As the first kill was set to happen that very night, the Charmed Ones kept brainstorming for spells or tactics that would effectively tell them what they were trying to defend Wyatt from this time.

"OK. Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe will interrogate the first demon today. What am I doing again? Oh, yeah, I forgot. I need to spy on my girlfriend" said Chris in discontent.

"Come on, honey. You know we wanna keep the circle small cause we really don't know what would be the trigger for what we saw. It's not like I don't trust her"

"Isn't it, mom?"

"I admit I wasn't the fondest with the idea of you dating a de..." Chris stared sarcastically at his mother. "A shimmering witch" Piper switched direction. "At first, but now it's just being careful, I promise"

"Alright" he said still incredulous of her mother's motives.

"Hey" Paige said orbing too close in and startling them both. "Sorry. Phoebe here yet?"

"No, she said she still had some stuff to do before heading down here"

"What's with the tiny staff?" asked Chris.

"Oh, this is a Shillelagh" Paige explained.

"Didn't the leprechauns take that back?" asked Piper.

"Yeah, well, we made up. Thought it come in handy to question magical creatures. Get some info from their side"

"Good thinking"

"What are you sulking about?" Paige asked his nephew.

"Nothing" he quickly answered not wanting to get into it again right before going to see Bianca on a fake date.

"Ok…" said Paige quickly recognizing the defensive tone in his voice.

MEETING BIANCA…

"Hey" said Chris as Bianca shimmered at their usual secluded spot.

"Hi" she went to kiss him. He held on to her for a moment longer than usual. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just missed you" Chris said trying to sound convincing. "I… hear there's a lot of activity down in the Underworld" he made an attempt to sound casual walking away from her, heading for the stone bench they usually sat on. Bianca followed now sure something was up but deciding not to push (for now).

"Not really" she sat next to him, pushing stray hairs away from his forehead with the tip of her fingers, seeking to comfort him, even though she didn't know what was upsetting him yet. "They all seem as scattered as always. Ever since Elak"

"Good to know" his eyes went from her to the ground in under two seconds. "Look, I…"

"Chris, if there's something going on that for some reason you still can't share with me, I understand" he turned to face her once again. "I'm OK with it"

"What if I'm not?"

"Honey, you gotta understand I'm still working my way to the good side of your family. It's only natural you're not supposed to tell me everything that concerns them yet"

"It shouldn't be that way. You tell me everything" Bianca smiled appreciatively even though she knew perfectly this was just not the case. There were some things in her life which she wasn't ready to share with him yet, but never told him so cause she was trying to spare his feelings.

"I appreciate that" she gave him a peck on the lips. "And if you guys need help with anything, even if you can't explain it in full at the moment, just let me know"

"You're so wonderful"

"I have my moments" she chuckled proudly.

INTERROGATING THE FIRST DEMON…

The screams were piercing as they threw vial after vial at the demon. Luckily, they had been cautious enough to ask Leo to take Melinda with him to magic school so she couldn't be bothered by them. She had been a little down since play dates with her niece Angie had been cut short, so playing with kids in the school would actually do her some good.

"Do you have a new Source?" asked Paige for the umpteenth time.

"I told you we don't! Every time someone even tries, they get vanquished by someone from our kind"

"Well, this is getting us nowhere" said Phoebe. "I can tell he's not lying"

"Empathy?"

"Experience" Phoebe stared at the demon, who looked exhausted as he half-laid on the floor inside the energy cage. "OK. New tactic" she knelt to face the demon. "Have you heard anything unusual circling around lately?"

"Like what?" he answered defiantly, catching his breath.

"Something about the Source's power or even bringing back the Nexus?" interjected Paige.

"I told you, you b…"

"Ok, ok, ok, maybe not a leader. Maybe just… something out of the ordinary that might be going on in your world, a new demonic trend of some sort…. new targets… anything making any kind of noise?" the demon racked his brains as Paige lifted a hand to throw the next vial.

"Wait, wait! It's not… not something going on…"

"That's it!" she said impatiently, hand still up in the air.

"No, wait! Nothing relevant's going on but… there are rumors"

"About?"

"I'm not completely sure. Demons kept discussing how they were tired of endlessly fighting good… and rumor has it that there is somebody who came up with an idea to fix that"

"Who?"

"What idea?"

"I don't know. I swear. I wasn't really into it so I didn't pay much attention"

"Well… you're gonna find out for us then" said Paige.

"The hell I will"

"OK, then" said Paige and threw a vanquishing potion. "We weren't gonna get much more outta him anyway"

"I guess not" Phoebe stood there meditatively as the demon finished burning away.

"What do you reckon?"

"I'm not sure"

"Well, it's not exactly a new trend that demons complain about fighting good"

"No, but… there's something to what he said"

"Yeah, sounded like something might indeed be brewing down there, but we are basically where we started. We know it's evil trying to take Wyatt again, which for a while they had apparently given up on, but again we aren't any closer to finding what that is"

"Maybe. We know they intend to turn Wyatt and Sam with the Nexus and the Source combined to tip the scale in their favor to… somehow, put an end to our fight… but we still don't know exactly how are they planning to do any of those things yet" Phoebe blew air in frustration.

"Especially since both of those have indeed been vanquished already"

"Yes, but even if they manage to bring them both back, which is hard enough to do as it is, how are they gonna convince them to take on both? How are they gonna turn into the version of themselves we met in our glimpse?" Phoebe turned to her sister. "There's gotta be something more to it"

"A new Source?" Paige threw a shot in the dark just to put some words out there.

"I don't think so. For them to take that power it would have to be untaken. No demon would willingly give it to them and vanquishing it would scatter its power" Phoebe paced back and forth. "So, who's come up with a new plan? And how is it any different from any other? I mean, not even we know how to bring back the Nexus to begin with"

"And we haven't found anything of the sort in the library at Magic School. Except, and I quote Only Upper level demons who've lived over a century would possess the knowledge to restore the Source's power end quote" she air-quoted.

"And we haven't found anything on conjuring centennial demons either, book of shadows or otherwise" said Phoebe in a tone of exhaustion. "Not to mention the Nexus" she rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"And there's the rub"

Piper had been downstairs brewing and corking potions for the girls, trying to keep the image of Wyatt in that dark future ahead of them away from her mind to no avail. Each time she pictured them, him and his wife, in those dark flames, he immediately pictured him carrying her grandchildren, playing with them and making those silly faces that had them roaring with laughter, making it hurt a little bit more with every mental image.

Then, it hit her. She corked the vials in front of her and turned the stove off in a rush, running upstairs carrying the last batch of potions in her hands.

"How's it going? Great. Listen" she said as she arrived to the attic without really waiting for an answer to anything she had just asked. "I got an idea"

"O…k…" said Paige going to take the vials cautiously off her gesturing hands.

"Let's hear it" said Phoebe deciding any fresh perspective might help their case.

"If they won't talk to us about what's going on, what if we send someone they would?"

"Like who?" Paige blurted out.

"Edward" Phoebe filled in the obvious blank.

"I don't think we can convince those two to participate in a séance of any kind at the moment"

"No, not like a séance. Get them here, like we've done Mom or Grams"

"We can't just do that. Can we?" asked Phoebe. "I mean… those times we had permission from you-know-who" she rolled her eyes upwards. "And we haven't exactly been keeping in touch"

"Be that as it may, we'll talk to the Elders and try to get their permission so Edward can talk to Wyatt and Sam, at least one of them might tell them something we can go on from" they both nodded in agreement. "Might as well try, right? This'll eventually affect them too. If things go that bad in the future, they clearly weren't around to regulate things anymore"

"Or were outpowered" said Phoebe in an undertone.

"It does seem bad for them either way" Paige stepped in.

"My point exactly" added Piper. "We got some leverage so we might get lucky"

After a minute or so, bright blue lights welcomed an old friend of the Charmed ones.

"Sandra?" asked Phoebe incredulously.

"Greetings"

"Of course it had to be you" Piper smiled. "Let me guess. They can't decide whether is a good idea or not to let us do what we need to do?" Sandra only smiled. "That's what I thought"

"Thank you for coming" said Paige.

"After everything, I have no reason to doubt you. Regardless of how some members of the council feel, some things never change" she stared at them all in turn. "Your situation is quite the debate up there"

"Isn't it always?" Piper asked rhetorically.

"Never mind that now. If we do summon Edward's spirit, would you allow him to materialize long enough for him to try and talk to Wyatt and Sam?" asked Paige. Sandra considered them for a moment and then nodded.

"In your hands lies the fate of us all"

"So what else is new?" said Piper. Sandra looked away for a moment. "What is it?"

"The council is also deciding over the matter of your son's legacy"

"What do you mean by that?" Piper couldn't help sounding threatening now.

"We remained passive during the whole situation with his daughter because we were confident they would find a way to handle it"

"And they did" said Piper now visibly upset.

"Indeed they did, but… we're not as confident when it comes to his and his wife's fate"

"We're handling it" Piper kept being defensive.

"We just need you to stay clear of our way, we've dealt with Wyatt's destiny before" said Phoebe now infected by her sister's rising anger.

"You have. This time however the future seems darker than it has ever been and their strength combined is not something we are willing to take lightly"

"What do you plan to do?" asked Paige now in an attempt to give her sisters some breathing time.

"We can't affect them directly, since they work as a shield for one another, but… it is being considered to end his legacy if need be" Some old vase burst in the background as Piper's anger finally externalized.

"Meaning?" Phoebe said scared now.

"We'll be forced to strip them off their powers before they develop a way to shield themselves from us as well" Piper looked murderous now, Phoebe went to hold her trying to ease her own breathing. "If it's too late for your son and his wife, maybe we can avoid greater damage by stopping the next generation from ever growing that powerful"

"Don't you think you'll make matters worse by targeting the very thing they try to protect?" Piper finally managed to steady herself enough to talk without being overly rude.

"Like I said, it's being discussed and only as a last resource"

"We won't let it come to that" said Phoebe holding firmly to her big sister.

"We'll save them. We'll save them all" said Paige resolute.

"Very well. Best of luck. Blessed Be" and Sandra orbed away.