Chapter 3

Evil Prophecy

Piper opened her bedroom door, intent on going to the bathroom when Amber appeared around the corner. She frowned at the girl, stopping, "Did you just come from the attic?"

The girl rubbed her sleepy eyes. She stopped in front of Piper, her question sinking in, "I must've been sleep-walking." The teen yawned, "I just woke up there on the couch." Then she made her way downstairs.

She watched her and then glanced in the direction she had come from. "Hm," Piper didn't exactly believe her. She didn't believe the girl was evil but the Elders did and there was probably a good reason for that.

Phoebe was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal and searching for something on the internet.

The immortal walked in, still half asleep as she poured herself a cup of coffee before she chugged it.

Hearing the girl gulp something down, she stared at her surprised she didn't burn her throat, "Did you just drink a cup of coffee all at once?"

Amber blinked; fully awake now, "No better wake up call than chugging down something hot." She grabbed a bowl and frowned when she looked at the cereal. "Phoebe, can I borrow some money?" She turned around to face the witch that was staring back at her. "I'll pay you back when I get my first paycheck."

"What do you need?" The witch asked, curiously.

"You guys don't have any Kix." When she looked confused she sighed and added, "The cereal, Kix." She was pointing to her empty bowl.

"Oh," Phoebe smiled. "I'll buy some on my way home from work." She looked back at her desktop.

She let a small smile slip as she sat down next to her after putting the bowl back, "What are you searching for?"

"Your family tree," she answered without looking at her.

Her smile disappeared, "Oh, I would help but I didn't get to stay with them long enough to even know my last name."

Phoebe looked at her, "Why?"

"I don't remember but I was told they took me away the day I was born." She shrugged, not wanting to tell her.

"Amber, how did you become immortal? Do you know?" She took off her glasses.

Amber shook her head, "No, I've been immortal for as long as I can remember, but I know my family wasn't immortal or else I would've just stayed with them."

Paige came into the kitchen next, "You're an early riser."

Phoebe glanced at her sister, "Anyone would be wide awake after drinking a cup of coffee in one gulp."

She frowned at the two, walking toward the cupboard with cereal, "Wouldn't that hurt?"

"Well that's the whole point," the teen stated. "But I wouldn't suggest trying it because you don't heal as fast as I do."

Paige poured herself a bowl of cereal and opened the refrigerator to get the milk, "So immortals heal quickly?"

"I heal so quickly it's almost like I'm not hurt at all. Then I have stealth, speed, and a big appetite," she smiled. "All those extra abilities burn a lot of energy so I have to eat a lot or just eat fattening food that takes longer to burn."

"So you can basically eat whatever you want without worrying about gaining weight?" Phoebe questioned her.

She nodded, "Pretty much. I still work out but just for the strength instead of making sure I don't gain any extra pounds."

Three Days Later

The Charmed Ones were actually impressed when Amber kept her promise.

She already had a job and insisted on paying them all back for the money they had spent on her.

Despite this, Piper and Phoebe seemed to be suspicious of her. First of all, the sleep-walking to the attic excuse was not going to hold up and they had a gut instinct she was lying about going to the park to relax.

Paige on the other hand, just told them to give her a chance.

That night when everyone went to sleep, Piper decided she was going to see if the immortal girl was telling the truth about sleep-walking. It wasn't until sometime around midnight she saw Paige's door open and Amber came out, tears falling from her eyes as she went up the stairs to the attic. Piper cautiously followed, stopping around the corner.

"Why do I keep having these nightmares?" Amber choked. "I thought I was done with them but every since I came here, they've started up and gotten worse each night."

"I don't know," a voice that Piper vaguely recognized spoke. She sighed. "Maybe you should talk to Piper, Phoebe, and Paige about it."

Piper peaked from around the corner.

She shook her head, "They wouldn't understand." She sniffled. "Besides, Piper and Phoebe don't even want me here. I'm just a burden."

"You're not a burden Amber. They just," she paused, "haven't got to know you yet."

"That's the only thing keeping them from throwing me out," she smiled sadly. "Once Leo spills the beans, I'll be thrown out." She laughed, "They might even try to vanquish me, if it's even possible."

"If they even try that, I will be not only disappointed in them but angry for being so insensitive."

Amber grinned, "Aren't you supposed to be on their side? I mean you guys are related." She could almost see Prue smiling at her.

"Well now that you're feeling better, you should be going back to Paige's room. If Piper catches you sleeping up here one more time, she's going to blow something up."

"Alright then," she smiled. "I'll go and try to sleep but if I end up having another nightmare, I'm blaming you."

Piper quietly went back to her own room before Amber came down, making a mental note to ask Leo about the girl's past in the morning.

The Following Morning - After Amber Left for Work

"So what was it you wanted to ask me?" Leo asked.

"What happened in Amber's past to make the Elders think she was evil?" Piper asked.

Paige sighed, "Come on Piper, if she was evil we would be able to tell by now."

"No, I think we might need to know this Paige so we can make sure she doesn't turn evil." Phoebe pointed out.

"Well I guess you have a right to know since she lives here now." He paused for a moment. "There was a prophecy that an unspeakable evil would be born in the form of innocence; an evil that wouldn't be able to be vanquished by good or evil."

"And they think Amber is the one in the prophecy?" The middle sister asked.

Leo continued, "The day of Amber's birth, nearly all her family members will killed along with an Elder. Only two cousins of her mother were left."

"Oh my god, what happened?" Paige asked.

"One of the Elders was trying to contain the evil within her when Amber was born but she killed everyone in the room, her mother included."

The three were all shocked.

"She killed all those people the day she was born?" Piper asked.

"The Elders decided it was too dangerous to try to destroy her after that so they took her away to be raised by different families while keeping a close watch over her."

"Is that why she's immortal? Because she's evil," Phoebe asked, not believing they let a murder into the house.

He sighed, "Yeah but she's not evil. She just has it inside her."

"How do you know that Leo? I mean if she wasn't, why bring her to us?" His wife asked.

"I know she's not evil because I was there the day she lost control." Leo was dead serious now.

They all watched him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"It happened about ten years ago," he paused. "Everyone was searching for her because she had disappeared. I'm not sure where she went but it wasn't until a couple days later that I saw her after helping one of my charges. She was just sitting in an alley. When I went up to her, I knew something wasn't right."

Flashback

Amber sat in the alley alone until Leo walked over to her. She narrowed her eyes at him and sneered, "A Whitelighter?"

"Amber," he grabbed her arm.

The immortal hissed, pulling away, "Don't touch me!" Her hands formed fists.

He frowned. "It's me, Leo."

When her eyes met his, her body relaxed, "Leo?" Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked down at her feet. "I can't control it." She visibly flinched when he touched her shoulder as a growl escaped her throat, "Get away from me."

"What happened?" Concern was evident in his voice.

"Kevin wouldn't tell me the truth about how my mother died," she rocked herself back and forth. "So I went to someone who would tell me." She bit her lower lip and choked out, "I killed my mother."

Just then, Kevin appeared, frowning down at her in disappointment, "Amber, you've been extremely irresponsible. You can't just leave whenever you feel like it! People could've gotten hurt!"

The anger inside her was still raw as it boiled inside.

Leo knew she couldn't handle this right now. Any other day, she could've but not then. "I don't think yelling at her would be the best thing to do."

"Stay out of this Leo! This is none of your business!" He yelled at the whitelighter before turning back the immortal. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused! Do you even care about anyone besides yourself!"

Amber smirked up at him maliciously, "It's called self preservation you dick." She stood up, laughing at the fear he displayed. "You're not so tough when I start to show a backbone, are you?"

"Amber, you don't want to hurt anyone." Leo tried to reason with her.

She frowned at him, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're my friend and I know you're a good person. You're not evil."

She growled, "I can't stop it."

"Yes you can." He encouraged her, "You're in control."

Amber grabbed her head in pain, perspiration on her face. "I...won't...let...it...control...me." She dropped to her knees.

Leo tried to touch her shoulder.

"Get away!" She yelled as her body began to glow red.

Leo dragged Kevin behind a dumpster.

The immortal girl growled before letting go of her head and screaming in agony, letting out a wave of red energy that dissolved part of the alley and the dumpster along with it. Then she collapsed, breathing heavily and tears soaking her face.

End Flashback

"That was just a tiny breach of her powers," Leo told them, "but it took her years to overcome the pull it had over her." Before they could comment, he added. "The reason the Elders want you to take care of her is so that she'll be able to learn control."

"But Leo, what if she loses control again?" Phoebe asked, concerned.

He sighed, "Well, you don't have to worry about that."

Piper stared at him suspiciously, "What do you mean we don't have to worry about it?"

"Yeah, I mean I kinda think it is something we should be worried and prepared for," Paige added.

Her brother-in-law cleared his throat, "All I'm aloud to tell you is that we have someone who can stop that from happening."

"This wouldn't happen to be that voice I heard Amber talking to this morning would it?" Piper asked.

"You heard her," Leo frowned.

"Yes and I think you should tell us who she is." The oldest sister told him.

The other two looked at him curiously.

"I've already told you guys more than I should have and it was agreed you shouldn't know or have any contact with her. Amber won't tell you either because she knows if she ever did, the Elders would from her from talking to her friend again unless in an emergency."

"We just wanna know how she can help Amber control her evil side," Phoebe said. "Is it some kind of power she has or something?"

The front door open and Amber glanced at them as she walked by, "Just forgot something."