Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:28:01 -0800
From: Amethyst Rose <thepleiadescall@gmail.com>
Subject: Charmed Reborn Episode 5

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 don't know why you're even here in the first place.



Blood Lust

"Aaron! Aaron, hurry up!"

Lucy screamed for Aaron again, peeking up from behind the overturned couch
to throw a potion at the harpy. The harpy flung a blue bolt of energy at
it, destroying it in midair. She again tried to attack Lucy, but Lyla saw
it coming: she pulled Lucy down before it hit its mark.

Finally, the sound of orbs. Aaron orbed from behind the harpy, Lex grabbing
his arm. The harpy turned around, throwing energy at Aaron; Lex caught a
surprised look on his face before he burst into orbs. Lex pointed to the
harpy. "Rend!"

There was a chime and the sound of metallic slashing. The harpy angrily
scoffed as invisible swords ripped part of her shirt and skirt into shreds,
and began to make small gashes into her arms. She threw up her hand,
sending another bolt of energy at Lex. Lex acted fast. "Rebound!" The bolt
went 180 degrees, hitting her straight in the chest, and causing her to
recoil with some dizziness.

Lucy swung around from the couch, knocking the harpy over with a sweep. Lex
and Lyla ran to her, gathering around a piece of paper she was
unfolding. They spoke in unison. "Claw of pain we have to sever/Demon, you
are gone forever."

The harpy screamed, before vanishing in a small explosion and a puff of
smoke. Lex had averted his eyes, and Lucy nudged his arms down as they all
stood up. Aaron finally reformed in front of them. He looked around the
messed up house and the smudge on the floor. "Hey... didn't that whole
scene seem familiar from somewhere?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Anyway..." Lyla turned to Lex. "How was the farmers market?"

Lex sighed. "Overpriced. Oh, but I got the organic celery you wanted,
Luce." Lex reached behind him, and handed a paper bag to Lucy.

"I had a good time." Aaron said.

Lex looked at him, bemused. "*Why?*"

Aaron gave a sly smile. "Because I don't always get to be alone with you."

Lex wasn't sure what to say, and he gave a really goofy smile. But it was
cut short when Lyla interceded, sliding an arm on Aaron's shoulder. "Glad
you're back."

"Me too." Aaron said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the proceeding silence, and decided not to say
anything. Lex cleared his throat, averting his eyes to the ground as he
walked over to help Lucy overturn the couch again.

Lyla walked over to assist. "Hey, is it just me or have we been getting
less attacks lately?" she asked.

"Um..." Lucy tried recounting back in her head. "There was that little
dealio on Halloween. And then we had like, a week of nothing. I guess that
harpy was the first one we had in a while, yeah."

"Why do you think?" Lex directed the question to nobody, really.

Aaron answered. "Whatever the reason, we should stay on our toes. It
probably means the Seven have something big in mind."

Lyla, Lex, and Lucy all nodded. "Definetely." they said in unison.

- - - -

Somewhere, within a maze of caves, dark rivers, and fiery pits, there was
the sound of yelling. Angry screams and arguments bounced off the walls,
and there seemed to be no end. This was one of the most secretive parts of
the Underworld: this was the Twilight Citadel.

The circular dirt floor of the Citadel was painted with a seven pointed
star. At the end of each star stood a podium, each just vaguely lit by an
unknown white light. No one dared interrupt the Seven when they met; such a
crime would be met with death.

The arguing briefly paused to hear a voice in the crowd. It was Amy's
shrill, furious one. "It's not *my* fault that nobody helps my sisters in
any attacks at all! Do you think that I send them out just for the sake of
being killed?"

"I merely mean that you have no strategy to your attacks, Amy. You send
your demons with no heed to time or place, with not even a semblance of
preparation." Barbatos' voice rang out with aged regality.

Ipos returned from briefly convening with two women, both dressed in white
behind him and carrying crystal balls in their hands. "I believe that if we
tried more coordinated attacks, we could easily succeed in dispatching the
new Charmed Ones. We nearly saw the success of the oni and his... paper
skin." Ipos acknowledged a hooded figure on the other side of him, who
simply gave a silent nod.

"Yeah, it would've worked if it weren't for that bitch with the charms."
Amy said, still angry. "But I don't have unlimited demons, you know. A lot
of my original sisters have been vanquished. The only thing upolding the
Sisterhood is the Harpy Queen, and you *know* she won't take shit."

"I think I have an idea you might find useful." Kane, dressed in a black
trenchcoat, finally spoke up. He was silent for much of the meeting.

"You are a fool." Barbatos said, with particular emphasis on "fool." "You
gave away our true names, you-"

"Ah, now you know that I needed to give away some actual information, or
Lyla Russel wouldn't have trusted me. Besides... if the Elders can figure
out what's going on, all the better. I wanna get `em scared." Someone gave
a frustrated groan, which Kane turned his head to. "You don't have to fear
the Elders anymore. Remember, you're in the Underworld."

A clear female voice answered back. "We are not afraid. But we find your
information bargaining illogical and useless. Instilling `fear' into the
Elders is an endeavor that will ultimately amount to nothing."

Kane gave a snappy tone. "Please. Let's stop talking about this. The point
is... Amy. I have some prospective members for your Sisterhood."

Amy raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Oh?"

"Yes. Vampires."

Ipos shut his mouth, and exchanged glances with the women behind
him. Barbatos cleared his throat, and some of the other Seven murmured
among themselves. The shining female voice from before piped up
again. "That seems prudent. Why would such an asset be undesirable?"

Barbatos answered her, Amy still fuming. "Why, my dear. Vampires are
personae non gratae. They betrayed the Source in the second Continuum War."

"I won't have vampires in my sisterhood, Kane!"

Kane glared at her. "Amy, it's time to face facts. The Source is long
gone. No one has tried to ressurect him since the first Charmed Ones were
around, and no one is going to. It was he that the vampires quarreled with,
not us." Kane simmered down a little. "Besides. The vampires are desperate
for attention at this point. If you extend a hand to one of their queens,
I'm sure she'll take it with no hesitation. And you'll have yet another
servant."

Amy had to admit that the thought was appealing. She deliberated briefly
before giving her answer. "What happens if I do?"

Kane smiled. "I know a certain vampire queen who will be interested. I have
a plan."

"Now, if I remember correctly..." Ipos spoke quickly and tensely, like he
did at all times. "You have quite a lot of plans. In fact, you have been
setting up one of your `plans' for a long time now, and we haven't seen
results."

Kane winced, as though wounded. "Hey, now. I'm particularly proud of that
one. But it's working as we speak. In fact, you're going to have to help me
enact it, with that neat divination you and Cassandra's Eyes have." he gave
a wicked smile. "I think the Charmed Ones will be in for a long month."

- - - -

Opening Song! This episode: "I Want You" By Rachael Yamagata

You simplified me down to slogans on the wall/ I took offense; you were
right about them all/ My friends are telling me I shouldn't waste my time/
But I can't concentrate until I make you mine/

I want you/ Or no one/ No one else for me/ You, or no one/ Cos no one else
is strong enough to slow me down in time to set me free...

- - - -

"Hear these words/Hear my cry/Spirit from the other side/Come to me/I
summon thee/Cross now the great divide."

There was a flash of light in the circle of candles. Lex averted his eyes
and put down the Book of Shadows on the couch. He was standing face to face
with Paige, who was dressed in a flowing black dress. "Um... hi. Sorry, are
you busy?" Lex asked.

Paige rolled her eyes. "Sweetie, I'm dead. I'm not gonna be doing much."
She stepped out of the circle, materializing. "I just like to dress up
sometimes, you know. So, what's up?" she asked with a smile and a small
jump.

"Oh, uh, well." Lex wasn't used to ghost interaction. "I was actually kinda
hoping to talk to Piper, if she's here."

"Piper..." Paige bit her lip. "Yeah... see, here's the thing. Remember that
last time we saw you, when she materialized so she could use her powers?
Apparently she wasn't dead long enough for that sorta behavior to be
proper." Lex raised an eyebrow. Paige continued. "Yeah, I know it seems
kinda stupid. But apparently, if you've only been dead for like, an hour,
you're not supposed to materialize just so you can blow up a demon. So the
Elders kinda punished her and she can't come down for a while."

Lex seemed a little disappointed. "Oh. Well that's okay. Thanks anyway."

Paige looked around. "Say, where are your sisters?"

"Lucy's downstairs. Aaron had to bartend over at P3, and Lyla went with
him."

"Okay then." Paige softly clapped her hands back and forth, whistling a
little. "So... why am I here?"

Lex sighed, plunking down on the couch. "Is it bad of me to summon you to
talk about personal stuff?"

Paige pursed her lips, sensing an emotional topic. "No, not at all." She
sat down next to him. "I was a whitelighter for a long time, so I can
help. But can't Aaron talk to you about it?"

"Um... That's the thing. It's sorta about him."

"Is he a bad whitelighter? Cos if he is, I'll send him straight back and
get a new one for you."

"Oh, no, no, he's great, He's... really great." Lex laughed a
little. "Thanks for the offer, but, um... that's kinda why I wanted to talk
to Piper about it."

Paige briefly gave a puzzled look, before she put 2 and 2
together. "Ohhh... Oh."

Lex sniffed a little, and felt just a little bit teary-eyed. He was always
easy to make cry, and he remembered that's why Lyla and Lucy always had to
protect him. "I mean, it's just, I thought it was just a little thing
before. But, but I dunno, he's so nice, and he's so kind, and..." Lex
gulped. "...and I don't think he's interested."

"Aww..." Paige patted Lex's hand just a little, and handed a tissue to him,
to which he gave a quiet "thank you." "Hey, now. How do you know he's not
interested?"

Lex shook his head. "I... don't. I mean, I do. It's just, he's always with
Lyla, and she's always hugging him, and he hugs her back, you know, it's
just... I wish he and I didn't get along so well. Maybe it wouldn't hurt as
much if we didn't."

Paige was still quiet. She rubbed his shoulder, and Lex continued. "I
wanna... I want so much, you know, to just talk to him, or be with him,
or-or, even flirt with him, but I can't! I can't do that, because he's not
like that, and we'll... well, we'll never be anything." Lex was starting to
cry now, and Paige reassuringly rubbed his back. "I'm just a charge to
him. I can't be anything else. Not like Lyla..." Lex whimpered softly,
through sobs and sharp breaths in.

Neither of them knew that Lucy was behind the door panel. Having heard
everything they said, she quietly crept down the stairs into the lobby.

Paige nodded. "Okay. You know what?" she turned Lex to her, and looked him
in the eye. "This is why I hate men." Lex laughed, and she did
too. "Alright. Let me give you some advice. Sometime, today, I want you to
tell him how you feel."

Lex's eyes widened. "What? No, but-"

"Yes, it'll be fine. But here's the thing. If he pushes you away, then
just-" Paige snapped her fingers. "-well, say `fuck you,' then walk away!"

Lex's mouth gaped open, and he laughed. "Paige! What a mean thing to say!"

"What, I'm serious! If he can't appreciate you for all you are, then he
doesn't deserve you anyway." Paige cracked her knuckles. "Besides... I
think that *you* deserve better than this too."

"I don't... I'm afraid, because I know he's not interested... he can't be."

Paige smiled. "Well then. Fuck him."

Lex gave another giggle. "I could never be that mean to him,
Paige. But... thank you for the advice. It helps."

Paige helped Lex to his feet. "So will you tell him?"

"Um... we'll see." Lex moseyed out the attic. "You can leave, if you want."

Paige nodded. "Sure. I'll stick around in spirit though, so just call me
and I'll materialize."

"Okay. Thank you, Paige. You didn't have to help me, but you did."

Paige grinned and waved before fading into the air. Lex stepped into the
hallway, and went into his room to lie down on his belly. The bed was warm;
he didn't fall asleep, but simply buried his head in his pillow, images of
what would happen with Aaron flashing in his head.

In the meanttime, Lucy heard the door shut upstairs. She worriedly twiddled
her hair, and nearly jumped as the front door opened up. Lyla and Aaron
came barging in, laughing to each other.

Lyla let go of Aaron's arm, running over to kiss Lucy on the cheek before
running upstairs to take a shower. Aaron smiled after her, sitting down
next to Lucy on the couch. "So, how'd it go while we were gone?"

"Um..." Lucy hesistated, really not sure if she should say anything. She
quickly evaded the question. "How was Lyla at P3? I know she can be a
handful. You know, she flirts so much, she goes with who knows how many
guys, and..."

"I know." Aaron said, solemnly. Lucy raised an eyebrow from his sudden
seriousness. "Lyla's... really, been..."

Lucy paused, hoping for Aaron to finish his sentence. He didn't. She
continued instead, attempting to usher him on. "Listen, I know how Lyla
gets. I love her, but she can't take anything seriously, really. Unless
it's demon vanquishing, of course."

Aaron grinned. He looked sad again, as he heard the sound of Lyla's shower
and looked up the stairs. "Where's Lex?"

Something got caught in Lucy's throat. She recovered. "He's- asleep, I
think. Why?"

Aaron was now pouting. "These last few weeks, I've only been with him for a
couple hours. I just wanna spend some time with him." he crossed and
uncrossed his legs. "It's just that Lyla always-"

"-monopolizes your life?"

"I'm not supposed to talk bad about my charges, especially with other
charges."

Lucy nodded. "Don't worry, I understand." she said.

"Lucille." Lucy perked her ears up, puzzled at the sudden use of her full
name. "You know I care about you."

"But what do you think about Lyla? And Lex?"

There was silence. Lucy realized that Aaron might be overstepping some
moral boundaries by answering her question, but at this point she didn't
really care. Aaron, after much deliberation, actually responded. "I really
enjoy being with Lex, Lucy. Whatever small times we have together, I really
have fun with him."

Lucy chuckled. "Well, he *did* save your life."

"Yeah... that's an empirical way of looking at it, yeah." Aaron said with a
similar laugh. "But it's more than that, really. I'm *happy* with Lex."
Lucy was quiet. Aaron continued. "There are times when I start off a day
smiling, hoping that I'm going to see him. Doesn't that sound pathetic?"
Aaron giggled, and Lucy did too: that kind of nervous giggling that
accompanies confessions or secrets. "...On the other hand, I've watched
over Lyla since she was little. And although I feel responsible to guide
all my charges, she's the longest one I've ever had. So I definetely feel
responsible for her. I think that in the long run- I have to give up what I
really want, in order to save the greater good."

Gears swiftly clicked in Lucy's mind. She figured it out. "Aaron, what if I
told you-"

Aaron raised his hand to shush Lucy. He looked to the ceiling, speaking
rather distantly. "A charge... a new charge, actually. He needs help."

Lucy bit her lip. "Well, I guess it's only 9:00, anything can happen."

"Sorry, Lucy. I'm gonna have to cut this one short." Lucy pursed her lips,
giving a silent "oh well." Aaron smiled. "Hey, thanks for counseling
me. Not many people realize that whitelighters need psych help too."

"Ha! Go help your charge, Aaron."

The celestial chime that accompanied Aaron's orbing resounded, and with a
flash of white light he was gone. Lucy sighed, sinking further into the
couch and pushing a pillow onto her face in exhaustion.

She could only get about 5 minutes of rest in. Rather suddenly, she heard
Lyla's voice echo from above the banister. "Is Aaron gone?"

Lucy yelled into the pillow. "Yes!"

Lyla didn't detect the hint of frustration in her voice, and she flitted
down the stairs, dressed in a bathrobe and a towel in her hair. She sat
down next to Lucy and gave her a big (and slightly damp) hug. "How are
you?"

"Fine." Lucy was still muffled, and Lyla didn't do anything to remove the
pillow. "And how are you?"

"Mmmm..." Lyla inhaled through her nose, as though the air was that of a
fresh summer. "Great. I've been feeling really, really clean lately."

Lucy now removed the pillow, baffled. She stared wide-eyed at Lyla. "Are
you kidding?"

Lyla giggled. "I'm serious! I haven't gotten drunk in weeks, I haven't had
random sex, I-" Lucy glared at her. "-I, no, I never had random sex anyway,
you know. Just saying." Lucy continued her stare. "Okay, well yeah, it was
sex. But I wouldn't call it *random* per se. And the point is I haven't had
it in a while, but I feel fine."

"Well then." Lucy stated. "That's good, cos you know, you haven't been a
good role model to me lately." Lucy said the last part more than a bit
sarcastically. She melodramatically held a hand to her forehead. "Oh, oh
my... I think your negative aura has driven me to become a prostitute..."

"Shut up!" Lyla slapped Lucy, giggling.

"But Ly..." Lucy started sounding whiney on purpose. "You're the older
sis. You're supposed to be more mature than me."

Lyla rolled her eyes. "I *am.*" Lyla spoke with a mock deep voice. "I am
extremely mature."

"Suure, sure. Whatever you say."

Lyla sighed. "Where's Lex?"

Strangely enough, Lucy's throat stuck again at the exact same question. She
ended up giving the exact same answer too. "Uh, he's asleep, I think. Why?"

"I feel a little bad for leaving most of the day. I hardly got to see him
at all. Is he okay?"

Lucy bit the side of her lip. She found out that she was getting good at
question dodging. "Hey, you *were* gone a lot of the day. Where did you go
anyway?"

"P3... then Chinatown. I was with Aaron the whole time." Lyla leaned closer
to Lucy, as if she were telling a secret. "Luce. I had so much fun. And
Aaron: Aaron, he's so great. He's really, really great!" Before continuing,
Lyla spent a while with just a contented smile on her face. "Lucy! I've
never felt like this with anyone else!"

"Oh... Oh, oh Ly, that's great."

"Isn't it?" Lyla was nearly shaking with excitement. "I mean,
just... whenever I'm with him, my head is just clearer. I don't feel like,
I have to use sex or beer or drugs to get my highs, I... just need him."
Lyla tried staying quiet after that realization, but couldn't hold her
noise in as she wiggled her knees and giggled in a schoolgirl
fashion. "Lucy, do you know what he thinks of me?"

A fatal question. Lucy, attempting to formulate a harmless response in her
head, was silent for a while. But she waited too long to think; Lyla had
noted the faintest hint of worry on Lucy's face, and her subsequent
distraction.

"Lucy." Lyla began to ask. "Is there something wrong?"

"No. No, not at all."

"I know when you're lying." Lucy knew this was true. She opted to take
silence instead. After some time, Lyla pressed her lips together in
frustration. "Lucy, spit it out." Still silence. "Lucy!"

The response Lyla got was slow and raspy, as Lucy was reluctant to say
anything verbal, really. Lucy unfolded her arms and legs as she began to
say it. "What would you do if Aaron didn't love you?"

Lyla's face curled downward in a "that's not funny" indignation. She,
slowly yet intimidatingly, whipped the towel out of her hair, and spoke
with a wobbly voice. "...I wouldn't care at all." Lyla, rather suddenly,
stumbled off the couch and up the stairs. It only took her five minutes to
come back down in a skimpy skirt and tube top, with make-up Britney would
envy.

"Where are you going!?"

"Out!" Lyla slammed the door behind her. Lucy, befuddled by Lyla's sudden
surrender to hopelessness, took the pillow and shoved it into her face,
screaming her head off. Several green flashes of light burst through the
house, and Lex saw it under the crack of his door.

Lex slowly trounced down the stairs, a bit scared of the frustrated
Lucy. When the green flashes stopped and Lucy's breath began to even out a
little, he spoke from the top of the staircase. "Luce?" Lucy turned her
head. She rushed up the stairs and gave him a hug. "Oh! Oh, my." Lex said,
a little confused but valuing the warmth. Lucy didn't say anything, and
neither did Lex after a while. Lex, melancholy, stroked the tips of Lucy's
hair. Lucy rested her head on Lex's lap. Lucy was probably imagining it,
but she thought she felt tears fall onto the back of her hand.

- - - -

He was running. Puddles splashed upon his shoes and his ankles, each of his
footsteps disturbing the watery mirrors with sweeping ripples and tiny
sounds. He looked behind him; he was alone in the alley, but he knew better
than to stop moving. There was a soft tingling in the night air, and he
restarted the retreat. He didn't get far, reaching a dead end. He turned
around, heaving.

There: a figure illuminated by the waning crescent moon. A soft silver
light, tainted sinister from an unknown darkness, pushed its way through
the clouds and illuminated the silhouette just enough to expose his garb:
the same black tee and pants he had on in the bar. But around his neck was
a strange red twinkle, the tell-tale refracted light of a crimson stone on
a gold chain.

"Get the hell away from me!" The runner screamed, backing up towards the
wall.

The pursuer stepped closer, laughing. "I never let prey escape. Especially
when they're exciting as you... But it is fun to play, don't you think?"

The runner unconsciously cringed from his chilling voice. Suddenly, there
was a flash of white lights next to him: a brief burst of luminescence
heralded the appearance of a stranger, with shining, short blonde hair and
defined features. He turned to him with obsidian eyes. "Are you okay?"

In confusion, the runner quickly nodded. His pursuer however, was visibly
not amused. "Now... why'd you have to ruin everything with a whitelighter?"

"White what?"

The stranger, as though from nowhere, procured a glowing bow and
arrow. With deft swiftness and strength, he shot the shining arrow straight
at the attacker; with a sudden screeching noise, the figure melded into
shadow and back again as the arrow shot past him. The arrow hit the wall
next to him. A plume of pure white light poured outward from its mark,
lighting up the entire alley. The attacker hissed with displeasure,
shielding his visage before (to their surprise) shrinking into a bat and
wildly flapping into the night.

The runner, gulping, turned to his savior. "...Thanks."

The stranger gave a warm smile, sticking out a hand to shake. "You're
Kincaid, right?"

Kincaid raised his eyebrows. "How did you know?"

"I'm Aaron." Kincaid reached out to take his hand, and he felt that Aaron
had a strong grip. "I'm your whitelighter."

- - - -

There was the gentle sound of music somewhere. One of the sisters was
playing a harp, another a sitar. They were sitting very close together, and
shot each other lusty glances inbetween their cadences.

Gloriana ceased fondling one the handmaidens, moving on to one of the male
servants, who was shirtless and massaging her feet. The handmaiden,
abandoned, quickly moved onto the party on the floor, where most everyone
in the colony had paired off into twos, threes, fours, fives...

"Queen Gloriana."

Gloriana reluctantly let go of the servant. She sat up on the red velvet
couch, opening her eyes and licking her lips. Gloriana recognized the demon
who spoke: Amy, leader of Zira's Sisterhood. She seemed pissed. Gloriana
nervously groped the ruby at her neck, preparing to summon her bodyguards
at any time. "Why, we are of similar power, Amy. No need for titles and
nonsense."

Amy raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. She looked around the cave; it
was a step above an orgy, with every combination of guy on guy on girl on
girl, yet it seemed strangely more alluring and erotic than it should have
been. "What do you do here?"

"We feast, we comiserate." Gloriana leaned closer, yet again licking the
edges of her deep red lips. "But it's important to understand that in the
Ruby Guild, inhibition is the greatest sin." Then a laugh, so bright and
musical the servants at her feet joined her. Amy could see the trademark
vampiric teeth in the edges of her mouth.

"...Look." Amy was struggling to speak to her, and Gloriana noticed, now
just the least bit offended. "As a leader in one of the Seven, I have- or,
we have to have more members, and-" Amy paused. Gloriana had lost attention
completely, turning around to receive the attention of two buxom
handmaidens instead. Amy rolled her eyes; she was never a good
talker. "Listen, do you wanna be part of the Sisterhood?"

This caught her ear. "Zira's Sisterhood, you say?" mused Gloriana, turning
to her minions gathered around her. "We might consider it... This isn't at
trick, right?"

"Of course not."

"Well good." She purred the word "good" like a very contented
kitten. "Because you realize that coming to my home, you leave yourself
vulnerable to being bitten by the hundred of us."

In sudden anger, Amy conjured a flaming pink energy ball, and shot it
straight at the floor; the brilliant flash of light caused every vampire in
the room to cringe, and some to even flee to the top of the cave in bat
form. There was the sound of collective screeching.  Gloriana furiously
stood as the light faded, her elegant crimson dress flowing to the floor,
the rubies adorning her body shining bright. "What do you think you're
doing?!"

"You're lucky I don't kill every one of you right here and now!" Amy
motioned to Gloriana. "As if I *want* to let vampires into my
Sisterhood... If I send one of my energy balls square into your heart, I
could kill your entire coven, right here, right now."

Gloriana raised an eyebrow, still heaving from rage. "V-very well. We'll
join you."

Now Amy smiled. "Glad to see you know who's in charge."

Rather suddenly, a big black bat swooped in from the way Amy came in,
hovering in the air before Gloriana. Its wings swooped down and multiplied
in size, until it became a cape of shadow from which an attractive vampire
with shoulder length red hair emerged. He cracked his neck, and
meticulously made sure his ruby was still around it. He addressed Gloriana,
giving no heed to Amy. "My queen."

"Shade... Mon amour..." Gloriana said, more tauntingly than anything else.

"My prey escaped. I saw him in P3, and I almost had him. But a whitelighter
protected him. I guess he was a witch."

Amy perked up. Gloriana placed a hand on Shade's bowed head in pity. "Poor
thing... There's fresh blood in the back. See if any of them are to your
liking."

"P3?"

Shade turned to face Amy, only then noting her presence. "Yes. The first
time I've been. If I knew the terrain better I wouldn't have let him get
away."

"Ipos! Ipos!" Shade exchanged a confused glance with Gloriana as Amy
continued yelling at the ceiling. Amy finally acknowledged Gloriana. "The
Charmed Ones always go to P3. Maybe your vampire was stalking the male
Charmed One, Lex Russel. Ipos, where the hell are you?!"

Amy thought it was her imagination at first, but she realized that the air
did get abruptly chilly. Gloriana, Shade, and Amy all jumped up in unison,
as a crimson-red icicle, like a frozen sculpture of blood turned glacial,
forced its way through the ground in front of them. It shattered with the
sound of a thousand chimes. Rather suddenly, Amy was facing a beautiful
woman with an elegant white dress, long, shiny brown hair that fell to her
waist, and a crystal ball in her hand. It was one of Ipos' oracles.

"You. Where is Ipos?"

The oracle looked at Amy through narrowed eyes, unphased by Amy's
rudeness. Behind her, both Gloriana and Shade admired her figure. "Lord
Ipos is occupied. He sent me in his stead."

"What's your name?"

"...Postverta." Postverta said her name as if it cost money to hear it.

"Whatever. This vampire says he was tracking a witch in P3. See if it was
Lex Russel."

Postverta closely glared at Amy before turning her full attention to
Shade. It seemed she had a hard time looking Shade in the face, only barely
containing her disgust for the pariah. Her eyes glowed white; red crystals
shone inside of her crystal ball, flowing in and out with the harsh sound
of buckling ice. With a minute of contemplation, she returned to
normal. Not wanting to stare at a vampire for any longer than necessary,
she looked at Amy. "It wasn't the Russel."

"Is that all now?" Gloriana said, becoming impatient.

Amy ignored her, as did Postverta, who did no more than grip her crystal
ball tighter. "Who was it then?" asked Amy.

"A new witch. His name is Kincaid. But he has the same whitelighter as the
Charmed Ones."

A sinister smile crept onto Amy's lips. She peered behind Postverta to
where Gloriana and Shade were reluctantly waiting. "...Vampires can track
their prey, right?"

Gloriana turned to Shade. She rather lasciviously bit a nail, and her smile
revealed her sharp teeth again. "If they excite us." Shade nodded, laughing
and licking his lips. Gloriana reached over and stroked his cheek. "Take
Shine with you, sweet. He hasn't been out for ages."

"My pleasure."

- - - -

Aaron orbed Kincaid into the Russel foyer. Kincaid looked around confused,
before dizzily settling down onto the couch. He looked up at Aaron, who was
still standing. "Whoa."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"So wait, I-I still don't get it. Do I have powers too?"

Aaron nodded. "Well, yes. But you haven't realized how to manifest them
yet."

"How do I do that? I mean, I don't... I'm really, just really confused
right now, this is a lot to take in at once."

Kincaid was comforted by Aaron's smile. "I know." Aaron said. "But you're
doing great so far. Don't worry, we'll take it as slow as we can. For now,
we have to protect you, but then we'll get to working out your powers."

"Whaddya think I'll be able to do?" Kincaid asked, half out of curiosity
and half to make small talk.

"Well, that's a good question." Aaron thought to himself a little bit,
considering the possibilities. "I've had a pretty long run as a
whitelighter. The most common I see is telekinesis, but I've also seen
transmutation, empathy, molecular immobilization, aerokinesis, acoustic
combustion, enhanced precision hyperkinesia..."

"Okay, I only understood about half of those."

"Don't worry `bout it. We'll find out your talent soon enough."

Lucy walked into the foyer from the dining room, and both Kincaid and Aaron
turned to her. Lucy stifled a gasp, stopping in her tracks. "Oh. Hello,
Mr. Rowe."

Kincaid nearly yelled. "Dr. Russel?!"

Aaron, now the odd one out, looked at Kincaid then at Lucy. "So I guess you
two know each other."

Lucy shuffled over to Kincaid. "Yes, we do. He's in my morning class." Lucy
bent over to Aaron briefly, and whispered so only he could hear. "I need to
talk to you later." Aaron nodded. Lucy turned her head to Kincaid
again. "By the way, I have your third test. Outstanding."

"This... is awkward."

Lucy sat in front of him. "...Kincaid. I'll assume you're new to this whole
magic business, right?"

"Are you a witch too?"

She laughed. "Yes! Oh, yes I am. But don't worry, I'm only about a month
more into it than you are."

"Is that because you're older than me?"

Lucy put down the mug of coffee she had brought from the kitchen,
swallowing down a gulp of it. "Tell me, how old are you?"

"22."

"See, now I'm 21. You just *think* I'm older `cos I grade your papers."
Lucy winked, but Kincaid didn't seem any less uneasy. Lucy craned her neck
to try and look up the stairs. "You're actually around the same age as my
older brother... whom speaking of, I should call down too. Lex! There's
someone here to meet!"

They heard a responsive noise from the upstairs. A moment later Lex came
sauntering down, hands in his pockets and in a comfortable sweatshirt. For
a moment, he locked eyes with Aaron. He quickly looked away, turning to
Kincaid and then Lucy. "What's up?" he asked.

"Lex, Kincaid Rowe. Kincaid, Lex." Lex looked at Lucy with some
confusion. "He's Aaron's new charge." Lex responded with a small "Oh,"
before circling around to shake Kincaid's hand.

Kincaid, however, seemed (if Lex didn't know any better) smitten. His
formerly tightened face relaxed as if a load of bricks had suddenly been
lifted off his toes, and he broke out into a smile. "Hi there." Kincaid
said, in a flustered voice that accompanied his reddening face.

Lex was fairly oblivious, and didn't seem to notice when Kincaid had
difficulty letting go of his hand. Aaron, however, took painful note, and
conspicuously cleared his throat. Kincaid finally let go, but didn't take
his eyes of Lex.

"So." Lucy finally decided to interject. "Aaron, what exactly is Kincaid in
danger of?"

A rather strange triumvirate was formed, as Kincaid stared at Lex from his
front, Lex stared at the ground to his left, and Aaron stared at Lex's
back, sadly unable to see his face. Aaron snapped out of his daze enough to
answer Lucy, prying his gaze away from Lex in hopelessness. "Vampires."

This caught both Lex and Lucy's attention. "You're kidding, right?" Lex
thought but Lucy asked.

Aaron gave a tight grin. "I wish I was. But I don't think they're
necessarily working for the Seven, otherwise they would have gone after
us."

"Um..." Lucy looked nervous. Aaron and Lex turned to her. "...well, maybe
they might start going after us."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Lyla ran out about half an hour ago."

Aaron turned pale. "...What?"

"She ran out. She got really upset, because-well, because we were talking
about some things, and..." Lucy bit the edge of her lip. Aaron sensed what
she was trying to say, and clicked his tongue half out of frustration and
half of worry.

Lex timidly spoke up. "Is she safe?" he asked.

"No." Aaron vigorously shook his head. He turned to Lex. "You have to
protect Kincaid, Lex. I'll find Lyla, and try to get her before its too
late."

Aaron closed his eyes to orb, but stopped as he felt Lex's hand on his
arm. "I'm going with you!"

"Lex, you can't. It's too dangerous, you might-"

"Aaron... Please."

Silence. Lex had locked eyes with Aaron again, and there was more to their
exchanged glance than met normal perception. Kincaid slowly leered with a
quiet jealousy. Lucy nearly held her breath. "...You can't leave Lucy and
Kincaid alone here."

"I won't." Lex addressed the ceiling. "Paige!"

The sound of a million tiny, shimmering orbs and materializing
ectoplasm. With a flash of shining lights, Paige appeared in the middle of
the foyer, black dress and all. Kincaid withdrew into the couch in some
fear, and Lucy rushed to him in comfort.

Paige first smiled at Lex, then gave an uncalled for ferocious scowl to
Aaron before nodding to Lucy and addressing Lex again. "Do you need help?"

"Yeah. If it's not too much trouble, could you stay here with Lucy and
Kincaid?"

Paige wiggled her fingers in the air. "Leave it to me, the dead girl with
nothing to do." she gave a sarcastic eye roll and a smile, turning around
to introduce herself to Kincaid.

"Thank you." Lex turned his attention to Aaron again. Aaron seemed very
impressed, and looked down at Lex with his familiar warm smile. Lex wasn't
sure he could take it anymore, and he quickly turned around to hide any
tears. "L-let's go."

Aaron put a hand on Lex's shoulder, carefully but gently savoring the
touch. He closed his eyes, and together they orbed in on Aaron's senses.

- - - -

There was a steady rhythm, like the pulse of a heartbeat but laced with the
light tingling of piano strings. The dance floor; the insatiable hunger for
sound; the heat oppressive with sweat and pumping blood. The music was a
sea. The dances were its life.

Lyla screamed in delight, drowning in the sonic opiate and grinding with
strangers. Her lip gloos was hot and sticky. Bits of glitter stuck in the
nape of her neck, getting in her hair and culminating with alcohol and
sweat. She smiled, moving her feet in a wild rhythm. Inhibition was sin.

Then, a hand on her shoulder. Lyla angrily swung about to confront the
touch that puled her out of ecstasy. Aaron stood, grim and quite
unamused. Lex strayed behind him, eyes wide open and alienated by the
crowd.

As though choking back a cry, Lyla simply stared for a long while. She
finally broke through her barrier with a yell. "What? What do you want?"

"We gotta go. You're in danger." Aaron attempted to pull Lyla out of the
crowd, but she shook him off. Aaron attempted to appeal with a gentler
tone. "Lyla, please."

With sudden fervor, Lyla plunged into the dance floor, shrouded by the
darkness in stark contrast with shining lights of all hues. Aaron
remembered Lex, and quickly leaned close to him to speak into his
ear. "Vampires are sensitive to light. Use it if we encounter any."

Lex, a bit unclears as to what Aaron meant, nodded anyway. They swiftly
tailed Lyla, and (to Aaron's frustration) were forced to follow her out the
back door and into the alleyway.

Cold electric light and shivering winddrifted from the sky. The moon was a
thin sliver now hidden by a cloud. Lyla stood huddling against the cold,
alone with her back to the door.

Aaron and Lex came to meet her. Aaron put a hand on her shoulder, which she
only slightly recoiled from. "Are you okay?"

Lyla turned her head to look at Aaron. She smiled at Aaron's concern. Lex
began to feel ignored, and started to regret coming as butterflies welled
up in his stomach.

Lyla sensed something behind her. She quickly swiveled to face the far-off
wall, and Aaron and Lex followed her gaze.

Aaron recognized the red-head from before leaning against the wall and
giving a wicked smile. "Mm... and two more to boot. Hard to believe you're
all so *fine*."

"Is he flirting with us?" Lex whispered, a little bemused and a little
serious.

Before Aaron could conjure a bow however, he felt someone grab him from
behind. He struggled in vain, for the grip was too strong; a tall vampire,
more muscular than Aaron with long black hair, had him in his vice.

Lyla turned around and screamed. As soon as she did, the red-headed vampire
from behind rose from the shadows just next to her. He grabbed her arms in
one deft motion.

Aaron kicked his assaulter, and screamed at Lex. "Lex! Light!"

Lex shook his head, stunned by the sudden attack. "I-I, don't... Yield!
Rend!" He heard the chime of his powers, but they did nothing to the
vampires.

Aaron's attacker got his neck. Lex drew back with some horror, still
flinging useless commands at the vampires. Aaron collapsed. Lyla's attacker
strangely knocked her out with a deft motion of his hand, rather than bite
her. "Shine. Was it good?"

Shine spoke with a sickly sweet voice, smooth and charming as honey. "It
was great. I can't wait `till he wakes up... How was yours, Shade?"

"That bitchy demon the Queen's working for said not to bite her yet. They
wanna question her or something." Shade turned to Lyla's body, and licked
his lips in anticipation. "It's a damn shame."

Shine turned to Lex, who gasped in fear and confusion. "...aww, but someone
left this little bunny. He looks too delicious to waste."

His company laughed. "Ooh... yes, he does look sweet. Maybe sweeter than
his sister." Shade turned to Shine. "...she didn't say we couldn't have her
brother."

Lex found himself running backwards, and he hardly kept himself from
stumbling. His attackers did nothing to speed up their chase, perhaps
taunting him. Lex felt a damp wall behind him: a dead end. He whimpered
softly. Doom.

Aaron had said to "use light." Lex, in the desperate curiosity of impending
fate, raised his hands in front of his face. His assaulters laughed, and
Lex heard them coming closer. He decided to give it a shot, and unable to
think of any other word, decided to utilize one that was familiar at the
moment. "Shine!"

Lex had kept his eyes open, and saw through the windows of his fingertips
bits of bright blue light pirouette in the darkness. Shine and Shade
averted their eyes, similarly putting their hands in front of their
face. The glittering azure light shone brightly, and they seemed to give
up, running in the other direction and flying into the night sky as bats.

The lights finally disappeared. Sensing the danger passed, Lex quickly ran
into the alleyway again. Lyla was on the ground, but she was getting up,
slowly ruffling a hand through her hair. But Lex looked left and right, up
into the sky and at the ground; Aaron was missing.

- - - -

"Yeah, you could say I've had experience with vampires before."

Lucy closed the Book of Shadows shut. Kincaid looked up with some
surprise. Paige crossed her legs and shrugged. "Actually, I *was* a vampire
once."

"How... err, how did you `un-vampire' yourself?" Lucy asked.

"Well. You know how they say that a person becomes a vampire when they're
bitten by one?"

"Yeah." Lucy and Kincaid said at once.

"That's only half-true. A person becomes a vampire permanently when they
drink blood from their first victim. That ties their life to their
queen. So as long as a person hasn't drunk blood yet, then they can be
turned back human in one of two ways. Either killing the queen, or killing
the vampire that bit them. But you know, it's really hard to kill a
vampire. Witch powers don't work on them."

"So what was it like?" Kincaid asked with a morbid curiosity.

Paige's face was still as stone for a little, before just the hint of a
smile appeared. "One of the greatest feelings I've ever had." She shook her
head, as if snapping out of a daze. "That, and being a nymph. But the
thirst for blood was so, so strong, that I literally couldn't resist."

They heard the door slam. They turned their heads in unison. Lyla came in
first, throwing her car keys on the table and hanging her head in
shame. Lex followed, sheepish.

Lucy stood up, attempting to approach Lyla; Lyla gently shunned her,
sitting on the couch alone. Lucy gave a quizzical look to Lex, who seemed
reluctant to say or express anything.

"Where's Aaron?" Paige finally asked.

Lex looked at Lyla to see if she wanted to answer. She didn't. Lex did
instead, trembling. "Th-they took him. They bit him, then took him."

Oh. Shit. No one wanted to say it, but everyone thought it at the exact
same time.

Paige rose. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Lyla nearly yelled. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh god... it
was my fault. It was all my fault. If I didn't go out, he wouldn't have-"

Lucy and Lyla's voices culminated into a storm. "Lyla, you can't blame
yourself for-"

"-I couldn't even do anything! And now he's gone-"

"We're going to get him back."

Lucy and Lyla turned to Lex, who spoke with unusual defiance. Paige
beamed. Kincaid smirked with admiration. "Paige. Do you know if we can
still save Aaron?"

"I was just talking to Lucy and Kincaid about it. You can kill the Vampire
Queen, or the vampire that bit him. But before Aaron bites anybody"

Lex nodded. "Lyla and I already know what the vampire looks like, so we can
just kill him, and Aaron'll be back to normal." Lucy opened her mouth to
say something, surprised at Lex's sudden ambition to kill. She stifled
herself before she could. As though reading Lucy's mind, Lex continued, a
touch less confident than before. "We have to save Aaron. We have to."

- - - -

Gloriana inspected her new subject closely, carefully as though he were
antique. With lustful percision, she slipped the edge of her finger over
his sternum horizontally, then up his abdomen vertically. She smiled with
satisfaction, feeling the skin of his cheek with the back of her left right
hand. "He's a whitelighter?"

Shade said, "Yes." He pointed to Shine. "Shine bit him. I knocked out one
of the Charmed Ones..."

"Well? What stopped you from bringing her?" Gloriana asked, icily. Shade
drew back in fear.

"There were two Charmed Ones." Shine said, coming to Shade's defense. "And
the male one could create light."

"That can't be right. The oracle said he has the power of telekinesis."

"My Queen... I apologize, but there was nothing more we could do." Shade
petitioned to Gloriana.

Gloriana looked at Shade like he were a strange talking anchovy. She turned
her attention back to Aaron, who this whole time had idly walked away into
the crowd of lovers. "He really is quite fine though. And you boys did a
good job in getting this one." Sharply, she turned to Shine and
Shade. "Initiate him into the guild." Suddenly, Gloriana's face lit up in
epiphany. "Yes! Send him against the Charmed Ones!"

"Queen Gloriana, that's suicide!" Shade nearly whined. "Besides, he may not
even lust after them."

"Oh, please. The way he always sticks with that Charmed girl, he has to
have some lust." Gloriana leaned over, and made eye contact with
Aaron. "Come here, child." she walked away as Aaron approached, giving
nothing more than a wink to Shine and Shade before retreating into her
quarters.

Shine smiled at Shade. He smiled back. As Aaron tried to pass between them,
they each put a hand on his chest, stopping him.

Shade approached first, wrapping an arm around him. "Let me ask you
something... Are you hungry?"

Aaron seemed confused at first, but that quickly subsided as he found
himself drawn closer to Shade, their faces parallel. "Starving."

Shine came from the other direction, wrapping an arm around Aaron's waist
and laying another on Shade's shoulder. He spoke into Aaron's right ear, as
Shade's mouth was still close to his left. "We tell all the new initiates
this. But do you know the rule of the Ruby Guild?"

"Inhibition is sin." Shade said with a laugh, coming dangerously close to
Aaron. He spoke with his lips nearly settled on Aaron's cheek now, and
Aaron simply smiled. Shine laughed at his reaction.

Shine, although amused, nonverbally signalled Shade to "tone it down."
Shade didn't listen. Shine continued anyway, still whispering into Aaron's
ear, and now slowly rubbing his stomach. "So if you're hungry for
something, go get it." Shine spoke with a soft croon. "Don't you know
anybody you want?"

Aaron briefly drew away from a dissatisfied Shade, and now craned his head
over to look Shine in the eye. He gave a wide smile now, fully baring his
new teeth. "You bet I do."

"Then lead, and we'll follow." Shine held Aaron a little tighter before
disengaging again. Shade was more reluctant to let go, but he did after
Shine insisted.

Aaron laughed, now licking his lips. He looked at the night stained
inky. "This is great."

"You don't know the half of it yet." Shine said. "Welcome to the Ruby
Guild."

There was the sound of screeching, and three bats flew into the darkness.

- - - -

Lucy linked her arm into Paige's. "Okay. So I wanna get this straight."

They were all in the attic now: Kincaid on the couch, Lyla, Lucy and Paige
standing in the middle, and Lex at the Book of Shadows. Lex recounted the
steps briefly in his head before telling them to Lucy. "Paige'll orb you
two to the graveyard where she was brought as a vampire, and maybe you'll
be able to find the Queen that way. You'll bring a lot of holy water,
stakes, and garlic with you."

"And you'll stay here to protect Kincaid." Lyla looked at Kincaid, who was
still rather lost, and then Lex. "Will you be okay?"

"Well, yeah." Lex now went to a bookshelf, and perused through a cardboard
box until he pulled out a map and celestite crystal. "I'm gonna give
Kincaid here all the garlic and crucifixes and such. He'll be safe from
vampires. Right?" Lex asked Kincaid, a little rhetorically.

Kincaid smiled, curiously dazed. "Uh... Yeah, yeah."

Lex lay the map out on the table. "So when you get there, call me. And if
you don't see Aaron, I'll scry for him."

Lyla shook her head mournfully. "I-I hope he hasn't bitten anyone yet."

Something tingled in Lex's stomach. He felt the sudden urge of sadness as
well; the temptation to give up to depression like Lyla was doing. He shook
it off, a hint of anger manifesting instead. Lyla wasn't even trying, she
was so crippled by sadness; she had no right to Aaron. Lex was going to
save Aaron. He knew it. "...I hope he hasn't either."

Paige took Lyla's hand, and exchanged glances with her and Lucy. "Okay,
girls. Let's go."

There was a flurry of orbs, more sparkly and a shade or two lighter more
violet than Aaron's. Paige, Lyla and Lucy disappeared.

Lex heard the cell phone ringing and vibrating in a frenzy on the table. He
quickly picked it up, jumbling it in his hands a little before answering
it. "Hello?"

"It's me." Lucy spoke on the other end of the line. She let go of Paige's
hand, stumbling over a pile of rubble inbetween two gravestones. "We're
here, safe and sound. For now. Anyway, we'll head near the mausoleum, and
then see if the vampires are still here. I'll call you in a little bit."

"'Kay." Lex put down the phone, and briefly reached into another cardbox to
pull out several other scrying crystals.

Kincaid broke the silence. "So, uh... *you're* the older brother."

"Um." Lex paused from his work. "I'm the middle brother, anyway. You take
classes with my little sister though, huh?"

"Yeah." Kincaid took the opportunity for conversation, crossing his legs
and stretching. "She's tough."

Lex laughed. "Haha, she's always been like that. But don't worry, she
doesn't mean bad. She just thinks it's better for you." Lex pointed towards
himself. "Take it from me, her tutee for about five or six years."

Kincaid nodded, further displaying himself on the couch. Lex took the
opportunity to look him over. Kincaid was a couple of inches taller than
him: about six foot. He had short brown hair that was very well groomed,
and a tanned body to go with it. He was fairly toned- certainly not bulky,
but definetely no push-over. Lex could see the contours of his muscles as
he stretched. But the most fascinating thing about him were his eyes, which
were a bizarre shade of icy blue. Antarctic waters lived in these irises.

"Kincaid, you're really taking this magic thing well, by the way." Kincaid
raised an eyebrow. Lex giggled. "Really, you are! Gosh, you should've seen
me and Lucy when Lyla broke the news to us. Luce got so pissed, and I was
just like a vegetable or something."

"Well..." Kincaid began to say with a smile, amused at Lex's story. "I
think I've always been really interested in this sorta stuff, you know?
That's because of my dad, actually. He told me all these stories since I
was little, and... well, I dunno. I guess it must seem kinda stupid, but I
always believed them."

Lex shook his head. "No, no that's not stupid. Not at all. You had faith. I
think we need more faith in the world." Lex got up and turned around,
gathering items into a procured white velvet bag. Kincaid grinned behind
him in admiration. Lex spoke as he worked. "Yeah... but you know, I'm
really only like, a month more experienced than you are right now. So I
guess we can be newbies together!"

Kincaid laughed. "Yeah."

He jumped a little, as Lex now stuck the velvet bag in Kincaid's
face. "Um... this has cloves of garlic, wild rose thorns, three crucifixes,
a couple of lit glow sticks, and an Eye of Fatima in it. Keep it on your
heart, and I'm pretty sure it'll protect you from any vampires." Kincaid
took it. Lex ran to the box he just packed, and placed a series of smooth
metallic-shiny stones, big enough to fit in the palm of his hand, around
Kincaid. He placed the fifth one on the floor, and they all lit up a shade
of bright yellow. Lex yelled over the soft humming of the
crystals. "Hematite. It's a blood stone, and they're shiny like
mirrors. That plus the bag, and you'll safe."

"Don't you need to be protected too?"

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Lex's cell phone rang on the table. He turned
around and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Lex. Nobody's here." Lucy said, kicking a rock. Lyla and Paige were
inspecting the cavern, as Paige began to recount her experience
there. "Lyla will do some postcognition and we'll sweep around some more,
but you can go ahead and scry for Aaron."

"Alright. I'll call you when I find him." Lex hung up. He sat down,
wrapping the sky-blue celestite pendant around his hand, and swinging it
over the map. Lex looked up; Kincaid seemed worried. Lex smiled at Kincaid
in the hematite circle in order to diffuse it, and he grinned back. Lex
concentrated on the map, the true combination of worry, anger, and
hopelessness from earlier in the evening replacing the false contentment on
his face again. This entire night had been a night of suppression; a night
of hiding true feelings out of the fear of rejection. Lex held back tears,
swallowing and forcing yet another grin.

The crystal dropped more quickly than Lex thought it would. He was baffled
by where it landed. He stood up. "Uh oh."

"What?"

Lex ran to the doorway. He swiveled around to Kincaid before he
left. "Kincaid, don't leave the circle, ok? I'll be right back."

Kincaid nodded. Lex ran to Lyla's room and shut her window. He did the same
in Lucy's. But when he was too late by the time he got to his.

The three-split bat armada hovered through the open window pane, flowing
with the windy curtains and phasing back into human form seamlessly. There
was Aaron; fangs and all, with a curious look in his eye. Lex stepped back,
taken by mixed anger, hope, and fear drawn into him by a single gasp.

One of the vampires behind Aaron (Shine, Lex believed it was) flicked his
finger, and with a sinister chime the door shut behind Lex.

The red-headed one known as Shade crept a hand onto Aaron's shoulder,
speaking to him as he trained his gaze on Lex. "Is this the one you want?"

Aaron licked the edges of his sharp teeth. "Yeah."

"Then by all means." Shine stuck a finger out at Lex. Lex sharply inhaled,
an invisible grip binding his entire body. Shine shot him at his bed, and
Lex felt himself flung with a savage force; the landing was cushioned by
the springs, but still shook him up enough to elicit a small yelp. Lex gave
a fearful cry as Shine motioned yet again, this time pulling up his shirt;
his small chest and belly were exposed to the air, heaving with fright.

Aaron quickly turned to Shine. "Don't hurt him!" Shine finally put his
hands up. Lex felt the grip releasing on him, but it was replaced again as
Aaron renewed it with his own force. Aaron nearly jumped on Lex, placing a
hand on either side of him and sitting down on Lex's legs. His bare chest
was parallel to his, and Aaron spoke face to face with Lex, smiling. It was
such a different smile than Lex was used to; full-teethed and nearly
malevolent, but still bearing all of Aaron's charm. Lex was afraid of this
smile. "Hey there, Lex. Miss me?"

Lex felt hurt by vaguely sarcastic tone. He turned his head away from him,
refusing to respond. What was Aaron doing? Lex gasped as he felt Aaron move
down closer, and now their chests were touching; he could feel Aaron
breathe against him, and his bigger frame over his. "Aaron, no!"

"What... you don't want this?"

"..." Lex couldn't say anything. Maybe he did want this. He did want
Aaron. Wasn't the question whether or not Aaron wanted him? But not like
this. This wasns't actually Aaron... this was just the blood lust
speaking. This didn't mean anything. Lex couldn't help it any more; a tear
dripped out of his left eye, crawling down his cheek and into the nape of
his neck.

Suddenly, Aaron stopped. The smile was wiped off his face, and his wild
eyes traced the trail Lex's tear made. He reached one of his hands up to
Lex's face, taking the tear onto his fingertips. He looked at it with
amazing curiosity.

Shine and Shade exchanged glances. Shine yelled at Aaron. "Well? Bite him!
Complete the transformation!" Aaron hesitated still. Lex opened his watery
eyes; Aaron was looking back at him, eyes open with wonder, his fanged
mouth open just slightly.

Shade spoke more reasonably. "If you bite him, you'll have him. Forever."

This made impact. Aaron craned his neck behind him, to look at Shade, who
nodded in approval. He went back to Lex. Aaron opened his mouth wide, going
in for the neck; Lex felt Aaron's breath against his cheek, and he closed
his eyes, anticipating the feeling of blood being sucked out of him.

The door slammed. Aaron drew back, his gaze trained to the door. Shade and
Shine growled in frustration. Lex opened his eyes again; Kincaid was in the
doorway, a rather frightened look in his eye.

"Dammit!" Shade raised his palms up at Kincaid. A pulse of energy flew out,
heading straight towards Kincaid. Kincaid saw it, and hid his head in his
arms, attempting to brace for the impact. But he didn't see an icy-blue
barrier, swirling like a vortex but flat like a mirror, conjure in front of
him. The pulse of energy flew into the barrier, seeming to merge with it as
though it were a whirlpool. The strange white-blue light barrier ebbed and
flowed in the air like a floating tide, before bursting back at Shade with
twice the power. Shade's eyes widened, and he was flung out the window with
amazing force. He transformed into a bat in midair, and defeated, flew back
into the night.

Shine growled. But behind Kincaid came Paige, then Lyla and Lucy. Lyla saw
Aaron still pinning the stripped Lex on the bed, and raised hands to her
mouth in hectic confusion. "Aaron!" Lyla yelped.

Aaron now turned her attention to Lyla. Shine tried to take advantage of
it, sending a huge telekinetic wave at the new crowd.

Paige stepped forward. She raised her palms in front of her. "Force!" Lex
didn't think it was possible. Neither did Lyla or Lucy. With a huge flux of
glittering orbs as big as the room, Paige had orbed the telekinetic attack
away, completely nullifying any effect it could've done.

Shine turned around, attempting to head out the window. Paige twirled her
hands in the air; a swirl of orbs conjured around Shine, trapping him in a
cage of sparkles. Paige strategically flicked several of her fingers. With
deft precision, the orbs now formed into chains, and bound Shine to the
ground by his hands and feet. Paige turned to Lyla. "Now!"

Lyla rushed forward, procuring a wooden stake from her back pocket. With
terrible swiftness, she aimed and stabbed it into Shine's heart. There was
a horrible scream. In a storm of fire and fading orbs, Shine burst from the
inside, and he was vanquished.

A presence seemed to leave Aaron's body. He closed his lips and opened them
again, and Lex saw that his teeth seemed back to normal. Aaron's eyes
seemed tired now, but were (to Lex's relief) restored to sanity as he
quickly blinked out of his daze. There were several moments of stunned
silence. Aaron looked down at Lex, who still had his shirt pulled up, and
was still nearly parallel to Aaron. Lex blushed. Aaron blushed. He gave the
warm smile, and spoke quietly, as though nervous. "Hi."

Lex had a lot of trouble smiling, but he managed something. Another tear
trailed out of his other eye, running down his dry cheek and making his
tiny grin taste salty. "Hi."

- - - -

"Let the object of objection become but a dream/As I cause the seen to be
unseen."

Lucy finished the spell, and the shards of broken glass flew into their
original places. Lex's room was back to normal. Paige spoke to Lucy from on
top of Lex's bed. "That was my favorite spell, you know."

Lucy smiled. "So did you orb Kincaid back home?"

"Yeah." Paige nodded. "Kincaid Rowe... that last name sounds really
familiar, but I don't remember from where."

Lucy shrugged. "Maybe you can ask him later. He'll be coming `round a lot
more often. Since we're both witches and he's in my class, I told him it'd
be safer if we rode together." Lucy clarified.

"Reflective telekinesis. That's an interesting power."

"Yup."

"Umm... am I interrupting anything?"

Lucy and Paige turned to the doorway. It was Aaron, still looking a little
bit sheepish. Paige exchanged a glance with Lucy. "I was just about to go
back anyway." she smiled at Lucy, but ignored Aaron. "Say goodbye to Lex
and Lyla for me." Lucy nodded. Paige waved goodbye, and with a vivid flash
of light, she was gone.

Aaron took her place on the bed. "I don't think she likes me."

"Oh. I'm sure she has good reason." Lucy sat down next to him. "So how are
you doing?"

"Better. Thanks. I'm not thirsty anymore." There was a little bit of
silence. Aaron spoke up to Lucy again. "...So, um. Before that whole
vampire incident. Did you want to talk to me?"

Lucy peered over her shoulder into the doorway, ensuring the hallway was
empty. She walked up and shut the door a little further just to be
sure. "Yeah." Lucy turned around, confronting Aaron. "You like him, don't
you."

There was no more beating around the bush. Lucy knew what she was talking
about, and Aaron did too. He blushed. "It's more complicated than that."

"How much more complicated does it get? He likes you too."

A strange look of hope laced with sadness crept onto Aaron's face. It was
as if he were pleading with himself. "I want to. But I can't. I just
can't. I have... responsibilities. And there are so many things I can't
control. Things that... *must* be, whether I like it or not."

"What in the world is that supposed to mean?"

"...It means we can't. No matter how much I want to, we can't." Lucy
crossed her arms, dissatisfied. Aaron rubbed his face in his
hands. "Please, Lucy. Don't think I don't want to. Because I do. So badly."

"Then why don't you? You sound like a broken record: `I can't, I can't.'"
No response. Lucy sighed. They were quiet for a while, listening to the
night outside. Lucy restarted. "...You'll break his heart, you know."

More silence. Aaron licked his dry lips. He bowed his head in shame. "I
know. And I'll never forgive myself for it." Aaron swallowed. He was
melancholy as he stood up. "Where is he?"

As though reluctant to say, Lucy hesistated before answering: the kind of
hesitation that's obviously stalling for time. "Kitchen."

Aaron nodded. "Thank you." He pushed the door open, and headed down the
stairs.

Lucy sighed, twirling her hair in one hand as she went out the door and
headed towards her own room. She trained her gaze at the floor, sadly
guessing at what would happen to Lex.

Lex sat at the kitchen counter. He stared at his cup of hot chocolate,
mulling over Paige's words and Aaron's actions. He heard footsteps behind
him, but he didn't do anything.

"...Hey."

Aaron's voice was soft and sad. Lex didn't turn around, but he spoke into
his cup. "Are you better now?"

"Yeah." Aaron slipped into the chair next to Lex. He tried to meet eyes
with him, but Lex was staring downward in the piping hot chocolate. Aaron
twiddled his thumbs nervously. He noticed something about Lex. "...Have you
slept lately?"

"...Not in a week." Lex said. "But I'm okay. It's okay." The last
affirmation was shaky and nearly ironic when coupled with the unsteadiness
of his voice.

Aaron switched to a voice of worry. "Lex, that's not okay, you need to
rest, you-" he stopped. Lex had raised his head from the hot chocolate, and
was stared straight into Aaron's eyes. He wasn't crying; there were no more
tears left. But an all-pervading sadness emnated from Lex's eyes.

"Aaron, why did you go after me?" Lex asked, thoughtfully. "Why me? When
you could have just as easily chased after Lyla, or-or anyone else. That
vampire said I was the one you wanted. Were you... were you lying? Or did
you just go after me since I was an easier target? Was it strategic?"

"No, no, Lex, it wasn't like that, it was-"

"You don't want me!" Lex said, firmly. He gulped, and Aaron was
speechless. "I've... I've heard you talk to Lyla. I heard you on the night
before Halloween, when you got back from the town. I've seen you touch her,
and I've seen her touch you back." Finally, one more tear. It came from out
one eye and came down to his chin, landing in his hot
chocolate. "A-and... and, I don't know what I was expecting. Really, I-I-I
don't. It's not like you could've liked me back, or anything. I'm just
another charge, and... and another guy, and..." Lex shook his head,
covering his mouth with his hand briefly, to stifle a whimper. "Why won't
you say anything?"

Aaron couldn't release his gaze from Lex. Something was still caught in his
throat. He knew he could do at least something; he reached over and caught
Lex in a hug. Lex sobbed fiercely, and his tears were dried against Aaron's
chest.

"I-I... I just wish. I w-wish, you know, that you weren't so kind to me. I
wish that, you didn't know when I was sad, and that you weren't so good at
cheering me up, be-because then I could hate you so much easier! But, but I
can't, and it hurts so much! Aaron, I like you!"

Aaron gripped Lex tighter. Finally, he spoke into Lex's ear. "...I'm
s-sorry. I don't..."

Cruel poison. Slippery fire in verbal form. It came into Lex slowly, and
Lex's sobbing just seemed to stop. Something broke inside his chest. He
felt Aaron's t-shirt wet with his tears, damp against his cheek. He tried
to speak, his voice the raspy way it gets after crying. "It's... it's
okay." Nothing was okay. Lex sniffled. He drew himself away from Aaron's
arms, and could have sworn they were reluctant to let go. "I wasn't
expecting anything anyway."

Lex wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, turning his back to
Aaron. Aaron intently watched him, hoping for one more chance; perhaps one
more opening for him to change his mind and profess "yes" to Lex. But Aaron
knew it would never come. He didn't touch Lex as he walked away, out the
kitchen door. Icy guilt froze his chest. It was only the centuries of
discipline that kept him from crying as he took one last look at Lex, who
went back to sipping his now salty hot chocolate.

Lex heard conversation in the foyer. He turned around. It was Lyla. She had
ran down the stairs, still wearing the clothes she had gone to the club
in. Her make-up was running. She was crying, hysterical. Lex could see her
lips move up and down, and Aaron's too. He didn't hear any conversation,
but he knew what it was about. She was so worried. She felt so guilty. He
was okay. They were so sorry.

Aaron's arm moved to Lyla's shoulder. Lyla buried her face in her
hands. Aaron's other arm moved to Lyla's hair, stroking it. But Aaron
turned his head back to the kitchen. Lex stared at Aaron. Aaron stared at
Lex. Lex marveled at how pretty Aaron looked with a frown, and how his sad
eyes could capture the essence of regret. Aaron took one last glance Lex,
his eyes red with tears and sleeplessness, before Lex walked up the
stairs. Aaron held Lyla tighter, and her tears mixed with Lex's. No, he
would never forgive himself. Never.

Perhaps inhibition is sin, he thought. Either way, he knew that he had
sinned tonight.


- - - -

Aaron, you dog :O. I felt so bad to do this to Lex, but... it'll all be for
the better, don't worry.

Why can't Aaron be with Lex? Who is Kincaid Rowe? What is Kane's plan? All
these questions, when compounded with the unanswered questions from the
previous episode, probably still won't be answered soon. Or maybe they
will. I guess we'll see. ;)

Oh, and the family tree will be uploaded two episodes from now. I have a
bit of a feeling that the next episode will be released fairly quicker than
the previous ones, since it is already partially hand-written, and just
needs to be typed up :D. You guys'll get to see what a Charmed nerd I am; I
really thought the tree out a little too throughly.

as per usual: thank you for reading!

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