Sarah sat alone on her bed, eyes closed as she flipped the tarot cards in her hands with practised ease. She had already done her reading, but after refusing to agree with it, she had begun again. The cards spread out in front of her, her long fingers plucking one from the pile and flipping it over. She frowned, cursing under her breath before palming the card again. Four readings- the same cards each time. The same message. Your time is running out.
She sighed and flopped back onto the bed with her arms spread wide. A beautiful spring day twittered outside her window and she clicked her tongue. This whole "magical weather" was really quite annoying sometimes. The dark haired girl rolled over and slid off the bed, needing to shower and find clothes for the day. A student's potion had gone awry and frozen all of the water on campus, forcing her to have to shower at the manor, which was not something she minded. Collecting her clothes, Sarah flamed out and into the manor, squeaking when Paige collided with her. Noting that the brunette was still clad in pajamas, Sarah frowned.
"Um, morning?"
"Overslept. Phoebe used all the hot water, Piper's in the downstairs bathroom with morning sickness. How badly do you need to shower?" she rushed out, using the hall mirror to try and make her hair semi presentable while simultaneously holding three shirts over her chest.
"Not that badly… why the rush? Temp job?"
"Job interview." Paige corrected, "I've been on four non magical temp jobs so I think my temp days are over and I got a call this morning from someone who knows my previous social work stuff and wants me to come into his office in," she glanced at the clock and dropped one of the shirts, bustling past Sarah and into the bathroom, "Now. Bye Sarah!"
Sarah waved slightly and shrugged, flaming out and into P3's bathroom. She was no stranger to the slightly cramped room, she just wanted a shower. Her body stepped out of the flames and she stopped, feeling the heat and steam surrounding her immediately. Her eyes went to the shower and she screwed her eyes shut.
"Sorry! Sorry…"
Chris looked up from under the spray and stepped back, thankful for the thick steam and frosted glass. His hands, just in case, flew down to his hips, covering anything from Sarah's sight.
"Manor bathrooms were all busy, thought you were sleeping." Sarah apologised quickly, her head still down with one hand shielding her face. The shower stopped and a soft rustling noise met her ears. When she finally plucked the courage to peek, her lips parted in surprise. Chris stepped from the steamy shower; a towel wrapped low –very low- on his hips, water dripping from his hair. He offered her a smile as he collected his clothes.
"No problem, Sarah. I came here to clear out our potions and grab more supplies, figured I'd take a quick shower. It's all yours,"
He slid past her and into the other room, clothes clutched in his hand and completely oblivious or uncaring of the green eyes following his every move. When the door swung closed, Sarah let out a long, slow breath and caught them hem of her pajama shirt, the flimsy fabric falling to the floor. Sarah turned her back as she peered over her shoulder, scrutinising the small bruises from being thrown around a little the day before. Demons were afraid in the Underworld, so afraid that they either attacked or ran at any attempts to gain information. Their skittishness had resulted in a lot of face to face encounters with stone walls and dirt floors.
The door behind her opened slightly. Chris stepping through in his towel, "Sorry, Spaz, I left my-" his eyes flicked up and he stopped, cheeks tingeing red. Sarah's hands flew up to cover her bare chest, cheeks flushing as well.
"God, Halliwell. Knock, maybe?"
Chris snorted and tilted his head, eyes cast down at the floor, "Yeah, same for you, Sparrow. Sure you didn't just flame in to see me naked?" he teased.
Sarah seized a folded towel and threw it at his head, followed by the shirt abandoned on the floor that he had clearly come back for.
"Don't flatter yourself, " she chuckled, tossing her hair and stepped towards the shower. She ducked behind the frosted glass and slid off her pants, tossing the clothing onto the bathroom floor and peeking out around the side, her bare shoulder visible, "Coming?" she teased, sticking out her tongue as she turned the hot water on, sighing as the spray showered down on her.
She peered over her shoulder when the sound of the door didn't meet her ears. A blurred hand pressed against the glass and Sarah cocked her head, pulling back to meet Chris's gaze. His eyes stayed firmly fixed on her face, not once straying down her body. Instead, he stepped closer and tilted her chin bringing their lips close, barely brushing. When he made no other moves, Sarah took the initiative and brought her wet hand up to his cheek and kissed him gently. Much like their kiss after Barbas' attack, it was soft, tender and full of promise. Chris's warm hand slid perfectly into the curve of Sarah's waist, pulling her forward to deepen in the kiss. Sarah's hair was dripping and she was standing half in and out of the shower but she didn't care. She hummed happily against Chris's mouth and pulled him around the glass of the shower, bringing them both back under the spray of warm water.
Sarah caught Chris's other hand and placed it on her waist before winding her arms around his neck to draw him closer. The towel around Chris's hips was soaked through, clinging and growing heavier. Chris broke the kiss and breathed heavily, water pouring down his face as he touched his forehead to Sarah's.
"Um…."
The shower was deafening, forcing Sarah to reach back and slowly twist the tap off and plunging the room into a silence broken only by the steady dripping of Sarah's hair.
"…I'm naked," Sarah stated softly, suddenly very aware of her state of undress. Chris wet his lips but kept his eyes on her face and hands wrapped around her.
"I'm only in a towel,"
They lapsed into a confused silence, both unsure what to make of their current situation. Chris looked up suddenly as his name echoed around in his head. He leaned down and nuzzled his nose to Sarah's, wanting so badly to just hold her in his arms and kiss her again and again.
"I'm being called," he mumbled apologetically, stroking his thumb over the curve of her jaw. Sarah licked her lips and smiled weakly.
"You should go. I'll, uh… I'll be in the attic. Spells. Potions. Stuff."
Chris nodded and stepped out of the shower, pulling on his clothes quickly. Sarah remained motionless in the shower, trying to process everything that had just happened. She turned her back to grab the shower handle, ready to blast herself with cold water to try and ebb away the pooling desire in her body. Without warning, a soft hand caught her arm and whirled her around, a kiss firm on her lips before dazzling orbs sparkled behind her closed lids and she was standing alone.
It took her a long time to process everything that had happened as she stood under the hot water. She and Chris had kissed. Both of them had been pretty much naked at the time. And she had really wanted a lot more. Eventually Sarah pulled back from the heat, stepping into the steam filled room and grabbing the nearest towel.
"Calm down. It was a kiss. You guys have kissed before and this is not a big deal. People kiss."
She dried off and pulled on her clothes; a mini skirt and a fitted black tee before flaming into the manor. She called out, hoping nobody was home. Much as she loved the sisters, she was hoping for some quiet time to process all of her clashing thoughts. The Book of Shadows was perched on the pedestal and Sarah headed over, flicking the pages absently until she found what she was looking for.
"Potion replication." She mumbled, pulling out various bowls as getting down into work. Potion making had always been a nervous habit of hers. She had spent many years watching her mother throw together kick ass potions in the blink of an eye, but it had never been a power she had been able to pick up. Her forte was active powers, it always had been. Passive powers took a lot longer to master. The pages of the Book were familiar under her hands and she smiled, feeling the warm, comforting feeling wash over her as she began to sort her potion ingredients.
XxX
An hour later, Sarah was grinding dill and newt eyes in the mortar and pestle, adding it to the small brown bowl with rosemary and dragon hide. Athame in hand, Sarah sliced across her finger, allowing blood to drip into the pot as orbs dazzled her vision. She looked up just as Chris materialized She didn't know where they stood concerning this morning's events, and given her current status on discovering what was in the spiked tea, she felt it could be pushed to the back burner.
"I'm almost done," she began casually, watching the pot bubble and smoke, "once I mix this with the tea from our cups, it should melt down and show me what ingredients were in it, then we can work it out from there. Just in case there was a little something extra in it."
The potion ceased pouring smoke over the table and Sarah braved a peek up, finding Chris leaning in the door frame Sarah pulled back and stood to her height, curious as to why Chris was watching. His eyes flickered down and he coughed awkwardly, nodding at her words and stepping forward to supposedly inspect a book.
Sarah looked down and her lips parted in understanding. The mini skirt was creeping up her thighs, a hazard of being bent over a potion.
"What did the sisters want?" she questioned as she carefully poured a small drop of tea into the potion. It began to bubble and hiss immediately; prompting Sarah to take several steps back. She had been on the receiving end of many potions gone time bombs.
"Sigmund. They're having a lot of trouble finding him and they're starting to worry. They've pulled out every magical stop in the Book."
Sarah's teeth sank into her bottom lip as her arms folded over her chest. Chris had known her long enough to know that was a nervous habit and set down his book, giving her 'the look'. Knowing she was busted, Sarah shrugged as she expressed her feelings.
"What if he's…. not here anymore? What if Gideon killed him?"
Chris nodded slowly and braced his arms on the back of a chair, "I thought that too, but he's still in my memories, which means he can't be dead. Not yet."
He tacked the last two words on with a somber hang of his head before he looked up at the potion, now exuding a lavender shimmer. Sarah stepped up and looked into the bowl, transferring the ingredients into a clear glass container.
"Eels bane; poppy seeds; thistles and…" she frowned, pushing the ingredients aside to grasp the unidentified object at the bottom of the container. "…..red varga root?" she murmured. Chris stepped forward and took the container, not believing her. Red varga root was the rarest and most potent magical ingredient possibly in existence. Adding it to any potion or spell boosted the power by more than any other. This explained how their powers had been sapped. The other ingredients were simple, common ingredients in a potion, but this…
"There is no way Sigmund could get his hands on this," Chris said in disbelief, "Not even in Magic School. This stuff is… My mom never even got her hands on this stuff. It's suicide. Even if you did find it, it's expensive- and not money. You'd have to almost sell your soul for it. Unless… you were an Elder, of course."
The implications hung in the air like a thick fog.
"Is it enough proof though?" Sarah asked softly, tidying off the desk and placing the bowl down. The potion only lasted so long and she didn't really know what that time span included, which meant getting as much work done as possible in the very short amount of time.
"No. We'd need something more concrete. I'm going to go into Gideon's office today; I just need to make a distraction."
Sarah looked up from pouring vinegar into the bowl, hair falling like a sheet, "I could be your distraction? Say I think I have a way of locating Sigmund, keep him busy?"
"Too dangerous." Chris disagreed as he added a few touches to the potion. Hopefully this could tell them how long the ingredients had been stewed into the tea. For potions like this, you didn't just make a new batch, the ingredients soaked for days in their own juices, becoming more potent by the minute.
"No more dangerous than you going into his room and snooping around. I'll be inconspicuous. Ask a few questions, get a few answers, be my charming self."
A flame leapt from the bowl and the two leaned back with a practiced ease.
"I…. I guess," Chris relented. Sarah was shocked by his sudden break, but decided not to question her luck this time around. The ingredients shrivelled to nothingness and Sarah cursed loudly.
"Best I can guess from what I saw is that we were being spiked for at least three weeks. Little by little so we didn't notice, but still a long time. I've got no tea left, but I think that's all the information we needed."
With the potion and discussion out of the way, the ex-couple were left in a strange silence, the air between them filled with the things they wanted to say. Sarah wet her lips and piped up first, effectively breaking the silence.
'So… this morning."
'Yes?"
"…I liked it." She replied honestly, not bothering to beat around the bush and keep anymore secrets. She knew they had to focus on Wyatt, she knew their relationship was not priority. That didn't mean she couldn't be honest, right?
"I liked it too," Chris agreed, swinging his arms a little and smiling shyly, "I… I'd like to do it again."
Sarah peered up at him through her long lashes and her cheeks tinged pink, unsure what she should say. Not wanting to say any more, and with his eye on the time, Chris pecked her cheek. He touched their foreheads together and took hold of the front of her shirt to pull her close.
"I'll go to Gideon's room in ten minutes. If you haven't distracted him by then, call me. Okay?"
"Okay…. Good luck."
Chris orbed out, Sarah breathing heavily and smiling stupidly. Orbs appeared before her eyes and she frowned in confusion, unsure as to why Chris would be back. A pair of soft, warm lips pressed to her, two strong hands cradling her face tenderly before the sensations were gone and jingling orbs raced away again.
Sarah blinked slowly as she processed what had just happened. Another stupid grin spread across her face and she sighed, flaming out and into Magic School. Making sure nobody was around, she skipped down the hall and twirled on one foot, not caring how childlike she must appear. In the distance, she caught sight of a black cape disappearing around a corner and she sobered up, calling out loudly.
"GIDEON!"
XxX
Chris rummaged through Gideon's drawers, rifling papers and tossing folders. He didn't even care if he got caught at this point, he needed answers and he needed them now. The next drawer slid open easily under his palm, filled only with more papers and documents that had no purpose. Chris knew that Gideon was smart and was unlikely to leave anything just to chance and out in the open. Anything in this room would be well concealed and almost impossible to find. He rose to his full height and rubbed his forehead. There couldn't be any personal gain in a little spell, could there? This was for Wyatt. This was to save the world.
"Power of the witches rise, find what's hidden from my eyes, I seek an answer to my call, show it at once.. show it all"
A white mist swept the room and Chris's heart sank when nothing happened. Maybe he had been wrong all along? As the thought crossed his mind, the large cabinet behind him melted away and replaced with a potion storage, freshly used. The tapestry draping the wall fell to the ground, though nothing was behind it.
Chris stepped to the potion storage, running his fingers over all of the ingredients. Everything he and Sarah had discovered from the tea was neatly laid out in order. Chris nodded and closed his eyes, knowing that this would certainly make a whole new level of proof, but still not enough somehow. He moved to the fallen tapestry, letting it slip between his fingers. It was an ordinary tapestry, and the wall was blank. Chris frowned and flattened his palm to the bare space of concrete and frowned, feeling the low buzz ripple under his palm. There was definitely something behind this wall.
He slid his hand through, shocked at how easily it worked. The wall melted away and Chris sucked in a breath as a bruised and beaten, bound and gagged Sigmund appeared before him. The witchlighter tore off the bindings and removed the gag, helping Sigmund to a chair as he came to from his groggy state.
"Sigmund. Sigmund, do you hear me?"
"Gideon." He murmured, eyes unfocused and blood trickling down his temple, "It was Gideon."
"I know it was," Chris whispered soothingly, trying to undo all of the tight bindings. "SARAH!"
The knots came free and Chris breathed out a sigh of relief. They had Sigmund; he was safe; clearly in a position to be telling the truth. This was the evidence they needed. Gideon was targeting Wyatt. Roaring flames burst from the air beside him and Sarah dropped to her knees beside Chris, who began explaining as quickly as possible.
"Sigmund, we're going to move you, and get Leo to heal you. LE-AGH!"
Chris was thrown back and into the wall with an almighty crash, the potions labs crunching under his weight. Sarah looked up in time to be thrown off as well, this time towards the crackling fire in the corner of the room. Her hand flew out in time, icing the flames before she landed. Ice crystals crunched under her as she landed, but ice agony was far better than being set alight. Gideon materialised in the center of the room, athame in hand and a wicked grin plastered on his features.
"The two of you have been a thorn in my side since the very beginning," he whispered as he seized Sigmund by the back of the neck and waved his hand at the room. The walls bled away, leaving only the rough stone of the Underworld. Sigmund was pitched across the room as Sarah and Chris rose to their feet. Gideon dropped something to the ground as Chris flung out a hand. Gideon remained standing, hands calmly folded in front of his body.
"Magical blocking amulets. Very rare. Very hard to come by. Controlled by me and only me. No magic gets in… no magic gets out. Far simpler than the magic shields, but still as effective."
Sigmund shifted on the floor, his broken body making a fruitless attempt to get away. Gideon chuckled and pursed his lips, one hand reaching out from beneath his dark robes and casting carelessly at Sigmund. The man began to scream and convulse, electricity raging through him until his body dissolved into a pile of ash.
Chris looked to Sarah, suddenly very aware how defenseless they were. Spells and powers wouldn't work inside this cave, not unless they were Gideon's. They were sitting ducks. Gideon seemed to realise this and laughed outright, the sound echoing off the blank walls and empty corridors.
"The two of you have been problems since the very moment I met you. Saving Wyatt, chasing down demons, tipping the scales of good and evil and twisting rules for your own means. You, stupid girl," Gideon turned on Sarah, "You in particular…."
He lunged towards her, throwing up a clenched fist when Chris tried to intervene. The brunette choked helplessly as an invisible force crushed his throat. Sarah called his name desperately before her cries became an agonized scream of pain, a spurt of blood scattering in the dirt. Sarah dropped to her knees, blood staining her clothes rapidly. Chris felt his body thrown back against a wall over and over, the rough stone marring his face with scrapes and cuts. He and Sarah had been trained to fight without magic, but Gideon had Elder powers and simple fighting would be no match for him.
"Oh, your mother will cry when she finds out." Gideon hissed, sending Chris into the wall a final time before letting his body drop. The Elder advanced on Sarah, clutching her side and breathing heavily. "I'll have to tell her everything. How you both fought Sigmund, killing him and changing the future, but you both died heroically."
Gideon's fist connected with Sarah's face, the sickening sound making Chris's stomach churn and rage bubble under the surface of his skin. He stood shakily, gripping one of the blood smeared walls for support. Gideon turned his head, clearly not assuming Chris as a threat. Sarah slumped to all fours, spitting blood from her torn lip. Gideon's hands swept out casually and Sarah slammed into the wall of the Underworld, hitting the dirt like a raggedy doll. Chris stumbled out in front of Gideon, shaking his head and clenching his jaw.
"We're going to destroy you," he spat, "You fail, you know that? Sarah and I have found every demon out there and nothing has changed the future, so your plan to kill Wyatt? You'll fail, you'll turn him evil. You can't win this, Gideon."
The Elder chuckled and tightened his fist, sending Chris down in agony, "In that case, I'll be sure to put my all into the death of the Twice Blessed. Power like that is unnatural, Christopher. The scales should not be tipped in allowance for the Charmed Ones. So many exceptions made, just for them. Wyatt should never have been created and I will handle the consequences of the Elders' mistakes. And after Wyatt has been handled, I will make sure the Slayer gets what is coming. No power that great should exist, the world needs balance. People like you… send the world into chaos. Remember that."
Chris slumped back and his eyes found Sarah, her blood stained hands sending his heart racing. They were going to make it out of here; they were going to be okay. Sarah looked up at him with wide green eyes, a slow nod of her head the only indication to Chris that she had a plan. Gideon failed to notice, his palm upturned as a ball of blue light began to crackle in his palm. Chris dropped down to her level and caught her hand, feeling a small vial pushed between his fingers. A potion. He could have kissed her at that moment. Always carry a potion; Paige had drilled into their heads as children. Chris had always been rusty on that rule.
Gideon's palm closed around the ball and he smirked down at the crippled pair, "Goodbye."
Chris threw the potion with as much force as he could muster just as Gideon let loose the electric ball of light. The two clashed in mid-air ad Gideon cried out in agony, feeling the potion rip through his body. It wouldn't kill him, not by a long shot, but it was enough to hold him back and give Sarah and Chris a chance. Chris ducked the ball of light but was thrown back by the ripple of energy. Gideon's roar of anger echoed around the cavern, a clear sign of his disapproval. He had no chance now; the potion had drained part of his powers. He cast one last look at the pair before orbing away, knowing that as of this moment, the Charmed Ones were aware of his plans.
Sarah clutched her bloodied side, lip split open and hands scraped from battle. She staggered out and fell beside Chris, rousing him from his stupor. He was worse for wear; shirt ripped open, knees bloody and worn, scrapes covering one side of his face. Sarah's hands were stained red as she pressed on the wound, offering Chris a solemn smile.
"Enough proof?" she said weakly, her legs buckling from beneath her. She plunged down, only to be caught by Chris, who smoothed back her hair and pressed into her side to stop the flow of blood. He needed to get her to Leo, he needed to tell his parents everything. Finally.
"Enough proof," he agreed, eyes turning to the pile of ash that used to be Sigmund. He and Sarah both fell into a respectful silence, feeling the memories of Professor Sigmund ripple and dim in the very back of their mind. Sarah shook her head and screwed her eyes shut. She and Chris had altered the past in slight ways plenty of times, often never enough to prompt a dramatic shift. Normally, the universe just compensated for the change and their memories stayed put, but this…
"It feels weird," Sarah breathed shakily, "The memory. I can remember Sigmund but my new set is… there."
"Mine too." Chris whispered, beginning to walk forward slowly to where the magical amulets were buried. They needed to orb. "It's the spell, I guess. I made sure I'd remember everything."
They reached the amulet line and Chris held Sarah up, worrying at the way her face drained of colour.
"We're going to catch Gideon. I promise."
"I know." Sarah forced a smile on her face and rested her head into the crook of Chris's neck, feeling the orbs surround her and take her away.
They were closing in.
A/N- Thank you to all my reviewers, I really needed some feedback on this story considering how long it has been. I want to address a question sent to me via review, but I've also had it through a few PMs. This story is rated T and will most likely stay at that rating. Scenes with Chris and Sarah, like the one in this chapter are very often not detailed and only shown rarely. When I began writing this, I had no thoughts of sex on my mind and it will most likely stay that way. If you want to weigh in on the sex/no sex thing, feel free to PM or review.