The Frighteners (Quest for the Gremoir Part 3)

[mcharmed21]

Author: Kowa97


Hello Again: Quest for the Gremoir Part 1

It Begins: Quest for the Gremoir Part 2

The Frighteners (Quest for the Gremoir part 3)

Act 1
Int. Bay Mirror:

(Phoebe sits behind her desk searching for a letter to use for her Ask Phoebe column. Elyse pops her head in and asks,)

“How’s your column coming Phoebe?”<br>
“Not so good. I can’t find a letter that stands out. I mean, I have the usual dribble here like;”<br>
Dear Phoebe,

I have a problem. I’m in love with my best friend and I don’t know if I should tell him. I don’t know if he feels the same way so I’ve been kind of holding myself back from telling him how I feel because I don’t want to lose what we already have. Do you think I should tell him, or just not mess with a good thing?

Anxiously Waiting,
Stumped in Sacramento

“And of course we have the ever popular;

Dear Phoebe,

I have been dating a guy for the past 2 years. Last week, he went out of town with his friends so I went to a party. I got a little drunk and started flirting with this guy. The next thing I know, I wake up in his bed.
I was drunk and my judgment was impaired and I don’t really remember doing anything with him anyways. I don’t know if I should tell my boyfriend or not. It would really hurt him and it didn’t mean anything anyways. Should I tell him or just pretend it never happened?

Patiently waiting,
Confused In Cali.

“This girl is just making excuses. She has already decided to not tell her boyfriend that she cheated on him and she wants someone to tell her she wasn’t responsible for her actions because alcohol was involved. She wants someone to tell her that it doesn’t count. I’ll tell you what, If she turns out to be pregnant, it will be a very big deal. Let’s see what’s next.”<br>
She grabs the letter opener and slides it through the top of the next envelope. As she takes out the letter, she is struck with a premonition.

Seeing through someone else’s eyes, Phoebe watches as her host reaches into a closet. Judging by the hands, she could tell that her host is a male. While reaching for something on the top shelf, her host looks side to side to see if anyone is coming. She can’t see what has been grabbed. She continues to watch through her host’s eyes as he continues down the hallway and turns into the bathroom. He looks in the mirror over the sink. She sees that her host is a young man, about 25 years old. He has blond hair and blue eyes. He looks down at what he is holding, then back at his reflection. He purposely raises the gun and puts the barrel in his mouth and;

“BOOM!!!” Phoebe hears the gunshot as her premonition ends. The whole scene played out in just a matter of seconds, but it was long enough for Elyse to notice that something was wrong.

“Phoebe, what’s the matter?”<br>
“Ahh, nothing, I just have got a feeling that I found this weeks letter.” She pulls out the letter and reads aloud;

Dear Phoebe,
About a month ago, I was on a date with my Fiancée Jenny. It was raining hard that day and we were at a party. I was a designated driver, so I hadn’t had anything to drink. At about 12:30 in the morning we left the party and I was taking her home.
My car was in the shop getting some work done, so I had my fathers SUV. Having never driven it before I wasn’t used to its handling characteristics. I was probably driving a little too fast for road conditions and I lost control while going around a sharp curve. We flipped over three times and ended up wrapped around a tree on her side of the truck.
I was in the hospital for two weeks recovering from my injuries. She wasn’t so lucky. She was killed instantly. I couldn’t make her funeral.
It’s my fault she is dead and I don’t know how to make the pain go away. I just want to be with her again.

With a Lonely Soul,
Hamlet’s Answer.

“Elyse, this isn’t a letter asking for advice, it’s a suicide note.”<br>
“Suicide note! How do you know it’s a suicide note?”<br>
“The whole note reads like one, but the clincher is the name he chose, Hamlet’s Answer.”<br>
“How is that the clincher?”<br>
“You remember in Hamlet when he says, ‘To Be or Not to Be. That is the question. In that monolog, Hamlet is contemplating suicide. By calling himself Hamlet’s Answer, he is saying that he has chosen suicide. Elyse, get on the phone and report this. Here’s the return address from the envelope. I’m going home to get my sister, she might be able to help me stop him.” Than as an afterthought, “I just hope I’m not already too late.” With that said, Phoebe rushes out the door to go get Paige.

End of Act 1

[mcharmed21]

Act 2

Paige goes flying past the staircase and Piper goes to her. Helping her up, Piper says, “Paige, I told you to stay away from the walls. This demon takes its image through them.”<br>
“Piper, I didn’t even see what threw me and I still don’t know what you are talking about.”<br>
“Imagine throwing a sheet over someone and the putting a powerful fan in front of them. The fan would blow the sheet back to show the persons features. This demon is like that. It uses the wall like latex to appear and attack. It’s kind of like that Michael J. Fox movie, The Frighteners.”<br>
“Ok, then lets go check the Book of Shadows for this demon,” says Paige as she begins to walk upstairs.

Seeing this, Piper grabs the back of Paige’s shirt and pulls backward, knocking her down in the process.

“Hey, what did you do that for?”<br>
“I thought that you would much rather I knock you down than Mr. Spandex Man.”<br>
“Oh, right, the demon. Thanks for your concern, but next time, just say stop. You want to orb?”<br>
With a very sarcastic tone, Piper says, “Yah.”<br>
Taking Pipers hand, Paige orbs them to the Book. After a couple minutes flipping, they come to the correct page.

“Oh this is ironic,” says Piper. “The demons are called Frighteners.”<br>
Just then, the sisters hear a terrified scream followed by a huge crash. Hearing the commotion, Piper lifts her head and says, “Phoebe.” Then looking next to her, says, “Paige.”<br>
Not letting her finish, Paige says, “On it,” and orbs down to check on Phoebe.

Downstairs, what she saw made her heart jump into her throat. Phoebe was alert, but her leg was bent back ninety degrees the wrong direction.

“Leo!!! Quick!!! Phoebe’s hurt!!!”<br>
Wasting no time, Leo appears and runs over to Phoebe. ”I can’t fix her leg like this. We have to straighten it out first. Grab that piece of broken table for me. Phoebe. I have to straighten your leg out before I can heal you.” Then taking the piece of broken table from Paige, he continues. “Now you are going to be in a lot of pain for a moment. Bite down on this to absorb some of it.”<br>
Putting the broken piece of wood in Phoebes mouth, Leo, with a quick motion he learned as a medic in WWII, snapped Phoebe’s leg back into place. Phoebe lets out an agonizing, if not muffled, scream as her leg is put straight again. Then, after her leg is straightened out, Leo quickly heals her.

With the pain gone, Phoebe spits the piece of wood out of her mouth and lets out a sigh of relief. “Thanks for the warning Paige,” says a now grumpy Phoebe.

“Sorry honey. There was no time. We have to get to the attic. We had just found the demon in the book when you met our fun little houseguest.”<br>
Paige orbs them to the attic with Leo close behind. When they get there, Piper fills them in on what she read. “Don’t worry about the Frightners. They are low level demons that are hired as spies. They can be vanquished by a simple potion, but I think we should wait to actually vanquish it until we find out who sent it. We just have to stay away from doors, walls and windows.” It was the first good news they had had in a week

“Good. Piper, would you mind making the potion? I need Paige’s help with something.”<br>
“Yah, sure. It shouldn’t take long. Leo, would you mind helping me?”<br>
“Not a problem.”<br>
“Great, Paige, I’ll drive and explain on the way.”<br>
With that said, Phoebe starts walking to the door. Seeing this, Paige reaches out and grabs the back of Phoebe’s shirt, knocking her down in the process, just as he sister had done to her all of fifteen minutes earlier.

“Ouch. Paige, what are you doing?”<br>
With a duh sound to her voice, Paige says, “demon.”<br>
Laughing at her stupidity, Phoebe says, “Oh, yah. Orb?

Helping her sister up, she says, “Absolutely” before disappearing in a mass of blue orbs.

[mcharmed21]

Act 3 is really long, but here it is. I hope you like it.

Act 3

Back at Price’s Manor, she and Skole are looking at the wall. They had cast a spell to make the wall a viewing window to the Halliwell’s Manor in order to keep track of what the sisters were up to. They were awaiting word from the Frightener Demon that they had sent to the Halliwell’s Manor to get the location of the Gremoir.

Finally, the Frightener Demon pops up through the floor. He is using a black cloth that Price had laid down to show his form

“Have you completed your mission?”<br>
“Master, I have not seen the actual Gremoir, but I have found a safe that I believe the Gremoir is encased in.”<br>
“Good, you will return there and find out for certain if it is in fact in this safe. Then you will report back to me. Is that understood?”<br>
“Yes master. I will not fail you.”<br>
“You had better not, for your own good. Price, the potion.” Skole extends his hand and Price hands him a potion that they had brewed earlier. “This potion will counter act their vanquishing potion.

Skole throws the potion at the Frightener Demon and watches as the demon inhales the black cloud that the potion created. “Now get me the location of that book!”<br>
With a bow, the Frightener demon retreats through the floor from which he came, letting the black cloth fall back to the ground.

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

Phoebe is driving to the address on the envelope while filling Paige in on her premonition. Then she gives Paige the letter and tells her to read it.

“Hamlet’s Answer. You’re right Phoebe. This is defiantly a suicide note. Did your premonition give any indication of the time or day?”<br>
“Yah Paige, he was watching the TV guide channel to make sure he doesn’t miss anything good. No there was no indication. I told you, he just walked from a closet to the bathroom. But my gut instinct tells me that it will happen very soon. I just hope we aren’t already too late.”<br>
Ten minutes later, they were at the address. There is a beat up old Ford Tempo in the driveway and a frantic Phoebe is at the front door knocking as hard as she can, but there is no answer. Getting very nervous that they hadn’t made it in time, she says, “Paige, go around back, out of sight, and orb in there to see if he is ok”<br>
Paige does as Phoebe asks and walks around back. Seconds later, she is inside the houses’ bathroom. But the young man is not in there. Paige lets out a sigh of relief when suddenly the young man does walk in, gun in hand. Startled, he raises the gun at Paige.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?”<br>
“Wait, wait, wait. Calm down. I’m a friend and I’m here to help you.”<br>
“Friend? I don’t know you. And I don’t need any help.”<br>
“My name is Paige, Paige Mathews. I came here with my sister, Phoebe Halliwell of Ask Phoebe. I know you are thinking about doing something rash, something that, once it’s done, can’t be undone. And I know that Jenny wouldn’t want you to do that. She would want you to be here, to not give up. Joining her where she is does nobody any good. It just makes a bad situation worse.”<br>
“What would you know about it? You don’t know me. I don’t know how you know about Jenny, but you can’t possibly know what I am going through.”<br>
Talking very slowly with her most soothing voice, Paige says “Yes I can. I had a similar situation. When I was a kid, I didn’t know who I was yet. I was kind of lost and lashed out against anything resembling authority. I would always get into trouble in high school. I would always get caught smoking, or drinking, or skipping class. Then one day, I was riding in the car with my parents. They were mad at me because I was complaining about this family night thing we always did. I was saying that it was lame and that I was too old to have to participate. I wanted to go hang out with my friends. Because he was so angry at me, he didn’t see a truck run the light at the intersection. It T-boned us and our car flipped over. Somehow, I was thrown from the car, and watched from the outside as the car caught on fire and exploded. Both of my parents were killed.

“For a long time I blamed myself for what happened. If I hadn’t been arguing wit my father, He would have seen the car and they wouldn’t have died. So, to try to make it up to them, I turned my life around. I got into a good collage and graduated with a degree. Since then I have worked at social services doing everything I could to help people. But not too long ago, I realized that there is such thing as destiny. Even though we might not understand at the time, or even eight years after the fact, everything happens for a reason. I believe that my parents were taken away from me when they were to force me to straighten out and I have done so much good since then that I might not have been able to do had I not gone through that.”<br>
“I know all about trying to make the world a better place,” said the young man. “I have been a member of the Peace Corps since I was 21. That’s actually how I met Jenny. We were stationed in Kazakhstan. It’s funny, because we lived no more than twenty-five miles from each other growing up, but we met each other when we were both half way across the world. Anyways, we fell in love and I proposed. Then we came home so we could get married before going back to Kazakhstan. But we never made it to the altar. We had that accident and she didn’t make it. After that, I just couldn’t bring myself to go back to that place. There’s just too many memories. What’s the point anyways? You dedicate your life to doing good and what does it get you? An early grave, that’s what. And all because of a stupid accident.”<br>
“That’s right. It was an accident and accidents are something that happens when something doesn’t go right. They happen every day and are out of our control. If we could control them, they wouldn’t be called accidents. Believe me, even though it doesn’t seem like it now, there has to be a reason Jenny was taken when she was, even if we don’t know what it is. Everything happens for a reason.”<br>
Just then, a mass of blue orbs appears next to Paige. Looking surprised, she looks next to her and sees an attractive red headed young woman. Immediately, Paige recognizers her from her pictures on the bookcase in the hallway. It was Jenny. Then everything clicked into place and Paige knew why Jenny was taken. It was her destiny to become a Whitelighter.

“Brian, she’s right. It was my destiny to die in the accident that night. It was a means to get me to my true destiny, being a Whitelighter.”<br>
“Jenny,” Brian drops the gun and immediately pulls Jenny in and gives her a long, passionate kiss. “But how? You died. I don’t understand.”<br>
“I was rewarded. Because I devoted my life to helping people, when I died I was given an opportunity, an opportunity that I couldn’t refuse. I was made what is called a Whitelighter. A Whitelighter is a kind of a guardian angel. It is a being that will live forever doing tremendous good all over the world.” Looking over at Paige, she says, “Thank-you I can’t even imagine what would have happened if you weren’t here.”<br>
“I’m glad to help. I’m Paige by the way.”<br>
“I know. You are well known among all of us up there. All the good that you and your sisters have done and are still destined to do, it is legendary. In immortality, I hope to be able to make even a tenth of a difference that the Charmed Ones have already made. The world is truly better for you and your sisters having been in it.”<br>
“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Thank-you. By the way, I have some pull up there. If you get in trouble for revealing Whitelighters to a mortal, let me know and I will help you straighten it out.”<br>
“Thank-you Paige, but that won’t be necessary. I already cleared it with the elders. They allowed me to come here today because Brian is on the list of future Whitelighters. So he would have found out the secret anyways, he is just learning it a little earlier than anticipated.”<br>
“Well I’ll give you two some time alone. It was nice to meet you Jenny. And Brian, Here is my cell phone number. If you feel that you need to talk, give me a call and I can be here in one second. Bye.”<br>
Brian and Jenny watch as Paige orbs out and Brian says, “she’s one too.”<br>
“Just half, but she is all heart.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

Act 4

At the manor, Piper and Leo started working on the vanquishing potion right after Paige and Phoebe had left. As Piper predicted, it was a fairly simple potion and they were done with it pretty quickly. With the Frightener Demon not attacking, and her sisters gone, Piper and Leo take advantage of this rare downtime to spend some much needed quality time together.

Piper whips up a quick dinner for them and they have a really great dinner conversation. When they finish eating, they go upstairs to their bedroom to watch television and for the next hour, they just lay there cuddling.

When the show they were watching was over, they went back downstairs. They walk into the conservatory and there they see the Frightener Demon trying, unsuccessfully, to get into the safe.

“It’s after the Gremoir. Piper, quick, throw the potion.”<br>
Piper throws the potion and hits the demon square in what would be its chest. They hear a soft Poof, and when the smoke clears, the demon is still sticking out of the wall. They can see that it is smiling when it says, “You’re going to have to do better than that to vanquish me witch.”<br>
Piper stands there in disbelief as she watches the demon retreat out of sight. She turns to Leo and gives him a backhanded slap across the chest. “You just told it where the Gremoir is.”<br>
“I think it must have already had suspicions that it was there, otherwise it wouldn’t have been trying to get into the safe.”<br>
“Yah, and you just confirmed its suspicions for it.”<br>
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”<br>
“Yah, you’re right you weren’t thinking. You know better than that.”<br>
Leo and Piper are standing there arguing where Paige and Phoebe come home. “Hey, hey, hey. What is going on here,” asks Phoebe.

“Oh I’ll tell you what’s going on here. Your brother-in-law just told the Frightener demon where the Gremoir is.”<br>
“Piper I said I’m sorry and I meant it. I’ll see you guys later.”

The sisters watch as Leo orbs out and Phoebe says, “Piper, take it easy, you know he didn’t mean it. Did you at least get a chance to throw the vanquishing potion?”<br>
“Oh, I threw the potion alright. All it did was smile at me before retreating from sight.”<br>
“But that can’t be. Are you sure you made the potion right,” asks Paige.

“Oh, I made it right. Whoever sent it here must have somehow found a way to make it immune to the potion. We had better start work on a vanquishing spell. Who knows how strong it is now and we had better be ready when it comes back for the Gremoir.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

Here is the rest of the story. For a lot of reasons, this is now going to be a 5 part series instead of my planned 8. But the biggest being that I just really like how the last two turn out.

Act 5

Back at Prices’ Manor, she and Skole are standing at the altar. They had been watching the whole scene play out on their Halliwell Manor viewing wall so they were well aware that the Gremoir was indeed in the safe.

When the Frightener Demon returned, it once again took it’s form fron the black cloth Price had laid out

“You have done well and will be rewarded. First, however, you must retrieve the Gremoir and bring it back here. Once you accomplish this, you will be rewarded with enough powers to give you a physical form.”<br>
“Thank-you master. I will not fail you.”<br>
Skole then throws a potion at the demon. “This will multiply your strength by three fold. That should allow you to gain access to the safe. Now go, and do not fail me!”<br>
The demon bows to Skole before once again retreating through the floor.

When the demon was gone, Price says to Skole. “Master, forgive me, but I don’t understand. We can easily retrieve the Gremoir now that we know where it is. Why send the demon after it. After all, Frightener Demons aren’t exactly the most trustworthy of beings.”<br>
“Which is exactly why I sent it. The book protected itself against good before the Charmed Ones turned it. Now the book may or may not protect itself from evil. I am thinking that since the book is inherently evil, that it will not protect itself, but I could be wrong. This is a way to possibly find out.”<br>
“Brilliant.”<br>
“Yes it is, but I don’t think we will find out today. The Charmed Ones will undoubtedly be ready for him when he returns so I don’t think we will be seeing our frightener friend here again. Piper already caught him going after the Gremoir once and they already know that the potion is ineffective. I believe that the three of them will be ready and waiting with a vanquishing spell in hand when he tries to actually get the book.” Still watching the window, Skole sees the Demon enter the room and says, “which looks to be right now.”<br>
End of act 5

Act 6

The Frightener Demon once again enters the Halliwell Manor. Knowing the sisters will probably be waiting to spring a trap, it takes a round around the downstairs of the house to make sure no one is in hiding, waiting to spring on it. Finally satisfied that they are nowhere to be seen, it very slowly and very methodically starts making its way around the outer walls of the conservatory. It is getting ever closer to the safe, always watching to make sure the sisters aren’t behind a couch or something.

When it finally gets to the safe, it is about to rip the door off when a magical trap is sprung. Bolts of electricity reach out and wrap themselves around its neck like an electric dog collar. It tries to retreat, but the trap was set on both sides of the wall creating two half circles, one on each side of the wall. Between the two half circles, every exit for the demon has been taken away.

Upstairs, a stone glows to signify that the trap has been sprung, so very deliberately taking their time, they walk down the stairs and into the conservatory. Seeing the demon trapped, Piper says, “Hey, long time no see. I took your advice and decided to do better than the potion. Is this more to your liking? Girls, should we put it out of its misery, or let it squirm a bit?”<br>
“I vote squirm,” says a still angry Phoebe.

“I say lets vanquish it. If we torture it, then we are no better than it,” suggests Paige.

“Well, a little torture couldn’t hurt,” says Piper. “At least until it tells us who sent it.”<br>
“Oh absolutely, I wasn’t suggesting not getting a little info before putting it out of its’ misery, I just think we should eventually vanquish it.”<br>
“Oh, gotcha.” Then turning to the demon, Piper says, “So, are you ready to play the torture game?”<br>
Suddenly, with an agonizing scream, the demon explodes, vanquished.

“Apparently not,” says Phoebe. “What just happened here? You don’t think we made the trap too strong, do you?”<br>
“It wasn’t too strong. I think that whoever sent that thing had a way of watching it. He probably realized we captured it, and vanquished it himself before it had a chance to tell us who he is. Either way, It’s gone and good riddance.”<br>
“Amen to that,” says Phoebe.

“Do you think that whoever this demon is has found a way to see inside our house with like a crystal ball or something,” asks Paige.

“Anything is possible. So just in case;”<br>
A window opened to in our home see,
Our privacy shattered, this shall not be.
Through which to view a window has been poked
The window shall close, this Manor is now cloked

[mcharmed21]

Act 7

Price and Skole had seen the Frightener Demon captured by the trap. The possibility that the demon would be captured was a real possibility after it let its mission out of the bag. Knowing this, Skole had concocted that second potion. That is why he threw the second potion at the frightener demon. The Potion was not to increase its strength as he had said, but rather to give it a connection to a poppet that he had prepared.

Price had placed the Poppet under the black cloth to increase the power of the connection. Then when they saw the sisters ask the demon who had sent it, Skole dropped a new and improved vanquishing potion on the poppet. Because of the potion and the fact that Price had placed the poppet under the cloth, the Frightener demon was immediately vanquished before it could give them away.

They had watched for another minute after they saw the demon vanquished, and watched their window close after Piper had said the spell.

“We will have to find another way to see inside the manor,” said Price.
“Yes, but that can wait till another day. Sending the Frightener Demon worked out better than I imagined. We now know where the Gremoir is and how they are protecting it. It is only a matter of time before it is ours.”<br>
The End.
Kowa97

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The Dark Ones: Quest for the Gremoir Part 5