Broken Lives

[anglomaltese]

And the plot thickens!! Great stuff Blueness, the emotional stuff between Piper and Leo was so sad! Update soon!

[Blueness2]

Chapter 11

Matt dived out of the way as another energy ball was flung at him from afar. It crashed into the rock above him and made little chunks of rock break loose, falling like leaves onto his dark hair. He scrambled to his feet, cursing and looking for signs of the demons that were pursuing him. God knows what had possessed him to look for the Book down here but he had this strange feeling that it was somewhere here in the Underworld. He probably should have been more discrete about his presence. Hence why there were five demons after him, recognizing him to be the enemy and he had no idea how. His eyes raked the rocky passages and hot, craggy walls and chambers, searching for any sign of the demons or the Book of Shadows. Two of them shimmered in the adjacent room and he whipped his already-formed energy balls at them with blind aim instantly. He didn’t bother to watch their painful demise but judging by their screams he had been on target. He leapt to his feet and ducked into another passageway, trying to keep out of view. He had half a mind to get the hell out of here but something was keeping him here, in this section, in this place. He just knew it was here but he had no idea why. Ever since Melinda had mentioned the Book of Shadows being stolen a few days ago the idea popped into his head that it was here. It was like one of those innate ability things. He touched the wall unconsciously as he peered out to see and the second his fingers brushed the hot rock the familiar feeling of premonitions-to-come rushed through him.
Pillars of rocks were punching through the earth’s surface.
People were screaming as cars swerved to avoid them
Demons were killing and prowling the streets at will
People screaming in sheer terror
People dying and running around bursting into flames and set on fire
Chris disappearing through a chasm as the ground below him split open
Then he was back in the rocky depths of the Underworld. Matt was breathing heavily, his face white with fear at what he had seen because what he had just witnessed was not just the end of humanity but a repeat of the nightmarish day that still haunted him in his dreams.
“Don’t kill him!” Someone ordered and then he realized the other three demons were surrounding him with sizzling ready-to-fire fireballs in their hands.
Matt was still rattled by his premonitions but something else tugged at him, there was something about the voice that was unnerving, foreboding…evil. He glanced past the shoulders of his two assailants and something he hadn’t felt in a very long time ran down his spine in a cold chill. Pure fear.

As the demons parted Matt thought about shimmering out but then something happened which rocked him to the very core. The person whom he thought to be dead, whom he had seen die; walked into the view as if it was the most natural thing in life.
He stared across into the eyes of his Aunt Paige, rendered speechless. No, yet there was something wrong with her. Those bright blue eyes were empty of emotion and so was the rest of her face. Her stance was stiff and non-committal. As he looked closer he realized it was something that went way beyond a spell or trance…<br>“God…, Aunt Paige? Are you…in there?” He was nearly afraid to ask for fear of response or lack of response but he had to.
She merely continued to stare at him, her blank, soulless expression unchanging.
“Aunt Paige, please answer me,” Matt’s heart was beating very fast. This couldn’t be! This was impossible.
“She won’t answer you because she is dead,” The man said softly, an amused smile lacing his features.
Matt shifted his gaze to the man with much difficulty. He had long black hair and black eyes, like the Source’s. He also radiated a palpable evil. An energy ball formed in Matt’s hand and he spat, “I’m going to kill you for this.”
“Oh really, I doubt it,” He sneered and a red flame appeared in his eyes as they focused on him.
Matt cried out as fire raced across his skin and the cry changed in a second to a scream of agony as it consumed his entire body in a matter of seconds, burning through his clothes greedily, searing his flesh. The energy ball forgotten, he dropped to the floor, shivering violently as the fire vanished in an instant. He smelt the smell of charred flesh and burnt clothing and vaguely realized it was his own. Blinded by the pain, he forgot all about escaping.
“Leave me with him,” The man said, gazing down at him with a ghost of a smile playing around his lips. “Maybe I can find some use for him.”

[Blueness2]

[c]Chapter 12[/c]

It was 9:00pm when Haley glanced at the grandfather clock again and she was getting damn worried. Matt still hadn’t returned home and after all that had happened, she feared the worst. She played with a little ball of electricity unconsciously as she sat on the couch, the book of magical creatures which she had been meaning to read lay on the armrest of the couch, forgotten.
“Do you want something to drink?” Chris asked gently as he appeared at the doorway, still dressed in the jeans and flannel shirt he had worn earlier to school.
“No, thanks but no thanks,” Haley replied shortly. She immediately regretted her tone as Chris looked hurt but quickly covered his hurt with a nod. “Okay.”<br>“Sorry Chris, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just…I’m just a bit on edge. I appreciate the offer though,” She said sincerely, sending him a brief smile of thanks.
He looked gratified and content and slowly, tentatively took a seat beside her. She didn’t say anything but she didn’t have to.
“He’ll be okay, he is okay.” Chris didn’t sound too confident though and she could sense the worry in his voice.
Haley nodded. “Yeah, he can take care of himself,” She said that as much to reassure herself as well as her cousin.
Matt usually came back home in any hour of the night so usually she nor Chris would’ve had to worry at all but she sensed something was wrong tonight. There was just to dreadful feeling in the back of her mind that there was something wrong, there was something not quite right and she could see in it Chris’s eyes as well, in spite of his reassurance.
“Where’s Wyatt and your dad?” She asked, wanting to avoid the silence that was beginning to descend. Because having silence would mean that she would have to think about it and Haley wasn’t sure whether she wanted to dwell on the possible whereabouts of her cousin.
“Wyatt’s showing Dad the places that have changed and just spending time with him. They should be back soon.”<br>“Hasn’t Wyatt spent heaps of time with him?” Haley raised a brow, her tone more curious than condescending or accusatory.
“Yeah but we’re all taking it in turns. I got time with him yesterday and Mel the next time. You and Matt as well,” He nodded.
“Yeah, that’d be good,” Haley agreed. “It’s so strange, the fact that he’s walking around healthy and whole but it’s good, it’s awesome. It brings some happiness to this place and god knows we need that right now.”
Chris placed his hand over hers and Haley found it comforting.
“I’m sorry about Aunt Paige.”
She and Chris had never been that close to each other, what with him being the second child in his own individual family and her having grown closer to Matt than any of the Halliwell children but they had their moments. Kinda like now.
"You don’t have to be.”

He was a strong one, Lucifer had to admit that but eventually, all humans cracked in the end under torture, even half-demons. He stood in the shadows, watching the upper-level demons lash out with fire or fists or electricity. Yet even after enduring hours of agony he still didn’t answer the questions he wanted to know the answers for.
“Come on half-breed, tell us what we want to know and we promise we won’t kill you,” Roco jeered. Roco was a pretty powerful upper-level demon but he wasn’t very bright. What he lacked in brains he made up for in brute strength though.
“Yeah right, you’ll kill me anyway if I do,” He snorted without a trace of fear and Lucifer marveled at the fact that he could still manage to speak in the state that he was in.
“Paige, come here,” Lucifer commanded, his gaze passing to the prostrate Charmed One.
She did and the boy’s head instantly jerked upwards, a flash of fury in his dark eyes.
“Get away from her!” He cried out desperately.
“Paige, I want you to destroy Magic School and kill your daughter for me after will you?” He added as an afterthought, a spark of malice in his voice, “Find a way to get us in and…while you’re at it, bring the Book of Shadows to Magic School and burn it.”
A satanic grin adorned his rugged visage as he glanced at the panic-stricken burnt-marked face of his captive. “You’re going to love what I have for your world.”

[anglomaltese]

Wow, those were two brilliant chapters Blueness! The twist with Paige is brilliant, and original! So if Paige's soul is missing, but it's not in her body, where is she?? Or do these demons have her soul captive separately as part of their being able to control her body? Hmm... Can't wait to see what happens next, it's going to be good I can tell! Update soon!!

[Blueness2]

Chapter 13

The next morning found the descendants of the Halliwell line and Leo in complete disarray and panic.
“You can’t tell me not to panic now Wyatt! Matt’s been gone for one day and if that’s not a reason to panic, you tell me what is O Chosen One!” Haley snapped heatedly as she stalked into the kitchen, followed by a clearly distressed Wyatt.
“I didn’t tell you not to panic! I just told you to calm down,” Wyatt was having trouble calming down himself and the frustration was evident.
“Guys, don’t do this, not now,” Chris pleaded as he hurried into the kitchen with Melinda and Leo.
“We need to be thinking of ideas to find Matt, not shout each other hoarse.”
They may as well have not have spoken at all for all it was worth.
“I already told you, I am NOT going to calm down, not until we have at least some idea of where he is!”
“We will, together, when you stop running away from us like you did the last time we had a group meeting!”
“Yeah sure, like you practically living at the hospital for five years when Leo was in coma! That wasn’t running away was it? No, you just stopped being there for us, for Mel and Chris and even Matt and me!!!!!” Haley was screaming and a deadly silence had swept the room.
“I did not…stop…being there for you,” Wyatt said with some difficulty articulating, his face a deathly white with controlled rage.
“Haley, that’s not fair and you know it,” Melinda said quietly, hurt in her eyes although her tone wasn’t entirely convincing.
“I think I know where Matt might be,” This statement from Chris brought the argument to a halt but Wyatt still looked as enraged and hurt and Haley’s features were closed again.
“Wait, you’re going to say the Underworld right?” Leo asked his son solemnly.
Chris glanced at his father in surprise as did the rest of his family for two different reasons. One being the Underworld was basically dormant, had been for quite some time now but they all had guessed demonic activity was starting to seep back in again because of the vampire attack and two, that it came from the most unlikely source.
“Yeah, is there something wrong?” Chris answered, an expression of concern grasping his features.
His father murmured, pausing as if remembering something, “I remember something…something about,” He shook his head. “No, don’t worry about it. Go but be back soon.” He didn’t need to add ‘Be careful’. Chris could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
“I will Dad, don’t worry,” He said reassuringly.
“Avoid demons and vampires at all costs and don’t fight unless you have to,” Melinda told him.
“Guys, you don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine,” Chris told them, a bit of a startled smile crossing his face. Although he cast a side glance to Wyatt before he orbed out and was glad to receive a nod which basically meant good luck and come back safe, in spite of Haley’s previous outburst, which had in fact, some truth in it.
“I’m going to look for Matt around the city,” Wyatt said with a controlled voice. “Mel, you stay here with Dad okay? And Haley,” He didn’t look at her as he spoke and everyone could tell he was still dwelling on her words. “I think you’d better go to school, check whether Matt’s there.”
He departed and Haley orbed out without another word, leaving daughter and father in a somewhat awkward silence.
“Welcome to our lives dad,” Melinda joked with a fleeting smile.
Leo smiled softly at his daughter, pulling her in a hug and said quietly, “I don’t care what your lives are, as long as you’re safe and well.”
“I’m sorry about mom leaving, I’m sorry I summoned her when you woke up,” Melinda said suddenly, her voice breaking as her tears started to leak out of the corner of her eyes.
Pain and sadness mingled into one softened his rough features as he remembered that night and he whispered, stroking her dark hair softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known.”
“I’m sorry,” Melinda whispered, her tears rolling down her cheeks and staining his shirt.
“It’s okay, it’ll be okay. We’ll get through it. You have to be strong Melinda, like your mother,” Leo’s voice wavered but it was strong, reassuring. It was good thing she couldn’t see his face at the moment because it would’ve broken her heart.

[Blueness2]

Chapter 14

Chris had prepared himself for the worst when he had orbed down into the Underworld. He had envisioned demons holding meetings, maybe vampires consorting with each other about who to drink from or who to initiate into the ranks of the undead, even fire belching out of cracks at random moments and demons strolling through the passageways talking about malevolent things but what he certainly hadn’t expected was to find the Underworld virtually bare, save for a few demons chatting together and a vampire lurking, brooding around one of the caverns. Of course, that was just his limited perspective which wasn’t very accurate as he actually never had ventured down into the Underworld. Maybe his impression was a little bit skewered by false facts fed by his family.
But even he knew an atmosphere of tense anticipation in the air when it was there. He had experienced quite a lot of it in his short-lived life and he could almost taste it as he crept silently through the twisting, craggy tunnels and across the uneven, hard ground. Something very bad was about to happen.
Then he saw the bruised and badly wounded-but clearly alive, thank god!-form of his cousin and he knew whatever was about to happen, it spelt an overwhelming sense of utter, complete annihilation for the human race.

This was a first. Wyatt watched in astonishment as the demons loitered around the streets, tossing energy balls up and down and crushing them whenever humans were passing a side glance their way, those who possessed inhuman physical characteristics not even bothering to hide them or disguising it under clothing or a human guise and were those vampires leaning on alley walls or pacing restlessly in the shadows? Immediately the prophecy had drifted into his mind when he saw all this as he drove through the city and he pulled up at a curb, his handsome features set in grim determination. He was going to do something about this, definitely and it wouldn’t be nice and polite either. It was lucky then that since it was the morning, there wasn’t so many people around as there could’ve been so at least it decreased the risk of exposure, not that he’d have to worry about that at the rate things were going. Haley’s words floated back to him, a mere whisper in the regions of his mind but he could still feel the harsh sting of it even though it had been at least an hour now since he had left the manor. He knew deep down she was right but somehow that hadn’t made it right because he had been there for them, maybe not all the time but whenever Mel or Chris or Haley or even Matt needed a shoulder to cry on he was there, always.
“I’ll always be there for you but I can’t be all the time,” Wyatt said quietly as he sauntered towards the demons casually, thinking of them and Haley in particular. She had been the youngest when it happened and so everyone had always taken certain care of her after that but Matt was the one who had grown closer to her than any of the others although Sapphire had been a close second considering the age.
Wyatt’s features hardened as he stepped into the alleyway where a couple of demons were wrestling with each other with playful humour and he said coldly, his gaze pitiless as it settled on the demons and his usually warm voice changing into such an icy, powerful one it was both scary and amazing to hear, “Tell me what you’re planning on doing or I’ll blast you both into oblivion.”
They stopped instantly, realizing who they were dealing with and decided instead to make a run for it, meaning in demonic term, shimmering out.
“Wrong answer,” He muttered and prepared to blow them apart when a yell of ‘Hey, come back here!’ distracted him. He spun around towards the direction, demons momentarily forgotten in time to see a teenage girl about Matt’s age bolt past with a couple of guys in hot pursuit. Wyatt knew better though and he quickly hurried after them.

“I told you to orb out!” Matt grunted to Chris as he rested the rocky passageway, wincing as his burnt flesh made painful contact with the surface and closing his eyes.
His cousin resembled something similar between an overcooked and badly bruised sausage with his clothes charred and black and horrible burns marring his sensual-featured face and Chris would bet, not just there either. His clothes were scorched and some even had been eaten away by the flames, revealing extreme burn marks. In addition to all that, he was clearly suffering from internal pains as well and a fresh scar with dried blood on the back of his hand.
“Yeah well, that was before I knew evil incarnate was a sorcerer and anyway, why didn’t you shimmer out before?” Chris barely restrained himself from snapping, remembering what his mother had said about not fighting anymore with Matt.
“Because…Aunt Paige isn’t dead or at least, I don’t think so,” Matt hesitated before answering, his voice weary.
Chris blinked in confusion, his brows knitting together in perplexity, “What?”
“I saw her, I swear I did. I’m not making this up. She was there, physically but there was something off about her and I’m sure I know now what it was. Her soul was gone Chris, it wasn’t there. When Aunt Paige died, I don’t think her body did with her. He did something he didn’t plan on doing and it turned out good for him,” Matt rambled.
The long silence that followed was interrupted by a thunderous rumbling that shook the floor beneath them and forced rocks to chip off, falling down around the two.
“Chris, you’ve got to stop him!” Matt shouted as the walls around them started to tremble and the ceiling shook loose more rocks. “We still might have a chance!”
Chris met his cousin’s gaze and for once, he saw not contempt or a trace of hostility but a confident faith, “You’re our only hope, you can do it.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll fine, just go!” His dark eyes blazed.
“But-” Chris felt torn.
“I SAID GO!” He roared and Chris orbed out but before he did the two shared a mutual look and the barrier that had been built up over them over the years seemed to lower a little. They both knew the apocalypse had arrived and did not know whether they would survive.

[anglomaltese]

Brilliant Blueness! It's getting better and better - so Paige might actually be alive after all this time!?!? Update very very soon!

[Blueness2]

Chapter 15

Magic School was completely and utterly devastated, destroyed and wrecked. The Elders hadn’t been able to stop the creature that had rampaged through it, having been caught off guard in the first place at its sheer size and the terrifying monstrosity of it but they had managed to evacuate the students to safety before it killed them. Unfortunately, the Elders hadn’t been so lucky. There were only a few left now, the others having been gunned down by darklighter arrows. The Darklighters had appeared out of nowhere shortly after the creature, dark orbing in with as much confusion as the Elders and students had reacted with at their appearance but then chaos had begun, the Darklighters taking advantage of their presence. Luckily the Darklighters had been vanquished thanks to some of the students and to a greater extent, Haley Matthews. The creature had been enormous and resembled a wolf, filling the entire room and consisted purely of orb particles and boiling flames, twisted in coils around its weightless and yet, not weightless paws and snakes of flames ringing wildly around its sleek, powerful body, even dissolving into the body at some points. The Elders had tried valiantly to defend themselves but their electricity attacks just spiked through the wolf, causing naught but a ripple within the mass of orbs. But then things had taken a turn for the worst. The wolf had paused, turning its massive head towards a spot in the area and the portal had appeared, the demons had rushed out in a gleeful malicious frenzy and the wolf, the wolf had transformed into a person they all knew well but none better than Haley. It was Paige, Paige Matthews but all Haley could see was her mother. She hadn’t noticed one of the Elders’ attacks halt or the demons starting to form a sort of spaced, messy circle around the two. Then her mother had raised her hand and squeezed her heart. Haley’s whole world came crumbling all around her ears and agony ripped through her body.
“Mom…stop…please…you’re,” The rest of Haley’s whisper died in her throat as the pressure on her heart increased and she doubled over already on her knees, her long red hair falling and sweeping over her shattered face.
The demons standing around her were jeering and laughing amidst the smoldering ruins of Magic School and were restraining the two Elders remaining happily. She should’ve been angry but she wasn’t. She was heart-broken…

It was the strangest sensation Matt had ever experienced, kind of like the floor meeting the roof but with him in trapped in the middle. The ceiling was coming awfully close to his head but at the same time it was breaking open, revealing blue skies and screams much to the half-demon’s dismay, wailing down through the cracks. His heart sank like a stone. Chris had failed. The world was going to hell like before, again but he feared they wouldn’t be able to stop it this time.

The floor started to rumble beneath Leo’s feet and the next minute it vanished. He dropped out of sight with a strangled yell but Melinda was there in a heartbeat, her eyes snapping away from the pandemonium and terror that was being wreaked over the city at the sound of her father’s cry. She dived for the crack, feeling as if she was in slow motion, or more precisely, to the large crack that had appeared out of nowhere, her hand outstretched. Her fingers brushed her father’s fingertips and brown eyes locked with green ones for a moment and then Melinda screamed as her father zoomed out of her sight, “DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” In her panicked state, what with the world going to hell all around her, she temporarily forgotten that she could orb but then it came back to her in a flash. She prepared to orb but she needn’t have worried because her father was rising again-literally. On a piece of great big brownish-red rock. The only problem was that that great big brownish-red rock wasn’t the only one that was punching through the floor of the Halliwell manor but there were about several others that were currently in progress around her and she could hear the shattering of the floor elsewhere in the house. She helped her father up, his grave face reflecting her own.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be-Wyatt, who’s that?” Leo’s gaze snapped abruptly to his first son as he orbed in. But he had company.
He was breathing hard, looked pretty dirty and his left arm sported a bleeding cut. There was also a girl beside him, looking frightened but attempting to put on a brave face. She had dark red hair and sky blue eyes but at the moment those eyes were filled with fear. Her clothes were likewise riddled with grime and dirt and something that looked suspiciously like dried blood.
“Dad, Mel, meet Lucian, the second Source’s daughter,” He said after a moment.

[Blueness2]

Chapter 16

San Francisco was in total chaos. Humans were screaming, running for their lives as the demons that had remained undercover for so long chased after them like humans would an animal, vampires snatched humans in mid-run or while they were attempting to escape the flaming buildings which some of the demons decided would make good target practice for their powers. Now-mangled cars had collided into each other and the automatic alarms were screeching wildly, not to mention other vehicles which had swung out of control to end up crashing into the sidewalk or poles or by some grisly misfortune, a person and the pillars of craggy, hot rocks which stood stubbornly in the ground in horribly mapped out positions all over the city, some even in the interior of buildings. Blood stained the concrete and some people were even decapitated or lay dead where they had been trampled and some were still getting trampled, lost in all the terrified chaos. It also didn’t help that moderate darkness had descended, casting San Francisco in moderate darkness. Lucifer loved every second of it. In fact, he would be viewing this destruction of human kind with pleasure if this annoying Halliwell child wasn’t throwing him around with his telekinesis power every time he gained the opportunity.
He pushed himself up again, chortling at the young man’s efforts, “You’re not very powerful are you Chris?”
“I don’t care! I’ll do anything to stop you!” He shouted, favouring his right leg and wincing slightly as he placed pressure on it.
“Boy, you couldn’t do anything except for put a little scratch on me,” Lucifer laughed, throwing out his hand and Chris soared backwards, slamming into the open door of a car painfully. “Anyway, it’s not you I want to kill in particular.”
Chris took hold of the door handle and leaning on it, stood up again. “I won’t let you kill anyone,” He whispered, his features defiant and loathing.
“I don’t want to,” Lucifer smiled demonically at him and Chris felt that unnerving tingle creep up his spine which had nothing to do with his words, although he was shocked. “What?”
“I want to enslave the race,” The demon flamed out before he could do anything.
And then Chris was knocked onto his back as something whammed into him.

The gut-wrenching scream of agony that ripped throughout the smoking halls of Magic School chilled even the hardened of demons that were present. Haley gasped, her vision going red for a second and her breathing coming out in shallow, ragged pants. Her heart…god it felt like it was going to burst. Somehow the rational thought of orbing out and re-appearing elsewhere to regain her bearings managed to poke its way into her shock-infused mind. Yet…she couldn’t, not with her mother standing right in front her, from her perspective looking whole and healthy but if it had been somebody else she probably would’ve seen that there was no soul, no spirit, no essence of being in that body. If it had been somebody else she would have realized her mother would never have hurt the way she was now. If it had been somebody else she would’ve realized something was very, very wrong but as it were, she wasn’t. She was the daughter of Paige Matthews and therefore, had a daughter’s love for the person standing over her now. Even though her mother was virtually torturing, killing her painfully and slowly she couldn’t bring herself to harm her. Even though somewhere, in the regions of her brain she registered the fact that something was wrong, that acknowledgement remained buried beneath all the other questions that were in a jumbled mess in her brain. All she saw was her mother, no different than the day she had presumably died.
“Come on, let’s go, the show’s over,” One of the demons snickered to his friend.
“Yeah, the real party’s down there.”
The phrase struck Haley’s consciousness like a lightning bolt, in spite of her circumstances. “What do you mean the real party’s down there?”
They ignored her. “The portal’s going to close soon, let’s go already,” A red-haired demon said impatiently.
“WAIT!” Haley shouted, rising to her feet extremely slowly.
“The kid’s got spirit,” The red-haired demon sounded impressed.
“Who cares? Our gateway to hell’s going to disappear in a second if we don’t get out of here!” Another demon who was holding an Elder snorted.
“I SAID what do you mean?” Haley growled; her expression murderous.
“I think we’d better get out of here guys, kid’s going to blow a fuse,” One of them chuckled, which made her all the more angry.
Then the blue-white portal seemed to shimmer and the demons saw it. So did Haley and the two Elders. They all knew what it meant. They ran for it with the Elders in tow. Haley raised her hand to send forth a wave of electricity but a familiar sensation trickled through her body and against her own will, she orbed out and flew backwards about twenty feet, solidifying once she had landed. She pushed herself to her feet, distress sweeping her features as she glimpsed the portal vanishing in a blink. She glanced at her mother and suddenly a bitter smile tugged at her lips.
“Mom, please come back,” Haley said softly, opening her arms out as if in a gesture of openness. She gasped as an invisible force seemed to exert pressure on her back. She didn’t give up though.
“I miss you,” She whispered even as she dropped to her knees. Her heart leapt high as she saw something flicker behind those vacant eyes.
“I love you mom, it’s been hard without you.” Haley urged herself to stand and plough forwards. “That’s why I can’t hurt you.”
Her hold on her was faltering as if an internal struggle was taking place. Haley moved forwards tentatively, slowly, imploringly. “Mom, you’ve got to come back to us. Wherever you are, you can’t stay there,” Her voice choked and she fell once more. Before Paige squeezed her heart she gazed into those blue eyes and whispered, a small smile shadowing her lips. “I love you mom, I always will.” Haley screamed. The agony she felt when her heart burst was beyond anything that she had ever felt in terms of physical injuries but she didn’t care. Haley Matthews collapsed but a content expression lined her young face. Then something happened. Paige blinked and you could see it in her eyes and sense it. Her spirit had returned to her body, needed to and destiny had been kind. Paige Matthews was to live another day but perhaps, for a terrible price.
“What, where am I?” Were the first words she uttered as she looked around, jerking and confused. Then she saw her daughter, she recognized her daughter and her pale face turned even whiter and whispered her daughter’s name as if afraid to see the truth then screamed it out. She rushed to Haley’s side, holding her and pulling anything in sight to cover the bloodying wound soaking through the clothing directly above her heart.
“Damn it, wake up Haley!!” She shouted in her face, tears spilling from her eyes.
No response and the blood was still pooling out in extravagant amounts. The tears dripped onto the blood, mixing with it, pouring through the fabric and into the damaged organ. Paige didn’t notice and continued to shake and hold onto her dead daughter, sobbing quietly.

[CanadianHalliwell]

Wow. I hope they can save Haley!

[Blueness2]

Chapter 17

The humans were quiet now, subdued, lost and of course terrified in a world they had been accustomed to but only to twisted and destroyed ruthlessly. They were herded into groups but there were other witches, besides the Halliwell children and they had escaped using their powers. Lucian was one of them but she had been fortunate enough or unfortunate, depending on which way you looked at it, to be with the most powerful witches on the earth but she was pretty powerful herself. In fact, she could easily be a female equivalent of Wyatt in terms of powers. Problem was, evil incarnate wanted to kill them or at least, one of them. Wyatt.
“Why don’t I just kill you now?” He said coldly, normally warm eyes like jade stones of ice.
He was in front of them all, protecting them except for Lucian. The young woman was standing right beside him and Wyatt admired her courage. Matt was back and still a little singed but overall alright and looking a whole lot better than before. He faced Lucifer without flinching, Melinda beside him.
“Come with me now or I will kill your brother and your cousin Haley,” The cloak-shrouded man said with a hint of menace in his voice.
Wyatt’s eyes flickered. How did he know?
“Don’t listen to him Wyatt, he’s bluffing. There’s no way he could’ve gotten to Haley,” Matt snorted.
“Really? Then why isn’t she here?” His black eyes glittered with malevolence as he spoke. “You see? Fight me Wyatt Halliwell, and I might just not kill the rest of your family.” He suddenly paused, his smile fading slightly and muttered, an expression of incredulity ghosting across his features. “Impossible…it can’t be.”
Wyatt moved his hand, orbing a lethal piece of glass which had broken off the coffee table into his grasp. “Mel, Matt, go now,” Wyatt hissed.
Melinda glanced at him hesitantly. “No…no way, we’re not going to leave you to fight for yourself.”
“I’m not going to be by myself,” Wyatt looked at Lucian and the girl nodded.
With a flick of his hand Lucifer sent the two cousins flying backwards and he growled, “No Wyatt, you’re going to be by yourself.” He focused his gaze on Lucian and she cried out as flames raced across her skin. Wyatt raised his hands furiously and Lucifer exploded in a million tiny pieces but he re-formed and shook his head in mock disapproval at Wyatt, his eyes flaming and the world seemed to speed up around him. Everything blurred and he heard Matt yell, Melinda scream and felt somebody’s hand just manage to grasp the material of his shirt in a vain attempt to save him. Then he was just spinning through blurs and through the fabric of reality. Finally the world stopped moving with an abrupt halt and he staggered, overwhelmed by the intensity of it. He looked around, blinking and clearing his head. Now where was he?
Nothing but barren, hot brown land stretched out for miles and the sky was a moody grey. It seemed to be late afternoon but there was no hint of sunlight.
“Welcome to my world,” Lucifer boomed.
Wyatt’s gaze traveled to the demon and he stared in a sort of stunned, frightened awe. The demon’s cloak was billowing around him as winds pummeled his clothing and body. He was practically pulsing with magic and energy although where he had gotten them from Wyatt couldn’t have known. His eyes were filled with fire and his hair seemed to consist entirely of hot ash and searing flames. Horns had surfaced on each side of his head, black streaked with red. His hands, which were outstretched before him and had enlarged fingernails so that they formed talons, held an ominous black energy ball. Wyatt had never seen anything like it. It was positively crackling with electricity and intensity, dark energy threatening to explode.
“What are you?” He whispered.
“I’m a demon and the only demon ever to practice the black arts of magic,” He growled in a voice that seemed deep and inhuman.
Great. Wyatt kept his eyes on the ball, his mind working a mile a minute. Whatever that thing was, it couldn’t be good and he really needed a plan of attack. He couldn’t blow this guy up. He probably couldn’t even destroy him with a force wave. Boy, was he in trouble. Wyatt ducked as Lucifer winged the unusual energy ball at him, feeling its breath on his hair. He didn’t dare chance a glance over his shoulder to see the impact although out of the corner of his eye he saw the energy ball dissolve into black specks and then vanish upon impact. Then Lucifer was shooting jets of fire at him and his feet stumbled somewhat over the craggy ground as he ran. A thrill of panic rushed through him as he realized he couldn’t orb.

The edge of hysteria increased noticeably when Wyatt disappeared from their midst but it was Leo who calmed them down, although with great difficulty himself.
“Everyone, just stay calm. Wyatt will be fine,” He fixed them all with a steady gaze.
“Fine? He just vanished and we don’t know where he is!” Melinda cried.
“Not to mention Haley and Chris are missing,” Matt muttered, a worried expression gracing his features.
“Melinda, you go to Magic School then,” The former whitelighter said.
“I’m going to go help,” Lucian said, referring to the humans that had been herded together.
Three pairs of eyes glanced sharply at her and she met their gazes steadily. “Look, I’m sorry about Wyatt but if he’s all you guys say he is he should be fine.”
“But you saw Lucifer, how powerful he was, how evil he was. He’s not going to be easy to beat, even for Wyatt,” Melinda said worriedly.
“Mel, it’ll be okay. He’ll find a way back and if he doesn’t, we’ll bring him back, somehow. There’s nothing Lucian can do,” Matt said softly.
“My family’s out there. I need to find them,” Lucian stated with a note of tremble.
“It’s alright, you can go,” Leo said gently.
She disappeared in a ball of flames but Matt noticed she hesitated.
“This is just great. Wyatt’s in some bizarro world, Chris is missing and…goddess knows what’s happened to Haley,” Melinda threw up her hands in frustration, blowing up a nearby vase which had somehow managed to stay intact.
Both Matt and Leo remained silent then Leo said very quietly. “Honey, we have to go. There’s nothing we can do right now about Wyatt and Chris but we can do something about Haley.”
“Yeah, yeah you’re right, sorry,” She nodded.
“I’m going to go find Chris,” Matt sounded somewhat guilty and he wouldn’t look at either of them, especially Melinda.
Neither of them needed to say what would happen if they failed to destroy the demons at least. Melinda whispered as she hugged her cousin as if she would never see him again, “Be safe Matt, I can’t loose anybody else. And make sure you find him.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” His rough voice softened as he leaned his head on hers.
He pulled back slowly, a hint of a small smile tugging at his lips, “I’ll see you and Leo later with Haley and Wyatt in tow? You’ve got to promise me.”
“We’ll have saved the world then,” Melinda offered him a slight smile.
“Yeah, we will,” A rueful sort of expression flitted across his dark features. “And we’ll be like we used to be.”
A large energy ball crashed through the windows, spraying shards of glass everywhere and Melinda shoved Matt away, crying out in pain as the energy ball grazed her arm. Leo shouted and Matt yelled as the demons shimmered in, already throwing energy balls, “GET OUT OF HERE!”
Melinda looked from her cousin to the demons, her expression pained but she grabbed her father and orbed out. Matt murmured as he dodged another energy ball, “Good luck guys.”

[anglomaltese]

Brilliant couple of chapters - but what's happened to Haley! She can't be dead?! And what's the deal with this Lucian, daughter of the Source, is she good, evil, she's just appeared from nowhere - what's her story? Update soon!

[Blueness2]

Chapter 18

Damn, Chris was having a hard time seeing things clearly. The evening darkness had increased and the ache in his bruised ribs didn’t help his situation either. The demons had rounded up all the humans in small groups but why they weren’t causing anymore devastation and deaths than they already had Chris didn’t know exactly. He had a haunch but only a haunch. Right now though he was more concerned about staying alive and finding his family. Though his sense of morality prevented him from abandoning his fellow human beings he wished he had his family backing him now but he couldn’t leave the small group of people that were huddled together like scared little lambs, watching with frozen terror at their savaged world. God, it looked like one of those war zones or something out of a fictional sci-fi movie. Cars were piled up against each other, some still with people hanging out of the doors like some sort of macabre decoration, the traffic lights were still going haywire, smoke filled the air, buildings and even some houses were riddled with holes, some even having crumbled under the strength of the attacks. And everywhere he looked, huge rocks were riddling the surface like horrible monuments, demons were guarding humans, or people were stiff with shock and confusion or crying or screaming. If there were anydmore witches they had already gone into hiding.
“Hey, give it back!” Someone cried.
He turned sharply, a righteous anger flaring in his gut. It was the young teenage girl who had spoken. She was very pretty with smooth curves and had the beginnings of a true movie star. Tears were flowing freely down her face as she jumped up in vain to try to grab the asthma puffer that one of the demons had snatched and was dangling above her. A much older woman, her mother from what he had gathered, was attempting to restrain her but he wasn’t having much luck. The demon tossed it to one of his friends and merely laughed as she broke free of her mother’s grasp and rushed for the puffer. It was all Chris could do to stop himself from killing the demon then and there. He turned his head away, trying to remember a spell, anything that would save these people from death. There were too many demons so as soon as he revealed his witchy powers…well the odds weren’t looking in his favour.
Then something happened. The demons stopped thanks to the help of a literally colossal ball of fire. It zoomed out of nowhere, twice the size of an adult human and Chris, acting on instinct when he saw the girl right in the path, orbed out, re-appeared near her, held her hand and orbed out right before the fireball engulfed the demons. They didn’t even scream. Chris barely had a chance to figure out where the massive inferno had derived from when another girl, this one about four years older, bulldozed past him to the group. The mother’s ashen face exploded into joy as he saw her and the girl’s dark brown eyes lit up when they saw her.
“Lucian!” The girl cried out in joy.
“Bianca, mom, thank god you’re alive,” The girl called Lucian whispered as she rushed over and embraced them all in a tight family hug.
Chris rose to his feet, wincing slightly. He had been knocked over way too many times today. He thanked god the other demons hadn’t seen this or if they did, they would probably just assume it was a fight gone ugly. Which begged the question, just what was this Lucian? A firestarter? A damn powerful witch?
“I thought I lost you,” The mother smiled through dust and grime.
“So did I but mom, you won’t believe what I found out about my real dad,” Lucian said, pulling back. The other captives were watching on kind of frighteningly and Chris didn’t blame them but the last two words struck a cord in his brain and a hope bloomed in his heart but he kept it at a low. His features became stoic and guarded as they usually did when facing people other than his family but before he could ask the young girl called Bianca looked past Lucian’s shoulder and smiled gratefully at him, “Lucian, he saved me.”
“Who, who saved you?” She asked; turning and looking around.
“That guy behind you,” Bianca supplied, her eyes catching his.
Lucian’s gaze finally settled onto him and she enveloped him in a thankful hug, “Thank you.”
“Uh, well, that’s, that’s okay,” Chris said awkwardly, disengaging from her gently.
“Who exactly are you?” She asked with a light curiosity in her voice.
“Christopher Halliwell and I’m guessing you’re the late Source’s daughter?”
“Ye, yeah…” She nodded. Surprise then understanding passed her features. “Wait, are you Wyatt’s brother?”
“Um, let’s talk later okay?” Chris noticed the other demons were beginning to notice something was wrong. “I know a place where everyone will be safe, away from the demons but we need help or the human race will be doomed forever.”

“What happened?” Melinda asked helplessly as she wandered through the chipped marbled corridors and ravaged books and furniture.
“No wonder the Elders didn’t call,” Leo murmured softly as he knelt down by one of the dead bodies of his former kin, “They’re dead.” He closed the man’s unseeing eyes and bowed his head in acknowledgement.
Silence filled the halls then the pair became aware of a quiet sobbing. Leo jumped up, his heart pounding. Maybe there was some hope left after all! Melinda raced after her father as he bolted down the corridor towards the noise. Her heart filled with fear as they neared it, the sobbing somehow remaining the same level and she barely avoided crashing into her father as he stopped dead still.
“Dad, why are you?” She started to say then she saw just why.

The first thing Haley heard when she ‘awoke’ was the sound of someone sobbing, then she realized who it was and she realized she was alive. Her vision started to clear as she opened her eyes so slowly. For a moment, all she could see was a lot of orange hair and then she remembered.
“Mom?” Her voice was weak but hopeful.
“Haley?” Oh god, it really was her!
Her mother stared at her in amazement and she could see herself reflected in those eyes, hope lining her youthful features.
“I knew you wouldn’t let me die,” She whispered, managing a brief smile.
There were other voices and she twisted her neck very slightly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Leo and Melinda standing nearby with absolute bewilderment and shock on their faces.
“Haley, I’m so sorry,” Her mother embraced her in a tight hug, her voice shaking with emotion.
“I’m just glad you’re back,” She never wanted to let her go.

“Dad…” Melinda started, still thunderstruck although seeming to have regained her ability to speak.
“I see it too honey,” Leo said in tone barely above a whisper.
“But Aunt Paige…she’s, she’s, this is impossible,” Melinda whispered.
“Not entirely,” Leo shook his head, a smile beginning to appear on his hardened features.
A large mass of orbs appeared in the shattered library room and it was really big. If they didn’t know any better they would’ve assumed those orbs weren’t just one person and they were right. Chris orbed into the room with a whole group of people accompanying him, including Lucian and they were all holding hands. Once they became corporeal they released each other although the young teenage girl Chris was holding onto seemed to hold a bit longer than necessary and Chris didn’t object.
“What happened here?” Chris asked in awe as he stared around, then a stunned expression quickly followed by confusion then a dawning understanding and happiness flashed one by one across his countenance as he spotted Paige and Haley.
“I don’t believe it, Matt was-” Before he could finish the sentence Leo and Melinda embraced him in a bear hug-well Leo did anyway.
“Goddess Chris, were you playing hero? Is that what took you so long?” Melinda teased.
“Did Matt tell you? And where is he anyway, and Wyatt? And what’s going on?” Questions spilled out of his mouth.
“Good question,” Leo nodded, his eyes flicking to the company he had with him.
“We’ll explain everything, well as much as we can,” Melinda said, shaking her head, still bewildered. “And you can tell us what’s going on at your end.”

[anglomaltese]

Good, good, good...keep it coming!

[Blueness2]

Chapter 19

“You can’t hide Wyatt, this is my world!” Lucifer bellowed.
Wyatt crouched behind a dented dustbin, trying to catch his breath. This place hadn’t been as empty as he had originally thought. After running for miles he had been thanking to god that he was pretty fit then the cityscape had came into view and buildings and houses galore. That was good. That gave him cover although he’d never thought he would’ve needed it. This city though looked something like a wasteland. In fact, it looked something like what the result of the demonic siege on the real city of San Francisco would be if the demons got their way.
He closed his eyes, wishing a spell to miraculously form in his brain but every spell he did come up with, he needed his family with him and the simplest spells. This nightmare world was obviously Lucifer’s own creation but it carried a reality nevertheless. Would the ‘real world’s’ objects be tangible in here? He could try. He really could try to orb a weapon from the real world but it hadn’t worked so far. What about Excalibur? Would a magical weapon work within a magical, imagined world?
“Come on Wyatt, I thought you’d be better than this,” A note of underlying amusement threaded into his voice and Wyatt opened his eyes. Lucifer was standing a few feet away, a cold, ruthless expression adorning his rugged features.
Wyatt rose to his feet, gritting his teeth and nursing his bleeding arm. He had also injured his left leg and leaned on it. “I’ll find a way to kill you.”
“Hmm…maybe I should let you have your powers,” He mused. “This is starting to become tedious.” He held up the jagged piece of glass he had thrown at him, his fire-filled eyes burning brighter. “You should be ashamed, using such a low weapon to try to kill me.” He lifted up his other hand; palm-up and a sizzling sound filled the air. Energy sprung up and soared upwards, forming a sword. “On the other hand, maybe not.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened. This just kept on getting better and better. He ducked around the swing and Wyatt’s hand which had released his injured arm brushed something. He quickly glanced down and his spirits lifted. A dagger! He grabbed it and spun back to Lucifer only to duck again as he threw the piece of glass, this time infused with energy. It cracked into a million pieces with a strange hissing mixed with tinkling noise upon impact, shards flying everywhere.
“Huh,” Lucifer chortled as he saw the dagger. He waved his hand and Wyatt slammed into the alley wall. He pushed himself to his feet slowly, gripping the dagger tightly and ignored the blinding pain as one of the pieces cut into his skin, drawing blood.
Lucifer’s pitiless gaze regarded him impassively and he said with a hint of mockery, “Perhaps I should let you have your powers.”
“I call on the power of the Halliwell line,” He started to chant, eyes fixed on Lucifer.
The demon tilted his head to the side ever so slightly and for the first time Wyatt noticed some apprehension flickering in his flaming eyes.
He felt a strong, supernatural gust of wind as he continued, “Release my powers from the nether side, bind them fast, bind them once more to thy will-” The dagger flew from his grip but he didn’t allow that to distract him. “Never stray, never more,” Lucifer was tossing it away and the energy sword was transforming rapidly into a sort of distorted snake. A new strength coursed through his body and a tickling, powerful feeling jolted through his veins. The energy snake was angling through the air towards him with blinding speed, sparks trailing with dangerous hisses.
He inhaled sharply, images of his life moving one by one before his eyes. Then he orbed! The familiar feeling filled his being; like his whole body was emptying into nothingness and for a moment he couldn’t physically see anything, just whitish-blue, then when he reformed he was about five feet away from Lucifer. The demon wasn’t smiling and Wyatt fancied he saw the spark of a careful caution as the demon gazed at him.
“Clever child,” He mused. “So your strength doesn’t lie fully in your powers after all.”
“You should know it doesn’t,” Wyatt said coldly. He whispered mentally, Thanks mom.
Lucifer squeezed his talon-induced left hand and Wyatt gasped, hand flying to his chest and falling down on one knee. Instinctively though he swung his other hand, crying out in pain as the bleeding cut on his palm stung but the demon careened wildly into the brick wall, bringing a small smile of satisfaction to his face. A Lucifer slowly rose into standing position, there was a definite caution in his stance and they both watched each other, eyes never leaving each other’s. Then both flung out their arms at the same time and it produced a very interesting effect indeed. The same black ball, bigger and more ominous, materialized in his palm and he swung it at Wyatt. Wyatt, on the other hand, intended to telekinesis orb Lucifer onto a bed of spikes he had seen lying innocently in the corner. At least, he had intended to. The orb particles which were meant to appear around Lucifer appeared around the black ball instead and the orbs and darkness seemed to be battling for dominance, the perfect contrast. Wyatt stared in amazement and then his green eyes flickered sharply. He had seen something. A rip in time, a definite rip in the fabric of this twisted reality. Lucifer had sighted it too and Wyatt smiled as a somewhat discontent look ghosted across his face. This was obviously not meant to happen.
“I guess your magic’s not as powerful as you thought,” Wyatt noted.
“I guess it isn’t,” Lucifer whispered, his countenance concealing his rage. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t. I can beat you,” Wyatt replied calmly, his eyes ticking from the now white-black energy/orb ball which was actually increasing in size and was on the verge of blocking his view of the demon, to Lucifer.
An enormous jet of electricity scorched through the air but Wyatt countered with his telekinesis orbing and this time, the impact created a huge explosion which knocked both of them flying backwards off their feet. Wyatt struggled to stand, his injured limbs throbbing rather painfully now and then he saw. There was a rip in the landscape.

[anglomaltese]

Cool chapter! More, more!