Title: Lonely Light of Morning

A/N: I wanted to give a shout out to all my reviewers, especially those who have stuck by this story for the last few months/years despite the infrequency of the updates. I know I don't reply to reviews and messages that often, but rest assured that I am reading every word of feedback and I have no intention of ever abandoning this fic again. A couple of you mentioned that the story hasn't been moving forward in the last few chapters, and I think the reason for that may have been the combined effect of shorter chapters and slower updates. I just wanted to say that I heard you all loud and clear, and rest assured I know exactly where this story is going and how it's going to end. This chapter is the start of what I hope will be another very exciting arc in this story, so I hope you start feeling the momentum again. Thank you all for your patience in bearing with me, and I really appreicate all your reviews and concrit. :)

Chapter 26: My Walls Are Closing In

Crawling in my skin,
These wounds, they will not heal
Fear is how I fall
Confusing what is real
There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming, confusing
This lack of self control I fear is never ending
Controlling
I can't seem
To find myself again
My walls are closing in

-Linkin Park, Crawling in My Skin

As the seventh hour of his stakeout wore on, Barbas shifted impatiently. He reached out with his senses, wondering if he had missed something, but he hadn't. The scent of Chris Perry's fears were faint, but unmistakable- he would have known immediately if the whitelighter had orbed away. He growled under his breath, cursing Gideon for tying his hands like this.

The more time Barbas spent around Chris Perry, the more fascinated he grew. The man was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. He was a consummate actor, and was able to slip in and out of demon clans with an ease that spoke of decades of familiarity with the Underworld. He had so much fear, so much anxiety for Barbas to exploit. It was like a huge, tantalizing feast spread out before him, and Gideon would never let him eat his fill.

The Elder had warned Barbas repeatedly not enter the Halliwell manor, or spend any time around Chris when he was in the presence of the Charmed Ones or the Winchester brothers. Barbas could have saved him the trouble- he could honestly care less about anyone else when Chris was on the menu- but Gideon was adamant. He admonished Barbas that Chris Perry was far from stupid, pointing out that if he suddenly noticed his hair turning white, it would take him no time to put the pieces together.

Though it rankled, Barbas had to admit the Elder had a point. Still, he was growing increasingly impatient. Especially after today, the entirety of which he had spent waiting outside the Halliwell Manor for Chris Perry to emerge- and the very thought of that made his blood boil in anger. It was beneath Barbas' dignity to hang around like some sort of lovesick stalker, but for whatever reason the whitelighter had broken his usual pattern of avoiding the Charmed Ones today and spent the entire day at their house.

Some time later, his ears were assaulted with the unwelcome sound of orbing. He didn't have to turn to know that Gideon was standing beside him. For a moment, he amused himself with the thought of how the Charmed Ones would react if they knew a demon and an Elder were standing side by side outside their home; but of course, Gideon, like Barbas, had cloaked himself from their sight.

"I don't suppose you can enlighten me as to what's taking your whitelighter so long?" Barbas said drily, nodding in the direction of the manor. "I don't know how you expect me to weaken his defenses without being able to go anywhere near him."

"From what I've seen, you've done more than enough to weaken his defenses without needing to enter the sisters' home," said Gideon sharply.

Barbas barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "I assure you, I have no interest in going after the Charmed Ones," he said.

"See that it remains that way," Gideon replied, letting his magic grow outward threateningly.

This time, Barbas did roll his eyes. "So I take it this isn't just a social visit?" he drawled.

"The Charmed Ones are planning an attack on The Order," Gideon said abruptly. "They want to vanquish the clan for good."

Barbas was intrigued. "It seems very unlike the Charmed Ones to take such drastic measures without any provocation," he said slowly. "Unless they think one of their own is at risk?"

"They are afraid that the Order has chosen Wyatt Halliwell as their future leader," Gideon told him, his lip curling in distaste.

"If that's true, they are even more foolish than I remember," said Barbas. The Order was Upper Level, but they tended to go underground for decades at a time, only resurfacing when they thought they had found their new leader. It had been at least a century since they had seen any serious combat. They would be no match against the Charmed Ones.

"The sisters, accompanied by Chris, are going to orb down to The Order's lair tomorrow morning and take them by surprise," Gideon informed him. "I want you to follow them."

"Well you've certainly changed your tune," Barbas began, taunting, but Gideon interrupted him sharply, his tone making it clear that he had no time for games.

"I will remind you that your mission is still Chris Perry, not the sisters. You are not to interfere with them in any way. If you do, you will find yourself back in Purgatory faster than you can even say 'whitelighter'. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," said Barbas, his smile sliding from his face at this unwelcome reminder of the power the Elder held over him.

"Follow Chris Perry through the fight," Gideon said tersely. "When the Order is close to defeat, find a way to steal their scepter- and make sure no one notices you. When you have it, turn your full powers on Chris. The Charmed Ones have yet to see him completely at your mercy. I want you to break him, make them think he's dying, or worse." He paused, sneering at Barbas disdainfully. "I trust that is not beyond your capabilities?"

"Piece of cake," said Barbas scornfully, mildly offended by the Elder's doubt, but more than anything his heart pounded in anticipation. This, this was what he had been waiting for.

"They will bring Chris back to the manor and you will follow them into the house. They will call out to Leo Wyatt to heal him, and he will rush downstairs, leaving his son sleeping in the nursery. At which point you will make your way to Wyatt Halliwell's crib. Use the scepter to reverse his sense of morality. Once he trusts you, he will lower his force field, after which you will bring the boy, and the scepter, to me."

"So that's what you're after," said Barbas, the pieces finally falling into place. "The Twice Blessed? Truly Elder, how cliché. I expected better, but it seems all you want is power, like every other two-bit demon down there." He gestured carelessly below him.

"Silence, demon!" Gideon exclaimed angrily, "You have no idea what you're talking about. I am not hungry for his power, I am serving the Greater Good. But that is something you will never understand, and I have had enough of your questions. If you bring me the child, you are free of all obligations for me. Go back to the Underworld, and if you keep your head down and avoid attracting the sisters' attention, you may live a long time yet."

Barbas frowned, annoyed by his inability to fathom out Gideon's motives. He itched to use his powers to read the Elder's fears, but of course, Gideon would stop any attempt to use his powers immediately. "And how do I know you will not send me back there anyway, when I have outlived my usefulness?" he asked instead.

"Do you think I will have time to waste with you when I have the Twice Blessed in my hands?" Gideon asked scornfully. "But mark my words- if you try to flee with the child, then nothing will save you from my wrath. No power will be enough to hide you from my gaze, and the Charmed Ones will track you down in no time when I tell them there have been whispers of your return to the Underworld."

"I have better things to do with my time than babysit Charmed spawn," Barbas scoffed, "You are welcome to the child, after which I hope our paths will never cross again."

Gideon orbed away without bothering to reply. Barbas turned back towards the house, watching the bright lights spilling from the manor's windows, his earlier irritation replaced by a growing excitement. A slow smile spread over his face as he realized that while Gideon had warned him to keep his head down, and never go after the Charmed Ones again if he wanted to retain his freedom, he had said nothing about Chris Perry.

And how could Barbas walk away from Chris? He had spent weeks reading the whitelighter's fears- the first time he had ever spent this long on a single victim, in fact. And now he was actually going to have a chance to make one of his worst nightmares a reality. Best of all, Gideon would have his hands full with Wyatt, and the Charmed Ones would be frantic with worry and grief for their missing son. No one would even notice if he went after Chris. He felt as if he had had been given an early Christmas present.

His smile grew wider as he pictured Chris, eyes wide with terror, and every single lock of his hair turned as white as snow.

Inside Halliwell manor, Chris stood over the kitchen table, blinking blearily as he went over the attack plan for what felt like the hundredth time. The sisters had long since grown restless and wandered away, and he couldn't even blame them- they had created several general purposes spells, brewed a variety of vanquishing potions all the potions, and gone over every possible contingency in minute and exhaustive detail.

Chris had even tried to help Sam and Dean plan their hunt, which was coincidentally unfolding at the same time as the Charmed Ones' vanquish- a couple of kids had gone missing in a nearby neighborhood, and Gideon had tipped off Leo that it might be a changeling. Chris had fussed and tweaked their strategy so many times that Dean had thrown his maps at him in exasperation, and even Sam had finally lost his patience, kicking him out of the room and telling him to focus his energies on The Order.

They were as ready as they were ever going to be- so why did Chris still feel like he had missed something? He glared down at the list of potions they'd decided to bring tomorrow , wondering if it would be overkill to try and throw together some rattlesnake anti-venom- he knew there had been an infestation in some Underworld caves a few weeks ago, and it never hurt to be too careful, though it was very unlikely that the sisters would be felled by a snakebite of all things-

"Chris, would you give it a rest already?" Piper's voice interrupted the trajectory of his thoughts. He looked up in surprise. The words were familiar, but they were spoken with less heat than usual, and there was even an undercurrent of concern in her voice which made him feel distinctly uncomfortable.

Piper walked over to him and tugged the list of potion ingredients from his hands, setting it face down on the table before turning to face him with a steely look in her eyes. "We've been over this at least a dozen times already, and you know this isn't even on the scale of the worst things we've faced," she said. "Why are you so worried about this attack?"

"I don't know," Chris said, his shoulders slumping a little. "I just- I can't shake the feeling that I've overlooked something."

"You probably have," she pointed out, "No vanquish ever goes completely smoothly, you know that. Even you can't have a plan for everything, Chris."

She was right; he knew she was right, but...

"Come on," she said gently, placing a hand on his arm. "Stop thinking about this. Let me fix you something to eat, and then you can go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll take down the Order with no trouble at all, I guarantee it."

The thought of tasting her cooking after so many years made his insides freeze, but he somehow managed not to react outwardly. "Uh, thanks, but I have some stuff in the fridge already," he said vaguely. "I guess you're right, though. I'll head home."

She looked a little disappointed at his refusal, but smiled at him anyway, relieved that he was taking her advice. The expression reminded him painfully of the mother he had lost, and he swallowed hard, thinking it had almost been easier when the sisters had hated him. "Goodnight, Chris," she said kindly. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Yeah, you too," he mumbled before orbing back to P3.

Once there, he kicked off his shoes and lay down on the couch, determined to actually take Piper's advice for once. But no matter how hard he tried to relax, he couldn't calm his whirling thoughts, and the stillness of the room only served to increase his sense of dread.

He knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen tomorrow; something that was going to change his future forever.

TBC...

A/N:Thank you to Aynessa for her suggestions for the song lyrics! :)