Sitting down at the heavily laden table that seemed to be crammed with food, Piper Halliwell glanced around at her family. Leo Wyatt, her husband, was sat next to her happily talking away to Paige's husband Henry about baseball, Piper knew that Leo used to like baseball before he "died" so it was no wonder that he liked it now. Next to Henry was Piper's two sister's Phoebe and Paige talking about work. Phoebe was an advice columnist and Paige was a teacher in magic school so they were talking ninety to the dozen, next to them was Phoebe's husband Coop talking to Piper and Leo's oldest son Wyatt.
Glancing around at the empty chair Piper felt uneasily that her youngest son, Chris had not yet joined them.
" Wyatt do you know were Chris is?" asked Piper, talking loudly over the din of the family.
Everyone grew silent and looked towards Wyatt.
" Well he said he had a few things to do, but he should be back by now." said Wyatt glancing anxiously at his watch
Piper was just about to call for her son when they heard a loud crash come from the living room followed by a angry, loud roar. The three sisters jumped up closely followed by Leo and Wyatt. Looking around at Coop and Henry, Phoebe shouted at them to stay there, even through Coop was a Cupid and he could throw electricity when he wanted to and obviously knew about demons there was no point exposing him to danger. Even Henry could hold his own as he was able to throw energy balls, but Phoebe and Paige were reluctant to allow their husbands anywhere near a battle.
Running into the living room, the Halliwell family saw four large horned demons advancing on a very annoyed Chris, who was keeping them at bay by hurling fire balls at them, although he looked exhausted and he didn't even noticed the demon at his side.
Until Piper blew him up, turning around she saw Phoebe and Paige attacking the same demon, Wyatt had already killed his, he had successfully blown it up from the inside out and Leo shot a bolt of lighting at his and the last two were vanquished in a puff of smoke and a scream.
Turning towards the youngest member of the family they saw him stumbled a few feet with an uncertain look on his face, then he fell forward and they saw, protruding from his back, a 12" athame blade.
They rushed towards Chris but it was Wyatt that reached him before he hit his head on the floor, reaching up he slowly grabbed the hilt of the handle and pulled. Chris sighed loudly and then his chest stopped moving altogether.
" Leo" screamed Piper desperately, " he's stopped breathing."
Leo placed his hands over the wound and immediately a soft golden glow surround Chris and he coughed as he took in a breath.
" Whoa, that got a bit hairy," he said looking around at the concerned faces of his family.
He shook off the offered hands that were there to help him up. Standing up he swayed suddenly and it was only Leo's hand on his arm that stopped him taking a nose dive to the floor again.
" Whoa buddy, are you okay?" asked Leo in concern.
" Sure dad, maybe I should go lie down for a bit." replied Chris and with that he orbed out and a few seconds later they heard the floor boards creak as Chris gently walked on them.
Vowing to check on Chris when the meal was over, Piper followed Leo back to the dining room.
Meanwhile upstairs Chris lay heavily down on his bed, and he reflected on what had gone wrong down in the cavern. The meeting had gone okay, with a bit of glamouring nobody had recognised him as the son of a charmed one and a elder until an old associate had recognised the disguise, as he had seen it many times before, and raised the alarm, then all hell had broken lose, and figuring that his best bet was to orbed home and his family could help him vanquished them.
Chris rose silently from the bed and walked over to the door, he heard the voices of his family still eating and laughing, " maybe I should join them?" he thought.
" good idea" said a voice.
Spinning around, Chris saw no-one, he walked over to the mirror, looking at his reflection he recoiled in horror, his eyes were jet black. He was just about to shout for his family when a voice said, " You don't want to do that, why should they know about your new stronger powers. They don't see you as a threat or someone who can protect themselves, go and show them what you can do?"
Chuckling to himself Chris black orbed out of his bedroom. He arrived at the door of the dining room and was happy to see Piper and Leo jump up in surprise. Their sudden movement caused the rest of the family to jump up as well.
" Chris, are you alright?" asked Piper.
" I'm better than alright, Piper." Chris saw Piper recoil slightly to the sound of her first name and he grinned.
After which he promptly shot a fire ball into the middle of the little group.
" Chris have you gone mad?" shouted Wyatt.
" Possibly." mused Chris before he threw another fire ball at them.
" No don't use those old powers" said the voice, " show them your new powers."
The family watched Chris in horror as he had his head cocked to the side as if he was listening to someone and then he grinned.
" Alright I'll show them." said Chris out loud.
He rubbed him hands together and a bright blue light crackled from his fingers, it looked like electricity and his family ran for cover.
" Wyatt" shouted Leo looking over at his son, " can you take him out?"
Wyatt glanced towards Chris who was now standing with his arms outstretched and he nodded.
Deciding that Leo could heal Chris if things got out of hand, Wyatt stood up and faced Chris.
" Well, well, big brother, what now?" said Chris with a slight grin on his face.
Wyatt stood there calmly and watched Chris, who cocked his head to the side again as if someone was talking. Wyatt saw the grin fade a little and Chris glance in his direction, Chris shook his head, as if he was disagreeing with someone when he dropped to his knees, clutching his head.
Wyatt advanced on him slowly, when Chris suddenly sprang up and threw his arm out sending Wyatt crashing against the far wall.
" Don't wait up for me." said Chris and he black orbed out.
Leo and Piper rushed over to Wyatt who was slowly getting to his feet.
" What the hell was wrong with him?" shouted Paige.
" I don't know but I think maybe he was being control by something." said Coop.
" Yeah, did you see the way he kept turning his head to the side as if he was listening to someone." replied Henry.
" But the question is who?" said Phoebe.
" My son is evil," said Piper sitting slowly down on the chair, " how can he be evil?"
" Its not him Piper" said Leo " something is controlling him".
" Don't worry mum, I'll save him." Wyatt said.
Chris glanced around him and frowned he didn't remember wanting to orb here. Come to think of it he couldn't even remember where here was.
" Dad, Wyatt, Aunt Paige." Chris shouted, hoping that someone would hear him.
" Nope guess again." said a voice behind him, and turning around he saw a dark lighter standing right behind him with his arrow pointed straight at him.
" Oh crap." he muttered before he felt a sharp pain in his chest and everything went black.
Chris woke up to see that he was still in the cavern and that he was now on the floor. He could feel the poison from the arrow working slowly through his bloodstream. He tried to orbed and found he couldn't, not that it matter he probably would only make it down the corridor before he was brought back in. He opened his mouth to call for Wyatt, when he stopped, vague images were coming back to him. He had tried to kill his family, oh God, he thought, no wonder nobody came when I called, their probably all angry at me, but it wasn't me I was evil.
" I was evil" he said out loud.
He screamed as he felt another wave of pain course through his body. He remember everything now, it was Barbus that he was meeting down in the cavern, before his associate had ratted him out. Barbus had read his worst fear and then erased his memory and sent the demons after him as a decoy. Chris's worst fear was that he would turn evil and kill his family.
xxxx
"Leo can't you sense him?" asked Piper for the hundredth time.
" Not yet Piper." replied Leo.
She looked over at Paige and Wyatt as they also tried to sense him, and at Coop and Henry who were scrying for him and Phoebe who was making a potion that would knock Chris out so that they could bring him safely home when Henry said, " Why don't we summon him?"
Piper looked at him for a bit before she started laughing. It was so simple and she couldn't believe nobody had thought of it.
" Brilliant idea Henry" said Piper grinning at him.
Five minutes later and they had the scrying crystals and a protection circle to keep Chris in, they started the summoning spell.
xxxx
Chris was reluctant to call for anyone, and he couldn't quite believe that this was how he was going to die, just as he took his last breaths he felt the tugging pull of a summoning spell.
xxxx
The Halliwell family held their breath as the golden sparkles subsided and they saw Chris lying there, but their grins fading as they saw Chris, for a second time that day, was not breathing due to the fact that a dark lighter arrow had hit him squarely in the chest from point blank range and had gone straight out the back.
" Oh my God!" said Piper rushing forward with Wyatt and Leo following closely behind. Leo grabbed his younger son and began healing him from the front while Wyatt healed him from the back, there was a few seconds of silence before everyone sighed with relief as his wound closed up and he started to breathe. Chris opened his eyes and glanced around him, and on seeing his family he jumped up and ran into the furthest corner that the cage would allow and he started rocking back and forth all the time muttering to himself.
Piper glanced at Leo in concern before she moved slightly forward, it was only then that she heard Chris's mumblings, " I'm not evil…Barbus… kill family… everyone dead… want me as new source… family will save me."
Piper ushered everyone out of the circle, " he is possessed and I think its Barbus doing it by playing on his fears." she said.
" How do you know?" asked Phoebe.
" He was muttering something about him not being evil, Barbus, killing us and how someone wanted him as the new source." replied Piper.
" What is his fear?" asked Leo in a whisper, looking towards Wyatt.
Wyatt sighed and said, " That he is evil and will kill his family."
Piper stifled a sob and looked towards Chris. Her sudden gasp caused everyone to look around. Waiting in the cage, crouching over an unconscious Chris was Barbus who was holding a bloody knife that he had just sliced across Chris arm, and grinning up at the Charmed ones and family he placed his hand firmly on Chris's arm and shimmered out.
Wyatt cursed silently under his breath, this was the third time that he was unable to protect his brother and now some demon wanted to make him the new source of all evil. Well that was going to change right now.
" What should we do?" asked Paige anxiously.
Wyatt narrowed his eyes before saying, " We go after him." and he orbed everyone out of the manor.
xxxx
Chris opened his eyes and sighed, all he could see was a rocky roof but he knew he was no place good because no where he knew had a rocky roof, unless of course you count the Underworld.
" Ah, your awake." said a sly voice beside him that Chris knew all to well, Barbus.
" Well duh," Chris said out loud.
" Good, let's get started," said Barbus choosing to ignore Chris smart remark.
Barbus started chanting, when Chris felt a powerful grip on his body, the source was awake and was definitely ready to resume a new host. All of a sudden the chanting stopped and screams could be heard around the whole of the underworld. The Halliwell family had come looking for their youngest member, and rumours were circulating that the twice blessed was immensely pissed off and blowing demons up just by looking at them. Deciding that he valued his own life to much Barbus shimmered out just as the Halliwell's came around the corner.
Rushing over to the table were Chris was tied up, they saw the empty box on the floor that had contain the essence of the Source. Backing away slightly they watched as Chris sat up slowly.
" You are to late. Your son is now mine and together we will rule the Underworld and none can stop us." he gloated.
" Wanna bet." said a harsh voice. Everyone turned to see Wyatt standing there with a fury in his eyes that no one had seen before.
" No one messes with my little brother." he reached his hands out and a white mist erupted from them that enveloped Chris and they could hear the Source screaming as it was pushed out of his body and crammed back into the box. Leo hurriedly slammed the lid down as Wyatt ran to Chris and healed him.
Chris slowly opened is eyes and glanced around happily at his family, his eyes finally coming to rest on Wyatt. Chris remembered the Source taunting his family and the look of despair on the faces when he heard Wyatt speak, he had looked furious and with a slight nod that Chris was only meant to catch assured him that Wyatt knew what he was doing, Wyatt had expelled the Source out of his body.
" Thanks Wy" said Chris gratefully.
" That's what brothers are for." Wyatt replied grinning.
Epilogue.
Piper sat down at the table once again laden with food and glanced around, everyone was talking happily about their day. Piper's eyes lingered on her youngest son who was grinning and talking to Wyatt and Coop and she looked at Leo and they both grinned. Their family was safe.