Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters.

A/N: My finals are literally killing me! Why do I need to know Latin in order to teach history? I don't get it! Anyway, here's the chapter, enjoy!

"Excalibur," Chris called in a cool voice and the sword orbed in his hand.

As soon as his fingers wrapped around the hilt, a golden glow engulfed them both. Chris had never felt anything like it before. The Excalibur pulsed with magic, it made his blood run faster in his veins, made his own powers built to a pit inside of him. He swung his hand around drawing a whooshing sound from the blade as it sliced through the air.

"What do you think you are doing boy?" the demon was now back on his feet glaring towards him. Chris tried to get everything in perspective but he just couldn't. He knew that he should be worried about Piper, about his identity being exposed, about Wyatt, about the whole damn world. But right at that moment all that mattered was the sword in his hands, the piece of history that belonged to him. Not to his older brother.

"I said, what do you think you're doing?" the demon said again. Chris turned his jade green eyes to him.

"Claiming my birth right," he said offhandedly "Although technically that's incorrect, seeing as I'm not yet born," he mused.

"The Excalibur doesn't belong to you," the Dark Knight said with conviction extending his hand. But the sword didn't go to him. Chris chuckled almost delighted.

"Uh-huh, I see someone forgot to do his homework," he admonished brandishing the sword.

"But it can't be!"

"Nah, you see, the prophecy said 'the son of a Charmed One', now that's not very specific, is it?" he questioned raising his eyebrows "God, you got to love prophecies!" Chris said looking fondly at the sword "We just all assumed that it was Wyatt, you know what with him being the Twice-Blessed and all," Chris shrugged "Apparently we were wrong."

Melinda felt a hand connecting with her cheek. The pain worked slowly its way to her mind and she jumped startled to see Paige's tear streaked face looking at her square in the eyes. Melinda swallowed and her eyes turned to the fallen form of her mother, resting in a pool of her own blood. Paige silently expected for her reaction, but Melinda just couldn't bring herself to do it. What if she couldn't? What if she tried and it wasn't enough? Could she live with that?

"You have to try," Paige pleaded with her.

"Can't we call Leo?"

"We tried already, there must be some kind of spell over the cavern," Paige said looking around the rocky cave.

Melinda stood up her legs trembling. She walked slowly towards her Aunt Phoebe; she was cradling her sister's head in her arms, rocking her body back and forth while crying, clearly in shock. Melinda bit back a sob when she saw her mother's blank face. Piper was so pale, she looked so stiff, what if it was already too late? Thoughts of Leo standing over her mom's unmoving body, things that she'd never seen and yet knew that were true, flashed in her mind and she flinched. No she wasn't like her fahter, she wouldn't stand doing nothing while her mother drifted away. She couldn't lose her again.

"But you can't be King Arthur! Wyatt is the most powerful being in creation!" the Dark Night bellowed and Chris smirked.

"Right, I'm just his little brother," he said before he flicked the wrist he was holding the sword with, took a step forward and thrust it in the Dark Night's chest.

Melinda's fingers tingled but the power was not quite there. She could feel it slipping away from her and she desperately tried to hold on to it but it was difficult, much more difficult than with Phoebe and Paige. "Chris!" she yelled in desperation.

The sword fell from his hands in his sister's cry. The demon was dealt with and now the reality was settling back into him. He ran over to Melinda and noticed that she was having troubles with her healing.

"Why didn't you call for Leo?" he demanded from his Aunts before falling to his knees next to his sister.

"We can't," Paige said simply. She didn't really know what had happened. One minute the demon was sprouting nonsensical stupidities about the sword belonging to the son of a Charmed One, then her sister was stabbed, and then Chris somehow called Excalibur to him and ended the Dark Night.

"Chris," Melinda said again not wanting him to drift into shock again "Help," she half ordered half begged.

Chris raised his hands over his mother's body but nothing happened. Not that he expected anything better. But she couldn't die! He wasn't conceived yet and if he was never born then no one was to come back and prevent Wyatt from turning Evil. Melinda took a hold of his hand and he felt her in his mind. He was pretty sure that Melinda told him she wasn't a telepath so he couldn't quite understand how she was doing what she was doing but she was there. Her presence was rather calming in the havoc that was the inside of his head.

Melinda could feel the barriers within his mind coming down. Slowly, but they were. She didn't push harder in fear of him closing off. She tried not to pry too much in his mind; Chris hated it when either she or Wyatt did so, and that was one of the reasons they decided to close off the link that their siblinghood provided. The warmth that spread all over him made Chris smile unconsciously. It started in his belly and then moved upwards in his torso and downwards to his legs. It blinded him behind his closed eyelids. He wanted to scream in excitement and cry in pain all at the same time.

Just like with Excalibur this was a completely new sensation for Chris. Whereas with the sword he felt more powerful than ever before, now he felt like he was ready to burst with emotions. Hatred, despair, happiness, numbness, love, they all mingled in him creating a whirlwind of feelings. The predominant one was love. It rushed through him, blinded him, deafened him, rendered him speechless finding a way out through his fingers.

Piper was coughing, turning her head this way and that, and Melinda fell back on her knees with an exhausted sigh. She didn't know that healing someone could be so tiring. She brought her hand up to her head and massaged her temples in slow circular motions.

"Chris?" Paige said concerned. Her voice jolted Melinda who realised that she was still in her brother's mind. Chris' eyes were glazed over, the glow still going strong under his hands. Melinda scrambled closer to him forcefully pulling out of his mind. After a minute or so Chris screamed out in pain, he wobbled on his knees and then fell on his side, a loud thudding echoing in the cavern.

"Chris!" Phoebe yelled kneeling beside the young Whitelighter. She reached for his pulse point; it was still there, steady and strong.

"He's alright," Melinda said after a quick check on him "He's just exhausted, Chris was never good at controlling his healing power," she said shaking her head a little.

"I thought Chris couldn't heal," Paige said crossing her arms over her chest. Phoebe wanted to laugh when she saw the deer-caught-in-headlights look in Melinda's face.

"How is it possible for a Whitelighter not to control his healing power?" Piper asked, raising her body by leaning on her elbows.

"It's kind of a long story and I would rather discuss it somewhere else," Melinda said looking around. Paige nodded and without a lot of pondering she grabbed Phoebe's hand and laid her other one on Piper's shoulder.

Melinda exhaled and stilled herself for a long second. This was close. A little bit too close for her likings. Did this happen in the first time line as well? Was her mother stubbed while pregnant with Chris? Had she come so close to growing with one brother instead of two? Melinda shivered in fear. Chris was still unconscious but his breathing was even. He'd put too much of himself in the healing, he'd exhausted himself in a matter of speak. Considering that he also had to control Excalibur not five minutes ago it was understandable. Melinda pushed some hair out of his face and stared at him for a while.

"Excalibur," she called out and the sword orbed in her hand. Chaos, distraction, pain and death, the thoughts infiltrated her mind as the sword shook in her hand. Melinda tried to push the thoughts away from her mind. She touched Chris' leg and orbed away.

Paige was in the middle of explaining to Leo what had happened; as well as she could under the circumstances, when she heard the familiar by now sound of orbing, and then another one of metal colliding with marble. Wyatt fussed in his father's arms and Leo rocked him up and down to keep him from crying. Phoebe jumped up and ran out of the kitchen and into the conservatory quickly followed by Paige and Piper who needed a little more time to get up.

As quickly as she was back in the Manor, Melinda dropped the sword and let a sigh of relief. Chris was lying on the floor next to her and she was about to orb him on one of the couches when her Aunts came in.

"Is he okay? What happened?" the concerned tone in Leo's voice brought a growl out of her that she tried to pass off as coughing. Leo handed Wyatt over to Piper who hugged him close and went to Melinda, kneeling next to her.

"He's alright," Melinda said not really feeling like she needed to give him any sort of explanation "He's just exhausted..."

"By using his healing power on Piper," Leo said his green eyes filling with realisation.

"And handling the sword," Melinda said without thinking.

"The sword..." Leo trailed off a bit confused before his eyes fell on the weapon "Excalibur?" Melinda nodded.

"Yeah, which brings back the subject, how could Chris do this?" Phoebe asked and Melinda looked down at her brother willing him to wake up.

"Anyone can use the sword once it's out of the stone," Melinda lied through her teeth.

"That's not true, I couldn't," Piper said a bit defensively.

"Yes she couldn't and she is the Lady of the Lake," Paige said waggling her eyebrows "And let's not forget one of the Charmed Ones."

"Chris said something about the son of a Charmed One being the one to inherit the sword," Phoebe said remembering the conversation between Chris and the Dark Knight she managed to overhear while holding Piper's body. Melinda's cheeks flushed red and she looked down biting on her lip. She'd done it again. It was her fault. If she hadn't rush off to Paige and Phoebe they would've finished off with the Dark Knight long before her Aunts came over. Chris' mission was in jeopardy and he had only her to blame.

"Melinda," Piper's snide tone brought her back to reality.

"Erh, he's Prue and Andy's illegitimate love child?" she tried but the sisters reacted just like Chris when she suggested it "Look, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, it's not my secret to share," Melinda said the resignation obvious in her voice.

"So let me get this straight," Paige's tone was cut, her eyes narrowed "Chris, is family?" Melinda remained silent "Which inadvertently means you are family."

"Please, don't," Melinda begged with them. Phoebe brought her hand up to her chest, knowing her eyes were growing misty. The pain and guilt that was pouring off of the girl was impossible to bare.

"Pheebs, are you okay?" Piper asked her but her middle sister shook her head in a silent no.

Chris stirred bringing Melinda's attention back to him. She bent over his body, her hands cupping his face.

"Chris?" she muttered the tears trickling down her face. His eyes flattered a little and then they snapped open and she tried to smile through the thick water drops forming in her eyes.

"Lin?" he said confused. They weren't in the cavern anymore that much was sure. His back hurt and he was beginning to feel cold; he was lying on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Chris, I'm so sorry," Melinda cried hugging him where he lay. Chris' confusion increased tenfold as he tried to console the crying girl in his arms.

"Lin, shh, it's okay," he whispered in her ear but Melinda shook her head.

"No it's not. I shouldn't have left," she said vehemently. What was wrong with her? She used to think before act but one trip in the past and everything changed! Melinda was never this reckless.

"Hey, whatever happened, I bet it's not so bad," he said, his voice light but it only served for her sobs to get harder.

Leo didn't know what to think. Melinda's overreaction had brought them all up to a pause. The questions echoed in his mind, unanswered and yet he couldn't pry the young woman away from Chris and start interrogating her. His eyes travelled over to his ex-wife and her sisters. Piper looked judt as confused. Like every other person in the room, excluding Melinda, she couldn't fathom what had gone so wrong. The girl was crying as if someone had died and yet they were all fine, and the demon was killed. Wyatt cried out demanding her attention and she rocked him a little to calm him down but it didn't seem to work.
Paige was more concerned with Phoebe than Melinda. Her sister was crying silently, her arms wrapped around her body as if she was in pain. When she made to touch her Phoebe flinched and her hand dropped by her side. Dejected, Paige only could look at the scene unravelling before her.

"Lin, you're bringing Wyatt down," Chris said after a long while of silence. Melinda tensed. Wyatt...Piper was still there, they all were. She pulled back quickly, fresh tears in her eyes, and looked guiltily down at her brother. She shook her head lightly and after relishing a soft sob she orbed away. "Can someone explain to me what happened?" Chris asked looking at his family, pushing himself on his elbows.

"You passed out," Paige provided him the answer.

"Yes I gathered that much..."

"You helped Melinda with healing Piper and then you passed out," Paige corrected herself "Then Melinda brought you here and..." she pointed towards him and shrugged.

"Okay, that doesn't make any sense," Chris said looking at his youngest Aunt. Paige made a small grimace.

"Well it might have to do something with us asking a couple of questions."

"Questions?" Chris asked fearing the response.

"Why you could handle Excalibur," Piper said and he flinched.

"Why wouldn't I? I mean you did it," he tried to stall them as the cogs turned in his mind.

"Not for long, it corrupted me pretty quickly," Piper said and looked at Wyatt who was eerily silent. Chris' eyes also turned to the baby who had stopped crying the moment Melinda orbed out.

"I didn't hold it for so long," Chris kept up his pretences. He needed to get out of there. He needed to go find his sister.

"The demon," Phoebe's voice was hoarse, her cheeks tear streaked "The demon said something about you and Wyatt..."

"Since when do you care what demons say?" Chris snapped "Demons lie, that's what they do. I thought you knew better than to listen to what they have to say. Now I have to go find Mel," he added quickly. Leo's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"We have questions."

"Yes, and I cannot provide the answers for you, sorry," he shrugged his hand off and orbed to the Golden Gate bridge.

"You're contemplating jumping?" he asked and Melinda did jump; backwards, her hand flying to her chest.

"You scared me," she said her tone accusing.

"Well, you did reveal my identity," he said tilting his head on the side.

"No I didn't," Melinda refused weakly. Chris raised his eyebrows "I know I am so stupid! I'm sorry Chris! I really am...I..."

"It's okay," Chris cut her off walking the few steps that separated them to stand next to her.

"But I thought you didn't want them to know."

"I didn't, I still don't. I'll come up with something to tell them, or we'll use a memory spell," Chris said shrugging. Melinda's cheeks blushed furiously.

"Now why didn't I think off the memory spell?"

"Because I'm the smartest out of the two of us," Chris said cheekily relieved that she was back to normal "But I can't have you freaking out on me."

"I know, I'm sorry...Listen to me! I sound like a broken record," she gave him a dry chuckle "I am sorry though, I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Lin, I know, okay?" he said putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him "It will be okay, trust me."

"I do," she said quickly and Chris smiled despite already knowing that "And I'm gonna help you, with Wyatt. If I can't fix my reality, then I am gonna make sure I'll fix your future," Melinda said looking up to her brother's face.

"But what about your time line?"

"Oh, trust you me, Chris and Wyatt are more than capable of keeping themselves and the rest of the family alive," Melinda reassured him.

"Still I think we should try and find a way to get you back."

"Okay, we can work on that too," she agreed with a nod. Chris looked down at the city lights for a moment before remembering something that troubled him back in the cave.

"How come you could feel Phoebe and Paige being hurt and I couldn't?"

"Ah, as I said, it wasn't the Whitelighter part of me; it's a passive power, something like Aunt Phoebe's premonitions but not nearly as powerful, or correct," she said with a shake of her head "I sometimes see dreams that come true, or I have a feeling about something happening only minutes before it happens, which is not very helpful."

"Well, it did help the Aunts."

"They could always call for Leo."

"Why didn't they?"

"Paige wanted to give me a shot," Melinda said remembering her Aunt's words. Accepting her response Chris nodded and remained silent. Melinda bit on her lip; maybe coming forward with everything wasn't such a bad idea.

A/N: Not much happened in this chapter I know, but don't blame me, blame the finals :p Till I see you again, take care!