Chapter Six: Whose Bright Idea Was That?
"So here's the plan, Wyatt, Chris and Billie are going to the underworld to track for them. Patty, Phoebe and Melinda you three are on spells, Eric and Evan you two are going to stay here and help them. Brianna and Junior you're with me, and Prue."
"Let me guess, stay here." Prue said as she folded her arms.
Piper just glared at her daughter, "No what I was going to say was start making potions with Sam, you two are the best with potions since Sarah is at work and Laura's otherwise occupied at the moment. So let's get to it people."
"What about me?" Piper turned on her heels and smiled at her baby sister. "Well I was thinking that you could stay here you know in case we need a healer, that and I need you to check with the Elders on something." Paige nodded.
"Uh mom can I talk to you for a minute?" Chris said as he pulled his mother towards the corner of the room.
"What's up peanut?" Chris rolled his eyes at the nickname.
"Well I was thinking what if this was a trap, I mean what if whoever has got them was planning this all along."
"Well sweetie it probably is, I mean it is any other time so I don't see why this time would be any different, but that doesn't mean we don't give up we just think smartly about how we approach the situation, which is why when you're down there I want you three to stick together, no separating for any reason you got it."
"Yeah don't worry so much mom, we'll find them."
"Sorry but worrying is what I do best, that and pacing." Chris shook his head as he walked over to his brother and aunt. Piper looked at both her boys who nodded then grabbed Billie's hands and orbed away.
"Well this definitely isn't Kansas." Penny Halliwell said as she stood and looked around the dingy dank room. She walked across the room where she saw demons standing outside the door. "Well that's comforting."
"What the village people?" Penny jumped at the sound of the voice. She spun around and came face to face with Grace. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Penny walked towards her cousin and gave her a big hug.
"What the hell are you doing here? Do they know where we are?"
"No sadly I was taken by one of those morons like you were. So where do you think we are?"
"Disneyland?"
"Cute, no but really, what part of the underworld, I mean by the symbols on the wall I would say lower level south side." Penny walked back to the door and looked at the symbols on the wall.
"Lower Level, but it's the west not south."
"How do you know that?"
"Kyle, he took me showed me a blueprint he created when we were tracking that Kroogan demon a couple weeks ago. Huh I think I could pull it up if only I could get some light in here."
"Maybe I can help with that." Grace raised her hand towards the torch on the wall. A blue light shot from her hand hit the torch causing the flame to rise and fall.
"Thanks cuz, now let's make sure that this is the right place." Penny closed her eyes and brought the map in her mind, she pictured it just as if it was still sitting in front of her. She heard Grace give a low whistle, Penny shot her eyes opened and smiled. "It worked, okay now let's see, this is where we are."
"Really I thought there would be a "YOU ARE HERE" with a red arrow pointing at the spot."
"Grace."
"Yeah?"
"Zip it." Grace shut her mouth and began fiddling with her hands as Penny studied the map. That's when she noticed three white dots appear and then vanished in the North side. "Hey Grace did you see that?'
"What?"
"I could have sworn I saw three white dots blink in and out."
"Hey maybe it's warlocks."
"No they're yellow."
"Huh?"
"We color coded the demons so that we knew what we were up against when we were down here, red obviously demons, yellow warlocks, blue dark lighters, green creatures, black grimlocks and white, well actually we never had any white's on the map."
"Maybe it's good beings, I mean it would explain why there are never any on here, you know because not too many good guys hang out in the underworld unless it was us trying to vanquish or rescue each other." Grace stopped talking when she heard voices coming from outside the door. "Uh Penny you might want to drop the map, I mean unless you want all of those red dots coming in here." Grace said as she pointed towards the door. Penny waved her hand over the map and watched as it disappeared.
"I think they're up?" Both of the girl's heads turned towards the door as they heard the door being unlocked.
"What now?" Penny asked as she started backing towards the wall. Grace followed her, but stood in front so that if the demons tried something she could throw her shield up.
"We'll see." The door opened and a tall dark haired man walked in. Grace and Penny's faces went from fear to disbelief. Penny walked forward and looked closely at the man. "Hello ladies."
"No" Penny said as she shook her head.
"Over there!" Wyatt heard the demon yell as they ran past his hiding spot. He watched as they took the decoy, smiling to himself he turned and saw his brother and aunt both with their arms crossed staring at him in disbelief. "What you wanted a distraction."
"Yeah, well I told you we should have shielded our orbing so they couldn't detect us in the first place." Chris said.
"Oh come on that was the first demon chase we've had in months. You can't tell me that you don't miss the fight already."
"Well I certainly don't, so can we get back to finding your sister and cousins please." Billie said as she turned around and started walking out of the cave they were hiding in. The boys looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
"After you." Wyatt said as he held his arm out towards his brother.
"No please go I insist." Chris said mimicking his brother.
"BOYS!" Billie yelled, the boys jumped a little and ran after her. "So where exactly are we, west or east?"
"Uh I think south actually."
"No were in north." Chris said as he examined the symbols on the wall.
"How do you know that?" Wyatt said.
"Well the demons that were chasing us were Krands which are the cousins of the Kroogan demon, who reside mainly in the west side of the lower levels."
"I swear sometimes it's freaky how well you know that book, and then again I'm not really surprised."
"Well it's good to stay informed, especially when you're constantly being hunted by demons."
"Okay Obi-Wan Kenobi. Where to then?"
"Why does everyone keep calling me that?"
"Don't know but I think you should give us an answer soon, because I think the cousins found us." Wyatt said as he pointed in front of them. The three of them started to run deeper into the caves as the demons chased them. Chris was the first one to realize that they had come to a dead end. "Shit!" he said as he braced his self for a fight. "Okay anyone got any suggestions on where to go to next?" Wyatt said as he sent three demons flying into the wall behind them.
Chris looked around the room and saw a crack in one of the walls. He examined it closer and realized that it was a hidden passageway. "Hey Wy, you think you can cause a little earthquake."
"You're kidding right, dude do you not see where we are?"
"Yes, but do you not see our way out." Chris said as he nodded to the door. Wyatt grinned and placed a hand on the wall next to him. "Sorry to cut this reunion short boys but we got other appointments to make." Wyatt said as the ground beneath them began to shake causing rocks to fall from the ceiling, squishing half of the group that was standing there. Others began to flee once they realized what was happening. "Well that was a little less dramatic than I was suspecting."
"Let's go." Chris said as he pushed the door open and crept inside the passageway. Once they were all inside the door slammed shut.
"Well that wasn't creepy." Wyatt said as he ran his hand over the cold stone.
"Uh guys you might want to see this." Chris said as he stared at the massive room. Wyatt turned around and gave a low whistle. "Now what?"
"Don't know, but we got to keep moving, because I'm pretty sure that they aren't going to be the only road blocks we run into." Billie said as she stepped forward, but stopped when the floor underneath began to move. Before any of them knew what was going on, arrows started to fly pass their heads. "Hit the deck!" Billie said as she fell to the ground. Chris and Wyatt dove to the floor just as arrows were flying straight towards them.
"Okay what the hell is going on?" Chris said as he deflected an arrow flying towards Billie.
"I don't know, it's looks like we may have landed in a cheesy Indiana Jones movie." Wyatt said.
"Amazing."
"What the arrows of doom flying at us."
"No that you know who Indiana Jones is."
"Seriously dude, I'm the cocky one, try to keep it straight will ya."
"Will you two shut and orb us out of here please." Billie yelled. Chris rolled his eyes and grabbed Billie's foot, "Come with me if you want to live." He said as he winked at Wyatt and orbed out.
"Nerd" Wyatt said rolling his eyes and orbing after them.
"How does it go Nadia?" The masked man said as he walked towards the young woman.
"Fine Mirax, how much longer is this going to take, I have places to be."
"Now, now you know my demands, never rush me, otherwise you can go somewhere else little girl."
"Fine, but I'm not the one that's rushing you, so enough with the threats and tell me how long it's going to take."
"Come back in an hour and the potion will be complete, now go before I send your worthless ass to the wastelands." Nadia rolled her eyes as she shimmered away.
"So what's the big emergency?" Prue Halliwell asked as she walked into the grand hall, "Whoa." She said as she ran into an ogre who was blocking her mother and cousins. "Uh excuse me Shrek." The ogre grunted as he stepped aside and let Prue pass by.
"Oh good you're here, Mel's found something, but we weren't quite sure what." Her mother said as she ushered Prue towards the cauldron. She peeked inside and saw an image of the underworld.
"What is it?"
"A viewing portal that allows the caster to see what they are looking for, but we don't know exactly where in the underworld this is."
"And you thought I would?"
"Well if anyone in this family has been to the underworld it's you, you practically lived down there in high school." Melinda said as she stared at the image.
"Nice, you wanna hang the noose too?"
"Girls enough!" Their mother said silencing them both, "Do you know the place or not?"
Prue sighed as she looked into the cauldron again, "It looks like the west side, third level by the markings."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah, Adam took me there when we were tracking down those Dark Lighters a couple of months ago, but why isn't showing anything else but the paintings?"
"I don't, when I casted the spell I must have not specified enough to where the girls would be at." Melinda said as she rubbed her temples.
"Mel you alright?"
"Yeah it's just all of this hostility in the room, you know being an empath sucks sometimes."
"Well at least you have something to complain about." Prue said as she patted her sister's shoulder. "Question though, what's with the magical folk?"
"Oh that's Bernie; he's here to help us track the girls in the underworld." Her cousin Patty said as she walked into the room with some leprechauns in tow.
"And the little people."
"A little luck wouldn't help, besides I thought they could be a big help."
"How? You do know that with good luck comes bad luck too."
"Yes I know, but it's worth the risk, besides I don't hear anyone else complaining." Prue rolled her eyes as she sat next to Melinda and looked into the cauldron. "So when do we leave?"
""WE" don't you're staying here where no harm can come to you, and your aunts and I are going if THEY EVER GET BACK HERE!" Piper yelled that last part towards the ceiling. A few seconds later the room filled with blue and white orbs.
"Oh jeez lady calm yourself, tracking down hems bane isn't easy you know." Paige Matthews said as she handed the bag to her big sister. Piper grinned as she walked over to the other table where Junior and Evan where mixing various potions. "Here this should help you guys with the scolding potion."
"Well not that all of this isn't fun but we should get going, you know if we ever want to find our kids." Paige said as she grabbed Piper's arm and dragged her towards Phoebe.
"Okay well good luck." Patty said as she nodded towards the leprechaun. He lifted his hands revealing a golden nugget. "Slainte is tainte" Golden light covered the women. "So how do you feel?" Patty asked.
"Well I hope it doesn't bite us in the ass like last time." Piper said.
"Yeah well at least this time we know what we're getting into." Phoebe said as she hugged her daughter then grabbed her sister's hands. They disappeared in a swirl of blue and white lights leaving the kids alone to wait for their return.