Chapter Nine

The purple fog that had overwhelmed them was slowly clearing, swirling away into the images that began to reveal themselves; images of darkness and demons and cold, narrow corridors which curved rather than turned sharply. Prue, Phoebe, Paige and Bas found themselves looking over one such corridor, gradually moving, as if hovering over it, at the same pace as the girl who was striding purposefully down it.

"There she is!" Prue called out triumphantly, her voice penetrating the silence.

"Jesus, she looks about fourteen!" Phoebe exclaimed with horror.

"Thirteen here, I think" Bas said sadly. "Y'know, she's kinda creeping me out." She pointed out, watching the dauntless way in which the girl strode, her eyes set as if locked on a victim before her.

"Hmm..." Prue agreed, "she was pure evil Phoenix back then. Born and raised."

"Not pure evil. She never, ever was. Just watch" Bas instructed.

Bianca flicked her sharp hair as she turned a tightly curved corner, and then another. These corridors were odd, and Bianca travelled the snakes path without comment, until she reached a door, and entered.

"Lord Wyatt? You called?" Bianca spoke to the blonde man who's lean body was curled into a small armchair, legs spilling over one arm-rest, shoes kicked off.

"I did. I need you to perform a special task for me." Wyatt's eyes shone misheviously. "Take prisoner 2001 his dinner for me, would you?" He said, flicking his finger over to the plate of stale bread that sat on an old fashioned coffee table to his left.

Bianca's eyes visibly widened, and a smile of pride played upon her lips, intruding her cruel demeoner. For some reason, Lord Wyatt held this particular prisoner in the highest regard, and only allowed his favourite demons to attend to him. Every demon working at Causa Mortis fought for this honour. Bianca was over the moon.

"2001?" She repeated, as if unable to believe it. "Yes, Sir. Of course."

She picked up the plate as if a feast for a king was spread on it. Blinking to regain her composure, she turned to leave.

"Bianca?" Wyatt stopped her.

Still holding the door she'd opened, Bianca turned.

Wyatt smiled as if his job, morbid as it was, gave him the greatest of joys. "I will ask this of you more and more in coming months. You've probably guessed that this is a promotion. You know what you'll be expected to do. Tend to 2001 and, additionally, join the Res Hunters."

Bianca twitched, as if resisting the urge to jump for joy at her brilliant luck.

Wyatt continued. "If you please me in how you perform, there may be a further promotion in it for you. I've been more than pleased with your work so far." Wyatt's smile widened still. The silent watchers thought that it looked painful. "Mind you, don't let emotions take over as others have. In the past, people assigned to this job have been most unsatisfactory."

Bianca nodded and made a hasty escape, walking through the corridor once again. She knew the stories of the prison guards who had looked after 2001. For some reason, they had all been turned. Apparently, if rumours were true, the prisoner held hopes for a better future; some sort of alternate reality- a utopia- so it was told. Demons had been enticed by this, and began to conspire, so had had to be... fired. But not Bianca. No-one could turn her for the world. No-one.

The intruiged watchers eyes followed Bianca stopped walking to stand before a huge door. It seemed to be larger than other doors, and no demon except her was going into it. Phoebe spotted a few demons eyeing the door nervously as Bianca approached it. A red light scanned her eyes, and Bianca didn't even twitch as it did. Then, the door gradually opened, shaking the floor as it did so.

The door opened to an extremally wide corridor, darker and seemingly more sinister than the others. A petrifying sound that escaped through the open door made the disturbed watchers blood run cold. Bianca ignored the painstaking scream and stepped through the door. She only winced slightly as it shuddered behind her. She couldn't admit that this was her favourite place. She had a pretty thick skin, being a Phoenix, but still, what went on behind the doors she was walking past did make her legs go slightly weak. Bianca eyed the blood streaked on the floor, shivering. But she straitened her spine and strode on. She ignored the blood-sodden demons who passed her. Although she did notice that as one smiled evilly her way, a splatter of blood had caught on his yellowing tooth. She grimaced.

Bianca passed many rooms marked with many different names. Some were self-explanatory, whereas others got Bianca thinking. 'The Electric Room'. 'The Drip Room'. 'The Swing Room'. 'The Furnace'.

However, as she walked further and further, the doors became sparser, and the walls became tighter and tighter, and the agonisingly pitiful screams became further and further away. Demons stopped passing. Around 20 minutes down the corridor (the horrifically long corridor. Horrific taking all into account, anyway) her shoulders were close to touching the walls, and she came to a small door, marked

2001, which she stopped at. Bianca felt her heart flutter. She was finally going to find out who prisoner 2001 was! Would it be an uncovered Resistance spy who she'd recognise? Maybe even a kidnaped Resistance Leader? Taking a deep breath, Bianca let her newly recognisable eyes be scanned. Bianca was filled with an intoxicating feeling of pride mixed sickeningly with trepidation. She didn't know whether the feeling was pleasant or unsettling. Nevertheless, Bianca opened the door.

Just as the terrified watchers eyes went wide, so did Bianca's. Prisoner 2001 was a boy. As young as she herself was. Bianca stepped forward, the plate shaking precariously in her hands.

He was lead on a stone slab at the end of the room, which was as covered in blood as the boy was. His body was covered in bruises and burns, particularly his hands, which looked scalded. That and the bloody cut all the way around his neck told Bianca exactly what kind of torture he'd been subjected to. 'The Swing Room' came to mind. Of course, none of this was unusual. But this was just a boy. A child.

Despite her disgust, Bianca kept to her duty. She strode to the slab and placed down the bread. The boy opened his eyes just enough to regard it longingly, but he didn't move.

He's waiting for me to leave. Stupid dignity... She thought.

Bianca span to exit.

"No water then, I guess?" The boy croaked, and when Bianca turned, he was half sat up, proped onto his elbow, looking at her squarely in the eyes. Bianca thought that they were very handsome eyes. The sort of deep, green eyes that you could sink into. And his face, although splattered with bruises, wasn't at all ugly. Quite the opposite, Bianca thought.

"No water." Bianca snapped, as was her habit when prisoners asked for such things. Then, she sighed and said in a sweet voice, "sorry about that."

Bianca winced immediately.

Sorry about that? Where the hell had that come from? They weren't running a five star hotel. He wasn't a guest she was serving! She was supposed to be sinister.

"Not sorry. I-I mean." Bianca stuttered, blushing.

To her disdain, the boy chuckled at her discomfort.

"Oh, just..." She stuttered again. "Eat your stale bread. And don't go asking for butter."

He shrugged his skinny shoulders. "Now that you mention it..."

Bianca huffed and span out of the room, letting her hair fan out. As she slammed the door, she heard the boy call out a 'Thank you'. As she walked away, she scoffed. She didn't realise she was smiling a little. Only the silent watchers did, and they smiled too. And then, they began to splutter and choke...

...Purple fog began to cloud their sights and choke them...

...And then the metal of the Memory Bank returned, and everyone looked at each other.

Prue had to fight to find her breath. But when she did, she yelled: "What was that, I didn't see a portal room? Was that relevant to anything?" she cried, folding her arms and eyeing Bas, who shuffled guiltily.

"Oops. Wrong one," She shrugged giving a wry smile.

"Great. That was just... Great." Prue threw her arms out in annoyance.

Phoebe and Paige seemed to be in a daze. "Aww, was that how they met?" Phoebe asked.

Bas was looking through the shelves of potions, ducking her head behind them. She spoke as she looked.

"Yeh. She tended to him for his last year. They grew on each other. A lot, obviously, since they got engaged. In fact, she's how Chris escaped. She helped him. It took a while, of course, but she became a link between Causa Mortis and the Resistance. She was able to not only turn demons but even get moles in there. Even Darryl! They conspired and, eventually left together, and Wyatt's been seething with rage about it since" Bas turned, two potions in her hands. "Y'know, Wyatt brought it on himself. Great plan it was to send the lonely teenage boy a pretty, equally lonely teenage girl to keep him company. Duh... He's not as smart as he likes to think he is. He's all muscle." Then, Bas looked at the potions in her hands, eyebrows raised. "Now, it's defiantly one of these."

"Bas..." Prue growled.

"Okay..." Bas thought for a second, then thrust a hand forward. "This one!"

"You sure?" Prue asked.

"Erm..." Bas thought. "Yes. Yeh, I really think so. If the things Bianca told me are right, she opens a portal for them all to escape through."

"Then let's go for it." Paige said, grabbing the potion from Bas' hand. Without further ado, she threw it onto the floor.

As the purple fog began to billow from the shattered glass, the great metal door opened. Chris looked curiously in. He saw the purple fog.

"Oh no, Chris..." Bas cried as Chris began to choke and splutter along with the rest of them, fog going up his nose and wrapping around his eyes...

...They were all consumed once again by the odd fog...

...And soon the gang were looking over the familiar room of prisoner 2001, and a new pair of eyes watching widened to see the scene...

"Chris," a disembosied voice yelled. "Are you there?"

He was, but he didn't answer Prue's worried cries. He was transfixed.

Chris and Bianca were older in this scene, and not only that had changed during the time. Chris had become worse. His state was indescribable- it looked as if he'd been put in a blender. All that remained of Chris was a savaged skeleton. Bianca had his head on her lap and was putting water into his thin, pale lips. Tears trickled down her flushed cheeks and her eyes were dark and withered, as if she'd aged a thousand years in just one with the strain of heart-break.

"Come on Chris. You have to try." She sniffed, pouring more water in. Chris gulped weakly.

"There you go." Bianca said, and kissed his forehead.

For a moment she kept her lips there, and it was as if she'd fallen asleep. Then, her body suddenly heaved with a quick sob. Then another.

"Chris..." She said brokenly. "I don't care what you say anymore, I'm doing it today. We've waited and planned too long. They're ready for us there, at the Resistance. Their messages are urging us to make a move. Why are you still saying no?" Bianca asked, but her expression told the watchers that she knew the answer already.

"D- It's too dangerous..." Chris said with urgency.

"I don't care what he does to me. Do you hear me? I don't care!" She almost yelled, and then winced when she realised. When she spoke again, it was in a whisper. "I don't care. All I care about is getting you out. Getting

us out. You want that too. So please, please trust me." She pleaded.

Chris smiled, his lips quivering. "I do." He said with as much conviction as he could muster.

Bianca nodded. "Good. Then we're doing it now. Right now. We're opening the portal and getting out of here."

Chris blinked, the action looking like a wince. "Now?" He whispered.

"Yep. Now. We've had this spell for a week now. We've been putting it off, but we should do it. Now. Right now."

"We gotta get Rosie." Chris said, fear creeping into his voice.

"Rosie?" Paige's voice could be heard crying out. "Rosie was in Causa Mortis too? But I thought you said Chris was the only..." Realisation slowly hit her. Somewhere, she could hear Chris give a soft moan of pain. Their Chris. He remembered.

"Oh God." Paige muttered. She watched on.

Bianca put her hands to her head and scrunched her eyes tightly, her entire face tying itself up. She spoke through clenched teeth. "I realise this isn't attractive." She groaned, drilling her fingers into her temple. Chris chuckled. "I'm making contact with Darryl. Okay... It's working. We're off." She said triumphantly. "I'll see you in a second." Bianca gave Chris a swift kiss on his cheek, and Chris lifted a hand to touch her own cheek. She smiled. Her lips trailed down to touch his ever so lightly, so as not to hurt him.

Bianca pulled away reluctantly"I love you." She whispered, meaning it with every fiber of her being.

"I love you too." He replied, the pain leaving his body, happiness ruling for a rare second.

The Chris watching over his lost love felt his heart wrenched from his chest.

Bianca stood and left the room, locking her eyes on Chris' until the door fully closed with a deep shudder. Then, she turned and bulldozed down the corridor. She barely flinched when a demon passed her, ruthlessly dragging a man- who looked extremely dead- by a rope around his neck. Bianca had to look for a second as they passed. They were going to 'The Furnace'. So he was dead. A part of Bianca was glad. Death had to be better release than none.

Bianca, to the great relief of the watchers, left the main torture corridor, after 10 minutes of walking. She walked from the closing door into the snake-like corridors, weaving her way around the bizzar labrinth, seeming utterly sure of where she was going.

When she reached Wyatt's office, she stopped. Just to stare. And to think.

"Okay, remember the way from here, guys." Someone up above said, their voice unrecognisable with excitement, and the fact that no-one could see each other. The silent watchers all glared with concentration.

Bianca took a deep breath and walked on through the corridors. She wound around one twisted one, then took a left, which, oddly, sent her twisting sharply to the right. Then, spinning on her heel, she took another left, then two more rights. She wound up a staircase and... There were a lot more corridors and turns and stairs, and pretty soon all watchers were lost in the complicated labyrinth. All watchers except Chris, who dimly recognised the route. This refresher was just what he needed. When he watched Bianca enter the brightly lit room, which was without a doubt the portal room, Chris was sure he could retrace those very steps.

Bianca stepped foreward, with one eye constantly flicking over her shoulder, she began to utter the spell.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme Heed the hope within my mind Send me back to where I'll find What I wish in place and time"

Bianca stepped back and admired her work. Because on the wall before her a swirling portal had opened up, and she smiled. She felt as if she were looking into a brighter future.

At that moment, orbs began to swirl, and three bodies tumbled to the floor. The largest- Darryl, was steadying two much smaller people in his arms. Chris and Rosie. Bianca was taken aback by the little girl, whom she'd never met before this moment. Her eyes were huge and the tiny face holding them horrifically gaunt. She was- Bianca though- maybe four or five, if her memory was correct. But this little girl looked barely even three years old. A poor, neglected baby doll. Bianca rushed to hold her, some instinct that she was unfamiliar with kicking in.

"Oh my God... Quickly, let's leave. I can't stand to be in this place a second longer." Bianca cried, and Darryl nodded.

"You're telling me." He grabbed Chris, who, all credit to him, tried his very best not to act like a corpse, even though he looked like one. He stood up, looking at Bianca with hope in his eyes.

As they made their way over to the portal, the door opened.

They froze.

Damn it, the silent watchers all thought. As the four people in the room turned around, the watchers eyes also darted to the lean figure who loomed in the open doorway, growling, his eyes wide in insane horror.

Wyatt looked on at the scene incredulously. "What is going on here?"

No time to explain. Darrly, Chris and Bianca, holding little Rosie in her arms, quickly fled to the portal. Screaming as if he were being tortured like his victims, Wyatt lifted his hands and threw a stream of lightning at the portal... just as the last body made it out.

Wyatt stood in silence. Alone. He frowned. Stared at the portal. Frowned some more... as if he were waiting for something to happen.

And it did. Wyatt stood triumphant, clapping his hands together. As the last flares of lightning crackled around it, the portal ripped slightly around the edges like ancient paper.

Wyatt laughed, a loud, harrowing noise straight from his gut; his head fell back as he whooped with glee. "Let's see where you end up, traitors."

Wyatt laughed, unaware of the purple fog that began to steam up around him, and around the room. The watchers held their breaths...

... The spinning sensation slowly left, along with the fog...

... And they were back to reality once again.

The metal of the Bank shone gloriously, and everyone squinted and blinked, their eyes becoming accustomed to the brightness. It was a great change from the dark, desolate place they'd just been.

"I..." Prue searched for her voice. "We didn't mean for you to be in the room."

"S'okay." He shrugged, eyes swimming in the memories.

Phoebe gazed at Chris, and, before she could think to control herself, she blurted, "Chris, what happened next?"

She bit her lip. As did just about everyone else. Bas shot Phoebe daggers, as did Piage. Prue only looked sad. They held their breaths.

"Well," Chris started sheepishly, looking rather pale, either from shock or the recent attack, "the portal cracking sent us all different places. Bianca ended up in Norway somewhere. Darryl, I think, went to Bodrem, Turkey, and Rosie and I ended up in and English forest. Lake District, I think." Chris gazed at his feet. Or, seemingly, through them. "Rosie didn't make it. I carried her in a random direction for a long while, not having a clue where I was going, and... She couldn't hold on. Then, a lot of things happened."

Paige's heart dropped to the floor. She looked up at Chris and Bastina, who were both gazing sadly at each other. Silently communicating. Paige wished- she so wished- that she could be part of that. That she could comfort her nephew and daughter for loosing someone they were all so close to. Her own daughter. But, in this time and place, she hadn't earned that right. So, alone, she silently mourned the death of the triplet she'd never known, and probably never would get the chance to know. Life sucked.

"But, hey, cheer up guys, because there is some good news. We saw where the portal room was, didn't we!" Chris said sheepishly, having raised his head once again. He never kept it down for long."We can find it now, and destroy it. Then get home, having only missed fifteen minutes. Wyatt can then leave us to our mission in the future. It's all coming together!"

"Really?" Prue whined, her arms flopping by her sides. "I couldn't keep up with that route! Phoebe, do you remember?" Everyone looked at Phoebe pleadingly.

"Sorry, guys. I wasn't even trying to pay attention. I guess I was too caught up in... it was just hard to consentrate." Phoebe said, mentally kicking herself for hoping it would all turn out great for Chris and Bianca when, of course, she knew it hadn't. But she'd rooted for them anyway.

"I second that" Paige muttered. "Bas?" She asked, hoping her daughter had picked up her slack.

Bas shook her head. "I couldn't find that place if I had a Satnav."

"You guy's can't." Chris said, his mind wandering through the labyrinth of corridors, twists, turns and stairs at Causa Mortis. "But, now, I think I can."

Chris fished out some paper from the filing drawers close by, and whipped out a pen too. Biting off the lid, scrunching his forehead, he started to draw.

Prue looked over his shoulder. "A map. Good thinking."