Following the Thread
Prologue
January 2024
"You've got to save the family, Chris," said Grandpa.
Chris was only half-listening, mostly because he didn't want to begin to cry in front of his grandfather. The last solid relationship in his life was wasting away in a hospital and Chris was helpless to stop it. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to watch yet another person in his life die, but he also didn't have a choice.
Chris had become very used to not having a choice about what happened in his life.
Realizing that his grandfather was waiting for a response, Chris shook his head, dismissing his grandfather's words. After all, who was left but him and Wyatt? There wasn't a family to save.
"You have powers too," said Grandpa. He grabbed Chris' hand, clutching it with strength Chris hadn't thought he possessed. "I've never liked magic. Your mother knew that. It's caused so many deaths in this family. But Chris, you can finally do some good with it. You can."
"How?" said Chris. He didn't know why he bothered to ask. What did Grandpa know of it that Chris didn't.
"Go back and change the past."
Chris laughed bitterly. Time travel was risky enough without a novice like Chris attempting it. And in any case, he had sworn off magic. He hated it. It was everything wrong with his life. And he had thought that Grandpa agreed. Apparently not.
"I can't do that, Grandpa," said Chris. "It's too dangerous."
"I've been thinking about it," said Grandpa, ignoring Chris. "If you just follow the thread back, carefully, figure out where it all went wrong."
"It went wrong when Mom, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige died," said Chris, anger and grief choking the words.
Grandpa shook his head, coughing loudly, contorting in pain. Chris picked up the glass of water from the bedside table and helped Grandpa take a sip. Once he had calmed again, he took a shuddery breath and said, "It was before that. Your dad–"
"I don't want to talk about him!" said Chris vehemently. "He left. And for what? To get himself killed!"
"Your dad loved your mom so much, Chris. You've got to look at that love. I'm sure it's the key."
Chris rolled his eyes and Grandpa shook his head. "You're stubborn," said Grandpa. "Just like your aunt Prue. You need to move past your anger if you're going to solve this the right way."
"Grandpa, I never said I could solve anything. I'm not...I'm just...My powers aren't like the Charmed powers. They aren't even like Wyatt's. They're just..."
"You have a lot more power than you think," said Grandpa. "I know it. And you're going to save us all. Just start at the end and work back to the beginning."
And at that Grandpa started to cough again, more violently this time, prompting Chris to ring for a nurse.
That was the last time he spoke with his grandfather.
One
January 2025
For a several months it hadn't occurred to him that he needed to do anything. Some stupid, childish part of him had simply thought that Wyatt would come to his senses. That he'd relinquish his powers and come back to the real world. That they could pick up the pieces and try to form some sort of family again.
But then after that night in the cemetery, Chris knew that he'd lost his brother too.
At first, he had simply wanted to give up. In the months following the night in the cemetery, Wyatt had left Chris relatively alone while his powers grew and he accumulated control of everything. Deep down he knew Wyatt wasn't going to leave him alone forever, but he figured that if he just disappeared, maybe Wyatt would give up. Back then he thought it was as simple as taking Grandpa and moving to another country, leaving Wyatt to his own devices. But Grandpa had gotten sick and with so much loss in his life, Chris suspected he hadn't had much will to fight for his life.
A year ago, to the day, Grandpa had entered the hospital for the last time and set in to motion the events that led Chris to where he was now: about to go twenty-two years into the past to save his family.
Of course, Chris hadn't been very enthusiastic at first. After the funeral, he'd truly considered just going away, drifting off into a sea of nothingness until he eventually died. He spent most of his time wandering around the city alone. This was still before Wyatt had decided to take keen interest in his comings and goings. But he didn't give any more thought to Grandpa's seemingly silly whims of saving the family until he met Bianca.
She was on the run from Wyatt when Chris met her and it was then that Chris first rebelled against his older brother. He took in Bianca and sheltered her against his brother. During her time with him, Bianca wormed her way through his defenses and made him see that maybe there was still something worth fighting for in the world.
"He's your brother," she'd say. "If anyone can save him, it's you."
Somewhere along the way, he'd begun to believe her.
And so he finally did what his grandfather had suggested and began to follow the thread back to the beginning. He finally got a coherent picture of when it began and how it progressed, like a dark, twisting maze.
Two
October 2012
"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" taunted Meli, running across the conservatory. Chris skidded to a halt at the doorway and tried to change directions quickly as Meli headed toward the other exit. He was It and he had spotted his little sister first; Wyatt had yet to appear in this round.
Meli swerved through the furniture and made it to the door, but Chris had already regained his footing and made a beeline right for her. As he was almost eight and she was only five, he knew he could tag her.
Unfortunately, just as Chris put in one last burst of energy and dove at Meli, she stuck out her tongue and orbed out of the room.
"It's supposed to be non-orbing!" yelled Chris. He heard giggling in the hallway and headed in that direction. When he reached the stairs, Meli was halfway up, and Wyatt was halfway down. Chris grinned and put one foot on the stairs, but just as he did, both of his siblings orbed out.
"No orbing!" Chris yelled again. He turned and headed toward the living room, where, amazingly, both Wyatt and Meli had ended up. "Guys," he whined, "we promised no orbing!"
"Okay," said Wyatt. "We won't orb anymore." Chris grinned and rushed at his siblings, backing both of them into a corner. Of course, he knew he'd only be able to tag one of them. If he went after Meli it would take her longer to tag either him or Wyatt, but the opportunity to tag his brother was rare, and Chris wasn't sure he wanted to pass it up.
Before he could decide, Meli giggled loudly and dashed between Chris and Wyatt, yelling, "Catch me if you can!" Both boys followed her with their eyes and Chris grinned. Ignoring his little sister, he ran right at Wyatt and tagged his arm. "Tag you're—" he began to yell, but just then Meli screamed and both boys turned around to face her.
In place of their lively, bubbly little sister was a statue that looked just like her and standing next to the statue was a woman in white. Chris' stomach rose up to his throat and he tightened his grip on Wyatt's arm. A demon had never come while a magical adult wasn't home. Despite knowing better, Chris wanted to call for Grandpa, who was upstairs taking a nap.
"Hey!" said Wyatt, sounding braver than Chris felt. "What did you do to her? Change her back!"
The demon—at least that's what Chris assumed she was—ignored Wyatt and turned her gaze back to Meli.
"Hey!" Wyatt said again.
"Wyatt…" said Chris.
"Throw her, Chris," said Wyatt quietly. Chris nodded, focused his eyes on the demon, and tried to throw her across the room.
"I can't!" he said desperately. "Wyatt!"
The demon put her hands on Meli and the statue began to glow blue; the demon was sucking something from Meli.
"Stop it!" yelled Chris.
Wyatt took a deep breath and said loudly, "Meli!" but nothing happened. The statue didn't come to them and Meli didn't suddenly burst out of the stone either. Then, before either boy could do anything more, the statue exploded.
"Meli!" screamed Wyatt, and Chris held onto Wyatt so tightly that his fingernails were digging into Wyatt's arm. The demon turned towards them and Wyatt tried to run at her, but Chris yelled, "No!" and without relinquishing his grip on his brother's arm, orbed them to Aunt Phoebe's apartment.
"Aunt Phoebe!" screamed Chris as soon as his feet were firm on the ground. He continued to hold on to Wyatt, unwilling to let go. "Aunt Phoebe! Where are you?"
"Chris?" he heard Aunt Phoebe call out. She came into the living room from the kitchen and immediately rushed over to them. "Oh my God. What happened?" She placed a hand on Chris' arm, looking from him to Wyatt with fear in her eyes. "Chris, what happened?"
"It's Meli," said Chris. "Aunt Phoebe, some demon showed up and turned Meli into a statue and she sucked something out and then…and then…" But Chris couldn't say the words. He suddenly felt sick, and without warning he pulled away from both Wyatt and Aunt Phoebe and threw up all over the floor. When he was finished he began to cry, hard, sobbing wails. Aunt Phoebe gathered him to her, holding him close and turned to Wyatt.
"What happened to Meli, Wyatt?" she asked. She reached up and shook Wyatt a little, as though trying to wake him up. Chris continued to sob into Aunt Phoebe's shirt and said chokingly, "The demon…blew…her…up…"
"What?" said Aunt Phoebe. Chris buried closer to her, wishing Mom and Dad would come and fix everything. They could make the demon put Meli back together. They could stop her.
"I couldn't stop her," said Wyatt softly. "I tried…I…I…"
"Shh," said Aunt Phoebe, though it sounded like she was crying too. She pulled Wyatt down into the hug she still had Chris in and held him just as tightly.
"Leo!" Aunt Phoebe yelled. "Leo!"
Chris took a deep breath. She was bringing Dad. Dad and Mom could fix anything. They could fix it.
A minute later Chris heard his dad say, "Phoebe, what's going on?" But Dad didn't sound like Dad. He sounded scared.
"Leo," said Aunt Phoebe softly. "Leo, where's Piper?"
"She's with Paige," said Dad. "What is going on here? Where's Meli?"
"Leo," said Aunt Phoebe softly, "Meli's…a demon…"
"No," said Dad. Chris felt Dad come closer, felt him pull Wyatt away from Aunt Phoebe and say, "Wyatt, what happened? Where's your sister?"
"Oh, Dad," said Wyatt, and suddenly Wyatt was crying, loudly, his arms wrapped tightly around Dad's waist.
Dad pulled Wyatt's arms away and sat down on the floor, looking almost white to Chris. Then he grabbed Wyatt and brought him into a hug, crying without reserve. Chris stared at them, his breath hitching. Dad never cried. Why wasn't he doing something useful? Why didn't he go get Mom? They needed to stop the demon. They needed to bring Meli back.
"Do something!" said Chris, pulling away from Aunt Phoebe. "Dad! You have to do something!"
Dad wrapped an arm around Chris' waist and pulled him to his chest, hugging him so tightly it almost hurt. "Dad…" said Chris meekly.
"I can't…" said Dad. "I can't…"
"I'll call Piper," said Aunt Phoebe.
Three
July 2013
Chris sat on the edge of his bed with his arms crossed over his chest, frowning at the floor. He wouldn't go downstairs. He wouldn't! If he didn't go downstairs Dad wouldn't be able to leave because he wouldn't be able to go without saying goodbye. And as long as it would keep Dad from leaving, Chris promised he would never say another word to Dad for as long as he lived.
"Chris!" Mom called again. "Chris, come down here now, and don't orb!"
I won't, I won't, I won't! thought Chris.
A minute later the door opened and Chris heard Wyatt say his name quietly. "I'm not going!" said Chris stubbornly. "If I don't go, he won't leave!"
Wyatt sat down on the bed next to Chris. "Chris, you have to say goodbye. Dad has to leave."
"No he doesn't!" said Chris. "He doesn't have to leave! He can bind his powers just like us!"
"Someone has to find the other Whitelighters, Chris. How else are we going to stop the Titans?"
"Mom and Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige can stop them."
"No they can't," said Wyatt. "Dad said that the last time the people who beat the Titans had tons and tons of powers. Even more than Mom and Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe combined. If Dad can find the other Whitelighters, they can come up with a plan to get rid of the Titans."
"He doesn't have to go!" said Chris. "I know it! It's all going to go wrong if Dad leaves."
Wyatt sighed, but before he could continue trying to persuade Chris there was a knock on the door. "Can I come in?" called Dad.
Chris bit his lip and refused to answer, but Wyatt said, "Yeah, Dad," and the door opened. Dad came in and Chris could see his feet nearby, but he steadfastly kept his eyes on the floor. He wouldn't say goodbye.
"Hey, buddy," Dad said to Wyatt, "why don't you go downstairs? I'll be down in a minute."
"Okay, Dad," said Wyatt, and he patted Chris on the back before climbing off the bed and leaving the room. To Chris' displeasure, Dad knelt down in front of him and tilted his chin so Chris had to look up. As soon as he saw his Dad's face a lump formed in his throat; he unsuccessfully tried to swallow it.
"Chris," said Dad.
"Don't go," Chris whispered. "Please, Dad. Don't go. I don't want you to leave."
Dad gave him a sad smile. "Chris," he said, "I have to go. We have to find some way to stop the Titans and this is the best plan your mother and I came up with."
"No."
"I won't be gone forever, Chris. It's just for a little while."
"You don't know that!" said Chris. "What if something happens? And don't tell me it won't because I'm not a stupid little baby anymore! I know that it's not true!"
Dad was quiet for a minute; Chris was sure because he had been about to tell Chris that nothing would happen to him. Finally he said, "You're right. I can't promise that. But I can promise that if I don't go, this family is going to fall apart. Sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to, Chris. I don't want to leave. I love you and Wyatt and Mommy more than anything else in the world and the last thing I want to do is go away. But I have to. If I don't do this, who will?"
"I will!" said Chris. "I can stop the Titans! When I grow up, my powers will be strong enough…" He trailed off, feeling a little foolish. After all, if his mom and aunts couldn't stop the Titans, how could he?
"Even if you could, Chris," said Dad, "I don't want you to have to. I want to stop them for you. I want you to be happy."
"Then don't leave!" said Chris. "That's all I need to be happy. Please."
Dad sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. He stood up and held out a hand to Chris. "Are you going to come downstairs?" he asked.
Chris' breath hitched and try as he might to stop it, tears started rolling down his cheeks. "No!" he said. "No! You can't leave!" He threw himself face down onto the bed and began to pound the pillow with his fists. "You can't! You can't!"
Dad leaned over him and kissed the back of his head. "I love you, Chris," he said.
And then he was gone.
Four
December 2017
It was the beginning of December and Chris woke up to find his bedroom flooded with light. He rolled out of his bed and glanced at the clock across the room, shocked to find it was ten o'clock already and he was two hours late for school. When he glanced up at Wyatt, who slept in the bunk above him, Wyatt looked fearfully down at him.
"Something's wrong," said Wyatt. "I've been waiting for you to wake up. I didn't want to go downstairs alone."
"Maybe Mom's sick," said Chris, certain it wasn't true. Their mother could have pneumonia and she'd still make sure they got to school on time.
"I heard Mom crying this morning," said Wyatt. "And Aunt Phoebe is here."
"I…" said Chris, but he honestly had no idea what to say.
Wyatt lay on his back again, staring at the ceiling and Chris took a deep breath. "We're probably overreacting," he said. "Let's just go downstairs."
Slowly, Wyatt turned and climbed down to the floor, and he and Chris ventured downstairs without bothering to change or brush their teeth first. As Wyatt had said, Aunt Phoebe was there. She was bustling around the kitchen and Mom was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Mom?" asked Chris. Wyatt seemed either unwilling or unable to speak.
Aunt Phoebe turned in surprise and Chris felt his stomach drop when he noticed her red-rimmed eyes. "Good morning," she said, not sounding at all sincere.
"Where's Mom?" Chris repeated.
Aunt Phoebe bit her lip and then said, "She's upstairs. Sleeping, hopefully."
"What's wrong?" asked Chris. "Wyatt said he heard Mom crying today."
"Oh, Chris," said Aunt Phoebe. She pulled off the oven mitts she had on and set them on the island in the kitchen. "Boys," she said, then paused awkwardly. "Your Mom really wanted to be the one…"
"It's Dad, isn't it?" said Wyatt hoarsely. "He's dead?"
Chris turned to face his brother, simultaneously furious he had said that and fearful that it was true. "No he's not!" said Chris. He turned to Aunt Phoebe. "No, he's not!"
"Oh, sweetie," said Aunt Phoebe, coming towards him.
"No!" said Chris, and he turned and fled the room. There was no way his father was dead. He had promised he would come home. He had promised that he was going to find a way to stop the Titans. He couldn't be dead!
Without thinking, Chris burst into his mother's room. She was lying on her side, facing away from him, but when the door shut behind him she turned and saw him. The look on her face told Chris that it was true, and his stomach plummeted to the floor.
"No," he said. "No. No. No. NO!"
"Oh, Chris," said Mom, and she opened her arms. Chris ran to her and clung to her, crawling into the bed and hanging on to his mother for dear life.
"How?" he asked, his voice muffled by his mother's shoulder.
"The Titans," said Mom. She didn't elaborate.
She didn't have to. Chris had seen what happened to Meli. He knew exactly how the Titans killed Whitelighters.
"But he was going to stop them! He left to stop them!"
"Don't worry about that now," said Mom. "We'll find a way to stop them."
"No!" said Chris, pulling back to look at her face. She wiped the tears from his cheeks and he took a shuddery breath. "You can't!" he said. "You can't! You can't! I don't want you to go too! Please, Mommy!"
"Shh," said Mom, hugging him again. "Don't worry," she said. "It's going to be okay."
It was a long time before Chris calmed down enough to think properly again. By then, Wyatt had entered the room and sat down on the bed with them, snuggling into Mom's other side. Once he had some semblance of control, he asked, "How did you know?"
"Your father came to me in a dream," she said. "He told me. And Phoebe saw what happened. She had a vision."
"Oh," said Chris.
Mom kissed the top of his head. "He said that he loves you both very much," she said. "You know that, don't you?"
"Yes," said Wyatt.
"Chris?" said Mom when he didn't respond.
"I guess so," said Chris.
"Christopher Halliwell," said Mom, pulling back to look him in the eyes. "Your father loved you more than anything in the whole world. You have to believe that."
I don't have to believe anything, Chris thought defiantly, but looking at his mother's deeply sad brown eyes instead he said, "I know, Mom."
"Good," she said.
Five
November 2018
Grandpa was talking to a woman who had introduced herself as Elise, but Chris had no idea who she was. He was standing in between Mom's fresh and Dad's nearly year-old graves with his head hanging down. His too-long hair, which Mom had been asking him for weeks to get cut, was in his eyes and as he stood there he made a silent promise to go to the barber as soon as he could. He should have cut it when Mom asked, but it was too late for that now.
Pushing the toe of his dress shoe into the grass, he pivoted it, making a small hole. He really wanted to kick Dad's headstone or rip up some of the flowers or something to relieve the tight pain around his heart, but he didn't. Mostly because Grandpa was only ten feet away.
"You said when you left that you were going to stop the Titans," he said to Dad's grave. "But you didn't. You didn't and now Mom and Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige are dead. What the hell was the point of going away if everyone was just going to die anyway?"
Chris took a deep breath, trying to quell the anger he felt whenever he thought of his father. He had said he was only going to be gone a little while. He had said that he wanted to go to save them all. And he hadn't saved anyone. If he had stayed he would have been able to heal Mom. If he had stayed they'd still be alive. And Chris wouldn't be an orphan.
"You should have stayed."
Chris finally looked up from the ground and stared out across the graveyard, trying to spot Wyatt. His older brother had disappeared as soon as the service was over and Chris hadn't seen him since. Wyatt and Grandpa were the only two people he had left now. Uncle Henry was moving away and taking the cousins with him. Henry had told Grandpa that he never wanted to hear the word magic again, which Chris took to mean he didn't want his powerless children to be anywhere near Chris and Wyatt. Chris couldn't really blame him. He wasn't sure he wanted to be around magic anymore either.
After a minute of scanning the area, Chris finally spotted Wyatt near a large statue of an angel quite a distance from their parents' graves. Without really thinking, he began to walk towards his brother. He felt a desperate urge to be near the one other person who understood how he felt, and didn't even think that Wyatt might not feel the same way.
"Hi," said Chris as he came up to his older brother. Wyatt was leaning casually against the statue, not paying particular attention to anything around him, just staring off in the distance. He didn't acknowledge Chris' presence, so Chris simply stood next to him and leaned against the statue too.
After about five minutes, Wyatt finally spoke. "Guess we're getting our Whitelighter powers back," he said with almost disturbing detachment. The only reason they were getting their Whitelighter powers back was because Mom was dead. And even if that wasn't the reason, Chris couldn't think of anything less appealing that Whitelighter powers.
"We can't use them," said Chris. Wyatt didn't respond, and after a minute Chris' stomach clenched. He turned to face Wyatt. "We can't use them," he repeated more forcefully. "The Titans will find us."
Wyatt shrugged. "We can't use them right away maybe," he said, "but eventually."
"Not ever!" said Chris vehemently. He stepped in front of Wyatt and for the first time Wyatt turned to face him. He wore an odd, half-smile on his face, like he found Chris amusing for some reason.
"Dad thought finding the other Whitelighters was the key to destroying the Titans. He thought they could come up with some great plan. So I think the Whitelighter thing might help us stop the Titans."
"Let someone else stop the Titans. Our family's done enough."
"I think we have to find out how those people got those super powers before," said Wyatt as though he hadn't heard Chris. "I think Dad might have known, but he didn't say. Or maybe that's what he was going to find out."
"Wyatt. Listen to me. Forget the Titans. Forget being a Whitelighter. Forget magic. It's all a waste of time. It's never helped anyone. It didn't help Meli. It didn't help Dad. It didn't help Mom. It didn't help Aunt Phoebe or Aunt Paige. Or Aunt Prue for that matter! Don't you see, Wyatt? It's no good."
Wyatt shook his head. "You're wrong, Chris. Magic is the answer to all of this. It's our family history and we have every right to it. We can't be scared of it."
"No, Wyatt—"
"We just need more power. That's why everyone else failed. They didn't have enough power. If we can just—"
"Are you listening to yourself?" demanded Chris. "Don't be ridiculous!"
"I'm not ridiculous," said Wyatt, finally acknowledging that Chris had spoken. "Don't ever call me ridiculous. You're ridiculous for wanting to give up magic. We can't do anything without magic. The sooner you realize it the better off you'll be!"
"Wyatt!"
Wyatt rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving Chris alone.
Six
April 2021
"Don't do it, Wyatt," said Chris. He knew that his protest was futile; Wyatt hadn't taken Chris' advice since they were kids, but some part of him hoped that this time would be different. "Please, please just listen to me."
"This is the answer, Chris," said Wyatt. He waved his hand in the direction of the Book and bounced up and down a little, looking almost manic with glee. "But I need your help."
"Don't look at me. I'm not helping you."
"It has to be you, Chris. You're the only other one that can orb!"
"Only because you wouldn't help me strip my powers," said Chris. "So if you wouldn't help me, why should I help you?"
Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like you're ten," he said. "This isn't some stupid, petty thing. I really have a plan to get rid of the Titans and we have to do it, Chris. It's about saving the world. It's about avenging Mom and Dad and Meli and our whole family!"
"It's suicide!"
"Well, there are worse ways to die."
"Are you serious?" asked Chris. "'There are worse ways to die'? You're kidding me."
"Come on, Chris. Just hear me out. All you have to do is cast this invisibility spell on yourself and orb Up There."
"Oh, is that all?" said Chris mockingly. "Well if that's all then let's hop to it!"
Wyatt scowled at him. "Shut up and listen. They'll detect the orb in and once they're on your trail I'll orb in too. You're the distraction, see?"
Chris opened his mouth to make another smart comment, but Wyatt plowed on before he could. "So while they're preoccupied with trying to find you, I'll go find the spell to give the power of the gods to a mortal."
"And which mortal are you infusing with this supposed power of the gods you claim exists?"
"Me."
Chris dropped his mocking attitude and stared at his brother in shock. "You? You're not a mortal. You're a witch."
"It'll still work," said Wyatt. "I think that's what Dad was trying to do when he died. I think he was trying to give the powers to Mom, Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige. But he didn't work it out well enough. They caught him."
"You think that we'll pull off something Dad couldn't?" said Chris skeptically.
"We're the sons of a Charmed One, Chris. It's our destiny." Wyatt's eyes glowed as he practically hummed these words. Chris shook his head.
"I don't know, Wyatt."
"Please, please trust me with this. I know what I'm doing. I've been searching for these answers for three years, Chris. I've figured it out. I know it!"
Chris smiled, a little less reluctant when faced with this sort of enthusiasm. And it was true. Much to Grandpa's displeasure, Wyatt had put aside everything to hunt down the answer to how to stop the Titans. Maybe, after three years, he really had discovered the truth.
And really, what did he have to lose? It wasn't as if life under the thumb of the Titans was some sort of picnic.
"Alright," he said. "I'll do it."
"Yes!" said Wyatt, looking genuinely happy for the first time in years.
Wyatt dragged Chris over to the Book and opened it to a page labeled, "Invisibility Spell." The words were written in Wyatt's hand and Chris was a little surprised. He hadn't known Wyatt had added anything to the Book; Chris certainly never had.
"I'll go first," said Wyatt. He read the spell out loud and stood still for a moment, then he disappeared in front of Chris' eyes.
"Wow," said Chris, truly impressed. "Cool spell."
"Thanks," said Wyatt. "Now you. Once you do it you have to think about being invisible. I modeled it after Mom's power, so it's voluntary."
Chris nodded and read the spell from the book. Once he finished, he thought about turning invisible and a second later, Wyatt said, "Good! Now just make sure you stay invisible while you're up there."
"Okay," said Chris. He took a deep breath. "Wyatt," he said. "I…If we don't make it back, well…"
"We'll make it," said Wyatt. Chris suddenly felt his brother's hand clap his back, though he had no idea how Wyatt had spotted him.
Chris turned in the direction of the clap and reaching out, fumbling for a second but successfully catching his brother in a hug. "I love you, Wyatt," said Chris.
There was a pause, and then Wyatt said, "I love you too."
Chris smiled and pulled away. "Okay," he said. "Here it goes."
"Good luck."
"Yeah," said Chris. "You too." And for the first time in nine years, Chris orbed out of the room.
Seven
August 2021
Chris looked around the graveyard, trying to find his brother. The night was muggy, and Chris thought that it might rain, but he didn't care. He had to find Wyatt, even if it was the last thing he did.
He was beginning to think it would be.
"Wyatt!" he yelled, his voice sounding very loud in the deserted graveyard. "Wyatt, where are you?"
He continued wandering the graveyard, purposely avoiding his parents' graves. Most likely, he thought, Wyatt was there, but Chris really didn't want to have this confrontation there.
"Wyatt!" he called again, pausing near the angel statue where he and Wyatt had fought after their mom's funeral. "Wyatt!"
And then he spotted his brother, standing, of course, at their parents' graves. Wyatt was kneeling, a dark figure amongst the headstones. Chris took a deep breath and tried not to think too carefully about what he was about to do. "Here we go," he whispered to himself. He headed toward Wyatt.
What he saw when he got there made him halt in his tracks and forget the very reason he had come to the graveyard in the first place. Lying over their mother's grave was a young woman who looked to be about the age Meli would have been, had she lived. There was blood around her mouth and a wound in her stomach; her left leg was twisted unnaturally. Wyatt was crouched next to her, his head hanging low. "Oh my God, Wyatt," said Chris. "What happened?"
"She's dead," said Wyatt.
Obviously, thought Chris, somewhat sickened by his own natural response to what Wyatt had said. "How?" he asked.
"I killed her," said Wyatt.
Chris stumbled backwards as though the words had physically struck him. "What?" he whispered.
"I killed her," repeated Wyatt. His voice was cold and emotionless. That frightened Chris more than anything. "I was trying to test my healing power."
"What?" said Chris more forcefully. "What the hell do you mean, you were testing your healing power? You're lying! If you wanted to test it, I would have cut my finger for you. You know that!" Chris felt desperate, near hysterical. Wyatt had not killed this woman. He hadn't, he hadn't, he hadn't…
"I know I can heal stupid little things like a cut finger," hissed Wyatt, finally looking up at Chris. "I wanted to know if I could heal the dead."
"You…Wyatt…You can't heal the dead!"
"No, Dad couldn't heal the dead," said Wyatt. "Stupid, regular Whitelighters couldn't heal the dead. But with my new powers—"
"Your new powers are fucking with your head, Wyatt," said Chris, finally realizing that Wyatt was speaking sincerely. "Look at you! You killed someone to test your powers! You've lost your mind!"
"You don't know anything about me, Chris!" Wyatt gazed down at the young woman in front of him. With a twist of his gut, Chris realized she somewhat resembled Meli too: long, dark hair, blue eyes, petite features. "I didn't mean to kill her," he said softly. "I really thought I could do it. I thought I had enough power. That's why I brought her here. Because if I could bring her back…"
Chris' stomach wrenched as he realized just what Wyatt had meant to do. Trying to ignore the gruesome scene before him, Chris knelt down next to his brother and put a hand on Wyatt's shoulder. Wyatt flinched away. "You can't bring them back, Wyatt," said Chris. "You can't." Chris took a deep breath and finally said what he'd come to say. "Wyatt, you have to give up your powers. You have to—"
"Give them up?" said Wyatt, standing suddenly. Chris was thrown off balance and he fell back. "These powers saved the world," he said. "These powers are everything. These powers are the reason you're sitting there, and you want me to give them up?"
"Yes!" said Chris. "Wyatt, you're not you anymore. I don't even see my brother in you. You're just some…some power-hungry, crazy—"
"You're just jealous!" said Wyatt. "You're jealous that I have the power! You're jealous that it was my plan that got rid of the Titans! You're jealous because I'm everything you're not! I'm going to save the family, Chris, not you!"
"We can't save the family, Wyatt!" screamed Chris. "They're gone! They're dead! There's no one left but you and me! We have to stick together!"
"You're just trying to destroy me," said Wyatt. "I know you, Chris." Wyatt shook his head sadly. "I should do the same to you, but I won't."
"Please, Wyatt."
"You'll come around, Chris. Once I figure out how to bring them back, you'll come around. I'll make you see it my way."
"Wyatt…"
"You'll see, Chris. I will save the family."
And in a cloud of black orbs, Wyatt orbed out of the cemetery.
Epilogue
He and Bianca had worked out the whole plan. They had a spell to take him to the past, a potion to allow him to keep his powers, a spell that would allow him to remember his future exactly, even as he changed it. Together they had mapped out a plan that included leading a demon to the Titans as well as casting a spell so Paige, who Chris had known as the one most likely to take action, would know to prepare for what was coming. Timing was crucial and they had worked Chris' out down to the day he should cast the spell on Paige. Everything was working out perfectly in theory.
There was only one problem they hadn't solved.
Chris had no idea how they were going to get the Elders to turn his mom and aunts into goddesses. They weren't going to just listen to some kid from the future; not when it involved that kind of power. He couldn't do it himself either because once he changed the future he'd disappear. There had to be some sort of stable figure there to control the situation even after he was gone.
So he needed an inside-person. Someone who would do what the Elders wouldn't. But who could possibly have enough faith in the Charmed Ones to pull this off?
Dad.
Wyatt had said it years ago: that Dad was going to give the powers to the Charmed Ones. It was the one answer Chris had come up with, but he refused to voice it to Bianca.
Using his dad was simply out of the question. If his dad became an Elder, he, Chris, would never be born. He'd break up his parents' marriage. He'd destroy everything. And maybe it was a little selfish, but if Chris was going to the trouble to save his family, he wanted to be part of it.
Grandpa had said that his parents love was the key. What did that mean?
"What are you thinking about?" asked Bianca. Chris looked up, surprised. He hadn't heard her enter the room.
"How to turn my mom and my aunts into goddesses," he said. He fiddled with the pen in his hand, twirling it in a nervous habit.
"You need to take a break," said Bianca, coming up behind him and gently rubbing his shoulders. "You're thinking too much. The answer will come eventually."
Chris nodded, enjoying the back rub and aching to take a break and spend time with his fiancé. He'd barely seen her in the past week and the time they had left together was precious.
He was going to miss Bianca terribly. He was giving her up for a chance at a different life and the best he could do was hope that fate would bring them together once he changed the future. He had to have confidence that their love was destined.
And suddenly he began to realize what Grandpa had meant about his parents. No matter what went wrong in their relationship they always came back to one another in the end. Mom had never stopped loving Dad the entire time he had been gone. She'd been devastated by his death though she'd barely seen him in four years. Between them they had such hope in their love that nothing had been able to destroy it. Nothing. Grandpa had been right. Their love was the answer.
If Chris separated them, if he used his dad to do what the Elders hadn't been able to...
And it would work. He was sure of it. He could split them up and they'd find their way back together anyway. That was what they did. They survived. No one, least of all him, was going to permanently destroy his parents.
Faith in his parents' love. That was the key.
"I've got it," he said eagerly. "I've finally figured out how I'm going to do it!"
But Chris hadn't quite followed the thread back far enough. There was no way he could have known as it happened before he was born, but there was one event he had missed. And the only person who could have told him the truth, given him the last missing piece of the puzzle, Chris didn't even know existed.
Cole Turner was still haunting the manor, simultaneously awed and stricken that a child of Piper and Leo's could have turned out as Wyatt had and grieving terribly for his long-lost lover. Had Chris known he was there and had Cole known what Chris was planning, he could have given Chris the information he was missing.
Cole, and Cole alone, could have told Chris about the Elder that had plotted to kill Wyatt before Chris was even born. Cole could have told Chris that another Elder had discovered the plan and the murderous Elder had been put on trial and had his soul recycled. Cole could have told Chris that there was one inherent flaw in his plan to bring the Titans back sooner, to make his father an Elder, to let the Charmed Ones do what Wyatt had nearly been able to do.
And that flaw was that by bringing the Titans back when he did, Chris killed the Elder who discovered Gideon's scheme.
A/n: Ah, poor, misguided Chris. This story sprang to life during my obsessive need to make sense of one, Leo becoming an Elder and two, Chris' anger with Leo for not being there when he was a kid. The lack of explanation for the latter especially bothered me because it completely contradicted Leo's character.
I began to think, since Chris had no idea who was after Wyatt during season six, I think he must have legitimately thought that by saving everyone from the Titans that he'd be able to change the future completely. So I started to think about what events could have led up to Chris coming back to 2003 to save the future and this is what I came up with.
I'm sorry if I made any little mistakes with the canon. I haven't watched season six in a long, long time (mostly because the sisters' behavior irks me) and the finale of season five breaks my heart, so I haven't seen that in awhile either. I got most of my information on the Titans from reading a transcript of the episode; hopefully I wasn't too off in my discriptions.
I hope you all enjoyed this story. It's only my second attempt at a Chris PoV.
Please review.
Katie