Windy Warfare

The Underworld was abuzz with demonic chatter about what else; the Charmed Ones. It had been almost a year since they had come into their powers and still no one had managed to take them out. The Source was pacing angrily in his lair.

"Oracle, why have the Charmed Ones not been defeated yet? Is it so hard to best three children?" he snarled. The oracle gave a small sigh, running a finger over the top of her crystal ball.

"Because they are a formidable force, my liege. Their coming was prophesied centuries ago," she answered.

"I know of the prophecy, Oracle. I want to know how to destroy them. They are the only thing that stands in my way," the Source growled. The oracle gazed into her ball, contemplating it for a while.

"You could send Shax after them. He never misses a target," she said with a smirk.

"I could. You are very lucky Oracle. Next time I may not be so forgiving," the Source sneered, running a ringer along her jaw line. With that he flamed out, leaving the Oracle to just roll her eyes.

The Source reappeared to find Shax lurking in the shadows. The demonic assassin turned at the sight of his master, bowing low.

"How may I serve you?" Shax questioned.

"I want you to go after the Charmed Ones. I want them dead," the Source ordered.

"It is done," the demon answered with a smug look on his lips. He would not fail in his mission. He never missed a target.

"It had better be," the Source simpered before disappearing in flames. Shax gave an evil laugh at the though of the task. He had heard rumors of the Charmed Ones' great power but he also knew they were just children.

Back in San Francisco Victor was throwing away all of the wrapping paper from Phoebe's birthday presents. He couldn't believe they were all a year older already. The time had really flown by. He also couldn't believe how much they had grown as witches in the past year. He knew Patty would be proud of them and somehow that made him proud too. Just as he put a new trash bag in the garbage in the kitchen, he heard Piper's voice bellowing from upstairs.

"Phoebe, give it back!" Piper shrieked. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and Phoebe appeared, Piper hot on her heels.

"Whoah, what's going on, girls?" Victor asked, stopping them both in their tracks.

"Phoebe stole the necklace Leo gave me for my birthday," Piper accused.

"I did not," Phoebe shot back, the chain clearly protruding from her pants pocket.

"Phoebe, give your sister back her necklace," Victor scolded. Pouting, the six-year-old handed over the necklace. Piper snatched it back, securing it around her neck.

"I just wanted to wear it with my outfit tomorrow," she whined.

"Well you can't just take things that aren't your. That's stealing, "Victor explained.

"If you wanted to borrow it, you should have asked Piper nicely if you could wear it," he added.

"Sorry, Piper," Phoebe apologized, giving her sister a hug.

"I forgive you. Just don't take it without asking," the nine-year-old replied.

"I promise," Phoebe murmured.

The two sisters left the kitchen, both with smiles on their faces. Victor just shook his head. Policing three kids was never an easy task. He was really starting to understand the hardship of being a single parent. He had to admit he was enjoying being able to raise his girls. Sure he didn't like that magic was involved but he had no control over that. He just had to trust that everything would turn out for the best in the end.

Upstairs Prue was finishing up some science homework. She was on the last question when the phone rang. Oh how she wished she had a phone in her room. She heard Victor pick it up downstairs.

"Prue, phone for you. It's Andy Trudeau," he called up the stairs. Prue's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Andy. She'd done a bit of growing up over the summer and so had he. She sprinted downstairs, taking the phone from his hands.

"Hello?" she spoke into the receiver.

"Hi, Prue. Did you do the science homework yet?" Andy asked from the other end.

"I'm almost done with it," she answered.

"I don't get the first part. Can you explain it to me?" he inquired.

"Sure. Let me get it," she told him, setting the phone down and sprinting back upstairs. Victor just watched in amusement as she returned, setting her book and notebook down. She picked up the phone and spent the next half hour walking him through the entire assignment, question by question. He figured it was just a ploy to talk to Prue. As it neared forty-five minutes, Victor gave her the evil eye.

"I have to go. I will see you tomorrow," she sighed and hung up.

"Is there anything we need to talk about?" Victor asked, sitting down across from her.

"No," she answered, not wanting to discuss her crush on Andy with her father.

"Prue, it's ok to like Andy. You're getting older and that is going to happen," he began.

"Dad, no offense but I don't want to talk about that….with you," she said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Honey, whether you like it or not, I'm the only parent you've got. And you're going to have to talk to me. You're growing up and I know I have to accept that," he countered.

"Ok…but can we just not talk about tonight?" she asked and he nodded. She gave hi a small smile and headed back upstairs.

The next morning dawned and Phoebe sat up, having just had a premonition in her sleep. Her powers were definitely progressing. She'd seen some frightening demon attack, sending Prue sprawling through a wall. She hadn't moved. She hurriedly climbed out of bed, running into her sister's room. She climbed into bed with her sister, making sure she was still alive. Prue woke up when she felt the bed shift.

"Phoebe what are you doing?" Prue asked groggily.

"You're alive," Phoebe sighed.

"Of course I'm alive," Prue grunted.

"I had a premonition…you died. This demon killed you. It was so bad," Phoebe whimpered, tears starting to prick her eyes.

"Shh, it's ok. I'm not dead, Pheebs. Maybe it was just a dream," Prue suggested but Phoebe shook her head.

"It was a premonition. I know what they feel like," the six-year-old retorted.

"Ok, well what time did this demon attack?" Prue asked.

"I think it was night," Phoebe answered, trying to recall the images to the forefront of her mind.

"Alright, so we can figure it out after school. I have a math test today that I can't miss. So come on, get up," Prue muttered. Phoebe slowly climbed out of her sister's bed and headed for her own room. Piper was up, looking groggy. She noticed the nervous expression on Phoebe's face.

"Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Phoebe had a premonition that I die," Prue answered.

"What?" Piper asked, her mouth suddenly dry as sand paper.

"Well it doesn't happen until night time so we can figure it out after school," Prue muttered. Piper just raised an eyebrow at her sister. Far be it for her to question Prue. She was the oldest after all.

The girls went their separate ways to get ready for the day. They ate breakfast in silence. Victor noted their quietness but didn't want to risk disturbing them. He was never quite sure what was going on when they were brooding. He saw them off to school and headed to work. At recess, Phoebe headed off by herself into a secluded area of trees.

"Leo," she called out softly. She waited, hoping he'd heard her. He finally appeared in orbs.

"What's wrong, Phoebe?" he asked, noting the surroundings.

"I had a premonition this morning when I woke up. Prue died…she got killed by a demon," she began.

"Did you tell your sisters?" he asked and she nodded.

"But they didn't care. Piper didn't say anything and Prue said since it happens at night we can worry later," Phoebe informed him.

"But you think you should do something now," he asked.

"I don't want my sister to die," she sighed, looking really upset. He bent down and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I won't let anything happen to you or your sisters," he breathed.

"Thanks, Leo," Phoebe whispered, pulling away.

"What did the demon look like?" he asked.

"it was blue and had long hair," she answered, trying to remember more.

"I think he hit Prue with wind…or lightning bolts," Phoebe added.

"I'll go and check the Book of Shadows. So that way when you get home, she can figure out what to do, ok," he promised. She nodded just as the whistle was blown, calling them in for recess. Phoebe gave him another quick hug and headed back inside. Leo orbed away, a thought already forming in his head.

He got to the Manor and held his hands over the Book. The pages began to flip under his hands until it landed on the page bearing Shax's name. He had thought it might be the Source's personal assassin. This didn't bode well for the girls at all. They had never faced a demon this powerful or ruthless. At least there was a vanquishing spell they could use. He only hoped they would be prepared in time .

The girls arrived home some time later with Victor. Leo walked in from the sun room, Book in head. He gave the girls just enough time to put their back packs down and take off their coats.

"I've done some checking, and I found the demon from Phoebe's premonition," Leo informed them. Phoebe couldn't help but grin.

"What is it?" Piper asked, peering at the book.

"Shax," she read aloud. She scanned the description and shivered.

"He sounds powerful," she commented.

"He is very powerful. He's the most powerful demon you've come up against so far. You need to be prepared. I wrote out three copies of the vanquishing spell," he explained, handing them each a slip of paper.

"He doesn't seem too hard to vanquish," Prue commented off handedly. How wrong she would be. For right then, the front doors to the Manor burst open with a strong gust of wind and Shax swirled in, looking menacing. Phoebe's eyes grew wide as she took the demon in. He was even more frightening in reality. She instinctively clutched Prue's hand, hoping she could keep her sister alive.

"What the hell," Victor rasped.

"The spell girls!" Leo shouted, trying to pull Victor from the line of direct fire. The girls tried to open their mouths but nothing came out. Shax laughed loudly, raising his hand to send them flying backwards. Prue finally snapped out of it and grabbed Piper's hand.

"Evil wind that blows. That which forms below. No longer may you dwell. Death takes you with this spell," she read. Shax grimaced in pain but nothing else happened. She glanced at her sisters.

"Evil wind that blows. That which forms below. No longer may you dwell. Death takes you with this spell," they chanted together. Just as the last word left their lips they were struck with a gust of violent wind. They were all knocked unconscious. Only Victor and Leo saw the demon's demise. He roared in pain as he was torn apart, molecule by molecule.

Leo quickly turned to his young charges. He checked each of them for pulses. They were all still alive. He gently picked each girl up, placing them on a couch and went about healing them. As he healed Piper, her lips parted into a smile and his name issued forth. He couldn't help but smile. He moved to Prue and healed her next, knowing that Phoebe would want to know she was ok. As Phoebe sat up she looked around.

"Is Prue ok?" she asked.

"Prue is fine. You're all ok. And Shax is gone," Leo answered. Prue and Piper walked into the living room, descending on their baby sister.

"Thanks for getting Leo to check this out. If you didn't, we would have been goners," Prue sighed. Phoebe smiled at her sister. She had finally done something to take charge for once and that felt good. She felt like she was really a part of what they had become over the last year.