Chris splashed the cool sink water onto his face and sighed as he leaned over, both hands gripping the cool porcelain on either side of him. He and Sarah had immediately hit the drawing board on ways to try and get evidence about Gideon. So far they were looking for Underworld sources, but nobody would come forward, not since the incident in the marketplace. What was getting distracting was the way Saran's shirt climbed up her midriff and every small wriggle of her hips had his eyes dropping to the curve of her waist. When they had been "just friends" it had been so easy to ignore those things and shove them from his head, but now he knew how it felt to kiss her, hold her, run his hands over that smooth skin and-

More water splashed up onto his face and Chris buried his face into a soft towel. He wasn't going there. They had broken up for a reason. This was about Wyatt. Not them and their feelings. They couldn't afford to be distracted by these things.

Unnoticed by Chris, a rippling figure appeared behind him, lounging against the wall and chuckling silently. Barbas surveyed his prey and waved one palm into the air curiously, conjuring the image of Chris's worst fear in his palm. Gideon had provided him with a power boost; just enough to make sure Chris and Sarah had the time of their lives wallowing in fear.

"Your worst fear," he whispered to himself, "Is your worst memory."

The palm clenched into a fist just as Chris pulled his face from the towel and reached for the doorhandle.

"Okay, Spaz, now that we have a plan we can-"

Sarah was sprawled on the bed, hand limp over the edge and eyes wide open. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, crusting in the dark hair that fanned beneath her. Chris forced a nervous chuckle, whole body shaking as he stepped forward. She had to be screwing with him. He'd been in the bathroom not two minutes and there had been silence from this room. She couldn't be… not again.

"Very funny, Spazzy. Now stop."

Sarah didn't move.

"Spaz. Spaz!"

Chris voice trembled as he tried to remain calm despite the feeling a fist had been plunged into his stomach. He stopped dead in the middle of the room.

"….Sarah?"

XxX

Sarah lounged out on Chris's bed, burying her face in the pillow and sighing heavily. It was getting very hard to stay focused when all she wanted to do was grab Chris by the back of his neck and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. He had disappeared into the bathroom, giving her time to stretch out like a cat and ponder exactly how they were going to catch enough evidence to incriminate Gideon.

Chris's scream sent her flying up from the bed, eyes darting to the close door of the bathroom.

"NO! Sarah! Sarah wake up, please!"

Sarah frowned and ran to the door, bashing on it hard and calling back through the thick wood.

"Chris? Chris I'm right here.. what's happening?"

Chris's voice was getting desperate and drawn, clear terror in every word. Sarah blasted the door to no avail, screwing her eyes shut and willing for another door to the bathroom. The one good thing about these rooms was that they could be whatever you wanted them to be and right now she wanted to know what the hell was going on.

Behind her, Barbas cocked his head lazily. He didn't even need to read her to know what her worst fear was. This girl oozed her fears from very pore of her body. Losing Chris… but that was too easy. Losing her family, being alone, not saving Wyatt. Returning to her grave. All of these fear rippled from her aura, but Barbas had bigger land for her. He waved his hand at the door, letting the dark haired girl step through with a smirk on his face before he fell back onto the cushy bed.

Sarah stumbled through the door and froze in place. The bathroom was empty. She could still hear Chris's terrified shouts, but he was nowhere to be found. She whirled around, ready to open the door but saw nothing. The room was sealed.

"Hello? Chris?"

This wasn't right. Someone was playing with them, messing with their heads to try and weaken them just like they had done with the magic shield. Sarah ran to the mirror, hoping to find some kind of clue as to what was happening. Mirrors were the best way to tell if you were caught in a loop of some kind, forcing whatever was controlling you to show its true colours. She gazed up into her reflection and choked, immediately looking down at her body and shaking her head as she staggered back. Red and black vines crept down her arm, red streaks bleeding into her hair and her pure black eyes staring back.

Sarah's palm slammed into the mirror, glass splintering under her palm and drawing copious amounts of blood. The reflection did not change. Her heart rate picked up, bloodied hands pressing to the mirror desperately trying to find a way out. She tried the walls, throwing power after power at the confines of the room in an attempt to escape.

"You're not getting out." A sly voice said from behind her. Sarah turned and shook her head, pressing her back to the wall and closing her eyes.

'You're not real"

The reflection pressed against the inside of the glass, hands bloodied in the exact pattern. Black eyes flickered green before bleeding out into darkness.

"Of course I am, Princess. I'm you. The real you. The side of you that you try so hard to suppress every. Single. Day."

Sarah slid down the wall, knees hunching to her chest. "No, no you're not. I'm god and I will never be like you."

The reflection rolled its eyes and kicked the mirror, glass raining down on Sarah as her evil double strolled over leisurely, squatting down in front of her. The reflection gripped Sarah's wrist and pushed their palms together, red and black veined arms meeting together.

"See this? This is our blood. You are me. You kill people. There's so much blood on your hands."

Sarah yanked her hand away and watched as it trembled, blood oozing at first before it began to flow out across the floor. The reflection smirked and pushed Sarah back against the wall, bringing her lips against Sarah's ear, glass crunching under her feet.

"You know it. This is who you need to be…"

Sarah opened her eyes and screamed, feeling something hot and sharp oozing through her veins, the world around her bleeding away into the Halliwell manor, Chris on his knees before her. His face was bloodied and bruised, hands bound behind his back and body battered beyond repair.

"Sarah…" he rasped, choking on his blood and spitting it across the floor. Sarah's hands trembled, looking down at the athame in her hand. Chris looked up, eyes sad and broken before Sarah brought her hand down into Chris's skull.

From outside the bathroom, Barbas hummed to himself, tracing the patterns of the quilt as he listened to the terrified screams coming from the bathroom. The two were mere inches from one another but had no idea. While Chris sobbed over the body of Sarah sprawled on this very bed being stuffed into a body bag; Sarah was staring into the mirror at her Evil self, Chris's bloodied body at her feet.

Barbas rose from his position, casually slipping out the door and spinning in the middle of the hallway, dancing to his own tune while the terrified screams became fainter and fainter.

"Now," he grinned as Gideon emerged from the hall, "Who's next?"

XxX

A flurry of blue sparkles drew the three sisters from the texts, Leo forming in the centre of the room, a stern look on his face.

"Piper, we have a problem."

"You're telling me," she grouched, "Your son has decided that my bladder is the perfect resting spot. I'd like to not have to be getting up every ten minutes to pee."

Leo shook his head, taking a seat and making sure he had the attention of all three women, "No, a serious problem."

'Are you saying me problem isn't-"

"The Elders want to send Sarah and Chris back."

The three women gaped, completely astounded by the news. Piper frowned, immediately heading straight for anger.

"Who the hell do they think they are, huh? Send them back where? To the future? Where Chris says people are being slaughtered on sight and Sarah is dead? They want us to just send them back?"

"They've decided that Chris and Sarah have been here long enough and it's tipping things too far. They say they can take it from here."

"Like hell they can," Phoebe pushed in, closing the Book with a snap, "What the hell good have the Elders done for us lately, huh? They're down a Charmed One and they think they can handle this? Do they even understand what's in that future for them? Wyatt slaughters them!"

"Apparently the Elders expressed some concerns about Chris and-"

"Excuse me?" Piper sputtered, hands raised, "Take me up there. Now."

"Piper, you're not allowed to-"

"My son and his girlfriend came back from the future and the afterlife to try and save this world and they're doing a damn good job considering everything that has been thrown at them and if the Elders have a problem with that, they can take it up with me."

Piper gripped Leo's waist, very pointedly glaring at him. Leo began to protest when the doors swung open, Gideon blowing in with his hands raised.

"The alarm has been sounded. There's a demon on the grounds."

Piper forgot her anger and let Leo go, the two sisters at the table rising from their seats immediately. Leo shook his head, stepping forward to his mentor's position.

"How? Demons can't get into Magic School, not without help."

"I know, Leo. Just like the last demon that was in here… it seems that there is either a tear in our magical force fields.. or someone on the inside is letting demons in on the side. Either way, we need to find this demon. Maybe even capture him, interrogate him. He must know something about how he got in here."

Gideon's eyes fell on the tea tray rested on the desk and the three empty cups. He frowned, striding over and picking one up.

"Tea?"

'Yeah, Sigmund brought it to us. Said it would help us out." Paige said offhandedly, not really understanding what the big deal was.

"Yes, he's been giving it out all over the campus since things became… worse." Gideon admitted, "Pushing it on everyone."

Phoebe shrugged, "I didn't feel like he was pushing." She knew there had to be more to Gideon's words, but right now there was a demon on their hands. "Do you know what demon it is? Or where it is?"

Gideon shook his head, teeth clenched, "No, I don't. But I think this is another direct attack on Chris and Sarah, especially after the last one failed."

Piper paled and held her stomach, whirling around to grasp Leo's arm, "Leo, I sent them to their rooms to have the day off, if this demon is coming they might not realise. Go. GO!"

Orbs encircled everyone, the forms amalgamating in Sarah's room. Phoebe and Paige had their eyes clenched, much to the confusion of Piper. She slapped their arms and they opened one eye.

"Well, you send two adults to their rooms to relax, you never know what you're barging in on." They defended. The room was empty, but Piper barged through the connecting door, not noticing the shimmering figure of Barbas now slouching around after them.

The bathroom door was ajar; the figures of Chris and Sarah slumped together on the floor. Chris was slumped on the floor, sobbing over the ground in front of him while Sarah was curled in the corner, her hand bloodied and her eyes vacant.

"Chris? Sarah?"

Leo stumbled forward, immediately grabbing Sarah's hand and healing it.

"Sarah can you hear me?"

"…I killed Chris," she said weakly, her whole voice shaking, "I- I killed him."

All eyes went to Chris, his body hunched as he gripped the fabric of his shirt, "Mom, mom she's dead. Not again."

The girls stared around the two of them, confused as to what was going on. Clearly they couldn't see each other, but something here was wrong. Familiar.

"Chris. Chris, Sarah is alive, okay? She's okay, she's right here."

Chris shook his head, tears streaming down his face as he gently pushed the hair from Sarah's eyes. Her skin was icy cold, eyes still wide open and staring. Paige crouched down beside him, calling over her shoulder to Gideon.

'What is it? What could have done this to them? They're terrified!"

As soon as the word left her mouth, everyone pulled back, the pieces falling into place.

"It has to be Barbas," Leo said firmly, sitting beside Chris and gripping his son's shoulder tightly.

"Chris, listen to me. Nothing you're seeing is real. Sarah is alive. She's… she's fine."

Chris shook his head, slowly rocking back and forth, "She's dead. She died again…"

Leo lapsed into silence, unsure of what to do. It wasn't as simple as telling Chris that his fear wasn't real. He had seen it with his own eyes. Sarah dying right before his eyes. Leo turned back to Sarah, seeing the glazed look in her eyes.

"Phoebe, help her. Piper, come here, maybe we can… do something. Paige, Gideon, Barbas is here. We need some kind of potion or spell to hold him at bay."

Paige nodded, taking off into the other room to the potion stash she knew Sarah and Chris kept. Gidon followed after, his eyes grazing over the space where Barbas was, a slow nod all he gave to show Barbas he could allow himself to be caught at any time.

Phoebe crouched down beside Sarah, taking both her hands, trying to get the girl to look her in the eyes.

'Sarah, sweetie." She began softly, "Chris is alive. He's okay. It's just your fear. A demon is doing all this to you. Everything is fine. You need to not be afraid."

"I'm evil," Sarah croaked, tears spilling down her cheeks, "I'm… I'm evil."

Phoebe shook her head firmly and held Sarah tight, "No, sweetie. Sweetie you will listen to me. Nothing about you is evil. You had a choice and you made it all on your own. You chose to be good. Nothing about you is evil. There is evil inside all of us, but what we do with it is what makes it important. Now, don't be afraid okay? I need you to conquer this fear. Can you do that?"

Sarah shook her head and leaned against the wall, tightening up further. Phoebe stroked her fingers through Sarah's long hair and ripped her shoulders.

'Sarah… you're saving the world. Nobody has more good in them than you, okay?"

Sarah's eyes flickered a little, her hand trembling as the black and red lines began to recede. Phoebe saw the flicker and smiled, "Good, sweetie, you're doing great. Keep going. You're good. Chris loves you. You're going to make the future so much brighter for everyone in the world."

The black and red bled away, Sarah's eyes returning to their green hue. She looked across the room to Chris, wiping away the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

"What's he seeing? What's happening?"

Leo explained about Barbas as Sarah crawled forward, Piper and Leo splitting apart to give her room. Knowing what Chris was seeing made her heart break and she curled up beside him, taking his and and cupping his cheek.

'Chris… baby. I'm right here. I'm not dead."

Chris sobbed and clutched at the ground, clearly not seeing Sarah. She bit her lip and brought his face to hers, moving their entwined hands to press against her chest, over her heartbeat.

"Chris. Listen to me. I am here. I am not going anywhere ever again. Barbas did this to us, his making you see things. Come back, Chris. Please."

Sarah touched her forehead to his, wiping the tears away from his cheeks before tilting her head slightly and pressing their lips together. The kiss was tender and innocent, a desperate plea for Chris to snap out of his fear and come back to reality so they could find Barbas. This could be their key for finding evidence against Gideon. Sarah prayed as she pulled away, feeling no response from Chris. The hand on her chest clenched suddenly, pulling her back to him by the fabric of her shirt. Sarah kissed back eagerly, still tender and soft. The kiss broke and Chris held Sarah tight, loving the feeling of her heartbeat under his fingertips.

"Barbas," he said finally, "He must have hit us at the same time almost. I didn't even realise… he isn't meant to be that powerful."

Piper, Leo and Phoebe all stood up and gathered around, leading the pair out of the bathroom to where Paige and Gideon awaited. Paige held up a bottle with lime green liquid inside, shaking the bottle slightly.

"Power trapper. I don't know if it will work on its own, but if we use this," she held up a red bottle, "at the same time, we might be able to at least trap him in the crystals and find out how he got into Magic School and who has been helping him."

"He's got power," Chris said as he rubbed his neck, "Way too much. He has to be sharing power, or tapping power from somewhere. I've been under the control of Barbas before and it was nothing like this."

Chris gazed suspiciously up at Gideon, not bothering to hide his expression. Nobody just got that kind of power out of nowhere, it had to be shared, and who better to share powers with a demon than an almighty Elder?

"Summoning spell?"

"If he's powerful like you're saying he is, a summoning spell might not be enough. We might need some serious juice this time, like we did with Cole."

Sarah darted around the group, crouching down by Chris's dresser and rummaging through the bottom drawer. A small, leatherbound book was in her hands when she stood up and began flipping pages.

"I wrote a spell in here to call a demon we were hoping to interrogate, but something got there first. I could adapt it a little?"

When everyone agreed, Sarah set out the crystals and stepped back, pulling the spell from the book.

"Power of the witches rise,

Course unseen across the skies

Feeds on fears and memories grim

Come to us, we summon him."

A swirl of white orbs formed in the crystals, Barbas' body trapping inside the ring. He chuckled eagerly at his audience, innocently bringing up his hands as he strolled in the small room given to him.

"You didn't like my show?"

"Who do you work for?" Sarah demanded, in no mood to deal with his stupid games. Barbus tutted and purse his lips, "Oh, Slayer. So hasty to cut to the chase. Where's the build-up, the foreplay?"

Sarah cocked an eyebrow and waved her hand carelessly at the circle, an electric shock sweeping through the cage and making Barbas contort in agony.

"I do believe I asked a question, bitch."

Barbas laughed from his position on the floor, looking up and around him to find Chris.

"She's feisty. I see why you like her."

Chris stared coolly, not bothering to give Barbas the time of day. Instead he nodded at Sarah, who sent another electric blast through the crystal cave.

"You're juiced up and you got into Magic School. Tell me how and I might just let you leave with all your body parts."

"Removing my arms and legs?" Barbas snorted, "So original."

Sarah smirked innocently, "Arms and legs if you're lucky. I have big plans to cut something else off first."

Barbas laughed and sprawled flat to his back, one hand dancing lazily in the air above his head.

"You know… I'm so…. Thirsty."

Chris frowned and Sarah shrugged at him, but neither dropped their guard. When nothing was said, Barbas rolled his eyes.

"I'm no idiot. I know what happens when demons make deals with the Charmed Ones."

"I'm not a Charmed One. So consider this your lucky day," Sarah retorted humorlessly.

Barbas stood up and brushed his coat down, stepping right to the edge of the crackling energy and tilting his head at Sarah, "Be careful what you put into your body… some stuff might be.. special"

Sarah frowned and darted her eyes to the empty teacups on the bed. Sigmund had come by again with more tea earlier. She looked back and narrowed her eyes.

"And by that you mean?"

Barbas chuckled and swirled on one heel, gesturing to everyone in the room, "You are all sitting around, losing your power piece…by…piece. And you don't even notice it. But I feel it. I feel everything coursing through my veins. You, especially." He looked to Sarah, 'So much energy pulsing inside me. It's… magical."

"You have our powers?" Gideon interjected, "Impossible."

Barbas hissed air through his teeth, "Not powers. Power. Energy. There's more to all of you than witch powers and you know it. It's all about the juice. And now I've got yours."

Chris looked to the teacups as well, but it was Piper who spoke up.

"Sigmund?"

Barbas waved one finger in a swirl above his head, "Dingdingdingding!"

Gideon stood firm, jaw clenched, "No, Sigmund would never-"

"Ever wonder why he was so busy pouring that tea down your throats? How exactly was he supposed to kill the Twice Blessed, hmm?"

"Kill him?" Piper demanded, hand protectively over her pregnant belly, "Kill my son! Like hell!"

Her hands flew up, blasting the cage and rattling Barbas around. Leo caught her wrists and held them down, not wanting her to cause too much damage before they got the information they needed. If Barbas was trying to incriminate Sigmund, they needed to know.

Sarah dropped down to her knees, oozing her aura out to rattle Barbas' bones. She didn't like this. Sigmund in the future was kind, wise, sweet. She could never picture him doing such a thing.

"And why would he use you, hmm? Spike our tea with this energy juice, try and kill Chris and I? Why would Sigmund want to kill Wyatt?"

"Don't know." Barbas sighed, casually shrugging off her questions, "All I know is, he wanted you and the boy wallowing in fear, and I got juice out of it. It was win-win."

"Sigmund wouldn't do that." Chris grit out as he paced around the crystals. Gideon had to be behind this. He had to be. Sigmund wouldn't, he couldn't.

Barbas sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you say. Although, you might want to notice that he's not here…. And where exactly is the precious Twice Blessed?"

Piper and Leo exchanged a look of terror, Leo immediately orbing out, the sisters following after him. Chris and Sarah lingered behind, slightly panicking but knowing the sisters could handle anything that happened. Sarah kicked one crystal out from the circle, breaking the cage. Barbas gave her a look of surprise and she raised her chin to him.

"Gideon."

She said nothing more, but waited to see how Barbas reacted. He chuckled and swaggered forward, prompting Chris to pull Sarah slightly behind him. The fear demon smirked and cocked his head to the side.

"Like I said. I got the juice and that's all I care about. Everything else is just gravy."

Sarah smirked in return and pushed past Chris.

"I have your power, you know. Sensing fears. It's not prominent, but it's buried in there somewhere. And you… you're oozing terror. Something's scaring you."

Barbas scoffed and wriggled his fingers, "I am the very essence of fear. I don't fear anything."

Sarah's eyebrow cocked, "Really? Not even this?"

Her hand lunged forward suddenly, plunging into Barbas' chest. His hands groped uselessly for hers as energy funnelled out of his chest and into Sarah's palms. She pulled back, glowing white seeping into her skin as she cradled a glowing ball of light in her palm. Barbas gasped and staggered back against the chest of drawers, hair mattered and eyes wide.

"Your worst fear… is being powerless." Sarah mocked in the same airy tone Barbas used, "and now, I have most of your power. I'll be taking all of this back, if you don't mind."

Barbas growled but Chris tutted and raised the potion in his hand, "After a zap like that, I don't think you should be too ready to take a potion this heavy. Now get out, and if we see you again, I swear to god we'll stop you."

The demon seemed to contemplate lunging forward or holding back, finally deciding it wasn't worth the risk. As he disappeared, Sarah held out the glowing ball to Chris.

'Touch it. Any of your energy will come back to you, the rest will stay."

Chris's fingers grazed the effervescent light, feeling the warmth slip into his veins. When he was finished, Sarah closed her hand over the ball and let it disappear into her palm, saving the rest of the energy to return to the sisters.

"Do you really think Sigmund-"

"No."

Nothing else needed to be said. Nevertheless, Sarah grabbed the teacups on the bed and scrutinized the remaining trickles of tea. She set them on the bedside table to use later in determining what had been used to sap the energy from everyone. A flurry of orbs filled the room and everyone returned, Wyatt bouncing on Leo's hip.

"Where's Barbas?"

"Power drained and struggling around in the Underworld. Sigmund?"

"Attacked us when we went to check on Wyatt at the nursery. But he just disappeared. I can't believe it was him this whole time."

Gideon shook his head and sighed heavily, face filled with regret, "I should have noticed, I'm so sorry. Sigmund was always with me and I never noticed his changes. I should have been more cautious. And to think, I'm supposed to run a safe environment for magical children. We will find him, and make sure he comes to judgement for his crimes."

Leo patted Gideon on the shoulder, not wanting his mentor and fellow Elder to feel such guilt. "No, Gideon. This isn't your fault. There's no reason for an apology, none of us noticed."

Chris and Sarah shared a glance but remained silent, waiting for everyone to speak their minds and feelings before coughing to get some attention.

"I'm going to analyse the tea." Sarah broke in, "Find out what was being used and for how long. I have everyone's energy here," the ball of light resumed hovering in her palm, "I stole it back from Barbas. I'll find out as much as I can while you guys go do what you've gotta do."

Chris waited for everyone to take back their power before he nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now that we know about.. Sigmund… I can go check out the Underworld. Look for some more leads with some higher level people. If I can get anyone to talk, I can bet it will be the truth."

His eyes turned to Gideon on the last few words, but the Elder didn't notice or acknowledge his gaze.

It took a long time to convince Piper that they would be okay, but eventually Chris and Sarah found themselves alone in the room together again. Sarah rubbed the back of her neck and stretched out, the hem of her shirt creeping up over her stomach to show the curve of her back. Chris averted his eyes and wet his lips.

"What can you find out from the tea?"

Sarah looked doubtfully into the cup, "What was used, how it was made, how long we've been drinking the laced stuff."

"Could you prove Gideon did it?"

"I don't think so."

Silence lapsed over them and Chris slumped onto the bed, head in his hands as he groaned helplessly. The bed dipped beside him and he felt two cool hands touch his thigh.

"We're going to do this. We know Sigmund in the future, we know he loves Wyatt more than anything and that he isn't afraid of him. We know he didn't do this. If making Gideon believe that we think he did can buy us more time, it's what we can do. At least now we have some idea of how to protect Wyatt. Make sure he's never alone with Gideon until we prove that he did it. We can do this. Trust me."

Chris looked up and smiled weakly, "I do trust you. Always."

Sarah smiled back and looked down at Chris's lips, wanting to apologise for the earlier kiss. Almost sensing her thoughts, Chris placed one finger on her lips and shook his head.

"No. Don't say you're sorry. You have no reason to be."

Sarah's cheeks tinted pink and she looked down, long eyelashes kissing her cheeks before soft lips pressed firmly to her forehead.

"….I love you, Sarah."

"I love you too, Chris."

XxX

Gideon sank into his chair, fingertips touching as he surveyed the bound, gagged Sigmund behind the magical veil. He wriggled helplessly, eyes wide in terror before Gideon waved a careless hand and the gag fell free.

"Gideon you can't do this. As soon as I get out of here, I'm telling the sisters-"

"Telling them what, Sigmund? You conspired with me. You brought the spiked tea to them, you were there, attacking their son when they walked into the nursery and you are trying to kill the Twice Blessed. Nothing you say will make them believe you."

Sigmund cried out but was silence by the gag as Gideon replaced it, closing the veil and sliding back into his handsome leather chair, spinning around to the photo of Chris and Sarah on the back of his door. Gideon twirled an athame in the air before telekinetically throwing it forward, landing directly between Sarah's eyes.

"You, my dear," he said softly, "are going to be a problem."

A/N- Hope you enjoyed this chapter, drop me a review if you have any comments about it. It's been a really long time since I wrote this story (obviously) and I'm hoping for some feedback if you have any.