AN: This is my first Charmed story. It is a Chris Revelation fic and it is a WIP. It is a story I have been wanting to write for a long time. All mistakes are mine. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
"Secrets, secrets, are no fun. Secrets, secrets, hurt someone."
The childhood rhyme taunted Chris. He could hear it singing through his subconscious, over and over like a broken record. The looks on the sisters' faces - especially his mother's - when they repeatedly asked him for the truth and he'd had to tell them "future consequences" … Well, the phrase was even starting to get on his nerves.
He just hadn't thought it would be this hard to keep the secret of his parentage, his roots.
Chris had been prepared to follow every lead that would aid him in finding the evil that had turned Wyatt. Chris had figured out how to map the different evils known at that time, and had done the research. He planned out how to get the book from Wyatt and had prepared to say goodbye to Bianca, even knowing that it might be the last time he'd ever see the love of his life. He had done all this while living in a war zone, evading detection, ignoring the raw hunger in his belly, and pretending his own older brother hadn't single-handedly destroyed the world.
Chris had even tried to prepare himself for the grim possibility that, if all else failed, he would have to eliminate Wyatt in the past; because when it came down to it, what was one brother weighed against the entire world, both magical and non-magical?
What he was not prepared for was looking into Piper's face, as he struggled to separate her from his mother in his mind, and hear her asking, "Who are you, Chris? … Why are you here?" He tried to hear, "I'll always love you, baby," when she screamed, "Get out or I'll blow you up!" But it was hard. Her "I love you's" existed only in his memory and her real voice was so very loud.
So here he was, after being kicked out of the manor again, and it was cold, he was hungry, and he didn't know where else to go. Kinda like being back in his future - only the war was in his heart instead of spilling out onto the streets.
He could feel his own exhaustion like it was a living, breathing entity. It seemed that, with every breath he took, the weight of the responsibility sitting on his chest made it harder to draw in the next one. Sometimes he didn't want to be Chris Halliwell, second son of a Charmed One and an Elder, younger brother to the Twice Blessed, and leader of the resistance against said Twice Blessed.
But when Wyatt took power and the world started to fall, Chris found himself rising out of the rubble; though he was ever the reluctant leader struggling to hide his own insecurity and become what the world needed him to be. It hadn't mattered to anyone that Chris had always downplayed his own power; that Wyatt himself had always viewed him as his weaker little brother. All the war-torn, wilting survivors had wanted was for Chris to pull his Charmed heritage out and kick some ass. To save the world, or what was left of it.
Don't worry, guys. It's not too much responsibility for a homeless, orphaned 16-year-old, really.
Which was why, at 19 years of age, already a hardened veteran in his world, he now found himself in the past; a past in which he wasn't an all-powerful, all-knowing commander with organized armed forces that respected him. He wasn't a kid with a living, loving family either. Nope, he was the annoying, bitchy whitelighter who couldn't seem to convince the sisters to take him seriously.
So while his future waxed and waned, Christopher Halliwell, the leader of the resistance and the second most powerful witch ever born, sat on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, utterly desolate and desperate.
Alone … again.
Piper was pissed - beyond pissed, actually, and she let her ire bleed through into her voice. "You want me to do what?"
"Call him. If you call him, he will come, and then our business will be concluded."
The demon blinked its serpent-like eyes and its forked tongue flicked out and in between its lips. Its sulfurous breath was hot on her face as it repeated, "Call him."
One hand lightly pushed the gleaming point of the sharp blade into the soft skin of her neck to emphasize its point. Piper tried to ignore the pained gasps of her sisters, instead comforting herself with the knowledge that at least Wyatt was safe with his father, for the time being, in Elderland. She could feel twin drops of her blood from the small nick join the already-falling beads of sweat as it slid a sticky trail down her skin.
The demon's tongue flicked out again as he watched her blood pool in the hollow of her throat. Piper didn't like Chris, didn't want him around, really, but she didn't want to sentence him to die either, and she could tell his death was definitely on the menu tonight - at least in the demon's eyes. However, she didn't want to die either and she would do anything to avoid losing another sister; so with those thoughts as motivation, Piper Halliwell tipped her head back to the Heavens and yelled, "Chris!"
He heard it the way he always heard his mother's voice, in his brain, in his blood, and in his soul all at once. She sounded mad … Great. Chris couldn't think what he could possibly have done to upset her in between the time she'd kicked him out and now, but apparently his talent in that area was boundless.
Mustering the remains of his battered emotional shield, he tried to remember his mission and how vitally important it was to everything, as he gathered his magic and orbed.
He re-formed in the conservatory. The familiar feel of stainless steel pressed into his back, encouraging him to stand absolutely still. What was going on?
Looking around frantically, he found the sisters huddled together on the floor, apparently unharmed, inside a crystal cage of some sort. The crystals were black and pulsated with a sickly, faint green color.
Piper refused to meet his gaze.
"Hello, Christopher."
Chris ignored his fear, ignored the sisters, ignored the voice even; he became the ruthless general, shoving everything else deep down inside.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked the demon.
"Who I am is not of importance. What I want is - quite simply – you. Or at least your powers. They smell delicious, and I'm in the mood for a delicacy."
The voice slithered around Chris, the owner still hiding behind Chris's line of sight.
"Oh, the things I could do with such power."
Piper, not one to be ignored for very long, asked, "Hey, what do you mean about power? He's just a whitelighter, for cripes' sake, and not a very good one at that!"
"Yeah," chimed in Paige insolently. "He can't even heal."
"Let's not get them to focus on us," cut in Phoebe. "If they are power-eating demons, let's not tempt them with the powers of the Charmed."
"You couldn't tempt me if you tried, little witches. What I want is juicier, with just a hint of spice."
"Ewwww, gross," muttered Paige.
"But he's just a whitelighter," Piper stubbornly insisted.
"Whatever you want, just let the girls go. You have me now."
Chris tried not to let it hurt each time Piper's incredulous voice dismissed his worth and appeal, even if it was "appeal" only to a demon. He wanted them to think he was just a whitelighter, didn't he? But the little boy who had always felt second-best around Wyatt's, who'd lived always in Wyatt's shadow, couldn't help but feel his worthlessness proven yet again. Even in the past they still know you're nothing, not blessed at all.
"I have what I want, now," said the oily voice. "You can be the main course. They, however … they can be the dessert."
"Hey," protested the sisters in unison. "You said if we called him you'd let us go."
"I lied," came the quick response. "Evil, remember? We tend to do that a lot."
Chris stood strong, back straight, arms down at his sides. His stance hid his inner turmoil; at least he hoped it did. A required skill for surviving war was to be able to pretend. Make believe you weren't hungry, pretend the blood of humanity wasn't washing the streets red. Convince others you were tougher than you really were so they'd leave you alone. Only problem was, after so long pretending it had become hard to see the line between truth and pretense. Somewhere along the way, Chris had become somewhat desensitized to danger and threats on his life.
He knew his own power and the depth of his personal arsenal. He was reasonably sure he could defeat this current threat; he just wasn't sure if he wanted to. It was just getting too damn hard. Piper hated him and he was no closer to eliminating the source of Wyatt's evil reign.
Hell, he didn't even think he had been conceived yet, what with his miscalculation in breaking up Piper and Leo. On the other hand, he just couldn't sit by and let the sisters die, despite them having served him up to this evil. Especially not when it was within his power to prevent it.
His cover was going to be a problem, though.
The demon, already tired of taunting the sisters, pressed even closer to Chris. The sharp burn of the blade bit into Chris's skin. He sniffed the air and then leaned in close, closing his eyes with a moan as he buried his nose in the space underneath Chris's collarbone.
"Such power," the demon murmured. "I'm going to gobble you all up, little witch, suck the marrow from your bones, swallow your soul until you're nothing but a faded memory."
"Well, then you're too late," said Chris. "I'm nothing more than a memory anyway. Soon I won't even exist."
The demon, half intoxicated already from licking Chris's blood from the ceremonial knife, said, "I'm surprised you're taking this so well. I'd prefer you to fight. Fear and adrenalin will make you taste all the sweeter."
"Well, I'm not dead yet and you were right about one thing. I am powerful." With that Chris mustered everything he had inside of him, felt the roiling magic coil up, waiting for his command.
With a sharp flick of his wrist he sent the demon careening into the wall. At the demon's outraged cry several others shimmered in to provide backup. Shrugging his shoulders, Chris bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. He could vanquish them with an explosion of power, but it would take too much out of him, leaving him vulnerable in front of the sisters. Besides, all of a sudden he was spoiling for a fight, memories of sparring in the manor's basement with Wyatt making his brow quirk up in nostalgia. Bring it on, he thought.
It wasn't long before he got what he wished for.
He quickly sent a wave of telekinesis towards the cage corralling the sisters. Once the prison was shattered, he turned to focus on the rushing horde of demons. With a hiss and a pop he released his daggers at the sheaths on his wrists. They fit snugly, comfortably, in his hands.
The first of the snarling, rushing demons reached him and Chris stepped into its advance. He brought his arm across its body, making quick slashes with the daggers. As the first demon fell gurgling to the floor, Chris heard another step. He turned and on the half pivot he slashed his way through that and several other demons. Their blood coated him and it burned like acid, bubbling and foaming on his exposed skin.
Demons just kept pouring in, slipping and sliding on the floor that was covered with glowing, green blood and chunks of discarded demonic flesh. Piper stood in front of her sisters, blowing up as many demons as she could, but Chris could see she was growing tired. Behind her, Paige called for athames and sent them spiraling towards enemy targets, each one flying on a flutter of brilliant blue orbs. Phoebe fought hand-to-hand, with kicks and punches, but she too appeared to be tiring.
Gritting his teeth, Chris reached out and closed his fist, telekinetically snapping several necks. He began cutting a path towards the sisters, needing to shield them, so that when he unleashed his magic in its most basic and brutal form they would be safe.
The closer he got to Piper, the more his abused heart broke. Even in the midst of battle, she still found the time to spare him a withering glance, as if somehow this was all his fault. Which it probably was, as the demon had used the sisters as bait to lure Chris into its trap. He tried not to remember past battles in which protecting him had been his mother's main focus. Tried to remind himself that this wasn't his mother, not yet, maybe never. The demon horde consistently replenished itself; when one was taken down, two more appeared, ready and able to fight. Out of the corner of his eye Chris saw Phoebe stagger and fall to the ground. He put on an extra burst of speed to make it over to her.
Reaching down, he gripped Phoebe's shoulder and hauled her up. Together they covered the remaining ground separating them from Piper and Paige.
"Get together," yelled Chris. "Cover your eyes, and don't open them until I say so!"
"What?" demanded Piper indignantly, twisting to blow up a demon who was hanging over them from the chandelier. Green chunks fell with sickingly wet plops onto Paige's hair. "We can't close our eyes, they'll overpower us!"
Chris had no choice but to continue with his plan if he hoped to succeed before someone other than the evil demons were hurt.
"Now," screamed Chris.
Power and anguish vibrated through Chris as he whispered an incantation to protect the sisters while he vanquished the demons. Phoebe grabbed Piper, who still resisted, and together she and Paige pulled her down onto the floor. They covered their heads with their arms.
Chris could feel the power building inside of him, a white-hot, molten cascade, whipping itself into a frenzy. It wanted out.
With a primal yell, he released his natural barriers. As the magic rushed out of him, he stood frozen, quivering like a butterfly pinned through its delicate wings. A brilliant crystal blue, the color of orbs during transition, began to pulsate around his body. For a few precious seconds it was deathly and unnaturally quiet, like the eye of a terrible and destructive storm. Then all hell broke loose.
The light simply exploded, simultaneously taking every demon with it. It was hot and cold all at once, quiet, but so loud it hurt the sisters' ears. They could do nothing but wait for it to pass.
Piper was the first to move. She gingerly raised her head, eyes seeking to summarize the total damage done to her home. She was surprised to find nothing but her whitelighter, slumped unconscious and pale at her feet. The demons were gone, even the remains of those she herself had exploded before Chris had done…. whatever it was. She reached over and inspected Paige's hair, laughing slightly hysterically at the sight of her perfect and demon-goo-free red locks.
"Wow," murmured Phoebe. "Best cleanup ever."
"Yeah, about that," began Paige, a questioning look on her face as she gazed at Chris. "Are we sure he's just a whitelighter?"
"No," answered Piper. "And we'll find out what's going on. Now, more than ever, he needs to tell us the truth. But he can't do it unconscious. So, let's get him on the couch and call Leo to heal him."
The sisters, in agreement, muscled Chris onto the couch, surprised at how light he actually was. Piper set about calling for Leo. Now the only thing left to do was to wait…and to wonder.
AN II: Please review! I am very interested in improving my writing, any and all feedback will be much appreciated. Again, thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you next chapter.