Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them.

Restitution
by Freaky Fan

Part 1

“Wha….” Piper mumbled to herself as she sat up, her brow creasing in confusion as she took in the flickering light around her through slitted eyes. It took her an extra second to realize it was coming from the TV, which was the only source of illumination in the room. She couldn’t help but grin as she took in her surroundings. The unwatched stack of movies in front of the TV. The untouched pile of board games in one of the chairs. The coffee table strewn with bowls of popcorn and glasses of soda. All in preparation for their sisters only night. But just as quickly as they had each made a contribution to the fun they wanted to have, it was all tossed out the window when Rion saw a commercial for a Laverne and Shirley, Happy Days marathon on Nick at Nite. And since they were having the sisters night to celebrate her clean bill of health, they all settled in for a night of rerun watching. None of them had lasted very long once Phoebe turned the lights off.

“No….”

She frowned when she heard the barely audible word.

“Stop!”

Her heart sank when she realized where the words were coming from. WHO they were coming from. She crawled out from under the blanket she was sharing with Prue and made her way around the coffee table to where her little sisters slept.

“Rion?” She put her hand on her sister’s back, shocked to feel it was soaked in sweat. “Wake up, sweetie.” She gave Rion a little shake, hoping to wake her, but Rion remained in the throes of her nightmare.

Piper rocked back on her heels, knowing any second now her sister would bolt upright and try to act like nothing had happened. It was the same thing she had done nearly every night since they brought her home from the hospital nearly a month and a half ago. Physically Rion was doing great. There were no more splints or stitches. Her ribs were healed. There were no lasting effects from her collapsed lung or her head injury. She had even started doing light workouts with Phoebe and Cole. But there were nightmares and flashbacks and a fear of being alone. All common reactions after suffering the kind of trauma Rion had. At least that’s what Doctor Parks kept telling them. But if you asked Rion, there wasn’t a thing wrong. She could wake up from a hellish nightmare and tell you everything was fine.

“Piper?”

She looked up when she heard Prue’s groggy voice. “I’m here. Rion is having another….”

She was cut off as Rion suddenly came to life, shoving her away violently before springing to her feet.

“Ouch!” Phoebe yelped as Piper landed on top of her. “What the hell’s going on?!”

“Stay away from me!”

The youngest Halliwell frowned as she looked up at her sister. “What did you do to Rion?”

“Whoa!” Prue popped up off the couch, drawing Rion’s attention as she saw her little sister starting toward Phoebe and Piper. “It’s us, Rion.”

Rion glared at her. “I said to stay away!!”

“Honey….” Prue took a step toward her.

“Get back!!”

“Take it easy.” Prue held both hands out in front of her as she took another step toward her.

“No!”

She sidestepped Rion’s wild swing and threw her arms around her sister. “Come on, Rion. Wake up!”

“Prue?” All signs of struggle disappeared as Rion finally came back to herself. “What….” Her eyes got big as saucers. “Oh God. I did it again, didn’t I? Did I hurt anyone?” She pulled away from Prue and looked at each of her sisters in turn. “Is everyone all right?”

“We’re fine.” Piper climbed to her feet and joined her sisters. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Rion nodded. “I’m good.”

“That’s funny.” Phoebe’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she got up. “Cause you’re not looking so hot right now, sis.”

Prue shot her a look. “Pheebs…”

“What?” Phoebe gave her a look in return. “One of us needs to say something. She looks like crap.”

Rion frowned. “Gee, thanks Pheebs.”

Piper gave Phoebe a look too. “What she means to say is we’re concerned about you, Rion. Your nightmares are getting worse instead of better.”

“I know, but Nola….”

“We know what Nola said, sweetie.” Prue rubbed her sister’s back. “We also know that she gave you the name of a psychiatrist friend of hers. Maybe it’s time for you to consider going and talking to him.”

“No.” Rion shook her head. “I’m not gonna go to some shrink. All he’ll do is ask a bunch of questions and end up pissing me off.”

“Maybe that’s what you need.”

Rion frowned at Phoebe again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Phoebe looked from Piper to Prue. “I know we agreed not to say anything, but I can’t stay quiet anymore.” She returned her attention to Rion. “You’ve been stonewalling us, Rion. We ask you questions to try and help you get through whatever you want to call what you’re going through and you freeze up, shutting us out. Maybe if a stranger asks you and pisses you off enough, you’ll start answering.”

No one said anything as Rion digested Phoebe’s words. She finally opened her mouth only to be interrupted by a shrill cry from upstairs.

“Saved by Little P.” She turned away from her sisters. “I’m gonna go check on her.”

“Rion….” Piper started after her but Prue caught her by the arm.

“Let her go, Piper.”

“But….”

“I think what Phoebe said might have gotten through that thick head of hers. But we don’t want to push her too far too fast.”

Piper sighed. “You’re right.”

Phoebe looked at both of them. “So you’re not mad at me for what I said?”

Both of her sisters said, “No,” at the same time.

“Good because I was afraid….”

Phoebe was cut off by a loud thump from upstairs followed closely by a “No!” from Rion. They all three took off at the same time. Phoebe quickly took the lead as she ran up the stairs two at a time, reaching the top just in time to see Rion come flying out of Prue’s room and slam into the wall in the hallway.

She sensed her sisters come up behind her as a huge, dragon-like creature growled at them from beside Tricia’s crib. All they could do was watch in terror as it reached for the screaming baby with one massive, claw-like hand.
“NO!!” Rion sprang to her feet, half running half staggering back into the room before throwing herself at the creature. She hit it hard, knocking it into the wall beside the crib, breaking the window as they both fell to the floor. The thing made at least four of her, yet she somehow managed to end up on top as they struggled. She punched it as hard as she could in the head. It growled and lashed out at her, so she punched it again.

“Tricia.” Prue whispered her daughter’s name as she took advantage of the distraction and used her powers to bring the crying baby to her. “Shhh. Mommy’s got you.”

“Rion!” Piper called out to her sister as the thing tried to hit her with its tail.

“No!” Phoebe grabbed her sister‘s hands as she prepared to blow the creature up. “Don’t.”

“What do you mean, don’t?” Piper looked at her like she was crazy.

“I think Rion has things under control.” Phoebe flinched as the thing finally succeeded in hitting Rion hard enough to nearly take her head off.

“You call that under control?!” Prue joined Piper in looking at Phoebe like she had lost it.

“Just give her a minute. If things get too hairy the two of you can step in.”

“Damn you!” Rion hissed as she fought to stay on top of the creature. “Damn you and every other frigging ugly, evil little bastard like you out there!” She hit it again. “How dare you come in here and try to hurt my family?! HOW DARE YOU?!” She pummeled the thing with both hands. “I’m so SICK and TIRED of pieces of shit like you coming into our lives! My sisters and I start to make a little headway in the catching up for lost time department and WHAMO! Something like you comes along and blows it all to hell! And now you’re coming after my niece?! I don’t think so!!”

“Okay.” Phoebe started into the room as she watched the creature’s head lull back and forth with each of her sister‘s blows. “I think that’s enough.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Piper followed her into the room. “Rion, you can stop now.”

“No I can’t!” Rion spoke through gritted teeth as she kept swinging. “I have to make an example out of this thing! Have to make him and every other bastard like him realize that they can’t keep doing this! That as long as I’m the protector I’m not going to stand by and watch my family get hurt!” She sneered down at the thing. “Do you hear me, Bo?! I’m NOT gonna let you hurt us anymore!!”

“Rion.” Piper knelt down next to her, being sure not to get in her sister’s way. “Listen to yourself. This thing…. Whatever it is…. It’s not Mason.”

Rion stopped midswing. “I….” She looked down at the creature, at her bloody hands, at her sisters. “What am I doing?”

“I think it’s called venting, sweetie.” Phoebe put her hands on her Rion’s shoulders as she climbed unsteadily to her feet.

“And from the look of things, you have a lot to vent about.” Piper crinkled her nose at the creature as she stood. “Now all you need to do is keep going.”

Rion tore her gaze away from the creature. “What?”

“Keep going.” Phoebe tightened her grip on Rion. “Let it all out.”

“You want me to keep wailing on that thing?”

“No.” Piper shook her head as she gestured with her hands, blowing the creature up. “Try yelling or screaming or…. Or crying”

Rion rolled her eyes. “I’m not good at any of those.”

“Then talk to us.” Prue made her way into the room, a now quiet Tricia cuddled against her chest. “You started to open up just now, Rion. Don’t shut us out again.”

“I don’t know what you want to hear.”

“Why don’t you try telling us what you were feeling when you called that thing Bo.” Phoebe raised her eyebrows. “Seems like a good place to start.”

“I….” Rion sighed. “I know that what Bo did hurt the three of you just as much as it did me. I could see it in your faces when I woke up in the hospital. Wait…” She bit her bottom lip. “That’s not true. I knew it before the hospital. I knew when I was laying on the floor in that garage wondering what would happen next. It was so tempting to give up and not have to worry about it anymore. To let go and make the pain go away.“ She shook her head. “But every time I tried I’d think of you and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t hurt you like that. So I fought and I held on.” She grinned halfheartedly, tears glistening in her eyes. “And I thank God every day that I did.”

Prue, Piper and Phoebe moved as one, drawing their sister into a hug.

“So do we, sweetie.” Piper blinked back tears as she spoke for all three of them. “So do we.”

They stood like that for several minutes, relishing the fact that they were all together. Prue was the first one to pull away, using one hand to wipe at the tears streaming down her cheeks as she tightened her grip on Tricia with the other.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“Maybe.” Rion shrugged. “But I think I’ve had enough of the pity me game for today.”

“Rion….”

She sighed at Piper’s disapproving tone. “What?”

Piper took a step back so she could look at her. “You just agreed not to shut us out again.”

“And I’m not. I just….”

“Yes you are! How are we supposed to help you if you don’t tell us everything?!”

“Fine!” Rion moved away from them. “I’m mad, all right? I’m mad at Bo for being such a psycho. I’m mad at myself for not telling you guys about him before he came here. I’m mad that I couldn’t help you and Phoebe when he hurt you. But most of all, I’m mad at Them!” She pointed toward the ceiling.

Phoebe’s eyes got big. “Rion, maybe you shouldn’t….”

“No.” Rion chuckled as she shook her head. “What more can They possibly do to me now, huh? They already took me away from you guys growing up. They already ask me to sit back and watch as you three put your necks on the line all the time without so much as a ‘thank you’ or a ‘good job.’ And to top it all off, one of Them decided I didn’t deserve to have powers anymore.” She threw her hands in the air. “So what do I care if They know that I’m so pissed off I’d like to go up there and do to Them what I just did to Puff the magic dragon?!”

Her face fell when she realized what she was doing. “Oh man. Did I just say that? Cause I would SO never hurt Puff. He was one of my favorites growing up.”

Phoebe tried not to laugh but didn’t succeed very well. Prue soon joined her. Piper looked at them like they were losing it for a second before their levity got to her too. Rion just smiled at them.

“Well….” Phoebe walked over to Rion, slinging her arm across her sister’s shoulders. “Do you feel better?”

“Yeah.” Rion nodded. “I do. Thanks.”

“Hey, don’t thank me. Thank tall dark and gruesome. It’s the one that got you mad enough you finally talked. And he was so much cheaper than going to the shrink.”

“Phoebe!” Piper chided her.

“What?” Phoebe frowned. “It was.”

“Now all we have to do is figure out what it was.” Rion looked at Tricia, who was sleeping soundly on Prue’s shoulder. “And what he wanted with Little P.”

“I think I can answer that.” Leo spoke as he orbed in.

Piper frowned at his sudden appearance. “I thought you were out with the boys.”

“I was, until They called.”

Prue looked at him. “Do They know what that thing was?”

“It’s what’s known as a Tregaron.”

Piper furrowed her brow. “A what?”

“A Tregaron. A harbinger of doom. And where there’s one, there’s hundreds.”

Rion closed her eyes, knowing she really didn’t want an answer to what she was about to ask. “Meaning?”

Leo looked at her gravely. “Meaning we’re in trouble.”
Piper shook her head as she looked up from the Book of Shadows. “I don’t like this.”

“Me either.” Prue spoke up from where she sat on the small couch, one hand resting protectively on Tricia’s leg, who was cooing softly to herself in her carrier.

Rion nodded from her position on the arm of the couch next to the baby. “Maybe you should explain it again, Leo.”

“There’s literally no time for that. The Elders feel this is the best course of action to take.”

“So we’re just supposed to cast this spell and hope it works?” Phoebe paced the attic floor. “It doesn’t feel right.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Leo looked around at them. “The Tregarons are vicious, but not very patient. Whoever sent them must want to strike hard and fast. You cast the spell, it’ll keep the Tregarons out, they’ll get bored and go back to the underworld. It’s not that complicated.”

“Not that complicated?” Piper cocked an eyebrow. “One of those treg thingies tried to take Tricia.”

“Yeah.” Phoebe nodded. “And we have absolutely no idea who sent it or why.”

“Casting this spell will buy you a little time to try and find out who’s behind this. But it’s not going to make any difference if you don’t hurry up!”

“Fine!” Piper jotted the spell down and gave a copy of it to Rion. “You and Phoebe go take care of the basement and start on the first floor. Prue and I will handle up here and….”

She was interrupted by the sudden arrival of three Tregarons. One of them promptly hit Phoebe, hurling her into the far wall of the attic. Another launched itself at Piper, knocking her to the floor. Prue quickly jumped to her feet.

“Rion, take Tricia and get downstairs!”

“What?!” Rion shook her head. “No way!”

“I need you to keep her safe!” Prue picked up the carrier and practically threw it at her sister. “Go! NOW!!”

Rion looked to Phoebe, who was laying motionless on the floor and then to Piper, who was doing everything she could to free her hands so she could get rid of the one on top of her. The other was coming for Prue. She wanted to stay. Wanted to protect her sisters. But the fear in Prue’s eyes was more than she could stand. She gripped the spell in one hand and the handle of the carrier in the other and ran out of the room.

“OK.” She was glad to see the coast was clear as she took a right at the bottom of the attic stairs and sprinted toward Prue’s room. “So far so good, Little P. Now all we need is for this spell to work.” She looked down at the piece of paper in her hand as she sat her niece on the bed.

“Through the power of witchly might,
Seal all evil from this sight.
Let none in, let none near
Keep only good magic here.”

She looked around, expecting something to happen. “Hmm….” She looked down at a grinning Tricia. “Do you think it wor….”

Her voice died in her throat as she watched a Tregaron step from behind the door. “Oh shit!”

*************

Leo hurried over to heal Phoebe as Prue threw the creature standing over her across the room. She was about to throw the one manhandling Piper too when the third one slammed into her, knocking her down.

“The spell won’t work as long as they’re in the room!”

“Duh!” Piper continued to struggle against the thing on top of her.

“Ow!” Prue flinched as the Tregaron that had knocked her down racked its claw across her cheek. She quickly used her powers to throw the thing aside. It landed on top of a broken table, the splintered leg impaling its chest. She raised her eyebrows as the thing exploded into a cloud of dust. “Wow! Score one for the junk pile.” She was quickly silenced as the Tregaron she had thrown hit her from behind.

“Ugh.” Phoebe groaned as she opened her eyes. “What happened.”

“No time to explain.” Leo looked over at Prue and Piper. “Your sisters need your help.”

Phoebe followed his gaze and jumped to her feet. “I’m on it.” She kicked the one on top of Piper, but not before it sliced her stomach open. “Oh! Leo, get over here!”

He looked up from where he was trying to heal Prue. “I….”

“Heal Piper first. I’ll hold them off and she can blow them up when you’re done.” Phoebe punched one of the creatures, praying Rion was having better luck than they were.

*************

“NO!”

For the second time that night Rion rushed one of the creatures. But this one was ready for her. It stuck out its arm, clothes lining her. She hit the floor like a ton of bricks. By the time her vision cleared enough to the point that she could make out more than shapes, the thing had the carrier and was about to take a flying leap out the window.

“I don’t think so!”

She lunged for her niece as the thing started its jump. She caught the edge of the seat with her left hand, but the momentum of the creature drug her arm across a broken shard of glass in the window frame.

“Damn!”

She hissed in pain as blood poured from the wound and she lost the feeling in her hand. She somehow managed to get a better grip on the carrier with her right hand. The creature looked over its shoulder at her, bellowing in rage.

“Eat me dragon boy!”

She pulled on the carrier, but wings suddenly unfolded from the Tregaron’s back. One flap of the mighty appendages and she felt herself being drug out the window. She caught one of her feet on the leg of the crib and prayed the thing would be strong enough to hold her.

The tug of war seemed to last forever. One second she could feel the carrier slipping from her grasp and the next she felt herself gaining some ground. She finally lucked out and tugged at just the right time to make the Tregaron lose its grip. She fell backward, the carrier landing on her stomach.

“Little P?!” Her voice was frantic as she looked at her niece. She was rewarded with a toothless grin. “Thank God!” She ran her right hand over Tricia’s soft hair. They both jumped as the Tregaron tried to fly back threw the window and hit an invisible wall. “Ha!” Rion taunted the thing as it tried again and again and again. “Keep on knocking stupid, cause you can’t come in!”

She picked up the carrier and was about to stand when she suddenly felt light headed.

“Whoa!” She stayed where she was, wondering what the problem was. And then she remembered what had happened to her arm. She looked down in time to see blood literally spurting from her wrist before everything went black.

As soon as the Tregaron stepped out from behind the door, he tried to orb.

“Patience is a virtue.”

He frowned when he heard the disembodied voice. He hated when They did that. Listened in on his thoughts and then commented on them.

“Why did you bring me here if I’m not supposed to help?”

Another voice replaced the first. “You were brought here to watch. To learn when it is necessary to help.”

“Which is essential if you are meant to be a Whitelighter.” A third voice piped in. “Especially to this child.”

He tuned them out and went back to watching. He knew he was lucky to land such a plum job so soon after his training. One most Whitelighters would have seen as an honor. But he wasn’t one to stand back and watch. He tried to orb again at the first sight of blood.

“Not yet.”

“The protector is a resourceful girl.”

“Let us see what unfolds.”

He clinched his jaw as he watched the struggle, trying to orb several times but finding he couldn’t. That was another thing he hated. What was the point in having powers if he couldn’t use them the way he wanted to?

He could almost hear the collective sigh of relief as the struggle finally ended. The baby was safe and the Tregaron couldn’t get back into the room. But then he saw it. Blood and lots of it. He looked upward angrily.

“Do you think now is a good time to help, or should I wait until she bleeds to death?”

He wasn’t surprised that no answer came. Just like he wasn’t surprised that he could finally orb.

*************

“Come on.” Leo willed his healing touch to work quicker as Phoebe tried to hold off the remaining Tregarons. It wasn’t that they weren’t working properly. It was that Piper had been close to death when he got to her. If Phoebe hadn’t suggested her heal her first, he would have lost her.

“Whoa!” Phoebe sidestepped one claw, realizing too late that the other thing was striking at her at the same time. One she could avoid. But there was no way in hell she could dodge the second. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel the same excruciating pain she had felt just a few minutes before. Much to her surprise, she felt nothing. She opened one eye in time to see a Tregaron being impaled on one of the hooks of their old coat rack, which had been knocked over sometime during the fight. She turned to find Prue trying to climb to her feet. “What are you doing?”

“Helping.” Prue swayed as she finally regained her footing. “Impaling them seems to work.”

“Yeah, I saw that.” Phoebe searched around for something to use as a weapon as the last creature followed its instinct and went after her weakened sister. The only thing she could find was her old fishing pole. She picked it up and slammed it into the thing’s back. At first she thought she was screwed when the tip snapped off, but then she felt the sharp point it left behind slide into the Tregaron’s tough hide. She gasped as it disappeared. “Wow!”

“Told you so.” Prue grinned weakly.

“Ow!” Piper frowned as she opened her eyes. “That really hurt!”

Leo breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up and looked at her sisters. “All right, Prue. It’s finally your….”

Phoebe looked down at him. “What? What’s the matter?”

“Rion. I need to get to Rion.” He orbed out before any of them could say anything else.

*************

He went to her side the instant he appeared in the room and put his hand over her wrist. He expected her to start healing right away, but that wasn’t the case, so he put both hands over the wound. It still took a second for the golden glow to start flowing.

“What are you doing?!”

He looked up when he heard the familiar voice. “Saving her.”

Leo glared down at him. “But you can’t be here!”

“You were busy, man. They waited until the last possible minute to send me here!”

“THEY sent you?” Leo shook his head. “What are They thinking? If the girls see you….”

“They won’t.”

“They’re all three on their way down here right now!”

“Oh sh….”

“Andy?”

They both looked down when Rion interrupted him. She blinked, trying to make sure what she thought she was seeing was real.

“Oh, well this is great!” Leo ran his hand through his hair.

Andy threw a ‘calm down’ over his shoulder as he returned his attention to Rion. “Yeah, kiddo. It’s me.”

“But you’re….” Rion swallowed hard. “Aw, man. Am I dead again?!”

“No.” Andy put one hand on her shoulder, keeping the other in place to heal her wrist. “You’re not dead.”

She looked at what he was doing. “Holy shit! You’re a Whitelighter!!”

Andy smiled. “Yep. Tricia’s to be exact.”

“Then why are you here? Was she hurt and I didn’t know it?!”

“No. Leo just got a little busy and needed my help.”

Rion looked up at her brother-in-law. “Are they all right?”

“Yeah.” Leo looked up sharply when he heard running footsteps on the stairs.

“I can hear that.” Rion grinned. “They are SO gonna flip when they see you, Andy!”

“No they’re not. Because he’s not going to be here. Andy, you have to go.”

“But….”

“No ‘buts,’ Rion. None of you were supposed to know about him.”

“He’s right.” Andy locked eyes with Rion. “It would cause too much confusion. Keep my secret?”

Rion sighed. “Yeah.”

“That’s my, kiddo.” Andy ruffled her hair as the door handle started to turn. “Now that you know about me, maybe I’ll see you around.” With that, he orbed out.


Piper and Phoebe burst into the room, dragging an unsteady Prue behind them. They opened their mouths to speak but were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Cole and Seth.

“Prue?!” Seth was at his wife’s side in a heartbeat. He instantly started inspecting the wound on her back as he led her to the bed. “What the hell happened?! I thought you were having a nice, quiet sisters night.”

“We were.” Phoebe melted against Cole’s side. “Until big, bad and dragony showed up.”

Cole held her close but looked at Leo. “Dragony?”

Leo nodded as he went to heal Prue. “Tregarons.”

Seth frowned, giving Leo some room to do his thing. “Trega what?”

“Tregarons.” Rion climbed to her feet. “Butt ugly dragon about sums it up.”

Piper gave her a helping hand. “Are you all right? The way Leo hurried out of the attic I thought you were….”

“I’m fine.” Rion shared a look with Leo as she cut her sister off. “I said the spell, but there was one of them in here. He fought back a little more than the last one.”

“You’re sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah. Leo fixed me up.”

Prue looked up at them. “What about Tricia?”

“She’s fine too.” Rion took her niece out of the carrier and held her up for everyone to see. Tricia squealed as she put one chubby little hand on her aunt‘s cheek. “Yeah.” She couldn’t help but grin. “Tell Mommy. Aunt Rion would never let anything happen to me. No way, no how.”

“I know.” Prue breathed a sigh of relief as Rion handed her the baby. “But it’s a mother’s prerogative to ask.”

“Hey.” Phoebe frowned when she saw the claw marks in the cushioning of the carrier. “What are….” She caught the look Rion gave her and cut herself off.

Piper raised one eyebrow. “What are what?”

“Uh….” Phoebe discreetly shoved the seat closer to the bed with her foot so that no one else would notice. “I was just wondering what we’re going to do about these things? I mean, according to Leo, they’ll be back.”

“Yes, they will.” Cole clinched his jaw. “Unless you can come up with some way to make them lose interest.”

“We did. Or at least the Elders did.” Piper looked at her husband. “They told Leo to have us use a spell to block them from the house.”

“And it works.” Rion spoke up. “Mine couldn’t get back in once it went out the window.”

“So all we need to do is finish the rest of the house.” Phoebe started out of the room.

“I’ll….”

Rion pushed Prue back down next to Seth. “Will stay right here and spend some time with your husband and little girl.” She took in the mess again and cringed. “Better yet, the three of you can have my room. Darryl’s off camping with Ben for the weekend and it’s pretty gross in here.”

“But….”

“No buts big sis. Little P’s been through a lot today. And Seth looks like he’s about ready to explode. So go. We’ll finish up and everyone can go to bed. We can tackle this thing again in the morning.”

They all left the room at the same time, shutting the door behind them. Hoping the light of day would bring some answers with it.

*************

Rion yawned as she plopped down on the couch. Cole and Leo had both offered to let her bunk with one of her sisters, but she had turned them down. She needed a little alone time. She had been way too clingy lately. But opening up to her sisters earlier had helped her a lot. She knew she still had a lot of issues to deal with concerning Bo and what had happened, but they didn’t seem so life altering now. Not when she had her sisters around.

“Did you like the present I sent you?”

She jumped to her feet when she heard the voice behind her. She turned to find a woman leaning against the doorframe between the entranceway and the living room.

“I tried to send something you and your sisters hadn’t seen before. Not a simple task.”

“Who are you?”

The woman shrugged. “Name‘s aren‘t important, my dear. All you need to know is I‘m the one who sent the Tregarons.”

Rion wanted to push the name thing, but decided to play along instead. “Why?”

“To show you that I could. To make you realize that your family isn’t safe even here in your own home.”

“And why would you do that?”

“Because I can.”

Rion sighed. “Do you always talk in circles?”

The woman grinned. “Most of the time.”

“Well I’m not really in the mood tonight. So either tell me what you want or let me get around to kicking your ass. The choice is yours.”

“You’ve always been a violent one, haven’t you?”

“That’s it….” Rion started toward her.

“All right.” The woman held up one hand to stop her. “I originally intended to toy with you a little more, but I find it a boring game. I came here to give you an option. Come with me and face what you have done or I will destroy your family before you can.”

Rion frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“My name is Catherine.” The woman rolled her eyes at the blank expression on Rion‘s face. “Your accuser. The one who cast the spell to strip you of your powers. And I’ve come here to finish what I started.” She snapped her fingers and the room suddenly filled with Tregarons. “Now either you do as I say, or I turn them loose on your unsuspecting family.”
A million thoughts ran through Rion’s mind as she stared at the creatures before her. She could take out two, maybe three tops before the rest of them overpowered her. So fighting was out. It would have made a racket and brought her sisters running anyway. And if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that she didn’t want her sisters anywhere near Catherine. What if one of them got hurt because of her? But if she went with Catherine her sisters would have no idea where she was or what was going on. And it was way to soon after Bo to do something like that to them.

“Hey Rion? Are you asleep?”

Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard Phoebe’s voice.

“I got to thinking about you being up here all by yourself and it bummed me out. So I thought I would keep you comp….” Phoebe’s voice died in her throat as she walked out of the dining room.

Rion knew exactly what her sister would do. “Phoebe, don’t….”

It was too late. Phoebe threw her head back and screamed, “Prue! Piper!!”

‘It’s now or never, Orion. Why get your sisters involved?’

Rion glared at Catherine. “Shut up!”

Phoebe frowned at her sister. “What?”

“Not you.” Rion nodded toward Catherine. “Her.”

“But,” Phoebe’s frown deepened. “She didn’t….”

“This had better be good!” Piper interrupted her as she came thundering down the stairs. “I think we all know how I feel about….” Her eyes bugged out of her head when she saw the sea of creatures between her and her sisters. “Holy shit!” She jumped, throwing her hands up out of habit when one of the Tregarons flared its teeth at her. The thing stood completely still for a moment before exploding into nothing but molecules.

‘Look at her, using her powers before she even knows what is happening. There was a time when she would take stock of a situation. Size things up before going off the deep end, so to speak. But that was before you came along.’

“All right!” Phoebe put herself between her sister and the mob before them. “I think it’s about time you tell us who you are and what you want before I have to open up a can of whoop ass on the whole lot of you.”

‘Such violence. Such senseless, senseless violence. And it’s all due to your influence. To you coming back into their lives.’

“What’s all the racket down here? I just got Tricia to sleep!” Prue stopped dead as she came up behind Piper. “What the….” She instantly flicked her hand, sending the creatures closest to Rion and Phoebe across the room. “I thought we got rid of these things!”

‘It sickens me to think of the child growing up in such a household.’

“We did.” Piper eyed the woman staring at Rion. “But someone obviously found a way to bring them back.”

‘I had hoped taking you out of the picture would change things. But you’ve tainted them. You’ve tainted the Charmed Ones.’

Rion furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of Catherine’s words.

‘You’ve singlehandedly taken the most powerful source of good in the world and turned it sour.’

She looked at each of her sisters in turn. Why weren’t they reacting to what Catherine was saying?

‘Turned them evil, just like you.’

And then it hit her. Catherine lips weren’t moving. She was somehow speaking just to her.

‘I had hoped it would not come to this, but I have stood by and watched long enough. It is time to take action. To save the next generation of Warren witches before it is too late.’

Catherine finally tore her gaze away from Rion to look at the creatures behind her. “Get them!!”

Rion felt her world falling apart as half of the creatures started toward her and Phoebe, the other half going after Prue and Piper on the stairs. She stared, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop what was about to happen. Nothing she could do to save her sisters this time. She felt Phoebe’s hand slip into her own and resisted the urge to throw up. The end was coming and it was all her fault.

“I don’t think so.”

She looked up when she heard the familiar voice to see her Aunt Penny appear next to her. With one flick of her hand the Tregarons disappeared.

“Really, Catherine. Did you think you would get away with something like this?”

Two stern looking Whitelighters orbed in on either si