I hope you are enjoying the story! Please R&R! Feedback is greatly appreciated so that I can know if I'm taking the story in the right direction. I do appreciate your input! Abs

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"What are you doing here?" Chris sat down on the rock face next to Chloe, "And why didn't you bring a coat?" he slipped his arm out of his jacket and put it around his cousin.

Chloe didn't make eye contact with him—she simply kept staring at the sunset. The sun had made it to a point where it was just touching the clouds on the horizon sending pink, gold, and orange rays bouncing through the atmosphere. She sighed, "Now that is true magic."

Chris examined Chloe with a scrutinizing eye before facing the sunset. He, too, fell mesmerized in its beauty. It had been years since the skies in San Francisco had been clear enough to see the sunset, much less from such a vantage point. "You know how to pick places to watch this, Clo, that much I can give you."

"So, you think that the Rockies top the Golden Gate Bridge?" she chuckled, "and you asked me what I was doing here."

She couldn't shake the events of the past five days. Insurgences had filled the streets of major cities. Chloe had been drawn to fight covertly on one side, and exposed on the other. She had seen friends she loved lost to both—and the memories were overwhelming. There was no longer a line between the mortal world and the magical world—that had been crossed years ago. Gangs and violence could have been metaphorically attributed to demons in the past, but in the present the gangs were headed by demons—demons that looked like humans, but also demons with fangs and claws. The storybook land of fairies, witches, warlocks, wizards, and demons no longer lived on the shelves in the libraries or children's dreams, but were fully embodied and walking streets around the globe at the hands of the Kakó.

"You aren't afraid of being missed I assume?" Chris felt he had to break the silence. She didn't answer. He knew that if Chloe did not confront what she was feeling she was not only risking their cause, but her life. "Chloe, none of what has happened has been your fault." He could distinctively see the tears begin to form in her eyes. "I mean it. Nathan knew what he was doing when he confronted Calisto. You couldn't have changed that."

"Oh yeah," she stood up in defiance, knocking his coat off her shoulders, "if someone had told me what was going on—I might have been able to advise that someone that it was an absolutely asinine idea! I am on the inside for a reason, Chris!" she stormed away.

"Don't get like that with me," Chris followed her back toward the woods as the sun made its last appearance for the day, "We couldn't tell you," Chloe turned to face him and looked him straight in the eye. Chris stopped, looked down at his feet, then returned her gaze with a softer tone, "I couldn't tell you. It would have put you at too great a risk. If someone had read you…"

Chloe began to shake her head, "Chris," she paused, "I know the risks. I also know that no one can read me." Chris began to open his mouth but Chloe wouldn't let him speak, "Not even Wyatt. I know that. He has had the opportunity to and hasn't. Telepathy is my power, remember?" she winked. Chris turned away and began to walk back toward the horizon, "I have been undercover since I was sixteen," she called after him, "I know what I'm doing." Suddenly an energy ball erupted from a bush to Chris's left, "NO!" Chloe shouted and quickly shimmered out.

Chris turned to face his attacker as the energy ball was inches from his face. He waved his hand as it burst into a nearby tree. In front of Chris stood three brute demons, "You boys don't know what you're doing. You are messing with the wrong person," a sadistic smile curled on his lips.

"Person? You're a witch. That's all we need to know," brute one growled.

"True, but that and so much more," he flipped his wrists as the arms of one of the demons exploded causing him to fall to the ground with a scream, "I warned you."

A leg spun through the air and connected with the middle brute's temple and jaw with a crunch. His neighbor turned on Chloe with a swinging fist but was sent flying into a rock before he could hit her. She smiled at Chris before kicking the first in the nose, "Finish him, I got this one."

Chris reached down to pull an athame from his ankle holster and flung it with expert precision into the thug against the rock. He melted into a pile of slime before going up in flames. He then turned to no-arms and flipped both his wrists causing the brute to shatter into pieces. Chris looked over his shoulder to see how Chloe was faring, "She can definitely hold her own." Chloe had the demon on the ground, obvious broken jaw and blood in his ears. Chris had the feeling Chloe was now simply using him as a punching bag, "Chloe, that's enough," he cautioned taking a few steps towards her as the demon lay motionless on the ground. She looked over her shoulder at him before she ended the demons misery with a fireball of her own.

Chloe fell to the ground sobbing. She put her hands on the scorch mark and saw the demon, three days before, attacking people in Atlanta. She lowered her forehead to her hands and continued to cry. Chris knelt down beside her and pulled her close to him, "I miss him, too."

"This can't be the way the world is supposed to be. Chaos everywhere, fighting. This demon killed so many people in Atlanta three days ago. And we thought things were bad in San Francisco!"

"They're bad everywhere," Chris sat back against a rock. "Wyatt is out of control."

Chloe sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, and nursed the gash across her cheek with the other, "The Kakó is out of control," she sniffled.

"Same difference," Chris rolled his eyes.

"Not really," Chloe stood up, "I work with Wyatt."

"As part of the Kakó."

"Right, so I know the difference," Chloe corrected.

"Whatever," Chris closed his eyes.

"Whatever," Chloe mocked, "You know I'm right, you just won't admit it."

"Be quiet," Chris held up his hand. He heard crying and he heard his name, "Come on," he jumped up quickly, grabbed Chloe by the shoulders, and orbed away before she could protest.

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Piper dropped the letter on the floor and called for Phoebe. She couldn't believe what she had just read. "Piper, honey, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost… have you seen a ghost? We do not have time for a ghost," Phoebe complained rocking back and forth with Chris on her shoulder and holding Wyatt's hand.

"Babies, give me my babies," Piper held her hands out to Phoebe.

"Here you go, what's up with you?" Phoebe saw the letter on the floor. She handed Chris to Piper as Wyatt crawled up into the chair with her. As Piper pulled her children closer, Phoebe leaned over to pick up the letter. Immediately she was pulled into a vision of Leo standing before a crowd of elders. All the elders were wearing their golden dress robes and Leo was standing before them. The room was eerily quiet and Phoebe had the distinctive impression that something unexpected was getting ready to happen. At that moment, Phoebe witnessed Leo erupt in a haze of orb light. She gasped and found herself kneeling in the floor. "What is this?"

"What did you see?" Piper held a sleeping Chris on her shoulder and ran her fingers through Wyatt's curls.

"What is this?" Phoebe repeated.

"Read it," Piper pointed.

Her eyes skimmed through the letter until the enormity of it knocked Phoebe back against the sofa. "This can't be for real," she mumbled to herself, "Leo! Paige! Where are you?"

At that moment Leo and Paige orbed into the parlor with the rest of the family, "We couldn't find anything at the school's library," Paige announced.

"And we talked to a professor who happens to also be a lawyer, but that didn't do a lot of good. I am going to have to defend myself," Leo walked to Piper and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "No worries, nothing is going to happen. My actions were completely merited."

Phoebe sat quietly in the floor with the gold crested letter in her hand. She couldn't make eye contact with anyone. How was she to tell her family what she saw? That Leo's trial could lead to his annihilation? The tears rolled down her cheeks as she hid her face behind the letter in to look as though she were rereading it.

"Are you sure they will see it that way, Leo?" Piper continued to cradle her babies, "The elders have never been on our side before."

"But I am one of them now. Not only did Gideon betray me and our family, but he also betrayed them and their cause. Any one of them in the same position would have done the same thing," Leo defended.

Phoebe quickly wiped her eyes, "But none of them have a family, or any immediate ties to earth, why would they understand?"

Carefully walking across the parlor and taking a seat on the couch, Leo let his thoughts wander. Phoebe had a valid point. The reason Leo was so valuable to the elders was because he could better understand his charges and the mortal world because he had been a part of it for so long. His children were snuggled up with their mother and the rest of his family was anxiously awaiting his response to Phoebe. But he couldn't think of any. He just trusted that the elders would understand him. They would have to understand. As if sensing his father's turmoil, Wyatt left Piper's side and walked over to Leo. He climbed up into his daddy's lap and kissed him on the nose before wrapping his arms around his neck. "I love you, too, buddy," Leo kissed his blonde curls. "I have to trust them, Piper," he turned back to his wife, "I have to trust something right now."

"Then trust us," Piper pleaded.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you, Leo," Paige interjected. "In fact, I intend to accompany you to Elderland for this trial thing."

"No," Phoebe jumped to her feet, "I mean, what if they don't let you in… or you're being there makes things worse for Leo."

Piper began to shake her head, "No, I disagree, I think Paige's being there will be good for Leo. She has access just like other whitelighters. And she was at the big fight, she is a witness, she can help defend him."

Paige shook her head with a decisive "Yes."

Phoebe set the letter back on the coffee table and got up to leave the room, "In that case, I'm going to find some place to meditate. It won't hurt at this point."

"What's her problem?" Paige pouted.

"I think she had a premonition," Piper handed Chris to Paige before following Phoebe upstairs.

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Phoebe was sitting in the middle of her floor with white candles surrounding her. The smells of lavender and jasmine filled the air. She crossed her legs Indian-style, lit the candles, and proceeded to levitate in the center of her circle. Piper walked in and stood at the door watching her sister floating—with a pained look painted across her face.

"Tell me what you saw, Phoebe," she calmly ordered. Phoebe did not open her eyes, she did not lower herself back to the ground, she simply continued to float—palms up, back erect, with slow deliberate breaths. "Pheebs," Piper walked into the room and sat in front of her, "Don't ignore me. I know you saw something when you picked up that letter." Phoebe continued to not speak—she reached across the candles and took Piper by the hands as she too began to levitate. "What are we?"

"Shh," Phoebe quieted her, "Listen. Close your eyes and listen."

Piper closed her eyes. In what felt like minutes the blackness behind her eyelids slowly gave way to an image. The image revealed Leo and Paige standing before the council of elders. In this vision there were five elders in golden velvet robes, with Leo and Paige standing on a podium before them. Each was given their turn to talk before the elders made their decision. Suddenly there was a bright light, and when Phoebe's and Piper's vision returned, Leo and Paige were no longer standing on the podium. Piper immediately let go of Phoebe's hands and fell to the floor, "Ouch," she rubbed her rear as she stood, "Explain that to me," she asked Phoebe—who was still in a meditative pose, levitating about a foot above the ground.

"I can't," she sighed opening her eyes and lowering herself back to the floor, "It is different from the one I saw in the parlor when I first touched the letter."

"What was that?" panic edged Piper's voice.

"You don't want to know," Phoebe began blowing out the candles. Piper's face turned pale, "Oh, but no worries, sweetie," Phoebe put her hand on Piper's cheek. "I'm not worried anymore. What this means to me is that the future is changing. I am confident that Paige's being there will have a positive impact."

"Yeah, so confident that your eye is twitching," Piper pointed out.

"What do you mean by that?" Phoebe questioned as her right eye twitched.

Piper laughed, "Ever since you were little, your eye has twitched when you are lying."

"Oh," Phoebe put her hand over her right eye, "but seriously, Piper, I don't think I can trust the first premonition. Paige wasn't in it and she was in this one. Something will be different."

"Let's just hope it's not that my husband will be taken away and recycled," Piper turned to leave the room.

"Or blown into millions of pieces," Phoebe added under her breath.

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A crowd of people were gathered around a purple flame in the middle of the woods. In the crowd could be seen magical creatures of all varieties—wood nymphs, witches, fairies, sprites, ogres, leprechauns, centaurs, unicorns, fairy tale characters, gnomes, and elves. The leader was standing on a stump beside the fire. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, had silk white hair and blazing blue eyes, and was holding his hands above the fire and chanting. A woman approximately the same age with fire red hair stood to his right and was also chanting with him, as was a man on his left with black hair and green eyes. The onlookers stood puzzled as the gazed into the fire. In the flames was a scene of chaotic violence. Probes had encircled a group of four adults and were trying to scan their eyes—however a force field was erected around them, sending the lasers from the probes bouncing off the walls of building.

"Don't give up!" a sprite yelled to the three, "you can't give up or they will be caught!"

At the moment Chris orbed in and threw a handful of a silver powder into the flame with an explosion, "Sorry I'm late."

"About damn time," the man with jet black hair snarled.

"I apologized, Cooper. Just watch," Chris motioned back to the fire.

Chloe shimmered in behind the probes, now dressed head to toe in black. With a wave of her left hand she sent the probes flying into the nearest wall. With her right hand she tossed the same silver powder that Chris had thrown into the flames onto the force field. She immediately flipped down the shades that were on top of her head as the people vanished in a flash of white light, leaving a telltale scorch mark on the ground. She then fell to the ground as Wyatt and handful of demons appeared behind her.

"You vanquished them all?" Wyatt walked up to her, offering her his hand to help her stand.

"What else should I have done?" Chloe brushed herself off, standing slowly more from her previous fight with the brute demons than the current situation.

"Nothing. Excellent," Wyatt smiled, "You can go," he waved off his lackeys. Chloe walked slowly to the edge of the scorch marks before bending down and placing her hand on the ground—obviously in pain. "You're in pain."

Chloe put her hand on the mark and immediately saw that the four witches that had been targeted by the probes were now safely in the enchanted forest. "Did you expect them to go without a fight, Wyatt?" she again fell back, but Wyatt caught her.

"Here," he placed his hand on her back as the familiar golden glow was emitted from his hand, "Witches?" he asked.

"Yeah, four—in here hiding, probably hoping to be smuggled out with the shipment tomorrow. But they're gone now," she turned to him revealing a gash on her left cheek.

"You should have waited for backup. You've got a nasty gash on your cheek," again he placed his hand over the wound.

Chloe pushed him off, "I can handle it."

"Can you?" Wyatt approached her, "You've been off your game lately. What's up with you?" Chloe didn't answer him, but instead sat back on pile of boxes. "The dreams?"

"The dreams?" Trey turned to Chris as they watched the interaction between Wyatt and Chloe in the flames. Chris didn't answer him but kept watching his cousin and his brother.

"Yeah, I was up in the Rockies meditating earlier," Chloe practically whispered.

Wyatt nodded, "I was wondering where you went," he sat next to her. Although Wyatt had begun fighting against good and working with demons, he still held his cousin in high regards—he still loved her, if that was even possible.

"They seem so real, Wy," Chloe put her head in her hands, "I can't shake them."

Wyatt put his hand on her shoulder and leaned into her ear, "But you have to. They are making you appear weak."

"I am weak," Chloe growled and stood up. She waved her hand as a box flew across the room with a crash, simultaneously crushing a crystal that had been implanted in the wall.

"Damnit," Chris threw a log on the fire that had now turned from purple to gold and yellow, the image within it gone.

"You can't be weak," Wyatt's tone suddenly took a serious tone, "if you appear weak, you'll be in danger. We'll be in danger."

Chloe laughed, "You won't be in danger."

"Just get over it," Wyatt kept his tone, "take a couple of days off. No one will question me. Come back your normal self." Chloe shook her head in agreement and pulled the amulet off her neck before tossing it to her cousin. Wyatt caught it, "And if we need to do any spells or rituals when you get back to purge these dreams, we'll work on it. OK?" Chloe just stood and shook her head yes, "Chloe, answer me."

"Ok, Wyatt. I'm going to go," she shimmered out leaving Wyatt grasping the golden amulet in his hand—the sign of the new coven, the new power of which he and Chloe now belonged.

7