Chapter 3- Stairs Are Better Than Lifts
"Oops?" Piper stated in disbelief. "Is that all you can say?"
"Don't look at me! Billie's the one who turned her parents into…" Phoebe looked at the couple with a considering look. As if trying to figure them out. "Whoever they are now."
"It couldn't have been me. I didn't use a spell or a potion or anything. That's not possible. So it couldn't have been me." Billie protested in disbelief, her eyes wide as she looked at her parents. Despite her words, she knew that it had to have been her, she had done something similar earlier as well. "I couldn't have done this."
"Well it looks like you did." Paige supplied unhelpfully.
"How?" Billie crossed her arms stubbornly deciding that until she had complete and utter proof that it had been her that had done whatever it was that had happened, she would not believe it.
"You've obviously developed a new-" Piper paused, waving her hands at the couple that were just beginning to exit the room to freeze them before continuing. "-power. That's the only explanation. Your growing as a witch and so is your magic…this is evidently a manifestation of whatever power your getting."
Billie sent an uncomfortable glance to her parents, both of them frozen just as they were getting up. It was unnerving to see them so still, like marble statures cast in entirely too realistic stone. And she couldn't help but feel like they were still listening, like they were stuck, still conscious, in a body that won't move. But she shook her head, she's being ridiculous, Piper's power didn't do that; she knew it didn't. But…still, they were her parents. "Uh," She began uncomfortably, "Can we talk somewhere else?"
Piper raised an eyebrow but conceded, waving her, Paige and Phoebe into the kitchen. "I'll stay here and look after our guests." she said when questioned.
It was somehow better in the kitchen, more secluded, away from the disaster at the table. Billie felt that she could breathe here. She turned to the two Charmed Ones and insisted "It can't be me. What kind of power could I be getting that turns parents into medieval nobles!"
Phoebe looked thoughtful and then replied gently "Well, we know that you've been going through a lot of stress lately so that could be a reason for your powers to be reacting so violently especially since you've developed a new one…look, I'm going to be blunt, I've heard of a power called Projection and I think you have it."
Billie sighed, she knew that Phoebe was right and she felt guilty for not telling them about what had happened earlier on today. But, really, she hadn't had time, what with the dinner and everything. And there was the fact that it had completely freaked her out. Maybe she shouldn't have denied using magic on her parents, which she knew she had, but it had just seemed so weird…and not possible. "Let me guess, it lets the witch impose her will on something else without a spell or potion."
"Looks like someone knows more than she's letting on." Paige stated, her voice good natured but sure.
"Look, I know I should have told you guys," Billie began. "But…earlier on when I was coming back from taking a walk I was attacked by some demons."
"What?" Phoebe looked alarmed. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Billie assured her, feeling strangely glad for her concern. "It's just something weird happened, with the demons I mean. One of them threw a fireball at me and I got really angry and I said 'ash' and the demon just-"
"Turned to ash?" Paige said dryly. She looked surprised though. Billie felt slightly uncomfortable as both the sisters expressions turned thoughtful, as if they were trying to figure something out. Trying to figure her out. As she often did, the witch felt like an outsider to the girls easy relationship, the bond of sisterhood, and she felt a pang of longing for her own sister.
"There's nothing else it could be. You definitely have the power of Projection." Paige said finally, tone cheerful.
Billie felt anything but pleased. She voiced her emotions, her tone desperate. "I don't want a new power…it took me long enough to figure out the ones I already have. Why can't it go away? I can't deal with another power. I turned my parents into medieval nobles…I can't deal with that every day. What if I get angry and almost kill someone?"
"Sweetie, you don't have a choice." Phoebe said soothingly. "The power is yours, always has been, just now your ready to develop it. Use it. It will take a while, and it will come with a few mistakes, but it will get better. We've all had our fair share of magical mishaps, we've all been cursed or whatever before, so we'll help you through it. Paige cast a few spells after she became a witch and, well, that didn't turn out so well-"
Towards the end of her explanation, her words took on a slightly mocking lilt and Paige interrupted her. "Well, excuse me, but didn't you once levitate too high in the air and have to have someone help you down? Oh, and there was the time that you turned yourself into a Genie because you didn't read the fine print on the bottle!"
Billie laughed as Phoebe glared at her sister. "The words were in Arabic! And at least I didn't almost turn into a vampire!"
"You did turn into a mermaid though." Paige shot back.
"Valkyrie." Phoebe stated. Her lips twisting into a smile at Paige's expression. Billie found herself smiling with them, even if she had no idea which event in their lives they were discussing.
"Oh, like that was just me." Paige replied sarcastically.
"So?" Phoebe retorted calmly, seeming to be a peace with whatever had happened to make them turn into Valkyries…though the witch had no idea that that was even possible. Billie thought Valkyries were myths. The woman then smiled mischievously. "But we're missing out Piper."
"How rude of us." Paige added, a smile curving it's way across her face, brown eyes bright and dancing. "We can't forget our older sister."
"Yeah, she's turned into a Wendigo, a Fury-" Phoebe began, smiling happily, seeming to enjoy making fun of her sister behind her back.
"-A ghost (but haven't we all?), a Hindu Goddess, little red riding hood and I think she has also been an Angel of Death." Paige looked thoughtful, as if she wasn't sure that she had got all of the various transformations right. Billie laughed again, finding her fear melting away in the face of the sisters optimism. They knew what they were doing, and she liked their tendency to laugh about the various things they had done. It made her feel better. Paige and Phoebe shared a satisfied smile as they listened to the young witch laugh.
"I guess I don't have anything to worry about then." Billie joked, looking at the sisters as if they were going to prove her wrong.
"Nope. Nothing at all." Paige agreed, eyes dancing playfully, as she added, almost as if she could resist. "You can't be as bad as Phoebe."
"Why? What did she do?" Billie asked, genuinely curious as Phoebe groaned in what sounded like exasperation and embarrassment.
"Oh, nothing much," Paige replied flippantly. "She only married the Source and became the Queen of the Underworld. Y'know, the usual. Now lets go back and deal with your parents before Piper gets bored and blows them up."
At Billie's alarmed expression she added hastily. "Not, that she would, I was only joking-"
But Billie wasn't listening, she knew Paige was joking about Piper blowing up her parents, she was already turning to Phoebe and saying "You were married to the Source? How did that happen? You don't just meet the leader of the Underworld in a café." but then she frowned, suddenly thoughtful. "Or do you?"
"No. It was nothing like-" Phoebe began.
"She met him as a demon and then married the guy. And then found out he was the Source. And then killed him." Paige finished.
"You killed him!" Billie repeated, horrified.
"Paige!"
"What? He came back." Paige replied.
Phoebe rolled her eyes, a hint of sadness in them, dimmed by time, but still there. She seemed able to look back fondly at whatever memories this invoked. Evidently not the killing the guy part, but obviously she had loved him very much. The woman shook her head with a small smile and then said firmly. "Now, really, we should be getting back, we have a problem to solve that won't fix itself."
With that she walked out of the kitchen, Paige closely behind, and Billie trailing after them. The witch had wanted to continue talking to them, hearing of their experiences with magic, but she knew they were right. It would be unforgivable for her to just leave her parents the way they were because she wanted to chat. The very idea was impossible to conceive. But…still, it had been nice. A chance to laugh and learn and not to make mistakes. Reality seemed cold and harsh compared to the playful bantering between the two sisters and Billie couldn't help but feel terribly new to magic. Like she didn't really understand what was going on.
But she would try.
She saw Piper sitting at the table, her eyes on the couple across her, hand supporting her head. The witch looked slightly anxious, like she wanted to get the couple back to normal as much as Billie did. Said couple were still in the same position, and Billie couldn't help but wince at the thought of standing still for so long. A new addition had been made to the room, a light grey horse stood fidgeting in the hall, fitted with saddle and full tack, a small bag attached to the saddle of the horse on the right side. The horse was tall, with powerful looking legs and a graceful neck. Large eyes examined the room with mild interest as the horse snorted in what sounded like boredom. Piper had evidently grabbed the reigns as they were tied loosely around the back of a chair.
"I'm guessing that's Merlin?" Billie stated.
"Yep." Piper replied. "Now, what are we going to do about your parents? And the horse?"
"Well, we could try a spell. That would probably be able to reverse the transformation." Phoebe explained, but her tone was thoughtful and her eyes looked like she had a completely different plan in mind.
"But?" Paige had obviously picked up on it too, her eyes narrowing as she motioned for her older sister to tell her what she had in mind.
"But," the middle sister repeated. "Billie needs to learn how to control her new power sometime. Now is the perfect opportunity for her to learn how to do that."
"What!" Billie exclaimed, fear at her new power flooding her mind. "I can't. I know nothing about my new power…what if I hurt them? Or worse…make the change irreversible? Why can't I practise on something else. Like a plant. Something I can't cause serious damage with."
"No." Piper replied calmly. "Phoebe is right; I think it's a good idea. We should let you try first and if you can't do it, then that's fine, we will take over and turn them back. What is your new power anyway?"
"Projection." Billie replied dejectedly.
"Don't sound too happy about it." Piper said dryly, before her eyes softened and she added gently. "It sounds like a powerful gift. Don't resent it…bad things happen when our emotions are out of wack."
"Ok." Billie agreed, sighing heavily. She knew what Piper meant but…how was she supposed to accept her power. How did someone change fear into something else? How did it happen? How was she supposed to change how she felt? "Ok."
Piper's eyes searched her face. "Do you want to try now?"
Billie nodded and Paige cut in helpfully "Try and think of what had happened when you first used it. How did you feel? When I was first learning to orb, finding the trigger was hard, try and think through what happened. But change the result."
Billie looked slightly dubious but nodded after Phoebe smiled at her encouragingly, her eyes focusing on her parents. They looked so weird in their medieval clothes. So different and distant and not her parents. But…emotions. Right. The dinner…she had been upset because her parents had been having fun, laughing and joking with each other. Getting along with the Charmed Ones. But she didn't understand. Why had she been so angry? She felt so stupid; there had been nothing to get angry about…the dinner had been going as she had wanted it to. Her parents were relaxed and weren't rude or anything so-
"You angry yet?" came Paige's voice in a blunt stage whisper.
"Shh!" Billie shot back.
Why had she been angry? She had been stabbing her food, moving it around and her thoughts were on the dinner. But then they weren't because her parents were happy and laughing and joking. And they were pretending everything was fine and that they had everything they wanted when they didn't because there was no Christy because she was lost and they never talked about her.
The fury pounded through her ears again, sang through her heart, beat in her blood. Her parents abruptly unfroze, eyes wide in shock as they saw the occupants of the room in different positions than they had been, for them, a mere second before. The horse suddenly reared, front legs kicking through the air, neighing, and the loosely tied reins came away. The grey horse shook its head, snorting, trotting on the spot, eyes flicking quickly around the room as if it was unsure what to do next. Lord Carl quickly made a decision. Leaping over to the horse, gently dragging his wife behind them he yelled.
"Come! Let us make our escape while we can, my lady. This house seems to be cursed…Merlin never rears. 'Tis a sign."
The lady nodded in agreement, the smallest hint of fear peering out of her dark brown eyes as she followed her husband. The knight swung up onto the horse and pulled the lady up in front of him and then rode to the doors of the manor. Piper hands were in the air to freeze a second after she recovered from her shock, but it was a second too late and Merlin had already kicked open the doors and was galloping away down the street. Billie felt her anger fade away, lessen, to horror and she bit her lip, feeling like a failure.
"We should have gone after them." Piper said after a moment.
"And what? Had you freeze them in the street?" Phoebe replied bluntly, then softening her tone . "We'll go after them. But in a way that doesn't risk exposure or any other unpleasant consequences."
"I'm sorry I couldn't do it." Billie replied quietly.
"Don't beat yourself up." Paige said firmly, then, with a hint of a smile. "You'll never be as bad as Phoebe remember?"
Billie sighed, and then allowed herself to smile back, some of her insecurities fading. Phoebe rolled her eyes but didn't seem to mind being used as the 'worst you can go' and Piper just raised an eyebrow, looking slightly confused before saying finally. "I don't even want to know. So I'm just going to change the subject. Billie, your going to scry for your parents on you computer with Phoebe while me and Paige go get some potions."
"Honey, isn't vanquishing them for running out on our dinner a little harsh?" Paige quipped, cringing slightly as Piper gave her a withering glare.
"I'm not going to vanquish them. Just get something to knock them out so we don't have to keep them here frozen if they are being uncooperative." Piper replied.
The grey horse galloped down the street.
After leaving the manor, and startling some pedestrians that had been strolling down the street, Merlin had continued following the maze of roads in a random order picked by Lord Carl. He frowned at the strange tall buildings he saw everywhere, the strange creatures on the roads, and wondered where he was. This did not look like anywhere he had ever been before. Lady Helene, for her part, was wondering the same thing. No one seemed to even pay them any notice, except from a few curious stares, and the woman felt incredibly out of place. Which she wasn't used to feeling. At all.
The horse suddenly perked up, and turned down a side alley, trotting enthusiastically onwards. Lord Carl let him, maybe Merlin would know the way out of this curious citadel. The walls on either side of the alleyway went straight upwards, as sheer as any cliff, but the knight did not feel afraid. He had his sword by his side. Merlin stopped suddenly, and dipped his grey head to the ground, a fresh apple laying there. The knight smiled fondly, Merlin loved his apples.
"Hello there." a voice said.
A woman came out of the shadows, she had short hair and a middle aged face, eyes dark with age. She smiled, though it looked like she had never really done so, and he felt an urge to talk to this lady. After all, knights did have to protect the helpless. And maybe she could help him get home. "Good day, my lady."
The woman smiled wider. Then the smile dimmed, turned wistful. "It has been a while since anyone has called me that, knight."
"Why is that, my lady?" the knight asked, putting extra emphasis on the last part in an endeavour to make her feel better.
She smiled back at him, noticing his gesture of goodwill. But then her smile faded and she replied "Because of my sons cousin. We are the rightful rulers of this city, San Francisco, but that traitorous man somehow forged his fathers will…and took control. My son should be in charge but their making him do all the administration and looking after the subjects. And that wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for what I overheard today…their going to kill him. Tonight. He's my only son and their going to kill him."
"You can not let this happen, my lord." Lady Helene replied calmly, but firmly, and the knight knew in that second that it was settled. Even if he had not been a knight he would not be able to refuse his wives cool and collected tone. Her eyes shone with love as she looked at him; knowing he could make a difference.
"Have no fear, my lady," he began confidently. "We shall stop this fiend. Your son will not be the one to die tonight. Where is this traitor currently?"
The woman frowned for a moment, before she pulled a piece of paper (covered in a picture he could not see) out of her pocket and as well as a strange looking device, seeming to use it to draw a line on the paper. She then handed it to the knight and he was shocked as he saw it was an impeccably detailed map. Eyes wide with amazement, he saw she had drawn on his route on from a space marked 'here' to a space marked 'there'. He blinked. "Extraordinary…"
"Yes. Times are changing." she replied. "Now, when you get there, tell the security you are there to see Rod Dalvos and that you have an appointment. They will let you straight in. Take your wife with you, I'll meet you at Rod's and take her somewhere save so that she's not in any danger. We have to go separately to reduce suspicion. If I'm seen with you things could go badly."
The knight was still reluctant to take Helene anywhere near a possible battle but when she turned to him and looked at him expectantly he agreed. "We'll meet you there.
She smiled in what he took to be a relieved tone. Nodding respectfully, the knight turned Merlin around and trotted back out of the alley. As soon as he had turned the corner the woman smirked coldly, eyes turning from warm to guarded and dark in a second. "Ah," she muttered with amusement. "Knights are so gullible."
"So that's you master plan?" another voice, male this time, cut in. "To get two random crazy people to kill some equally random guy?"
The woman appeared annoyed. "No. Those were the, " she smiled mockingly "lie detectors parents. I was watching the manor when something really…unexpected happened. Somehow she turned them into medieval nobles. I just decided to use it to my advantage. My plans have changed."
"Oh? What are you going to do now?"
"You are going to follow them. When they arrive at their destination I want you to watch out for the Charmed Ones and the girl. When they arrive, you will come and tell me…alright?" the demon hissed sharply.
"How is that going to help you kill her?" the voice answered from the shadows, seemingly content to stay hidden.
"You'll see. Killing is not the purpose of this part of the plan…this is just for fun. Her parents are still recognisable and soon they will be in prison for murder." the demon laughed. "And then it'll just be poor little Billie all on her own."
"But there's another reason you want this man dead." the man stated confidently.
"Yes, he is in the way of one of my…children." Her lips twitched at the word and she spoke it in a completely impersonal way. It was clear this 'child' meant absolutely nothing to her. "Removing the current leader of the company will ensure he takes control. And when he does, it will be one more part of the mortal world that belongs to demons."
"Fascinating." came the sarcastic reply.
"And you better play your part." the demon threatened, eyes glowing with the promise of violence and death. "Or else you will die today as well."
"I know."
"I've found them." Billie said finally, after a few minutes of scrying.
She had started to think that she wouldn't be able to find them but, there they were. Frowning, she realised that she knew the place her parents had gone to, and the coincidence set her on edge. Phoebe turned from her place by the book and walked over and, upon seeing the witches expression asked "Where are they? And why do you look so confused?"
"I went to see a kidnap victim this morning and he was the corporate executive of this place. And now my parents are there. It just seems a little weird." Billie replied.
"Why? What are you thinking?" Phoebe tilted her head considering what could be going on.
"I don't know what I'm thinking yet. But this can't be an accident that they are at the exact place I was earlier on today. And why would they even go there in the first place? What would medieval nobles want with a random building? How would they tell it from the rest? Why would they go in that specific one?" Billie explained, the questions flowing with no answers.
"I don't know. But I think your right. Come on. We'll go as soon as possible. The sooner this is solved the better." Phoebe agreed, her tone calm and reassuring, laced with the experience that comes with doing this every day for years.
Billie nodded and followed her out of the attic after writing down the address of the company on a piece of spare paper she had found on the table. They walked swiftly down the stairs and then into the kitchen of the manor, seeing Paige and Piper with several small bottles filled with potions. Billie smiled, it had not taken the two sisters long at all to mix the potions they wanted and the witch looked forward to the day that she would be as good. The sisters seemed to sense the haste for they immediately asked for the address.
"Right here." Billie said, passing them the slip of paper on which she had written the address. Paige looked at it and then motioned for other woman to hold onto her. Once they did she orbed, making them all disappear in a flurry of bright, blue lights.
They reappeared in an alley near the company.
Billie wondered why the woman had picked an alley of all the places but she had no time to complain as the Charmed Ones started for the building where her parents were currently wandering around in. As she approached the large skyscraper of a building, with its cool grey exterior and gleaming windows, she wondered how they were ever going to find exactly where her parents were. But the sisters didn't look worried so she felt confident that they, at least, knew what they were doing even if she didn't. Walking through the glass doors to the first floor of the company, Billie was not surprised by what she saw as she had been to the place earlier that day. The interior was large and clean, giving a crisp and professional look, a large desk designed to direct visitors and take calls was the most prominent feature of the room.
Piper walked confidently up to the mahogany desk and asked the woman politely. "Have you seen a man dressed as a knight come through here?"
The blond woman nodded, pausing in her typing to give Piper a welcoming smile. "Yes, why do you ask?"
"He's my friends," here she motioned to Billie. "dad and is in the city on business and we just want to make sure that he remembered the dinner we're having tomorrow. He's awfully forgetful. I take it his wife is with him?"
"The woman? Yes, she is with him, they are both meeting with Mr Dalvos right now so if you'd like to take a seat…" the receptionist motioned to some chairs spread around with a practised smile, obviously used to dealing with customers.
Piper shock her head. "That's alright. We'll just wait outside his office. What floor is it?"
"Sixth. Just walk down the corridor and the room will have his name on it. I would advise you to take the lift." the woman said smiling, before going back to her typing and answering a phone call on her headset.
Piper moved quickly over to the lift, her sisters and Billie following her, unfazed by the lie. Billie admired how smooth it was though and again wondered if it was part of the job…part of being a witch. She pressed the button for the sixth floor and stood back as it lit up. There was a short wait before a quiet ding signalled the opening of the lift doors. The lift was literally packed full of people and Billie quickly realised that one of them wouldn't fit.
"I'll take the stairs." she offered, rolling her eyes and waving them into the lift when they protested. Quickly pushed to the back, the tried to shove their way back out but there were too many people. They said something about demons and that they shouldn't split up but she didn't really pay attention to what they were saying, only nodding absently while making no move to enter the lift. With a silent hiss, the lift doors closed and began its ascent through the building, the Charmed Ones inside.
Billie sighed and made her way over to the door saying 'Stairs'. Pushing the door open, she began to walk quickly up the stairs to the sixth level. About halfway up, she realised that she could have just waited for the lift to come back down, but that could have taken too long. Still, it would have been less tiring. As she reached the fourth floor, a loud crash distracted her from walking up the remaining staircases. The witch heard a yell and then another crash. Sprinting the last few stairs, she came to a door that said boldly, 'fourth floor', and opened it, walking through into a long corridor.
Looking around, she saw nothing that even remotely suggested anything had happened…but she had definitely heard something. Billie frowned, looking left to right, trying to decide which way to go. It, seemed however, that she needn't have worried, for loud boom sounded this time, like a explosion, and voices soon followed. Coming from a door just to her left, they got louder and more discernable the closer she got to them.
"-told you to warn me when the Charmed Ones got here!"
The voice was female and sounded incredibly angry, sinister even. Another voice, familiar this time, answered back in a tone that was indignant.
"How was I supposed to know? You asked me to follow the knight…I did that. How was I supposed to be watching the entrance downstairs when I was here…four floors up. Just because you didn't think your plan through doesn't mean you have to take it out on me." the voice of the motorcyclist replied mockingly. Billie narrowed her eyes from her position on the other side of the door, they were talking about her parents. She now recognised what the crashes and the booming sounds were…two demons having a disagreement.
"And what, exactly, are you going to do to stop me?" the voice hissed.
"Nanta." the other voice replied confidently. "Your wasting time. You know if you try and kill me I will probably fight back, and then the Charmed Ones will have found the knight and foiled your little plan and will then be coming after you."
There was silence as the woman was evidently glaring at the man for pointing this out.
"Besides. You can always kill me later."
"True." there was a hint of humour in Nanta's voice. "But first your going to find the girl, she isn't with the sisters, and keep her busy until the target is dead."
"Ok."
Billie smiled as she listened out for the tell tale hum of a demon shimmering away. If only Nanta had known that she had been listening at the door, but she didn't, so if she could get the drop on the other demon he might be able to tell her what there plan was. And if things got too messy and she had to vanquish him, the witch shrugged, it wouldn't be a great loss. It was a few seconds before the demon shimmered away, and the second that happened Billie pushed open the door to the room and lashed out with a burst of telekinesis. The motorcyclist was standing in the middle of the room and her blast hit him head on, only it didn't work as well as she expected. Instead of flying backwards, he only skidded a good few feet.
"Telekinesis," he said cheerfully, as if the conversation with his demon friend hadn't happened, tilting his still helmeted head. "the best power of the bunch."
Billie just looked at him unimpressed, seriously, who wears a helmet indoors? This would also be the first time a demon had tried to compliment her to get catch her of guard. So, to prove her point, she flicked her hand at him again and sent him skidding backwards, a few more feet this time. "The very best." she added.
The motorcyclist looked at her in what she guessed to be dawning comprehension, probably realising that she had been listening at the door for the past few minutes, and then he said seriously. "Whatever you heard, it's not what it sounds like."
"Oh like that's going to work." Billie replied levelly. "You demons are always so stupid. Now, tell me what's going on with my parents and I might kill you painlessly."
"Demon?" the man asked, confused. Well, he sounded confused but he could be faking. "Err, no, I don't know how you came to that conclusion but I'm not a demon."
"Sure." Billie replied scathingly. "And I'm the King of England's long lost daughter who was kidnapped when she was two and brought to America to be trained in the art of cake baking."
The man just looked at her. "Really?"
He sounded so serious, like he actually believed her, that Billie wanted to throttle him. "No, I was just- never mind. Tell me what the hell is going on here."
"Y'know, I would…I really would. But I'm afraid your going to try and kill me after so-" the man began, then at Billie's glare, he seemed to change his mind and explained. "Nanta didn't like you interfering in her little operation here, so she had her demons attempt to kill you. I was just an innocent bystander, an innocent witch bystander.…but Nanta didn't like me killing her demons. So she made my bike explode. I wasn't on it at the time thankfully. Still, I wasn't exactly in the condition to be fighting off a demon so she offered me a deal in exchange for my life."
"What kind of deal?" Billie asked.
"I help her with whatever plan she has and she doesn't kill me." the man shrugged.
"Even if she didn't, the second the Charmed Ones found out what you'd done, they'd come after you." Billie replied.
"That's what I said. But it was either immediate death or possible death in the future so…" he paused. "I chose possible death in the future."
With that, the motorcyclist walked around her and over to the door, turning back to her and saying "Aren't you coming? You have parents to save don't you?"
Billie looked at him suspiciously before concluding that he was hiding something. He didn't seem to be concerned about anything, so he was either an incredibly good actor or incredibly confident. The man didn't even seem to mind that he had spilled his 'employers' plan to one of the people the demon was going to kill. And then there was the part about his helmet…
"Don't you ever take that off?" Billie asked, annoyed, as she walked over to him, signalling that she was coming too.
She got the feeling that, behind the helmet, the man was smiling…or smirking. But he only opened the door and walked out saying quickly.
"Yes. But I'm afraid my face would have completely blown my cover."
Billie found herself smiling at his annoyed sounding tone and she stated, her tone slightly amused. "So, your well known in the Underworld."
"Unfortunately."
Rod's office door was open.
Walking in, the Charmed Ones saw the dark haired man sitting at his desk reading through some large looking documents. Frowning, the sisters didn't see Carl or Helene…had they already been here? Or maybe they hadn't got here yet; which was stupid since they had had plenty of time to get into the building before the Charmed Ones got here. They could have left already…but where would they go? Seeming to sense them coming in, Rod looked up, eyes widening in surprise, before they became blank again. Giving them a polite, but strangely guarded smile, he said "Can I help you?"
"Yes." Piper replied. "Has a man dressed up as a knight come and seen you?"
Rod looked surprised at the question but nodded.
"Well do you know where he went? Or where he said he was going?" Phoebe asked hurriedly, secretly wondering where Billie had got to. It could not have taken her that long to walk up the stairs.
"Yes, he mentioned going to see my cousin, Paul. It was rather strange really. Kept on going on about doing a favour for a lady and punishing the criminal. I assumed that he was just acting and sent him to Paul's office." Rod explained, seemingly unconcerned, looking back to the papers on his desk. Signing something.
"And you didn't think that that was strange?" Paige asked.
"Not at all. Paul has had some pretty strange guests in the past. A knight seemed fine." the man replied with a careless shrug. He then frowned "You don't think that knight is dangerous did you?"
"No." Piper replied quickly before moving on, feeling distrustful of this man but having no idea why. "Did he have a women with him? Long red dress, pearls, dark eyes?"
The man nodded again, eyes thoughtful. "Yes, he did, though he said he wasn't going to take her to Paul's office. Something about the violence? I thought he was joking-"
Phoebe could not help her wince and Rod seemed to notice it. "He was joking right?"
Paige gave her sister a warning glare while Piper replied calmly "Yeah. He was joking. But we need to find him. And his wife. It's important. Their my friends family and they are very forgetful. And dinners tomorrow and I want to remind them before they run off again."
Rod nodded in what looked like understanding but he looked completely unconcerned. Strange. However he then gave them the rooms they needed. "The lady is on this floor, the room just down the hall marked fourteen, and the knight is on the fourth floor, and the office has Paul's name on it, you can't miss it."
"Ok, thanks for your time." Paige said, as the sisters turned to leave. However, she turned back as she thought about Billie, who still hadn't arrived, and she asked "If another woman comes in looking for us, can you tell her where we have gone?"
"Sure." Rod replied with a smile. Watching them leave, expression not leaving his face until they had left the room, closing the door behind them. Then his eyes darkened and his smile turned into a frown. "Nanta is not going to like this."
A dark chuckle from behind him. "No, I am not."
It didn't take them long to reach her dad.
He wasn't on the sixth floor, instead on the third, about to kill some guy, who she had found out was called Paul, from the company who the motorcyclist had told her that Nanta wanted dead. The office they were in was large, and expensively decorated, with towering glass windows behind a smooth wooden desk. Her dad was in there, and it seemed he'd just finished challenging the man to a sword fight, and his own weapon was halfway out of his sheath. The other man had backed away, looking terrified, obviously he could take on other business people without fear but not a medieval knight. Billie did not want her father to become a murderer so she shouted "Stop!"
It did the trick, as both the knight and the Paul turned to look at her, her father surprised and the other so stunned he seemed unable to speak. Billie glared at her dad and asked "What the hell are you doing?"
He frowned and replied "My duty as a knight, my lady, this man is conspiring to murder someone and has already taken his fortune. To let such a vile act go unpunished would be a grave slight to the victim."
"Oh, and how do you know this? Who told you that you had the right to kill this man?" Billie shot back. There was no way she was letting her dad kill anyone, no matter who they were. No way at all.
"A lady, the rightful lady of this household, and this right is given to me by my title." her father replied calmly, with a hint of stubborn pride.
"I haven't done anything-" Paul began but a look from Billie and the knight had him falling silent once more.
"Not in San Francisco." Billie informed him, thinking quickly of a way to get him to back down. "In this city knights do not have the authority to kill a man on sight for some perceived wrongdoing. You must go through the proper authorities. And he must be put on trial and then the decision about what to do with him will be made."
The knight looked at her dubiously, then, looking at the man beside her who had said nothing since they had entered the room asked "And you think…"
"What she said." the motorcyclist answered.
Billie saw her dad think it over, and when a stubborn glint entered his brown eyes she knew that he wasn't going to back down. She was proven right when he said "He probably owns the courts in this city, a fair verdict is not guaranteed, how can you prove that he will get a fair trial?"
"How can you prove that your source is telling the truth?" Billie replied just as stubbornly.
"Actually," the motorcyclist interrupted casually. "I can help with that. I was there when Nanta, the lady, spoke to you. She wanted to manipulate you into killing that man, Paul, over there so that she could get you arrested for murder. So, really, it was all a lie and that man is innocent."
Just as the knight looked about to argue against what the man had just said Nanta herself shimmered into the room. She looked surprised at seeing Rod's cousin still alive, and Billie there and not distracted and the motorcyclist there helping her enemy. Anger quickly clouded her features and a rush of cold melted into her eyes. She glared at both the witches in the room and then addressed her 'accomplice' in a cold, deadly calm tone. "I thought I told you to distract the witch."
"Sorry. Had a change of heart." the man replied and as he saw Nanta's icy glare he added. "Shall we take this outside?"
"Sure. It'll be over quickly anyway." Nanta replied with a feral smile.
"I'm sure it will." the man replied mysteriously, a smile in his voice.
Billie and the knight looked after them as they exited the room without so much as a backwards glance. Then, as the knight went back to trying to kill the man in the room, Billie knew that she couldn't afford to worry about the other witch. Steeling herself against what she was about to do, Billie made a sharp motion with her fingers and her fathers sword went spinning out of his hands. It clattered to the floor a few metres away and the knight looked to Billie's face in shook. Another motion when he tried to get it and he was sent flying backwards, landing heavily on the floor. Voice steady she told him.
"Don't even try it."
The door closed behind Nanta with a soft click.
"You shouldn't have crossed me." she told her unwilling accomplice evenly, waiting awhile before she killed him, it was always nice to drag out deaths. Made it more exciting. "I was going to let you live."
"No you weren't" the man replied.
"No." she conceded smiling, showing off perfectly white teeth. "I wasn't"
"I know who you work for." the man began calmly, coldly even. "And I know that they need Rod for something. Friends in high places you said? That told me more that you thought. The fact that your plans changed was also very informative…nice touch there. You were going to kill Billie, but then your plans involved letting her live, why is that? What do the Triad want with the Charmed Ones ward? And why did you, their servant, only know about it when you threatened her?"
Nanta only smirked, hiding her surprise easily, but she could not hide her anger. Rod had been an idiot. Seriously? Telling the Charmed Ones where to go? Come on. "So, you know more that you appear to. What makes you think I'll tell you anything?"
"Actions speak louder than words, demon." the man answered. "You've already told me everything I needed to know. You don't know anything about the Triads plan. And Rod is part of your own ambition…completely separate from Billie's sister. But the Triad want Billie's parents out of the way for some reason, so you incorporated that into what you wanted. I think I've just done a very nice piece of undercover work there."
"Oh?" Nanta replied, her smirk deepening, tone hostile, he was taunting her. Showing her that he really didn't need her to answer any of his questions. She wanted him dead. Now. "You think your going to live through this day? Come one. Seriously? I'm a demon…someone you don't want to up against lightly."
"I didn't know you cared." the man replied sarcastically. "But your concern isn't needed. I think I'll be able to vanquish you just fine. Don't forget…I did kill three of your demons."
Nanta laughed. "You think that's going to scare me? Please. You killed some of my demons…well done. But I am not one of my demons. Their basically powerless." her eyes glittered menacingly. "And I am not."
"Well goody for you."
A fireball was his answer, and unlike the last time she had been angry at him, this was aimed to actually hit him. But it didn't. As soon as the crimson ball of spinning flame left her hand, the motorcyclist had raised his and the projectile was sent spinning back. She dodged, at least now she knew what his power was, and sent three more fireballs at him in quick succession, trying to overwhelm him with fire power. The witch wrenched them out of their trajectory with his powers and flung them back at her. She shimmered out before they hit her, shimmering in once they were passed where she was. Her opponent seemed to have been ready for this and lashed out with his power, sending her flying into the wall behind her. Before she had time to recover, a potion had already exploded at her feet, and then she was exploding too. Screaming in fury and pain, she disintegrated into a pile of ashes on the floor.
The man sighed, and then mused aloud. "Oh the joys of appearing powerless."
The corridor was silent and there was no one to answer him or even acknowledge he had spoken. The pile of ashes on the floor was still smoking when he reached up and pulled of his red helmet. Almost laughing at how the demon had been too arrogant to demand that he take it off…to cure of herself to care who he was. Running a hand through his brown hair, the man appeared to think on what to do, whether to go back and help Billie, or get out before he was seen. He was sure the witch could handle herself anyway…and she did need to learn to control her Projection power. Still, he couldn't just leave, he might be able to help. New powers were tricky things. However, as he turned back to the door, he heard the lift doors ding and then slide cleanly open.
Turning round quickly, he saw a familiar woman stepping out of the lift. He froze as she spotted him, brown eyes meeting green and then saw her expression change from disbelief to shock.
"Chris?"
He ran for the staircase door, opening it and running upwards as he orbed, hoping she hadn't seen the cyan lights, but she had seen him. She had seen him.
And Piper was left wondering why he had ran.
Hmm, why did he run? And what the heck is he doing nosing about in San Francisco anyway? Why is the horse called Merlin? Is Phoebe really the 'worst you can go'? O.o Will Billie's parents ever get turned back to normal? Will Rod avenge his 'mother'? These questions will probably all be answered in my story. Or the next one hehehe. But…yeah. I've changed some more stuff in season 8, or I will change some more stuff. And I was trying to show Billie's whole newness to magic bit and how she misses her own sister and is kinda jealous of the Charmed Ones bond. I also wanted to show that the sisters are awesome and know what they are doing (it has been eight years) and that is partly the reason why I wanted to have some stuff in Billie's point of view. To juxtapose the whole new witch to experienced with y'know.
Anyhow, now Chris is in the story so there will be a lot of his POV. And next time I'll be introducing some interesting storylines. Like what he had been doing these past two years, what the Guild is up to, and that Billie's parents know more than they are letting on…and a lot more than they did in the show lol. So, yeah, read and review. And ask questions if I've just confused the hell out of you.
Oh, and sorry this was late (and for the massively long AN) but I was up late watching Star Trek (the 2009 film) and then I went to bed and thought "Damn, I haven't uploaded my chapter." So I had to do it today instead.