FOUR
"You're a witch?" Chris asked in astonishment.
Tiffany pulled up the right sleeve of her blouse to expose a bracelet on
her wrist. Hanging from the bracelet was a charm. The charm was in the shape
of a crescent moon with a star in the center. Chris also noticed a noticeable
scar across Tiffany's wrist.
"Yes, I am," she said. "Leo is my White Lighter."
"How did you know I was a White Lighter?" asked Chris.
"I could see it in your mind," said Tiffany.
"Tiffany has telepathy," explained Leo. "It's one of her powers. She can
read the mind of another person."
"I couldn't help but notice the scar," said Chris.
"Yes," said Tiffany, absently rubbing her wrist. "A little memento of my
younger days. There was a time when I didn't think I had anything to live for.
Luckily Leo showed up and helped change my mind."
"Good thing I did, too," said Leo. "A few more minutes and it would have
been too late."
"He can heal that for you, you know?" asked Chris.
"She won't let me," said Leo. "She says it's a reminder of how close she
came."
"I see," said Chris.
"So," said Leo, "you're a White Lighter. Well, there are so many of us
it's hard to know them all. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So you don't remember me?" asked Chris.
"Should I?" asked Leo. "Have we met before?"
"It's why I came to see you," said Chris. "I just came from the manor and
things are totally out of whack there. Apparently it's not just there."
"Wait a minute," said Leo. "The manor?"
"The Halliwell Manor," said Chris. "Don't tell me you don't remember
them, either?"
"Well, of course I remember them," said Leo. "I've been keeping an eye on
them. But until they get their powers.... "
"Hold on," said Chris. "They already have their powers. Penny Halliwell
died about six years ago from a heart attack. Six months after that Phoebe
found the Book of Shadows in the attic and read the incantation in the front of
it. You've been married to Piper for the last two years."
"Why Leo," said Tiffany, smiling coyly, "a secret wife? You never told
me."
"That's because it never happened," said Leo, looking annoyed. "Look,
Chris, Penny Halliwell did die six years ago. But the girls never found the
Book of Shadows. Frankly, no one knows where it is. All we can figure is Penny
hid it somewhere for a future Halliwell generation. She had all ready bound the
girls' powers when they were young. Without the book, their powers will stay
bound."
"But a witches spells and bindings are broken when the witch dies," said
Tiffany.
"Normally, yes," said Chris. "But in this instance, Penny connected the
binding to the Book of Shadows. So it's not only Penny's power that keeps the
binding in place, it's also the power from the book. As long as the book
exists, the binding will remain intact."
"It's kind of like a curse," said Leo. "Normally a curse is connected to
a person or place or thing. That's why a witches curse can continue long past
the time after a witch dies, sometimes for centuries. Penny may be gone but the
power from the book continues to keep the binding in place. Only the
destruction of the book or reading the incantation inside it will remove the
binding."
"I always wondered why they didn't get their powers when their grandmother
died," said Tiffany.
"You know about them?" asked Chris.
"Leo's told me all about them," said Tiffany. "But he's right about them.
Their powers are still bound and they have no idea they're witches. Frankly, no
one thinks that's going to change. All we can do is wait until the next
generation that won't have its' powers bound."
"This is crazy," said Chris. "Look, up until this morning everything was
normal. Like I said, the girls got their powers almost six years ago. Since
then, they've been a major thorn in evil's side. The even vanquished the Source
a couple of years ago and that's put the entire underworld in a complete
uproar."
"The Source vanquished?" asked Tiffany. "Now that's a nice dream. But
I'm afraid the Source is very much alive."
"That's not all," said Chris. "Prue Halliwell, Andy Trudeau, and Cole
Turner are also alive. Except that Prue died three years ago fighting Shax,
Andy died five years ago when the girls were fighting Tempus and a warlock, and
Cole was vanquished over a year ago. But I saw them alive in the manor just a
little bit ago."
"Hold on," said Leo. "You're not making any sense. Andy and Prue
couldn't have died fighting demons. They have no powers and demons don't bother
them. They've been married for two years and Prue is expecting their first
child. And what was that you were saying about Cole? He's an assistant
district attorney for San Francisco. He and Phoebe were married six months
ago."
"How do you know so much about them?" asked Chris.
"They are connected to the sisters," said Leo. "I told you I keep an eye
on them. You said Cole was vanquished? You're talking about him like he was a
demon or something."
"He was," said Chris. "Or is. Man, I'm not sure what I'm talking about.
Okay, Cole Turner is actually a half demon. His name is Belthazor and the girls
vanquished him several months ago."
"Belthazor?" asked Leo, nervously. "Belthazor is an upper level demon.
He's a mercenary that specializes in killing witches. Why would he be married
to Phoebe?"
"I don't know," said Chris. "He shouldn't even be alive. Phoebe once
believed that she and Cole were destined to be together. Maybe she was right
about that. Maybe that's why their together in this reality."
"If they were destined to be together," asked Tiffany, "why would they
vanquish him?"
"Free will," said Leo. "Just because they might have been destined to be
together doesn't mean it will always work out. Things can change depending on
the choices people make in their lives.""
"Like I said," said Chris, "he shouldn't even be alive. Just like Prue
and Andy should also be dead. None of this is making any sense. Everything is
all topsy turvy."
"Chris," said Tiffany, "if this is how everything is supposed to be, why
is it that you remember it and no one else does? You sound like the timeline
has been altered. If that's true, how come you weren't affected when everyone
else was?"
"Maybe because this isn't my time, I don't know," said Chris. "All I know
is that things are not the way they're supposed to be."
"What do you mean 'this isn't your time'?" asked Leo.
"I'm from the future," said Chris. "I came back to change things. To
prevent Piper's son from destroy them and everything else. Your son, Leo."
Leo and Tiffany stared at Chris in disbelief.
"You're a witch?" Chris asked in astonishment.
Tiffany pulled up the right sleeve of her blouse to expose a bracelet on
her wrist. Hanging from the bracelet was a charm. The charm was in the shape
of a crescent moon with a star in the center. Chris also noticed a noticeable
scar across Tiffany's wrist.
"Yes, I am," she said. "Leo is my White Lighter."
"How did you know I was a White Lighter?" asked Chris.
"I could see it in your mind," said Tiffany.
"Tiffany has telepathy," explained Leo. "It's one of her powers. She can
read the mind of another person."
"I couldn't help but notice the scar," said Chris.
"Yes," said Tiffany, absently rubbing her wrist. "A little memento of my
younger days. There was a time when I didn't think I had anything to live for.
Luckily Leo showed up and helped change my mind."
"Good thing I did, too," said Leo. "A few more minutes and it would have
been too late."
"He can heal that for you, you know?" asked Chris.
"She won't let me," said Leo. "She says it's a reminder of how close she
came."
"I see," said Chris.
"So," said Leo, "you're a White Lighter. Well, there are so many of us
it's hard to know them all. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So you don't remember me?" asked Chris.
"Should I?" asked Leo. "Have we met before?"
"It's why I came to see you," said Chris. "I just came from the manor and
things are totally out of whack there. Apparently it's not just there."
"Wait a minute," said Leo. "The manor?"
"The Halliwell Manor," said Chris. "Don't tell me you don't remember
them, either?"
"Well, of course I remember them," said Leo. "I've been keeping an eye on
them. But until they get their powers.... "
"Hold on," said Chris. "They already have their powers. Penny Halliwell
died about six years ago from a heart attack. Six months after that Phoebe
found the Book of Shadows in the attic and read the incantation in the front of
it. You've been married to Piper for the last two years."
"Why Leo," said Tiffany, smiling coyly, "a secret wife? You never told
me."
"That's because it never happened," said Leo, looking annoyed. "Look,
Chris, Penny Halliwell did die six years ago. But the girls never found the
Book of Shadows. Frankly, no one knows where it is. All we can figure is Penny
hid it somewhere for a future Halliwell generation. She had all ready bound the
girls' powers when they were young. Without the book, their powers will stay
bound."
"But a witches spells and bindings are broken when the witch dies," said
Tiffany.
"Normally, yes," said Chris. "But in this instance, Penny connected the
binding to the Book of Shadows. So it's not only Penny's power that keeps the
binding in place, it's also the power from the book. As long as the book
exists, the binding will remain intact."
"It's kind of like a curse," said Leo. "Normally a curse is connected to
a person or place or thing. That's why a witches curse can continue long past
the time after a witch dies, sometimes for centuries. Penny may be gone but the
power from the book continues to keep the binding in place. Only the
destruction of the book or reading the incantation inside it will remove the
binding."
"I always wondered why they didn't get their powers when their grandmother
died," said Tiffany.
"You know about them?" asked Chris.
"Leo's told me all about them," said Tiffany. "But he's right about them.
Their powers are still bound and they have no idea they're witches. Frankly, no
one thinks that's going to change. All we can do is wait until the next
generation that won't have its' powers bound."
"This is crazy," said Chris. "Look, up until this morning everything was
normal. Like I said, the girls got their powers almost six years ago. Since
then, they've been a major thorn in evil's side. The even vanquished the Source
a couple of years ago and that's put the entire underworld in a complete
uproar."
"The Source vanquished?" asked Tiffany. "Now that's a nice dream. But
I'm afraid the Source is very much alive."
"That's not all," said Chris. "Prue Halliwell, Andy Trudeau, and Cole
Turner are also alive. Except that Prue died three years ago fighting Shax,
Andy died five years ago when the girls were fighting Tempus and a warlock, and
Cole was vanquished over a year ago. But I saw them alive in the manor just a
little bit ago."
"Hold on," said Leo. "You're not making any sense. Andy and Prue
couldn't have died fighting demons. They have no powers and demons don't bother
them. They've been married for two years and Prue is expecting their first
child. And what was that you were saying about Cole? He's an assistant
district attorney for San Francisco. He and Phoebe were married six months
ago."
"How do you know so much about them?" asked Chris.
"They are connected to the sisters," said Leo. "I told you I keep an eye
on them. You said Cole was vanquished? You're talking about him like he was a
demon or something."
"He was," said Chris. "Or is. Man, I'm not sure what I'm talking about.
Okay, Cole Turner is actually a half demon. His name is Belthazor and the girls
vanquished him several months ago."
"Belthazor?" asked Leo, nervously. "Belthazor is an upper level demon.
He's a mercenary that specializes in killing witches. Why would he be married
to Phoebe?"
"I don't know," said Chris. "He shouldn't even be alive. Phoebe once
believed that she and Cole were destined to be together. Maybe she was right
about that. Maybe that's why their together in this reality."
"If they were destined to be together," asked Tiffany, "why would they
vanquish him?"
"Free will," said Leo. "Just because they might have been destined to be
together doesn't mean it will always work out. Things can change depending on
the choices people make in their lives.""
"Like I said," said Chris, "he shouldn't even be alive. Just like Prue
and Andy should also be dead. None of this is making any sense. Everything is
all topsy turvy."
"Chris," said Tiffany, "if this is how everything is supposed to be, why
is it that you remember it and no one else does? You sound like the timeline
has been altered. If that's true, how come you weren't affected when everyone
else was?"
"Maybe because this isn't my time, I don't know," said Chris. "All I know
is that things are not the way they're supposed to be."
"What do you mean 'this isn't your time'?" asked Leo.
"I'm from the future," said Chris. "I came back to change things. To
prevent Piper's son from destroy them and everything else. Your son, Leo."
Leo and Tiffany stared at Chris in disbelief.