Destiny

Disclaimer: Charmed is not mine, Chris is not mine (unfortunately) blah blah blah.

Chris rolled over. It was twelve in the afternoon and he knew he should get out of bed, start work on the ever-growing pile of assignments he had to do, but he was just so sore. Wyatt had been on one of his demon hunting crusades again last night and had dragged a reluctant Chris along. That night had been particularly rough on Chris. Being a Halliwell, he was used to being thrown against walls by the force of energy balls – that he could handle – what he couldn't handle was the running, the jumping, the kicking and the punching. He was not used to demons throwing punches, crawling on top of him and scratching at his face, neck and chest. Although it would seem as if he was untouched – thanks to Wyatt's new healing ability – his bones and muscles were screaming in protest when he did decide to pull the covers back and sit up in bed.

Eighteen year old Christopher Halliwell ran a hand through his thick brown hair and closed his eyes. Boy, was a sore. And tired. He was not going on another mission with Wyatt for at least a month. Wyatt would just have to deal.

It took all of an hour for Chris to shower and dress, much longer than per usual, but he could not turn his back on the soothing warm water coursing down his spine. Making his way downstairs of the Halliwell manor, Chris was not surprised to find his entire family crowded in the sunroom. Saturday meant family day and all the Halliwell's, without fail, congregated to the manor for some catching up. Chris usually liked these times with his family, but today was different. He was not in the mood to entertain his six little cousins and have an emotionally charged catch-up session with Aunt Phoebe.

"There he is," his mom waved a hand at him, indicating that he join them. She sat on the couch, squashed between Leo and Paige. Wyatt was sitting on a chair with Prue, Phoebe's youngest, on his lap and Phoebe, Henry and Cooper were all sitting on the couch.

Chris gave a small wave. "Hey," he greeted, a strained smile on his face. "Where are the kids?"

The noticeable absence of the rest of the Halliwell children irked him. When they were not wreaking havoc on him, they were usually off plotting.

"They're playing outside," Paige informed him. "Thinking of some way to torture you." She smiled and nodded her head, as if answering the unspoken question.

"Great," Chris muttered, turning around and heading towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna make something to eat."

He entered the kitchen and peered inside the fridge, wondering if there was any turkey left from last night. Disappointed to find there wasn't, he found the next best thing: chocolate ice-cream. Taking it out with a smile on his face, he felt someone behind him and found Wyatt grinning at him.

"What about last night, eh?"

Chris set the ice-cream on the counter and began sifting through the cupboards for a bowl. "You make it sound as if we got laid."

Wyatt gave off a short laugh that irritated Chris. "So I was thinking tonight we could take on that clan I was telling you about."

"What, the Okshan clan?" Chris asked, beginning to scoop ice-cream into the bowl and when Wyatt nodded he dropped the scooper in the bowl and turned on his brother. "No thanks. I've had enough of all these missions for now. Besides, don't you have something better to do?"

Wyatt cocked an eyebrow. "Better than fulfilling my destiny?" He asked and Chris couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Don't think so."

"Do you ever get sick of that whole 'destiny' crap?" Chris continued filling up his bowl.

"No. Do you ever get sick of ignoring yours?"

Chris placed the lid back on the ice-cream container, took his bowl and headed for the kitchen table. Sitting down, he looked up at Wyatt and frowned.

"None of that is true you know," he started. "Destiny is what the Elders made up to force witches to do their work. Besides, I have to finish all my assignments. I need to get into college, remember?"

"You don't need college," Wyatt sat down opposite Chris and watched as his younger brother started savouring his ice-cream.

"Don't let mom hear you say that," Chris said through his mouthful of ice-cream.

"Ok, look," Wyatt began, a pleading tone in his voice. "Just this last time and then we'll take a break. I don't want to go by myself."

Chris snorted, a bit of ice-cream coming out his nose. "What, the Twice-Blessed scared to take on a couple of lowly demons?"

Wyatt growled. "Not scared, cautious. Dad says never to go hunting by yourself." He drew in a breath. "Besides, we're a team. We stick together, right?"

Chris went back to eating his ice-cream, leaving the question unanswered. How was he meant to tell Wyatt that his plans for the future? Plans that would not involve magic, demons or even Wyatt.

He was saved this torment however by the appearance of their cousin Henry Jr who orbed in with a grin plastered on his face.

"Hey, Chris," he started, "can you come outside with me?"

Chris continued to eat his ice-cream and shook his head. Swallowing he replied, "So you can orb me to Washington again? No thanks."

The plan was usual: go to bed normal time so as not to alert the parents, wake up at one o'clock, go over strategies, consult the Book of Shadows if necessary and then orb to the Underworld. Chris didn't like the description the Book had of the Okshan clan. It was very limited and stated that they were a hive, reptilian in nature, following the queen who possessed various powers, not all of which is known. To kill the hive, however, the queen must be vanquished. There was no known vanquishing spell or potion. So much for lowly demons. In essence, the brothers had no idea what they would be facing. But that never stopped them before.

Packing heavy on ammunition – the usual 'blowing up' potions and an athame – they orbed to a location close to where they knew the hive slept. The plan was to take them by surprise. What they didn't anticipate however, was that the hive never slept. Turning the corner into the cavern, expecting to encounter dozens of sleeping and unaware demons, they instead stood face to face with about a hundred steely eyed demons who did not seem surprised at all. The cavern in which they stood in was large, but through all the bodies, Chris could make out an opening at the end, possibly where the queen lived.

Glancing at Wyatt, Chris stepped back as the demons started to advance, knowing quite well what Wyatt was about to do. Chris watched in awe as Wyatt raised his arms and, without breaking a sweat, quite literally blew half of the demons away. Chris vaguely wondered why he had been asked to come along when it was obvious that Wyatt seemed to have everything under control. He pushed this thought to the back of his mind as he rushed forward and used his telekinesis to throw demons aside, leaving a path for him in the middle. He continued throwing demons against walls as he shouted back to Wyatt, "I'm going after the queen!" and before Wyatt could protest, Chris ran through the path he had made – and continued to make – and through the large opening at the end of the cavern.

It was darker in here – black – and it seemed to stretch all around him. It took a moment for Chris to adjust his eyes to his new surroundings and when he did, he spotted her instantly. The queen was nothing how Chris had imagined her to be and looked nothing like her army battling it out with Wyatt. She almost looked normal if it was not for the scales that stretched along her body. As he approached her, she smiled, her white teeth gleaming in the darkness. He raised his hand, every intention of throwing her against the wall – his favourite technique – but then she spoke.

"Hello Christopher," her voice was sickeningly sweet. Chris lowered his hand in surprise. "I thought you'd be a bit earlier than this." She pushed herself off the wall and took two long strides to face Chris.

"How do you know my name?" It was a cliché question and it was one that Chris never tire of when demons said his name unexpectedly.

"Oh," her smile took a devious turn. "I know everything about you. It's one of my many gifts."

"Your gift is to know me?" Chris almost laughed at the absurdity of it. "I'm glad I can be that special someone in your life."

It astounded him, but the demon laughed. "No silly boy," she said. "My power is knowing. Know all. Know everything and everyone." Her face suddenly turned sour. "Like I know how your brother is massacring my children right now."

"Shame about that," Chris said sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to the business of killing you." He raised his hand again but before he could do anything, she smiled and spoke again.

"You know there is no way you can kill me," she said, her smile in place once more. "You can try all you like, but in the end you are the one that will die."

Chris knew this was true, but he had only intended on distracting her until Wyatt could finish her off.

"But your brother on the other hand..." she paused thoughtfully. "He's much more powerful. And my children can't survive much longer out there." She paused again, analysing Chris. "What would you say to a little proposition?"

"What?" Chris was taken aback. Do a deal with a demon? He's never heard of that ever happening, especially not to good witches. "And why would I make a deal with you?"

"Because I can give you something that you desire most in the world."

Chris snorted. "Yeah and what's that?"

Her smile never left her face and Chris found it slightly creepy.

"The truth," she replied.

"What truth?"

"The truth about you."

TBC

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