"Hi," Leo said, announcing his presence in the sunroom, but just by looking at him, Piper could tell he must have been standing at the door for quite a while trying to work up the courage to greet her. He always did that when he was unsure about her feelings, and even though they agreed on getting back together for their family's sake, neither really acted like they were a couple just yet.
Actually, Piper didn't act like the person Leo fell in love with at all. Not taking a break from her actions, she went on removing the dust from the furniture with the used cleaning rag, throwing only a half-hearted reply at her husband.
"Hi."
Knowing fully this conversation was going to be a tough one, Leo made his way to the playpen Wyatt was residing in and picked him up, holding onto him as if the little boy could provide a way to break the ice with his mother.
"Piper, we need to talk," he started off cautiously, not really knowing what kind of reaction to expect. Piper might have come out of her room a few days ago, realizing she couldn't ignore her duties as a mother any longer, but she did not come out of her depression yet. It's been two weeks since Chris left the Manor with the clear intention of not returning anytime soon, and the Halliwell matriarch just couldn't seem to find relief ever since then.
"Sure," came the jog-trot answer almost immediately, shrugging off the intense gaze of Leo's rather easily.
Knowing this was the best he would get, the Elder decided to go on, hoping something would catch Piper's attention along the conversation – which was a pretty rare occasion these days.
"The Elders feel a new force moving in the Underworld."
"Interesting," countered the witch, not missing a beat.
"This force kills demons, Piper," tried to reason the man, but already knew Piper was not going to show any interests in this particular conversation of theirs either.
"Like that's a first," she snorted sarcastically, obviously not planning on giving a second thought to the information Leo provided.
"They might gather the powers of their victims."
"Yeah, that is a possibility," she stated nonchalantly while raising her tone an octave higher to show off her irritation. Due to the lack of progress with his dear wife, the Elder decided to drop in the only subject Piper seemed to be interested in recently.
"I think this new force might be Chris."
Now, that was something worth Piper's attention. She froze for a minute, lowering the cleaning rag to the coffee table, and Leo suddenly wondered if he would regret bringing up this topic later. The brunette didn't move for what seemed to be like eternity, but just when the Elder decided to ask if she was okay, Piper turned and did something nobody saw her doing during this last period of time. She focused her attention on something different than her self-pity.
"What makes you think that?" she asked with growing curiosity, welcoming the idea of gathering new information about their missing son. Leo tried his best to conceal his disbelief, as an eager Piper was not a frequent sight lately, and he didn't want to ruin her changed mood.
"This new power has been on the move for two weeks. That's the same exact amount of time Chris had been… absent… And we obviously don't know the full extent of his powers, so…" added the last part the Elder sadly. It was true though, they had no idea of how powerful the future boy was, and since he already revealed himself as a part of their family, he had no actual reason to hold back any longer.
Piper seemed to be dwelling on what she had just heard, but before she could form a response the doorbell broke the silence with its edgy sound. Contemplating her options for a moment, the woman told Leo to take Wyatt to the kitchen, indicating they would carry on with their conversation there. Those silly Elder robes would be hard to explain for a guest after all.
She went for the door rather hurriedly, determined to get rid of the intruder quickly, as she had something way more important to deal with than chitchatting with whoever was standing in front of their house. At least, her worries about Leo's robes dissolved as soon as she opened the door, as the woman who stood outside was clothed rather strangely as well…
A tall, apparently Asian woman was eyeing the Halliwell witch, not much older than she herself was. The red Bindi on her forehead stood in great contrast with her ebony eyes, and her dress was just a bit too colorful compared to the usual San Francisco standards.
Before Piper could pop a question about what she was doing there or who she was searching for, the newcomer started talking enthusiastically, only to let the witch realize they were not sharing a language.
"I just blessed your family," the stranger smiled upon seeing Piper's confusion and handed her a flyer, but in that same moment a loud thump was audible from upstairs, followed by Phoebe's unusually intense swearing. Fearing a possible demon attack, Piper quickly thanked her for the leaflet and apologized to the woman, saying it wasn't the best of the times to drop by for a visit. Closing the door she rushed inside to see what was happening, and she arrived in the kitchen just in time to watch a heavily annoyed Phoebe enter. Seeing that Wyatt was safe in Leo's arms, she decided to focus her attention to her only sister who was currently on speaking terms with her.
"I fell!" Phoebe exclaimed with an irritated tone.
"Yeah, we've heard that," smiled Leo gently, making the little boy he was holding giggle at her aunt's clumsiness. The Empath had a lot on her plate lately as well, it was no wonder to the Elder she was a bit careless at times. She had a faltering relationship with a man whose offer to move a continent with him she just rejected, and dealing with Cole back in the picture must have been difficult too, to say the least. Even without her ex-husband being present yet, Phoebe was loaded with problems as it was.
"No, I mean I fell from mid-air!" went on the Empath. "I was meditating when my powers just decided they would stop working, and without a warning they just—"
"Wait, you lost your powers?" asked Leo, suddenly alarmed. Piper seemed to be interested as well, but truly, she was just waiting for her turn to question Leo further about Chris.
"Yes! One minute I was levitating, and a second later, nothing!" Phoebe added in a hurry. "I can't even use my empathy anymore."
Leo took Wyatt down to his high chair, being lost in his thoughts already. Losing the Power of Three was a serious issue, and it needed to be resolved as soon as possible.
"Piper, do you still have yours?"
Slightly absent-mindedly though, but the woman in question flicked her right hand in a lazy manner, targeting a Chinese vase on the counter. Only, the usual explosion failed to occur this time.
"Hey, that is my vase by the way!" protested Phoebe at Piper's attempt to destroy her belonging, but her comment was lost on her now slightly stressed out sister.
"Well, that's strange," said the older woman with just a bit of uneasiness in her voice. If she had her way they would already discuss the matters about her younger child, but she was not feeling confident without her powers either. Knowing that fulfilling her Wiccan duties was a more pressing issue, she decided to take charge, showing the side of Piper Halliwell that was pretty much absent recently. After all, the sooner they figured out what was going on, the sooner she could hear what else her husband had to say about Chris.
"Phoebe, would you mind calling Paige, please?"
The middle Halliwell sister made an effort to hide her pained expression, knowing fully it was not the time to dwell on the broken relationship of her siblings. Paige continued to refuse to have any kind of communication with Piper, going as far as not even staying in the same room as her for more than a few minutes. Phoebe tried to talk some sense into her, she really did, but seeing that she was going nowhere eventually she gave up, knowing that Paige's tantrums were not going to last longer than a few weeks at the very most.
"Paige! We need you here!"
For long moments there was no answer. Leo suggested she must have lost her powers as well and was about to fetch her, when Phoebe made one more attempt to reach her sister.
"Paige, please, it's an emergency!"
Shiny blue orbs filled the air at the entrance of the kitchen before Paige materialized with an annoyed expression, which very much resembled Phoebe's just from a few minutes ago.
"I damn hope it's an emergency, I had to leave five dogs in the park with a seven year old—"
"We lost our powers," interrupted Piper, and despite her recent behavior Paige's expression softened at once.
"Now, that is an emergency," she admitted, utterly surprised of how she could still orb when her sisters did not have their powers at the moment.
"Try to orb an object," hurried her Leo, obviously anxious about the fact that the Power of Three might be lost. The redhead stretched out her hand and quickly scanned the room for something movable. Her choice fell on the same vase that Piper tried to blow up a minute ago.
"Vase!" she called out loudly, but the expected orbs did not come. Surprised, she tried it a few more times, but after a while she had to admit defeat and gave up.
"That is still myvase by the way, not that anyone seems to mind."
"Oh, I'm sure we do mind Phoebe, we just happen to find it ugly," came Paige's reply while wrinkling her nose upon the sight of the handicraft. The Empath had to admit that Jason's idea of 'esthetic ' was quite… well, let us say, misguided, but it was a gift nonetheless, and her siblings did not have the right to—
"Leo, go Up There and ask them if they know anything about this."
That was the sentence that distracted Phoebe from her thoughts, as seeing Piper in action shocked her just as much as it did the rest. Well, not that they had that many demon attacks since Chris left actually…
"Okay," went on the oldest sister once her husband orbed out, "we need to check the Book for—"
Piper's instructions were interrupted by a quiet wrecking noise coming from upstairs. All the three strained their ears to identify its origins, and soon they recognized the familiar noise of the old, wooden staircase.
"Footsteps," whispered Phoebe, and all the women took a few steps back in the kitchen so they could not be seen by the person – or most likely, demon – who was taking the stairs. Piper immediately went to fetch Wyatt, and while Phoebe stood in front of her sister and nephew, Paige also took a fighting stance with Phoebe's vase in her hands, ready to strike the intruder.
"Hey, put that down!" whisper-shouted the Empath angrily, but was immediately shushed by Paige, hearing that the footsteps were coming closer and closer.
Piper did not like the situation one bit. She never imagined she would feel so useless if she ever lost her powers. Sure, she was depending on them for years now, but since Paige got her powers not as long ago as she did, the redhead still had the confidence to take on a demon without her magic. The eldest Halliwell was not sure if she would have the guts to do the same. Was she getting weaker by the day? Granted, Phoebe could always count on her skills in martial arts when it came to vanquishes, but still, why was suddenly Piper the one who needed to be protected? She was not familiar with the feeling of being rendered powerless, and she did not like the idea of using her sisters as a shield, but what other options did she have with her little boy in her hands now? And wait, why didn't Wyatt put his force field up? Did he lose his powers too?
"Chris?" breathed Paige when she finally caught a glance at the cautiously approaching figure. Piper's heart jumped to her throat upon hearing the name of her newfound son, and that certainly did not help to lower her previously built up adrenaline level. What was Chris doing there? Was he even there for real?
Despite knowing better, hope slowly rose in Piper's heart, and even though the situation made no real sense to her, she found herself embracing the possibility of her son's return.
The young man stood awkwardly in the doorway as Paige lowered her poorly chosen weapon. Turning back painfully slowly Chris shivered under the gaze of the dumbfounded women, though he did not look any less surprised than they appeared to be. With his eyes wide open, shoulders tense and posture frozen in the middle of a movement, he actually resembled a child getting caught red-handed much more than the furious man he was when they last saw him.
"I was just…" he started off his explanation hurriedly, but figured that pointing to the ceiling would be enough of a clue of where he had been. Meeting the witches was definitely not something he was planning on, and it took him a few seconds to regain his composure. Why did he feel the need of self-explanation anyway? The Book of Shadows was part of his heritage, and even though they did not keep in touch, the sisters probably knew he was using it from time to time. He had done nothing wrong by looking up a few demos in it now, did he?
Thinking it further, why the hell would he have to explain himself to them? It's not like the anger he worked up towards his family dissolved the instance he spotted them, oh no. Two weeks was far too little time to get over their previous actions, and Chris was not ready to let go of the rage he felt. Or rather, the rage he wanted to feel in that moment. Perhaps the shock of seeing them was just too great to let his emotions surface, but then again, he couldn't possibly believe he could leave the house through the door without getting caught now, could he?
…Which reminded him of a pretty serious concern of his own.
"I lost my powers," stated the Witchlighter bluntly. Why he was sharing this piece of information with the people who denied him not so long ago, he seriously had no idea. "I was planning to orb out, but… well…"
Okay, now he was even confused over his own behavior. The last time he imagined his next meeting with the Halliwells – which was a fairly frequent thought of his – he pictured himself lashing out at them, shouting all the hurtful things he can gather up just to make them feel the way he felt because of them. Though it was a cruel thing to envision, in these past few days Chris wanted nothing more than to see the remorseful faces of the Charmed Ones, to ignore their begging for his forgiveness, to hurt them the same exact way they hurt him…
And yet there he was, at a complete loss of words despite of having so, so much to say.
Being the first to snap out of the shock from her nephew's sudden appearance, Paige was already focusing on keeping the yet pretty much nonexistent conversation going, hoping it would keep Chris busy enough to stay at least for a few minutes. It was a small goal really, but it would be still more contact than what they have had so far, thus taking the first step of rebuilding their relationships.
"We lost our powers too," she informed him eagerly, with a slight smile present in the corner of her mouth. "Something must have happened that affected the magic of the whole family," she went on now almost beaming, as if losing their powers was the most delightful happening in the world.
And truth to be told, it just might have been, since it managed to get Christopher back to them. The redhead was more than delighted indeed; she'd have given anything to see her nephew. She was desperately trying to get in touch with him for these two weeks, and it took Phoebe a great deal effort to persuade her into letting Chris have some space for the time being. But now that he was back, the whole world might have ended for all Paige cared, not even that would clear the contentment from her expression. She would have announced practically anything with that stupid smile on her face, regardless of how distressing it might be.
As much as Chris hated to admit, Paige was probably right. Whatever happened must have affected the powers of the whole Halliwell line, meaning he could not get to the bottom of this case without the Charmed Ones' help. Still, as he watched his supposed to be Mom move slightly towards the door so she could see him clearly, he just wasn't sure if he could stay and bear the intensively studying gaze of the woman.
Piper was not sure if she could believe her own eyes. Her boy was standing in front of her, safe and unharmed, though a little bit thinner than what she would have preferred. She didn't really pay attention to the conversation that was going on between him and her sister; she was busy with trying not to drop Wyatt, as her hands were shaking uncontrollably. What should she do now? Should she greet him and tell him how much she missed him? Or was that a bad idea? How would he react? Should she even talk to him at all? God, there were so many things she wanted to say, and even more she wanted to ask. Where has he been up until now? What was he doing? Was he taken care of? Was he eating properly? Where was he staying? And what was he…
Really, what was he doing?
The actions of the Witchlighter were too sudden, too fast and seemingly too random for Piper to follow. One moment he was standing in the doorway, saying something about their powers, and the next thing she knew, he was knocking Paige off her feet, making his way to the kitchen while effectively shoving her other sister out of his way too. His motions were too quick to leave time for any questions, and before Piper knew it, Chris was standing next to the kitchen counter, taking out a knife of the wooden block, and throwing it in the direction of the hallway. Following the path of the sharp metal object slitting the air smoothly, Piper didn't quite get why it was aimed at something shiny in the hallway when she first spotted the target. Only when the orbs died down she realized that she was staring at four people materializing in her house, one of them already on his knees, clutching the knife that hit him precisely in the center of his chest.
Darklighters.
Having some serious trouble catching up, the witch didn't even notice when Chris threw the second knife, and it took her to hear Paige's shouting to back away with her first-born from the scene she was witnessing. Piper looked at the four dumbfound men in the hallway again; the wounded one was already erupting in flames, the second just dropped his crossbow as he was hit with a cleaver in the stomach, and the other two were busy dodging the rest of the knives her son directed at them rapidly – and with flawless precision nonetheless.
Even though the Darklighters were counting on the element of surprise being on their side, no matter how shocked they seemed to be by losing the upper hand in an instant, Piper was heavily panicking despite only having two of them survive Chris's initial attack.
And she had all the right reasons to panic, since those two remaining creatures holding onto their crossbows posed a deadly threat to her youngest sister who was just getting back on her feet, to her son, whom she did the best to protect with her body, and to her…
Actually, to both her sons.
Much to her fright, her younger child was on the move once again, way before she could utter her worries about his safety. Seeing that the intruders were gaining back their composures after Chris run out of blades, she reached out with one hand, desperate to blow the Darklighters up before they could harm her son, who apparently didn't show any signs of the intention of retreat. Chris was making his way through the kitchen smoothly, grabbing every possible object he could throw: plates, forks that were left out on the table after breakfast, the mugs that were waiting for to be washed since the morning. He was throwing everything at the intruders that lied in his path, barely sparing a glance to the Darklighters. Piper flicked her hand reflexively, determined to bring Chris' seemingly mindless rampage to a halt, but when the realization of being powerless hit her again, she also had to realize that her son's actions were not nearly as mindless as they appeared to be…
Phoebe did not move an inch since Chris shove her a few steps back from the doorway. She was paying close attention to the conversation Paige and her nephew were having before the Darklighters orbed in, and therefore her reaction to the attack would have been quicker than Piper's, if Chris had not been the first to notice the black orbs forming behind his back. The moment he knocked Paige off her feet, Phoebe was already well aware what the young man was reacting to so fiercely, but before she could even think of a way of escape, two of the men were already vanquished – all thanks to Chris. When the Empath saw the boy throwing different kind of things at the Darklighters, she was already aware that it did not serve as a desperate attempt to get rid of them at all. Her nephew was effectively avoiding them using their crossbow, as none of the mentioned objects actually missed their targets, no matter how carelessly they seemed to be thrown at them. Chris was obviously moving out of instinct rather than fear, making him impossibly quicker than any of the opponents she has encountered during her battles as a witch. Watching the future boy's well-practiced movements Phoebe was reminded of the times when she was unable to follow Cole's attacks at first while he was teaching her to fight…
The Empath, knowing that she could not provide any help from this distance, stepped aside rather tactfully, allowing Chris to keep the men busy while she taught of a way for them to run off, as no matter how distracted the Darklighters were at the moment, they still couldn't possibly beat them without any active powers.
Despite wanting to bail out all her family members with Whitelighter blood, Phoebe seriously doubted Chris could be persuaded just to flee from the battle, and seeing that he could obviously take care of himself, she concentrated on finding an escape route for Paige and Wyatt. 'If we can get them to the sunroom, perhaps we have a chance to —'
"That's enough you little shit!" screamed one of the Darklighters as he tossed away a plate that was thrown at him, and raised the crossbow in his hand, clearly being fed up with the constant assaults they were receiving. He had no idea how was it possible for the witches to be so prepared for their arrival, but he was having no more of their Whitelighter's stupid child's tantrum…
Paige was quietly observing the scene that evolved in front of her eyes, not really finding a suitable option to help Chris either. She saw Phoebe contemplating something heavily, giving their nephew the freedom of doing whatever he had on his mind, and the redhead hoped that whatever her sister's plan may be, it would work perfectly after giving it so much thought. Glancing back at her older sister she saw her trying to blow the intruders up in vain, while all the way protecting Wyatt from any possible arrows that were threatening to be released in their direction. After Piper's expression slowly changed from terror to something Paige would any other time identify as awe, she directed her gaze at the only person who was actually doing something to save them, and she instantly understood the reason of her sister's astonishment.
When Chris noticed the change in the Darklighter's surprised and initially passive attitude, he reached to the table on which no other items were left except for Wyatt's color pencils that Piper forgot to take back to his box of toys after her son's usual coloring session in the morning. The redhead stood confused over Chris' actions, not really understanding his motive until he hurled a pencil straight at the Darklighter. He did not throw it in the same careless manner he was throwing the plates not a seconds ago. He was throwing it sharply, precisely, and with much more force, just as if he was throwing a very heavy knife. The pencil was still in the air when Chris was already running towards the men, having absolutely no doubt about it hitting his desired target. When it finally touched the throat of the first Darklighter, he was already knocking the second one unconscious with his own crossbow.
The fatally injured man dropped to the floor, grabbed the pencil sticking out of his gorge in an attempt to remove it, but the terror in his widely opened eyes said that he knew his fate was already decided. Gathering his remaining energy he tried to utter his final thoughts, but both his words and his screams died on his gaping mouth as his body was starting to flare up.
And just like that, mere seconds after the four men orbed into the Manor, there was all-consuming silence between the Charmed Ones and their Whitelighter once again.
…
As much as Piper wanted to leave the attic and the screaming man behind, she couldn't move from the room. She was not allowed to.
After putting the only remaining survivor of Chris' previous attack into a crystal cage, Paige instantly started to question him, urging Piper to call Leo and let him take Wyatt Up There with him – both for his safety, and for the reason of Piper not wanting him to hear the painful screams the Darklighter was letting out during the interrogation. Leo was shell-shocked to find Chris standing above the Book of Shadows, but after several failed attempts to make him even acknowledge that his father was in the room, the Elder was convinced that the best he could do was to watch Wyatt for the time being.
"Fine, I'll leave. But Chris… I want you to know that I am so—"
"Don't bother, Leo," the boy cut him off without sparing a glance at him, "just take Wyatt with you."
Hurt by his son's words Leo orbed out of the house, knowing well he was probably the last person Chris wanted to see right then. Building up a relationship between the two men will definitely be more thought than what the Elder first presumed.
Apparently, Paige was the only person who was not shocked enough by Chris' presence to get any work done, so she grabbed a crystal and tried her best to extract information out of their newly acquired hostage. The Darklighter however, was not so keen on sharing, thus the torture that was going on for long minutes now, was yet to lead them anywhere.
Piper was sitting on the couch, watching intently as her son flipped through the pages of the Book, looking for clues of what could have taken their powers away. At some point she felt like she should start a conversation with him, but that thought was quickly chased away by the memory of the evasive and insensitive manner in which Chris dismissed Leo minutes ago. Not that she didn't understand his reasons, but she was not sure she could shrug it off as easily as her husband did. So, she was just sitting there, wishing she would know what she could do or say that would make her son open up to her a bit…
The middle Charmed One was also eyeing the man who was looking over entries of demons and warlocks, but unlike Piper, she did not see a boy before her eyes anymore. She saw a man.
The attack of the Darklighters took him by surprise as much as it did the witches, yet the soldier-like manner he took care of the situation was unlike anything Phoebe had seen him do before. Heck, she didn't even know he could fight, and the fact that he had such impressive combat skills that the three women – despite all their experience in demon battles – did not even have time to bat their eyelashes when Chris was already finished with the intruders, had left the Empath with a very, very bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Has he always been such a skilled fighter, and only left them do the vanquishes to keep his cover up? Phoebe could easily recognize a fighter if she saw one; they always had a more guarded stance, more tense shoulders, a more perceptive view of their surroundings than normal people did. How come she never saw these qualities in her nephew? Was it because up until now, he wasn't her nephew? Did they really pay only so much attention to Chris when they thought of him merely as their Whitelighter? The idea of this being true was upsetting enough, but when Phoebe had to think about what a cruel world Chris must have come from to acquire such skills… She did not even want to know where, when, or why he learnt to fight like this. Even now, after being attacked and losing his powers, Chris was the only one of them still acting as self-assured as before.
Piper was slightly shaking, though Phoebe was not sure if it was merely due to the fact of losing their magic, or if it had to do something with Chris being present as well… but she was obviously not nearly as confident as she would be in just a regular case of an attack. Even Paige, who has always been the boldest out of the sisters, was more careful with the crystals, always taking a few steps back from the Darklighter when asking him a question. And the Empath had to admit, that she herself was not in her top form either. Darklighters were trained assassins, and she was obviously fearing that more of them would turn up… and due to this, no matter how normally she tried to act, she still jumped upon the sound of the wind closing a window downstairs.
Chris, however, did not seem to be disturbed by such trivial things. He didn't flinch upon the vicious screams of the Darklighter, nor did he seem to be disturbed by the idea of another possible attack. And after what Phoebe just witnessed, what did he have to fear, really? He took out four Darklighters single-handedly, like, in a blink of an eye. Phoebe would have needed more time to form a sentence. So, unless there was an army coming after them, was there even any creature Chris would not be able to defeat even without powers? His self-assured appearance suggested not, and as comforting as that thought was, it was at least as frightening for the Empath…
"One last chance, buddy," said the redhead while approaching the Darklighter again. "This time I'm not gonna back up if you don't start speaking right now," she finished in a child-like voice, but her tone still suggested she was not playing games.
"You may as well kill me witch, I'm not telling you a thing!" exhaled the tired man, breathing heavily from the excessive pain he was experiencing under Paige's treatment. The woman in question let out an frustrated groan, knowing that if torture gave them no results, there was probably no other way to get the required information out from the evil creature. Unsure of what to do she turned to her sisters for help, but found Piper staring at Chris in a paralysis-like state, and Phoebe eyeing the same person, deep in her thoughts, with an analytical look on her face.
"Drop his blood on the crystal."
Much to Paige's disbelief, the strange suggestion came from no one other than Chris.
"Why?" she asked, but regretted her question as soon as it left her mouth. Chris seemed to be irritated with the situation as it was, and though he made no comments on it yet, it was clear that his irritation originated more to his family's presence rather than to the lack of progress they made.
Chris let out an exasperated sigh, not bothering to hide his exhaustion with the women. Paige, knowing it better than to question again, turned back to her prey, and for her surprise, she found more than just a trace of emotion on the face of the man. Now, regardless his prior attitude, the Darklighter was utterly terrified.
"Don't even dream about it," said the weary man, but no matter how hard he tried to keep his tone hard and steady, the sentence still came out more as a plea rather than a threat. Although Paige did not know what was so scary about a crystal with some blood on it to the man, she assumed he already knew this form of torture from first-hand, and hoping he would go relatively far to avoid experiencing it again, she headed to the nearby shelves, fetched an athame and held it out threateningly.
"No, please, I will talk, I will talk alright!"
Now, according to Paige that sounded way better than the curses he was spitting at her moments ago. She couldn't believe they had gotten to this point so easily after her preceding efforts. Just how many cards like this did her nephew had up his sleeve?
"Who sent you?"
"What makes you think we were hired?" countered the Darklighter with a cocky smile, which was cleared off his face as soon as Paige neared him with the athame in her raised hand. "Okay, okay, I'll tell!" retreated the man immediately, "It was a warlock. Name's Myra or something…"
Paige took one step towards the cage again.
"…Mayra! Her name's Mayra!"
"Why did she attack us?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Yet another step towards the man.
"Fine! She wanted the Twice-Blessed gone! We were supposed to kill him only, not to harm any of you witches."
At that sentence Chris stopped searching for the warlock named Mayra, and upon mentioning her son, even Piper started to get interested in the ongoing conversation.
"Remind me to thank her for her generosity later," came the sarcastic remark from Paige. "Now, why was dear Mayra in the mood of sparing our lives again?" she prompted, quite puzzled about why a warlock would pass on the chance of getting rid of the Charmed Ones.
"I don't know that. NO, I mean, I seriously don't know! She said something about how the Charmed Ones are needed in the balance or some shit!"
The Darklighter was still visibly petrified of having his blood dropped on the crystal, and since his statement about not knowing more about the topic seemed fairly honest, Paige decided to let the topic go.
"How did she take our powers?"
"She…" the Darklighter paused for a moment, unsure if he should provide the witches this particular piece of information, but seeing the athame still in Paige's hand had his worries dissolving at once. "She did not take them. She just… cast a spell so you could not use them near each other."
Well, that actually explained why Paige could still orb into the Manor while her sisters have long lost their magic earlier.
"So, basically, if we break the spell we get our powers back?"
"All you have to do is kill her," the Darklighter confirmed.
"Sounds pretty easy," stated Phoebe, but was immediately discouraged by Chris, who has resumed his search in the Book.
"Far too easy," he said while turning the pages. "Darklighters are not bounty hunters. What did she promise you for your services?"
The Darklighter considered the question, and came up with an answer too quickly for Chris' liking.
"Immortality."
The obvious lie escaped the Charmed Ones, only the youngest Halliwell picked up on it as soon as it was told. Yet, having found the entry concerning the warlock Mayra, Chris decided there was no need to question the Darklighter further.
"Mayra is a warlock of lower ranking, though possessing a rare ability among demons: she can extend one's lifespan of as much as a few hundred years, making those, who seek her out every few centuries, practically immortal," Chris recited. "Not having any offensive powers she is pursued by many, and is willing to offer her services to whomever that manages to find her locations. That is the tricky part though; along the years Mayra has mastered the ruses of hiding from unwanted attention, and it takes one great efforts to track her down."
"I can show you where her lair is," offered the trapped Darklighter immediately, more than just fancying the idea of getting away from the hands of the crazy redhead and her family. Chris sensed the ulterior motive behind the offer, but seeing no other options and wanting his powers back as soon as possible, he approached the crystal cage and spoke to the Darklighter in a threatening manner.
"One trick, and you finish as your friends did."
Even though the trapped man had serious plans of getting away as soon as he was released from the cage, the memory of how that boy killed three of his comrades – one with a fucking pencil nonetheless – was still fresh in his mind, and it instantly cleared the smile that was forming on his features just before Chris spoke up.
Piper finally gathered her courage to take a part in the vanquish, and made her way to the cage as well, followed by Phoebe, signaling that wherever the Darklighter would take them, they were going to go together.
"You're not coming," stated Chris in the calmest voice the sisters ever heard from him.
Though Piper's fears of being ambushed in a demonic lair did not die down one bit, she was most definitely not letting her son go down there alone. What was he even thinking? Was he trying to get killed on purpose?
"Of course we're going," she retorted in a rather deep, quiet tone that she usually used when she wanted to leave no place for arguments. Even though Chris knew that tone of hers all too well, it did not seem to affect him.
"I might need my powers to vanquish her, and I apparently can't use them if you're nearby."
"I won't let you go there alone Chris, you might—"
"I can take care of myself."
"But what if he tricks you, what if you get hurt and we won't have a clue where you are!" burst out Piper, dreading the possibility of losing the son she just recently found out about.
"I'm going alone," said Chris once again, though he was obviously having difficulties with containing his temper.
"No, you're not! For all we know this might be trap, you might get—"
"You haven't chewed on that idea for long at the times I went to the Underworld to investigate alone now, did you?"
The silence that engulfed the attic seemed to become a traditional occurrence in the Charmed Ones' lives, at least whenever Chris was involved. His momentarily forgotten anger upon meeting the sisters apparently returned, and all his visions about seeing the hurt expression on the women's faces became reality with one single sentence of his. Although, he might have been satisfied with the impact his words had on his family, the man could still feel the familiar feeling of guilt sneaking up on him, and it only got worse by the second as he watched the tears gather in his mother's eyes…
'Piper! She's Piper, not your mother!'the Witchlighter tried to justify his actions, but it looked like no matter which timeline he was in, he just could not stand the sight of a crying Piper.
"Chris, please, be reasonable," tried Paige upon sensing an opening in Chris' emotionless mask, "he might have easily lied about our powers. What's going to happen if you do not get them back once you orb there with him? You are going to be—"
"Perfectly capable of finding my way out, which would not nearly be as easy if I had to look out for you as well."
"We can look out for ourselves, we just want to help!" reasoned Phoebe when she finally found her voice. "Perhaps we should call Leo and—"
"Absolutely not!" blurted out the young man once he lost his temper, "Leo is not needed here, and I am going alone, period!"
"But we…"
"I did not come here for your help Phoebe, I merely happened to be in the attic when this Mayra cast the spell!" Chris went on while he kicked one of the crystals that formed the cage around the Darklighter. "I did not come here to listen to how dangerous it is to go to the Underworld alone, I am very well aware of that fact without you giving me a lecture on it…" He proceeded to grab the man by his upper arm, dragging him up from the ground while holding him firmly in place. "I did not come here to see you."
And with a last command for the Darklighter to orb, Christopher Perry Halliwell had left the Manor once again, leaving the Charmed Ones wonder if he would ever return to them by his own, free will.
…
Soooo, update. I have not given up on this story yet ;) Another update coming soon, almost finished with the next chapter. Also, I know, this story is lacking Cole, isn't it? :D Well, not for much longer…
Many, many thanks to cheerpup1392 for betaing! :)
So, enjoy reading and tell me what you think. :)