Chapter 5: Chapter 5

9:05

Acerbitas was tall, he had dark hair and pale skin, and paced impatiently back and forth in a dark carven. A dark hooded figure shimmered in before him. "You said they would be here" he snapped at the figure.

"They will come." The figure hissed. "Just remember the plan. We don't want to kill them, not just yet. The middle sister is the weakest. Remember what we talked about and do not disappoint me. Or it will be the last thing you ever do." The figure then shimmered out.

As if on cue the Charmed Ones appeared in a bright swirl of lights.

Finally, Acerbitas thought to himself, "You got my message, I see?" He greeted them, "I must admit, it took you much longer than expected to get here. Better late than never though I suppose. So, what do the Charmed Ones have up their sleeve for little old me?"

Piper took a threatening step forward, "Who are you working for?" She demanded, her voice strong and cold.

"Me? I'm not working for anyone, what makes you think that?" Acerbitas questioned.

"Because your a lower level demon, and you know you would die if you weren't being protected." Phoebe countered, sounding menacing although still shielded by her sisters protective shoulders.

"We're not going to get anything out of him" Paige whispered into Pipers ear.

"Just a bit longer" Piper whispered back. "Now, I'm not stupid" she yelled, "So your going to tell me who sent you, or I'm going to vanquish your sorry ass!"

Acerbitas began to laugh, it was sickening to the sisters.

"What is he laughing about?" Paige asked a littler nervously.

"I don't know," Phoebe said, "But its probably not good."

"Piper throw the potion now!" Paige yelled.

Piper threw the potion they had made, as Acerbitas changed from a human into a green monster who appeared to be wrapped in sea weed, the potion exploded before it got to him as plants began to spout out of the ground blocking the path between the sisters and Acerbitas. "Conium maculatum" Acerbitas began as he pulled a dagger out from his seaweed cloak.

"Isn't that the..." Paige began.

"Yes" Piper said through tight lips.

"A handy little dagger, if I do say so myself." Acerbitas boomed as he flipped around the animus dagger. "Enhances things, although that plant in front of you will kill you if you ingest only a few leaves on its own." He dipped the dagger into a cauldron that contained a thick red liquid and retracted it, the liquid dripped down. "I don't want to do that, not just yet anyway." He began to walk towards them.

"DAGGER!" Paige yelled, holding out her hands, white lights swirled around the dagger but it did not come to her as she called, Paige looked helplessly at her sisters.

"Ah ah ah" Acerbitas wagged a disapproving finger at them with one hand and clutched a strange plant in the other, "Protection, from you, for me, and your powers from this place."

Piper tried to blast him several times, "Ohhhkay, do we have a backup plan?"

"That was the backup plan" Phoebe replied, trying to keep the panic out of her voice as the sisters began to back away from the demon. The sisters watched a wine emerge from the ground and wind its way towards, them splitting off Piper from Phoebe and Paige.

"Paige," Piper said, "Get Phoebe out of here."

"Piper I..."Paige began.

"We're not leaving you here!" Phoebe said concern streaking across her face.

"Paige, NOW!" Piper yelled.

Paige took one look at her big sister, her eyes were set and determined, Paige grabbed Phoebes arm, but she tried to pull away, before she could, Paige orbed them out.

Acerbitas watched them go "So I guess it's just you and me now" he said as he walked closer to Piper.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

9-06

Paige orbed into Magic School, and Phoebe ripped her arm away from her younger sister and glared at her. "You shouldn't have left her there by herself Paige!"

"We didn't have a choice." Paige countered, but her mind was racing with things she could have done.

"We have to go back." Phoebe told her the panic rising.

"Your not going anywhere..." Paige said to Phoebe.

Leo and Billie entered into the room, "What's going on?" Billie asked.

"Where's Piper?" Leo questioned looking between them.

Phoebe looked at Paige, Paige sighed, "She's in the cavern with Acerbitas."

"WHAT?" Leo and Billie both asked.

"Paige," Leo began "How could you just leave her there?"

"It's not like I wanted to. There was a poisonous plant separating us, she wanted me to get Phoebe out of there." Paige explained quickly, a little flustered, "I'm going back, I just, Billie did you find anything to counter act that damn dagger?"

"Just one thing, I think these marble amulets may help to counteract the dagger enough so that Acerbitas isn't protected from your powers." Billie handed Paige the amulet, "Marble is pure and strong, and the inscriptions are a force of good magic..." Billie trailed off.

"It's not much to send them in with" Leo said warily.

"It's all we've got" Paige replied as she moved to orb out.

"I'm coming with you" Phoebe said.

"No, its too dangerous, Piper wanted me to bring you here for a reason, and she must have considered I may have brought you back to the house, and there would be danger waiting. I think that's why she wanted me with you."

"My obligations to you guys don't end just because I'm pregnant, and if we're doing this again, we're in it together." Phoebe looked serious. "I'm not about to sit by while my sisters risk their lives. I can't loose you guys. I won't."

Paige hugged Phoebe, "You won't, but we have to take care of you. I'll get Piper back."

"Your pregnant?" Leo asked stunned.

"And you're back?" Billie asked excitedly.

Paige ignored her younger charge, "If I'm not back in an hour, Billie will come to see if we need help, sound good?"

"Yeah!" Billie nodded a little too excitedly.

Phoebe looked reluctant, but she stayed put as Paige orbed out.

Paige orbed into the carven, which now appeared to be deserted except for the bubbling cauldron heated by a fire. "Piper?" Paige whispered, as she crept further into the cave. "Piper." She said a bit louder. She couldn't see Piper anywhere and she was starting to get worried. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave her alone. "Piper!" she now yelled. No answer. Finally she was deep in the cave, she could no longer see the cauldron, when she spotted a body on the ground. She ran towards it, it was Piper. "Oh God, please be alive. Piper?" She shook her sister. "Piper!" Panic was rising in Paige's voice now she cradled Pipers unconscious body in her arms. She tried to heal her sister, but couldn't. She noticed Pipers wrist had been cut open, she clutched the amulet to her chest and prayed. She held Pipers arm in her hand and the cut sealed almost fully so that the bleeding stopped, but Paige couldn't heal all the poison, Pipers breath was growing shallow.

All of a sudden Paige was yanked up by her hair, "I'm almost impressed" came the sound of Acerbitas's voice behind her. He yanked the marble amulet out of her hand and threw her to the ground beside Piper. He then shoved a plant dripping with blood towards her face and Paige immediately became unconscious. "Works like a charm every time." He chuckled to himself as he stood above Paige with the dagger.

Phoebe paced back and forth in the library, as Billie and Leo were looking through books, they had found more information on Acerbitas;

A hired demon who uses enchantments to enhance already poisonous plants. Although he was a lower level demon, he was often protected and regarded as fairly dangerous to the common witch. They key to his weakness was to use healing herbs to counteract the poisons in combination with powerful white magic.

Billie had already made several potions, but was having trouble coming up with a spell. "Phoebe, a little help here?" she asked.

Phoebe stopped pacing to look at both Leo and Billie staring at her, "Did you say something?" she asked.

"Uh yeah, are you going to help us with this spell or not?" Billie repeated sounding a little annoyed.

"Sorry," Phoebe replied going over to the table and sitting down, "I just, I have a really bad feeling about this..." Phoebe trailed off and focused her energy on her sisters, she swallowed the lump in her throat, "They're in trouble Leo, I can feel it."

"What, what do you mean?" Leo asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"I mean I know that something is seriously wrong, they're both hurt."

"It hasn't even been an hour yet," Billie tried to reassure her, "Paige just orbed out. She said an hour, and then I'd go remember?"

"I know they're in trouble, and I won't let them die." Phoebe stood from the table and walked out of the library very upset.

In the cave, the hooded figure shimmered in to find both Piper and Paige lying unconscious on the floor.

Acerbitas turned, "The middle sister did not come."

"She will, the bond the sisters share is unbreakable, even by her unborn child she carries within her. Play on her fear of losing her baby, and her sisters, and then make her choose, one or the other. It is a win win situation" the voice sneered. "And whatever you do, make sure you get some of her blood in that damn cauldron." The voice hissed and shimmered out.

Phoebe came back into the library with a vial clutched tightly in the palm of her hand. Leo and Billie looked up at her, they had completed the spell and all the potions, "They haven't come back?" Phoebe asked.

"No." Leo looked pale.

"Then I'm going" Phoebe grabbed the potions and the spell and threw the potion she had carried with her at her feet. The potion exploded in a puff of smoke and Phoebe was gone.

Billie and Leo exchanged stunned looks.

"Didn't see that one coming," Billie commented, and Leo's frown deepens.

Phoebe appeared in the cavern, her stomach turned and she clutched her unborn baby. Shaking it off, she walked quietly into the cave. "Piper? Paige?" Phoebe called, as she caught sight of them and began to walk quickly over.

Acerbitas stepped out of the shadows blocking Phoebes path to her sisters. Phoebe quickly slipped the potions and spell into her back pocket so he didn't see. Acerbitas was back in his human form now. "I'm sorry Phoebe, you're too late."

"Your lying." Phoebe said, although there was a slight quiver in her voice that Acerbitas detected.

"Maybe I am" he said with a smirk "But you don't know for sure, do you."

Phoebe looked over to her sisters, "Paige, Piper!" she yelled.

"Oh, they aren't going to answer you. But you're going to answer me." Phoebe glared at Acerbitas. "Now, I'm a reasonable demon, but first I need you to give a little." He swept towards Phoebe in an instant and slashed her wrist, she screamed and clutched the gash. "Now," he said as he dropped the blood into the cauldron. "where were we?"

Phoebe glared at him, "Back off, if you kill my sisters I will vanquish you."

Acerbitas laughed, "You think you can vanquish me on your own? Doubtful. But I'm sure we can come to an agreement. You see, the poison your sisters are enduring is causing them great pain and suffering, it begins in the stomach and slowly kills everything at is spreads from the centre, to every, other, part of your body. Once it spreads everywhere, it then works its way back to the heart to kill. Although, your sisters are surprisingly strong."

Phoebe lunged forward a bit. "No" Acerbitas said, putting his hand up to stop her, "You see, if you go over there, you will be infected...but...I don't know if it would affect you, as it is affecting them."

Phoebes eyes narrowed, "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, I would think...oh I don't know, this is just a theory, you know?"

"Get on with it" Phoebe said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, okay, I would think that, that baby of yours growing inside of you, may just take in the poison instead of you. Resulting in it's death, not yours. "

Phoebe went pale, "So it is true" Acerbitas smirked "Another Charmed One is having a child. Tisk tisk. Good karma in this world is growing much too fast." He said shaking his head. "That's why you all are going to die. Well, not you of course- just your sisters, and your unborn child."

"No" was all Phoebe could muster, she looked at her sisters and held her stomach. Thoughts were racing through her mind, she fell to the ground.

Acerbitas walked behind her, and whispered into her ear, "of course, I'm a business man, and you gave me a little, so I'll give you a little, a choice, if you will." Phoebe looked up at him. "Your sisters, or, your baby."

"I can't," Phoebe said now crying.

"You have to lose to realize the value of gain, and you haven't lost anything yet." Acerbitas mused, "So what will it be, your sisters or baby? If you choose your baby, you wont have to deal with us demons anymore, because the Charmed Ones, will, be dead." He smiled. "You can't kill an innocent baby can you?"

Phoebe looked down at her stomach, "I love you baby," she whispered. As she pushed past Acerbitas and went to her sisters they were barley breathing.

"Oh my, that was unexpected." He mused.

"So is this you bastard, Phoebe threw all three potions at Acerbitas and clutching her sisters hands, she read the spell:

Demon of distorting pain, Through the roots relive the game. Forever with this witches spell, take this demon back to hell.

Through the power of three, so mote it be.

Acerbitas reverted to his demonic self as the potion combined with the spell caused his own straps of seaweed to strangle him. "You still made the ultimate sacrifice Phoebe, there is one less of the next generation, and in that I have succeeded!" he yelled before he burst into flames.

Phoebe turned to her sisters and poured the last potion she brought down each of their throats, there was just enough for Phoebe to take a final swig before her sisters came to. She grabbed them both and hugged them before they even realized what was happening.

"Okay, what just happened?" Paige asked.

"A healing plant counteracted the poison, magnified by our magic." Phoebe explained, "The same healing plant that vanquished Acerbitas."

"Oh" Paige said.

"Are you alright?" Piper asked Phoebe

"Lets talk about that once we're out of here," Phoebe looked unwell and her voice shook, "Paige, do you think you can orb us back to Magic School?"

"Uh I think so," Paige replied, Phoebe still had her hands on her sisters shoulders and they orbed out.

As soon as they orbed back into Magic School, Leo and Billie ran towards them, Leo embraced Piper.

"You're okay!" Billie said, looking relieved, and then hitting Phoebe, "You weren't supposed to go."

"What can I say? I'm stubborn, and I won't even be out suborned by you missy." Colour was coming back to Phoebes face now. "It was a close one though..."

All of a sudden Coop appeared "Phoebe are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm alright." Phoebe replied, "Now."

"And?" he said looking down at her belly.

"It's alright, they know, and she's alright." Phoebe placed a protective hand over her stomach.

Paige stepped towards Phoebe and put a hand on her shoulder, "I can feel her, and she's okay."

Phoebe nodded thankfully at her sister, but couldn't bring herself to speak as her eyes watered with emotion and she let Coop pull her into his arms. His embrace gave her the strength she needed to swallow the lump in her throat and address her family, "I think we have a big problem. The demons want to cause us as much pain and suffering as we caused them... by targeting the next generation."

"We need to figure out who the hell is behind this and stop them before they get started." Piper replied.

Back in the cave, the hooded figure orbed in. He approached the cauldron which contained all three sisters blood, "Only one more." He hissed as he grabbed the cauldron and shimmered out.