Charming the Halliwells 76
Charming the Halliwells
Chapter 76: Mortal Exposure
All rights to the Halliwells and Charmed go to The Wb and Aaron Spelling.
This is a spin-off of his creation, of which we're all thankful for. Please
Do not plagiarize or anything. LOVE YA
Wyatt orbed into the attic to find the sisters gathered around the book. He was immediately taken aback by the sight of them by the book because it had been a while since they had actually used it. Life took precedent of everything, as it should. He had awoken to find Drake gone to work early, which wasn't uncommon since the new boss took over. Drake wanted to impress him and was, in effect, risking overloading himself and the pregnancy. He promised he wouldn't work too hard, though. And now Wyatt was back here, with the sisters.
"Hey mom, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige," Wyatt said, walking to them, "What's up?"
"Hey baby," Piper smiled, "We're just looking at the book."
"Trying to find a way to help you guys." Paige said quickly.
"With Uber-Drake?" Wyatt asked, "I don't think he'll be in the book."
"We think if we summon him, he might just tell us what he wants." Phoebe explained.
"Where is he, Drake I mean?" Paige asked.
"Work."
"Work?! Didn't the doctor tell him..." Piper started.
"With the new boss and the advice evil Drake gave, I'm sure he needs to be there." Phoebe said, "The higher-ups are really worried about this."
"Exactly what kind of advice did he give?" Piper asked.
"Let's just say it involved a penis and pliers." Phoebe frowned.
The room was silent with thought. Suddenly, Chris orbed in with a pack of demons on his tail. Wyatt raised his hands and shot an energy wave that instantly vanquished each of them.
"Thanks, bro." Chris smiled to Wyatt.
-
I sat at my desk, shivering as I worked. It wasn't particularly cold nor did I feel bad. It was definitely fear and it was increasing every second. I was scared for my baby, for my job, and for the fact that I was running around doing evil deeds. This wasn't some guy wearing my face, it was me. It was scary to think that I could possibly turn into that. He wasn't just doing evil deeds...he's the source of all evil and he's after us. We're his targets.
"So..." Dean said, standing at the door.
I looked up, frozen, "Oh, hi!" I said, standing, "Just goin over everything."
Dean nodded.
"And I'm so sorry about that response." I said, "I was totally..."
"On drugs?" Dean asked, "That's why you've been taking all that time off, isn't it?"
"I...uh, what?" I asked, "I'm not on drugs!"
"You're not on drugs? Then, why, may I ask, are you taking so much time off?" Dean asked, folding his arm.
"Well, I got back with my husband and we're having a baby." I said.
"You're adopting?" Dean asked.
I smiled.
"Good. I expected you to say that it was something having to do with your father's death." Dean smiled, "But this is better."
I chuckled, "I'm dealing with that." I said quickly.
"I can't imagine losing a parent." Dean said, "The empathy you felt was helping you until this stunt."
I wanted to say something.
"And I'm so sorry, but until this is resolved, I have to suspend you." Dean said.
"Uh...what?" I asked, "But it was...I..."
"It's just until some of the investors can get together and decide your fate." Dean said.
I nodded and grabbed my laptop, "I understand." I said, walking past him and out of the door.
-
"What was that?" Wyatt asked.
Chris walked over to the book, "I need information on the new Source." He panted.
"So, you're attacking demon groups?" Piper asked.
"Look, if we're going to learn anything about the Source, we're going to need to trap one of his followers." Chris said, "If Wyatt had bothered to save any, we'd know."
"You're welcome." Wyatt said, folding his arms.
"Besides, we can't have him running around pretending to be Drake or trying to hurt Drake." Chris said.
Wyatt looked at him oddly, as did the sisters.
"I thought we had this talk." Wyatt frowned.
"He's my best friend and I know this is killing him." Chris frowned.
"You're right." Wyatt said.
The door downstairs slammed, causing them to stare to the door. I came in, swearing under my breath.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Wyatt asked.
I chuckled angrily, "That dick got me suspended!" I shouted.
"Oh, no, they did it!?" Phoebe asked.
"Yes, Phoebe, they did!" I said angrily, "You could have warned me just a little."
"Well, I didn't think they'd actually do it!" Phoebe said defensively.
"They did!" I frowned, "Why is Chris by the book?"
"He's defending your honor." Wyatt said sarcastically.
"What?" I asked.
Chris looked to Wyatt angrily, "I'm trying to figure out what the other you wants." He said.
"That's so sweet." I said quickly, "And stupid."
"What?" Wyatt and Chris said at the same time.
"The last thing I want is for him to be here, Chris." I frowned, "He's already cost me my job and respect."
Phoebe walked over and put her arm around my shoulders, "You're not fired, honey, they just want to evaluate the situation." She explained.
"You know, it's funny." I chuckled.
"What is?" Piper asked nervously.
"I've been saying for so long that something in me is evil and now I know that I'm at least half right." I laughed, "I mean, I do all this good and still an evil version of me comes from an alternate dimension and undoes everything we've done, effectively making me..."
"Drake." Wyatt said.
"No! And I was angry with my brother for killing my dad and it turns out that it's all my fault anyways." I said as my laughing stopped, "I'm not going to let myself do this."
"He isn't you." Chris said, "He's a version of you, of what you could have become, but he will never be you!"
"Chris is right. Face it, dude, you're a force of good." Paige smiled.
"How do I fix all this? The club, the restaurant, the column? I mean, there's no way I can possibly resurrect the people he's killed." I frowned.
"You didn't kill them." Wyatt said, walking to me, "And you didn't do those things. And it's not up to you to fix everything. We're all in this together."
"Wait...didn't you say that the other you was visiting your brother?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, that's how I knew something was wrong." I replied.
"Why don't we just ask him?" Paige asked,
"Because, it's like Warren said, he has an enchantment that the people who see him don't remember." I explained.
"Then why didn't it work on us?" Piper asked.
"Maybe because the enchantment's not functional anymore. He wanted us to see him." Wyatt said, "Why now? Why show himself to us now and what does he stand to gain?"
"Besides being the most powerful being?" Piper asked, looking at me.
I looked down at my stomach, "He can't have my baby." I said, putting my hand over my stomach.
Wyatt behind me and put his arm around, placing his hand on my stomach.
"First thing's first, we do what we can to fix the situations." Piper said, "When you guys were younger, I shut the club down for a long time. We've done a lot of miracles."
"The contracts..." Chris said, "I don't have anything lined up."
"How about an advice columnist?" I asked, "I could sing there. And I know people."
"You'd do that?" Chris asked, "Sure! What about the rodents?"
"That one's easy." Paige said, "We'll use magic. If magic did it, magic can undo it."
"The restaurant?" Piper asked.
"Magic's not fixing that one." Phoebe said, "What if we settle out of court? Or..."
"And the column?" I asked.
"That one is out of our control, sweetie." Paige said softly.
"Ow!" Wyatt said.
"What's wrong?" I asked
"My charge is in trouble." Wyatt said, "Gotta go." He said, orbing away.
"I have a condo and a baby and my husband wants his own practice..." I said, closing my eyes, "I have been such a bitch lately, is this my punishment?"
"Honey, no!" Piper said, walking over and hugging me, "You couldn't have seen any of this coming."
"Hell, even I didn't." Chris said.
"And this isn't punishment for something you did wrong." Piper said.
"He took the one thing that he knew I needed, that I've been consistent at." I said sadly, "I haven't always been a good person or husband or brother or even son, but the thing I could do better than most people is write a column and he's taking that from me."
"He'll only take it if you let him." Phoebe said quickly, "Everything he's done can be fixed. You just have to try."
"Phoebe's right, you can't give up." Paige added.
Chris' eyes snapped shut and I knew he was having a premonition immediately. He shuddered a little as his eyes popped back open.
"What is it, Chris, what'd you see?" Phoebe asked.
"A woman being chopped in half by a demon with an axe." Chris said.
"I'm so glad you were the one that saw that." Phoebe said, "Where was she?"
"The Library." Chris said about to orb.
"Hey!" I said, walking to him, "I'm going."
"Be careful." Piper said, "We'll stay here and..."
"Everyone who still has a job should go to it." I said as we orbed away.
-
We orbed into a cramped closet. We were face to face and it was definitely awkward. Chris threw the door open and let me leave the closet first. I stood waiting for Chris to step out. I looked around at the library, taking in the sight of this library. I hadn't been to this library since before college. Unlike most other college students, I didn't spend most of my time in the library. I spent a lot of time in my bed. Notice I said my bed.
"Do you see her?" Chris asked.
"How should I know?" I said quickly.
"Oh yeah, you didn't see her." Chris said, "She's a red-head. About your height and she's got glasses."
"A red-head, huh?" I said, walking forward, "What's the deal? With everything we have going on, for us to have an innocent. And one that's out in public, in the daytime?"
"She's in danger, though." Chris said, "I wonder why she's important."
"So red-heads can't be important?" I smiled.
Chris chuckled, "No! She's...she didn't look like she was used to it." He said, "In other words, she was shocked."
"What floor is she on?" I asked.
"Third." Chris said as we entered the stairwell.
While we were going up the stairs, there was a grunt and the sound of something falling! Chris and I rushed up the stairs and through the door and my hands flew up as a sickle came down and stopped just before hitting the frozen red-head! Chris waved his hand and the demons flew through the air and smashed into a bookshelf! Luckily, no one else was inside the third floor. Chris ran to the girl, who unfroze at his touch. He was asking her was she alright when her eye became big and she shouted for me to duck! I did so, barely missing the sickle, and jumped to the ground! I kicked him in the stomach, causing him to disappear through a portal.
"I was right!" The girl said.
I frowned, "Congratulations!" I snapped.
-
"You took my pregnant husband on a demon hunt?!" Wyatt shouted.
"You weren't here and his power came in handy! Because of him, we saved the innocent." Chris shouted back.
"I'm lost." The girl, Fran, said.
"Ignore the pregnant stuff..."
"Done," Fran said, "But demons do exist, right?"
I nodded.
"You know he's sick!" Wyatt argued.
"I feel fine." I frowned.
"He's a big boy, he can decide for himself!" Chris argued back.
"Do they always fight like this?" Fran asked.
"Not really." I said, "Listen everybody!"
Everyone stopped.
"We know what's after you." I explained, "It's called a Libris."
"Libris?" Fran asked.
"They keep people from finding out the truth about the existence of demons." I said, "The last person we came across died."
"So, I'm going to die?" Fran asked.
"Not at all. We're going to save you." Chris said.
"This thing is still looking for me, isn't it?" Fran asked.
"Yes." I sighed, "But you're pretty safe here."
"How did you figure out about demons?" Wyatt asked.
Fran looked embarrassed, "I found some files kept by a past student who died, Charlene Hughes. I figured I would build on her research. I was shocked...I mean, demons existing!" she said.
I looked to Wyatt with a very dire expression. We both knew that she wouldn't be able to live, not even if she promised not to say anything. Leo had explained to all of us about the Libris, as well as the cleaners, very early on. Not only did her knowing about demons out demons, but it pretty much proved the existence of magic.
"What?" Fran asked.
Chris looked at both of for a minute before ignoring the glances, "Nothing." He said, walking to the book.
"No, seriously, what?" Fran asked.
"Demons don't want to be known." Wyatt said, "No magical creature is supposed to be known."
"Just say it!" Fran said.
"Demons, these Libris guys, won't let any mortal who knows about demons live." I said, "Something tells me that they're not going to let it go at just vanquishing the demon."
Fran thought about it for a minute, "So...you're saying that I'm going to die no matter what?" she asked.
I froze her quickly, "We can't let her die." I said.
"We can't let her expose us and the demons." Wyatt said.
"The demons'll just keep coming." Chris said, "Magic can't be exposed."
"So, we let her die?" I asked.
"I think maybe she has to." Wyatt said, "What kind of life can she have running from demons?"
"And she doesn't have powers to protect herself." Chris agreed.
"So, that's it? We just let her die?" I asked.
"No. But we need to find a way to save her. And quick." Chris said.
"The demons already know about her." Wyatt said.
"Looks like you have a choice." A voice said, causing us to look over to the Libris demon, "You can let us have her or you can save her. You can protect magic or expose it."
"She won't say anything." I said.
"Can you promise?" The Libris asked, "Can you trust her? She stole a dead woman's research and planned on leaking it to the media."
"What?" All three of us asked.
"She didn't tell you that she was an up and coming news reporter?" The Libris asked.
"Still, we can't let you kill her." I said.
"She could undo everything you've done. To expose one side is to expose the other side. And to expose those sides means much to both sides." The Libris said, "I'll give you an hour to decide."
"An hour?!" I asked.
"Yes, an hour." The Libris said, disappearing.
"We can't give her to him." Wyatt said.
"Agreed." Chris said.
"Maybe he's right." I said.
"What?!" Wyatt and Chris asked.
"We can't let her expose magic." I frowned.
"We can't let her die either!" Wyatt said, "Baby, think about what you're saying."
"I am. She lied to us. She's planning to sell us out." I said, "And I don't want my baby born to Chaos."
"Drake..." Chris started.
"I'm not suggesting we let her die, but we have to do something." I frowned, "It's us or her and I'm feeling a little selfish."
"We're going to save her and protect magic." Wyatt said, "There's got to be a way."
"We only have an hour to decide before I'm sure the whole demonic society rains down on us." Chris said, "Whatever we decide, it needs to be quick."
"We don't have time to consult with anyone." Wyatt said.
"That is not true."
We all looked over again to see a group of Elders, led by Sandra.
"This is your decision." Sandra said, "You can either save Fran and risk her exposing magic or give her to the demons."
"Which would be a very sinister thing to do." Kevin the Elder said.
"Everything happens for a reason." Sandra said as they all disappeared in orbs.
"That was no help at all." I frowned.
"If only there was a way we could do both. Give the demons what they want and save her." Wyatt said.
"Well, guys what're...Drake, are you crying?" Chris asked.
I sniffed, "Sorry, it's the hormones." I sobbed.
Wyatt put his arm around me, "It's okay baby." He said softly.
-
30 Minutes into it...
The doorbell rang while we arguing, so we didn't hear it. Piper and the sisters were out as well as Leo and Melinda. There was much debate about how to handle the situation but we weren't even close to compromising. My crying fit was over, which was a relief to all of us. Chris wanted us to fight for the girl and just let her go. Wyatt mediated. I was for saving the girl and wiping her memory. It seemed only fair. Magic being exposed could only do more damage than good. My freeze on the innocent was holding nicely. It was the longest I've ever frozen someone, I think. And now we were at a stand-still. None of us were talking when Caleb shimmered in with Brian.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, "Don't you knock?"
"We did, but no one answered." Caleb smiled.
"What if Wyatt and I were having sex?" I asked.
"Babe..."
"Ewwww." Caleb, Chris, and Brian said together.
"Or Piper and Leo." I said.
"Ewww." Chris and Wyatt said together.
"Point is, it's a little intrusive." I frowned.
"Like having your brother's husband orb into your job?" Caleb said, "No worries, Wyatt."
Wyatt smiled.
"We've been trying to text you." Caleb said, "We're going out to dinner and we thought maybe you'd come."
I chuckled nervously, "I can't, especially not right now. We're in the middle of something." I said.
Brian looked hurt but nodded, "It's okay. It's clear." He said.
"What?" I asked.
"I mean, we both know the reason you're not going is because of me." Brian said.
"I..."
"And it's okay. I accept that it'll take more than just saying I'm your brother. I'm going to work at this. It's new to me." Brian explained, "I'm just asking for a chance."
Wyatt and Chris looked to me.
"Listen, we're having dinner later tonight at Piper's restaurant. If you're not busy then, around seven, we'd both really like you to come." Brian said.
I nodded.
Brian and Caleb didn't say anything, they just shimmered away.
"Drake..." Chris started.
"One crisis at a time." I frowned.
-
28 minutes later...
"Look at her, we can't just hand her over." Chris said.
"She's a reporter. We can't just let her go." I said, "She has evidence that could expose everything."
"But baby, it's our job to protect the innocent." Wyatt said, "What she does with this information is irrelevant."
"I know that!" I shouted, "I know. But if we're outed to the world, I could lose my husband or my best friend or brother or any other relative that I care about."
"Maybe it's time we took that risk." Chris frowned, "Maybe people weren't ready for magic back during the original Charmed ones. What if that's what all this is about."
"Chris, why do we have to take this chance now?" I asked, "Knowledge of magic now isn't..."
"It all comes down to whether we're ready." Wyatt said, "And we are. You have to trust me and Chris. We'll protect you and the baby."
"Matthew and Bianca are my main concerns and if I thought I was doing something to harm them, I would gladly do anything else." Chris frowned, "I'd never let anything happen to anyone I love. I went back in time to make sure we'd have a better future."
Wyatt and I looked to each other.
"Maybe this is that future." Chris said.
Suddenly Fran unfroze and in front of us the Libris appeared.
"What say you all?" The Libris smiled.
Wyatt, Chris, and I exchanged nods.
Chris smiled, "We say..."
"Bye." Wyatt smirked.
I raised my hand as the Libris made to disappear and blew it up! Two demons orbs in on either side of us. I grabbed Fran and we ducked out of the way of fire balls! Wyatt threw an energy ball and vanquished one while Chris orbed a dagger, vanquishing the other! Fran and I appeared from behind the couch.
Fran looked wide-eyed, "Those were real demons and you're..."
"Witches." Wyatt said, "Good witches. We protect the world from the various evils."
Chris looked over to me, "And we'd like to keep it a secret." He said.
I smiled.
"You could have just put the whammy on me, but you didn't." Fran said.
"We're trusting you." I said, "If word of magic or demons or us ever got out, our lives would probably be over."
"But you're like superheroes!" Fran said, "You'd be celebrities."
"Exactly. We'd never be free to do what we do." I explained.
Fran stared at all three of us, then nodded, "You have my word that I won't publish my story." She said.
"Thank you." I smiled.
-
P3 was packed tonight for Christina Perri, who was singing Jar of Hearts on stage as well as some other songs. Wyatt was at the bar, making drinks while Chris was actually enjoying the performer with Bianca. Wyatt smiled to himself as he watched Chris and Bianca. Wyatt took a break for a second, letting the real bartender work and walked over to Chris and Bianca.
"And who do you think you are
Running 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are..."
"Nice job, bro!" Wyatt said over the music.
"Where's Drake? He's missing this!" Bianca asked.
"He had an important date." Wyatt smiled.
"Date?" Bianca asked confused.
"Yeah." Wyatt smiled.
"I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms"
"I guess he really isn't going to show." Brian frowned.
"He just...he needs time." Caleb said, "He's the stubborn one."
"Me?" I asked, walking to the table, "Yeah, I am."
Brian and Caleb stood.
"I didn't think..." Brian started.
"I'm sorry for treating you the way I have. I...lost my mom and then my grandma. And..."
"Drake." Caleb said softly.
"I'm so sor..." Brian said.
"And I lost my dad in war." I said, "I've been looking at everything so wrong. I've been thinking I lost all this stuff and I've looked right through what I gained. A brother."
Brian and Caleb smiled.
"Hi. I'm Pahras Halliwell." I said extending my hand, "I'm your brother."