, shuffling what sounded like papers around. Trying to carefully not make a sound, Chris inched his way towards the back, hoping the floor wouldn't creak and expose him. As he reached his destination, Chris carefully peered into the room.

It was a bedroom. There was a bed and a nightstand on the left. A closet just next to that. A window could be seen, but the blinds covering it was closed so the young Charmed One couldn't look out, which was a shame. Piled all over the floor were books, papers, paper plates, and other assortment of junk. Chris wanted to know who lived here and who he was with, but he also wasn't really sure if he wanted to. The Charmed One was so busy checking out the room, that he didn't notice a man standing straight and tall now, looking at him. “Well, it's about time you woke up.” Chris jumped in fright, his heart beating so hard. It didn't come quick, but realization soon told him who the man was.

“Aaron.” Chris could feel himself run over and wrap his arms around the older man. Aaron Thompson was a long time friend to the Halliwell's, and knew of the families secret. Chris remembered that every time Aaron would visit, he would bring gifts and spoil the hell out of him and his brothers, much to his parents disapproval. Aaron didn't care however, and kept doing it. That is, until some times when Chris got older, Aaron just stopped coming around. He always wondered if his parents had something to do with that. It was possible, knowing Wyatt and Kira. The two shared a hug for a couple seconds before it was broken off. Chris got a good look at the man, and noted that he was definitely older. Older and very worn out, Chris thought.

Aaron lead Chris back into the living room, where the two sat down and immediately struck up a conversation. As they discussed the events of what was going on, Chris' memory jogged back into place. Everything quickly ran through his mind: Medilyn, his brothers, Demortica, Athulak, becoming a Charmed One. Aaron revealed he didn't even know what was going on. One minute there was a freak rain storm, and then the next everything just went calm. It wasn't until ten or so minutes later that everything went to total Hell, and the city went to sh!t.

“Seriously, meteors struck the city, dude. Lightning strikes were everywhere, and there were even tidal waves!” Aaron, who watched as Chris began to freak out, quickly assured him that before they could hit San Francisco, they were forced back into the Pacific.

So they were still in San Francisco. That was a good thing, right? At least they weren't trapped in some twisted old vortex. Chris quickly moved on to the next and a very important subject: His brothers. He recalled his experience with Tyler, Andrew and Demortica on top of Golden Gate Bridge. “Last I knew, I was on my back. I couldn't see anything, except for blurs. I thought I saw something or someone move, but before I could find out who it is...” Aaron informed Chris that that was actually him. He couldn't explain it, but something told him he needed to go to the Bridge. So, he took a potion he learned from the Halliwell's, a simple transportation potion, focused where he wanted to go, and that was when he found Chris between the conscious and unconscious. Well, that made sense. It definitely explained how he got here.

“Aaron,” Chris' eyes lowered to the floor as he thought of his next question. He knew he already knew the answer, but he was going to ask it anyway, “did you by any chance see my brothers? Maybe a glimpse or...” When he saw Aaron shake his head, he decided to go quiet. Were his brothers alive? He'd surely feel if they were dead, wouldn't he? It was no secret that everything they went through together, they formed a very powerful bond not only as brothers, but also as the Charmed Ones.

Aaron encouraged Chris to not give up hope. If his brothers were alive, then Chris would find them. He was happy when that made Chris smile. He offered his help, but he wasn't really sure where to begin. The young Halliwell went over their options, suggesting many spells that could be used to help find his brothers. He was feeling hopeful and decided to remain positive. 'I will find my brothers. I will find my brothers.' Suddenly, he remembered something! There was a spell in the Book of Shadows that would be able to help a witch call on another witch, or if he subbed out a few words, his brothers! He was so excited, but it quickly faded as he remembered that everything he needed was back at the Manor. Was the ancient home even still there? What if it wasn't, and when he orbed over, he would land into an empty lot? Well, there was only one way to find out, wasn't there?

Looking at Aaron, he stretched out his hand, offering it to the older gentleman. After asking where they were going, Chris explained his plan and hopefully that would help him fight his brothers. Aaron took Chris' hand, but the two did not orb out right away. There was a pounding knock on the front door. “Now who could that be? If it's your family, they'd just orb in here right?” Without waiting for an answer, Aaron walked over to the door, but Chris stayed put. Something wasn't right about this, he could feel it. When the witch made his way over to the door, Aaron was looking out the peephole. On the other side of the door, he saw a man in a police officer uniform standing out there. “Now what does he want?” Chris was curious what Aaron was talking about, but before he could ask who it was, Aaron opened the door for the cop.

“Hello there, Officer. How may I help you?” After hearing who it was, Chris felt relieved. It was just an officer. Maybe he knew his Great Uncle, Henry! The officer introduced himself as Officer Mick Kowski. It was odd, because Chris didn't recall any officer named that. He knew the Police Force pretty well thanks to Henry Sr., plus there were many law enforcement officers who had helped the Halliwell's from time to time.

Mick wanted to know if everything in the home was alright, and asked to come in to inspect the place. Aaron noticed Chris giving him a cautious glare, but he let the man in anyway. What the hell was Aaron doing? After the man walked through, he started to looked around the place. “Nice home you got here.” Aaron thanked the cop kindly as Mick stepped forward some. Chris was feeling even more cautious, and decided to let his presence known.

“Is there anything you're looking for, Sir?” Mick jumped at the sound of Chris' voice, and smiled kindly at the boy. Mick warned Chris it wasn't right to scare a cop like that; he could have done something to hurt the young boy. Chris tilted his head, but apologized to the man. He watched closely as Mick turned around and walked even further into the apartment. “A lot of bad sh!t is happening out there. You're both really lucky to have survived the event.” As the cop continued to the explain what had happened to the city, Chris just kept getting more and more suspicious. The Event? Is that what you call the end of the world? A f**k**g event?Something just wasn't right here, he knew it. He let the Officer continue to look around, curious to see what he was going to do.

“I can't say this enough, but you're lucky you and your son survived this stuff.” Chris and Aaron looked at each other. Chris nodded, so Aaron went through with the officer's thought process. He told Mick and he and his son were about to sit down to a nice little dinner when everything outside started going insane. Chris, joining in on his charade, told Mick, “Yeah, Dad wouldn't let me go outside. I begged and begged, but he just threatened to ground me from my sh!t.” Mick chuckled, saying it was probably for Chris' own good he did not go outside. Turning to face the Charmed One now, he gave him what seemed to be a genuine smile.

“What's your name, Son?” Mmmhm. Chris knew this was about to happen. It was all happening so suddenly. The world goes through its apocalypse, and a cop just so happened to show up to “inspect” the place? Yeah right. Chris just shrugged at the officer, crossing his arms now. He was going to go through with this charade until it was time to deal with Mick or whoever he was. “Michael. Michael Thompson.” He decided a long time ago, probably when he first started hunting demons(with Patience, of course) that his cover name would always be his own middle name, Michael. He had no idea how his parents came up with it, but was pretty happy with it. It wasn't long or anything like that. Just plain and simple. The way he liked it.

“It's nice to meet you, Mike.” Mick nodded, then turned his attention to Aaron. At first, Chris saw the policeman flinch, but then his expression went back to its cool, calm and collective look. He asked Aaron if it was alright if he looked through the whole place. Aaron raised his eyebrow now. He knew Chris wanted to keep this going, but seriously? Did the police officer really need to go through his entire apartment? This was just getting pretty ridiculous now. As he opened the front door again, he told the officer that everything was just fine and that all he wanted to do was to feed his son. Mick raised his hands in surrender and apologized to the other adult while going to exit the apartment. At first, the two thought they were in the clear. Chris began to think it really was an officer, until the man stopped at the door frame. Chris heard the officer chuckle, “Do you really think you can keep fooling me?”

Mick turned around immediately and flung his hand at Aaron, causing him to fly across the room. He made body contact with his coffee table, which busted all over the floor. Aaron groaned in pain while Chris kept eyes on who he knew was a demon, “Who the f**k are you?” Mick looked at Chris with a grin. He rubbed his hands together while stepping close to the boy. “You are truly my lifesaver, Chris. A job well done.” He reached his hand to touch Chris, but the Halliwell growled and raised his hand to produce a fire ball. Mick busted up laughing, which to Chris sounded like a wart hog or something. He asked if Chris could really hurt his number one fan. Wait, what? Why would a demon be a Charmed Ones “number one fan”? This demon was clearly insane or something. Chris was about to throw the fireball, but Mick shimmered out in time. Looking defeated, Chris extinguished his fire power, but was surprised when he was grabbed from behind.

Mick had his hand over Chris' mouth, and threatened that if he tried anything both he and Aaron were going to die. Chris wondered why Mick wasn't attempting to kill him, but quite frankly he wasn't in the mood nor the position even to ask. On immediate instinct, Chris bit hard onto Mick's hand, who yelled out in pain and let go of Chris. The Charmed One ran up a couple steps before turning to face the demon. “I swear to the God and Goddess if you do not tell me who the f**k you are, I am going to kill you!” Mick didn't pay Chris any attention. He was more preoccupied on his hand. He saw his own blood trickle down, and complained how hard Chris had bit him.

“You stupid witch! Did you have to bite so f**k**g hard?” Chris just laughed, and kicked the demon right in his gut. Mick was pushed against the wall and he groaned as he felt the pain all through his stomach. Why were the Halliwell witches so damn tough? As he looked at Chris, he promised he was going to regret what he just did. Chris, with a smirk on his face, told the demon that he was not going to listen to the “police” anymore. For all he knew, the whole demonic race was in charge of the Police Force now. Which, when he thought about it, was definitely not a good thing.
The demon looked back at his hand, sent death glares at Chris, and shimmered out. Sighing, Chris shook his head. If the demons were in charge of the police now, what else were they in charge of?

The youngest Halliwell almost forgot about Aaron until he heard him groaning from the pain he was in. Quickly, Chris ran to Aaron, asking where he was hurt. Aaron assured he did not need any healing, and was completely fine. “A little bruised maybe, but other than that Star Shine, I'll be alright.” Chris scrunched up his face in confusion until he remembered that that was always what Aaron called him when he was little. When he asked why Aaron did so, the man shrugged. “I always thought you were a bright young boy. You know, like the stars.” Aaron rubbed his neck to work out the kinks before going on, “I always knew you were a bright boy, but I didn't know you'd ever become a Charmed One.” Confused, Chris wondered how Aaron knew he was a Charmed One, but didn't press on it. It wasn't really that important, or so he thought. After Chris helped Aaron up, he ushered the adult to the couch and hurried to get a glass of water. “Boy, I'm telling you I am fine!” Chris didn't listen, and a couple minutes later, Aaron was gulping down a glass of iced water. “Okay, maybe that helped. Just a little.”

Chris informed Aaron that the demon could be back at any moment. The man agreed, and asked when. Chris just thought it was rhetorical question, so he started to pace the living room. Everything that had happened in the past year or so was rushing through the young witches head. He had faced Medilyn and Athulak, whom of which were both partners. Why were they partners? It didn't really matter now since Medilyn was dead, but what had happened to Athulak? Next on his mind was Demortica. He believed the Second Witch was dead now, which was a good thing, but from was the demon told him and Aaron, the world was in utter chaos, or something like that. Was that Demortica's plan all along? To kill the Charmed Ones, which she obviously failed at, and cause the apocalypse? “Doesn't the apocalypse technically mean the end of the world?”

Chris was surprised and almost jumped out of his skin when Aaron answered his question. “Not if it's by zombies or anything.” When Chris gave him a “What the hell are you talking about” type look, Aaron sighed and went on to explain, “What most people think of an apocalypse, they think of the world blowing up, right?” When Chris nodded slowly, he continued, “But what if the “apocalypse” means something else in this situation? It could mean the end of all witches,” he flinched when he saw Chris immediately glare at him, “Or... it could mean the takeover of demons so that they could rule over witches and other good beings, understand?” Chris' eyes lowered to the floor as he was analyzing and taking in the answer. Aaron did have a point, at least he thought. The term apocalypse was used loosely most of the time, wasn't it?

The two males sat down next to each other to talk further and discuss future action plans. Chris stated that he really needed to find his brothers, which Aaron agreed to. He, Chris, also suggested that maybe it'd be a good idea to go outside to check things out. At first, Aaron disapproved of the idea, but after some given thought, he nodded and consented. Maybe it was a good idea to go out and see what they were dealing with. Chris also brought up that they needed to go to the Manor as soon as possible. “I'm not sure what to expect, but I need to know if my home is still there. Plus, I need to look in the Book of Shadows and see what I need for the spell I need to cast.” Aaron thought that before Chris went back home and wasted herbs, he should at least try to call out for Tyler, Andrew, even his aunt, uncle and parents. Shrugging, Chris looked up at the ceiling and inhaled deeply, “Dad! Ty! Jason? Chris? Andrew?” After a couple seconds of waiting, Chris looked back at Aaron, who looked a little guilty. “Don't worry about it, Aaron. It was worth a shot.”

Before the two left, Aaron told Chris he wanted to pack things for their trip. He explained that if the world really was destroyed and the apocalypse had really happened, they needed to stock up on as many things as they possible could. Luckily, Aaron had a couple weapons with him such as guns and other various things. After getting up to go pack, Chris realized he had a very important mission ahead of him. Since Aaron was a mortal, he couldn't use supernatural powers against the demons who might be going to go after the two. Which meant that Aaron was Chris' unofficial charge from here on out. He knew that the Elders, as horrible and stupid as they were, would want the Charmed One to protect the innocent even in this catastrophic event.

Aaron was still in his bedroom packing, so Chris decided to sit back and just stare into an empty space.

So, Aaron Thompson was alive and well. At least I have an ally now, right? It was pretty impressive that I knew Mick was a demon. I've seen enough of them to tell who was a demon or an innocent...

Chris peered into the hallway since the scuffle from Aaron's bedroom had stopped, but after it continued, Chris looked back into the empty space,

I know what I have to do. I know my brother's aren't dead. Let's face it, if they were, I would have been able to feel it. I can't explain it, but it's like after we bonded so much, we gained a sixth sense with each other. We could tell when something was bothering us. I admit, I was very hesitant with them to reveal how I felt. Maybe it was time to change that? The only way we can fully become close and bond as brothers was to be honest and truthful, yes? So much pain had flown through my body and soul. Take Jacob's death for example. I was so torn, so hurt, that my late fiance had died and went on to his afterlife. But after he intercepted my mind quite recently, he lifted my barrier so I could continue to love. To be able to feel love was a very positive and powerful thing. Perhaps I moved too quickly when I kissed Jason on the Golden Gate Bridge. It's not like I was going to propose to him so fast. Jacob and I knew each other for years before he proposed to me. So if I were to find Jason again, which I know what you're thinking, it's so ironic his name also begins with a J, right? Trust me, I know, I would show him how much I love him. I will never stop loving him. And if Jason can hear me now, within my thoughts, I ask you, my Love, help me find you. And help me find my brothers.

Aaron came back into the living room with a sports bag packed with unknown items to Chris. Aaron, as if he could read Chris' mind, shrugged and chuckled. “Clothes, weapons, books. I need to pack some food, so when we're done we'll be off to your home, okay?” Chris nodded as Aaron walked over to the kitchen and opened the cabinets. The Charmed One smiled softly as he looked towards the ground,

Jason, wherever you are, please protect and watch over my brothers. Please, don't be harmed.

Chapter 2

When Chris and Aaron got outside, they were both shocked at what they saw. Even though Aaron had technically seen the city in its ruins, he still couldn't shake the shock off. Buildings around them were run down, there was a lot of trash scattered around the place. What worried Chris the most was that there weren't anyone around. San Francisco was one of the most popular cities in the country, how could there be absolutely nobody around? Even when they walked, Chris would shudder at the sound of his and Aaron's footsteps. Was this really their new lives now? To live in a place of no repair? Well, that wasn't exactly true was it? Maybe if Chris concentrated enough, he could somehow restore the city with a spell. That wouldn't be considered personal gain now would it?

“This is the last thing I ever expected to witness.” Chris could hear a sigh come from his companion, but he didn't engage in conversation. He wasn't really in the mood, and besides, he was going to use this silence to think over everything. Again.

“Well now, would you look at that, kid.” At first, Chris thought Aaron was referring to a child until he realized he was talking to him. Chris followed Aaron up to a window and the two guys peered inside. “Do you think there's anyone inside?”

Chris shrugged at the man’s question. When he looked up at the sign of the building, he found out they were in front of a pharmacist. As much as medicine sounded really important, especially at a time like this, he wished Aaron found a grocery store or something instead.

'Great, now I sound like Tyler.' He heard himself chuckle, which made him shudder for some reason. The silence must really be getting to me, he thought.

While Aaron contemplated on whether they should go in or not, Chris decided to just move on. It took Aaron a couple minutes to realize Chris had walked off, and hurried to join up with him. They were silent for quite some time before they walked up to a corner. Sighing, Chris commented on how not only did everywhere look the same, but that he felt like he was in some apocalyptic video game. Since nobody was around, at least from the looks of the place, Chris was just going to orb back to the manor. That is, until Aaron grabbed a hold of the Charmed Ones arm with a tight grip.

“What the hell, what are you...” He stopped when he saw Aaron place his finger over his mouth. Pointing to their left with his thumb, Chris glanced over to where Aaron was directing him. “Don't stare, just glance.”

Chris did as he was told, and that's when he saw someone looking in their direction. Chris asked whether Aaron thought they were a demon or a mortal. The older man shrugged, telling his companion he wasn't too sure. “Here's what we'll do. I'll go over there and introduce myself while you stand here to look for anyone else who might come our way, okay?” Chris immediately objected since the eavesdropper could very well be a demon, and Chris would be able to handle them, not Aaron. But of course, Aaron Thompson had to be as stubborn as ever. “Asshole.” Chris mumbled, which he didn't know Aaron actually heard him. He chuckled while approaching the person, cautiously. “Hello there! Who might you be?”

The Charmed One rolled his eyes at the chipper attitude Aaron was having. The fool was going through an apocalypse where possibly every demon in existence was excited about. Chris had no doubt in his mind the more demons who realize this, the quicker they're going to be running amok! Surprisingly, there were no arguing, yelling, not even fighting. Giving up on being a lookout, Chris just shrugged and made his way over to Aaron and the newcomer.

“So basically, everyone has gone into hiding?” The woman was nodding at Aaron's question. “Either that or they're dead.” She looked down at Chris, and raised her eyebrow. After asking who he was, Chris crossed his arms.

“Mi...” As he was about to introduce himself with his middle name, he began to think why even bother? He introduced himself as Chris Halliwell, which caused the woman's eyes to go all buggy. “You? You're Chris Halliwell? The Charmed Son?”

Charmed Son? Quickly, the woman introduced herself as Kalista, and told Chris how she knew much about him and his brothers. “I use to go to Magic School! But that was a very long time ago.” So this woman, Kalista, was a magical being? Well, it was good to know witches or whatever she was still existed. The three continued to talk while Kalista explained to them what was going on. She told them that there was this huge flash in the sky and when it went away, the entire city was in ruins! Kalista couldn't explain it, but she concluded it had to do something with magic and demons. Chris explained to her as quickly and shortly as he could about everything that went down with Demortica. He had no idea why he trusted Kalista, especially since she could very well be lying, but he'd deal with that if and when the time came.

“You know what's even weirder, is that even though in my mind I know it's been only hours since the huge flash in the sky, and the storms, it feels like it's been years.” Both Chris and Aaron agreed with that assessment. Honestly, it worried Chris when he thought about it. His whole family had experiences with time travel, and he really hoped Demortica didn't force everyone one thousand or even three thousand years in the future. That would f**k**g suck. Kalista lead the two men a couple blocks East, and stopped at the edge of a wall. After she looked around, she gave the men a thumbs up before jumping off. They both freaked out and looked over the edge. There stood Kalista, waving her hand gesturing for them to come down. “It's totally safe, I swear.” After looking at Chris' distrusting expression, Kalista scratched her neck.

“Look kid, you may be a Charmed Son, but I'm just trying to help you out. Stay out here, get killed. Come with me, and well... live for a few extra hours. I don't care.” Kalista looked up with her arms crossed. Aaron looked over at the boy before jumping down himself. Why does this seem all too familiar? Chris kept wondering to himself. Soon, he felt himself jump down with the two of them and Kalista nodded approvingly. “See, you can trust me. If you couldn't I would have tried to kill you when we were up there. I mean, nobody's around to see us and magic's already exposed so why would I try to make friends with you if I was evil?” Chris tilted his head, realizing that Kalista had a point. There really was no use lying about who she was, especially since the world was going to sh!t and nobody seemed to be around.

“Come on.” Kalista lead the men through a metal door, which in turn lead into a long tunnel. Chris was asking why she had to resort to going down here when there were no signs of demons or anything else evil up on the streets. “Mostly because people are afraid. If what we're thinking is true, and this is what we think it is, the demons will be teaming up together. It won't matter if their races hated each other or not before this.” The tunnel sure was long. Longer than Chris even anticipated. Kalista lead them down ladders and various tunnel entrances. Chris thought he saw mice a couple times, and usually he'd flip out over them, but after everything he went through, there was just no point anymore. There was a memory of his where he was helping his brothers do something in the basement of Halliwell Manor, he forgot what, but while they were rummaging through boxes, Chris saw a mouse run across the floor. He got so freaked out, he screamed at the top of his lungs and ran upstairs so fast. He even slammed the door of the basement shut! Tyler and Andrew cracked up laughing, and never stopped teasing Chris about it. That is until Kira gave the brothers a death glare and demanded that they grow up. Honestly, Chris never minded the teasing. It was just simple brother stuff.
Kalista turned a corner, but before long, she had her arms over Chris and Aaron. She had pushed them against a wall and held her finger up to her lips. “Demons.” Her whisper came to Chris' ear, who nodded. The witch and the woman peered out the corner in order to examine the evil beings. One demon was a woman, short, with curly blonde hair. The other was a male, tall, bald, and brooding. Chris began checking him out, but when Kalista noticed, she smacked him over the head. “Don't you have a boyfriend?” Once again, Chris was taken aback by how much she knew about him. He and Jason, his whitelighter, became a couple shortly after finding out about the big deep secret his parents kept from him. Who the hell was Kalista? Was she really a demon impersonating a witch or whatever?

“Are you sure you saw them down here, Gotar?” The woman had her hands on her sides, and looked deathly at her demon friend. “I'm positive, Talia. I saw them walking around here, but then I lost them.” Talia shook her head, commenting on how the “Boss” wasn't going to like this. “You're gonna be in trouble for losing the witches, Gotar.”

Both Kalista and Chris looked at each other, “The Boss?” Kalista read Chris' lips, but shrugged, indicating she had no idea who this “Boss” person was. Chris' next question was, was the “Boss” just a regular type of demonic leader, or were they just another big bad like Demortica? Chris swore, if there was another Big Bad out there somewhere he and his brothers, wherever they might be, had to kill, Chris was going to go berserk. The group listened to the demons a little more, hoping they'd spill anything else important, but they didn't. As the demons began to walk near the three, Kalista motioned the men to make their way back, quietly. “What I don't understand is...”

“Wait, wait, shh... did you hear that?” Kalista rolled her eyes and slowly placed her hand over her side, while Chris was getting ready to form a fireball, if he needed to. He did not want to do it now since the fire would give off light, exposing the three immediately. As the two demons inched closer and closer, they were right on the group’s tail. “sh!t.” Kalista mouthed as she rested her head on the wet concrete wall. The girl slowly took out a double edged athame, raising it up in a defensive position. Chris forgot about the demons for a couple minutes, and wondered if that athame had any magic in it. If it did, could it steal other witches powers?

With Kalista and Chris on one side, and the two demons on the other, Aaron was sure there would be a bloodbath. Unfortunately, he didn't know how he could help in this situation, so he backed off as quietly as possible for the four to go at it. Silently, Kalista took in a deep breath, and then... “Wait, did you hear that?”

There was a noise that sounded like a big splash of water coming from the other side of the tunnel the demons were in. The two took off immediately, splashing water all over in the process. Luckily, Kalista and Chris could use that as a way to figure out how far away the demons were before they could continue on to their destination. Kalista sighed and hoped that whoever caused the accidental distraction was going to be alright. Mentally, Chris said he hoped so too. The girl motioned for the other two to follow her, and they were soon met with yet another crossroads.

Luckily, Kalista knew exactly where they were going and lead them into the left tunnel. When Chris asked what the right tunnel would lead them into, Kalista didn't answer at first. After some given thought, she just said, “I promise if I or we have time, whatever, I'll show you. We'll show you. Bah, I have to remember it's a we now, not I.” She chuckled and explained that before meeting the others, she was a simple solo witch. She never had to team up with anyone before all the sh!t went down. “Also remember, it may have only been hours, but to us it feels like years.”

Finally, Kalista walked up to a big, squared shaped golden door. At least, it looked gold to Chris. Kalista didn't move for awhile, which made Chris wonder. “How did it go again... Uh... Oh yeah!” Kalista pushed a couple buttons in what Chris thought as the most random order ever. After she was done, and there were noises behind the door, Kalista giggled and explained that everyone beyond the door had a special access code in order to get inside. “I forget mine easily, but as quickly as it escapes me, it comes back.”

Once the door opened, Kalista lead the two inside. When Chris got a look around, he was quite impressed. It was basically an apartment complex with many various rooms. Bedrooms, Kalista confirmed. She explained that she and a couple other witches casted a spell in order to create the place. “Unfortunately, I think that's why the demons were in the tunnels. They must have been able to sense that we used magic and came running. Maybe the splash was a distraction after all.”

A quick tour was given to Chris and Aaron, and Kalista was pointing towards bedroom’s and who they belonged to. She promised they'd meet everyone later, and when Aaron asked if her roommates would mind having two extras, she gave them a knowing smile. “Oh, I think they won't once they learn that one of them is a Charmed Son and his friend.” Hearing the term again, Chris had to ask why she kept calling him a “Charmed Son”. After giggling, Kalista told Chris that ever since everyone found out they, he and his brothers, were the Charmed Ones, they thought it was weird since they were men, so the term was changed to Charmed Sons. She had no idea who came up with the idea, though. Chris didn't press on, since there were more important matters to go over.

Kalista went into the kitchen area so she could get some food out for her guests. “Since you're both probably hungry, you can pig out.” She placed a bunch of fruit, veggies, bread and meats on a counter. She also took out three beers for them as well. Sadly, she wasn't able to get too much junk food, but she hoped that they'd be able to find some soon. “Can't you just whip up one of your spells and make them appear?” Both Kalista and Chris looked at Aaron. “What?”

It was Chris who recalled that if they were to use magic spells, the demons could sense it and find them. Kalista nodded, commenting on how smart the young witch was. “Seriously, if I could cast a spell for more food, I would, but I'd rather go out and find food rather than use magic and have to battle demons when I don't need to.”

Chris and Aaron helped themselves to a sandwich while Kalista asked Chris everything about his adventures as a Charmed Son, and wanted to know what his brothers were like. She told him that she thought she met one of his brothers once, but she wasn't really sure. “Well, Tyler, my oldest brother, is a very... how shall I put it? Rebellious type. Yeah, we can go with that.” He had finished spreading Miracle Whip on a piece of bread and was now evenly stacking ham slices on top of the bread and spread. “Andrew, my second oldest brother is a book worm. He's taken me to the library a ton of times and we're usually there for hours. Luckily for me, I'm in a...” He stopped himself when he realized there wasn't a college anymore, was there? “I was in a Psychology class, so I got to study a lot while he geeked out on his books.” Kalista was sitting on top of the counter while drinking her beer. After placing the bottle down, she looked back at Chris.

“I've always wanted to go into Psychology, but I don't think I'd have the patience for it.” She shrugged while going back to her beer.

Just hearing the word “patience” made Chris sad. Talking about his brothers was hard, and the addition of Patience missing, it really upset Chris. He missed his family, and wanted to know if they were alright.

Kalista sensed Chris' mood, not that she was an Empath, but she was really good at reading people, or so she thought. Jumping off the counter, she asked Chris what type of music he was into. “We have a lot of music, believe it or not. The world may be going to Hell or whatever, but we still have decent technology.” She lead the two into a room which she called the “Entertainment Room”. Old school, but it still worked. Aaron asked how all this stuff worked since they were under ground, to which Kalista replied that it all had to do with magic. Oh, yes, magic. Of course. Chris felt a little bad since Aaron was mortal, and in a blink of an eye, everyone seemed to be depending more and more on magic now. “There's kinda only one little downfall... the internet doesn't work. We tried, but for some reason it failed us.” Well, that was a shame. Suddenly, Chris remembered that he had his phone on him! Why didn't he think of this before? He could just call his family from the device! He just hoped it wasn't damaged from the battle.

After taking it out, he was relieved when it wasn't damaged. Thank the God and Goddess! He went through his contacts and pressed Tyler's name. The phone made some noises, but the call never went through. “Well, this is a shame.” Kalista started to apologize, but Chris shook his head, saying it wasn't needed. It wasn't Kalista's fault this was all happening. “Hey, let's go listen to that music you mentioned earlier.” Nodding, Kalista walked them over to a stereo, stacks of CD's surrounding it. Kalista told them that they were in a group of people who liked the old type of music. “When I say old, I mean like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, bands like that.” She put in one of the CD's and a song instantly played.

Chris sat down on one of the couches and huddled his legs together. He was listening to a song he had never heard of, but it was pretty good. It was something he could get used to. He knew he'd torture himself with his thoughts, but he couldn't help it. Where were Tyler and Andrew? He wanted to see them, he wanted to hug them. It was weird when he thought about it, because he'd never gone this long without seeing his family. They were everything to him, just like he was everything to them, too. His thoughts went to Jason, that tall and charming man. That man made the young Charmed One, or Charmed Son has Kalista had called him, feel so much. Happiness, love, passion. What Chris would give to be wrapped in Jason's arms again. The young man laid his head on the arm rest, but he wouldn't fall asleep. He didn't want to because he wanted to keep an eye on Kalista in case she did anything weird. Also, he needed to keep Aaron safe at all costs.

*
'Don't tell me I really did doze off...' Chris felt his eyes slowly open. Oh sh!t, he really did. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. During his nap, or was it a full seven to eight hour slumber? He had a dream about being back at the manor with everyone there. Even Aaron and Kalista were there. In his dream, his family was having a great time. They were laughing, joking around and partying. He was sure Tyler was hitting on Kalista, but maybe he was wrong. It did sound like Tyler though.

Chris sat up on the couch and had a look around. It was darker than before, but he was in the same room. The only differences were that the music was off and both Kalista and Aaron were gone. sh!t. What if Kalista did something to Aaron and was going to do something to Chris, too? The young witch jumped off the couch and hurried to the doorway. He listened carefully, hoping to catch someone talking. It was rude to eavesdrop, he knew that, but he had to get to know more about Kalista somehow, right?

“He still asleep?” Someone's voice Chris was not familiar with had asked. He went on to hear Kalista say that Chris was, and was not to be disturbed. “Seriously, he's had it rough. I don't mean to give him special attention or anything...” Wait, special attention? What did that mean?! He heard Aaron now, tell the others what Chris went through with his brothers. Hearing a woman sigh, he listened as she told the group, “What a poor young boy, to go through all that. The Elders must be foolish to have supported all of this.” The Elders? Chris decided he'd done enough eavesdropping, and decided to make himself known to the group.

As he turned into the kitchen area, he could see the group sitting at the table, drinking beer and playing cards. Someone was about to say something else, but Aaron immediately greeted Chris, “Hey! About time you woke up. You've been out for at least twelve hours!” What?! Twelve hours? Chris was feeling horrible since he could have used all that time to find his brothers! Kalista scoffed, rolled her eyes, and looked at Chris, “Don't listen to him. You've been out for like, five hours. Not twelve! C'mon, I got a chair for you.” Chris walked over to the group, and stifled a yawn. As he sat, Kalista immediately made introductions for the young witch. “Over to our right, we have Abigail. She is an amazing cook, and what we call the Matriarch of our group.” Abigail gave Chris a nod and a sweet smile. Chris instantly liked her, and wondered if she'd ever been to his grandmother's restaurant. “Over there next to your friend, is Kairi. We're lucky to have found her because she is awesome at concocting potions!” Kairi gave a giggle, softer than Kalista's, and Chris could see the girl blush. She told Kalista the praise was not needed, but Kalista didn't listen. She just continued with the introductions, “And that man right there,” she said pointing at a very handsome man with long black hair and chocolate brown eyes, “is my boyfriend, Damien.” Damien nodded his head, telling Chris it was a pleasure to meet one of the Charmed Sons. Kalista looked around, scrunching her face up. She was obviously looking for somebody else, Chris assumed.

Kalista sighed and confirmed there was one more person to be introduced, but he'd just have to be later. Right now, the group was in an aggressive game of Rummy. Kalista offered to deal Chris in with the next game, which he agreed to. The game went on for a couple more minutes until Damien was the victor. The group counted up their points, and immediately started a new game with Chris added in. Chris mentally noted all the players readjust their cards, while he just left his alone. He figured if he didn't do that, nobody would ever guess he had good cards. Damien picked up the first card, and placed down the two, three, four and five of hearts. Kalista gave him a suspicious glance, which he responded to a shrug and a confused, “What?” Shaking her head, she just let the game continue on. She would be kicking his ass if she found out he was cheating.

The group rotated four times, each person making their move. On Chris' next turn, he looked down at his cards, and carefully went to draw a card, until he stopped. In the throw out pile was the Queen of Hearts, so he picked that up instead(along with the other cards in front of the Queen), and started making his moves. He was so into the game, that he didn't realize he had only one card left, which meant... “Damn kid, you're pretty good at this.” Chris just smiled and shrugged at Damien. He told him his brother Tyler may have taught him to play when they were younger. Damien chuckled and soon the points were scored. After a couple more games, it was Abigail who reached five hundred points first, making her to the victor. “It was a really fun run!”

Everyone laughed together and put the cards away. Damien and Aaron both offered to fix the group some dinner, while the others set the table. Kalista groaned when the final group member was still not there. She grabbed some silverware while swearing, “He'd better hope to God that he doesn't get damn busted.” Sighing, she explained to Chris that the guy was rebellious type of kid, a lot like Chris' brother, she guessed. Chris chuckled, “Every group has to have at least one.” Kalista laughed and agreed with the younger witch. Soon the table was set and everyone could smell delicious smells coming from the kitchen area. Everyone was having a pretty great time hanging out, talking, and getting to know Aaron and Chris. It wasn't until supper was ready for everyone and they gathered around the table when they heard buttons being pressed, resulting in the door making all sorts of unique noises. Kalista crossed her arms, stating that it was about time he showed up. Chris chuckled while helping set the food on the table, that he didn't notice the young man walk in the door. After the Charmed Son had everything in a neat order, he was ready to dig in and eat.

“Oh my God.” Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at the final group member. Chris, hearing that voice before, felt his face go white as a ghost from the blood drain. Looking up, he saw someone who had hurt him in the worst way possible. Standing in front of him, was his ex boyfriend, Rick McCrum.

Chapter 3

Dinner that night was very awkward for all parties involved. Chris and Rick ended up sitting as far away from each other as possible(Rick had tried to sit next to him, but Chris made sure Damien and Aaron did instead). Both boys were quiet, and they would only answer questions with just one word. At first, Kalista thought she did something wrong, but slowly understood there had been a bad past between the witch and the mortal. After everyone was finished, Kairi offered to do the dishes with Abigail helping. That left Aaron to deeply converse with Damien and Kalista about the development of the shelter and its defenses while Chris got to explore the place more in depth. He decided to start on the very floor he was on, so he began to poke around just a little bit. Truth be told, he still had his doubts about Kalista so maybe this was the perfect opportunity to find out more about her and her boyfriend, Damien.

The first thing he noticed was that there were papers absolutely everywhere. He knew he couldn't go through any of them because he was trying to be as discreet as possible. Walking past the kitchen, he found a ramp leading to the second floor of the place, no doubt leading to the bedrooms. He was even more impressed with this place, surprised by how much stuff could fit into it, especially when there were tunnels just outside the front door. When he stepped onto the second floor, he suddenly felt like he was trespassing. Maybe it because he was going to be snooping through people’s stuff. It was considered trespassing, right? Looking to his right, there were four doorways, all leading into bedrooms with a bathroom just up ahead. Looking to his left, he saw there were only two doors leading into bedrooms, and one door which opened to a closet. Since he really wasn't in the mood to get caught snooping right now because he had to face it, the idea of getting caught snooping on his first day here would be a very bad thing, he decided to go and check out the bathroom instead... while maybe only peering into the bedrooms for just a split little second. 'I'll just look in and look out, it won't be a problem.'

While making himself look like he was headed for the bathroom, Chris would slow down each time he went past a bedroom. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't really tell whose bedroom was whose. Since he was near the bathroom already, he might well keep up pretenses. Walking into the bathroom, the witch stood in front of the sink. Looking in the mirror, he realized that was the first time he'd looked at his own reflection in... how long has it been, anyway? Not really wanting a headache, he brushed it aside and inspected to room to see what it had to offer. There were bars of soap, different shampoos, body wash, toothpaste, the usual bathroom supplies.

“If you need to take a shower, go right ahead, there's plenty of more supplies in the storage room.” He jumped when he heard Kalista's voice behind him. With his hand over his heart, Chris took in several deep breaths. “Oh, sh!t, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you like that...” Chris said it was alright, and thanked the girl for everything. “Really, you didn't need to take me in, so it's really appreciated.” Kalista shrugged, waving it off. She encouraged the more the merrier and was happy he and Aaron showed up when they did. “Well, actually if you think about it I showed up... yeah about that.” Kalista admitted that she'd been following Aaron and Chris longer than they thought. She wanted to know if they were demons or not, and was glad they both turned out to be on the side of good, not evil. Instead of feeling pissed off, Chris was actually laughing. He promised it was all good, much to Kalista's delight. “Well, if you need anything, just call.”

After she had left, Chris gratefully began his shower. He realized he never got a chance to take one back at Aaron's since the demon had shown up. After he got in, he felt like he was in Heaven when he felt the hot water met in contact with his skin. Since Kalista didn't give Chris any restrictions on the water, he must have taken a thirty to forty minute shower. After he was finished cleaning and shampooing, he grabbed a towel from the wrack and wrapped it around his waist. When he was back in front of the mirror, he looked at his reflection and smiled when he saw that he looked a lot better. He had a few cuts and bruises from Demortica's vanquish, but other than that, he thought he was fine. Also, the hot water helped relax his muscles by a ton. He was looking at his reflection when suddenly, he could feel himself get pulled into a flashback.

Chris was back at the manor in the bathroom. He had just gotten done taking a shower and was getting into his pajamas, which really just served as gym shorts. After he shaved and brushed his teeth, Chris walked out of the bathroom, and ran into his mother, Kira. “Oh, sh!t, I'm sorry Mom. I guess I didn't see you there.” Kira just shook her head and told Chris he needed to be more careful and watch where he was going. “It's better than running into a...” Kira raised her hand and immediately stopped her son from finishing his sentence. She was about to walk away until she caught something. On Chris' neck. With her eyes squinted, she crossed her arms, “Christopher Michael Halliwell what the hell is on your neck?!”

Feeling himself go red, Chris quickly covered the hickey he had gotten from Jacob earlier that day. He tried his best to cover it up, telling his mother it was from a demon fight or something like that. His mother knew better and looked dead right into her sons eyes. “Haven't your father and I taught you anything about being open and honest with us?” At first, Chris didn't know how to respond. With Kira, it was always better to end a conversation like this with a little comic relief, “If it makes you feel any better, Mommy, Jacob and I are always safe.”

Watching Kira's face go from shock to confusion wanted to make Chris laugh his ass off. With her arms still crossed, Kira simply told her son that that was a very good thing and she was both proud and happy Chris was honest and open with her. Without another word she walked downstairs. Chris had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing, and hurried back to his room. He couldn't wait to tell Jacob!

Just as he was about to unwrap the towel to get dressed, the bathroom door opened and in stepped Rick. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Chris naked, and could feel his face turn red, “I... uh... They're cooking s'mores down in the kitchen.” Rick slammed the door shut, and Chris could hear him run away as fast as he could back downstairs. The Charmed Son didn't know what to do now. Did his ex boyfriend really just walk in when he was naked? Ugh! After he was finished dressing, he walked out of the bathroom and took his time getting back downstairs. He still couldn't believe Rick had just walked in like the way he did! Was it on purpose, or was it really an accident? Chris remembered Rick was always the type to do something like that on purpose...

When he got to the first floor, Rick was nowhere to be seen, but everyone was busy cooking up s'more's. Walking over to the group, Damien smiled and handed him a plate, “Here you go, Buddy. Freshly burnt!” Chris smiled and thanked Damien, taking the plate gratefully. When he asked where Rick went, Damien looked towards the entertainment room. “I think he's listening to music or something.” He prepared another s'more and asked if Chris could take it to Rick, which the witch said he would. He immediately spotted Rick laying on the couch on his stomach, reading a book. Chris walked up to him and sat down on one of the cushions. Rick immediately turned around, but his face went red again.

Chris handed him the s'more with a smile, “Damien made this for you. He asked if I could bring it to you.” Rick took the plate, and Chris hurriedly got up and walked towards the doorway. “Why are you being nice to me?” Chris stopped after Rick asked the question. Truth be told, he really shouldn't be being nice to Rick. So why the hell was he? Rotating his eyes left to right, Chris merely shrugged. “Well, we're going to be here together for awhile so I might as well be nice.” He could hear Rick bite into the s'more and chew it. After he swallowed the piece, he set the plate to the side. “You don't have to be nice to me. I deserve to be hated by you.” Chris bit his lip and sighed. Turning around, he walked back over to Rick and sat down. “Um, look. I think we should talk about what happened.” Rick cringed when Chris said that. He sat back on the couch, with his eyes glued to his lap. “I...”

Chris was sitting sideways on the couch with his right leg resting on the cushion and his left leg hanging over with his foot on the ground. He didn't know what to expect, and quite surprisingly, he was feeling really calm and patient with Rick. Hearing his ex boyfriend inhale deeply, Rick began his apology, “Chris, I don't want to use excuses, but I was really really fucked up back then. I was hanging out with a crowed I should have never been hanging out with. They did all sorts of drugs and other fucked up sh!t I should have never touched.” He stopped, the guilt building up in his system. He could feel his heartbeat nervously, and could feel sweat all over his body. “The day I went over to your house, I was on some really bad stuff. I don't know what made me want to go over to your place, but I did. All I knew was that I loved you, I really loved you, and I wanted to show you how much I loved you... I can't really say that enough, can I?” Chris thought that was rhetorical, so he just waited for Rick to go on, “When I was standing in front of you, and you kept rejecting me... No, it wasn't rejection, you just wanted me to leave you alone, I know that now, but anyway I snapped. I really snapped. I didn't want to hurt you...” Rick could feel himself start to cry, which only made Chris feel for the guy.

“I didn't want to do what I did do to you, but I was just so addicted to you and I felt like I had to get you to be mine. I know that's not possible now, because I don't know why you'd ever want to be with me again, that is if you ever wanted to be with me in the first place.” He licked his lips with his tongue, took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “I deserved what your brothers did to me that day. I know I hurt you so, so bad. I just want you to know how sorry I am, even though sorry isn't even good enough.” The two were really quiet for awhile, and Chris was actually surprised by Rick. He remembered a while back, he had seen Rick at the library when Jacob and taken him, and he seemed to be the old douchebag asshole Rick McCrum, but now this man in front of him looked sad, guilty, scared. Chris was thinking what Tyler and Andrew would be thinking or saying if they had heard Rick apologize like this. Would they think it was a serious apology, or would they just roll their eyes, blow it off, and beat Rick's ass?

“I'm with Jason now.” Rick gave Chris a look while the Charmed One was wondering why he told Rick that, not that it wasn't true, because it was. Rick asked who Jason was, but quickly told him he didn't have to answer that since it wasn't any of his business. “No, it's... He's my whitelighter. He's a type of guardian angel who looks after witches in case they needed any help with healing or information on a demon they were going up against.” Rick nodded, saying Kalista was telling him about witches and demons and magic earlier. “Chris, I'm sorry about Jake. I know how much you love him. I don't think you knew this, but I went to his funeral.” Chris looked over at Rick, surprise shown on his face. Rick told him he felt really bad when he found out Jacob had died, and wanted to go to the funeral for support. “I didn't go to the reception though. I thought if I did, I'd be asking for trouble so I went home afterward.”

Chris didn't really know what to say. He never really expected Rick to go anywhere near the funeral. Honestly, as sad as it sounded, Chris didn't really remember the funeral. He remembered how everything felt that day though. “I guess we should head back to the others. They'll be wondering where we are.” Chris hadn't felt Rick get off the couch and now he was standing over him with his hand out. Chris smiled and took it, and got up from the couch. In a surprise move, Rick hugged Chris and thanked him. Sighing, Chris patted Rick's back and told Rick they should be heading back now.

When the boys went back into the main area, the others were about to start a game of Rummy. “They're always wanting to play Rummy.” Chris chuckled after Rick whispered in his ear. He placed his arm around Rick's shoulder and smirked, “I think I've played that game enough to pulverize you, my friend.” Rick instantly accepted the challenge and they both sat down right next to each other while Kalista dealt out the cards. Aaron had his eyes on Chris, eyebrows raised. Chris met eye contact and winked. Aaron shrugged, and the group began their game of Rummy. “Oh hey, we forgot the beers.” Damien got up to get everyone a drink, while Kalista warned him to hurry otherwise they're skipping his turn. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Everyone laughed, then the game began. It was going to be a very long Rummy night for this group.

Later that night, the group separated themselves into little groups. Aaron was still wanting to know everything about the defense system they had up so he and Damien were in deep conversation about that, Kairi was off solo in her room reading a book while Kalista and Abigail were discussing how they needed to go up to the surface soon to see if they could find anymore survivors.

“We also need to see if Chris' brothers are alive.” Kalista's eyes traveled to where Chris and Rick were sitting. The two had been on the floor, drinking beers while talking about something she had no idea about. Truthfully, she really did feel bad for him. She knew what it was like to lose her family as well, but was very lucky to have Damien with her. The two had met shortly before Demortica fucked everything up. They were like a match made in Heaven, which she over heard Chris saying to Rick. So, the kid is probably a romantic, huh? She watched the boys for awhile before Abigail repeated a question to her. “sh!t, sorry, what was that?” Abigail chuckled and repeated her question again.

Rick was letting Chris rant on about how he was worried about his brothers, his parents, and the rest of his family. Rick assured Chris that his brothers were definitely alive, knowing how tough they were. Nodding, Chris agreed. They were both tough, and besides if something was really wrong, the young witch would have felt it. “Why do you think the whitelighter's can't hear their charges calls?” Chris frowned at Rick's question and just shrugged. That was a problem he kept going over and over in his head. Was it because the whitelighter's were possibly trapped in the Upper Regions, and couldn't hear the calls of their charges? Or was there something more? Chris shared with Rick about the demons who were in the tunnels earlier that day. He wondered aloud who could possibly be the “Boss” the demons had mentioned. “Well, it could be someone you haven't met right?” Chris nodded, so Rick went on, “Maybe it's not though. It could be someone from your past.” Chris knew Rick didn't say it on purpose, but it still freaked him out. The possibility had run across his mind. What if Rick was right, and it really was someone from his and his brothers past?

“Whoever it is,” Rick went on confidently, “you'll be able to handle it. And you'll have all the help you need from the group!” Chris smiled and nodded. While the boys kept talking, Aaron found them and approached them. He announced he was heading to bed and would see the two in the morning with everyone else. He looked at Rick for a few short beats before turning and headed into the room he'd been staying in. “I don't think he likes me...” Chris told Rick to give Aaron some time, and he'll probably come around. Rick slowly nodded, then a tiny smirk danced across his lips, “That reminds me, we have seven people in the group now, but only six bedrooms. So some of us are going to have to double up.” Chris just shrugged, saying something will be figured out. Rick immediately offered his room for Chris, while he slept on the floor. Chris was quick to decline, but Rick was persistent. “It's not a problem, really. It's better than sleeping out there.” He pointed to the door leading to the tunnels, and Chris had to agree.

Chris started thinking about everything that happened between him and Rick today. He was glad he told him about Jason, so he hoped Rick really had grown up and matured so he wouldn't try to make a move on him. Rick lead Chris to their room, and pointed to the cot. “It's more comfortable than it looks, believe me.” He took an extra blanket and a pillow out of the closet from the hall and placed it on the floor. Rick made sure everything was nice and neat before laying down. Chris watched as his ex boyfriend tried making himself comfortable. Twisting his lips, Chris sighed. “Come on.” Rick looked over at Chris, confused. Chris gestured to Rick to come over so they could share the cot together. After Rick asked if Chris was sure, the young witch nodded. The boys found a way for the both of them to fit nicely together on the cot, and soon they both had their eyes closed. “Oh and Chris?” Chris made a “mmhmm” . “My shampoo smells really good on you.” Chris opened his eyes and elbowed Rick softly. The two boys chuckled, and soon sleep had taken them over.

Chapter 4

Two men lay next to each other on top of Golden Gate Bridge. One of the men began to stir, his breathing was shallow. 'What is going on? Where... where am I?' His eyes slowly open and he tried to move, but he couldn't. It felt like there was a weight on his chest preventing him from getting up. Painfully, he turns his head over to look at the other man next to him. As he tried to move his arm, he felt a searing jolt of pain. 'Oh God, you have got to be kidding me.' Since he didn't know if he could talk, he wasn't about to find out. He was going to focus on one problem at a time right now. With his other arm, he placed his hand on his shoulder and soon, he could feel a very painful pop. “God dammit!” He screamed so loud, he didn't even realize he could talk until he calmed down.

“Andy.” Tyler Martin Halliwell waited a couple minutes for his brother to answer before he tried again, “Andy!” Another ten seconds passed by before trying for a third time, “God dammit Andrew Halliwell, answer me!” Forcing up all his strength, Tyler sat up on the bridge, feeling every bone in his body crack. At least he thought it was every bone. Looking over at his brother, he saw that Andrew had a deep gash on his cheek, and a ton of blood covered his face. “Oh God, Andy, please be alive little brother.” Slowly, Tyler got on his knees and hovered over his brother. His shoulder was still in pain, but he'd get over it. Now was the time to see if his brother was alive. “Andy, come on man wake up.” Tyler used his hand to gently slap Andrew's cheek, hoping it'll help cause him to feel something and wake up. “Come on man, please be alive. Wake up.” He slapped his brother harder, hoping to the God and Goddess for a reaction. “Wake up... wake up... WAKE UP!” One more slap and Andrew started breathing heavily. The younger Halliwell's eyes opened wide.

Andrew turned his head towards Tyler, his eyes were black and red, “Ty... I can't feel...” Tyler inhaled deeply before telling Andrew everything was going to be alright. He hoped it was only shock or something so he could help Andrew out further. “I'm going to do something just... just stay calm, okay little brother?” Tyler prayed to the God and Goddess before he started inspecting Andrew's body. He wasn't a doctor by any means, but he was going to do whatever the hell he could to help Andrew. He began to feel for any broken or dislocated bones on Andrew so he could pop them back into place. The gash on his face would hopefully be able to be healed by Jason when they called for him. Tyler had to relocate Andrew's shoulder and pop that back in. He wasn't sure if it was possible to fix any broken legs and stuff like that, so he really hoped for the best. It was all he had right now.

Helping Andrew up, the younger brother started asking where Chris was. Tyler looked around, but he couldn't find Chris anywhere. “We'll find him, okay? Don't worry, we'll find him.” Both the brothers stood up and checked to see if anything else was broken. Andrew thought that maybe some of his ribs cracked, but he wasn't sure. “It'll be okay, Andy. Don't worry. Everything is going to be working out for the best.”

When Tyler finally got a look around the city, he had the shock of his life. The city was completely in ruins. Fires scattered everywhere, ash and smoke was floating through the air. Had Demortica really caused all of this? It was unbelievable to think that one witch’s demise could have caused this world destruction. Holding onto Andrew's hand tightly, Tyler orbed them both out and headed to Halliwell Manor.



A Few Minutes Later

Orbs filled the attic of Halliwell Manor, forming into Tyler and Andrew. Tyler directed his brother to the couch so he could relax. He told Andrew since he couldn't heal, his ribs would have to suffer a little while longer.

“Honestly, I don't think a whitelighter can heal broken ribs, so it's not like it matters.” Andrew showed signs of pain when he tried laying down, so he had to settle with sitting up instead.

Tyler hurried over to the Book of Shadows, which was sitting on its pedestal as if it'd never been touched in a long time. When he began flipping through the pages, something started feeling off about him. Maybe it was just his imagination or something, but he swore the pages looked more aged than they did before. “Come on, come on, I know you're in here somewhere...” Andrew wanted to know what his brother was looking for, but Tyler was so focused that he didn't hear Andrew. The younger witch sighed and looked around the attic. It was messy as usual, darker though. He guessed that was to be expected after a psycho witch almost destroyed the Earth. Also it was really odd that the attic door was closed...

“Got it!” Interrupting Andrew's thoughts, Tyler grinned and hurried off to the shelves to get the herbs and ingredients he needed for the spell. After Andrew asked what Tyler was going to do, he told him that he was going to be using the To Call A Lost Witch spell so he could summon Chris. Slowly Andrew nodded, but then he didn't feel too hopeful.

“How do we even know he's lost?” Andrew flinched when Tyler gave him a death glare, so he immediately tried explaining, “I mean, what if technically, he isn't lost? What if he got out of there like us, and is out there... somewhere.” Tyler shrugged, saying there was only one way to find out.

Luckily the herbs he needed were on the shelf. He grabbed a jar of rosemary, one cypress sprig, and some yarrow root. “You know, I always wondered why everyone kept these things up here. Now I know.” Tyler went over to the little table the family kept in the attic for quick potion brewing. As he set everything up for the spell, he asked Andrew how he was doing. His brother shrugged, “I'll make it. Don't worry about me, just find Chris.” Tyler nodded as he began to crush everything up in the mortar. He grabbed a knife next to the bowl since he knew he was going to have to cut his finger.

“Power of the witches rise
Course unseen across the skies
Come to us who call you near
Come to us and settle here.”

Tyler slowly sliced his finger with the dagger. He didn't even flinch at the pain since he was feeling it in so many other places. Dripping the blood into the bowl, Tyler inhaled before he continued on with the chant,

“Blood to blood, I summon thee
Blood to blood, return to me.”

Both the boys were hopeful for a full five seconds before nothing happened. Andrew's lips quivered at the realization, “Does that mean he's d-”

“No!” Tyler yelled so loud, Andrew jumped with pain immediately welcoming him. Tyler refused to believe Chris was dead, he just couldn't be. If he were dead, he would have felt it. Tyler was the oldest brother, and by God he was going to find Chris and bring him home safely. “He must be somewhere we haven't looked... uh... Phoebe's condo, Paige and Henry's, maybe he's downstairs I don't know!”

With his hand placed on his forehead, Tyler paced the attic while Andrew watched his brother go through one of his thought processes. “Chris isn't here, but he's alive. He's got to be somewhere either in the city, or...” He stopped and snapped his fingers. Magic School! That was probably the next place they should check next!He walked over to Andrew and held his hand out, which his brother took. Orbs surrounded them again and they traveled towards the ceiling before a flash of light pushed the boys onto the ground.

Andrew cried out in pain while Tyler cursed out loud. Why the hell couldn't they get into Magic School? They were blocked, but they weren't just a few hours before!

“Something's wrong...” Tyler nodded to his brother and helped him up from the ground. “Look, you should go rest while I-” Andrew was quick to shoot that down. If Tyler was going anywhere, he was going along with him. Right by his side.

Tyler helped Andrew walk, but he told Tyler he was going to be alright. The brothers walked over to the door and after Tyler tried opening it, they realized the attic was locked. Why was the door locked? Nobody ever locked it! Tyler was so confused while he tried to unlock it, but he was not successful. “Wait, so we're trapped here? In the attic?” Tyler scrunched his face up, and told Andrew to step back. He did so, but Tyler asked him to step back a little bit further. “Good. Thanks.”

Raising his hands, blue light emanated from his hands and he shot the jets at the door, causing it to get pushed out into the hallway, shattering wood everywhere. Andrew nodded, “Good job. Honestly, I can see why Chris would be jealous of that power.” Tyler smirked, and admitted that he was actually jealous of Chris' fire power. “Don't tell him I told you that.” Andrew laughed, promising not to utter a single word.

The brothers walked down the steps while discussing that had happened so far, and their next plan. “We're blocked from Magic School, which is a shame because we're now blocked from a lot of good information that place holds.” Andrew nodded, commenting on how that sucked really bad. “Something tells me that's not the last block we're going to experience though.” Andrew squinted his eyes while asking why Tyler thought that. He shared his theory that if Magic School was blocked by the brothers, and that the door to the attic was mysteriously closed, something else was bound to happen.

The brothers walked by the bedrooms, but didn't pay them any mind. There wasn't anything in them they needed, so it wasn't too important. Right now, anyway. So instead, they advanced their way down the steps to the first level of the manor. Tyler was heading towards the kitchen when Andrew stopped at the base of the stairwell, telling Tyler to stop. The older brother looked back and asked if anything was wrong. “Are your ribs getting worse? We should go check them out.” Andrew shook his head, commenting on how the atmosphere seemed really unstable. Not unstable as in un breathable, but it just felt like something was very wrong. Tyler shrugged, “Well maybe it's because there's nobody here, and it is unusually dark too.” He walked into the kitchen telling Andrew he was going to see if there was any painkillers for him to take for his ribs. Andrew stepped off the base of the steps and walked slowly into the living room. 'Something is really off, I can feel it...' He walked over to the couch and picked up the TV remote. Pressing the power button, he was confused that it didn't turn on. Was the electricity out again? When he felt a breeze, he shivered. Suddenly there was a banging behind him, and he turned fast. Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Andrew was surprised to see that the door to the conservatory was swaying back and forth. Through the window, saw that there was a shattered window and the wind was causing the blowing. Sighing, Andrew walked up and shut the door. He was about to lock it when he stopped and looked into the sun room now.

Andrew opened the door and slowly walked inside. His breathing became short, and tears were welling in his eyes. “Tyler...” Gulping, Andrew stepped a bit further and felt himself drop on his knees. “Tyler.” He was loud this time, and when the oldest Charmed brother walked in, he stopped himself short and shock ran over his face. Andrew had tears streaming down his face. “Dad? Uncle Chris?” Both Wyatt and Chris laid on their backs. Tyler walked a little before realizing what was going on. “Oh my God.” Wyatt Matthew Halliwell and Christopher Perry Halliwell were both dead.

*

Tyler had to drag Andrew away from their father and their uncle, ordering him not to look in the sun room. “Andrew, listen to me.” Andrew was practically sobbing, and he kept repeating over and over, “Who did this? How could they be dead?” Tyler placed his hands on his brother’s cheeks, asking him to calm down. He told Andrew they were going to figure this out, but they had to find their brother.

Andrew breathed deeply several times in order to help himself calm down. Tyler handed his brother the aspirin and told him to take them. “Just stay calm. You don't want to make your ribs any worse, because we need to find out what happened. We have to find out what happened to them, okay?” Andrew just nodded and took the aspirin from Tyler. It surprised him by how calm his older brother was being, but Tyler was right. They needed to be calm in this situation. “Are you sure this is even going to help the pain?” Tyler said he thought it would, but it wouldn't heal the ribs. That would take some time before it completely healed. “You are really calm right now.” Tyler just looked at Andrew seriously. The truth was, he was pissed. He was f**k**g pissed at whoever the hell killed their father and Uncle, and he would slaughter their killer. He knew Andrew would help him, too. He was never going to rest until the blood of their killer drained them their damn body.

“Andrew, here's what we're going to do. We're going to pack, but it's going to be light. I know it's a pretty risky idea, but we need to get the f**k out of here.” Andrew nodded and began to stand up, Tyler helping by holding onto his arm. He told his brother to go upstairs and pack as many clothes as he could possibly fit into a suitcase or a bag. “What are we going to do with the Book?” Tyler smirked, saying he had everything under control. Honestly, he had no idea if it would work. He always wanted to modernize the Book of Shadows, but his parents and grandparents(mainly his grandmother) always got pissed at the idea. He had no idea why. Since every circumstance they ever came to know had changed, Tyler knew the time had come to pull whatever they could if it meant helping themselves, each other, and any innocent out there.

The grand plan was to cast a spell to turn the Book of Shadows into more or less, a tablet. That way, it would not only be lighter, but they'd be able to carry it everywhere with them. Tyler would make sure he'd put a pretty good lock on the device as well. He also promised any spirits that was watching them that he'd turn the Book of Shadows back to its rightful form after everything was fixed and taken care of.

After the boys were packed, their bags were set on the floor of the foyer. Andrew was leaning against the door frame of the dining room when Tyler came downstairs with a grin on his face. “What did you do?” Tyler held up the newly formed Book of Shadows – Tablet Edition. “It's a working title.” He explained the whole tablet was the Book, and would be easy for them to carry around. “I know if anyone found out I did this would get pissed, but it's better than lugging around the big Book. Besides, I made sure a Search feature was in here!” Andrew actually grinned, feeling really impressed. Maybe it was a good idea Tyler did that after all. After placing the Book in his backpack, Tyler picked it up and flung it on his back, “You ready?” Andrew looked down at the ground, then looked over at the conservatory. “Andrew, we'll help them. We will avenge them, but we have to go. It isn't safe here anymore.” Andrew nodded, fully agreeing. The boys walked out of the Manor, and Andrew brought up it was probably a safer bet to take his red Volvo instead of Tyler’s Impala. Tyler agreed since the Volvo had more space. At first, Andrew was shocked he agreed with him, but didn’t feel like starting a brother spat. “We can place everything in the back, and we'll keep the Book up front with us.” Andrew nodded and went over to the trunk of the car. He had two bags with him, while Tyler had one. Well, he technically had a “carry on” bag, but that was for the Book, medicine they would need, some herbs they took from the attic and kitchen, etc. Andrew had also packed a bag for Chris with his favorite items of clothing as well.

After the car was packed, the brothers got in the front seats and looked ahead of them. They were going to find their brother. They were going to fix the world and bring back the peace that was stolen from them. And Tyler knew, as well as Andrew, that the Charmed Ones were going to fulfill their Destiny.

Once and for all.

You may be wondering why I didn't cry when I found, or should I say Andrew found our father and uncle dead. Truth be told, I wanted to. I knew I couldn't because I needed to be strong. For Andrew. To tell you guys the truth, that was the first time I had ever seen Andrew cry. I know it's to be expected because they were our dad and uncle, but it's just weird, if you know what I mean. Andrew and I, along with our brother Chris wherever he may be, has a huge job ahead of us. I don't know if this is it. Is this the final test that Destiny is throwing at us? What if this is just the beginning? What if, in some extremely twisted way, this is only the third chapter of God only knows how many? Are we ready for this? Am I ready for this?

I really hate demons. I mean it, I extremely hate them to a f**k**g passion. What the hell makes them think they can just waltz into our lives and take away those who mean so much to us? To be honest, how am I to know a demon even killed Dad and Uncle Chris? For all we know, someone else could have done it. I didn't bring this up to Andrew because he already has enough on his mind for now. What happened to the Manor? Who locked the attic door? Was it one of the many spirits in our family in order to stop anyone from going up there? Where is everyone anyway? Are they at Magic School? Speaking of Magic School, I still can't guess heads or tails on that situation. I can only recall one time Magic School was blocked off, and that was from a story I heard about Zankou. He wasn't able to infiltrate Magic School without the powers of the Charmed Ones. Was it possible that demons infiltrated it again?

What about Mom? Where the hell is she? What about Derek and Greg? Azzura? Patience, Melinda, Prudence, Henry Jr, Kat and Tam? Are they all okay? We may need help, and they're nowhere to be seen. I just hope to the God and Goddess that they're all okay. I wish I had Chris' premonition power so I could see what was going to happen. Now that I think about it, there are others who I need to see are alright. I haven't seen them in God knows how long, but it's worth to go to them and check. Maybe they're in trouble too.

God I miss Chris. I wish I could talk to him. I wish I could talk to my Dad, too. Andrew's asleep now, but that's alright. He needs as much rest as he can get. I don't know what to expect from this new mission. I don't know what anyone can expect. Chris, where are you? I need to see if I can contact Jason. I just hope the Upper Regions aren't blocked off. Now would be the best time I could use a whitelighter. I know I was against it at first. Why should I need a whitelighter when I'm already one myself? It never occurred to me that I wouldn't be able to do everything at once. Check to see what a certain demon is while working on potions and spells with my brothers.

Jason's a really good guy. He's already helped us out a lot, and most importantly he's helped Chris out a lot too. I know I keep talking about my brothers, but they need to be kept safe. I don't care what happens to me. I can die and go on for all I care, but not Chris and Andrew. They both have a lot to look forward to after this is all over. Chris needs to finish college so he can get his psychology degree, and Andrew is going to be the best selling author anyone has ever seen. It doesn't matter what happens to me, Tyler Martin Halliwell, because no matter what happens, no matter who we come across, no matter who we kill, save, whatever...

I will keep my brothers safe.
I will keep them alive.
Because that is my Destiny.
And I am going to fulfill it.

*

A silver van rolls to a stop in front of thirteen twenty nine Prescott Street. The vehicle gets turned off and three people steps out of the car. They look around, and all of them look disgusted by what happened. How the hell could the Charmed Idiots do this? This was all their fault. 'If this never happened, I'd be off getting a tan at the salon or something.' The woman scoffed and headed up the stone steps, with the men following her lead. “Do you think they'll be here?” The woman rolls her eyes and growls. “They'd better be, because I have issues I need to get out.” The two men gives each other a look before shrugging and follows the woman up the steps to the front door of the manor.

The woman tries to open the door, surprised it was unlocked. This was going to be too easy. Smiling over at the two men, she made herself into the manor. She stopped in the foyer and looked around. Why was it so damn cold in here? She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. The men chuckles at her, teasing her that she's going to turn into a Popsicle. The woman rolls her eyes, demanding the two men shut the hell up before she throws energy balls at them. “Oh, I am just shivering with fear, Morgan.” The woman named Morgan rolled her eyes and walked off into the kitchen. The two guys chuckled and made their way upstairs.

The two men looked around, seeing if anybody was home. “Hm, doesn't look like anyone's here.” The first guy smirked deviously while his companion warned him to keep his eyes open. Rolling his eyes, guy number one waved it off and walked towards the steps of the attic. “Well, if someone is here, it's not like we're gonna get in trouble or anything.” Nodding, the first guy agreed. They made their way up the attic steps and grew confused when they started stepping on pieces of wood. “What the hell happened?” The two guys shrugged and walked into the attic. They could smell the remains of the herbs Tyler had used earlier when he tried to call for Chris. Pointing, the guys walked over and checked it out. “Someone was definitely here a little while ago.”

When he didn't get an answer, he turned his head towards his companion and asked what the matter was. When he pointed, the man looked and saw that the Book of Shadows was gone. “Are you kidding me?! We need that Book! If we're going to get the powers we deserve-”

“I know, Brad! The Book has to be here somewhere. We'll find it!” Brad scoffed, telling the man they were screwed. He said without the Book, they had no way to further their plans. “We better find it, Craig. I want... no, I need the powers that I... we... deserve!” They were about to discuss a plan when a blood curdling scream came from downstairs.

“Morgan!” Exclaimed both Brad and Craig.

The two rushed down the stairs and they could hear Morgan crying. They deduced the cries were coming from the conservatory, and when they entered the room, they were met with the shock of their lives.

“Daddy! Uncle Wyatt?” Morgan Anne Halliwell covered her face, tears streaming hot down her face. Craig and Brad stepped up, shock on both their faces. Their father and uncle were dead? No, this couldn't be happening. They cannot be dead! Brad Anthony Halliwell and Craig Victor Halliwell bent down to pick up their sister. Morgan kept repeating how they both could be dead. It wasn't possible. “They did this! They did this, didn't they?!” Morgan looked at her brother’s, anger stirring in her system. Before they could answer, she continued on, “They killed Daddy! They killed their own father! They don't...” she stopped to take a breath, “They don't deserve to be Charmed!”

Brad and Craig looked at their sister and then looked down at their father and uncle. They couldn't believe Tyler, Andrew, and Chris would allow this to happen. What were those idiots thinking?! The siblings had heard about their cousins becoming Charmed, and honestly they couldn't believe it. What did they deserve to hold so much power? Tyler was always off schmoozing the family, Andrew was way too into himself to even be a Charmed One, and Chris was the most pathetic brat ever! There was a reason the cousins hadn't attended their cousin's fiancee's funeral: Chris didn't deserve love in the first place.

Brad, being the oldest sibling, looked at his brother and sister. He vowed that the Charmed Ones would be taken down and together they would obtain their powers and become the best Power of Three anyone has ever seen before. Nodding, Craig and Morgan liked this idea a lot. They were going to give those boys what they deserved to killing their own family. After realizing the brothers had taken everything with them, the cousins decided to ditch the manor. It wasn't safe for them to be there anyway. They had tried accessing Magic School, but when they couldn't, they immediately blamed their cousins for that mishap. To them, Tyler, Andrew, and Chris were the cause of all of their problems. Brad grimaced before he declared revenge and justice against the Charmed Ones.

Since there wasn't anything here for them, the siblings decide to leave. They didn't know where they were going, but they had a map and crystal with them so they'd be able to scry. Since scrying only worked with evil beings, or so they thought, they were going to use a spell to track down the brothers. Unfortunately, using their powers only caused a mass load of demons to come after them, so they had to resort to more human means of transportation, much to the dislike of Brad. “Ready or not, Cousins.” The siblings got into the car, and Brad started the car. “Here we come.” Switching into drive, Brad began to drive away from the Halliwell Manor.

In the back of the car, Morgan had her head against the window. Tears were streaming down her face, “I'm going to f**k**g kill them.” Brad and Craig heard her, and all they could do was nod.

Chapter 5

The red Volvo CX60 rolled to a stop in front of a gas station. Tyler wanted to stock up on snack foods and needed something to drink. At first he considered having a beer or something, but he didn't want to press his luck. 'Not that I have an ounce of that...' He rolled his eyes when he inserted the gas pump into the little socket. He could hear Andrew get out of the car and walk into the gas station. The Charmed One leaned against the car while he waited for the gas to fill up. Sighing, Tyler looked around. It felt really eerie not seeing anyone around. It was completely quiet, there weren't any birds fluttering, but there was the sound of the wind swaying the trees around. As he watched the numbers on the gas screen increase, his eyes became transfixed.

Inside the gas station, Andrew walked around carefully to see if there were anyone in there. He didn't know what to expect since he felt all the rules of life had changed. It was a pretty scary thought. Now that the laws could be broken, there was going to be that one group of crazy people he and Tyler were going to run into. Andrew was definitely not looking forward to that. His stomach was growling, begging for food so he just looked to his left, saw a bag of chips and opened them. They were barbecued flavored, and so damn good. He started piling stuff into his arms to take back to the car. When he realized he was starting to overflow with food, he dropped everything on the floor and went to the back to look for something to help him with the groceries. If anyone can even call food from a gas station that. At least there were a lot of dry food he and his brother could have.

He'd never been in the back of a gas station before, but now wasn't the time to be impressed. Andrew looked around before spotting a couple boxes huddled in the corner of the room. Smiling softly, he walked over and picked some up to see which box would be best. When he finally chose a box, he figured Tyler was probably waiting for him to get back, so he walked out of the back area and returned to the main room. As he approached the pile of food and supplies he had stashed up, there was a banging noise coming from inside the gas station. What the hell? Andrew grimaced, and swore if it was Tyler messing with him, he was going to punch him in the face and break his f**k**g nose. The witch moved past the door, and stopped when he saw Tyler outside taking the gas pump from Andrew's car. So, if Tyler was outside still, who-

Andrew jumped when he heard another banging, but this time it was coming from the total opposite side. The side he just came from. Who the hell was in here, and why where they messing with him?! Getting annoyed, Andrew sprinted towards the noise, but when he got back to the area he'd just come from, he was met by nothing. What? Was that even possible? Andrew sighed while he rubbed his face. It as probably just his imagination, and the stress was just really getting to him. Just his luck, right? He had just turned around when he'd been back handed and he flew down on the ground with a grunt. Seriously, his ribs already hurt like f**k, so why the hell was he being picked on?! Looking at the intruder, Andrew saw a tall, thin male demon smirking down at him. “Hey dude, you're a Charmed One, aren't you?”

Andrew did not feel like dealing with this right now, and wanted the punk ass demon to just go away. He watched at the demon was humored by the pain the witch was in, and it only encouraged him to take the demon out for good. Using a lot of his strength, Andrew got up and was about to melt the demon into a puddle of nothing, but the demon was already throwing energy ball's at Andrew. He had dodged out of the way, and could hear glass shatter everywhere. The demon tried to coax Andrew into coming out and fight like the witch he was, but Andrew had other plans. He wasn't going to ditch the man since the best demon was a dead demon. Maybe he could use a sneak attack on the demon. Hmm, that could work.

Andrew rushed into one of the aisles while he could hear the demon walking around. He had hoped this was going to work, so all he did was pray to the God and Goddess for help. Andrew slowly peeked out of the aisle he was in, but he couldn't see the demon. So he advanced, walking up the row, his eyes wandering everywhere. Andrew took about three steps before he stopped. He swore he heard the demon walking, or maybe he didn't? Just take another couple steps... Andrew advanced slowly, the entrance was just right there. But he couldn't just leave, could he? He needed to just kill the mother f**k*r! So on a whim, Andrew rushed out to expose himself, but he was confused because he didn't see the demon. “Where did you go?” Behind him, something dropped to the floor so he zipped around and saw an energy ball fly right towards him! Ducking just in time, the energy ball smashed into the cash register, making it smash all over the place. The demon growled and formed another energy ball, this time he was sure he was going to hit the witch, and kill Andrew.

The Halliwell was close to melting the demon into a boiling puddle, but froze when he saw a sharp object go right into the demons back and through his stomach. The demon screamed in pain, flames surrounding him before he disappeared into nothing. Tyler stood behind the smoke the fire from the vanquished demon left behind, “Need help?” Andrew smiled, and thanked his brother for the assistance. Tyler tossed down the pipe and walked up to his brother, “It's nothing. It's my job to look after you, troublemaker.” Andrew packed up the food and supplies and the brothers headed back to the car. Tyler was very excited for all the soda and junk food Andrew had found. “I am so f**k**g hungry!” Andrew suggested going light on the food, knowing Tyler. Surprisingly, Tyler just nodded and said he agreed with his brother. It was better than him blowing up and yelling at him. Andrew wondered aloud how the demon found them. Tyler thought that maybe he'd been following the boys and took the opportunity to strike while they were separated. “But we didn't see anyone follow. We'd see him walking, wouldn't we? Something else is going on around here, something bad.”

The Halliwell brothers climbed back into the van and were back on the road. Andrew went through the list of supplies he had taken from the gas station, while Tyler was grinning, feeling very excited,“I even managed to find some flashlights, batteries, toothbrushes, toothpaste. Anything I thought we could need, really.”

The car drove down many roads, and the boys were quiet for awhile. They were both in their own worlds and thoughts. Tyler had tried to turn on the radio to a Rock station, but was upset when nothing would come through at all. “This is like the road trip from Hell.” Andrew stared out of the window with his elbow resting on the door. He watched as they drove past trees and abandoned homes. He wondered how long it'd been since Demortica's demise. Where was everyone? Surely there had to be some survivors somewhere. Actually, there should have been a whole bunch of people out here. It's like whatever happened after the death of the Second Witch, everyone in existence got erased. The only people who were around were Tyler, Andrew, Wy-
Andrew refused to finish the thought. He didn't want to think about what he was about to think about and pushed it down. He wasn't going to go there again. Not right now, at least.

Andrew had opened Tyler's bag and took out the Book of Shadows “- Tablet Edition” as Tyler had named it. Honestly, he thought it was pretty f**k**g cool. It was a nice size too, he guessed maybe 8.9 inches. Going through the Book, he realized everything was alphabetized, much to Tyler's surprise. He didn't intend it to be that way, but it would probably be helpful. “I think if you hold it the other way, two pages are going to show up at the same time.” Andrew did so, and was even more impressed with Tyler's invention. When he asked what they'd do if the tablet started to die, Tyler frowned. He hadn't really thought of the Book Tablet having a battery life. “Maybe the Spirits will be able to help us with that. Or I could probably summon a charger, even if using magic would summon demons.” Andrew shrugged. He knew if they showed up, the brothers would be able to take care of them.

He clicked his finger against the search bar, and was happy that it actually worked. When he typed in the word “Demon”, a lot of results showed up. “Really, Tyler, you should have done this ages ago. I have no idea why everyone was against it.” Tyler chuckled while keeping his eyes on the road, telling his brother that he was actually one of the people offended by the idea. Andrew just laughed quietly while continuing to roam through the digitalized Book of Shadows. He came across several pages that he added into the Book himself over the years, and read them over. Even when in a situation such as the one they were in now, it was pretty cool thinking the Book could possibly continue to grow and become larger. He smirked when he thought of the Book being feet taller. Maybe the family would accept Tyler's tablet invention and keep it that way. He kept flicking pages when he stopped at a page he hadn't seen before, or at least he didn't think he'd seen this one before.

“Hey, did you add the page for Jayde?” Andrew watched Tyler nod so he looked back down at the screen to read the pages entry. Jayde was a demon who had come in contact with the Halliwell family, pretending to be their friend. The first day they went up against Demortica, the brothers had found out Jayde had killed someone extremely close to the Halliwell's and the family shut her out for good after that. Since then, Tyler and Andrew had both vowed vengeance against the demon. The more Andrew flicked through the Book, the more he began to smile. There were so many spells, potions, information in there. It sure helped them all out over the decades.

“We've been through Hell, haven't we?” Tyler just sighed, knowing how serious Andrew was being. He wasn't one to joke about something like this. Through the year, he had been working on controlling his temper around his brothers. He yelled at Chris for the first time awhile back, and vowed to never do that to him or Andrew ever again. “It'll get better. You'll see, once we find Chris, everything will be restored.” Andrew smiled and agreed. They were the Charmed Ones and they were going to fix this huge mess.

As the boys looked ahead of them, they kept thinking how gloomy it was. Plus it was actually getting really cold. Usually the city was always near seventy five degrees. After Andrew asked when a good time it would be to switch driving, Tyler looked over, “We're not. You're already hurt, and I don't want it getting any worse. And before you ask, no I am not insulting your driving.” Andrew sighed, saying Tyler had to take a nap sometime. Knowing that was very true, Tyler simply said that they'd stop on the side of the road or find an abandoned motel and sleep there for a while before going back on the road. “I admit, it'd be better if we could orb around though.” For them being witches, they were sure having a magic free time. Honestly, Tyler hated it. In any other situation, this would be totally okay and fun, but right now? It was just damn insulting.

Tyler was getting ready to turn the car when Andrew had his cell phone out. He asked if it was alright if he could plug it into the car adapter, and Tyler was more than happy for him to do so. “Thank God! I've been thinking of so much sh!t, I forgot we could plug our phones into the radio and listen to good music!” Andrew grinned and the boys were extremely happy they were able to listen to music again. “Now that is an awesome sound.” Andrew and Tyler listened to Andrew's playlist for awhile without speaking. “It's a good thing you thought of that because we'll need a way to keep our phones charged.” He took out his own cell phone and handed it to Andrew. He asked if he could try to call Chris and maybe some other people, but told Andrew not to hold his breath. The hunch he had about the phone signals were correct. The boys could not call Chris or anyone else for that matter.
Tyler could start to feel himself get hungry again and asked if Andrew wanted anything to eat. Telling his brother he had packed some protein bars in the box, Tyler nodded and pulled the car over. He told Andrew not to move, and that he'd be back in a bit. Placing the car in park, Tyler unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He was walking to the back when Andrew looked out the passenger window.
'Oh how I wish for some sun light right now...' He heard shuffling in the back, but he didn't move. The boy started fidgeting for a little bit, pulled the sun visor down and opened the little mirror. He had a good view of the back and could see Tyler dig through the supplies. It was a good way to see if anyone or anything was sneaking up behind his brother. Fortunately, nothing had tried attacking and Tyler was back in the driver's seat with beverages and food for the two of them. Tyler placed the car back in drive while Andrew put the sun visor back up and grabbed himself a protein bar. “Hey Ty?” Tyler made a humming, indicating for Andrew to go on, “Do you think the demons are just as confused as us?” Tyler raised his eyebrow, and asked what his brother meant.

“Well, it's just that there was only one demon, right? Usually, the demons are in packs. So maybe, they're wondering what the hell is going on themselves like we are.” Tyler admitted Andrew could be right. It'd explain why they weren't roaming around the city causing chaos. Tyler brought up the fact that he was still confused about the attic door being locked and the manor seemed to be totally abandoned. “We don't have answers, but for that that's a good thing... sort of. When we start getting some, we'll have a lead on what the hell is going on.” Tyler tried grabbing a protein bar, and asked Andrew if he could get one for him. Andrew nodded and bent down to grab it when a bright light showed up in the car and caused Andrew to yell. At the same time, Tyler yelled out and swerved the car, causing it to perform doughnuts a couple times. After the car eventually stopped, the brothers were breathing hard, focused on two different things.

“Pay?”

“Jason?”

Both brothers looked at each other before Tyler looked in the back while Andrew looked over to the side. Patience Halliwell, Phoebe and Coop's middle daughter, was standing a couple feet away from the car, hurrying to catch up to the boys. Jason, the Charmed Ones whitelighter was looking at Tyler apologetically. “Dude, you could have gotten us killed!” Jason was telling Tyler how absolutely sorry he was while Andrew rolled down the window when Patience got up to them. “You have no f**k**g idea how glad I am to see you boys!” She looked back at Jason, said her hello's, and looked back at her little cousins. “Where's Chris?” After inviting her in the car, Patience was explaining everything that had happened to her and the rest of the family. She explained that after the boys left, they were watching Demortica's vanquishing scene, while they were really impressed with the boys. Commenting how frightening the tornadoes and tidal waves were, the group was glad to see the storms stop. “We thought that was the end, and we were all celebrating and applauding you boys. It wasn't until Melinda stopped everyone. She told us something else was going on now. We saw the triquetra form and knew something big was happening.” Patience stopped talking to gain from breath, so Jason picked up the story,
“We were so transfixed with what we were seeing, we never expected a big bang like that. The light was so bright, I thought it wasn't going to stop. When the light went away, I wasn't at Magic School anymore. I thought I was in a dark void in Evil or something.” Patience was fast to nod, saying that's what she felt too. After everything was done and over with, she felt so tired and exhausted. It wasn't until a bit later she realized that something about the city was off. “There wasn't anyone around, but every time I beamed places, demons would always gang up on me! I
was almost pulverized a few times.” She also commented how it felt like a long ass time had past, like years or something.

The brothers explained how when they went back to the Manor, everything was off. The Book of Shadows looked like it hadn't been used in ages and the attic door was locked. Patience swore up and down she had no idea who could have done that. If it really was only hours that passed, there wouldn't be the need to lock the attic door. Tyler was now looking at Andrew, and the younger brother knew was was coming.

Patience and Jason were shocked as Hell when they found out about Wyatt and Chris. Patience began to cry, asking who the hell killed them. Tyler told her they didn't know, but they were determined to find out. “Guys, if I knew that was going to happen, I would have-” Tyler spoke up, telling the whitelighter not to blame himself. “For some reason, there's something bigger going on here, we just don't know what.” Patience remained quiet while the three men were going over everything together. Jason informed the group that even though he still could orb and heal, he was completely blocked off from the Upper Regions. “It's like the Elder's don't want to be involved. If they were dead, the Upper Regions couldn't be blocked off because their magic would have been cancelled out.” Tyler scoffed, insulting the Elder's. Jason was usually against it, but even he had to admit that it was a very pathetic move.

Patience spoke up, asking if they knew where their brother Chris was. Tyler informed the two that they honestly had no idea where he was. “And don't get mad at us, we already feel horrible about it!” Jason told them that when he tried to sense the boys, demons would show up near him like they did with Patience. He had to find a really good hiding spot in order to properly sense for his charges. “You two were the only ones I could sense. Chris wasn't or isn't on my radar. But I know he isn't dead, otherwise I'd feel it. I know I would.” Tyler nodded, saying he and Andrew would've been able to as well.

Patience sniffled as she sat back in her seat, “So, what do we do now? We can't use our powers. We can't find Chris, or anyone else for that matter...” She looked out the window with her arms crossed.

“We're going to find Chris.” Tyler said this confidently, “We're all going to find him, fix this mess, and turn everything back to the way it was.” Everyone knew it was going to be a lot harder than it sounded. Nothing happening like this ever occurred to them, so this was all new territory for them. The drive was quiet, with Andrew's playlist playing. It wasn't until an hour later that Tyler and Andrew were discussing their next pit stop. Since there were two more people with them, they needed more food. Jason assured them he didn't need to eat, but the boys wouldn't hear of it. “No, we're in this together. We will all survive this. You pretty much became alive after the Elder's shut you out.”

Patience huffed, telling Jason that Tyler was right. After this was all over, she would be having a lot to say to the Elder's. f**k them for abandoning the Halliwell's. Again.

I'm happy I found the boys in time. I'm glad they're both alright, but I'm worried about Chris. He's been more than a cousin to me, he's more like a brother. My fellow D.H. In case anyone was confused on what that could mean, it simply means Demon Hunter. It's not only Chris I'm worried about. My sisters, my parents. sh!t, why the hell did Wyatt and Chris have to die? Who had killed them? Tyler and Andrew are right about one thing: This whole situation is just off. There isn't any explanation on why any of this was happening. The cities abandonment, the locked attic door... what the hell could all this mean? I was never jealous the boys became the Charmed Ones, because they're good at their job. I don't know if they're feeling like they failed, because they didn't. None of us knew this was going to happen. There had to be an answer on what our next move could be –

Patience moved her head over to look at the boys who were talking about the demon possibilities, if a demon even caused this. For all they knew, Demortica really could have been the one who caused this. Patience folded her hands and held her head back on the seat. Without finishing her thought, he closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her. She was long due for a nice nap. Well, as nice as it could be.

Patience was suddenly jolted awake when the car stopped. Looking around, she asked the group where the hell they were. Jason informed her that they found a motel they could stay at for the night. Nodding, she got out of the car with the rest of the group and looked towards the motel. She didn't care how comfortable it was, just as long as there was a comfy bed waiting for her. Tyler wanted everyone to either share a bedroom or had adjoining rooms, which nobody fussed about it. Jason commented on how a good idea that was. They found for adjoining rooms together, and were happy nobody was occupying any of them. Jason and Andrew offered to check the whole place out just in case while Patience and Tyler went to hide the car.

After Patience and Tyler walked off, the other two began their rounds. Since the motel was two stories, Jason decided to take upstairs while Andrew took downstairs. “If you need me, just call!” Jason hurried off while Andrew went towards the first room. He prayed the the God and Goddess that he wouldn't be finding anybody. He approached the first room, inhaled deeply, and turned the knob. Looking in, the room was abandoned. Or maybe it just wasn't in use. Cool, so far so good. Andrew shut the door and walked over to the second room. Fortunately for him, that room along with rooms three and four were abandoned. Excellent, the group had their rooms. He was about to go to Tyler and Patience when he heard a “Psst” sound coming from above. He looked up and saw Jason motioning him to come on up.

When Andrew got onto the second level, he began to ask Jason what was going on, but was met with a “Shh”. “I think there's someone in the middle room, but I'm not sure. I think I heard scuffling.” Andrew nodded and followed the whitelighter towards the room. He wondered if he'd need Tyler and Patience, but after hearing the scuffling, he was too excited to even think about calling them. “What if it's a demon?” Jason shrugged, saying if it was a demon he or she would probably be able to sense them and attack. “Good point.” Andrew held his ear up to the door so he could try to hear more from the other side. “For some reason,” Jason said with a cautious tone, “I'm somehow getting the sense of deja vu.” Andrew shrugged, telling him everyone gets it. After that, they received a surprise, “Who the f**k is out there, and what the f**k do you want?!” The men were surprised to hear a woman talking to them. Jason cleared his throat, and told the woman they were staying for the night. “Are you hurt, ma'am?” They heard the woman scoff, and mumble something about how she hated to be called that. She was only twenty-three after all. “Huh,” Andrew said with his finger on his chin, “she's Tyler's age.”

After the woman asked who Tyler was, Tyler himself and Patience walked up the stairs telling them the car was hidden very well. “We may have used a little magic, but not too much for demons to detect them. “What's going on here?” Andrew informed his brother and cousin that there was a survivor in the room, but the door was locked at the woman was refusing to come out. Tyler smirked and put on his “charming” smile. He knocked on the door and asked the woman to kindly step out of the motel room.

“No you creep! Leave me the hell alone!” Tyler was about declare he was not a creep, but he stopped himself. Wait a God dammed minute... “Can you speak again?”

Andrew was giving Tyler the most weirdest look ever,but Tyler just raise his finger asking for a minute or two. “Seriously, I need you to come out so I can speak with you.” He could hear the woman groan, but she went quiet for a few minutes.

“I don't want to come out!”
Tyler was so sure he heard her voice before! Quickly, he went back and forth thinking who it might be. Andrew was about to suggest leaving the woman alone, but Tyler gasped,

“Laurel?! Laurel Taylor?!” Silence was met for awhile before the woman demanded to know how the f**k Tyler knew her name. “It's me Tyler! Tyler Halliwell, from Baker High?”

The group heard a lot of clutter and soon the door was being unlocked and it was opened. Andrew immediately recognized the woman, telling himself he should have known who it was from the very beginning. Laurel and Tyler looked at each other, Tyler sporting a smile, and Laurel looking confused. “Tyler?” After the boy nodded, he asked Laurel how she was doing. What happened next was very fast. Laurel had walked up to Tyler and planted her hand on his face, the slap loud as hell. Everyone looked shocked as hell at Laurel because after the slap, she was wrapping her arms around the Halliwell, thanking God that he and the others were there.

Jason looked confused now mostly because Patience was rolling her eyes with a smirk, while Andrew was looking really uncomfortable for some reason. “Um. What's going on?” Patience leaned up in the whitelighter's ear and explained that Laurel Taylor was Tyler's ex girlfriend from high school, “No idea why they broke up, but it wasn't pretty.” Jason nodded and didn't push it any further. It wasn't his business knowing Tyler's love life. Laurel was demanding to know what the hell was going on. “Well basically, it's the apocalypse. Seriously.”

Laurel demanded to know everything, and warned Tyler not to lie to her because she could always tell when he lied to her. “It was one of the reasons I broke up with you.” Tyler sighed, and soon everything began to spill out. He told Laurel about how he and his brothers were in fact witches known as the Charmed Ones. Andrew had to serve as confirmation.

“Wait, so all those family emergencies? They were all because you had to go help your family fight these demon things?” After Tyler nodded, Laurel crossed her arms with a chuckle. Shaking her head, she said, “I should have known.” She confessed she had her suspicions, but never acted out on them. She figured Tyler was behaving the way he was because he didn't want to be with her, so Laurel made the break up move before he could. “I thought you were acting like a childish baby. Honestly, I don't even know what I'd do if you really had told me the truth. I'd probably still break up with you, really.” Tyler sighed. He admitted that he deserved everything he got, but he also admitted he never stopped loving Laurel. He may have flirted with a lot of women, but Laurel was the one who somehow made Tyler feel... different. He really did love her, and wanted to make her happy. Their break up was probably the reason why Tyler started being rebellious.

Jason wanted to know how long Laurel was there for, which she answered not too long. “I walked here actually. I saw the weird looking guys and some women in all black, but I just ignored them. I have no idea how I successfully dodged them, but I did and I locked myself away in here.” She said she had enough food for now, but she was quickly running out. The boys invited her to join their group, saying they had plenty of food with them, or just enough from when they raided the gas station awhile ago. The group walked down to the rooms Andrew found for them, and soon Laurel's food was merged with the Halliwell's and Jason's. “I'm so glad you guys found me, seriously. If you didn't come, I have no idea what I would have done.” She told them she was going crazy being alone and scared. It was a huge relief to have company she trusted now.

The group talked for awhile before night started to fall. Patience asked how the sleeping situation was going to happen. “I could bunk up with Laurel, while you boys bunked together.” Laurel quickly said she didn't mind bunking with Tyler, meaning no offense to Patience. Knowing very well what was probably happening, Laurel rolled her eyes while sticking her tongue out. “None taken. Please, by all means.” Tyler smiled at this and lead Laurel into their room. Andrew would bunk with Patience while Jason got his own room. To be sure they all stayed safe during the night, protective enchantments would be casted on the rooms, and Jason, not needing sleep, would act as a guard in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

As Tyler and Laurel laid down on their bed, Laurel began to apologize to Tyler, saying she felt like such an idiot. “Hell no, don't feel that way. I should have been honest with you about my secret, Laurel. God damn, I was such a stupid teenager. I should have just been honest with you.” Laurel agreed, but she countered that she should have been honest with him, too. The couple looked at each other, both softly smiling. Laurel leaned in to kiss Tyler, and the witch was more than happy to welcome it. The two started making out, and they were both under the covers.

[Chris]

Chapter 6

As Tyler started waking up, he could see shadow movement from his closed eyelids. When he opened them, he saw Laurel rummaging through her clothes trying to pick something out. He didn't want her to know he was awake, so he slowly sat up and crossed his arms. After Laurel had a pair of jeans, a shirt and underwear picked out, she turned around and almost jumped back when she finally saw that Tyler was watching her. Hearing Tyler was laughing, she glared at him. Picking up a shoe from the floor she chucked it at him with all her strength. “Idiot.” She marched over to the bathroom while Tyler was still laughing. When she slammed the door, the man jumped out of the bed and ran over to the bathroom door, finding it locked. Same old Laurel, I see... Tyler chuckled while politely asking, or as politely as he could, if Laurel could please unlock the door. He was met by water running and the shower starting. “Hey, I didn't know the water worked!” Laurel, having heard him, opened the door to inform him that the water must not be coming from a well, therefore it could work. The only downside was that she doubted there'd be any hot water. Tyler smirked, he decided to ask Laurel if he could join her, which he was just answered with laughter. “Oh yeah right. We're not going that fast.” After Tyler raised his eyebrow and asked if they were a couple, Laurel slammed the door and locked it. “You do know I can just teleport myself into the bathroom, right? So I could just orb myself in the shower?” Tyler waited a few minutes before he turned to walk away. The bathroom door opened, and Laurel's hand reached out, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled him into the bathroom.


Outside, Andrew was sitting on one of the benches that were placed in the parking lot. He had gotten a really good night's sleep, and was ready to take on whatever the day would give him. The sky was still gloomy though, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. “Just another day in apocalyptic hell.” He heard a snort behind him, and Patience jumped over the bench and sat next to Andrew. “Hell is a bit of an understatement, isn't it?” Andrew shrugged, saying both here and the Underworld were pretty much the same now. Patience didn't agree however, saying here was now a lot worse than the Underworld. “Think about it, all the Underworld is is a maze of rock and lairs. The demons still have their home, while all our resources are becoming limited.” Andrew crossed him arms and mumbled, “If they aren't already...”


Patience looked around for a second before asking if Andrew wanted to take a walk. She guessed that since they were at a motel, there had to be stores or something close by. Andrew agreed with the theory and the two witches got up from the bench. “I'll tell Ty we're gonna be gone for a bit.” Patience nodded and watched as Andrew walked off to Tyler and Laurel's bedroom. After telling them where they were going(Andrew had to tell them through the door), the two were off in search of anything that could serve as a store or a gas station.


“How have you been, Andrew?” The Charmed One shrugged, saying he could be better. Patience looked at the scar on Andrew's face. She commented how nasty it looked, and suggested Jason heal it up for him. Andrew declined though, because it was a mark of his first big battle as a Charmed One. He would wear this scar with pride, which Patience beamed to. She asked Andrew if he remembered the very first injury he had gotten from a demon hunt. Thinking back, Andrew recalled some injuries he got, but admitted he had no idea what his first injury from a demon was. “Do you happen to remember, Pay?”

The girl nodded. She began to recall Tyler having to babysit his brothers when a demon attacked them. “I'm surprised you don't remember this...” She continued to say that when the adults found out, Wyatt was in such a rage and started screaming at Tyler. Andrew quickly defended his brother, telling the adults how he protected Andrew and Chris, even though Andrew had been scratched on the arm. The injury was healed, and life just went on.


“Wow, I don't even remember that. I wonder if Tyler does.” Patience nodded. She would honestly be surprised if he had forgotten about it. The two concluded that Tyler always told everyone he forgot about certain events, when they were certain he had remembered it all along.


Andrew was busy looking up ahead when Patience was looking over her back. “I wonder if the survivors of this apocalypse was chosen, I mean if-” Patience elbowed Andrew's side and told him to shut up for a bit. The cupid-witch told Andrew to continue walking, but not to to say anything. Patience was trying to look back with the corner of her eyes. “There's someone following us. Don't look back, just keep walking.” Andrew joined Patience in looking behind them, but they didn't stop walking for a second. They walked several miles ahead before Patience grabbed her cousins arm and pushed him into a wooded area. The Halliwell's walked past several trees, the dead leaves crunching under their feet. The older witch looked behind her and pushed Andrew behind a tree, gesturing him to stay put. Patience stayed behind her own tree, and now they were waiting to hear the demons' footsteps.


“Maybe they lost us.” Patience read Andrew's lips, and merely shrugged. It was pretty odd that there wasn't any footsteps being heard. Andrew peeked his head out from behind the tree and saw the two demons walk into the woods. He zipped back behind the tree, and looked at Patience, “They're coming.” Patience nodded and took out a knife from her sheath which was wrapped around her calf. The witches could hear the leaves crunch under the demons feet, and they both held their breaths. “Come out, come out wherever you are!”


Andrew jumped in place, holding his breath so he wouldn't be able to make any noise. 'Oh my God, we are so screwed.' They could hear the demons continue to encourage the Halliwell's to come out of their hiding places, and Patience raised her finger. “Don't do anything, yet.” She mouthed, with a nod response from her cousin. The demons were laughing and telling each other jokes, most insults towards witches, whitelighter's, cupids, and demonic scum. Patience looked like she was going to go out and attack them so fast with a war cry. Andrew could hear her silently swear, while he tried to peek out to catch glimpses of the demons. He hadn't realized that he was about to step over an overgrown tree root. Patience widened her eyes, just knowing they were about to get caught. Andrew steadied himself though while holding onto the tree with his hands. He prayed that the demons didn't hear his little goof up. Crunching leaves were getting louder and louder near the witches, “C'mon witchies, we wanna play with you. You like games, don't you?”


Andrew was starting to get pissed off again and as about to shoot his hands out at the demons. He was about to jump out until there was a long crack coming from the other side of the woods. Patience and Andrew gave each other a look of confusion and the demons were already running towards the noise. Was someone else in the woods with them, or was it just an animal? It'd be so funny if it was a forest animal, Andrew knew he'd love to see the looks on their faces if it was! Patience walked out of her hiding place and made a long sigh of relief. She may have loved hunting demons, but the forest scene wasn't her ideal demon hunting location. She preferred more open locations for those. It was just easier.


Andrew lead the way out of the forest and they were soon back on track. It was just a few minutes when they approached what looked like a little store or something. The Halliwell's smiled and rushed up to the windows. “Do you see any food? We need more of that!” Andrew tried getting a good look, but said they might need to go inside to see. Patience tried the door, happy to see it was unlocked. “You know, I was thinking about what you said about the survivors being chosen.” She waited for Andrew to go into the store before she went inside herself. Patience shared her theory that maybe Demortica's vanquish or whatever caused all the chaos had purposely chosen certain beings to be here. “Take Laurel for example: She's Tyler's ex, she's a friend of the family, she figured out our secret on her own. What better way than to bring the ones closest with us?” Andrew was picking up boxes of crackers and cookies when he nodded in agreement. That sure made sense.


Andrew and Patience continued packing the food in a box they had found for storage. They gathered stuff like crackers, cookies, bread, and other assortment of dry food. Patience complained how it sucked they couldn't get frozen stuff like ice cream or orange juice. “Well, you can still get orange juice, it might be old though.” Patience rolled her eyes. She kicked a bag of coal people used for grills before looking at Andrew, “Most of this stuff is going to be expired really soon. Seriously, there aren't anyone around to deliver fresh foods.” Andrew told her they'd probably have to start using magic for this stuff, which Patience sadly agreed. It just meant that the demons would be quicker to track the family down. “We have to be careful though since we have a mortal in our group now.” Andrew nodded and soon they were ready to leave.


They had gotten to the door when someone walked up behind them, “What do yur think yur doin' with my food, kids?” Patience and Andrew slowly turned around to face a man with a white beard, dirty hair, and a black coat and jeans on. He was completely barefoot. Patience just gave the man a look with her eyebrow raised. “We're shopping. This is a public store still isn't it? I'm public, my friend here is public, and you're public. Technically.” Patience rolled her eyes again and was about to open the door. “Now now now, wait a minute! You don't want me to get the cops on yur asses, dontcha?” Patience glared at the bum, clenching her fists. Seriously, she was going to be told what to do by this guy? He was probably one of those “The End Is Near! The End Is Near!” type of fools. Plus, didn't he know the cops were gone? Duh.


“Are you really wanting to steal from me, now?” The older man was looking sad, he was shaking, and his eyes were tired and worn. Andrew offered to make a peace treaty with the man, must to Patience's dislike. “Look, we have a group of five and we're really starting to run out of food. We're not taking much, and there's plenty of food left for you here. Please, let us take this food for our group?” When the older man listened to Andrew, he crossed his arms with his head tilted. Andrew had hoped he was somehow getting through to the man, and they'd be able to take the food and just go back to the motel. “Well...” The older man looked around. There were plenty of food left for himself, and it wasn't like those kids were taking too much, “Okay. You can take the food what's in your box.” Andrew could hear Patience mumble, correcting that it's suppose to be “that's in your box” not “what's in your box”, but Andrew made sure he over talked her. “Thank you sir. Really, this is really appreciated.” The man waved his hand and ordered the two to scram before he changed his mind and got the cops on their asses.


After the Halliwell's left the store and were out of earshot, Patience growled in anger. She ranted how it was pretty stupid that had happened, but she should have expected it. “I wish you could've frozen him, but with you turning people into ice, I'm not sure if they'd instantly thaw out like the other power did.” Andrew agreed, but added that his powers were wonky now a days since he developed the ability to melt people into a boiling puddle. Patience cracked up, commenting how wickedly cool that was. She got a look at what was in the box, and gave a thumbs up to Andrew, “This could keep us well fed for awhile at least.” As the Halliwell's walked back to their motel, the bum watched them walk from the window. With a smirk on his lips, he slowly shape shifted into a totally different person.


They began to laugh, “This is going to be fun.” With a look around the store, flames surrounded them and they disappeared.


Back at the motel, Laurel and Jason were sitting in one of the motel rooms discussing recent events. She was also asking what a whitelighter was exactly. After explaining that whitelighter's were guardian angels sent by a higher being to protect witches from evil, Laurel nodded. She was feeling really curious with all the information Jason had been sharing. She revealed that she had caught some strange stuff at the Halliwell Manor, such as weird ingredients in the fridge and other little stuff like that. “I was in Tyler's bedroom once and I saw a book on...” She raised her head, trying to think of the title. “I don't know, I think it was about telekinesis and how you properly used it. I think. I just thought he was always trying to do stuff to impress me.” Laurel looked guilty since she knew the truth now. God, if Tyler had just told her the damn truth, things might be different now. She knew she told him she'd probably still break up with him, but was that even the truth? Jason told her that even though he didn't know her or her relationship with Tyler, he could tell on the balcony that they cared for each other. Laurel twisted her lips and lowered her head, “Yeah, I kinda went a little overboard, huh?” Jason shook his head, saying it was a normal reaction for this type of situation. “Not that I've ever been in this situation before, because even I have to admit, it's a first for me too.”


“I don't know why I didn't talk to Tyler at Jacob's funeral. I mean, I guess I should have, but I didn't want to deal with the past.” She sat back in the chair she was sitting in and chuckled. Using her hand, she pushed some hair back behind her ear, “I guess this is what they call karma, huh?” Jason was supportive through their whole talk, much to the respect of Laurel. At first, she wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him because she'd never met him before this, and thought he'd judge her. It was surprise to see how genuine Jason was being. “This may not be any of my business, but does Tyler seem... happy? After Jason asked what she meant, Laurel shrugged and glanced at the ground. “You know. Happy. Good with the way he's living?” The whitelighter promised Tyler hadn't been acting out or getting himself in trouble.


“Actually, he's been really good with everything. If you've noticed anything recently, it's probably because most of his families missing.” Laurel nodded, but she didn't press on. She noted that Jason didn't really understand the purpose of the question, so she pushed it aside.


Tyler was outside working on some stuff when he was walking past the room Jason and Laurel were in. He had overheard the part when Laurel had asked Jason about Tyler. He was surprised by the next thing she told Jason, “You know I saw Rick McCrum at Jacob's funeral.” Tyler's expression showed intense anger after he heard that news. Why the hell had he come to the funeral? He was nothing but a no good for nothing pathetic asshole! Actually Tyler could have called Rick more, if he could. 'Well, it's not like nobody would agree with me.' Laurel was telling Jason that she had seen Rick come into the church alone and sat in the very back. “It was really weird because after what happened, I'd never expect him to set ten feet near the Halliwell's. I don't think he paid any attention to the service either, I'm pretty sure he was looking at Chris a lot.”


Hearing this, Jason started to become angry. Even though he and Chris hadn't become a couple until a long time after Jacob's death, he was still very protective over his boyfriend. Hearing that Rick was anywhere near the youngest Charmed One made Jason's stomach quiver and his blood boil. Outside, Tyler was gritting his teeth in anger. If he were to ever see Rick McCrum ever again, that guy would never be able to see the light of day ever again.

*


It was probably a few hours later when Patience and Andrew finally got back to the motel. Everyone asked what the hell took them so long, which they informed their group that they had a run in with two demons and a bum. “Demons I understand, but a bum?” Andrew nodded to his brother and told them that the guy was really intimidating, but he allowed Patience and himself to take the stuff they gathered back to the motel. The group was relieved they had more food and supplies, but Jason made everyone know that he would be going with anyone would ventured outside the group. Since it was starting to get dark, everyone thought it was best to go into their rooms, and only come out if they had an emergency. Jason also added that he'd be making his rounds to make sure nothing bad was going on or going to happen.


Andrew and Patience went to their room, and began a battle plan in case any demons were to show up and attack. They thought it'd be best if one of them transported into the car so they could make a quick getaway if anything started going south for everyone. They would also be killing as many demons as possible. “We're going to have to run this by Jason, but hopefully he'll be receptive to the plan. As long as we don't get cornered by a group of demons, we should be good.” Patience nodded and the two witches gave each other a high five.


Tyler and Laurel had been making out on the bed in their room. Laurel was giggling and climbing on top of Tyler. She sat, hovering over the boy with a grin. Tyler placed his hands on her cheeks gently, and pulled her down into a kiss. The couple moaned softly before Laurel started kissing Tyler's neck. “This feels so good.” Laurel smirked. She told Tyler how happy she was that he said that. “Hey, I'm sorry. For breaking up with you. I know it was over the most stupidest of reasons, and-” Tyler placed his finger over her lips and just smiled. He told her it was alright, because he knew he was the reason of many problems. “I should have been honest with you. I know that I can get on peoples nerves a lot, and sometimes I have a temper... a lot... but you deserved to know the family secret before you figured it out yourself.” Laurel sat with her legs between Tyler's sides. She sighed looking down at the bedroom floor. She was going to say something, but an object on the nightstand caught her interest. It was a rectangular tablet device and it was actually glowing green. As in the whole tablet was glowing! “What the hell is that?” She bent over and took the tablet Book of Shadows. Before Tyler could answer her, the Tablet Book lit up with bright golden orbs. Laurel was impressed, and smiled at the sight, “Now this is cool.” She began to go through the Book, while Tyler just laid there with a smile on his face. First, his locking spell he placed on the Book had worked! If the Book would have viewed Laurel as a threat, it would have glowed red and shocked the hell out of her... yeah, it wasn't something Tyler wanted to happen to her. But since she was good, the Book thankfully left her alone.


Tyler was explaining to her about the Book while she went through the pages. “So this is a tablet book on all the spells and stuff you use? There are even demons in this book?” Tyler nodded, quickly informing her that they were only in there so they could figure out how to kill the demons. Laurel got off of Tyler and was sitting by his side now, the Book in her hands. 'This is a pretty cool ass device.' Tyler placed his arm around Laurel while looking at the entries as Laurel slid the screen pages over and over. She stopped at a page that made Tyler growl. Laurel hadn't heard him because she thought she knew the demon, “Jayde. Her appearance sounds familiar, like I know her.” Tyler confirmed that she did know Jayde. He told her all about the demon child and how she killed Jacob. “Oh my God, she killed Jacob? But I thought she and him were friends.” Tyler told her that she killed him in order to gain trust and respect from other demons, who were now dead. He explained to her about Medilyn and Athulak and how they had tried to kill the Charmed Ones in the past. “They were our first demons, actually. We vanquished Medilyn, but Athulak is still out there somewhere.”


Laurel placed the Book back on the nightstand, and wrapped her arms around Tyler. She apologized again for everything that happened in the past. If she knew what had been going on, then maybe she would have been more understanding and would have been there for Tyler, Andrew and Chris. “I can't imagine what you three have been through.” Tyler laid his head back. He was actually really glad she had no idea. He would never wish something like all the things he'd been through on Laurel. Tyler used his hand to caress Laurel's arm. Honestly, he was really happy that they had found Laurel. He couldn't think about the possibility of skipping over the motel to go to... where were they doing anyway? Was there even a set plan, a set destination? They had no idea where anyone else in the family was, Chris was still missing, their cell phones didn't work. What if the demons were trying to get the witches to use magic? Was this the demons ultimate plan? To make the world go to sh!t so the brothers could us as much magic as they could so the demons could find them and kill them?


“Hey Tyler, I know this might be a bad time to ask, but how was Chris doing? You know before all this happened?” She was looking at Tyler, when he was deep in thought.


“Well, he's had it pretty rough. You know with Jacob, finding out he had an upper level demonic power,” He looked down at Laurel's expression, but assured that everything on that situation was completely fine, “I think the best thing that'd happened to him after Jacob's death was Jason.” He told her that after Chris had a sort of episode, Chris had found it in his heart to love again and eventually got together with their whitelighter. “Jason really is an amazing guy, and one of my best friends. He truly is the best thing that ever happened to Chris.” Laurel just smiled and rested her head on the mans chest.


Outside, Jason had been making his rounds to make sure everyone was okay and that there were no demons roaming around the motel. He had walked by Tyler and Laurel's room when he heard Tyler's compliment about him. It made him feel really good that Tyler thought of him as a friend and a good boyfriend for his brother. Whenever Jason thought about Chris, he couldn't help but feel that he failed his boyfriend. He was suppose to protect him, but no, instead he had lost him. With his back against the door frame, Jason looked up at the sky. Clouds were floating everywhere and there was no moon in sight. Jason did his best to check out the whole complex without using magic, and when he was done he went back to his room. Sitting on the bed, the whitelighter felt tears forming in his eyes. After they feel, he covered his face and dropped himself on the bed. “I will find you Chris.” His words came out so soft and emotional, “I will find you.”

*

Outside, the shape shifter from earlier neared the motel. The man had sensed the whitelighter roaming around and wanted him to feel the area was safe before the man inspected the place. He looked around and tried his best to spy on the Halliwell's. Since it was too dark, he could barely see the witches. He also caught a stench of mortal blood. Disgusting. Weren't the Halliwell's into the whole “Dating Magical Beings” thing? Oh wait, no they were not. Because the demon knew all about the Halliwell brother's. He had been researching them since the boys had become Charmed. Sure he was a demon, sure there were many demons who had researched the Charmed Ones before, but this demon would be different. He knew what to expect, he knew the boys' weaknesses.


Tyler was always going off protecting his brothers. His brothers were his ultimate weakness, so the demon would definitely be using them to his advantage. Andrew's weakness was a humorous one. The little goody two shoes witch would hate it if he was tempted with his evil side. Andrew Halliwell did go through some hard times, since he did date that demon girl back in High School, but the demon would go further beyond what that girl had done. And lastly, Chris. Where the hell was he anyway? The demon couldn't feel the little demon boy anywhere near the motel. So, the Power of Three was separated? Hmm, that could work in favor of the demon. He smirked and chuckled to himself. This to him was going to be a game. He was going to use the boys as his chess pieces, along with everyone around them.


The Charmed Ones... no, not Charmed Ones, Charmed Sons were the King's while their family served as the Queens, Rooks, and Knights. Everyone else, including a lot of demons were just pawns in this game. Athulak was just a lousy little pawn, and Medilyn? She was one too. The demon could feel everything pulling together. It was he who had convinced The Second Witch, niece of Neena that she had to take out the Charmed Sons. Why? Because he needed her out of his way. He knew if he let Demortica live, she would have taken out the Charmed Sons before he did. He didn't like that. He wasn't going to let others have all the fun. There were still some problems, such at Yowatz, Krycheck. The Gorgon's and Skythorne's were the most problematic, he knew.


The thing he found funny, was that none of this was the boys' fault. They were, in theory, totally innocent in all of this. They were pulled into the middle of a very long time battle, a long feud. Everything was going to end. He would be ruling the world, while everyone else bowed to his power. It sounded cliché, yes, but he couldn't wait to annihilate those boys. They were merely pests. This was a chess game he could not wait to win.


Raising his hand, he summoned a demon who he trusted the most. Or, at least that's what he wanted the demon to think. Like he observed earlier, all the other demons were just pawns. “My Liege.” The demon knelt and bowed, waiting for his Master’s orders. “I need you to do something for me. Obviously. I need you go find the youngest Charmed Son. I need all three boys together to complete my plan.” The demon nodded, and got up when his master motioned him to. “Don't hurt the boy, please. Just find him and bring him to me.” He raised his hand, “Wait, no, silly me. Don't bring him to me, bring him to his brothers.” The demon nodded, waited for the word to leave, and flamed out.

“Don't worry boys. I promise you, I will be your undoing.” Laughing quite sinisterly now, flames surrounded the man and he disappeared.

Ch. 7

On the big round table there were potions and weapons sitting on the surface. Chris was starting to pack up so he could see if there were anymore leads he and Aaron had missed when they were last up there. The night before, he had discussed with Kalista on the possibility of going back up there. The woman was more than happy to accompany the Charmed Son on his little mission. Chris thought he had everything they'd need, so he started wrapping sheaths around his ankles and a had put on a belt so he could easily carry the potions. He placed two good conditioned knives into the sheaths, and now all he had to do was wait for Kalista. Hearing footsteps behind him, he took some potions and handed them back, “I think it's a good idea to carry an even number of potions. We'll probably have to use them sparingly, so we don't run out.” The person who was behind him had their arms crossed, and looked pretty worried. “I don't want you going up there.”

Chris turned around to face Rick. Chris thought he was looking really nervous or something, like he didn't want Chris to go up. It wasn't really a surprise given the circumstances. “Well, you don't really have a choice in the matter. Kalista and I want to see if we can find anything of use up on the surface.” He turned back to what he was doing, and could feel Rick standing right next to him now. “I don't want you going up there. You might get hurt, and I don't want to see you hurt. Just stay down here and-” Chris whipped his head to look at his ex, his eyes looking dangerous and irritated. “I have to look for any sign of my brothers being alive, Rick. Plus, I don't have to listen to you, you're not my f**k**g boyfriend anymore, and you can't control me.” Chris was about to add “anymore”, but he bit his tongue.

Rick looked like he was stabbed in the gut with a knife, but he didn't press on the matter. After he gave it some thought, the young man sighed and apologized softly. Taking Chris in his arms, he hugged his ex boyfriend, much to Chris' surprise. Before he could ask what that was for, Kalista was walking around the corner, freshly showered and ready for work. “We gonna do this?” Chris blinked out of his own trance, and nodded at the woman. They packed up, and Chris was explaining the potions strategy. Kalista grinned and told him that was a wonderful idea. Kalista looked at Rick and asked him kindly to wait here, and do not go anywhere like he did the last time. Looking at Chris, Rick just nodded and stepped away from the two witches.

As they were leaving the hideout, Chris kept wondering if he was just leading Rick on. Was it really his fault Rick was acting this way? He had told Rick about Jason for a reason, but he still kept making physical contact. 'I should have never let him sleep on that damn cot with me.' Rolling his eyes, he scolded himself for making such a foolish choice. There was going to be a long talk between the two exes when he returned later.

The witches had made it back up to the surface, and helped each other up the wall. They weren't surprised when everything looked like the gloomy state it had before. Unfortunately, Chris was getting use to it. When the witches began walking around, Kalista was on the lookout for anything that looked suspicious. Chris just looked ahead, deep in thought, and thinking about his brothers, Jason, and Rick. “So, how do you like the group? Be honest now!” Chris softly smiled, stating they were all great and very welcoming. Kalista was glad to hear it, “What about Rick? I can tell there's a past between you two. I know it's not any of my business, so shut me up if I'm crossing a line, but that hug didn't look like an ordinary hug to me.” At first, Chris felt shocked because he had no idea Kalista saw the hug, but then he sighed as he thought about The Rick Thing. It wasn't even a thing, it was a huge misunderstanding. The Charmed Son told her very nice and short that they use to be in a relationship, but Rick fucked up. He wouldn't go any further than that, and Kalista didn't press on it.

Kalista was frowning now. When Chris glanced and notice, he met with her eyes. “I don't know if I'm doing anything right or wrong with Damien. I like him a lot, and he's a great boyfriend. I think I'm just worried that whenever the world gets back in its rightful order, we'll find out we have nothing in common.” Chris asked if Damien was magical, and Kalista nodded. She chuckled softly and told Chris not to judge(not like he would anyway) and told him that Damien was an empath. Chris “ooh”ed, which only made Kalista chuckle. She told him if Rick ever got too much, and began to annoy Chris, he should always go to Damien and see what's up. “That's probably crossing a line with Rick, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, you know?” Chris asked if Damien ever helped Kalista out with him being an empath and if it bothered her, but she said it didn't. They tried being as open and honest with each other, and she would tell him what she felt. “Of course there's the occasional, “I Know What You're Feeling” taunting, but other than that it's been really good...” Chris offered his two innocent cents, saying that there was a reason she and Damien got together, she just had to find that one point and just go with it.

“You sound like a Cupid.” Chris shrugged. He told her in came with the advantage of having Cupid's in the family. Kalista nodded, stating how she remembered the cupids being in the Halliwell family now. Chris crossed his arms, wondering about his next question. It had been taunting him lately, but he really wanted to know the answer to it, “How do you know so much about me and my family?” Kalista immediately grinned. She told him she was a very observant person, plus she was always hearing stories about the Halliwell family. “I'm pretty sure you don't realize it, unless you do but you just don't think about it. You guys are in a lot of history books at the Magic School. I read all about your grandmother's adventures about being a Charmed One, and I can't wait til they add you and your brothers in them, too!” Chris asked if she thought they really would, and she nodded happily, “Please, you stopped the Second Witch! That's more than enough reason to be added into the books!”

Chris started feeling really bad for his earlier distrust for the witch. She was actually being really nice and engaging, and Chris took her as a betraying type of person. She clearly wasn't. Kalista could tell something was bothering him and wanted to know what's up. “You're gonna hate me when I tell you.” Kalista scoffed and challenged him. “Well, in the beginning I didn't trust you. Even after you took Aaron and me to the hideout, I always thought there was something off about you.” Kalista began to laugh, and made a scoring gesture. Chris was taken aback by her reaction. “That's a good thing! Even after I admitted that if I was evil and would have killed you the moment I set my eyes on you, you still distrusted me, and I think that makes a really good witch when they're always around so many evil beings.” Chris smiled, happy that Kalista wasn't actually mad at him.

“You should know,” Kalista was smirking now, “Aaron and Damien? They have a total bro-mance going on!” Chris chuckled, noting that he had noticed the two men talking a lot. “He's so interested on our security, but Damien thinks it's really amusing. He knows Aaron doesn't think it's faulty or anything...” Under her breath, she added, “I think,” Clearing her throat, she continued on, “but that he's actually interested in it. It's really funny.” Chris began to think what would happen if Aaron hadn't found him when he did. Would he still be on the top of Golden Gate Bridge? Would the demons have found him and killed him? They most certainly would if they saw the state Chris was in. 'When all of this is done and over with,' Chris thought with a smile, 'I'm going to do something really good for Aaron.' If that meant having him come back to the Manor like he did all those years ago, that would be awesome.

Chris and Kalista continued sharing more about themselves and what they were doing before the world went to Hell. Chris of course was off busy fighting Demortica, Medilyn, and the M.I.A. Athulak. Kalista on the other hand, was living a pretty decent life, hunting on the side, while trying to get a degree in teaching. She loved the idea of being able to teach, and even considered applying to Magic School. Hearing that only made Chris feel bad for her, and offered his apologies. Kalista scoffed and waved her hand, “Please, if none of this ever happened, I wouldn't have met Damien.” Chris shrugged, thinking to himself that that might not be necessarily true.

While Chris was looking off to the side, Kalista was saying that if they didn't find anything after a while, they'd be heading back. “I just don't understand where the demons are. Like it or not, they're kinda the only big lead on what's going on here.” The witches were nearing an alleyway when Kalista's eyes lit up and she gasped. Chris thought there was a demon or something, but watched as the girl ran towards the alley. Chris followed, commenting on how he remembered this the other day while he was walking with Aaron, but they didn't bother to look. “It's a shame you didn't because look!” In her hands was a blue duffel bag, with a black shoulder strap. Chris smiled, and inspected the bag, asking if there was anything inside. “It sure feels like there is...” Kalista placed the bag on the ground, its front end in Chris' view. Raising his eyebrow, he bent down to look at the side surface. On it was the letters A.T. “Score!” Chris looked up at Kalista, and she had knives in her hands. “There's also books in here! No food though, dammit. We're probably gonna have to refer to magic, but I don't want to do that.” She handed Chris a knife, and he began to inspect it. On the handle were the letters A.T. Just like the side of the bag. Something inside the young witch, and tried to figure out what the hell was going on. A.T.? What could that mean? “There's also a book in here about Edgar Allen Poe. Or maybe it's a book written by him.” Chris smiled when he thought about Edgar Allen Poe. He didn't know the man obviously, but he always read his books. It was even better that he found out Derek Morrison, who Chris found out was his second father after the result of Three Way DNA, had liked Edgar too. “Hmm, other than the weapons books, there isn't anything else... oh wait a minute.” Chris watched as Kalista took out a ring and pendant. He asked if he could see the ring, and Kalista handed it to him while she looked at the necklace. “It's a pretty generic piece of jewelry. I wonder if who lost it is gonna miss it.”

Chris couldn't hear Kalista talking because he could feel he was about to get pulled into a premonition. His head began to rush, and his eyesight transitioned into black and white.



Chris could feel himself in the past. Looking around, he realized he was in San Francisco, but it was after Demortica's vanquish. Whatever he was seeing, happened very recently. As he looked ahead, he saw two people coming at him. Could they see him? Had he possibly astral projected into the past? The two people eventually got up to him, and he was surprised to see that they were himself and Aaron! “Hey! Can you see me?” He was a little disappointed when neither could, and he sighed. He was wondering why he was in the premonition for this long, that is until he saw the bag on Aaron's shoulder. Was this why he was receiving the vision? Aaron was talking to Chris when he decided to slowly pull off the bag and toss it in the alleyway, but to hide the noise, he quickly made reference to the pharmacist! So that's why he wanted to check it out. He didn't want medicine, he needed to cover up what he had done!

Chris felt a head rush and he was now back in the present. Shaking his head, he tried to get the feeling of the rush gone. Kalista was standing up now, and asked what was going on. Truth be told, Chris didn't really know what was going on. What the hell was Aaron doing? Why would he just ditch the bag when there were weapons and books inside? Now that Chris thought about it, where was the food? “Huh...” Kalista crossed her arms, demanding to know what Chris was thinking. “Well, I think Aaron was storing food for someone else.” Kalista's eyes widened and asked to deliberate further, but Chris wasn't sure he could. He was still confused about everything. “I honestly can't imagine why Aaron would do something like this. He hasn't been anything but good with-” Chris could feel him fall to the ground. Kalista had tripped him purposely because an energy ball almost smacked him in the head.



“What do you want, demon?!” Chris was back on his feet when Kalista asked the question. The witches were in their fighting stances, and now that Chris had a look at the demon, he realized it was the same demon from the apartment! “Do you want another bloody hand, asshole?” Kalista whipped her head while asking if Chris knew this demon. He quickly told her it was the same demon he faced before he found her, or she found him. “It's good to see you again, Buddy. How about we forget about the hand bite and let's be best friends. What do you say?” Chris scoffed, then laughed. He told the demon he had no interest in being his “friend”, “I'm not your buddy either you maggot.” The demon gave his warthog laugh, which made Kalista cringe. She hated it when they laughed.

“Well, don't be a little complainer and say I never asked!” The demon sent out energy balls at the two witches, who both successfully dodged them all. The demon made a back flip as Chris sent fire balls hurdling to him. Kalista showed no reaction of shock or surprise, and started throwing any object she could using telekinesis. The demon tried sending more energy balls, but he had to throw himself on the ground. A bench flew right past him and ended up in the bay. “That's a little too mean, don't you think Witch?” Kalista just laughed, wishing she could do worse to the demon. “Ooh, I'm shivering in my boots. Well, if I had any that is.” Both witches rolled their eyes at the demon's sour sense of humor. “C'mon Chris, it was a joke! You gotta laugh at it sometime.” The Charmed Son glared and demanded to know why he kept talking to him like they were best of friends. The demon told him they are friends, or at least on his side of things. He told Chris if it wasn't for him or his brothers, this apocalypse would have never happened. “You mean if Demortica didn't come back, this wouldn't have happened.” The demon chuckled and shrugged. “You can say that, too.” Chris was getting extremely annoyed and decided to attack the demon head on. With his adrenaline pumping, and determination to take out the demon, Chris ran with all his might and jumped.

The demon was about to jump out of the way, until he saw Chris jump over him. No, it wasn't a jump, he was... flying? “Well would you look at that, we have Batman among us! Or is it Superman?” Kalista was too focused on Chris flying to listen to the demon. The man turned to her, and told her it was her lucky day. “I don't want to deal with two witches. It's not a fair fight. So I'll leave you and Harry Potter to it.” Giving Kalista a thumbs up, he shimmered out. “Harry Potter can only fly on his broom, you dumb ass!” Kalista rolled her eyes and grumbled just as Chris was flying right into her. Luckily she grabbed him in time and the two witches fell onto the ground, rolling a couple times. “Oh my God, are you okay?!” Kalista jumped up and helped Chris off the ground. The Charmed Son was looking shocked. He had just flown in the air! By himself! Was this a power advancement?

Chris was bending over, trying to catch his breath when Kalista picked up Aaron's bag. After asking if he was alright, again, he assured her he was. Kalista nodded and suggested they head back to the home base. Agreeing, he followed Kalista down the path leading to the tunnels. “That was an impressive show! You flew really high, too! The landing could use a little work thought.” He ruffled his hair, while Chris chuckled, “It really was fun to be honest.”

“Well yeah, you can fly! The demon called you Batman, and then Harry Potter, but Harry Potter can only fly on his broom.” Kalista chuckled again.

They had made it back to the sewer entrance when it started getting darker outside. It didn't really matter if it stormed, but they both wished the sun could come out at least for a day. Chris offered to lead them the way back, confident he knew the way back. Kalista shrugged and let him to it. When they reached the cross road, Kalista gave him a knowing smile, “I dunno if you're ready to see what lies beyond that tunnel. I suggest you wait a few more days how at least until your last day here.” When she gave her a cautious glance, she shrugged, “We're not gonna stay down here forever. There's gotta be a time where we have to scoot, you know?” After Chris looked defeated, Kalista laughed and took the lead back to the hideout. “Come on, dude.”

Kalista and Chris were near the entrance now, but before they could reach it, they both stopped themselves in their tracks. Ahead of them appeared to be a man or a woman, looking into the tunnel leading to the door. The witches gave each other a look, and when they looked back, the person was running away from them! “Hang on! Stop! If you're a demon, face us you coward!” Kalista began to run after the person, but knew it wasn't worth it. She sighed and turned around to look at Chris, “We know there's people down here, but it doesn't make sense. If they were demons, wouldn't they just attack us?” Chris put it in her mind that that wasn't entirely true. Not unless they were planning something bigger. Readjusting Aaron's back on her shoulder, the girl admitted he was right and walked over to the door. She entered his code without any trouble this time, and it opened. “Didn't forget it that time, did ya?” Kalista grinned, and told the Charmed Son to shut the hell up. They both laughed, which resulted it curious glances from the other group members. When Kalista said, “Don't ask”, everyone shrugged and went back to what they were doing, except Rick. He hurried over to Chris, but before he could speak, Chris raised his hand, “We need to talk. In private.”

Rick felt himself grow hot, but nodded. He knew he was in so much trouble with the Charmed Son. Chris told him to go to the entertainment room and wait for him there. After Rick walked off, Chris took the bag from Kalista and slammed it down right in front of Aaron. The older man's eyed widened, but he couldn't speak.

“Well? Aren't you going to tell me why you tossed the bag into the alleyway, and successfully distracted me with the pharmacist?!” Everyone was looking at Chris, Aaron and Kalista now. The girl had her arms crossed, and Chris looked like he was going to rip the mans head off.

Aaron, feeling defeated, just sighed. He stood up and looked at the other group members, “I have something to explain.” Everyone looked at one another and then to Chris. They had a feeling this wasn't going to be good.

Ch. 8

Three witches, Kairi, and Abigail were staring down Aaron. Was he against them all this time? Chris didn't only feel betrayed, he felt like he let down Kalista and Damien. This was their group, and the fact that he brought a lying backstabber with him was embarrassing. Kalista was ready to knock Aaron out while Chris was giving his so called “friend” a death glare. “Please, don't look at me like that, Champ.” Chris ignored him, demanding to know why he ditched the bag and where the food was. Aaron claimed he had no idea what happened to the food he packed. Going on, he told them that he had left to bag in the alley in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Everyone, including Chris, had their doubts about the mans story. Kalista was sure that he was lying, now how could she prove it? “Maybe you're working with demons. That's probably who we saw running away from us just now, but I have no idea why they'd run away like they did.” Damien looked at Kalista, but she just ignored him when he asked her about the demon attack.

Stepping up in Aaron's face, Kalista gave him the most scariest death glare she could ever give. She threatened him that if he does anything to cause anyone any injuries, he was out the group fast. Aaron looked at Chris for some support, but he wasn't going to get any. The Halliwell was just as angry and betrayed as everyone else. He didn't understand why Aaron would do something like that, especially since the bag had food in it. Kalista repeated her warning, saying if he pulled something like this again or if he caused any harm to anyone, he was out. “Honestly, we have other mortals here to protect!” She turned around to face Chris now, “I have absolutely no problem with you. It's him that betrayed us, not you.” She gave Chris a smile before walking off with Damien. Kairi quickly followed them, leaving Chris and Aaron alone.

Looking down, Aaron tried to apologize to Chris, but he didn't want to hear it. Plus he had an ex boyfriend to go deal with. Chris just shook his head before walking off towards the Entertainment Room. Aaron was now all alone. Turning towards the table, he kicked it hard and sat down on one of the chairs. “Well f**k.”

Since he didn't want to think about Aaron anymore, Chris focused his energy on Rick now. Obviously, Aaron was still a problem, but Chris could only handle one at a time. He wasn't in the mood for multi tasking. When he walked into the room, he saw Rick sitting on the couch looking off into space. The Charmed Son rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy with his arms crossed. “We need to talk.” Rick felt Chris sit down, but he didn't look at him. He didn't want to. “Hm, if we must.” Chris was so close to choking Rick, but he was able to control himself. He started off by apologizing if he lead Rick on in any way. The boy was now looking at him, his face showing confusion. “When I brought up Jason, I thought that would make you realize that I have a boyfriend. I moved past us, and I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I don't want to be with you anymore.” Rick pursed his lips. Crossing his legs, he gave Chris a smile now, “Well, a guy has to try.” Chris rolled his eyes and mumbled something incoherent.

“I'm sorry, okay? I know you're with your whitelighter now, and that you love him. I just thought that maybe I would be able to rekindle our relationship.” Chris looked away, saying there wasn't anything to rekindle. “You have to be honest, our relationship was nothing but manipulation and lies.” Rick placed his finger on his chin, and shrugged. He admitted to the lying part, but was clueless how it was “filled with manipulation”. After Chris sent him death glares, Rick placed his hands in front of him, “Okay, okay. I promise I won't make anymore moves on you, because I love you and I know you want to move on.” Chris growled. He was still trying to do whatever he could to sway him, wasn't he? “Hey, I do still love you. It's true. But I guess now I have to love you in a different way. Maybe you can just me my crush. Or something.” After he chuckled, Chris told him it was best to just wipe all his emotions for the Charmed Son clean. Rick just shook his head, declaring there wasn't anything that could be done to make him stop loving Chris. “Go ahead and cast a spell, it'll only backfire.” He explained how he knew how spells could backfire thanks to Kalista. “Say you cast it, right? It just might make you love me again.” Chris came really close to punching Rick in his face, but Rick defended himself.

“So are we on an understanding, or not? Because I don't want to give you anymore false signs that I want to be with you again, because I don't.” Rick rolled his eyes and agreed to the whatever they were. He promised Chris to never flirt or show physical affection ever again. “We can still be friends, can't we?” He asked that quietly, and Chris could tell it was a serious question. Honestly, it actually felt good that they got everything out in the open. Now all Rick had to do was learn to accept it and move on himself. Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded, “Yeah. We can be friends. If you want.” Rick smiled and was about to hug Chris, but he stopped himself and held out his hand for a handshake instead. “Friends?” Chris rolled his eyes and took the hand, “Friends.”

Out in the tunnel, demons were walking in a row and stopped when they reached the door. The demon from the motel(the sidekick) was smiling devilishly when he looked at the golden door. Or was it bronze? He couldn't tell. “We have finally found the little Charmed One. Snapping his fingers, the demons stood nice and tall. “Ready troops? Aim!” Every demon in the row formed either energy balls or fire balls. Turning towards the door, he created his own fire ball in his left hand. “Fire!” Energy and fire balls all flew towards the golden door, making the fire and energy collide and cause a rumble. “Again! Ready! Aim! Fire!” The demons continuously threw their ammo as they tunnels continued to shake.

Back inside, Kalista was running into the main little room with shock on her face. “What the hell is happening?!” “What's going on?” Both Kalista and Kairi spoke at the same time. Aaron was looking at the door, but he just shrugged. “I swear to the God and the Goddess if you brought demons here, you are out!” Aaron was denying having ever to be involved with demons just as Rick, Chris, Damien, and Abigail joined them. After Chris asked what was going on, Kalista scoffed and told him that someone was trying to get inside. They could hear the door get hit by more energy and fire balls, which made the hideout shake even more. “Can this place crash on us?!” Kairi had her arms wrapped around herself with Abigail trying to comfort her. Kalista was feeling so pissed off, Damien had to comfort and order her to calm down. “Ugh! We need to abandon this place! I don't know how long we have, but we need to get anything and everything important to us! We might as well just leave the food!”

Outside, the demon sidekick walked up to the door. He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge. Such a pity. Clearing his throat, he might as well try to talk to the group inside the hideout. “Attention witches and whoever else may be in there.” Inside, everyone stopped, confused that they could hear the demon outside, “If there is a Mr. Christopher Michael Halliwell in there with you, please hand him over to me. If you do, you'll be left in peace and can ride this apocalypse out until you die at a later date.” The demon snickered while everyone in the hideout looked at Chris. How was it that every demon just had to know their full names? Kalista just shook her head. There was no way she would betray Chris and hand him over to the demons. He wasn't the one who betrayed her. Well, he kinda did, but she was past that. “Let's get everything we need. Hurry before this place kills us!” It was weird when she said it, but everyone understood. They ran off to collect their valuables such as weapons and other various objects.

When they met in the main room again, they looked at each other. “Do we know a place where we could go?” Chris hurriedly asked Kalista if they could cast transportation spells or orb in and out in here. Kalista just shrugged, saying she had no idea. “It's not like we tried. We put enchantments on here so we couldn't be able to be sensed by those freaks. Unfortunately, the spells couldn't be held in place for too long...” She said this with confusion, so Chris had to go with it. It was either gonna work, or it wasn't. If it did, great for them, but if it didn't? He was going to go out and kill every demon out there. Since orbing was the quickest thing to do other than a spell, Chris ordered everyone to grab each others hands, and the closest to him grab his shoulders. Kalista was next to Aaron, and felt some hesitation on her part, but she grabbed his hand anyway. Tightly.

'Come on, please let me get a hold of my brothers or Jason.' Orbs surrounded the group just as the door exploded open. The demons rushed in, but were shocked when the place was completely empty. The leader looked around and growled viciously. “Damn that witch!”

**

“I think it'd be better if we look for a gas station. The car needs some anyway.” Tyler and Andrew were outside discussing what they should do next. Patience and Laurel were busy having girl talk, and Jason was pacing the parking lot. He couldn't sense for Chris, which worried the hell out of him, and he was certain something was wrong. He couldn't sense Chris, but his heart was telling him something was wrong. Tyler watched the whitelighter have his little freak out, and asked him to come over. “Yeah, what do you need?” Tyler asked Jason if he could drive the car up the road while he and Andrew went ahead to see if there was anything they need to take care of. “I know it'd be easier if we just all went into the car, but I don't want a demon seeing us drive down the road and they cause an explosion or something.” Jason nodded and hurried off to the car. Tyler had Laurel and Patience join him, but Patience stayed still. “I'm coming with you.” When Tyler started to say no, Patience stepped up into his face and repeated, “I'm coming with you.” She sighed before pressing on, “You're not the only one who lost their family. They're my family too, Tyler. You may be a Charmed One, but don't you f**k**g dare decline any help. It's foolish.” Tyler looked at Patience, and for the first time in a very long time, he felt like a little kid again being “bullied” by his older and bigger cousin. Tyler nodded, but asked that she stayed really close to them. With a “Duh”, she walked over to Jason and Laurel to tell them the changed plan.

Before going on, Tyler told Jason to stay put until he heard him call. “Can you even hear if I were to call?” Jason shrugged, but said there was only one way to find out. Feeling it was worth the risk, Tyler nodded and had Andrew and Patience follow them to move ahead. Laurel had her arms crossed and her eyes on Tyler, “If he gets hurt, I'm going to kill him.” Jason just chuckled.

Patience told the boys it was probably a better idea to split up, but still keep in each others view. “We may be able to track down different demons that way and give them a better surprise attack.” Tyler nodded, saying this was a really good plan. “See, I knew you guys needed my help.” Patience smirked and ran across the street, a little ahead of the boys. When Tyler looked at Andrew, he could see he was looking really worried. “Chris?” Andrew looked at Tyler, and nodded. “How's your ribs?” Andrew shrugged, stating they were fine. “They hurt a little, but I'm dealing.” Tyler nodded while looking ahead. He hoped a gas station would pop up soon, and have gas. That was a really big hope. To be honest, Tyler hadn't thought about what they'd do if they didn't have any gas. They would probably resort to beaming and orbing from here on out. He would have brought it up to Andrew, but he didn't think Andrew would be able to cope with leaving his car in the middle of the apocalypse.

The witches continued to walk, and when they didn't see any demon in sight, Tyler texted Laurel to tell Jason it was alright to start driving. With some luck on their side, they were able to find a gas station, but it didn't mean they were out of the water just yet. First, they needed to figure out a way to get the gas pump going. Patience walked up and inspected the pump. “Honestly guys, I think the only way we're gonna get this going is magic.” The boys were nodding when Jason pulled in with Andrew's car and Laurel. They got out and asked what the trouble was. After repeating what Patience said, Jason was very hesitant of the idea. “I'm not saying don't do it, but when we do, we need to make sure we're ready to get the hell out. The demons could be on us very fast.” The boys nodded and began to think up a spell to get the pump going. Patience had her arms crossed and her eyes were darting everywhere. If there were any intruders, she would kill them so fast, nobody would know what happened. She turned around and saw something that caught her eyes. It wasn't a demon or anything like that, but a nice and shiny black sports van!

“Ooh, pretty!” Patience rushed over to the car and inspected it. It was completely abandoned, or so she thought. Maybe she'd be able to jump start it! Luck was on her side when she found the drivers seat was left unlocked! Now the hard part: Where were the keys? As Patience rummaged through the van, Laurel sneaked up to her and she had a smirk on her face, “What are you doing?” Patience yelped with fright and put her hand over her heart, “Oh, hi there!” She chuckled nervously, but continued to look for the keys. Not forgetting Laurel's question, she was completely honest. “I just need to find the keys.” Laurel nodded while looking at the passenger seat. “Key's huh?” Patience nodded while she rummaged through the little compartment between the driver and passenger seat.

Rolling her eyes, Laurel walked over to the passenger's door, opened it and picked up a group of keys. Patience looked over and chuckled in embarrassment. “Oh. They were... right there.” She kindly took the keys from Laurel and placed the keys into the ignition. “Let's do some praying now, huh?” Patience turned the key, but the engine began to stall. “No, no, no, come on! I love this car!” Laurel laughed when Patience tried for a second time, third time, and fourth time. Getting irritated, she cracked her knuckles and for the fifth time, turned the key. She kept it there until the engine actually came to life! Both girls looked surprised and Patience began to laugh, “Yes!!” Laurel asked if the tank was full, and Patience immediately checked. She was upset to learn that the tank was empty.

The boys, having watched the whole show, yelled to the girls that they had got the pump working. Patience wanted to know how they were going to get the gas over to the car. Laurel tilted her head, then told the girl that she'd go look for something to hold the gas in it. With Tyler's assistance, they were able to find a gas jug to hold it in, and soon enough, Patience got herself a brand new sports van! “Yes, Lady Luck is on our side!” The group promised each other that they would not drive off without the other following them. The boys decided to stay in Andrew's car and Laurel and Patience were going to drive in Patience's car. “At least we didn't have to use magic.” Andrew was buckling his seat belt and looked out the window. Tyler nodded, put the car into drive and started driving off with Patience and Laurel behind them. He didn't like the idea of Laurel being in the other car, but he knew Patience wouldn't let her get hurt.

Both the boys were happy to be back on the road, and discussed where they were going next. Tyler's main goal was to find their brother, so how were they suppose to go and do that? They hadn't found one shred of signs of where their brother was.
Of course they weren't going to give up, but damn was it annoying! Andrew kept tapping the side of the door, deep in thought. “Do you think we might have to use magic to find Chris?” Tyler shrugged. He reminded Andrew that they tried, but the damn spell didn't work. He said if they had a really hard time doing so, they would most likely refer to it. Looking into the mirror, he realized Jason hadn't said anything about the idea. He felt bad because everything Jason was taught as a whitelighter, he had to throw out the window. Jason had his hand on his chin, with his elbow rested on the door's side. He was swearing that if something happened to Chris, he would never forgive himself. “I just need to find Chris. I want to see him. God, if anything happened to happens to him--” Tyler shook his head, ordering Jason to not think like that. When they found Chris, he was going to be happy and healthy and totally fine. Unfortunately for him, Tyler and the rest of the group didn't know they were in for a major surprise.

**

Chris had successfully orbed the group out of the hideout before the demons could attack them. He had a clear image of where he wanted his orbs to go, but he felt that somewhere in the process, his orbs were changing. Something else had taken control of his orbing and was dropping the group off somewhere else. They landed in the middle of a road, which Chris thought was a highway or something. Tree's surrounded both sides and the group couldn't see anything up ahead or behind them. “Um, no offense-” Chris quickly interrupted Kalista, saying that this was no where he wanted to go. After recalling someone or something took control of his orbing, everyone looked freaked out. If it was the demons that had managed to do it, they were all in a load sh!t of trouble. “If you can't orb anywhere successfully, what the hell are we going to do?!” Kairi had her hands folded on her mouth, but Kalista encouraged her to calm down. They would figure all this out. She turned to Chris and asked where he was going to go. “I was going to go to Magic School. It's the one place that would always be safe. It was weird, because we were floating upwards but before we got through to the ceiling, something made us zip out.”

Damien was trying to figure out where the one side of the highway was going to lead to while Aaron took the other. Nobody knew what to do. Kairi was talking to Abigail about the possibility of a demon ambush, but Abby assured her that if they were planning an ambush, they'd have done it already. The rest of the group agreed, and Chris suggested they start to walk. If his orbing was being controlled by a demon or something like that, walking was the only thing they had to do. Everyone groaned, but Kalista cleared her throat loudly and told everyone to walk. She purposely had Damien walking alongside Aaron while Abigail and Kairi were in the middle and Rick was walking a little ahead of the two witches so Kalista and Chris would be just behind Rick. Kairi was sighing and said she wished she picked up some food to take with them, “Who knows how long we're going to be walking on here.” Abigail just smiled and promised to cook up a nice, big feast for everyone when they found somewhere. Chris took the opportunity to ask her if she'd ever been to Piper Halliwell's restaurant. With a laugh, she nodded. “I love that place! Your grandmother is a fantastic chef, young one.”

The group trekked on, and Chris was feeling himself go hungry. What he wouldn't give for one of his grandma's home cooked meals. And one of her pies. 'Oh my God, I'm turning into my brother!' Chris was happy that for whatever reason, there were no demons anywhere to attack them. 'Hmm, maybe the demons really are afraid to be out here. At least maybe for too long.' For whatever reason, Chris began to smile. He knew this was the path to finding his brothers. If he continued to trust his instincts, and ask the Halliwell spirits for guidance, he would find Tyler and Andrew in no time.

**

Patience and Laurel were jamming to the songs on Patience's playlist. They'd been having fun rocking their heads together as well as getting to know each other better. Patience realized that Laurel was so bad ass and understood why Tyler liked her. Secretly, she hoped they were going to be an official couple. She already knew they both had sex at the motel. “Oh my God, I love this song!” Laurel shook herself wild while Patience laughed her ass off. “Dude, I have no idea why we never hanged out together in the past.” Laurel laughed now, telling Patience that she wished they did. “After Tyler and I broke up, I didn't think you guys wanted to see me anymore.” Patience nodded understandably, but told her companion that everyone missed seeing her come over to the manor. “Hey, weren't you at the Manor when there was that meteor shower?” Laurel smirked and nodded. “Oh God, the meteor shower. I remember Tyler and I... You know what, never mind.” She laughed while Patience made a disturbing face. Looking over Laurel smirked, “Wasn't that the night Jacob and Chris finally kissed?” Patience was surprised when Laurel brought up Jacob. Thinking back, they had had their first kissed under the stars during the shower. “Yeah, I seem to remember that. I told them that since they kissed under the shooting stars, they'd always... be together...” The girls went quiet until Laurel mumbled something incoherent to Patience. After asking to repeat herself, Laurel sighed, “It's just... I never knew about demons or anything until quite recently. It sucks that people have to lose their lives over that.”

Patience was ready to respond until she saw Tyler had slammed on his breaks, “Holy sh!t!” She slammed on her brakes hard, and the girls felt the car screech until it stopped. They were so close to hitting Andrew's car, but luckily they hadn't. “What the f**k is wrong with him?!” Patience left the car running, but jumped out and walked up to Tyler's window. She knocked furiously until Tyler rolled it down. “What the f**k are you doing?! You could have caused us to crash! It's not like there's so many cars on the road that you have to be careful!” Tyler, Andrew, and Jason had not responded to the girl, much to her annoyance. She demanded to know what the f**k was wrong with them, and she wanted to know now! Andrew glanced at Patience, saw her very annoyed expression, and pointed in front of them. “Good grief.” Patience rolled her eyes, but as soon as she saw what they were seeing, her eyes grew wide. “What. The. f**k.” Ahead of the group were a very big group of people. No, they weren't just people, they were demons. And they weren't looking at a tiny horde either.

Slowly, Patience backed away and then she sprinted back to her car. Laurel demanded to know what the hell was going on, and all Patience said to her was, “Just stay in the car. And be careful!” She slammed the door and hurried back to the boys, who were now out of the car. Patience wanted to know the plan of action, but Tyler honestly had no idea what to do. “Guys, there's so f**k**g many of them...” Tyler, Andrew, Patience, and Jason stood as they watched the demons march towards them in almost perfect order. Tyler could feel his mouth dry up as he thought of a way to beat these guys, if they could. Andrew was feeling really nervous, and tried to avoid the pain in is ribs and Jason tried to count the demons, but he couldn't. “Guys, what are we going to do?” Tyler looked at the group, then looked at the demons, “We're going to fight.”

Chris' group marched on, while they all wondered when the end of the highway was going to be. Damien was saying how he wished they had a car with them, “Well, we don't so keep marching!” Kalista rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, but said nothing after that. It must have been hours, or it felt that way at least. Chris was honestly wondering if this was ever going to end. More thoughts crossed his head when he wondered who had messed with his orbing. It was something he's never experienced before, and wondered if his powers were going off the fritz. Chris and Kalista kept walking until they both bumped into Rick who had bumped into Abby and Kairi who had bumped into Damien and Aaron. “Um, what the hell happened? Why did we stop walking? I reckon we have way more to go than this!” Nobody responded to her, which just made her annoyed. She marched up to Aaron and Damien and demanded to know what the hell was going on, “Seriously, we're gonna get nowhere with us just standing on this damn highway!” Kalista was about to death glare the men until she realized they weren't looking at her. Were they... looking behind her? Curious, Kalista looked now and her eyes widened and her face turned white, “Um. Yeah. I'm sorry for losing my cool just now?” The men blinked, but didn't respond. Chris walked up ahead and was shocked at what he saw. In front of them stood at least five thousand demons? Was that even possible? They had a plus though because the demons were looking ahead of them, in what Chris thought was a perfect formation, kinda like a... “Demonic Army.” Chris whispered and Kalista agreed.

“Good day, Charmed Ones!” A voice echoed out to the two groups. Chris looked confused. Did the voice say Charmed Ones? As in... plural? “It is so great to be in the presence of the most powerful men on Earth!” Chris blinked a couple times before he gathered all his strength and flew up into the air. Kalista groaned, saying they were totally fucked now.

In the sky, Chris could see all the demons standing now. There were so many that Chris thought this was the first time he'd ever seen so much. “What the...” He looked to see if he could find the Boss or whoever, but he couldn't tell where he was. “Are you ready boys? Are you ready to finally fulfill your Destiny, and die by my hands?” Chris didn't know what to think. For all he knew, the demons didn't know he was even there, so there had to be only one possible explanation for this. “My brothers.” The voice boomed, chuckling quite maliciously. “My my, how you've all grown. Why, I remember when you were just young little tykes.” Chris' eyes widened in fear. He couldn't believe that Rick's theory was right. Whoever wanted to kill them, whoever caused this, knew the Boys from their past. But who was it? Chris didn't feel familiar with the booming voice...

On the other side of the horde, Tyler and Andrew were going over the same thing Chris was. Who the hell was this guy, and why did he want to kill the Boys? Something was going on here, and the older two didn't like this. “Guys, I think we should orb out.” Tyler and Andrew ignored the whitelighter and just looked ahead. All these demons were going to kill them, so it was a pretty good idea to just orb out. Jason was getting Patience and Laurel when the Boys were about to turn away from the demons. “Wait. Hold on. What's that?” Andrew used his head to point up at the sky. Tyler squinted so he could tell what exactly he was seeing. “I... I don't know, but I think it's a-”

“Chris!”

The brothers looked back at Jason, who was smiling from ear to ear. They looked back again, but realized it was Chris! Chris was alive! They watched as Chris flew down to the other side of the horde. They couldn't believe it. Chris was okay! “How are we going to get his attention, though?” Tyler looked at Andrew with a smirk. He told his brother that they didn't have to worry because Chris knew they were there. “The voice said Charmed Ones, so he has to know we're here. Plus he had to have seen the cars. I think it's time to invade Baby Brother's privacy, don't you think?” He looked at Andrew who grinned. “I'm up for that!” They explained to the others that they were going to cast a spell to invade Chris' mind. They'd never tried telepathy, but it was worth a shot. Jason noted that that type of spell could only work with The Power of Three. Defeated, the brothers looked at each other.

“I can just beam over there?” Patience crossed her arms. “Orbs travels up so they'll know Jason's up to something. If I just beam over, I can grab Chris and bring him here!” The boys eagerly agreed and told her to hurry. Patience saluted to the boys and beamed off, “And hurry!” Tyler had yelled.

On the other side of the demon wall, Chris got back down on the ground, executing a much better landing. Kalista gave him a thumbs up when Patience beamed next to Chris, “CHRISSY!” She wrapped her arms around her great cousin, and told him she needed his assistance. “We'll be back for you, I promise!” After she beamed out with her little cousin, Kalista's eyes were glistening. “They'll be back, won’t they Kal?” Kalista looked back at Kairi and began to clap, “I JUST MET A CUPID!! OH MY GOD! I MET A CUPID WITCH!” Damien just rolled his eyes at his girlfriend and wished for the best. Rick had a nervous look on his face, but knew he wasn't going anywhere now.

The Charmed Ones, or Charmed Sons as others called them, were finally reunited, but they had a lot of work to do. Chris told them that whatever they had to do, they needed to do it and fast! The boys looked ahead at their most toughest battle ever. “This totally beats out fighting Medilyn and Demortica.” When Tyler heard Andrew chuckle, he demanded to know what the f**k was so funny. “Lucky for you, Big Brother, I have an idea.” He told him that they could recycle a little spell. The same spell they used at Sciton Corp when they helped Greg, Derek, and Azzura defend the place. Chris sighed sadly, “I miss Dad.”

Tyler and Andrew gave each other a look, but they didn't say anything. They had a lot to tell their brother, but right now was most definitely not the time to do so.

The boys joined hands while the booming voice returned to taunt them, “Oh how happy I am to see you three together again!” Chris asked if they remembered the voice, but his brothers said “No”. Andrew admitted that whoever it was, they were creepy as f**k. “Okay!” Tyler looked at his brothers with a grin, “Let's kill some demonic ass!” Andrew instructed his brothers to repeat the spell after him,

“Demon horde we cast you away
By the Power of Three, we don't wish you to stay
Hear our words, hear our spell,
We now send you back to Hell!”

Surprisingly, the boys could see the demons become surrounded by flames. Group by group, demons exploded in pain until there were none left. Nobody said anything, they didn't know what to say. Not even the group Chris had with him. “That's a shame. I was hoping for more power than that...” Tyler and Andrew both smacked Chris' head, “I missed you guys.” The brothers hugged while the other group was hurrying up to them, “Ahhh that was amazing!!” Kalista was jumping up and down, clapping her hands, “Oh my God, those demons were just blowing up in groups and they were screaming in pain!” She got a look at Tyler and Andrew before screaming, “Holy sh!t you're his brothers! Tyler and Andrew! Ahhh!!” After she wrapped her arms around Chris' brothers, Laurel sent death glares at the woman. It wasn't until Damien was looking at her that she understood. After Kalista's freak out was over, she introduced the group to the Halliwell brothers, Patience, and Jason. “This is...well you should already know who this is. He came with Chris.” Tyler and Andrew were shocked, but happy to see Aaron Thompson again. “You baked us all sorts of baked sh!t when we were younger!” Aaron smirked and patted Tyler's back. “Some people never change.” After Kairi, Abigail and Damien were introduced respectively, everyone was looking at Rick McCrum now. He wasn't looking at them however, but behind them. When they turned back around, they watched as Chris and Jason were making out together.

“Well,” Tyler said a little upbeat, “so much for PDA.” Everyone laughed, including Rick until Tyler turned and glared at him. “What are you doing here?” Patience, Andrew and Tyler himself was glaring dangerously at the boy. Rick knew that he was in a deep, deep sh!t. Again.

Ch. 9

The End of Arch 1

(The Charmed Sons thoughts in Italics)

Tyler

Nobody has any idea how happy I am to have both my brothers back at my side. There's a lot we need to go over and discuss, because I know there's a huge battle coming our way. Chris still doesn't know about Dad and Uncle Chris. He's going to be so f**k**g heartbroken, but he will have me, Andrew, and Jason to support him. Patience too. I don't like how Rick just happened to end up in the same group Chris did. I get that Chris came after Rick, but seriously? Is this some sick and twisted joke from fate or something? Chris seems to be a little chummy with the jack ass, but I will keep a very close eye on McCrum. I could already tell Jason's been doing that too, Andrew as well.

You guys, I'm scared. Like, I am legit scared. I have to keep a strong face on for my brothers, but the fact that the demon who's coming after us knows us? Something isn't right about that. We didn't even recognize his voice. Also, what's up with the others? Kalista, I think her name was? Doesn't she seem a little bent up or something? I never liked the bossy types. Kairi seems nice, but I feel bad for her because she's so young to be going through something like this. She was in high school when all this sh!t happened. Way too young. Abigail is actually really nice, and she's an awesome cook. We found another motel and even though we didn't like doing it, we used magic to summon up some grub(I know what you're thinking, we're using too much magic, right?) Well, we gotta do what we gotta do to survive, right? Damien, he's cool, but I always hated the idea of Empath's being around me. We'll be cool as long as he stays out of my emotions.

Aaron. Chris and Kalista told Andrew and me about what Aaron had done. I have no idea what to think of that situation. Aaron was always the cool guy, the guy who spoiled my brothers and me, and was like a third uncle to us. It's shocking when I think about Aaron being in league with Evil. Just not right.

I guess I should be going. I have a lot of stuff to do, and Laurel's wanting to do something. So, I guess I'll see you guys later. I have no idea what's going to come our way, I have no idea what's going to happen... f**k. We're in for a long journey(again), aren't we?

P.S. Don't ask me what's gonna happen between me and Laurel, because I have no idea!

Andrew

CHRIS IS BACK! CHRIS IS BACK! CHRIS IS BACK! Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I was so f**k**g worried about that kid! You should have seen when we got to the motel, I scooped Chris up and gave him the tightest hug, ever! Thank the God and Goddess he was safe all this time. You may have heard what Tyler thought about having Rick around... I am right there with him. It took me a really hard time to not go over and chuck that asshole. I have no idea why he and Chris are acting like they're on good terms. They shouldn't be, it's not right.

As for the rest of the group, they seem to be pretty cool people. Kalista is one of a kind, isn't she? I can tell she's a really talented and smart witch. Her boyfriend, Damien, is smart too. It's a little cool having an Empath around, but I know Tyler hates it! Haha. I have to admit, I have my doubts on Aaron. I think, to me at least, he changed a lot since I last saw him. He's so worn out and tired now, and he always looks like he's expecting someone to come out and expose all his secrets. I just don't understand it...

Oh! And I am so jealous of Chris' new power! I knew he'd get some sort of levitation, or so I thought, but that kid can fly now! Even though I can turn objects and people into ice and a boiling puddle, I can't help but feel a little jealous. Maybe if I ask nice enough, he'll take me up in the sky, if that's even possible. Sometimes, I wonder what my third power will be, if I ever get one. What else can a witch with molecule based powers do to others? I wish I could ask Grandma what was going to come next, but I think I'll stay surprised. Honestly, I'm surprised Tyler hasn't developed his second power, yet. Actually, I'm even more surprised he hasn't even complained about it yet! That's not Classic Tyler. Honestly, I miss the old Tyler. I know what you're saying, I often showed annoyance to the schmoozing little ass hole, but I can't help it. He's so serious now, not that that's not a bad thing, but he should be able to control his sense of humor. Maybe I can get Laurel to coax it back out of him.

Speaking of Laurel... Patience, Chris and I keep gossiping about their relationship. Tyler and Laurel's, that is. Patience told us how bad Laurel felt about not coming around anymore, so I'm glad that fate or destiny or whatever the hell it was lead Tyler back to her. He needs someone like her in his life right now. Hmm, I don't know what else to say... I'm nervous because Chris doesn't know about Dad and Uncle C yet. God, that's going to be so f**k**g horrible. He's going to be needing a lot of support after we tell him...

Chris

I can fly! I'm actually impressed by how high I can take myself. Andrew is totally jealous, and I don't blame him. I remember when I was jealous(and still kinda am. Just a little.) of his ability to melt people and objects. It's so f**k**g cool to watch! I'm glad to have my brothers back in my life. They've always been supportive of me, so I hope they'll give Rick a little bit a lee way? I doubt it, but we'll see. Jason has been close to me a lot, not that I'm complaining or anything. I understand if he's feeling a little weird with Rick around, but I made sure Rick knows that I am with Jason. Jason is the love of my life now, and no matter what, he always will be. I'm happy to report that everyone's getting along with the group I found, or should I say, found me. We all still have our doubts on Aaron however, and we'll be keeping a very close eye on him.

Andrew and Tyler have been acting really weird around me lately. I have a feeling they have something to tell me, but whenever I tried to ask them about it, they'd shrug it off and told me not to worry about it, for now. What the hell is that suppose to mean? What the hell aren't they telling me? Seriously, we're in an apocalypse, nothing can be worse than that, can't it? Even Patience won't tell me anything in regards of their weird ass behavior. I just don't get it, guys.

Have I mentioned that I am ecstatic to see Laurel again? I always knew Tyler still loved her, so I was upset when she and him broke up. I remember she use to let me drink back in high school, so she was cool on my list.

Oh hey, I have to go. Tyler and Andy wants to talk to me about something... Maybe it's about what I kept asking them over and over. Well, whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be able to handle it. Wish me luck guys! Not only on the talk I'm about to get, but with my and my brother's upcoming battle! It should be a blood bath...

[Chris]

Ch. 10

Chapter 10

The Beginning of Arch 2

Two men walked down the streets of the now dilapidated San Francisco. They took extreme pleasure in seeing it in ruins. The first man, a demon named Krycheck laughed darkly. He told his companion, Yowatz, how he loved seeing the city this way. Yowatz grinned with a nod, complimenting that the gloominess gives the city some spark and jazz. The demons walked slowly, taking everything around them in. Krycheck asked if Yowatz knew that Zedai had attempted to kill Chris and Kalista earlier. “Ha!” Yowatz let his voice echo through the city, amused at how far his voice traveled. “Zedai is one of the most pathetic excuses for a demon. He reminds me so much of our good friend, Athulak. Wonder what happened to him?” The two demons laughed hysterically. The demons had gotten enough of such a lower life form, as Demortica would probably call him, and they killed Athulak when the opportunity presented itself. “Still,” Yowatz said with a grin, “can't believe Demortica's dead. And her vanquish caused all of this?” He laughed again, and his friend joined right in. They began to mock the Charmed Ones, and were impressed how they lived out Athulak, Demortica, and Medilyn. “Ah Medilyn. Such a pity she died. Bah! She was such a... a peacemaker!” Krycheck mocked throwing up while Yowatz joined the little charade, and “comforted” his “sick” friend, “Oh my poor little friend, it hurts to see you so ill.” Both men erupted into more laughter, loving the sound of their laughing echo.

The two approached the little pier near the bay, and looked out. Not a soul was in sight, magical or otherwise. It was quite nice, to be honest. Forming a fireball, Krycheck flung it at a telescope where people could use to look out at across the boardwalk/pier. Hearing it smash and its pieces falling to the ground, Yowatz sighed sadly. He told Krycheck how it was such a shame that there weren't any witches around to kill and slaughter. “Don't you mean slaughter and kill?” Krycheck winked while Yowatz punched him in the arm, “You know what I mean you damned fool! Like there's a difference anyway.” The men laughed again. They had no idea why they were so chummy when they use to hate each other. In fact, didn't they wanna kill each other at one time or another?

“Aww, is this what a bromance looks like? I didn't know that was a thing for us demons.” Krycheck and Yowatz turned around to find none other than Zedai. What a foolish decision to face them! Krycheck rolled his eyes, and waved Zedai off. He told Zedai that the big boys were on the playground and didn't need a little goody two shoes demon in their faces. “Aww, that's it? What, you don't wanna kill me? Or attempt to? You two are getting, dare I say it, soft?” Zedai chuckled darkly while the others glared at him. Did he seriously just suggest that of all demons Krycheck and Yowatz were getting soft? Zedai didn't care however, and continued on, “What's your track record with killing witches, anyway? Because from what I heard, you couldn't even touch a hair on the Halliwell Punks.” Both Yowatz and Krycheck glared. Both forming fireballs, they aimed it at the annoying demon. “Watch what you say, Zedai, because you couldn't touch a small little hair on the Halliwell witch either!”

Zedai crossed his arms now, amused by the reactions the demons were giving him. With a sly grin, he asked the two if they were sure he really even wanted to kill the Charmed One. Both looked shocked, but before they could speak, Zedai pressed on, “I don't want simple bragging rights just because I killed the Charmed Punks. Besides, I'm smart enough to stand down when I need to. All they'll do is vanquish me. I'm not ready to die, unlike you pathetic little worms.” Krycheck had had enough of the mockery and insults and flung his fireball at Zedai's face. The demon immediately put himself into a defensive position, but the fire ball never met in contact with him, nor did he even stop it! “Huh, I must be better than I thought.” It was his turn to laugh while the others just looked confused. The fireball was just stopped in mid air. What the hell, Zedai didn't have that power. How the hell did he stop it? Annoyed, Yowatz grimaced, “Really you fool? You use a pathetic little time stopping power? You're the soft one, my friend.” Before Zedai could defend himself, the fireball unfroze and zipped back towards its sender. Before Krycheck could jump away, he was hit square in the chest and flung back onto the ground. “What the hell?!” Yowatz looked from Krycheck to Zedai, and demanded to know how Zedai did that. “I didn't! How the hell could I do something like that? I don't have stupid witch powers!”

“No, but I do.” A voice came from the left of the demons. Krycheck was up now and looked at the man who had talked. The Demon was tall, muscular, and he was sporting a beard, but it wasn't long or anything. His hair was a dark brown, and eyes were a bluish green. He had a long black coat on, dark jeans, an a pair of Interceptor boots on.

Zedai and Yowatz also looked, shock on all three of their faces. The man stepped up between Yowatz and Zedai, with Krycheck a few feet away from Yowatz. Zedai, being the smart one, backed away a bit and bowed. Yowatz saw what he was doing, and actually decided to do the same. “Seriously? Just because you saw him do it, you decide to, Yowatz?” Before Yowatz could speak or Zedai could smirk, Krycheck came up to Yowatz. “What are you doing here? Didn't they say you were dead?” The Demon laughed hauntingly, and asked why Krycheck was so stupid. “Really, you're as pathetic as your brother.” Always getting defensive when people talked about his brother, Krycheck glared and demanded the Demon to never talk about Zankou again. Zedai face palmed himself, and accidentally let his next words slip, “You're a dead demon now, Krybaby.”

Krycheck started to run towards Zedai, but the newcomer stopped him. With his hand raised, he was pulling Krycheck into a choke hold. “Y-you don't... have that p-power...” The demon shrugged, stating he “picked it up along the way”, “Do you like it?” Krycheck gasped as he tried to breath, begging in stutter to let him go. “What a pathetic being you are, Krycheck. Zedai was right, you are getting soft.” The demon flung Krycheck past Zedai, crashing into a brick wall. Yowatz began to run towards his friend, but the demon stopped him, “Where do you think you're going?” Yowatz froze in position, sending glances at Zedai. With a little smirk and a salute, Zedai told Yowatz he was on his own, “You're the big boy, remember? You don't need little ol' me to defend the big boy on the playground, do you?” Zedai began crack up while the new mystery demon gave him a look. Zedai caught it, and stopped laughing, but then he thought what was the point? If he was gonna die, he was gonna die laughing! So he continued.

“I like you, kid. I could probably have you on my side.” Zedai grinned, sending victory looks towards Yowatz. Yowatz became somewhat sympathetic with Zedai, asking him if he knew what the demon before him was capable of. Zedai just pretended to think about it, and shrugged. “Why should I care? It sounds to me that he likes me. You're the one who should be watching your back, not me. Worm.” Yowatz turned to the demon visitor now, asking for his forgiveness. He promised to never bother him or demons like Zedai ever again.

“Demons like Zedai?” The Demon walked up to his new red haired pal and placed his hand on Zedai's shoulder, “What you mean by that? Aren't all demons the same?” Zedai raise his hand to offer his two cents, saying that there were different leveled demons out there. “What level are you, boy?” Zedai smiled proudly, stating he was an Upper Level Demon. Yowatz accidentally snorted, and stated, “For an Upper Level, you sure don't act like it.” The Demon who was defending Zedai approached Yowatz now. After he raised his hand, Yowatz' face began to darken. Zedai was interested, and asked the Demon what he was doing. “If you ever threaten this demon again, I will kill you myself. Or maybe I'll lead The Charmed Sons directly into your path.”

He let go of Yowatz who dropped to the ground and began gasping for air. What the hell did he do him? Yowatz ran his hands over his face, and felt his skin was getting... wrinkled? More than that, there was blood spilling out of his nose too. Zedai watched in amazement as Yowatz' face began to return to normal. “Now that's something I've never seen before.” The Demon looked over at his red haired friend, offering to teach him someday. When he looked down at his hand, he saw that there was scar on it. “What happened to your hand?” Zedai looked at his hand, which showed dried up blood on it. “Oh nothing. I was playing with Chris Halliwell, you know the little one, and he bit me. He was hiding out in some dudes place.” Zedai shrugged, the Demon shrugged, but Yowatz just looked confused. Why, why, why was this Demon being nice to Zedai?! The Demon must have caught Yowatz' expression, because Yowatz was cowering. Zedai rolled his eyes,

“What a wimp.” The Demon looked over, placed his finger over his lips and shushed Zedai. Smiling, Zedai just backed down. “Sorry, “Daddy”.” The Demon shook his head, but still he didn't do anything to Zedai. Yowatz was just too damn confused.

The Demon was telling Yowatz, ordering him really, to take his friend and scramble. Looking defeated, Yowatz walked past Zedai giving him a glare, picked up Krycheck and flamed out with him. “That's rude. He didn't even say goodbye.” Zedai shrugged while the Demon chuckled. Zedai looked shocked, but he also felt a little proud of himself. “A chuckle. I never knew you had it in you.” The Demon just looked at Zedai with a malicious smile. He walked back up to Zedai, took his injured hand in his, and healed the wound. Zedai looked a little confused, but thanked The Demon. “Don't worry about it. I'll make sure Chris takes it easier on you next time.” Zedai smiled, but waved it off. “Nah, don't. I love battling that little boy. He's a fun component, especially now that he's Batman! Or is it Superman?” The Demon gave Zedai a confused look.

“You didn't know? I think it's a new power he developed. I could be wrong, but I thought I saw him looked shocked when he did it.” Zedai explained that when he Chris, and the blonde battled in the street, Chris went to attack him, but flew up into the air. Looking impressed, the Demon smiled. “Well what do you know, a power advancement. That's my boy.” The Demon chuckled and began to walk away from Zedai.

The red headed demon was curious now, so he ran up to the Demon to walk with him, “No offense man, but why do you talk like that? Like you care about the witch? I mean, don't kill me, but it's just weird. I've never met another demon who showed, I dunno, affection for witches. It's fun fighting him and all, but I don't have affection towards him. Or his brothers for that matter.” The Demon merely shrugged, refusing to answer the question. Instead, he just told Zedai that in time, he will know everything. Zedai just accepted it. This was a ride he was not going to miss. 'Sounds fun,' he thought to himself, 'I still can't believe this guy likes me. I don't think anyone's liked me before...' Unknown to Zedai, the Demon intercepted his mind and read his thoughts. He just chuckled, but Zedai never questioned it. He was going to be a really good sidekick.

**

Chris was sitting on one of the beds with his legs huddled together. He had streams of tears running down his face, and he kept sniffling his nose. Outside, Laurel was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed with Tyler right beside her. Tyler and Andrew had just gotten done telling their brother about their father and uncle. Laurel sighed and looked to Tyler. “He'll be okay. He's a strong man.” Tyler nodded in agreement. He had expected this to happen, but it still sucked. Tyler and Laurel started walking along the sidewalk of the motel in silence. They met Andrew's gaze from across the lot, but Andrew never came over. “This really f**k**g sucks!” Tyler wanted to kick the wall, but Laurel wrapped her arms around him before he could. She promised that everything was going to be OK, and she would do whatever she could to help out. “Nope, can't let you do that.” Giving Tyler a look, she demanded to know why. “Look, every time my family gets involved with someone, sh!t goes South and they end up dying or forgetting we even exist.” Laurel stated that they were together before, and neither had happened to her. Tyler noted that they still broke up, but Laurel said that was different. Plus, no demons had come after her after the break up. Well, she had a point there. “Look, I don't know about you Tyler, but God dammit, I still love you! I know I shouldn't because you were a prick back then...” She ignored the look he had just given her, “but you were probably the first guy I ever loved. Still love. I don't know, it's weird and it's hard to explain.” Tyler, feeling pretty bold, took Laurel and pushed her against the wall and began to kiss her. The two inhaled deeply, moaned a couple times, and had their arms around each other.

Across the parking lot, Patience walked up to Andrew and commented on how those two were wild animals. “Seriously, they have so much bent up sexual frustration even after they... well... you know.” They both continued talking about Tyler and Laurel's romance when Rick came out from his hotel room and began exercising. Andrew had his eyes on him with full distrust. Patience just shook her head saying she couldn't believe he was with them. Patience told Andrew that she had come close to doing something to Rick, but Chris would always be around and she didn't want to do anything to upset him. “It sounds weird, especially when it's Chris we're talking about here... He was so scared back in highschool, but now...” She fell silent, but Andrew smiled. He smiled because he realized that even though Rick had some something really horrible to Chris, Chris was moving past it. Hell, he already moved past it, but now he was showing how mature he was now that Rick was back. “Protector of the innocent, and not punishing the guilty.” Patience looked at Andrew, and now she smiled. They both understood what Chris was doing since they were in the situation they were in, and Patience was one of the many who fully understood what that meant.

The door to Chris' motel room opened, and Jason walked slowly inside the room. He saw that Chris was now laying on his side, and through the mirror it was evident that he'd been crying. Jason felt a stab of pain rush into his heart when he saw Chris like this. Getting onto the bed, Jason crawled himself over and laid next to Chris, putting his arm around him. He could feel Chris slowly turn himself around so he could face Jason. When he looked in Chris' eyes, he saw so much pain. So much sadness. With his hand, he caressed Chris' cheek softly, “You are one of the most beautiful souls I have ever seen.” Jason looked as Chris slowly formed a smile over his lips. He thanked Jason for finding him when he did, but Jason shook his head. “No, I don't think it was me who found you, I think it was you who found me.” Chris chuckled, and placed his hand over Jason's heart, and took Jason's hand and placed it over his own, “I think we both found each other.” Jason nodded then used his finger to trace all of Chris' features on his face. “You know one of the things I love about you?” Chris raised his eyebrow, and asked what. “Your nose. It fits you quite well.” Before Chris could say anything, Jason leaned in and kissed it softly. Chris accidentally let out a giggle, which made Jason gush, “You're so adorable, Luz Solar.” When Chris raised his eyebrow again, Jason chuckled. “It means sunlight. Wanna know why I just called you that?” Chris made a simple nod, and Jason sat up, pulling Chris against him, “Because every time I orb away from you to go to the Upper Regions, I know how close I am to the Sun, and when I have that in mind, I will always know that you are close to me.”

Chris could feel every negative emotion leave his body when Jason had explained that. He felt so good that Jason was here, with him. Tonight, he finally felt like his half and Jason's half were forming back into one. It was strange how Loved worked, but Chris knew that he was always going to embrace it. A memory resurfaced when his great-great Grandmother, Penelope Halliwell, had visited him and his brothers. She advised him that it was never healthy to give up on Love, and that he were to never become like her. Chris thought that same advice came into play now, because he was feeling a strong embrace in his heart. The couple made out for a couple minutes before both men pulled the covers over their bodies, and an unseen force used the power of telekinesis to close the blinds of the room, and also the front door.

Ch. 11

A lone car rode down through the streets of the city. The driver took several turns before they got to their destination. After the car was parked, Morgan Halliwell stepped out and looked around. God, even the restaurant looks messed up... The girl sighed and started walking up to the building when Craig and Brad got out of the car now. “Even this place is abandoned? I was hoping the kitchen was still in working condition or whatever...” He began to follow his sister when Brad locked the car and joined his siblings. He said it was pretty foolish that Craig would think that and reminded both his brother and sister that things were very different now. “Yeah all because of our putrid cousins.” Morgan walked up to the door, and was shocked it was opened. Smiling back at her brothers, she walked in the restaurant and took in its appearance. She began to feel very weird and uncomfortable. This doesn't feel like the way it's suppose to... Craig came up to her side and shivered. “Is it cold in here, or is it just me?”

Brad came up to his sibling's sides and his face showed anger and annoyance. He told his siblings he doubted anyone from his family was here, but knew someone had to either still be here or was here, but left. “Well, then we'd better-” Craig stopped talking when they heard a banging coming from the kitchen. Or was it the other side of the dining area? Either way, no good feelings came from it. The brothers walked ahead while Morgan stood back and looked from side to side. Something bad was going to happen, and she could feel it. Sighing to herself, she wrapped her arms around herself and walked forward. Her brothers were near the door leading into the kitchen, and they were peering into the circular little windows. “Ho-ly sh!t...” Brad and Craig just looked at each other while Morgan was asking what was wrong. Craig stepped aside so Morgan could look in and see.

The whole kitchen had been remodeled, and it was demon central. Altars were set up, black candles stood everywhere, skulls and bones were seen on all the altars. Morgan gasped and stepped back. “Demons took this place over? How? Why?” Her brothers shrugged and began to think of what to do next. They couldn't just let these demons control their grandmother's restaurant! The brothers agreed they were going to get rid of the demons for the memory of their Grandmother, Piper.(Which was rich coming from them since they not only missed all Piper's opening anniversaries, but never visited home for holidays or anything like that)

“Wh-what are we going to do?!” Brad suggested that the siblings come together and take out all the demons. He said that if they were use their powers together, they could show the Angels of Destiny and the Elder's how well they worked together and maybe the Power of Three could be transferred from Tyler, Andrew and Chris to them instead. “This was our birthright, you guys! We'll make a better Power of Three than those chumps!” Morgan mumbled, adding in, “Murderous chumps...” The siblings agreed that the best way to take out all the demons were to just go in and attack. Morgan asked how many demons they thought were in the kitchen. “Probably like ten. Or fifteen. Don't worry, Morg, we got this.”

While the siblings continued, a demon approached them from behind and scratched his neck. He just stood there for a couple minutes before crossing his arms and cleared his throat. The siblings looked at him and immediately got into their defense stances. The demon rolled his eyes, and sighed. “Great. More witches. Don't you think those two I already dealt with were enough?” Brad, Craig and Morgan looked at each other quickly, but glared back at the demon. The red haired evil being shook his head, performed a backflip and formed two fireballs. “Let's see what you got, witches!”

Zedai had a smirk on his face, and knew this was going to be very fun! He flung his first fireball at Morgan, who successfully dodged it. Zedai smirked and complimented her dodging abilities. Craig and Brad looked at each other confused, and Craig was about to throw an energy ball at Zedai. “No! We have to use our other powers!” Craig sighed at his brother and defused the energy ball. This confused Zedai, making him wonder why they were using their powerful abilities. Using his other fire ball, he flung it at Brad now, but the fire ball quickly slowed down. It didn't completely stop, but it was slowly moving. Brad nodded, thanking his brother for the assistance. Zedai raise his eyebrow and began to crack up. The siblings glared, and Brad threatened Zedai, saying he should be careful when he was in the presence of the three.

“Are you kidding me, Porkchop? You expect me to be afraid of a witch who can't even completely stop a fire ball?” Zedai was readying up another fireball when he was flung three feet backwards of the ground. Even more confused, the demon quickly got up and asked how Brad did that. “You didn't even wave your hands. Wouldn't that be easier? C'mon Porkchop numero Dos, do it!” Zedai chuckled while Brad clenched his teeth. Raising his hand, he had every intention of sending Zedai far, far away. His eyes closed, the red haired demon waited, but nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he saw the witch still trying to use his hands. Another round of laughter came out, and he was laughing so hard, Zedai dropped to the ground and pointed, “You can't even use telekinesis with your hands?! Man, I heard rumors that that Tyler Halliwell can send jets of purple and blue from his hands, sending a million things away, and you have to use your eyes?!”

He continued laughing, while Brad, Morgan, and Craig looked at each other. What the hell did the demon mean? “Blue and purple jets? Didn't Aunt Prue get to do that?” Morgan rolled her eyes, telling Brad that she could, but it wasn't until the sisters traveled to the future that she got to. She died before her powers grew that strong. “Wait, if Prue could do it after ten years, why does Tyler get to do it only a few months after becoming Charmed?” Zedai got up on his feet, telling the siblings that that was his first Charmed power coming to light. “He had it since the beginning, Porklamb. I also heard rumors that Andrew can turn people to ice, and a boiling puddle! At least that's what my new partner said. Also, Chris is fuckin' Superman!” He retold his story about when Chris went to attack him earlier, the witch flew up in the air. “Ahh,” Zedai smiled with his hand over his heart, “I think I like that kid. Not like, like like, but I love battling him!” Zedai laughed while the cousins just stood there, confused and angry. Their cousins should have started with the most basic of Charmed powers, so why were they all advanced?! Zedai kept going on and on about Chris and how he couldn't wait to fight Tyler and Andrew while the cousins were in their own conversation, Zedai forgotten.

“This isn't fair! What the hell made them so special, that they got to use the advanced magic?!” Brad was seething, while Craig was coming up with theories. He suggested that the brothers were completely unfair, and casted a Power of Three spell which helped amplify their powers. He reminded his siblings Tyler was always using personal gain when they were growing up. Morgan was silent, because she knew Tyler never used his magic, but she never mentioned it. The siblings looked back at Zedai who was still talking about Tyler and Andrew. “You know, I'd love it if Tyler could use his power on me. I wanna know how far I'd be able to go. Maybe I'll get to fly too!” Brad spoke up, commenting that Zedai was not like all the other demons. “You seem really... I dunno, childish?” Zedai crossed his arms and smiled proudly. Thanking Brad for the compliment, Zedai bowed low. “I know everyone thinks I'm different, but I think that's what makes me special, you know? I don't get why everyone thinks I want to kill the Charmed Sons just because I'm a demon.”

Brad raised his eyebrow, and asked Zedai what the Charmed Sons were. The red haired being raised his eyebrow now, “You're low on the times, dude. Seriously...” He explained that The Charmed Sons were what Tyler, Andrew and Chris were. He told them he had no idea where the term came from, but the whole magical community were using it. “I think it's because they're all guys. You know, like when The Charmed Ones were around, they were all women, right? Well, if we were to call Chris and his brothers The Charmed Ones, it'd be weird. So we call them The Charmed Sons.” Brad rolled his eyes and waved his hand towards Zedai, ordering him to just leave before they killed him. The demon looked down and shrugged, “Seriously, I have no idea why you keep waving your hand, bro. You can't use your powers through your hand. Plus, you can't kill me. It's a given fact, Bacon Bits.” Getting extremely annoyed with the food nicknames, Brad glared at Zedai and ordered him to never call them by food names ever again, and demanded to know why they couldn't kill him.

“Umm,” Zedai scratched his hand while he wondered why these three were the most moronic, stupidest, witches he'd ever come across, “because I can only be killed by The Power of Three. You have no Power of Three, you're just a can of worms. Duh.” Craig came really close and was about to attack the demon to the ground before Brad stopped him and took his brothers hand, “We'll show you!” He told his siblings to follow him and began to chant a vanquishing spell.

“Demon of Fire,
Being of Darkness,
We cast you out to the blackest night,
With the Power of Three we banish ye!”

As the three chanted, Zedai just stood there. Were they serious? Looking down again, Zedai shrugged when he didn't feel anything or see any smoke. The siblings opened their eyes and looked defeated. “Perhaps you need me to repeat to you? You have no Power of Three. Sorry, but you fail.” Waving his hand, he turned away from the witches, “Oh and by the way,” he said looking back at Brad, “you need to work on your spells, Witchilure. Heh, get it? Witchilure, failure?” He began to crack up again while flaming himself out.

Craig crossed his arms, declaring he had never been so embarrassed in his life. Looking at Brad, he wanted to punch his face. “Seriously, now when we face that demon again, if we ever do, my pride will just crash to bits!” He rolled his eyes while he began to walk out of the restaurant. “Where do you think you're going?! Get your ass back here so we can take out these demons!” Craig stopped and turned to Brad, his expression showing annoyance and anger, “Look, I don't know who the hell you're trying to fool, Bradley. We don't have the Power of Three, we don't have the right powers, and we couldn't even vanquish that red haired dude. What makes you think we can take out those demons in the kitchen?!” He just turned back, not waiting for an answer. Morgan felt that it was a waste of time too, and told her brother she needed a drink. She followed her brother out, leaving Brad alone to fume.

He was going to get him and his siblings the Power of Three. He just needed to know how to do it. Looking back towards the kitchen, he sighed and just began to walk out. It just wasn't worth it.

Up on Golden Gate Bridge, Zedai was flaming in while still laughing at what he just experienced. After the flames dismissed themselves, he walked up this partner’s side while wiping a tear from his face. The Demon looked over and asked Zedai what was so funny. Zedai recalled his whole experience with Tyler, Andrew, and Chris' cousins. “They tried using a Power of Three spell on me, but it didn't work.” He went on to say that the siblings he just faced had an extremely weaker version of the Charmed powers. “Well, the boy’s did. I don't think the girl had anything to be honest.” The Demon nodded, knowing who Zedai was talking about. In fact, he wondered when Brad, Craig and Morgan were going to become a problem. “When I use to watch over the boy's when they were growing up, I knew their cousins were around, but I never really sensed anything important from them.” Zedai raised his eyebrow, asking The Demon how he hanged around the boy's as kids, and never got caught. With his index finger over Zedai's lips, The Demon simply stated that he'll know everything in time. Zedai nodded, and stated how much he liked this. “It's like I should be worried that I'm working with you like Yowatz said, but I just don't.” The Demon tilted his head, curious. “Why aren't you afraid of me? You should be.” Zedai just shrugged, “You're the first to ever make me feel important. I've never experienced that before. Plus, you're like a father to me. I can't explain it.” The Demon chuckled and patted Zedai's shoulder. He didn't say anything after that, and Zedai was just fine with that.

**

Tyler and Andrew were walking side by side with their brother on Tyler's side. Earlier, Tyler and Andrew had been looking for a bar so they could let their brother unwind and maybe even get a little drunk. They thought they all deserved a little fun, too. Luckily they had found the bar and looked inside in case it was looted. Also there was a huge stash of alcohol untouched. Since it'd take forever to bring it back to the motel, they decided to just leave it there. The last thing they wanted to do was attract the demon's attention. “How farther is this place?” Tyler told his brother they had a little ways to go, but it wouldn't be extremely far. “It also has a billiards table, so we can shoot some pool, too.” Chris recalled that after they became The Charmed Ones, Patience took him to a bar to play some pool. Tyler frowned at this and complained lightly how Patience never took him to a bar before. “Maybe because she doesn't like hanging out with you?” Chris and Andrew chuckled while Tyler just shrugged. He had recalled all the times he'd ever annoyed her. Honestly, it was too much to count.

Andrew looked over at his little brother, a tiny smirk on his face, “You know Chris, you're pretty lucky. You're only, what? Nineteen, and you already get to hang out with your brothers at a bar.” Chris rolled his eyes with a smile and told Andrew that did not count since the world went to sh!t, and the laws had pretty much changed. “True, but at least you won't be carded. That's always a nice little plus.” Andrew brought up that it was weird, not having to celebrate anymore holidays or birthdays anymore, and Chris mumbled adding that those were the last things he ever wanted to celebrate ever again. Tyler looked over at him, and tried to remain positive. “Aw, it’s not gonna be too bad. Trust me, when we fix the world from this state, we’ll be celebrating Christmas, birthdays, whatever we can think of.” Chris smiled at his older brother, appreciative of his positivity.

“But you know what? We're gonna have a fun time. That's what Mom, Dad, and Derek would have wanted, right?” Tyler wondered if that was a bad thing to say, but was relieved when Chris was smiling and nodding, “Yeah, they would, wouldn't they?” Tyler and Andrew looked at each other, smiling. It was good seeing Chris smile again.

When the Charmed Sons finally reached the bar, Chris was the first to walk into it. He immediately felt that it was really, really familiar. He wondered why, but he didn't want to press on it since Tyler and Andrew found it for him. Tyler and Andrew hurried to the back to bring out the alcohol while Chris walked around the billiards table. He remembered the day when Patience took him to a bar, the bar he was talking about earlier with his brothers. He remembered Jerry, the bartender. Jerry loved Chris and enjoyed his presence. Chris always thought Patience and Jerry was dating, but he could have been wrong. He also remembered that was the first time he'd ever met the demon, Athulak. Honestly, it saddened Chris knowing that he hadn't vanquished him with his brothers, yet. Even with all the sh!t going on right now, Chris couldn't help but be thankful and think at how after becoming The Charmed Ones, he and his brothers had grown very close to each other. He remembered when he graduated High School, Tyler had come for the celebration, but he and Andrew wouldn't really talk to each other. He didn't know all the details on why Tyler came back to San Francisco the fall before they started their new Destiny, but he had to admit, he was a little curious.

To prove his thoughts, Tyler and Andrew were laughing together while bringing out the boxes of alcohol. “We got tequila, vodka, and rum!” Chris asked if there were any Rumchata in the boxes, and was glad when Andrew nodded. “It's in my box.” He set the box on one of the tables and took out the white bottle with golden writing on it. Chris smiled brightly when he took it out and unscrewed the cap. “It's a shame we don't have any ice...” After he sighed, Andrew gave a knowing smile. He looked over at Tyler, who was in thought, “Ah, go ahead. I don't think a little ice magic will cause the demons to come running.” Andrew and Chris grinned while Andrew held his hand on the bottom of the bottle, smoke of ice was being released from his hand. After he was done, Chris tested it and raised his thumb, “Nice!” Tyler complimented on Andrew's control over his powers. Andrew confessed he'd been practicing in secret, and when Demons wouldn't pop up, be continued doing it. He thought Tyler would get mad, but he didn't. “Actually, that's not a bad idea. But we're not here to discuss demons.” He winked at his brothers and set the billiards table up for a game.

Tyler offered the billiard stick to his brothers, and when Andrew nodded towards Chris, the youngest brother took it. He set the bottle of Rumchata on a table, and told Tyler he could break it. Nodding, Tyler went over and made his aim. With a strong grip, he broke the balls, and they rolled all over. He'd successfully gotten a solid in one of the holes. He made another move, got the ball in, and a third move, but that time he didn't make the pocket. Andrew sat down on a table, taking out a bottle of raspberry vodka and iced the bottom of the bottle up. He watched as Chris made five successful holes, “That was a nice little streak, Chris. Who showed you to play?” Chris shrugged, telling his brothers Patience always forced him to play with her. Tyler shook his head, still jealous she never took him to the bars. The game went on, and both brothers managed to get all the stripes and solids into the pockets. Andrew was amused now because both his brothers got into a competitive behavior. They would both claim that they cursed the pockets the brothers were aiming for, which had Andrew laughing.

Tyler stuck his tongue out while he aimed for the pocket. “C'mon baby, get into the hole.” He took the shot and the eight ball rolled on and on until... Andrew was cracking the hell up now because the ball stopped right at the edge of the pocket! Chris smirked and made the shot, bowed, and claimed he was the best. “It wasn't fair! This table must be tilted or whatever...” The two youngest brothers laughed while Tyler just smiled. This was probably the first time in months the three of them were hanging out with each other and were having a great time. Several games were played: Chris and Andrew played and Andrew won, Andrew and Tyler played and Andrew won again. Chris took the victory and was back to playing Tyler, who had won that game. The brothers joked, laughed, and enjoyed bonding with each other. “We should've done this before everything went to sh!t, huh?” Chris was chuckling, the alcohol going through his system. Tyler and Andrew agreed. The brothers promised that when they restored to the world back it its regular and normal state, they'd be doing this every week.

Since the alcohol was limited now, the three boys decided to keep it all at the bar, but well hidden, just in case. They were walking back when Chris hugged both Tyler and Andrew, thanking them for giving him one of the best nights of his life. Tyler and Andrew ruffled their brothers hair, each saying “You're welcome.” When they reached the motel, Jason was relieved they were back and safe. Crossing his arms, he gave the brothers a look, “Are you guys drunk?” The three brothers looked at each other and laughed loudly. Jason shook his head, but the brothers denied being in a drunken state. Taking Chris in his arms, he gave the Charmed Son a kiss.

Tyler had found Laurel, and asked how everything was while the brothers were gone. The girl just shrugged, telling him it was actually really nice. “I got to know Kalista and Damien better. They're really cool people, too. Rick's actually being decent, but I don't know if it's going to last or not.” Tyler raised his eyebrow and looked over at the guy. He was talking to Damien and Aaron about something he couldn't really make out. Tyler began to think that maybe it was a good time to have a conversation with Rick. He still had no idea why Chris was being so chummy with Rick, but he knew that there had to be a good reason. His thoughts were interrupted by Laurel who had her arm through Tyler, and she was directing him towards their room, “Come on, you can worry about Rick later.” Tyler just smiled and let Laurel lead him away.

Andrew was going back to his room when he was stopped by Aaron, who had a smile on his face. Andrew was still unhappy about him and what he had done, but he knew that like with Rick, he would eventually have to talk to Aaron too. “Hey kiddo, what's up?” Andrew could feel the alcohol going to his head, but he just shook it out of him. With a shrug, Andrew just told the man that he was fine, and was about to go to bed. Aaron crossed his arms with a smile, and said it was good that Chris had his brothers back. “Yeah it is, and Tyler and I aren't planning on taking out sight off of him anytime soon.” Aaron nodded, telling Andrew how proud he was of him and his brothers. “I remember when you were growing up, you were such good kids. Tyler would always get in trouble and drag you along with him.” Andrew chuckled, recalling a moment when he, Tyler, and Chris went to one of their Aunt Melinda's parties at a cabin once, and Chris and Tyler went on a forest adventure. “I found them at a demon's hideout and I had to save them.” Andrew began laughing uncontrollably as he progressed through the story, “The demons got to them and tied them both up. I have no idea what they were going to do with those two knuckleheads if I didn't get to them in time.” Aaron was laughing along with Andrew, suggesting that the demons were probably going to make them into witch's brew. Andrew was laughing so hard that he thought he was going to pass out.

“Things were fun back then... you know if it wasn't for Tyler and Chris, I probably would have died before graduating High School.” After Aaron gave him a weird look, Andrew explained his relationship with Stacy Korpacheck. She was a demon and had drugged Andrew with some pills that made him act out and get in a lot of trouble. It wasn't until Tyler and Chris became detectives that they found out, casted the Truth Spell, and vanquished her with Andrew's help. “It was weird because she was the type of demon that should've probably been vanquished by the Power of Three, but we weren't the Charmed Ones until much later.” Aaron tapped his chin while Andrew continued chuckling, “You know, wouldn't it be possible that maybe you've always had the Power of Three in you?” Andrew shook his head, stating it would have been impossible. The Angel of Destiny had appointed them the Charmed Ones, they were never Charmed at birth. Aaron shrugged, “Hey, anything's possible, right?” Andrew nodded in agreement. After a little bit of light conversation, Aaron excused himself and told Andrew it was best for him to get as much rest as he could because tomorrow he was likely going to feel like absolute sh!t. Chuckling, Andrew admitted that that was a good idea and said his goodnights to Aaron. He stumbled a little, but was caught by Aaron, “Maybe I should help you to the bed, huh?” Andrew laughed while Aaron lead him over to his bed and dropped Andrew onto the bed. He took Andrew's shoes off, and dropped them on the floor. Andrew didn't bother getting out of his clothes, and got himself under the covers. “G'night Aaron.”

Aaron made sure Andrew was comfortable before he told him goodnight and kissed him on the forehead. “Goodnight Andrew.” Aaron walked to the door and turned the bedroom light off. He closed the door and walked off towards his own room.

Aaron passed Rick, who was doing his own night exercises when he spoke up, “So, you've known the brothers for awhile, right?” Aaron stopped and turned back to Rick. He asked why he wanted to know, while Rick was doing push ups. “Well, I remember you'd always go over to their house. It wasn't until I think after mine and Chris' freshman year that you stopped.” Aaron tilted his head, complimenting on Rick's observation. Standing up, Rick shrugged and walked past Aaron to go to his own room now. “Say, how did you find the group?” Rick raised his eyebrow and looked back at Aaron, “What?” Aaron walked up to Rick and repeated his question. Shrugging, Rick just said that they bumped into each other. He had woken up in confusion and started venturing around San Francisco when he bumped into Kalista and Damien. He thought it was weird he was getting the third degree from Aaron now when there were so many chances to do it back in the sewers. Aaron must have sensed Rick's curiosity and excused himself to go back to his room. Rick couldn't explain it, but he felt really off when he was in the presence of Aaron. Tomorrow, he'd have to bring this up to Tyler, Andrew and Chris... if they would even listen to him. Entering the room, Rick immediately shut the door and locked it. Aaron was not on his nice list. Not at all.

Back in Tyler and Laurel's room, the couple were both sound asleep. On the nightstand laid the Modernized Book of Shadows. Slowly, the device was glowing a golden color until slowly it began to give off reddish glow.

Ch. 12


The next day at the motel, Laurel and Tyler were talking about the possibility of leaving the place. They both knew it wasn't a good idea to stay put, especially if the demons decide to get smart and decide to attack them. Laurel asked if it was possible that the demons would be able to track them, “Well, yeah they can, but it's only if we use enough magic.” Kalista was walking towards them, saying that's probably what the demons wanted. The three discussed their next move while the others were all off doing their own thing. Jason and Chris were walking off seeing if there were any demons near, Aaron and Damien were keeping Kairi and Abigail preoccupied, and Rick was actually staying out of everyone's way. It was surprising because Tyler expected him to be acting like a total douchebag like he always did back in High School. He actually didn't know where Andrew was, but knew he wouldn't get himself into any trouble. Excusing himself from the girls, he casually made his way over to Rick.

Rick knew Tyler was coming over, but he didn't look at him. He continued doing crunches while offering Tyler a “Good morning.” Tyler raised his eyebrow, giving him a “Good morning” back. After Rick was finished, he started doing fifty push ups. “So, how are you?” Rick could feel himself smile after he heard Tyler ask the question. He had no idea if Tyler was about to threaten him, punch him, or whatever. 'Oh I'm sure he wants to do all three...' Rick replied, telling Tyler that he was just fine and dandy, but admitted he was a little hungry.

Getting up from the ground, he offered to go into the woods or something to hunt for everyone, but Tyler said it was necessary. “We're probably leaving soon anyway... We might check to see how Halliwell's is doing and cook something up there.” Rick nodded while he stretched in preparations for his next exercise. Since he had this new thing going for him with being direct, he decided to just go for it. “If you'd like to punch me or threaten me, go for it. I've been ready for it since we saw each other on the highway.” Tyler couldn't help but chuckle. It was true, but the Halliwell promised to control himself... for now. “As much as I'd love to, I'm not going to.” Rick looked pretty surprised, but he didn't want to press on it.

“Look, umm...” Tyler cleared his throat before he could continue. Actually, he was trying to buy time in case Rick decided to blow him off. Unfortunately, that never happened. “I still hate you, but I know that I have to protect you. So. Don't piss me off, ok?” Tyler shrugged and turned away. He was going to walk off, but Rick stopped him, “Hey wait a minute.” Tyler rolled his eyes, but turned back to look at the boy. “So, you've known that Aaron guy for how long, now?” With an eyebrow raised, Tyler confirmed Aaron had been a family friend since he was eight or nine. He asked Rick why he wanted to know, but Rick just shrugged.

Refusing to let it go, Tyler walked over to Rick and asked again why he wanted to know. “It's just... he's really weird, you know?” Tyler crossed his arms and asked Rick to explain further. “Well, he's a mortal, right? Like me and Laurel.” After Tyler nodded, Rick went on, “It's just weird. Why did he, a mortal, find Chris on the bridge? How did he even get there? I mean, I know how he got there, because Chris told me. But, how did he know to go up there and save Chris? You know what I mean? I mean, it's just so weird.” Rick shrugged, adding that he was probably so hungry he was getting his suspicions out of control, but Tyler actually started thinking of the possibilities. Tyler turned to the motel room Aaron was using when Rick once again piped up, “Hey, if you want I'll play Detective and look through his stuff! Maybe we'll find something useful!” Tyler came close to telling Rick to mind his own f**k**g business, but realized that maybe it was a good idea.

Tyler looked around and saw Aaron talking to Damien and Kairi, his back facing the boys. Tyler gestured Rick to follow him and they both made their way over to the bedroom. Laurel and Kalista caught them, but continued to act as if nothing was going on. Tyler promised he'd keep a lookout, and if he absolutely needed to, he'd remote orb Rick away. In the room, Rick went to work and searched everything he could. He looked under the bed, but didn't find anything of interest. He looked through all the drawers, but again he didn't find anything. Tyler was about to just tell him to give up, but Rick made his way into the bathroom. “That kid is gonna get in trouble... again.” Tyler rolled his eyes while casually looking at Aaron, Abigail and Damien.

Back in the room, Rick was rummaging around the bathroom. He really hoped he could find something so he could brag about it. He looked in the mirror cabinet, under the sink, in the shower because you'd never know. Feeling defeated, Rick sighed and rested his hand on the wall. He put a lot of weight on it and was surprised the wall gave in. “What the hell...” Looking at the newly created hole in the wall, Rick had his hand in moving all over the place. He couldn't feel anything and was about to give up until he touched the side of the little compartment. Ripping out what felt like a piece of paper, he was about to open it and read what it was when he heard Tyler telling him, “Abort mission! Abort mission!” Sneaking his way back into the main room, he saw Tyler wave his hand and orbs surrounded Rick. Tyler smiled at Aaron and commented on the beautiful day they were having. Aaron raised his eyebrow, telling Tyler that the day they got the sun back, it would be a beautiful day. Chuckling, Tyler began to walk away and hurried off to his and Laurel's room. Aaron looked suspiciously at the Charmed One, and walked back into his room, shutting the door.

“Phew, that was close!” Laurel, Kalista and Rick were looking at the piece of paper Rick had found from the bathroom of Aaron's motel room. He asked them what it was, but they didn't answer. He asked if he could see the paper, so Rick handed it over to him. When he read what was on it, he realized it was a letter from an unknown party to Aaron. “This is... What the hell is this?” Kalista rolled her eyes and declared it was the last straw for Aaron Thompson. “Seriously, he gave away food to someone else, he's not being honest with us, and you know what, I bet he's been doing sh!t like this since before I found him and Chris!” Kalista was so loud that Damien, Abigail and Kairi came towards the room and asked what was going on. Kalista quickly got them up to date, and asked Damien if he ever got weird emotional vibes off of the older man. Shrugging, Damien confirmed nothing weird or distrusting ever came from Aaron. “I've picked up on concern... maybe some feelings of being sad and stuff like that, but nothing like being nervous.” Rolling her eyes, Kalista looked at Tyler, and told him his little family friend needed to be dealt with before this got way out of hand. Through the door, Rick saw Chris and Jason entering the parking lot and excused himself from the group.

Hurrying out, he met the couple with a smile and a wave. “Hey, you got here just in time.” Jason asked Rick what he meant, and Rick recalled everything about what had just happened in regards of Aaron. Looking upset, Chris covered his face, declaring this was most likely his fault. Jason shook his head, “No, don't do that to yourself. If something is going on with Aaron, it's all on him, not you.” Rick agreed, but Chris was still feeling pretty guilty. Looking Aaron's door, Chris began to march on over to the room. “Chris, where are you... Chris wait!” Jason rushed after him with Rick in tow. Tyler, Kalista, Damien, and Laurel heard him and hurried out of the room to see Chris going over to Aaron's room. Andrew had just come into the parking lot, dragging in some food he hunted for the night when he met Tyler's stare. “What's going on?” Tyler shrugged and gestured for his brother to follow them.

Everyone gathered in front of Aaron's room and Chris was using all his strength to get the door opened. “Come on you asshole! Open the door!” Everyone looked at one another before Tyler asked Chris to step aside. After Tyler showed him what he was about to do, he consented and stepped aside. Cracking his knuckles, Tyler raised his hand and a jet of purple and blue shot out of his hand and pushed the door through the room, causing it to hit the wall on the other side of the room and smash everywhere. Everyone marched in and looked around. “Aaron, get your ass in here right now!” After nothing happened, Tyler rushed into the bathroom. Coming out, he gave everyone a confused look. “He's gone.”

Outside, a huge crash sounded and Aaron was being thrown many feet across the parking lot. Everyone rushed out and saw him unconscious. “What the hell was that?!” Andrew looked at Tyler who just smirked, “It worked! My spell worked!” He looked at Andrew with a wicked smile, “My spell worked!” He ran into his and Laurel's room, and came out a couple seconds later holding up a very crimson red Book of Shadow's tablet. “I casted a spell on the Book that if someone approached it and It felt like they were untrustworthy, it'd perform a firework show and blast the demon or whoever away! My spell worked!” Everyone stared at Tyler for a couple seconds before turning back to Aaron. Tyler looked over now, “Wait, if he was in there locked, then how did he get out of there to go after the Book?”

Chris, his face red and hot with anger, rushed over to Aaron and was close to jumping on him until fire surrounded the man. Chris jumped back so high and held onto Jason for support. “What the hell is going on?” The flames disappeared and everyone realized: So was Aaron. Kalista rolled her eyes, saying just how typical this was. “We catch the fool in the act, and of course the demons just takes his ass away!” Kairi brought up her concern, wondering if the demons were about to attack them. Kalista rolled her eyes, “They'd be dumb to with how many witches and whitelighter's are here.” Tyler did not want to take that chance, and told everyone they needed to get the hell out of here. Surprisingly, Kalista agreed. They all decided they were to leave immediately.

Damien could sense regret, anger, and embarrassment coming from Chris so he walked up to the young Charmed Son and patted his shoulder, “Nobody blames you for this. Trust me, they don't. He fooled you, along with the rest of us.” He stood up with a smile on his face, but it didn't make Chris feel any better. He didn't even understand why Damien could be smiling at a time like this anyway. Kalista was walking away, mumbling how hard it is to get good help nowadays.

Everyone sort of scattered about, but Rick stuck around and looked towards Jason. The whitelighter asked him if he could help Rick with something, his arms were around Chris. “Well, not exactly, but...” He looked over at Tyler who was eying him cautiously while talking to Laurel, “I want you to know that I won't be a threat, you know, between the two of you. So you'll have nothing to worry about.” Rick went off to gather stuff he'd thought he needed for the upcoming trek. Tyler and Chris met glances, and Tyler winked. With a smirk, Chris rolled his eyes and wondered what exactly did Tyler do? Jason gave Chris a quick kiss before they set off towards their room, “C'mon, we should pack whatever we need to pack.” With Aaron gone, the group had started to feel lighter, but the idea that demons could summon anyone at anytime really threw people through a loop.

Truth be told, nobody knew where they were going to go anyway. Tyler didn't want to stay at another motel, and pushed for an actual hotel. It sounded like a good idea, but Andrew brought up the concern about how big a hotel is and demons could sneak around the place. “Yeah, I guess... God, this would be so much better if the world didn't go to sh!t! Our home is unlivable, Magic School is gone, the Elder's abandoned everyone, we can't use magic or a huge horde of demons can attack us... God dammit, what's our next move?!” Laurel got up from the bed and asked if they could just cast a spell to fix the world.

“No, I don't think so. Even our magic can't expand throughout the whole world.” Tyler shrugged at his brother, telling him it was worth a shot. Andrew asked what they would do if there was another demon horde coming to attack them. Tyler told him they were going to fight, but Andrew said that would probably just be foolish. After Chris joined them, they began to discuss everything that had happened to them in the past year or so. They still had a few places to check, and one of those places were Sciton Corp. With the exception of the Manor, Sciton Corp was probably one of the safest places they could go to. It was agreed that they would go there next, but promised each other that they would not get their hopes up. For all they knew, it would be just like everywhere else.

The boys informed Patience of their plan, and she agreed that it was probably one of the best choices they had, if not their only choice. “I'm honestly not sure where we could go that's completely safe anyway. With Magic School gone, I can only think of the Manor... I'm also wondering where the demons are. There has to be more of them, right?” The boys agreed and a little later the group was off.

*

It didn't take long for the group to find the massive building they had visited a little ago in the past. After the Charmed Sons helped defeat Yowatz' army, Greg and Azzura had made plans to expand the building to fit the Gorgon's inside. Shortly after that, the demon races went to Magic School so they could be protected from Demortica and her vanquish. After the cars came to a stop, Chris jumped out and ran towards the front doors. Kalista asked what his hurry was, which Tyler responded, “He wants to see if his father and grandfather survived.” Kalista didn't question it and just shrugged. Chris was already inside when everyone else got up to the door. Tyler and Andrew walked inside and stepped up to Chris' side. It was very dark, and completely abandoned. Tyler remembered a couple weeks ago, this place was surrounded by Skythorne Demons.

“Another ghost town.” Tyler sighed before looking over at Chris, who had very disturbing thoughts rushing through his head.

The youngest Charmed Son walked up to the front desk and looked to see if there were anything that could help him find Derek, Greg, or Azzura. “Come on,” he began shuffling papers around, tossing them aside, he tried looking through the computer, but it was completely dead. Andrew has joined him now, but not to help search. “Chris,” he placed his hand on his little brother’s shoulder, “I don't think there's anyone here...” Chris wouldn't listen to him. He got out from behind the counter and started walking towards the elevators. Andrew looked back at Tyler, his expression telling his brother he was worried. Nodding, Tyler walked over to Andrew while Chris was ahead of them. The brothers were close to catching up to Chris when they heard something behind them. Turning, their eyes both widened and ducked onto the floor. “Holy sh!t!” Chris turned and immediately dodged the fireball. What the hell, where did that come from? Chris wasn't in the mood for this and walked off in the direction of where the fireball came from. He made his own fireball now and hurdled it at the sender of the first. Another fireball came at Chris, to which he jumped into the air to avoid it. “Who the f**k are you?!” Chris' voice was strong and he made sure it'd echo around the empty building. He could hear whispers, but he couldn't quite make them out.

“...truly him?”

“...are his … with him?”

Chris again demanded to know who was in the room with him and his brothers. Slowly, a figure came out from the shadows. “Chris?” The youngest Halliwell stopped walking, and a smile rushed over his face. Was that...? Chris ran towards the man and jumped, wrapping his arms and legs around the man, “Dad!” Derek Morrison had his arms wrapped around his son, and was thanking the Gods he was with him again. Tyler and Andrew walked over to them and Tyler demanded to know what the hell the fireball was for. Gregorio and Azzura walked out now, their expressions apologetic. Greg quickly told the brothers that there had been imposters or shape shifters running amok and nobody could be too sure who was who anymore. Azzura hugged Tyler and Andrew before giving them both a grateful smile. The rest of the group walked in and inspected their surroundings. “So, this is what this place always looked like from the inside.” Azzura was happy to see the group the brothers had brought with them and quickly walked over to greet them, “Good day... or whatever you'd like to call whatever it is that's going outside.” Kalista raised her eyebrow while Laurel slowly made herself over to Tyler, followed by Patience and Jason. Azzura chuckled at the look she was given, and promised that she was perfectly harmless. “Trust me, or if you'd like, ask the boys and trust them. We all here are perfectly harmless.” Kalista's head tilted while her gaze moved over to Tyler, who instantly caught it. Watching him nod, Kalista looked back over at Azzura and offered her hand, “I'm Kalista, and this is my group. Kairi, Abigail, my boyfriend Damien, and Rick.”

Derek, who was still holding his son, gazed over at the boy named Rick. Instantly recognizing him, a soft growl escaped his throat. Chris jumped back onto the floor, and gave his father a look, “I'll explain later.” Nodding, Derek gazed back at Rick before Greg stepped up to the group. “We are happy that you've come. Unfortunately, the place isn't much like it use to be, but it is livable... for the most part.” Azzura stepped up and explained that they attempted to revive the place, but every time they used their magic, demons would appear. “Since we aren't trusted, the demons feel the need to bother us any chance they get.” Azzura released a tone of annoyance, to which Gregorio patted her back.

The three demons escorted everybody towards a meeting room, which was surprisingly very warm. They offered the group some food they had and beverages, which they all took gratefully. “What happened to the shield you guys had on this place? Last time we came here, it was powerful as hell.” Azzura crossed her arms while her eyes rolled at Tyler's question. Greg admitted that they had no idea what happened to the shield. It was still in full force before the boys went to go battle Demortica, but when they returned to the building, everything was dilapidated. “Well, not completely ruined, obviously. The building is still holding its own, thankfully.” The three demons confirmed what the others had gone through. They felt like so much time had past, yet it really didn't. Nobody could explain what was going on, but all knew it had to be a great power if it affected the entire world. “Wait,” Tyler raised his hand, “the entire world?” Azzura nodded, explaining the whole world went quiet.

“We don't understand it ourselves,” Derek took over from Azzura, “but we think it's odd that so many magical beings survived, with only so little mortals...” he took his look back over to Rick, but didn't say anything further. Rick had been wondering what the hell was wrong with him, but quickly deduced it had to do with Chris, which he honestly wasn't all that surprised about.

“We think whoever thought up the idea of the apocalypse went a little too far. Honestly, I understand wanting to take over a country or a continent,” Azzura sighed before pressing on, “but the whole world is a little too nasty, if you know what I mean.”

While the demons explained, Kalista just couldn't understand why they were the way they were. These were demons, weren't they? Didn't they just want what the other demons wanted? She knew of Sciton Corp of course, but never in her days did she think demons would be so... so good. It was very strange for her. Twisted everything she was taught about.

“You three haven't seen anyone else around, have you?” The demons shook their heads at Andrew, and Tyler spoke up, “I don't know if you know this, but Dad and Uncle Chris are dead.” Azzura and Greg lowered their heads while Derek looked shocked. His long time best friend and his brother were... dead? Oh God, please don't let this be true... Greg spoke up, asking if the boys they knew a way to restore the world back to its original state. “I mean, we could try, but I was telling Tyler and Chris earlier, I don't think our magic will be able to extend throughout the entire world. The Power of Three is powerful, but I'm just not too sure.” Azzura sighed as she rubbed the side of her head. More things that were just too typical and she didn't like it.

“If we were to try to fix the place,” Andrew didn't like how his tone of voice was... it scared him, “I don't even know where to begin.” Azzura leaned over and took Andrew's hand with a little smile, “We'll find something. Don't worry, you guys are not alone. Everyone in this room will be going back to the lives they were meant to live before all of this.” Letting go of his hand, Tyler gave Azzura a little look. Did he sense something from Azzura in regards of Andrew? Hmm, interesting.

Laurel had the Book of Shadows out and was using her finger to scroll through the pages. After a look of confusion from the three demons, Tyler explained what he did to the Book. Derek snickered childishly, telling the boy he was in deep trouble when the others found out about what he did. Tyler rolled his eyes, stating he didn't care. Laurel told the group she didn't think anything was in the Book of Shadows that could help them, “I even used the search feature, and I got nothing to come up.”

The whole group groaned, but Gregorio told everyone not to give up hope. Everyone in this room was going to be apart of fixing the world, and would help one another in accomplishing that goal. “We are strong, we are willed, and we will take back what is ours. It might take weeks, months, hell even years, but this is not the end. I refuse to believe it. Everyone that has passed on before us will not have died in vain.” He looked around the group, his confidence growing, “Our world will be restored, and peace will be brought back. Hopefully then, will the Charmed Sons Destiny be completed once and for all.” Tyler, Andrew, and Chris looked at the man, and they couldn't help but smile. Leave it to Gregorio to give them a big boost of confidence. Jason was smiling too, and quietly stated he couldn't have said it better himself.

Chris looked back at his brothers, and asked them what their next move was going to be. Tyler bit his lower lip before standing up, “Just as Greg said. We're going to take back what's ours. First we need to see what the f**k is up with Magic School. We need to come up with a spell or something to help us gain access to it. I don't want demons infiltrating that place again. It wouldn't be right to Grandma, Phoebe, and Paige.” He looked at his brothers, determination in Tyler's eyes, “And then we're going to kick the son of a bitch who's behind it. I've been thinking, and the voice back at the horde... it was familiar.” He quickly explained to the three demons that he and Andrew were separated from Chris for a while, and when they reunited, they were met by some demon or whatever from their past. This concerned Derek, and he wanted to know who it was. Shrugging Tyler admitted he didn't know, but the voice was familiar, somehow. His brothers agreed.

For the next several hours, everyone was discussing how they were going to beat the barrier blocking them from Magic School. It was agreed that whatever the barrier was, it was blocking all forms of magic, but why? Chris had his hand on his chin, “Maybe whoever is there doesn't know what's actually going on. I mean, it doesn't make sense that our magic's blocked when it wasn't the first time the school's been taken over.” Derek wanted to know how Magic School was taken back by Good the first time, but honestly, the brother's didn't know.

With her eyebrow raised, Kalista asked if they were serious. “What do you mean?” Kalista shook her head, and explained that the brothers' grandmother and aunts casted spells and enchantments on the school, ensuring their safety. “I doubt a simple demon could have broken them, which makes me support the kid's theory.”

“Then how the hell are we...” The room became quiet when the group thought they heard movement outside. Groaning, Azzura wished the demons would just leave them to hell alone. She was about to march out of there, but Tyler stopped her. He promised he and his brothers would take care of it, and motioned his brothers to follow him out in hall. “Be careful, boys.” They nodded towards Derek before exiting the room. “Don't worry, Derek. The boys are smart, they won't get hurt. If they do, they have a white lighter who can heal.” Leaning towards the man, Azzura gave Jason a smile, “And I can sense he's deeply in love with your son.” Derek raised his eyebrow and looked over at Jason, who simply nodded.

Outside, the brothers were walking around with caution. Andrew asked who they thought it was, but Tyler had no idea. “It can be anyone. Demons, a witch, the Big Bad, a witch...” Chris told Tyler he repeated “witch” twice, which resulted in a look from the older Charmed Son, “I know that!”

Behind them, laughter filled the room, and Chris just groaned. “I know that laugh...” Zedai stepped up behind the boys and grinned happily. “Good to see you too, little boy.”

The Brothers turned to face Zedai, while Tyler was asking how Chris knew this demon. Chris told his brothers Zedai had attacked him in Aaron's apartment and outside with Kalista. Nodding proudly, Zedai stated he outlived both occasions, obviously, or he wouldn't be here right now. Tyler just raised his eyebrow, “Well ain't that just peachy?” Zedai began to laugh loudly, telling Chris he had the most hilarious brother in the world. Leaning over to his baby brother, Tyler placed his hand on his shoulder, “Why do you make friends with the most ridiculous demons on the planet?” Chris rolled his eyes, stating Zedai was not his friend. “He's just an annoying acquaintance.”

Zedai tilted his head, and frowned. “Hey now,” he raised his hand and ran it through his bright red hair, “I come bearing gifts now. A little word of warning. A little bit of four-one-one. You know, the information? The low down? The-” Tyler quickly interrupted Zedai, telling the demon they understood his point. The boys watched Zedai sigh softly to himself, complaining how witches always ruined his fun. While forming two fireballs, Chris began to move himself into a defensive position, explaining how Zedai likes to start his attacks. “Why does this remind me of something familiar?” Andrew and Chris ignored Tyler, while Zedai continued on.

“You boys have a really bad villain coming up against you. In fact, you have three.” After the boys gave him a confused look, Zedai chuckled. He told the boys how much he loved looking at their faces while he tossed the fireballs into the air. “I don't know who they were, or I might, you never know, but they're after your powers. They tried tapping into The Power of Three, but failed miserably. Honestly, I bet you guys can come with better spells than that one punk ass guy did. It was so embarrassing... I didn't even begin to smoke up!” Tyler chuckled now, thanking Zedai for revealing to them how they could kill him.

Zedai just shrugged, telling Tyler he was welcomed. This demon would definitely be going down as one of the most confusing and twisted demons he'd ever come across. “So I guess this is the part where I throw my fireballs, Andrew ices them up, Tyler deflects them back and Chris becomes Superman, kicks me where it hurts and you three recite your vanquishing spell?” The brothers looked at each other, and Chris swore he didn't tell Zedai about Tyler and Andrew's powers. “Of course you didn't.” They looked back at the red haired demon now, “Someone else did. A fourth party, but that's all I'm telling you. He makes me feel so special, like a father figure.”

Chris decided to talk to Zedai as if he really were his friend, to try to get him to talk more about the person he was talking about. At first Zedai started to talk, but quickly smirked. “You can't fool me, Little Halliwell. I know the tricks of the trade. I might not have been around the time of the other Charmed Ones, but I'm pretty good at what I do. Although, you're not the Charmed Ones, are you? Aren't you called the Charmed Sons?” Tyler just shrugged, stating he wasn't really quite sure yet. He then began to wonder why he and his brothers weren't fighting this demon and was engaging small talk with Zedai. “Alright, you said what you wanted, how about we kill you now?” Seriously, Tyler thought to himself, enough is enough. Zedai was frowning, and extinguished his fire balls. Kneeling on the ground now, he raised his hands and begged the Charmed Sons not to kill him.

“What the hell kind of demon are you, anyway?” Zedai looked at Andrew with a smile. Zedai told him and the other two that he was probably one of the most smartest demons on the planet right now. He shared his theory on if he were to choose his battles carefully, he could succeed, but if he knew when to call it quits, then he would survive to live another day. “Huh,” Andrew crossed his arms and looked pretty impressed, “a demon with a brain. I kinda like it.” Tyler smacked Andrew's head, ordering him to not compliment the demons.

Zedai was in smiles, and thanked Andrew kindly for the generous compliment. “I get why the other demons fear you the most. You're smart, Andy. Level headed. You know when to observe and who to observe. It's kinda...” Shaking his head, Zedai ran his hand through his hair again and turned away from the men, “I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't want to fight you boys. You know, I kinda like you.” Tyler and Andrew were confused as hell, but Chris was just rolling his eyes.

“Maybe Krycheck and Yowatz really are insane. I mean, they just want to kill you for bragging rights. I don't wanna kill you... who cares if there are three witches running amok getting rid of the evil? It's not too bad, is it?” He turned to the boys, and they realized he was being really serious. Zedai shook his head at himself before going on, “I'm not cut out for this crap. I don't want to be a demon, I wanna be good. Fight for the other side.” Without even thinking, Chris told Zedai that was possible. He just had to look into his heart and see what he believed what was true. Surprisingly, Andrew was nodding in agreement. “Yeah, you don't have to fight for Evil... if you feel it isn't for you, then just leave.” Tyler was looking at his brothers like they were f**k**g crazy! For all he knew, Zedai was tricking his brothers into thinking he was good so he could kill them!

“Earth to my brothers, he's a demon! You know the guy who tricks and lies and steals and-” Zedai quickly interrupted, stating proudly that he had not killed one witch or stolen anything in a very very long time. In fact, he admitted he didn't remember the last time he ever killed a witch to begin with. Turning to Tyler, Andrew added to the fact that their mother was a demon who wanted the same things as Zedai, and she got it all. “But... that's... no, that's just...” Groaning in defeat, Tyler face palmed himself while Zedai was cheering his victory.

“Say,” Chris crossed his arms and looked at the red haired demon now, “earlier, did you say something about Yowatz?” Zedai nodded hurriedly, and confessed that Yowatz and some weird demon named Krycheck were hunting the boys down and wanted to kill them. Chris looked at his brothers, both of whom knew what he was thinking. Yowatz was the same demon who wanted to kill the Skythorne's and Gorgon's. “Great, so we have three people coming after us, including a demon with one of the weirdest names in history.” Tyler shook his head while Zedai laughed at his little insult.

“Hey, I should get going. Tell the Skythorne's I'm sorry for breaking in... not that there's anything to break into anyways. I'll see you three later!” After he flamed out, Tyler started blinking a few times.

“Did I just really back down at fighting and killing a demon who told us how to kill him?” Andrew scratched his neck, nodding. He suggested looking in the Book for Zedai so they could see what type of demon he is. Tyler gave a look at Chris now, “Dude, you really do make the weirdest friends in demons.” He walked away to go back into the meeting room while Chris stated Zedai was not his friend, “He's just an annoying acquaintance, God damn it!” Chris followed Tyler into the room, while Andrew stood in the middle of the giant room. He couldn't explain it, but Zedai seemed really... Sighing, Andrew just shook his head before following his brothers back into the meeting room.

Ch. 13

With the world in its shambled state, and the laws of the universe changed, demons of all kinds stepped up from behind the shadows. San Francisco was quickly turned into demon central. The clubs were revived under demonic rule and so were the restaurants. The Charmed Sons had no idea what their next move was, they were stuck. They were a little lucky though... They worked hard to figure out what Zedai had meant the day he approached the boys at Sciton Corp. With the clue that there were actually two forces coming after them helped, but only so little.

Downtown, the demons managed to get the electricity going thanks to some of their powers. All sorts of demonic beings sat on the couches and cheered for the demon strippers. They were totally in the lap of luxury and was convinced the Charmed Sons were either gone for good, or they just didn't care what happened anymore. A group of four demons were sitting together, sharing bottles of vodka and tequila. “And then I told her,” one of the demons said while holding up a bottle of tequila, “Nobody's gonna save you now, witch, you are history!” The demons laughed together while the demon holding the bottle chugged the alcohol in his mouth. “Come on Sigme, share some with the rest of us!” The demons laughed loudly again, and Sigme handed over the bottle. “Here Collisius, your turn!” The second demon, Collisius, took the bottle and chugged the rest of the bottle until every last drop was out.

“You better be buying us another bottle, Collisius, or you're a dead demon!” With a grin, Collisius waved towards the bartender and a few seconds later, a new bottle materialized, “That's what I'm talkin' about, babies!”

While the demons laughed and joked, two men were walking down the steps of the club. Sigme looked up and his eyes widened in shock. Getting the attention of his friends, they all looked back and didn't know what to do. Zedai and his Partner were on the main level now and Zedai lead the Demon to the bar area. “I don't know how good this place is, I only came here once before.” Zedai ordered two bottles of vodka and paid the bartender, “And you can keep the change.” Giving the bartender a smile and thumbs up, Zedai slid one of the bottles towards his friend. “Thank you, Zedai.”

Leaning towards his friends, Sigme asked them what those two were doing together. Other demons had noticed the pair, and were all obviously talking about it. It didn't make sense that those two were hanging out together. “Maybe they have a deal... or maybe he's getting soft and wanted to use Zedai as a last minute choice, or somethin'.” The red haired demon looked over at their table, but he didn't acknowledge them. The Demon just told Zedai they were as worthless as they came.

“Say, whatever happened to the Charmed Ones' mother? Isn't she a demon? Maybe someone got to her and finally brought her back to the side of us.” The Demon was very interested when the topic of the Charmed Sons mother came up. Kira was a demonic seer who died a long time ago, but word had it the new Counsel of Elder's looked over her case. She was reborn, but at the price that she would have all her demonic abilities. Nobody knew why this was, but it was the way the Elder's wanted it. After that, she met Wyatt and everyone knew what happened after that.

“Once a demon traitor, always a demon traitor. That chick didn't deserve to be reborn.” Shaking his head, the third demon Xigmus, had said.

Using the corner of his eye, Zedai watched as the group talked. Honestly, he wished they could've been more quiet considering they were in a loud as hell club. His partner advised him it wasn't polite to stare, and Zedai didn't need anymore attention. “What do you mean, anymore?” The Demon smirked, simply telling Zedai he knew exactly what he was talking about. Giving his only friend a shrug, Zedai took another huge gulp of vodka. “So, how was your little fight?”

Zedai just shrugged, admitting there wasn't much of a fight. He explained everything that went down at Sciton Corp, and surprisingly the Demon didn't even look annoyed. Zedai had to keep remembering himself that the Demon would never be mad as long as Zedai never physically harmed the three boys. “They were fun though. I told them about their cousins without giving them exact details. Hell, even Tyler didn't wanna kill me! Now that was pretty cool!”

Suddenly the group of demons were laughing hard, and made it known they were towards Zedai. “Honestly, excited that the Witches didn't care to fight him?! I wonder why!” Sigme was laughing so hard, he could feel the alcohol rise in his system. He coughed it back down and punched his own chest. “Oh God, that's good...” He looked back at his friends, but they weren't laughing along. Chuckling, Sigme stated that is was funny, and was okay to laugh about it. He blinked a couple times before realizing the entire bar was quiet. “What? What's going on?”

Sigme noticed his friends were looking behind him and figured he needed to do so. Turning, his eyes widened when The Demon stood over him. Oh sh!t, what is he getting himself into? He didn't want to show The Demon fear however, and waved his hand off, “Don't you see we're busy, here? I'm sure your bestie wants to have a nice conversation with you.” He laughed, but stopped when nobody else would. The Demon asked Sigme if he could please stand up, while Sigme just stared. Slowly, he could feel himself stand and was right in the Man's face. Zedai's partner placed his arm over Sigme's shoulder, “Now, Sigme, is it?” After Sigme nodded, the man continued, “Sigme, how many times have you faced the Charmed Ones? You know, the witches before the men?” Sigme didn't need to think twice about that, and answered that he never got a chance to confront the four women.

“Now, Sigme,” The Demon cleared his throat before he went on, “how many times have you confronted Tyler, Andrew, and Chris? Gimme an estimated number.” The demons around the two, including Zedai, began to all smirk and chuckle. Sigme confessed he never confronted the Boys to initiate a fight. The Demon was liking this and looked around to all the other demons in the bar, “Hear that, lot? Sigme here not only hasn't been up against The Charmed Ones, he hasn't even been up against the Charmed Sons!” The demons laughed while Sigme could start feeling himself sweat. Why was this fool doing this to him?!

Walking over to Zedai now, The Demon placed his hand on his redheaded friends shoulder, “Zedai, how many times have you confronted the Charmed Sons?” Zedai smirked towards Sigme, and proudly stated three times, but confessed the first two was only up against one of the Charmed Sons. Nodding, The Demon stated to everyone that out of the three times Zedai confronted The Charmed Sons, individually or otherwise, he had survived all occasions. The other demons nodded and some even offered congratulations to Zedai. “Now, I'm sure everyone here knows Zedai here is an Upper Level Demon,” he was looking towards Sigme now, and asked him which level he was at.

Gulping, Sigme stuttered out that he was neither a Lower Level or Upper Level demon. “Now, do you really think you of all demons can question my friend Zedai here?”

Sigme fell silent and quietly sat back down on his chair. After a couple seconds, his chair began to shake. Everyone was looking and wondering what the hell was happening. Above Sigme, a black and purple spiral opened, revealing a portal. Sigme was sucked up into the portal and everyone could hear his screams as he eventually disappeared from the realm and the portal closed.“Does anybody else have a problem with Zedai?”

The demons scattered around some “No's!” or “Absolutely not's!” and the Demon sat back down on his chair. Zedai blinked and looked back down at his bottle of vodka. He mumbled something incoherently and his partner had to ask to repeat himself. “I said... thank you. For what you just did. You didn't have to do it... I'm use to being talked down by the others.” The Demon shrugged, telling the other it was not a problem. Zedai's head tilted, “So, what's your name, anyway?” The Demon smirked while he held his bottle of alcohol. His name, huh?

“Rowland.” Zedai raised his eyebrow, and knew he just said to say something, “No offense man, but “Rowland” doesn't sound like a demon name...”

Rowland chuckled and patted Zedai's back. He complimented his honestly and went back to drinking the bottle of vodka. Zedai just shrugged and continued drinking his own bottle. Rowland. What a weird ass name for a demon like him...

Something in the bar had caught Rowland's attention. Looking towards the entrance, he asked the bartender who had just entered. The bartender, an upper level demon named Phalix, just shrugged. He told Rowland he hadn't seen the three before and promised to keep a close eye on them. Zedai broke their suspicions when he looked over and smirked, “Well I'll be damned! It's the Charmed Sons' cousins!” Getting a closer look at the three, Rowland surprised himself and scolded that he should have know know they were...

Brad had talked his siblings into coming out to the bar for some investigating. Basically, it was hopes that they'd bond and be able to create their own Power of Three. Which honestly, was starting to annoy Morgan and Craig. But to make their brother happy, they were just going to go along with it. Morgan offered her concerns, “What if a demon recognizes us and kills us? This is a suicide mission, Brad!” Craig was agreeing, but their brother just wouldn't listen to them. He promised they would be perfectly fine, and nobody would recognize them at all. Oh boy, was he ever so wrong! Zedai was snickering beside Rowland, “I can't believe they decided to come here! It isn't exactly their scene.” Rowland was listening and rolling his eyes. These damn fools would only ruin his plans... he could not see them advancing them at all.

“Look, we won't be here for long. I just wanna get the run of the place and see what's up. You don't see our cousins here investigating, do you?!” Craig rolled his eyes and mumbled that maybe there wasn't anything to investigate at all. “Even they're not dumb enough to go on suicide missions...” Luckily, it was so loud in the club that Brad couldn't hear his brother. Since the cousins were approaching the bar, Rowland spun Zedai around so they wouldn't immediately recognize them. Zedai gave Rowland a wink and continued to drink the vodka. Luckily for him, there was a mirror so he could see the witches faces.

“Yeah, we'll have three Corona's.” The bartender gave the witches a smirk, and told Brad the cost was five bones of a mermaid's fin. Brad just blinked as he felt a little shock in his system. Craig face palmed himself while Morgan was thinking they were going to be dead in five seconds flat. The bartender began to laugh loudly, and stated he was only joking. “It's seven dollars, though.” Brad did his best to laugh it off, and handed over the money to the demon.

“You three new around here?” Rowland smirked as he used the corner of his eye to look at the witches. Brad did his best to stay cool, and told Rowland they were out and about checking out the new places. Morgan was tilting her head at the demon, wondering if she'd seen him before, but nothing ever came to her. Rowland turned to the face the three while Zedai was just grinning from ear to ear. This was just too rich, even for him. “Checking the place out, huh? You lookin' to run your own business or something?” Brad replied to Rowland saying that he was the owner of a very popular nightclub and was looking to form an alliance type of deal with other bar owners. Craig just rolled his eyes and wished Brad would shut the f**k up already.

At this point, Zedai had a hard time keeping his laughter in and had his hand over his mouth. The bartender admitted that it actually was a pretty hilarious exchange as well. Rowland cleared his throat before replying. “Well, you might find what you're looking for in here, but I doubt it. Maybe if you go over across the street, you'll find what you're looking for.” The bartender snickered, and grabbed a cloth to clean the countertop. While Craig was telling Brad that they should go since they found out what they were hoping to find out, Morgan just looked at Rowland. I've seen him somewhere before... The young witch/whitelighter couldn't explain it, but she was so sure she recognized him...

“Is there a problem, Miss?” Morgan blinked a couple of times before telling Rowland there was not a problem at all. Craig grabbed Morgan’s arm and started pulling her away while telling Brad they were going to be waiting for Brad in the front. “Um, wait, haven't we-” Before Morgan could finish her question, Craig had her dragged outside while Brad was staring at Rowland like a complete and utter fool. Chuckling softly, he excused himself and rushed out of the club.

Since they were finally gone, Zedai just cracked the hell up, saying that those three were the most pathetic excuses for witches, ever. Rowland was shaking his head, annoyed that they even attempted to come in there. “What were they hoping to even gain? Inside knowledge of the apocalypse or somethin'? Even we don't know what the hell is goin' on around here.” Zedai shook his head while he finished off the bottle, and asked the bartender for one more. Rowland in the meantime, had his gears turning in his head. He needed the cousins out of the way so his plan for the boys could work. It couldn't be too hard destroying the cousins... they were powerful if they took their heads out of their asses and properly thought about the situation at hand. With a sigh, Rowland finished his bottle and saw Zedai ordered another for himself. “You sure can drink, Son.” Zedai patted his stomach proudly, and stated he could probably go for one more after this one.

Rowland laughed and ordered himself and Zedai one more bottle, “You got it, Kid.” Zedai was chuckling and commented on how the cousins of the Charmed Sons didn't even recognize him from before. “That's surely to give me some points, huh?” he continued chuckling while Rowland patted his friend on the back, “You do good for an Upper Level Demon, Champ.”

**
Outside, Morgan was focused on figuring out where the hell she saw the demon before while Craig and Brad were going at it. Sitting on the ground, Morgan had her hands on her head as she thought about it. “So familiar... where did I see him before?”

“You're trying to kill us, Brad! Don't you just stand back and wonder how the hell we think about the way you go about sh!t?!” Brad grimaced at his brother, reminding him they were doing this for their father and Uncle. Craig groaned, demanding to know how Brad even know their cousins were really behind the murders.

“They're our cousins, Bradley! Aren't we supposed to, I dunno, love them?! Support them? Nooo, of course not, we're just supposed to be jealous and steal The Power of Three from them. Earth to Bradley, what if I don't even want to be in The Power of Three?!” Bradley growled, telling his brother they deserved the Power of Three way more than their cousins.

“Would you listen to yourself?! We were never even around the family back in High School! We were always off skipping and hanging around our grandmother! Dude, you need to grow the f**k up and ask yourself when to stop!”

Brad was about to defend himself when Morgan stepped up in support of Craig. She admitted that they've been pretty horrible to not only their cousins, but to their parents and grandparents as well. “Look, I know you think they don't deserve to be the Power of Three, but Brad c'mon. Is this really worth it? I don't want to be a jealous bitch... I already have to live with the guilt that I was never around the Manor through the years.” Craig nodded, and actually blamed Brad for that.

“It's my fault?! What the hell do you mean, it's my fault?! I was looking out for us! I was the one looking out for you!” Craig just sighed and waved Brad off. He began to walk away with Morgan in tow and told Brad that this is why they could never be the Power of Three. They fought way too much to even be able to contain their bond and powers.

As they were walking, Morgan took the opportunity to ask Craig if he remembered the demon they were talking to in the bar. Shrugging, he admitted he did kinda look familiar, but couldn't place him anywhere. Brad was calling for his siblings, asking if they could all talk about this. When he didn't get an answer, he groaned out in frustration and ran after his brother and sister. This was going to be a very very long journey...

Stepping out from the corner of the alleyway, someone had heard everything the siblings were talking about. With a smirk on their face, they chuckled to themselves before walking off. “Oh, you guys are in so much trouble.” Laughing, the person walked off, but stopped when they saw the demonic bar. “Hmm, weigh of options: Go in and get attacked, or just walk off and find someplace else... Naaah!” Chuckling to themselves, the person ran off into the city.

Ch. 14

Tyler, Andrew and Chris followed Azzura through the empty streets of the city. She commented here and there about how dreadful everything was now, and wished restoring balance to the world was easier said than done. “It reminds me of those apocalyptic horror shows on television.” Azzura shook her head sadly, and looked to her right immediately. “Ah-ha, there we go!” She gestured at the boys to follow her into an alleyway and turned to face them.

“See that door?” The boys nodded when she pointed. “That there is the entrance to bar. It’s full of demons, but that shouldn’t be a problem for you boys, is it?” She didn’t let them answer and quickly walked to the door. Opening it, she peered inside before looking back.

“Well don’t just stand there, you need to get in there!” Azzura tapped her foot with impatience.

Tyler rolled his eyes and walked up to the doorway so he could also peer in. He could hear a bunch of laughter and talking to which he grumpily looked at Azzura. “Are you sure there are demons in there?” He asked ignoring the woman rolling her eyes.

She said she was positive and that they needed to get in there pronto. “So when you do go in there, and deal with all the demons, you need to find something that’s hidden.” Azzura was looking through her coat pockets when the boys all gave her a look.

“What do you mean there’s something in there for us to find?” Andrew crossed his arms while Azzura avoided their eye contact. She cleared her throat and started to tell them that there may or may not be something in there that can help them out with their task. “I don’t make up the rules, you know. But there is something in there. Something you’ll need. Now I don’t know where it is, but…” She stopped talking when the boys were glaring at her, which she only returned the expression.

“Hey, I don’t make up the rules! But I am absolutely positive that there is something in there that is of importance. I think it’s in the basement. Hopefully when you find it, we’ll be able to find out what it’s suppose to do.” Azzura smiled assuringly and added her support. She knew they’d be able to do it since they’d just be able to vanquish the demons anyway.

Chris shrugged and began to walk into the building, but Tyler grabbed his collar and pulled him back “Not so fast, Demon Boy.”

Chris glared at Tyler and demanded to know what he meant by that. Tyler told him just because he was half demon didn’t mean he had to barge right in without a plan. “Since when the hell do we ever plan a demon battle?!”

“Since now. We can’t go in there half cocked. We need to find out how many demons are in there, who the head flunky is,” Tyler ignored the raised eyebrows headed his way, “and we need to come up with a defensive strategy ‘cause I don’t know us to get hurt.”

Andrew and Chris shared a look with each other while Azzura was bidding them adeu. After wishing them luck, flames surrounded the woman and then she was gone.

While Tyler was rambling on and on about how they were suppose to go about the fight, Andrew and Chris took the opportunity to walk past Tyler and head into the building. “Also, I think we should divide the building up. Say one of us takes the left side, another takes the middle, so on and so…” Tyler stopped himself when he noticed both his brother’s were gone. Mumbling, he complained that nobody listened to him anymore and headed into the bar himself.

Tyler met up with his brothers, both whom was standing on the stairwell looking out at all the demons. There were demons all over the place. Some were at the bar, others were sitting at tables drinking down pitchers of beer, some were even playing darts and billiards.

“Demons who knows how to play pool. Who knew?” Tyler looked at Chris and stated that he was a demon himself and he knew how to play pool. The youngest Halliwell brother sent glares at the oldest while Andrew broke them up and told them to focus.

“We don’t need to die and frankly I don’t want to, so let’s keep our heads on the task at hand, okay?” He looked back and forth at his brothers before walking down the steps and started for the bar. Tyler and Chris rushed after him and both demanded to know what he was doing.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to find out who’s in charge of this place.” Andrew ignored his brother’s protests and sat down on an empty stool. Tyler and Chris stopped when they saw a demon glaring at their brother. He approached the Charmed Son and cracked his knuckles.

“Now what are you doing sitting in my seat, Punk?” Andrew just looked at the demon and smirked. His brothers had no idea what was going on, but they didn’t do anything to stop it.

Andrew gave the demon a once over and simply chuckled. The demon growled at him, asking him what was so damn funny. Andrew simply shrugged at the demon while his smirk grew larger. Tyler rolled his eyes and lowered his head while Chris tilted his. “What the hell is he doing?” Tyler let out a mumble stating he had no f**k**g idea.

Andrew must have said something to offend the demon because the guy was now forming a fireball his hand and was ready to throw it in Andrew’s face, but before he could do anything, flames erupted around the demon and he was immediately vanquished. “I never liked the idea of having drama in my damn bar.” A woman stood in front of Andrew now, her eyes glaring into his. A couple moments passed while Tyler and Chris just stood there confused.

The woman shook her head and looked at the bartender. “You. Go to the back and take stock. Now!” She watched as the guy left, but he didn’t walk away without cautiously glancing at Andrew. “Hey! Did I say give my customers the stink eye? No, I said get to the f**k**g back and take the damn stock!” The demon bartender raised his hands in defeat and walked away while the woman jumped behind the counter and looked at Andrew and his brothers.

“One Budweiser, one scotch on the rocks, and a cinnamon apple martini coming right up.” The woman went to work while Tyler and Chris slowly sat down next to their brother. After the drinks had been placed on the bar, the woman gave Andrew a smirk. “Never thought I’d see you ever again, baby.”

While Andrew just smirked, his brother’s were more confused than ever. How the hell did Andrew know this woman? Who the f**k was this woman anyway?! “I’ve been around. Kinda busy with the apocalypse though.”

The woman chuckled while she kept eye contact with Andrew. The two went back and forth for a little bit before she looked at Tyler and Chris. “So, are these the brother’s I heard so much about when we went out?”

Taken completely by surprise, Tyler and Chris looked at Andrew. Tyler cleared his throat loudly. “Something you need to tell us, Andrew?”

Andrew rolled his eyes and introduced his brother’s to Claire Benedetti, his ex girlfriend from high school. Chris picked up his glass and slowly sipped his drink. When he put it down, he noticed death glares being sent by Tyler. “I thought you went out with Stacy Korpacheck?” Claire made a disgusted sound while Andrew smirked again.

“Claire came along after Stacy.” Andrew took a sip of his own drink, but Tyler just let his sit there. He was feeling a bit peeved and he made sure he let it be known.

“What the hell is going on?! Who is this chick?! How do you know her?!” He demanded with a raised tone. Then he looked at Chris and ordered him not to keep drinking the martini.

“It’s good though!”

“I don’t care if it’s good, it was made by a demon!” Tyler growled at his brother while Claire rolled her eyes.

“I see he still has an attitude of a three year old.” Andrew chuckled at the comment by Claire while Tyler formed a fist with his hand.

Claire looked at at him and asked if everything was alright to which Tyler glared at her. He stated that even though he had no idea what was going on, he was sick and tired of it and he and his brother’s needed to go. Getting off the stool, he grabbed his brother’s arms and tried to pull them off their seats.

“Wait, I thought we needed to be here though so we can get the thing for the thing…” Tyler ignored Chris and ordered Andrew to follow him and their brother out before he went to drastic measures.

“I don’t care if you had a past with this chick, we are going to leave!” Claire crossed her arms and told Tyler that she was no threat to him or his brothers. Tyler scoffed, telling her how he heard that excuse so many times in the past.

“Do you think that maybe if I wanted to expose your ass, I would have done it already? Sit your moody f**k**g ass back down and drink.” Tyler was about to say something else when he noticed a lot of demons looking over his way. Since he didn’t want to make a scene, yet, he sat back down and mumbled a few swear words.

Claire gave Tyler one last look before she turned her attention back to Andrew while Chris snickered at Tyler. “So, what brings you to this place? Out on a mission or something?”

Andrew explained how he and his brother’s were trying to find something, even though they didn’t exactly know what. After Claire was told it was something hidden and in the basement, she nodded understandably. “You’re looking for the Sphere of Destiny.”

The brother’s all looked at her confused, but she looked around to see if anyone was listening into their conversation. “Come on, follow me.” Claire got out from behind the bar and lead the brother’s the back of the building. The bartender was in one of the stock rooms, so Claire lead the boys passed that and into the back room which served as an office. “Nobody knows about this. Nobody.” She looked down at the ground and raised her hands. On the ground, bright red began to shine out of the floor as it dissolved and a staircase was revealed.

Claire walked down and raised her hand at the door, which opened automatically. She walked into a room which a pedestal stood and a golden sphere floated above it.

“That’s the Sphere of Destiny?” Chris asked unconvinced.

Claire nodded, and explained to the brother’s she’d been keeping it hidden for quite some time. “I don’t understand it myself, but I knew if this got into the wrong hands, sh!t would go down.”

Tyler sighed, asking aloud why the demons were always the ones who got the epic magic items. Claire responded, saying she didn’t even know she had it until one day it was discovered.

“No offense,” Chris said raising his finger, “but how do you know that has something to do with Destiny?” Claire gave him a smile and told the brother’s that the Sphere was able to give them visions of what they have done in the past and what they were going to do in the future. Chris was still confused, but he decided to let it go for now.

Tyler walked closer to it for further inspection. Something wasn’t adding up to him, and he wanted to know the full story. He went to touch it, but Claire called out to stop him.

“Be warned! Not that it does anything damaging to you, but you need to practice caution. Knowing stuff that it shows, you never know what you might do to ruin it.”

So there were consequences to obtaining this? Fantastic. Just what he needed. More consequences. Turning back to Claire, he demanded to know what else she was hiding from the brother’s. Claire curled her lips and looked away from them. “I don’t have anything else to say.”

Tyler looked at the woman irritable, a growl escaping his throat. He walked right in front of her and raised his fist. “Listen to me you little bitch! I didn’t come all the way here to be bamboozled by my brother’s skanky demon ex girlfriend!”

Claire crossed her arms and snarled at Tyler, “I’d watch your attitude jackass, or I’ll get all those demons on your ass so f**k**g fast…” The two looked like they were going to strangle the life out of each other while Chris had his eyes set on the Sphere. Something inside him told him the Sphere was practically calling out to him and he really wanted to touch it. Andrew caught his brother, and cautiously asked if Chris was okay.

“I don’t…” Chris’ eyes were completely transfixed. He felt like Abu from Aladdin when Abu wanted to touch the big ruby from the Cave of Wonders. “I need to touch it…” Chris lifted his arm, his hand inches away from the Sphere.

“Chris… what are you…” Andrew stopped when he started to feel something shake beneath him. “Oh God, not again.” The shaking started to intensify so bad that the brother’s and Claire were trying their hardest not to fall on the ground.
“Chris, what the f**k did you do?!” Tyler demanded quickly.

“I didn’t do anything… I didn’t even touch it!” Chris held onto the pedestal for support while the other’s used their footing for balance. As quickly as the Earthquake started, it stopped, but that wasn’t the end.

The ground around the pedestal and Chris collapsed in and the youngest Charmed Son looked horrified. If he moved an inch, he’d fall to his death! He actually almost lost his balance and gripped to pedestal, unknowing he had actually touched the Sphere. “Holy sh!t, I’m trapped!”

Tyler and Andrew gave their brother a look. “Chris, just shimmer or orb over here!” Chris blinked a couple times and realized what was being said to him. Immediately, he shimmered out and back in beside Andrew just as the hole in the ground began to shine a crimson red.

“What the f**k did you guys do to my bar?!” Claire demanded to know, but the boys couldn’t answer. Black shadow’s crept out of the hole and floated to the ceiling, going right through. Before they could do anything, everyone was surprised when a black shadow floated in front of them. At first, it looked like it was about to possess one of them, but it started to swirl around itself and form into a body.

Tyler, Andrew, Chris and Claire looked at the figure when it fully formed. Tall and handsome, the man rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. “Mmm, it seems like Death just doesn’t want to keep me to himself.” He laughed at his own joke and looked around at the others.

“Hey, you’re Wyatt’s kids!” He said excitedly, which only made the brother’s look and feel more confused than they did already. The man turned to Claire and stated that he had no idea who the hell she was. The woman just rolled her eyes, crossed her arms and demanded to know who the hell this man was and what happened to her damn bar.

The man looked behind him and saw the hole in the ground and Sphere of Destiny sitting on its pedestal. “Uh yeah. The hole in the ground? Death was released. Literally.” He looked back at the Sphere and pointed towards it, “And that my friends is something someone wants very, very much.”

The Charmed Sons looked back at the Sphere and to the man. “Okay what the hell is up with that Sphere, and who the f**k are you?!” The man looked at Tyler with a smirk. He commented how Tyler had his mother’s fiery temper and Wyatt’s angry facial expressions.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” The man smiled and bowed his head down. “I am Cole Turner, and you boys are in for a very wild adventure.”

Tyler and Andrew looked at each other while Chris just stood there with his eyes on the Sphere. He should have touched it! Why didn’t he touch it?! It had the answers to everything he ever… Wait, did the guy say…?

“You’re Cole Turner? You mean the dude who use be the tall, ugly red and black demon? And the Source of All Evil? And a power hungry obsessed maniac?”

Cole looked at Chris, annoyed. The kid sure did his homework. “Yes, yes, I am that same Cole Turner. You’re not gonna hold all that for the rest of your life, are you Kid? Phoebe already forgave me and so did your grandmother!” Chris raised his hands in surrender while he glanced back at the Sphere. It looked so damn pretty…

Claire gave the group an annoying sigh and demanded to know how the hell she was suppose to fix her basement. Cole was about to answer when the door to the room was heard opening. Groaning, Claire stated she couldn’t believe what was happening and ran for the stairs. She stopped when she saw someone coming down, “You can’t come down here! This is off limits!!”

The woman was immediately sent backwards, and fell on the ground, close to the edge of practically nothing. Andrew’s eyes widened and he ran over to help her up and away from the ledge.

Rowland stepped into the room and looked at everyone. He was pleased to see the boys here, but was shocked when he got a sight of Cole. “What the hell are you doing back?”

Cole gave Rowland a snarky grin and clapped his hands together. “My, my if it isn’t the one and only Rowland! I haven’t seen you in only the Gods knows how long!”

Tyler stood in his spot rubbing his head with his hands while Chris stared dead into Rowland’s eyes. He knew this guy. He really really knew this guy. When Rowland made eye contact with the youngest Halliwell brother, he chuckled. “Good to see you too, Christopher.”

Cole stepped in front of Chris and crossed his arms. “That’s enough talking to him, thank you.” Rowland only laughed at Cole, telling him he had no power over him.

“That may be true, but power has nothing to do with not being able to speak to Chris. Or his brothers. If you know what’s good for you.” Cole kept a confident expression, which only made Rowland mock him for it.

Rowland took a step towards Cole and Chris, and Cole immediately formed a powerful energy ball. Rowland stopped and merely chuckled. This was going to be really fun.

Tyler slowly made his way over to Cole and his brother and looked at Rowland. There something really familiar about the man, but he couldn’t quite place it. Where had he seen this man before?

Rowland looked behind the group and his eyes sparkled at the sight of the Sphere. “Well I’ll be damned. You guys had the Sphere all along.” Cole quickly corrected Rowland, telling him that the Sphere was actually in Claire’s hand and then added that Rowland couldn’t have it or touch it.

Laughing loudly, Rowland demanded to know why the hell not, and proceeded to raise his hand and force the Sphere in his possession. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Rowland looked at Cole and told him to butt out of his business. “Shouldn’t you be dead, anyway? You’re completely overused.” Cole had to laugh at the man, placing his arm around Chris’ shoulder.

“I may be overused, but even I take pride in my popularity.” Cole chuckled and elbowed Chris who kept staring at Rowland as he tried to place where he’d seen him before. Tyler was about to explode from the headache everything caused him while Andrew and helping Claire off the ground.

Rowland took one last look at the Charmed Sons, stating he’d take care of them later. The Sphere was the first thing on his mind and he was determined to take it from this place. “Come to Papa…”

Everyone watched as the Sphere began to glow and move. Rowland was determined to take it, feeling its power shift towards him. On a whim, Andrew waved his hand towards Rowland and ice started to form over the man. It didn’t completely work however and Rowland managed to melt the ice off.

“Now that wasn’t very nice, Andrew Perry Halliwell.” Rowland’s eyes locked on Andrew’s who took a big gulp. This was very bad, wasn’t it?

With everyone’s attention off the Sphere, they didn’t notice it glowing a bright, golden shade. Rays of gold shot out of the Sphere and surrounded everyone in the room.

“Uh yeah, we should get out of here!” It was Cole who said this as the ground began to shake again. Everyone began to stumble about as the Sphere kept shooting golden rays out from itself and as a collective, the rays rushed out of the ceiling.

The quake stopped and everything was quiet. What the f**k was going on? Everyone was pretty much speechless and then the door opened again and the bartender from earlier ran down the steps.

“Something’s happened! The world… the city… everything!” He looked at Claire, who demanded to know what the hell he was talking about.

“It’s as if the world apocalypse never happened!” Everyone in the room looked at one another and Rowland rolled his eyes. So much for his plan…

The brothers, Cole and Claire ran up the steps to see what had happened above while Rowland looked back at the Sphere. To his surprise it was gone and all that was left was the pedestal.

“Just my luck.” Growling to himself, flames surrounded Rowland and he disappeared.

When the boys walked outside, they were shocked to see the entire city looked normal. The sun was out, pedestrian’s walked the streets, cars honked noisily. It looked as if Demortica’s death did nothing to the city. Tyler looked around before looking back at his brother’s, “How the hell did this happen?” Andrew and Chris shrugged while they looked around.

“Wait,” Andrew voiced as he glanced at his brothers, “if the world is back to its rightful state, does that mean everyone is…?” The boys looked excited at each other while Claire demanded to know what was going on. She didn’t get an answer however because the Brother’s immediately orbed out to go to Magic School.

“One question! I ask one question and I get zip!” Claire scoffed while Cole just had his arms crossed. Something told him this was not going to last very long, and the Charmed Sons had a long long ways to go until their own Destiny was completed.