Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed. If I did, I would be publishing this and making money from it! This is purely a plot idea in my head and I do not intend to make any money from it.

AN: Okay. So now that I've made the lawyers happy…On with the story!! Please read and review! Lexi (my muse) really lives for getting reviews.

Chapter 3.

Explanations…Maybe

When Piper, Leo and Keahi got back to the manor, Leo orbed Keahi to the couch. He looked at the Charmed Ones. "Do you want me to heal her?"

Piper shook her head, no. "Not unless it's life threatening. I don't like the fact that six demons attacked us. I didn't even know she was a witch. Can you check with the Elders and see if they have any info for us?"

Leo nodded and orbed away. Piper turned to Paige and Phoebe. "Thanks guys. What do you think?"

Paige looked at the woman lying on the couch. "I don't know. Demons don't general try to attack us like that anymore. Is it possible that they were after her? Except, usually, demons only go after young, untrained witches. And from what you said, she is definitely trained."

Phoebe nodded. "You said that she reacted immediately and got one of the demons. She obviously knows about her power and is comfortable using it. What did she do?"

Piper looked at them. "She enveloped one in fire. She also was trying to trap them in a cage of flames. That's an unusual power. There are not many people that control fire that well. From what I can tell, she is well trained."

"Let's check the Book of Shadows to see if we can find any matches on what type of demon this is," Paige said.

Piper nodded. "I think that's a good idea, but someone needs to stay down here with her in case she wakes up."

They discussed it for a moment and Phoebe volunteered to stay with her.

(Gaia's Fortress)

Gaia looked down at her scrying bowl. "Kronos. I don't like this. Can you please take the other girls to San Francisco to be with Keahi?"

Kronos turned to her. "Is that not interfering? You and I are bound by the same rules, Gaia. We can not interfere with whatever goes on down there. This is their test to see who would be best suited to be the next Earth-Mother."

Gaia whipped around, the ground shaking around her. "I don't care! They are my daughters. I should not have to see them attacked by demons!" With her anger, the earth tremors increased until Kronos was thrown to the floor.

"Gaia! Enough!" he yelled from the floor.

His exclamation broke through Gaia's anger and she looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. I lost my temper. I should know better than that. The Earth can not afford for me to lose my temper." Kronos stood back up. "I understand that you can not interfere with the girls. I'll just have to watch from above."

Kronos walked over to Gaia and put his arm around her shoulders. "I understand that it's hard. It's hard for me to watch them down there. They are all very strong women. They'll be okay."

Gaia nodded and turned back to her scrying bowl to continue to watch Keahi.

(The Manor)

Keahi felt sounds creeping back into her world. She noticed the sound of voices talking somewhere near her. She also felt the softness of a couch underneath her.

What happened? The last thing I remember is the Cathract demons attacking. Oh my…Piper's a witch. Her eyebrows drew together as she tried to piece together what happened. Wait. Piper. Witch. P3. Piper's one of the Charmed Ones. Shit. How can I explain about my powers if I can't let her know that I am a daughter of Gaia?

Keahi felt that she had done enough thinking and decided to sit up. She groaned as she opened her eyes which caught the attention of four people having a discussion.

Leo turned back to the girls. "Listen. I can't tell you what I know yet. There are some powerful forces at work here. I suggest that we go talk to her." With that, he turned and walked towards Keahi. "How are you feeling?"

Keahi looked up at the blonde man who walked over to her. "Like I got run over by a truck. Is Piper okay?"

Leo nodded. "She's fine. Thank you for saving her life."

Keahi looked embarrassed. "It was just instinct."

Leo looked down at her. She looked uncomfortable. "I'm a White Lighter."

Keahi nodded. "I know. I can see it in your aura."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "Okay. The Elders said that it was okay for you to tell your secret to Piper, Phoebe and Paige. I just wanted to let you know that."

Keahi looked at him. "Really? Are things really that bad?"

Leo smiled. "I'll explain after you tell them who you are."

Keahi nodded as the women walked up. "I guess you guys want an explanation." Piper nodded. "Okay. I'm not exactly sure where to start."

Paige looked at her. "How about from when you found out you were a witch."

Keahi smiled. "I've always known that I was a witch. My sister's are as well. Um. I am a Daughter of Gaia."

Piper and Paige looked confused. Phoebe, however, looked like a light had gone on over her head. She glanced at the other two sisters who had blank expressions on their faces. "Gaia. Mother Earth. The immortal who was responsible for the creation of sky, the Titians and the Greek Gods."

Keahi nodded. "Yes."

Phoebe looked at her. "I wasn't aware that she had any daughters."

Keahi drew a breath. "Things have changed. After the downfall of the Titians, Gaia decided to become somewhat mortal. The Gaia that exists now is not a Goddess; she is simply a very long lived, very powerful witch. The average lifespan of Gaia is four to five thousand years. Sometime before her life ends, she makes the choice to have children. She will always have five girls. Sometimes they are quintuplets; however this was not the case with us."

Paige interrupted at this point. "So you have four sisters?"

Keahi smiled. "Yes. We each represent one of the elements. Kesia is the Earth elemental. Kansas is Wind. Kai is Water and Kim is Metal. I, obviously, am Fire."

Piper looked stunned at this point. "Wow. So why are you here?"

"Well," Keahi began. "There can only be one Earth-Mother, so the daughters are sent down to Earth to gain experience. Then one of the daughters is chosen to inherit the 'throne'. The rest of the daughters live normal mortal lives on Earth after that."

Piper nodded her understanding. "So all of Gaia's daughters are on Earth now. Maybe that's why the demons attacked. But how did they know you were here?"

"They were Cathract demons. They have the special ability of being able to tell when a daughter of Gaia is on Earth. I just don't know why he attacked me. Now. Kesia arrived here four years ago. Why not attack her?"

Leo cleared his throat. "I believe that I can help you out with that. Piper asked me to go to the Elders and see if I could get any information. That's where I was told who you were. Your mother came to visit the Elders before you arrived. She said that you were having uneasy feelings about coming to Earth."

Keahi shuddered at the memory. "Yeah, I was. It was like I knew that something bad was going to happen when I got here."

Leo nodded. "It was the beginning of a premonition. Unfortunately, since the wards on your mother's fortress are so strong, the full effect was not felt." Leo turned to Phoebe. "Phoebe, you might want to help her with understanding the premonitions. I believe that she had not had any experience with it."

Phoebe nodded. "I'll do my best, but they affect everyone differently."

"Anyway, the Elders told me that there has been a massing of demonic activity the last four years. They were not sure what was happening until your mother came to visit them."

Keahi looked confused. "Okay. What are you trying to tell me?"

Leo drew in a deep breath. "You and your sisters are going to be under attack. The Source hopes to gain control of the Earth by eliminating all of Gaia's daughters and then defeating her by using your powers. They had to wait until you were all here to begin their plan."

"What!" Keahi and the Charmed Ones yelled.

Piper was the first to begin to articulate her thoughts. "So you mean that the Source wants to gain the power of the Earth."

Keahi was the second to get her wits about her. "Is he insane? No demon can control the power of the Earth. It's impossible. It would kill him. The beauty of the Earth and Time is that they are impartial. They don't side with either good or evil."

Paige looked at Keahi. "Time? You act like time is a living thing."

Keahi laughed. "He is. You haven't heard the stories of Father Time?"

"I thought they were just stories."

"They're not. He's real. He goes by the name Kronos. He's the one that transported me here. I think he is kind of a sounding board for Mother and Mother does the same for him."

"Really. Well, now that I feel…"

Keahi smiled. "You don't have to feel that way, Paige. It's a different world." She turned to Leo. "If they are attacking us, then I believe that it would be the best thing to bring my sisters here."

Leo nodded. "I can orb you to them, although it would be best if Paige came along since there are so many of you."

Keahi nodded. "I understand, although I might be able to help prepare them for us. We are all linked telepathically. I need a pentagram and candles."

Quickly they moved to the attic and set up the magic barriers and protections. Keahi stood in the center of all the candles and closed her eyes.

:Kesia? Can you here me?:

:Keahi! Are you alright? I felt the demon attack.:

:I'm fine. I'm going to be orbing to you and the rest of our sisters with a White Lighter. I'll explain everything when we are all together. I'm going to contact everyone else and then we will be there. No more than an hour.:

:Okay. I'll be ready. Stay safe, sister-mine.:

Keahi repeated the process with her other sisters and then came out of her trance. "Sorry. I couldn't use the phone because they never would have believed that I was alright." She turned to Leo. "Everyone will be ready in an hour. We can leave then."

Leo shook his head. "That's fine with me."

Piper looked at Paige and Phoebe. "Well, come on. We only have an hour to make sure that everything is ready for them. Come on people! Move!"

Keahi laughed. "She reminds me a little of Kesia. All dictator like. Is it like because she is the oldest?"

Leo thought for a second. "Maybe, but she was like that a little bit before Prue died. Prue was the oldest."

"I really am sorry to hear that she died. The Light took a hit at that. I'm glad that Paige came into her powers."

Keahi and Leo continued to talk until it was time to leave to pick up the other sisters. Within an hour of the time they left, they were back with all of the sisters.

After the introductions were made, Keahi began to explain the circumstances. Once complete, the floor was open for discussion.

Piper began. "I don't understand something. Since Gaia is impartial, aren't you guys impartial, too?"

Kesia broke in. "No. While we have the powers from the Earth, we do not have the power of the Earth. We are free to choose our sides. Amazingly enough, no daughter of Gaia has ever chosen the Dark side."

Kai nodded. "Exactly. That's why the Source wants to eliminate us. If he eliminates us, then he has a basis to fight Mother. The question is…How do we defeat him?"

"I may be able to help with that."

All nine people turned to look in the direction of the voice.

Keahi smiled. "Kronos! What are you doing here?"

Kronos smiled. "I came down at the bequest of your mother. It is too dangerous for her to come down, so she wants me to bring all of you back to her. She wants to give you some information."

The Charmed Ones and Leo decided to have a sidebar at this time.

Piper looked at Leo. "Do we do this?"

Leo looked at her. "You're afraid of this being a trap."

Piper nodded. "It's understandable."

"I know. That really is Kronos, Father Time. I believe that it is safe."

Piper looked at Phoebe and Paige. "What do you think?"

Phoebe said, "It's worth it. To put an end to the Source, I would go to hell and back."

Paige nodded her agreement. "I'm in."

Piper looked at them and then turned to the remaining people. "Okay. We're willing to go."

Keahi smiled. "I knew that you would make that choice. Kronos?"

Kronos held out his hands. "Everyone link hands and I'll transport you there."

They linked hands and soon were standing in Gaia's Fortress.

AN: Okay guys! Here's the next chapter!!! I'm glad that everyone likes it so far. My muse (Lexi) has decided to take this a different direction than what I had originally planned. So I have no clue what's going to happen!!

eacstl- I'm glad that you like this so far! Thanks for the review. I was not going to bring the sisters to San Francisco so early, but it seemed right!

A Forgotten Fairy- Thanks!! I had originally planned that the sisters were going to be killed, but my muse has decided otherwise! I'm glad that you're still reading!!

Okay. Please, please, please review!!! It makes me write faster!!!

updated on 6/6/07 for grammatical errors.