A/N: The statement "Our blood flows green and our hearts beat gold, and we no longer cower in the shadows" is paraphrased from Lucky Charmed. It's what Seamus says to convince the other leprechauns to fight the demon attacking them (and then Seamus is killed by the demon).
Chapter Sixteen: Cross Road Blues
"So that's it, then? You're leaving me?"
Talia was a young white-lighter. Her death had only been a decade or so ago, and it had taken her a while to adjust to the fact that she was dead. It had taken her even longer to adjust to her powers, but her need to help people was just as strong after her death as it had been during her life, and it had aided her in the transition from normal human to guardian angel.
She had accepted it all – the powers, the rules, and the responsibilities – without question, and when the order came from the Elders to leave three of the witches that she was currently guiding, she had obeyed.
Now one of those witches was demanding answers.
Sara had been a plain, shy, and easily over-looked teenager who had inherited Wiccan powers upon her father's death two years previously. She had been bewildered and scared, and had spent several months denying that she even had these powers. But with Talia's help, she had slowly accepted her new role in the world, and had even made the transition from a meek and quiet wallflower to a spunky and determined fighter-of-evil.
And now Talia was leaving her.
And Talia was leaving simply because the Elders – beings Sara had never met and knew very little about – had ordered it.
"Sara, I don't have a choice," Talia said, begging for her charge to understand.
Sara snorted. "Right," she snapped irritably. She paused, averting her eyes, before asking in a quieter tone, "What did I do wrong?"
There was something in her voice, something painfully reminiscent of the girl she had once been, the girl who merely accepted whatever life threw at her and assumed it was somehow her fault.
Talia shrugged helplessly. "I don't… I don't know," she admitted. She knew that Talia had joined in with other members of the magical community in a recent fight against several demonic clans, and this had upset the Elders. But she couldn't understand how or why this would cause the Elders to do something so drastic as strip Sara of her white-lighter.
Sara nodded mutely and said nothing.
"I'm sure it won't be for long," Talia continued, desperate to offer some sort of comfort, even if it was likely false hope. "Just… just remember what I taught you, and everything will be fine."
Sara chewed her lip, then said with a hint of accusation in her voice, "One of the things you taught me was that a witch only loses her white-lighter if she turns evil. If she is passed redemption. If the Elders are giving up on her."
"They're not giving up on you!" Talia said fiercely.
Sara gave her a look of utter disbelief. Then she laughed dully. "Sure, whatever," she answered, and it was abundantly clear from her voice that she did not believe what Talia had said.
Talia hesitated, then said, "Sara, I'm sorry…"
"Yeah," Sara interrupted, her voice tight and choked with emotion. "Me, too." She turned away. "I guess I'll see you around. Or not."
She started to walk away, and Talia called out almost frantically, "Sara, wait." The witch paused, glancing over her shoulder, and Talia struggled for something to say, something that would convey what she felt.
But how could she properly express her own sorrow, guilt, confusion, and fear?
Finally, she said, "I can't speak for the Elders. I don't know why they are doing this. But whatever it is… I promise you that I am not giving up on you. And I won't, not ever. No matter what they say."
"They took Leo!"
Piper looked up in surprise as Phoebe came bursting into the attic, her eyes wild with panic. It took a moment for the empath's words to register, and when they did, the color drained from Piper's face.
"The Elders?" she asked in a hushed whisper.
Phoebe nodded. "I think they summoned him," she explained. "He certainly didn't orb out of his own free will."
Piper's fearful expression hardened into a mask of fury and she turned to Paige. "Can you orb us Up There?" she asked, her words flat and cold.
Paige glanced between her two sisters. "Maybe…" she said hesitantly, a bit unsure, "but they might be blocking me." She tilted her head up, glancing towards the ceiling. After a pause, she added, "I can't even sense where Leo is."
Piper's lips flattened into a thin line. "Can we summon Leo here?" she asked, moving towards the Book with a determined look on her features.
"The Elders are probably blocking that, too," Phoebe said wearily. She was clearly tired, but there was also anger and fearing in her voice as she added, "For all we know, they are watching us even as we speak, preparing to thwart whatever rescue attempt we come up with."
Piper accepted this, feeling slightly paranoid but also knowing that there was a very good chance that Phoebe was right. The Elders must have known that, once they summoned Leo, the Charmed Ones would come after them. The Elders would do everything in their power to prevent that – and the Elders had a lot of power at their disposal.
Phoebe suddenly beckoned for Piper and Paige to come closer, and the three of them formed a small huddle in the middle of the attic. "If we can't bring Leo to us, why don't we send ourselves to him?" Phoebe suggested in a barely audible whisper. Her eyes darted around quickly, as though looking for eavesdroppers.
"Don't you think they'll be protected against that?" Piper countered in her own whisper. She wasn't sure the whispering was doing any good - was it possible the Elders were able to hear anything they said, even when spoken in low tones?
Although her distrust of the Elders had certainly grown after her confrontation with Gideon and the subsequent reactions by the other Elders to his death, she could not deny that she had always been a little wary of them watching her. It had only been a few years ago that she had been convinced they were constantly spying on her, mostly because they had, on more than one occasion, called Leo away during sex.
"Maybe," Phoebe murmured. "But if they are watching us now, they've already heard us suggest orbing Up There and summoning Leo to us. They will be prepared for those two. This is the only one that they haven't heard us discuss, so it is our best bet."
Piper nodded slowly, a bit reluctantly. She didn't like the idea of confronting the Elders on their own turf. She wanted the home court advantage for this... but more than that, she just wanted Leo back. If she had to go to the Elders to do it, then that was what she would do.
"It will need to be something strong enough to get through the Elders' enchantments," Paige whispered. "A power of three spell?"
"Yes," Piper agreed quietly. "And if we can't find something in the Book, then we'll need to write our own." She paused for a moment, thinking through the rough outline of a plan, then said, "Paige, can you orb Wyatt over to Daryl and Shelia's house to see if they can watch him?"
Paige nodded and stepped out of the huddle.
It was then that Phoebe asked at a normal volume, "What about Chris?"
"He's in the Underworld, isn't he?" Paige answered, pausing to look back at Phoebe with a frown on her face. Then her eyes widened in realization and she said anxiously, "Unless the Elders have summoned him, too."
"They can't," Piper said. "As long as he is in the Underworld, he's protected from them. They can't reach him there." She felt a flicker of satisfaction in her chest at that thought. Her son was safe, at least for now. It wasn't much, not with Leo currently gone – and possibly about to be permanently removed from her life – but she would take what she could get.
It was Phoebe who ruined the moment, however, by remarking quietly, "But as soon as he leaves the Underworld, he'll be in danger."
"Then we need to warn him," Paige said.
"How?" Phoebe countered. "If he's in the Underworld, he can't hear us. And if we summon him here, he'll no longer be in the Underworld, and that will put him in danger."
Piper was torn. On the one hand, Leo needed their help, and he needed it now. They didn't have time to waste by orbing to the Underworld and beginning the search for Chris. But on the other hand, if they didn't find Chris and warn him, he would be in danger, and she couldn't stand by and do nothing while the Elders possibly targeted her son.
Finally, she said, "Alright, Paige get Wyatt over to Shelia, and Phoebe start working on our plan. I'll be back in a little bit."
"Where are you going?" Paige demanded.
"We need to warn Chris," she said simply. "So I'll use a spell to send me to him. That way he doesn't have to leave the Underworld."
Paige and Phoebe both acquiesced to Piper's instructions with a nod, and Piper left the attic. As she walked down the stairs, she couldn't help the feeling of fear that was rapidly growing in her stomach. This was going to get ugly.
None of them had addressed the problem of what they would do after. Rescuing Leo wasn't enough – they had to find a way to protect him. The idea of a spell to block his soul from the Elders had the most promise, but it would take time to perfect, and they didn't have time. The Elders wouldn't let them just leave with Leo; they'd fight back.
The only safe place at the moment seemed to be the Underworld, but Piper knew they couldn't send Leo to hide there for very long. The Underworld posed its own dangers, and it wouldn't do to save Leo from the Elders just to lose him to a dark-lighter.
Besides, all three sisters would be fugitives from the Elders as well, and the demons and warlocks in the Underworld could kill them.
This plan was getting more and more dangerous with every passing moment.
"We know why you are doing this," Finnegan said, clutching his shillelagh in one hand and glaring at the Elder in front of him. "Don't think you can hide it."
Giselle frowned at the leprechaun. He had apparently been elected as a spokesperson for the group gathered around them, though there was also another leprechaun - Liam, she thought his name might have been - standing next to Finnegan. And this one, too, seemed inclined to argue vocally with her.
"I don't understand the accusation," she said mildly, doing her best to hide the surprise she felt at his furious words. The leprechauns had always treated her – as well as all the other Elders – with the utmost respect. To find the respect turned to anger was a little unnerving.
But she supposed she should have expected it. The Charmed Ones could be quite convincing when they wanted to be, and they had no doubt already turned the leprechauns into their allies.
"Don't you, lassie?" Liam asked, and Giselle blinked. She'd never been called lassie before.
"It is because you're at odds with the Charmed Ones now, ain't it?" Finnegan shook his head and said, "They've done more good for us than you have."
"That is not true," Giselle argued softly. "None of it is true. We are not at odds with them…"
"We've heard the rumors."
"Aye," Finnegan agreed, his eyes blazing. "But they helped us. Paige helped us, made us remember what was worth fighting for, why we had our luck in the first place."
"Aye!" came the shouts from several of the leprechauns gathered.
Giselle sighed. "We are not cutting off ties with you," she said firmly. "We just want to…"
"To interfere, to convince us to let you run our lives," Liam said. "But we aren't goin' to do that." He smiled thinly, and said, "Our blood flows green and our hearts beat gold, and we no longer cower in the shadows."
Another round of cheers met that statement, and Giselle thought idly that the speech must have had connotations that she didn't understand.
The Elder bit her tongue. Although this constant interrupting was getting on her nerves, it wouldn't do any good to raise her voice against these creatures. Leprechauns were not naturally community-oriented, but when they stood together they were a force to be reckoned with. They had their pride, and even the appearance of condescension on the part of the Elders would not be taken well.
"We don't want any of that," Giselle said finally. "But we have a list of beings were are concerned about, and we are merely requesting that you not grace them with your luck. They don't need your help."
"Maybe they do," Liam argued. "Maybe we owe them."
"Aye," Finnegan agreed. He paused, then said pointedly, "We have not forgotten everythin' the Charmed Ones have done for us."
Giselle winced at the accusation. "We have not, either," she defended herself. "But even the Charmed Ones can be… corrupted."
Finnegan smiled coldly. "So can Elders."
Escaping having to deal with Leo had given Chris some peace, but as Piper suddenly appeared in front of him in a burst of light, he thought bitterly that it seemed he was doomed to trade one awkward and unpleasant confrontation for another. And at the moment, Piper was the one he wanted to see the least.
"Oh, thank God," Piper said, stepping forward and throwing her arms around his neck.
He stood there, stiff and uncomfortable, as she hugged him. She didn't seem to notice that he wasn't hugging her back, but when he finally decided to attempt to disentangle himself from her, she refused to completely let go. She stepped back and dropped one arm to her side, while letting the other slide from his shoulder to his forearm.
She stood there, holding his arm and looking at him with such relief.
"Uh… Piper?"
Her expression hardened. "The Elders summoned Leo."
"What?" Chris had expected the Elders to act quickly, but not this quickly. In the future, it had always taken days for the Elders to decided on any course of action, and he had been operating under the assumption that this time would be the same.
But apparently the Elders didn't need days to make up their minds about Leo. They had already reached a consensus – and Chris doubted it was anything good.
"We were worried they might have summoned you, too," Piper said. "But as long as you are in the Underworld, they can't reach you." She paused, then looked down at his chest with a frown of disapproval and asked, "What happened to your clothes?"
He was covered in mud and now, as a result of the hug, Piper had mud sticking to her clothing as well.
Chris sighed. "Demon attack," he said simply, waving away her concern. "I'm fine."
He hadn't really planned on fighting any demons. At first all he'd wanted was to escape Leo's earnest questions and apologies, and once he'd pushed aside his feelings about that conversation, the only thing that had mattered was finding Lola. But it was the Underworld and there were demons everywhere and the attacks had apparently been unavoidable.
Piper was eyeing his clothes with distaste. She let go of his arm and touched his muddy clothes with the tips of her fingers. "You'll have to stay down here for a little while," she said reluctantly, "just until we can get things sorted out with the Elders. But… I'll bring you different clothes."
Chris blinked. "The Elders are coming after Leo, you're about to start a confrontation with them that could turn ugly very quickly, and you're worried about my clothes?" he demanded incredulously.
"It won't turn ugly," Piper said. "We don't want a fight with them, we just want Leo back." She paused, then added, "Besides, I'll have the force-field to protect me."
"What force-field?" Chris asked in bewilderment.
"The one that I have now that I'm pregnant with you," Piper said, and she beamed as she rested her hands on her stomach. There was something about her expression – a softness, a glow…
It made Chris' stomach clench painfully, and he quickly looked away.
Clearing his throat, he said, "You never had a force-field when you were pregnant with… with me…" He didn't like even thinking about the fact that there was a miniature version of himself inside of her. It was awkward and uncomfortable and forced him to think about exactly what Piper and Leo must have done to make that version of him.
"But I had one with Wyatt," Piper argued, brow furrowed in confusion. "I was pretty much invincible."
Chris leaned against the cold stone wall of the corridor they were currently standing in and said, "You spent your second and third trimester at Magic School so that you'd be safe from demon attacks. At least, that's what you…" He stopped abruptly and averted his gaze. "That's what my mother always told me."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Piper flinch at his blatant refusal to call her his mother. He felt a twinge of guilt but ignored it.
"Huh," Piper said thoughtfully. "I guess maybe it was Wyatt who had the force-field, not me."
That brought up all sorts of things Chris didn't want to think about. This bit of information shouldn't have really changed anything - it wasn't like he didn't already know just how powerful Wyatt was. But still...
He couldn't hold back the dark laugh that escaped his lips, and he found himself saying with a bitterness he couldn't hide,"He had powers from the womb? From the womb?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Like I didn't have enough of an inferiority complex already." Piper looked as though she was about to say something sympathetic or reassuring, and so Chris quickly hurried on, "I haven't found Lola yet." He gestured to his dirty clothing and elaborated, "I got distracted."
Piper accepted this in silence, though he could tell by the wary look in her eyes that she was struggling not to remark on how much she didn't like the fact that he had been fighting with demons.
"I need to get back to Paige and Phoebe now," she said at last. "We'll come find you as soon as we rescue Leo. Don't leave the Underworld."
Chris heaved a sigh. "They're not going to recycle me, Piper," he said. "They just want to send me back to the future, and that's going to happen soon enough anyway…"
"No!" Piper interrupted. Her eyes flashed. She took a deep breath and calmed down, then said, "I know you'll need to return to the future, and I won't stop you from doing that. But I don't trust the Elders. We're not going to do this on their terms."
Chris wanted to argue, but she did have at least one good point – the Elders couldn't be trusted. At least not right now.
So instead, he said, "Be careful."
Piper patted her stomach with one hand and said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
"Don't you dare presume to have any say in what we do," Freyja snarled, her words dripping with venom. She was the Queen of the Valkyries and no one – not even an Elder – had the right to orb into her island and make demands on her sisters.
Miguel had been an Elder for a few centuries, and before that, he had been the head of a powerful clan of witches. He was not used to having his opinion so thoroughly disregarded. He knew that the Valkyries were an independent community, and not beholden to the Elders in any way. He knew that they were all on the same side, and that the Valkyries would play an important role in the final battle with Evil. He knew that Freyja valued her sisters' independence more than almost anything else, and that his very presence was an affront to her.
But he also knew that the Valkyries had once kidnapped an Elder, and that this action was likely done at the behest of the Charmed One's white-lighter. And he knew that, while the Valkyries generally protected the secrecy of their island with a single-minded ferocity, Freya had not only allowed her sisterhood to be infiltrated by the Charmed Ones, but she had also allowed the eldest Charmed One to then leave the sisterhood with the knowledge of the island's location intact. And he knew that, although the Valkyries did not consider the happenings outside of the island to be any of their concern beyond their usual business of collecting the souls of fallen warriors, a few of them had joined with the Charmed Ones in their recent vanquish of several demonic clans.
If the Charmed Ones could convince Freyja to break so many of her own rules, what else could they convince the Valkyries to do?
Miguel said in a tone of forced calm, "We have no desire to interfere in what you do on your own island, provided it does not put any of our community in harm's way."
"Ah, and you think we've harmed you?" Mist asked. Freyja sent her a silencing look, and Mist bit her lip to refrain from saying anything else. But she still felt as though this confrontation was her fault. Freyja had not wanted to join the vanquish, but Mist had convinced her to because it had been Christopher and Piper asking for help.
On the other side of Freyja, Kara was glowering at the Elder. She, too, had been willing to join this fight because of the kinship she still felt for Piper. It was hard to earn Kara's trust, but once given, it was rarely taken back.
"I think," Miguel said, switching his attention from Freyja to Mist, "that you have acted rashly and without thinking through the consequences."
"Don't patronize us," Freyja snapped.
Miguel inclined his head. "My apologies," he said in a clipped tone. There was nothing apologetic in his expression.
Freyja curled her hand into a fist. "Leave," she ordered tersely. "And do not come back."
All around her, the gathered Valkyries tensed, as though preparing for the possibility of violence.
Leo had never been in this room before. He hadn't even known it existed. But all it took was one quick glance around for him to know this was not a place he wanted to be, and not a place that would be easy to get out of.
He stood in the center of a circular room, surrounded on all sides by a raised platform. There were no doors or windows – clearly the only way in was through magical means. There were white marbles seats in front of him, and he was separated from those seats by a golden bar that wrapped around the entirety of the room.
Each of the seats was taken by an Elder.
He recognized many of them. The seat in the center was filled by an Elder Leo had only met once. His name was Darius, and he was the oldest of the Elders. His dark skin was filled with deep lines and his age settled heavily over him, pressing down on his shoulders.
To his right sat Michael, who looked practically youthful by comparison. To his left sat Zola, who was regarding Leo with sympathy and apprehension. Behind the three Elders sat seven others; Sigmund, a female Elder named Diana, Aravis, and four that Leo did not know. Sigmund was gazing at him with open hostility, but Leo could see the fear in the eyes of the others.
He scanned the room briefly, looking for any means of escape. There was nothing to distract the Elders, nothing to allow him a quick get away. And the air was practically pulsing with magic, magic designed to trap him here, to prevent him from leaving.
"Leo Wyatt," Michael spoke, his voice slow and measured and ringing with authority, "you have been called before the Council of Elders to discuss the accusation of treason."
Leo wasn't sure what shocked him more: that this was a Council of Elders or that he had been accused of treason.
The Council was rarely called. It was a judicial body, created for the single purpose of declaring judgment against Elders suspected of turning to Evil. If Leo had brought his concerns about Gideon to the other Elders, this is possibly where Gideon would have ended up – though given that particular Elder's apparent cunning and ruthlessness, it would not have happened before he had succeeded in turning Wyatt evil.
The last time the Council had been called was nearly two centuries ago, although Leo didn't know any of what had happened then. Very few Elders had ever been involved in such proceedings, and none ever spoke about the details of the experience.
Then there was the fact that he had been accused of betraying the Elders. How could they actually believe that his actions qualified as treason? He had been reckless, yes, and stubborn. And he'd not listened to their demands. But he'd refused to follow their rules before, and the most they had ever done was temporarily clip his wings.
This was going to be different.
And he suspected that the consequences could end up being so much more than he could bear.
Leo was drawn out of his horrified thoughts by Michael's voice as the other Elder continued, "You are hereby charged with the following: that you knowingly and willfully conspired with Lucifer and the demonic sorceress Lola; that you encouraged your charges to conspire with Lucifer, and through them turned much of the magical community against us; that you deliberately and without permission killed another Elder."
"Gideon?" Leo sputtered. "You're bringing Gideon into this?" His vision shimmered red with pent-up rage as he struggled to hold back his fury and incredulity. How could they use Gideon's death against him? "He tried to murder my son! I was protecting my family." He paused, then added spitefully, "And I did not conspire with anyone to betray you."
"And yet you refuse to tell us why Lucifer released you," Michael said calmly, unmoved by Leo's anger.
"I can't," Leo retorted, feeling his frustration bubbling just below the surface. It was all he could do to keep from losing control, but he knew that if he was to have any chance of getting out of the situation in one piece, he could not afford to lose his temper.
Sigmund snorted. "Can't?" he challenged, eyes darkening with dislike and suspicion. "Or won't?"
"Can't," Leo snarled. "I don't have a choice."
"There is always a choice," Sigmund shot back. "Always. But, as usual, you seem to believe that the rules do not apply to you."
Leo bit his lip to keep back the angry words that wanted to spill forth. Sigmund had been against him from the very beginning, and he was finding the other Elder's suspicions hard to tolerate. He had been friends with Sigmund once, before Gideon's betrayal, but he could see that Sigmund was unwilling to forgive him for Gideon's death.
Why couldn't he understand that it was Gideon who had betrayed them? Why couldn't the others see that it was Gideon who had caused this?
"Sigmund, enough," Michael said firmly. Sigmund was seething, but he acquiesced to Michael's request and lapsed into silence.
Leo studied the Elders, assessing them. Zola had always supported Leo, even if he'd done it quietly and hesitantly. Leo was fairly certain he could convince Zola to support him now, too. But he was less sure about the others. Aravis had never liked Leo, but she was at least fair and would hear him out even if she was predisposed to turn against him. Diana and Michael were both unknowns, but if the rumors about Darius were true, the ancient Elder would willingly do whatever he believed was necessary to protect the magical community, and judging by the hardness of his expression, he seemed to think that Leo was a threat.
Leo could not guess what the unknown Elders would think of him, but Sigmund was downright antagonistic.
Had he already lost?
"Leo Wyatt," Michael continued, "how do you respond to these charges?"
"Not guilty," Leo replied. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond – did they want an elaborate defense? All he knew was that he had to stress just how wrong they were about all of this.
"We will start with the oldest of the charges, then," Michael said. "What do you say in your defense to the killing of Gideon?"
"He tried to murder my son!" Leo hissed once again. How many times would he have to say that before they listened? How many times would he have to repeat himself before they understood that protecting Wyatt had been the most important thing in the world to him?
How many times would he have to defend himself before they realized that Gideon did not deserve their protection?
"And how did you know this would come to pass?" Sigmund asked coolly.
"Chris said…"
"Ah, so Christopher knew who had targeted your son?" Sigmund interrupted, eyebrow raised. "He came back from the future with that knowledge?"
"No, Lucifer told him that…"
"You admit then, that you did work with Lucifer?"
Leo clenched his teeth. "Lucifer can't lie," he said, curling his hands into fists. He stared Sigmund straight in the eye and asked, "Are you telling me you don't believe that Gideon was trying to kill Wyatt?"
Sigmund flinched, and Leo was slightly surprised by that reaction. It took him a moment to process, and then his jaw dropped in disbelief as a possibility occurred to him.
"Did you know that Gideon was targeting my son?" he asked.
"Whether or not Gideon was attempting to harm your son does not change the fact that you made a deal with Lucifer. You know this is forbidden," Diana said softly, speaking before Sigmund had a chance to reply.
Leo glared at her. "Chris sold his soul to save his brother and the entire world. I only sold my soul to rescue him from that fate." He paused, then added, "He is my son, too."
His eyes darted back to Sigmund. The other Elder had not answered Leo's accusation.
"And so Chris matters more than your obligation to your fellow Elders and the rest of the world?" Diana asked mildly.
"Yes!"
"And you would do anything to protect him," Aravis added, leaning forward. Her eyes were unusually bright as she focused on Leo. "Anything at all."
Leo blinked, sensing the trap. "I didn't betray the Elders," he said stubbornly.
But Aravis' question lingered in the air, and Leo knew he hadn't given a good enough answer. He didn't know what answer he could give, didn't know how to respond. Would he betray the Elders to save Chris? He would ignore their orders and openly defy him; that was not in question. But to actually betray them, to side with Evil over them…
Despite his hatred of Gideon's actions and his current disgust for the Elders' high-handed maneuvering, they still represented Good.
But Chris was his son.
"You killed another Elder to save your son," one of the Elders Leo did not recognize said. "It seems, then, that you were willing to betray us…"
"Gideon's death was not a betrayal!" Leo cried out in frustration. "He wasn't one of us anymore!"
"That is not for you to decide," Sigmund countered furiously, jumping to his feet. His face flushed with anger as he continued fiercely, "Gideon was your mentor and our friend. He had served as an Elder since long before your mortal self was born! The good he had done for the world, the lives he had saved…"
"Does not condone murdering a child! You can't justify his actions based on the person he used to be," Leo ground out, shaking his head. The blood was pounding in his ears as his body shook with barely controlled rage. How dare they act like Gideon's actions were pardonable?
There was no doubt in his mind now - Sigmund had known about Gideon's plans. But why hadn't he done anything? Why hadn't he told anyone?
"So you kill an Elder then, and show no remorse," another Elder Leo did not know asked mildly. There was no accusation in his tone, just curiosity.
"Remorse?" Leo scoffed. "For protecting my family? How could I show remorse for something I don't regret?"
"You acted alone…"
"If I had brought the matter to the Elders, you would have wanted to debate it and then have some sort of trial for Gideon," Leo snapped.
"And you don't like caution? You don't like due process?" Aravis demanded, eyebrows raised.
"You would have wasted time and Gideon would have had the opportunity to go after Wyatt!" Leo explained, his anger once again surging in his chest. Why did they keep wasting time protecting Gideon? He shook his head, looked away. "I couldn't take that chance."
"So you held yourself above our rules and killed him," Michael said gravely. "Surely you can understand why those actions are worrisome."
"No, I don't understand it, actually," Leo snarled bitterly. "I gave up everything for you. Piper, my children… I left behind an entire life I had on Earth so that I could become an Elder and…"
"And now it would seem that you are back in the eldest Charmed One's arms," Sigmund snapped. "Now it would seem that you have your family back." He turned towards Darius. "He shows no remorse and he refuses to tell us anything about Lucifer. What other conclusion should we draw but that he has turned on us?"
"Turned on you?" Leo spat. "And tell me, Sigmund - did you know of Gideon's plans?"
"That is irrelevant," Sigmund answered, his voice wavering slightly.
"Irrelevant..." Leo started, his rage boiling over to the physical manifestation of electricity crackling at his fingertips. He paused, looking down in surprise, and the other Elders did the same.
"Then tell us why Lucifer released your soul," Diana said in her gentle tone, but Leo could see the anxiety in her eyes. She seemed to think that this confrontation would soon turn violent, and was desperate to stop that. "If you did not betray us, surely you can tell us what happened?"
"If I tell you about the deal with Lucifer, it will undo itself," Leo snapped. He pressed his fingers against his palm, willing the electricity to disappear. But even though he succeeded at that, he could still feel his power rushing through his hands, waiting for an opportunity to explode.
"That is… convenient," Sigmund drawled, his words laced with disbelief.
"It's the truth!" Leo spat. "If I tell you, Lucifer will take Chris' soul, and I will not allow that to happen!"
Another of the Elders Leo did not recognize leaned forward and said, "Leo Wyatt, it seems you do not understand the severity of the allegations we have made against you."
Leo laughed darkly. "You are asking me to sacrifice Chris to save myself." For all their claim that they viewed all the witches of the world as their children, the Elders did not truly understand what it meant to be a parent. Leo lifted his chin defiantly. "I will not do it."
"Then we have no choice but to recycle you," Darius said, speaking for the first time since the meeting had started.
"You can't do that," Leo protested weakly. Except that they could do that – they had the necessary power.
"We can and we will," Michael said. "This is your last chance, Leo."
But Leo shook his head mutely.
Darius sighed. "So be it."
"Wait!" Leo interrupted desperately. "At least let me say goodbye to Piper and my sons." If he could just get out of here, he could hide in the Underworld until Piper, Phoebe, and Paige came up with a plan to protect him.
"I'm sorry," Michael said, "but they have already been a dangerous influence on you. We cannot allow…"
"A dangerous influence?" Leo asked incredulously, eyes narrowing. "They are the best things in my life."
Sigmund curled his lip. "You did not so defiantly flout our rules until you met them," he sneered. "They have corrupted you." He paused, regarding Leo thoughtfully, then said, "But don't worry, they won't miss you. They won't even remember who you are."
Leo gaped. "You can't take their memories of me," he argued, thinking of when the Cleaners had erased Wyatt. Piper had felt their son's absence, and all three sisters had quickly realized that parts of their previous day were inexplicably missing. "They'll notice that something is wrong and cast a spell to…"
"They won't cast a spell if they don't remember magic," Michael interrupted. He turned and nodded to Darius, and the oldest Elder rose slowly to his feet. "We are in agreement, then," Michael continued. "Leo is to be recycled."
"No!"
The word burst from Leo's lips as the rage that had been simmering below the surface exploded from him. His fury at the very notion that the Elders would take away Piper's memory of magic, completely alter her identify as though she was merely a puppet whose strings they could pull however they pleased, mixed together with his very real fear of losing his family. The electricity jumped from his hands and hit the gold barrier, causing sparks of energy to fill the air and rain down upon them.
Leo's vision narrowed into pinpricks and all he could see was Darius, standing in front of him with his hands raised, prepared to take Leo's soul and recycle it. He would not let Darius do this to him. He would not let the Elders hurt Piper.
He didn't know where the attack came from, but several bolts of electricity fired at him all at once. He retaliated quickly, sending out his own electricity towards the ten Elders before him. The air hummed with the energy, and then grew hot and humid. It was heavy, pressing down on him, and everything was fading…
Pain exploded in his head, and just before Leo's vision turned completely black, he thought he heard the sound of someone laughing.
The white mist of Up There swirled around Talia, and while the ethereal beauty of the fog usually calmed her, it did nothing to ease the guilt she currently felt. She could still see Sara's face staring at her, eyes begging for answers the white-lighter did not have.
"Talia? Is everything alright?"
The white-lighter started at the voice and turned towards the two white-lighters approaching her. She knew them well - they had become white-lighters around the same time she did, and had gone through the awkward and sometimes painful evolution together. They were her friends, her colleagues… her family. They were people she could trust with anything, including her doubts.
"The Elders ordered me to leave Sara Thompson," she said quietly, glancing between them. "Sara didn't take it well."
"Why would they do that?"
"I don't know, Daniel," she admitted. "I don't…" She trailed off, then said diffidently, "They don't trust her. They think she is… dangerous." She glanced from Daniel to the other white-lighter – Emily – and continued, "But it's Sara. I know her. She would never…" She trailed off again, then heaved a sigh. "Whatever it is they think she's done, I just can't imagine that she actually did it…"
"I've heard that you are not the only one who lost a charge today," Emily murmured. "There are rumors of others." She shook her head, puzzled by everything that had happened. "And I thought the Elders usually advocated against giving up on a charge. I mean… shouldn't you have tried to guide her back to our side first?"
"But she's still on our side," Talia protested.
"She must not be," Daniel argued. "If the Elders think she no longer deserves a white-lighter, then she had to have turned."
And that was the crux of the problem. What Daniel said was true; the Elders would not have turned against Sara unless they were sure that she had turned against them. And Talia trusted the Elders implicitly, and she believed in what they did and what they stood for.
And yet…
"What if…" she started, and then stopped, unable to believe that she was really about to say this. "What if the Elders are wrong?"