There was a loud crash as Kira dropped a plate. "Aw man…" She kneeled down and picked up the pieces, then continued to bust the table.
"Kira, are you all right?" asked Piper as she and her daughter Melinda ran in from the kitchen.
"Yeah, sorry. It slipped out of my hands." She walked over to them carrying the tray of dirty dishes.
"As long as you're not hurt. Melinda will finish the dishes while you and I finish cleaning in here. Could you take out the trash real quick?"
"Sure." Kira gathered up the trash as her cousin went back into the kitchen. She went out back and threw the trash into the dumpster. A raccoon jumped out of the dumpster and made her jump, then laugh at herself for being scared. She turned around and watched the raccoon run away. She then stopped laughing as she watched it run over and climb onto a man's shoulder. He gave it a cracker, then looked at Kira.
Kira found herself frozen as she looked at the man. Under any other circumstances, she'd have found him sexy. He was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair kind of a mess. She finally regained the ability to move and turned, running for the still open door. As she reached it, the door slammed shut and wouldn't open. "Piper! Melinda! Help!" She turned and saw the man approaching, his arm held out with his palm facing the door. He's holding the door telekinetically shut… She tried to run, but the man darkorbed in front of her and blocked her path. Oh my god! Please not a Darklighter!
There was a small explosion and the door to the restaurant whipped open, Melinda and Piper running out. "Kira!" yelled Melinda as she saw the man next to her. She thrust out her hands and the man was thrown backwards and into a nearby group of trash cans.
"Aargh!" The man slowly stood up and held his side, which was bleeding badly. "Dang it! I didn't want anyone hurt!" he said as he watched Kira run over to her aunt and cousin. He pulled a small vile out of his pocket filled with a dark red liquid. He threw it onto the ground exactly halfway between them and dove behind a nearby dumpster, taking cover. When the vile hit the ground, a powerful shockwave was emitted and threw the girls back. Piper and Kira landed on the other side of the alley, across from Melinda. Melinda wasn't moving.
Piper ran over to her daughter and realized that a stray pipe had gone straight through Melinda's heart. "No!" She pulled the pipe out of her daughter with Melinda's help and laid her gently on the ground. She checked for a pulse, but didn't find any. "Melinda! Please don't do this to me! Come back! Please!" She then whirled around as she heard trash being shuffled and saw the stranger stand up, running towards them. She threw out her hands and blasted him, throwing him back and wounding him more.
"Ow!" He stood back up and started running back towards them. As Piper tried to blow him up again, he darkorbed right next to them and used his telekinesis to hold Piper and Kira back. He knelt next to Melinda and put his hand onto her wound.
"Get away from her!" yelled Kira. She watched as a green light appeared from his hand and over Melinda's wound. The wound healed itself and a second later, Melinda awoke, gasping for air. She blasted him, a reasonable reaction. He flew across the alley and hit the wall hard. He laid there for a minute, not moving.
Piper ran over to Melinda. "Melinda?!" She hugged her tightly, tears falling down her cheeks. Kira walked over to the man cautiously as he started to cough. A small pool of blood had already formed around him. She knelt down next to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"Kira! Be careful!" said Melinda as she and her mom ran over to them.
"He's not evil…" Kira rolled him over onto his back. He had passed out. "Wyatt!"
"Are you crazy?!" yelled Piper. "He's a Darklighter and you're calling my Whitelighter son?!" Just then, a shower of blue and white orbs appeared and then disappeared, revealing a handsome young man.
"Kira? Are you guys all right? What happened?" He saw the man lying on the ground. "Who's that?"
"Wyatt, leave now! He's a Darklighter!" said Piper and Melinda together.
"What?!" He prepared to orb away, but Kira stopped him.
"Wyatt, please orb him to my house."
"No way! Kira, he's a Darklighter! Let's vanquish him!"
"He's not a threat, at least not right now. Think about it: why would a Darklighter attack witches? Why would a Darklighter have the powers of resurrection and telekinesis? He killed Melinda, why would he bring her back to life if he meant to harm us?"
"Wait a minute, he killed Melinda?!" asked Wyatt, confused.
"She makes since Mom. I don't think he meant to harm us at all. I mean, we did attack him first and all he did was defend himself." said Melinda.
Piper sighed, frustrated and really confused. She looked at Wyatt. "All right. Wyatt, orb him back to the manor and watch him until we get there. If he tries anything, vanquish him."
"Wyatt, can you take me with you?" asked Kira. Wyatt nodded and orbed her and the stranger to the manor's living room. Kira went to get some wet rags to clean his wounds. Wyatt looked at her as she knelt next to the man and took his shirt off. "What?" she asked.
"What happened?"
"Well, I walked outside to take out the trash and when I turned around, he was standing there. I freaked out and ran to the door, but he held it shut with telekinesis. He tried to say something, but before he could, your mother and sister came out and started blasting him. Then he pulled a vial out of his pocket and threw it at the ground. It created a powerful shockwave and threw us all back. Melinda had landed on a stray pipe; it pierced her heart… Once he stood back up, after taking another hit from your mom, he held us back with telekinesis and brought Melinda back to life. She blasted him out of reflex, and then everything calmed down." There was a knock on the door.
Wyatt walked out of the room and came back a minute later with Asher, Melinda's boyfriend, following him. Asher ran over to the man on the couch and kneeled next to him. "Anthony?!"
"Anthony? Asher, do you know this guy?" asked Kira.
"Yeah, he was in some of our classes in magic school, remember?"
"I thought he looked familiar… Wait a minute. He didn't graduate with us. Why?"
"Paige found out he was a Darklighter and asked him to leave the school. She knew that trouble would begin if everyone found out about it. He agreed, knowing it was for the best. We've stayed in touch ever since." His face went pale. "Oh man… he's actually doing it."
"Doing what?"
"I-I can't say. He made me promise. All I can say though is that he didn't mean to harm anyone. He's one of the nicest people you could meet."
Kira looked down at Anthony. She'd cleaned all the blood up, but his wounds were still pretty bad. She bandaged them and then went into the kitchen with Wyatt and Asher.
The three of them were having a cup of coffee and talking when Piper and Melinda arrived. "Where is he?" asked Piper.
"He's in the living room Mom." said Wyatt. They all walked into the living room; Kira sitting on the couch next to Anthony. They all started talking, wondering what to do with him. Kira reached over and brushed his hair out of his closed eyes, then gasped as everything around her changed.
She was no longer in the Manor living room. Looking around her, she noticed a old man laying on the ground and an Elder standing next to him. A second later, Anthony ran into the room and fell to his knees beside the man. "Grandfather!" he yelled. He looked up at the Elder, pure hatred in his eyes. "Why?! What'd he ever do to you?! You guys always go around preaching to save innocents, and here you go killing them! Don't you dare smile!" Anthony stood up and punched the Elder, knocking him back. The Elder shot lightning from his hands and hit Anthony in the chest. "Aargh!" A couple Darklighters orbed in and helped Anthony up.
"This was a warning. Stop now or witness the extermination of all Darklighters." The Elder then orbed away. Anthony walked over to his grandfather.
"Don't worry grandpa; I'll make sure your work won't go to waste. The Darklighters will once again join their Whitelighter brethren." He turned to the two Darklighters. "Robert, Dawn… Thanks. He probably would have killed me if you guys didn't show up."
Everything returned to normal as Kira gasped and let out a small cry, a tear falling down her cheek. She looked over at Anthony and took his hand in hers. "Oh my god…"
Everyone shut up and looked at her. "Kira, what's wrong sweetie?" asked Piper.
"I-I just had a premonition about Anthony, but I think it was his past… An Elder killed his grandfather. His grandfather was an innocent! He had found out something important and the Elders killed him because of it. He had passed it on to Anthony before he died though." She wiped a tear away from her cheek.
"I hate the Elders just as much as the next Halliwell, but killing an innocent?" Melinda asked in disbelief. She sat next to Asher and cuddled next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. "This is just too much to handle for one night. I'm going to bed." She led Asher upstairs after kissing her mother and brother goodnight.
"I'm ready for bed too, but I don't want him staying here. I mean I don't want to put Wyatt and Chris and Leo in danger." said Piper.
"He could stay at my house. None of us would be in life-threatening danger if he woke up. Besides, Jenni can protect us if he causes trouble." Kira stood up.
Piper sighed. "Fine, but you guys call us if he tries anything." She turned and walked upstairs after kissing her son goodnight.
Wyatt looked at Kira. "Need and orb?" Kira nodded and Wyatt orbed the three of them to her room.
"Thanks Wyatt." Wyatt nodded and orbed away. Kira tucked Anthony into her bed and snuck downstairs, careful not to wake anyone up. She put on her pajamas and lay down on the couch, quickly falling asleep. She woke up to the fresh smell of eggs and toast. She realized she was in her own bed and sat up to find a tray in front of her. On it were a couple eggs over easy with a side of toast and bacon; next to it was a glass of orange juice. There was a folded piece of paper under the fork. She picked it up and read it:
Dear Kira,
I'm sorry about everything that happened last night. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to talk to you last night. By the time I got to the restaurant, you were already closed. I went around back when I heard a door open. I saw you and froze; you're more beautiful than I remembered. I didn't mean to scare you either. My grandfather had just died a couple days ago and I guess I'm still a little shaken up. I would have stayed and waited for you to wake up, but I had to go to work. I thought that the least I could do was make you breakfast. I hope you like it. You don't have to worry about the dishes either; I cleaned up the mess. If you'd like to talk more, I left the address to my work. If you decide to come, just tell the lady at the front desk your name and she'll send you right back. If you don't, I'll understand and will meet you and whoever else at the restaurant at 9:00 p.m.
Sincerely,
Anthony
P.S. Thanks for not vanquishing me.
Kira looked at her breakfast and smiled. He had fixed her her favorite breakfast, left her an apology letter, and… "He works at a spa? I honestly didn't see that one coming." She finished her breakfast and got ready. About an hour later, she found herself in front of his work. She took a deep breath and walked in. The lady at the front desk looked up.
"Kira Halliwell?" the lady asked. Kira nodded. "Mr. Zell is expecting you. Go on back; it's the last room on the left. Kira walked back and knocked on the door.
Anthony opened the door. He appeared to be fully healed. He smiled greatly when he saw it was Kira. "You came! Um…" He looked behind him. "Would you like a massage? It's free." He stepped aside to let Kira in and shut the door behind her.
"Sure! That actually sounds like a great idea!" She set her purse aside. She looked at Anthony and they stared at each other for an awkward moment.
He finally came back to his senses. "Sorry, let me give you some privacy." He left the room.
Kira smiled. She could already tell she liked him. She undressed and wrapped a towel around her waist, then lay down on the table. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Kira?"
"Come in!" she said. Anthony walked in carrying some beverages.
"Uh, I wasn't sure what'd you'd prefer, so I brought water, Coke, Sprite, and Pepsi."
"Water's fine, thanks." She noticed him looking at her. He looked away and blushed. She smiled. "I loved breakfast this morning. I love bacon, eggs, and toast."
"Really? So do I." He handed her a water bottle and turned on some tranquil music.