"I don't know how you do it, Chris."
"Do what?" he asked, not looking up from the Book of Shadows.
"Not tell them who we really are," Mia said as she scried for the latest demon Chris had on their list, the demon with no name, but strangely resembled slime. Mia had been in 2004 for a few weeks now, and kept close to Chris most of time. It was the only way she could guarantee not spilling any secrets to the always-curious Piper, who had too much time on her hands with Paige living with Richard and Phoebe in Hong Kong with Jason.
"We don't have a choice, Mia," Chris said, flipping the page. "If we tell them who we are, it could change everything. This is a surgical strike, remember? Do what we have to do, and that's it."
"But telling them could help speed up the process of said surgical strike," Mia pointed out. "And keep your blood pressure down a bit too." Chris rolled his eyes. Suddenly, the crystal dropped down to a point on the map. "Got it."
Chris walked over and looked over her shoulder. "Perfect. Piper and Paige should be able to handle it, if you don't mind staying here to look after Wyatt and start research on the next demon."
"Yes to the watching Wyatt, but pass on the research," Mia said, stretching, lightly smacking Chris on the chest. Chris gave her a look. "Hey, we've vanquished ten demons in two weeks, followed up on dozens of leads, made some connections in the magical community, and have one more vanquish in a few hours. I think we deserve a bit of a break."
"Fine," Chris relented. "We should be back soon. The demon isn't as strong at this point in time, so it shouldn't be too difficult of a vanquish."
"Have fun, Captain," Mia smirked as Chris orbed away.
"Looks like the vanquish went well?" Mia laughed as she walked into the kitchen with Wyatt in her arms. Piper and Phoebe were gingerly cleaning off green slime off themselves.
"Watch it you, before I come give you a huge hug right now," Phoebe teased.
"You wouldn't dare," Mia challenged. "At least not with Wyatt in my arms. Besides, what are you even doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but Chris said that Piper and Paige were going to handle it."
Just as Phoebe opened her mouth to answer, Paige orbed into the kitchen.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry I'm so late, did I miss the vanquish?" Paige asked harried.
"Ask her," Piper said, motioning to Phoebe. The sisters instantly hugged and squealed, catching up with each other. Knowing her presence wasn't needed, she made her way back into the conservatory, placing Wyatt down in his crib before sitting down.
Chris orbed in next to Mia and took a seat.
"How're you holding up?" Mia asked.
"Just frustrated. We've followed hundreds of leads, but I feel like we're still so off mark," he replied, running his hand through his hair.
"I didn't mean about that," Mia said gently. Chris's shoulders sagged noticeably. She wrapped her arms around him as he laid his head against her shoulder.
"I miss her," Chris admitted. He pulled away gently, and Mia noticed his green eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
"I know you do," Mia whispered. "And that's why we're here, doing this together. So we can get back everything we've lost." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "Hey, since we're taking the rest of today off from demons, why don't we go do something fun and relaxing? We could go to the beaches of Hawaii or go hiking in the Himalayas or swimming with the dolphins. How about it?"
Chris smiled, but before he could respond, they heard Piper yelling for him. Chris straightened up his shoulders and lifted up his chin, while Mia just sighed sadly.
"Should've known it never stays quiet for long in this house," Chris stated.
They followed the sound of Piper's voice up to the attic to find Piper and Phoebe sitting amidst piles of boxes. Leo orbed in shortly after they arrived.
"Uhm… we kind of lost Paige," Phoebe said sheepishly.
"How do you lose your thirty year old sister?" Mia chuckled. Chris gave her a stern look. "What, it's kind of funny."
"What do you mean you lost Paige?" Chris asked sternly, turning to look at the sisters.
"Well, it was really weird. I mean, one second she was here and the next second… poof!" Phoebe explained.
"It kind of happened after she put on a pair of Grams' boots," Piper added.
"Were they cute?" Mia asked. Phoebe started to answer, but Chris gave the both of them a glare.
"Grams used to cast a spell on her clothes when she was younger," Leo offered.
"You knew their Grams?" Mia asked.
"Our paths crossed once or twice when I was a young whitelighter," Leo shrugged. Mia chuckled as Piper made a 'gag-me' face.
"So since the boots belonged to your Grams, we should summon her from the dead so she can tell us what happened to Paige," Chris said. Mia's face brightened up.
"We get to see the famous Grams?! I'm so excited!" Mia exclaimed. Piper's face instantly became suspicious.
"The famous Grams? How close were you to my family exactly?" Piper questioned.
Mia's face lost its color as she realized what she had let slip. "You know the famous Grams… the Grams that raised the famous Charmed Ones." Chris gave her a look. "I'll get the candles!"
"It's really not fair to target the weaker link," Chris pointed out. "We're doing this for your own good."
"A little information on the people we're letting into our lives isn't going to hurt us," Piper said.
"In fact, it may actually help us trust you more," Phoebe pointed out.
"That's what I told him," Mia muttered. "But the faithful lieutenant must obey her captain."
"Alright, alright," Chris said rolling his eyes, unaware of the green goo climbing up his leg. "Say the spell."
"Here these words, here my cry, spirit from the other side, come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide," Phoebe chanted.
"It's about time you called to say hello," Grams said as she appeared in a swirl of lights. She quickly gave Piper and Phoebe a hug.
"Hi, it's such an honor to see you, Grams… I mean Penny… I mean Ms. Halliwell," Mia stuttered in awe.
"And you are?" Grams asked.
"We'll explain later," Piper said, waving a hand. "We have a problem."
"Looks like I'm not the only one," Grams said, giving a pointed look at Chris, whose legs were now covered in green slime.
"Oh no, Chris!" Mia exclaimed. "Orb out!"
"I can't, it feeds off magic," Chris explained as the slime crawled up his body. "Summoning her spirit already gave it power."
"Oh, you must be Chris, the new whitelighter," Grams commented offhandedly. She turned to her granddaughters. "You know, he doesn't look very qualified."
Mia made a face at the comment, but chose not to address it. "We can deal with that later, Chris! Orb out so Piper can blow it!"
Not seeing another option, Chris complied, turning into orbs as the slime exploded into little pieces and disappearing into the cracks of the floorboard. Mia was instantly at Chris's side.
"Are you okay, Chris?" she asked, brows furrowed with worry. Grams raised a brow.
"Do we have time for introductions now?" Grams asked.
"Right. Sorry," Piper apologized. "Grams, Mia. Mia, Grams. Though you seem to already know of her."
"Really now?" Grams asked, suspiciously.
"I'm from the future. Chris's future. I came back to help him save the future," Mia explained.
"By protecting my grandson, Wyatt," Grams clarified.
"More or less," Mia replied.
"Alright, now that introductions are over, Grams, come with us downstairs so you can help us get Paige back," Piper said, ushering Grams and Phoebe down the stairs. Before heading down herself, she turned back to Chris and Mia. "You two, figure out how to fix this slime mess!"
Once she was gone, Mia once again turned her attention back to Chris. "Are you positive you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Mia," Chris assured her.
"Good," Mia stated, before punching his shoulder. "You said that it was going to be an easy vanquish! You could have gotten killed!"
"Ow!" Chris said. "I underestimated its power! But I'm fine."
"For now," Mia pointed out. Chris noticed she was near tears.
"Hey," Chris said calmly, cupping her face in his hands. "I'm okay. It's going to be okay."
"I just can't lose you, Chris," Mia said. "I've lost so much already. I can't lose you too. Not here. Not now."
"I know," Chris said, pulling her in for a hug. He kissed the top of her head in a rare moment of affection. "You're not going to."
"No more risky behaviors, alright?" she said pulling away and wiping away a tear. "And you tell me everything you know about every demon we hunt from now on. We're a team, Chris. Don't make me have to read your mind to find out the truth."
"Alright," Chris said. "I promise."
"Now let's go downstairs and help the sisters get Paige back. It took the Power of Three to defeat in the future, right?"
"Yeah, although that was with PJ, Parker, and Pearl," Chris told her. "But the original sisters should suffice."
As the pair headed down the stairs to the living room, they heard a grumble in the walls.
"Did you hear that?" Piper asked. Chris held his ear to the wall.
"Is it… is it in the walls?" Mia asked.
"Yep, it's in the walls," Leo confirmed.
"Alright, well we're going to need Paige," Chris said, taking charge. "It took the Power of Three to defeat this thing in the future."
"And you couldn't have told us this sooner?" Piper asked.
"It was hard enough getting two of you together for a vanquish, let alone all three," Chris defended. "I thought two of you could handle it since it isn't that big yet."
"Leo, you take point," Grams stated. "This boy is too green here to lead my girls."
"This boy has more experience under his belt that you think," Mia instantly defended. "He's fought more battles at his age than you have, and he is more than qualified as a leader. I wouldn't have anyone else as my leader of the Resistance other than him."
"Mia," Chris said warningly, though his tone was warm and appreciative.
"The Resistance?" Grams questioned. Mia flushed, suddenly aware of her slip.
"Future consequences," Piper and Phoebe chanted in unison, rolling their eyes, but Grams' look didn't falter.
"The future we come from is a dark place," Chris said solemnly. "The Resistance is an underground organization dedicated to bringing good and light back into the world."
"Chris is our leader," Mia continued. "And a damn good one at that."
"And Mia is my second in command. My best friend and loyal lieutenant," Chris said. He couldn't help but share a small, proud smile with Mia.
"So as young as we are, do not underestimate our ability to lead and fight," Mia continued. "We've experienced more horrors at our age than anyone should ever have to."
There was a serious, dark tone to Mia's voice than none of the others had heard from her, one that Grams had not expected from a young witch.
"Alright then," Grams finally said, softly. "Which boots did Paige put on?"
"So until the girls get back, we're going to need to find a way to contain this thing," Grams said as she, Leo, Chris, and Mia with Wyatt in her arms sat in the Wyatt's nursery.
"In our time, everyone tried to control the demon with no name," Mia explained. "But nobody could find a way."
"That's no winning attitude!" Grams exclaimed. "Why couldn't anyone in the future think of a simple name for this thing?"
"Speaking on the future, what's so awful that could happen to Wyatt?" Leo added.
"I honestly wish we could tell you," Mia said as she bounced Wyatt who was starting to squirm in her arms. "But I trust Chris that we need to change as little as possible. We could completely destroy the future we're fighting for if we divulge the wrong piece of information to you guys."
"But I'm an Elder," Leo offered.
Mia couldn't help but scoff. "That's not exactly a selling point to us," she muttered. Chris shot her a look, but Mia ignored it.
"Excuse me, back to the point. Slime thing. Any suggestions?" Grams cut in.
"We could orb it into an ice drift," Leo offered.
"No, that's bad," Mia shot down.
"More than bad, that's awful," Grams exclaimed. "You can't orb that thing, it feeds off magic."
"So what's your great idea?" Chris asked her.
"Are you sassing me, young man?" Grams shot back.
Before Chris could reply, Wyatt blinked, orbing his bottle from the kitchen into his hands.
"No, Wyatt!" Mia exclaimed, but it was too late. The walls started shaking and creaking, as they all ran down the stairs. Wyatt started crying, so Mia tried her hardest to bounce the baby into silence.
"I think it's stopped," Mia said after a moment.
"Alright, you need to get Wyatt out of here," Chris told Mia.
"I'm not leaving you here," Mia instantly objected. They shared a silent conversation.
"I'll take him," Leo said, taking his son from Mia. But as soon as he reached the doors, the green slime crawled up the doors and windows, blocking them inside.
"Uhm… Ms. Halliwell… are you okay?" Mia asked hesitantly as she stared in awe at the woman in front of her. Gone was the fierce, conservatively dressed spirit, and instead was a Penny Halliwell dressed in tie-dyed clothing with flowers in her hair.
"This is not good," Leo said. Grams smiled brightly as the three stared at her.
"Clearly," Chris commented, eyes wide at Grams.
"Come here my little moonbeam," Grams gushed as she took Wyatt from a stunned Mia.
"What is going on?" Mia asked, incredulously. Grams was too busy making cooing sounds at Wyatt to hear their discussion.
"One of the sisters must have changed the past," Chris said.
"Do you think they can fix the timeline and get back here?" Mia asked, worried.
"Let's hope so," Leo said with a grim face.
"Either way, this thing is trying to back us into a corner," Chris said, mind racing with possible solutions. Leo, take Wyatt and Joan Baez here into the conservatory. Mia and I will do what we have to do fight this thing off til the sisters get back."
Half an hour later, Leo, Wyatt, Grams, Chris, and Mia were assembled in the dining room, a pile of appliances stacked on the table.
"What are all those things doing here? Piper isn't going to be happy," Leo commented. Chris rolled his eyes.
"Remember how the slime reacted when it encountered electricity through the lamp upstairs earlier?" Mia asked him.
"If we can get the slime to attack all these appliances, maybe we can zap it," Chris continued.
Leo picked up the cord of the toaster oven, trying to find a place to plug it into. The power strip was already full. He moved to the other side of the room to find another outlet.
"Why must you resort to such violence?" Grams asked, still holding Wyatt. "My dear Allen would have found a more peaceful method. Have you tried talking to the slime?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I don't think that's gonna work."
"For another light topic of conversation, how about one of you two tell me what happens to Wyatt in the future?" Leo asked, looking between the two younger witches.
"Nice try," Chris commented. "Just plug the damn thing in already."
As soon as Leo plugged it in, the lights went out.
"Great," Mia said, growing frustrated.
"I told you violence is not the answer," Grams chided.
"Where's the fuse box?" Chris asked.
"In the basement. Get a flashlight from the laundry room," Leo told him.
"I'll go with you," Mia said, apprehensive of the idea of them being separated for even a moment.
As soon as they were alone, Mia let her worries known. "This is not good, is it?"
"We just have to have faith in the sisters," Chris comforted her. "All we can do now is do our best to fend this thing off. We have to keep Wyatt safe."
"Anything for Wyatt," Mia said softly but firmly.
Chris gingerly opened the door to the basement and Mia shined her flashlight down to reveal a huge mass of green slime.
"This is not good," Chris said.
"We have to keep this away from Wyatt," Mia said as they slowly backed away. "He doesn't know how to control his magic yet."
"Let's go for now, there's nothing we can do but regroup," Chris said. "Leo!"
Before they could shut the door, the green slime surged towards them. Mia instantly reacted.
"Chris, move!" she screamed as she pushed her way in front of him, being taken by the slime.
"MIA, NO!"
Chris made a move to go after her, but Leo quickly intervened, shutting the door.
"Chris! Stop! There's nothing we can do right now, you need to think," Leo tried to get to him.
"That thing took Mia! I can't just do nothing!" Chris roared at him.
"Chris, I need you to think rationally. Mia sacrificed herself to save you. If you go after this thing without a plan, it would be pointless," Leo said sternly.
Chris backed up against the wall, a look of pure shock and terror on his face as things started to sink in.
"Mia," he repeated softly.
Suddenly the basement door shook violently. Leo and Chris instantly pushed their weight against it.
"You need to go," Chris told Leo. "Take Wyatt, and Grams, and get out of here while I distract it."
"I'm not going to let you go on a suicide mission just because Mia was taken," Leo said.
"Now you need to think rationally," Chris said, compartmentalizing his shock over Mia and moving back into leader mode. "Mia and I came here to protect Wyatt. You need to keep him safe while I figure out a way to deal with this. But Wyatt is the number one priority. He always was."
Leo was saved from having to make a decision as the sisters appeared.
"Stand back, boys," Piper said as Paige recited the vanquishing spell.
"Where's Wyatt?" Piper immediately asked.
"With Grams in the living room," Chris replied hollowly.
"Where's Mia?" Paige asked.
"She, uh, she didn't make it," Chris replied.
"Oh sweetie," Phoebe said as she moved to give him a hug.
"Not so fast," a voice said as she emerged from the basement. She coughed and wiped some slime off the corner of her mouth. "Can't get rid of me that easily."
"Mia," Chris said as he instantly enveloped her in a hug. Phoebe and Paige shared a look with raised eyebrows. Their neurotic whitelighter had a heart after all.
"Glad to see you're okay, sweetie," Paige said.
"We'll let you guys have a moment," Phoebe said as the two sisters walked away.
"Chris, I need to breathe," Mia joked. He reluctantly let her go.
"Never, ever do that again," he told her sternly, but there were tears in his eyes. "As your so called captain, I forbid you."
"Like you really have any say over me," Mia stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm serious, Mia," Chris said more gently. "Just a few hours ago you were mad at me for taking unnecessary risks."
"It was necessary," Mia argued. "I couldn't let the slime get you. I just couldn't."
"I can't lose you, Mia," Chris said, his eyes both full yet empty at the same time.
"I know," Mia said softly. She pulled him into another hug. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"How did you survive anyway?" Chris asked her when they pulled away..
"I don't know," Mia admitted. "I remember jumping in front of you, and being dragged down into the basement, and all I could do was think of how I had to stay alive, for you, for Wyatt, for Mikey… I tried to create a forcefield around me, but the slime just sucked it up, though slowly. I don't know how much longer I would have lasted if the sisters hadn't arrived when they did."
"Thank God they did," Chris muttered.
"I'm tired, Chris," she told him. "Can we go home?" They both knew that she meant the future, but that P3 would have to suffice.
"C'mon," he said, grabbing her hand and orbing away.
Hello faithful readers! I'm so sorry for the long waits in between updates, I'm absolutely terrible, I know. But if you're still sticking around, I give you my infinite love and gratitude! Please let me know what you think of this chapter, and I'll try to get a new one out sooner than later!
Also, a lot of this chapter is from Charmed season 6, episode 11, Witchstock. A lot of the dialogue and plot is taken verbatim, so obviously I do not own any of that! I'm just a fan writing about a fandom I love. All I own really is Mia. So please don't sue!