A/N: Many thanks for your reviews, and your patience. They're much appreciated. Usual disclaimers. No ownership or profit, yada-yada-yada.

Chapter 5: Evil- Past and Present

"You sensed what?" Piper moaned.

"You heard me." Paige told her. "Darklighters."

"That's not good." Piper shook her head.

"What are Darklighters?" Cody asked.

"Evil counterparts to whitelighters. They're assassins for hire that carry crossbows with poison arrows designed to kill whitelighters, which is why Paige is not going back out there."

"Oh come on!" Paige protested.

"No. Out of the question. Besides, you've already done your job. You confirmed that whatever we're up against is also behind the takeover."

So Carlisle's a demon?" Cody interjected.

"Possibly." Piper replied. "More likely he's being possessed by a demon."

"They can do that?" Cody tried not to let his voice tremble. Paige continued her argument as if he hadn't spoken.

"Which is why I should go back and meet him so I can figure it out."

"For the last time, no. We'll just have top get Phoebe back here, and see if she can get any psychic assists."

Paige folded her arms, and glowered at her sister. "I hate it when you're right."

Cody sat on the couch, trying to wrap his head around this while absent-mindedly moving the various objects on the coffee-table with his power. He had been so caught up in his new identity, he had almost forgotten that the Tipton was being bought out. It had doubled in seriousness now that he realized the takeover was demonic.

"Alright, I'll call Phoebe." Paige complied. But then I'm getting started on a vanquishing potion."

"Too late." Piper stopped her. "Cody & I already made one."

"What?" Paige choked, dropping onto the couch next to Cody. "Wow, you're first vanquishing potion! How do you feel? Wait, did Piper warn you about the blast."

"Yeah." Cody grinned. "She told me about how your first one knocked you over." Both he and Piper giggled.

"It's not funny!" Paige whined. "That almost singed my eyebrows off."

"Not as funny as that time that potion backfired, and turned your hair red."

"What?!" Cody doubled over laughing.

"Alright, that's not fair." Paige frowned. "It turned out okay."

Cody fell off the couch from laughing so hard. It felt weird to be having such a normal moment, with everything that was going on. Weirder still was how comfortable he now felt with these women he had known all of two days. Maybe witches felt a kind of kinship for each other. Or maybe it was because of the shock that his mother had kept his identity a secret all these years that he was finding someone new to confide in. Dimly, he wondered how Zack was doing.

----------

Zack was actually faring quite well. Not only did he have more control over the fire, he was starting to keep up with Phoebe's moves, and incorporate his powers into it.

"Good, keep it up." Phoebe encouraged, continuing to send kicks and punches his way. She had been right about her prediction of Zack's fire not being able to keep up with her. But he wasn't missing by much. She was holding back of course, but she was still impressed at how quickly he was picking it up. Maybe your powers became easier to handle, the younger you were when you started using them. Her thoughts were interrupted when her cell phone rang. She answered it, while instantaneously dodging one of Zack's fiery punches. He fell over with a less-than-manly squeal, extinguishing the flames in his hands. "It's Paige, sweetie. I've got to take this. Try practicing your aim for a little bit."

Zack shot her a dirty look as he got back to his feet. Phoebe answered while Zack started throwing fireballs behind her.

"Hello." Phoebe answered. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me." Came Paige's voice from the other line. "Carlisle's entourage arrived, and two of them were darklighters. Piper wants you to come down and see if you can get a premonition or two."

"Alright, I'm on my way." She clapped her phone shut, and put a hand on Zack's shoulder to stop him. "Sorry kiddo, time to get back to the Suite."

"Ah man." Zack groaned. "I was this far from a bull's-eye." It wasn't until then that Phoebe noticed that he was glistening with sweat, and felt a little guilty about pushing him so hard.

"You've put in enough of a work-out for one day." She said, crouching down so he could climb onto her back. "Whew, Zack. You know, there's this new invention called deodorant."

"It's just a little man-funk." He sighed. Once he was riding piggy-back on Phoebe, as she made her way back the way they had come from the Tipton, he realized how tired he was. He just rested his head on her shoulder for awhile before he felt up to talking again. "Hey Phoebe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, anything." She assured him.

Have you ever been in love?" He asked bluntly. He felt a jolt go down her back, and wondered if he'd poked a soft-spot.

Phoebe tried to keep her voice level as she spoke. "Once. Why do you ask?"

"Well, this witch stuff is great… but I've kind of been thinking. Doesn't it keep you away from stuff like that?"

She thought for a moment, trying to find the right way to word this. "Well, yeah. That's never going to change. But we find ways to work around it."

Zack took that in for a second. "You think I can do it?"

Phoebe laughed. "I don't think you'll have any problem finding a nice girl. You're sweet, you're funny, you're street-smart…"

"You forgot something."

"Like what?"

"How about rugged good looks." They both giggled at that. "So… what happened the first time?"

She hesitated again as a darkly handsome face with blue-grey eyes made its way uninvited into her head. "Let's just say I fell for the bad-boy; weakness of mine."

"What do you mean bad-boy?" He prodded. "You mean like a demon?"

"Well…" She hesitated.

"You're kidding!"

"Half-demon! Half-demon! And it's not what you think. Long story short, he became the Source of all evil, and we had to vanquish his sorry ass."

"Hey, minor here."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, after that, I haven't been able to hang onto a decent guy since. I'm thinking of just swearing off men altogether."

"No, don't do that!" Zack cried. "Mom says true love is hard to find, but when you do it's… it's like nothing else matters."

"That's a pretty romantic thing for a divorcee to say." Phoebe pointed out.

"Well… she also says that sometimes, it just slips. But you should never give up on it. And besides, you're hot."

"Excuse me?" Phoebe scolded.

"I mean… nice, and attractive." He corrected hastily.

"That's better." She stared up at the sky, taking note that it was mid-afternoon, and that the sun was turning a fiery orange. "I guess you're right though."

Zack's demeanor perked up. "So does this mean you'll try to get back out there?"

"Absolutely." She assured him.

"Then how 'bout you start with me, at the movies."

Phoebe laughed again. "Give it a rest."

"Ah, come on."

----------

"Whitelighter?" Carlisle repeated into the phone of his limbo's back seat. The Heir inside him trembled with fury.

"Rupert and I sensed it when we pulled up." Helen's voice quivered, her normal shrill arrogance clearly paled with her master's displeasure.

"Then they had to have sensed you as well." Carlisle growled. "And that means they know demons are behind the takeover. Did you at least locate the whitelighter?"

"Unfortunately, no. Something stopped us from tracking the orbs."

"All the worse then. That means there are witches there as well, masking their presence."

"Forgive us my lord." Helen pleaded.

"I don't want excuses. I want results." His voice was chillingly calm, making it more unsettling than if he had shouted. "Find the witches, and eliminate them."

"Yes my lord." Helen concluded, glad to finally hang up.

Carlisle's stretch limbo pulled up to the front of the Tipton, and his door was opened eagerly by a Latin bellhop with a thick accent. "Welcome to the Tipton, sir. Allow me to take your luggage?" Carlisle paid him no mind as he stepped out.

Meanwhile, across the street, Phoebe set Zack back on his feet, as they prepared for a jay-walking sprint to the hotel. Zack squinted to see who was getting out of the limbo, and a rage boiled in him when he caught sight of the tall slick-haired Dominic Carlisle. "That's him!" Zack growled. He raised his hand, and focused his power. A fireball appeared in his palm before Phoebe could stop him.

"No!" Phoebe grabbed his wrist. Zack's fireball vanished from his surprise.

"Why'd you stop me?"

"Because one; we're in public, and two; we don't have a plan."

"Sure we do. I barbecue him."

"No, you don't get it." Urgency was plain in her voice. "What if that's not enough? We still don't even know if he's a demon. He could just be possessed by a demon, and if you kill him, you'll have innocent blood on your hands. Our powers are only to be used on demons, and warlocks. Never on people."

Zack froze. He stared at his hands, coming to grips with how close he had come to doing something horrible. Phoebe released his wrist, and took a second glance at the man across the street. For a brief moment, her eyes met his. His eyes were beady, and black, but for a second she could've sworn they flashed grey.

Pure soulless evil, practically suffocating her, rolled off his gaze in waves. She gasped, and squinted her eyes shut as the familiar ringing in her ears pulled her into the premonition. She saw the Seer, robed in black. She was glowing with dark energy, and floating in the air. Phoebe just watched helplessly as The Seer gained her new power, while she and her sisters stood waiting in the cage. Everything went black as the premonition changed.

This next was of Carlisle, collapsing to the floor as something stepped out of him. A tall, pale, gaunt young man with intricate tribal markings on his face. He was dressed in a dark cloak, and a black tunic, with tears along the sleeves, revealing markings on his arms as well. His hair was long, and black, and pulled back into a braid that hung in the middle of his back. But worst of all were those piercing grey eyes that housed all the hatred in the world.

"Phoebe! PHOEBE!" She was back in the present, looking up at Zack. The force of her premonition had knocked her to the ground. That was unusual. "Are you alright?" Zack asked frantically.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She reassured him, getting back to her feet. "Let's just get back to the suite." When she looked back at the hotel, Carlisle was already gone.

----------

"The Seer, are you sure?" Piper asked. She and her sisters were gathered at the opposite end of the living room, speaking in hushed voices, while Zack & Cody set the table for dinner.

"Yeah, but it was in the past, at the coronation." Phoebe explained.

"Well what about the other one?" Paige asked.

"I think it was a glimpse of the demon that's possessing Carlisle. I don't know who he is, but he's powerful. Really powerful. And he had tribal markings, kind of like Belthazor."

Paige's lips curled into a look of disgust at the mention of Cole's demon half. "Looks like Nat was right. There is something big about to happen here."

Piper looked back towards the twins, who were sniping playfully at eachother while they worked.

"Nice ponytail, Cody." Zack jabbed.

"Back off. It looks hot." His brother butted back.

Piper sighed. "And they're right in the middle of it." She frowned. Her sisters recognized it as the same look she had whenever she was weighing in their options. "Well if it's so powerful, do you think we should tell Nat?"

"What? Are you kidding?" Paige's eyes conveyed the shock she felt at this rather desperate move. "I don't want that manic Mata-Hari anywhere near those two."

"Well, I don't either, but she's helped us before."

"She's also tried to kill us before." Paige pointed out. "And besides that, we promised Carey we'd keep her away from her sons."

"No, Piper's right." Phoebe mediated. "You didn't see what I saw. That demon is strong, and he's only going to keep getting stronger. We might need her."

"Hey, you guys coming or what?" Zack interrupted.

"We're coming." Piper smiled, doing her best to look casual before turning back to her sisters. "We'll discuss this later. Phoebe, there are a few vials of vanquishing potion in the cupboard. We should probably carry them with us from now on. When the boys are asleep, we'll do some digging in the Book of Shadows." The three sisters nodded to each other, before resuming their attempt to not let on to Zack & Cody that something was horribly wrong.

----------

Carlisle dropped to the floor unconscious, as The Heir stepped out of him. "So, The Charmed Ones are here, are they?"

"Forgive us my lord." Rupert stammered as he and his twin sister took a knee, not daring to look him in the eye. "Somehow, they got in undetected."

"You're forgiven." The Heir's lips curved into an unsavory smile as he turned to face them. A dark throne materialized behind him, and he spread his cloak to assume his seat. "In fact, this may work to my advantage. When I, at long last ascend to my throne, I want them to be the first to know of my rise to power. Better yet, they're guarding two young witches."

He flexed his long bony fingers, dark energy dancing between them. "It will be poetic justice when I sacrifice them both for my ritual." He laughed sadistically, joined by the two darklighters. "Rupert, have you located me a dark priest?"

"It's been difficult my lord. Most have been in hiding since the initial collapse of the underworld."

"Then I suggest you get moving."

Rupert nodded to his liege before he vacated the room in a trail of black orbs.

"Helen, what is your status with Tipton."

"Difficult." The darklighter admitted. She was a little bolder than her twin. Once he had left the room, she had gone so far as to take a seat at the desk on the opposite side of the room, and lean back with her legs crossed on the desk. The Heir had once told her how he admired her talents, enough to place her above her brother. She thought of herself as his trusted confidante. "But I'm close. There are days where I could push him over the edge if I wanted to. But the hope…" Helen's blood-red lips curved in disgust around the word. "The hope that his daughter gives him is an ever-present problem, even for a Spirit-Killer."

"I'll deal with her. She'll have to be out of the way before the ritual anyway. Just keep working on Tipton, and see to it that this deal ends with a suicide."

Helen spread her crimson smile from ear to ear before she too orbed out. After her last orb vanished, the brute demon entered.

"My liege." He bellowed, placed a fist over his chest, and kneeled. "The last innocent has been marked. Once I get the warlocks out of the way, the pentagram will be complete."

The Heir nodded approvingly, as if tossing a dog a liver-treat. "Good. Then you may place that project on hold for now. Tell me, have you ever gone fishing? It's easy when you have the right bait." The Brute demon looked confused as The Heir's Smile widened, shoeing all of his sharp, angular teeth.

----------

"Paige, pass the butter?" Zack asked zealously. He had already downed three portions of roast, two corn-cobs, and four helpings of ravioli.

"Easy Zack," Paige chided, as she passed the butter across the table. "You could feed a third-world country with how much you just ate."

"Sorry. This Witch stuff is hungry work."

"We can relate sweetie." Phoebe agreed, wiping her mouth, the very model of sophistication. "But that doesn't mean you can inhale your food.

Piper smiled, taking in the sight. Then she frowned when she saw that Cody's plate had hardly been touched, and instead of eating, he was staring longingly at the door. She put her hand over his.

"I'm sure she had a very good reason." She tried to comfort him.

"It's alright." He whispered, not wanting to give Zack another reason to tease him. "She kind of does this a lot. She gets pretty busy with stuff. We used to see her all the time, but lately she's been so mysterious, and her parents keep taking her out of town with them. I've never even gotten to meet them."

Piper brushed his bangs out of his face, and behind his ear. "Why don't you call her in the morning?"

"I guess." He sighed.

The evening continued that way until the end of dinner; with Zack overeating, and Cody hardly eating at all. After dinner, the five of them gathered around the TV. Phoebe had brought her copy of "Kill it Before it Dies".

"Hang on." Zack interrupted. I'll be right back. I've got some popcorn under my bed." The others gave him an odd look. "What? I have to hide it from Mom when she's dateless on Friday nights." They all just shook their heads as he opened the door to his & Cody's bedroom, just in time to catch the trail of white lights reform into Max right by his dresser. Both their jaws dropped.

"Uh-Oh."

"You're a whi-" Before he could breathe another word, Max orbed in front of him to clap his mouth shut with one hand, and yank him inside with the other. She closed the door gently before releasing him, taking a quick peek to see if the others had heard. They hadn't.

She turned to Zack and tried to keep him calm. "Zack, listen to me. I…"

"You're a whitelighter?!" He whispered urgently. "And you never told us?!"

"Believe me, I wanted to." The brown-eyed girl sighed. "But Natalia wouldn't let me.

"Natalia?!" Zack gasped.

Max winced at her second slip. "It's a long story."

"What are you doing with her"

"I can't tell you. I'm not even supposed to be here. Natalia's talking to the elders. I have to go before she realizes I'm gone."

"But why did you even come then?"

"To give you this." She pulled a note from her jean-coat pocket. "Listen, you have to promise not to tell anyone; especially Cody."

"But I…"

"Promise me!" She shook him, desperation clearly showing in her eyes.

"Zack, are you okay?" came Piper's voice from the other side of the door.

Zack looked into Max's deep brown eyes, which if they grew any wider, they might pop out of her head. "I'm fine." He called back. "Just stepped on a jack."

"Okay, well hurry up, or we'll start the movie without you."

"Alright." Zack whispered, giving in. "I won't tell anybody. But I…"

"Thanks Zack!" She threw her arms around his neck tightly, cutting him off. "You're the best." Those were her last words before she orbed out, leaving Zack hugging the empty air. He looked at the note she had gave him, hesitating before opening it.

Dear Zack & Cody,

Things are about to get dangerous.

When they do, call for your whitelighter.

I'll orb right to you.

--- A Friend