A Charmed Story - Part Eight:
Chris To The Max
Chapter 9
"Thank you..." Michael muttered after some minutes of silent walk. Christopher raised his eyes to meet Michael's questioningly. "You know..." Chris's friend continued, "I haven't said thanks to you yet... despite the risk you're taking."
Christopher smiled widely and patted his shoulder: "You don't need to thank me."
Michael shook his head: "I want to... This is too much. You don't even know me."
This time, Christopher could not help laughing: "Oh, man... You forgot where I come from?"
Michael went confused for a moment, but then smiled sadly: "Oh, yeah... I guess you do. But don't worry, I know... Future consequences."
Christopher started to laugh again: "I'm not Chris and his future consequences. But you're right, I'm not gonna tell anything else..."
The two men kept on walking in silence for a while. They were approaching the park, and Michael was more and more nervous.
"Can I ask you something?" he said, to break the ice again and also to distract himself. Christopher nodded, and gestured to encourage him to talk. Michael cleared his voice before saying anything: "I...I was wondering if... I mean, I know you're not Chris, and you are not like him, but... I was wondering why are you doing this?"
Christopher looked at him curious, so he explained himself better. "Chris is my friend, I knew he'd do this for me and a lot more, even if he's scared to death..." And he had to laugh sarcastically at his pun. But Christopher was still staring at him, confused, so he went on: "I know he would really die for me, or any other innocent, if necessary." Michael stopped, and looked him in the eyes: "I mean... Are you really aware of the danger?"
Christopher shook his head, disappointed: "You think that I am the typical young boy who never had action in his life and needs to prove something, unaware of the dangers that it hides."
"No, I..."
"It doesn't matter, man..." He walked on, followed by Michael. "Everyone thinks that. I mean, everyone here, now. I know. They see me, and see the happy guy who's always smiling and laughing, in contrast with Chris, who had such a bad life... But you'll get to know me in the future, don't worry. All of them will do. And if you wanna hear it, yes... I AM scared to death. But if I can help my brothers, and if I can help you somehow, I'll do it. And I just didn't want them to know how scared I am, that is all... But you're not human if you are not scared... I guess. And Mike, I prefer thousands deaths than letting my brothers die."
Michael listened attentively, realising how mistaken all of them had been with that boy. He was like Chris, he was Chris. Happy and with a better past, but it was the same person, as it should be. Now he had the impression to be talking to his best friend...
But the young witch went on: "At least they have a reason to exist. I am just the result that proves that their mission was fulfilled. I am like a mirror for Chris... He can look at me and see the Chris he could have been. But that is all, and..."
"No, no, no, don't speak like that," Michael intervened, opening his eyes widely at his words, "you're more than that. Oh, man... Another Chris with the inferiority complex, no..."
Christopher startled, but then, he burst into laughing: "Ok... sorry, I just opened my heart to you too much."
Michael nodded, and smiled: "And thanks for doing it, but... You're not gonna die here, today. Not for me. Not for them, either."
Christopher smiled sadly: "I wish I could have such a good friend as you, in my time." He sighed. Then he grinned: "But don't worry, it's not my intention to die."
Suddenly they stopped walking and looked at the entrance they had in front of them. The Park of the Golden Gate... They had arrived. Both men swallowed. May Chris's plan work.
°°°°°°°°°°
Steve was lying in his bed, wrapped into the blankets. He hugged his pillow and cried silently.
Nicki still stood in the doorway, facing his back. She couldn't move, she was still frozen in shock. A tear ran down her cheek. She sighed. 'How desperate he must be, when he tries something like that,' she thought. She still wasn't able to believe that she had almost lost him.
Finally Nicki walked over to the bed. She sat down in his back, hesitating a moment. Then she put her hand on his back. He didn't react.
"Steve?"
Nothing.
"Steve," she sobbed, "Please talk to me..."
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "if you now hate me, I understand that..."
His deadly calm voice made Nicki shiver. She felt her heart breaking for the hundred of times in the last couple of days. "How could you say that..." she said crying. "Honey, I don't hate you, I never will... I love you too much to be able to feel any different... I love you..."
"I love you too..." Steve sobbed. Then he turned around, threw himself to her arms and cried again.
Nicki closed her eyes. 'Please God, let Chris be able to help him,' she prayed in her thoughts. Then she kissed his hair. She would never ever leave him alone again... never.
°°°°°°°°°°
Wyatt and Chris had orbed to the park, long before Christopher and Michael reached it. They sat, side by side, on a statue, hidden by Chris's Elder-magic.
"How long will they need?" Wyatt asked.
"A few more minutes..."
Then they kept silent again. Everyone was submerged in his own thoughts.
After a while Chris sighed: "Was that all?"
"What do you mean?" Wyatt looked at him confused.
"I mean the message from the future... All that effort for telling you to rescue Steve? Or was there more...?"
Now Wyatt sighed: "More, but believe me, Steve would have been reason enough for you... Anyway, I also shall prevent that the Elders will hate you for the rest of your life... Or at least for the next 23 years."
Chris rose an eyebrow: "And how?"
"Don't ask," Wyatt replied, knowing, that his brother wouldn't like the truth.
"Ok," Chris said, looking around, trying to see someone. But there was nobody there in this park at that time. "What about the boy?" he asked then casually. "Who was that?"
Wyatt sighed again: "I can't tell you..."
"Future consequences, I know," Chris said chuckling. Then he added: "Maybe a child of Paige and Kyle???"
"I can't tell you..." Wyatt replied.
"Or another brother for us?" Chris kept asking, he just let his imagination work. He didn't really mean all that...
Wyatt shook his head: "I can't tell you..."
"Or maybe... Phoebe and Cole...???"
"Chris, I can't tell you..." Wyatt said again closing his eyes... that was so annoying...
Chris grinned: "Or maybe a nephew for you..."
"CHRIS!" Wyatt exclaimed looking kind of angry at his brother.
The Elder-witch stared back at him, back into his eyes. Chris hadn't meant what he had said, not really... but... there was something in his brothers eyes... something that told him that he had hit the point. But could that be, that he would have another child? It couldn't be Christopher's, right? But after all what had happened with Hope... They didn't think about having another child... they didn't want to repeat all that.
"What... What's his name?" Chris asked not knowing what else to say at that point.
Wyatt shook his head and turned his eyes away from him: "I can't..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence and pointed with his finger to a spot in the distance. "Look!"
°°°°°°°°°°
Bianca was looking through the window absently as Veronica played with little Wyatt. Hope and little Chris slept quietly in their cots. The manor was so silent...
The Phoenix sighed, almost unaware of it, and this made Veronica raise her head. "Are you ok?" she asked, while she held a little toy and Wyatt fought to get it back.
Bianca turned to her, wearily: "No... All the family is gonna face a great danger, and again I've been left behind. It was ok before, I was pregnant, but now..."
"Now you have a baby to take care of..." Veronica said, as she smiled at the giggling boy, who was trying desperately to get the toy.
Bianca went to the couch and sat down letting out another sigh: "Piper has two. But still, it's me the one left behind."
Wyatt jumped to get his toy, but Veronica raised her hand even more. "Do you think he's over protecting you?" She asked.
Bianca didn't answer immediately. Wyatt, tired of his useless attempts, decided to orb the toy to his hands. "Oh, little man, that was unfair. You tricked me out!" Veronica exclaimed, stroking his curly hair and making him giggle more, as Bianca smiled too.
"I don't think he's that kind of man that believes that the woman must be kept behind, or anything like that. But even so... Yes, I think he's exaggerating. Chris must think that I am made of glass, and he doesn't realise that I am scared too, that he is not immortal."
Veronica grinned, following Wyatt with his eyes, as he ran towards to Chris's cot and put the toy by his sleeping brother. "Maybe you should let him know what you think."
Bianca sighed, and leaned her head on the back of the couch: "Maybe..."
°°°°°°°°°°
"Look!"
Chris turned to the spot that his brother was pointing at, and saw himself... saw Cris, actually, dragging a tied up Angela. "Oh, my God..."
He was about to jump off the statue, but Wyatt grabbed his arm: "We need to stick to YOUR plan, brother."
Chris swallowed and looked around. He wished that all his family were in their positions. He should be there, stripped of his powers. Christopher should have stayed with Wyatt and he should have gone down there... He sighed, and sat down again, to keep looking at the scene in tension.
"There they come..." Wyatt whispered, when he spotted his brother and Michael.
°°°°°°°°°°
Leo was watching attentively the place where his sons must be hidden and cloaked by their magic. He himself and Odin had done the same thing with Cole, and they were some yards away from them, in the middle of a small group of trees.
"What if Cristóbal can feel magic?" Cole asked, nervously.
Leo shook his head. "I don't think he can. He'll be ready to test Chris... Christopher actually. But I don't think he can sense magic farther away from them."
"I hope so..." Odin muttered without taking his eyes from the spot where they were supposed to carry out the exchange. "Wait... Someone's coming."
The three faces turned to stare at the approaching voices. A woman's muffled cries reached their ears, and the three went tense.
Soon, two other figures would join them.
°°°°°°°°°°
The three sisters and Tom were hidden just on the opposite side, covering the backs of the newcomers, surrounding them. Each of them was hidden in a well-chosen spot, ready to act whenever it was necessary. They talked among themselves by means of signals, and thus, they made one another know that the moment had come. Cris was there with Angela, and some moments after, Christopher an Mike arrived too.
°°°°°°°°°°
"Well, well, well... Little rat. Here we are. I'm gonna miss you when this is done. I'm starting to wonder if I should really deliver you to your husband, or have more fun," Cristóbal was saying. Angela fought against her restraint but she was tightly bound, her hands at her back and gagged. Cris didn't want to run any risk.
He smiled: "Whatever... I don't understand you... Now, listen to me. Your little husband is coming there. When I have what I want, I'll free you. I'm gonna give you a chance to escape. You and Michael. Just run. I don't really need you at all, but there are some witch-hungry demons around, and this will be a slaughter in a while, so just run." 'It will be funny to watch you trying to escape, with Chris dead at my feet, and the rest of his family fighting for their lives.' he thought.
°°°°°°°°°°
"There they are..." Michael almost cried at the sight of Angela. He would have run towards her if Christopher had not grasped his arm tightly.
"Walk by my side, don't do stupid things." he warned, as he himself walked on.
Michael looked at him and nodded. He seemed to be so tense, so worried... So scared. Then he looked at Angela in anguish. He needed to free her. He really needed to help her...
However, they both walked on slowly, silently, staring at a smirking Cris. Finally they stopped at some feet away from them.
Christopher took a deep breath. "Here I am... as you wanted. Free her, and I'll be yours," he said.
Cristóbal smiled: "Here you are... But as I wanted, I don't know. So no, I won't free her. Come nearer."
Michael gasped. That was a trap. It had to be a trap... He looked at Christopher, and then at Angela, anxiously. She was breathing so heavily... And had so much fear reflected in her eyes...
Christopher swallowed, and stepped forward, but stopped again: "How can I believe that you'll free her?"
"How can I believe that you are powerless?"
Christopher looked aside very quickly. His breathing was faster and also his heartbeats and he was starting to sweat. "I am. I promise."
"Yeah..." He made a fireball in his hand, in front of the three terrified people. He pointed it to him: "Then how will you prevent this ball from hitting..." Suddenly he changed the objective and threw it to Michael, causing Angela to gasp in horror.
"No!!" Christopher opened his eyes widely, and jumped over Michael, pushing him to the floor and getting the impact in his place. He cried in pain. "Bastard..." he muttered, gritting his teeth, on the floor.
"I guess you are right... You are powerless." He let the girl go, but pulled Christopher towards him telekinetically, and then he grabbed him from the neck.
Angela run towards her husband, who freed her, and took her gag away. "We need to run, Mike!" she exclaimed.
Almost at the same time Cris told Christopher, menacingly: "...but you are NOT Chris." And he grinned, noticing the terror in his eyes.
°°°°°°°°°°
"Shit!" Wyatt and Chris said at the same time.
The Elder-witch was about to jump down to the grass and ran over to his baby-brother. But Wyatt hold him back. "Wait!" he exclaimed with a low voice.
"But he will kill him..." Chris complained trying to free himself from his brothers grip.
Suddenly Chris felt a kind of headache, as is someone was entering his mind. It lasted only a second but it made him feel a little dizzy. Still he wanted to help his brother: "Wyatt... let me..."
"Nothing will happen to Christopher... Look!" Wyatt said pointing at his brother and the demon.
°°°°°°°°°°
Meanwhile Cris had thrown Christopher back to the grass.
"Who else shall I be?" the young man asked looking at the demon. He had to distract him... at least till his friends are save. He needed something, some information about Cris. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his 'older' version, on his mind. He needed to see exactly what happened when he and his genetic twin met the first time. Thanks God Chris didn't know that Christopher could enter his mind. He wasn't really a telepath like Wyatt... for him, it only worked with Chris. His dad had told him that it had to do with the fact that they were kind of the same person, even if they were not, still they were...
Meanwhile Cris glanced at the witch-Elder, trying to examine the truth. "You could be a whitelighter... or you could be Paige!" he said grinning, forming another fireball in his hand.
Despite his fear, Christopher laughed: "Do you really think I told them??? They would be here now if I did... And I didn't want that, I would never risk my friends life." Then he turned around to Angela and Michael. They sat in the grass nearby. 'Go... Run...' Christopher drew with his lips. Then he turned back to the demon, thinking about the pictures he saw in Chris's mind. "Did your jaw still hurt from where I knocked you out?" he asked teasing the demon. At the same time he heard fast footsteps disappear in the distance.
Cristóbal kicked Christopher on the stomach, strongly: "You wanna mock me, damned Halliwell!!??" He cried. "You wanna mock me!!??"
The young man curled like a baby, gasping out of pain and breathless. He had to do something, and he had to do it soon...
°°°°°°°°°°
Chris startled at the sight of what was happening. "He's gonna kill me... him..." he said, feeling still dizzy. It was as if he felt somehow what his other self was feeling.
But Wyatt pinned him down again: "I think he knows what he's doing."
°°°°°°°°°°
Meanwhile, Michael was running with Angela towards the small group of trees, only looking back at times. He had to go back and find Chris, they had to save him... Where the hell were they?
Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed Angela's hand and covered her mouth so that she didn't scream. Michael turned shocked, but then he relaxed.
"Shhh..." it was Cole. Angela's heart was beating so fast that she seemed she was going to faint sooner or later.
"It's ok... I'm a friend of Chris and your husband..." he said. "Don't cry, please... Leo?" He turned to Leo, as he took Angela by the arm, still covering her mouth gently. "Someone has to take them back to the manor."
Michael followed them: "Where is Chris? And Wyatt?"
Leo nodded at Cole, as he observed the scene meters away from them: "Odin, do as he says, take them back."
"Where are they?!" Michael asked again, as Odin took him by the arm.
Cole made Angela promise that she would not cry, and she nodded, calmer now, although she was still trembling.
"Oh my God..." Michael muttered. They had heard Christopher scream in pain.
"Why doesn't he escape...?" Leo muttered, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.
"Escape?? He doesn't have any power!!" Michael yelled, furious.
Odin and Cole glared at him, making him lower his eyes, as Angela kept turning her look from one to another, trying to understand. 'He knew... He had really known, all the time.'
°°°°°°°°°°
Piper was staring at her future son being hit that way, and needed a lot of will power not to move, as well as some warning looks of her sisters and Tom. He should have gone already... He should escape... They would not be able to attack Cris if...
Suddenly they saw how someone shimmered by the boy and made him stand up, grabbing him by the neck.
°°°°°°°°°°
"Hello... What do we have here..." the old demon said, as Christopher choked between his hands, fighting desperately to break free. That was not part of the plan... and at the same time he felt the spell wearing off.
Cristóbal approached him with a weird smile on his face. "Is he really powerless?" he asked. Rhashirk, the old demon, smirked as he looked deep in Christopher's eyes: "I'm afraid I was right all the time. He did not get rid of them at all, did you, Chris?" He threw him to the ground. "He just hid them with magic... You thought we were so stupid as not to realise??" he exclaimed.
Christopher looked at them in terror, but then he clenched his jaw and with a rapid movement of his wrist, sent Cris to the ground, some meters away from him. It was supposed to work on both demons, but Rhashirk's hair was the only thing that moved, and his lips, drawing an evil smile.
"Bravo..." He clasped his hands. "Bravo!" Then he stepped nearer the young boy...
°°°°°°°°°°
Chris could not stand behind anymore: "This was not the plan. What the hell, Wyatt? What crap is this??" He jumped down from the statue and tried to run towards him. This time Wyatt did the same thing, something was wrong...
But they crashed against a forcefield. When they got up, still in pain, and turned to look around, they saw a bunch of demons waiting for them.
"Shit..." this time, both brothers said it, and also the sisters and Tom, who had tried the same thing from the other side.
°°°°°°°°°°
Odin had just left with Michael and Angela, even if they did not want to leave, but Cole and Leo were still looking at the scene.
"Damn!" Cole exclaimed. Leo had kept him behind when he had tried to run and help, and that had saved them from falling in the same trap. "Why didn't he orb before?" Cole asked, meaning Christopher.
Leo shook his head, anguished: "I guess because Mike and Angy were still there. And then it was too late. We should have known..."
Cole sighed: "Well, Chris did, that's why I got this idea to only cover Christopher's powers... because we both were afraid this could be a trap." Leo just nodded.
°°°°°°°°°°
He was being hit, actually. Christopher hadn't orbed when he should, because Angela and Michael were there, and then, when Cris started to hit him, he was unable to think, even less to focus on orbing away.
Now, as he looked from one side to another, tying to crawl on his back, he saw how his whole family was trapped there too. He had failed them all... And Rhashirk, that damned demon, was approaching him now.
"But the funny thing, my little friend..." he looked to Cris, who was standing up, "is that you tricked him off too." He burst into an evil laughter: "He thought you were his Chris, the one he wants to see dead!"
Cristóbal frowned, angrily, as he saw how Rhashirk lift Christopher telekinetically by his throat, making him choke: "Trying to hide your magic from me..." He shook his head in disappointment, as Christopher tried to breathe. "You can hide it from anyone, but not from me... The Lord of Darkness."
"I want Chris, and I want him now! That was the deal!" Cris cried, furious.
Rhashirk shrugged: "You'll have him..."
°°°°°°°°°°
Chris and Wyatt were fighting hard, using their telekinesis and fireballs and rays, and everything they could, to kill all those demons. Time was running, and Christopher was in a serious danger. But more and more demons shimmered in. On the other side, Piper blew up as many demons as she could, Phoebe kicked and hit, and Tom froze them as Paige orbed and tried to do her best hitting, and using a dagger she had brought with her. They needed to break that forcefield...
(Chapter 9 written by Chrissy.W.x and Belén)
