'This isn't right,' Phoebe kept on repeating to herself, quickening her steps as the dreadful feeling in her gut grew stronger and stronger with each passing second. 'This isn't right. This cannot be right,' she panicked, but forced a suspiciously wide smile on her face upon entering the sitting room.
The sight that greeted her rendered the witch speechless instantly, despite the fact that she was having a rather heated conversation with her sisters just mere moments ago. 'God, this isn't right!'
He was there.
Chris Halliwell was actually sitting on a couch in the Halliwell Manor, studying the sunrays coming through the window as if he didn't have a care in the world. He seemed to remain blissfully ignorant to the shouting that was currently taking place in the kitchen, completely absorbed in the scenery.
Phoebe took a deep breath and took a few, careful steps in his direction, afraid to set him running with only as much as an unintentional sudden movement. Unsure how to get his attention without scaring him away she stood there for a minute awkwardly, then took a deep, anxious breath and greeted her nephew…
For the second time that day.
"Hi there," she uttered as softly as she could, not letting the strained smile leave her features. Chris raised his head curiously, and upon noticing the Empath he returned the greeting with an uncharacteristically warm smile of his own.
Phoebe suddenly felt like yelling. No matter how hard she tried to rationalize what led to the current situation, a contently smirking Chris sitting on their couch was the least possible outcome she expected from the events when he materialized in the attic more than an hour ago. 'This. Just. Isn't. Right!' shefelt her alarms going off with full force, and tip-toed around an armchair to take a seat in front of the oblivious young man.
The Empath found herself at a loss of words for the hundredth time today. It wasn't an everyday occasion that they got a visit from her nephew anyway, but the happenings that led to him staying near them willingly – without showing the slightest sign of discomfort at that…
That was just too much of a phenomenon for her mind to justify.
And needless to say, it seemed to be too much of a miracle to simply believe as well.
ABOUT AN HOUR EARLIER…
"Do you think we should… leave?" the Empath asked her youngest sister uncertainly, standing in the furthest corner in the attic, mainly because that was the only way for her to hear her own voice over the shouting.
"Sure Phoebe, let's assist the murder of our sister and nephew by leaving them alone in an enclosed space," Paige replied with a roll of her eyes, but her expression grew serious as an afterthought hit her. "I wonder who would win though," she added in a curious tone.
Phoebe didn't take the situation as light-heartedly as her sister did though, and her eyes widened at the thought of her relatives actually hurting each other during their fight. "You think they would actually… get physical?" she finished anxiously, trying to soften the concept of Paige's implication with her choice of words.
"Are you kidding me?" the redhead shot an incredulous look at the older witch, but refocused her attention to the ongoing spat just in time to see Piper raising her hand threateningly while Chris pointed his finger furiously at her. "They'd skin each other alive."
The two youngest Halliwell sisters watched in awe as the fight between Piper and Chris got more and more carried away with each uttered sentence, too intimidated by the angry voices to dare and interrupt. Having learnt their lesson from their last encounter with the young Witchlighter, they made Leo leave with Wyatt for obvious reasons a bit earlier, as one could never predict what would happen if an angry Chris got mixed with a miserable and desperate Piper.
Phoebe couldn't honestly say she didn't see the fight coming. Less than twenty minutes ago Chris actually decided to answer Paige's call, and he arrived in a mood that suggested he was finally ready to listen to reason. But as usual, the oldest Charmed One's temper couldn't tolerate his stubborn dismissing attitude for long, and chaos rapidly ensued from the initially peaceful conversation.
Paige made the Empath back up and let the tension work itself out between mother and son, but even though Phoebe knew the fight was needed in order to get a step ahead, she still had difficulties to stay still as Piper and Chris basically shouted their lungs out with all they've got. It was probably the ugliest and most terrifying row she ever witnessed, and having to deal with demons on a daily basis that was saying something.
"Well, at least they are communicating," tried Paige, growing tired of the startled expression on her sister's face. "They need this," she added quietly, trying to reassure herself just as much as the Empath. Paige knew very well that the confrontation between those two would stir up some trouble, but obviously, she was hoping for a more peaceful solution to their problems as well.
"Then let me understand, Chris! How can you expect me to get it if you never explain—"
"How long do you think this will go on?" Phoebe asked her sister worriedly, not liking the way the opponents started to gesture wildly, as if it would help to get their point through.
"Why, do you have anything else to do besides babysitting them?"
"I didn't come here to explain things you don't even need to know Piper, and I most certainly do not—"
"I wish we had some popcorn."
"Paige!"
"What? I'm hungry."
"…hurt to answer my calls every now and then? Last time I checked you were still our Whitelighter and—"
"I think I just heard one of them saying 'please'," Phoebe cocked her head up at hearing the unexpected phrase, hoping against hope they would direct the conversation to a topic that would involve more of such polite expressions, and less of the endless accusations and hurtful insults that seemed to be the main theme now.
"…none of them was an emergency, otherwise Leo would have—"
"I'm afraid 'please' doesn't count above a certain volume, Phoebe."
"It's not about emergencies Chris! I was worried sick about you! You know very well that—"
"Don't you think we should call Leo?"
"I fail to see how he could be of any help here," stated Paige, but the thought of letting the Elder sort this whole quarrel out became more and more appealing as her migraine started to get worse. "Except for maybe letting him orb them to different continents."
"…am NOT A CHILD, PIPER! I can take care of myself just fine!"
"But I am still your MOTHER AND I HAVE—"
"YOU DENIED THAT QUITE HEATEDLY NOT SO LONG AGO!"
"Planets," Paige corrected herself quietly, "Different continents won't do here."
Despite Phoebe's expectations, Piper didn't let the impact of Chris' words to reach her. Her determination to get through to him didn't falter, and to be honest, it wasn't even the ugliest thing said during the last twenty minutes. If she was hurt – and the Empath could feel she was – her momentary fury didn't let her sadness surface.
"I didn't mean that! You KNOW I didn't mean—"
"Oh, good, because that MAKES IT ALL RIGHT!"
"I wasn't even fully CONSCIOUS for Heaven's sake! I would never say something like that, and—"
And the battle didn't end there. Shouted accusations of being ignorant, annoying, impossible, thickheaded, irrational and stubborn from both parts were escorted with a couple of angrily cried sorries from Piper – which weren't any different in tone or volume than the rest of the fight.
Phoebe was fidgeting nervously as the shouting kept on going, and Paige settled for trying to will away the hurt in her ears from the constant assault. She was ready to supply a remark concerning whatever was being said, but the tension in the attic soon seemed to reach its peak, and the sudden heaviness of the uttered words made Paige swallow whatever comments she might have had regarding the fight.
"…because I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE! I just… I just wish you would…" Piper trailed off, not really knowing what to say all of a sudden. There wasn't much that hasn't been said already, and nothing seemed to bring them closer to reach an understanding so far.
"If I would be what, Piper? If I would be more like Wyatt? Or if I would be less annoying and more of a person you'd want to have in your family? If I would be WHAT, Piper?"
"If you would just start acting like family!"
Phoebe and Paige both raised their heads when they didn't hear Chris' answer immediately. It wasn't the most meaningful sentence uttered during the persistent shouting, but for some reason, Piper's tone apparently put an end to the endless list of accusations.
Both Piper and Chris seemed slightly short of breath, panting for a minute or two before regaining their composure. Apparently shouting on the top of your lungs for half an hour was more exhausting than one would initially presume.
As the pause in their yelling lengthened, the angry lines on Chris' features slowly but surely softened, and Piper sensed an opening to try and talk to him in a more civilized manner.
"Listen Chris, I know I can't force you to…" the witch stopped, deciding to make her apologies once again before asking for her son's forgiveness. "I know that what I've done was wrong. I know that you didn't deserve… any of what I've put you through. And yes, I admit that I wasn't happy when I discovered you were related to me, but not because of you, Chris! I was angry with myself! For… for how I treated you! The thought of actually not wanting you to be my son never even crossed my mind, you have to believe—"
"Piper…"
"No, please let me finish… I know that I have no right to ask—"
"You're right."
"…to tell us any more than…" Piper paused again, sucking in a deep breath as Chris's words registered in her brain. "I'm… I'm what?"
"Wait, she's what?" asked the two younger sisters in unison in the background.
The possibility of her son's words carrying a sarcastic undertone crossed Piper's mind a moment too late, but her already rising hopes weren't crushed as usual, since Chris seemed to be sincere when he next spoke up.
"I said you're right," he repeated, suddenly finding the floor the most worthy sight in the room to occupy his interest. "I shouldn't have disappeared like that. I didn't mean to make you worry…"
Phoebe and Paige were staring at the suddenly shy-looking man, dumbstruck and doubtful at the same time. They couldn't believe they just heard Chris practically apologizing – and with a tone that apparently held no malice or cynicism at that.
No. Something must have been wrong here...
"I'm sorry Piper. It won't happen again."
Terribly wrong.
…
Phoebe couldn't believe she had witnessed that scene even now.
An hour had passed since a new debate had started between the sisters in the kitchen, leaving Chris waiting for them until they came to a conclusion. The Empath got tired of not getting anywhere with Piper and decided to try her luck with her nephew instead, but despite knowing Chris would be in the sitting room, she still got surprised at his presence when she spotted him.
But well, who could blame her? The picture was just so wrong. Chris sitting on the couch with a completely relaxed posture, indicating he's completely at ease with his surroundings…
He must have been sitting in the same spot numerous times during his life, yet Phoebe couldn't help but feel like he was just a guest there currently. A distant cousin at best, who dropped in while he happened to be in town, or a rarely seen friend who came over for a cup of coffee after work to catch up.
Only that Chris waited for their return patiently for much longer than any guest or friend would.
'This isn't right.'
Phoebe felt the conflict slowly eating her mind up, but remained unable to find its origin, let alone its possible solution.
The Chris she saw in the attic apologized, but at the same time, the Chris she knew would never do that. And why would he, really? It was them who owed him an apology, not the other way around….
This surely was only some kind of joke.
But why was he still here then?
Maybe the apology wasn't sincere after all.
But he seemed so honest…
"So, Chris," she started, set on letting the cat out of the bag before the situation turned for the worse. Hell, she would chase that cat for miles if she had to. "You're saying you… you forgive us, right?" she lowered her voice, making sure Piper doesn't hear her. The oldest sister seemed to be the only one who genuinely believed Chris came around just like that, and Phoebe didn't want to be the one to crush her hopes.
Because they surely would be crushed in a bit… wouldn't they?
"Well, you are my family, and Piper's right. I have to start acting like it sooner or later."
Phoebe's eyes widened at the yet again unexpected answer. Just what on Earth was happening to her nephew? Was he under a spell? A curse? The effects of a potion perhaps? Or was he simply having a fever?
On a quick impulse she pushed her palm flat against his forehead, half-expecting to have a few broken bones after Chris realized what she was doing. His response was only a confused raise of an eyebrow though, and Phoebe let go of him with a surprised expression.
"You're not sick."
She realized a heartbeat too late that her words came out in a rather dumb manner, and Chris didn't even try to hide his amusement.
He chuckled.
Chris Perry actually chuckled.
Phoebe's eyes were like saucers as she witnessed the small display of Chris' human side, feeling ashamed for still thinking of him as her workaholic Whitelighter in a way. Her dumbfound expression only served to amuse the boy further though, and he let out a short laugh at the witch's speechless form.
"Really, Aunt Phoebe, why would I be sick?"
'Oh. Dear. God.'
Alarms went off rapidly in the Empath's mind with renewed force as she tried to process the way Chris addressed her.
Aunt Phoebe.
She'd be lying if she said she never imagined the words leave Chris' mouth, and she always felt fluttered when her fantasies of him becoming a real part of her family played out quietly on the back of her eyelids. She thought she wouldn't care about the circumstances under which he'd declare her to be his aunt, but the current situation simply felt wrong. So very, very wrong.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked uncertainly, almost expecting him to drop dead at any given second.
"I'm fine," he reassured with a smile. "I rarely get sick naturally anyway. The perks of having Elder-blood I guess," he added with an almost uncaring shrug of his shoulders.
Phoebe was initially taken aback by the openness he was willing to talk to her with, but at his last words a plan was already forming in the back of her mind… 'Chasing the cat…'
"Oh, right, you're half part Elder. I almost forgot," she said as another constrained smile formed on her features, but the suspicion behind her gaze never registered in Chris' mind.
"Well, technically I'm not. Being an Elder is more like a… a position. A rank, if you will," he explained, and Phoebe had to put her hand under her chin in order to prevent her jaw form falling. Since when was Chris Perry so eager on sharing… well, any kind of information with them? "It's something that has to be earned, not something that can be passed down genetically."
Phoebe managed to nod curtly in her awe, not allowing herself to get side-tracked of her original plan. She had to try and snap Chris out of this… well, of this whatever that has happened to him sometime during the last hour. Her idea about bringing his father to the conversation was a risky one, as he would surely react badly to Leo's name, but what choice did she have at this point? She didn't think she would ever say that, but right now she'd rather have an angry, shouting Chris sitting across from her than the current version of her nephew. There were just so many things off with him right now that it scared her to no end.
"So, you didn't inherit any of those Elder powers that Leo has now?" she asked breathlessly, trying hard not to put any emphasis on the name of her brother-in-law. She wasn't exactly sure what reaction to expect, but it most definitely wasn't the mischievous smirk the young man presented her with.
"Well, I can jingle."
The Empath blinked a few times before realizing her plan wasn't going to work. She managed to let out a pained chuckle, but her eyes became more and more scared with each passing moment.
Chris wasn't angry. He wasn't shouting like she expected he would, and he didn't even flinch at the topic of his father.
He wasn't running around chasing demons, and he wasn't even babbling about how they absolutely had to change the future right now.
He wasn't repeating the words 'future consequences' like a broken record, and he wasn't nervous or fidgeting.
Chris wasn't being moody, and he didn't resemble his usual neurotic self by the slightest.
He was sharing personal information willingly, and he wasn't running from her inquiries as if he had been burnt by fire.
He was calling her Aunt Phoebe.
The symptoms didn't explain this sudden change of behavior of course, but as the witch summarized them silently, she came to the conclusion that somewhere along his fight with Piper, Chris simply stopped being… Chris.
'This must be a curse. Or some kind of personality altering spell… Maybe… There must be something about it in the Book. Yes, we just have to check the Book! We can deal with this,' Phoebe attempted to calm herself, but her voice was weaker than she intended when she finally spoke up.
"Right," she uttered carefully while eyeing the Witchlighter, letting the word roll off her tongue longer than necessary. "You can jingle," she smiled way too sweetly, her thoughts following one another at a rapid speed.
'But what if it's not a spell? What if it's not even something magical?'
"Of course you can, sweetie," she added, but her over-working brain was already supplying the most dreadful explanations to her nephew's behavior.
'God, what if he's dying?'
Phoebe was careful to keep the smile on her face, but inwardly she was listing the possibilities of what might have been wrong with the young man. Chris only responded to her curt sentences by raising an eyebrow in amusement, and that threw Phoebe's train of thoughts off for a short second. "Wait, you're serious?"
She never got an answer to whether Chris possessed that particular ability or not, as a widely beaming Piper and a visibly fuming Paige walked into the room, drawing the young man's attention.
Well, at least one of her sisters seemed to agree with the Empath on the matter at hand. Paige obviously didn't succeed in convincing Piper about something being off with Chris, but Phoebe couldn't say she was surprised about that the least. How could they get Piper to admit something she was obviously so eager to overlook?
"Now Chris, would you like to have something to eat?"
The question left Piper's mouth so smoothly even she was surprised at the sweetness in her own tone, and Chris' equally sweet smile didn't exactly help to clear the mental image of a rapidly closing disaster in Phoebe's mind.
'This just isn't right…'
…
Cole was starting to get restless.
It wasn't like he was concerned about the kid, not one bit. He was just… curious. Yes, that was the word. Curious.
Back in the morning he and Chris agreed to share lunch and then go on separate routes until sunset, having previously arranged their own meetings. Different places to be, different demons to kill. Chris wasn't one to miss a deadline or a meeting, but not even the knowledge that he'd be back soon helped Cole to get rid of his agitation.
Once more, not that he was being concerned. Maybe just slightly… jumpy.
What mood will Chris be in when he returns? Is he going to be angry? Sad? Disappointed?
Angry it is, Cole decided silently. Of course he would be angry; these are the Halliwells we're talking about. The correct question was rather just how angry will he be when he finally returns?
Cole was used to dealing with peoples' sudden mood swings. He was married to a highly emotional woman for years, who on top of that happened to be a witch with empathic powers. Now, if you mix said woman with that time of the month… let's just say the result could get even the most battle-hardened men curl up in a ball and cry.
Yet Cole never cared about that. He knew that life wasn't always all sunshine and rainbows, and he wouldn't have it any other way. As long as he had Phoebe, some minor emotional outbursts every now and then wouldn't hold him back from being chained to her side. Being vanquished though…
Cole had first-hand experienced what human emotions were capable of. People built empires based on one single feeling, but they also destroyed whole realms because of them. A rather large part of humanity was programmed to 'listen to their hearts' instead of following logic, and despite knowing better, most of them still did not listen to their brain when it clearly told them to stop and turn around.
People had some screwed up tendency in their nature that urged them to go with their emotions, and – according to Cole's experience – emotional people had a natural tendency to screw things up majorly.
Thus the slight unease of the demon.
The members of the Halliwell clan weren't exactly famous for their… tranquility. Piper's temper was a spectacle in itself as it was, and from what he learnt in the last few weeks, Chris' manners practically became extinct as soon as a mention of his family reached his ears. To complicate the matters, Piper trampled on the kid's heart quite hard, while Chris basically declared her to be the Worst Mother of the Year by cutting off all communication with her. As far as Cole knew neither of them was the forgive-and-forget type, and people have slit each other's throat for much, much less…
Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let him go alone to the Manor after all…
'Ah, what the hell!'
Those people were his family, not some random witches who would try and vanquish the kid if they didn't like his attitude…
'Not that Piper hasn't tried that once already.'
Still, Paige was there – if everything else failed she would surely intervene before things got ugly, wouldn't she?
'She wasn't of much help when they entered his memories either…'
Cole let out a frustrated sigh before getting up from the kitchen chair, tired of pointlessly debating with himself. After a minute he gave up on trying to find the right words that described his problem, and ever so slowly he came to a conclusion.
"I'm being ridiculous."
He made his way to the small liquor cabinet in the living room, grabbing one of the two single bottles stored on the shelves. The unopened bottle of whiskey was probably older than Chris himself, but Cole stopped paying attention to such pretenses long ago. Alcohol was good for loosening up his nerves, and he knew very well that the finest liquor wasn't any different in effect than the cheapest one he could grab at the corner store. The only reason he was willing to buy decade old bottles was the taste. He may have been forced to drink the crap they served at those demon bars Chris dragged him along to, but when he drank liquor on his own accord then the taste was something he wasn't willing to lower his standards at.
He opened the whiskey and set it down on the coffee table, intent on grabbing a glass when he caught a glimpse of the glass clock on the wall. It was barely past noon, and he suddenly felt senseless for drinking at this time of the day. He still had to interrogate a warlock after Chris returned, and God only knew how many vanquishes the kid scheduled for them before the night set in. Any man in their right mind would have put that bottle away, saying that getting drunk wouldn't make any sense in the current situation…
So – being the sensible man he was – Cole changed his mind and grabbed two glasses instead. The kid will surely need some help to loosen his nerves after an encounter with the Charmed Ones.
Cole knew he didn't have any real reason to feel anxious. None at all. It was him who encouraged the kid to grow a pair and solve his issues with his family, and mere hours ago he even found the thought of a debate between Chris and the sisters considerably entertaining. Yet, there he was, sitting on the couch with a cordial in hand, ready to pull the kid together when he finally decided to come back licking his wounds.
'Paige will help to sort this out for him,' he thought, and suddenly found a strange feeling of confidence in the younger sister of his ex-wife.
Paige has always been the least trusting and most hostile towards him; Cole was actually sure she was the first out of the sisters to applause the idea of vanquishing him. Still, the way Chris spoke about her made the demon slightly ease up towards the woman as well, as twisted as the logic in that might have sounded in his head. Paige was the only one of the Charmed Ones who knew what it was like to be an outsider in her own family, as she had her share of rejections before Piper and Phoebe fully accepted her to be their sister. Maybe that was the reason she treated Chris with more respect than the rest even before she came to learn his full name, but then again, Cole suspected that this was only part of it.
Chris was talking unreasonably about the future, and the demon gathered enough information from his stories to know the nature of his relationship with the redhead. Obviously, Paige became somewhat of a mother figure to the young man after Piper died, and though Chris hinted that they were pretty close even before that particular event, he never defined what kind of role she played in his life during his childhood. Of course, after listening to the short tales Cole had his suspicions about how Paige might have slowly edged out one of Chris' parents of her role, but that was one thing he didn't dare to directly ask the kid about. He might be an old acquaintance of the Angel of Death alright, but he knew better than to speak of Piper Halliwell as a mother who needed a substitute while still alive and breathing.
Cole's train of thoughts was disturbed by the familiar sound that usually escorted the bluish-white orbs, and it was only when Chris fully materialized that he realized he didn't even take a sip from his drink yet.
"Congratulations. You survived," he said without waiting for the boy to turn to face him, and poured some whiskey to the glass that he prepared for the Witchlighter. "Here. Drink this before you open fire on anything that's moving."
Chris turned around slowly and rested his gaze on the glass, but didn't move to accept it. His expression didn't betray his emotions, although Cole had a feeling something was going to give at any second now. When the Halliwell opened his mouth to speak, Cole was ready to counter basically anything that could have been said about the sisters. He was already inwardly listing stuff that could help the kid calm down – wise advices on how he should take a deep breath, let it all sink in, to give the damned witches some time to accept him into the family. He was ready to lie about it all being just a bad dream that would end soon, and hell, he was even going to promise him a new bicycle if that's what he needed to hear. The demon was sure that Chris could utter nothing, absolutely nothing that he didn't have an instant comeback prepared for.
"No thanks, I think I will have something to eat instead."
"…"
It took Cole 9 seconds to realize he was still holding the glass in the air after the kid left for the kitchen, and 5 more before his brain was actually ready to let him put it down.
The kid didn't seem to be in a foul mood, and that was something he didn't expect, he had to admit.
It certainly piqued his interest.
"So I take it you didn't prevent your own conception then?" he asked innocently after entering the kitchen, watching as Chris prepared to reheat some take-out food they ordered the night before. His question was answered with a perplexed look way before the boy actually gave voice to his confusion.
"Why would I have done that?"
Uh-oh. A few hours in the care of his dear family, and the kid comes back so distracted that he forgets about how he is supposed to be the sarcastic one. Whatever happened to him since he orbed away must have been fun, Cole decided.
"Are you alright?"
"What's it with you people today? I'm fine."
The demon gave him a dubious look, not quite convinced by the charade Chris put up. He might have looked content on the surface, but Cole was sure his happy-go-marry attitude would vanish as soon as his mind returned to normal and started to over-analyze things – like it usual did. He just had to sit this one out.
"Okay. Care to tell me how did it go then?"
"Good."
"Good?"
"Yeah, good. You know, the adjective most kids learn in pre-school."
Ah. It wasn't the response Cole was hoping for, but at least the sarcasm was back. It really was just a matter of time now before the bubble got pricked.
"So you made up?" the older man asked with the most easy-going manner he could master, taking a seat next to the brown-haired Witchlighter at the kitchen table.
"Yes."
Okay, so the conversation didn't evolve at the speed he was hoping for. Maybe if he inquired enough that would give the push his dear nephew needed to spill…
"Just like that?" he asked in a tone that was half an octave higher than his usual, but the kid didn't seem to pick up on his obvious mocking.
"Well, I kind of fought with Piper for a while, but we cleared things up at the end."
Cole blinked a few times before the realization hit him. Chris had been fighting with Piper, but he wasn't showing any traces of anger afterwards. That could have only meant one thing…
"…You killed them didn't you?"
"What? No, of course I didn't—"
"You bound them to each other and hung them up on the—"
"Wha—NO, God, no, why would I have done something like that?" Chris defended himself heatedly, not realizing his unusual behavior was starting to plant the seed of suspicion in his uncle's mind.
"I don't know, maybe because you were set on making them suffer through hell just a few hours ago?"
"I was wrong okay? They are my family."
His fami—… Wait, was the kid delusional?
"Your family," Cole repeated slowly, making the words sound impossibly harsh despite their meaning.
"Are you going to repeat every second sentence I say?"
"Do I have to?" the demon narrowed his eyes, starting to enjoy the conversation less and less with each passing minute. Something was obviously off with the young man, and the fact that his strange behavior could be connected to the rest of the Halliwells didn't help to fade Cole's growing suspicion.
"Listen," Chris started as he put his fork down, ready to get into a lengthy explanation about the happenings at the Manor. "I know what I said this morning, but I was wrong. Piper said she was being worried about me all this time, and I didn't even consider—"
"And you believed her?" the ex-Source asked incredulously, not getting where this Charmed-Ones-supporting attitude was coming from. Just a little while ago the kid was considering the option of never actually talking to any member of his family again, and suddenly he was concerned about the feelings of Piper Halliwell? The same woman who dared to show dissatisfaction upon discovering he was her offspring?
No, Cole must have missed something. Chris was surely just trying to keep himself together. He was just holding something back… something large enough to delay the outburst that was about to come. There was no other explanation.
Unless…
"Why wouldn't I believe her? She's my mother. She wouldn't lie to me."
No.
No, no, no. She wouldn't dare… that would be way, way too far-stretched even from her…
"Is there a chance she put you under a spell, Chris?" Cole popped the question with as much forced calmness as he could, but thoughts about probabilities of Piper actually resorting to such methods were racing in his mind at a rapid speed.
"A spell?! She did no such thing!" Chris blurted out, feeling unreasonably defensive of the woman in question. When his uncle raised an eyebrow to sign his irritation at the volume of his voice he paused, took a deep breath and went on in a more composed manner. "We just… talked. She made me realize that I'm being childish and that I've gotta stop acting like I'm not even related to them."
No, she did not... No. Fucking. Way.
"And how did she make you realize that exactly?" the demon rubbed the bridge of his nose, but deep inside he knew that whatever Chris' next words would be, they would only fuel his frustration with the Halliwell matriarch.
"I just— She said…" the boy stopped, his furrowed brows signaling his confusion about his inability to come up with a proper answer. After a moment of hesitation he decided to go with the easy way out: diversion. "She was just being nice okay? She seemed like she really regrets what she's done and just tries to make up for it."
Cole stayed still for a moment, hoping against hope that his nephew would come to his senses and start shouting about how Piper was the most gruesome, insufferable, evilest person in the world, and how he couldn't stand even the mention of her name in one sentence with his own…
Cole waited for a minute, then for another one, but the expected outburst from Chris never came. He took a long look at the boy who was once again contently chewing on his food, and with a deep, infuriated sigh he was finally forced to admit defeat.
She did it. She dared to put her own son under a spell to make up for her faults as a parent.
"She even invited me over for dinner."
Piper Halliwell was a dead woman.
"The nerve of that bitch!"
"Hey," Chris shot up his head at his uncle's words, but Cole was on his feet before he could finish his sentence, "you're talking about my mo—"
"You're not going back there," the demon uttered forcefully, seeing red from the anger that built up inside him towards the woman he once called his sister-in-law. Just how dare she do something like that… after everything she put him through… and now this…
Really?
"I most certainly am, and don't even try to stop me!" Chris stood up hastily, taking a step away from his infuriated uncle. He felt an irrational need to put more distance between himself and the man, but even as his instincts screamed that Cole wasn't the enemy, his body didn't seem to respond accordingly.
"Listen to me Chris, you have to—"
"I don't have to do anything!" The kid screamed now fully in fury-mode, but before the discussion could grow into a real fight his expression lost all its anger and he cocked his head to the side, as if he was remembering something really important all of a sudden. "Except for showing up somewhere I have to be in a minute. So if you'll excuse me…"
"No, Chris, wait!"
But it was too late. Chris was surrounded by orbs before Cole could move to grab his arm, and disappeared from the penthouse without a trace.
"Shit!" Cole swore out loudly, realizing he had no way to figure out Chris' destination. The boy was extremely clever when it came to cloaking spells; not even the sisters could track him down with their scrying and summoning spells, and the fact that he managed to evade an Elder's sensing abilities for months spoke for itself.
They never informed each other about where they set up their meetings with their demonic contacts – unless they felt like they should be prepared for being overpowered and in need of the other's help. Needless to say that such predictions weren't very frequent; there was hardly a demon who could possibly outsmart Chris or surpass the abilities he inherited on his witch side, and the impressive share of active powers Cole picked up during his time in the Demonic Wasteland wasn't lost either.
So, without having any options left, Cole started to pace the room while trying to come up with a solution to this madness.
Chris was obviously under a spell. A spell carefully crafted by his mother, probably to make him see things her way. Even though Cole might have had no real knowledge of what the charm's exact effects were, the fact that Chris didn't appear to be delusional from it was quite reassuring.
'Facts. That's it. Get your facts straight before taking a step,' the demon encouraged himself, and took a few, calming breaths before summarizing what he knew.
Fact number one: Chris orbed out to attend a meeting with a demon. Meaning: the boy hadn't completely lost it and still got his priorities at last partially right.
Fact number two: Chris orbed out to attend a meeting with a demon. Meaning: even if he wasn't currently in control of all of his powers, he still possessed one that provided him the means of escape in case something went wrong.
Fact number three: Chris orbed out to attend a meeting with a demon. Meaning: Piper could shove her sorries up his ass if her spell made Chris in any way incapable of handling a creature of pure evil on his own…
No, she wouldn't put her son's life at risk for her own convenience, would she? Even she couldn't be that stupid… right?
Ah, the damned Halliwells! They just always had to have their way, hadn't they? Cole shouldn't have been surprised, really. After all, no day went by without a Warren witch sticking her nose where it didn't belong…
Only they screwed with the wrong person this time. Charmed Ones or not, Cole wasn't one to give into the witches' way without putting up a fight. If they wanted to play dirty, then so be it.
He could play dirty too.
…
Three hours had gone by painfully slowly before Chris decided to grace Cole with his presence again and re-appeared at the door of his room.
The demon was sitting at the edge of the four-poster bed with his hands folded in his lap, an expectant look occupying his face.
"You're back early."
Chris squared his shoulders when he caught a glimpse of the demon, who only raised an amused eyebrow in response. It wasn't easy to catch him off guard, but apparently his uncle could be a really sneaky bastard when he wanted to.
"Paige was calling me again," the young man started cautiously, not sure what reaction to except from Cole. "It didn't sound like an emergency, so I figured I would change before orbing over."
Cole took a good look at his nephew, but saw no apparent reason as to why a change of clothing would be needed. There was no stain or rip on his dark-grey hoodie, and his light blue jeans weren't bathed in green goo or blood either. He looked slightly sweaty, but it wasn't something he should have been bothered by when he spent most of his days chasing demons. Except if…
Was he trying to actually appeal to Piper now by losing the clothes he barely spent half a day in?
That spell must have packed a punch.
"Why are you in my room?" Chris asked before Cole could continue his musing, but no matter how hard the kid tried to play it cool, the movements he approached the cupboard with were too tense for the demon to let it slide. Chris was expecting for him to try and stop him from leaving.
Cole smirked.
"I'm not going to stop you from going to the Manor, Chris."
The boy turned around to face him with a pair of fresh trousers in his hands, but the suspiciously glinting eyes of his uncle drew his attention from the piece of clothing quickly.
"Y-you're not?"
Cole rose from the bed with a lazy movement, but his expression practically commanded Chris to hold his gaze.
"I'm going with you."
There was a tensed silence before Chris wrapped his mind around what the ex-Source was planning. He was trying to meet his family. In Chris' presence.
Hell no.
The Halliwell relaxed his fingers around the garment and let it drop before willing himself to orb away, but apparently Cole wasn't unprepared this time. The crystal he threw at the door had been in his hand all along, carefully covered from the sight of those who happened to be distracted by God only knows what kind of spells that had been cast on them.
No matter how quick his reflexes were, Chris never stood a chance. His orbing form crushed into the crystal cage that completed the moment the last stone took its rightful place, and he was forced to re-materialize within the circle he was suddenly ever so desperate to leave.
By the time the last sparkles of his orbs died down Cole was already gripping his arm with an evil grin on his face, though his eyes were masking just the tiniest fraction of regret.
"Don't hold your breath, kid."
The ripples of shimmering took Chris by force, and all he could do when he realized where they were going was to close his eyes in his rising panic. No matter how hard he tried to change their destination during their short magical trip, Cole was way more experienced with this kind of transportation than him, and he didn't manage to throw the demon's aim off.
He felt the wooden floor under his feet before they could see them, but he didn't dare to open his eyes, not even after he was sure they finished moving. Maybe if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him either…
"Chris, we're…" he heard his youngest aunt starting off hurriedly, but her words died on her lips when she took in the sight of the newcomers. "C-Cole?"
Paige's voice sounded so distant to his ears that it made Chris consider the possibility of the whole scene being only a bad dream for a second. Maybe if he kept his eyes tightly shut long enough he wouldn't hear their voices anymore. Maybe if he didn't move for a while he would wake up soon.
"COLE!"
The voices didn't fade, of course – they only got stronger and fiercer by the minute. It looked like Chris wasn't in a dream, after all.
"How the—"
He didn't wake up as he so terribly wished he would, but that didn't manage to change one thing though…
"Get the hell away from my son!"
When he finally opened his eyes, he still found himself to be in the middle of a nightmare.
…
Hi there! The one-shot and the other story with evil Chris is still under revision, sorry about the delay. But hey, here's an update, so don't start to throw rocks at me just yet. :D
A lot of you asked, so here's the deal: I know the updates come along slowly, but this is actually my fifth update this year, so I can assure you all that I really, really plan to finish this story, I just happen to have a quite busy life with the whole college thing going on. Also…
*Hinthint:* Many people asked to bring future Wyatt back to the story, so I decided to give him some screen time in a later chapter.
KYKEMD: Yeah, I know nothing really happened in the last chapter, it was sort of just a filler. I'm sorry this story cannot hold your interest anymore, but I know it's been years, so thank you for staying with me for such a long time. ;)
And a big thanks goes to all the reviewers, it's really nice read your feedback. :) Hope you keep on giving me your input, it really makes my day.
And as usual, many thanks to Cheerpup1392 for editing this chapter! :)
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!