"That's not going to happen," said Prue.
The man looked at Prue, and then looked at her still encased in the strange energy field. He appeared puzzled as he looked at the two Prue's.
"I hadn't been informed you had an ability of this type," said the man.
"I'm not in the habit of telling demons what I can do," said Prue. "Now, what are you after John for?"
"Parkus, what are you doing here?" John asked the man.
"You know this guy?" asked Phoebe.
"Well, yes," said John. "He's...that is, well, it's a bit hard to explain."
"I am his head of security," said Parkus.
"Wait a minute," Phoebe said. "You're his head of security? And you're sending demons after him?"
"Most certainly not," Parkus said. "My responsibility is to protect him. Really, Your Highness, do you have any idea the trouble you've caused? Do you know how expensive these trackers are? Not only to make but to repair when they are damaged?"
"Your Highness?" questioned Prue. "What the hell is going on here? Someone better start talking real quick or it's going to get real unpleasant. And what about letting us out of those energy shield things? I'm not sure how long I can astral project for but I can assure you I'm not going back inside there. So you'd better do something about them before I get really pissed."
"Oh, certainly," said Parkus, pulling out what looked like a small, hand held calculator. "It appears you are no danger to his highness. This should only take a moment."
He pressed several buttons on the device and the energy shields surrounding Piper, Leo, and Prue's body vanished. Prue reentered her body and turned to John.
"Okay, Your Highness," she said, "you want to start with some explanations?"
"That's bound to be a bit difficult," said John. "Honestly, I didn't know they were trackers. I've heard of them, of course, but I had never actually seen one. When Phoebe said they were demons, I just assumed that's what they were. I didn't think that Parkus would have been able to find me so quickly, considering the distance and all."
"Your Highness," said Parkus, "you must know that finding you wasn't difficult. You've been asking questions about this place for weeks. When you suddenly disappeared, it wasn't hard to determine where you'd gone."
"Why does he keep calling you 'Your Highness'?" asked Phoebe.
"Because," said John, taking a deep breath, "I am the Regent Prime for Sherron. Something like a king here. It's a hereditary position. My family has held the throne of Sherron for some eighty-seven generations. My son or daughter will take the throne when I'm gone."
"What do you mean something like a king here?" asked Piper. "We don't have any royalty in the United States. Well, unless you count movie stars. We have nothing like that here."
"Oh, I wasn't referring to your country specifically," said Parkus. "I was referring to several of the still reigning monarchs around the planet. Sweden, England, Monaco, and a few others. We are aware that your United States has an elected leader. Quite a rather unique form of government, actually."
"Okay, hang on a second," said Phoebe. "I do remember from school that the Soviet Union didn't have any royalty, even in the individual countries that were a part of it. How could your family have held a throne for eighty-seven generations if it wasn't even an independent country until about a decade or so ago?"
"Soviet Union?" questioned Parkus. "Is that what His Highness told you? Well, I'm pleased to see that you at least were smart enough to conceal your true identity from the entire world, Sire. Young woman, I'm afraid you've been misinformed. Prime Regent Ja'Tal sits on the throne of Sherron. That's his true name, by the way. Ja'Tal Lo'Rren."
"Yeah," said Phoebe. "Sherron is one of the countries that gained its independence when the Soviet Union collapsed, right? That's what John, er, I mean, Ja'Tal told us."
"My dear," said Parkus, "I'm afraid that Sherron is a bit farther away than that. It is actually the fifth of twelve planets revolving around the far left star of what you would call Orion's Belt."
"You're an alien?" questioned Phoebe as she, her sisters, and Leo just stared at him.