Charmed Kitsune
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NarutoxPhoebex Prue x Piper x ?
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Story Start
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Prue couldn't help but feel flush all over, wrought with embarrassment at the fact her sisters caught her having sex. So for the first time Prue was actually praying for a demon attack, if only to prolong the awkward discussion that was about to proceed. And wouldn't you know it the one time she would have welcomed it, those damn demons decided to give them the day off.
Prue entered the foyer where Phoebe and Piper were sitting on the couch. Both of them were looking away, Phoebe finding the ground interesting and Piper looking off to the side. ''So...role-play huh?'' Phoebe asked her hand moving up to her mouth to shield the laughter that threatened to erupt.
Prue covered her face with her hand, as if to cover her shame. ''I have no excuse...'' there was nothing she could really say, all things considering. ''But you two can try...I don't know...knocking before you barge into someone's room.'' no matter how embarrassed Prue got it never stopped her from trying to turn the tables on someone else.
''We thought you were in trouble!" Piper immediately jumped to their defense. ''It sounds you were about to be... hurt so can you blame us? And you were the one who said there was nothing going on between you two, but we caught you two fooling around so which is it?''
''Look Naruto and I have been dating for the past few weeks and...'' Prue paused, realizing just how eerily similar this situation was except that she was usually the griller instead of the grille. ''Look here, I'm an adult and Naruto is an adult and both of us consented, so frankly it's our business thank you very much.''
''Big bad demon and little helpless witch in all.'' Phoebe couldn't help to add.
As upset as she, Piper couldn't help herself. Her hand flew to her mouth to try and hide her laughter, but Piper couldn't help herself and was sent into a fit of giggles at Phoebe's comment.
''So come on girl spill! How is he? If your moans were anything he seems to be quite the oral linguist; anyway how big is his d...''
''PHOEBE!'' Prue snapped, irritated by her sister's rather shameless prodding as her nose flared and she shot her sister that famous Prue glared that made lesser people shirk back in fear.
''Is it safe?'' Naruto's voiced carried down the stairs as a soft creaking from the steps signaled him coming down the stairs. He was dressed in a black button down collar shirt and faded blue jeans. ''So um...hey Piper, Phoebe!'' he greeted with an awkward, nervous chuckle as he raised his hand with a very brief wave. ''So, how are you two doing?'' it was obvious by how he was shifting uncomfortably he was uncharacteristically embarrassed about being caught. Funny considering the size of his little family he had built over time.
''So you and Prue huh?'' Piper asked, a smirk forming on her face as it could have easily been her in a similar situation, but since it wasn't it was pretty damn funny. She was a bit disappointed that Prue got to him first so it meant back to the drawing board for her. She didn't want to be one of those sisters who were selfish and only thought of her own feelings so she was going to do her best to be happy for Prue.
''Yeah well...'' he nervously scratched the back of his head. ''Your sister is very...persuasive. In fact she was the one who dragged me up stairs and...'' he was cut off, laughing as Prue smacked his arm.
''S-Shut up!'' her face began heating up. ''That is not what happened, why would you say that?''
''Oh so you weren't the one who ordered me upstairs?'' a grin formed on Naruto's face, mirrored impishly by Phoebe and Piper as Prue got steadily flustered.
''You are such a pain in the ass.'' she growled as Naruto erupted into a fit of laughter.
''Don't change the subject.''
''W-We have a demon problem remember. It was what we were taking of earlier...'' Prue quickly spun and pointed to Phoebe who was about to make a comment. '' and don't you dare.'' she threatened which resulted in Phoebe's mouth promptly closing. Finally Prue took notice of the boxes and bags that littered the floor of the Foyer. "How much did you guys spend?" She wondered in disbelief.
Phoebe followed Prue's eyes to the bags. "Lots. Need to pull off the SHW look to revive our love life.''
Prue glanced over at Phoebe in confusion. "SHW?" She asked with raised eyebrows.
"Single Hot Witch." Phoebe answered promptly.
"Hmm…" Prue whispered thoughtfully.
''Hey if you wish you can always borrow this little number. I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind?'' Phoebe reached down into a nearby bag and pulled out a bright red, revealing, sexy piece of lingerie, earning wide eyes from both Naruto and Prue.
''Definitely doesn't seem to mind.'' Piper added as both Phoebe and her both laughed at the duo's reactions.
''We're going to get you two back later just so you know.'' Naruto said in response to the giggling duo. ''Anyway Prue is right. We need to vanquish her demonic bosses, we've put this off long enough and anymore procrastinating is just being irresponsible.'' he said as the sisters gathered up the bags and went to their room before heading to the conservatory.
''So the first order of business. Now what was this vision you said you had Phoebe?''
''Well like I said I don't know what day it was, but I saw Prue and she was handling this item. A tiara I think and behind her was what looked like a ghostly Rex. I'll try to recall what I saw.'' Phoebe said as she closed her eyes and began to think back. Soft breaths escaped her mouth, her chest rising and falling with each breath as she began recalling the vision.
Prue had walked into her room, two bags were on the ground and Kit was playing with one of them and inadvertently knocked one over. Prue ran a hand through her hair before unzipping her sweater. Behind her Rex the ethereal image of Rex appeared behind her, invisible to Prue's vision, Kit hissed menacingly toward him in an attempt to warn Prue. Prue tilted her head questioningly at Kit and took several steps toward her.
"Kit, what is it?" She called soothingly, though she glanced behind her a little nervously.
The image of Rex around behind Prue, ignoring Kit. "You forgot to unpack your briefcase when you got home from work. You want to do it right now."
Prue's eyes flickered to her briefcase as the thought registered in her mind. She re-zipped her sweater and sat down at her desk, reaching for her briefcase. She opened the briefcase revealing folders, other papers, and a tiara.
"What you are about to pick up is a tiara, but you really believe it's your datebook." Rex continued calmly.
Prue reached into her briefcase and picked up the tiara which, to her, looked like her black datebook.
"Now put it in your desk, just like you always do." Rex ordered.
Prue obeyed, opening the drawer to her desk and placing her 'datebook' inside.
Rex smiled triumphantly. "Excellent. Now you want to continue getting ready for bed." He finished.
Prue ran her hand through her hair again with a quick yawn. She reached down and took her shoes off before unzipping her sweater again. Rex looked over appreciatively, but Prue stopped as Kit jumped up onto the desk. Kit hissed at Rex while Prue stroked the cat, glancing around behind her curiously. Rex rolled his eyes, slightly disappointed and disappeared.
''And that's what I remember.'' Phoebe said as Kit jumped into her laughed and nuzzled her head against Phoebe's hand. Phoebe then softly began petting Kit as Naruto was contemplating her words.
''Seems like this Rex guy has some sort of mind control ability. So in other words he's not a physical power house, but a behind the shadows sort of guy who plans on framing Prue."
''So what do we do?''
''We can always go with a background check. If these two only started running Buckland's to keep an eye on Prue then I'm sure we can bust them before they attempt to bust Prue. From what I understand most demons only think of short-term gratification. Only the higher level and smarter demons think in the long-term, crafting an identity from conception and developing a back-ground as high gain plans requiring more than just going and killing other magical creatures. I can give Nicole and James a call and they should be able to start searching. Until then,'' Naruto turned to Prue. ''I think you should continue on as is. You can only avoid going to work so long before they start to get suspicious.''
''Whoa, whoa, hold on,'' Piper interjected. ''You want to let some psychotic warlock or demon trying to kill us, to take control of Prue and steal an artifact and most likely get her arrested? I think I missed the part where this was a good idea.''
''Well like I said, Nicole and James will be doing a background check. I mean we could and go kill them now, but that will only warrant a police investigation and it'll only add to another odd incident which Prue will somehow be mysteriously connected to and will increase the suspicion around your family. But if we expose them as imposters in the very least we can give the impression that they fled the country or something.''
''That makes sense,'' Phoebe said as she continued to pet Kit. ''The thing I don't get is why did Kit seem to be able to see Rex when Prue couldn't?''
''Maybe she's our Familiar?'' Prue suggested as she turned to Naruto. ''It was in one of the books you loaned us and I remember reading a passage about it.''
''Yeah, from what I know familiars guide both good and evil witches and when their work is done they go to the next. They're all sorts of animals, but the most common are cats. I really don't know much about the whole Familiar jazz. So...you girls want some cookies?'
Despite their reluctance the Charmed Ones let Phoebe's vision played out to keep up the facade.
"Well?" Hannah prompted with raised eyebrows. Rex had returned to his earthly bodied and opened his eyes to see Hannah waiting to be filled in. They were currently at the Auction House.
Rex chuckled softly and nodded in triumph. "Prue did exactly as I told her to. You know, I rather like this new power." He commented, leaning back casually into his chair.
"Are you sure she didn't see you?" a little disbelieved Hannah pressed on.
"No, no. She didn't see me. I was invisible." he reassured her.
Hannah narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But then, how did you get there?"
Rex rolled his eyes and looked away. "I've explained this to you, Hannah. It's called Astral Projection. With it I can transport myself psychically and implant a subliminal thought into Prue's brain. Just like I did when I tricked her into leaving the vault today with the tiara. See, I planted the thought and made her think she came out empty handed." He explained as simply as he could.
Hannah continued to look confused. "I still don't understand how it works." She admitted with a shrug.
"Watch." Rex ordered, getting up from his seat on the couch and crossing his office to stand against his desk. He concentrated and astral projected next to Hannah on the couch. "You want to disrobe for him… desperately." He stated, before allowing himself to return to his body.
Hannah slowly stood up from her place on the couch and began unbuttoning her jacket.
"Understand now, Hannah?" Rex asked rhetorically, watching as Hannah let her jacket slip to the floor.
At the mansion Prue was making her way down the stairs to find Phoebe waiting for her at the bottom. She was a bit annoyed as she just got another note from 'that man' and she had just torn it up and threw it away. She wished he would stop trying to contact her, so she would threaten him one last time before she filed for a restraining order.
Phoebe stopped pointedly in front of Prue, leaning against the rails of the stairs. "If you were an employment agency, wouldn't you want me?" She asked dramatically.
Prue smiled, her eyes traveling over Phoebe's dress suit. "Maybe, but I'd definitely want my suit back." She answered cheekily, jumping off the last stair and facing Phoebe with a mock glare.
"No, this is part of your old wardrobe. I'm just recycling." Phoebe defended lightly.
"Well, the environment thanks you but…" Prue began, crossing her arms.
"…Take it off, I know, I know." Phoebe sighed seeming a little disgruntled.
Hurried footsteps garnered their attention as Piper came running down the stairs. ''Hi, bye." Piper offered shortly, racing around her sisters.
"Piper!" Prue ordered, her eyes following her younger sister's attempt at escaping. She was pleased to see that Piper stopped and reluctantly turned to face them . "Didn't you have to go in early this morning?"
Piper smiled awkwardly and played with her hands. "Right, that was the plan. I'm running a little late. Um, just took a little longer to get out of bed this morning than I planned." She explained quickly. She blushed slightly when her sisters exchanged knowing glances. "Okay, bye." Piper finished, spinning around and heading for the front door.
"Wait!" Her sisters yelled after her as being more naturally athletic then Piper they beat her to the door.
''Ooh let me guess...another saucy night when Dwa-yne?'' Phoebe teased doing that childish baby voice of hers as Piper's face heated up.
''Phoebe! You swore you would never speak of that!'' Piper hissed as she pointedly turned her head to the baby of the family.
''Dwayne?'' Prue echoed, wrought with confusion.
''Her dream man.'' Phoebe explained as Piper threw her hands up.
''It's official...I can't even keep dreams to myself.'' Piper whined.
''Wait a minute...dream man. Are you sure that's safe? Can you trust this guy? Do you even know him?'' Prue shot off a list of questions as she began remembering her own encounter with a dream walker.
''Yes, kind of...he's a nice guy.'' Piper shyly mumbled, embarrassment coursing through her along with being irritated by Phoebe.
''Well what's his last name? Where is he from?''
Piper looked like a deer caught in the head-lights as she realized that Prue wasn't going to let the manner go. So Piper began to explain about what she knew about Dwayne and their encounters, the PG version of course.
''Wow...you two certainly aren't the sisters I remember.'' Phoebe remarked as her two sisters pointedly turned to her.
''What does that mean?'' they simultaneously asked.
''Prue is into role playing and you Piper, I mean getting involved in a polygamous relationship? I mean you're the most vanilla of all of us, the most vanilla of any female I know in fact. I can understand inviting another partner for some fun, but a long term relationship? Wouldn't you get jealous? I mean you don't even know his real name, he could be trying to trick you!''
Piper's head dipped slightly. ''It's complicated...and I know, I've been considering the same things you pointed out, but I care for him. When I speak to him, when I look into his eyes I know he's telling the truth. And yes I've been thinking about this whole polygamous things and how it goes against some of the values I've been raised on, but it's part of his culture and I want to get to know and try to understand it, instead of just condemning it as wrong and immortal just because it's different from my own. If the people in the relationship are happy and they could find some semblance of balance do we have the right to force them to conform to our standards?'' Piper turned to Prue, waiting for her older sister to storm down on her by how wrong and immoral the relationship was only to be surprised by the understanding look she was given.
''If you're happy then that's all I care about, but I still want to meet this...Dwayne guy. He could still be an enemy so just be cautious.''
''Right...anyway I have to go to work.'' the still blushing Piper added leaving behind her sisters who she heard giggling in the background.
''Wait...so how do you know about Dwayne?'' Prue decided to ask before she and Phoebe went to the auction house.
''Let's just say when you and Naruto went out on your date and I came back from the library early Piper cut loose with her dream.''
Prue and Phoebe stepped out of the elevator to find the twelfth floor filled with officers moving back and forth questioning workers. Some time had passed since they left the manor, more than enough for the demon workers to set up their little plan.
Prue and Phoebe exchanged a knowing glance as they traversed through the crowd, Prue looking for someone to ask about the situation. Her eyes landed Jaime, a friendly security guard. In order to not be suspicious of course Prue had to play the clueless worker.
"Jaime, hey. What's going on? What happened?" Prue asked looking around with eyes narrowed in concern.
Jaime looked up from his papers to meet Prue's eyes. "We got robbed last night, Prue." He explained quickly. He sighed audibly and looked away.
Prue's mouth dropped in surprise. "You're kidding. What was stolen?"
"The Romanov tiara." The security guard answered, his voice clearly projecting his worry.
"Oh my god. Not the tiara." Prue breathed, looking toward Phoebe. She looked up at the sound of Rex trying to gain her attention.
"Prue!" Rex called over the busy floor.
Prue frowned and turned sympathetic eyes onto her boss. "Rex, hi. Jaime just told me." She replied, trying keep her voiced subdued and her eyes reflecting anything, but being venomous.
"Yeah." Rex responded with a slight nod, followed by his side as his flickered to Phoebe who was still linked with Prue. "Hello, Phoebe. Nice to see you again." Rex greeted politely.
"Hi, Rex. I'm sorry about what happened." Phoebe offered, also giving him a sympathetic look. Phoebe was a much better actor than Prue considering all the times she got in trouble which resulted in her having much experience trying to act innocent.
"Yeah, me too. A loss of this magnitude could severely damage our reputation and who is going to co-sign anything with us if…" Rex began.
"No, no, no. We just have to get the tiara back before word gets out." Prue interrupted.
"I agree.'' smiling slightly at Prue's words Red nodded. ''Will you take point on this then, you know, help the police?" He asked hopefully, nodding toward the officers. "You're really the only one that I can trust." He added.
'Funny considering you're trying to frame me.' "Sure… but what about you?''
"Unfortunately, I've got another commitment tonight that I really can't get out of. It's, uh, some good friends who are giving a concert and, uh, well I promised I wouldn't miss it." Rex explained.
"Oh, yeah? Who?" Phoebe asked curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side. As far as they knew Rex and Hannah were either after the Power of Three or trying to destroy it so if they could keep one of them busy it would be easier to get the drop on them.
Rex's eyes flickered from Prue back to Phoebe. "The Verve."
Phoebe's eyes widened. "Get out! Are you serious?" She demanded.
"Why, you know them?" Rex laughed.
"Know them? I worship them. Bittersweet symphony is like the best song ever!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"Really?" Rex stated thoughtfully receiving an enthusiastic nod from Phoebe. "I have an idea. Why not join me tonight? I'm sure I can rustle up another ticket." He suggested.
Prue's big sister instinct kicked in immediately as her eyes narrowed. There was no way she was going to let her demon boss take out her little sister.
"Well, you wouldn't mind, would you, Prue?''
''We have family business to deal with.'' she asked as Phoebe pulled her to the side with a forced laugh. ''Excuse us for a moment.'' when they were a few feet away Prue immediately let her thoughts on the subject out.
''There is no way I'm letting you be alone with that man. There is no telling what he might try.''
''I know you're worried Prue, but I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself. Just have a little faith in me okay Prue?'' Phoebe asked with pleading eyes. She wanted to prove herself and not just be the helpless one who could only see visions.
''Okay...just please be-careful.'' Prue wouldn't have normally given up without a fight, but the guilt from the last time she got over protective of Phoebe came to the surface. She didn't like how her little sister was putting herself in danger, but she could feel Phoebe's desire to help, to want and prove herself and not feel useless. Prue watched with a shutter as she watched Phoebe accept Rex's offer for a date. Though, of course the awkwardness did not help when Andy of all people showed up on the crime scene.
"Prue." He greeted politely.
Prue turned to look at him, inwardly cringing at him being here after their last meeting hadn't ended so well. "Andy, uh, are you on this case too?" She wondered, smiling nervously.
"Yep, guess fate keeps throwing us together." Andy commented with a shrug.
Hannah caught sight of the two and approached them, recognizing a good opportunity to instill doubt into Prue's former lover. "You two know each other?" She asked as much as stated. "Forgot."
Prue looked away from Andy and narrowed her eyes slightly. "No you didn't." Prue countered, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Hannah returned with a glare, both women stiffening at the other's presence, and being the good and experienced cop Andy was he didn't miss the interaction. Years of being an inspector thought him how to read a person's body language and something was off about Hannah's something hostile...something he didn't quite trust. "Well, I suggested that the Inspector speak with you since you were the last one to actually see the tiara." the obvious insinuation was left hanging in the air.
Silently fuming on the inside Prue chanced a glance at Andy who met her gaze, his expression unreadable as he was assessing the atmosphere between the two women giving him some insight into the situation.
"If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call." Hannah finished, just before Darryl intruded upon the conversation.
"We'd like to see the security tapes from last night as soon as possible." Darryl ordered, speaking directly to Hannah. He started to walk away, pausing when Hannah spoke.
"Oh, yeah. I'm sure Prue can arrange that." Hannah decided receiving a nod from Prue. "Excuse me." She added, turning to head into Rex's office.
There was another short moment of silence before he decided it best just to get down to business. "It'd be better if you just stopped by the station later on so we could talk about all this. 1:00?" He suggested.
Prue gave the slightest of nods. "Sure." She agreed, sighing softly as she watched him leave without another word.
"I can't believe you're taking that little witch to the concert." Hannah snapped, ''...that was my ticket!'' she added with a flare of her nostrils as she crossed her arms in her while glaring at Rex.
Rex looked slightly surprised at the outburst as he shut the door, "Hannah, kitten." He said with a soothing purr as took a calm step toward her. "You know I'm only doing it to upset Prue. All the better to frame her and force the sisters to relinquish their powers." Rex continued, stopping in front of Hannah and fiddling with the collar of her suit.
"How do you know they even can?" Hannah muttered.
"They have a special spell in the Book of Shadows. Before Raven's unfortunate demise she managed to inform me of that much.''
''Which one was Raven?'' Hannah curiously asked as her anger seemed to fade.
''The telekinetic witch with the dark hair and perpetual scowl.'' he answered as Hannah side.
''Really?'' she asked with a sad pout. ''I kind of liked Raven.''
''Well she served her part; her sacrifice showed us that it is possible in the very least to replicate the Charmed One's powers if not steal them.''
''Though there is the matter of their little blond friend that seems to hover around.''
''He'll be taken care of when the time comes around, but for now we need to make sure the Charmed Ones are vulnerable and when the time comes they'll relinquish their powers. Trust me." He whispered in her ear as he slowly moved around behind Hannah. Hannah turned her head to follow him with her eyes and he pulled her into a kiss.
At the San Francisco Police Department Prue found herself once more being questioned, this time for a stolen item instead of murder. She was beginning to since a rather annoying pattern forming. Prue leaned back into the chair next to Andy's desk as he questioned her on the break-in, while he wrote her answers down on a sheet of paper.
"You said you put the tiara back in the vault before you left. Was anybody else there?"
"Only the security guard, Jaime." was Prue's prompt answer.
Andy nodded slightly, writing something down before continuing. "Did he lock up the vault?"
"No, I did." Prue admitted.
"Okay, did you happen to take anything out of the vault when you left?" Andy questioned, trying to word the question carefully.
"No." Prue replied indignantly. Her eyes narrowed as she realized where the questioning was going. She looked away from Andy and noticed Darryl standing behind her. "Is this an interview or an interrogation?" Prue demanded.
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get all the facts, that's all." Andy apologized, watching as Prue calmed slightly though she was far from relaxed.
Darryl noticed the exchange and decided to step in and quickly explained. "The problem is there were no signs of forced entry into the Auction House or the vault."
Turning in her seat to face him Prue answered the insinuation with a suggestion. "So do you think one of the employees might have stolen it?" Prue suggested, turning in her seat to face him.
"Strong possibility." Darryl replied and Prue frowned even more.
"Someone like me?"
''Someone who had access Miss Halliwell.'' a new voice interjected as the detectives and witch pointedly turned to the voice of the slicked back black haired man. ''Nice to meet you again.''
''Mr. Wesson,'' Prue acknowledge with a nod as Andy's eyes darted between the two of them.
''So you two know each other?'' he began prodding, wondering just what his connection his ex-had with one of the new officers.
''We met once,'' James answered, his tone indicating that he wasn't open to discussing it. ''I believe we have an investigation going on inspector.'' James politely brought up to steer their focus back onto the situation as the phones of the busy police station were ringing one after another. James never felt comfortable in the police station, conversations going on in a hectic tandem as the sounds of paper stacks hit the desk and water from coolers filling plastic red cups which was quickly gulped down and crumpled; casually tossed into the small trashcans which were filled to the brim each day with crumpled notes and used tissue wads sometimes spilling over.
''Now before we threaten this young woman with fifteen to twenty we have to look at the facts. I mean if you were going to steal the Tiara and you're one of the few people who has access to the vault via key why would you wait until you and one other person, a security guard was there to steal it? Especially considering that one of the subjects has popped up inconspicuously in other places where odd crimes have occurred? Don't you think it would have been a pretty big risk for Miss Halliwell here to commit the crime considering those facts? I mean she would make a pretty convenient scape goat, all things considered. I mean legally we can't keep her here as we don't have any evidence, just speculation.''
"I think we got enough for now,'' While Andy still had his issues on how his relationship with Prue ended he didn't believe that she was guilty, of this crime at least. Even if Prue was capable of such a crime he didn't think she would have been so careless. '' If we have any other questions, we'll give you a call." Andy decided, shaking her hand professionally.
Prue stood up and gave a slight nod. "Well, you know where to reach me."
"I think I still remember." Andy agreed, offering her a smile before she turned and left. His eyes followed her until the doors blocked his view and he turned on Wesson. "What was all that about?"
''Well inspector, just making sure the criminal responsible for the crime gets arrested and we can't do that by wasting time.'' he countered, fixing his jacket. ''I didn't mean to impede on your questioning,'' he quickly apologized. ''It's just I've noticed there was a bit of weirdness surrounding Buckland's before Miss Halliwell arrived. My partner, Nicole Henry was investigating murders with a similar M.O.'' he brought attention to the folders under his arm as he dropped it on the corner of Andy's desk which wasn't riddled with paper-work. ''During the course of the investigation we've discovered a crooked bank worker who has been allowing more than reasonable disbursements to be made. More than one treasurer has been caught and being charged with fraud among other things and we have reason to believe several unauthorized and inappropriate payments were made for services outside of Buckland's legal faculties. So we've been doing some background search and we haven't found much on Buckland and since you were called to the scene of the crime earlier inspector we figured you might have some insight.''
Andy was about to say something when he remembered Hannah's behavior. ''Do you have anything on a Hannah Webster?''
''Webster?'' James paused to think about it. ''Now that you mentioned it I believe she was the one handling many of the transactions we've been following. In fact it wouldn't surprise me if she were involved.''
''Before we start pointing fingers gentlemen maybe we should go over 'all' of the evidence.'' Daryl spoke up. ''For instance the security tapes Miss Halliwell brought is missing. The one from the vault." Darryl finished, holding up the security tapes for his partner.
Andy looked over the tapes before looking back toward the doors that Prue had left through. He sighed and turned away, trying to piece together what was now going on with her.
Naruto and Phoebe met up at a cafe to discuss the latter's decision on being a distraction of sorts to make sure Rex wasn't at Buckland when they put their plan into action. ''Did you really this was a good idea. I mean the guy has some sort of power akin to Hypnotic suggestion. He could make you end up committing suicide.'' the two of them were in the table by a corner and thanks to a Genjutsu Naruto put up no one was privy to their conversation; because talking casually out in the open about magic without making sure some random passerby-er could hear would not be the smart thing.
''If that was the case then Buckland would have suggested Prue commit suicide and not steal something. He and his partner are up to something and the only reasons I can think of why is that they're either trying to weaken us or they want something and they figure they could black mail us.'' Phoebe informed Naruto of her thoughts as she waited for his reaction. She may not have been a straight A-student like her sisters, but her intellect was a bit more on the crafty side.
All people regularly saw was a pretty face, another party girl and Phoebe's own behavior at times did not help improve the image beyond that, but here and now with danger plaguing the lives of her and her sisters the reality of a false move resulting in the loss of one of their lives began to wake up that potential looked deep down inside. ''Wait a minute...'' realization flickered across Phoebe's eyes as she began to reflect on something. ''Prue in trouble, police involved...frame-up, this is just like with those warlocks.''
Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what Phoebe stumbled on. ''My God, why didn't we notice the similarities before?
''That's it...they're trying to get Prue arrested so they can blackmail us for our powers!'' Phoebe exclaimed before she quickly composed herself and gazed around expecting people's confused reactions ready to fire off whatever half-baked explanation came to her mind before remembering about Naruto's 'freaky ninja powers' as she dubbed them. ''So until then we know they won't kill us, until they attempt to get our powers.''
''Guess that meant they didn't have much fate in their associates or they planned on stealing the power from them than. So yeah, I guess you have this under control Phoebe. Maybe I should give you my big book of tropes and magic and let you do the planning for the next couple of weeks.'' he playfully suggested and winked at her.
''Well...I don't know about that.'' she reacted bashfully and looked down at the ground as she ran her fingers through her hair. ''It was just a lucky guess.''
''Well it was a hell of a lucky guess. Anyway we're going to need to get you some sort of charm or make a potion that'll prevent him from reading your thoughts. We have no idea what the full scope of his abilities are.'' getting up, Naruto extended his hand as Phoebe took it. She let out a soft gasp as that familiar sensation of having a premonition occurred.
Phoebe saw herself and from what she could tell she was a bit older, but still smoking hot if she could say so herself. She was sitting on the couch in the manor and in her arms was a baby. The baby had her brown hair, with a slightly lighter sandy shade with bright blue eyes and the most adorable button nose. ''Hey there Ladybug. I heard you were driving Auntie Prue crazy today. You're just like your daddy you know that...you little trouble maker.'' Phoebe said with a grin as she blew a Raspberry on the baby's cheek causing her to giggle.
''So I heard P.J. gave Prue a hard time today.'' a voice said from the doorway.
Phoebe looked up to notice it was Naruto, looking slightly older; mostly because he had grown a goatee of all things. ''Will you get rid of that thing already?''
''Oh come on...you know I went through a lot of hard work to grow this. ''Naruto pouted as he walked around to the other side of the couch. ''Hey there P.J.'' Naruto greeted the little girl who looked up at him and then started crying. ''Oh come on.''
''Two to one Naruto. Time for you to go shave.'' Phoebe replied as she tried to console P.J. ''It's okay honey. The scary man will be gone in just a bit.''
Naruto rolled his eyes at Phoebe's little joke. ''Make that three to one.'' added the young woman who tends to show up in Phoebe's other premonitions. Her hair was a little more grown out then from the last vision and there was a curl to it.
''Traitor.'' Naruto playfully replied as he sighed and hung his head. ''Fine...I'll go shave the blasted thing.'' he remarked, grumbling about traitorous women as he made his way to the bathroom.
''Premonition?'' Naruto's voice snapped Phoebe out of her daze.
''It...it was nothing. I mean whatever I saw happened so rapidly I couldn't see, but I don't think it has anything to do with our little warlock problem.'' Phoebe lied, hoping Naruto wouldn't press on. Phoebe decided that she would later on try and find out if there were any other good witches in the area that shared her power she could go to advice too.
''Alright, if you say so.'' right now the plan needed to be on track and Naruto figured he could just ask Phoebe about what she saw later.
Naruto with the Tiara in hand the blond made his way where the warlocks were staying. As expected of self-satisfying beings such as themselves they were staying in a rather posh mansion which either they took by murdering the owners or using their abilities to get their hands on the residence like they did the Auction House. His ears twitched as heavy footsteps followed him, the cool air of the night carried the demon's scent.
Dodging to the side Naruto moved out of the way of the Demon's attack. ''Don't fight it kid and I promise I'll make it quick.'' the muscular demon taunted him. The demon was wearing an open vest and tattered pants and looked like a steroid popping body builder.
''Funny...I was about to say the same thing.'' Naruto countered as he charged forward and slammed his fist into the gut of the demon causing him to double over. A kick swept him feet away, and he crashed into the ground like a fallen tree. She lay there for a second, clasping his midsection, then slowly stood.
''You don't want to do this. Trust me...'' Naruto informed the demon, his expression unreadable.
The demon let out a roar and lunged forward, sliding low, fists forming a defensive wall as her foot lashed out. His kick missed Naruto's shoulder as he dodge to the side as his hands hand clamped around his ankle and savagely twisted. The demon gave an involuntary howl of pain as Naruto's foot smashed into his chest, and he fell to the ground. Jamming his foot into the demon's chest to hold him in place Naruto took out an explosive note and placed it on the ground next to his face. Naruto ignored the demons threats and curses as he continued placing explosive notes around the ground. Luckily enough they were conveniently by a construction site so while the damage might cause some confusion it wouldn't warrant too much attention. Jabbing the kunai into the skull of the demon Naruto activated the explosive notes as he began to walk away as the Brute Demon was consumed by the fiery explosion. With the threat taken care of Naruto continued on his way to complete his part of the mission. He wondered how the others were doing.
Prue, still uneasy about letting Phoebe distract Rex went to meet with Piper to get her mind off of it. ''I still feel that one of us should back her up.''
''Prue I'm worried too, but we're always going to...have trouble.'' Piper substituted as she kept in mind that there were people walking around and they could overhear something. ''Our situation is going to call for danger and Phoebe wants to help and all things considering...''Piper trailed off as Phoebe and Rex approached them.
"So, what's on the dessert menu?" Phoebe asked, staying in character. With Arashi keeping an eye on Hannah and Phoebe keeping Rex busy Naruto would be able to plant the evidence without much hassle.
"Hey, how was the concert?" Piper greeted forcing a smile as Rex walked up behind Phoebe.
"The best. It was amazing." She sighed.
Prue's eyes flickered over Phoebe's dress. "Still recycling I see." Prue teased, narrowing her eyes playfully which Phoebe happily returned. Prue found she was able to muster some form of happiness while thanking about Rex's eventual vanquish.
"Thank you for taking care of things tonight, Prue. I really appreciate it." Rex spoke up, gaining all three sisters' attention. "By the way, how'd it go with the police?" Rex wondered curiously.
"Uh, well, they think it's an inside job actually." Prue admitted, leaving out the part about her being a suspect.
Rex frowned and looked away thoughtfully. "Do they? How disturbing." He stated, feigning feelings of shock.
"Okay, shop talk later. We're gonna grab a table, okay?" Phoebe stepped in as out of the corner of her eye she saw Naruto coming in and she subtly made a head motion hoping Piper would pick up on it.
Piper caught the movement and nodded, looking around the restaurant. "Take that one by the window. I'll send, uh, Cindy over." Piper promised, pointing to her right.
Rex turned to follow Phoebe, but hesitated, turning back to Prue. "You're welcome to join us, Prue." He offered politely.
Prue forced a smile but shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll pass." Her eyes followed Phoebe and Rex through the crowd until they had disappeared.
''Hey...'' Naruto casually greeted causing Prue to jump slightly.
''What have I told you about doing that?'' Prue growled as she smacked Naruto in the shoulder.
''Sorry, it amuses me so greatly.'' he said as looked over to where Rex and Phoebe was and let out a growl as she saw Rex put his arm around Phoebe.
''You took care of the thing right?'' Prue asked as she followed his eyes to the duo.
''Yeah, now once tomorrow rolls around they'll finally be dealt with.''
The next morning rolled around and Prue was sitting in one of the large armchairs in the Conservatory reading the paper while Piper was sprawled out along the couch, talking on the phone with Arashi. Apparently he was working with Nicole and James on getting a search warrant.
"Good morning." Phoebe greeted. Phoebe's eyes caught sight of the large box of roses on the table in front of the stairs. "Wow, roses. Who are they for?"
Prue glanced up with a forced smile. "Guess."
''Ugh,'' Phoebe let out a discuss sigh as picked up the card. '''Phoebe, thank you for a lovely evening, the job is on its way. Rex.'" She read with a mocking monotone. ''Demon, Warlock, or human I swear some men can just be manipulative scum.''
''Well at least you didn't unjustifiably say all men were scum.'' Naruto added as he walked into the room. ''It's like, just because all your relationships failed doesn't mean all of the opposite sex is garbage, the obvious thing would be that 'you're' the problem and most people just don't want to accept that they're at fault or flawed.''
''Does he live here now?'' Piper asked as she pointedly sent Naruto a glance before turning to Prue, the recipient of her question.
''My place is being fumigated.'' he responded with a brief sad look. ''That and I made more cookies. White chocolate chip and basil cookies; hope you don't mind I just couldn't wait to try out this special secret ingredient a friend of mine sent me. '' he said as he glanced down at the watch. ''3...2...1...''
Detectives Andy and Darryl arrived at the address and apartment number that was Rex Buckland's place. ''Mr. Buckland!'' Andy knocked on the door. ''Mr. Buckland open the door! We have a warrant to search your apartment!'' With the missing tape mysteriously appearing on the detective's desk depicting the likeness of Hannah they had the evidence they needed to legally search Rex and Hannah's premises.
A woman's scream could be heard from the other side. ''Stand back!'' Andy shouted to the officers behind him as he took a few steps back and kicked the door open like a bad-ass.
As they piled in all they saw was an empty apartment with the exception of a young woman whose arms and legs were tied up by rope. ''Are you okay miss? What happened?''
''That animal...Rex Buckland did this to me. He told me once that he and his partner Hannah were done framing the Halliwell girl for the Tiara theft that they were going to kill me and frame her for that in case the Tiara thing doesn't stick.''
''Call an ambulance!'' Darryl ordered one of the officers as he crouched over to the young woman. ''Miss if you don't mind me asking...''
''My name?'' the woman interrupted. ''It's Allison...Allison Rom or Ally.'' she said as she let out a choked sob. Though unknown to the group Rex's apartment was the meeting place he had set for the Brute Demon to meet up with him so the demon could inform him of Naruto's demise.
Rex's astral form returned to his body to find Hannah sitting on the other side of his desk. "We've been set up!'' he shouted, his face contorting into race which took Hannah by surprise. From since the beginning of their relationship Hannah had rarely seen Rex furious and whenever he did get angry it even frightened her.
''What happened?''
''Those damn incompetent pigs stormed into my apartment where some blasted woman blabbed about us framing Prue and a bunch of other nonsense to implicate us. Not to mention the Brute Demon I sent didn't show up, so that damn blond and those witches probably know everything.''
''So that's it? We're through?'' Hannah asked, fingering her glasses with her trembling hands. ''Do you know what he'll do if we don't take care of the Charmed Ones tonight? Today is our last chance Rex!''
''Dear Hannah don't you know I always have a back-up plan?'' he asked as a sinister smirked formed on his face. ''We're not out of the game yet.''
At the police station Andy was going through the evidence. There were photos, numerous of them depicting either Hannah or Rex meeting or discussion with other people of interests who had disappeared. Andy was hoping that maybe once and for all he would have an explanation that surrounded the sisters. The time sisters were outside the photographer Stefan's building. Then he remembered looking on Prue's computer about the knife at the Spencer Estate crime and the innocent with the disappearance of the false bride and bridesmaids. And then it got weirder and weirder when they strange girl that found the cat appeared and with the popcorn in his and suddenly popped when the girl made a weird motion in his hand.
He knew it was illogical, he knew people regarded him as a loon for believing it, but deep down Andy always figured there was something out there in the world that couldn't be explained by normal means. Even with these blanks being filled it still didn't make sense to him. Why was Prue, her sisters, and their little friend involved? He could understand the involvement of Rex and Hannah in these latest incidents, but there were still at least two weird incidents before Prue joined Buckland's Auction House. That when they were together Prue was always distracted, late, and just plain cutting dates short. Maybe what Morris said after the feather incident was true and he was blinding by his feelings for Prue, but he couldn't shake the fact that the mysterious blond companion of hers had something to do about it. So when this was over he would undergo an off the record investigation.
Doing a search on the computer they acquired from Rex's office, which was part of the search warrant no records of Hannah or Rex could be found. So going to his computer he searched the database for unsolved murders within the last year.
He hesitantly typed in 'Webster, Hannah' on his database search. He took a sip of coffee as he waited for the search to finish. The page finally came up and on it there was a picture of an African American woman. "Why, Hannah, you've changed." Andy commented, quickly reading over the information of the real Hannah's death. An unsolved homicide. "Dead 8/20/98." He read aloud. He typed in Rex Buckland and eagerly awaited the search. The picture that showed up was of an older, balding man, his death also an unsolved homicide. "Died 8/20/98."
An Astral image of Rex appeared behind Andy who was about to call Darryl who was at the hospital with Allison taking her statement. ''You're going to have an epiphany! You will invite Prue Halliwell to Buckland to discuss some evidence that you found.''
At the Halliwell manor Naruto just got off the phone. ''Well that was Nicole. They haven't caught them yet, but the police are definitely on their trail. So when you girls are ready we can go and vanquish them now. '' he said as Prue's cellphone went off.
''Hold on a second!'' she held up her finger. ''Oh...hello Andy...uh-huh...can't it wait? '' Prue sighed, ''...okay I'll be right there.'' she said as she hung up the phone as the others gave her a curious look. ''Andy wants to take my statement. Something about me being a character witness.''
''But don't they have enough evidence?'' Piper asked, she was sure they planted more than enough evidence. While the whole thing left a bad taste in Piper's mouth who felt uneasy about fabricating evidence and all, due to the illegal nature of it all; the thing that made it easy to follow were the fact that warlocks were trying to kill her and her sisters, going as far as framing Prue and generally being the ones behind several incidents that nearly ruined many innocents lives and since they were going to be vanquished anyway she didn't feel the guilt she would have, considering many innocent people would be saved grief and lives would be spared because of their actions.
''Maybe he's just being thorough. It won't take me long so hold off on the vanquishing until I get back.'' Prue said as she stood up and grabbed her jacket off the coat hanger. More than anything Prue was looking forward to vanquishing Hannah who had been a bitch to her to day one.
''Well I guess I can get started on dinner,'' Piper suggested with a shrug as she got up and went to the kitchen.
''So...with those two busy you think we can work on my martial arts?'' Phoebe figured if they were just going to sit there and wait for Prue they might as well be doing something.
''Okay sure...'' he said as he got up and extended his hand to help her up. ''Just get into your fighting clothes then and we'll get to work.
The two of them moved out to the training area Naruto had set out. This time they were in the gym located next to the forest. Phoebe was in a white sport Bra Top with black lounge Capri pants with technical socks. On a bench sat a towel and a water bottle, both Phoebe found herself using a lot.
Phoebe sprang forward in a kick, shouting. A hand almost lazily clamped around her ankle and swung, sending her flying into a wall. Landing with a grunt of pain Phoebe panted heavily as she pushed herself to her feet. Her body was covered in a thin layer of sweat and she felt sore. When Naruto said he wasn't going to go easy on her because she wouldn't learn he wasn't kidding. Her stomach was still in pain where he elbowed her earlier, but she was determined to get stronger.
Rolling out of the way of another attack, she moved into a crouching position dipping forward slightly as she pushed herself forward using the upper portion of her feet and threw out a series of straight punches at his midsection. To her vast surprise, one of them connected, causing a grunt of surprise from Naruto. She began to jump back only for Naruto to shoot his hand forward and grabbed her wrist, sweeping her off her feet with a kick resulting in her falling on her ass. Phoebe let out a cry of pain as Naruto straddling her and threw a punch to which she closed her eyes and waited for the impact only for nothing to happen. She opened her eyes and she saw his face was only a few inches from hers as a grin was on his face.
''I win...'' he said as he got up and he extended his arm to help her up. ''Hope I didn't rough you up too badly.''
''Just my pride...and my wrist...and my ass.'' the last part she whispered.
''Aaw...want me to kiss it better?'' he asked as Phoebe's face heated up. ''You're wrist.'' he clarified with a cheeky grin.
''So you have magical kisses now?'' Phoebe asked with an amused grin.
Naruto snorted in response to Phoebe's question. ''I wish.'' he said as he glanced down at his watch. ''What is taking Prue so long?''
000
Speaking of Prue she had arrived per Andy's instructions about some evidence he may have found.. ''Okay Andy what the hell is going on?'' the whole time he had been rather evasive since she was arrived and she was being patient considering it was late and they were alone at the police station which in itself was odd. So when Andy pulled out his gun and aimed it on her Prue realized she had fallen into a trap.
''Hello there Prue.'' Rex greeted with a triumph grin as he stepped into the room.
"Rex." Prue whispered, her eyes narrowing in anger. ''I should have known you were behind this. What did you do to Andy?''
''I just convinced our good detective here to lend me his services for the moment.'' he could see the anger bubbling her eyes. 'Don't get too angry, Prue. You wouldn't want to cause an accident now would you.'' he said as he gave Andy the Hypnotic suggestion to hold the gun to his head.
''W-Wait...don't...this is between you and me Rex! Leave him out of this!'' Prue ordered, a murderous look forming in her eyes.
''I want one thing and one thing only and that's your powers of course. That's why I hired you in the first place, you know, to see if you and your sisters were the Charmed Ones. Then I waited to test your strength, to see how best to make my move and here we are." Rex explained.
"But why all the drama? Why didn't you just kill us and take our powers?"
Rex shook his head with a half-smile. "No, no, no. I have seen exactly what you can do when confronted directly. That's why I opted for blackmail. See, there is this special spell in the Book of Shadows that strips you of your powers forever." He began, pulling out the power-catching lantern so they could see it. "And this device will capture those powers. Then you'll bring them to me." Rex ordered, passing it to Prue.
"Go to Hell." Prue retorted, not moving to take the lantern.
"Yeah, I'd love to, darling. I miss it terribly. And this will help me return with honors. In return, I'll let your little friend here go. And don't even think about getting your little blond friend involved. If I even think he shows up then the detective dies. Well?" He held the lantern back out toward Prue.
Reluctantly, Prue reached forward and grabbed the lantern.
The Quarter was gathered in the conservatory as they discussed what they learned. ''"It's a relinquishment spell. If we read it aloud, it takes away all of our powers." Piper explained, glancing up from the book to look at Phoebe, who was closest.
"Is there any way to reverse it?"
Piper looked back down at the book. "I don't know, it doesn't say." She replied, reading over the page again for an answer.
"Well, then I say we flip to another page and find a spell that kicks Rex's warlock ass." Phoebe suggested enthusiastically.
Prue quickly shook her head. "We can't." Prue responded.
Phoebe turned to Prue with a look of confusion. "Why can't we?" She demanded.
"Because for all we know he's here, right now, watching us. And if we don't do exactly what he says, he'll kill Andy. All I know is that once we relinquish our powers the three of us meet him at Bucklands.''
"But we can't give up our powers without a fight. It's like giving up who we are, who we've become." Phoebe retorted, crossing her arms defiantly. ''I'm not saying we leave Andy to die, but let's be realistic, the moment were left powerless they'll kill us. These powers are gifts. Gifts that were given to us to protect and ultimately to pass on to the next generation. If we lose then then how do we protect innocents? Even worse we would be giving them up to evil." She continued desperately.
Prue ran a hand through her hair in frustration as she took several steps forward. "Don't you think I know that? I mean, how do you think I feel, Phoebe? I'm the one who got us into this situation."
"Prue, it's not your fault." Piper immediately replied, hoping to stop her eldest sister from blaming herself for a situation that was beyond her control.
"It's not." Phoebe agreed sympathetically.
''There was nothing you could have done Prue.'' Naruto pointed out. ''We just got to hope for the best.'' he said as the sisters let out a sigh.
Phoebe sighed in defeat. "I don't want to have to do this." She whispered.
"Neither do I, but we don't have a choice. All we can do is take a leap of faith and hope that somehow it all works out." Piper replied gently.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe soon found themselves sitting in a circle in the attic with the Book of Shadows opened to 'the Relinquishment Spell.' The sisters reluctantly joined hands and Prue began the spell.
"From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish our powers."
Piper was the next to speak. "From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish our powers."
All eyes looked to Phoebe, "Come on, Phoebe." Piper prompted.
"Okay." Phoebe sighed loudly. "From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish our powers."
White orbs filled the room as a heavy wind picked up. The pages in the Book of Shadows began to flip and the words disappeared. Three small white balls of light flowed into the lantern that was sitting on the edge of the table and the wind subsided.
"Look." Phoebe whispered, flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows with every page completely blank, not a single word was on its pages.
Piper dropped her head into her hands and Prue looked away from the book that had become a major part of their lives the last few months.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Phoebe softly stated.
Prue grabbed the lantern. "Let's get this over with."
The smirking astral image of Rex faded. At Buckland's Rex and Hannah waited in Rex's office for the three sisters to bring their powers. Rex was seated on his couch while Hannah stood in front of him, looking excited.
"They're coming." Rex announced and Hannah's face split into a wide grin.
"Good." She breathed, dropping to floor onto her hands and knees. As she hit the floor, Hannah shape shifted into a panther. Hannah growled and moved a few steps forward.
"I love you too, darling." Rex replied, his eyes following Hannah.
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe trailed out of the elevator, Prue was clutching the lantern. ''I really hopes this works.'' Phoebe whispered.
Rex stepped out from his office and slowly advanced toward them. "So you three have finally arrived. Powerless, I presume?"
"Where's Hannah?" Prue demanded, her eyes not leaving Rex though Phoebe glanced around nervously for the missing warlock.
"Lurking. That's what she does best." Rex answered. "Now, the lantern if you please." He prompted, holding his hand out and taking it from Prue's grasp. He sighed in triumph and the fact in his hands he was holding the fabled power of the Charmed Ones. Rex's eyes flickered over the Halliwell sisters. "It feels a little anticlimactic, don't you think? Too easy, almost. It feels as if we need a more satisfying ending." Rex slowly walked around behind the sisters cuing Hannah to come out.
The panther stalked out of Rex's office and heading for the sisters.
Meanwhile back at the manor Leo, Allison, and Arashi were there. The latter two both picked up a prepared potion. ''I hope you know what you're doing White Lighter.'' Arashi commented as Leo held his hands out over the empty pages and his hands began to glow. The golden light spread over the book and words began to reappear on the pages.
''I got this...you two just help the sisters.'' he replied as they nodded.
Allison grabbed Naruto's arm and orbed them out of the house.
Rex looked down at the lantern in his hands as the little white balls of light began to glow and leave the lantern. "No." He whispered as they moved back toward their respective witch. "Hannah, now. Quickly." Rex ordered as he knew if the sisters weren't killed quickly they would be vanquished.
Allison and Arashi appeared and quickly tossed a potion that erupted in a smokescreen. ''Now!'' Naruto shouted as the sisters jumped into action.
Throwing up her hands Piper froze the two warlocks and Prue used her power move Rex in front of Hannah. Moving out of the way they watched as Piper's power faded and Hannah landed on Rex, thinking that he must have been one of them snapped his neck.
She pulled back upon recognizing Rex and shape shifted back into her human form. "Rex, no." She whispered appearing horrified as she stepped away from his body. Her eyes flashed in anger and she glared at the Halliwell sisters. "What have you done?" She screamed just as she charged them only for Phoebe to throw up a kick and nailing Hannah in the back sending her reeling back. Before the Warlock could attack again she was lit ablaze by fire and smoke began to surround both Rex's body and Hannah. Hannah looked around, terrified. "Wait, it wasn't my fault. I didn't fail. He did. No, please, no!" She pleaded as they disappeared in the flames.
All three sisters stared at the spot where Rex and Hannah had been in shock and horror. "What the hell was that?" Piper was the first to recover enough to ask the question they were all thinking.
"I think you just answered your own question." Phoebe offered, biting her lip slightly.
''Oh hell! Andy!'' Prue suddenly remembered as she frantically began searching for him. Thankfully enough he didn't remember a thing. In fact that morning Prue was getting off the phone with Andy.
''Well we're clear. From what the police can gather the warlocks killed the Rex and Hannah, assumed their identities, and took over the auction house. Then they bilked it dry and tried to cap it off with stealing the tiara. Which was found hidden in Rex's office." as Prue explained what she learned Piper was flipping through the book of shadows.
"Spells, incantations, demon stuff. It's all here. Everything, just like before." she commented as she and her sisters were all gathered around the little table where they had left the book the night before.
"Thank God." Phoebe exclaimed. ''So how did you know a spell to get our powers back?'' all Naruto told them before he left was that him showing up would be the signal to attack and to just trust in him.
''Actually you should really think that Leo guy, not me...I didn't know so I asked him and he's the one responsible for getting your powers back.''
''Then I suppose we owe him our thanks.'' Prue added with a sigh. ''I sort of feel like an ass for firing him now.''
''Yeah well...he got over it, speaking of which.'' Naruto pointedly turned his head to the doorway of the other room where Allison walked in and began clapping. ''Bravo...magnificent performance by the way.''
''Thank you...'' the woman reacted bashfully. ''I'm just honored to be aiding the Charmed Ones.''
''Hey now, none of that hero worship stuff. Come take a seat,'' Piper said waving the woman over. ''You're part of our group now, so don't put us on a plateau or anything.''
''Speak for yourself! It's nice to be appreciated!" Phoebe threw in as she made mock self-gratifying poses like she was a stuck up nose. ''A Charmed One...I could get used to this hero worship.''
''Oh great,'' Prue started with a roll of her eyes. ''Last thing we need is for Phoebe's ego to swell.''
''Hey!''
They all left out a laugh at that as they decided to enjoy their victory...with cookies!