DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Spelling Television and Constance M. Burge, with the exception of the Phantom Rogue, which is a fictional character of my own creation.

The following is copyrighted by Afterglow. Unauthorized reproduction of text is not allowed, contact me by clicking my name above for permission to use this text.

We open on a muggy and stormy day in San Francisco. Prue is at Bucklands, and Piper and Leo have gone out to a movie, still celebrating Piper's return to the land of the living, even though it happened almost two months ago. Phoebe is alone at the manor, reading the Book of Shadows in the attic when the phone rings. She rushes downstairs and answers it, completely out of breath. "Hello?" she gasps. "Phoebe, did you pay last months electric bill?" asks Prue in a stern voice. Phoebe's jaw drops immediately and she slaps her hand over her mouth. With an apprehensive look on her face, Phoebe answers, "Oh God, I'm sorry Prue. I- I kinda forgot." "Phoebe! The bill was overdue already! I just got a call from them and they are threatening to shut us off! How the hell could you forget that?" blasts an irate Prue. "I said I'm sorry Prue, these last couple of months haven't exactly been easy you know," says Phoebe who starts to become agitated. "Yeah Phoebe I know, but we still have responsibilities to take care of. Ughh, tell Piper I'll be later than usual, I have to go pay the bill before they shut us off." And with that an angry Prue slams the phone down. Phoebe hears a loud click at the other end and slams the phone down herself. She storms back up to the attic, muttering to herself about how Prue never gives her a break.

Later on that evening Prue, still very furious with Phoebe about the electric bill, arrives home soaking wet. "Of all the days for my umbrella to break," she mutters to herself. Thinking that Piper and Leo have returned, Phoebe comes downstairs to talk to Piper about the mini argument she had with Prue earlier. "Oh, it's you," she says with a touch of disappointment in her voice. "Yeah it's me Phoebe, back from paying the bill you should've taken care of a month ago," responds Prue in a condescending tone. "You know Prue, contrary to popular belief I have been busy the past couple of months. Between my job interviews, helping fix up the damage caused by the demon two months ago, cleaning the house, and the shopping for everybody, the bill slipped my mind. It does happen, you don't have to get all snippy about it. I apologized already." "You think you are the only one who has a lot of work to do around here Phoebe? What do you think I do at the auction house all day, sit and chit-chat with Claire? I don't think so. I work too. And I wouldn't be so upset if you'd show a little effort around here. It's been two whole months and the damage still isn't repaired, the house is a mess, and you haven't gotten groceries in three weeks. How many interviews have you been on lately, and still no job? The least you could do is actually help out around here as much as you claim to," scolds an enraged Prue. "Oh so your gonna throw the unemployment issue back in my face again. Can we ever have an argument when you didn't do that? You don't think I try, is that it Prue? You know how it feels to keep going on interview after interview and still not being good enough to land a job, then coming home and having your sister throwing that in your face? Don't you think I want a job Prue? And as far as the repairs and shopping goes, they are being handled. The new handyman had a family emergency and had to take a few weeks off, and I refuse to ask Leo to do it, he and Piper deserve a little time together. And for your information, I went shopping today, the kitchen is fully stocked. I also cleaned today, so don't go chastising me about fulfilling my responsibilities here. I make one mistake and you go and turn it into how much you hate me for not working a steady job like you do," protests Phoebe. "Well, you have run from responsibility your entire life Phoebe. What do you expect?" asks Prue in a high and mighty tone of voice. "You know all I want is a little respect from you, a little encouragement. But you can never give me that can you? You just refuse to see how much I do around here, and how much I work. I'm just a burden to you, aren't I? A thorn in your side," argues Phoebe. Prue just stares at her younger sister and firmly remains silent. Phoebe responds to Prue's silence, "That's it isn't it? I'm just another problem that you have to put up with. Well you know what, if that's all that I am to you, then this problem will just get out of your way." With that Prue dismisses Phoebe by rolling her eyes and walks away. Phoebe rages upstairs to her room to pack. She hastily throws her belongings into a small suitcase and counts all of her cash. Before leaving the house she slips a note onto Piper's pillow.

Phoebe walks a couple of blocks away from the manor before hailing a cab. "San Francisco International Airport please," she instructs the driver. During the ride, Phoebe thinks about how this will affect Piper. Phoebe silently reflects her decision, "I know this will hurt her, but I have to. The past couple of months have been nothing but hard for me. Ever since Piper came back Prue has been pushing me to do more and lessen the load on Piper. But I can't take it anymore. I can't stay knowing that my own sister only thinks of me as a burden and nothing more. I should never have come back at all." Tears of regret and pain roll down her face as the cabby informs her that they have arrived.

Back at the manor, Prue, unaware that Phoebe has gone, sits in the living room and thinks about the argument. "I never should have said those things to her," Prue says while thinking aloud. Just then, Piper and Leo return from their movie. "Prue, Pheebs, we're back," announces Piper. Leo is the first to notice that Prue seems troubled. "Prue, is something wrong?" he asks. "Phoebe and I had a huge fight before. I got upset about the electric bill, and then I went into a rage about everything. God, I don't even know why. I mean I had a bad day, but that doesn't excuse me from my behavior. I honestly don't know what came over me," says a troubled Prue. "What did you say?" asks Piper. "I told her how she hasn't been taking care of everything around here, the repairs, the cleaning, the shopping. And I really set her off with the whole no job thing. God, I feel so terrible now." Piper starts to argue, "Prue you know that is totally untrue. If anything, Phoebe has been doing more work than us all combined. How could you do that to her?" "I know Piper. It's just that lately my mind is just so muddled. I say and do things that I would never do. And I keep getting these horrible headaches. I had one while I was fighting with Phoebe. It was so weird. My head was pounding, and I kept saying all of these terrible things, and afterwards I felt so, strange. I can't really explain it." Piper can see that this has really distressed her sister, and she tells Prue to go lie down on the couch while she checks on Phoebe.

"Flight 102, non-stop to Kennedy Airport in New York City, is now boarding," announces a blaring PA system. As Phoebe picks up her purse and suitcase, she thinks about how drastic a change this really is, "I can't just up and leave again, the situation is so different now. I mean before it was just me, Phoebe, the normal human being who had a fight with her sister. Now I'm not just Phoebe, I'm a witch. A part of the Charmed Ones. I have to stay, not just for my sisters, but for the innocents who still need our help." With that thought, Phoebe walks out of the gate and heads for the exit. As she walks to the bus stop she thinks to herself, "Well, I spent the majority of my savings on a non-refundable plane ticket to New York, and have just barely enough cash left for a bus ride home. Why couldn't I realize what I was doing before I bought the ticket?"

"Pheebs?" asks Piper as she slowly creeps open Phoebe's bedroom door. Realizing that Phoebe isn't there, Piper says to herself, "Hmmm... Maybe she went out to blow off some steam." She closes Phoebe's door and walks down the hall to her own room. Leo meets her at the door, "Something's not right. I sense a problem, and the strange thing is that I just can't seem to figure out what it is." Piper gets a perplexing look on her face and walks inside her room. She notices the note on her bed, "What's this?" She picks up the note and starts to read it. With a look of sadness on her face she hands Leo the note, "Could this be what's wrong. Phoebe went back to New York." As Leo reads the note a strange sensation overcomes him, "Phoebe is on her way back. Deep down she knows she can't leave, and she also thinks something is wrong. No, it's something with Prue. I sense something somewhere really close to her, almost like it lurks inside her."

While quietly sleeping on the couch Prue has a really disturbing nightmare. In it she is wandering about the manor, but it is eerily barren. Suddenly the black mist returns and starts to strangle her. She fights and fights, but the mist has too strong a hold on her and it consumes her whole. In the blink of an eye Prue shoots up from her slumber. Her eyes fly open to reveal her usually bright and colorful eyes have turned to a sinister black.

Phoebe gets off at her bus stop and walks up to the house. The air has an uneasy feel to it, and the house seems to be in surrounded by a creepy silence. As Phoebe reaches to open the door, she has a premonition. She sees Prue, black eyes and all, stealing away the powers of Leo, Piper, and the Book of Shadows before destroying them all in the name of evil. This frightens her to no end and she realizes that it wasn't really Prue who said those wretched things to her. "Oh God, Prue!" screams Phoebe as she tries to open the door.

Prue quietly creeps up the stairs and heads towards Piper's room. Piper and Leo are both inside trading their thoughts on what could be going on with Prue. "Leo, you probably just sense a whole lot of stress. Claire has really been on her case lately. She's hardly had any sleep, and that's probably what's causing her headaches. Not to mention her fight with Phoebe, I mean you saw how she was, she is really upset by what happened." Leo responds, "No Piper, it can't just be stress. It's something else, and it's really unsettling. My powers can usually pin point exactly what the problem is, but this is the first time that they can't. There is something very wrong here, and we have to find out what that is, before something happens." Just then, Phoebe appears at the window. "Phoebe? What are you doing out there?" asks a startled Piper. "Piper, Leo, you guys have to get out of there fast. Come on, I'll explain on the way," says Phoebe as she leads them out of the window and away from the house. Prue watches as they all jump into Piper's jeep and speed away. "They'll be back," she says to herself with a grin.

"Phoebe what's going on here," asks Piper as she continues to drive away, "and why did you take the Book of Shadows? You know that it's too dangerous to take it out of the house." Phoebe explains, "Piper, it was way more dangerous to leave it in the house with Prue, something's happened to her. After that huge fight, I packed up my stuff and left to go to New York. I bought the ticket and everything, but when the plane was boarding, I couldn't do it. Deep down I knew something was wrong with Prue, but I wouldn't let myself admit it, until I got back home. The air just seemed very strange, and when I reached to open the door I had a premonition. In it, Prue's eyes were pitch black, and she had you and Leo tied up. She was stealing your powers and the power of the Book of Shadows. When she was done, she destroyed the Book, and the two of you." Piper parks the jeep in an empty parking lot and after a short pause Phoebe continues, "The demon has a hold of Prue, kinda like the Woogyman had a hold of me. I tried to get into the house, but Prue had blocked the door with something, so I climbed a tree, went in through my bedroom window, and up to the attic to get the Book. When I came down I saw Prue heading for your room, so I went out my window again and climbed the branch to your room to get you and Leo." "What does the Book say about the demon?" asks Leo. Opening the Book, Phoebe reads aloud, "It's called the Phantom Rogue. The Book says that he was one of the first forces of evil to walk the planet. He terrorized innocent souls by influencing them to kill and torture other innocents. He did this by transforming into a black mist and infecting the innocent, like what happened to the girl in the Exorcist. When the force of good took over the planet, he was banished to hell. There his power was limited, and his reign over humans ended. It says here that his power could be conjured up by an even darker power and he would once again walk the earth, though he would take the form of a mortal body. His body could be destroyed, but if he found an innocent soul to take over, he would remain on earth." A worried Piper remarks, "So he got to Prue before Phoebe killed him. Then why didn't we notice his presence earlier?" "He's been without his powers for thousands of years, it probably took him awhile to gather enough strength," responds Phoebe. "Are you sure that he is the Phantom Rogue? I don't recall him ever having a power such as the one that killed Piper," asks Leo. "Well, the Book also says that he gains the power of every soul he kills. Maybe he didn't just kill an innocent, maybe he killed a witch or even a warlock and gained their power," suggests Phoebe. Piper begins to get slightly agitated, "All right, that's enough theorizing, we need to get rid of this thing. Phoebe, does the Book say how to vanquish it?" "Yes, yes it does. Let's go."

Prue sits alone in the attic, which is now completely trashed. She screams, "They took the Book of Shadows, they're gonna pay! Especially that Phoebe, I'm gonna make sure she dies just as painful a death as I did." Just then she hears the doors of the jeep slam shut. She perks up and runs to the window. "Ahhh, revenge will be so sweet," she says to herself as an evil grin creeps across her face.

"Phoebe, you're sure this potion will work?" asks a hesitant Piper. "Yes, the woman at the shop said it is the only thing that will draw out the spirit. After we get him out of Prue, then we recite the spell that will crush him forever," explains Phoebe. Leo asks, "Umm, okay but how do we get her to drink it?" They all give each other a blank stare and Piper begins, "Okay, I know. The Phantom has control over her right? So then I can freeze her, because she's evil. We can make her drink it then." Leo responds, "No, there's no guarantee that she will freeze, we don't know how much control he has over Prue. Like Phoebe said before, he hasn't had his powers for thousands of years, our best bet would probably be to weaken him." "How are we supposed to do that?" asks Phoebe. "He has control over Prue, and her power. Odds are that he will use her power to gain all four of our souls, so all we have to do is make him tire out Prue. She's just a mortal body, eventually she will be too exhausted to use her power, that's when we can pin her down and make her drink the potion," explains Leo. "It's a long shot, but we need to do something. Let's go," says Piper as she walks up the stairs of the manor towards the front door.

Prue greets the three of them at the door, "Why look who's here! Now I can gain the rest of the powers of the Charmed Ones, and hey, there's a bonus prize. You know, I never felt the power of a white-lighter. Well, there's always time to try new things. Oh please do come in. I always loved a spectacle, but these weapons people carry nowadays hurt a lot more, and I wouldn't want Prue to die before my mission is complete." Prue continues as she leads them all inside, "There's one more thing, that little plan of yours, it's good, but it won't work. You see, I have complete control now, Prue's mortal body is but a vessel, and where her power ends, my power begins. It was a nice attempt though, any others before you die?" Just then Leo stops and waves his hands over both Piper and Phoebe. They each feel a surge go through them and look at Leo. He sends a telepathic message to them both as Prue looks around in bewilderment, "Don't say a word, I have cloaked you from both Prue and the Phantom. Neither of them can see any of us, now is our chance to get Prue to drink the potion. If what the Phantom says is true, and he has complete control, our only hope is to use our powers. Piper you freeze Prue, while Phoebe gives her the elixir. I'll use my powers to pin her down and make sure the demon is totally out of her." When Leo was done, Piper immediately throw up her hands and froze Prue. Phoebe then took out the vile of the elixir from her pocket, opened Prue's mouth, and poured it down her throat. Instantaneously, Prue unfroze and started to thrash about violently. It was then that Leo held out his hands and eased Prue's movement. All of a sudden a black form lifted from Prue's body and was suspended in the air. Leo yells, "Now! Recite the spell now!" Piper and Phoebe begin to yell in unison:

"Phantom Rogue, depart from this realm and cease existence!
We distill your powers and conquer all resistance!
Be gone now, withdraw your presence!"

The black form squirms and writhes in pain. It flails helplessly until, in a split second, it vanishes in a puff of smoke. Leo, certain the creature is gone, uncloaks them all as they rush over to an unconscious Prue lying on the living room floor.

They pick Prue up and lay her on the couch. A worried Phoebe asks, "She doesn't look good, should we take her to the hospital?" Leo responds, "No. She's just a little exhausted, she needs to rest. She'll be fine now." At that, Prue stirs slightly and opens her eyes a little. Piper, Phoebe, and Leo all smile in relief when they see that Prue's eye's are once again their original color.

One Week Later...

Prue is in the kitchen having breakfast when Phoebe walks in. "Good morning," greets Phoebe. "Good morning," responds Prue. Phoebe asks, "Where's Piper?" "I'm here," says a depressed Piper. "What's wrong?" questions Prue. Piper answers, "Leo left last night. I woke up and found a note from him. He got called away to help someone. I don't know who, he said he couldn't say." "I'm sorry Piper," says a sympathetic Phoebe as she walks over to give her sister a hug. "Yeah Piper, I'm sorry," adds Prue. "That's okay, you guys. I mean, I'm sad that he had to leave, but at least we got to spend so much time together. I really didn't expect him to be able to stay as long as he did." Prue adds, "It's a good thing he did." Phoebe agrees, "Yeah, without him we wouldn't have been able to vanquish the Phantom Rogue and save Prue." Prue walks over and gives her sisters a hug. "I'm glad you could, and don't worry Piper, we'll see Leo again. Oops, I'm going to be late for work, gotta run," says Prue as she rushes out the door. And we fade out as Piper and Phoebe discuss their daily search for jobs.