Prue

"What do you mean we shouldn't tell Leo? We're trying to get back his son." I studied Chris closely, but the potion he had used protected him too well for my powers to work on him.

"It's for his own good. We don't need the Elders to interfere," he said, looking at an old map.

"Interfere? They're supposed to help us."

"They can't help you with this. They weren't able to in my past."

"A lot has changed."

"But not enough."

"Why do have to match your own will with mine?" I asked, more than a little frustrated.

"I'm not trying to piss you off, Prue," Chris said.

"Apparently you don't have to make much of an effort." I glanced at the map, but couldn't understand it. "Where is this place?"

"Someplace where you can't apparate."

"It must be pretty protected," I commented.

"Yeah," Chris said.

"What is the Golden Dawn?"

"An organization that can help us."

"You're being vague on purpose."

"You have to trust me."

"Seems like the phrase of the day. Pip—"

My sisters entered before I could get the words out, making me suspect that they had been listening to the conversation. Chris had told me a few details of the trip. He hadn't told my sisters because they apparently would have been too upset. I don't understand what Paige has to do with that.

We orbed to an ornate building. It was huge and beautiful. Still, there was something about it that I didn't like.

"Who are you?" a voice boomed. Shadows of that voice seemed to whisper in my ears. "Ah, the Charmed Ones. Enter." The doors opened. We cautiously went in.

Okay, that was creepy. "Chris, what—"

"Don't speak."

Never a good sign. We walked a bit, then Chris stopped us. A shimmer of a spell leapt up in front of us. It lingered for a moment before fading away. I was beginning to suspect that Chris was leading us into an unusual alliance.

Another set of doors opened. We were greeted by the sight of a dozen witches working on different defenses. They were all dressed like warriors.

"Chris, is this the wizard mafia?" I inquired bluntly.

" Not mafia," Chris said. "Per se…"

"Chris!"

Suddenly all the women turned on us with crossbows. Piper hurriedly froze them.

"Those are darklighter arrows. What the hell kind of a place is this?"

"The Golden Dawn is kind of a collection of vigilantes," Chris explained. "They don't deal with the Elders very well."

"I don't like that 'kind of'. Why did they turn on us?" Piper demanded.

"They can't trust anyone."

"Great allies," Phoebe said.

"Let's just get to the leader," Chris said.

"The don?"

"This isn't the mob."

"Close enough." We got out of the line of fire and Piper unfroze them. They turned but didn't attack. We hurried on.

"This is it," Chris said.

"Stop." A wizard stepped in front of us. "You're not allowed to see the leader."

Chris made a sign. The wizard considered him, then moved aside. I decided not to ask.

"Hello, Charmed Ones." A woman was sitting at a desk. She looked rather amused for some reason. "I've been expecting you. You want me to help you get your children back, don't you?"

"It depends on who you are."

"My name is Katana. I lead the Golden Dawn." Her eyes flicked over to me. "Prudence, the answers you seek can be found in there." She pointed to a door. "Piper, the truths are within your form. Phoebe, you should know where he is. And Paige…" She smiled. "Have you really come this far just to give up?"

Piper froze her. "What is her deal?"

"Katana is a shaman," Chris said.

"Ahuh," Piper responded. "How do you know her?"

"The Golden Dawn helped the resistance."

"Are they good or bad?" I asked, then went on for clarification. "That is to say, do they include demons in their little club? Are they contract killers?"

"It all depends," Chris hurriedly said. "They sometimes make alliances with unusual people… and they've been known to earn money in risqué ways… But they are not evil."

"What about that advice?" I asked.

"She's trying to help you."

"Do you know what she means?" Piper asked.

"No, but you can trust her," Chris said.

"As much as we can trust you, right?" Phoebe said.

He sighed. "I thought we were over that."

"I never meant it as a bad thing."

"Well, whatever is in there can't be any worse than a demon… hopefully," I said and nodded to Piper.

She flicked her fingers wearily. It had been a long night.

"Morrigan has been waiting… and another is waiting," Katana continued.

That was too close to home to be a guess.

"Will you let her wait forever?"

I went to the door.

"I have shown you the door," Katana said. "She has led you to this place. Will you open the door? She can't make you, you know. Only you can make the choice."

I opened the door confidently. I was amazed by what I saw. I had never expected it… but how I had desired it. "Oh my…"

The room was filled with books and maps. Everything needed for research could be found in there. It was breathtaking. It was also a great relief. I could find the connections. I could solve the mystery once and for all. Something in particular, though, was pulling me toward a map. It was huge and had intricate drawings of doors. Doors… I stared at it spellbound for a moment before I actually read the title. "The Universal Connections." Perfect.

"You both have to get some sleep," Paige said to Piper and Phoebe. We were trying to get them to relax for a moment.

"No," Phoebe said. "I won't sleep until I have my son back."

"We can't go after Voldemort yet. Depriving yourself won't make that task any easier," I said.

"I don't care."

"Dormis." We caught them as they passed out. "I had hoped we wouldn't have to resort to a spell."

"But at least they're asleep." We hauled them into bed. "We should get some sleep too."

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"I know what you mean," Paige said. "The kids are with Voldemort and we have to deal with the Golden Dawn. Katana is okay, but I really don't like her followers."

"Neither do I," I said. "Chris is right, though. They'll be able to help us. We just have to keep that in mind."

She nodded. "Would you mind doing the spell on me?"

"Not at all. Dormis." She fell into her bed. I sighed and went into my room. "Dormis." Part of me didn't want to allow sleep to come. Even though I was exhausted, my mind was racing. I had found the connection. As much as I wanted to stay up and think, my aching body won out and I allowed the spell to work.

"So you figured it out. I knew you would, Prudence," Morrigan said. We were walking through her domain.

"I should have seen it sooner."

"That doesn't matter. You know it now."

"But you gave me such an obvious clue with those apparitions."

"You led the apparitions to give you that clue," Morrigan said.

"I did?"

"Yes. You asked for my help."

"And you gave it," I said.

"I had no control over what they said."

"I'm glad that I know what we have to do, but isn't it kind of… big?"

"I wouldn't have given you this task if I thought you couldn't do it," Morrigan told me. "You are the Charmed Ones. You have the Power of Four. You have my powers. How could you fail?"

"We could fail if we don't overcome our emotions."

"You four have done so much in your lives. At the age of seventeen, you took on your destiny. You took charge of the situation and helped your sisters even though you felt as lost as they did. You stopped the Source. You've battled many demons, including your personal demons. You've saved many innocents."

"We've also lost before."

"Even in those times, you've found the strength to begin again."

"How many new beginnings can we get, though?" I wondered. "There must be some time where we can't begin again."

"Every time you find the fortitude to fight, you begin again. Every time you face a new day, you begin again. Every time you repent, you begin again."

"So you're saying that we are constantly starting again."

"Yes. Life is all about new beginnings. They're a gift, and so is life. You should understand that, even if it doesn't seem like it now."

"What if we have to begin again without Wyatt, Nick, and Melinda? Can you really call that a new beginning?"

"No, that would not be a new beginning," Morrigan said. "It's not going to happen."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not drawing from my own confidence," she said simply.

"Whose confidence is it? It's certainly not mine."

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Yes."

"With that attitude, I would rather doubt it. I have watched you your entire life, Prue. You are the oldest. Because of that, you've always felt a responsibility to help your sisters. You promised to never fail them. Your promise is as strong as my own. That's something that most people don't understand. Words have a lot of power. You believe that. You have for a long time. You have the power to bring them back."

"You speak of a great power. I don't feel that power. Even when I grasp your power, I don't feel it. I feel nothing."

"You know why that is."

"But I don't."

"There's that undying confidence. Take that and put it to use."

"Is it because we haven't mastered the power?" I asked.

"Questioning your own answer won't help anyone."

"We have to master the power. How?"

"I didn't just choose your strongest emotions because they added to your power. I chose them because they can lead you to the answer. I've guided you through this, but as I told Paige, I'm only your guide. There are some things that you have to work through on your own."

"But what does that mean?" I asked. "I'm getting tired of the cryptic answers that we get in our lives."

"I know you're frustrated, but you have to overcome that. When you do, it will lead you to the power. But where else will that lead you?"

I thought through it. "If I overcome frustration, I would be given… patience."

She smiled. "Yes. I wasn't born with perfect patience. I had to work to reach it."

"Is the same thing true with my sisters?"

"It indeed is. You've worked very hard on this situation, and I appreciate it. However, the completed puzzle won't make everything better. No, you have to try. You have to use the answers."

"Piper has to overcome grief and achieve happiness. Paige has to overcome loneliness and achieve love. Phoebe has to overcome anger and achieve…"

"I had a particularly difficult time with Phoebe, though she was the first one to reach me. Phoebe doesn't have enough faith in herself."

"Faith?"

"Yes. These emotions aren't supposed to be directly connected to other people. They're meant to make you look at yourselves. You need to have patience with yourself. Piper has to be happy with who she is and the life she leads. Paige must learn to love herself. Phoebe must have faith in herself and her actions. How's that for a cryptic answer?"

It was hard to believe that she was an ancient spirit when she made comments like that. "Thank you."

"You're the one who did all the work. You four need to learn to thank yourselves more often." Morrigan's attitude became considerably more solemn. "This isn't an easy task, especially now. These next days are going to be very emotional. But I believe in you, and I certainly don't expect that you'll master the power until the children have returned."

"Do you know how long it's going to take to get them back?"

"Yes, I do. I can't tell you, Prue. You realize that, don't you?"

"But why?"

"To stop you from making the wrong decisions."

"I still don't understand."

"If I told you, I would guide you in a certain direction. It would be the wrong direction. I know you're not one to accept things at face value, but please accept this."

"For now."

She smiled again. "Soon this will be over. After you defeat Voldemort, you will be able to have a life that you've all dreamed of."

"A life without demons?"

"You know the answer to that." She slowly faded away.

"We will do this!"

"I know."

Piper

Helpless. I was completely helpless. Hopeless. Yes, that too. I was failure as a mother. I hadn't protected my children. Voldemort had gotten to them because of my carelessness. I should have seen right away that we were being distracted. I should have thought. I should have done things differently, but I hadn't. Voldemort had Melinda and Wyatt. It was my fault.

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't find Voldemort. He was too well hidden. No one could sense my kids, but I knew they were alive. They had to be alive.

"Piper."

I turned to see Chris. "How's it going with the Golden Dawn? How soon will we be able to find Voldemort?"

"Soon," Chris said. "Katana will definitely find him sometime today."

"Sometime? Chris, we don't have a lot of time."

"Voldemort isn't going to kill them. He wants to use their powers."

"But you said that he only wanted Wyatt and Nicolas. Why did he take Melinda?"

"He couldn't pass up a chance to take the new Power of Three."

"Power of Three?" I repeated. "Do you mean to tell me that they will create a great power like ours?"

"That's what's supposed to happen. They'll continue your work one day."

"Why should they have to do that? We're the Charmed Ones. The Warrens fight demons, but they shouldn't have to bear a great power like ours."

"Melinda Warren promised that each generation would become more powerful. This is just the next collection of power."

I sighed. "How could Nick slip through our grasp? If we got Wyatt, why didn't we get him?"

"When you went to get them, Voldemort only had Wyatt," Chris said. "You came to the conclusion that Nick had orbed out."

"But how? Voldemort must have put a spell on them."

"Wormtail did while you were out. Prue read his mind and found out that he had only taken care of Wyatt and Melinda. You and Phoebe woke up before he had a chance to take care of Nick. He thought that because Nick isn't as strong as Wyatt, he wouldn't be able to tap into his powers."

"Wait. Are you saying that when we get there, Nick is going to be gone?" I incredulously said.

"Not if we can get there before he gets a chance," Chris responded.

"But what changed?"

"In my past, you went there without any help. Now you have the Golden Dawn."

"Can we really change this?"

"I stopped Paige's death. You can change my past."

I smiled a little. "For someone who was raised by muggles, you've really got that whitelighter spiel down."

"That's because of Sirius," Chris said.

"How did you two get so close?"

He stopped, looking more thoughtful.

"Come on, it'll help get my mind off things," I encouraged him.

"Voldemort killed my parents. Sirius helped me with that. So did you and Remus, actually. I spent a lot of time with you three."

It was good to know that we had helped him. Still, it was kind of strange knowing what I would do. Time travel was not my favorite thing to think of. "Did you… Did you ever come close to finding out who your real parents are?"

"Yes. Wyatt knew who they were. He used that against me. He's the one who told me that mother was empathic."

"I'm sorry about him," I said.

"It's not your fault, Piper," Chris told me. "Wyatt was forced to choose that path. He never would have gone that way if Voldemort hadn't put that spell on him."

"That's good to know." I didn't want to think that my child would willingly choose to be evil. "When does he use that spell? Will it happen before we can get to him?"

"No. We're going to get to him in time."

"But if Voldemort does use the spell… could we undo it?"

"No," Chris answered. "It's too strong."

"But we have Morrigan."

"It's based on his powers. No one could cancel it out."

"So we're working against time here."

"I'm afraid so."

"How long did it take us before?" I asked.

"It took you almost three months."

"We have some time, then."

"Yes, you do."

"You've really helped us out a lot."

"It's the least I could do for you," Chris said. "You made such a difference in my life."

It was amazing how close I felt to him. It was almost like the Blood Bond… Blood Bond? Did that have to do with who Chris was? Perhaps it did. "I can't believe this is happening. I failed to protect my kids."

"You didn't fail them. Voldemort tricked you."

"I should have seen it."

"That past is gone."

"Not for you. You still have a chance to change things."

"And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I came back to change things. I'm going to make sure that you get your children back," Chris said.

"Thank you."

"Prue, why am I getting a distinct vibe from you?" Phoebe asked Prue.

"What do you mean?" Prue responded.

"You have something that you want to tell us."

"Now's really not the time."

"We're just waiting. I personally hate stewing in this situation. Nicolas is with that horrible man. The Golden Dawn isn't ready yet. I'd be grateful to have something to get my mind off this."

"Well, you know how Katana said that I would find the answers in that library?"

"Yes."

"I did. Now we have the final connection. I was going to wait until this is all over, but I have to tell you."

"What is it?" I was hurting, of course, but I wanted to know what we had to do.

"This is kind of complicated." She waved her wand. A map appeared.

"The Worldly Connections?" I said, reading the title.

"Yes," Prue said. "This is the answer."

We stared it, not understanding her point. "What does it mean?"

"This," she said, pointing to one of the many doors on it, "is our world. These are all the other worlds. Now, in our world, Morrigan has contacted us, as has Chris."

"So?"

"In these worlds," she motioned to the doors to the right of ours, "Chris never came back. That makes a huge difference. In some of the worlds, Paige was killed. In the others, she never existed. Those are the worlds that are based on the Power of Three or the Power of Two."

"They all have some sort of power?" Phoebe said.

"Yes. That's because every single world has a great power of evil. They all need a great power of good to keep the balance."

"Okay," I said. "I'm following you so far."

"Well, in all those worlds, Morrigan wouldn't have come, right?" Prue said.

"Right."

"There's more to that. These worlds," she motioned the doors on the left, "never had Morrigan. She never existed. Other forces stepped in to do what she did, but they weren't as powerful as her. Do you see it?"

"No," Phoebe said. "Not yet."

"In the worlds where she existed, Morrigan made the same promise," Prue said.

"But why?" I wondered aloud. "If the Power of Four would never come in other worlds, she would change her promise."

"She couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Why do think Morrigan had so much power?" Prue said.

"The Elders chose to bestow it on her?" Phoebe tried.

"No. She had a direct connection with all her counterparts. That gave her incredible power. That kind of power could only go to the best of the best, the most powerful. In all the worlds, she could only promise it to us."

"Whoa. Heavy stuff," Paige said.

"Yeah. But do you see the problem?"

"I think so," I slowly said. "Morrigan doesn't have any influence on our counterparts."

"Therefore, they can't do what we can," Prue said.

"I'm lost," Phoebe said.

"Well, guess who exists in all the worlds?"

"Voldemort."

"In one shape or another," Prue said. "He may be the Source or some other evil, but he's in all of them. He's marked in the same way in all the worlds."

"But we're not the ones who have to kill Voldemort," Paige said.

"Not in this world," Prue said. "In others, we are. And even in this world, we have to help Harry. He may be the only one who can kill Voldemort, but we are the ones who give him the tools. There is one weapon that can kill Voldemort. It's a sword much like the sword in the stone. I believe you know whose sword it is."

"Morrigan's?" I said.

"Indeed. Only by using her power can we bring that sword back into being."

"So he's only going to be defeated in this world?" I asked.

"That's the challenge," Prue said. "We have to use all of Morrigan's power to set off a chain reaction that will kill all the other Voldemorts."

Phoebe's mouth dropped open. "We're talking about almost a hundred Voldemorts."

"That's what makes it a real challenge."

"I can't believe this," Phoebe said, shaking her head. "First we have to master the power. Then we have to make sure that every single Voldemort is killed?"

"That's the gist of it," Prue confirmed.

"No," I said. "How can we do that? We still have to get the kids back."

"Why did we have to find all this out?" Paige said. "Ignorance is bliss."

"That would lead to our downfall. Think about it," Prue said. "The worlds have an influence on each other. There is a delicate balance between all of them. Not killing him would destroy that balance. And if that balance is destroyed, that's it. We don't exist. Everything, I mean everything, goes away."

"We have to do this or the entire universe will be destroyed," Phoebe said.

"Yeah."

"Oh hell no," I said. "This is ridiculous. We're powerful, but that is too much. We have the universe on our shoulders. The four of us have to prevent the end of every life throughout the universe. We can't do that."

"We have to."

"Please tell me that there isn't a time limit," Paige said.

"Umm…"

"Don't you dare say that there is."

Prue picked at her cuticles, avoiding eye contact. "I did the math, and it would appear that there is an unofficial time limit."

"WHAT?" we all yelled.

"How long is it?" Phoebe demanded. "Why is it there?"

"It exists because there's a point at which all the Voldemorts will take over their respective worlds. That will take place by the end of the year."

"Prue, it's July," I said. "We have to master Morrigan's power in six months?"

"Less than that."

"It took us nearly a year to master our own powers," Phoebe said. "How can we get over our emotions in that short time?"

"Uh… there's another part to that."

"What is it?" I asked, exasperated.

"To do this, we have to reach the opposite emotions," Prue explained.

"And what would those emotions be?"

"Piper, you have to reach happiness with who you are. Paige, you have to learn to love yourself. Phoebe, you have to have faith in yourself. I have to reach patience with myself."

"That doesn't sound too hard."

"We can easily tap into loneliness, anger, grief, and frustration. They're the first things that come to us. We're looking at the exact opposites. That means that we're going to have quite a lot of difficulty achieving them," Paige pointed out.

"I hate life."

"Three days," I muttered furiously. "We've been waiting for three days."

"Piper, it took you three months to do this in my past," Chris said.

"I don't care. I want to go there now. I can call upon Morrigan."

"He could hurt them instead of you."

He had a point. "I'll wait, but only for so long."

"I know that this is hard for you."

"You're damn right it's hard," I sharply said. "I have no idea what he's doing to them."

"I do. Right now he's trying to see if he can steal their powers. Later he'll decide to just turn them evil. You have time."

"I have three months to get my children back and six months to make sure that the world doesn't end. Just great."

"What are you talking about?"

I explained the situation. "Why didn't that happen in your past?"

"I must have changed the path this world was on," Chris said. "We jumped from one world path to another."

"I see. This stuff is really screwed up."

"Tell me about it," Phoebe said as she appeared.

"Any luck?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I couldn't sense them anywhere. Apparently the bonds of motherhood aren't as strong as I had hoped. I just want him back."

"I know," I said. "I want them back too."

Suddenly, Prue came racing down the stairs. She looked overjoyed. This was not like Prue at all. She was usually so calm and composed. "Piper, Phoebe, I need you both to come with me," she said breathlessly.

"Why?" I asked, confused by this burst of energy.

"I need you to freeze time for us," Prue said. "Chris, I need you to take us to your childhood home."

"What does that—"

"Don't ask questions. I'll explain when we get there."

He orbed us there.

"Stay quiet," Prue whispered and dragged us into the bushes.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"We're trying to see which of my two theories is correct. Either we'll see Chris's parents abandoning him or we'll…" She smirked. "Well, you'll see."

We waited a few minutes.

"Prue, what is this all about?" Phoebe asked. "We should be trying to get to the kids, not crouching in a bush."

"Shh!" Suddenly, a baby orbed into the yard. "Piper, freeze time before they hear him."

I flicked my fingers.

"Prue, is that…" Her eyes filled with tears and she ran to the child. "My Nicolas!"

"Okay, what just happened?" I questioned.

"Orb us home, Chris," Prue said, ignoring me. "I just figured everything out."

"What?"

"Just go."

He orbed us home and we turned on Prue. "Are you going to explain this?" Chris questioned.

"Yes. Chris, your parents are Phoebe and Sirius."

He stared at her for a few moments before he laughed. "Wha—no, no. That's impossible. I think I would know if my parents were Phoebe and Sirius."

"But it makes perfect sense," Prue said. "You just watched it. Nicolas—you—orbed there. You were found by the Perry couple and they raised you as Chris Perry. But you're Nicolas Anthony Halliwell."

"Prue, that's crazy," Phoebe interjected. "Chris can't be Nick."

"Chris is your son. Do you really think that two half whitelighters orbed into the exact same yard on the exact same night? That would be impossible."

Phoebe gaped at Prue. "Oh my God." She turned to Chris. She was looking at her son. I could see the realization in her eyes. "Sirius," she said, barely above a whisper.

He orbed in. "Oh my God, you got Nick." He took the baby.

Phoebe was still staring at Chris. Chris just looked lost. "Sirius, Chris is our son."

"What?"

Phoebe walked up to Chris and embraced him. "Our son. My Nicolas." Chris remained limp in her arms. He still had that look on his face.

This was an amazing moment, but I still couldn't help but feel quite jealous. Phoebe had her son back. I was still missing my children, and I couldn't be sure that I would get them back in time. Voldemort had already altered his plans. What if he sped things up? What if…

My thoughts were completely stopped as Grams orbed in. I could tell that we were in trouble. She just had that look. "I see you've got Nick back."

"Try to contain yourself, Grams," Phoebe said, pulling away from Chris. "I'd like to introduce you to your great-grandson. Chris is Nick."

"That's nice."

"You're certainly handling this well."

"I have something else to discuss with you," Grams said.

"Are you sure you aren't going to be yelling at us?"

"There's always a possibility."

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Golden Dawn."