Title: The Nature of Memory
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Author's note: IMPORTANT. This is set before Piper meets Greg (the fireman). So she doesn't know who he is yet. That will be important for future chapters, so I might keep reminding you all of that.
Summary: When Chris loses his memories, it's up to the sisters to try to help him. But when a familiar stranger comes to visit, can Chris remember his past before it kills him?
Chapter Four: End Game
San Francisco, 2025
The young woman slanted a quick look around her, then took a deep breath. Letting it out in a whoosh, she pushed back the utter loneliness she felt. She was an assassin, and for years before she had met Chris, she'd been on her own. But then she'd met Chris, and now she was used to be surrounded by people that she cared about, and people who cared about her. It was strange, this empty feeling that plagued her now that she was back to a life of running and hiding. Strange and unsettling.
It was almost dark and she was exhausted. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in way too long, but how could she fully rest when she knew there were demons out there with orders to bring her to their Lord, dead or alive?
The wound in her shoulder was infected now, the skin hot to the touch. She needed medical attention, but it was too risky to go to the mortal hospitals and she would never survive a trip back to the Resistance. Melinda would make sure of that. So what options were left to her?
As a trained Phoenix, she knew enough about potions and the healing properties of certain plants to brew something that might help. She considered this, staring at her shoulder, deep in thought.
And because she was so lost in her own musings, she did not hear the telltale whisper of the wind as the demon shimmered in, didn't register the other presence until it was too late and the hands of her attacker were already closing over her arms.
"Well, hello, poppet," the demon said, his British accent heavy, his smile twisting into a cruel leer. He tightened his grasp her wrists, fingers digging deeply into the skin. "Miss me?"
Manor, present day
Piper glanced up as Chris appeared with her sisters. She noted Phoebe's slightly green skin and asked curiously, "Where did you go?"
Phoebe sank onto a chair, now able to give in to just how much her fear of heights had affected her. "The very top of the Golden Gate Bridge," she moaned, closing her eyes.
"I thought it was cool," Paige said, rolling her eyes at Phoebe's dramatics. "It's a great view from up there."
"Easy for you to say," Phoebe shot back, slanting a look at her younger sister. "You don't have to worry about plummeting to your death, you can just orb away." She shivered and leaned back in the chair. "I don't like heights."
"And yet you always wanted to be able to fly," Piper mused, her eyes laughing silently.
"Well, yeah," Phoebe answered as though the reasoning was obvious. "If I could fly, I wouldn't have to be afraid of heights."
Piper shrugged, deciding not to question Phoebe's logic anymore, and turned her attention to Chris. She gave him an appraising look, as though expecting him to suddenly attack them all and declare their evilness. He stared back, refusing to back down from her gaze.
"I'm sorry about Prue," Chris said finally, breaking the silence.
Piper started, and looked over at Phoebe. "You told him…?"
"So he could understand where we were coming from," Phoebe defended herself. There really wasn't anything else she could have said to him to make him truly understand the pain this life had forced on all of them. Prue's death was still the hardest thing she'd ever had to deal with, but by now she'd also had to vanquish a husband… more than once… and lose a child that had never really been hers.
"Fine," Piper said, still annoyed but realizing that Phoebe was only doing what was for the best. 'We need to come up with a plan to stop this demons before they get Wyatt."
"Okay, then I need to call Jason and tell him I have to reschedule our date," Phoebe said, standing slowly. "Again." She frowned and shook her head.
"It's not my fault the Underworld is after my son," Piper retorted.
"Who's Jason?" Chris asked, but as usual, no one answered him.
"I didn't say it was your fault," Phoebe replied, "but this is the third date in the last two weeks that I've had to reschedule. Sooner or later, Jason is going to get suspicious."
"See, that's the nice thing about Richard," Paige cut into the conversation, "I don't have to hide anything from him."
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," Phoebe muttered as she walked from the room.
"Who's Richard?" Chris asked. Nobody even looked at him. He thought idly that it was almost as though he was invisible, and he couldn't help but wonder if that was a new power of his that he didn't know he had. Could the sisters actually even see him?
But then Piper turned and glanced at him, suspicion and distrust still in her eyes, and he discarded the previous theory. They could see him. They were just ignoring him.
"Okay, I'll put on some tea," Paige offered. They always had tea while they were problem solving. But as she said the words, another thought came to mind, and she placed a hand on Piper's shoulder briefly as she made her way from the room. "Don't blow up Chris, okay?"
Piper glared at the youngest Charmed One, but nodded reluctantly.
And then Paige exited the room, and Piper was left alone with Chris.
She sighed. Because this had obviously worked so well last time…
"Look, Piper," Chris started, deciding to take some of the initiative, "I didn't want to hurt you." She gave him a confused look, her eyes narrowed slightly at his words, and he rushed on to say, "I don't know what I did or why, but I do know this; I never once wanted to cause you pain."
"You say it like we know each other," Piper said curiously. The conviction in his words softened her heart a little, and she did her best to appear more understanding as she gestured for him to take a seat across from her as she sank onto the sofa.
"I think maybe we do," Chris said with a shrug. For a moment, he froze, unsure of what to say next, because Piper was giving him a suspicious stare. She quickly erased the expression from her face and he ventured, "Maybe Wyatt and I were friends before…" He gave an apologetic shrug, not able to finish the sentence.
"And you really don't know what happens to my son in the future?" Piper jumped on her chance to press the advantage. "You don't remember that at all?"
Chris shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said, and he meant it. "If I did remember…" He gave another shrug, glancing towards the kitchen where Paige was preparing tea. "I don't know why I didn't tell you before."
He looked like such a young boy then, so lost and confused, that Piper felt her heart almost breaking for him. He was holding himself together as best he could, but he was all alone in a time that wasn't his with no memories to help guide him. Whatever anger and resentment she felt was slowly melting away as she looked at him.
"Chris," she leaned across the space between them and put her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry. I'm trying to be nice to you, I really am. I just… There's a lot of tension between us. A lot of… suspicions and lies and… I am sorry."
"It's not your fault," Chris said suddenly, uncomfortable seeing Piper like this. It hurt him, although he didn't know why. Why was her good opinion so important to him? Why did he care that much? "I've been told that I wasn't the easiest person to get along with and I'm guessing that… when I get my memories back… I'll go back to being the annoying half-angel I was before." He didn't mention the possibility that he might not get his memories back. He didn't want to think about it, because he knew that it would mean the end of the world if that happened. If he couldn't save Wyatt from whatever evil it was that got to him, everything would go to hell. But how could he save Wyatt when he didn't even know who any of these people were?
"Hey," Paige announced her presence as she walked back into the room. She raised an eyebrow at Piper as she caught sight of the elder Charmed One's hand on Chris arm. Piper flushed and withdrew her arm quickly, and Chris looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Hey, Paige," Chris greeted quietly.
"Good to see that you are both still in one piece," Paige quipped as she handed Piper a cup of tea. She turned towards Chris, extending a mug, and he wrapped his hands around in appreciatively. The smell of peppermint drifted into the air, and he wrinkled his nose slightly.
"I guess I don't like tea," he said with a frown. He took a sip anyone, just to be polite, but pulled a face at the bitter taste.
Paige laughed, still marveling over how young and innocent Chris looked without his neurotic perseverance and determination, and the constant refrain of 'future consequences.' "Well, at least we know that means you aren't a Halliwell," she answered teasingly.
She turned to Piper as she finished saying this, and did not see the contemplative expression that flickered through Chris' eyes.
Phoebe reappeared abruptly, a sour-look on her face. She walked over to the rocking chair and flopped into it, announcing, "Jason and I got into an argument… again. About how I never trust him with things and it's always a family emergency and…" She shook her head. "It's not fair."
"Life isn't fair," Chris said automatically. All eyes swing to him, and he flushed suddenly. "Uh…" He looked uncomfortable, and Paige took pity on him and changed the topic of conversation.
"Well, the sooner we figure out how to stop the demons, the sooner we can all go back to our lives. So… any ideas?"
"I say we just orb down there and blow them all up," Piper announced angrily. "Teach them not to come after my son!"
"They have the ability to drain magical power, Piper," Phoebe cautioned, "which all of us have a lot of. We'd be bringing them exactly what they wanted."
"We've faced worse demons before," Paige pointed out. She pushed a few strands of red hair out of her eyes and gave Chris a look. It was strange for him not to voice his opinion during the conversation. She was used to him pushing his own theories on them constantly, and now he just stood there and stared blankly at them as they spoke.
"But usually it is just one tricky vanquish," Phoebe countered. "We have to go after the entire clan."
"Wyatt is Up There with Leo, right?" Paige asked, turning to Piper. The older sister nodded, and Paige continued, "So he's safe. We need to take the fight to the demons now, before they have time to organize another attack."
"So what? We just orb down there and start blowing things up?" Phoebe asked.
"Why not? We know exactly what their end game is: to take Wyatt's energy and powers. So we need to stop it," Paige answered. She could see the concern in both her sisters' eyes and she knew it was well-founded. It wasn't a good idea to rush into something unprepared, but what other choice did they have? Waiting for another attack would only make the demons harder to vanquish.
"She has a point," Piper admitted. "Besides, we don't have to vanquish all of them. Just scare them enough so that they don't ever attack again."
"Maybe Chris should go Up There also?" Paige suggested, giving the witch-lighter a scrutinizing stare. "He'll be in danger if he's here all by himself."
"Fine," Piper agreed. "I'll get Leo to orb him up. We're going to need a whole bunch of vanquishing potions. And maybe a good all-purpose vanquishing spell." Phoebe and Paige both nodded their consent to the plan, and started moving about quickly, preparing for the upcoming battle.
Up There, present day
Chris glanced around the white marble of Up There. Mist swirled at his feet, filling the cool air with more whiteness. All around him, angels wandered about, taking quietly with each other in a strange language he didn't understand. It sounded familiar, as though he should know what it was, but that particular knowledge was lost, just like the rest of his memories.
Leo stood next to him, a hand on Chris' arm as though to prevent him from wandering away. The Elder was holding Wyatt in his other arm, the little toddler nestled against his side.
"So this is where angels live," Chris mused. "It looks different than what I expected."
Leo gave a wry grin. "What did you expect?" he inquired.
Chris smiled, his entire face lighting up as he joked, "People sitting on clouds playing the harp and eating nectar and ambrosia."
Leo shook his head and answered with a laugh, "We're angels, Chris, not gods."
For a moment, the world slipped away from him, and Chris felt himself standing in the blackness of space. A moment later, and he heard voices, cries echoing in his head. A scene unraveled before him, hazy and imperfect, but filled with meanings and answers he couldn't understand.
"You're an angel, not a god!" a younger Chris argued, facing a slightly taller blonde teenager.
"They're the same thing, Chris. You just don't understand that," the teenager answered coldly, shaking his head and looking away. "You're too corrupted by those pointless notions of Good and Evil."
"Chris? Chris, can you hear me?"
Chris found himself staring into Leo's concerned eyes. He was still standing, rigid and tall, but a few other angels had gathered around him. They were all looking at him concern and slight fear, as though they had never seen anything quite like him before.
"What happened?" he stammered, his voice choked with fear and surprise. "I… what…?" He turned wide eyes back to Leo, hoping for an answer.
"We were talking, and then you went stiff as a board," Leo said quietly. "Your eyes were unfocused and you were completely out of it for a moment. What happened?"
"I think I remembered something," Chris said slowly. "I was arguing with someone, and he… I told him that he wasn't a god." He looked at Leo again, before averting his eyes. "I don't remember anything else," he added unnecessarily. "I just… I guess what you said triggered that…" He was uncomfortable with so many eyes focused on him, and he couldn't quite bring himself to look at them all. The attention was making him anxious.
"That's a good sign," Leo said thoughtfully, shifting Wyatt to the other arm. "It means you're starting to remember everything. Bits and pieces should come back to you, slowly at first. But soon…" He gave a wan smile, attempting to sound encouraging. "I know it must be strange to have this happening, but it is what we want, Chris. We want you to get your memories back."
"Do you?" Chris asked, unsure.
Leo frowned, then turned to the other white-lighters and Elders gathered around. "He's fine," he said. "Can you give us a moment?"
The other nodded and turned away, scattering into the mist and fog again. One of the men waited a moment, giving Leo a hard look. He was wearing a long golden robe, and his face wore a particularly dignified expression.
"It's fine, Gideon," Leo said again.
The man, Gideon, glanced at Chris. "Of course," he said in a heavy British accent. "If you need any help Leo, Christopher, don't hesitate to ask." And he too turned and walked away, disappearing into the expanse of white.
"Why wouldn't we want you to get your memories back?" Leo asked the moment the others had left.
"Well, you seem to like me a lot more now," Chris answered pointedly. "I mean, Piper practically admitted that she couldn't stand me before I lost my memories."
"We didn't know what to think of you then," Leo replied. "And… Chris, you have done a lot that you'll need to answer for at some point. But now that we've seen who you are underneath it all, I think… well, I for one am more willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." He paused, then added with a smile, "Even if you are sarcastic, neurotic, and annoying."
"Thanks," Chris said dryly.
Leo laughed again. Turning to the toddler in his arms, he said, "Come on, buddy. Why don't you and I show Chris around while your mother and aunts go vanquish those nasty demons?" To Chris, he added, "Maybe you'll start to remember some other things. This is a pretty familiar place for you. It could trigger something."
Chris nodded, watching as Leo and Wyatt interacted. He could see the adoration on Wyatt's face, and the look of complete love that Leo gave his son, and for some reason, it bothered him. The bond between the two left him feeling guilty and lonely and frustrated and hurt all at once, and he had no idea why.
"Chris?" Again, Leo was looking at him with confusion and concern. He had started walking, but when he realized that Chris wasn't following him, he stopped and turned around. Chris was staring at nothing again, but he wasn't as stiff or rigid as before, and his eyes were not as blank. It looked as though he was lost in his own thoughts, trying to work through some problem.
"Sorry," Chris said, moving towards Leo. "I was just thinking about something else."
"Care to share?" Leo asked.
Chris shook his head. "No, but thanks," he said. "It wasn't really anything… important."
Leo gave him a disbelieving look, but didn't push the subject.
They walked in peace for a while, Leo occasionally pointing out different architectural parts of the white marble archs and passage ways, or introducing Chris to other angels. He explained about the angel hierarchy, as Chris dubbed it, about the differences between different levels of Elders and the white-lighters. Almost everyone up there seemed to know him already, and they were very sympathetic of his lost memory. It made the situation even more awkward for him, but he bore it with a stoic expression, knowing that Leo was only trying to help.
It was when he was being reintroduced to yet another fellow white-lighter that the next vision came. It was shorter than the first, and triggered by nothing apparent except the fact that they were standing Up There.
The white marble of Up There was filled with scorch marks and running red with blood. Elders slumped over everywhere, their faces fixed in expressions of horror and despair. Chris stood in the center of it all, a few years younger than he had been in the last vision, and called out frantically, "Daddy! Daddy!"
There was no answer.
"Oh… God," Chris breathed as he came back to the present.
"What is it?" Leo asked, leading Chris over to a nearby bench and forcing him to sit down. The young half-angel was shaking badly, his face white, his eyes filled with terror. Leo sat next to him, still holding Wyatt tightly. He, too, looked scared, reacting to the expression of fear in Chris' eyes. "What did you see?"
"Everyone up here was dead," Chris answered in a monotone. "I was screaming for my father. I think I might have been ten or eleven."
"Did you father answer you? Did you find him?" Leo asked quietly, dreading the answer already. What was it Chris had said when he came back to the past? That families barely existed in his world? That he had never had a chance to know his? Was this part of the reason? Had his father died when he was only a child, leaving him alone?
Chris shook his head. "No," he said bluntly. He wrapped his arms around his chest and added glumly, "God, what a miserable world."
"We're going to change that, Chris," Leo said, placing a comforting hand on Chris' shoulder. "We're going to save the future. We're going to save everyone."
She slid her hand into his and said quietly, her voice full of faith, "Just remember, protect baby Wyatt and you protect the Charmed Ones. Keep them alive for our future."
"Great," Chris replied sarcastically. He was in his early twenties, creeping through a strangely unfamiliar version of the Manor's attic. "No pressure there."
"Chris, you know you're the only one who can do this. You're the only one who can save us," the girl replied. She gave him a smile, and he forced himself to return one as well, but the apprehension did not leave his eyes.
Chris pressed his hands into his eyes and shook his head frantically, pushing away the memory. He did not know who the girl was, but the love he felt for her was undeniable. Thinking of the engagement ring he had discovered at P3, he mouthed the name Bianca, but did not say it out loud.
"I don't like these memories," he muttered into his hands.
"What did you see?" Leo asked. It seemed like a refrain, over and over and over he would ask the same question. But Chris hadn't come to his senses completely yet, and he didn't seem to realize he was dropping precious clues about the future, something he never would have done if he had actually had all his memories.
"Me and a girl sneaking through your house. Only… it looked like it was different… darker…" Chris mumbled his reply. "She wanted me to protect Wyatt. She wanted me to protect all of you."
"Did you recognize her?" Leo asked curiously.
Chris shook his head. So far, the ring and his love for her were two secrets that he had, two things he knew about himself that no one else knew. He didn't know why, but he wanted to keep them to himself. He wanted them to be just his, and nobody else's.
"Okay, well you're obviously getting a lot of memories right now. How do you feel? Are you okay?" Leo asked, wondering what the next step in this should be.
"My head hurts," Chris admitted softly.
Leo frowned. "Then maybe it would be a good idea to refrain from doing anything to trigger another memory. Just until the headaches go away."
"I think that might be easier said than done," Chris answered.
To which Leo replied, "Most things are."
"Chris, look out!"
The young man through himself sideways and out of the path of the fireball. The warning had come not a moment to soon, and he barely avoided a flame-filled death. He crashed heavily into the tables and chairs, and they broke under his weight.
A girl was rising to her feet. She looked furious, and her hands were extended in front of her, a pulse of energy crackling on her fingertips. The air hummed as she easily vanquished the several demons who had attacked.
For a moment, there was a dead silence. Then Chris said wearily, "Well, I guess they figured out that we were spying on them."
"Let's get back to the Resistance," the girl said quietly. "And Chris…" she added with a wry smile, "try not to get yourself killed on the way."
Chris grinned back. "Easier said than done, Mel," he laughed.
"I think we were trying to get information," Chris said the moment the vision faded. He didn't look at Leo, simply stared ahead, lost in his own thoughts. "Another girl… I called her Mel. But demons attacked us."
Leo frowned, then stood quickly. "Stay here," he said. "I'll be right back." And he and Wyatt hurried away.
Chris stared in the direction the other man had gone, then down at his own hands. He remembered what it felt like as the fire passed by his head, so close to his skin he could feel the heat. He had reacted on instinct to this woman's command, as though he knew her and knew he could trust her. But who was she? The name Mel didn't sound familiar, and nothing about her rang any bells.
It was beyond frustrating, beyond annoying. All these glimpses at a life he couldn't remember, these gentle reminders of something he didn't have anymore. He almost liked it better when everything was a blank slate and he didn't know who he was. At least then he had a chance or reinventing himself into something that he actually liked. He didn't want to think about the horrors of this future. He just wanted to forget.
"Chris?" Leo had reappeared by his side. He was holding a small bag in one hand, and Chris gave it a curious look. Catching Chris' gaze, Leo held up the bag and said, "It's sleep dust. It should put you to sleep for a little while. Just until your mind has time to process the new memories."
Chris gave Leo a suspicious glare. He didn't like the idea of being magically sent to sleep, but he couldn't deny that his head was throbbing and he desperately wanted to just close his eyes and rest.
"It's only if you want, Chris," Leo said gently. He could tell that Chris didn't like the idea of being out of control, and he couldn't blame the young witch-lighter. But this really would be for the best. He needed to rest, needed his mind to heal, before he received more memories. "I just thought you might like to get some sleep. I'm not going to force it on you."
Chris nodded slowly. "Okay," he said.
Underworld, present day
"Intelligence isn't really one of your strong points, is it?" the demon mocked.
Piper, Paige, and Phoebe glanced around the cave, worried. They had orbed into the demons' lair, hoping that the element of surprise would give them enough of an upper hand to convince the clan to stop attacking. However, the demons had responded to their sudden appearance relatively quickly, and their sheer numbers allowed them to push the Charmed Ones into a corner.
The foremost demon who had spoken threw back her hood and took another few steps towards Piper. She was tall, and had pale skin and glittering eyes. Her cherry-red lips quirked into a cruel smile as she eyed Piper.
"What's the matter, darling?" she asked quietly, tauntingly. "Did you really think you would be able to beat us so easily?"
All around her, the demons began to throw back their own hoods. The long cloaks still draped over them, obscuring their bodies from view, but their malicious expressions could not be seen quite clearly, and this did nothing to ease Piper's fears.
Still, the oldest Charmed One held a brave expression and said, "Did you really think you could attack my son and get away with it?"
"Don't worry," another demon answered. His gaze was fixed on the vanquishing potion clutched in Phoebe's hand, the last of the ones that the sisters had brought with them. "Your son isn't out only target. Just the main one."
Piper raised her hands and flicked her wrist at the demon, but he shimmered out of the way before her blast of molecular combustion could reach him. "Stay away from my son!" she spat, her voice echoing, bouncing off the walls of the cavern.
"Make us," another demon snarled, throwing a fireball at Paige. She redirected the fireball back towards him at the same time that Piper tried to blow him up. The demon was unable to avoid both attacks, and screamed in fury as he exploded into ash and flames.
The demons all sprung forward, prepared to attach. At the same time, Paige reached out and caught both Piper and Phoebe's arms, prepared to orb them all to safety. Before anything could happen, however, a voice called out forcefully, "Stop!" and the entire cave shook with the power of that single word.
The demons parted, and Paige hesitated, turning towards the figure that had appeared. She still held tightly to her sisters', one hand resting on each shoulder, in case they needed to escape quickly. But none of the demons were making even the slightest move to attack, and the newcomer strode forward boldly, watching them.
This demon was cloaked as well, and from beneath the darkness of the hood, two silver eyes stared at them.
"This is getting boring," the demon said. "I thought you would have put up much better of a fight. You disappoint me."
"You want to see a fight?" Piper asked, her voice dangerously low. She attempted to blow up the demon, but the demon merely raised a hand and blocked Piper's power, absorbing it easily.
"Pathetic," the demon said.
"Who are you?" Paige demanded. "Or are you too scared to show your true face?"
The demon reached up and slowly lowered the hood. As the face came into view, all three sisters gasped.
"Grams?" Phoebe whispered.
"Prue?" Piper whimpered.
"Mom?" Paige asked quietly.
The demon raised an eyebrow and remarked calmly, "Interesting. You all see different people. And there I thought you were more alike." With a fluid movement, it raised the hood again, obscuring its features.
Piper blinked. That thing standing in front of her had been Prue, but a younger one, the one that she had known right when they first discovered magic. Short hair and the same cool smile, same nose, same face-shape. But the eyes had been different, colder. And silver.
Phoebe glanced at Piper. For her, the demon had worn Grams' face. Gray hair curling slightly around a stern, but loving, smile and the exact same stance and expression. But the eyes, so icy and silver, like liquid mercury.
Paige reacted almost instantly, orbing away with both her sisters. When the demon lowered its hood, she saw her mother, saw the disappointed look that had graced her face so many times when Paige was growing up. The look that said that she had expected better things from her daughter than this involvement with drugs and cigarettes and rebellion. Only the eyes told her that this was not her mother. Only those freezing silver eyes were different.
The demon stared at the place where the Charmed Ones had stood, then turned back to the clan. "I wanted this to be fun," the demon said, annoyed.
"We agreed to help you because you promised us glory. You promised us the Charmed Ones, and we had them right there! How could you let them go?" one of the demons demanded, striding forward impatiently.
Without even glancing at its accuser, the hooded demon waved a hand, tossing a fireball easily at the other demon. He cried out in shock and burst into flames, and the hooded demon turned towards the rest of the clan. "Don't fool yourselves," it said coldly, "the Charmed Ones would have escaped your grasp. They're more than just witches and none of you are powerful enough to defeat them. We will vanquish them, but we will do this my way." It paused, then said with a malicious tone, "After all, I want to have a little fun with this kill…"
Manor, present day…
Leo watched as Chris slumbered on the sofa. He was pleased that the boy had chosen to accept his offer. Still balancing Wyatt on one hip, he hovered close to the sleeping witch-lighter, prepared to orb them both out in a matter of seconds if need be. He knew it wasn't particularly safe here, and that Piper had wanted him to remain Up There, but he had thought it might be more comfortable for Chris in the Manor than in Elder Land.
The jingle of orbs had him turning in surprise, just in time to see the sisters reappear in the entrance to the sunroom. They looked shaken and white, and he knew that the attack on the demonic clan had not gone as well as they had hoped.
"What happened?" Leo asked instantly.
Piper shook her head and didn't answer, but crossed the room to take Wyatt from his father. Glancing down at Chris, she asked, "Is he okay?"
"He started remembering some things, but his brain was having trouble coping with the stress of those memories, so I gave him some sleep dust. So that he would have time to heal," Leo explained. "Are any of you hurt?" he pressed, glancing from his ex-wife to Paige and Phoebe.
Phoebe frowned at his question, as though she didn't quite understand what he was asking. "Grams," she said, and turned away, hurrying towards the stairs that lead to the attic.
"Oh, God… my Mom… I thought…" Paige stuttered incoherently, then chased after Phoebe.
Leo turned back to Piper, now more concerned than before. "What happened?" he asked again.
"Prue," Piper replied, and, still holding Wyatt, she followed her sisters towards the stairs.
Leo stared after them, then sighed and shook his head. Why was everything in this family so complicated?
Manor, 2025
Her shoulder throbbed.
There was no point in struggling, she knew that. The demons had a firm grip on her arms, and even if she managed to vanquish those two, there were several more in the attic of this Museum, ready to attack her if need be. And even if she managed to vanquish all of them, it still wouldn't make a difference because she could feel the anti-shimmering spell draped over the attic. It wasn't usually there, she mused, because the demons had to be able to come and go as they pleased. It must have been cast specially for her.
Morbidly, the thought made her proud. They had taken her threat seriously.
And then she heard the jingle of orbs and felt her blood turn to ice. She knew it was coming, had known since she was first captured that she would have to face Him, but even so… Knowing was different from fully accepting the inevitability…
"Hello, Bianca."
She lifted her own eyes to the face of the man who should have been her family and felt her fear replaced by loathing and fury. Her voice, cold and harsh and filled with bitter revulsion, and yet calm and unwavering, surprised even herself when she spoke.
"Hello, Wyatt."