"I'm sorry…..WHAT?" Piper screeched, her voice echoing through the large deserted corridor causing both sleeping toddlers to fuss, and both and Leo and Chris to hiss at her.
"Unless you want to be the one to explain to Andie where her mother is, I suggest you keep it down" Leo hissed.
Before any of the three baffled and slightly pissed off sisters could retort, the sounds of hurried footsteps running in their direction made them turn around, and in time to see two figures running in their direction, both wearing teacher's robes.
"Oh my God, Leo" one of them-the seemingly older one-exclaimed in an English accent.
"Gideon" Leo greeted, still holding Andie close to his chest, and rubbing her back to make sure the commotion doesn't wake her.
"The Charmed ones and their prodigal children" the other one exclaimed, clearly in awe.
"Gideon?" Paige repeated in confusion.
"Yes, Paige. I am the headmaster of this school, and this is Sigmund…." he introduced, seemingly unfazed by the rise of three pairs of eyebrows.
"I'm sorry" Piper interrupted, "how did you know her name?" she asked sweetly, though it was clearly an act.
"I am an Elder Piper, I know all of you, I've watched over you when you were younger, and your Grams was quite an exceptional woman. And besides, the entire magical community know who the Charmed Ones are" he explained calmly, before furrowing his eyebrows at the sight of Chris.
"But I am afraid I do not know who this young man is" he pointed out, and the sisters turned back towards Chris in time to see him swaying a bit. Phoebe immediately rushed to his aid, and took a still-sleeping Wyatt from him, gasping softly when she saw that now his entire body was almost completely see through.
"Or why he seems to be fading away" the man who Gideon introduced as Sigmund, added.
"This is bad" Paige pointed out.
"Sigmund, take the sleeping children to the nursery and tell Mrs. Hannigan to keep an eye on them" Gideon instructed.
"What? No, they have to stay with us" Piper objected.
"Don't worry Piper, the school is protected from evil, they can't find it, and therefore can't enter it" he soothed.
"I don't even know what this school is, let alone how safe it can be" she squeaked.
"Piper, the spell led you guys here for a reason" Leo interjected, "Gideon is right, it's safe here for you and them" he continued, as Sigmund took Wyatt from Phoebe.
"Take them to the nursery, and meet us at the library, I have a feeling we'll need it" Gideon suggested, and Leo nodded before he followed Sigmund with the sleeping Andie still in his arms, with Piper's suspicious glare still on them.
"I see you assumed the role of the distrustful one Piper" Gideon piped, and she whipped around to glare at him instead.
"Assumed?" she repeated through gritted teeth, one eyebrow arching at him, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
"It was always Prue who was the most suspicious, and didn't trust easily. You were the peacekeeper, and Phoebe was always the free-spirited one" he elaborated, "but you Paige, you and Prue were always two sides to one coin, you've got the same sharp instincts, and the stubbornness to go along with it" he added, and Chris snorted.
Gideon looked skeptically at him, almost glaring at him, and was surprised when Chris didn't back down. His confusion deepened when he saw Paige stand protectively in front of Chris.
"Care to answer my previous question regarding this young man?" he alluded, and Piper scoffed.
"Our questions first" she stated, "what the hell is this place?" she snapped.
"Hell isn't quite the word I would use. Like Leo already stated, this is Magic School, a place where the young generations of witches can learn the history of their craft, the basics, and how to control their powers" he explained, "I begged your Grams countless times to let you girls study here, but she refused" he continued.
"And any specific reason why you let us fumble around for a year with our powers without letting us know you exist?" Piper seethed.
"I can't interfere with how things should go Piper, you were meant to find your way on your own, and you did perfectly fine" he tried to calm her, but it only served to piss her, and the other two off.
"Perfectly fine?!" she repeated, unimpressed with his choice of words, "if we had had the proper guidance we would've avoided many mistakes. That little girl in my husband's arms wouldn't have grown up without her father, Prue wouldn't have been kidnapped and tortured for two years, and the Source would've been vanquished a VERY long time ago" she listed.
"You of all people know that things happen for a reason, you may not understand all the pieces yet, but trust me, it is all part of the Grand Design" he soothed.
"The Grand Design!" she scoffed.
"I really hate to interrupt this debate" Chris interjected, "you can pick it up after we find m…Prue, and preferably when I am not fading away" he appealed.
"Yes, why is he fading away?" Gideon baited.
"Because his mother happens to be stuck in a different dimension" Piper deadpanned, before stalking past him and heading in the opposite direction Leo and Sigmund had gone.
"Piper I'm afraid I will need more words than that" he observed.
"Chris is Prue' son from the future, he came to warn us about some great evil that will destroy the world" Phoebe started explaining, skipping past the part about Wyatt being the future Source, as they had decided that no one should know, "and with Prue stuck in a different dimension, and today being his conception day, he is fading away" she summed up.
"Who is the father?" Gideon wondered.
"That is not the issue, one problem at a time. We need to find a way to open a portal into the dimension Prue is in, so we can get her back and save her and our nephew" Piper ordered.
"What makes you think she is in a different dimension?" he asked.
"Chris" was Piper's answer.
"A demon attacked us in the attic about an hour ago, I easily vanquished him, but when I turned around, the only thing I found was a broken potion bottle. I tried summoning her, but it didn't work" he started.
"Even when Leo tried to sense for her, he found her still in the house" Phoebe continued.
"Did you consult with the other Elders?" Gideon asked.
"Yes, they said she was in a different dimension, but they have no idea how to open a portal into it, and neither do we" Paige replied.
"Oh no" Chris exclaimed, and they looked at him in time to see him completely fading away.
"Oh no, where the hell did he go?" Piper demanded frantically, but before Gideon could respond, Chris appeared again.
"What the hell?" Paige gasped.
"I saw Mom, she's with Andy and she's close to freaking out" he informed them.
"Well at least we know she's okay" Paige offered, and Piper rocked her head in approval.
"It appears because your mere existence is compromised, you are able to travel into her dimension" Gideon pointed out, and Piper glared at him.
"We already figured that part, how do we get her back so we can uncompromise his existence?" she shrieked, but Gideon didn't get a chance to answer, since Chris faded away completely, but didn't come back.
"Chris" Leo exclaimed, and Piper's eyes slowly rose from where they were staring at the spot Chris had been standing in mere seconds ago, and met her husband's eyes.
"Did we just loose him?" Paige squeaked.
"No, not yet. We have till midnight tonight to get Prue back and get him back as well" Leo soothed, but Piper didn't seem convinced.
"Leo, aren't you forgetting something?!" she yelled.
"No I am not, but I am sure that we can figure that out as well" he told her pointedly.
"The library is this way" Gideon gestured with his hand in the desired direction.
Here is the next installment for you all. I know it has been a while, but hopefully now I will have more time to write this story.
Let me know what you think of it.
Thank you too all who is still sticking with this story, and to those who followed and favorited recently, you inspire me to write.