Ash

Ash

Flora Winters

I do not own the wonderful characters from Smallville or Charmed.

Summary: After the Charmed Ones defeat the Source of all evil (again) they discover that they have a baby brother named Phoenix who is Paige’s twin. Looks like Mom and Grams have been keeping secrets (again). Phoenix is dating a reporter for the Daily Planet who is really the demon Phyre who has plans for the half witch/half whitelighter. Will Phoenix be able to choose between his family and a love that burns hotter and darker than the very flames of the Underworld? M/M, Language, OC, Crossover, Character Death

Chapter Seventeen

Phoenix did not return to the manor like he had told his sisters that he was. He instead returned to the castle where he dreamed he would live out his fairy tale life forever. A bitter smile crossed his face as he remembered his crystal palace and, yet again, another stone was thrown and it all came crashing down again. A tear slid from the corner of an emerald orb, “If only I used bricks.”

He walked around Kal’s office. It looked exactly how they had left it, in ruins. He knelt at the spot where he had held Kal as he laid dying, and squeezed his teddy tight against his chest. He could see the pain in those loving eyes and he had been unable to do anything.

A gleam caught his eye and he looked over to see one of the green blades lying there. He wiped the tear away on his long sleeve and reached over to pick it up. It was cold to the touch. It was coated with the stuff that had killed his Kal. He raised it high and brought it down. A ring went off and then a metallic snap. The blade broke off into the ground and he screamed.

Nothing was ever going to be ok again. His eyes began to burn and he unleashed his pain on everything in his site. Flames engulfed everything in his path. He still had Kal’s fire beam power and that hurt even more.

He watched while everything in the massive room burned around him and he felt no better. In a swirl of blue lights he stood in his empty childhood home looking at the fireplace. So many happy memories and the ghosts rushed back. He fell to the floor crying, “Just let me die,” and then whimpered as he pulled himself into the fetal position.

Why had he come here? He could slit his wrists. Drink himself to death? Take a bunch of sleeping pills? How about throw himself off a mountain cliff? He was sure he could orb to a nice spot and throw himself off after the sunset.

He quickly sat up and looked at his teddy, and then threw it into the fireplace. Fire shot from his eyes and it caught flame. He raised his head about to blast the entire house so it would fall down upon him when a siren went off in his head making him grab his head to scream.

Something was glowing in the fireplace, and it seemed to be what was making the noise. He held his hands over his ears but that did nothing to block out the horrible noise that should have been making his nose and ears bleed.

The flames burned out and Phoenix slowly reached in for the shining object and picked it up. It was cold and smooth as silk. It was octagonal and had three glowing symbols on the edge. One was blue, the other was red, and one more was yellow.

The symbols looked like the ones that were on the cave walls. This shiny octagonal disk looked very familiar to him. Suddenly he remembered the octagonal hole in the cave wall and this would probably fit it like, “A key?”

Phoenix whirled around and vanished in swirling blue lights orbing straight to the Kawatche caves.

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Piper ran down the steps, “He’s not here.”

“Or in the kitchen,” Paige said coming into the room.

“Not in the basement,” Leo said and then asked, “Have you checked the closets?”

Piper smacked his arm, “This is no time for puns Leo.”

He rubbed his arm and followed them up the stairs, “We will scry for him,” Paige said.

Piper got the pendulum and Leo set out the map and she started to swing it around. Paige walked back and forth only for Piper to scream stop, and she did.

After five minutes Piper’s wrist started to go numb, “Where the hell is he?”

Leo shrugged and Paige asked, “Do you have a map of Kansas?”

Both looked at her and smiled only for her to cry, “Fuck!”

Swirling white lights filled the room and Grams along with Patty stood there for Grams to shout, “Watch that mouth young lady!”

Paige ran and hugged them, “Phoenix might try and hurt himself.”

Grams rolled her eyes, “Drama Queen.”

“Pun intended,” Leo asked.

“Always,” Grams said, “Puns should always be intended.”

Leo smiled and then turned to Piper, “We need to find him before the power of three is lost forever.”

Piper shouted, “Would one of you bitches go and find me a damn map of Kansas before I have a complex?”

Leo ran orbing from the room and Patty looked at her daughters, “You think he’s in Kansas?”

“Well he sure as hell isn’t in San Francisco,” Piper said.

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Phoenix stood in the cave with a flashlight looking at the octagonal hole in the wall and then shined the light on the disk in his hand. He could feel the power in this cave and felt a little afraid. He really didn’t know what he might wake up.

He walked over to the key hole, took a deep breath, and inserted the octagonal disk. The symbols on the disk lit up and a glowing light filled the cave. It swirled around Phoenix and he found himself in the center of the light surrounded by the darkness of infinite space.

He looked around and heard a voice boom around him like thunder, “I have been waiting for you.”

Phoenix choked a little, “Who are you?”

The deep voice resounded from the deeper darkness, “I am Jor-El, true father of Kal-El.”

“He died,” Phoenix said pushing back his tears, “In my arms.”

The light flashed brighter and the voice boomed, “Will you have him back?”

Phoenix froze. He was trying to comprehend the absurdity of the question, “Yes!”

The voice was silent but the light only grew brighter around him and Phoenix shouted again, “Yes!”

The voice echoed, “Will you do anything? Sacrifice anything or anyone to have him back?”

Phoenix did not even care about the consequences, “I will do or sacrifice anything in my power to have him back in my arms again.”

“So be it,” the voice boomed like a raging thunderstorm over the Sahara as the lights flashed insanely.

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Leo unfolded the map and laid it out across the table for Piper to start scrying over and screamed, “Paige!”

“Yes,” she asked.

“Get me something of his,” she yelled, “Now!”

Paige orbed from the attic and then orbed back in with a brush. Piper took the hairs and put them around the pendulum and lit it swirl. A few seconds later it landed and the five of them orbed out.

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Phoenix watched a wall of the cave move to the side to reveal a huge altar in a round circular space. He stepped in and the wall closed behind him.

“My son used the ship he crashed down in to discover his heritage when he found the key,” the voice of Jor-El boomed, “He used this knowledge to search this world over for the three stones of power. He was all and more I could ever hope for in a son.”

“He was a demon,” Phoenix said.

“Magic is not something our race is unfamiliar with,” Jor-El said, “His earth father of evil made him strong, but Kal-El never had an evil heart thanks to me.”

“What do I do now,” Phoenix asked.

“See the slot in the altar,” Jor-El asked, “Insert the key into the slot.”

Phoenix did as he was told and golden lights spread out all around him, and a portal engulfed him. He felt like he was moving a million miles an hour to finally look upon a site he had only seen in dreams when he was a child.

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All five of them stood in the cave, in complete darkness, when Leo made his hands glow so there could be some light. Piper was thinking of a spell and finally said, “Little balls in flight, floating and glowing bright, zip here and zip there while giving us lots of light.”

Five balls materialized out of pure light floating around each of them. Paige squealed, “Wow, that’s cool.”

Patty laughed, “Who knew my baby could rhyme?”

Grams patted her shoulder, “At least it didn’t explode and bring the cave down around our ears,” she said earning a glare and quickly said, “Why is he in a cave anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” Piper said, “But look at those drawings.”

Leo was looking at what looked to be an octagonal hole in the wall and Paige was poking her ball of light which made it glow brighter, “I need to write that one down.”

“Lets split up,” Piper said, “We can find him faster.”

The each nodded and their little balls of light zipped and zoomed to lead the way through the darkness.

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Phoenix pushed his hair out of his eyes and looked around in wonder. The sight before him was beyond the word beautiful. He was standing in a palace made of solid ice. Spires and beams spread out in all directions in icy perfection.

A light snow was falling all around him and he actually giggled in delight. This had been Kal’s palace of ice. Tears stung his eyes as they slide down his pale cheeks, “What do I do?”

“Welcome,” Jor-El said, “To my son’s Fortress of Solitude.”

Phoenix saw a glowing console of crystals and went to stand in front of them. His green eyes took in the wonders all around him. He did not even mind the cold.

Jor-El spoke again, “Will you still do anything to save your love and my son?”

Phoenix narrowed his eyes, “I would die for him.”

“Well,” Jor-El said, “I won’t ask you to do that.”

“Oh good,” Phoenix said, “You do have a sense of humor.”

The voice of Jor-El chuckled, “Now Phoenix Kent,” he said only to be cut off by Phoenix yelling, “How the hell do you know my name?”

Jor-El sighed, “You’re all my son would ever talk about when he took the time to visit. Phoenix said this today and then he touched me and a hole was shot through the barn roof.”

Phoenix felt himself blush, “He told you that?”

“Indeed,” Jor-El said, “He told me everything.”

“Great,” Phoenix said and then frowned, “Everything?”

“Everything,” Jor-El told him.

Phoenix sighed, “And you’re ok with this relationship?”

“Who am I to judge,” Jor-El asked, “Nobody, just Father.”

Phoenix did not know what the hell to think. In the cave the voice was all thunder and ice and now it was all sunshine, and marshmallows.

“What do you ask of Jor-El,” Phoenix asked.

The voice was silent and then answered, “That you return here with my son Kal-El and receive my blessing.”

Phoenix stumbled, “That’s it?”

“More or less,” Jor-El said, “My blessing will allow you to carry his children.”

Phoenix’s eyes widened, “You mean?”

“Yes,” Jor-El said, “No more holes through barn roofs farm boy.”

Phoenix did not know what to think, “Do you need me to sign anything?”

“No,” Jor-El said, “But I would like for you to grip the glowing crystal that’s been floating in front of your face for the past seventeen seconds.”

Phoenix frowned and looked at it, “What does it do?”

“Reverses the flow of time,” Jor-El said.

Phoenix laughed, “Really?”

“Of course,” Jor-El said, “Now, grip it.”

Phoenix reached out and wrapped a pale hand around it and a bright flash went off all around him.

TBC…

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