Authors Note: Okay it seems I have to apologize yet again for taking so long in between updates. This time I really need to say I am sorry too, especially after I left you all with that evil cliffhanger. I know that I always get frustrated when writers take forever to update after leaving a cliffy, and now it seems I am one of them. In my defense I have been super busy preparing two research projects for a psychology conference in mid-April, not to mention taking midterms. Anyways I hope you all enjoy the chapter…it was certainly a long time in coming. This is the last official chapter for this story, but there will be an epilogue, and eventually a sequel filling the time between the conclusion of this story, Trying to Fight, and the time when Chris actually travels back to the past. Thanks again to everyone that has read and reviewed.
Chapter Thirty-six:
Wyatt Haliwell stood triumphantly in the silent hallway of the old school that his brother was using to house the pathetic resistance movement. As if anyone could stand up to him, Wyatt Haliwell the most powerful being on earth. Looking down at Chris, who laid on the floor in a deep slumber courtesy of the rather potent sleeping potion that had been used on him, Wyatt Haliwell made a gesture with his hand and the motionless form of his brother was engulfed by black orbs and disappeared.
Satisfied that he had gotten his rebellious brother out of the way and sent him somewhere safe in the process, Wyatt Haliwell was ready to commence attack on the now leaderless resistance members. His plan had worked perfectly, he had gotten the resistance's location from Danielle after she had predictably fallen right into his trap. He had then sent her back to the school to keep anyone from getting suspicious. And of course he had used memory dust so she could not warn the others. Yes everything so far had gone according to plan, and everything would keep going that same way. He was going to teach Chris a lesson he would not soon forget: resisting the twice-blessed ruler of all things only brought pain and misery.
Meanwhile in the schools gymnasium the third and youngest member of the Haliwell family sat on the bleachers conversing with her best friend. "I'm really worried. I have not seen her all morning. Sure this place is big, but it is not that big. She either isn't here or is purposefully avoiding us, and I don't know which possibility worries me more." Prudence Haliwell was speaking of her close friend Danielle Kelly. Bridget Harley nodded in response, clearly agreeing with what her friend had to say before trying to ease not only her friends worries, but her own. "Maybe she just needs more time alone. That is what she said last night… that she needed time alone to sort through everything that was going on in her head." Prue nodded in response, but she was no more convinced by the words than Bridget was.
After the two girls had resumed conversation for awhile, Prue noticed Alex Whitmore passing by and decide to ask her if she had seen Danielle. "Not since last night," was the disappointing answer. "I'm heading over to do some training with our younger members but I'll let you know if I see her." Prue quickly thanked her, letting her get on with what she needed to do. Looking back at her best friend, Prue could tell that Bridget was just as concerned as she was.
Seeing the worried look on his girlfriend's face from across the gymnasium, Sean Morris excused himself from the conversation he was having with his older brothers to see what was bothering Prue. Walking over to her and Bridget, Sean gave his girlfriend a loving embrace, before asking how she was doing. "Well I am freaking out a little. Nobody has seen Dani all morning." At first Sean was not sure what he could say that would ease his girlfriends fears, until out of the corner of his eye he noticed the subject of conversation entering the gym. "Well you can stop freaking out because here comes the speak of the devil." Relieved both Prue and Bridget looked in the direction that Sean had motioned in to see their friend walking towards them.
Telling Sean she was going to see how Danielle was doing she gave him a quick kiss and her and Bridget went to check on their friend. The pair however barely made it over to Danielle before they heard a door slam on the other side of the gymnasium. Turning to discover the source of the sound, Prue was overcome with terror as she noticed the presence of her eldest cousin.
The eldest and youngest remaining members of the Haliwell family locked eyes in silence for what seemed like an eternity. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. The other witches in the gymnasium watched the exchange closely as they gradually dropped behind Prudence Haliwell, looking to her as their leader in Chris' absence. The only exceptions were Bridget Harley who remained at her best friend's side, and Sean Morris along with his brothers who stepped up to stand beside Prue as well, wanting her to know that she was not alone in this fight. None of them were naïve however. They all knew that Wyatt's "visit" to the school could not end well.
"Gee, Prudence you look so unhappy to see me. I mean…I thought you would have missed me. After all we are cousins and it has been awhile." Wyatt's words were dripping with sarcasm as he addressed his cousin, and Prue tried to match it. "Your right. I do miss my cousin. I have been missing him for years now. You though are not my cousin. You are just the horrendous result of whatever corrupted his soul." As hard as she was trying to hide her fear with words the quiver in her voice was evident. She was nervous. Wyatt had found them and Chris was nowhere to be seen. She didn't want to think of what Wyatt may have done to him.
"Don't worry cousin. Chris is fine…somewhere safe. I would never harm my brother. You and your friends however are a different story, so on second thought maybe you should be worried." The relief in the knowledge that Chris was okay gave Prue a renewed strength and confidence. "Oh I'm not worried. You may be all powerful and all but you are ridiculously outnumbered. Do you really think you can take out the entire resistance single-handedly. And on our own turf no less." Wyatt's reply to her statement however, quickly crushed what confidence that she had mustered. "Actually no I don't. That's why I have invited some friends to join in on the fun." Off of Wyatt's words what appeared to be several hundreds of demons shimmered and flamed in ready to attack. Realizing the direness of the situation Prue exchanged glances with Sean, Bridget, and Danielle, and found in their eyes the same message she knew her own eyes were conveying. There was no way they could win this fight.
Sure there were almost two hundred witches in the resistance, but most were dispersed throughout the school and would surely be taken by surprise. Even worse, many of the witches did not even have any active powers. And they were outnumbered at least four to one, not to mention Wyatt was in on the attack. Yes this was it, and Prue, Bridget, Sean, Danielle, and everyone else in that gym knew it.
Her thoughts interrupted, Prue found herself being hurled through the air courtesy of Wyatt, and in process noticed the mass of demons springing into action as if Wyatt making the first move had switched his demonic army into gear. Hitting the floor in a heap, Prudence Haliwell was back on her feet quicker than even she thought was possible. Her friends and allies were already in battle mode and she would be there by their side. If this was the end… if she was going to meet her demise here in this gym, then she, Prudence Haliwell, was going to go down fighting.
Down in the underworld Bianca had been wandering through the dark caverns rather aimlessly for what had to have been hours. Strangely enough she had not met the acquaintance of even one demon. All the demonic characters she usually went to for information were not in their usual lairs, and the entire underworld seemed rather abandoned. Sure since Wyatt had taken control of the world, demons no longer needed to worry about exposure and therefore spent significantly more time on the surface, but this was even quieter than usual. Although demons had been complaining for years that they were stuck in the underworld, there were many who thought of it as home and even given the opportunity to stay above ground remained down in the underworld. Today though it seemed every demonic being had traveled topside.
That theory however, seemed to be quickly discarder as the Phoenix witch heard footsteps making their way around the corner behind her. Surprised by the sudden arrival of another, Bianca swiftly turned around and hurled an energy in the direction of the sound.
Ducking out of the way quickly, the energy ball missed the half manticore Devon by a very narrow margin. Even though it was a very close call he still tried to make light of the situation. "Gee Bianca I know we are not the best of friends, but I never thought you wanted me dead." Realizing that she had almost vanquished her own friend and ally, Bianca quickly apologized. "Sorry Dev, you just surprised me. I haven't come across any demons down here for hours now so I wasn't expecting anyone to just come around the corner." Bianca's statement was met with a skeptical gaze. "You mean you haven't seen any demons down here either? That is just really strange. Too strange. It is as if the entire underworld has been recruited by Wyatt or something."
Although he had only speculating, hearing himself say the words out loud, made him realize that it was a real possibility. And by the worried look on Bianca's face, she was thinking the exact same thing. If that wasn't telling enough her words confirmed it. "You don't think Wyatt found out where the resistance is? What if he is leading an attack right now?" As much as the two didn't want to think that it was possible the fact that the underworld was completely vacant was quite telling. "Well there is only one way to find out for sure. We need to get back to the school and now." Off of Devon's proclamation he and Bianca shimmered out, hoping against hope that they had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
The gymnasium at the old school was completely silent. It was a complete contrast to the tremendous amount of noise that had been echoing through its walls not too long before as an intense battle had taken place. Now all that remained was a scene of complete and utter devastation, with the mangled bodies of countless witches who had met their demise because of Wyatt and his demons, everywhere. At the top of the bleachers black orbs coalesced into a still sleeping form of Christopher Haliwell. Wyatt had orbed his brother back to the school, wanting Chris to see first hand the result of his refusal to join his brother.
At the other end of the gymnasium the air rippled as Bianca and Devon shimmered in from the underworld. Taking in the horrific sight around them, their worst fears were confirmed. Wyatt had indeed emptied the underworld to lead a massacre against the resistance. Each of the still forms of their wiccan allies were sprawled across the gym floor, and there were no signs of life. Bianca's mind raced with worry as her eyes scanned the scene. Her sight registered the corpses of Prudence Haliwell, Danielle Kelly and the Morris brothers among many others, but there was no sign of Chris. Chris had to be alright, she thought to herself. The one person Wyatt would not harm was his brother. Seeing the devastation the Haliwell source had caused however, made her doubt that theory.
Picking up on the frantic expression on Bianca's face Devon knew that she was looking for Chris. Surely the younger male Haliwell would have been there fighting by his cousin's side, but he was nowhere to be seen. Finally glancing up at the top of the bleachers at the corner of the gym, Devon spotted the guy who had been his best friend for most of their lives. Chris was propped up against the wall in an awkward half sitting, half lying position. From all the way across the gym the half manticore could not tell whether his friend was alive and simply unconscious, or if he was dead.
Following Devon's line of vision, Bianca looked over in that direction and she too spotted Chris. She immediately raced over to the other side of the gymnasium, in order to climb up the bleachers and make her way up to Chris. Devon followed closely behind, checking each fallen witch for any indication that anyone had survived, but found none.
As Bianca reached the top of the bleachers she heard a sleepy groan escape the lips of the man she loved and she was overwhelmed with a large wave of relief. Chris was alive. In fact, there were no signs that he was injured at all, but it seemed rather, that he was merely asleep. She took a seat next to the man she loved and started an attempt to rouse him from his slumber. Devon, relieved that at least his friend was alive informed Bianca that he was going to check the rest of the school for survivors, hoping to God that he would find some.
After what seemed like forever, but in fact was only a few minutes Bianca noticed Chris' eyes beginning to flutter open. Christopher Haliwell awoke to see the distraught face of his fiancé, and it took him a second to get his bearings. "Wyatt… he found us. He is here, we have to stop him." Bianca simply shook her head at Chris' words, tears beginning to spill from her eyelids and run down her cheeks. Before Chris could mutter a single 'what,' his eyes turned from Bianca's troubled face to the devastation that beset the scene before him. There laid almost everyone he cared about dead at Wyatt's hand.
Grief immediately overwhelmed Christopher Haliwell, and it was as if he reverted back to the fourteen year old boy that had been forced to witness his own mother's death. For the first time in a very long time he allowed himself to cry as he got to his feet intent on making his way over to his cousin's lifeless form. He needed to say goodbye to who had essentially been the last living member of his family. Wyatt didn't count. Wyatt was responsible for this destruction. At least Chris tried to tell himself that, hoping to ward off the overwhelming guilt that had engulfed his very being.
He had been the leader of this resistance. All of these witches had looked to him to protect them, and he had failed. Worst of all, he had failed to protect his baby cousin. He would never forgive himself for that. He didn't know how yet, but somehow there had to be a way for him to make things right. And as we all know…there would be.
Authors Note: Hope you liked it! I know it was a little depressing, but after all it is the Original Future. I will try to get the epilogue out quickly, and start the sequel as soon as I can. Please Review!