Predator-prey Relationships
A Charmed Fan-Fic
By Fanboy1069
Introduction:
Yeah, I know. I'm a guy, and this is a chick show, right? Yeah, let's think about that for a second. A guy watching a show about three hot chicks, a show in which said hot chicks routinely fight mythological beasts, demons, and in which fights almost always an explosion is seen. It's like Xena, but with three Xenas and explosions. Also, I work 3p-11p EST, four weekdays a week, and the two-hour Drama in the Daytime hit of Charmed is what I spend my mornings waking up to. So, if you think a guy watching Charmed is fruity or something, well, you're just wrong. I'll grant you, writing a fan-fic may well prove to be fruity, but I'm willing to take the risk. Those who've been reading my zombie story can attest that I do not do deadlines. This story, like that one, will grow and gain chapters only if and when the muses choose to grace me with a visit.
Chapter One
Shot Through the Heart
Phoebe wasn't sure why, but something about last night's vanquish seemed...off. Yes, the demon was toast, history, and all kinds of no longer a problem, but she'd had premonitions that something horrible was going to happen while fighting it. Four, but the last one had been strange. It had started out just like the first three, and then, for no reason at all, just faded from a terrifying premonition into something more like a daydream. One moment Piper had been flat on her back, gasping out her life as blood poured from what looked like a bullet wound in her upper chest, and the demon holding her white-lighter husband Leo in a one-handed stranglehold at arm's length, laughing as he struggled to free himself, the next, the five of them were just standing around idly discussing how mundane and routine the vanquish had been.
And then it went exactly like the fourth premonition predicted. Dull, routine, utterly uneventful. Well, as uneventful as using the Power of Three to banish a demon to the nether realms in a twisting column of fire could be expected to be, she mentally amended. She idly tapped a finger against her teeth; brow furrowed, for a few seconds, and had another sip of chamomile tea. She was barely aware of Paige being in the room, and had no idea that she was staring at her with her own brow furrowed in worry.
Paige frowned. Phoebe had been very quiet since the vanquish last night, even though it had gone without a hitch. They'd saved four innocents, always a cause for celebration in Paige's book, and usually in Phoebe's and Piper's as well. And Piper was in good spirits the last she'd seen, her and Leo walking upstairs, hands intertwined, talking and laughing. She was actually missing Cole. At least when he wasn't dodging hit-demons and could spend time with Phoebe, it took her mind off her worries. Paige was still acclimatizing herself to the role of sister, and didn't feel she knew Phoebe well enough to pry the way she'd need to to try to help her. On the other hand, Phoebe did seem to like her chamomile tea, so maybe that would be enough for now. Come to think of it, a cup wouldn't exactly be deadly poison for herself either she thought, rising to get herself a cup.
Phoebe started at a sudden motion of Paige getting up, headed to the kitchen. For someone who claimed she couldn't cook, she seemed to be spending a lot of time there. Of course, most of it was potion making, but that was surprisingly similar to cooking a lot of the time, even if the results were usually lethal instead of edible. "Hey, can I get a refill while you're headed that way?" she asked, draining her cup and holding it out. Paige smiled and brightened visibly, and Phoebe noticed that she'd seemed worried moments ago.
"Sure!" Paige said, accepting the cup on her way past. "Anything else?"
"Mmm, nope. Too late to eat. Thanks though."
"You're welcome."
Paige returned a few minutes later, a teacup in either hand, to find Phoebe sitting with her knees to her chest in the overstuffed chair near the French doors opening on the garden, staring out into the moonlit night, expressionless. Paige walked over, offered her her teacup, and rested her freed hand gently on Phoebe's shoulder. "He'll be okay. I think he's probably killed all of the hit-demons that might have actually posed a threat to him by now."
"Hmm? Oh, Cole. Yeah, I'm sure he's okay too." But Phoebe frowned as she said it, another worry rising up to crowd for attention. She'd forgotten all about Cole, so lost in thought over her power of premonition's odd hiccup. 'How could I let myself forget about the man I love?' she scolded herself. Her face went from blank straight to worried.
Paige sighed, realizing she'd not only guessed wrong about what was bothering her sister, she actually managed to make things worse by reminding her of something else to worry about. Sistering was hard, she was finding out. Maybe the direct approach then? "Well, if it's not Cole that's got you so quiet, what is it?"
Phoebe blinked in surprise. Had she been that obvious? A moment's irritation flickered across her face on the heels of the surprised look, and she knew Paige had seen it, because she went to full reverse-and-apologize mode. As she began to splutter apologies, Phoebe waved her concerns away. "Oh relax Paige, I'm not mad at you. Why should I be? It's not like you've been hiding out for twenty-three years waiting to spring the Secret Sister Surprise on me. I'm not used to having a baby sister any more than you're used to having two older sisters. You wouldn't ask if you didn't care, and I love that you care enough to ask, I truly do. I'm just... there's just... it's been a pretty crazy few weeks, you know? Prue dying, discovering you, the Source attacking, Cole and me, Leo and Piper, you..." she trailed off, uncertain.
Paige, still flushed from embarrassment, nodded, pursed her lips, and sighed. Phoebe just wasn't going to tell her. Time to let it go. "I understand, believe me. I'm sure we'll figure things out in time. Time! Oh God, it's past eleven!! I have work tomorrow!" She gave Phoebe a quick hug, got her things, and headed out the door to drive home.
In the shadows of a rooftop a block away, a lone figure watched Paige get into her car parked in the side driveway and drive away. In the dim lighting, little could be said for sure other than that the figure was probably a male human. He got out a small tape recorder, clicked it on, and in a decidedly male voice dictated into it: "Subject Six, Paige Matthews, exiting Halliwell Manor at 2318 hours. Taking personal transport, most likely destination is Subject Six's home. Will verify with bogus wrong number call in 25 minutes. Subject Three still sitting in living room by window, Subjects Two and Four still upstairs."
Phoebe stared out into the moonlit garden, sighed again, and sipped her now-cooling tea. It was 1141 on the grandfather clock that had been so recently demolished. Making a face, she began to set the tea down, when another premonition hit. The teacup fell to the floor, shattering in a spray of bone china fragments and room-temperature tea. Phoebe found herself looking down on Paige as if floating above her. Paige was in a posture of stealth, and seemed to be looking down at a group of demons. They appeared to be arguing about something, and Paige was planning to ambush them, a brace of vanquishing potions near to hand for the purpose. As Phoebe watched, a small red dot appeared on Paige's chest, centered on her heart at first. It slowly moved up, as Phoebe tried vainly to warn Paige. She looked around, and saw a man on a distant rooftop aiming a rifle at her sister. It jerked once, a small puff of smoke drifting from the muzzle, and she turned to see Paige falling, and came around with a start, a terrified scream dying on her lips. Piper and Leo were in the room, and Piper was stroking her face and trying to calm her down, while Leo paced nervously.
Phoebe blushed, "Sorry, was I loud?"
Piper, the relieved look on her face ruining the effort, replied in her best Big Sister Scolding tone, "Loud? You nearly woke the dead! You did wake Leo."
"Sorry."
"Eh, he fell asleep too soon anyway."
"Leo!!" Phoebe scolded, punching him in the arm playfully as he approached. He looks embarrassed, and like he desperately wants to be somewhere, anywhere else.
"I-uh..."
Piper got it down to business at that point. Stabbing Phoebe purposefully in the breastbone with a well-aimed index finger, she punctuated her question with jabs. "You had. A premonition. It was. A scary one. What. Happened?" By then end of that Phoebe was giggling and defending herself. Leo, out of the spotlight and off of the hook, is visibly relieved.
"Knock it off!! Yes, I did, and yes it was." As she remembered it, she suddenly got very serious again. "Paige! Someone is going to shoot Paige!"
Piper looked stricken at first, and paled noticeably, then calmed again. "Any idea when and where? Is it tonight, now?" she asked, her voice taking a tinge of caution.
"It, looked like daytime, maybe early morning or late night. She was on a rooftop, maybe three stories, looking down into an alley. There were demons down there, and she was going to ambush them with some vanquishing potions. Then a little red dot appeared on her, and a man with a rifle shot her."
Calmly, Piper interrogated her sister, "What did he look like? Have you seen him before?"
"I don't know, no, never. It was hard to see any details, he was in a shadow, and dressed like... like a sniper."
"Like a what?"
"Wearing camouflage, and with black stuff on his face, I think."
Piper shrugged Leo's arm off her shoulders irritably. "Great, that's just great. The Source is out for our blood, we just got one nut job cop off our backs, and now some rifle-toting psycho is hunting us? Except either he can't shoot worth a damn, or he's not even aiming at us." she finished, exasperated.
A click. "Subject Three appears highly agitated. Subjects Two, Four, and Five are with her now. Breaking off surveillance for now to avoid detection. Entry ends." The shadowy figure is slightly better lit as he descends from his perch. He is the shooter from Phoebe's latest premonition. He looks to be in his late 30s or early 40s, slightly older than Cole, and is dressed in dark blue jeans, a black knit cap, and a black cable-knit sweater. What little of his hair as can be seen is dark, going prematurely grey at the temples, and is clipped very short, almost military. His eyes appear cold at first, but he sees a cat stuck up in a tree, and a little girl standing under it calling to the animal. His expression immediately softens, and he approaches her, clearly intent on offering his assistance, as he makes a brief phone call and hangs up after a single phrase.
Piper was wearing a dubious expression. "So, is this another fake premonition?" Last time, I got shot while fighting that loser we vanquished last night, only it didn't happen."
Cole snickered softly as he materialized in a shimmer, "Either that, or the sniper is one lousy shot. Our boy in the fight last night staggered just before he got toasted, like something hit him from behind..."
Leo started, "I noticed that too, or thought I did. But I never heard a shot? And where were you just now?"
"I found an interesting hiding spot, sort of in between places. Let's me keep an eye on Phoebe and avoid det-"
Phoebe waved her hands for attention, interrupting Cole. "Ooh, oooh, I think I know why!! In my vision just now, his rifle had a thingie on the end of the barrel, like a long soup can!"
"A silencer?" Piper asked, clearly still doubtful. Beside her, Leo looked stricken, and wrapped an arm around her waist defensively. Cole glanced out the window, his eyes glowing red for an instant as he surveyed the rooftops and shadows. The watcher is long gone of course and he sees nothing.
"Why not?" Phoebe asked, defensively.
Piper considered that for a moment, frowned, and nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. Still, your premonitions don't miss, unlike sniper bullets. If the sniper was going to miss me anyway, why a premonition?"
"Maybe his next shot won't. We need to warn Paige."
Piper once again took charge. "All right, I'll call, Leo, you orb. Cole, you..." He lifted an eyebrow, as if to ask, "What am I supposed to do, Your Majesty?' Piper hemmed for a second... "You... keep dodging bounty hunters. Or something." She picked the phone up off the handset and punched numbers rapidly, and held the phone to her ear. After a pause, she hung up, perplexed. "It's busy."
"Hello?" Paige asked into her phone. She was standing in her bedroom, loosening her clothes.
"You aren't Julio." A lightly Mexican-accented voice declared, and promptly hung up. Paige shrugged and put her handset back in the cradle.
"Nope." she said, and began removing her clothes, headed for her dresser.
As Paige worked her way into a nightshirt, Leo orbed into the room. Turning crimson, he shut his eyes and turned around. Paige saw him as soon as the shirt fell onto her shoulders and gave a small scream as Leo began to apologize, and the phone began ringing again. "You!" she said, voice raised as she reached for the phone, "Need to learn to knock first! What?!" she barked into the phone.
Piper recoiled from the handset. "Sorry, didn't mean to call so late, but something's come up. Is Leo there yet?" A small shriek burst through the receiver, and Piper winced. "I'll take that as a yes. I hope he didn't startle you too bad, but we--" Another angry burst from the phone, and she held it slightly away from her ear. Phoebe put her ear near it as well, and stifled a giggle. Piper did not look amused. "Paige! Paige!! I'm sorry. Leo is sorry. But we had a good reason. You know how you can move things around, and I can freeze people and blow stuff up? Well, in addition to floating like Trinity in The Matrix, Phoebe sometimes gets glimpses of the future. Yes, premonitions. And you were in her latest one, and dead. So, we kinda freaked, sorry. Ok. Yes. Yes. I was hoping you'd either consider spending a few nights here until we figure out what's going on with these sniper premonitions, or let Leo or Cole stay there to guard you. Ok. Yes, that's great. I'll get some linens and you can use Gram's room for now. Great, see you in a few. Blessed be." She hung up.
Phoebe smiled and headed for the kitchen. "Might's well put the kettle on."