"In here," answered Grams from the living room. She had sat down with her needlepoint, which Prue remembered Grams often had in hand when they came home. She smiled to herself. ‘So that's why she never seemed to make any real progress on that thing in fifteen years. It was a cover!’ she thought.
The three girls arrived in the living room and their school things were instantly littered about the room. Little Prue gave the women no more than a glance and a nod, before sitting down and flipping on the T.V. Little Phoebe bounced up to Grams, giving her a bear hug around the waist, and then looked up at the strange women. She smiled broadly and practically shouted, "Hi again, ladies!"
The adult sisters laughed at her gusto. "Hiii, ladybug!" the eldest Phoebe replied, smiling broadly.
Little Piper, meanwhile, was standing shyly next to a couch, fiddling with the too-long sleeves of her western style girl's blouse. "Hello," she said quietly, and gave them a small smile before sitting on the couch.
Penny grabbed the remote and turned off the television. "Not until your homework is done."
"Aw, Grams…" grumbled little Prue, but she grabbed her backpack and headed upstairs.
"Same for you, Piper," chided Penny when the middle sister didn't move.
Little Piper tilted her head. "But I already did it during recess."
"Overachiever!" whispered Paige, leaning over to her time's Piper, teasing. Piper swatted back at her.
"Okay, well, you can go play upstairs with Phoebe then," said Grams, trying to get the children out of the room.
"Can I stay down here with you guys?" asked the littlest Piper. Both adult Pipers smiled mildly in remembrance. She had always liked to sit and listen to the grown-ups talk – and these strange ladies were especially interesting.
"This really isn't a good time…" began Grams.
"Sure, honey," interrupted the eldest Piper. Penny shot her a look, but Piper ignored it. "Could you just get me a glass of water – I don't know where you keep everything."
"Sure!" little Piper replied, elated at this small victory. ‘Whoever that lady is, she must be important if she can out rule Grams!’ thought the 10-year old.
As the girl headed into the kitchen to retrieve the water, the eldest Piper waved a hand at Grams to stop the tirade before it began. "I know, I know, I know! But she's just going to eavesdrop if we kick her out now. I know me." The Piper from 1999 nodded in agreement. "This way we know what she's heard. Besides – we already know what we need to do. There's nothing to talk about. So, I'll get the potion brewing."
"I'll take the books to the basement," said the younger Phoebe, "We can look through them down there where we know the little ones won't want to go."
"You were the one who was scared of the Woogeyman, Pheebs," teased Prue.
The older Phoebe rolled her eyes, smiling, but the younger opened her mouth to get into a heated, defensive argument. Before she could start this, Grams raised a single finger, stopping her in her tracks. "Hush! You're too old for that!"
Phoebe pouted before turning back to the two books, pulling them out from under a quilt. She pointedly handed the thinner book to her Piper before hefting the thicker book into her arms. "Shall we?"
The three sisters still in their twenties began for the stairs as little Piper returned with the glass of water, handing it to the woman in her thirties. "Thank you, honey," Piper said to her childhood self.
Grams put a hand on the girl's shoulder as she got up to follow the women downstairs. "I'm going to help your cousins here with some… research. In the basement." Penny shot a look to the oldest trio of sisters. "Unless you ladies need my help in here after all?"
"Nooo, Penny, we're fine. Really," said Piper with a smirk, enjoying Grams' inability to scold her with kids in the room.
Grams looked down at the 10-year-old Piper. "Don't go getting too underfoot," she said, patting the girl's shoulder.
"Yes, Grams! I won't," the little girl said earnestly. Grams nodded and headed down to the basement to join the sisters from 1999.
Paige had already started the water boiling again when Piper turned back to the counter to get the ingredients in proper order. Seeing everything potion-wise handled already, Phoebe bent down, bringing herself down eye to eye with her little big sister, Piper. She smiled broadly and tilted her head to one side as she felt the curiosity emanating from the girl. "You wanna help?" she asked.
"Pheo – uh, Fiona?" the adult Piper glared at Phoebe, warning in her eyes. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"
"Why not?" asked Phoebe, turning back to little Piper. "Besides, I hear you like to help in the kitchen, huh?" The girl nodded, smiling. Phoebe grinned back. "Okay! How about you get us five little bowls?" Little Piper sprang off cheerfully to the cabinets, half climbing on the counter to reach a high shelf.
She brought the bowls back to Phoebe, feeling more confident by being made to feel a little special that these women would want her help. "Whatcha' makin?" she asked as she handed the Fiona lady the bowls. "Those are some funny lookin' spices…" she remarked as she watched the oldest and most familiar feeling woman portion various ingredients into the bowls.
Phoebe leaned over again, her hands on her knees. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked with a conspiratorial tone to her voice. Little Piper nodded, smiling. "We're making a potion!"
"PHEE!" exclaimed Piper, alarmed, but biting her tongue before she finished her sister’s name.
But the little Piper just narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Phoebe. "Yeah, right. How old do you think I am?"
"Yeah, Fi-o-na," said the adult Piper pointedly, and cocking her head to one side with a satisfied smirk. "That's just silly."
"So what is it, really?" the littlest Piper asked the lady at the stove, who was obviously going to treat her more like a grown-up.
The adult Piper sighed in thought for a moment. "Well, ah… it's kind of like a science experiment."
"For a pyrotechnics show. At her nightclub!" finished Paige. "Do you know what pyrotechnics are?"
The girl thought about the word for a moment. "Fire-something?"
Paige nodded. "Like you see at rock shows, or in movies when stuff explodes. Here - watch." Paige poured the first ingredient into the bubbling water, and then added a pinch of Horehound, producing a tiny poof of green smoke.
"Cool," said little Piper, wide-eyed.
The adult Piper smiled at this before turning back to the recipe and picking up a bowl full of what looked like freeze-dried brown lumps. "I'm going to need something to grind this Agrimony with. There should be a pestle somewhere around here…" she thought aloud. Piper went directly to the cabinet above the spice rack and pulled out a grinding pestle and mortar set.
"Hey! I thought you said you didn't know where we keep stuff?" said the little Piper.
"Oh, um," stumbled adult Piper, "but that's where everyone keeps their pestles. Like how silverware goes in a drawer."
The 10-year-old didn't look too convinced, but they were blessedly interrupted by the sound of little feet galloping down the stairs and into the kitchen, followed quickly by a steadier pair of feet. "Phoe-bee! Get back here!" yelled the 12-year-old Prue.
"Nuh-uh!" little Phoebe yelled back, "You're mad! I'm gonna fix it!" She ran into the kitchen, coming to a tumbling halt and hiding behind her adult self.
"It's ok," said Paige smiling. ‘And I thought jumping through Piper and Leo’s memories were better than home movies… ‘ she thought to herself, amused by the sibling squabbles.
Little Phoebe pouted, tugging on the pants of adult Phoebe. "I just wanna make it better!" Seeing that her sister wasn't going to do anything around the grown-ups Phoebe came out from behind the lady and looked up, seeking an adult referee. "I'm gonna get Prue another glass a juice!"
Prue squinted at little Phoebe in a way that made the adult Phoebe flinch as she half expected the 7-year-old to go flying across the room. "That's not the point you little monster! It was from last night, anyway! You got it all over my homework 'cause you wouldn't stop playing with that stupid yo-yo like I told you to!" growled Prue.
"I didn't mean to!"
"You never listen!"
"I don't hafta', you're not the boss!"
"I'm your big sister so I am when Grams isn't here!" The girls began to squabble on top of each other's protestations.
"Okay, ENOUGH!" shouted the adult Piper over the din, "Look. It was obviously an accident," she reasoned more calmly when the girls quieted, unconsciously shifting into her 'mom' voice. "And accidents will happen." She turned to little Phoebe. "But Prue is partly right. You should listen to your big sister more often," she said gently to the 7-year-old.
The little girl cast her eyes down to the floor, scuffing the tile with her shoe a couple times. "I'm sorry…" she said genuinely in a pitiable little voice.
Piper turned her attention back to pre-teen Prue, raising both her eyebrows in a no-nonsense fashion. "And you need to be a little more understanding of your baby sister, 'mmkay?"
Prue crossed her arms defiantly. "Why should I listen to you? I don't even know you."
"Because I'm an adult. That's why," shot back Piper in her best mom voice.
"Whatever," grumbled Prue quietly.
"You know that she's right. I can tell," interjected the adult Phoebe mysteriously. "And I know deep down you love your lil' sis. It wouldn't hurt to show it sometimes, y'know.
At this, Prue just stared at her feet. "I guess." Remembering Prue at that age, both Piper and Phoebe knew that was the best they were going to get out of her and let the subject drop.
Piper picked up the mortar and pestle before turning back to the children. "Now, why don't you all go back upstairs like your Grams said," she turned to the 10-year-old version of herself with a smile, "and maybe you could help keep an eye on your baby sister so Prue can finish her homework?" suggested Piper.
"Okay…" the girl agreed begrudgingly.
The children shuffled out of the room, leaving the adults alone. Paige watched the retreating figures of the girls, shaking her head gently. "No wonder Grams is such a taskmaster," she remarked.
"Phhbt! And I'm sure you weren't a handful to raise?" Piper shot back playfully at Paige.
"Yeah – but at least there was only one of me!" Paige retorted with a smirk.
"Can you imagine if there had been four of us growing up?" mused Phoebe. "Talk about noisy… Grams would have blown a fuse."
"Oh, I dunno," shrugged Piper as she closed the lids on a couple jars, "somehow, I think Grams could've handled anything. I mean, she did keep us and our magical secret for all those years."
"Speaking of which!" Paige grabbed a handful of dried Toadflax and set about grinding it into a fine dust, "We've got witchy work to do."
Meanwhile, downstairs, Penny and the sisters from 1999 were slowly making their way through the yellowed pages of each Book of Shadows. Grams had taken the Book from 2007, reasoning her memory was going to be wiped anyhow, so anything she read wouldn't have any consequences. Prue was pretty sure that that was just Grams' excuse for getting a peek at the future.
"Woogyman or not? This place is just plain creepy," said Phoebe, punctuating it with mock shivers. "Look at some of these spells that they – we've – added over the years," marveled Phoebe as she peered over Penny's shoulder at the future Book of Shadows. "Vanquishing spells for all kinds of powerful evils – the Source, the Triad… not to mention these guides. 'To Summon a Leprachaun', '5 Signs of a Soul Swap' – 'Conjuring and Returning a God'?"
"Pheebs, you shouldn't be looking at that! You said so yourself," scolded Piper.
"No. Future me did. Besides, what harm can a little peek do?" answered Phoebe with a mischievous smirk.
"Well, judging by that book, I'd guess the other you probably knows better than you," replied Prue.
Piper had joined Phoebe to look at the book. "Future worth preserving or not, I still don't like the idea of spending the next seven years fighting demons. Or going through this kind of stuff," Piper pointed to the spell Grams had just turned to. "I mean, what's happened that we needed to know how to slow our souls from moving on in case we've died? Not to mention losing Prue, somehow, for who knows how long?" Piper's steam was reaching a head now and she began to pace around the basement. "I guess I should just give up on the normal life thing now – it's obviously not gonna happen if my son from twenty-whatever-years in the future is traveling in time, too!" Piper ended in a huff, arms dropping to her sides.
"Rant done now?" asked Phoebe with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah…" grumbled Piper. "A girl just needs to blow off a little neurotic steam sometimes.'
"Hey, at least you have a husband. And two beautiful little boys," Prue pointed out.
"You don't know that you don't," reasoned Piper. "Who knows what you've been up to being all un-witchy."
Prue sighed. "Yeah… about that. I don't know… I mean, I know our future selves wouldn't lie to us about something that important, but they haven't actually said anything about how or why I leave," she sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about it."
"Well, of course you do - it's not like it's all good," said Phoebe, "but you know our nephews in the future, so that's something! Who knows? Maybe the future us's will be reunited with future you soon…" she said, trying to cheer up her big sister.
"I think I've found something," interrupted Grams.
Phoebe raised her eyebrows. "Wow! Already?" she asked.
"It's amazing how much you can get done when you don't sit around gabbing with your sisters with things you can't and shouldn't change." Sarcasm positively dripped off of Penny's answer, reminding Prue of what little she'd seen of her nephew, Chris.
Prue raised an eyebrow, biting back her own remark. "Point taken. So, what's the deal?" she asked.
Grams nodded. "Well, it's not specific to our darklighter, but it looks like I must have written this," she said, pointing out the handwriting. "Presumably after all this is done."
"So… wait," said Prue, two fingers rubbing her right temple. "You're saying you got the answer from future you, who got the answer from… you? I'm confused."
Grams smiled, knowingly. "Best not to try and reason it out and just go with it." She turned back to the entry in the book. "This says that a demon can lend his magical strength to a warlock or darklighter – I should note the word darklighter is underlined three times - through an item infused with his magical essence. This item can be a totem – "
" – Or a pendant," finished Prue. "Sounds like our guy's M.O."
Grams continued. "Anyhow, yes. This doesn't list any specific demons, but this Kaalaya certainly seems to know how to go about it."
Piper shrugged. "This still doesn't help us figure out how to vanquish him."
Grams shook her head. "On the contrary – I'll explain, but let's get the other girls down here and fill them in as well.
When the older women were standing around their Book of Shadows, reading the entry.
Paige shook her head. "If we could just get a hold of this totem and destroy it…" she mused.
"… then he should lose that power boost," finished the older Piper.
"Exactly what I was thinking," said Grams, turning to Piper. "And we should be able to scry for him, the darklighter, using the pendant intended for Leo. It may not be his, but it is infused with the same magic as his own. Have you girls finished the potion?"
"Just need a little essence of Leo," answered Paige.
"Eeew," said Prue.
"Dirty! Dirty, dirty, mind!" replied the older Piper with a smirk and shake of her head. "Leo!" called the older Piper, who was met with the familiar swirl of blue and white orbs
"Made any progress?" he asked immediately, "The Elders don't know anything."
"What a shock," answered the older Piper sarcastically.
"We have a plan, actually," answered Penny Leo, all business. "And we need some blood from you."
"Blood? Uh, can't you use Paige's? Isn't she half whitelighter?" asked Leo, drawing back squeamishly.
"Exactly. Half," replied Paige. "Besides, you're self-healing for crying out loud – don't be such a baby!" A mock predatory grin appeared on her face as she pulled out a kitchen knife and stalked her prey, who winced as he extended a hand over the cauldron.
As a golden glow closed up the palm of Leo's hand, the eldest Piper inhaled deeply, steeling herself. "Now let's go get this bastard."