"Evil?!" Prue repeated.
"Yes, he said that he grows up to be the new Source of all Evil, that he destroyed the world and killed thousands of people" Leo said, and Prue's jaw clenched.
Piper was expecting her sister to be angry, and she was right. Prue seemed pissed, but she was surprised when she realized that her anger was directed at them and not at Chris.
"And you automatically assumed that he lied?" she yelled incredulously.
"Of course he's lying; our son is the epitome of all that is good and pure, how could he be evil? How can you think that the sweet baby in there is evil?" Piper shot back, her own temper flaring at her sister's accusations. How can she think that of her own nephew? How can she take the word of a stranger whom they know nothing about and trust it, especially about something like this?
"And we are the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches of all times, and how many times did we turn evil? You became a fury after my alleged death; Paige became a vampire; I married a warlock and you shattered Leo into a million pieces, if I recall correctly. And last but most certainly not least, Phoebe became the Queen of the Underworld. So tell me why is it so far fetched that something happens to him in the future that screws up his moral compass?" Prue retorted.
"Because we wouldn't let it happen, I pulled Phoebe back. We always conquered the evil within us and returned to the good side. But if we were to believe what Chris is saying, then my baby sent the entire world to hell. He is the son of a whitelighter and a charmed one, he's not evil" Piper defended.
"How do you usually call for him?" Prue hissed, and Piper was evidently hurt by her sister's attitude.
"We just call for him" Leo answered.
"Why are you defending him?" Piper asked, the anger and pain evident in her voice.
"Because if he really was that much of a threat, then he would've tried to attack us already. He has done nothing but tried to help us"
"He wants Wyatt dead" Piper yelled.
"Did he say that? Did he even try to kill him?" Prue exclaimed.
"NO, but why else would he tell us that he was evil?" Leo joined the fight now.
"So we can help him stop it. Believe me, if he wanted Wyatt dead, Wyatt would've been dead a very long time ago" Prue exclaimed, before she basically stomped up the stairs.
"Chris" she hallowered for what seemed like the millionth time to no avail.
"Chris, if you can hear me. I am not calling you so I can attack you as well, or tell you that I never wanna see you again. I just want to talk" she almost pleaded.
A few seconds went by, and still nothing. She sighed in frustration, and was about to head out of the room, when she caught the familiar red glow that announced his arrival.
Her heart sank at the sight of him; the life and determination were almost vanished from his eyes, and replaced with a haunted look. His clothes were ripped and dirty, and it didn't seem like he had had a decent meal in a very long time.
"What do you want?" he asked flatly, and her stomach twisted at his tone.
"Like I said, I want to talk" she answered gently.
"About what?" he almost spat.
"About Wyatt, I want to know what happened" she said softly, and saw a flicker of emotion flash in his eyes.
"You believe me?" he asked, almost hopefully.
"Yes, now why don't you tell me what is really going on?" she asked.
He started his tale, and even though her eyes were widening at what he had to say, her heart was twisting for an entirely different reason. She hadn't missed the hopeful tone in his question, and the gleam of hope and brief flicker of happiness that she believed him. Had her sisters hurt him this badly?
The shocked expression that appeared when she said that she will help him, had her stomach turning into knots. How bad had her sisters been treating him? He had already told her that they complained a lot about the demon hunts, but she knew it was much more than that.
Phoebe was climbing out of her car, when Pagie pulled up behind her.
"Can someone please explain to me why is it that even with all my background in social work, all of the jobs that I get have absolutely no remote relation to it whatsoever? They seem to be more of a test of my patience than anything else" Paige ranted.
"Hello to you too, sweetie. I had a wonderful day, thank you for asking" Phoebe said sarcastically, and Paige rolled her eyes in response.
"I hate you when you're in a happy mood" she mumbled.
"That bad of a day?" she asked sympathetically, as they both made their way up the stairs to the front door.
"Yep! I am sure that living in the underworld isn't as bad" she groaned, and Phoebe chuckled.
They opened the door and were met with the sight of Chris standing in the middle of the foyer. They both froze in their tracks, and looked surprisingly at him.
"Chris?" Paige was the one to find her voice first. He turned around at the sound of her voice, and crossed his arms over his chest, though the gesture was more defensive than defying.
"What are you doing here?" Phoebe asked a bit more sternly.
Chris opened his mouth to answer, when Prue's voice stopped him, "I called him" she stated, as she came down the stairs.
"Why?" Phoebe asked incredulously.
"Because unlike the three of you, I need more than just a declaration that I don't like to decide that someone is bad news and shouldn't be trusted. You know, like him morphing into a demon?" Prue stated darkly, and Phoebe almost gulped. She was taken aback by her sister's hostility, and Paige's mouth dropped open at the clear swing at Phoebe's hypocritical attitude towards Chris, in comparison to Cole.
Phoebe's shock allowed enough time for Piper to come out of the kitchen, and freeze in her tracks as well at the sight of Chris. She opened her mouth to shoot a snide remark at him, when she caught the narrowed glare Prue was giving her and bit it back.
"Where's Leo?" Prue asked.
"Sun room with the kids" Piper answered, her eyes still watching Chris slowly.
Prue's only response was to head in said direction, and Chris followed closely behind.
The younger three sister all exchanged looks, and Phoebe decided to let the blow about her and Cole slide for now. They all followed Prue and Chris to where Leo was.
"Chris" Andie squealed happily, as she threw herself at the young man, who easily caught her and picked her up.
"Hey squirt" he greeted cheerfully.
"Baby, can you teleport with Wyatt to the nursery and play there for a while? Mommy needs to talk to you aunts and Leo for a little bit" Prue ordered gently, and the little girl obediently nodded, before she squirmed out of Chris's hands and went to Wyatt's side. Two seconds later, the sun room only had the adults in it, and at least four out of those adults were about to get their asses kicked by a very pissed off Prue.
"So, since you three decided that he was the villain of this story just because he said something that none of you liked, I decided to at least hear him out before I give him the boot"Prue started.
"Something we don't like?" Piper repeated incredulously, "he said that my son was evil" she almost yelled.
"NO, I said he turns evil. I never said he was like this already, or that he was born like this. If I believed that even for a minute, then everything I made you guys do would have been pointless" Chris defended.
"Same thing" Phoebe shot back.
"No, it's not. We all turned evil at some point, some of us even ruled the Underworld" Prue hissed.
"I made a mistake" Phoebe defended.
"Exactly, you made a mistake. Which is exactly what could've happened with Wyatt in Chris's future. You don't just decide that someone is evil and manipulative because they said something that you didn't like, or couldn't accept. Cole was an actual demon and you both were still coming up with excuses for him. Moreover, you said that Andie used to scream whenever Cole would enter the room when he was too far gone, does she seem wary around Chris?" she lectured and when they all looked to the floor, she continued, "and Wyatt, he raises his shield when he senses danger, did he ever do that around Chris?" and once again she was only met with silence.
"I understand the shock of his revelation, but you four should have at least given him the chance to explain himself before you crucify him, the same chance you gave an upper level demon for years. I know that some of the things that has happened to us made us a bit paranoid, but don't you think that if he was that much of a threat that he would've attacked us already? Attacked the kids? Why did you cancel out all logic and reason?" she almost yelled.
"Why are you defending him so much?" Piper yelled.
"Because it is about time somebody around here treated him decently. You all complain about the demon hunts that he sent you on , even though he said that it was for Wyatt's sake. So I guess the real question is, what is the matter with you all? Why are you all treating him like he is the source of all evil?"
Chris was taken aback by Prue's outburst, but he was appreciative nonetheless. Someone was finally on his side in the manor, and it was Prue no less; it was bound to make things a bit easier for him.
"How did he turn evil?" Paige finally asked, and Piper, Phoebe and Leo all glared at her.
"You believe him too?" Piper almost screamed.
"I haven't decided, but I want to learn all the facts before I make my call" she explained.
"I don't know, something happens to him around this time, it kept eating away at everything good inside of him till there was nothing left. He united the underworld under his ruling, and destroyed all the good magical beings that dared oppose him. He killed most of the Elders, as well as the Cleaners. And those who managed to escape, are forced to live in hiding and fear, constantly warding off attacks from his demons." he recounted.
"I would never let that happen" Piper objected defiantly.
"You're not there to stop him" Chris yelled, and they all gasped.
"We believe that it was your death that was the final straw" he mumbled.
"No, I refuse to believe this. My baby wont grow up to be a mass murderer, or the source of all evil" Piper yelled.
"But if there is the slightest chance that he will, we have to make sure that he doesn't" Paige reasoned.
"Finally, one of you got her head screwed on straight" Prue exclaimed.
"Why are you defending him so much? Why are you taking his word to be the truth?" Phoebe wondered.
"Because he's my son"
So sorry for the long wait, but this story is proving to be very difficult to write. I nearly took it down again, but decided to at least try to wrap up the things that have transpired so far.
Thank you all to those read, followed and reveiwed. Greatly appreciated.
To those who kept wondering who Chris was, I hope you like this.
To those who guessed that he was Prue's all along, very good and smart of you.
Let me know what you all think please, reviews make me very happy.