Legacy 203: Dragon Tale

Part 2

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In San Francisco, Penny Halliwell was walking down a busy street in the Chinese market. She was looking for rare spices and fruits for new cocktail recipes for a themed party at P3. Melinda had given her an address for a local dealer she often did business with for the restaurant, though Penny seemed completely lost. Luckily she wasn't alone, as Payton had agreed to tag along for a shopping spree and lunch. The sisters had grown a lot closer the last few weeks, ever since Penny had been able to express her grief over losing Prue. She had nearly lost her humanity in the process, but she was starting to heal. She still felt the pain of loss, but there were moments of hope starting to shine through.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Payton asked.

"I don't know, I can't read any of the signs and I have no internet here." Penny replied.

"Maybe we should call Melinda." Payton suggested.

"I already tried." Penny said. "She must be busy at the restaurant. Besides, we should be able find a simple shop on our own."

"What did the sign look like again?" Payton asked.

"It's supposed to be a green dragon circling a white lotus." Penny said.

"Maybe we should get some lunch first." Payton noted as her stomach growled. "I forgot breakfast."

"Sounds good." Penny said.

The sisters found a food truck on a square and ordered something to eat. A few moments later, they sat down at a table by the truck. Penny looked around the square and saw it was decorated with many colorful paper lanterns. They had the perfect look for her party.

"These lanterns would look good at the club." Penny noted.

"They're really pretty." Payton agreed. "What kind of party is it, anyway?"

"It's for a Chinese company that just opened an office in the city." Penny replied. "They do business with Henson Holdings, so Theo recommended the club."

"Theo, huh?" Payton noted suggestively. "Do you still talk to him a lot?"

"Not really." Penny admitted. "When we first met, he wasn't ready to start anything and now after Prue, I'm not in a good place to start something either."

"What about that guy last night?" Payton asked with a frown.

"I'm not looking to start something serious." Penny said. "That was just letting off some steam."

"It looked pretty steamy alright." Payton remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with having fun, little miss prude." Penny countered. "The therapist that mom suggested also agreed."

"I'm really glad you decided to go." Payton said. "How is it going?"

"I actually had my last session yesterday." Penny said. "She said I didn't need her anymore. I just need to remember to express my feelings and not suppress them."

"I'm glad." Payton replied. "Things are finally starting to feel normal again, but that also makes me feel guilty, like I'm moving on too soon."

"Everyone moves on in their own pace." Penny noted. "That's what my therapist told me. You should never feel bad for having a good day, it doesn't mean you're forgetting Prue. She'll always be a part of us."

"I guess you're right." Payton said. "So speaking of people always being a part of us, are we ever going to talk about Julian?"

"Why do have to ruin my good mood?" Penny remarked.

"We have to talk about him at some point." Payton said. "He's been gone for months."

"Exactly, he chose to leave us." Penny replied.

"Didn't he leave to find a way to get rid of the demonic bounty hunters?" Payton asked.

"That was just an excuse." Penny said. "He obviously didn't want to deal with losing Talia and Prue, so he decided to leave. We're his family, we could have helped him… he could have helped us."

"You're still angry with him." Payton replied. "I get it, but he is our brother. I had my reservations at first, but I want to get to know him better."

"I'm not sure if he's coming back." Penny said. "Getting your hopes up will only lead to disappointment."

"Maybe you're right." Payton admitted. "But I think he'll find us when he's ready."

"Well, when he does, I still owe him a punch to the face." Penny remarked. "We should get moving."

"Alright." Payton said.

The sisters finished their lunch and deposited their trash before moving on. On the other side of the square, Penny saw the shop that was selling the paper lanterns, so she bought a bunch of them for the club. She also asked for directions to the spice shop, though the owner had no idea which shop she meant.

"This shop is impossible to find." Penny said. "Can't you try to get a premonition or something?"

"That's personal gain, remember?" Payton noted. "Besides, it's not like I have any control over my premonitions. Mom took years to learn how to do that and it still doesn't work every time."

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Penny replied with a shrug. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Fine, I'll try." Payton said. "Hand me your shopping list. Maybe it will trigger something."

Penny reached into her pocket for the list of spices and fruits she needed for the cocktails. She handed it over to Payton, who closed her eyes as she focused on the list. A moment later, she gasped and dropped the list as if it was burning her skin. Her eyes shot open and she waved her hands to cool them off.

"What did you see?" Penny asked.

"Fire." Payton replied.

Before Penny could react, an explosion occurred a few streets away, which caused a panic among the people in the market. As everyone fled in one direction, Penny looked the other way and saw black smoke rising in the distance. The premonition was a sign that someone needed their help.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Payton repeated in a mocking tone.

"We have to get over there." Penny said.

The sisters ran straight for the black smoke. After crossing several streets, they reached a small store hidden in an alley. Part of the wall was destroyed and the fire was spreading. Penny saw the shop sign lying on the floor, which had a distinct green dragon and a lotus painted on it. Most people would find it a coincidence, but for witches like them it was almost expected. For some reason, they were meant to be here.

"Let's go." Penny said.

"You want to run into a burning building just like that?" Payton asked.

"We don't have a choice." Penny replied.

"Yeah, I know." Payton said reluctantly.

Penny entered the building first through the destroyed wall. She felt the heat of the flames surrounding her, but tried to ignore them. Instead, she focused on looking for innocents. There was an elderly man in a robe lying motionless on the floor. Penny ran over, though when she got close, she noticed a huge burn mark on his chest and realized she was too late. She looked around and heard noises of battle coming from behind the store.

The sisters headed through the backdoor and suddenly found themselves in a completely different world. It was a beautiful garden with ponds and cherry blossoms. In the middle of the garden stood a small temple with ornate decorations. From the outside, nobody could have ever guessed something like this was hidden in the middle of the city.

"Penny, look!" Payton called out.

Penny turned and saw two women fighting in the middle of the garden. The first was a young Asian girl with long black hair, dressed in a similar robe to the elderly man in the store. She seemed slightly older than Payton. The second was a tough-looking woman dressed in black leather. Between the two, it was obvious which one was the evil one. The second woman unleashed a stream of fire from her mouth, which the other girl avoided by leaping up into the air and doing a backflip. As she landed, Penny noticed she was wielding a strange dagger.

"You will never wield the Dragon Blade." The first girl said.

"Your master said the same thing." The fire breather replied. "Look at him now."

"You will pay for that." The girl said.

The girl leaped forward and attempted to stab the fire breather with her blade, though she easily avoided it and grabbed the girl by the throat. The girl smirked and kicked her in the stomach before dropping down and knocking her down with a spinning kick. The fire breather growled angrily as she leaped up and rose into the sky, breathing another stream of fire down at the girl. She tried to avoid it, but was hit in the leg, resulting in a nasty burn.

"That's enough." Penny said. "Payton, help her."

Payton nodded while Penny ran forward and levitated up into the air. She kicked the fire breather in the back, causing her to crash down to the ground. Penny landed between her and the girl, who was helped to her feet by Payton.

"Who are you?" The girl asked.

"We're here to help." Penny said. "We can do the introductions later."

"No, let's do them now." The fire breather said. "I'm getting tired of being interrupted by strangers."

"Fine, we're good witches." Penny replied. "Now who are you and what the hell do you want?"

"She's a Dragon Warlock." The girl said. "She's after the blade. We cannot let her take it, my family has sworn to keep it safe."

"A Dragon Warlock, I guess that explains the bad breath and scaly skin." Penny remarked.

"I'll kill you, witch." The warlock replied angrily.

"Shula, enough." Another voice called out.

Penny looked up and saw a male Dragon Warlock descending from the skies. Based on their apparent age difference and his tone of voice, the second warlock was likely the father of the first.

"We can take them." Shula said.

"We don't know the extent of their powers." Her father replied. "We're not prepared, so we're not taking the risk. There is too much at stake."

"Fine." Shula said. "This isn't over, witch. I'll make your skin nice and crispy."

The younger warlock flew up to join her father, after which they both disappeared into the skies. Penny was relieved, as there was no way they would have handled two powerful warlocks on their own. She headed to her sister and helped carry the injured girl to the temple. Her leg was badly burned and she seemed to be in a lot of pain, though she remained strong and determined.

"Who are you?" The girl asked again.

"My name is Payton and this is my sister Penny." Payton said. "We're good witches. We were led here by one of my premonitions, which means we're meant to help."

"My mom told me about witches." The girl said. "My name is Mei Ling, thanks for your help. Have you seen my master?"

"I'm sorry, I think he is gone." Penny said. "I found an elderly man in the shop with the same robes you're wearing."

"I see." Mei Ling replied as tears formed in her eyes.

"Were you close?" Payton asked.

"He was my master and great-uncle." Mei Ling said. "He helped raise me after my mother passed away a few years ago. He was all I had left."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Payton said as she took her hand to comfort her.

"Thank you, but it's not the time for tears." Mei Ling replied. "I need to keep the blade safe."

Mei Ling attempted to get up, though she stumbled due to the burn on her leg and fell back down with a pained look on her face.

"We're not doing anything until that leg is healed." Penny said. "We'll call our Whitelighter and…"

Before Penny had a chance to finish, she heard sirens. The explosion and smoke had drawn the attention of the police and fire department and Penny telepathically sensed they were already in the store. She turned to Payton and motioned her to disappear. Payton got the hint and turned Mei Ling and herself invisible just before the cops entered the garden. They screamed at Penny and she had no choice but to raise her hands in surrender. She was in quite the mess.

Xxx

Right above the temple garden, Rhys and daughter Shula were hovering just of sight behind some clouds. Rhys saw the police enter the garden while firefighters attempted to stop the flames. Meanwhile, his daughter was impatient and angry for being interrupted, though she was trying and failing to cover it up. She always did have a temper, which was something she had inherited from her mother.

"Do you see now why we needed to go?" Rhys asked.

"You heard the sirens coming." Shula noted. "If we had stayed, we would have risked exposure."

"Exactly." Rhys replied. "Let the witches deal with the law enforcement. It should keep them distracted long enough for us to track the Zen student and the blade."

"I don't like it." Shula admitted. "Once we have what we're after, we'll rule this world. Why should we worry about exposure now?"

"Because we're not in charge yet." Rhys replied calmly. "And as long as we're not, we have to respect the rules set in place by both good and evil."

"What's our next move?" Shula asked.

"The student and the young witch have turned invisible, but they won't be able to hide forever." Rhys said. "We'll keep a close eye on them from the skies and strike when the time is right."

"Just one thing." Shula said bitterly. "The witch with the big mouth, she's mine. I'll make her death slow and painful."

"I taught you not to play with your food." Rhys remarked with a smile. "But alright, I'll let you have this one. Seeing you like this reminds me of your mother."

Xxx

About half an hour after the cops arrived, a handcuffed Penny was sitting on a bench in the garden. One of the officers was guarding her while the others searched the garden. The fire department had managed to put out the fire, while luckily Payton and Mei Ling had been able to sneak out whilst invisible. Penny was sure that her sister would take Mei Ling somewhere safe and call Noah to heal her. All Penny needed to do was find a way out of this mess. She tried to move, but found the handcuffs were painfully chafing her wrist.

"Excuse me." Penny said as she tapped into her hypnotic power. "These cuffs are too tight. I'm not a threat, so you can take them off."

"You're not a threat." The officer repeated in a trance-like tone.

The officer undid the cuffs and Penny rubbed her wrists to ease the pain. Getting out of the garden through hypnosis was not exactly an option, as there were far too many officers for her to control. Penny saw someone entering the garden and was instantly captivated by his presence. He was a handsome guy, dressed in a fine-looking grey suit that showed off an athletic shape. He had caramel skin and bright eyes, with neatly trimmed black hair and a stubble beard.

"Oh, damn." Penny whispered.

"Why is she out of cuffs?" The handsome guy asked the officer.

"I…" the officer mumbled. "I don't know, I'm sorry, inspector Morris."

"It's fine, don't let it happen again." Morris said. "I'll take it from here."

The officer nodded and walked away. Inspector Morris reached into his pocket and revealed a notebook. Penny wouldn't help but stare at his beautiful eyes.

"Are you okay?" Morris asked. "Did you get hurt in the fire?"

"No, I'm fine." Penny replied. "Who are you?"

"Inspector Morris." Morris said. "I'm here to find out what happened and why you're here, miss…?"

"Penny." Penny replied. "Penny Halliwell."

"Halliwell." Morris said as he wrote it down in his notebook. "That name sounds familiar."

"I could say the same about yours." Penny said. "Though I would have remembered if we had met before, inspector."

"Likewise." Morris replied. "So Miss Halliwell, do you mind telling me why you're here?"

"I was shopping at the market when I saw the fire." Penny said. "I was hoping to help, but I'm afraid I was too late."

"I see." Morris noted with an impressed frown. "And do you often run into burning buildings?"

"Only when I have to." Penny replied with a smile.

"Most people leave that up to the fire department." Morris said. "Although it's brave, you shouldn't put yourself at risk like that. You could have gotten hurt or worse."

"Then I won't do it again." Penny said. "I promise."

"Did you see anyone else or anything suspicious?" Morris asked.

"I'm afraid not." Penny replied. "I just saw the flames and that poor old man, then I went into the garden to see if there was anyone else out here, but no."

"Alright, thanks for telling me." Morris said.

"Wait, so I'm not a suspect?" Penny asked.

"I haven't decided yet." Morris replied. "For now, it looks like you're just a witness, but I'll need your contact info and you have to stay in town until our investigation is over."

"If you want my number, you can just ask." Penny remarked.

"I'll keep that in mind." Morris replied. "You're free to go, but I suggest getting checked out by the paramedic first."

"I will, thanks." Penny said. "So can I get your number? Just in case I suddenly remember something, I mean."

"Of course." Morris replied as he handed over his card.

"Darryl Morris Junior." Penny noted as she read the card, which again sounded familiar.

"It's DJ Morris." Morris replied. "I've been meaning to get that fixed, but I just started working for the San Francisco Police Department."

"I like DJ better." Penny said with a flirty smile. "I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Do that." Morris replied. "And try not to get into any more trouble, Miss Halliwell."

Penny nodded as one of the officers escorted her out of the store. After stopping by the paramedics to check for possible smoke damage, she was free to leave. Once she was out of sight, she called out to Noah to orb her home.

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