Chapter 4: A Strange New Place

"Leo, my car has been acting kind of funny lately and I don't want to drive it while I have the boys with me. Would you mind orbing us to the club?" Piper asked as she cradled Chris in her arms and tried to juggle the various diaper bags and toys as she struggled to keep her grasp on Wyatt's hand. Leo smiled at the spectacle of Piper fighting with the numerous objects.

"Of course not," he agreed and he took one of the bags from her and slung it over his shoulder as he lifted Wyatt off the floor. Leo reached out and took Piper's hand and he orbed out of the nursery. As the white orbs swirled around the little family, they didn't notice that they were crossing through the various planes that exist between worlds.

"Do you want me to take a look at your car? I don't have anything else to do," Leo asked. It was Piper who noticed their strange surroundings first. She did not reply but simply stared at the seven people who stood before them, one of who seemed to be glowing with an incandescent white light.

"Please, don't be alarmed," the glowing figure said in a soft and gentle tone. Despite his kind demeanor, this young man emitted an overwhelming and awesome presence as he spoke and as he took a step toward the foursome, Piper retreated, prepared to hand Chris to Leo so she could freeze or blow up these strangers if they posed a threat.

"Leo, what the hell is going on here?" Piper demanded of her ex-husband.

"I don't know Piper," he admitted in the same worried tone she was accustomed to hearing.

"Please calm down dear. We won't harm you," the tall woman with the raven black hair and a white streak above her left brow said in a soothing voice.

Piper's mind was reeling and she was having a hard time pinning down her thoughts and they seemed to be scattering wildly, tumbling over each other. Now, memories were popping into the craziness whirling in her mind. Memories of her marriage to Leo, family moments with Paige and Phoebe as well as Wyatt and Christopher, and even faded but painful memories of Prue that Piper had banished from her mind.

"It will be easier if you don't fight it," spoke the young sandy-haired blonde man near the fire.

"What will be easier?" Piper demanded as she tried to collect herself.

"It's the Orb," he told her, "It's trying to get to know you. Just listen to its song for a moment and once it has gotten what it wants, it will stop."

Reluctant as she was to trust these strangers, Piper obeyed his instructions, desperate to relieve the insanity that was skating through her brain. She allowed the elated and exultant song to soar through her mind and she was filled with an awed kind of wonder, a bemused reverie. A moment later, the song was over and Piper felt like herself again.

"These people must be of some great importance if the Orb is taking an interest in them Eriond," the elderly gentleman said and took a drink from the foaming tankard in front of him.

"Could someone please explain what is going on?" Leo questioned, longing for some answers.

The blonde young man that was emanating the incandescent light stepped toward them. As a matter of habit, Piper recoiled and moved closer to Leo. Ignoring her attempts to escape, he moved closer, closing on the distance between him and the small family. Very calmly, he reached out his hand and lifted her chin. Piper stared into his eyes of the deepest blue and felt herself becoming lost in that extraordinary hue, unable to tear herself away. Then, he very gently touched his long delicate fingers to her cheek and Piper yielded all thoughts and attempts of aversion and she was overwhelmed with a peace and serenity that she had not felt in years.

"Now," he spoke, "allow me to explain everything."