Chapter Four: A Helping Hand
Phoebe stepped out of the police station and into the cool air of twilight. A pale orange glow lit the horizon, and the rest of the sky was charcoal gray. Street light were beginning to flicker on, casting their bright shine on occasionally passing cars. The police station parking lot was very well lit, and she felt secure walking past the stationary cars to her own vehicle, still several blocks away.
But, Phoebe started to feel anxious as she left that brightly glowing sanctuary behind and headed down the sidewalk. Pulse pounding, She watched every movement and listened to every sound. A car door slammed in the distance catching her attention momentarily. Phoebe's heart jumped to her throat, but there was no other noise, nothing, except her raging imagination. Her muscles twitched beneath her skin, itching in anticipation for some action.
Phoebe saw the car ahead of her by half a block. Quickly, she closed the gap, and prepared herself for the demon.
A soft rustle of clothing behind her was all the warning she got. He must have emerged from a nearby ally or shimmered in.
Phoebe spun around and adopted a fighting stance.
"Who are you?" she demanded. Normally, Phoebe was impulsive when it came to demon fighting. She preferred to kick ass first and ask questions second if at all. But this wasn't quite normal, Phoebe had a nagging sense that her premonition had been more than just a warning; it had been too strong, and she wanted to know what was going on.
The demon laughed but didn't answer. Phoebe appraised him briefly and thought, yup, definitely a darklighter, but he had no cross bow, that was odd. Not to mention that darklighters killed whitelighters not witches.
The man took one step forward and his face fell in the light of a street lamp. A two day beard raggedly carpeted the otherwise well sculpted terrain of his face, and he had a ruddy complexion that spoke of too much time in the sun. Heavily dilated eyes watched Phoebe with a liquid unfixed stare and an insane sparkle.
"I will enjoy killing you witch," he laughed again.
Phoebe gave him a disgusted grunt before transforming into full combat mode. She was through playing around. With a martial arts yell, she aimed a high, fast, kick to his head.
Blocking her leg with his muscular forearm, the darklighter immediately retaliated with a furious hook punch. Phoebe ducked under the fast flying fist, and, using all of her weight, slammed her own fist into the demon's gut, which sent him stumbling backwards.
Not, missing a beat, Phoebe whipped her leg around and connected with the side of his head. The force a power of her blow knocked him over, and the demon landed face down on the concrete.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked the prone figure.
No answer.
Determined to get something out of him, Phoebe walked over and prepared to smash her foot into his back. "I said-
Suddenly, he turned over, and caught her foot as it descended upon him. Holding her ankle in an iron grip, he easily tossed her backwards. Phoebe flew effortlessly through the air and almost hit the ground with crushing force, but, a few inches from the concrete, she caught herself with her own levitating powers. Phoebe hovered there for a split second before righting herself.
The mysterious darklighter was already on his feet. A crackling blue orb levitated in his hand. Phoebe had never seen a darklighter do that before. It was time to call in reinforcements.
"Leo!" she yelled.
Either the whitelighter was busy or he hadn't heard her because nothing happened.
The darklighter sniffed in disgust at her futile attempt. "I was expecting more of a challenge," he sneered and sent the blue ball flying in her direction.
Phoebe hastily levitated out of the way. The energy ball zipped by, only inches away from its mark.
"Damn it, Leo, where are you?" she hollered again.
Still, Leo did not arrive.
Phoebe saw another blue orb forming in the darklighter's palm, and she decided to change tactics. Using her levitation, she rocketed to the roof of a nearby building. As soon as her feet hit solid ground, she started running. If she couldn't fight him, maybe she could lose him.
Easier said than done. The demon shimmered in behind her, quicker than Phoebe had thought.
"Good bye witch," he smiled evilly, and launched the orb in her direction.
Phoebe felt a powerfully raw energy force thunder through her, and tear her nerves to shreds. She couldn't sense anything; not even pain. The numbness radiated from a spot on her lower back where something had struck her hard.
The gritty metallic taste of concrete mixed with blood was the next thing she registered. Phoebe wasn't on the roof anymore; she was back on ground level with her face plastered against the sidewalk.
"Leo," she pleaded desperately through swollen and bleeding lips.
A shower of blue lights suddenly appeared next to her, and Phoebe looked up to see her brother-in-law.
"It's about damn time," she scolded him in a weak voice.
Swearing softly, Leo looked her over; it was clear that Phoebe was barely hanging onto consciousness.
Second later the darklighter shimmered in; a new energy ball crackled lively in his hand. Upon seeing Leo, his eyes widened in rage.
Leo quickly took firm hold of Phoebe and orbed out.
* * *
Piper walked through the front door to find her little sister lying unconscious on the couch, and Leo tending over her with his healing powers. Glowing energy streamed from his fingertips and was absorbed by Phoebe's battered body.
"Oh, my God," Piper breathed and rushed over. "What happened?" she asked Leo.
"She was attacked," Leo answered briefly and to the point.
"I can see that!" Piper exclaimed, "What attacked her?"
Leo shrugged and continued to work his healing magic. He still hadn't met eyes with Piper since she'd walked in. "It looked like a darklighter, but with powers I've never seen a darklighter have," Leo paused then added, "he attacked her while she was on that little mission you sent her out on."
"Mission?" Piper asked.
Leo gave her a sideways glare. "You sent her to check up on that drowned woman in the news. I overheard Paige talking to her on the phone."
"So?" Piper's tone was sour, "does that bother you?"
"I told you not to get involved," Leo grit out.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Piper looked down at Phoebe. "Is she going to make it?" she asked softly.
Leo nodded. "Yeah, she'll be fine, but it was a close one."
"Whoa, what happened?"
Piper and Leo looked up to find Paige standing there, the Book of Shadows in her hand.
"Demon attack," Piper answered, "What have you got there?" she nodded toward the book.
Settling in a chair, Paige spread the book out on the table. "Phoebe called earlier and asked me to look something up for her," she explained.
A sudden grunt behind them diverted their attention back to the couch. Phoebe's eyes were halfway open, and she was struggling to sit up. Her movements displayed a deep fatigue that even the stubborn Haliwell couldn't fight off.
"Phebes, honey, you need to lie down," Piper directed gently and lightly pushed her sister back down on the couch. "Paige, go get some water," she ordered, and Paige sprinted off to the kitchen.
"How are you feeling?" Leo asked Phoebe.
"I've got one hell of a headache," she groaned, "but other than that, I think I'm ok. What in God's name took you so long?"
"I was busy with some other charges," he explained and nearly flinched at the glare Piper gave him.
"My sister almost dies and you're off somewhere else doing God knows what!" she yelled.
"It's called my job," Leo retorted. "You three aren't my only charges you know." With that he stalked off toward the kitchen.
"Where do you think you're going?" Piper asked, following him.
"I'm getting something to eat, and then I have some other charges to take care of."
"Oh, no you don't," Piper stepped in front of him and scowled. "You're staying here, and we're having a nice long talk."
"I don't really feel like talking, Piper," Leo tried to brush past her, but she grabbed a hold of his wrist.
"Leo, I don't know what's going on, but, whatever it is, you're going to tell me," she paused and added forcefully, "right now."
"Paige was walking by with a glass of water when she saw something that made her stop. "Uh, guys," she tried to get Piper's and Leo's attention, but they ignored her.
"Listen, Piper, I'm sorry about what happened to Phoebe, but I can't just drop everything when one of you calls. I have other responsibilities too."
"How about our marriage?" Piper countered, "Is that responsibility a high priority in your life? It sure doesn't seem to be."
With out warning a flash of magical energy shot through them, and almost knocked them off their feet.
"I tried to warn you," Paige shrugged. "I saw energy building around you just like when my niece switched your powers."
"Great, just great," Piper muttered. Looking down, she saw that her daughter had played a different trick on them this time. Instead of seeing her own hand wrapped around Leo's wrist, she saw only one hand and one arm between the two of them. They were now like Siamese twins that were sharing an arm. "Well," she sighed, "It looks like we'll be spending some time together after all."
TBC.
Phoebe stepped out of the police station and into the cool air of twilight. A pale orange glow lit the horizon, and the rest of the sky was charcoal gray. Street light were beginning to flicker on, casting their bright shine on occasionally passing cars. The police station parking lot was very well lit, and she felt secure walking past the stationary cars to her own vehicle, still several blocks away.
But, Phoebe started to feel anxious as she left that brightly glowing sanctuary behind and headed down the sidewalk. Pulse pounding, She watched every movement and listened to every sound. A car door slammed in the distance catching her attention momentarily. Phoebe's heart jumped to her throat, but there was no other noise, nothing, except her raging imagination. Her muscles twitched beneath her skin, itching in anticipation for some action.
Phoebe saw the car ahead of her by half a block. Quickly, she closed the gap, and prepared herself for the demon.
A soft rustle of clothing behind her was all the warning she got. He must have emerged from a nearby ally or shimmered in.
Phoebe spun around and adopted a fighting stance.
"Who are you?" she demanded. Normally, Phoebe was impulsive when it came to demon fighting. She preferred to kick ass first and ask questions second if at all. But this wasn't quite normal, Phoebe had a nagging sense that her premonition had been more than just a warning; it had been too strong, and she wanted to know what was going on.
The demon laughed but didn't answer. Phoebe appraised him briefly and thought, yup, definitely a darklighter, but he had no cross bow, that was odd. Not to mention that darklighters killed whitelighters not witches.
The man took one step forward and his face fell in the light of a street lamp. A two day beard raggedly carpeted the otherwise well sculpted terrain of his face, and he had a ruddy complexion that spoke of too much time in the sun. Heavily dilated eyes watched Phoebe with a liquid unfixed stare and an insane sparkle.
"I will enjoy killing you witch," he laughed again.
Phoebe gave him a disgusted grunt before transforming into full combat mode. She was through playing around. With a martial arts yell, she aimed a high, fast, kick to his head.
Blocking her leg with his muscular forearm, the darklighter immediately retaliated with a furious hook punch. Phoebe ducked under the fast flying fist, and, using all of her weight, slammed her own fist into the demon's gut, which sent him stumbling backwards.
Not, missing a beat, Phoebe whipped her leg around and connected with the side of his head. The force a power of her blow knocked him over, and the demon landed face down on the concrete.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked the prone figure.
No answer.
Determined to get something out of him, Phoebe walked over and prepared to smash her foot into his back. "I said-
Suddenly, he turned over, and caught her foot as it descended upon him. Holding her ankle in an iron grip, he easily tossed her backwards. Phoebe flew effortlessly through the air and almost hit the ground with crushing force, but, a few inches from the concrete, she caught herself with her own levitating powers. Phoebe hovered there for a split second before righting herself.
The mysterious darklighter was already on his feet. A crackling blue orb levitated in his hand. Phoebe had never seen a darklighter do that before. It was time to call in reinforcements.
"Leo!" she yelled.
Either the whitelighter was busy or he hadn't heard her because nothing happened.
The darklighter sniffed in disgust at her futile attempt. "I was expecting more of a challenge," he sneered and sent the blue ball flying in her direction.
Phoebe hastily levitated out of the way. The energy ball zipped by, only inches away from its mark.
"Damn it, Leo, where are you?" she hollered again.
Still, Leo did not arrive.
Phoebe saw another blue orb forming in the darklighter's palm, and she decided to change tactics. Using her levitation, she rocketed to the roof of a nearby building. As soon as her feet hit solid ground, she started running. If she couldn't fight him, maybe she could lose him.
Easier said than done. The demon shimmered in behind her, quicker than Phoebe had thought.
"Good bye witch," he smiled evilly, and launched the orb in her direction.
Phoebe felt a powerfully raw energy force thunder through her, and tear her nerves to shreds. She couldn't sense anything; not even pain. The numbness radiated from a spot on her lower back where something had struck her hard.
The gritty metallic taste of concrete mixed with blood was the next thing she registered. Phoebe wasn't on the roof anymore; she was back on ground level with her face plastered against the sidewalk.
"Leo," she pleaded desperately through swollen and bleeding lips.
A shower of blue lights suddenly appeared next to her, and Phoebe looked up to see her brother-in-law.
"It's about damn time," she scolded him in a weak voice.
Swearing softly, Leo looked her over; it was clear that Phoebe was barely hanging onto consciousness.
Second later the darklighter shimmered in; a new energy ball crackled lively in his hand. Upon seeing Leo, his eyes widened in rage.
Leo quickly took firm hold of Phoebe and orbed out.
* * *
Piper walked through the front door to find her little sister lying unconscious on the couch, and Leo tending over her with his healing powers. Glowing energy streamed from his fingertips and was absorbed by Phoebe's battered body.
"Oh, my God," Piper breathed and rushed over. "What happened?" she asked Leo.
"She was attacked," Leo answered briefly and to the point.
"I can see that!" Piper exclaimed, "What attacked her?"
Leo shrugged and continued to work his healing magic. He still hadn't met eyes with Piper since she'd walked in. "It looked like a darklighter, but with powers I've never seen a darklighter have," Leo paused then added, "he attacked her while she was on that little mission you sent her out on."
"Mission?" Piper asked.
Leo gave her a sideways glare. "You sent her to check up on that drowned woman in the news. I overheard Paige talking to her on the phone."
"So?" Piper's tone was sour, "does that bother you?"
"I told you not to get involved," Leo grit out.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Piper looked down at Phoebe. "Is she going to make it?" she asked softly.
Leo nodded. "Yeah, she'll be fine, but it was a close one."
"Whoa, what happened?"
Piper and Leo looked up to find Paige standing there, the Book of Shadows in her hand.
"Demon attack," Piper answered, "What have you got there?" she nodded toward the book.
Settling in a chair, Paige spread the book out on the table. "Phoebe called earlier and asked me to look something up for her," she explained.
A sudden grunt behind them diverted their attention back to the couch. Phoebe's eyes were halfway open, and she was struggling to sit up. Her movements displayed a deep fatigue that even the stubborn Haliwell couldn't fight off.
"Phebes, honey, you need to lie down," Piper directed gently and lightly pushed her sister back down on the couch. "Paige, go get some water," she ordered, and Paige sprinted off to the kitchen.
"How are you feeling?" Leo asked Phoebe.
"I've got one hell of a headache," she groaned, "but other than that, I think I'm ok. What in God's name took you so long?"
"I was busy with some other charges," he explained and nearly flinched at the glare Piper gave him.
"My sister almost dies and you're off somewhere else doing God knows what!" she yelled.
"It's called my job," Leo retorted. "You three aren't my only charges you know." With that he stalked off toward the kitchen.
"Where do you think you're going?" Piper asked, following him.
"I'm getting something to eat, and then I have some other charges to take care of."
"Oh, no you don't," Piper stepped in front of him and scowled. "You're staying here, and we're having a nice long talk."
"I don't really feel like talking, Piper," Leo tried to brush past her, but she grabbed a hold of his wrist.
"Leo, I don't know what's going on, but, whatever it is, you're going to tell me," she paused and added forcefully, "right now."
"Paige was walking by with a glass of water when she saw something that made her stop. "Uh, guys," she tried to get Piper's and Leo's attention, but they ignored her.
"Listen, Piper, I'm sorry about what happened to Phoebe, but I can't just drop everything when one of you calls. I have other responsibilities too."
"How about our marriage?" Piper countered, "Is that responsibility a high priority in your life? It sure doesn't seem to be."
With out warning a flash of magical energy shot through them, and almost knocked them off their feet.
"I tried to warn you," Paige shrugged. "I saw energy building around you just like when my niece switched your powers."
"Great, just great," Piper muttered. Looking down, she saw that her daughter had played a different trick on them this time. Instead of seeing her own hand wrapped around Leo's wrist, she saw only one hand and one arm between the two of them. They were now like Siamese twins that were sharing an arm. "Well," she sighed, "It looks like we'll be spending some time together after all."
TBC.