Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:53:21 -0700
From: Amethyst Rose <thepleiadescall@gmail.com>
Subject: Charmed Reborn Episode 11

Charmed Reborn

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 donÕt know why youÕre even here in the first place.



			    Whitelight Wedding


This episode, it's

"Guess Who Ran Off With the Milkman?"

By: The Pipettes

They say that we'll get married, but/ I'd quite like to run away

Everybody thinks you're perfect/ But I don't care what people say

I don't want to get a mortgage or think of when I'm 63!

Or in terms of dogs and babies

I know how much you love me

But I don't think that I love you anymore...

I've come to the conclusion that/there's far too many girls and boys,
you'll meet

someone else who sees you perfect

but I'm really not that sweet...

- - - -



Lucy looked up and down the hallway. She heard a rustling in her
bedroom. Without knocking, she let herself in.

Aaron was there, nervously fumbling through his index cards. He looked up
at Lucy and gave a trembling sigh. "What are you doing in my room?" she
wondered out loud, hoping Aaron would answer nonetheless.

"I don't wanna be in Lex's room... that would be embarrassing." Aaron
responded. Lucy wondered to herself what exactly he meant by that. "I
thought you were with Lyla" he said, not meaning to offend her.

"She's doesn't need me." Lucy answered in a surprisingly bitter tone. "Lex
is with her anyway." Aaron nodded. Lucy closed the door behind her and sat
down next to Aaron on her bed. "So. ÔAar-bear.' I want you to answer
something honestly for me."

"Of course."

Lucy propped her chin on her hands. "Do you REALLY want to marry my
sister?"

"...Lucy. That's quite a question."

"Bear with me. If I remember correctly, you were the one who said that you
liked my brother. Not to mention with the way you were treating her
lately... I'm just a little bit confused, I suppose."

"It's complicated." Aaron said, getting up and scanning his cards. "You
know, I've been around for more than a century, and I've never been to a
wedding. I have no idea what vows even are."

"Dodging..." Lucy taunted.

"Look, I talked to Lex about it already. I love Lyla, and I'm going to go
through with this. I may have acted rash in the past, but I'm pretty sure
that I know what I'm doing now."

Lucy shrugged. "Sure. Whatever. Lyla's actually rational when she's with
you, and besides, Lex is pretty happy with Drag-" Suddenly, Aaron clenched
his fists, and his note cards crumpled in his grip. The harsh crunching
noise led to Aaron's face turning red, and to Lucy giving a sly
smile. "...are you jealous?"

"No! No. I'm worried. You know Lex! He's easily led, he- he needs guidance,
and that warlock can't-"

"You don't give Lex enough credit, Aaron." Lucy said sharply, interrupting
his sentence. "My brother may be a ditz, but he's not unwise."

"He can't tell good from evil."

"He can still tell safety from danger."

"Well I don't-" Aaron cut himself off. He took a deep breath, and with the
palms of his hands straightened out his cards again. "I need to memorize
these. Maybe you should go check on our guest right now."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll just leave you in my room then." she
said, somewhat festiciously. She closed the door behind her. Aaron sighed
and briefly rolled his eyes into the back of his head, as he threw the
index cards all over the bed.

Very quietly, Lucy crept past Lyla's room, whose door was closed, and into
the seldom used guest bedroom across the hall. She knocked on the
door. Instead of a voice answering back like she expected, the door swung
open; Kincaid stood in front of her, dressed in a very plain t-shirt and
jeans number. "Hi Dr. Russel."

"Hi." she responded, a bit confused. Kincaid slipped past her and closed
the door behind him, so it was just him and Lucy in the hall. Kincaid
motioned her closer, as though to whisper in her ear. "What?"

Kincaid mouthed the words to her instead. *HE* *IS* *SO* *HOT*

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Who? Our vampire victim?"

"No, that's Rudi. He's alright if you're a top." Kincaid qualified. "I
meant LUCAS." Kincaid fanned himself with his hands in what Lucy hoped was
a parody of fangirls. "He is so taken though. Totally obsessed with
Rudi. I'm okay with that, I mean, I bet Blaine could knock him out with his
eyes closed."

"Kincaid, please. Act professionally."

"Lighten up, Dr. Russel, I was joking! Geez. Anyway. Lucas told me that he
didn't vanquish the vampire that bit Rudi. But Paige took a look at Rudi
before she left the other night, and she said that his transformation
wasn't complete."

"What does that mean?"

"Psh!" Kincaid exclaimed. "How would I know? I thought you were gonna tell
me."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Well, did you get any more dirt on him?" she asked.

"Yeah. He's a witch, and he's known about his active powers for about four
years... but the thing is that he doesn't use them at all."

"But we saw them at P3."

Kincaid shrugged. "Iunno. I didn't ask why, he just said he didn't like
to. He said his Ôexpertise lies in other places.'" Kincaid imitated Lucas
with a deep, masculine pantomime.

Lucy gave a curious tick of her head, then turned 90 degrees and opened the
door to the guest bedroom as Kincaid trailed.

Rudi was still in bed with a wet cloth on his forehead, his messy short
light brown hair parted at the front. The sheets were up to his
shoulders. Lucas sat at the edge of his bed, and he turned his attention to
Lucy when she came through the doorway. He said nothing.

She focused very grimly on Rudi's pale face, then to the troubled look on
Lucas'. "So you're a witch, right?"

"Yeah. I guess you are too, huh." Lucy nodded in response. Lucas twiddled
his thumbs and looked up at her. "And that's why you were asking about the
Pseudomonarchia."

Lucy nodded again, then motioned to Rudi. "We think he'll be okay. Vampire
bites aren't fatal unless they cause massive blood loss, but your guy
didn't do that much damage. The worse that could happen is that he-"

"-he could become a vampire." Lucas said, completing her sentence.

"...Well, obviously, yeah." she said, rather frustrated. "Anyway. If you
remember Paige, she's our resident vampire expert. But she's not in right
now. So what we're gonna have to do is just wait for your friend to wake up
and hope for the best."

"I'll just stay here then."

Lucy bit her lip. "Lucas, I'll be honest with you. We're not in the safest
situation right now, and not to mention my sister's getting married so
we'll be really tied up and won't be in the best place to protect you. And
even THAT aside, if you don't use your powers, then you're really in no
position to protect your friend or yourself."

Kincaid averted his eyes, knowing that his cover was blown. "I don't use my
ACTIVE powers." Lucas said very angrily. "My expertise lies in other
places."

"Right, sure, whatever." Lucy dismissed quite rudely. "We're going to turn
you over to some people called the Elders. They-"

"Look, I'm not stupid." Lucas said, his voice rising. "I've translated a
lot of junk, and I know all about the Elders, and about you too." Lucy
raised an eyebrow. Lucas continued: "You're the Charmed Ones, aren't you?"

Kincaid gasped, looking at Lucy. "*No way.* I thought the LeFleurs were the
Charmed Ones or something!"

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, glaring at Kincaid. "Wha- no! What are you
talking about, that's the whole point, remember?"

"Oh. Well the Elders should explain stuff better, Ôcos I got confused."

"... Anyway. We are the Charmed Ones. But we have our hands full already,
Mr. Dawson, and I'm sure that the Elders would be more than happy to
accommodate you."

Lucas gave a hopeless look and went back to attending Rudi. Kincaid pouted,
and went to Lucy. "Oh, come on, Dr. Russel." he whispered. "Have a
heart. Just look at them."

Lucy did as told, and Kincaid was surprised to see her face scrunch up in
spite at the sign of Lucas' affection. "I don't like what I see..." she
said, very quietly and sing-songy to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing. Lucas? You have to leave as soon as possible, for your own good
and for ours."

"Alright." Lucas began to say. "I understand."

"Good." Lucy proceeded to head for the door.

"...I guess you don't wanna know about the Pseudomonarchia."

And then she stopped in her tracks. Lucy immediately spun around on her
foot, but Lucas still trained his gaze on Rudi. This time he had a smug
smile on his face. Kincaid giggled.

Lucy was not amused. "Very clever." she said, crossing her arms. "You
really wanna stay, don't you?"

"Look, I know you're busy and dangerous and whatever. But..." Lucas tapered
away, completely lost in the figure of his friend in bed. "...this is for
Rudi. I just want the best for him."

Kincaid's face rippled into one of admiration. But upon the mentioning of
Rudi's name, Lucy suddenly seemed scornful again, which Kincaid took note
of. She flipped her bang out of her face. "Fine. Stay. But tell me
everything you know." she commanded.

"And lose my insurance? No. I'll tell you when Rudi wakes up."

Lucy threw her hands in the air. "Fine! Whatever! I'll be back later then!
Kincaid?" he snapped out of his trance to gaze at Lucy with his curious icy
eyes. "Lyla, Lex, Aaron and I have to go to a wedding rehearsal."

"Already?" Kincaid yelped. "But Aaron just proposed two days ago! How could
you have a rehearsal so soon?"

"Oh, you obviously don't know my sister." Lucy said thoughtfully, before
she walked out into the hallway. "Keep fort, and call Aaron if you're in
trouble! I don't know what's in store for us now!"

"Alright. Tell my dad ÔHi.'" Kincaid yelled out the door.

"We will."

- - - -

"Lex... Lex, Lex, Lex."

"What is it?" Lex asked from his place at Lyla's table. He briefly put his
pen down, massaging his fatiguing wrist.

Lyla continued to brush her hair as she gazed into her vanity-sized
mirror. "You're okay with this decision, aren't you?"

"Wha, I-" Lex was quite perplexed at the bluntness of her question. He got
the strange feeling that something similar had just happened somewhere else
in the house. "-of course! Ly, it's fantastic."

Lyla looked over to him and grinned. "Well I'm glad you think that. ÔCos
there's no way in hell I'm gonna let anything stop me."

Logic seemed to dictate that Lyla's statement indicated Lex as a possible
threat to her happiness, but Lex didn't let this bother him immensely. "I'm
really happy for you both. Honest." he said.

"Aww, sweetie." Lyla reached out her arms, beckoning Lex in for a hug. He
got up and welcomed the embrace. "...it'll be really cool, you know."

"What?"

"Having my sister as the maid of honor and my brother as the best man. Not
very many girls can claim that." Lyla let go of Lex, and greeted him with
her very big grin.

"Well.... most girls also have guests from the groom's side that aren't
magical creatures."

"Hm. I guess." Lyla responded offhand. "...I really wish mom and dad were
here to see this."

"They'd be proud."

Lyla nodded. She finally put her brush down and glanced at the clock. "We
should get going pretty soon. How're the invitations going?"

Lex glanced back at the table he was at. "It feels a little weird that I'm
writing invitations when we haven't even gone to a rehearsal, and even
weirder that the rehearsal's so soon, but it's okay. Plus I don't really
know half of the people that you're inviting. But I guess that's because
you and Lucy are the only ones with lives."

"Lex... I was going to talk to you about that. Don't you wanna reopen a
shop?"

"Well, I-" Lex paused. Perhaps the only child who had his parents' old
flower shop in mind, Lex had gotten a very obscure BS in Ethnobotany while
Lucy was working on her doctorate, and both she and Lyla were
modeling. When their parents died, Lex was happy to take the shop
over. Unfortunately, his lack of knowledge in the business spheres led to
the shop being bought off quite early on by a business tycoon looking for a
parking lot. And with witchcraft entering his life, Lex was more distracted
than ever. "-not now. I'll figure something out."

"Well it's up to you. Come on, let's get going."

Lex nodded. "Alright. Just a sec, I have to call Dragon."

Lyla paused in the middle of her stride, just before she was through the
door. She turned around, and giggled. "Uh, you're not really gonna bring
him, are you?"

"...Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Lex asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Well, I mean, it'll be a Christian wedding. Kincaid's dad is gonna be the
priest."

"Yeah, I know that."

"Well..." Upon Lyla's third "well," Lex was starting to feel a little
irritated. "...if he's part warlock, I don't want him to burn into cinders
in the middle of our ceremony, you know? How awful would that be!" she
said, half-laughing and half-serious.

"'Well.' We're part warlock and demon, and so's Kincaid, and so's his dead,
so I really hope WE ALL don't burn into cinders at the altar." he
satirized.

"Okay. This is my wedding. I don't want an argument about it. Just-" Lyla
rolled her eyes, as if she were struggling with herself. "-make sure he's
discreet."

"As per usual..." Lex mumbled as Lyla went out the door and down the
stairs. He followed, but ran into Lucy in the hallway. "Luce, did you
decide who you wanna invite yet?" he asked her.

Lucy bit her lip. "I gotta couple of professors in mind, but they're not
particularly party people. Why don't you write one for Mikey." she said.

Lex nodded. The door behind Lucy opened and Aaron stepped out, still
fumbling with his notecards. Lex and Lucy greeted him with a smile. "Ready
now?" Lucy asked.

Aaron gave her a dirty look, but grinned at Lex. "Hey Lex."

"Hi."

"Come on, let's go!" Lyla yelled from below. Lex saw Aaron flinch a little
upon hearing her voice, and Lex laughed, playfully shrugging at him as he
joined Lucy on the way to the foyer. Aaron stood in his place for a little,
watching Lex as he gamboled down. He repeatedly trained his gaze from Lex
to his notes and back again. He sighed, rubbed his face, and finally went
downstairs.

- - - -

"This is a bizarre practice, little one. I don't quite understand."

Lex looked up from his book to observe what part of the ceremony Atla was
referring to this time. Brendan Rowe, a tall handsome man in his 40's that
resembled Kincaid quite a bit, presided over Aaron giving his vows to
Lyla. Lex turned his head to Atla. Atla had taken Lyla's advice to heart,
and was shrouded in a brown hooded cloak. Lex had to lean over to see
Atla's shaded face, and he laughed. "Why do you say that?" he asked him.

"In my culture, commitment to one another is expressed solely through
consummation and subsequent birth, which is what we celebrate. A ceremony
for mutual binding seems tedious and unnecessary."

"Hm. That's one way of looking at it." Lex said. Aaron had fumbled on his
lines again, and it looked like he was repeating it for the third time
now. Lyla was teetering from one foot to the other across from him. Lucy
was on the pew behind Lex, grading papers. Lex fingered the loose folds of
Atla's cloak between his thumb and forefinger. "You know, you didn't
actually have to wear this."

"I don't want to upset your sister. I know she doesn't trust me already."

"W-wait." Lex quietly giggled. "Are you trying to impress her?"

Atla shifted his eyes uncomfortably under his hood, and clutched his cloak
tighter. "...Of course not. I care only about you."

Lex sighed and leaned his head on Atla's shoulder. Behind him, Lucy briefly
looked up from her papers and looked back down again in distaste.

"And I know now that the true reason is because I love you. No matter what
forces may lie in wait..." Aaron continued to ramble on quite
dispassionately.

Rather suddenly, Lex felt Atla's muscles tense under him. Lex looked up at
him. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

"...Demons afoot."

Lex gasped, as he and Atla stood up in unison. Lyla perked up in her place,
her intuition sensing something too. It was just in time.

A vortex of energy ripped in front of the chapel door. Five harpies burst
through, and with a horrible scream they immediately began an assault of
bright blue energy bolts.

Lyla pushed Brendan to the ground, and Aaron orbed away. Lucy yelped as she
stood up and her papers fell to the floor. She thrust her hands at the
energy bolts, and they froze in her lime spotlight just inches away from
Lyla.

"Rend! Rotundum!" Lex yelled. Circular blades of telekinetic power conjured
around the harpies, and they were slashed mercilessly.

It did little to phase them. "Die!" one yelled, as she aimed a bolt at
Lex. It went straight over Lucy's head, who was still holding her
spotlight, and it appeared it would be a bulls-eye.

Atla grabbed Lex's hand and pulled him to the ground. The bolt hit a small
stand with a vase of flowers instead. Something quite surprising happened:
Lyla, Lucy, and Lex looked at the vase. It had screamed.

But no matter what they had heard, there were more pressing issues. Lyla
finally circled around the frozen energy bolts, and Lucy released her
spotlight. With the sound of time recovering, each one hit the opposing
wall with a crackling concussive blast. Atla ran onto the aisle and raised
his arms. Green wind flew up forcefully from the ground, and the harpies
were immobilized.

Aaron orbed back into existence. Not sure of what else to do, he helped
Brendan to his feet and escorted him aside. Lyla finally came to Lucy's
aid, and Lex joined his sisters. Lucy put her hands into Lyla's and
Lex's. "Do you remember the spell?" Lyla asked, panicked.

Lucy nodded. "Claws of pain we have to sever/Demons, you are gone forever!"
she yelled.

All five harpies let loose a horrendous wail. They vanished with puffs of
smoke and the typical noise of a vanquish.

Lyla threw Lucy's hand out of hers. She stomped to the smudges on the floor
where the harpies once were, and then took an about-face to Atla, who was
still in the aisle. "How did harpies know about my wedding?!" she yelled,
as if it were his fault.

"Ly, I don't know about you, but I think I heard that vase scream." Lex cut
in, eager to take the heat off of Atla. "Didn't you hear that?" he asked
both his sisters.

Lucy timidly nodded. Lyla angrily flipped her hair. She stuck her palm
out. A ruby star appeared on her forehead and in her outstretched palm;
Lucy and Lex turned around to see the pedestal and vase shrouded in red
light. Lyla turned her palm counterclockwise. Time locally portrayed itself
backward in the crimson world she created. When it reached the point where
the energy bolt had struck, she stopped. The pedestal and vase appeared
crumpled and singed by the searing blue attack, like a piece of paper.

Lyla disengaged the light. "Lex, do it." she commanded.

"Paper skin. Unfold."

The protection of paper folded into a thousand creases until it became no
more. The oni under it, a repulsive, red creature with a long nose and
piercing yellow eyes, revealed itself to the broad day.

A flash of white light and a bell-like noise. The oni shrieked and
withdrew, and with a puff of black smoke it apparated away. Aaron
unconjured his bow. "That should teach him." he said, rather nonchalantly.

"HARPIES AND ONI?!" Lyla suddenly screamed, causing the rest of her company
to jump.

Brendan stepped forward, putting his hands in a calming
position. "Ms. Russel, this is to be expected. I'm sure you should be used
to this by now."

Lyla gave him a sarcastic expression. "The reason why I wanted such a quick
wedding was to catch demons off guard."

"Oh." Brendan remarked. "I'm sorry to hear that didn't work. Still, if
you're as powerful as the first Charmed Ones where, that shouldn't be a
problem, should it?"

"...No. No, it won't be." Lyla said. Lex and Lucy exchanged glances- she
was deliberating, which almost always was a bad sign. "You know what we
have to do? We have to send a message. A message not to fuck with us. Lex?
Lucy? We're gonna go into the Underworld and go on an offensive, and while
we're there, we'll-"

"Lyla, no." Aaron cut in. Lyla gave him a nasty glare, but he stood his
ground. "You haven't been down there, so you wouldn't know, but witch
powers are significantly weaker. Even if you are a Charmed One."

"I can go." Atla remarked.

"No." Aaron and Lyla said in unison. Lyla continued. "...I wanna keep an
eye on you. You'll stay here with me and Lucy. We'll put up protection
charms so we can commence the wedding ASAP. Brendan can stay on hold for
now. Lex?" Lex, his eyes wide with fright, looked at his older
sister. "You'll get your crystals and use them offensively. You and Aaron
will go into the Underworld and kill the Harpy Queen."

Both Aaron and Atla raised their voices to protest, but both were stifled
by Lyla's sharp voice yet again. "Let the object of objection become but a
dream/As I cause the seen to be unseen." The mess created by the battle
suddenly cleaned itself off with a series of sparkles. Lyla headed out the
door. "Fuck personal gain."

- - - -

The light around Amy's podium grew pink with rage, ascending with her
voice. "I'm not responsible for Celaeno's actions!" she yelled. "The
harpies are rash, you know that!"

"'Rash' is an understatement." Kane growled. "That bitch of a queen fucked
up everything! Gloom's oni could have infiltrated the wedding and killed
all three of the Charmed Ones!" Gloom, from across the Citadel, bowed his
hooded head.

"Celaeno is still a queen. She did what she believes is right, and quite
frankly I agree with her." Amy retorted.

Barbatos cut in. "Erhm. Perhaps what Kane means to say is that you should
let the rest of us know when your harpies plan to attack so outrageously,
so as to better foster a more effective strategy." he said to Amy
diplomatically.

"NO. Actually, that's not what I meant to say. All your harpies want to do
is kill men and everything related to them. They can't even spell
Ôsubtlety,' much less think about it. How the hell could they be an asset
to us like this?"

"If you remember, that is exactly what Zira's Sisterhood is founded
upon. Marriage is a misogynistic institution that deserves to be
destroyed... I can't help it if one of my subjects knows exactly what she's
doing."

Kane rolled his eyes. "You're missing the big picture. The Charmed Ones!
Remember?!"

"They killed my fucking mother and sisters, Kane!!! Of course I remember!
But YOU forget what my mother fought for in the first place-" Amy's eyes
narrowed to intimidating slits, as she glared at Kane
intently. "-overthrowing the other sex."

Kane did not budge, returning the glare. "This is nonsense. Your harpies
are a disgrace. Ditch the queen, or we'll do the honors."

"...Is that a threat?" Amy nearly whispered.

"It's logical reasoning."

"Well then don't hold your breath over it, BOY. Celeano stays." After
slamming her hands on her podium one last time, Amy disappeared in a flash
of pink light.

After a brief silence, the clear voice spoke up. "...The harpies' wanton
destruction lends no practical good to any side."

"You're telling me that." Kane responded. "Shit. But there's no way Amy'll
give Ôem up."

"Then what if the harpies were simply to have a more fitting queen?"

The Citadel turned to Ipos. Antevorte with her shoulder-length hazel hair
stood by his side. A creepy grin came to Ipos' face. "We foresee... a
coup."

Kane raised an eyebrow. "That's convenient. By whom?"

"A little bit by good... and a little bit by us." Antevorte answered, her
big red lips in a sinister smile. "That is, if you're willing to push
things along."

"...I think I like what I'm hearing." Kane said, his own face
brightening. "I guess all that's left is choosing the queen's successor,
hm?"

Ipos nodded. Gloom silently approved. But Barbatos rose in protest. "You
propose civil strife, Ipos. This sort of disunion is not above the
discourse of mere humans."

"No, this is for our own survival. And Amy's too." Kane said. "This is for
the greater effort."

The rest of the Citadel rumbled in agreement. Barbatos sat back down, his
old voice now only mumbling to himself. "Comfort yourself with words... all
the better to deafen the mistakes of history."

- - - -

Lex carefully separated the stones in the compartments of his side bag,
silently recounting the types in his head. Garnet, aquamarine, sunstone,
and lemuria seed would be enough for basic offensive cages. A pyrite, fire
opal and hematite combination would do for defense. As for scrying, a
combination of topaz and-

"And most importantly, do NOT EVER eat anything offered to you."

His voice stern, Atla seemed without limit in his advice. He leaned against
the wall with his arms crossed. He had finally shed the cloak, exposing his
muscular frame quite intimidatingly. Of course, Lex was mostly unfazed as
he continued packing his bag, now with potions. "I doubt I'll be hungry...
there's no way we'll be down there for more than a couple of hours." Lex
responded.

"That's all the time a demon needs to kill you." Lex looked up at Atla,
giving him a sad sort of look. Atla fumbled with himself. "I... I didn't
mean that badly. All I mean to say is that you must take caution. You've
never experienced the Underworld like this."

"Atla. I'm really thankful that you're worried about me, but I can handle
it. Besides, Aaron will be with me the whole way, and-"

"Never send a whitelighter to do a warlock's job. Neither you nor your
whitelighter should have to carry out this mission." Lex shut his
mouth. Atla approached, uncrossing his arms in the process. "If you
remember, this was my career."

"I know... But you're a fugitive now. You'd be a lot safer with my
sisters."

An incredulous eyebrow raise from Atla. "If they don't vanquish me first."

"Ha! Haha!" Lex stopped laughing when he contemplated the
possibility. "...Oh, wait, they couldn't. They would need the power of
three to do that. Anyway, the point is that I'll be okay. But thank you."

Atla secretly swooned at Lex's smile, but swung around when the kitchen
door opened. Aaron sauntered out with potions in hand. He cut in front of
Atla quite rudely, then handed them to Lex. He sharply turned and glared at
Atla. "We're going now. Don't act up while we're gone."

"'Act up?'" Atla repeated with frustration and nerve.

"Aaron! Dragon!" Both them and Lex turned to Lucy, who entered screaming
from the top of the stairs. "Move it along." Lex exchanged glances with
Atla, and opened his mouth to say something, but Lucy's now furious voice
cut him off. "Go on! Now! Both of you!"

In quick response Aaron grabbed Lex's arm and orbed him out. Atla gave a
very angry look to Lucy, but said nothing. Lucy stood her place. The sound
of footsteps came from behind her, as Lyla came to her side. Lucy now
redirected her stare at Lyla, who recoiled with some fear, but then her own
resurrected frustration- as if to say, "I'm the one with a wedding on the
line here, so I should be the one who's pissed off." The area between the
foyer and the stairs suddenly transformed into a brooding, fiery pit of
rage.

"Lucy." Lyla said icily. "You seem to be acting a bit testy."

"'Testy?' That's a sophisticated word for you."

"Why did you send Aaron away before I could even say goodbye?"

"She sent Lex as well." Atla interjected from down the stairs.

"Shut up. That's different. Aaron is not just my boyfriend, he's my
fiancee."

"You obviously don't realize the significance of my culture's
relationships."

Lucy ignored Atla, homing in on Lyla. "Whoa, whoa, now you wait. YOU were
the one who wanted to set this ridiculous mission up in the first
place. And not only that, but you refused to send the one logical asset we
have, a demonic BOUNTY HUNTER-"

"Assassin."

"...assassin, just because you don't trust him."

"Lucy, don't be as naive as Lex. You should know better."

"Why won't you trust me?"

"Because you're a warlock that tried to kill us." Lyla snapped.

"I trust you. I just don't LIKE you." Lucy hissed. She then turned to
Lyla. "And you're just as bad."

Lyla suddenly became confused. "Wh- Wait, what is that supposed to mean?"

"I will repeat myself as much is required, if you would only believe me. I
am your ally, and I can help you."

Lyla raised her hand to Atla in a shush motion. She still trained her gaze
on Lucy, who was starting to walk away. "You hold on a minute, chumpette!
What the hell did you mean by that?!"

"Nothing! Nothing! I didn't mean anything!" Lucy paced down the hallway and
flung the guest room's door open. Kincaid and Lucas turned their heads in
surprise, even though they could hear their arguing through the door. Rudi
remained tranquil in bed. She stepped into the room and slammed the door
shut behind her.

Lyla made a frustrated noise, pulling on her hair. She flew down the
stairs, and rudely pointed to Atla. "You. You come with me. You're gonna
help me set up MY wedding that MY SISTER should be in charge of, NOT me."

"Why don't you get your wonderful fiancee to do it?" the faint voice of
Lucy, sarcastic and taunting, slithered from afar. "Oh, that's right. He's
with our brother in fucking Hell."

"You shut up!" Lyla motioned Atla out the door. "Come on."

- - - -

Bright blue white lights swirled and ebbed in the empty barroom. Lex
materialized on a stool, and Aaron behind the bar. Lex raised an eyebrow,
looking around. "This is the Underworld? It kinda looks like P3."

"...That's because it is." Aaron said, chuckling.

"Oh. Well why'd you bring us here?"

Before answering, Aaron turned around and fetched a glass. He procured
several frozen items from the freezer and took a blender in hand. "Lucy
said to go, so go I did. But it takes a while to triangulate exactly where
I need to orb. Consider it a pit stop before we leave." As if by magic, and
magic it could have very well been, Aaron prepared a frozen strawberry
drink in less than ten seconds, putting it on the counter in front of Lex.

Lex gave a huge smile as he grabbed the drink. Aaron was beaming. "...I
can't believe you still remember." Lex remarked.

"Of course I do. It's how we first met."

"Yeah." Slurping the cold fruity flavor into his mouth conjured memories
that seemed so very recent. Feelings that came, subsided, but never really
banished. Flirty smiles and unknown feelings, crushed hopes revived for no
reason, hearts of ice thawed in springtimes of renewal. When Lex looked up
at Aaron again, his dark eyes still smiling, his pale skin glowering in the
fluorescent light, he wasn't sure what he was thinking or feeling
anymore. So he asked the only question that anyone would find appropriate
in Aaron's situation. "...Are you excited about the marriage?"

Although possibly a figment of imagination, Lex thought he saw Aaron's eyes
flicker before answering. "I'm not one to get excited about things like
this. But I'm glad that it's finally happening."

Lex nodded. He began to play with his straw, using his tongue and teeth to
tease it. "I'm happy for you."

"I'm happy for you too."

"Really?" Lex eagerly exclaimed. "You like Dragon?"

"Uhh..." Aaron twiddled his fingers as he leaned over the counter, then
averted his eyes. "...Okay, I may have spoken on a whim." Lex
frowned. Aaron noted the reaction. "But I can't say anything yet. I don't
know him very well." he followed up.

"You don't have to lie. I know you don't like him."

"It's not that, it's- you could do better."

Perhaps aware of his underlying meaning, Lex raised his guard for Aaron's
own sake. "We went over this. Dragon cares for me, and I care for him. He
makes me feel safe and good, and-" Lex found himself becoming inarticulate,
perhaps the frozen bliss of his drink. "-and, I really really like
him. Like how you love Lyla."

"Maybe love can be split two ways."

Lex opened his mouth, letting his straw drop dead in his cup. Somewhere
between disbelief and surprise, Lex didn't know what to say from the
obvious implication. After enough moments of silence, Aaron slowly reached
forward, his precise hands seeming to grab after Lex's. Lex drew back, but
felt the warm edges of Aaron's fingertips as he did. Aaron took hold of
Lex's cup. He leaned his head forward so he was inches away from Lex's
face. They were close enough to feel each other's breath on their cheeks,
smell the faint odor of Aaron's mysterious sky scent. Aaron's dark eyes
connected with Lex's, and Lex could explore every detail of Aaron's
features. Aaron opened his mouth, and maneuvering his tongue forward, he
took the straw in his mouth and sucked the rest of the drink up.

"We should go." Lex whispered, afraid of what further proximity would do.

Aaron nodded. He put a hand on Lex's shoulder.

"W-wait." Lex said. Aaron stopped. "I thought you needed to triangulate or
something."

Aaron shrugged. He gave his boyish smile. "Guess not." Without another word
spoken, he and Lex vanished in the bright white curtain, down to a world
below.

- - - -

Lucy spent an uncomfortable amount of time staring at Lucas, then Rudi,
then Kincaid before hearing the front door slam and speaking up. "Did all
of you hear that?"

Lucas and Kincaid nodded. Kincaid looked at Lucas. "We'll be right back."
Kincaid quickly led Lucy outside, and led her downstairs to the
kitchen. Once in a comfortable spot with a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich, Kincaid suddenly asked "What is wrong with you, anyway?"

"Nothing. Don't act like you know me, I'm your teacher." Lucy shot.

"You're also younger than me. In fact, I think you used that argument
against me one time."

Lucy shut her mouth, and Kincaid continued. "Tell me why you're acting so
pissy, Dr. Russel."

"Oh, you should know."

Surprise, Kincaid raised a hand to himself. "Wha? What're you talking
about? I haven't done anything to you except my last homework assignment."

"Yeah, well not on purpose. You and lover boy up there, and Lex, and Lyla."

"...Oooh. I get it."

"I mean how would YOU feel? Huh?" Lucy seemed to scream to herself. "This
is worse than fifth wheel. This is like, ninth wheel at this point!"

Kincaid's mouth hardened into a flat line. "I'm still sorry about the speed
dating, by the way."

"Well I actually would've been okay with it, if I didn't end up so
disastrously alone in the end." Lucy paused. "...or, well... that's not
completely true."

"Hm?"

"I guess I'm not completely, utterly, horribly alone."

"Like what? What do you mean?"

Lucy looked desperate. "I mean I might have a chance with somebody!"

Kincaid gasped. "Oh! Who! Who!"

"Mikey."

"...Do I know him?"

"Yes! Of course you do!" Lucy rolled her eyes, and put her face in her
hands. "Never mind, it doesn't even matter."

"But I want to-" Kincaid paused. He looked around, his ears perking up. His
light blue eyes looked troubled. "-do you hear that?"

At first Lucy simply seemed skeptical. Then she heard it too: mumbling,
from upstairs. She exchanged a glance with Kincaid, and without a word,
joined him in a chase to the guest room.

Kincaid got there first: he slammed the door open, then drew back into the
hallway, unsure of what was happening. Lucy shoved her way in front of him,
peeking her head inside.

It was Lucas alright. It seemed he had stolen some of Lyla's candles, and
somehow lit them at the foot of Rudi's bed. His hands ascended into the air
as he chanted in an unknown language (not Lucy's forte), and iridescent
smoke plumed around his wrists like vaporous bracelets.

She was not in the mood. "Lucas!" Lucy yelled.

Lucas' concentration dropped with his hands and speech, as the plumes of
smoke dissipated into thin air. The candles flickered out. Lucas angrily
spun around. "What'd you do that for?!"

"What'd I do that- up yours! Don't piss on my leg and ask why I'm angry!
Watch what you're doing in this house!"

"Okay, Dr. Russel..." Kincaid interjected. "I know you're mad, but just,
you know, take it easy, and we'll-"

"If you're not doing anything to help Rudi, someone has to." Lucas
asserted.

"..." Lucy took a while to calm herself. "...Ok. Alright, well... what
exactly were you doing, Lucas?" She spoke one word at a time, perhaps to
give each one more emphasis.

"I wouldn't expect you to know." Lucy raised her eyebrow, thinking that
would be something she would be prone to say to others. "Ceremonial
magick. I'm the priest for a local coven, and I'm pretty good at it. You
just interrupted an ancient Mesopotamian awakening ritual."

"Oh, see, that's good!" Kincaid said, then turned to Lucy. "That's good!"
He repeated.

"I can think for myself, Mr. Rowe, so please don't do that." Lucy
responded, simultaneously using her hand as a blockade for his face. "This
is a problem, because we can't have unknown magic in the household, good or
bad. If you uphold this behavior any longer, you and your friend are going
to have to- oh whoa, oh, oh."

Although Kincaid could see what made Lucy break her tirade off, Lucas did
not. "What? What're you gonna do?"

"It's Rudi!" Kincaid said, pointing behind Lucas to the bed. Suddenly
roused, Lucas spun around again.

The wet towel slipped off of Rudi's forehead as he propped himself up. His
loose t-shirt covered one shoulder but completely exposed the other, and
his hair went in all sorts of directions. He rubbed his eyes before sitting
up completely and stretching, yawning like a cat.

"Rudi!" Lucas suddenly sat on the bed next to Rudi and hugged him tight-
pinning his arms and not really giving him a chance to hug back. "Oh, thank
you... thank you..."

"...Hm?" Rudi's voice was slightly cracked but mostly content, a little
trace of a feline purring. "Hi Lucas."

Lucas looked up at Rudi, still not letting go (to which Lucy rolled her
eyes, and Kincaid giggled). Something seemed odd about Rudi's eyes; perhaps
it was because it had been so long since Lucas had seen them. Still, Rudi's
short answer was a little bit diffusing. "Well... aren't you curious about
what happened?"

Rudi shrugged, difficult considering his position. "No."

"Lucas, stay away from him." Lucy asserted, softly but firmly. "You don't
know what if he's a vampire or not."

"Hm? Vampire?" Rudi raised an eyebrow. "Nuh-uh. My teeth feel normal to
me. See?" He gave a very wide-teethed smile and pointed to his perfectly
reasonable canines. "But I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh. Oh, yeah." Lucas turned around, finally aware of Lucy and Kincaid's
presence again. "Do you got any food?"

Lucy motioned to herself. "Of course, yes. Anything for the Master." she
flipped her neon green bang away like a impudent bird of paradise and
trudged out the door.

He was used to Lucy's rampant sarcasm already, but Kincaid felt a little
wary anyway. "I'll make sure she doesn't poison you." he exited as well,
leaving just Lucas and Rudi.

As soon as he was sure that they were alone, Lucas finally let go of Rudi
and stayed his place next to him. "I was really worried about you." he
said.

Rudi looked Lucas over in a curious scan of his eyes. He smiled after some
deliberation. "Thanks." Rudi sharply replied. "I know I was a little testy
while I was out..."

"Testy? What do you mean?"

"Well, not testy... antsy, I guess. Really, really antsy." Rudi suddenly
began to shift in his place, and his loose t-shirt slipped even
further. Lucas frowned, reached over, and put his sleeves back up. Rudi
grinned. "Thanks again."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Another strange scan of Lucas' body. "I'm feeling great."

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Lucas believed Rudi's voice had
changed. Not in pitch or individuality, but in its tone, its courage, and
its intent. Considering that he woke up from a two-day-long fever he was
quite vigorous. In fact, considering any past behavior that Lucas was
familiar with in Rudi, Rudi was acting amazingly out of line. He stayed
silent for a while as the two simply observed each other. Where was Rudi's
quiet smile? It had been evicted by the slightly agape mouth and a periodic
licking of his teeth. Rudi's t-shirt began to slip again- had he no sense
of decency? And those eyes. Lucas knew what was wrong. His irises were
speckled with bits of crimson.

He opened his mouth to say something when the door opened. Lucy entered
with Kincaid trailing, a bowl of soup in her hand. She almost slammed it on
the armoire. "Here's your soup. Have a nice day."

- - - -

"Protect this place by land and sea!" Lyla said the spell for the
twentieth- no, twenty-first time. Atla had lost count after the first half
hour. She sprinkled water on one of the stained glass windows, and she
artfully balanced on a stool.

Brendan came in from the back, carrying a hanging lamp full of
incense. "Never thought I'd have to use this." he said, as he swayed the
smoking metal thing like a pendulum.

"...Surely there's something I can be useful for." Atla finally said,
perched in his pew.

Lyla turned and raised an eyebrow, as if to say "you're still here?"
"Yeah. You know, actually, I do have something." Lyla jumped off her stool,
a perfect ten landing considering her heels. She reached into her pants
pocket and pulled out a twenty. She handed it to Atla, who stared at it in
confusion. "Go to a place called Starbucks. Bring back two tall
cappuccinos. Give this to the man at the register. And whatever you do,
don't kill anyone. Ready? Alright. Go."

"Where is The Starbucks?"

"Just go outside, you'll find it eventually." Atla gave Lyla and the money
she handed him a curious look. "Go on! You said you wanted to help, right?"

Atla shifted his eyes. After a little bit of self-conflict, he turned
around and went out the church doors into the day.

"That wasn't very nice."

"I beg to differ, he-" Lyla paused. Brendan was right in front of her, and
the voice had come from behind. She spun around. Who else but Mikey Morris,
suit and all, sat on altar steps with his legs crossed. "...what are you
doing here?" Lyla asked.

"A little bird told me that someone was getting married." he said with a
smile. With a spring to his feet, he stood up. "Where's your sister,
anyway?"

"At home. With some punk witch and his boyfriend."

With a tick of his head, Mikey began to recall something. "Oh, yes. Lucas
Dawson and Rudolf Seles. You saved them, didn't you?" Before Lyla could
answer, Mikey did the honors for her. "No, wait... the guy who saved their
lives just got sent out for coffee." A look from Lyla. "Yeah, clairvoyance
is a bitch sometimes."

"Watch your tongue." Brendan yelled from across the room.

"Sorry, Mr. Rowe."

"Hey, don't crash my pre-wedding blessing to give me moral advice. That's
what the priest's for." Lyla motioned to Brendan.

"You think I'm preachy? You wouldn't know preachy from a preacher. I'm just
trying to tell you to be a little nicer." Mikey leaned in a little
closer. "...that warlock did save your life too, you know. Not just your
brother's."

With a tedious sigh, Lyla put her hands on her hip. "You done?"

"...No. The real reason I'm here is for a wedding gift." Mikey snapped his
fingers. A large circular object in a bronze cast appeared in his
arms. "Hope you like surprises."

Lyla approached Mikey, examining the object he held. It was definitely
bronze, and it looked ancient. Kanji characters and arcane symbols studded
its surface in a circular fashion, and a square inscribed in the middle was
strangely smooth and shiny compared to the rest of the disc. "What is it?"
she finally asked.

Without asking, Mikey put it in Lyla's arms. While expecting it to be heavy
and cumbersome, Lyla found it strangely lightweight. "A solar
reflector. Custom made."

Unsure as to what that meant, Lyla simply raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Well, we thought you'd like it."

"I can't give any input if I don't know what it's for."

"Just use your powers on it, and it'll work itself." With no more arguing,
Mikey changed the subject as Lyla placed the reflector on a nearby pew. "By
the way, I won't be the only one dropping in."

"Who else is coming?"

"Oh, you'll see." Mikey said, sing-songy. "And when you do, be prepared for
real preachy."

As he said so, the church doors opened. Atla, two cups in hand, walked down
the aisle.

"Did you get it?" Lyla asked rudely.

He handed a cup to Brendan, who had to quickly set it down on the
ground. "...You didn't get a cup holder." he observed. He was about to ask
Atla if his hands were scalded when he realized who he was talking to.

Atla bowed his head rather humbly, offering the cup to Lyla. Lyla took a
sip and similarly set it on the ground. "It tastes kind of ashy." Lyla
stated, her face wrinkling.

"...There was an accident." Atla said, averting his eyes.

Not wanting to be curious as to what sort of accident had occurred, Lyla
instead moved onto the next important question. "Where's my change?"

"What is that?"

Mikey cut in. "Dragon. I'm Mikey Morris, with the Nightshade Guardians. You
don't know me, but I've seen you in action and I'd like to say it's an
honor."

Atla gave a noble nod and bow of his head. "Thank you." he responded in a
soft bass voice.

"On that note, I'll leave before the big guys arrive. See ya." With an
abrupt flash of golden light, Mikey was gone.

Lyla stared at Atla for a little bit of time, thinking about what Mikey had
just told her: "that warlock did save your life too, you know." She was too
drunk to remember anything, but Dragon hadn't even mentioned the
incident. Then there was all that Dragon had saved Lex from. There's no way
that could have been bad- Dragon had protected Lex when Lex's sisters could
not.

Then the solar reflector caught Lyla's eye. The square in the middle
distorted her reflection, but still portrayed it enough to engage her. Why
didn't she trust Dragon? Because he was part warlock? Hell, she and her
whole family was too. But she and her mother counted themselves out of
it. They lived above ground after all, not in some pit of magma. They
killed demons, not innocents. For all intents and purposes, they were as
witch as Endora. But Dragon killed demons too, didn't he? And didn't he
only kill armed witches? And on top of it all, hadn't he saved Lex from
death more times than his whitelighter?

"If you require anything else, I will gladly comply."

The strong voice snapped Lyla out of her daze. Perhaps it was the first
time that she had ever done such a thing, but Lyla looked at Atla and
didn't feel like throwing an exploding potion at him. "Sure. Maybe you can
probe any weak spots of entry that demons might use."

"Understood."

"Ok. Thank you." As Atla did as he was told, Lyla bent down and picked up
the reflector. She nodded to herself. It did look pretty nice.

- - - -

The fact that this was the third group of harpies Lex and Aaron had run
into probably indicated that they were approaching the main nest. Still, it
didn't make this battle an easier than the previous ones.

"Protection! Aqua cage!" The aquamarines flew out of Lex's bag and onto the
ground in front of him and Aaron, creating a wall of blue light. The
harpies' energy bolts diffused. "Return." The stones came back to Lex.

The second that the aqua cage disengaged, Aaron shot the three arrows
notched in his bow. In a trivergent trail of pure white light, three
harpies burst into flames. The two left came into the foreground. One shot
a bolt at Lex. Aaron pushed him out of the way just in time, the energy
bolt causing him to burst into orbs.

Lex fell to the ground, and attempted to scoot away when he saw the two
harpies approaching. But Aaron reformed quickly, his scattering of orbs
reassembling behind one of the harpies. He stabbed an arrow into her back,
and with a terrible scream she smoked and bloomed in fire. Lex opened his
bag. "Cloister! Garnet cage!" Red stones flew from his bag and caged the
last harpy.

The tension finally over, Aaron and Lex exchanged glances. Aaron smiled and
went "phew!" Lex softly giggled but suppressed himself. Aaron approached
the harpy, who was strangely passive in her cage. "Where is your queen?"
Aaron firmly asked.

The harpy was silent. She cradled her arms and then looked Aaron with big
brown eyes. "Nowhere you want to go."

Aaron turned around and reached into Lex's bag. He pulled out the
glittering sun stones, then turned around to face the harpy. "I may be a
whitelighter, but I'm not afraid to use these."

"...What business do you have with Queen Celeano?"

"Well, to kill her, actually."

The harpy smiled. She had thin pink lips that curled nicely. "You're cute."

At this point, Lex knew something was different about this harpy. He
crossed his arms in distaste. "We should go." he said.

Aaron shook his head at him, then re-confronted the harpy. "Tell us, or the
sunstone goes down."

"...I don't like getting my flesh singed..." the harpy contemplated to
herself rather loudly. She looked up. "You're going the right way. But if
you want to kill her, there's no way you can think of sneaking into her
throne room."

"What do you propose we do?"

After a bit of silence, Aaron raised the sunstone again. The harpy cracked
fast. "She's been called to convene with the Twilight Citadel. Just hide
out there and you'll find her."

"Where's the council?"

"Keep going the way you're going, just take a right at the first lava pit."

"Great." Aaron turned to Lex. "Switch out her cage for a cheap one."

Lex nodded. He reached into his bag for quartz crystals. "Cloister. Quartz
Cage. Return, Garnets." First the white stones flew from his hand around
the harpy, then the red stones jumped into his bag. White-yellow energy
swirled around the harpy now, noticeably weaker than before.

The harpy rolled her eyes. "So what, you're gonna leave me here?"

"Yeah. Bye." Lex left first, then Aaron. But Aaron paused briefly and
turned around. "Oh. What happened to loyalty?"

"Humans aren't the only ones that get dissatisfied, you know."

An urgent voice ahead of Aaron. "Come on, let's go!"

Aaron complied, shooting the harpy one last look before joining Lex in the
dark passage.

Lex sighed, rubbing his face in his hands. The Underworld was a horribly
dull place; mostly sand, rocks, cave-like walls. Very occasionally pockets
of viscous shadows or heat from magma livened the place up, but otherwise
it all seemed fairly monotonous. However, something drained Lex of his
strength: it was the same something that limited his telekinesis to the
simplest of commands, and sapped him of a good lot of will. He began to
wonder how Atla dealt with it.

"Umm... We're not actually going to kill the Queen, are we?" Lex asked.

Aaron gave Lex a strange look. "Of course we are. We're on an offensive
strike."

"But what happens if we do? We've already vanquished so many harpies as it
is, so isn't that enough?"

"Lex..." Aaron was about to ask if he still had a "thing" for vanquishing,
but he already knew the answer. Aaron sighed. "I'll do it. You don't even
have to watch."

"I'm sorry." Lex said, regretfully.

A hand suddenly stopped Lex. Lex looked up at Aaron, who was focused on
Lex's arm. "Oh Lex, look at that..."

Lex looked down at his arm. He must have hurt himself without realizing it,
for a red scrape traveled up and down its skin. "It's okay... I can't even
feel it." he said.

"Come here." Aaron put his arms over it. Golden light poured from his
fingertips onto the wound. "This might take a while, my power's a little
worse too." Lex nodded in acknowledgment.

For a while, they were quiet except for the celestial humming of Aaron's
healing. Then it broke abruptly: "I'll miss this." Aaron whispered.

"..." Unsure as to the proper reaction, Lex softly chuckled. "You're not
dying, Aaron. You're just getting married."

"No, I... I mean I'm gonna miss you."

The healing was finished. Lex put his arm down and faced Aaron; there was a
strange look on his face. Was it sadness? Or contentment? Lex wasn't sure,
but it manifested in a weak smile and gazing eyes.

"...Aaron. I'm not gonna leave. You're not either. I'll always be here."
Lex whispered. "No matter who you're with, or who I'm with... I'll always
be here."

"Good." Aaron said. His voice cracked but got stronger as he continued to
speak. "Because I'm gonna need you."

Lex smiled. "And I'm gonna need you." He gamboled on ahead. "Let's get this
over with."

As Lex led the way through darkness and through heat of the Underworld,
Aaron felt a sort of admiration of him. That after everything, he could
still go on so well, still effortlessly smile. Aaron couldn't help but
recall one of the first things he had told Lex, on a sunset-lit day in a
park: "I haven't ever met anyone quite like you." He wasn't lying.

But Lex didn't do it alone, did he? Aaron frowned. Was it really Dragon
that let him recover? Was it really a warlock?

"Aaron! Come on!"

"Sorry. I'm coming." Aaron walked a little faster, catching up with Lex and
plunging into the shadows.

- - - -

"Oh. What do you want?"

Baffled yet not surprised by Lyla's rude answer, Lucy blew into the
phone. "Look, what do you want me to say?"

"What do I want?! I'll tell you what I want, I- no, the left window. Yeah."
Lyla, on her side of the line, motioned Atla to the appropriate spot to
sprinkle holy water. "-I want you to give me some respect! I'm getting
married who knows when, and I need-"

Lucy began to tune Lyla out. Kincaid wildly motioned to her from across the
kitchen table. First motion: Kincaid waved his hands to himself. "I?"
Kincaid nodded. He mouthed something that took Lucy a little bit longer to
comprehend. She finally got it, and when she did she yelled it in the
middle of Lyla's sentence. "I'm sorry."

"...Huh?" Lyla's face contorted in disbelief. "You just apologized."

"Apparently. Yeah, okay, I'm sorry. I've been sorting through my issues..."
Lucy looked over at Kincaid, still giving instructional motions "...and I
guess I'm just really bitter. It's not your fault."

"Hm. Okay then. Apology accepted."

"Great." Silence. Kincaid raised an eyebrow, expecting Lucy to pick up the
conversation again. Pick it up she did. "Well? Aren't you gonna apologize
too?" Lucy asked.

"Why would I apologize? That doesn't make any sense." Not wishing to
escalate fighting even further, Lyla continued straight on through. "By the
way, Mikey came around. He was looking for you."

Lucy involuntarily gasped. "Really?! Or, um, I-I mean, huh."

"...yes."

"Did he say anything else? About me? Or something?"

"No. He just dropped off a gift and left."

On the kitchen end, Lucy gave a disappointed look. Kincaid mouthed Lucas
and Rudi's names to her. "Oh, um... Rudi the vampire victim woke up." Lucy
said.

"How is he?"

"He's... Well..." Lucy spoke a little quieter, as though it would ensure
Lucas couldn't hear from upstairs. "I think... he's been half converted. He
doesn't seem to be connected to a queen or a vampire colony, but we can
tell there's something wrong. His eyes are a little red. His skin is
paler."

"He hasn't done anything dangerous, has he?"

"Not yet. But you never know. I was thinking of evicting him, just to be
safe." Upon those words, Kincaid gave a disgusted, rather furious
look. Lucy waved it away.

"Luce, please."

"What do you want? He's getting me angry."

"That's not our problem, it's our responsibility to- hey, hold up." In the
static-like background of the cellphone, Lucy heard a strange, orchestral
noise. "...I gotta go."

Lyla abruptly hung up. Lucy stared at the phone in confusion before putting
it away then turning to the upset Kincaid. "I wish you'd stop looking at me
like that." Lucy said.

"I wish you weren't so bitter." Kincaid replied. "I thought you were making
some progress in apologizing to your sister, but now you're just regressing
by kicking out Lucas and Rudi!"

"Hey. Now I didn't say that I was going to, I was thinking about it. That
means they're on a tight leash, nothing more."

Kincaid frowned. "So you're sure you're not bitter."

"Of course not."

"Alright." Kincaid said. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

- - - -

The blue bolt of lightning split a pew in half. Atla, halfway motivated by
his natural instincts for survival, continued to dive into the seas of
wooden seats, and the two elders continued their electric onslaught.

"What are you doing! Stop this!" Brendan ran in from the side room, his
arms raised, his robe flapping in panic. "You're destroying my church!"

"...Oh. It's you." Lux Odin said, putting his arms down. "You're that
Rowe. The one the first Charmed Ones saved."

"You know him?" Lux Roland asked his compatriot. Lux Roland appeared as a
handsome young man with a shadow on his chin and fierce light eyes. His
halo of orbs offset his dark expression.

Brendan stepped over the debris on the floor, standing in front of
Atla. "He was causing no trouble. And he certainly does not call for
violence in this place." Brendan glared at the two Elders. "I don't care
who you are. You should be ashamed."

Lux Roland seemed offended, but Lux Odin respectfully bowed his
head. "...Apologies." he then motioned to Atla. "But a dragon warlock! What
is this THING doing here?"

"He was helping me." Lyla said from behind. Lux Odin and Lux Roland turned
around to face her. "...As I was trying to say before you blasted away,
Dragon is our ally."

"Oho!" Lux Odin laughed to himself, gazing at the ceiling. "So this is what
happens when warlock blood infiltrates the Charmed Ones. Like attracts
like, eh? Before we know it you'll be bringing members of the Seven up with
you."

Breathing deep, Lyla made efforts to calm herself. "With all due
respect... why are you here?" she asked semi-cordially.

"We heard you were getting married." Lux Roland said with the tone of a
viper.

"Yeah. Aaron and I. Is that a problem?"

"No. No, of course not." Lux Odin responded quickly. "We've done away with
that old policy. But... we thought you knew."

"It would help if you weren't so elusive, Odin."

Ignoring Lyla's sign of disrespect, Lux Odin
continued. "Whitelighter-charge weddings are now carried out by the Elders
themselves. So although it pains me to do so, and believe me it does, I'm
afraid I'll be replacing your priest."

A moment to process Lux Odin's verdict. Lyla giggled. "Now, wait... that
wouldn't work. Just look at yourself: I couldn't invite any of my
friends. We couldn't have a ceremony."

"Precisely."

Lyla's mouth gaped open. "How can that be?! I... I'm getting my blood
tested tomorrow, I made invitations-"

"Obviously you'll have to withdraw them. Besides, your whitelighter is
already dead- there's no way you could legitimately marry him without
raising a few questions." Lyla's face melted from one of anger into one of
hopelessness in less than a second. "Don't worry. Our ceremony is just as
meaningful and just as true... the only exception being that it'll only be
valid in the magical world."

The news sent Lyla into a catatonic mode. Her eyes widened then narrowed
with some sort of fear or melancholy. Then without a word, she sidled
around Lux Odin and sat in one of the pews that wasn't reduced to a pile of
rubble.

"Where is Aaron?" Lux Roland asked with no regard for Lyla's reaction.

"...He and Lex, they..." Lyla spoke quietly, as if to herself. "I sent them
to the Underworld. To kill the harpy queen."

"What?!"

"If you ask me, it's about time." Lux Odin was much less upset than his
company.

Lux Roland's halo swirled faster around his head. "This is
unacceptable. You must bring them back immediately, or else we teeter on
the risk of losing a whitelighter and decimating the Charmed Ones."

"No, Roland... I think we should leave them to their devices."

"But-"

Very abruptly and with a stronger voice, Lux Odin cut Lux Roland's protests
off, turning to Lyla. "We'll be back when you are ready. Just make sure
Aaron is safe, and the ceremony will commence."

"Wait!" The Elders turned yet again, to face Brendan, who had spoken
out. "Would you fix this mess?"

Lux Odin chuckled. "Of course not! That would be personal gain. Ta-ta."
Brendan wasn't sure if he was alluding to the vanishing spell earlier in
the day, but he sincerely hoped he wasn't. Suddenly, Lux Odin remembered
something else. He pointed at Atla. "...But I do hope you fix THAT mess as
well." And that was all. Strings, beautiful strings plucked and bowed,
soared in circles and echoes in the church's acoustics, and with a flash of
celestial chimes and pure white pustules of light, the Elders were gone.

The coast clear, Brendan made his way over to Lyla's side. He clasped her
hand, but she didn't look at him. "I... I guess... the wedding's off." Lyla
said, choking back tears or something worse.

"Come now, Ms. Russel."

"I-I, I already told the girls at work I was getting married! A-and, I
picked out a dress, and I got catering, and I had a place in mind for the
honeymoon, and-"

"You can still have a honeymoon."

"But it's useless without a wedding!!!" she screamed, then calmed
down. "... I'm not even gonna have a cake. Can you believe that? No
cake..."

Brendan continued to pat Lyla's hand, although he secretly found the chore
tedious and he instead began to worry about how he would clean up the mess
and get new pews in time for next Sunday mass. Lyla began to weep into
Brendan's shoulder, continuously whimpering "No cake, no cake..." Atla
watched from afar. Without either Brendan or Lyla noticing, he rippled out.

- - - -

"Rudi." No response. Rudi continued slurping the soup. "Rudi." Still
nothing. "Rudi!"

There was the sound of a spoon clanking in an empty bowl as Rudi dropped
it. He licked his lips and looked up at Lucas, who was seated across from
him. "Hm? What?"

"You have to listen to me. I think you're in trouble." Lucas said.

"What are you talking about?" Rudi replaced his bowl back on the table, and
then began to lick his fingers, despite the fact that he didn't use them to
eat. "I'm feeling great."

"No, Rudi, there's..." Lucas became distracted by the action of Rudi's
tongue, as it wrapped around his index finger and sensuously traveled to
his middle finger as well. Lucas almost gasped when he began to suck on
them. Lucas met Rudi's eyes- they narrowed with pleasure. "...there's
something wrong."

For a second, Lucas thought Rudi's moans were his imagination, but he soon
realized how genuine they were. Rudi threw the sheet off of him. Lucas
stood up in his chair: Rudi was dressed in nothing but the oversized
t-shirt, his taut legs bare with ankles crossed. His shoulder became
exposed again as the shirt pulled lower. Rudi smiled with satisfaction:
Lucas couldn't take his eyes off of him. Perhaps sensing his engagement,
Rudi flopped himself on his back, letting his shirt rise up and further
expose his strangely smooth thighs. His chest heaved noticeably. His
fingers came to his mouth, and with a wicked smile he bit his finger
nails. Lucas could find no other way to describe the pose other than "come
hither."

"I'm telling you. I feel fine. You wanna... check?"

Stunned silence. Lucas felt his face becoming hot as he blushed, and his
mouth becoming agape. "Rudi!!! Don't do that!"

"Do what?" Rudi suddenly jumped onto his feet, his shirt still over one
shoulder, his messy hair coyly flipping into his eyes. Lucas couldn't be
sure, but its normally light brown shading seemed pinker than normal. Lucas
attempted to step back, but found his feet rooted to the ground. Rudi put a
finger on Lucas' chest. "Don't tell me you don't wanna."

"W-wha, I, no, I-" Lucas believed this was the first time he had stuttered
in a very long time. "Rudi, why are you so different?"

This caused Rudi to pause for a moment. "Huh. I dunno." he looked up at
Lucas with eyes behind hair, but Lucas could still see the specks of
red. "I feel the same way I always have. I'm just not afraid to say it
anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Like this." Lucas saw Rudi's smile, but noticed elongated canines too
late. He saw his hands moving to Lucas' face, but moved away too late. He
saw his lips as they came towards his, but... he didn't think Rudi would do
it. Lucas knew it was true. His hair was pink, his eyes red, his teeth
sharp. His breath felt hot against his face. Warmth traveled from Rudi's
tongue to Lucas' like delicate touch, and invaded his body in soft tingles
on his skin. It licked the roof of his mouth, then his teeth, exploring in
amazing synchronization with his lips around lips and fingers on skin of
cheek.

By the time it was over, Lucas literally fell to the ground, his body limp
in a way he never thought possible. Rudi wiped the corner of his mouth with
the back of his hand. He gave a shit-eating grin. "How'd you like that?"

"R-rudi... You, you..." Lucas was out of breath. He brought one of his own
fingers to his lips, which still felt shivers of sensitivity. "...Your
hair. It's brown again."

"Whaddya mean Ôagain?' It's always been brown, I-" Rudi blinked rapidly, as
though waking up from a daze. From his perch on the floor, Lucas saw Rudi's
eyes only faintly speckled now, and in his mouth a normal row of
teeth. Rudi brought his hands to his mouth. He brought his right one down
to pull his sleeve up, then replaced it again. "...Oh my God. Oh my God!"

Faced with a rather strange chain of events, Lucas wasn't sure what to
do. Rudi sat nearly fell over backwards sitting on his bed mumbling "Oh my
God" to himself repeatedly. Eventually he looked at Lucas with his hands
still covering his face, shyly huddled up but with eyes like a cautious
puppy. "...Did I just...?"

"Yeah. you did." Lucas said, quietly.

"Oh my God." he said yet again, as if it wasn't enough. "I... I, I'm so
sorry. So, so, sorry. I don't know what came over me, I don't know, I-"

The door suddenly slammed open. Lucy peeked her head in. The first thing
she was Lucas on the floor, then Rudi up in bed. Both were flushed and
huddled in their respective spots. "...You guys okay?" she asked.

Rudi didn't respond. Lucas quickly nodded his head. "Alright then." Lucy
said, slowly accepting. She slipped into the room and took the empty bowl
of soup. She ducked out of the room like a thief, and shut the door quietly
behind her.

As soon as she left, Rudi continued the onslaught. "You must be so grossed
out. I know you don't feel the same way, I-I just, I'm so scared, I don't
know what I'm gonna do, I'm so sorry, oh my God, oh my God...!"

"Hey, you know what?" Lucas suddenly said. He stood up, trying to seem
confident but twiddling his thumbs behind his back. "That's not important
right now. What's important is that you could be in trouble right now, and
we need to find out how to get you better. I'm not worried about what you
did, I... I'm worried about you."

Both parties were silent for a while, as Rudi continued to puppy stare
Lucas. Lucas couldn't believe that no more than five minutes ago Rudi was a
sex-crazed incubus and that... that he had kissed him. What was it that he
said? I feel the same way I always have. I'm just not afraid to say it
anymore. So... did that mean that this whole time, Rudi actually liked...

"I'm scared." Rudi whispered.

Lucas reached over and put his hands on his shoulders. "I'm here, Rudi. I'm
here."

"I'm sorry."

"Quit apologizing."

"...'kay."

- - - -

Aaron released a glowing white arrow from the notch of his bow. Although it
traveled near the speed of light, neither its speed nor its brightness was
enough to disperse the fog of the smoker demon. It passed through its robe
like a thick fog, and dispersed on the rock wall behind it.

"Lex! Shield us!" Aaron yelled in panic, drawing back.

"Protection. Aqua-" Lex didn't finish his command. The smoker demons, pyres
of thick black smoke contained in black cotton robes, turned around without
a word and flew down the corridor second to the left. "...huh?"

Aaron motioned to them, quickly pursuing. "Come on! They'll take us to the
Twilight Citadel!"

"No, Aaron, wait!" Lex reached out to Aaron, but he was already
gone. Shaking his head in frustration, Lex ran after him. He seemed to run
forever, the sound of his tennis shoes changing from the flat of dirt
ground to the rough one of gravel, the dim warm light fading into
suffocating shadows. A faint, vile smell wafted from somewhere, assaulting
Lex's nostrils and eyes. "Aaron..." Lex continued to yell, but his voice
plummeted in strength as though smothered in the darkness. Aaron's
silhouette was the only guiding light in the darkness, and the smoker
demons had disappeared. Finally, Aaron stopped. Lex caught up with him
slowly, and when he stood by his side he was panting.

Aaron put an arm around Lex. "Sorry."

The strange, sudden move of affection caught Lex off guard, but it was
comforting anyway. As he regained his breath, Lex stood up straight and
craned his head around him. The darkness was amazingly thick- so thick in
fact, he couldn't see anything. It reminded him of a planetarium with its
lights turned out. Lex turned to Aaron, relieved he could at least see his
face. "What happened? Where are we?" he asked.

"I wish I knew. The smoker demons just disappeared." Aaron responded rather
cluelessly. In his free hand he clutched his bow tighter.

"Maybe this is the Twilight Citadel." Both Lex and Aaron were whispering to
each other, although neither of them realized it in the deep quiet. "Can
you see anything?" Lex asked, hoping maybe Aaron in his undead-ness might
have some sort of sight unseen.

"No. But I can feel." Lex saw Aaron's moonlight pale arms reach
forward. His hands seemed to grab a surface like a railing, a dark wall of
rock about chest high, invisible in the shadows. Aaron's hands traveled it
and Aaron's body followed, and Lex saw him walk the stone railing in a
circle. It was as if both he and Aaron were in some sort of sentry
tower. How could they have possibly run there?

Aaron sighed. So did Lex. After a while, Lex simply got used to the
darkness and simply focused on Aaron. Aaron still had that strange
half-contentment on his face, and it was starting to look a seem
confusing. "...Sorry you have to spend your wedding rehearsal doing this."
Lex said.

"Tch. Sorry Lyla forced you to do this with me."

"That's not your fault."

"Yeah, well... I can't be ungrateful though. If it's anyone I'd rather be
with right now, it's you."

"Hm? Why?"

"...I... I don't know." Aaron gave a smile to Lex. Lex was reminded of the
smile he had first given him at the bar at P3. That very first smile over a
cold strawberry drink. "...We'll always be friends. Promise."

What a strange feeling, Lex thought to himself, as it rushed into his chest
and spread outwards. It was a strange mix of nostalgia, of black-and-white
feelings and memories of elusive scents and aromas, and acceptance of
something new, something dangerous yet always sought after. It tasted like
tears and strawberries. It tasted like salt and sugar. It felt like warmth
on a block of ice, and the fog slipped into his lungs and heart. That's
exactly what it was: mist. Beautiful, pristine, not quite clear. Lex liked
fog. He smiled back. "Promise." he said. "I promise."

Suddenly, a low, rumbling noise. "Shit- get down." Aaron harshly
whispered. Lex in confusion hesitated, but Aaron pulled him down by his
shirt in time. They both pressed their backs to the stone wall.

A bright flash of light across the way stained the darkness in a split
second. Then a pair like fireflies in synchronicity, and another, and
another, and the last surprised Lex and Aaron the most because it caught
them in it. Their tower was engulfed in the bright white light that poured
upwards from the ground below. Lex could see exactly where they were now,
although it didn't seem any different from how they had felt it. They were
in a small crater of black, almost volcanic rock. The ceiling above was
high and arching like a cathedral made of obsidian.

Exchanging glances, Lex and Aaron slowly turned and peeked their heads
above the edge of their crater. They were indeed in a tower, but not a very
high one- maybe twenty feet at the most. Six other sentries of the same
size arranged with theirs in a circular pattern, enclosing a space on the
gravel below. Each pillar was bathed in mysterious white light, and the
empty court on the ground level was lit as well.

Then, a deep ringing noise, like a gong. A flash of smoke and a puff of red
feathers seemed to explode in the middle of the Citadel: neither Lex nor
Aaron needed brains to recognize the fierce, dignified stance of Harpy
Queen Celeano.

Celeano waved her taloned hands in the air. She turned around to face the
tower across from Aaron and Lex. Perched high above in it, a figure
shrouded itself in a robe.

"You? Why did you call me here?" Celeano had to yell.

Aaron notched an arrow into his bow. Lex, in his curiosity, pushed it down
with his arm. The hooded figure spoke. The voice was female. "I had nothing
to do with it. It was my superior's doing."

"Superior?! How dare you?!" Celeano shrieked now. "That smelly,
chauvinistic pig, father of trickery! I expected self-respect, but now you
give me Ôsuperior!'"

"...You have no right to talk to me like that."

"I will speak as I will!" Celeano's voice ascended to frightening
volume. "I am queen! And nothing your Ôsuperior' can do will stop that!"

As soon as she said that, Aaron broke free from Lex's grasp. He released
the arrow. The beam of light hit its bulls-eye: Celeano's heart. An
unearthly gasp resounded off the ceiling of the Citadel. Lex covered his
mouth but then his ears, and finally his eyes. Quiet echoes invaded the
Citadel presumably from the rest of the Underworld: screams, wails, laments
of women. Cries of the queen's subjects. Celeano opened her mouth. The
noise was operatic; voice combined with fire and dust, and in a terrible
explosion of light and darkness, she was gone.

Aaron stood up. As soon as he was sure the ordeal was over, Lex uncovered
his eyes and jumped to his feet as well, taking his place next to his
whitelighter. They both gazed at the robed figure. But in a flash, she was
gone. Lex bit his finger, trying to suppress the bitter feeling from the
vanquish. He looked at Aaron. "That was too easy."

"Speak for yourself. You're not the one with the bow."

"No, I mean it was all too efficient. Did you see that? It was the perfect
set up, it was as if we were meant to vanquish the queen with no
obstacle. And... and how did we even get here anyway? We were running!"

Aaron shrugged. "Maybe karma was on our side." Aaron held out his palm to
hold Lex's hand. "...come on. Let's go home."

Reluctant to go, Lex paused. He looked out over the Citadel again, its
lights still gleaming. Before he grabbed Aaron, he noticed something on
their tower. A symbol was engraved in the rock railing. It was impossibly
complex, and reminded Lex of a rose. A circular thing, but with more than a
thousand petals. No mere hand could have possibly carved such a display.

"Lex?" Aaron still stood strong. He grinned. "Please? I need you." Lex bit
his lip, then after enough consideration smiled too. He slipped his palm in
Aaron's. In a swirl of orbs he felt himself melt away.

- - - -

The church doors opened, letting a gust of cold night air in before they
were closed again. Lucy and Kincaid rushed in. Brendan stood up from his
vigil with Lyla to meet them halfway. "What did we miss?" Kincaid asked his
father quietly.

"The wedding's off."

"Wha?!" Kincaid exclaimed, unnaturally loud.

Lyla noticed them come in, and she got up to join them as well. She sulked
a little, but other than that seemed okay. "Hi guys."

"Oh, Ly." Lucy hugged her sister tight. "...Are you okay?"

Still sandwiched in Lucy's arms, Lyla shook her head.

"I suppose you would know what the problem is." Lucy said to Brendan.

"The Elders say a legitimate marriage would raise too much suspicion. They
want to oversee it themselves." Brendan's mouth hardened to a thin
line. "Which makes me obsolete as well, I suppose."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We don't need weddings. Weddings are for
jerks and soap operas."

In the middle of her consolation, the sound of celestial bells suddenly
resounded off the church walls. In a small fold of lights, Lex and Aaron
appeared behind Kincaid. Brendan jumped in surprise, and Kincaid turned
around. "Oh, gosh... I heard what Lyla sent you to do. How'd it go?" he
asked.

Aaron brusquely strode past Kincaid and went to Lyla, taking over Lucy's
hug shift. Lex weakly smiled and answered his question. "I guess no more
harpy queen. The wedding can go on."

"How many times do I have to say it..." Lyla said, muffled in Aaron's
chest. "The wedding's off. The Elders are doing it instead."

And then, another grand noise, of an orchestra of bells and light
tuning. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Speak of the devil."

One shining profile appeared at the altar. It materialized into Lux Odin,
his golden robes falling in tresses, his halo a shade brighter than it
normally was. He beamed at Aaron and Lyla, still in embrace. "Good! You're
back. The mission was successful?"

"Lux Odin. Maybe we should do the ceremony some other time."

"Nonsense. The sooner the better, I say. So the mission?" he repeated.

"...It was successful."

"Perfect! Great! Aaron, you stand here... Lyla, you here..." Lux Odin
quickly strode over and broke Aaron and Lyla apart, positioning them face
to face across from himself.  "...and we'll get started."

"I hope we're allowed to watch the ceremony." Brendan commented with
sarcasm.

"Of course. Err... well, unless your warlock blood make you explode or
something."

"Why does everyone keep-" Lex began to exclaim, but suddenly stopped. He
looked around. "Where's At- Dragon?"

"Dragon's right..." Lyla pointed to the back of the church, only to find no
one there. "...he's gone. Shit!" she stomped her foot. "I knew it! He's-
he's probably off in the Underworld somewhere, warning the rest of his
friends to come get us while we're not looking. Lex, I am sick of him, I am
sick!"

"What? Dragon wanted to help you. YOU were just too stubborn and you
probably scared him away."

"Don't give me that crap. I was the one defending him against *these
guys.*" Lyla motioned to Lux Odin. "You should be thankful I didn't throw
an athame in his face."

As though joining in on the fray, Lux Odin crossed his arms and looked
disdainfully at Lex. "I knew you were the problem case." he said.

Fighting a war on two fronts, Lex broke down, staying silent and then
pouting to himself. Seeing his expression, Aaron stepped in between. "Hey,
quit it! No one's a problem case here." he said, mostly directed to Lyla,
even though in response to Lux Odin. Aaron turned around and tried to make
eye contact with Lex. He did with enough effort, and he cheered him up with
a sunny face. But it faded when Aaron turned to Lyla. "Don't talk to Lex
like that. He was the one who went with me to the Underworld to save your
wedding, not you."

At first, Lyla was angry. Her face contorted to her typical pissy modality
and she seemed to be on the verge of cussing Aaron out with the power of
the combined stress of a cancelled wedding, a bailing warlock, and a
fiancee's turnaround. But she didn't get a chance to.

The church doors burst open again. First entered a slim figure in a sharp
suit and a shaved head. Lucy recognized him instantly, but kept her
enthusiasm to herself. Mikey entered only partway, swiveling around to hold
the heavy doors open.

A walking cake sauntered in on strong legs. No, it wasn't an animated
pastry... Lex put his hands to his mouth and ran next to it. Atla
effortlessly held a giant, elaborate wedding cake in his hands,
demonstrating both strength and balance. Atla looked down at Lex as he
walked next to him. "Little one... you're safe."

Lex eagerly nodded. "Yeah. I'll tell you about it."

"Wh-what is that?" Lyla asked from her place.

Atla strode to a table next to the altar that hadn't been put away again,
and placed the cake on top of it. He turned around and looked at Lyla very
deathly serious. "A cake."

"..." Lyla was dumbstruck. "Y-you, you got me a cake? You were gone this
whole time just to get me a cake?"

"You seemed distressed not to have one."

"I... I... I-" Lyla's face shivered, then crumpled, and then burst into
uproarious laughter. She laughed and laughed and laughed, almost without
end, splitting her sides and cheeks. Lux Odin and Aaron exchanged skeptical
glances, along with Kincaid and Brendan, Lucy and Lex. "Hahahahahaha! I-
haha! Haha! I can't, I can't- haha! Believe you... you,
you-ahaahahahahaha!"

Atla bit his lip and looked away. Lex came to his side again. "...Did I do
something wrong?" Atla asked quietly.

"No." Lex said, shaking his head. "You did everything right." He put a hand
on Atla's shoulder and then hugged his arm.

Atla looked down at him and smiled. "Are you okay?"

"..." Lex looked at Aaron, who was still engaged with Lyla. He felt
strangely unaffected. But Atla's face- that was striking. "Yeah. Thank
you."

By this time, Mikey had caught up, joining Lucy in the crowd. He nudged her
with his elbow. She gave him a chance look and for the first time that day
felt happy. "I'm guessing you helped Dragon." she said.

"He came to me, actually. No idea how he found me, but when he asked what a
cake was, I knew he would need assistance." Mikey winked. "You'd be
surprised what a good team we make."

"Hm. I'll keep that in mind." Lucy said, crossing her arms. "Hey. Do you
think I'm bitter?"

"Yeah." Mikey responded quite frankly. Lucy frowned. "But I think you have
a right to be."

That was the best thing she had heard all day. Lucy rolled her eyes into
her head. "You know exactly what to say, huh?" she asked.

"I guess." Mikey said, shrugging. "...Just remember that you're not alone."

"I will."

The ceremony commenced after ten minutes, when Lyla finally stopped
laughing and when her cheeks stopped hurting. Lex, Atla, Mikey, Lucy,
Kincaid, and Brendan sat on one pew in that order. The church seemed
horribly empty, but Lyla didn't care anymore. She faced Aaron. Her face
tingled but she felt refreshed and better than ever. Aaron wiggled his
thumbs during Lux Odin's entire speech, which was mostly said in the form
of Latin chants and whitelighter clicks.

It was the end that caught attention. "So let it be." Lux Odin had
said. Lyla took Aaron's hand, and Lux Odin put his palm over theirs. A
string of orbs slithered out of and tied around their wrists in an infinity
loop. Lucy giggled to herself, whispering "that's cute" in reference to the
tiny lights.

When Aaron heard the final words, Lex expected in Aaron some sort of
euphoria, disappointment, or even relief. He didn't expect him to break
gaze with Lyla and turn to Lex, and with an unidentifiable glint in his
eyes, simply stare. The space between the revelation and Lux Odin's next
line seemed to last an eternity. Aaron's onyx eyes turned Lex's skin into
paper, his heart into glass, and while he was transforming Aaron was
transcending- dissolving into feelings undefined by words. There was a sort
of temporal displacement, a mini-memorandum, as if together their memories
dissolved into a jigsaw puzzle. Just promise I'll see you around again!
What a promise that was. One that evolved into strawberry beverages, warm
sunsets, ice sculptures, flirts that hurt more than amused. But was Lex
regretful? Was Aaron? When their faces curled into smiles, neither knew for
sure. But they knew they would be friends no matter what.

- - - -

"Oh shit!"

Lucy swallowed her bite of cake. It was a bit ashy but good anyway. She
looked at Kincaid, who had dropped his fork on his plate and
exclaimed. "What?" she asked.

"Lucas and Rudi! We completely forgot about them!"

"Oh shit!" Lucy echoed. She sighed. "Whatever. I'm sure they're
fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

Perhaps the empty Russel Manor and an unlocked front door could prove
Lucy's fears, but at the moment the cake was too delicious to let her
worry.

- - - -

Amy flashed into her place in the Twilight Citadel. The rest of the Seven
were already present. "The Harpy Queen is dead." she
declared. "Assassinated by a whitelighter arrow."

"...A moment too late, however." Ipos said. "We have received word that
Lyla Russel and her whitelighter have already married." It was clear that
Amy despised the clinical manner in which Ipos handled Celeano's death.

"That's no matter. Amy." Kane said, unusually cordial. Amy, still retaining
her previous fury, acknowledged him with a grunt. "Will Zira's Sisterhood
function without harpies?"

Her eyes narrowed in distaste. "Of course. Gloriana is still mine, and my
demonatrixes are at the ready. But the harpies are still alive, Kane. As
soon as they choose their next queen, I'll petition her."

"Well... I think you can do that right now. A new queen has already risen
to power." Kane clapped his hands. A burst of smoke and a small whirl of
pink feathers. A young harpy, clad in a hooded robe, appeared. "Meet
L'Amille."

L'Amille curtseyed to Amy. Amy raised an eyebrow. "Youngblood? ...I know
Celeano. She wouldn't have chosen someone like you."

"I firsthand witnessed my Queen's death. And I promise... I will obey my
superior to carry out my vengeance." she said, sickly sweet. She said the
word "superior" with amazing love.

"You may go, L'Amille." Kane commanded. Amy opened her mouth in
confusion. Kane dismissed her subordinate? But L'Amille listened, spinning
around and giving a luscious smile to Kane before smoking out.

"What the hell is going on?" Amy whispered loudly in the direction of Kane.

"...Backlash." Kane said. "Just walk wise."

Kane orbed out. The rest of the Seven teleported out in succession until it
was just Amy left. She breathed and breathed and then screamed. But no one
could hear her. In final frustration, she flashed away.

- - - -



"Fun" fact for fans!: Whu-oh. I never saw a lot of the first few seasons of
Charmed, so I missed Piper and Leo's wedding episode. Since I didn't really
know how whitelighter-witch weddings went on the show (I remember Phoebe
and Cole's wedding though!) I just went decided to go ahead and say there's
a new system or something. By the way, does anyone recognize Lux Roland?
Cookie points to whoever remembers him ;)



Phew! Long wait! I'm a little upset, since I wanted to update at least once
a month, but this one caught me off guard :(. I've been out of town for a
lot of April, and recently my grandma was hospitalized so it's been a
little hard to update, but, well... here it is!

I'm not sure if it's just me, but this episode seems a little slower to
me. I'm rereading it and I'm sort of dissatisfied like, "what's going on?"
Haha, sorry. There are up chapters and down chapters I guess. But anyway,
be prepared for next episode! It's gonna be a big one, and be prepared to
see some... new powers! :O

The pictures that were vaguely inspirational for the characters of Atla and
Aaron are still available. If you want, I can email them to you :D.



as per usual: thank you for reading!

Questions? Comments? Recommendations? Fan Mail? Hate Mail, maybe? Wanna
just talk about Charmed? email me at ThePleiadesCall@gmail.com . Love to
hear from you!



If you like Charmed Reborn, maybe there's the very vague possibility you'll
like other stories I've submitted:

Final Fantasy Rosa (Celebrity), Pokemon: Amethyst (Celebrity), Teth
(Fantasy), Diana Celes (High School), and Hallow (Sci-Fi/Fantasy).