Disclaimer: All rights for Charmed and the Halliwells go to the WB, as well as Aaron Spelling and Brad Kern. This story is a spin-off of the original Charmed series, categorized under fan fiction, and is not intended to imply any personal knowledge, or the actual sexuality of any of its celebrities.
This story is obviously fiction. This story will also involve sexual and intimate relationships between two (or more) males, and if this offends you or it is illegal for you to be reading, then please leave. If you are under the age of consent for your community, please leave. And if it does offend you, I honestly don't know why you're even here in the first place.
Shadow of a Doubt
There was the sound of heels on marble floor, clacking like the hooves of horses. One by one the sharp bursts of noise reverberated off of the pure white walls, layering upon itself in a furious blizzard of sound. The women's robes trailed on the ground: short-haired Postverta and her long-haired sister. Their crystal balls shone with light.
Postverta reached the wall first. Her sister put her hand on the wall in unison, as it melted away into oblivion. They entered the crux of Cassandra's Eyes: the Marble Theater.
The sisters looked over the perfect, pure white circle of a room. There was the loud chanting a dozen voices in unison, eyes hidden beneath blindfolds, lithe hands and arms in the air. They circled around the edge of the Theater, stillettos ringing in synchronization. They clapped their hands. A spherical mirror conjured in the center of their circle, and in it flashed the vision of the past; the mystery of the future; the totality of the present.
The Whites turned their heads, hair and blindfolds whipping. Postverta and her sister became the center of attention. Her sister spoke to them. "Have we reached an answer?"
A dozen voices called in response, scattered but giving the same message. "ThE tImE iS nIgH."
Postverta nodded. "Then it shall begin."
This episode's song:
"starlight"
By Freezepop
The sun hurt my eyes...An awkward silence
The streets are oddly vacant... I watched you walk away
Foosteps on the stairs... I smell you on my pillow
starlight was on ZBC
I watched you walk away...
A bit of sweat trickled down Lyla's nose, from the beads of condensation accumulating on her forehead. The heat was oppressive; or was it the sheer feeling of intensity that was making her sweat? She didn't know anymore, and it didn't seem to matter.
Lyla saw the vision flash by in her head; the long-haired warlock flinging an athame at her from the front, a blonde demon behind her trying to take her by surprise. She smiled, ducking down before the warlock had even finished his thought. The athame he threw sailed through the air and over Lyla's head, stabbing the demon behind her in the heart. She screamed before she burst into pieces.
Lyla spun while she was on the ground, knocking the warlock over with a sweep. Another vision burst before her eyes: a dark-clad demon with an energy ball in his hand, shimmering into the living room entrance. She quickly reached to her right, taking the first warlock's athame and flinging it spot on. It hit its mark the exact second the demon shimmered in, and he too shattered in a harrowing vanquish.
And now all that was left was the first warlock, down on the ground, his face grimacing in pain. Lyla yelled to the ceiling, grabbing her athame again and pointing it at the warlock's neck. "Aaron! Bring Lex and Lucy!"
The bright white profiles of Aaron, Lex, and Lucy appeared in the foyer. Lucy materialized first, walking over to kneel next to Lyla. Aaron and Lex appeared in the last spray of orbs. Aaron attempted to lock eyes with Lex, but Lex averted his at the last moment.
Lyla looked behind herself at Lex. "Did you guys find them?" Lex seemed reluctant to answer. He gave a weary nod instead. Lyla flipped the hair out of her face, exchanging glances with a Lucy who gave no visual cue. "Okay, so will you bring them here?"
Lex clutched the cardboard box he was holding closer. He walked to the demon, and did not look at his face. Lex opened the box. He pulled out one of the bright red crystals, cubic and big enough to fit in the palm of his hand. He looked at Lyla, his voice weak. "Ly..."
Lyla glanced back at him, exasperated. "Lex, please!"
With that, Lex placed the crystal on one side of the warlock. Lucy simply glanced at it, enveloping the crystal in green light. Lex placed a second one on the other side of him, and two more around him so as to create quarters. Lyla finally stood up, retracting her athame from the fearful warlock's neck. Lucy came up with her. She looked at Lex, to make sure he was out of the circle. She snapped her fingers. The green light disappeared, and the warlock was encaged in fluttering red.
The warlock stood up. His eyes were wide with fear and anger. He conjured an athame and threw it at the crystal wall; it fizzled with a bright flash, and disappeared. The warlock growled. "Why don't you just vanquish me, witch?" The epiteth was mostly directed at Lyla.
Lyla put her hands on her hips. Aaron crossed his arms, as Lyla looked over to Lex again, whom had huddled the cardboard box to his chest and was staring at the ground. She spoke severely. "Lex, honey. Do it." Lex looked up at Lucy, as if she could rescue him. She simply shook her head. He looked at Lyla helplessly. Lyla raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Lex. It's a warlock. It would do it to you if it had the chance."
"Lex." Lex looked over to his left, and gave Aaron a rare mutual gaze. Lex had forgotten how powerful Aaron's dark eyes were. "Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do."
Lex frowned. He looked at the warlock now. He was angry. Lex sniffled a little, looking at the floor again. Slowly, he stepped towards the garnet cage. He reached into the box and procured a sparkling red-orange crystal. Lex knelt to the ground, and looked up at the warlock from below. He whispered. "I'm sorry."
Lex placed the sunstone between two of the garnet crystals. In a sudden flare, intense light bloomed from the sunstone and flooded the crystal cage. The warlock cried out in agony, as the sound of crackling fire resounded. "Grraaaahhh!!!!!" Lex quickly retracted the crystal, falling onto his bottom in panic. The warlock dropped to his hands, panting heavily, pure horror drawn on his face.
Lyla spoke now, savagely. "Very recently, we have been seeing a good many more demons than normal. Many, many of them. But no, not all of them were attacking us." Lyla began to circle the crystal cage, looking down at the warlock. "In fact... do you know what we saw? We saw them watching us- stalking us, wherever we went. I know you don't know me, but it's important to note that I hate. being. spied on. So. I want you to tell me what the hell is going on." The warlock looked up at her. Lyla raised her eyebrows as he was silent. She looked to Lex. "Again. Longer this time."
Hesitation. Lyla gave a stronger look to Lex, who was shaking on the ground. She let out a frustrated sigh. "We went over this, Lex. Focus your energy, and lay down the crystal."
Lex shook his head. There was an unsettling silence as the only sound was the warlock's unsteady heaving. Aaron moved closer now. He crouched down behind Lex, and held his left hand on Lex's left arm, his right moving to the sunstone perched in Lex's other palm.
Aaron put his head on Lex's shoulder, and Lex could smell the faint whiff of his cologne. Lex thought he smelled nice. But the touch was unwelcome. He tried to shake away, but he couldn't as Aaron gripped tighter. Aaron spoke into Lex's ear, pleading. "Don't think about it..."
"No... no, Aaron, don't make me-"
He guided Lex's hand down. The sunstone touched the floor, and the energy that flowed through it surged again. Lex flinched, attempting to draw back again, but Aaron kept the vice strong. Lex averted his eyes, and the screaming restarted worse than before.
Lex gave a terrible whimper. Lyla yelled over the pain. "You can stop this anytime! Why were you stalking us?! What are you planning?!"
The moans that came from the warlock grew laborious and horrifically painful. Lucy uncrossed her arms, approaching Lyla from behind. "Ly, I think that's enough."
Lyla turned around, the expression on her face one of hopelessness. "It's a warlock. It's not like it can feel anything else but pain anyway."
Finally, the camel's back broke. Lex writhed under Aaron's grip, and with a cry from Aaron, Lex swiveled under him and knocked a garnet away with one of his feet. The red cage disappeared. The warlock swallowed, giving Lex a pitiful look before blinking out.
Lyla threw her athame too late, as it hit the rear wall. She didn't seem angry, rather the distress in dealing with a confused child. Lex was cowering by the broken crystal cage, vaguely huddled in what was left of Aaron's grip. "Why did you do that?" Lyla asked. "That warlock could've helped us, sweetie."
"...He didn't know anything."
Lyla gave a surprisingly sweet smile with her ruby-red lips. "Oh, Lex. They always do. It's what evil does."
Lex grudgingly shook himself from Aaron's arms, which were reluctant to let go. Aaron gave a pleading look to Lex as he gathered the crystals into his box and went upstairs into his room. Aaron turned to Lyla. "I'm all for finding out what's going on. But maybe demon torture isn't the best idea."
"Although that might've intimidated the warlock enough to send a message to Kane. You know, that we're not messing around." Lucy mused.
Lyla bit her lip. "That's a hopeful way of looking at it. But I'm convinced they're planning something else."
"Hey." Lucy raised her eyebrow. "Remember that Dragon Warlock that attacked? How come he never came back?"
There was a confused silence as they contemplated. Aaron returned his gaze to the stairs. He let loose a solemn sigh. "...That really hurt Lex. I hurt Lex."
Lucy's lips puckered to a thin line. "Don't worry about it, Aaron. I've always said that he's a bit... oversensitive, really. But he always bounces back."
"But Lex is the only one who knows the crystals well enough. He's the only one who can focus the energy right, and get the right quarters. We need him to bounce back faster." Lyla said.
Lucy raised her eyebrows. "What, so you can get him to torture some more?"
"No, that's not what I meant." Lyla responded. "I mean that if we're going to be in danger, we better be prepared." Lyla clapped her hands together, and wiped some leftover sweat from her forehead. "...Now. On a similar note. We need money. So I got a photo shoot in like, half an hour. Lucy, will you come with me?"
"Umm... I can't, sorry. Gotta class soon, I have to meet Kincaid. But you can be alone for a little bit, right? Just call Aaron if you're in trouble." Lucy walked over to the cabinet by the door, taking out a coat for the cold. She looked behind her at Aaron as Lyla flew out the door. "Aaron? Are you okay?"
Aaron had barely stood up, and looked terribly serious. "Yes. I'll stay here with Lex."
Lucy nodded, and followed Lyla outside. Aaron turned around and stared at the stairs again, wondering if he should go up.
Lex closed the door behind him, and sat down on his bed cross-legged. He hugged his pillow to his chest, trying to suppress the queasy feeling in his stomach. What he had done was wrong, and he knew it.
As though envious of the past, Lex was suddenly possessed by the memories of his dream. His mouth half opened in amazement at what had happened. But now, all Lex could see was Atla's eyes. Those emerald pools had entrapped him; bound his thoughts to the confines of the dragon that held them. Atla was so kind; so strong. He protected Lex when he had no power.
Lex uncrossed his legs, flipping onto his belly and digging his face into his pillow. He remembered the lightning that Atla had defended Lex with. He pictured the deep green eyes. A long time ago, Lex realized that the Dragon Warlock had both as well.
Was it possible for the Dragon Warlock to take the form of a dragon in his dreams? That somehow, Lex had happened upon his so-called-enemy's dream... but more unbelievable yet, they had formed a strong bond with each other? Why did Atla care for him? If he was supposed to kill him and his sisters, why did he protect him from the horror that was sent after him?
Lex remembered the last words Atla said to him. "Don't look for me." He gave an enormous sigh. If this dragon warlock was indeed Atla, Lex couldn't bring himself to vanquish him: not only because he had saved his life, but because it would be like killing a living, feeling human being.
He heard a knock on the door. He didn't say anything in response, but heard Aaron's voice from the other side. "Can I come in?"
"...Yeah."
Aaron let himself in. He looked sheepish as he closed the door again behind him. "Hiya."
Lex got up, hugging the pillow to his chest again. "Hi."
"Um..." Aaron sat next to him on the bed. The entire scene seemed familiar to Lex. "I'm sorry. That I made you do that. As your whitelighter, I shouldn'tve-"
"Aaron, as my friend, you shouldn't have made me do that." Lex said, staring at the ground. He didn't have to look to know that Aaron was giving a familiar looking worried pout. "I-I'm never going to do that again. Maybe it's because I'm not as tough as you or my sisters, but... I can't ever, ever do that again." Lex sniffled. Aaron reached over to drape an arm over Lex's shoulder, but this time Lex dodged, averting his face into his pillow. "Stop! Don't you... don't you know how much you're hurting me right now?!" Aaron stopped. He looked horrified at himself. Lex shook his head, still not looking at him. His voice cracked now. "...I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry, it's my fault, n-not yours..."
Aaron was speechless for a while. He reached out to touch him again, but stopped, finally realizing what he was doing to Lex. "Oh, Lex... Don't say that. This isn't your fault, this is-" Aaron paused for a moment, looking to the ceiling. "-sorry. Lex, I-I-I care about you, I really do, more than... more than anything."
"But you don't want me."
"Yes I do."
"You didn't!" Lex cried. "Wha-what do you want from me?! Why do you do this?! You're Lyla's. I'm just your charge, I'll never be anything more and you know it."
"Please, Lex, you don't understand, I-" with a frustrated grunt, Aaron looked to the ceiling again. He directed his attention back to Lex. "Lex, I-I'm being called. I have to go, but I'll be right back." Forcefully but gently, Aaron put his hand over Lex's. Lex didn't retreat. "I don't wanna hurt you anymore."
Lex didn't say anything. Aaron finally orbed out, his warm touch evaporating into white lights. Lex sighed, and threw his pillow at the wall.
Lucy got out of the car, shutting the door behind her. She heard Kincaid do the same on the other side, and she circled around to the trunk. "Mr. Rowe. Can you help me with the books?"
"Sure." Kincaid said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and carrying a box filled with textbooks. Lucy shut the trunk, holding her own bag of props and models of the body. "Hey, Dr. Russel."
"What is it?"
Kincaid hesitated for a little bit, and hastily followed Lucy into the building. He spoke a little quieter, although he didn't need to for the halls were empty. "...What's it like being a witch?"
Lucy cleared her throat, slowing down a little in her pace. She walked parallel to Kincaid, looking him in the eye. "Well, you should know. You are one."
Kincaid looked troubled. "Lyla said I was a warlock."
"Mr. Rowe, don't listen to my sister. She's just very gung ho when it comes to the fight between good and evil and all that jazz, so she gets caught up in herself. You're good. Your father was good. Don't worry, that's all that matters. So I think that makes you a witch."
"Hm. I guess that makes sense." Kincaid said, nodding. "But you know, when I was talking to Phoebe and Paige, they had all these stories of destroying evil and being witches, and they said they battled demons every day. The most I've ever done is fight a vampire. Don't you fight evil a lot?"
Lucy gritted her teeth. "Yes. We do."
Kincaid raised an eyebrow. "That didn't sound too good."
"Well, no. Not really." She shook her head. "Kincaid, when Lex and I found out we were witches, it was hard. Well... for me, anyway." Lucy turned a sharp corner, and Kincaid had to run a little bit to catch up with her. "If you get to know me, I... I don't like action. I don't like all this running around, making potions, being in intense situations. If I did, then I would an ER doctor." Now she abruptly turned around, and Kincaid bumped into the books he was carrying. "Believe me. I'm all for good winning as much as the next guy. But if I could just curl up with a book instead of fight demons all day... I'd be a happy camper."
Lucy banged the classroom door open, setting her models on the teacher's desk. Kincaid followed in suit, and dropped the box on a nearby chair. Suddenly, the lights phased out and in again. Lucy batted her eyelashes. "Brownout?"
Kincaid didn't answer. Lucy turned around, and saw that he was staring at the classroom seats. She followed his gaze, and bit her lip. "...Shit."
A gang of demonatrixes sat in the seats, legs crossed, wicked grins on their faces. Lucy turned to Kincaid. "Run!" Kincaid complied, running towards Lucy. The demonatrixes responded quickly, a swarm of energy balls homing in on him.
Lucy slashed her arm in the air, her streamer of green light stopping the energy balls before they hit their mark. She grabbed Kincaid's hand and pulled him into the hallway.
...And shielded herself as another demonatrix tried to punch her in the face. The lime light she instinctively wrapped herself in stopped her fist, and the demonatrix was struggling to get it free. Kincaid punched her in the face through the light, and she was out.
Lucy slammed the door behind her, running Kincaid towards one end of the hallway; only to stop, a series of sillhouettes coming towards them. Lucy cursed again: harpies. In almost synchronization, a storm of energy bolts shot at them with frightening speed. Kincaid raised his hands up just in time. An ice-blue vortex opened up before him, engulfing the bolts and spitting them back out at twice the size. The harpies flipped out of the way; four of the energized bolts hit their marks, vanquishing some of them with a series of screams.
They looked behind them, at the other hall; more demonatrixes were approaching, and a barrage of fireballs ensued. Lucy got to action, raising a wall of green light to stop the fireballs before they hit their mark. She looked behind at Kincaid. "Call Aaron!"
Kincaid nodded, looking to the ceiling. "Aaron! Aaron!"
Kincaid thought it curious that one of the harpies warped out as soon as he did that. But he was too caught up as three more took its place, and Kincaid braced himself for another onslaught.
Lyla slipped stilletoes on and put on the red gown that was provided for her. She gasped briefly, as the lights in the dressing room went out, then quickly on again. Very briefly, she gave a skeptical look to herself before slipping out the door.
...Except the set was empty. The entire roomful of people, from the photographers to the agents to the stage directors and the make-up artists, everyone was gone. Lyla held her breath, keeping her intuition at its highest. "...Hello?" she nervously cried out.
That was all that was needed. Lyla ducked just in time, a wave of force whizzing past her head and wrecking a nearby clothing rack. Lyla looked up; three women, dressed in flowing red dresses, were across from her, conjuring more energy between their palms as she paused to notice. Lyla cursed under her breath, as several bats came in through the window, phasing into two more vampires.
Lyla yelled. She took a risky move, then somersaulting closer to the vampires and knocking the three of them over with a fell sweep; their screams briefly distracted the incoming vampires, quickly ducking to help them up. Lyla took the opportunity to flee back into the dressing room, shutting the door behind her. She shoved a dressing rack into the doorframe, hoping it would tide her for a little while. She looked to the ceiling again. "Aaron! Aaron, help!"
Aaron orbed into an oddly familiar warehouse. He looked to his left, and in a clearing between an enclosed room of boxes stood Kincaid and Lyla. Both of them seemed oddly calm.
Aaron cautiously approached them, making his way through some debris. "...What are you doing here, guys?" he looked at Kincaid. "And I thought you were with Lucy."
Kincaid gave an odd smile. As did Lyla. Lyla approached, her shoes making a tapping noise on the cold metal floor. "I wonder what whitelighter tastes like."
Aaron knew something was wrong with her voice, and something askew in her eyes. He conjured his bow, and hastefully shot an arrow of light into her chest; Lyla flew backwards, crumpling into a pile of boxes. There was the sound of burning paper.
Kincaid no longer found a need to maintain the facade. His paper skin folded up and out, as Aaron was suddenly face-to-face with a large elephant. Behind him, Lyla's paper skin, charred and blackened, emerged from the boxes. Aaron could see the oni under it just briefly before the paper refolded into a sinister white eagle that took the sky.
Aaron faded into orbs. But before he could leave the building, he felt himself pushed to the earth by a malevolent force. He materialized in a pile of scrap paper. A darklighter, clad in the customary flowing black robe, appeared above him, knocking the bow out of Aaron's hand. The darklighter's tatooed face sneered in contempt, and he mounted Aaron's chest; his hand glew bright yellow, the Touch of Death.
The darklighter flung his hand down. Aaron grabbed his wrists with one of his, barely fending him off. Aaron took his free hand and concentrated; he conjured a light arrow, and stabbed it into the darklighter's neck. His face contorted in pain as beams of light ripped at him from the inside out, and he burst in a bloom of light.
Aaron grabbed his bow again, perching an arrow in the bowstring. The elephant approached, as did the eagle. Three more sprays of black orbs rained down from the sky, materializing into more robed figures. Aaron cursed. This would be one long day.
A deep bright lake, in a mystery cave. Green irises and scales the color of rainbows... Lex tried to dream of them, but no matter how hard he tried, they always escaped...
Atla opened his eyes. seeing the dark ceiling of the cave for the first time in a long while. The dark shine of the underground lake rippled on it, making everything seem blue. After the bright light of the dream, Atla had trouble adjusting to the dim wetness of his watery lair.
Was it a dream? Of course it was. Dreams are real as skin and blood. But the feeling he had when he talked to the one called "Lex..." the shiver he got up his spine when he smiled. Lex was the only one he had ever told his true name. That meant something special.
He slowly got up, stretching his reticent muscles as he finally awoke. He landed on his feet, and relished in the feeling of solid ground. His bare chest was the slightest bit damp, and he quickly pulled on the customary black tank top.
But he didn't have long; as soon as he stood, a bolt of blue fire sprung from the ground. A woman in a pure white dress, with shining shoulder-length hair and a crystal ball unfolded from the flames. Atla recognized her as one of Ipos' oracles.
Atla held back from breathing fire at her. "What?"
The oracle spoke arrogantly, lifting her chin so as to look down on Atla. "The time has come, Dragon. The Seven will soon require you to dispense your services on the Charmed Ones. Wait for our mark."
"...Very well." Atla said, with some hesitation.
The oracle sensed the pause. "We CAN trust that you will do your job, yes?"
"I will, oracle. Now leave me be until the cue comes!"
She squinted her eyes. "Very well... half-breed." She muttered the last part contemptuously, under her breath before she kneeled and disappeared in another blue plume.
Atla roared in frustration. A mighty gust whipped up around him, and an explosion erupted in the lake. He heaved, quickly regaining his composure through controlled breathing. He walked over to the water he disturbed. Foul ripples distorted his reflection, and he was gazing into the eyes of his Ryu self; his serpentine eyes, his bejeweled claws...
He broke away, coming back into reality. He was evil; a warlock. And there was no way he could even think of consorting with a witch.
"What am I looking for, exactly?"
Lyla sighed on the other end of the line. "Anything! Offensive spell! I need some backup here, Aaron's not responding to my calls!" she looked to her left. The vampires were finally making some damage to the door, their telekinetic waves nearly breaking the coat rack.
Lex rushed through the book, flipping pages and trying to find offensive spells. "...Ly, I can't find anything. There are reversal spells, vanquishing spells, diffusing spells... nothing like you're asking for."
Lex gasped as he heard something crack and burst, and Lyla give a small shriek. Lyla let out a frustrated groan. "Well then make something up! Amy's sent some Ruby Guild bitches, and I need some firepower!"
"Uh, uh, um..." Lex bit his lip, trying to think of something. "Okay, try this: We call...umm... no, no... Summon light and dark depart/Purge this evil through the heart?"
There was a pause. "...You're kidding, right?"
"Try it!"
Lex heard Lyla put the phone down, then heard Lyla chant with some skepticism. "Summon light and dark depart/Purge this evil through the heart!" There was a sound of crackling, and an explosion indicative of a vanquish. Lyla returned on the line. "Lex! It worked! I can't believe it worked!"
"Ly, that's-" there was a click. "...Lyla?"
The screen suddenly read no bars. He put down the cell phone and placed it on a nearby bookshelf. Lex bit his lip, not helping but worrying about Lyla, and now Lucy and Aaron. Lucy wasn't responding to any cell phone calls, and Aaron wasn't appearing period.
Lex continued to browse the book, waiting for Lyla to call him back. He didn't notice the air slowly ripple behind him, as a portal conjured itself into existence. Atla slowly stepped through, his foosteps somehow silent on the wooden floor. The ripple closed behind him.
Atla stepped closer, making sure to stay quiet enough so that Lex wouldn't notice. He cursed in his head; he had secretly hoped that one of the sisters would be here, so he wouldn't have to face the one he had met in his dream.
Suddenly, the silence was broken; Lex's phone began to ring again. Lex spun on his foot, and stopped as soon as he saw Atla right behind him, a jagged athame in hand.
Lex paused, silent. As did Atla. Atla felt his voice become stuck, and his muscles stiffen. Lex was enraptured by the green eyes, and automatically identified them with the ryu whose dream world he invaded. How Lex wished he could just say his name again... Atla wished he could drop his athame.
But he couldn't. Atla thrusted his athame forward, but Lex saw him coming. "Yield!"
Atla felt a smothering force overcoming his arm, and an invisible grasp forced him to drop his athame on the spot. He clenched his teeth; turning to face Lex, he opened his mouth, and gave a deep breath in. He expelled it, and a plume of red flame fired out of his mouth.
Lex reflexively shielded his face and swiveled away, feeling the oncoming heat. He mustered the sense to speak as he began to smell singed clothes. "Rebound!"
The stream of fire issuing from Atla's mouth turned around and shot back at Atla. Atla, with perfect timing, erected a sphere of water around himself; the transparent shell extinguishing the flames with a curtain of billowing smoke.
Atla countered through the water. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, as strands of lightning crawled up and down his arms. He released it outward as he released his fists: the lightning at first conducting in his curtain of water, then shooting out at Lex.
Lex ducked, narrowly avoiding the ribbons of jagged blue light. He ran to a table and turned it over, using it as a shield as he leaned against its back. He gasped in surprise, feeling a lance of electricity obliterate a large chunk of his shelter. A small storm of broken wood chips rained down.
Lex took a deep breath and counted to three. He quickly jumped into plain sight, as a particularly large bolt shot in his direction. "Rebound!" Lex stretched out his palm, and let out a sigh of relief as the lightning took an about face.
The bolt ripped through Atla's curtain, and hit him square in the chest. Atla was struck backwards into the air, but he flew foward, seeming unphased. He was now floating in the air, and proceeded to throw compressed orbs of whistling wind at Lex.
Lex briefly fumbled for the right word. "D-Diffuse." The orbs unraveled into gentle streams of breeze, flowing past Lex harmlessly. Lex turned his attention to the back table, the part of the attic he was working his way over to. "Up." A yellow potion he and Lucy brewed that morning levitated into the air at his command. He pointed at his attacker. "Attack!"
Atla dodged the first bottle, and it created a small crater in the floor. Lex continued his attack, still issuing his commands. Potion after potion flew in the air, attempting to home onto Atla. Still, Atla's maneuvers in the air were skilled, and he managed to throw windy counteracts back. A freezing potion encased the couch in ice, and a containment one wrapped a table in chains. There was so much unraveled wind that books flew out of the shelves. Finally, an exploding potion struck Atla on the shoulder. Atla was flung backwards from the force.
Lex took the open opportunity, and shot a forceful gesture at Atla. "Plummit!"
Atla suddenly felt the full force of gravity pull him down. He fell hard, and he clasped his shoulder in pain. Lex darted to where he fell, pointing at the athame Atla dropped earlier. "Here." It flew into his hand. As soon as it did, Lex pointed it at Atla's neck.
There was no word spoken. All they could hear was the other breathing. Both were sweating. The left side of Lex's t-shirt and jeans was charred, and his hair was askew from the wind. Atla's shirt was torn apart by lightning, and his shoulder was bloody from the potion. He looked up from his wounds; again, they met eyes. Atla anticipated his fate, and stared back at the ground in shame.
Atla heard the sound of the athame clanking on the floor. He looked up in surprise. Lex had turned his back on him, running his hands over his face and through his hair. He slowly swiveled around to face him, and Atla saw that there were tears in his eyes. "...I can't do it. I can't!" Lex sniffed. "I can't vanquish any demon, much less you, Atla."
Atla widened his eyes in surprise. He still couldn't muster up the strength to stand up. "You mean... you mean, you knew?"
Lex felt a lump in his throat, as he heard Atla's familiar voice again. "Of course I did." he shook his head, as if trying to deny what he was saying. "Why didn't you say anything? I could've - We could've done something! I didn't want to hurt you..."
"There was nothing that could've been done. This was my job. Nothing more." Atla held back as much as he could, trying his best to stay unemotional. This was, like he just said, only a job after all. "You defeated me... little one. You need to kill me before I return."
Lex shook his head even more ferverously, continuing to wipe his face. "No! I can't! Don't say that... You saved my life, Atla. You protected me!" he was really breaking up now. "I can't vanquish you... I won't."
Atla looked up again, trying to meet Lex's eyes. He did, and Lex's teary gaze was again connected to his. Lex's sobbing slowly stopped. Atla looked so mournful; it was sad to see his beautiful eyes like this.
Lex took a tiny step closer. Aaron gave a quizzical look. What was he doing? Compassion from a witch to a warlock was unheard of.
Rather suddenly, a feeling of dread enveloped the room. The air grew tingly and sad; the light rushing through the windows seemed to become mute. Lex tried to ignore the feeling, lifting his hand to reach out to Atla.
But Atla hesitated. Behind Lex: the shadows normally dim on such a bright afternoon grew long and dark. The light fell away, and a pitch black curtain materialized behind him. Atla screamed out a warning, but it was too late. Two figures clad in dark black robes melted into existence, pouring upwards from the shadows.
One grabbed Lex's arms, his pale clawed hands binding him from behind. Lex screamed out in protest, trying to identify his attacker; the other took his claw and muffled Lex's mouth, preventing him from using his powers.
Atla ground his teeth, trying to muster the strength to get up, but he couldn't. Lex tried to flail around, and briefly succeeded in bumping into the one who was holding his arms.
Atla saw Lex's eyes widen in fear, and Atla couldn't help but do the same. The tall robed figure's hood had fallen down. His pale, fleshy head was completely bald. He had deep sunken eyes that were burning black, but most disturbingly no mouth. Where lips and teeth should have been, there was a sinister empty patch of flesh.
There was an ominous noise like a dark chorus. The creatures began to fade back into the shadows, taking a flailing Lex with him. Atla tried to breathe fire; conjure wind, lightning, water... but he couldn't do it. Lex was enveloped in darkness, and the last thing Atla saw was his eyes struck wide with fear.
...And they dissappeared. The room was light again, and the air crisp. As soon as the tingle in the atmosphere disappearead, Atla felt himself falling down; a hold had appeared under his feet, sucking him down into the Underword. Before he knew, he was in the familiar darkness of the Twilight Counsil.
Kane was already standing, a smug smile on his face. "You did well, Dragon."
Atla grunted, his shoulder beginning to pain him even more. Two libris, wielding various pastes and potions, came from each flank and proceeded to his wound. They shooed Atla's hand, and applied creams to the open injury. "What do you mean..." he managed to fumble out. "he defeated me."
"Of course he did!" Kane laughed. He motioned to Ipos, his two oracles with their crystal balls in the palms of their hands. Both were staring intently at the crystals, and Ipos was silently communing with them both. "We've been watching you the whole time. And we never expected you to actually kill him. If you did, that would've been fine. But you did a marvelous job of weakening him."
Long-haired Postverta looked up from her crystal ball. "Lyla Russel defeated the vampires. She has joined the whitelighter and are defeating your forces. We anticipate they will find Lucille Russel and Kincaid Rowe subsequently."
Kane rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. We got what we wanted." He looked over to Amy, who seemed a little bored. "It's time we withdraw our forces."
"What did you do to him!?" Atla shouted. The libris attending his wounds slowly backed away.
"My, my... so angry?" Amy said rather tauntingly. He glared at her. "We have him in custody. We figured that while we have him, we can probe him for information, weaknesses of his sisters, the like... before we kill him, of course."
"We used that tactic to kill the last Charmed Ones." Barbatos stated rather proudly.
"Where is he??"
Kane raised an eyebrow at his sudden anger. "You'll have to ask Bif-" Barbatos cleared his throat. Kane looked at him, and cleared his own throat in panic. "I'm sorry. You'll have to ask Gloom." He motioned to the figure to his left. Gloom was tall and emaciated, with a pointed black hood and an ornate robe. It was all black underneath, but for a pair of menacing red lights that Atla assumed were eyes. "Why do you anger?"
Atla paused. "...He was my job. I deserve to be the one to kill him."
"Then you will have to give up this job." Barbatos said. "He is too valuable to kill immediately. Just take your payment and leave, posthaste."
Atla fell silent. Kane gave yet another trademark smile. "What power do you wish? Energy blasts? Acid breath? Stronger lightning, perhaps?"
"...Shadowmelding."
The smile fell off of his face. "Why would you want that? You can already teleport, can't you?"
"Of course. But shadowmelding allows for stealthier exits and quicker manuevers in battle. Surely you understand."
Kane sighed, again curious of Atla's sudden moodswing to cordiality. He turned to Gloom. "Bring one of your Creepers, would you?"
Gloom nodded. With little more than a small gesture from his gloved hand, a figure materialized from the shadows behind him; the same type of demon that attacked Lex.
Atla stared in contempt. Kane slowly circled the Creeper Demon, athame in hand. He stared him up and down, talking to Gloom. "You can spare him?" Gloom nodded. Kane acknowledged. "Very well." He stabbed the athame into the Creeper Demon. With a cavernous roar, the Creeper Demon's mouth opened, tearing the patch of flesh down the middle; the body melted away like the sick parody of skin, and a skeletal spirit poured out of the gaping hole in its face. The athame glowed blue; the spirit was sucked into it.
Kane offered the athame to Atla, who took it with avid apprehension. He grasped the handle tightly; the same glowing blue light from the Creeper's soul flowing into Atla's hands, and dispersing to the rest of his body.
Atla dropped the athame to the ground, and began to crack his neck; he felt unusually unflexible, as if he needed to get something out of his muscles. He spoke to Kane. "I would wish to depart now."
"Very well." Kane said, nodding. "And may I say: thank you for the marvelous services."
Atla gave a solemn acknowledgment before rippling out. As soon as he was gone, the woman with the deep voice spoke up. "We cannot trust him. His mother, like all her kind, turned a blind eye to good. How do we know he does not do the same?"
"It doesn't matter!" surprisingly, Amy was the one to refute her. "We have Lex Russel. That's all we need."
Atla rippled back into the cave. He swiftly ran to a secluded groove in the wall, where a tall stalagtite dripped water into a placid pool in the ground. Atla looked into the black puddle; he was used to it now, how the dark surface did not survey back to him any reflection at all.
"Kira."
For a second, nothing happened. Then, the black pool rippled and convulsed; as though something was trying to break through. Sure enough, the sillhouette of Kira, skeletal yet beautiful, rose out of the pool: obsidian and shining as though it were made of oil.
Kira spoke, her blank eyes fixing on Atla. "Oh. It's you. Did you disapprove of the last reading, Dragon?" Her voice was peppy as bubblegum.
Atla shook his head. "It's not that. I need something else."
"Mm? I sense a plot."
"This is nothing of the sort, Seer. I just-"
Kira cut him off with a laugh. "Please, honey. I've been a Seer before, during, and after death, and I've got a little more than a century of experience." she couldn't help but seem a bit arrogant. "I think I know what I'm talking about."
Atla bit his lip. "Just tell me where I can find the Creeper Demons."
"Payment?"
"I'll give you the power to Shadowmeld after I'm done with the job."
Kira smiled. "Always a pleasure. Now... let's talk about the Creepers." she continued after a brief contemplating pause. "The Creeper Demons are only one branch of the organization known as the Shadows' Hand. You already know their leader as part of the Seven."
"Who, Gloom?"
"...Hm." Kira giggled. "Sure, okay, that's his name. So what you're asking is how to infiltrate the Hand's stronghold, correct?"
Atla feigned innocence. "I never said that."
"Aww, well of course not..." Kira said, a bit patronizingly. "It shouldn't be hard for you, really. All you need to do is shadowmeld where I tell you. But be careful; The Shadows' Hand has the darkest and nastiest demons. They won't hesitate to suck the soul straight from your bones."
"I don't care." Atla precariously touched his wound, to make sure it was healed enough. "...Just tell me where to go."
Kira clicked her tongue. "Alright then. I'll assume you already know how to teleport, so I won't bother going into that. But shadowmelding's a little bit different..."
Kincaid ducked, dodging an energy bolt. Lucy twirled him around, blocking the harpy's bolts with her green light, as Kincaid caught a fireball in his aqua-like shield. He flung it back, and its doubled size vanquished two demonatrixes at once.
Lucy yelled over the noise, engulfing them both in green light. Fireballs, energy balls, and energy bolts stuck in the green light, frozen in time and threatening to destroy them. "Kincaid! This might be very hard, but I want you to wrap us in your vortex!"
Kincaid nodded. He closed his eyes, visualizing the cold-blue light characteristic of his eyes. The vortex whirled in front of him, then around and around until it grew like an umbrella, engulfing them in the manner of a fountain.
Lucy let go of the green light. All around them, the projectiles flew straight into the expanded whirlpool, and all flew out in their respective directions, a fireworks show of burning light and destruction. Demons screamed as they were vanquished, bursting into ashes and bits of smudged floor. Kincaid had ducked his head, and Lucy beckoned him to open his eyes as the chaos ended.
They were both on tip toes when they heard the sound of orbing. Lucy and Kincaid stood at the same time, but sighed when they saw Aaron and Lyla. Aaron's shirt was torn and his hair tusseled, and Lyla's luxurious red dress was ripped and smudged with smoke. Lucy was about to make a comment, but suppressed herself when she realized she and Kincaid didn't look any better.
Aaron spoke up first. "You guys did good."
Lucy smiled. "All thanks to Kincaid here." Kincaid blushed, but grinned in private pride. "What happened to you guys?"
"We were both attacked." Lyla said. "My photo shoot got invaded by vampires. I guess when Kincaid and I called for Aaron, somehow they diverted the calls to a warehouse, and used onis' voices to pretend they were us." Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know. I don't know how it works either. All that matters is that all of a sudden, they STOPPED attacking and just ran." Lyla responded.
Aaron interjected. "Long story short, they're getting really crafty. And I think we can safely assume this is why they were stalking us. To see when we would be alone."
Suddenly, Kincaid turned pale. He looked at Aaron. "Where's Lex?"
Lucy panicked. "He's... he's, he's at the manor, isn't he?"
"Oh no... I was talking to him, but he got cut off!" Lyla said, joining Lucy's panic.
Aaron closed his eyes. "...I can't sense him." he forcefully grabbed Lyla, Lucy, and Kincaid, and dissappeared in a flurry of orbs. He reappeared at the manor attic, but no one was there. Lex's phone was on the open Book of Shadows.
There was a fearful silence, as the contemplation of Lex's fate circled around their heads. Then, a rabble of panic. Lyla ran to the shelves. "I'll scry for him!"
Lucy got to the Book, flipping through the pages. "Uh, uh, uh, I'll... look... look for... spell..."
Aaron grunted in frustration, clenching his fists until they carved red marks into his palms. How could he let himself do this?
Atla rippled out, finding himself knee deep in a misty lake. This water was diffrent than that in his own lair; it was sickly still, and gave off no light.
He carefully trudged forward, only seeing slightly through the mist. He had always found mist as unusual; there was none of it in the underworld. But this place had a strangeness to it, even for an overworld environment. Although there must have been a sun out somewhere, it was not visible through the veil of gray that shielded him now.
Atla finally reached land. He stepped onto a dank stone floor, and realized that it was not mere dirt- it was ancient, primative tile. He continued stepping forward, hearing his boots trudge against the stone, and the water from the lake dripping off of him. The scene suddenly got darker, as he realized that he had entered the cavern.
But it only took a few steps before the fog mysteriously cleared. Atla looked behind him in confusion. Like a wall, the bank of mist stayed out on the lake, serving as the threshold between the cave and the outside world. Atla took a moment to survey the cavern. It was just like the Seer said it was; the cave was grand and surprisingly square. There was a doorless threshold on each of the walls, but too dark to see what was on the other side. But the room he was in was strange enough already. In the middle, hollowed out from the rest of the cavern, a smaller square clearing was present, with stairs leading to it on each side. In the middle of the clearing, a large obelisk with primordial glyphs stood tall and intimidating: a guardian of the sinister peace.
The scene was eerily quiet. Atla walked down the steps, ready to pounce at the slightest stimulus. Finally, he was standing in front of the obelisk.
The Seer's words rung in his head: "You'll have to meld in the obelisk's shadow in order to reach the Creepers. But here's the thing; you won't see its shadow. You'll have to make one yourself."
Atla bit his lip, only having a general idea how he could create its shadow. If he was going to try his plan, it would require near perfect timing.
He stood directly next to the obelisk. Raising his hands above his head, he took the deep breaths indicative of his powers focusing. He released his streams of lightning upward, letting it accumulate into a glowing blue orb. Storms of flashes radiated throughout the chasm, making the cave erupt in flare-like explosions of light. The obelisk's shadow appeared in these brief milliseconds, but it wasn't enough. Atla ground his teeth, focusing more energy through his arms into the orb, until the flashes were in such close succession that the orb was a constant light source. The obelisk's shadow was now long and pitch black, looming directly over Atla. He smiled, quickly counting to three in his head before he released the lightning from himself, and melded into the shadow. With one swift movement, the light and shadow vanished along with Atla.
Atla opened his eyes. He was surprised to find himself standing. Still, he was even more surprised to look at the world around him. It was the exact mirror of the place he just left: only the colors were grossly inverted, and the air hazy and blurry. He had to squint to properly focus. The cave was a sinister violet and grey color, while the encroaching fog bank was pure blackness.
He attempted to move forward, only to find his movement as slow as molasses. He grunted, attempting to channel more strength to his legs, but the effort was in vain. Time seemed to move slower here... or so he thought, anyway. In brief, random intervals, Atla's gestures were sped up at exponential proportions- only to again be impeded by the subsequent slow. Kira had warned Atla about the Shadow World. It obviously did not operate on the same rules of nature Atla was used to.
Atla looked at the nearest blotches of pure white; indicative of shadows in his normal dimension. They were the three thresholds that Atla observed earlier. Recalling the Seer's instructions, he headed towards the north end, holding his breath as he passed through the blankness.
A rather violent gasp escaped Atla's lips. He opened his eyes in shock, as if an ice-cold bucket of water had been thrown into his face. His movement was now normal, and the colors inverted to their "normal" associations.
He was no longer in the overworld, or the shadow world; this was the underworld now. Still, it was no part of the underworld that Atla had ever seen. The floor was a deep coal-black, and shined like it were wax. Columns made of the same darkness rose from the ground, surely supporting a ceiling; but either the ceiling was so high or so pitch black that Atla couldn't fathom it.
Drawing on his stealth, he quickly but quietly stalked the edges of the hall, looking for the room that held Lex. He saw it in the corner of his eye: the red door that Kira had so intently told him to look for. With no hesitation, Atla flung himself to it and slammed it open with no finesse whatsoever, contradictory to his just previous apprehension.
The room had literally no lighting but for a large spot light in the middle, and five surrounding smaller beacons. The center light held a tall ebon cage, inside which, still in the haggard clothes as before, lay Lex. His eyes were closed, but he was cringing although in pain.
In each surrounding light stood a Creeper Demon, hood down and arms stretched to the ceiling. Their muffled chants made menacing noise from behind their nonexistant mouths, and it was obvious that they were spell casting.
There was another figure that Atla took a while to distinguish. A rather tall and lanky darklighter in a black trenchcoat stood in front of the cage, smiling as though reveling in Lex's pain. He turned around to face the intruder; his defensive gait lowered as his eyes adjusted to the light from the open door. "Oh. It's you. Your job is finished, Dragon, what do you want?"
Atla quickly rummaged his head for a plausible lie. "...Kane sent me. To see that you were doing your job." Atla looked behind the darklighter to Lex, who continued his writhing. Every once in a while, an audible whimper would be heard as well. Atla motioned to him. "What are you doing, anyway?"
"As if it were your business." The darklighter said with a sneer. He loosened up a little, upon seeing a far more intimidating sneer from Atla. "We are preparing him for questioning. It's far more effective to start with the psychological torture first. If that doesn't work, then we'll move on to physical." The darklighter gave a sweeping motion to the Creepers and the ebony cage. "The Creeper Demons are assaulting the witch's mind with images of sheer terror, agony, and darkness. At the same time, we weaken his mental barriers, and have access to his memories, his fears and ambitions...hopefully those of his sisters as well."
Atla brushed past the darklighter, to his protests. He lay his hand on the cage, watching Lex with pity. The darklighter cleared his throat. "Dragon. Step away from the cage." Atla did as he was told. "Turn around."
He did turn around; but at the same time, he breathed a plume of flame at the darklighter. He ignited with a scream, before exploding in a flurry of black orbs. The Creeper Demons ceased their chanting, directing their horrible gaze to Atla now.
Atla thrust his arms at two, bolts of lightning easily tearing the Creeper Demons to shreds; their skeletal spirits flowed into the air and diffused into nothingness. One Creeper melted away into the shadows before appearing behind Atla. Atla sensed the demon, and he forcefully pushed his hands together. A curtain of water shot out from around him in a sphere, drenching the remaining three Creeper Demons and throwing them against the wall. Atla kneeled and pushed his hands into the water. The lightning flowed along it, until the river of electricity shocked the Creeper Demons into vanquishing.
The light of the last Creeper spirit faded away, and now all was left was Lex. Atla acted quickly, striding to the cage and using his strength to pry the bars of the cage wide open.
Atla reached in and effortlessly picked up Lex, supporting his back in one hand and his legs in the other. He held him close, preparing him for the sensation as he rippled out.
strong hands. green eyes. gently. slowly.
atla.
The pain stopped. The fear and darkness of shadow ebbed from his psyche. Lex felt his mind ripple away like a pond would, and phase back into existance again. He was warm: embraced against a gentle heartbeat by the amnesty of arms. But he felt cold again as he was let go, placed upon some soft thing. It smelled a little bit like home. Lex struggled so hard to open his eyes. The best he could do was peek out through squinted eyelids.
It had to be a dream. It must have been. He was there; Lex could have sworn it. Atla had been so close he could touch his face with the edge of his breath, his emerald eyes level with his. But he disappeared. Why did he go? it had to be a dream, didn't it?
A dream. Nothing more.
"Oh my gosh... You guys! Aaron, Lucy! Kincaid!"
Lex turned onto his side, stretching his arms and yawning. He slowly, for the first time in a couple of hours, opened his eyes. Lyla had been yelling out the open door, sitting on the foot of the bed. Lyla turned around to see Lex, and she broke out into a smile. "Lex! You're back!"
Lex blinked. "...I... am?"
"Yes! Oh, yes!" Lyla wrapped her arms around Lex, and Lex wasn't sure whether to be happy or just confused.
Lucy rushed into the door, then Kincaid. Aaron stayed back, huddled in the doorway. Lucy hugged Lex, catching Lyla in it too. "Thank goodness... Although, um. I knew you would be back."
"Oh, um... thanks..."
Lucy and Lyla backed off. Kincaid mustered up the courage to ask the question. "Um... Lex? Are you okay?"
Lex's eyes were red. A smile was not present until he forced it in response to Kincaid. "Yeah. Fine."
Lyla grabbed Lucy's hand. "Come on. Let's cook something." she looked at Lex. "To celebrate!!!" They giggled and rushed out the door. Kincaid, not suer what to do, followed them out before giving Lex one last glance.
Aaron leaned in the doorway. Lex did not look at him. Aaron spoke softly. "...I am so sorry. Lex, I failed you. I'm sorry."
Lex finally looked up at him. His look was one of pain. Aaron tried to approach, but Lex glared. Aaron swallowed. Lex began to cry, rather suddenly. "...It hurt. God, they hurt me and hurt me and they burned me and torched me, and it was all just in my head, so they could do it over and over and over again and I would never die. But you know, I deserved it. Because that's what I did to that warlock."
"Lex, no, that's-"
"It's no different. And you know it." Aaron knew he couldn't do anything to redeem himself. He tried to say something, but he couldn't. Lex continued instead. "I'm sorry, Aaron. I'm sorry, but I can't stand be with you right now, because you're just hurting me more. I'm sorry."
Aaron hung his head in shame. He closed the door behind him, and heard soft sobs. He punched the wall; some protector he was. Aaron bit his lip, and a tear slid out of his own eye.
"Aaron! Help us in the kitchen."
It was Lyla's voice. Aaron shook his head. "...Coming." The demons weren't the only ones torturing Lex. This whole time, he had been too.
A deep bright lake, in a mystery cave. Green irises and scales the color of rainbows... Lex needed them more than ever, but still they would not come. But something seemed closer to him in the breeze. Something protected him from the water. Lex could not find them, but perhaps they would find him soon enough.
*Before I forget... Correction! In last episode, at the end when Lucy says "Aaron went to orb Mikey back home." She was supposed to say "orb Kincaid back home." Hehe, sorry. I had some other corrections too, but... this one really bugged me.
Aahh... holidays are indeed coming up, which means... X-mas episode! Yay! However, here's the rub... I'm not gonna have Internet access for the next week since I'll be gone somewhere, but hopefully I'll have submitted the story by X-mas Eve, so yeah... haha, it's cutting it a little bit thin, but I believe it'll work. That also means I won't be able to respond to comments until later, but... don't worry, I'll get to them :)
Oh, wow. Tensions are indeed rising. Drama, drama, and a new sect of the Seven is revealed. And how about that Kira girl? (Seem familiar from anywhere? :O) Tune in next week- Cheers!
as per usual: thank you for reading!
Questions? Comments? Reccomendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna just talk about Charmed? email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to hear from you!