"So, where do we start?" Phoebe asked. They had reconvened in Victor's living room, bringing the boys with them.

"Darryl's gonna kill us," Piper said sadly. "He's covered for us so many times...I don't see how we can get out of this one."

"Well," Paige said, "we know Sheridan was pretty suspicious. And Kyle was with the Feds, and he mentioned once that Homeland Security wanted to get involved."

"Homeland Security?" Phoebe shrieked. "What, they think we're terrorists?"

"Maybe," Piper began thoughtfully, "maybe that's it."

"What, you think we're terrorists?" Phoebe asked her older sister.

"No, no. But maybe we tell tell the police some of the truth -- some bad people were after us. They thought we had 'magic powers,' how silly. Sure, we practice Wicca, but it's not like we fly around on broomsticks or anything," Piper elaborated.

"But I actually did fly on a broomstick that one time," Phoebe smiled, remembering the day they'd assisted in the birth of their ancestor.

"Phoebe! Focus," Piper said sharply.

"OK, and the bad guys were determined to get our 'powers,' and they said they'd kill us if we told anyone," Paige said, picking up Piper's thread.

Leo interjected, "But we have to assume the cops knew you were in the house when you vanquished the Nexus. You have to come up with some explanation for how you got out alive. And I think that telling them about astral-projecting is not the way to go."

All of them fell silent, trying to come up with plausible scenarios, until Victor suddenly said, "The bomb shelter!"

"The what?" asked Phoebe.

"Penny built a bomb shelter, back in the early 60s. I only learned about it when she announced she was blocking it off when you girls were little, because she didn't want you to get into the shelter, because we'd never hear you crying in there or anything. There was a passageway from the basement to the shelter, and a separate entrance from outside, in back of the manor. She sealed off both entrances, but if you can find them and unseal them, that'd be a decent explanation."

"Wow, thanks, Victor," Paige said appreciatively. "So let's orb there tonight after it's dark, unseal the entrances, and tomorrow we'll go to the police."

After dinner, the girls dressed in black and Paige orbed them to the basement of the manor. They knew there was still a police presence in front of the house, but they had to hope that nobody was inside. "All clear," whispered Paige. They lit the candles they'd brought with them, and recited the familiar summoning spell:

Powers of the witches rise, course unseen across the skies.

Come to us who call you near, come to us and settle here.

In a moment, the spectral form of Grams appeared. "Girls! How are you? Why are you in the basement?" She glanced around. "What happened to the basement?"

"No time, Grams. We'll fill you in later, I promise," Piper said quickly. "Right now, we just need you to tell us where the entrance to the bomb shelter is."

"The -- what?" Grams asked, puzzled.

"The bomb shelter, Grams, we're in a bit of a hurry here," Phoebe repeated.

Grams narrowed her eyes. "I'd better get a full explanation, and sooner, not later. The entrance is right there," she said, gesturing to one wall. "Draw the outline of a door, and I'll say the spell for you."

The sisters quickly complied. Grams recited:

What was hidden long before
Is now revealed.
Unseal the door.

With a great creak, the door they'd drawn swung open.

"Thanks, Grams!" called Phoebe as she and Paige rushed toward the open doorway.

"Thanks," said Piper. "We'll summon you back soon and tell you the full story."

"You'd better," Penny's voice echoed as she dematerialized. As soon as Grams was gone, Piper hurried after her sisters.

The passageway to the bomb shelter was about 20 yards, in pitch darkness. Finally, they emerged into the shelter itself, and, tugging on a chain, found that the lightbulb still worked. "Something tells me there's magic keeping this place up," Paige observed dryly.

They found the stairs which presumably led to a door to the outside, but no door was visible. As in the basement, they drew a door and recited the spell Grams had used, and the door opened. The sisters climbed out carefully, checking to be sure they wouldn't be spotted. "OK, back to Dad's," whispered Piper. Holding hands, Paige orbed them back to Victor's house.