Charmed:
The New Power Of Three
by Julien Gregg

Copyright 2006 Julien Gregg
All rights reserved.
No part of this story may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. This story is almost all fiction. Almost all of the characters depicted in this story exist exclusively in the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, is, sometimes purely coincidental. This story is based on the television show, Charmed, and although the family name and a similar book of shadows appear in this story, there are no characters from the show in the story. They may be named, but they will never be portrayed.

Charmed is owned by Spelling Entertainment and Warner Brother's Television. Certain spell text is borrowed from the television show. However, since no money is being made by this tale, I don't feel horrible about borrowing anything.

Eight
Unwanted Answers

The gentle breeze brought with it the smell of the salty ocean as Drake gazed into Aaron's eyes. He wrapped his arms around Aaron's neck and gently kissed his lips. He was so happy to have him back that he couldn't even think of returning to Storyville. Being charmed had stolen Aaron from him in the first place. If he went back, Aaron would likely be taken from him again.

"This is nice," he said after breaking the kiss and putting his head on Aaron's shoulder.

"Yes it is," replied Aaron, holding him tight. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

"Who says we can't?" Drake asked, tilting his head up to look into Aaron's eyes again.

"D, you know we can't," said Aaron, looking at him with such sorrow in his eyes. "They won't let me stay here with you. This is forbidden."

"Who says?" Drake demanded, letting go of Aaron and turning to face the ocean.

"You know who," said Aaron. "I only got to come back to save Sebastian. I wasn't even supposed to tell you anything. Drake, I love you so much, but I have to go back to them. If I don't, they'll come looking. Believe me we don't want them to come for me again."

"They can't take you away from me again, Aaron," said Drake, spinning around to face him again. "I can hide us. My powers still work. I don't have to be with my cousins to use them. I'm a witch."

"You have to go back," said Aaron. "Me being here wasn't supposed to take you away from your charmed destiny. This is why we can't be together. They knew it would be like this for you, Drake. Go back to your cousins and forget about me."

"No, I . . ."

"Go back!" Aaron cried, pointing his finger at Drake.

Drake felt an odd sensation in his stomach. It was like something gripped his insides and pulled. He shut his eyes as the sensation became painful, and when he opened them again he was standing in the living room of Halliwell Manor in Storyville again. He turned in a complete circle, looking for Aaron, but he wasn't there.

"No!" he cried, sitting upright in his bed.

He looked around and sighed as he realized it had been just a dream. He was in his room in the manor, and Aaron was sleeping beside him. He was so scared that the Elders would make Aaron leave him again that he was dreaming about it already. They couldn't take him away again. He wouldn't let them take him.

"You're all right, Drake," said Aaron, sitting up in the bed and wrapping his arms around him. "I'm right here beside you. It was just a dream."

"Aaron, tell me you'll stay with me," Drake sighed as he buried his face in Aaron's shoulder. "Tell me you won't let them tear us apart again."

"No one is trying to tear us apart, Drake," assured Aaron. "We're fine. We're safe here, Drake. No one is watching us, and no one is coming for me. I promise."

"Just hold me," moaned Drake.

Aaron held him tighter. He kissed his neck and whispered in his ear that everything would be fine. Drake responded by finding Aaron's lips with his own and kissing him as softly as he could. Aaron opened his lips and accepted Drake's tongue, and the kiss became deeper.

* * *

Dax jerked awake as the sensation of being watched intensified. He sat up and looked around the room until his eyes settled on a red haired woman with pale skin and piercing green eyes. She was dressed in a black dress that barely covered all of her important parts. Her long red hair lay in ringlets cascading over her shoulders. She smiled at him, and his blood went cold.

"Who are you?" he demanded, getting out of the bed and turning to look at his sleeping body. "What is this?"

"You're sleeping, Dax," she said, smiling at him. "I've entered your dreams to tell you something very important."

"Who are you?"

"You may call me Arlissa," she said, standing and walking over to him. She took his hand and led him out onto the balcony. "I've searched for you for so long now, Dax."

"How are you doing this?" he asked, turning to look at his sleeping body again through the window.

"Magic," she replied, smiling at him again. The smile made his knees weak and his blood cold, but he couldn't deny that he found her desirable. She oozed sexuality. "Dark magic."

"Whatever it is that you're playing at is pointless," he insisted, shaking his head to rid the image of her naked body lying prone beneath his from his mind. "I'm not a demon anymore."

"Oh, but you're not a good witch, either," she said, turning to smile at him again. "There's such evil stained on your soul, Dax. How could you ever think you could be good?"

"I am good," he argued, twisting his arm out of her grasp. "Leave me alone. I know what you want, and you won't get it. I'm a good witch now. If you come after me, I'll vanquish you."

"Such fire in your eyes," she laughed, grabbing his arm again. "You will understand, Dax. There is no turning back. Once you embrace the evil in your heart you are evil for eternity. You'll see."

"No!" he cried, sitting up in his bed and staring out the window. Arlissa wasn't standing out there. He was awake now.

He wouldn't give in and follow her. She couldn't make him. He was good. He knew he was good. Dax had stripped the demon out of him. He was human now. They couldn't come drag him back to the underworld.

* * *

"Morning, you," Dean said when Damon came into the kitchen the next morning. "Are we always going to be the first in the kitchen?"

"Looks that way," laughed Damon. "Heard anything out of Drake and Aaron?"

"Not a sound," replied Dean. "I'm glad that Aaron is with Drake, though. I've never seen him so happy."

"Jason and Gregory aren't real sure about him, though," admitted Damon. "They say that he isn't a white lighter."

"Then how can he orb?" Dean asked, handing Damon a cup of coffee.

Damon took the cup and sat down just as the doorbell rang. The two looked at each other before Damon got back up and headed for the front of the house. When he got to the door, he froze. Standing on the other side of the door was his father. He was supposed to be in Alaska.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked when he opened the door.

"I moved here, Damon," said Adam, smiling. "I told you I was thinking about it."

"You said you were thinking about it," said Damon, stepping aside to allow his father to come into the house. "You didn't say you were doing it."

"I'm staying at The Evening Star," said Adam as he walked inside the manor. "Room 316. Hi, Dean."

"Adam," said Dean as he walked into the hall.

"I was just telling Damon that I've moved to Storyville," Adam said, smiling.

"I heard," replied Dean, smiling warmly. He turned to Damon. "I'm going to go up and talk to David for a bit."

"Come into the living room, Dad," said Damon with a sigh as Dean went up the stairs. "You haven't actually moved into a house, yet?"

"Well, I'm going to buy an apartment near the university," said Adam. "That way I'm close by if you ever need to get out of here for a bit."

"Get out of here? Dad, you have to let this go. I'm a witch, and I can't deny that fact," said Damon.

"I'm not asking you to deny that," replied Adam. "Is it a crime to want to be close to my only son?"

"Of course its not," sighed Damon as they sat on the couch. "I just don't want you trying to interfere in what goes on in the manor, Dad."

"Why would I do that?" asked Adam. "Look, I know that I was wrong to keep you away from Storyville. I know that there was no way to stop you from getting your powers. You're charmed. I know that. Now I just want to be around you. I love you, Damon. You're all I have."

"I love you, too, Dad," replied Damon. "I just don't want you to try to interfere with my magic."

They were both quiet for a few minutes. Adam was thinking back to all of the times when Damon would come to him for help when he was growing up. He missed those days. He wished that they could just turn back time and go back to when things were simple. He wished that Damon wasn't charmed.

Damon wanted so badly to trust that his father was moving to Storyville just to be near him. He couldn't get it out of his head that Adam had already tried to stop him from getting his powers, and once he had them he'd tried to talk him out of his destiny. He hadn't been charmed long, but he couldn't even remember what it was like to be without his powers. Having them made him feel more secure and sure of himself than he'd ever felt before. He would never give them up.

"Are we interrupting something?" Drake asked as he and Aaron came into the living room.

Damon could see the glow in their faces. He knew that Drake was happier than he had been in a long time. He only hoped that Aaron was back for good. He had no idea what destiny had in store for Aaron. He just hoped that no matter what it was, Drake could be a part of it. He didn't want to see his cousin hurt again.

"Not at all," said Adam. "I was just leaving. I just wanted to drop by and tell Damon that I've checked in to The Evening Star while I search for an apartment close by."

"You're moving here?" Drake asked as he and Aaron sat down on the sofa.

"Yes," beamed Adam. "I wanted to be near Damon. I'd like to get to know you and Dean as well."

"We'd like that," said Drake politely.

"Well," said Adam, standing. "I should get back to the hotel. I'm sure you boys have something magical to discuss."

"I'll walk you out," said Damon as Drake looked at him hard.

* * *

The members of the demonic faction, "The Kin" were gathered together to discuss what to do about the charmed ones. Having two of their ranks vanquished was bad enough, but turning Dax into a human called for death. There was even talk of killing Dax. They considered him a traitor now that he was human, and an easy mark as well.

"The charmed ones are guarding him," argued Ronan. "We couldn't kill him if we tried."

He'd already spoken to Arlissa, and she'd told him of her nocturnal visit to Dax. She'd also told him what she'd foreseen about Dax. Having a seer to consult with made things easier for Ronan. He often knew when trouble was coming for him because of her warnings. What she'd told him this time was that Dax wasn't gone from the underworld completely. He would return, and he would do great things.

"I say we attack them now," said Mordin. "They aren't expecting another attack. The longer we wait the more time they have to prepare."

"If we attack them now, we must attack them as a group," said Ronan. "And there will be no harming Dax."

"Why should we spare him now?" asked another demon. "He is human."

"Dax's dark days are not over," replied Ronan. "It has been foretold that he will return to the underworld and do great things. He may be human today, but the demon within him can be reborn."

"Still, we should attack the charmed ones soon," said Mordin. "I want them dead for what they've done."

Several others verbally agreed with Mordin. Ronan would like to have seen the charmed ones dead as well. The truth was that if they could vanquish Fale, they had to be more powerful than any demon in the underworld had given them credit for. Vanquishing Ash was one thing, but Fale was next to unstoppable. He wasn't ready to be vanquished, and attacking the charmed ones was a sure fire way to get himself done in.

"Soon," he said, stalling them. "I must speak to the seer about something first. She has seen many things, and I would like to know all of them. Perhaps she has foreseen a way to destroy the charmed ones."

"The seer has been known to lie before, Ronan," said Mordin. "She told us that Ash would not be vanquished, and look what happened."

That thought did give him pause. Had the seer actually lied? Could she have seen Ash's demise and kept the information to herself? Or were her visions not absolute? Looking into the future was risky. He'd learned that himself when he'd tangled with a crone who could look into the future at will. She'd told him many things that could have happened, though none of them actually came to pass. It had been a different trio of witches who had thwarted his plans then. Yet the crone had told him that he would succeed.

"I will hear what the seer has to say," he said finally. "Now go."

One by one they filed out of the cavern, leaving Ronan to stand alone. He wasn't alone long. In a burst of flames, the seer appeared in front of him. She smirked at him as she settled herself on a large rock. His patience with her were growing thin. He wanted to know the truth about her visions.

"I see doubt in your eyes, Ronan," she purred, folding her hands in her lap.

"Tell me what you've seen about the attack planned against the charmed ones," he snapped, glaring at her out right.

"To attack the charmed ones alone is suicide," she said simply. "There's no need to look into the future to see that."

"If 'The Kin' attacks them as one?" he demanded and watched as her eyes rolled. This was how she looked into the future.

"I see a grand battle," she replied after a pause. "The charmed ones will not be alone."

"White lighters can be dealt with," said Ronan, thinking of a few dark lighters he was friendly with.

"White lighters are not part of the battle I see," she said. "I see powerful witches aiding the charmed ones. Young witches I can not name. I can not see the end of the battle, however."

"You lie," he spat, outraged.

"My visions are not lies," she replied coldly, looking straight at him. She'd stopped looking into the future.

"Then what of Ash?" he asked. "You said he would not be vanquished. Yet he has been."

"Ash is not vanquished," she laughed. "The charmed ones didn't vanquish him. They merely banished him to another plane of existence. I can summon him if you like."

"Prove it, seer," he demanded.

She stood, and let her eyes roll again. Only this time, they rolled down toward her face instead of toward her brow. She raised her arms and tilted her head back and roared, "Lexonero bestia! Lexonero!"

Behind her, the rocks exploded in white hot fire. Standing in the center of the raining dust was the demon that could strike fear in even the blackest hearts. Ash was back.

For more chapters of this story, as well as a look at my other stories, check out my Geocities page or the Gayauthors site. I use a Yahoo! eGroup to let everyone know when a chapter is posted. Click here to join the eGroup. Feedback is always welcome as well. I hope to hear from you.