CHAPTER 13:

2003, somewhere in the underworld.

Josh knew that what he just said to Chris wasn't the exact truth. Because when Chris would kill the master in the here and now, the master would never recruit Gredam in the future. It would change everything and Chris wouldn't take his revenge on this demon after he vanquished the master. Because the thing he wanted to take revenge for never really happened and he wouldn't remember the demon anyway.

But Josh felt how bad Chris wanted to take revenge. He couldn't tell Chris that that would never happen. Because when Chris would believe him, which Josh wasn't even sure he would, he would want to take Gredam out first. And Josh just couldn't let that happen. Even though Gredam was a fool, he played an important role in the future. If he would be killed now, he couldn't fulfil his task and the future was lost before Chris could save it.

"So", he said after a while when Chris didn't respond to all he had just said to him. "Any plans? Because you can't take out the master just like that. He isn't nearly as powerful as he gets in your future, but he's still way out of your league." Chris looked up at Josh and shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't really make a plan. I just thought to came here, find the demon and vanquish the son of a bitch. Apparently it isn't that easy."

"Chris, Chris, Chris", Josh said clacking his tongue. He stood up and sat down besides Chris, laying an arm around his shoulder. "What do you say if I help you get a plan huh?" He pretended to think really hard of something and suddenly came up with the brilliant idea. "Ah I know something", he said. "What about we, I mean you, use the power of three for this one. I mean he was too strong for the original power of three in the future, but I am pretty sure he can't win from them now."

"Maybe", Chris said doubting. He heard the fake surprise in Josh's voice as he told him his so-called brilliant plan. "But what do you get out of it this time?", he asked, remembering how Josh reacted before, when Chris told him he had nothing to offer him. Josh tapped Chris shoulder and said: "Absolutely nothing, for old friends sake, right?" Chris looked at Josh' face, he couldn't see if the guy was telling the truth. 'Maybe he does believe me now', he thought, still doubting what to do.

Finally he said. "Alright, what if I let the Charmed ones help me, I still need to know where I can find this master and how we could vanquish him." A huge smile crossed Josh' face. "I knew you would listen to an old friend." "I didn't say I was going to do it", Chris protested. "I know you will", Josh said as he stood up and walked to another room of his lair. A few seconds later he returned with a piece of parchment.

"What's that?", Chris asked curious. "This my friend is your way to the place of the master", Josh answered.

2003, somewhere in San Francisco.

Joey sat in the audience and cheered on the kids on the basketball field. Her team was loosing by a one point and there were only two minutes left. Suddenly she saw Michael making a great jump and the ball made a perfect flight to the basket. But for some odd reason the ball made a slight turn and it almost missed the basket. In a whim Joey slightly move her hand and made the ball go the right way again. It was a goal the moment the buzzer went of.

The audience around her went wild when they won, but Joey only slowly clapped her hands. She realised she had just cheated and that was probably not the reason why she had received her power. Besides Wendy had told her to be careful and here she sat in the middle of hundreds of people using her powers. She could slap herself for the head.

She quickly stood up and made her way out of the audience, hoping no-one had seen her using her powers. "Excuse me", she said to everyone as she passed them. When she was finally at the exit she looked on her watch. The kids would be busy on the field and in the dressing room for at least fifteen minutes. Joey decided to take a walk through the now still empty hallways. Trying to get her mind of the cheating thing.

It was nice to be walking alone for a brief moment after the enormous crowdie place she just came out of. She heard nothing but her own footsteps on the floor. Or didn't she? She stopped and quickly turned around, thinking she heard a second pair of footsteps trying to copy her pass. But no-one was there. She shrugged and walked further.

All of a sudden she felt she was grabbed from behind. Her arms were twisted behind her back and a hand was covering her mouth, so she couldn't scream. Joey tried to kick the person that had grabbed her, but it didn't help.

One moment she was a the stadium trying to break free and the next thing she knew she stood in a whole different place. Still in a tight grip she was pushed towards a cage in the middle of what seemed the inside of a mountain. She was roughly pushed into the cage and fell on the sandy floor. "Hey!", she said protesting. She quickly stood up, but the person who had kidnapped her had already locked the cage and was walking away from her. She walked to the barns and shouted: "What the hell is going on here, why did you kidnap me?"

The person kept walking to the other side of the place and Joey said even more louder now: "Come back you coward. You can't just leave me here!" The person stood still and Joey impatiently watched what would happen. Finally he turned around and made his way back to her. She could now see who had kidnapped her and she stepped away from the barns. She knew she was in big trouble. The man looked an awful lot like the ones that harassed her yesterday.