Chapter 31- Turning the world around
(a/N) sorry for the long delay in this update, but after this one there is only one chapter left and I will hopefully have that up sooner rather than later. I am very surprised that no one picked up on something which I wrote in the previous chapter about Sharpay… now lets see after reading this one if anyone can….
Sanfansico 11: 24 AM
"So what are we going to do about it?" Chris asked as the two boys fell into an uncomfortable silence, each one of them just standing in the library, questioning everything that they knew. Their memories of the last couple of days were nothing like the others they had of each other, they were real, they had experienced them. The others just seemed like something they had seen on TV which was funny or serious enough to warrant remembering.
"Well before you came barging in here with your 'mum and dad are splitting up' notion, I was looking though a book on how magic can alter memories." Wyatt replied, walking over to one of the coffee tables and picking up a red hard back, in order to illustrate his point. "It's supposed to be used for altering mortals' memories if they discover the existence of magic…."
Chris just shrugged in response, having used many books from magic school in a different context than which they were originally intended before him self, understanding immediately that what his brother was going to say next was an adaptation of what he had obviously read and not pure fact.
Then again, they lived in a world where fairies were real so facts didn't really mean much to the two witches.
"It says that although certain spells and potions work great in changing what people have seen, or lived though, that they are not always effective, that sometimes, even with the strongest magic, there can be leaks." Wyatt continued as he sat down and flipped though the book until he reached the page he had just been reading.
"What do you mean?" Chris asked, his eyebrows raised, his forehead creased in confusion, not really understanding where the sixteen year old was going.
"Well, you know the story mum used to tell us, when that inspector friend of Darrel's found out about them, only she lost her memory?" Wyatt said carefully as he placed the book on the table and looked up at his brother.
"Yeah, even though she forgot what happened they had to be extra careful because mum was told even if memories are erased, people's gut feelings can't be because they aren't controlled by the brain? There not rational thoughts but a person's pure instinct." Chris replied with a role of his eyes, surprising him self slightly at what he actually remembered from one of Piper Halliwells famous stories, which were supposed to hold some sort of life lesson.
"Exactly, her memories were gone but she still held this feeling inside of her, so when certain events, or things were said, it triggered something in her mind. Magic can mask what people remember but it can't completely destroy them because they are a part of who you are." Wyatt said almost instantly as if that somehow explained everything, Chris however still looked at him completely blankly.
"What's that got to do with us?" The fourteen year old said rather loudly, causing the boys to get a stern look from the librarian, who was far from, impressed at the noise levels in her domain.
"Well if someone's used magic to mess with our memories then it would explain how some things just don't seem right. The book says that any emotion inside of someone can be their link to what magic has changed." Wyatt answered, picking up the book once more to scan over what was written inside. "It says that any feeling, like, suspicion, trust, anger, happiness even love can't be altered and as long as that feeling remains, even if magic has erased the memory, then that links someone to what they don't remember."
"Right…." Chris mumbled, his lip curled up slightly showing he didn't have a clue what on earth he had just said. Wyatt rolled his eyes as he realised who he was actually talking to.
"In other words… lets say I was in love with someone, but a spell was cast to make me forget that someone." Wyatt began but was instantly interrupted by the only other witchlighter in the room, who had started to walk back towards him.
"Can this someone be given a name?" he asked. Wyatt instantly shook his head, as smart as Chris was he did find it rather hard to follow things like, examples when names weren't being used. To be honest he had no idea why this was but he supposed it was just something to do with what ever spell had been cased upon them.
"Fine… let's say I was in love with… someone called… I don't know… Kelsi."
"Why Kelsi?" Chris once again interrupted, causing Wyatt to glare at him evilly before shrugging his shoulders, honestly having no idea himself where that name came from, or why it made his heart flutter.
"It's just a name…" he replied before continuing, despite apart of him not really believing that deep down inside him. "Anyway, say I was in love with Kelsi and a spell made me forget her, the spell couldn't erase my feelings for her, which would create a link to the forgotten memory. Now because I had this link, certain things that were said or events which happened could trigger bits of my past with her. And if that happened enough times, it could shatter the illusion which has been created."
Chris nodded in understanding as Wyatt fell silent; continuing to read what was in his hands. He didn't have a clue why, but for some reason the name Kelsi was stuck in his mind. Apart of him felt like Wyatt had mentioned her to him before, yet his brain told him otherwise.
As he studied the look on his brother's face, something just sort of struck him, that name was the first girls name which popped into the twice blessed teenager's head, despite all the girls he was friends with, that was the name which he choose and judging by his expression, Wyatt was just as puzzled as to why that was the only one that came to mind.
"Describe her." Chris said simply, causing Wyatt to turn and stare at his brother with his forehead creased in confusion, it now being his turn to be completely lost.
"What?" He replied almost instantly, wondering what on earth had gotten into the boy, was he seriously asking him to describe someone he had just made up?
"Humour me." Chris continued a blank expression on his face. "Just close your eyes and describe her!"
For a moment, Wyatt remained completely still, just staring at the witchlighter like he had grown two heads. But the boy refused to break eye contact and after a while, Wyatt simply shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes….
"She's short, probably only five foot tall, with the most amazing brown eyes; she's really slim with short wavy hair."
"What colour?" Chris asked, even his voice having no recognisable emotion to it.
"Like an orben, she's really talented too on the piano, she could be in a concert or something, she's smart, like really smart but doesn't seem to show it very often. People don't really notice her because she's so quiet and shy, but when you get to know her she is the most fantastic person you could ever meet." Wyatt said softly, his eyes still closed as he tried to picture this imaginary person, it was almost like he wasn't aware of what he was saying.
"What about her family?" Chris asked, his face now holding an inch of suspicion, his voice completely unsteady.
"Her parents split up when she was thirteen, she has a little sister called honey with the reddest hair you have ever seen, she's the opposite of Kelsi, loud and demanding but so easy to get along with. This one time Kelsi wanted me to go 'trick or treating' with her, because she had to take honey. I turned up at the house and they were dressed as these monsters… and I swear they had both been electrocuted……"
Wyatt's eyes snapped open after that and he turned to face his brother looking more confused than ever. Chris just rubbed his hands together and looked away for a second or two, before getting up and taking a few steps over to his older counterpart.
"I think we just found a link…."
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Albuquerque, 11:24 AM
Walking down the corridor in between class', Kelsi didn't have a clue what to do with her self. She didn't understand why Sharpay always acted like that with her, especially in public. When there weren't other people around she was a semi-decent human being that she occasionally got a long with, hell they even once had a conversation where Sharpay had asked for her opinion.
To some people that may not have seemed like anything major, but to Kelsi it meant the world. Sure she knew if she wasn't Sharpay's lapdog then maybe she would have some friends who would value her like that all the time. But ever since Sharpay had been diagnosed with Bi-polar, she felt obligated to hang around with her.
Sharpay trusted her somewhat as well, why else would she confined in her every blue moon about how scared she was of people's reactions to her disorder, that she was so determined not to be picked on because of it, she made it so everyone was too frightened of her to say a word?
It was at times like that, as rare as they were that made Kelsi stick around, knowing that deep down she wasn't a bad person.
Besides for the last god only knows how long she had felt a strange attachment to the Evan's family and when she was there just three days ago, when Sharpay had said it was like something was missing, she could honestly say she knew exactly what she meant.
She also knew the teenage blonde wasn't referring to the play they had been rehearsing at the time. It was again one of those moments where Sharpay said something which sounded like one thing, but meant something entirely different. Like the note before, it sounded critical, like she was insulting her yet again, but deep down Kelsi knew she was offering her advise.
That night, when they were going over the first song, and she had said she felt something was missing, she knew she wasn't talking about the performance as well; it was like something literally wasn't there.
She wished to God she could figure out what on earth it was, wished she could put her finger on what was missing, but no matter how hard she tried her mind came up a complete blank. Speaking of wishing, she also wished that she could find out just why, when ever she saw the back of some blonde boy, with hair so light that it could be used as a reflector, her heart skipped a beat. Why she wanted to run into that very person's arms and why on earth she felt pure disappointment when that person turned around so she could see his face.
Turning the corner, Kelsi headed over to the staircase which went both up and down, deciding to just skip her next lesson entirely.
"Watch it!" the one and only Chad yelled out as she practically bumped into him in her mission to reach the flight of steps. This caused her to jump slightly for she honestly didn't have a clue he was even in front of her.
"Sorry." She mumbled, quickening her pace in the hopes he wouldn't talk to her, unfortunately she had no such luck as he reached over and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.
"Do you think sorry is good enough? I could have gone flying down those stairs!" He yelled out, indicating to the stairs case which stood only meters away from them. "Then what would have happened huh? I could have broken my arm that would be my baseball and basketball career down the drain! For God sake watch where you're going!"
She didn't know why she said what she did next, but it was almost like there was a little voice in her head telling her for once say what was on her mind.
"Well that wouldn't be a huge loss, Troy is the only basketball player up for a scholarship and as for baseball Ryan could beat you hands down!" She yelled out, quickly regretting her decision to speak out as Chad's face turned from one of annoyance to one of pure anger. As quickly as the anger came, it left again as his facial expression turned to one of confusion as he just stared at her.
"Whose Ryan?" he asked, a brief amount of resignation in his eyes, almost as if apart of him knew all of that statement was true. It was Kelsi's turn to be confused as she creased her own brow having only just realised what she had said.
"I have no idea…"
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Sanfansico 12.15 Pm
"So whose changed our memories and why?" Wyatt said slowly under his breath as he let the realisation that Kelsi was in fact real sink in. Someone out there had erased her from his mind and had taken the trouble of creating all these false memories for probably more than just him and Chris. "Who would go to all that trouble just so I would forget her, she's not even a witch!"
"I think the question is Wyatt, who on earth has the power to change the charmed children's memories and hell even mum and dad's!" Chris replied as he sat himself down opposite his brother. Seeing the confused look he was now receiving, the fourteen year old decided to elaborate a little. "Well think about it, Dad's beyond pissed at mum for something… yet we don't have a clue what… and neither has he! If who ever it is changed their memories as well, it would make sense, dad's still holding his anger for mum, like your holding your love of Kelsi, yet he doesn't remember what he is angry about…. It must be something big though!"
"I guess that makes sense…" Wyatt replied, shaking his head as he tried to get his mind around everything, it was a lot to take in after all, the realisation that you had no idea what was real and what wasn't, or any way at all to tell the difference between the two.
That's when something hit him, as he thought back to the recent dreams he had been having that always left him feeling like something wasn't quite right, dreams he knew weren't just planted in his head. That something was simply that when you dreamt, it was your sub concusses way of showing you issues you hadn't over come yet, issues he would bet his life on that probably couldn't be resolved by a simple forgetful spell.
So maybe, the dreams he had been having for over a week now, were actually more informative then he first thought, maybe they were his minds way of telling him a part of the truth. All though that in no way enabled any form of relief as he realised what they were about.
"Chris?" he said slowly, unsure of what he was going to say next. " I have to say this so don't get mad….Do you remember the dream I told you about a few days ago, about mum leaving me on a step one night and me getting adopted by a different family?"
Chris nodded, chuckling slightly as he remembered his brother's rather ludicrous, almost nightmares that he had been having since the two of them vanquished the elder Gideon.
"Well what if they weren't just dreams, what if they really are what happened. What if mum really couldn't cope and left me fourteen years ago? What if I grew up with another family?" Wyatt asked as his mind flashed back to some of the faces he expected to see in his mother and father's place and the flashes he had been having of the Kelsi girl.
"Don't be so ridiculous mum would never do that, she loves you." Chris said instantly coming to his mother's defence; he knew about the dreams, but never in a million years would he think they were true, it was impossible. Their mother had been nothing but perfect to the three of them and to think she would just leave one of them, was just not something he had never considered.
"Yeah…I know that, of course I do, but what about that dream I had on Tuesday? Of me standing outside some country club, mum telling me she left me to save us all. What if that's true?" Wyatt argued, folding his arms across his chest and forcing himself to his feet. He knew how hard that would be for Chris to acceptt, hell he wasn't exactly cool with the whole thing himself, yet a part of him also knew it was a very real possibility.
"Okay, for arguments sake lets consider that for one second, if you really think that, then why are you so calm about it, if it was me she had supposedly done that to I would have hit the roof." Chris said letting out a deep stress filled breathe, he really couldn't understand his brother at all, it was like sometimes he didn't even know him…
"How can I be mad though, if I've already accepted it and moved on…" Wyatt replied, then seeing Chris sceptical look, continued. "Even if someone has messed with our memories, if that conversation was real, then I accepted what happened in the past and even if those memories have been changed… my feelings on the matter couldn't have…. If that makes any sense to you?"
Surprisingly Chris nodded, actually understanding where he was coming from. He'd forgiven Mel for her complete embarrassment of him and now, even when they talked about it, he wasn't mad at her. Sure it was a different situation but that didn't change the fact that after truly forgiving someone, you couldn't really take that forgiveness back.
"Ok, so if hypothetically that happened…. Then who on earth would have changed our memories? I don't know about you but to me the only one that really seems real, was when we worked together to vanquish Gideon last week." Chris said after yet enough silence passed between them. Wyatt instantly looked towards the younger witch wondering where he was going with the current train of thought. "So if that's the only memory which isn't completely fake, then maybe that's when we met for the first time… you know if mum hypothetically abandoned you and you were hypothetically raised by another family."
Smirking slightly as his brother put emphases on the hypothetical bits, Wyatt actually nodded in agreement, after all that made sense, it felt real, so maybe that memory was only modified slightly so they weren't surprised about meeting each other, yet still had a real experience.
"Ok, so someone found out we met and wanted everyone to think we grew up together. But why?" Wyatt continued, really not understanding who would want to change so many people's lives the way who ever it was seemed to have. For all that person knew, Kelsi and him could be soul mates who they just ripped apart.
"I have no idea, but you know what's really weird? The fact that we are supposed to remember we vanquished an elder, like its something significant…" Chris spoke out as he grabbed hold of the memories book that still lay on the table, not really expecting answers, but feeling the need to do something which seemed like he was starting to figure things out.
"Well maybe it is…. Gideon was obsessed with power, someone obviously wanted this family to know that the elders do deal with evil amongst their own and not suspect their all like that." Wyatt continued as he wondered over to one of the windows and just stared out at the holographic image which had been produced, his mind filled with questions but having no real answers to any of them.
"But we know most of them are…." Chris almost whispered, his eyes darting up to his brother as he snapped the book shut and threw it to the ground, causing Wyatt to turn and look at him, concern for the change in the witchlighter evident on his face. "Wyatt, what if the elders didn't know you were actually still alive, they are obsessed with power, so they would never allow you to be raised with mortals if they knew! The elders always spy on this family! So what if when we met they found out and didn't like the fact someone with so much power wasn't influenced by them?!"
"They can't change the past, so instead they changed all our memories, so I was." Wyatt continued suddenly realising exactly what the brunet was thinking. Chris nodded vigorously as he glanced up at the ceiling, shaking his heads at the thought of the people he never really liked, messing with their lives. "But we can't prove anything!"
"We don't need to!" Chris said automatically as he began pacing back and forth, a plan already forming in his mind, a menacing grin plastered on his face. "As long as they think we know everything it doesn't matter…"
Wyatt simply nodded, a part of him understanding exactly what the brunet was thinking. Looking up him self they exchanged identical looks of determination before a simple sentence rhythmically left their mouths.
"YOH OLD DUDES!"
(a/n) If any one gets the hint i left which highlights wat i was trying to well make obvous you get a vertial cookie :D give u another hint its to do with sharpay ryan and magic... please review
