Disclaimer: I cry very hard when I think about how much I don't own Charmed.
Ch. 12:
Piper peered out of the bedroom doorway to see that the rest of the house was in the same state of disarray as the room. Seeing no one, she decided to make a break for it. She took a step and looked down when she felt something break under her foot. She bent down to pick up a picture frame, holding a picture of a smiling young man. Nearby was a baby toy, which she also picked up.
She turned and found herself face to face with the Beast. He growled and grabbed her, pulling her up with him.
"Last chance." He told her. "Help me get the child or die."
"What are you doing with this?" Piper asked, holding up the toy.
The Beast growled again and threw her across the room where she landed on the bed.
"What is the matter with you?" he demanded. "Do you have a death wish? I've come too far. I've gone through too much to lose him now. Don't make me kill you!"
"Why don't you just do it?" Piper challenged. "What are you waiting for?" She waited a beat. "Get it over with!"
"I can do worse than kill you." He told her. "I can keep you here. You'll never see your child again. Think about it."
He shimmered out, leaving Piper alone as she glanced down at the toy in her hand.
Meredith made her way back into the attic and put the sleeping baby in the playpen as Paige's potion exploded.
"You people are really bad at the whole quiet thing, aren't you?" Meredith questioned. "How did you ever raise a child?"
Phoebe made a face at her.
"Well, I can't think of anything else to add." Paige said. "It's the most powerful potion we've ever made."
Meredith went over and looked at the ingredients.
"Oh, yeah, this is a classic." She said. "Piper taught this one to me in remedial potions."
"Remedial Potions?" Paige demanded.
"Yeah, I was never very good at them." Meredith said, walking back to the playpen. "Why do you think Chris usually makes them for me?"
"Not what I was questioning." Paige muttered.
"Okay." Phoebe said. "I guess it's time to wake up the baby?"
Her cell phone began to ring and she picked it up as the baby started to stir.
"Hello?" she called.
"Hey, it's me." Came Jason's voice.
"Oh, hey, Jason." Phoebe replied, distractedly.
"I, uh…I didn't want to leave like this." He told her.
"Uh, I can't really talk right now." Phoebe told him. "I'm kind of busy."
"Oh, really?" Jason shot back. "Come on, Phoebe. Why do you always have to make things so difficult?"
"Oh, I make things so difficult?" Phoebe demanded.
The baby stirred and Meredith tried to calm him as she exchanged a nervous look with Paige.
"And how exactly do I do that?" Phoebe continued. "By being honest with my feelings and by making you be honest with yours?"
"You know it's not that simple." Jason told her.
Meredith jumped back as the baby started to cry it's high-pitched wail.
"Okay, I really have to go now." Phoebe said quickly.
"Phoebe, wait." Jason called.
"Have a good flight." Phoebe said, hanging up quickly. "Toss me a vial."
Paige tossed her and Meredith vials as a Manticore shimmered in next to her. She turned and the Manticore backhanded her across the room.
The Manticore took a step towards Phoebe and Meredith, but Phoebe threw the vial and the Manticore exploded.
"Paige, you okay?" Phoebe called.
Paige groaned as two more Manticores shimmered in behind Phoebe and Meredith. They growled and the two women spun around as they threw them across the room, next to Paige.
The Manticores hissed, their forked tongues tasting the air around them as they advanced.
Meredith flung out her hand and blades of ice flew from her, hitting the Manticores and slicing them up pretty badly. Before she could throw the potion, the Beast shimmered in behind the Manticores.
He growled and hit one of the Manticores. The other swung and the Beast blocked the blow before sticking his hand in the other one. For a moment, the two creatures stared at each other before the Manticore disappeared into a pile of dust.
The other Manticore was bleeding on the floor as he turned to look up at the Beast. The two creatures growled and hiss at each other. The Manticore shimmered out, leaving a pool of yellow blood behind.
The baby cooed and the Beast looked down at him. As he walked towards the baby, Paige spotted a vial on the floor.
"Phoebe, get the vial!" she yelled.
Phoebe scrambled to get the vial as the Beast picked up the baby. She threw it and it hit him on the back, injuring him. He growled at her and shimmered out with the baby.
"Well." Meredith said, sitting up. "There goes our leverage."
Piper stood in front of the door, blasting it over and over again, trying to break through the shield. Finally, the blasts broke through and Piper cautiously reached for the knob. When she knew it wasn't going to shock her, she grabbed it and opened the door.
When she stepped outside, she was surprised to find herself in a normal suburb. She looked up and down the street, confused.
Behind her, she heard the Beast's labored breathing and knew he was back.
She looked out the door for a second before closing it and walking back into the bedroom. Inside, the Beast was hunched over the baby, softly cooing to him.
"Shh." He said softly. "You're okay. It's all right. You're home now."
Sensing he wasn't alone, The Beast turned around and saw Piper watching from the door.
Paige took a sample of the Manticore's blood off the floor and handed it to Phoebe. Meredith stood a little ways away, with her back to them.
"This had better work." Paige said.
"Oh, it will." Phoebe replied.
There was a flash as Chris and Leo orbed in.
"We just got back from talking to The Elders, and they're in agreement." Leo told them. "If we can't return the baby safely to the Manticores…"
"…we'll vanquish him." Chris finished.
There was a boom as a bolt of electricity hit the wall, which burst into flame and then froze, before hitting the ground in a splash of water.
"Mer?" Chris said.
"The baby's gone." She said, rounding on him. "We've lost him and we've lost Piper. The Manticores kicked our asses, the Beast kicked theirs, and then he took the baby. So, tell me, who gives a damn what the Elders say?"
"Mer…" Chris said, moving towards her.
"No." she replied, pulling away. "What do we do now?"
"We try to see if we can have another little get-together with the Manticores." Paige replied. "See if we can't strike some sort of deal."
"If we can join forces with them to kill the beast," Phoebe said, "then they can get their baby back."
"And we get our sister back." Paige said.
"And what if they don't want to join forces?" Leo asked.
"Well, then we hope we have enough of these fancy little things to go around." Paige replied, holding up the vanquishing potion.
"And I'll be there." Meredith said, stepping forward.
"No." Chris said immediately. "No way. It's too risky."
"Well, blood is thicker than water." Phoebe replied.
She added the Manticore blood to the scrying crystal and began to scry for the Manticores.
Chris walked over to Meredith.
"Mer, are you sure about this?" he asked.
"That baby deserves to be raised by its family." Meredith told him. "It deserves to grow up. No matter who that family might be. No matter what it will grow up to be."
"All right." He said softly. "Just…be careful."
"Don't worry, Chris." She said softly, taking his hand. "We'll get her back."
Chris nodded and squeezed her hand.
The Beast roared as Piper tried to clean his wound.
"Well, quit moving around so much." She told him. "You're just making this more difficult."
"Just leave me alone." He told her.
"Why?" Piper demanded. "So you can die? Hey, it's your choice. I'm just saying if we can't stop this bleeding-"
"Fine." The Beast interrupted. "Whatever. Just hurry up."
"You're welcome." Piper replied. "Who did this to you?"
"You're sisters." The Beast replied.
"Oh." Piper said. "Sorry. Actually, if they used the potion I think they did, you're lucky to be alive. You should have been blown to pieces."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Well," Piper hesitated, "'cause I made it."
The Beast roared again as Piper touched the wound again.
"Oh, come on." She told him. "Show a little spine. What kind of demon are you?"
"I'm not a demon." He told her.
"Then what are you?" she asked. "I saw a picture of a man in the bedroom. Oh, come on. I've been around a lot of demons, and they don't usually live in neighborhoods right out of Home & Garden."
"Is that why you're helping me?" he shot back. "You think this is some sort of hideous curse or something?"
"Yeah, basically." Piper replied.
"Well, then go." He said, getting up and moving away. "I don't need your pity. That's not what happened, and that's not who I am." He glanced at the baby. "Not anymore, anyway. Just leave us. Go."
Piper got to her feet and approached him.
"Us?" she asked. "You mean you and your…son? What happened?"
"Manticores mate with humans to create hybrids so they can blend in." he told her. "Hide in plain sight. They kill their mates after conception, but I got away. Ever since, all I could think about was saving my son. So he wouldn't have to be raised like one of them. The only chance I had to do that was…to turn myself into this, to become powerful."
"But, um, how?" Piper asked.
"I just started mixing potions…" he replied, "using whatever I could steal from them. I didn't know what I was doing, but I didn't care. All I cared about was finding a way to fight them…to find him. I didn't care what would happen to me. I just wanted my son."
"You know they're gonna try and take him back." Piper said.
"I know." He replied, nodding.
"So let's get you fixed up so we can fight them together." Piper told him.
Phoebe and Paige orbed into the Manticore's cave and Meredith walked out of the shadows.
"Ooo." Phoebe said, watching the pack eat.
"Hey!" Paige called, waving to get their attention.
The Manticores stopped eating and looked up at them.
"Well that worked." Meredith said. "Now what?"
The Manticores stood up and Phoebe held up the potion vials.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Phoebe warned. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The Manticores growled.
"Do you think we have enough potion?" Meredith asked.
"So…" Phoebe said. "Who wants to go hunting with us?"
The Manticores growled and looked at each other.
A/N: So what did you guys think? Let me know.
Some of you have expressed the opinion that I should only write the parts of the episodes that have to do with Chris and Meredith. I'm sorry, but I think for the sake of the narrative, you have to include the things like Phoebe's date. I hope you continue to read, but I'll be keeping those things in.
Abbey