Fic, take 3.

Extra points to anyone who figures things out ahead of time. Unless I'm too freakin' obvious, and then, well, you should tell me. Gore and more.

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  "Any luck?" Piper asked.
  Paige sighed and folded the map she'd been using to scry with. "Nothing. I've picked up all sorts of evil, but nothing as big as what Chris was talking about."
  Looking up from the BoS, Phoebe asked, "How can you tell?"
  "Because something that big would draw the crystal immediately."
  "Scrying didn't work. Chris and Paige can't sense this demon thing, and it would be incredibly stupid to summon it. What're we supposed to do?" Phoebe slammed the book shut. She'd been hoping that Grams would have an answer and ever so helpfully guide them to it. But no, that would be too easy.
  "Well, maybe the uh, crime scene has some answers?" Paige suggested, eyeing Piper carefully.
  "I guess." Piper walked to one of the windows and looked out. She'd spent the last few days trying to forget what she'd seen, which was a big part of why they'd been trying to find a magical short cut. But deep down she'd known that they'd have to use what she and Paige had been forced to see because that was the only lead they had. Well, besides Chris and the Elders' super cryptic "source of evil power" messages. Would it kill them to actually get off their asses, Leo's included, and give them something more concrete to work with?
  Yeah, it probably would.
  "Well, what did you two see?" Phoebe the ever tactless demanded.
  Piper turned to face her clueless sister. "Death, Phoebe. What do you think we saw? Something, someone killed nine witches all at once. Considering they didn't try to run, I'm assuming they didn't even know it was there until it was too late."
  Phoebe winced at Piper's tone, but figured someone had to ask the difficult questions. "Did they summon it?"
  "No they didn't summon it," Paige snapped without thinking. "Did they?"
  "I don't think so," Piper said slowly. "There was nothing there that screamed 'summoning evil deity here.'"
  Phoebe smirked. "Okay, so, can you explain what exactly you saw? No need to be too graphic," she added hastily.
  "They were in a circle. I'm guessing they were channeling energy, and not of the demonic sort. They were also skyclad."
  Phoebe arched her eyebrows and shot a look at Piper. Did Paige know about their Wiccan ceremony a few years ago? "Anything else?"
  Piper felt her cheeks burn at the memory. "Scorch marks. There were scorch marks and the smell of smoke. Whatever demon did this can throw fireballs."
  Each of them fell silent at this, all thinking back to the same demon that always leapt to mind when that particular power was mentioned. Which was absurd considering he'd been dead for awhile.
  Phoebe cleared her throat to break the silence. "So they were celebrating and some fireball throwing demon managed to kill them all at once? Doesn't that seem a bit, I don't know, impossible? I know some of these things are powerful, but could they really kill nine people all at once without any of the innocents running away?"
  "You think one of them escaped?" Paige asked hopefully.
  "No... You didn't mention any gaps in the circle. But maybe more than one demon did this."
  Piper nodded. "It would make more sense, especially if they snuck up on them."
  Paige shook her head. "How do you sneak up on a circle? You can't, Piper. Besides..." her voice trailed off.
  "What?" Phoebe asked. "What is it?"
  "I can't be sure, but I think they were facing whatever attacked them. The wounds..."
  Phoebe interrupted, "Okay, I get the picture." She didn't really want to, but it was becoming increasingly clear why her sisters had been acting so strangely. Whatever they'd seen had shaken them up pretty badly, and considering the weird things they saw and did on a daily basis, that was saying something.
  "Whatever it was, it was drawn to what they were doing. If I had to, I'd bet that it appeared in the middle of their circle," Piper offered.
  "It explains why they didn't run and how it managed to ambush them. They'd never see that coming."
  "But wouldn't their circle have been protected?" Phoebe couldn't help asking.
  "You know as well as I do that if something evil enough wants in, it gets in," Paige replied.
  "So how'd it kill them?"
  Piper and Paige were silent. For all the blood and the gore they'd seen they still couldn't figure out exactly what had happened. It was as if a series of energy balls had been thrown at exactly the same time and each had hit a witch at exactly the same time and place. But even the most powerful demons they'd come across hadn't had that power. Not even the Source could have pulled that little trick off, or could he?
  The sisters all looked at one another and whispered the same fear.
  "The Source."

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  "No, no way. Not possible," Chris argued later when they summoned him.
  "Don't you see? It makes perfect sense. It explains what the Elders have been feeling and why they can't track it," Paige replied.
  "Not to mention how it managed to wipe out an entire coven all at once," Phoebe added.
  "No! You don't understand. The Elders would be able to tell the difference between supremely powerful demon and Source of all Evil," Chris explained.
  "They didn't for Cole," Piper reminded him.
  "That was different. He was under the Manor's protection. He was also still part human, on some level, for awhile."
  "Whatever. Chris, it's possible for the Source to hide from the Elders. Cole proved that."
  "And I'm telling you that's different! Unless you're sleeping with the Source again," he snapped.
  Phoebe flinched. "That was low."
  "Back off, Chris," Piper ordered. "Why can't it be the Source? Give me one good reason."
  "The Underworld is still in a state of chaos. There have been no rumblings of a new Source at all. Nothing. If anything they're busy destroying themselves faster than ever. While they might need a new leader, it's obvious they don't have one. Plus, the Elders can sense when one is given the full power. They knew with Cole when his time came, and they'd know with a new one."
  Unfortunately his logic made some sense, and Piper couldn't think of anything to refute it. Not even a gut feeling. She'd been afraid there was a new big bad in town, but it wasn't like she really expected it to be the Source, again. That would be too easy.
  "Oh," Phoebe finally said. "Well, are there any demons that could have broken through a protective circle?"
  "Quite a few, actually."
  "Well that's comforting," Paige muttered. "How about any who could kill that many witches at the same time, all alone?"
  Chris didn't even hesitate before he answered, "None."
  "How about any demonic teams that could have?" Piper suggested.
  "A few, but this isn't exactly their kind of thing."
  "Well aren't you helpful?" Phoebe grumbled.
  "I try. If that's all, the Elders are calling..."
  Piper dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "Go."
  With that he orbed away, leaving them to wonder just how reliable the Elders, and Leo, were on the subject of the Source. If they were right, then that meant that they were all in more danger than they could imagine.

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  "Dani? You look like crap!"
  Danielle looked over her shoulder nervously. "I know. Can I come in? I really have to talk to you, Elena. Now."
  Elena opened the door enough to let her friend inside. "Come in, come in. What's the matter?"
  Danielle slammed the door shut and locked it before answering Elena's question. "I need your help, actually. Have you heard about the other witches being killed off lately?"
  Elena nodded. "Of course. It's all we've been talking about. The whole community's buzzing about it. No one's sure what's causing it though. Why? What do you know?"
  Danielle bit her lip nervously, ignoring the tangy taste of blood that filled her mouth. "H-he came last night. For us. Everyone else is... gone," she whispered, looking away.
  "He who? What are you talking about?" Elena guided her friend to the nearest chair and gestured for her to sit.
  "The thing killing us. He killed my coven last night!"
  All the blood drained from Elena's face. "But you're alive. Did you fight him?" she asked, although she couldn't imagine Danielle's minor telekinetic powers actually doing much damage against something powerful enough to wipe out an entire coven.
  "I tried. I failed. He let me go. He said that I had to give the C-charmed Ones a message."
  Elena frowned. "The Charmed Ones?"
  "Yeah, like all of the witches around here know each other. Like I know who they are. I know of them, everyone does. But I don't know who they are, and I'm afraid he's going to realize that and come for me," she whimpered as tears slid down her face. "I'm just so scared. You don't know what he's capable of. You haven't seen him."
  "Shhh," Elena whispered as she slid her arms around Danielle's body, holding her close. "It'll be okay. The others will be here soon and they'll know what to do. We'll protect you."
  Danielle pushed her friend away. "Are you crazy? He'll find me here! He'll kill everyone here too. Don't you get it? He's killing witches and sooner or later he'll come for you!"
  "No. We can't just run away from this, from him. We have to stand together. We're stronger that way," Elena said firmly. "You'll stay here until everyone shows up. Then you'll tell them what you've told me, and we'll figure out how to find these Charmed Ones. Now, let's get you cleaned up."
  Danielle's shoulders slumped in defeat. She wanted to believe in Elena's words, but she knew that he would find her, find them, and then it wouldn't matter whom the Charmed Ones were.
  One by one, or all at once, it didn't matter. He'd kill them all.
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  Hours later, Danielle still couldn't shake that fear. In fact, it had only gotten worse. Even as the other witches had gone through the motions of trying to soothe her frazzled nerves, she'd tried to warn them. But most agreed with Elena, and those that didn't were too afraid to leave. So together they'd stay, and if they were lucky, together they'd die. Quickly.
  "Dani? Come on. It's almost time," Elena called out.
  Danielle willed herself to not laugh. "Time? Yes, I guess it is." She stood up and followed Elena down the hall, wondering if she'd make it out of this alive. If anyone of them would, really.
  After they entered the room, Elena shut the door. Candlelight flickered on the walls and ceiling, and Danielle couldn't help but flinch at the memories it brought back. She took her space at the circle and clasped hands with the women on either side of her. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Maybe...
  And for awhile she felt safe. She could already tell that these witches were infinitely stronger than her own coven. Maybe if he appeared, they could defeat him. Elena had obviously been thinking the same thing since she began to tell the others of Danielle's message.
  "The Charmed Ones?" someone asked.
  "I knew someone who went to see them, actually. But what could he want with them?" another asked.
  "The same thing everyone else does. Revenge. I thought it was obvious."
  No. No. NO! Danielle turned to see him walk right through the door.
  He flashed her a smile. "Hey, gorgeous. I see you've been working on that message. Good girl. Thing is, none of these are the Charmed Ones. Maybe next time, huh?"
  "Elena!" Danielle screamed. "He's here!" But no one else seemed to be able to hear him. It was as if they were frozen.
  "No fair warning them. I'm sure that breaks our agreement somehow," he said, wagging his finger at her.
  "Elena!" Danielle tried to run to her side, but before she could even move an inch, he threw her against the far wall, without even touching her. She crashed to the floor, knocking candles over, causing the flames to quickly spread out into the room.
  The upside of this little outburst was that everyone seemed to snap out of their trance.
  He grabbed the nearest witch, a tiny red head, and placed his hand across her face. She tried to scream but no sound came out. It wasn't until he dropped her that Danielle could figure out why the others were screaming so loudly for her. The red head's face seemed to have melted right off.
  "So, which one of you knows the Charmed Ones?" he asked.
  Instead of answering, Elena ripped her necklace off and flung it at him. It was a vial with a potion inside, one that was supposed to force any evil out of her home. All it managed to do, however, was amuse him.
  "Well, that tickles. You're Danielle's friend, right? I really must thank you for managing to convince everyone here- just a moment." He lashed out with his right hand and everyone in the room stopped moving completely. "Now where was I? Oh yes, thank you for gathering everyone here for me tonight. It makes it much easier to do my job, you know? Now, which one of you lovely witches knows who the Charmed Ones are?" He looked around expectantly, but no one answered.
  "Oh, right." He lowered his arm and everyone else fell to the ground gasping for air. "Silly me. Forgot all about that. So... Charmed Ones? If you tell me right now, I'll let you all live. How does that sound?"
  "He's lying!" Danielle screamed. "Don't listen to him!"
  "Dani, shut up," Elena whispered.
  He grinned. "Oooh, Dani? You didn't tell me you had a nickname. That's so cute. Dani. I like it. Yes, Dani, do shut up." He held out a hand and a fireball appeared. He then threw it at her and grimaced as she went up in flames. "Such a shame." He turned back to Elena. "Now, who knows the Charmed Ones?"
  No one said anything except for the occasional whimper.
  He frowned. "Well, this is disappointing." He looked around and his gaze landed on a young man in the back who was trying to discreetly put out the fire that was threatening the entire room. "I guess this means I have only one choice left," and with that he plunged his hand through Elena's chest and ripped her heart out. She slumped to the ground and chaos broke out. Unfortunately, since he was still standing by the door, no one could escape.
  He killed nearly the entire coven in seconds. He wasn't thrilled about that. It had taken longer last time and they hadn't been half as powerful. Oh well.
  The only one left was the young man he'd been eyeing a minute ago.
  "You seem like a fairly smart boy. I have a message for you..."

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