Thanks to everyone reading and double thanks to those reviewing. In my recent and on-going battle with writer's block it is your support that keeps me going.

CHAPTER 7

Family Meeting

When Chris and Shadow entered Halliwell Manor, the rest of the family was gathered in the solarium waiting for them. The teenager tossed his mother's car keys on the table and slowly, worriedly entered into the designated war room. Judging by the looks on the faces of his family members, whatever he was about to learn was decidedly bad. Then again, he'd already learned that he was destined to die young, so what could be worse than that?

Wyatt, who was standing in front of the group alongside their father, gestured over to the armrest of the love seat where his little brother always sat during these meetings. "Take your seat. We're just about to start the family meeting."

He really is a duplicate of Leo, Shadow commented as he parked himself by Chris' side.

Chris merely rolled his eyes at the dog before returning his attention to his older brother.

"Okay, everyone," Wyatt began, "we all know about the threat. What we haven't known so far is what he's after, or how to stop him."

"Shouldn't we wait for Paige to get back?" Pheobe interrupted.

Leo let out a frustrated breath, "We've waited long enough, don't you think? While we sit here waiting, Ryak is healing and preparing to come after us again. We can fill Paige in when she gets back from meeting with the Elders."

"Yeah, ok, but what if the Elders know something too?" The middle Charmed One argued. "I mean, aren't you the one that always used to say that we should wait to see what the Elders want us to do?"

Piper snorted, "Come on, Pheebs, since when are you so concerned about what the Elders know or, more likely, don't know?"

"We do call them ever useless for a reason," Prue agreed.

Pheobe sighed. For some reason, her gut was screaming at her to postpone the meeting until her baby sister got back, but she really didn't know why. Piper and Prue were right. The Elders had never come through with information before it was already too late. Still, something was nagging her. It was as though a premonition was about to hit, but wasn't breaking through. However, with no valid argument other than a 'bad feeling,' she couldn't delay any longer.

"Now," Leo restarted the meeting, "what we discovered in the books at magic school is that Ryak truly is immune to good magic. No amount of power is going to change that. He was only vanquished last time by the Source of all Evil, and even he had some help."

"Help?" Melinda questioned. "Who would help the Source?"

The former Elder looked sympathetically toward Pheobe, "Belthazor."

Chris glared at his dog. You said you faced him and survived. You never said anything about helping to vanquish him. If you knew how to, why the hell didn't you say something right away?

I was already unconscious by then. I just weakened Ryak enough so that the Source could vanquish him. I never knew how he did it.

"Oh."

The adults turned questioning gazes on him.

"I mean. . .it kinda figures," Chris covered his slip. "He was a really powerful demon and he used to work for the Source, so you know. . . makes sense it was Belthazor."

Piper quirked an eyebrow at her youngest son. "You know about Belthazor? Have you been studying the Book of Shadows again?"

Shadow snorted.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Can we focus on finding out how to vanquish the demon that tried to kill me instead of my neurosis please?"

"Okay, so how did Cole do it?" Pheobe asked, her voice soft as it floated over the name of her ex-husband. Her eyes lowered to her lap, and only the black lab noticed the grief within the deep brown orbs.

Wyatt shrugged, "No one knows. They just know that evil's magic works to vanquish him."

"Great, so we have to work with demons again?" Piper asked, already not liking the idea.

"Not necessarily," Leo replied. "Ryak was vanquished once before by a different kind of magic. Excaliber." The mortal lifted up one of the books, opening up to the book marked section. He read, "And King Arthur and the mighty Excaliber defeated the monster called Ryak, thus bringing peace once more to Camelot."

"So, Arthur can vanquish Ryak? Well, that explains why he was after me." Chris went on to explain, "He thought I was Wyatt. He kept calling me Arthur."

"Must not have realized which one of you was which," Leo agreed.

Shadow's ears stood up. He rose to his feet, instantly agitated.

Wyatt folded his arms over his chest. "So, all I have to do is use Excaliber to chop off Ryak's head, and he won't be a threat anymore."

"But honey, you've never used Excaliber before," Piper argued. "It's not as easy as just picking it up and waving it around. Excaliber has a mind of its own, and the power is demanding, and if you're not careful, controlling even."

The Twice Blessed smiled at his mother's concern. "Mom, I know you're scared about my destiny, but it is my fate to be King Arthur. I accepted that a long time ago. Besides, I was going to get the sword soon anyway. I'm eighteen."

Leo moved over to his wife, his hand falling comfortingly on her shoulder, "He's right, Piper. It's his destiny. It won't be the same as when you wielded the sword. He's meant to have it. It won't take him over in the same way. The power will flow through him as though the sword were always a part of him. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."

"He shouldn't go alone," Chris argued. "This demon is too dangerous. If he manages to paralyze Wyatt with pain, Arthur or no, he'll be dead before he can lift Excaliber."

"I don't like the idea of Wyatt going alone either," Prue agreed. "Halliwells fight together."

Pheobe turned to Piper, "We should go to back him up."

No. Bad idea. You've got it all wrong, Cole's voice cut into Chris' mind.

Unfortunately, everyone– even his young witchlighter friend– was too focused on the growing plan to pay attention to him.

The dog nipped at his owner's pant legs, Chris, you don't understand. Wyatt isn't meant to do this.

Chris waved him off, distracted by his concern for his brother's safety. He was asking Leo, "What if you use me as bait? If he thinks I'm Wyatt, he'll be more focused on me than him. That'll give Wyatt the element of surprise."

"Yeah, I could summon Excaliber right before I kill him, that way he won't realize his mistake until it's too late."

"No," Leo argued. "I'm not using my youngest son for bait."

Piper turned to Chris, "He's right. It's too dangerous."

"I think it makes sense," Pheobe argued. "It'll give Wyatt the upper-hand, and we'll all be there to help Chris, so that he doesn't get hurt."

Prue shook her head, "Not a good idea. He kicked all our asses last time."

"Language missy," her mother scolded.

"Sorry. He kicked all our butts last time."

"Thank you."

Melinda sighed, "But if we don't use someone as bait, then how are we going to ensure that Wyatt doesn't get himself killed?"

"Thanks for the bode of confidence, Mel," Wyatt replied in mock hurt.

The little girl shrugged.

Shadow barked. Damn it! Chris, I am telling you this won't work. It will only make things worse.

"Shhh," Chris answered having only half-heard what his Uncle had been trying to tell him. "We're trying to think, Shadow."

"Yeah, be quiet before I have to tie you up out back," Piper added.

Chris turned to his parents, "I'm doing this. You can't stop me. So you might as well just support me, and help me. We need to vanquish Ryak, and this plan is the best we've got." Off their worried faces, "I'll be fine. I swear. I mean, I know you're worried after what happened to me before, but I'll be fine." He gave them a knowing look.

Leo visibly paled, his wide eyes searching his son's for confirmation of what he feared. When he saw the familiar haunted glaze in his youngest's jade eyes, he knew that Chris couldn't be protected any longer. Somehow, someway, he had discovered the truth. He knew about his counterpart in a world of darkness that never should have existed. Chris knew of his dark destiny, the one that had haunted his parents for seventeen years, and would continue to plague their minds and hearts until they knew that it was never to be repeated.

The boy's mother fought the tears that started to surface, "Chris?"

Wyatt looked back and forth between his parents completely lost as to why they both seemed to be suffering such emotional reactions to what his little brother had said. So Ryak had almost killed him before, big deal. It happened all the time in their family. What made this time so special?

Chris nodded to his mother's unspoken question, but when she started to ask another question he held up a hand to stop her. "We don't have time. Just trust me. I can do this."

Yes, you can, but your would be psychotic older brother can't. Cole tried again, still growling lowly in an attempt to get some attention. He barked again, jumping at his owner to get his attention. Damn it, Chris!

Finally, noticing the fearful edge to his dog's mental voice and the panicky actions Cole was making, Chris turned to look at Shadow only to find that his pet had been frozen. He looked back at his mom.

"I couldn't hear myself think with that growling and barking," Piper explained.

Wyatt turned to his mother and aunt, "Are we ready to do this?"

"Now?" Pheobe asked, the nagging feeling back in full force. For some reason, she looked at the dog, and the worry in her stomach grew. Something wasn't right. . .but what?

"Well, if we strike now, Ryak will still be weak from the wound Chris gave him. I figure it'd be our best opportunity," Wyatt reasoned.

Piper agreed, "Besides, the sooner we vanquish him the better."

Chris suddenly bolted into the kitchen. When he came back, he was holding part of the piece of Ryak's flesh. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the demon's magical energy. His eyes snapped open. "Got him."

The youngest brother held out his hand to the oldest so that Wyatt could telepathically see the whereabouts Chris had picked up on. While Wyatt was the twice-blessed, most powerful witch to have ever walked the planet, his whitelighter powers were lacking where Chris' were definitively stronger. Like his Aunt Paige, Chris could sense for not only charges, but evil too. Over the years, he had honed the gift to act as a type of scrying method.

"Let's do this," Wyatt announced, offering his mother a hand to orb her down to the underworld with him. A moment later both he and she dissolved into swirling white lights, disappearing as the magical energy carried them to the lair of their nemesis.

Leo put a hand on Chris' shoulder, "Please...please be careful."

Phoebe, who had also picked up on the double meaning to her nephew's earlier words, replied for him, "Don't worry, Leo, history isn't always meant to repeat itself."

"I'll be careful," Chris answered before taking his aunt's hand and orbing away to face for the third time in one day, a nearly unstoppable demon.

It was in this moment that Shadow unfroze. Chris? The dog looked around and found only Leo present. Piper froze me. In the middle of my warning Chris about making the biggest mistake they could possible make. He looked up at Leo who was so distracted by his fear for his son that he hadn't even noticed the dog's reanimation. And I'm stuck with the one person who will never get a clue. This is just great.

Up in the heavens, Paige was in a heated argument with Odin...

"What do you mean you can't say? This is our lives we are talking about here. If you know something about this Ryak guy, then you have to tell us."

The head of the council sighed, "We have told you what we know. Ryak is immune to good magic and only the Source and Belthazor have ever faced him and survived."

Ben, a soft spoken grandfatherly elder poked his head into the room, "That's not quite accurate, Odin."

Odin sighed dramatically, "The other battle is probably nothing more than a myth. There is absolutely no proof to support it."

"Oh there is proof. Leo Wyatt found a book in magic school just now saying that the tale is true. It is the final piece of the puzzle, Odin. Now, we understand Ryak's desperation in seeking to destroy young Christopher. Only he can wield Excaliber, which is made of ancient, neutral magic, the likes of which Ryak is not immune to."

Paige scrunched up her face in confusion, and held up her hands, "Hold it. Did you Excaliber is a way to kill Ryak?"

"Perhaps," Odin hedged. "It may be nothing more than an old wive's tale."

Ben shook his head, "It is not false, Odin. You just fear what the true heir will be capable of. You have always worried about the fate of the Halliwell brothers. Now that you have to face the future you have always dreaded you hope to postpone it with denials and half truths." Ben looked to Paige, "That's why he never corrected you. That's why none of us ever corrected you. He swayed the council of Elders to believe that telling the truth about the true heir would only lead to a dark Arthur."

"What the heck are you two talking about?" Paige asked, completely lost and thoroughly frustrated. "What true heir? You mean Wyatt?"

"No," Ben shook his head, a small smile forming on his aged lips, "Christopher."

Odin groaned and put a hand to his head.

Paige pulled a face, "Huh?"

"Young Christopher is the true heir to Excaliber. He is the one meant to destroy Ryak and eventually bring peace to the magical community. Wyatt is merely meant to be his protector."

"But the sword picked baby Wyatt. Legend says the sword is meant for the strongest being alive. That, as much as I love him, is definitely not Chris. While he's a gifted witch, he's miles behind Wyatt in the power department."

Ben's toothy smile widened, "That's where you all made your mistake. The sword only chose Wyatt because Christopher wasn't born yet, and the adult version that was residing with you was not there. The prophecy foretold of the son of a Charmed One being the heir. You all just assumed it was Wyatt when it was actually young Christopher with his strength of character, his fierce spirit that makes him the true heir. Think about it, Paige. Think of all he accomplished in his other life, and you will see the truth for yourself."

Paige swallowed, the information hitting her hard. All this time they had been wrong. All this time, Chris had thought he had no destiny, when in fact, he too had a very important fate. He was meant to unite the magical community and bring peace. It made sense. From what little the other Chris had told them of his life, he had managed to bring together not only the good magical beings to his cause but evil as well, all for the betterment of everyone. How could they not have seen it sooner?

"I said it before and I say it again: This is ridiculous. Chris is the black sheep," Odin cut in. "He killed innocent beings to accomplish his own end. He was engaged to an assassin. He manipulated, lied to, and endangered his own family. How could a man of such low moral character possibly be the reincarnation of King Arthur?"

"Hey, watch it, that's my nephew you're talking about. You know, the one that gave his life to save the future of the world? Who was murdered by your pal Gideon."

Ben shook his head at his comrade. "You forget that not everything Arthur did was always what we might consider morally upstanding. Besides, we all know that letting Wyatt continue in thinking he is Arthur is dangerous as well."

Paige frowned, "Dangerous?"

"Do you not recall what happened to your older sister when she thought she was Arthur?"

The youngest Charmed One's eyes grew wide, "Oh, no."

"Oh yes," Ben went on. "She turned evil. The power of the sword nearly consumed her. With Wyatt being as powerful as he is even without the sword the effects will be even quicker in coming. Power corrupts. Complete power corrupts completely."

"And you said Leo found a book saying that Arthur could beat Ryak? Oh, this is bad. He's going to tell everybody, and then Wyatt will..." With total panic in her eyes, Paige orbed back home, hoping beyond hope that she got there before her family made a huge mistake.

Odin glared at the other elder, "Why must you constantly interfere?"

"My visions have been getting worse lately," Ben answered cryptically. "Christopher must learn of his true path before a world darker than you can imagine emerges. If Ryak doesn't destroy the world...Wyatt Halliwell might."

tbc. . .

Don't worry, Shadow/Cole is going to have a bigger part in the next few chapters :)