Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:49:10 -0700 From: Amethyst Rose Subject: Charmed Reborn Episode 10 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. No Rest For the Wicca (Note: This is supposed to take place on Valentine's Day. Quite obviously... I didn't upload it on Valentine's Day, but yes. Sorry. :P) "Mr. Dawson?" Lucas looked up from his work. Professor Fleming was motioning him to his desk. Rudi, seated next to Lucas, turned his attention from his laptop to exchange a wary glance with him. Lucas approached Professor Flemings' desk. "What is it?" Lucas asked. "These two have requested for a tour of the Polyhymnia Project. Would you show them around?" Lucas looked to his right at two young women. He scratched the back of his head. "Sure. There's not much to see, though." "Thank you." Professor Fleming stood up to introduce the ladies. "This is a colleague of mine, Dr. Russel." Dr. Russel flipped a green bang out of her eyes and waved hello. Lucas was surprised to see that she was about the same age as him. "And her friend is-" Dr. Russel's company was a beautifully pale woman with long dark hair, in a dark blue summer dress. "Paige." she interjected. Lucas shook their hands, leading them in. He spoke as he approached a series of tables, lined with some high-tech equipment, but mostly rows of books diligently being studied by similar rows of students. "The Polyhymnia Project was started just a couple of years ago, actually. Together with Professor Fleming, we're in the process of translating and comparing various religious texts compiled from around the world." "That doesn't sound like anything new." Dr. Russel said rather sardonically. "You'd be surprised." Lucas responded. "Good translations are hard to come by these days. Besides, the method in which we compile old translations and contrast them with this new influx of texts that are being discovered, we uncover a lot of information." Paige nodded. "What do you do?" "Me? Oh, well... I'm getting my bachelors in classical languages. At this point I'm in charge of translating most of the texts in the field." "So." Dr. Russel began to say. "You guys must see a lot of weird stuff sometimes." "What do you mean?" Dr. Russel stopped Lucas, and the three of them sat down at a table with a stack of anthropological encyclopedias. "You know. Err, rituals, spells. `Pagan' things." she said. Lucas seemed a bit confused. "Well, `pagan's' not a very nice word. It's entirely subjective, really, and ancient religious views are not to be misunderstood... But to answer your question, yes, I do see quite a bit of that on the job. I can also say it's influenced me a lot." "Hm. Smart cookie." Dr. Russel said. "This may seem like a strange question, Mr. Dawson." Paige started. "In any of your texts, have you ever come across something called..." Lucas had to lean in as Paige's voice plummeted to near-whispering. "...the Pseudomonarchia?" Lucas mouthed the word to himself. "Uh. That means `False Monarchy.' You mean the grimoire? Pseudomonarchia Daemonum?" Dr. Russel raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about that?" she quickly shook her head, not letting him answer. "No. Anyway, have you encountered anything about that, you know, in your translations?" "That, or the Ars Goetia." Paige tagged on. Lucas shook his head. "Not familiar. Besides, I-I thought the Ars Goetia was translated already." "No, it-" Dr. Russel grunted with some frustration. "-never mind. Look, thank you, Mr. Dawson. We'll get going now. Sorry for wasting your time." Dr. Russel got up from her seat, and Paige followed, both of them going straight out the door. Professor Fleming turned his head in tandem, looking a bit puzzled at their haste. Lucas gave a curious sigh, getting up and taking his seat again next to Rudi. Rudi closed his laptop and looked to Lucas. "Hey, what was that all about?" With a lazy smile and a careless wave, Lucas shrugged it off. "Whatever. Some weirdoes." "That girl with the green hair's my Anatomy teacher." Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You're still doing pre-med? I thought you were gonna drop out." Rudi nodded. "Well, yeah. But I gotta wait `till the semester's over. I mean, my parents'll be pissed! My first semester in college and I'm already going into the Liberal Arts..." "Hey, come on." Lucas put an arm on Rudi's shoulder. Rudi looked up at him. "You're doing important stuff here. I'm gonna graduate next year, and you're going to have to take over." "Ha! I guess." Lucas kicked back in his own seat, putting his arms behind his head. "Do you wanna grab something to eat after this?" Rudi gave him a very nervous look. "W-why?" "I dunno. I thought you'd be hungry. Besides, I never see you going out at all. We're in the city, dude. There's tons of stuff to do." "Yeah, I know, I'm just..." Rudi blushed. "...I have more fun staying in my room with a book." Lucas frowned. "What? Your boyfriend doesn't take you out or something?" Rudi shook his head. "Not as much as before. He still goes out though, every night. Just by himself. At least we're going to P3 tonight..." "You know that I'll kick his ass if you want." "Lucas!" Rudi laughed, not sure whether to be offended or not. "Hey, I don't care if you're both freshmen! You need to take advantage of the fact that an upperclassman cares about you." Upon Rudi's rather embarrassed reaction, Lucas quickly changed the subject. "Hey, so how's translation of the Lilian Tablet going?" Rudi bit his lip. "Not so great. I haven't got much further than that whole diatribe about mathematics. How `bout you? Didn't you get a new project recently?" Lucas shrugged. He reached out on his desk, scanning over a laminated xerox of his object of translation. "Part of a tome. Some archaeologists found it in an underground tomb outside of Venice. It's all in Classical Latin, it shouldn't take too long to-" he stopped. "Is there trouble?" Rudi asked. Unsure of what to say, Lucas quickly shook his head. "No. No, not at all." Rudi looked a bit concerned before returning to his laptop work. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows. The first sentence of the tome: "Seals of the Pseudomonarchia." - - - - Lucy quietly shut the door behind her, following Paige into the hallway. "So what do you think?" Paige shrugged. "I mean, we're getting pretty desperate now that the Ars Goetia's been destroyed. I really doubt we could get any help from this Poly-whatever Project." "Well too bad, cos that's the best Kincaid and I could find at UCSF." Lucy said. She sighed. "Then what do we do about the LeFleurs?" "Ugh. I dunno." Paige headed towards the exit, and Lucy followed her. "...So. What do you think?" "Of what?" "You know what." An awkward sort of silence interjected itself into their conversation before Lucy responded. "Actually, I'm not really surprised. He always seemed a little chummy with demons." "Myself, I blame Aaron. He traumatized Lex, really." "Well it's not like I blame anyone. If that's what Lex is into, then I'm not anyone to stop him." Paige laughed. "What Lex is `into' is evil. The Dragon Warlock tried to kill you, in case you don't remember." "But to his credit, he saved Lex's life a lot of times. From Kane's curse, from the Creeper Demons, from the Shadow Stalkers, the LeFleurs..." "Lucy." Paige stopped in the hallway, and stood face-to-face with Lucy. "I'd like to trust him. Really, I would. But last time we tried trusting demons, our sister ended up becoming Queen of all Evil." "..." Lucy clicked her tongue. "Well. This is a pickle." "That's life, sweetie. That's life." - - - - This episode: "Playgirl" By: Ladytron Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world? Hey, Playgirl Playgirl, why are you dancing when you could be alone? Hey, Playgirl Playgirl, why are you sleeping in tomorrow's world? Hey, Playgirl Playgirl, choking on cigarettes won't get you along. Hey, Playgirl Northern lights catch you coming down Sleep your way out of your hometown... Foreign coin in a telephone box; a question mark on a calendar An empty seat on the alpha line; a sorting card and account number... - - - - Lex looked down into his cup before putting it on the table in front of him. The hooded sweatshirt he had on was freshly washed, as were his jeans. He folded his legs under him, no socks or shoes. "Are you okay?" Atla's reassuring voice caught Lex's attention. Atla, his powerful frame and posture, stood up with his arms crossed. He looked very serious. Lex was glad to see his wounds were healed, although he hadn't changed from last time, his shirt a little ripped. Lex got up from his seat. With little hesitation, he lunged forward and embraced Atla's torso; Atla uncrossed his arms with surprise, looking down at Lex. Lex felt Atla's chest quietly heaving under him, absorb the body heat of his muscles, hear his heartbeat, succumb to an exotic scent, all of it ensconcing Lex in safety. He said nothing. "...Little one." Atla whispered. He finally hugged him back, and Lex felt his strong arms compress him. And for a while, they just stood. Until Lex spoke into Atla's chest. "Thanks for protecting me. I dunno where I'd be without you." "You saved my life, little one. I owe you." Lex shook his head, a hard motion considering his position in Atla's arms. "Nuh-uh. You just can't count." Atla laughed: a gentle, sort of smoky chuckle. "Now I owe you even more." Atla seemed amused, his eyes playfully squinted. "I could think of a way to pay me back." Lex looked up at him, confused. Atla didn't follow up, instead subtly stroking Lex's back with his thumb. "You seem better, Lex. You have almost fixed yourself." Lex eagerly nodded, and he benignly broke away from Atla's grip. "I feel a lot better now, Dragon." Atla widened his eyes, giving Lex a chance to marvel at his deep green irises before regaining his attention. "You can call me by my true name." he told him. Yet again, Lex leaned in, this time to whisper into Atla's ear. "Atla... I don't want everyone else to hear. I think they're watching us." Lex responded. Seemingly on cue, Lyla came tramping down the stairs. Prue and Piper followed her, and Aaron took up the rear. None of them seemed happy. Lex took his place in front of Atla, perhaps subconsciously shielding him. Lyla seemed the most disappointed; Aaron however, had a puzzling sense of anger about him. Prue and Piper exchanged glances. The whole affair seemed a bit like an intervention. "Lex. Come here." Lyla told him. She sounded more like a mother trying to coax her child if anything. Lex did not budge. Lyla put her hands on her hips. She looked up meet Atla's gaze. "How can we trust you?" Atla did not flinch, his strong gait meeting Lyla's stare back 100%. "I can't convince you further. The only truth is that you can." "Maybe the right question is why should we trust you?" Prue said, taking over. Piper followed up. "Or, even better yet, why you're helping us in the first place." Atla didn't respond. Piper bit her lip rather comically. "Whenever you wanna say something, hon-ey." Lex pouted, stepping forward as though in an effort to protect Atla. "He saved me. Lyla, Aaron, he was the one that saved me in my dream. A-and, he protected me from the Shadow Stalkers, and the LeFleurs. There's no way he-" "What did you do to him?" Aaron cut Lex off- although he wasn't addressing Lex. Aaron was looking straight at Atla. Something flared in his dark eyes, and Atla could sense it. "Did you brainwash him? Curse him? This whole time, without us knowing? Huh?!" "I did nothing of the sort." Atla growled. "I was guarding him. Something you should have been doing." Aaron clenched his fists together, carving crescents into his palms. "You have no right to accuse me, warlock." "And you have no right to pretend to protect, whitelighter!" Aaron raised his hands in the motion that would conjure his bow; Lyla quickly reached over and restrained him, while Lex turned around and put his hands on Atla's chest, gently stopping him from lunging. Aaron glared at Atla further, seeing Lex make contact with him. Lyla followed and noted Aaron's gaze. A troubled look settled on her face. Piper raised her hands and put herself between them. "Okay. Okay, we should all just very calmly, calmly, err... calm down. We can settle this in a more diplomatic way. Alright?" she shook her head to herself, sighing in frustration. Prue didn't move from her spot. She motioned to Atla, catching his attention. "I'd like to start by saying we've vanquished the likes of you before. I wouldn't mind doing it again at any time. So nothing funny. `k?" Atla didn't seem any more offended, but his discontent was still somehow evident. "I acknowledge your precautions. But I assure you, I am not here to harm." he stated. "Look... Dragon, right?" Piper asked. Atla nodded grimly, and Lex said nothing. "Okay, Dragon. You've got to understand if we're walking wise. Maybe you are good-" "Unlikely." Aaron savagely cut in. Atla gave him a cursory glare. Piper, annoyed, discreetly closed and opened her eyes. "Like I was saying. Maybe you really are here to help. Or maybe you're like the demon that our sister fell in love with, who ended up being the source of all evil." she said. "Speaking of whom..." Prue began to say, looking up the stairs. Phoebe slowly descended. "Talking about me? Again?" Piper put on an oversized grin. "Love you." "Yeah, love you too." Phoebe said sarcastically. She pushed her way past Lyla and Prue, next to Piper. She looked at Atla, wand Lex with his hands still on his chest. Phoebe raised her eyebrows. "Whoa, buddy." Atla did not falter. "Do what you will. The only reason I am here is to protect Lex." Phoebe leaned in closer. "I know a little something about demons." she said. Piper looked behind at her older sister, and the two chuckled a little. Phoebe continued. "And I know this goes against everything you stand for. As an assassin, as a warlock-" "I am part dragon, if you don't remember." Atla said rather indignantly. "And as for myself as an assassin..." Atla put a hand on Lex's shoulder. Aaron seemed to flinch in Lyla's restraining arms. "...I am here to give that up. To protect him." As Atla said that, Phoebe looked deeper into his green eyes. He didn't seem to blink, and neither did Phoebe. Very briefly, as their gazes locked, a bond formed between their minds. A tingling feeling lingered in the air, and the faint sound of a chime came and went. Finally, Phoebe broke away. "He's telling the truth." she declared. Lyla looked back at her. "What?" "Don't look at me. Look at him." Phoebe told her, motioning to Atla. "They're his feelings. You wanna sense them yourself?" Piper looked to Prue and shrugged. Prue seemed rather incredulous. "You mean you're just gonna make the same mistake you did with Cole? Phoebe!" Prue exclaimed. "Look, Prue, you obviously don't know, but my empathy is foolproof, so back off!" "Well there's obviously a little bit of bias, demon-dater!" Phoebe opened her mouth with disdain. "Well if I remember correctly, YOU'RE the one who called dragon warlocks `totally hawt' so long ago!" Lex and Atla exchanged confused glances, as did Lyla and Aaron. Piper chuckled a little bit, finally deciding to get inbetween them. "Okay, guys. One fight at a time. Phoebe?" Phoebe looked to Piper. "We're in a precarious situation. Considering that demons are more prolific and more powerful than ever before, we all have to be more careful in choosing our allies. So it's wise not to get too comfortable around the dragon warlock. No offense." The last part was addressed to Atla, who said nothing, and Lex, who was similarly quiet. Piper continued to Prue. "Prue? You weren't ever around to see her use it, but Phoebe's empathy is pretty reliable. So when she says he's not lying, he's probably not lying." Phoebe and Prue pasted their eyes to the floor, throughly chastised. Piper smiled. "There's not much more to say here." she said. She looked up at Lyla and Aaron. "Phoebe can stay here and keep an eye on Dragon with you. Prue and I'll try to get in contact with Paige, see how she's doing." Lyla nodded, finally letting go of Aaron. Prue and Piper went upstairs. Phoebe, feeling tension starting to boil again as Aaron and Atla glared at each other, cleared her throat and smiled, putting her palms in her back pockets. "I... I'm gonna go make some potions. I'll be in the kitchen." Rather quickly, she headed out the living room door. All who were left were Lex and Atla with Aaron and Lyla. A very tepid feeling settled into the air, like indecision or sweat. Lyla had a strange look on her face, somewhere between confusion, anger, and reluctant acceptance. She didn't take her eyes off of Atla, but her voice softened. "I should at least thank you for saving my brother." she said, weakly. Atla nodded. Lex turned around to face her. "Ly..." "Lex, I want to talk to you." Aaron said rather suddenly. Lex looked at Aaron curiously. Lyla put her hand on Aaron's shoulder, trying to catch his attention. "Honey, it won't do good to get angry." "I want to talk to you, now." Aaron said more forcefully. Lex's puzzlement only deepened. "What about?" he asked. "You know what. About bringing evil into the house. Lex, you're putting yourself in danger, don't you see?" "Evil? Aaron, I...I thought you would understand." Lex said, rather helplessly. Although Aaron's reaction did not change. Atla stepped up again. "I have been protecting him from danger, or so you might not have noticed. Your so-called evil is imaginary." he said, diplomatically. "You shut up." Aaron said. Lyla tightened her grip on Aaron's arm. "Aaron, don't-" Aaron very rudely shook Lyla off, and the force caused Lyla to stumble backwards several feet, falling onto her butt. Aaron yelled now: "Lex, don't fall for this! Get away from him this instant!" Scorn began to reveal itself in Lyla's face. Lex noted her fall, and was additionally befuddled by Aaron's anger. Lyla stomped her foot on the floor as she stood up again, and the loud noise reverberated through the foyer. "What is wrong with you?!" she screamed. She finally succeeded in catching Aaron's attention. "Why are you- do you even- what are you doing?! Get a hold of yourself!" The moment was suddenly broken, as Lyla's cell phone went off. The peppy, electronic tune of "Don't Cha" managed to diffuse the bursting bomb, if for only several Pussycat Doll seconds. Lyla shot a piercing hot look at Aaron before reaching into her pocket and retrieving her phone. "Hello?" she said, as if she hadn't just finished reprimanding her boyfriend. "Hey, Ly." Lucy said. She sat down on a bench outside, Paige to her right, Kincaid to her left. Kincaid was intently fooling around with a white laptop. "We went to the Polyhmnia Project. No dice." Lyla sighed. "Look, you gotta find something. Anything. We need a defense, pronto. Your time would be better spent to keep looking than to give up. We'll keep trying on this end too. Tell us if you find something." "Alright. Bye." - - - - Lucy hung up. Paige crossed her arms, and looked to her. "What did she say?" she asked Lucy. "To keep looking." After a brief pause, Lucy turned her head to Kincaid, who was enraptured with something on his laptop screen. "Hey, what are you doing?" she inquired. Kincaid suddenly snapped out of his fascination. "Nothing!" He attempted to close his laptop screen. Lucy stopped him with her arm. "Dr. Russel! It's embarrassing!" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Well, what? It's not like I'm your mom, I'm like, a year younger than you... lemme see." Lucy craned her head over and saw a URL in an open browser. "... www.aphrodite.com? What is that, a porn site?" Paige heard Lucy and laughed out loud. "Oh, wow! Kincaid, now is really not the time!" Kincaid blushed. "No! It's not porn!" he finally let go of the computer screen, and Lucy removed her arm. Paige, whose interest was piqued, walked behind the bench and looked on over Kincaid's shoulder. Lucy, upon seeing what it really was, seemed to be a degree more disgusted than with the previous idea of Kincaid publicly masturbating. "It's a dating site." she stated rather deadpan. "I've been trying it for the past few weeks." Kincaid said, rather dreamily. His ice-blue eyes lit up. "And I've been getting so many hits on my profile! Guys and girls plenty. See, lemme- lemme get their pictures." He clicked several links and a series of myspace-esque photos popped up on screen. Paige swung her arm around and pointed at one of them. "Oh! He's cute." "Meh. I guess. Actually, I already found someone. I'm going on a date with him. To-nite." "Oh, nice one! I forgot, it's Valentine's Day! Who's the lucky guy?" Lucy interjected. "Yeah, Kincaid. Who's the lucky internet stalker?" Kincaid glared at his teacher. "You don't have to be so pessimistic about it, Dr. Russel." "I'll be pessimistic about whatever I want, Mr. Rowe. Besides, you don't know with these dating sites. I bet he's actually a forty year old obese woman named Mary Lou." "For your information, I've already met him. And he looks just like his profile picture." Kincaid said a little spitefully. "Not that I would tell you guys who he is either." Paige looked a little disappointed. "Besides. I get the feeling you're just jealous." "Tch!" Lucy scoffed. "You know, maybe I was being a little too kind. Maybe you'll end up dating a vampire. AGAIN." Kincaid smiled and shook his head, looking down at his laptop again. "Definitely jealous." "Tch." Lucy repeated, although she seemed far less convincing this time. Paige joined in on the butchering, walking back around and sitting on Lucy's right again. "You know. I bet he's right. I've never seen you dating." "Paige!" Lucy put a hand on her forehead in frustration. "Oh lord... what is wrong with you people?" "No, Dr. Russel. What's wrong with YOU?" Kincaid asked a bit rhetorically. He put his hands together, and the same eager look from before brightened his eyes and face with a smile. "Don't you love romance? Don't you like wine and chocolate and roses? Besides, today's a day of romance." "Today's a corporate holiday. And you're a tool." "I'm a romantic." Kincaid confessed. "I love love. I mean, just think about it. My mom and dad gave up everything that they built their lives around for their love. Leaving the church, risking complete humiliation just for each other. Love made me be." "Aww... sweetie, that IS romantic." Paige agreed. Lucy wasn't so kind, doing nothing more than crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out. "Oh! Oh, oh, oh!" Paige in a rather silly motion waved her hands through the air in excitement. "I got an idea! Let's make Lucy try dating!" "...what?" Kincaid nodded. "Hey, yeah! That's a great idea! We're basically not doing anything anyway..." he made an aside to Paige. "...and I think Lyla's angry right now. It'd be best if we did our own thing." Lucy shook her head. "Whoa! Hey, now! I didn't agree to any of this!" and then she was quiet for a second. "Besides. I wouldn't be any good at dating... or anything..." she mumbled the last part. Paige and Kincaid exchanged a knowing glance. Kincaid's grin spanned the length of his face. "Look, Dr. Russel. Me and my date are going to P3 for some Valentine's Day dinner thing. Why don't you just come with us, and we'll find you a guy so you can double date." "What? No! I couldn't find someone that easy." "Okay, well..." Kincaid thought for a second. He perked up. "Oh, duh! There's gonna be a speed dating thing too! Just do that!" Paige raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Piper never did anything like that when she was in charge. Who's in charge now, anyway?" Kincaid shrugged. "Eh. Some guy, doesn't matter." Paige seemed to agree, letting him continue. "Anyway, the point is that it'll be fun! It'll be great, Dr. Russel. Just try it." Lucy bit her lip. Suddenly seeing someone across the way, she put her hand on Paige's knee. "Shit. It's that kid from the Polyhymnia project. And one of my students too. Look away, it's so embarrassing to run into people again like that." In concurrence, Lucy, Paige, and Kincaid turned their heads and covered their faces, as though all three of them were very interested in the concrete. Lucas peered over at the figures on the bench, somehow familiar. He directed his attention again to Rudi, who had offered him a piece of his chocolate bar. Lucas happily took it. Rudi munched on a crunchy nut, his speech somewhat muffled. "Sho how wash chranslation?" "Hm? Fine, fine." Lucas said dissuasively. He quickly changed the subject to something he was more comfortable with. "Rudi, I don't like your boyfriend." Rudi raised an eyebrow to himself at the strange diversion. He swallowed. "He has a name, you know." "Alright. I don't like Dane." "What's wrong with him?" "What's- when has he ever been there for you? It wasn't him keeping you awake the nights you were studying for midterms. It wasn't him supporting you when you wanted to drop out of pre-med." "Lucas, why are you saying this?" To be honest, Lucas didn't know why he was saying anything. He put his arms behind his head, and suddenly put on a joker's smile. "Cos he doesn't take you out enough. You know I'd take you out every day if you wanted." Rudi wasn't sure whether to be flattered, violated, or confused or some combination of the three. "I... umm, thanks, I think." "You're welcome." Rudi gave a soft giggle. Lucas saw him in the corner of his eye and smiled a little wider. "Hey, you're going to P3, right? I kinda wanna go too." "I thought you were single." "Yeah, I am. I wanna try the speed dating." "Oh. Good luck with that." "Hm, thanks." Rudi walked a little faster, turning around in a fashion that made the messenger bag slung over his shoulder fly away from him briefly. He walked backwards and grinned. "I gotta go to O Chem. Wish me a C!" Lucas waved goodbye before replacing his hands in his pockets. The sun was growing a little bit lower in the sky, and Rudi ran into the afternoon light, his shadow dancing longer. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows a little. To think; he'd be graduating, and he probably wouldn't even be able to see Rudi again. Lucas wondered if Rudi knew how serious he was when he said he would take him out anytime. He watched Rudi disappear behind a building. Vague images of him with Dane flashed through Lucas' head, and he found himself growing angry. "Excuse me." Lucas felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to a strange sight; a tall woman in a flowing red dress adorned with sequins. She had luxurious long brown hair, and pale skin that contrasted with her deep red lips. But the strangest thing was the crimson parasol she carried, a cumbersome thing the color of blood that covered her completely in a murky shade. She smiled. "Darling. You're part of that Polyhymnia Project, are you not?" Perhaps finding it strange that two bizarre people asked about the Project in one day, Lucas stayed on his toes. "Who are you?" he asked in response. "I'm no one important, mon amour... just a fan." she purred. Lucas let his guard down a little. He had quite a lot of fans on campus; he was tall, he was fairly buff, with versatile dark brown hair that obeyed the whim of the day (today it was surfer, but yesterday it was emo) and apparently very stark eyes. This wouldn't be the first time someone approached him on campus. "Oh. Have we met before?" The woman gave a very haughty look and laughed. "I doubt it. Listen now... I was wondering if you could do me a very big favor and answer some questions?" Seemingly against his will, Lucas locked eyes with the woman in red. He had a strange obligation not to lie, to only answer to her needs. "Yes." he replied. The woman in red smiled again. "Good. Tell me, do you know the Lilian Tablet?" "Yes." he quickly replied before he could stop himself. "Do you know its meaning?" "No." The woman in red seemed dissatisfied, a frown coming to her face. "Hm. I see then. Thank you~ that's all I need." she said rather whimsically. She turned around very quickly and went behind a building, and the last thing Lucas noticed were her high heels clacking on the pavement. As soon as she was out of sight, the sound also disappeared. Lucas shook his head. Between the text he had just translated and the colorful people he met throughout the day, he had no idea what was going on. And why couldn't he lie back there? What was it about her eyes that entranced him? For some reason, an image of Rudi flashed into his head again, and a dreadful feeling settled into his stomach. - - - - The sun began to set outside, casting its red light over San Francisco in a strange light show. Lex looked out the front window, letting it take him for as long as he could. He finally broke away, looking at Atla, who was seated next to him. There was a frown on his face. "What's wrong?" Lex whispered. Atla spoke louder than him. "I'm simply causing more trouble. Perhaps it would be better if I left." "No!" Lex suddenly let his voice raise. He ground his fists into the couch. "If you leave, then I'll leave." Lex hung his head, not giving Atla eye contact. "I don't wanna be alone again!" "...Little one. Please don't say such things." Atla put a hand on Lex's head. "I won't leave." Lex looked up at him, a smirk on his face. "Good. Because I wouldn't have let you." Atla chuckled. Suddenly, a presence made itself known; Phoebe came from the direction of the kitchen. "Hey guys." She said, a little casually. Lex put up the defenses he had fortified himself with all day, but he was admittedly getting a little tired. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he responded with a wave. "Look, I'm not here to argue, sweetie." Phoebe said. She looked at Atla. At this point, she had never seen him with any other expression than the grim almost funeral mask he wore. "...You really care, don't you?" Phoebe stated. Atla did not respond, but his pure silence seemed to be indicative of an agreement. Phoebe grinned. She looked at Lex. "Lex, you might wanna go to the kitchen. Your sister's not doing so well." Lex nodded, anticipating such a situation. He gave a reluctant look to Atla before climbing over the couch and striding past Phoebe into the kitchen. Atla watched Lex's trail, and barely noticed as Phoebe took a seat next to Atla. "...When are you gonna tell him?" she asked, rather mysteriously. This finally got Atla's attention. He turned his head in Phoebe's direction, unfazed by her smile. "You're quite popular in the Underworld. A lot of fans were disappointed when their favorite ex-queen got killed." Phoebe luminously laughed, flashing back to her very brief reign. The fight with her sisters... and the love she was forced to give up. She bit her lip. "You're changing the subject." Phoebe leaned in closer, whispering. "I know your feelings. I know his too. I just hope you stay true, Dragon." "I do." "Well, good. Then we have nothing to worry about." Phoebe could have sworn that a hint of concern slithered into Atla's mind, the first sign of doubt she had sensed in his fortified psyche. - - - - Lex noticed that the kitchen door was closed, but he could hear voices behind it. Muffled sounds, and whimpering. Very slowly so as not to surprise anyone, Lex slid the door open. Lyla was sitting down in one of the high stools, her face buried in her arms over the counter. Lex shuffled to the seat next to her and put an arm over her, leaning his head down in tandem. Lex always had a tendency to be considerate in such a quick manner; Lyla recognized it, taking her head out of her arms. Her eyes were red and face stained, bits of makeup smeared on her face. She looked at Lex with small eyes, and her frown deepened. She sputtered through sobs. "W-w-why didn't y-you tell me?" "What, Ly?" Perhaps Lex knew what Lyla was talking about, but wanted to ask just to break the silence. Lyla's face scrunched up a little bit, not quite anger but not a good feeling either. "Aaron did. You liked him, Lex! You should have said somethi-i-ing!" She almost wailed the last part, and put her head down again. Lex opened his mouth in confusion, as he wondered why such a thing would be a big deal. He held his sister a little tighter. "Ly, I got over it. It's okay, he's with you now-" "No. No, no, no." She vigorously shook her head, not looking up at Lex. "H-he doesn't care about me. He cares about you more than me." Lyla emphasized "you," making her statement sound rather accusative and making Lex a little uncomfortable. "Don't say that, Ly." "He doesn't care about me! He's been drifting so far away, a-a-and, a-and now, now, he's just talking about you, a-and, you liked him, a-and-" Lyla continued to ramble in that way crying makes one do, a sort of instinctive talking-for-the-sake-of-talking that makes one run out of words. It didn't take long for her to be exhausted of speech, leaving Lex to contemplate what she had said. Lex opted to hug Lyla tighter yet. He kissed her forehead and whispered quietly. "Sorry, sis." "I-i-it's not your fault." Lyla said, still speaking into her arms. She had come to the sniffling stage of grief. "I *sniff* should've known better. Lex, men always leave you in the end. *sniff* Never trust `em." she looked up again, although she seemed just a little less broken up. "Lyla, Aaron cares about you." "*Sniff* Uh-huh. That's what he said. But *sniff* I don't believe him. If he cared, he would have remembered that-that today was Valentine's Day!" she scoffed and sniffled at the same time, which Lex thought was difficult. "C-can you believe him? He didn't even plan anything." "That doesn't mean anything, Ly. His feelings haven't changed." "You're just saying that." Lyla said, not coldly but sadly. She seemed to change the subject. "...Did you really *sniff* like him?" Lex nodded, letting go of her. "But I'm ok now. I've moved on." "Is that why you're with demons now? Because I was with the guy you liked? You hated me?" "What? Ly, no-" "What did I *sniff* do wrong? *sniff* Just tell me!" "Lyla, I've moved on from Aaron! And I'm with Dragon because I *like* him!" Silence. Lex suddenly covered his mouth, realizing what he had just said. Lyla's red eyes widened with a feeling that looked like terror. There was a very tense silence, as Lyla was petrified and Lex was afraid removing his hands would cause some other grief to pour out of his oral Pandora's Box. Then, a door slammed open. Lex and Lyla turned around to see Aaron in the doorway, his chest heaving, curiously furious. Lex still had his palms pasting his mouth shut. Lyla clenched her fists, and she also seemed angry now. "Aaron, were you eavesdropping-" "Did you say that?" Aaron rudely interrupted Lyla, looking straight at Lex. Lex stood like some sort of "speak no evil" totem. Lyla carried on the conversation instead, jumping off the stool in front of Lex- not necessarily to protect him, but to monopolize attention, which she succeeded in. "Why won't you talk to me anymore?! We were so good together!!!" "Lyla, not now." "Yes, right now! Now, now, now!" she seemed to be on the verge of breaking down again, but Lex was in a strange way relieved the pressure was off him temporarily. "You don't care about me anymore!" she yelled. "Of course I do." "Oh? Okay then." She roughly strode past Aaron, bumping him in the shoulder on her way out the kitchen. "Then you'll stop me from going out!" Lex heard Lyla stomping up the stairs, just imagining Atla and Phoebe in the foyer. He looked at Aaron helplessly. "Aaron, stop her!" "This can wait. I need to talk about YOU." Lex drew back, all of a sudden feeling the heat again. "What did you say about that demon?" he demanded. "Aaron..." "Tell me!" With a swift motion Aaron reached forward and grabbed Lex's wrists. "Lex!" Aaron's grip constricted Lex tighter and tighter, and Lex felt his fingers digging into his skin. He squinted in pain. "Aaron! You're hurting me! Please!" he softly screamed. As though realizing what he had done, Aaron quickly let go. He put his face in his hands and Lex drew back rubbing his wrists. His voice suddenly was lower, more regretful. "...So, so sorry. I am so sorry..." Aaron managed to say. There was a bit of a silence as neither could think of what to say. It was Lex who spoke up first. "Why are you doing this, Aaron? Why?" "Because... because I want you." "No." Lex said, with uncharacteristic sharpness. Aaron looked at him curiously with his dark eyes. Lex pouted. "Aaron, you wanted Lyla." "I'm only with your sister because the Elders told me to." "..." Dumbstruck silence yet again. Aaron continued, as Lex's shocked face was indicative that he could not say anything. "...I was watching your sister since she was little. I care about her so much. I love her like I love all my charges. But after the Elders saw the success of half-whitelighter, half-witches like Paige Matthews and Piper Halliwell's children, they secretly set up some whitelighters to... actually have affairs with their charges. I was one of them." "And at first, I was okay with it. Lyla was very close to me in my heart, and she still is, but... but then, I met you. But I couldn't be with you, Lex. The Elders wouldn't let me, because I had to be with your sister. And now... now, I don't know if I can handle it. I want you. I want you." he repeated it as if to make the message sink in. "I know what you're doing, Lex. Demons won't help anything, they can't. You don't have to run away anymore." And Aaron was done. He crossed his arms, breathing out as he finished talking. He looked at Lex curiously, wondering what he would say. Lex inhaled sharply, preparing to speak. He gave Aaron a very pitiful look. "Do you remember... or actually, no. Do you know how much it hurts to have a heart broken?" Lex was quiet for a little bit, although expecting no answer to the rhetorical question. "I was scared, Aaron. I was hurt, and I was feeling lonely and bad but when I was with you, you made things better. So that's why it felt even worse when YOU were the one that broke me. You made me run away, Aaron." "But you didn't find me. My sisters didn't find me. You know what's funny? A warlock did. Aaron, it was Dragon that gave me safety and warmth when I was so broken. It was the Yuki-Onna that gave me the strength to move on. I didn't `get with' demons just to rebel. I like Dragon because he cares about me." Aaron interjected briefly. "I care-" "Yes, yes! I'm sorry, Aaron. Yes, I know you care." Lex said, compassionately. "And I care about you too, so much." Aaron blushed. "But... but you didn't show it, Aaron. In fact, you've hurt me the most out of anyone I've ever known. I can't ever get over that." Aaron hung his head in guilt. Lex saw this. He got up, and carefully slid his arms under Aaron's, hugging his waist. Lex rested his head on Aaron's chest, under his chin. He started to whisper. "I'm ok now. And I'm sorry if you wanted for us to be more, but we had that chance, and it went by. So... all I can ask you to do now is to make sure my sister doesn't feel the pain I did." "...How? I-I screwed it all up, Lex." Lex looked up with a smile. "No you didn't! I know you, you couldn't possibly do that bad." Lex laughed, and Aaron did a little too. "You care about her, don't you?" "Yes, but-" "No. Don't even think of me." Lex said quickly. "Aaron, you don't want me." "Yes, I do." "No, you don't. We've had this argument so many times... You're infatuated with me. That's all. You know how I know that?" Again, quiet in response to rhetoric. "Because if you really did, you would have been able to help me, not hurt me." Aaron opened his mouth to retort, but Lex cut him off. "Aaron, do you love Lyla? Besides being her being your charge." "Yes." Aaron said, quickly. "Can you actually say that you love me?" Aaron again tried to retort. Lex smiled. "Aaron... you knew Lyla since she was little. You've known me for half a year. And I bet you can think of all the good things you've done for her, and all the things she's done for you in less than a second. If you think about us, you'll find little. Aaron, you're infatuated with me. And I think maybe I was infatuated with you." "...but... But I don't wanna hurt you anymore." "Aaron!" Lex said, patting Aaron's back. "You won't. I'm safe now. Thanks to those demons you don't like." Aaron seemed a little disconcerted by this, but he shrugged it off. He pushed Lex off of him gently, and he returned his smile. His voice cracked. "How.... do I save your sister, then?" "You know how." Lex said. "...It's Valentine's Day. It'd be perfect." "Wait, but-" Aaron sputtered. "I-I mean, I don't know if *I* want that. You know, myself." "Well... you have to prove yourself to her somehow. Sorry." Aaron sighed. "How'd you get to be so...wise?" "Who else?" Lex asked a little bit sardonically, but mostly with admiration that made Aaron feel flattered. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, after all." Lex started out the kitchen, and Aaron followed, the atmosphere notably lighter. Phoebe and Atla were engaged with each other, but both turned to Lex and Aaron when then entered the foyer. Aaron avoided giving Atla eye contact; Phoebe didn't seem very pleased. "Where's Lyla?" Lex asked Phoebe. "Where's- she went out. I thought you knew." Phoebe said, putting her hands on her hips. "And she was dressed like a five-cent prostitute. I told her so, but she just insisted on those heels." Lex and Aaron exchanged a panicked glance. Aaron closed his eyes, sensing Lyla. "...She's at P3. I forgot, tonight was that speed-dating thing." Aaron looked down at a concerned Lex. "Will you come with?" "...Aaron, you should go alone." Aaron seemed disappointed. Lex pouted. "You love her, Aaron." Aaron nodded. He disappeared with a shimmer of orbs, leaving Lex in solitude. He looked over at Phoebe and Atla and gave a very heavy breath out, rubbing his eyes. Phoebe noticed a frown on his face. "Honey, what's wrong?" "Hm? Oh, it's ok. Just tired, sorry." Both Phoebe and Atla knew he was lying, but no one said a thing. - - - - A bored silence in the Twilight Citadel, but for a lone voice, rough and a touch sing-songy. It was Kane. "So I tell the lady, `I'm a darklighter.' The thing is, she's like, 80 years old, so she can't even hear me. She goes, `what?!' And I have to yell it in her hearing horn, like, `I'm a darklighter!' I yell it so loud that everyone in the room looks at me. And it turns out one of the cashiers was an Elder. Can you believe that?" There was a sharp screeching noise and the sound of someone phasing. Amy suddenly sat up straight, wiping drool off her hand and shaking her head from the sleep. Across from her, Barbatos cleared his throat from not talking for so long. Queen Gloriana folded her parasol and walked into the middle of the Citadel. "Gloriana! Thank you so much... Did you find anything out?" Amy nearly yelled, eager to change the subject. "Mm?" Gloriana mumbled, as if pretending to have not noticed her. "Oh. Oh, yes. That Lucas doll that you referred me to... he didn't quite translate your tablet. Ah, but don't you worry that face of yours. We did find your man, and he's very close. You really know how to pick them. He's quite pretty, our trackers should have no problem at all." "Great. That's good." "Yes, yes. Mmm..." Gloriana then made a variety of indulgent purring noises to herself before deciding to continue. "Several of the Guild are already stationed, ready to strike. It's the perfect locale, you know. Ever since my dah-ling Shade found P3, I really don't know why we don't go there more often... and today's the perfect day too! Honestly, these humans set themselves up for disaster." Gloriana picked up the long end of her dress and twirled it in the air. "If I may ask, why do you *insist* on being so indignant about that musty old tablet?" "A matter of information." A glass-clear female voice rang out. Kane followed up. "Mortal hands always pry where they aren't wanted. We're to clean it up in the end, of course." "Very well then." Gloriana dropped her dress and re-opened her parasol, playfully spinning it around. "I suppose I'll be going back now. It's my favourite holiday, and I recommend you all enjoy yourselves as well. Adieu~." With a blood red smile her dress became wings, and she flapped out to an unknown darkness. Amy sighed. "I'll enjoy myself when this shit is cleared up..." she looked up at a figure next to Kane. "Aren't YOU worried?" "Worry is a preposterous notion, formulated from a lack of acceptance of consequence. We do not worry." the clear voice struck back. "Whatever." Amy said, shaking her head. "Shit..." Amy repeated. "Gloriana better do her job." - - - - Red on pink on white on every color of lust and love, emotion and tumbling motions of hands and wrists and skin. P3 never looked so ballooned, or sparkly, or a whole number of adjectives to describe the illogic of Valentine's Day than it did now. The anterior room, which contained the stairs outside, the bar and the dance floor, was currently occupied by a series of small round tables, each with two wooden chair and a rose with a single candle. Perhaps it was a trick of the lights, but the dozens of couples that poured in were greeted by such soothing luminescence it was as if the entire place was lit by a candelabras rather than the artificial lamps of normalcy. A lonely string quintet played in the corner, a strange exception from the hot&sweaty rock bands that normally took up that space. Lots of romantic glances, lovely necking, and "I love yous" between the couples, not caring about the food as much as each other. However, the posterior room, which was separated from the anterior by a rather large wall, was noticeably different. Here, the fluorescent light made a comeback, and it seemed that neon was the patron saint. There were tables here, but made of metal, and adorned with numbers, not roses. Lucy, Paige, and Kincaid stood in the threshold between the two rooms. Women of all ages, colors, yet strangely similar amounts of desperation began to sit down at each of the stations, as a group of men gathered on the other side of the room, brooding like hyenas. Lucy bit a nail. She self-consciously fingered the green bang of her hair. "You guys, I-" She didn't have a chance to finish. Kincaid suddenly turned around, his attention caught by someone at the entrance. He roughly nudged Lucy, causing her to nearly fall over. "I see my date! Dr. Russel, I'll see you later." Kincaid said. He began to walk into the romance room. Lucy grabbed his arm with surprising reflexes. "No! Wait! I dunno what-" "Just -grr- have fun!" Kincaid wrenched his arm away with some difficulty, leaving Lucy grasping the air like a lone child. She turned to her right, seeing the last life-line she could leech onto. "Paige!" Paige wagged a finger at Lucy. "Lucy. You can do this. You need to do this." "I don't- no, I-" she began to sputter. "I , no!! Who said- I don't- I can't do this! They'll hate me! They don't want smart girls, they never do!" Paige gently slapped Lucy on the cheek, although it was enough to make Lucy gasp in shocked response. "Get a hold of yourself, woman!" Paige yelled. Lucy suddenly wrinkled her brow, her phase of hurried nervousness suddenly replaced with the incredulity so characteristic of her. "'Woman?'" "You don't even know if guys want you because you haven't even tried! Now you go out there, sit at that empty table, and you act like a stone-cold slut." With a shove on her tushie, Paige sent Lucy into the speed-dating room, and she uneasily sat down in the nearest empty table. "Oh, and remember! When you find someone you like, ask him to stay at your station!" Lucy looked to the table at her left: a woman of about 48 wearing a tube top and smoking a particularly smelly cigarette. She looked to the table at her right: a bored young woman who looked like a secretary spit into the small candle cup that was on her table. Lucy more fervently stroked her hair. It wasn't long after that the clock struck 8:00, and the speed dating began. Paige stood in the corner with several other girls and guys, watching the spectacle like a chaperoning parent. A very tall, creepy man took his place across from Lucy. Lucy felt her throat caught in her neck. "I think you're very pretty." he said in a voice not dissimilar from Richard Nixon's. Lucy's eyes widened, and she smiled. "Ehehe, ooh, wow, thank you." Two minutes were over, but the awkward conversation they had about Bjork made it seem to be far longer. The next guy came around. Lucy gasped when she saw who was coming: the guy from the Polyhymnia Project. As though it would help, she covered her eyes as he sat down across from her. Lucas was surprised to see Dr. Russel cringing in her chair. In fact, he was surprised to see her again at all. He leaned forward. "Are you following me or something?" Lucy threw her hands down. "No!" she spat. "I wish I could crawl into a hole and die right! Leave me alone!" "Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean." Lucas said. He simultaneously tried to peer into the anterior room, as though looking for someone. "I didn't even wanna do this. I like someone already, you know? It's like, so futile." "..." Lucy raised an eyebrow. "That's exactly how I feel about this. You know, I mean, *I* like someone already too! And besides, I-I'm no good at this dating shit anyway, come on." "How old are you?" "21." Lucas scoffed. "You're younger than me. And you're good-looking. AND you're smart, if you're a doctor." he passed a hand through his dark hair, ruffling it out of his face. "And I bet the guy you like isn't in the next room..." he mumbled. Lucy blushed. She put her chin on her hands. "Well then what do I do right now?" "Quit whining. You're a fox, ya know." The buzzer rang, and Lucas got up. He gave her a salute. "Good luck with your guy. Wish me luck with my guy." Lucy noticed he said "guy," and she laughed, suddenly feeling less tense. Lucas turned around however, before he moved on. "Oh! I found what you were looking for. Talk to me after this." Lucy opened her mouth in amazement. She was about to get up to chase after him, but a large man with a Metallica t-shirt sat down and caught her attention before she could. Paige, in the meantime, moved on to the anterior room. She moseyed to the bar in a discreet fashion, weaving in and out of the candle lit tables as a shadow of a black dress. She asked the bartender (who was a little clumsy, since he was only filling in for Aaron) for a martini, just for the sake of looking classy while holding a pointy glass. She scanned the tables non-chanlantly. Then, far in the corner, she saw Kincaid. He had a beautiful smile on his face, and his head was thrown back in laughter; Paige could see the irises of his ice-blue eyes all the away across the room. She smiled to see him having fun. Her view of Kincaid's date was obstructed by another table, so Paige stood up to see him more clearly. She regretted it instantly. Kincaid wiped a little bit of water from the corner of his mouth. He finally recovered from his laughter, relaxing in his chair and smiling at his date from across the table. He smiled back. But they both jumped when someone slapped their hands down on the surface of the table, so hard as to cause the silverware to clang in protest. Kincaid looked up at Paige, whose pale face was red. "What are you doing??" he hissed. Paige pointed at Blaine LeFleur, who rather innocently adjusted the frames of his dark sunglasses as he stared back at her. "What are YOU doing?! This guy tried to kill you the other day!!!" "Okay, I know how this looks." Blaine began to say, surprisingly diplomatic. "But Kincaid and I met online BEFORE my brothers and I tried to kill the Russels... which, um... I'm sorry about, by the way." "We used the opportunity to finally get together." Kincaid said excitedly. "Don't worry. He's not gonna try and kill us again." Paige's mouth slowly grew agape at a rate of centimeters per words of Kincaid's confession. By the time he was finished, she madly looked between Kincaid and Blaine, neither of whom seemed to think they should be the least bit surprised. "He's not gonna- what?! No, Kincaid, no. Look, maybe you-" she pointed at Blaine again. "-are a really great guy. I don't know. I wanna keep an open mind. But the point is your brothers are an immediate threat to the Russel's lives. I mean- they almost raped Lex!" she directed the last part to Kincaid, and this finally made him feel guilty. "Lady. I'm not accountable for my brother's actions." Blaine said, chillingly. "...But the point is I don't condone them. They've always been like this, and I could never stop them. So I just try not to participate in them." A pause. "...Look. If it makes you feel better, I'll do my best to get my brothers off of the Russels for a while. I don't guarantee anything, but you won't have to always expect an attack from them." Paige pouted. "Alright. Fine." she turned to Kincaid. "Be careful." Kincaid smiled and nodded. With a very impetuous flip of her dress, Paige turned around and walked up the stairs out of P3. ...Yet she was stopped by yet another unexpected face. It was Lyla, dressed in attire which Paige could imagine on a less-than-average-priced "escort." As she fumbled down the stairs, it seemed that she decided that she was walking on marshmallows, as she jumped at Paige yelling "Gimme it!! Gimmeeeee!!" The quintet abruptly stopped. Some tables continued their ambient conversation, while others' attentions were caught. Paige caught Lyla in her arms, and Lyla collapsed laughing and hiccuping. "Lyla! Ly-" Paige sniffed Lyla's breath. "Oh God." "I miissssss Aar-BEAR. But I don't Aar-CARE about his sorry *hic* ASS." "Oh, sweetie..." Paige said, shaking her head. She signaled the quintet to "roll with it," and they complied, if forced. Kincaid saw Lyla from his table, and pursed his lips in embarrassment. "What's wrong?" Blaine asked, not bothering to turn around to see what Kincaid was looking at. "Umm... I think things are about to get a little bit complicated." Lyla somehow freed herself from Paige's grip. She hobbled to the bar. "Where's the music?!" "Ma'am, the music is playing." The harried bartender said, referring to the quintet. "Nah, I mean the music!" She adjusted her left breast, and looked at the men at the tables on the corresponding side. "Quit staring, you pervs." She said, turning in their direction and rubbing glitter over her entire bust. "Gawd, it's HOT in here..." "You need some help with that?" A very broad-shouldered young man with a buzz cut and a rather blocky head leaned against the bar next to Lyla. Lyla suddenly thought her lips tasted very good, as she began to lick them throughly. "Mmm. Definitely." - - - - Lucy heard some commotion in the front room, but she didn't care. Things were actually starting to look up. She had sat through 5 different guys, and somewhere midway through the conversation she had with the man with a strange fixation on crosswalks, Lucy had come to the realization that maybe Lucas was right. Maybe she did have some stuff going on for her. The man who sat down in front of her was good looking, to say the least. He looked at Lucy with wicked black eyes. His streaked blonde hair was shoulder length. He smiled. "Hey there." For the first time that night, Lucy actually responded with a smile as well. "Hi." He opened his mouth to talk, but the back of his chair was bumped by none other than Lucas, who muttered "excuse me" before running into the anterior room. Lucy remained mostly unfazed, delving deeper into conversation before the two minutes were up. Lucas strode past several tables of confused couples before getting to the bar. He tapped the muscular guy flirting with the skanky girl on the shoulder. When he turned around, Lucas punched him in the face, and he recoiled to the ground. "What the fuck!" he yelled in pain. The quintet stopped again. Now the entire bar focused on Lyla and her brief paramour. "Dane, you're a bastard!" Lucas yelled. Lyla didn't seem to care that the guy who was flirting with her had collapsed, and she dodged Paige yet again as she headed towards the posterior room. Lucas heaved and rubbed his knuckles, although Dane showed little sign of getting up. Things were rather quiet in the speed-dating room, as Lucy was having a great time trying to court Edward. "...Do you wanna go to the next station?" she asked him. Edward shook his head, smiling. "I think I'm gonna stay." Lucy giggled, wondering how she ever could have regretted- "Hey... who's THAT?" "Huh?" Lucy asked. Edward's attention suddenly diverted to something behind her. Lucy saw several other men in the room acting similarly. Lucy turned around. She got a glimpse of Lyla about to pull her shirt off. She faced forward again, desperately trying to regain the attention she had just a few moments ago. "Edward? Umm, Edward? Do you... you, um, like cloth?" "..." Edward was unresponsive. Lucy heard Lyla creeping up behind her, and shivered when Lyla draped her arms over her shoulders. "This here... here's my sister." Lyla slurred to Edward. "And YOU are cuuute!" she motioned out back. "Hey. Hey, hey. Let's go outside." Edward smiled and Lucy faded into invisibility. He and several other men left their tables and followed Lyla the back way. Lucy sniffed. She sniffed and sniffed. As the candle on her table extinguished itself, she buried her head in her arms and felt tears on her face. Meanwhile, commotion began to arise in the anteroom. As if by magic, Rudi had suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs coming down. Upon seeing Lucas hovering over Dane, he ran to Dane's side. He looked up at Lucas, who showed not remorse, but anger. "Lucas!" Lucas pointed at Dane, who was finally getting to his feet with Rudi's help. "He was flirting with some skank!" "She's not a skank. She's just confused." Paige hurriedly interjected from afar. Lucas raised an eyebrow seeing Paige again as well, but refocused on Dane. The bartender finally circled around, putting himself between Lucas and Dane. "Alright, that's enough. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, so if you could just-" Lucas flipped Dane off. Before Rudi could hold Dane back, he rushed the bartender in an attempt to slug Lucas. He instead hit a tipsy girl at the bar, prompting her boyfriend to attempt to kick Dane. He missed all together, hitting Rudi in the chest, and leading Lucas to punch him in the face as well. And suddenly, candlelight seemed to awaken rage in the girls whose mates had stared at Lyla so intently, leading to slapping and name-calling and the entire posterior room was pandemonium, all vaguely centered on Rudi trying to restrain Dane, and Paige holding back Lucas. Yet somehow in the middle of it all, as the tipsy girl punched him in the eye, Lucas seemed to lose sight of Rudi and Dane in the large crowd, and they became enveloped in a sea of yells and brawling. In the chaos, no one noticed a swirl of white lights appear in the corner. Aaron materialized behind the bar, just barely being missed by a crashing beer bottle. Confused, but unfazed considering he was already dead, Aaron stood up and pushed his way through the crowd. He was shoved in the back by a bony figure; he turned around to see Paige. "Paige!" Aaron yelled over the noise. "What happened?! Where's Lyla?!" "Lyla? Oh God, don't tell me YOU have something to do with her!" Paige screamed, angrily. "She went to the speed-dating room! Ask Lucy!" Aaron complied, making his way to the posterior room. There was no fighting there, rather a hushed sort of awkward mourning silence, as a both men and women collapsed crying on the tables, and the rest simply mumbled to each other in slightly drunk rambles. He sensed Lucy at the table closest; she was one of the weepers. He sat down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" "Lyla's wrong!" she whined in a very high, incoherent pitch like a small child's. Aaron's lips hardened to a thin line. "I need to see her. Where is she?" Lucy looked up at Aaron. She didn't wear make up so nothing was smeared, but she still looked like a mess. "This is your fault that she's like this. Hurry up and fix it." And that was the last thing she spat before continuing her river of tears, leaving Aaron in shocked silence. - - - - "Dane, let go!" Dane simply gripped Rudi's wrist tighter. With amazing strength, he lifted Rudi's arm above his head and pinned him to the alley wall, his legs kicking. Dane leaned in: Rudi gasped. His eye teeth had extended into sharp points. "I never would've expected *you* would be the one I'd have to subdue." Rudi tried to kick himself free, to no avail. "What are you talking about?! Stop it! You're scaring me!" "Oh, now don't be like that..." Dane took his other hand and covered Rudi's mouth. Rudi tried to bite it, but Dane seemed impervious to the pain. He smiled. "You know about the Lilian Tablet, don't you?" He uncovered Rudi's mouth just briefly. A bad choice, giving Rudi the opportunity to yell "Help!" Dane rolled his eyes. "Screw this." He leaned in and bit Rudi on the nape of his neck. Rudi gave a breathy scream, as he felt blood being sucked away from him, siphoned life and warmth... But Dane didn't finish the job. The loud sound of a slamming door caused Dane to remove his mouth and look over, letting Rudi drop the ground. Lyla towed about four fans as she stumbled into the alley. She clumsily looked from Rudi to Dane, then stopped at Dane, who had a little bit of blood on his mouth. "Hey!" Dane almost ran, then Lyla continued. "I didn't finish *hic* kissin' you yet..." Dane raised an eyebrow. Yet again, his action was interrupted as the door slammed open a second time. This time, Aaron tumbled out. He looked at Lyla, then Rudi, then Dane. Without hesitation, he conjured his bow. Upon seeing a weapon, the rather drunk men with Lyla nonchalantly fled back into the club, apparently fine with walking into a large barfight. "No!" Lyla screamed. She flung herself at Aaron, causing him to drop his bow. She softly sobbed as she fell to the floor, and Aaron, confused at what to do, kneeled down to help her. It was too late for Dane to finish off Rudi. He cursed to himself, running out the alleyway and preparing to transform, but he was cut off by a quick silhouette. It was Lucas, who had cut behind from the front entrance. His right eye was bruised and part of his shirt was torn, but he seemed pissed. His eyes moved from Dane to Rudi and back again. He saw the blood on Rudi's neck. He clenched his teeth. "What did you do?! What are you?!" "The same as us." Lucas turned around to see who had answered at least one of his questions. The Woman in Red. And at her side were four other men, all in varying shades of crimson. Aaron, who was still trying to wrench his bow from Lyla's grip, recognized the stringy red hair and pale complexion of Shade, whose visage was still as grim as the time they had last seen him. Gloriana twirled her parasol on her shoulder, then folded it into a cane. Shade spoke over the dumbfounded Lucas to Dane. "Did you finish your boyfriend? I don't feel him." "No. And he's not my boyfriend." Dane spat. "He stopped being my boyfriend as soon as you said that he-" "Don't get upset, mon amour." Gloriana purred. "Just take as much time as you need. I'd like to handle... this one." she said, referring to Lucas. She went on her tip-toes, finding Aaron and Lyla in the back of the alley. "Oh! Oh, Shade, look there." Shade complied. His face turned into a snarl, and Aaron knew he had been spotted. "Maybe you'd like to deal with those two." "With pleasure." Shade calmly walked past Lucas and then Dane, as Aaron more furiously fought for the bow. Dane in the meantime went back to Rudi. That is, he tried to. Lucas, with surprising speed, ran in front of Rudi's body, shielding it with his own. Dane laughed, exposing the intimidating edges of his teeth. Gloriana and the rest of her group gleefully watched from afar.. "What do you think you're gonna do? Human?" Dane asked with contempt. "You'd be surprised." Lucas put his finger in the air, in front of Dane's face. He traced down, then in a curious counter-clockwise motion and up again until he had drawn an invisible sign in the air. "Lux!" Dane averted his eyes and hissed. The sign Lucas had drawn in the air suddenly appeared and glowed bright white; a beam of light shot down from the sky like a spear, falling straight onto Dane. Dane collapsed and phased into a bat. With a high screech, he desperately fluttered away into the darkness. Gloriana's calm demeanor shattered, replaced with calculated ire. "Witch! Kill him!" Two of her vampires complied, running towards Lucas. The third, however, shuddered in his place then burst into pieces with a terrible scream. Gloriana gasped at the sudden noise. She turned to see the culprit. Kincaid peered back from behind Blaine, whose pink eyes and golden athame shone especially bright in the darkness. Gloriana coquettishly narrowed her eyes and raised her chin, making direct eye contact with both Kincaid and Blaine. Suddenly, they both began to feel dizzy. As Gloriana looked deeper into Blaine, he had the strange urge to drop his athame... The other Ruby Guild members zeroed in on Lucas and Aaron. Lucas was trying to wake Rudi up, but to no avail. Lyla seemed quite content holding Aaron's bow to his chest. Aaron bit his lip as Shade came closer, conjuring a ball of force between his palms. No matter how much help they had gotten, it was hopeless. "Graahh!" But then, more screams and more explosions. A sound of lightning. Lucas turned around to find his vampires vanquished. Queen Gloriana instinctively broke her gaze away from Blaine and Kincaid to see who had trumped her yet again. It was a fatal mistake. Blaine regained sense of himself and slashed the athame into Gloriana's chest. She wailed in terror, not necessarily from pain but shock, and quickly phased away as a tiny bat. Shade looked at who was behind him. Aaron and Lyla stopped their wrestling. Kincaid and even Blaine drew back in fear. It was Atla, electricity still crackling up and down his arms, with Lex at his side. Lex looked down at Aaron and smiled before raising his arm at Shade. "Shine." Blue sparks of light flew in a panorama fireworks display. It didn't take long for Shade to respond, and he flew away into the night with his queen. The alley became quiet, but for the faint sounds of fighting that came from P3. Lucas continued to shake Rudi, yelling for him to wake up. Kincaid and Blaine exchanged glances. Blaine replaced his sunglasses, and after giving Atla an uneasy look, he and Kincaid kneeled down next to Lucas, perhaps conversing about what had just happened. Atla and Lex looked down at Aaron and Lyla, still vainly fighting on the ground. Aaron gave a pathetic look to Lex, and barely looked at Atla at all. Lyla however, saw Atla in all his glory. Her eyes widened in fear, and she finally let go of the bow. They said nothing. The stern, patient frown Atla wore did not falter. Lex bent down and helped Lyla to her feet, although all she could do was stare at Atla as if he were a curious human-sized beetle. Finally, the door again. Paige was dragging Lucy out into the air, her face still stained with tears. Paige surveyed the entire situation. After about ten seconds of silence, she finally asked. "Is everything okay?" Lex shrugged. He looked at Lyla in his arms, then Aaron, then Atla. "It's Valentine's Day." - - - - At last, midnight. The Russel Manor was quiet and steeped in witching hour light, keeping sleep just barely at bay. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige sat around the coffee table in the living room, curled up comfortably in their respective couches. Paige smacked her lips together multiple times until Phoebe hit her and told her to stop. "What? I'm just relaxed, is all." Paige said in response. "I'm glad we don't really have to worry about the LeFleurs right now." Piper nodded. "You know what's kinda funny? The two reasons why we DON'T have to worry about them are both cases of forbidden love. Huh." "Between Blaine LeFleur and the Dragon Warlock..." Prue said, shaking her head. "I still don't know how safe we are. I mean, Blaine might not be able to keep his brothers away forever. And the Dragon Warlock can't protect all of the Russels. And besides- we still don't know if we can trust Dragon." "Prue, when will you learn?" Prue glared at Phoebe, but Phoebe was blissfully impervious. "It's love. Of course we can trust him." Prue scoffed. "Blaine's in love. But Warlocks can't feel." "Dragons can." Phoebe retorted. "...You trust Blaine so easily, when he's tried to kill the Russels more times than Dragon has. Is it just because he's got `right' kind of blood?" Phoebe asked. Prue's lips hardened to a thin line. Piper and Paige looked to the ground a little guiltily. Perhaps wishing to change the subject, Phoebe looked at Paige. "How's Lucy doing?" Paige shrugged. "Okay. She was a little bit better the last time I saw her. I feel so bad... it was my fault for making her do that stupid speed-dating." "It's okay, sweetie... there's no way you could've known. You were just doing what you thought was best for her." Phoebe said, compassionately. She sighed in unison with Paige, then looked at Piper. Piper seemed strangely melancholy. Phoebe reached over and grabbed her hand. "...Hey. I'm sure they're okay." Piper nodded quickly, and rubbed something out of her eye. "I-I miss them." "I do too, Piper." Phoebe said. Paige agreed from her spot. Phoebe reached over and gave Piper a hug, then looked at Prue. "...I think it's best if we go back." Prue nodded. Piper and Paige did as well. With a sparkle of ethereal white lights that swirled in and out of the living room, the Halliwell ghosts dissolved away. Lucy heard the lights from the balcony upstairs. She wiped the last of her tears from her face and sat down on the edge of the deck chair, looking out over the midnight city. She had done this before. It reminded her of- "Are you okay?" -Mikey. Lucy turned around. The skinny figure of Mikey, with his dark complexion and darker suit, appeared in the attic. Lucy smiled, and she laughed. "I-I'm fine. What are you doing here?" Mikey shrugged. "Madame Ava saw was doing some divination. She saw what was going on between Lex and your Dragon Warlock, and she got a little bit worried." "Are you worried?" "No." he said, shaking his head. "That Dragon Warlock was keeping him alive when I had to perform that cleansing. Hell, I'd thank him." Mikey walked over and leaned on the railing of the balcony. "...I'm worried about you though." Lucy smiled. She looked up at Mikey. "...Can I ask you something?" "Yeah." "Me, or Lyla?" "You." Lucy gave a very shrewd laugh. She bit her lip. "...That makes me feel a little better." "You're welcome. Happy Valentine's Day." "Well, it's kinda late for that now." Mikey grinned. "It's never too late for Valentine's Day. I could say Happy Valentine's Day in the middle of March, it'd be okay." "Hm... I guess so. I guess so." - - - - Through magical measures and a certain tonic, Lyla had skipped straight into the morning after in five minutes. As the clock struck one, she was lying on a couch in the foyer. Lex saw her from the stairway, but Lyla didn't see him. Lex saw Aaron walk in from the kitchen. Aaron held Lyla, and she held him for what seemed like an eternity. And Lex spent eternity watching. Aaron slid an arm on Lyla's; unconsciously, Lex imitated the motion, putting his own right hand on his left arm. His own warmth was cold. Aaron opened the box he had bought that evening, before orbing to P3. The diamond glittered in the reflection of Lyla's eyes. The gold band fit her ring finger perfectly. The kiss she shared with Aaron belonged in a jewelry commercial. Lyla was happy. Aaron was happy. Lex knew that they were in love. What had he said again? `You love Lyla, not me.' Lex bitterly smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn't so different from the Elders after all. This really was for the greater good. This was for his sister. This was for Aaron. They deserved to be happy... And as Lyla smiled a Valentine's Day Smile, with eyes made of diamonds, Aaron smiled back with the light of his orbs. And Lex could see every touch they shared as he turned around. And as a tear fell from his eye, he didn't let his smile break. - - - - Lex walked down the hallway to his room. He jumped when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around. And in a split second, upon realizing his presence, Lex threw his arms around Atla. "I'm really glad you didn't leave yet." he said, quietly. Atla whispered into Lex's ear. "I know what you did." Lex froze. Atla held him tighter. "...You're very brave, little one." "Atla, I-I-.." Lex sniffed. He looked up at Atla with teary eyes. "I don't know what to do." "..." Lex cleared his throat, then finally spoke again, choked. "I really like you." Atla stroked Lex's hair. He wiped a tear away with his thumb. "I really like you too. Lex Russel." That was all he needed to hear. Lex got up on his tip toes, and Atla bent his head lower. Atla gripped Lex's back with a loving force; Lex felt the contours of Atla's back muscles. Atla's lips tenderly brushed against Lex's, and Lex could feel the warm sensation all over his body. Atla grew bold; he opened his mouth wider, and their lips interlocked, his tongue very gently making its way into Lex's mouth. *You are a good person, Lex...* Lex began to grip Atla tighter, and Atla reciprocated, embracing Lex in a stronger ensconce. Lex moaned from the sensation, and Atla gave a very deep groan. His tongue explored the roof of Lex's mouth, and Lex suddenly felt powerless. *...and I will protect you. No matter what.* But it was a good powerless. Lex was in the arms of trust. Lex drew away from the kiss just briefly, to smile at Atla. Atla smiled back, very gently. Lex leaned his head on Atla's shoulder. "...Thank you. Atla." - - - - "Fun" fact for fans!: This wasn't originally going to be on Valentine's Day at all. At first it was just going to be Lyla acting like a skank at P3, but then I realized I basically already did that in Blood Lust. So when I got around to writing it, since I wanted Lucy to try speed dating, I figured it would just make more sense to make it take place a month before it was written... looking back on it now, it's kinda a bad idea, but oh well :D. Oh, also, "Playgirl" was the song that first inspired Lyla's character when Charmed: Reborn was in its very early stages. So I guess you can kinda call it her theme. :) Again, sorry for the enormous wait. You're all probably used to it by now, but I'm still sorry nonetheless. (It seems like it's a monthly story now :P) I'm on spring break now, though! So I'm going to try updating all my other stories too. Episode Review? Haha! What is the Lilian Tablet? What happened to Rudi? Is the Ruby Guild getting more daring? What is the nature of the mysterious Lucas? Can Kincaid really trust Blaine LeFleur? And what about the Halliwell ghosts and their loss? How will Lex react when he sees the Elders again? Have Lex's sisters accepted Atla? Questions abound! Oh, that reminds me. I kinda have some pictures that were vaguely inspirational for the characters of Atla and Aaron. If you want, I can email them to you :D. Trivia: Congratulations to Samuel (magickboy20), who got 6 out of 8 right! He has had the honor of creating a character, whom you all now know as Lucas. as per usual: thank you for reading! See you next month, probably :/. 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).