SEVEN
Leo orbed back to the house a few hours later. Chris hadn't expected him
to be gone as long as he was but he and Tiffany spent the time getting
acquainted. Besides telepathy, Tiffany's other abilities included invisibility,
astral projection, and a limited form of shape change. She could alter her
basic features but she had to remain a female and the color of her eyes remained
the same.
"Well, what did you find out?" Tiffany asked Leo after he had orbed in.
Leo didn't answer right away. He had a concerned look on his face and he
thought for a moment before he answered.
"It seems Chris was right about Paige," said Leo finally. "Apparently she
is half White Lighter. The Elders discovered who she was when she orbed out of
the car in the accident that killed her parents. A mortal doesn't just start
orbing without drawing some attention to themselves."
"Then you see I was right," said Chris. "Everything has changed."
"Hold on a second," said Leo. "There could be any number of explanations
for that. The Elders haven't said anything because it was a one-time thing.
They figure as long as she doesn't use magic she's not threat to anyone and
there's no reason to let her know what's going on."
"But everything I told you about her is true," said Chris. "You have to
admit, that lends credence to the rest of my story."
"Well, I'll concede that it's possible," said Leo. "But I'm still not
completely convinced."
"Maybe the Elders can help figure this out," said Tiffany. "You just need
to fill them in on what's been going on."
"I don't want to do that just yet," said Leo. "Think about it? Chris
came back in time to save his family and alter the past. While he's in the
past, someone else goes even further back in time and alters the past even more.
That's a little hard to swallow even for the Elders."
"But they would have to listen to you," said Leo. "After what happened
with the Titans and all. And you're being an Elder yourself."
"I'm not an Elder," said Leo in surprise. "And the Titans were locked
away millennia ago. They aren't a threat to anyone."
"What?" Chris asked. "But that's not what happened. A demon released the
Titans and you had to give the Charmed Ones the powers of the gods to defeat
them. Most of the Elders were destroyed and you were made an Elder because of
what you did."
"That never happened," said Leo. ""I'm just a regular White Lighter. The
Titans were never released."
"I guess even more has changed than I thought," said Chris. "I wonder why
the demon never released the Titans?"
"Balance, probably," said Leo.
"What do you mean, Leo?" asked Tiffany.
"Well," said Leo, "assuming everything Chris has told us is the truth,
then there are at least four people - or beings - alive now who shouldn't be.
Nature has to balance that out. Which means that others who were alive before
the change are now dead. They probably died about the same time as the others
were supposed to have died."
"So that means that there are four people dead now that are alive in my
reality," said Chris.
"That's right," said Leo "Probably people who were close to the ones who
are still alive now. A close friend or family member. In the cases of
Belthazor and the Source, probably demonic associates. It's possible that the
demon who you believed originally released the Titans was a close associate of
one of them. When reality changed, as you claim, that demon may have died
instead of them. Which means it was never around to release the Titans."
"So who's dead now since Prue and Andy are still alive?" asked Chris.
"That's hard to say," said Leo. "It could be just about anyone. It
obviously wasn't one of Prue's sisters, since they're all still alive. And
their mother and grandmother died years ago."
"Grandpa," gasped Chris. "Leo, if you watch over the girls, do you know
what happened to their father?"
"He died from a heart attack about three years ago," said Leo.
"The same time that Prue would have died," said Chris dejectedly.
"I'm sorry Chris," said Tiffany.
"That's okay," said Chris. "All we have to do is figure out who's doing
this and how to put things back the way they're supposed to be."
"Which may not be that easy," said Leo. "There's no way of knowing who
did this. What about Tempus? He can manipulate time. Maybe he's the one who's
done all this?"
"No, that's not possible," said Leo. "Tempus was destroyed when Prue
died. The Source forced him to reset time and he couldn't take the strain. So
it couldn't be him. IT has to be another demon or warlock."
"So, how do we find out?" asked Tiffany. "We certainly can't just walk up
to the nearest demon and say, 'excuse me, but can you tell me who's changing the
past?'. And since the girls don't have their Book of Shadows any longer, it
won't be of any help."
"What about your book?" Leo asked. "Maybe there's something in there that
can help."
"I all ready looked," said Tiffany, shaking her head. "There's nothing in
it about any demon that can manipulate time. There's not even an entry on the
Tempus."
"Well," said Leo, "each Book of Shadows contains entries on beings that
the persons' ancestors encountered. If none of your ancestors encountered
Tempus, there's no reason there would be an entry."
"What about the girls Book of Shadows?" asked Chris. "You said it just
disappeared. But I know their grandmother kept it in the attic. That's where
Phoebe originally found it. How could it just disappear?"
"I can't answer that," said Leo. "Theirs is a magical book and evil can't
even touch it."
"Well someone must have," said Tiffany. "No one knows where it is."
"I think we have to pay a visit to the not so Charmed Ones," said Leo.
"They might know something that could help us. They may not even know they know
anything, especially since they don't know they're witches."
"Oh, that's going to be simple," said Chris. "We just walk right up and
ask them. After the little display I put on in the manor earlier, they're bound
to think we're all crazy."
"Not crazy," said Tiffany. "Just a lack of medication."
"What do you mean?" asked Leo.
"Well," said Tiffany, "I think I know how we can get into the manor. But
it means that Chris is going to have to do a little pretending. And you, Leo,
are going to decide to visit some old friends after many years absent. It just
might work."
"What might work?" asked Chris, not really sure what Tiffany had in mind.
"Hear me out," said Tiffany. "This is just crazy enough to work."
Leo orbed back to the house a few hours later. Chris hadn't expected him
to be gone as long as he was but he and Tiffany spent the time getting
acquainted. Besides telepathy, Tiffany's other abilities included invisibility,
astral projection, and a limited form of shape change. She could alter her
basic features but she had to remain a female and the color of her eyes remained
the same.
"Well, what did you find out?" Tiffany asked Leo after he had orbed in.
Leo didn't answer right away. He had a concerned look on his face and he
thought for a moment before he answered.
"It seems Chris was right about Paige," said Leo finally. "Apparently she
is half White Lighter. The Elders discovered who she was when she orbed out of
the car in the accident that killed her parents. A mortal doesn't just start
orbing without drawing some attention to themselves."
"Then you see I was right," said Chris. "Everything has changed."
"Hold on a second," said Leo. "There could be any number of explanations
for that. The Elders haven't said anything because it was a one-time thing.
They figure as long as she doesn't use magic she's not threat to anyone and
there's no reason to let her know what's going on."
"But everything I told you about her is true," said Chris. "You have to
admit, that lends credence to the rest of my story."
"Well, I'll concede that it's possible," said Leo. "But I'm still not
completely convinced."
"Maybe the Elders can help figure this out," said Tiffany. "You just need
to fill them in on what's been going on."
"I don't want to do that just yet," said Leo. "Think about it? Chris
came back in time to save his family and alter the past. While he's in the
past, someone else goes even further back in time and alters the past even more.
That's a little hard to swallow even for the Elders."
"But they would have to listen to you," said Leo. "After what happened
with the Titans and all. And you're being an Elder yourself."
"I'm not an Elder," said Leo in surprise. "And the Titans were locked
away millennia ago. They aren't a threat to anyone."
"What?" Chris asked. "But that's not what happened. A demon released the
Titans and you had to give the Charmed Ones the powers of the gods to defeat
them. Most of the Elders were destroyed and you were made an Elder because of
what you did."
"That never happened," said Leo. ""I'm just a regular White Lighter. The
Titans were never released."
"I guess even more has changed than I thought," said Chris. "I wonder why
the demon never released the Titans?"
"Balance, probably," said Leo.
"What do you mean, Leo?" asked Tiffany.
"Well," said Leo, "assuming everything Chris has told us is the truth,
then there are at least four people - or beings - alive now who shouldn't be.
Nature has to balance that out. Which means that others who were alive before
the change are now dead. They probably died about the same time as the others
were supposed to have died."
"So that means that there are four people dead now that are alive in my
reality," said Chris.
"That's right," said Leo "Probably people who were close to the ones who
are still alive now. A close friend or family member. In the cases of
Belthazor and the Source, probably demonic associates. It's possible that the
demon who you believed originally released the Titans was a close associate of
one of them. When reality changed, as you claim, that demon may have died
instead of them. Which means it was never around to release the Titans."
"So who's dead now since Prue and Andy are still alive?" asked Chris.
"That's hard to say," said Leo. "It could be just about anyone. It
obviously wasn't one of Prue's sisters, since they're all still alive. And
their mother and grandmother died years ago."
"Grandpa," gasped Chris. "Leo, if you watch over the girls, do you know
what happened to their father?"
"He died from a heart attack about three years ago," said Leo.
"The same time that Prue would have died," said Chris dejectedly.
"I'm sorry Chris," said Tiffany.
"That's okay," said Chris. "All we have to do is figure out who's doing
this and how to put things back the way they're supposed to be."
"Which may not be that easy," said Leo. "There's no way of knowing who
did this. What about Tempus? He can manipulate time. Maybe he's the one who's
done all this?"
"No, that's not possible," said Leo. "Tempus was destroyed when Prue
died. The Source forced him to reset time and he couldn't take the strain. So
it couldn't be him. IT has to be another demon or warlock."
"So, how do we find out?" asked Tiffany. "We certainly can't just walk up
to the nearest demon and say, 'excuse me, but can you tell me who's changing the
past?'. And since the girls don't have their Book of Shadows any longer, it
won't be of any help."
"What about your book?" Leo asked. "Maybe there's something in there that
can help."
"I all ready looked," said Tiffany, shaking her head. "There's nothing in
it about any demon that can manipulate time. There's not even an entry on the
Tempus."
"Well," said Leo, "each Book of Shadows contains entries on beings that
the persons' ancestors encountered. If none of your ancestors encountered
Tempus, there's no reason there would be an entry."
"What about the girls Book of Shadows?" asked Chris. "You said it just
disappeared. But I know their grandmother kept it in the attic. That's where
Phoebe originally found it. How could it just disappear?"
"I can't answer that," said Leo. "Theirs is a magical book and evil can't
even touch it."
"Well someone must have," said Tiffany. "No one knows where it is."
"I think we have to pay a visit to the not so Charmed Ones," said Leo.
"They might know something that could help us. They may not even know they know
anything, especially since they don't know they're witches."
"Oh, that's going to be simple," said Chris. "We just walk right up and
ask them. After the little display I put on in the manor earlier, they're bound
to think we're all crazy."
"Not crazy," said Tiffany. "Just a lack of medication."
"What do you mean?" asked Leo.
"Well," said Tiffany, "I think I know how we can get into the manor. But
it means that Chris is going to have to do a little pretending. And you, Leo,
are going to decide to visit some old friends after many years absent. It just
might work."
"What might work?" asked Chris, not really sure what Tiffany had in mind.
"Hear me out," said Tiffany. "This is just crazy enough to work."