Chapter 5

Daryl picked up the phone on his desk. His head was still pounding from whoever the guy was last night. "Hello…" he said into the receiver, "Yah, this is Morris. What? Okay, I'll be down as fast as I can," he hung up the phone and grabbed his coat off of the back of the chair.

"Where's the fire?" Sheridan asked as he hurried past her.

"Family emergency," Daryl said and then was out the door.

"Hello," Piper said into the phone. She had been playing with Chris in her lap. "Hi Daryl what's up?" She held the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she picked Chris up and set him on the ground where he could crawl around. "What. What happened to Phoebe!"

"I don't have all the information," Daryl was saying on the other end of the line. "I'm heading down there now. No uniforms are there yet. Someone on staff knew enough to call me directly but a bouncer called 911 and they are on their way. If this is demonic then I suggest you get there quick and clean anything up."

"Phoebe, how is Phoebe?" Piper was nearly yelling into the receiver. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know. An ambulance is on the way. Maybe you should get Leo just in case. I got to go I'm pulling up to the club now." Daryl hung up his cell phone.

Piper hung the phone up then yield, "Page! Leo! Get here now!" Chris started crying with his mother screaming. Piper tried to stand up but her ankle was still bad.

A shimmer of orbs formed and Page materialized. "What, what happened?"

Piper didn't get a chance to answer before Leo also appeared. "What's going on?"

"Explain latter heal now," Piper said lifting up her leg. Leo healed it in a moment. Piper then stood up and picked Chris up. She quickly put him into the play-pen then grabbed hold of Leo. "P3 now, go, go."

They all orbed into a corner of P3. They took a quick look to make sure no one was looking at them then they come out and headed for one of the staff member. "What happened?" Piper demanded. "Where is Phoebe?"

The staff member was one of the waitresses. She was startled and it took her a moment to register who was talking to her. "Uh…she was in the back and…"

"What spit it out, where is my sister?" Piper pressed.

"There!" Page said.

Piper turned her attention from the waitress to a gurney and several paramedics. "Oh my god, Phoebe!" Piper ran up to the gurney as the paramedics were trying to get it up the stairs. "What happened?"

"Hey, lady," one of the paramedics said. "You're in the way. Let us do our jobs or this lady's going to die, move!"

Page and Leo pulled Piper back and let the paramedics get Phoebe in the gurney up the stairs. Daryl came out from the back and motioned for them to come over. Several uniforms were about to stop them but Daryl waved them away.

"What happened," Page asked as Daryl ushered them into the small corridor to the back room.

"Okay, from what I got a gang was trying to rob the place. They attacked your bartender when he went back to get some more beer. Phoebe some how got back here and was also caught. Two bouncers came in and apparently saved them both. We still haven't pulled the security camera tape but so far there is nothing that suggests anything magical."

"A gang did this?" Leo said.

"Yah," Daryl said.

"Hey, Detective, you have to move out the way," a man in uniform said. They were coming out of the back room and needed to get past the group blocking the small corridor.

Everyone got out of the way and watched as the cop and several more paramedics brought out another gurney with a sheet coving the occupant. "I though you said the bartender was also rescued," Page said.

Daryl looked at Page, "That's not the bartender. One of the staff identified him as one of the bouncers."

"He's dead," Leo asked. Dumb question he realized after he asked it.

"Yah," Daryl answered, "looked like someone took it to him. Burns, and looked like he was beaten with a bat or something. What killed him was a broken neck."

"How do you know that?" Paige asked. She didn't really want to know how but it was in her nature to ask questions.

"When the medics found him his head was turned completely to the side and his face was exactly parallel to his shoulders. You don't get that way unless your neck is snapped," Daryl answered.

"Where is the other one," Piper asked. She had been quiet after seeing Phoebe in the gurney, "Is he alright?"

"He is over there giving his statement," Daryl answered.

Leo turned to a busy corner of the club. He didn't see anyone he didn't already know. "Where is he?"

Daryl shrugged, "The staff said he came out grabbed a phone and called 911 then told the staff to get everyone out of here. Then he sent someone to get a first aid kit. They say he went back in but after that the medics found him."

Angel was giving a statement to an officer in blue when in the far corner he saw a glowing light. No one else seemed to notice that there were three more people in the room than had been a moment before. He didn't recognize the taller woman. She seemed to be younger than the other two and had a round head and big eyes. Angel's own eyes widened when he recognized the man, the one that he had fought in the police station. He quickly took note of the second woman; he had seen her before too. She was the woman Dana had saved a few nights back.

"Sir?" the officer said bringing Angel's attention back on him. "You and your partner went back because you heard a noise?"

"Yes,"

"Wasn't the music playing, how could you hear from all the way back there?" the officer asked. He wasn't a detective and wasn't trying to ketch him in a lie, he was just generally curious.

"I have great hearing," Angel said.

The officer wrote it down in his pad and then looked up, Angel was gone. He looked around and went over to another officer by the entrance stairs. The other guard said he didn't see anyone leave.

Angel moved through the dark streets quickly. He went over all the new information that had been presented to him. Charlie hadn't been human but he wasn't a demon, at least not the kind Angel had known. Charlie had said that Phoebe was a witch and a charmed one, what ever that meant. The term was familiar somehow but he couldn't put his finger on it. Either way he knew that he didn't want to be around to have a confrontation with the blond man again, at least not in a room full of police. So much for his job.

Angel slowed his steps after he had gotten some distance from the club. He was in a dark alley, as usual. He turned onto the lighted sidewalk and walked a few blocks. He was safe for the moment. He was still too new to the city to have any useful connections but maybe he could find out more about the local supernatural beings hanging around. It never occurred to him but since their arrival he had seen little demons activity that he recognized. If the demons here were different than he needed to know about it. Part of a good strategy is being able to recognize your enemy.

He walked past a mouth to an alley when a "Piss," came out from the dark. Angel turned around and looked into the dark. He headed in.

"What have you two been doing?" Angel asked before he could see either the demon or the slayer. He knew their smells by heart.

"We witnessed a battle between two strange opponents," Illyria stated in her normal even tone. "They were pathetic combatants but their interesting powers served to attract our attention."

"Interesting powers?" Angel asked.

"A young child, even more of a youth than Dana seemed to use telekinetics, not very interesting, but a man who lost the battle seemed to throw balls of blue energy. The girl bested him with a bottle."

"A bottle?"

"Pathetic," Illyria said. "Neither earned victory. Only by mutual incompetence did the girl win."

Angel looked at Dana, "How about you? Did you see or sense anything different?"

Dana had remained quiet and let Illyria do all the talking until know. "When she killed the other fighter he disintegrated in flames. There was nothing left, like if he was a vampire."

Illyria's eyes widened with an idea. "Is it possible that the body we found in the sewers is connected to this? Remember the smell of burning but no fuel. Your own idea never bared fruit, perhaps this offers another explanation."

"It is possible," Angel said. "I also had a run in with something…different. He breathed fire."

"Like a dragon?" Dana asked.

"Something like that," Angel answered. "Anything else, any clues?"

"When we attempted to question the girl winner she resisted. In the struggle and her escape she left this." Illyria produced the purse. "I have not had the time to examine its contents."

"The man that lost had called the girl a witch," Dana offered. "And there was the man that appeared and disappeared."

Angel looked at Dana and then to Illyria waiting for them to elaborate.

"A man appeared in a shimmering appearance of glowing orbs," Illyria supplied. "He called the girl his charge. He is why she escaped."

"This is getting more and more complex as it goes," Angel said. "You said the one that died called the girl a witch. So did the one I fought. He said the sister of the club owner was a witch too. And I also some a guy appear in blue orb-like lights."

"Witches are spell casters, they do not know real combat and they have been known to move with magical assistance," Illyria stated. "That would explain the lack of competence in the battle we witnessed."

"Okay," Angel said. "We have a lot of questions, let's look for some answers. Dana, I want you to go back to the warehouse. In one of my bags are a few books. They will be blank but I need you to hold them closed and ask for anything that described what you saw. They should call up any text where something like that might have been recorded. Look through them for anything you can about the term 'Charmed One' that was another thing the demon called the witch. Illyria, come with me."

The trio separated and vanished into the night.

"Where do you wish to go?" Illyria asked as they moved from rooftop to rooftop.

Angel jumped off of a 10 foot drop to land on the next building. He waited for Illyria to land next to him. "I want to go to the library. I would like to look up the news papers to see what I can find on Phoebe Halliwell."

"What about the child and companion Dana and I encountered? Do you make something of them?"

"I'm not sure. I do think that we stepped in the middle of something," Angel kept talking as he scaled the next building to get to the roof. This time Illyria just jumped clearing it and waited for him at the top. "It seems to me that we have several parts to a bigger picture. First we have a gang problem that is just wrong, in the sense that my gut tells me something is wrong. Second, we have a body that was killed by having the magic drained out of it. Third, we have now encountered two people designated as witches, and both are connected to people that can appear and disappear in some kind of light. Oh, and the woman Dana saved a few nights ago is also connected to this, somehow."

They finally landed on the roof of a building that said library. It was easy to break the locks and get in. They avoided any alarms with ease and Angel was able to get into a computer. While he was doing that Illyria took the time to examine the purse.

Illyria pulled out a wallet with an identification card. It was the girl and it said her name was Kelly Black. According to the date of birth Kelly Black was 16 years of age. It said she lived on Moscow St. The name meant nothing to Illyria but it was still a place of possible destination. She put down the wallet and looked at the other objects. Lipstick and a small mirror, Fred's memories told Illyria that this was common so she put them aside with little interest. And she found a small bottle of blue/green liquid. Illyria picked it up and examined it. It contained several mixtures but she was not able to identify them visually. She set it down. This was another weapon and should not be toyed with until its properties were understood.

Illyira after finishing put all but the wallet back into the purse and went to look over Angel's shoulder. "What have you discovered?"

Angel nodded; he was too absorbed in reading to make any comments. He was focused completely on the task at hand. "Phoebe Halliwell works at a newspaper; apparently she gives advice to people on a variety of subjects. Not the least of which are relationships and babies. Her name comes up in several paper articles and with a little deep searching she is listed as the topic of several chat-rooms. I tried to get into any federal for police mainframes but couldn't. The computer was never my department if you know what I mean."

"No it was Fred's. How does this information assist us?"

"Angel never liked it when Illyria said Fred's name but he didn't show it. It doesn't but I also found a picture of her family." Angel clicked a key and several pictures came up with several different people. "Take a look, does anyone look familiar?"

Illyria looked and saw instantly what the vampire was talking about. "The male is the one that attacked you at the police station. And the woman alongside him is the mother Dana assisted in the park."

"Meet Mr. Leo Wyatt. He is the husband to a Piper Halliwell, who kept her maiden name and is also the father of two sons, a Wyatt Mathew Halliwell and Chris Perry Halliwell. Piper Halliwell is also the owner of the club P3."

Illyria turned to Angel and back to the screen. She actually had a small grin. "We are going in circles with these Halliwells. Perhaps we should meet our dance partners before the dance becomes too complicated."

Angel was in deep contemplation again. He slowly came out of it and turned to Illyria, "When did you take up metaphor?" Angel asked. It was a serious question.

Phoebe woke up in the hospital. She slowly opened her eyes and then slowly tried to lift her head but found that to be exceptionally painful.

"Oh, good you awake, I'll go get the doctor," a perky blond nurse said, but to Phoebe is sounded like some one was talking into her hear with a loudspeaker set on high.

The doctor came in. He was an older man with graying hair. He was fallowed by Piper, Leo, and Paige. "Well, Miss Halliwell, I'm glad to see you waking up. We were worried for a little while," the doctor said. He checked her wrist for her pulse and then fiddled with the I.V. drip next to her bed. "I think I can leave you and your family to visit for a little while but be sure to stay calm, and still. You needed some stitches but you still took some nasty hits. You're lucky you didn't fracture your scull."

The doctor left and the gang moved in to circle around Phoebe's bed. "How you feeling, Honey?" Piper asked. Phoebe looked at her and gave her a half grin. "Right, stupid question."

"How bad is it?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, the doctor said that you took a serious hit to the head, and the impact hurt your neck some how, BUT don't worry your not paralyzed or anything, just keep still," Paige answered. "But you could have died."

"Yah, well I didn't so got to be thankful for that," Phoebe said and gave a small smile. "Piper why are you crying?"

Piper was wiping away tears. "I don't know. First the park and now you…it just is…"

"Its okay, Piper," Phoebe said. "Good thing Angel was there to stop Charlie from finishing me off." Then as if remembering something, "What did happen to Charlie and Angel?"

Leo was holding Piper but picked up on Phoebe's question. "The gang didn't do this to you?"

"No, they were there but Angel and Charlie came and saved the day but when Angel left Charlie attacked me. He was a warlock. He almost had me but then Angel stepped in and saved my bacon."

"Charlie was a warlock," Paige repeated. "But he was the one dead."

Leo still held Piper but his entire focus was on Phoebe, "You mean it was a warlock that attacked you?"

"Yah, Charlie. Damn if I still had my powers I probably would have know right away but until he attacked I had no idea. He was about to barbeque me but Angel threw a bucket of water on him." Phoebe picked up on the strange vibe going around the room. "What happened, why did Paige say Charlie was the one dead? What happened to Angel, did Charlie kill him?"

Phoebe was getting excited but Piper had gained enough control of her self to lay a hand on Phoebe's hand and give a reassuring squeeze. "Charlie was found with a broken neck and you were found hurt. The cops said the other bouncer had disappeared. We had thought it was just the gang that attacked you. We didn't know there was anything supernatural."

"Okay, so if I didn't vanquish Charlie than who broke his neck?" Phoebe asked to anyone with an idea.

"Can you kill a warlock by breaking his neck?" Paige asked an equally open ended question.

"I guess you could," Leo answered Paige first, "but what kind of person can do that to a warlock who is much stronger and has powers?"

Piper thought about something for a moment, "Phoebe did you say the warlock was going to barbeque you?"

"Yah," Phoebe answered, "he was one of those dragon ones. You know like the time with the first Genie. I got a Dragon Warlock's flying powers for a little while."

"How did Angel know to put him out with water?" Piper said also talking to the whole group rather than Phoebe. "I mean a bucket of water isn't something you just get when someone is hurt. He must have seen that Charlie was breathing fire and if he was a normal person he would have run away not stay and fight."

"Well he did," Phoebe said defending Angel. "I don't know but he saved me there and if I didn't vanquish Charlie then maybe Angel did."

"But if Angel did vanquish Charlie how and where is he now?" Paige interjected.

"Good question," Leo said. Everyone fell quiet all thinking over what was just talked about.

Dana sat on the floor with Angel's bag. She was rummaging through it and found that under the weapons there was a kind of large metal, waterproof box. Fortunately it was unlocked but if it had been Dana didn't think even she could open it. Inside to box were several books. They were rather large but also were completely blank. Dana turned pages but they were all blank, just like Angel had said.

She picked up one of the blank books. She held it shut and grumbled, "What can I find out about Charmed Ones?"

Dana opened the book and her eyes went wide. There was black righting in the book. That wasn't there before, Dana thought to herself. She red where it said Charmed Ones in Bold, Italicized writing. She wasn't particularly gifted with most of the words but she was able to get some of it.

The Charmed Ones: Powerful witches to be borne in the 21st century. They will be a family of three sisters. The oldest will have the power to move objects with her mind, the second will freeze time, and the third will hold the power of site. They are a breed from a blood line long removed from the world of Humans and Demons. Their destiny is to partake in the battles waged between two rival factions, the Elders and the Source.

Dana turned the page and found a completely different set of text this time it looked like it was typed on a computer.

Report: 1995

Agent Arnold Right

The Charmed Ones have been discovered in San Francisco. They are three sisters, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell. A half sister also lives in the city limits but is unknown to the family at this time. She is adopted and under the name of Paige Mathews. Powers are not active in any of the family members except for the family matriarch. The old woman has bound the women's powers since they were children. This explains why their presence was not detected until now. Binding is connected to the Matriarch. Upon death of the old woman the witches should receive their powers.

Wolfram & Hart has no interest in the Charmed Ones at this time. The minor war between the Source and the Elders is of no consequence to the Senior Partners. San Francisco still remains a free territory. Recommendation is to observe. As long as the sisters do not interfere in our affairs than they remain too small a power and not worth the resources needed to make useful.

End Report.

Dana skipped some pages and came to another Report.

Report: 2003

Agent Arnold Right

Second sister, Piper Halliwell, has given birth to a male child. This is the first male born into the family in its entire bloodline. The child we believe is meant to take up the destiny slot of the demon child conceived a year earlier by the third sister Phoebe Halliwell. Powers are as of yet unknown but conjuring ability alone makes it worthy of acquiring.

Senior Partners have condemned all attempts to take the son of the charmed sister. Her offspring will be useful in its own time so I withdraw my recommendation to acquire.

Dana read some more but most others went along the same lines. They were mostly reports by an Agent of some sort. There was mentioning of a sister getting married to a demon. There was also a detailed description of some adventures dealing with a Chris Perry.

Dana shut the books and put them back into their protective box. Angel really had been keeping stuff hidden over the last year. These must have come from Wolfram & Hart. She wondered why he never pulled them out before.

Note: Sorry for the late update. Not much has happened in this chapter. I'm sorry but I have been working on a lot of there things and inspiration is kind of on the down side. It you have ideas then submit them in your reviews.

Do know that I plan on keeping the groups from having an all together meeting for a while longer. But a confrontation is coming soon.

Any ideas are always welcome.