Charmed Reborn

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).