Disclaimer: If I owned anything other than Meredith, do you think I'd writing this?

Ch. 37:

Paige and Gideon strode through the front doors of the manor.

"I just don't understand why the horseman targeted him." Paige was saying. "I mean, and why did he pass up so many others along the way?"

"Granted, it could have been a lot worse, but it doesn't change my mind." Gideon told her.

"The police said he was a killer, Gideon." Paige pointed out.

"Doesn't make it right." Gideon replied.

"No, it doesn't make it right, but you shouldn't shut down the school because of it." Paige protested. "We have the horseman contained. Now we just need to find – "

"It's too late." Gideon interrupted. "The damage has already been done. When I started this school, I made a promise that the magic within would never harm a soul. Otherwise…"

They were distracted by the sound of a frog. Paige looked into the Conservatory and her eyes went wide. Gideon slowly turned to see all the students standing in a semi-circle arc, staring down at a toad on the ground.

"Piper, you okay?" Paige called.

"Hunky-dory." Piper replied from her cabinet.

Paige looked at Gideon.

"You." She told him. "Come with me."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the kitchen, leaving the students looking slightly afraid of her body-less sister.

"Anybody else wanna try me?" Piper asked.

All the students looked down at the toad before taking a step back, none of them saying a word.

"Leo!" Paige called as she led Gideon into the kitchen.

"What do you want him for?" the Elder demanded.

"Reinforcements." She replied.

There was a flash of orbs and Leo appeared.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"You have to talk him out of closing down the Magic School." Paige told him urgently.

"Someone let the horseman out." Gideon told him. "He killed a man."

"But why?" Leo asked.

"Why else?" Gideon replied. "To force my hand."

"If you let whoever's behind this win, all those kids are gonna lose." Paige told him. "Is that what you want?"

"Of course not." Gideon said. "But – "

"But what?" Paige interrupted. "Big deal. You have one bad apple. Just give us the time to flush him out, to save the next generations of magic."

"I know!" Gideon exclaimed. "But the rules – "

Leo opened his mouth to say something, but Paige rolled right over him.

"Screw the rules!" Paige told Gideon. "Listen, you are the one who talked me into doing this, you are the one who said I could do it, so don't give up on me now. Please. Just let us finish the job that we started. Tell him, Leo."

"I think you just did." Leo replied.

The toad in the Conservatory croaked one more time before there was a poof of white smoke and the toad turned back to Slick, who was crouched on the floor.

"Next time," Piper said, clearing her throat as he stood up, "I give you warts."

Slick glared at Piper…and then froze.

"Hey?" Piper called. "Who did that?"

She looked around at the kids, but everyone appeared frozen. She shifted her eyes and spotted someone moving.

"Where did you come from?" she demanded.

A hand came up and grabbed Piper by the hair.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Hey! Ow! Wait!"

The hand picked her up and began carrying her by her hair.

"Paige!"

Leo ran out of the kitchen when he heard Piper yell and Paige and Gideon followed him. When they reached the Conservatory, they found Piper gone and the kids still frozen. Gideon quickly ran to check the door while Leo checked the kids and Paige stared at where her sister's head had been.

"Piper?" she said. "Oh my god, Piper!"

"The door's still closed." Gideon said as he rejoined them.

"The kids are frozen." Leo said.

"Piper must have done that." Gideon said.

"Without hands?" Paige pointed out. "I don't think so."

"Someone from the outside?" Leo suggested.

"It's impossible." Paige said. "We got here too fast. It had to be one of them."

"The students?" Gideon asked, surprised. "No. They don't possess that kind of power. Besides, they're frozen."

"Then one of them's faking it." Paige replied.

Meredith took a moment to get her baring as she shifted into another memory. This time, she found herself back in the manor, and her younger self was sitting on the couch with her arm around an even younger girl.

"Oh, no." she murmured. "I know what this day is. Please, I don't want to see this again. Please."

'Watch.' The voice ordered.

Meredith closed her eyes for a second and swallowed before opening her eyes again. Her younger self was 14, and she was dressed in a simple black dress, with black boots and a black headband to hold her hair back. The other girl was 10, and she was dressed similarly, her brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail.

"What is taking so long?" the young girl demanded. "We're going to be late."

"This is hard for everyone, Melinda." Meredith told her. "The boys just need some time. We'll get there, I promise. Just give them a little latitude, Mel."

Right at that moment, there was a huge bang from upstairs.

"Screw you, Wyatt!"

"Not today." Melinda moaned. "Why do they have to do this today?"

A few seconds later, Chris appeared, his lip bleeding, and both girls got to their feet. A few seconds later, Wyatt strode after him, mad as hell.

"Don't walk away from me, you little jerk!" he shouted, grabbing his younger brother's arm.

"Both of you, stop it!" Melinda yelled.

Chris whipped around and punched Wyatt in the face.

"Stop it!" Melinda yelled. "Stop it!"

"Stay out of this, Melinda!" Wyatt ordered.

Meredith strode over and grabbed Wyatt's hand, ripping it from Chris's arm. Wyatt retaliated by throwing her into the wall before punching Chris across the face. Melinda ran to Meredith as blood trickled down her forehead and Chris punched Wyatt again.

"Stop it!" Melinda screamed.

Her power lashed out, throwing both her brothers to the ground. Wyatt and Chris started to get up again, but Meredith reached out with her power and held them with the wind she called.

"Don't move." She ordered.

Both boys fought for a moment before going still. They all sat there, breathing hard.

"Have you respect?" Melinda demanded. "Mom is dead! And you two are beating the crap out of each other when we should be on the way to her funeral! You two couldn't even pretend to like each other for her sake?"

She helped Meredith to her feet and both girls looked down at the boys.

"You two should be ashamed of each other." Meredith told them, leaning against Melinda. "Piper would be. What the hell are you two fighting about anyway?"

"It doesn't matter." Chris muttered. "I'm done. After the funeral, I'm asking to move in with Aunt Paige."

"Good riddance." Wyatt hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Melinda gasped. "You can't leave! What if the demon that killed mom comes back? We need to be together!"

"I'll always protect you, Mel." Chris told her. "But I can't stay here. Not with him."

He glared at Wyatt, who glared right back.

"This isn't the time." Meredith interjected. "The funeral is in a half an hour, and we were supposed to be there an hour ago. We'll talk about this later."

"Come on." Melinda said. "You two clean yourselves up while I get Mer to Aunt Paige. What is wrong with you two? You could've really hurt her!"

Neither boy would look at her.

The scene blurred and they were in a graveyard. Chris and Wyatt stood on either side of the grave, looking down at the freshly covered ground. A second later, Meredith walked up, standing at the end of the grave.

"Uncle Leo wants us back at the manor." She said dully, her eyes red. "Are you two ready to tell me what the hell happened at home?"

"Ask the 'chose one'." Chris said sarcastically.

"You little bastard." Wyatt hissed.

"Stop it." Meredith ordered. "You are standing on your mother's grave, and you can't even be civil?"

"She shouldn't be dead." Chris hissed. "What the hell is the purpose of the twice-blest if he can't even save her?"

"It wasn't her destiny." Wyatt told him.

"Bullshit." Chris shot back. "This whole family is all about screwing destiny. You could've saved her, you just didn't want to!"

"Back to the manor, both of you." Meredith said, stepping in before they could start a full blown fight on top of Piper's grave. "You should be ashamed."

They only hesitated for a second before orbing away, leaving Meredith alone in front of the grave. She knelt down in the dirt and her older self moved to see her face. It was full of rage.

'Chris was angry at Wyatt for not saving her.' The voice said.

It had settled into a shape next Meredith, but she couldn't take her eyes from her younger self.

'Wyatt used this as proof that there was no good or evil, only power.' The voice continued. 'What did you feel?'

"Anger." Meredith whispered.

'At what?' the voice asked.

"Everything." She replied. "After we lost Piper, it was only a short amount of time until we were all either dead, or fighting for our lives."

'But what was the focus of your anger?' the voice asked. 'What was it that kept you from summoning me?'

"Magic." Meredith replied. "All of it, good and evil. I'm angry at magic. What the hell use is it if it couldn't save her? All of us. All we could do was watch her die. We were the most powerful magical beings in the world and we couldn't save her."

She looked over and saw a large black panther sitting next to her.

"I can see you now." She said, dully.

The panther nodded it's head.

'You have taken your anger into yourself and understood it.' She heard in her head, knowing it came from the large cat next to her. 'Now I can help you free yourself from it. If you'll let me.'

Meredith nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"Ow." Phoebe muttered as she fell out of her trance an onto the floor.

She checked her wounded shoulder and sighed.

"Okay." She said. "You know what? Enough already."

"Every journey requires a sacrifice." Koko told her as she sat up.

She held out another cup and Phoebe glared.

"My whole life is about sacrifice." She told her. "If that's all my future holds, then I don't want to see it."

"You're fighting it." Koko replied. "Don't."

She got to her feet and walked around the fire, pausing to gently wipe a tear from Meredith's cheek, before making her way over to Phoebe.

"Don't use your powers to get through." She told her. "They're not working very well, anyway. Just let it come to you. Want it more than anything."

She held the cup out to Phoebe. She reluctantly took it and drank it.

Phoebe made her way slowly down the stairs, the doorway to the Conservatory still blocked by a swirling white veil.

To her right, a demon appeared and powered up a fireball. He threw it at her and she stood there, not even moving to defend herself, and it passed through her harmlessly. The demon jumped at her and also passed through her, vanishing on the other side.

Phoebe kept her eyes on the swirling white veil and walked toward it.

A second demon ran at her and tried to grab her. He, too, passed harmlessly though her and disappeared.

She continued on and the third demon dropped down from the ceiling on top of her, disappearing without harming her.

With the path clear, Phoebe walked towards the white veil and entered, the world fading to white.

On the other side, Phoebe walked into the Conservatory, feeling herself become real and a part of the vision. She looked around and saw a young version of Meredith, about 8 years old, sitting on the floor. Next to her were two boys, one sitting next to her, and the other standing next to him, playing with a game.

Piper came in the room, carrying a stuffed bear, which Meredith held out her arms for, and picking up other toys.

"Wyatt," Piper told the boy with the game as she handed the bear to Meredith, "let your little brother play with the game, too, please."

"Little brother?" Phoebe repeated, confused.

Paige joined them, dressed in black teaching robes.

"Hey, Piper, can you take Phoebe to the doctor, instead?" she asked. "I have so many papers to grade, thank you."

She walked out, leaving a very confused Phoebe in her wake.

"The doctor?" she asked.

"Yeah." Piper agreed. "We need to make sure our little niece is doing okay."

She walked away and Phoebe looked down at herself, lifting her shirt to see her very pregnant belly.

"Aunt Phoebe…?"

She looked up to see the younger boy standing in front of her, holding Meredith's hand.

"We need your help." He continued.

Phoebe stared at him, her mouth hanging open.

"Phoebe, can you hear me?"

Chris kneeled in front of Phoebe.

"We need your help." He told her.

Phoebe slowly came out of her vision, staring at Chris in wonder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Uh…" Phoebe murmured. "I don't know."

She turned and looked at Koko.

"Am I…?" she asked.

"You tell me." Koko replied. "What'd you see?"

"Uh…I saw children…" Phoebe said. "And my child…and a life without demons. Is that even possible?"

"With your powers, you know by now what is truth and what is not." Koko told her. "Embrace those powers again. Embrace your path, and it will lead you there."

"You don't know how much you've given me." Phoebe told her.

"You should go." Koko said. "So you can use your power to help us save our school."

"What about Meredith?" Chris asked, looking at the other woman.

"She is still finding her way." Koko replied. "It will not be long now. I will send her to you."

Chris nodded.

The doorway opened and Chris and Phoebe walked out into the stairway.

"Phoebe, I'm so glad to see you." Paige greeted them. "I was worried."

"What's the matter?" Chris asked. "Didn't you trust me?"

"Separate subject." Leo told him.

Chris rolled his eyes.

"How's Piper?" Phoebe asked.

"You're not gonna like it." Paige told her.

"She's been kidnapped." Leo said.

"What?" Chris and Phoebe both exclaimed.

"That's it." Chris said, turning around. "I don't care what Meredith is discovering about herself, I'm dragging her ass back here to help."

"No." Phoebe told him, grabbing his arm. "She needs to do this. You have to let her finish."

"Besides, that's just the bad news." Paige said. "The good news is that she's here…" she nodded around the room. "Somewhere."

"Well, if one of the students took her, I can't sense which one it is." Gideon said.

"Maybe I can." Phoebe said, stepping forward and nodding to Gideon. "Thanks to your wolf."

She strode away from the others and into the group of students.

"I can sense…pain." She said, tapping into her Empath abilities. "And anger, a lot of anger. Wants revenge."

She turned and looked at the others.

"Do any of them hate the high school?" she asked.

"Honey, they're teenagers." Paige replied. "They all hate the school. But he's a conjuror."

She pointed at Herman and Phoebe turned to focus on him.

"No." She said. "It's not him. But who's this guy?"

She moved over to Zach.

"A telepath." Paige replied.

"Yeah." Phoebe said, focusing on him. "He's telepathing a whole lot of rage right now."

"Well," Zach said, giving up the charade. "Look who just solved the case."

"Zachary?" Gideon exclaimed.

"Surprise." The boy replied.

He vanished.

"What happened?" Chris demanded. "Where did he go?"

"That wasn't Zachary." Leo said. "That was an astral projection."

"He doesn't have that power." Gideon protested.

"No, but a teacher here does." Paige pointed out. "And Herman's a conjuror, and Piper can freeze."

"He's using his telepathy to tap into other people's powers." Phoebe summed up.

"Where's the real Zachary?" Leo asked.

"He's at the school." Paige replied. "With Piper."

"I need to get Meredith out of there." Chris insisted.

"Koko will keep her safe." Phoebe assured him. "We need to get Piper back from him."

"But what does he want with her?" Chris asked.

Paige and Phoebe turned a corner and entered the Great Hall.

"You don't think he'll kill her, do you?" Paige asked.

"You know what?" Phoebe replied. "I have no idea."

Behind them, the Horseman appeared and began galloping towards them.

"He's just a kid." Paige said. "I just hope he's not luring us here."

The horse neighed and reared up as Paige slowly turned to find the Horse on its hind legs behind her. The girls both ducked as the Horseman swung, but it was too late.

The Horseman vanished, leaving Paige and Phoebe's heads on the floor. In front of them, Piper's head sat on a book on top a table.

"Mm-hmm." She murmured, smirking at them.

Zach walked up behind Piper and looked at them accusingly.

"You made me do this, you know?" he told them. "I didn't have a choice."

He walked away and Piper turned her focus back to her sisters' heads.

"So…" She asked, "now what are you guys gonna do?"

A/N: Let me know what you guys think! Come on! You know you want to! Just press the button!

Abbey