The room was silent again as everyone contemplated the future. What they were about to do was dangerous, beyond anything they had even attempted before. Halliwell Manor was a center of spiritual energies; a center of magic. It was a source of strength for whoever controlled it, and evil now held it more firmly than any other place on Earth.

The three younger Charmed Ones weren't aware of that, but their future seemed just as uncertain. They had been thrust into a world that they knew nothing about, and had been told that going home meant certain death. Even worse though was the knowledge that the safety of that world rested largely on their shoulders.

Prue looked up, and spoke quietly to the others. "We should get ready. We don't want the Source finding out about us before we attack."

"I agree," Wyatt said. "We'll have to go over the strategy in detail, and run some drills."

"I'll handle that. Why don't you help Piper make some potions?" Prue asked.

"No." Wyatt shook his head. "Maggie knows more about potions than I do. Besides… I need to practice with the rest of you."

"Wyatt." Maggie's voice was sharp. "You've done nothing but practice for as long as I've known you. Now, you just take a minute and get those potions together. We'll be in the back if you need us."

Before Wyatt could react, Maggie was already leading the others out of the room. His mind was barely registering what had happened when another realization came to the forefront of his thoughts: He was now alone with the mother that he hardly knew.

"Well…" Piper said.

"Well," Wyatt said. "We keep the potion ingredients behind the bar now."

"Great." Piper stood watching Wyatt for a moment. Then she followed him to the bar.

Wyatt started pulling out some ingredients. He didn't look up at Piper. "We've come up with some potions on our own, since we lost the book. We have one that can stun a demon for a few seconds, and I'm hoping that we can use it to buy some time. We'll need a lot to make any difference, though."

"Do we have everything we need?"

Wyatt briefly studied the bottles of ingredients. "We should be fine."

"So… what have you been doing?"

"Fighting the Source, and trying to stay alive." Wyatt pulled a pot out from behind the bar, along with a hot plate. "What else would I be doing?"

"I'm sorry…" Piper began.

"Oh?" Wyatt said. He didn't take his eyes off the water that was heating in the pot. "Could you get out twelve Raven feathers?"

"Uh, sure." Piper opened a bottle full of black feathers and starting counting some out.

"I'm hoping to we'll be able to make our move in a couple of days. Will you and your sisters be ready by then?"

"We can be."

"Good, we can't risk making any mistakes this time."

"We'll be careful."

Wyatt finally looked at her. His eyes were piercing, evaluating. "I'm sure."

**********

Prue closed the door after they had all filed into one of P3's larger store rooms. It was stocked mostly with food, water, and spell ingredients now. Maggie sat on a crate in the corner, while Jill and Kevin leaned against a bare wall. Paige and Phoebe stood near the middle, looking around.

"If we'll be working together, you should probably know what our powers are," Jill said. "Prue already told us about yours."

"That's probably a good idea," Phoebe said.

Jill looked over at her brother. "Kevin's power lets him control light. He can make all kinds of illusions."

"Watch," Kevin said. He made a quick motion with his hand, and he vanished. The others heard soft footsteps moving over to the opposite wall, where Kevin became visible again. "What do you think?"

"Very nice," Paige said.

"That was nothing." Kevin motioned towards Jill. "Jill's power makes her much stronger and faster than any normal human."

"By how much?" Phoebe asked.

Jill turned around and opened a toolbox that was sitting on a shelf next to her. She pulled out a large, metal wrench, with a handle nearly an inch and a half wide. She placed one hand on each end, then pulled them away from each other. The metal stretched and distorted under the stress, until it finally snapped in half.

"Whoah," Phoebe said, while Paige stood agape.

"That's my sis." Kevin smiled.

"What about Maggie?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm a telepath," Maggie said. "I can read minds and communicate over a distance. My power can confuse or distract, too."

"Maggie's half empath," Prue explained.

"I thought empaths had to be chosen." Pheobe said.

"The gift isn't usually inherited." Maggie shifted her weight, causing the box to creak under her. "I guess being half witch changes things."

"You're tellin' me," Paige said.

"So what's the plan?" Pheoebe asked.


Halliwell Manor. January 4, 2006. 10:17 PM.


"Paige!" Chris looked around, but there was no sign of her or her sisters. "Leo!"

Chris waited. Leo orbed in after a few moments.

"What is it?"

"I can't find the girls," Chris said. "I tried calling Paige, but she didn't orb in. Do you know what happened?"

Leo looked up for a moment, communicating with the other Elders. "We aren't sure. They just disappeared."

"What about the shadow demon?"

"It's still out there," Leo said.

"Wyatt isn't safe as long as that thing is around." Chris clenched and unclenched his fist. "Where is he? I'll orb him out. …He'll be safer up there while we look for Piper and the others."

"No, I'll take care of Wyatt. I want you to get one of your other charges and try scrying for the Charmed Ones. If that doesn't work, go to the underworld and try again there. The shadow demon might be holding them."

"All right," Chris said. "I just hope we can find them in time."

"Don't worry about them, they've fought stronger demons before." Leo sighed. "But be careful. Evil might have a bigger plan than we think."

Chris watched Leo orb out. He took one last look around, then he orbed out as well.