The Changing Face of Evil

Disclaimer: Same as before…

AN: Sorry this was two weeks late. Between dental surgery and a case of writer's block updating this one was a wee bit difficult.

"Godfrey, what's this plan of yours?" Prue asked, as she spotted him walking down the hallway with a clipboard under his arms.

"I'll get him back, Prue, don't worry." Godfrey replied, "And I'll explain the plan after I fine tune a couple details."

BOOM! "Was that one of them?" Prue asked, as Cookie and Vinny staggered out of the kitchen, covered in fruit pulp and smelling more than faintly of smoke.

"Sort of." Godfrey replied, "I never figured crab apples would make such a mess when they explode."

"Crab apples? Explode?" Prue asked.

"Don't ask." Godfrey replied, "Let's just say Shax is going to get a blinding flash out of the deal."

"Good." Prue replied, and Godfrey touched her shoulder, pulling her back.

"Careful." Godfrey replied, "Vinny's been hard at work all last night around this part of the ship."

"So that's what all that racket was." Prue replied.

As they stood, talking, Goofy came walking by. "Hey guys, how's it go-AGGGHH!" Goofy began.

Goofy was suddenly propelled into the air by a massive, spring-loaded contraption that launched him into the air and halfway through the ceiling. They heard a woman's scream from upstairs, followed by a loud curse and the sound of fists striking flesh.

"Who's room is up there again?" Prue asked.

"I believe that's Audrey's room." Godfrey replied as Goofy fell from the ceiling and staggered away.

"Gawrsh, Audrey's got a mean 1-2 combo…" Goofy slurred before he fell to the ground like a pole-axed mule.

"Let me guess," Prue asked, "You've granted Vinny free reign to test his experiments."

"There could potentially be something useful in them." Godfrey replied, as he flicked a lighter from his pocket.

"Just what are you planning?" Prue asked.

"A way to get Andy back." Godfrey replied.

"And just how are you planning to do that?" Prue asked.

"That, my dear," Godfrey replied, grinning enigmatically, "Would be akin to Archimedes telling Marcellus how he designed the defenses of Syracuse."

D'Artagnan arrived with a duffel bag on his shoulder. "I traded with a couple members of the Free French Combat engineering unit for some uniforms."

"Good, get Vinny and relieve that work crew near the exchange site." Godfrey ordered.

"OK," Prue began, "So there's something to do with launching people into the air as well?"

"Exactly." Godfrey replied.

"I think my sisters might have faced Shax, so I'm going to have to go look up the vanquish if any." Prue replied.

"But you've stated your astral projections to the Manor only work when you fall asleep." Godfrey replied, perplexed.

"I know. We need to find Doc." Prue began.

"What could Doc possibly know about astral projection?" Godfrey asked.

"Nothing." Prue replied, "I'm going to need a sedative."

"Are you insane?" Godfrey replied, as Prue headed over to the Infirmary, moving with a purpose.

"I can't astral project to the Manor at will yet, so if Doc sedates me I'll be astral projecting in no time." Prue replied.

The two of them headed for the Infirmary. "Doc, I have a request for you."

Doc turned, "And that would be?"

"Sedate me." Prue replied.

"Two questions: What and why?" Doc asked.

"My sisters may have faced one of the demons we'll be facing tonight. I want to ask them about the vanquish for Shax." Prue replied.

"Why do you need to be sedated?" Doc asked.

"I can't astral project to my world at will." Prue replied, "Usually I'm asleep when that happens. But since I just had my coffee I'm not likely to fall asleep for hours."

Doc sighed, "Prue, for the record, I think you're crazy."

Doc took a needle from the nearby cabinet and put a light sedative into it. "We'll still be able to wake you up, you'll just be a bit groggy."

Doc eyed his patient chart, he performed complete physicals on every crew member that came aboard the Morrowind. He noted Prue's weight, quickly adjusted the sedative dosage and motioned for her to lie down on the examination tabe.

"Can't you have Donald hypnotize you or something?" Doc asked.

"Donald's busy with something else." Godfrey answered, "Namely concocting a potion that will make every bullet on this ship capable of causing at least some magical damage, in case more of the demons from your world start appearing."

Doc sighed and injected Prue's left arm with the sedative. "Stare at the ceiling…"

Prue complied, and felt first her peripheral vision start to fade and go hazy, then her vision went completely black.

Piper walked into the bathroom, clad only in Leo's bathrobe. She could smell the scent of him still on it, and couldn't help but smile just a little bit. She heard an unexpected shriek from the shower, which she had turned on to let the water heat up.

Piper turned just in time to see Prue standing in the shower totally drenched from head to toe. "Prue? What are you doing here?" Piper asked, just slightly annoyed.

"I needed to ask you guys a question. Are Phoebe and Paige around?" Prue asked.

"Phoebe's at karate practice, and Paige is at the movies with some friends." Piper replied, "Can you wait a second?"

"Sure." Prue replied, and stepped out of the bathroom. As Piper showered, Prue walked around the upstairs for a bit. She hadn't lived her for a long time, and it was strange to know that Paige now occupied her room.

Piper finished showering, headed to her room, and changed her clothes and headed over to Prue. "How do you vanquish Shax?" Prue asked.

Piper stopped in her tracks. "Prue, you need the power of three to vanquish Shax." Piper replied.

"I have a plan…" Prue replied.

"That you have no idea will work." Piper countered.

"Since when have you started to sound like Natalie." Prue replied.

"Since we lost you." Piper said, feeling tears forming. Prue instintively hugged her sister, who returned the embrace.

"Piper, you won't lose me again." Prue replied, "I'll visit every chance I get."

"It's just not the same as having you around." Piper replied, "Please be careful."

"I will. And I do have my crewmates on the Morrowind to back me up." Prue replied, "With whatever Godfrey's got up his sleeve, we should be alright."

"I've heard you mention him a couple of times in your letters." Piper asked, as they walked up to the attic, "Who is he again?"

"He's the British policeman." Prue replied.

"The guy who beat up Kumar?" Piper asked, wrinkling her nose.

"No," Prue replied, "That was Merrick. Godfrey stood up to him and got Kumar proper medical attention."

"Let me guess, he's one of those old, donut eating guys of forty we see around the precinct…" Piper began.

"No." Prue began, "He's about thirty-two, on the lean, athletic side, with black hair that's a bit on the tousled side."

"Sounds like your type of guy." Piper teased lightly.

"No!" Prue reddened, "He's just a really good friend. Besides I'm with Andy."

"If you were single?" Piper asked.

"Maybe." Prue replied. Oops. "But that was a maybe, Piper…"

"Easy," Piper replied, with a toothy grin, "I was only joking, Prue."

Piper opened the Book of Shadows and wrote down the spell to vanquish Shax on a piece of paper, handing it over to Prue. Prue folded it and stuck it into a pocket. Prue began to feel the familiar sensation of returning to her own body.

Prue felt herself awaken in the Morrowind's Infirmary. Doc helped her sit up and she noticed Donald in the room. "So you guys ran into a banshee?" Doc asked.

"Yeah." Donald replied.

Prue blinked her eyes and Doc asked, "Prue, you've run across Banshees before, right?"

"Yeah, I know the tracking spell." Prue replied, "And I'd rather not be turned into a dog to track it again."

"Relax." Doc replied, "From what Donald was telling me, Goofy can track the banshee."

"Good." Prue replied, "I'd rather not be able to smell everything and everything, or wind up with fleas."

"I have fur, not fleece. A-hyuck." Goofy replied, "I'm not a sheep."

"That's fleas, Goofy, not fleece!" Donald shouted, jumping up and down.

"Donald, quit jumping around, you might…" Doc began. Just then a tray of needles and other objects fell on the floor, "…spill something."

Donald's webbed foot stepped on a needle just then. "WAAAKKK!" Donald shouted, jumping into the air and then landing butt first onto a broken bottle, "OUCH!"

"For a wizard you're not a very careful guy." Prue observed.

Donald walked over to the nearest wall. "Oh no…" Prue groaned.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

"One…two…three…four…five…" Goofy counted.

"What are you doing?" Prue asked.

"A-hyuck, counting the number of times it takes Donald to knock himself out." Goofy replied, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You count the number of times Donald bashes his head into walls when he gets frustrated?" Prue asked.

"A-hyuck, in the court we used to have a pool about the number of whacks it would take Donald to knock himself unconscious." Goofy replied.

"You guys are so weird." Prue observed.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Donald continued to beat his head into the wall and Goofy kept counting numbers off of his fingered hand, "Six…seven…eight…nine…ten…"

"Donald! Knock it off!" Prue began, "Before you give yourself a concussion."

"Ah-hyuck, I think if he makes it to fifteen, D'Artagnan is gonna win the pool." Goofy began.

"What pool?" Prue asked, "You started a betting pool on this ship? My friend, you're destroying a couple childhood illusions."

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

"Eleven…twelve…thirteen…fourteen…fifteen…" Goofy counted, "Darn it looks like D'Artagnan won the pool…"

Just then the ventilation duct cover over his head fell and hit Donald on the head. This was quickly followed by a wrench, a hammer, a screw driver, and a tape measure. In short order Audrey's tool box landed squarely atop Donald's head.

CRASH! SMASH! WHUMP! BASH! CLANG!

Donald staggered away like a drunk down the corridor. "Wuh…wuh…wuh…" Donald groaned.

His foot stepped heavily onto one of the spring loaded tiles that Vinny had put into the floor which launched him through the ceiling.

BOOOIIIIIINNNG! CRASH!

"What happened now?" Audrey said, poking her head out of the air duct.

"Donald just had another nervous breakdown." Prue said in a very matter of fact tone.

"Loco." Audrey remarked, "Now I've got more repairs on the air conditioning duct. I hope Kolopak likes it hot, because the AC will probably take another day to fix…"

"Let me help." Prue replied.

"You're a mechanic?" Audrey asked.

"No," Prue replied, "I was a photographer after I was a museum curator, but in my college days I did my share of impromptu fixing of things. Plus I helped fix the Manor a lot before Leo came into our lives?"

"Leo?" Audrey asked.

"He was our handyman, and we later found out he was our Whitelighter. Long story." Prue replied.

"Will someone get me down from here please…" Donald croaked as he realized he was stuck in the AC duct.

"Donald, suck in your gut…" Prue began.

"I am not that fat…" Donald protested.

"You have been putting on a few pounds lately…" Goofy added.

"When I get down there Goofy, I'm turning you into a mushroom." Donald grumbled.

"On three." Prue began, "One…two…three…"

Prue pushed telekinetically, pushing Donald through the hole in the ceiling. "Donald, lay off on the pastries for a week will you…" Prue complained.

"You need to flex your telekinetic muscles more." Donald snapped back.

"Trust me, I think I'm 'bench pressing' more than my fair share trying to pull you through that hole!" Prue snapped.

"Let me help." Kida said, cradling Lal as she walked down the hallway, "This might sting a little…"

"I can use all the help I can get." Prue replied.

"I was talking to Donald." Kida replied as she drew a small knife from the waistband of her skirt. She put a stool under Donald's feet, to give him some support and then promptly poked him in the behind with the knife.

"OWWW!" Donald shouted and promptly was propelled both by the spastic muscle reaction and Prue's telekinesis through that hole.

Donald climbed down, using the stool that had been put under his feet with a very sour expression on his face.

Godfrey came walking down the hall, and noticed the big hole in the ceiling and Donald with an icepack on his head. A quizzical expression appeared on Godfrey's face.

"Don't ask." Prue interjected.

"I wasn't going to." Godfrey replied, "I'll be briefing you on what I'm planning in five minutes."

"Will the witch show up?" Imhotep asked Shax.

"Of course she will, if she wants her lover back." Shax replied, indicating Andy trapped in the vortex of wind, "Are your Heartless in position?"

"The Germans are a dependable people." Imhotep replied, "And your Banshee?"

"She lies in wait. She is eager to feed on the pain of the witch." Shax replied.

"They approach us." Imhotep replied, smiling, "And the Dreamfinder is with them."

"Maleficent will be pleased." Shax agreed, "And I get to finish the Charmed One once and for all."

"First things first…" Imhotep began, when the group was a dozen paces away. "Stop there."

The group from the Morrowind stopped. "Hand the Dreamfinder over to us. Now." Imhotep began.

Kolopak nodded, and the Dreamfinder walked towards Imhotep and Shax, flanked by two Waffen-SS soldiers carrying machine pistols.

"Englishman! Keep your hands where we can see them!" Imhotep demanded.

"I simply want a cigarette." Godfrey began.

Imhotep nodded to one of the SS guards escorting the Dreamfinder, who walked back to the group's position. The German soldier aimed his weapon at Godfrey, saying in badly accented English, "No funny business, Englishman."

Godfrey calmly withdrew a cigarette from his pocket, and turned towards Mole. "Pass me a match…"

A cylinder about the size of a soup can flew from the nearby planter in front of the Dreamfinder's face. It exploded, flashing bright light everywhere. The German soldier aiming his weapon at Godfrey turned to look, only to have Godfrey rush him. The two men contested for possession of the German's weapon, a look of focused and utter lack of mercy on the German's face. It was then that the German soldier noticed the same look on Godfrey's face, the same utter lack of mercy, that up till then the Englishman was intent on taking him alive. Godfrey stabbed him in the side with a small knife hidden in his sleeve, then grabbed the German's automatic and finished him off.

The other German was tackled from the side by D'Artagnan, who plunged a knife into his neck before grabbing the Dreamfinder and running.

"Look out Prue!" Goofy shouted as the Banshee came streaking in over the lake, heading straight for Prue.

Simultaneously several Heartless burst from hiding towards the Morrowind's crew. Another blast sounded, and liquid tar came flying everywhere, hitting Shax and entangling him, causing his concentration to break long enough for Andy's wind prison to be dissolved. Andy ran for his life, away from the fighting.

Some of the tar splattered the Banshee as well, but did not plaster her to any surfaces, it only slowed her down. "Fire!" Donald shouted, and aimed his staff at her, flinging a fireball in her direction.

The Banshee let out a final anguished scream as she was consumed by fire. Shax had broken free of the tar by then and sent a gust of wind straight for Prue. Godfrey shoved her out of the way, only to be hit by the same gust himself.

"Godfrey!" Prue shouted. She telekinetically launched a trash can right into Shax, knocking him back a pace. Godfrey hit the ground rather heavily, still clutching the German machine pistol in his hands. A trio of Shadow Heartless jumped on top of him.

A burst of gunfire sounded just then, and the Shadows were practically vaporized by .45 caliber slugs that tore them to shreds. Godfrey rolled over to see D'Artagnan standing there with a Thompson sub machinegun in his hands.

"Trust the French." Godfrey grinned, as he stood shakily. He reloaded a magazine into his weapon, one of the four he managed to take from the Nazi soldier he had killed.

"Where's the Dreamfinder?" Godfrey asked.

"Mole ran him back to the ship." D'Artagnan replied.

Kolopak was shooting at several Heartless with a .45 caliber automatic he had hidden in the waistband of his trousers. Three other Soldier Heartless lay killed around his position.

Prue, Sora, and Donald faced Shax just then, all of them knowing the Power of Three spell they needed to vanquish Shax.

Imhotep saw what was being planned and raised his hand. Goofy saw what was about to happen and charged between Imhotep and the others. Imhotep's power raised Goofy into the air. "Insolent mortal. Prepare to feel every bone in your body…"

A burst of gunfire sounded and Imhotep felt the sensation of bullets tear into his body. He turned to see Godfrey reloading the Schmeisser MP-40 with another magazine. Imhotep reached his splayed out fingers in Godfrey's direction flinging him into a tree.

"Evil wind that blows, that which forms below. No longer may you dwell, death takes you with this spell." Prue began.

"Hah! That is Power of Three spell, and you lack sisters to vanquish me. So return to the grave from whence you came, Prue Halliwell." Shax laughed.

Andy flung himself from hiding in a practiced flying tackle into Shax. He knocked the demon to the ground with the surprise. "Prue! Get him now! I'm not sure how long I can hold hi –ACK!"

Andy felt an invisible cord wrap itself around his throat, as Imhotep turned his fury on him. "That was most unwise…"

"Evil wind that blows, that which forms below. No longer may you dwell, death takes you with this spell." Donald and Sora joined Prue as they repeated the spell.

"What's happening?" Shax began, "NOOO!"

"ANDY!" Prue shouted.

"Away with you, witch!" Imhotep shouted and flung Prue into the lake.

Godfrey shakily got up and fired another burst of gunfire at Imhotep, who turned to face him only to get whacked in the head by Sora who leapt into the air and swung.

Imhotep fell to the ground, feeling blood from his lip. The Keyblade was certainly a powerful weapon, but he was stronger. Imhotep knew that another hit would weaken him further. It was time to escape and plan again. He opened his mouth and what looked like a giant head with an open mouth came out of the water and washed the heroes away. Imhotep vanquished in a cloud of sand.

"Help! I can't swim!" Prue shouted as she began to sink.

Godfrey dived into the water and within a few strokes he reached her side, wrapping one arm around her waist, pulling her back to the surface. Prue was still panicked and clawing randomly, thrashing a bit before sinking again, dragging Godfrey down.

Godfrey felt water rush into his mouth and kicked to the surface. He had to get Prue some air to calm her down first and he pushed her above the surface. He supported her weight as best he could before he ran out of air and hit the surface.

Prue dug her fingers into Godfrey's arm after he put it around her waist again and started swimming.

"Prue, my arm is not a scratching post." Godfrey replied.

"Sorry." Prue replied.

He swam back towards the edge of the Lagoon where Kolopak and D'Artagnan yanked them both out of the water. "Someone needs swimming lessons…"

"Don't push it." Prue mock glared at Godfrey, "Thank you."

"Much obliged. But do you have some iodine for my arm?" Godfrey asked.

Prue glared at him for real. "Just a bit of humor." Godfrey replied.

Prue went over to Andy who was clutching at his bruised throat. She helped him to his feet and they headed back towards the Morrowind.

"We lost Shax. A job well done, Imhotep." Jafar spat, contemptuously.

"Shax would likely have involved us with the Source." Imhotep replied, "It was for our greater good."

"Our best chance to get rid of the Charmed One was destroyed, still." Oogie Boogie replied.

"Exactly. Shax was our best chance to destroy Prue Halliwell." Jafar replied.

"It was for our greater good." Imhotep replied, "You know the Source does not like to share power. The Source will find a way to twist us to his own ends."

"Shax said he had no love of the Source." Oogie Boogie fired back.

"Just how much can you trust the Source's chief assassin." Imhotep countered, "I tell you, if the Source gets involved, we will all be under his sway."

"Hah! We can bend him to our will." Oogie Boogie replied.

"Such foolishness, Oogie Boogie. The Source does not like to share power. Partnership with him will result in all of us being demoted to very junior partners." Imhotep replied.

"We should not lose sight of the fact that our best shot at destroying Prue Halliwell was just vanquished." Jafar countered.

"ENOUGH!" Maleficent shouted, "Like it or not, the Source knows of us and our activities. Bickering amongst ourselves will only make his takeover that much easier."

"If someone hadn't lost us our best chance at Prue Halliwell, I wouldn't be so upset." Jafar snapped.

"Jafar, unless you wish that staff of yours to rest in a very uncomfortable place, you will shut your mouth immediately." Imhotep warned.

"Guys. Guys. Guys." Hades began, as he walked into the chamber, "It's alright. It's under control."

"The Source could well be taking us over, you call that under control?" Imhotep shouted.

"And baldy here lost us our best chance at killing Prue Halliwell." Jafar countered.

"Well, we have our insiders." Hades began.

"If you're referring to Andy," Oogie Boogie commented, "He's firmly in their camp, no information to be gained and…"

"Prue will mourn him when he dies." Hades commented.

"And if she doesn't. What then?" Imhotep commented.

"Then I still have everything under control." Hades replied, stepping aside to reveal a man in a hood, wearing a U.S. Army uniform.

"You brought an Allied officer here?" Jafar spat.

"He has much the same agenda as we do." Hades replied, and removed the hood.

Standing before the council of villains was Colonel Lyle Tiberius Rourke.

"What business have you with us?" Imhotep asked.

"I don't this Prue Halliwell any more than you do." Rourke began.

"You wear the uniform of one of the Allied nations. Why should we have any faith in you?" Oogie Boogie demanded.

"I believe the good Colonel has an answer to that." Hades replied, "Some expedition he led."

"I discovered the lost city of Atlantis some years ago, in an expedition with several members of the Morrowind's crew." Rourke replied, "Some of whom you know of: Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet, Audrey Rocio Ramirez, Gaetan "Mole" Moliére, Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnswoth, and Wilhelmina Bertha Packard among them. I discovered a power beyond anything I could imagine, in the princess Kida's kingdom. My team decided to turn good hearted on me and betrayed me."

"They were a bunch of treasure hunters, basically. Among the best. Went through thousands of ancient tombs, and lost civilizations." Hades added, "

Rourke continued, "They thought I had died after they turned on me. No such luck. I found my way to a different world, secured a commission and bided my time. And now that time to get my own back has come. And I believe you can help me…"

"We may have some use for you, Colonel Rourke." Maleficent began, "You do have authority over one member of the Morrowind. I believe he is Lieutenant Godfrey. Feed him disinformation and inform us of all that you can regarding the Morrowind's crew. That is your task. Your chance of revenge is at hand."

TBC