Fan Fic and More

CHARMED
"Shades Of Gray"
By J. B. Tilton
Email: Aramath@isot.com

Rating: K

Disclaimer: "Charmed" and all related characters and events are the
property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically
created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of
copyright is intended.

* * *

(Authors note: This story takes place between season 1 episodes "The
Fourth Sister" and "The Truth Is Out There....And It Hurts".)

* * *

The sisters encounter a man who's been pursued by a demon for more than a
year.

* * *

ONE

Piper locked the door to Quake and then headed for her car. It had been a
long day at the restaurant. She had tomorrow off and she was planning to enjoy
it. She'd unplug the phone so her boss couldn't get hold of her. It seemed
that whenever it was her day off there was an "emergency" that demanded her
attention. Well, tomorrow was going to be different.

She looked around the empty parking lot as she walked to her car. She had
always been a bit nervous walking to her car after it got dark. But since she
had become a witch she was less nervous. She now had powers she could use to
protect herself with.

"Is someone there?" Piper called out into the darkness.

She hadn't seen or heard anything but something just didn't seem right.
It was similar to the feeling she h ad when she could "feel" someone watching
her. Maybe her newfound powers gave her some kind of insight that ordinary
humans didn't have. But nothing but the wind moved through the parking lot.

"You're loosing it, Piper," she said out loud to no one in particularly.
"If you don't watch it you'll end up talking to yourself."

Piper looked around for a minute and then headed for her car. She got in
the car and glanced around once more to make sure everything was okay. Still
seeing nothing amiss she put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot
and headed for home.

As she pulled out of the parking lot a figure stepped out of the bushes
near the restaurant. His features were obscured by the darkness. He watched as
Piper pulled out of the parking lot.

"A witch," the figure whispered to himself. "Perhaps she's the one I've
been looking for. It should be simple enough to track her down."

The figure looked around. Other than the wind, nothing stirred in the
darkness. The figure turned and moved back into the bushes around Quake. As it
did, it clutched a small bag in one hand.

* * *

"I'm so glad this day is over," Piper said, dropping down onto the sofa at
the manor.

"Rough day?" Prue asked.

"That's an understatement," said Piper. "We found out that the freezer
suddenly stopped working. It took the repairman forever to get there to fix it.
Then we got word that our entire shipment of chicken had been recalled because
of possible contamination. So we had to change the days' special. Then one of
the waitresses went home with the flu. Tomorrow is my day off and if anyone
calls for me I'm not home."

"Gotcha'," Phoebe said.

Suddenly Piper heard a noise from upstairs.

"Is someone upstairs?" Piper asked.

"That new handyman," Prue said. "He said something about caulking some
windows or something."

"This time of night?" Piper asked, looking at her watch.

"He said it wouldn't take long," Phoebe said. "He seems very
conscientious."

"Down, girl," Piper said. "I saw him first."

"No you didn't," Phoebe said. "Besides, I get the distinct impression
he's more interested in a free spirit than someone who's tied down from nine to
five."

"The restaurant is hardly nine to five," Piper responded.

"Down girls," Prue said. "The man does have a say in it, you know? He's
not a piece of furniture for you to haggle over."

"We're not haggling," Piper said. "And the sooner Phoebe learns he's more
interested in a more stable, mature woman the sooner she can look for someone
more her type."

"Let's just drop it for now," Prue said.

"Okay with me," said Phoebe. "I'm the one who gets to spend all day with
him while Piper's at work."

"Enough, all ready," Prue said, more forcefully.

"Okay, okay," laughed Piper. "Heard form Andy lately?"

"He's preparing for a court case right now," Prue said. "He's the main
witness in some big case. When it's over he said something about a victory
dinner."

"Oh, that sounds promising," said Phoebe.

"It's just dinner," Prue said. "Nothing special."

"Well, I think I'm off for bed," Piper said. "I plan to sleep late so no
one wake me up."

"Sleep as late as you want, sweetie," Prue said.

"Yeah, sleep all day if you want," Phoebe said. "That will give Leo and
me more time together."

"Phoebe," Prue snapped as Phoebe just giggled at Piper.

TWO

It was nearly noon before Piper came down from her room. Prue was all
ready gone to work and Phoebe sat at the kitchen table looking over the
classified ads.

"Morning, sleepy head," Phoebe said as Piper came into the kitchen.
"There's some fresh coffee if you want some."

"Thanks," Piper said.

"Aviva called this morning," Phoebe said.

"Really? Piper asked. "How is she doing?'

"Not too bad," Phoebe said. "She said she's trying to behave herself but
it's not easy. It told her to stick it out. I think she's going to be okay."

"That's good," Piper said. "She's been through enough. She deserves some
happiness."

"So, what do you have planned for today?" Phoebe asked.

"Thought I'd pick up something special for dinner," Piper said. "I
haven't had much of a chance to fix a proper meal since I started at Quake. I
figured since I've got the night off I'd fix a real meal for a change."

"Sounds good," Phoebe said. "Anything I can do to help."

"Just stay out of the kitchen while I'm cooking," Piper said.

"No problem there," Phoebe said. "You want me to run to the store for
you?"

"No, I'll do it," Piper said. "I'm kind of picky about the ingredients I
use."

"Is that supposed to be news?" Phoebe asked, smiling.

"Very funny," Piper said. "I won't be gone long."

Piper finished her coffee and then to her room and got dressed. She said
a quick goodbye to Phoebe and then went out to her car. As she was unlocking
the car door, a man approached her from the street.

"Piper Halliwell?" the man questioned.

"Yes," Piper said, turning to face the man.

The man appeared to be in his mid forties. He was dressed casually but
the clothes were rumpled and somewhat dirty. He had several days' growth of
hair on his face and was badly in need of a haircut. He glanced around
furtively. Piper also noticed he was holding a small bag in one hand.

"My name is Watkins," said the man. "Marcus Watkins. I got your name
from the manager at Quake. I need your help."

"Okay," Piper said suspiciously. "What kind of help do you think I can
give you?"

"I can't talk right now," said the man. "I have to keep moving. It might
find me. You're the only one who can help me. I'll come back later tonight.
Then I'll explain everything."

"Look, Mr. Watkins," said Piper, "I don't know what you think I can do for
you, but...."

"I know you're a witch," Watkins said. "And Like I said, you're the only
one who can help me. I don't have anyone else to turn to. No one else can
handle this. Please, just let me explain everything before you decide. It's a
matter of life and death. I'll be back later."

The man suddenly turned and hurried up the street leaving Piper alone at
the car. She looked around the block but didn't' see anything out of the
ordinary. She stood wandering what this man had been babbling about.

* * *

"He just came out and said you were a witch?" Prue asked when Piper told
her sisters what had happened.

"Yeah, just like that," Piper said. "He seemed really nervous. He kept
looking around like someone or something was after him. And he said 'it' might
find him. You think he might be another warlock?"

"I don't think a warlock would be asking for our help," Phoebe said. "Not
from what the Book of Shadows says."

"Well, he said he'd be back later tonight," Piper said. "What do you
think we should do?"

"We need to find out what he knows," Prue said. "If he is a warlock, he
could be dangerous. We need to find out how much he knows about us."

"What about what he said?" Phoebe asked. "About us helping him?"

"That depends on what kind of help he wants," Prue said. "First, we find
out what he wants and what he knows. If he knows Piper's a witch whatever he
wants can't be good. We need to be very careful here."

"But if he's an innocent," Phoebe began.

"We don't know that he is," Prue said. "In fact, we don't much of
anything about him. I'm not saying we don't help him. I'm just saying we need
to be sure first. To make sure this isn't some sort of trap."

"Well, that makes sense," Piper said. "It can't be hurt to be careful."

"Right," Prue said. "Now, all we have to do is wait for our mysterious
Mr. Watkins to show up and explain what's going on."

THREE

It was just after dark when there was a knock at the front door. Piper
opened the door to see Watkins on the front porch. He seemed less nervous than
he had earlier4 that day. He was holding the same bag he had been holding
earlier.

"Mr. Watkins," Piper said. "Come in. We've been expecting you."

Watkins looked behind him and then stepped into the entryway. He stopped
suddenly when he saw Prue and Phoebe standing in the living room.

"Who are they?" he demanded.

"These are my sisters, Prue and Phoebe," Piper said.

"They're witches, too," Watkins said.

It wasn't a question but more a statement of fact.

"As a matter of fact," Prue said. "You seem to know a lot about us. You
told Piper you needed her help. And you intimated it was because she was a
witch."

"Yes," said Watkins. "Only a witch can help me at this point."

"Why don't you sit down and tell us what you think it is we can do for
you?" Piper asked.

Watkins moved into the living room and took a seat on the sofa. The girls
also took seats being careful to position themselves in case Watkins tried
anything.

"As I told Piper," began Watkins, "my name is Marcus Watkins. Until
recently I was an engineer. I was working on a project in South America.
Extending a road through the Amazon Jungle."

"That's a long way from San Francisco," Prue said.

"Yes, it is," said Watkins. "Well, in order to extend the road it became
necessary to relocate a small village in the path of the construction. We were
having some trouble relocating them because they didn't want to move."

"Can't say I blame them," said Phoebe. "No one likes to be forced out of
their home."

"I didn't have anything to do with that," said Watkins. "My job was to
design the road. That's all I did."

"What's that got to do with us?" Piper asked.

"The village shaman said he would stop us," Watkins said. "He put a curse
on everyone involved with the project. I just thought it was silly superstitious mumbo jumbo. I mean curses aren't real."

"But you found out differently," Prue said.

"Yes," said Watkins. "Men started dying under mysterious circumstances.
Unexplained accidents, mysterious illnesses, things like that. Then I saw it.
It attacked a workman right in front of me."

"Saw what?" Prue asked.

"I don't know what it was," Watkins said. ""It looks like a black cloud.
But it's not a cloud. It moves like it's intelligent. I think it's responsible
for the deaths of all the men on the crew. And now it's after me."

"How do you know that?" Phoebe asked.

"It's following me," Watkins said.

"That's what you were referring to earlier," Piper said. "When you said
it might find you."

"Yes," Watkins said. "That's also why I waited until tonight to come
back. It seems to have trouble tacking me at night. I've been running from it
for over a y ear. All I can do is keep moving so it won't catch up with me."

"What's that?" Prue asked, pointing at the bag Watkins still clutched in
his hand.

"It's a protection charm," Watkins said. "I found another shaman who gave
it to me. He said it would help protect me from this thing but it's not a
hundred percent effective. I have to keep it on me all the time."

"So you sought us out to help you?" Phoebe questioned.

"Not exactly," Watkins said. "I was passing through San Francisco and I
saw you in the parking lot at Quake last night. This protection charm helped me
identify you as a witch. When I discovered that I figured you could help me."

"What is it you think we can do for you?" Prue asked.

"Get rid of this curse," Watkins said. "Look, all I did was design the
road. I didn't have anything to do with trying to relocate the village."

"I'm not sure what we can do for you," Piper said. "I don't even know if
it's possible to break a curse."

"Can't you at least try?" Watkins begged. "I can't keep running from it
forever. Eventually that thing will catch up with me. When that happens it
will kill me just like it killed all the rest. I don't deserve that. You have
to help me."

"I suppose we could look into it," Piper said. "It doesn't seem right
that he be punished if he didn't do anything."

"Mr. Watkins," began Phoebe.

"Please, call me Marcus," Watkins said.

"Okay, Marcus," said Phoebe. "This thing that's after you. You said it
looked like a black cloud?"

"Yes, why?" Marcus asked.

"Because I think it's here,' Phoebe said, pointing into the entryway.

They all looked to see what appeared to be a small black cloud hovering in
the entryway.

"Oh my God," Marcus screamed. "It's found me."

Suddenly the cloud began to move into the living room toward the man.

FOUR

The three sisters instantly moved between Marcus and the cloud. Piper
brought her hands up and the cloud froze immediately. Phoebe moved over and
grabbed Marcus by the arm.

"Get him out of here," Prue said. "We'll take care of this thing."

"Phoebe dragged Marcus past the frozen cloud into the entryway toward the
kitchen. She pushed him through the door into the kitchen and then turned to
face the creature with her sisters. She wasn't sure what she could do against
it with no active powers but she knew they were stronger together.

As Phoebe turned to face the creature, Piper's freeze wore off. It
continued it's forward momentum for a moment and then suddenly changed
direction. It began to move toward the kitchen directly for Phoebe.

Prue squinted her eyes and used her telekinetic power on the cloud. She
pushed the cloud away from Phoebe toward the front door. The cloud moved under
Prue's power toward the door and then simply passed through the door as if it
wasn't there.

The girls moved immediately to the front door. As Prue flung the door
open they all saw the cloud hovering on the front porch. It hovered for a
moment and then simply faded from sight.

"What the hell was that?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Prue said, "but we'd better find out fast. Piper, go
check the Book of Shadows and see if you can find it in there. Phoebe, get
Marcus and bring him back in here. He might be able to tell us some more about
it.

"Right,' Phoebe said.

As Piper headed for the attic, Phoebe headed for the kitchen. Prue
stepped out on the porch. She scanned the neighborhood to see if any of the
neighbors had witnessed what had happened. No one seemed to be outside just
then.

"He's gone," Phoebe said as Prue went back into the house.

"What do you mean he's gone?" questioned Prue.

"He must have gone out the back door," Phoebe said. "That cloud thing had
him terrified."

"Let's go see what Piper has found out," Prue said. "If that thing comes
back I want o be ready for it."

As they walked into the attic they found Piper flipping back and forth
through the book.

"Did you find anything?" Prue asked.

"I'm not sure," Piper said. "The only thing I can find on a cloud-like
creature is a listing for a disembodied spirit. But that doesn't sound like
what Marcus described."

"What's a disembodied spirit?" Phoebe asked.

"Apparently it's the spirit of a person who dies a violent death," Piper
said. Some times the spirit is forced out of its' body and it can't move on
until it can reunite with the body. But Marcus didn't say anything about any
deaths until after this thing showed up."

"If he told us the truth," Prue said. "We have nothing to go on except
for what he told us. Things may not be the way he told us."

"What about that bag Marcus was holding?" Phoebe asked. "Maybe we can
learn something from it. Is it in the book?"

"I was just looking for it," said Piper, still flipping through the book.
"Ah, here it is."

She read the entire entry and got a perplexed look on her face.

"It says here," Piper said, "that's it's called an Essence Bag. It's used
to hold the life essence of another person."

"For what purpose?" Prues asked.

"Apparently it can be used for many purposes," Piper said. "It doesn't
say specifically what the essence is used for."

"That doesn't sound like the one Marcus has," Phoebe said. "He called it
a protection charm not an essence bag."

"If he was telling the truth," Prue said. "Well, whatever's going on he
seems to think we're the only ones who can help him. I'm betting he'll be back
as soon as he thinks it's safe to return."

"I'll keep looking through the book," Piper said. "I might be able to
learn something else."

"Good idea," Prue said. "Let us know what you find no matter how remote
it might be."

"We'd better find something," Phoebe said. "If that thing is after Marcus
and he comes back it's a safe bet it will be back, too."

"I know," Prue said. "I know."

FIVE

Marcus Watkins was rifling through a drawer in the living room when the
light suddenly came on. He spun around to see the three sisters standing at the
entrance to the living room.

"Oh, God, you scarred me," he gasped.

"Find what you were looking for?" Prue asked.

"I was looking for something that might help me," Marcus said. "An amulet
or charm or something. I thought I might be able to find it and get out without
disturbing you."

"So, this is how you repay us for saving your life?" Piper asked. "You
sneak in here in the middle of the night and try to steal from us?"

"A desperate man does desperate things," Marcus said.

"How about telling the truth?" Prue asked. "Seems to me if you're so
desperate a little honesty might go a long way in getting our help."

"What do you mean?" Marcus asked.

"Your little story," Piper said. "There are a couple of problems with
it."

"Like that cloud creature," Phoebe said. "It's not a demon. It's a
disembodied spirit. And that bag you keep fumbling with. It's not exactly a
protection charm."

"That's what the shaman told me," Marcus said.

"I don't think so," Prue said. "Your story makes sense to a point. But
it doesn't match up with the facts. Something's not right here and I think you
know what it is. Now, if you want our help you have to start being honest with
us. We can't help you if we don't know what we're fighting."

"I've all ready told you everything I know," Marcus said.

"Marcus," Phoebe said, "we want to help you. But we can't do that if you
don't tell us the truth."

"Look, I'll just leave," said Marcus. "I'll find someone else to help
me."

"I don't think so," Prue said. "You brought that thing to us. For all we
know that was the whole purpose of your coming here."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Marcus said, suddenly pulling a pistol from
behind his back. "But I will if I have to. Now, just figure out a way to stop
this thing or I swear to God I'll kill all three of you."

Prue just squinted her eyes and the gun in Marcus' hand suddenly flew out
of his hand and slid across the floor.

"What the?" Marcus started.

"We're witches, remember?" Prue asked. "That means we have powers. Now,
if you don't start giving us some straight answers we can do a whole lot worse
to you than that."

"Look," said Marcus, "I've told you everything I know. I was designing a
road through the Amazon Jungle when this shaman cursed me. I found another
shaman who gave me this protection charm. I've been running from this thing for
over a year. I need to find someway to get it off me. To break this curse the
first shaman put on me."

"Assuming that's all true," Prue said, "breaking a curse isn't easy.
Especially if we don't have all the information. Like Phoebe said, that cloud
and that bag don't correspond to what you've told us. There has to be something
you're leaving out."

"Marcus," Piper said, "like Phoebe said, we do want to help you. It's
what we do. But Prue is right. There has to be something you're leaving out."

"It was so long ago," Marcus said. "And I've been running for so long
without any rest. I swear I've told you everything I can remember."

"Well, there has to be something," Prue said. "Phoebe, check the book
again. Maybe there's something else in there that can help us."

"Right," said Phoebe, turning and heading for the stairs.

"Piper, do you think you can come up with a potion?" Prue asked.
"Something to take care of that cloud creature."

"I don't know," Piper said. "I can try. The book gave us some
information on it. I should be able to come up with something."

"What book?" Marcus asked.

"Sort of a reference manual," Prue said. "It helps us fight things like
this."

"Uh, guys," said Phoebe, backing into the living room. "I think we'd
better come up with a plan but quick."

They all turned to see Phoebe backing away from the entryway. Hovering in
the entryway was the cloud creature. As they watched, it began to move toward
the living room.

SIX

"Piper, freeze it again," Prue called out; "Phoebe, get Marcus out of
here."

Piper brought her hands up as Phoebe grabbed Marcus and began to pull him
out of the living room. Only the creature didn't freeze as it had before. It
continued to move into the living room.

"Got any other ideas?" Phoebe asked as she pushed Marcus back away from
the creature.

Prue tapped into her telekinetic ability and tried to push the creature
back. Initially it worked but within seconds the creature was once again moving
into the living room.

"Well, that's not working," said Prue as Piper and Phoebe stepped up next
to her. "We'd better think of something fast."

If we had a Power of Three spell we could vanquish it," Phoebe said.
"Only I haven't had a chance to write one yet."

"The one we used against Jeremy," Piper said. "It's our only chance."

The sisters took each other's hands and began to incant the spell they had
used to vanquish Jeremy, Piper's warlock boyfriend. As they recited the spell
over and over again the creature suddenly stopped moving.

They all watched as the creature hung suspended just inside the living
room. As they recited the spell over and over again small lights began to
sparkle all over the creature. But the cloud creature was not being vanquished.

"I don't understand it," Piper said. "It worked against Jeremy. Why
isn't the demon being vanquished?"

"Unless it's not a demon," Phoebe offered. "Ours is supposed to be the
ultimate power for good. We're trying to vanquish it because we thought it was
evil. But what if it isn't evil?'

"What are you talking about?" Prue asked. "Of course it's evil. Why else
would a shaman send it after Marcus?"

"If that's what happened," Phoebe said, looking over at Marcus.

Phoebe turned to face the cloud creature. The magic of the spell had
ceased and the creature began to move into the living room. Phoebe looked
directly at the creature and began to recite a spell.

"This man pursued, this creature the key, reveal the truth so that we may
see."

Almost immediately the magic from the spell enveloped the cloud. Everyone
watched as the cloud settled to the floor and began to change form. Within
moments the cloud resembled a man.

He stood just over six feet tall. He had shoulder length hair and was
dressed in what appeared to be some type of native costume. He stood with his
eyes closed for a moment, and then opened his eyes and looked at the four.

His eyes had no pupils. In fact, they didn't look like eyes at all. They
appeared as black, empty voids. As if the body were simply an empty shell. He
stretched out his hand toward Marcus as if reaching for something.

"Oh no you don't," Prue said, stepping between Marcus and the man. Piper
and Phoebe stepped up next to her. "You don't get him until we get this sorted
out."

The cloud-man turned and moved around to their right. The girls simply
moved to block his way again. The man suddenly changed direction and attempted
to move around to their left. Once more the sisters moved to block his way.
Seeing he could not go around the sisters the man simply stood staring at them.

"Well, this is certainly strange behavior for a demon," Phoebe said.

"Quick, destroy it," Marcus said. "Destroy it before it has a chance to
attack."

"I don't think so," Prue said. "It's not attacking. I just seems to be
trying to get to you. I'm with Phoebe on this one. It's not behaving like any
demon listed in the Book of Shadows."

"I am no demon," hissed the strange cloud-man.

"So, you can talk," said Piper.

"The magic from her spell has allowed me to communicate with you," said
the man, pointing at Phoebe.

"Good," said Prue. "Who are you? Why are you after Marcus?"

"My name is Tonami," said the man. "My home is in the area you would call
the Amazon Jungle. I have come to reclaim what has been taken from me. He
carries it with him. I must reclaim it if I am to move on."

"The bag," Phoebe said, looking at Marcus. "That's what he wants, isn't
it? What's so important about it?"

"It contains my remains," said Tonami. "The physical form I possessed in
life. Until I reunite with it I am doomed to wander the Earth."

The three sisters looked at Marcus who just clutched the bag closer to his
chest.

SEVEN

"Is that's what's in the bag?" Prue demanded of Marcus.

"It's a protection charm just as I told you," Marcus insisted. "It was
given to me by a shaman."

"Yeah, but a protection charm from what?" Phoebe asked. "I've never heard
of a protection charm made from someone's remains."

"It is an Essence Bag," said Tonami. "It contains my heart and life
essence. The rest of my body was burned and the ashes were scattered. That is
all that remains of my body. Without it I can never find rest."

"That's a lie," Marcus screamed. "He's trying to trick us?"

"He?" Piper questioned. "You said 'he' not 'it'. You know who this is,
don't you?"

"No, no, of course not," Marcus said.

"Tonami," Prue said, "what happened to you?"

"He came to our village," Tonami said. "He brought many men with large
machines. He told us we would have to leave our ancestral home. We refused and
there was much arguing.

"Then he suffered an injury. The bite of the Taski beetle is deadly. The
victim dies an agonizing death. Only a powerful magic can help the victim of a
Taski bite.

"He sought out a powerful dark shaman. The shaman used an ancient,
forbidden magic. The magic traps the essence of another. It uses that essence
to protect against the venom of the Taski beetle. The shaman used the
incantation.

"I was the first to enter the circle of power created by the shaman. I
was rendered as if dead. My spirit was forced from my body. The shaman then
removed my heart and created the Essence Bag. Then my body was destroyed to
prevent me from undoing the magic."

"But if you can get the Essence Bag back it will undo the magic?" Prue
asked.

"Yes," said Tonami. "It is the only way to undo the magic. To allow my
spirit to move on. Until I do I am doomed to wander the Earth."

"Well, Marcus?" Piper questioned. "What do you have to say about all
this?"

"It's a lie," Marcus insisted, backing away from the group. "This is some
kind of demon trick."

"I don't think so," Phoebe said. "Our Power of Three spell didn't work
and nothing is supposed to be stronger than that. I think it was because we
were trying to vanquish something that isn't evil. Which means it can't be a
demon."

"Look, I only did what I had to do," Marcus protested. "It's not my fault
he got caught up in this. This bag is the only thing keeping me alive. You're
supposed to be witches. You're supposed to protect the innocent. Well, I'm an
innocent. You have to protect me."

"You gave up being an innocent when you helped take an innocent life,"
Prue said. "What you did was nothing short of murder. Now you have to make it
right. You have to give back the bag so Tonami's spirit can move on."

"Never," said Marcus, clutching the bag closer to his body. "He's dead.
There's nothing we can do for him. But if you take this bag from me I'll die.
That would also be murder. You can't force me to give it up."

Prue looked at Marcus and then at Tonami. What Marcus said did make some
sense. Tonami was all ready dead. And if they took the bag from Marcus he
would die. She looked at her sister and then back at Marcus.

"Look," said Prue, "what happened to you was unfortunate. But you can't
make Tonami pay for that. He's an innocent. He's done nothing wrong. But what
you did was wrong. And it looks like we're the only ones who can set it right
again."

Prue squinted her eyes and the bag Marcus was holding was pulled from his
grasp. It flew across the room and landed in Prue's hand.

"No," Marcus cried out.

Suddenly a look of pain crossed Marcus' face. He cried out in pain and
doubled over. Then he fell to the floor and simply faded from the living room.
Prue turned and handed the bag to Tonami.

"Here," she said. "I hope this helps you rest easier."

"It will," said Tonami, taking the bag. "I can now move on to my final
reward. I thank you for your help."

Tonami bowed slightly to the three sisters. He smiled at Prue and then
he, too, faded from the living room. Without a word Prue turned and headed for
the stairs and her room. Both Piper and Phoebe could tell that their sister was
greatly troubled.

EIGHT

"How are you doing?" Piper said looking in the door to Prue's room, Phoebe
standing next to her.

"You seemed kind of upset," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Prue. "It's just what Marcus said. About us
deciding that he should die. He was right about that."

"You did the right thing," Piper said. "Marcus had no right to do what he
did. Tonami was an innocent."

"I know that," Prue said. "But I didn't think it was supposed to be like
this. We've never had to choose before. Between vanquishing an evil or
protecting an innocent."

"We didn't have a choice," Phoebe said. "Marcus didn't leave us any
choice."

"I know that, baby sister," Prue said. "But it doesn't make what we had
to do any easier. Marcus was an innocent, too. But that changed when he helped
to kill Tonami."

"At least we were able to put things right again," Piper said.

"I wonder if this is how it's going to be?" wondered Phoebe. "The Book of
Shadows didn't say anything about situations like this. It just mentions
warlocks and demons and other evil creatures. It never said anything about
having to choose between an innocent and an evil."

"Things are rarely as they appear," Prue said. "I guess with magic it's
bound to be more so. Remember the shape changers? We had no idea they were
evil until they tried to steal the Book of Shadows."

"That's true," Piper said. "I guess there really isn't much we can do
about it. We just have to do the best we can and hope it's enough."

"At least we have the Book of Shadows," Phoebe said. "Without it we
wouldn't even have known what was going on."

"I think we had all better look through the Book of Shadows more often,"
Prue said. "There seems to be a lot of things out there we don't know anything
about. We came pretty close to vanquishing the wrong one this time. We need to
make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Good idea," Piper said. "So, what say we all go downstairs and have some
hot chocolate?"

"With those little marshmallows?" Phoebe asked.

"Of course," Piper said. "It's not real hot chocolate unless you have the
miniature marshmallows."

"I want the different colored ones," Prue said.

"I thin we can arrange that," Piper said.

Arm in arm the sisters all headed for the kitchen.

The End

If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Charmed" stories at my
website, http://www.geocities.com/killeenmale/. You can also post your own "Charmed"
stories if you like to write fan fiction.