Author's note: Hello everyone. This is my first fanfic, which I wanted to write since... well let's see, 2004 I guess. A few things before we get started. First of all, English is not my first language so please remember it's not going to be flawless. I try to do my best. Considering it took years to actually post this, a betareader is simply going to cost me even more time... and I do hope it's not that bad.

Second. I love Charmed, but season 7 and 8 were just not that good in my eyes. So along with the comics (which weren't available for me to read) I will ignore quite a bit. Funny thing though, for this story I do suggest to have watched episode 20 of season 7, Imaginary Friends.

Third. I'm taking some creative liberties when it comes to powers. I don't agree with the "being an elder is a position rather than a matter of genetics", so mainly Chris (being the son of an elder) and Melinda (being the daughter of a mortal) will have a slightly different power package than in the official canon.

TL;DR: Have fun and please allow me my mistakes and creative liberties.

Also I don't own anything of Charmed, not the characters, not the magic, nothing at all. The only thing I own is my own imagination that came up with the storyline of this fanfic.

San Francisco, Early October 2028

The first light of the day creeped through the windows of the Halliwell manor as the jingling of orbs filled the attic. Wyatt reformed in front of the Book of Shadows and kept silent for a moment. When no other sounds filled the house, he released a quiet sigh. The blonde 25-year old quickly made his way down the stairs and was about to turn around the corner, happy that he didn't wake anyone.

"So how's Laura doing?"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Wyatt missed the last step. His knees buckled and the Halliwell landed ungracefully on his butt.

"Ohww... shit. Bro!" He shot an angry look towards his younger brother, who was standing just around the corner of the attic stairwell. "Why did you surprise me like that?"

Chris smiled at the heap of his brother on the floor as he leaned against one of the walls.

"Because it's fun to see you land on your ass while trying to sneak around." He replied as he extended his hand towards Wyatt to help him up.

"Very funny." The older brother grabbed his younger brother's hand and pulled himself up. While brushing the dust of his pants, Wyatt looked at his brother again.

"Where are mom and dad? Still asleep?"

Chris shook his head. "Dad had to get to Magic School early and you know Halliwell's is booked for that wedding today. So logically mom got up just as early and has probably been torturing the staff for about an hour now already."

The two brothers made their way to the kitchen where Chris started to make them both some coffee. Wyatt sat down at the kitchen table.

"So how did you know I was at Laura's?" Wyatt asked his brother as he received a cup of steaming coffee.

Chris shrugged, leaning on his elbows on the counter. "To be honest, you really suck at telling lies."

"Well thank you, but I never said anything about being there..."

"No man, but you orb in at six in the morning, wearing exactly the same clothes as yesterday. You try your best to sneak around, so preoccupied by not getting caught that you didn't even sense me standing around the corner." Chris took a big sip of his coffee.

"Hey now, you've been working on cloaking your magic signature. Which is actually somehow working."

"Except I wasn't, so my point stands." Wyatt rolled his eyes at his brother and took a sip of the searing hot coffee. "Beside that all, big bro, you didn't even come up with an excuse before asking me how I knew. Which is a dead give-away if I have ever seen one."

"Fine, fine." The older Halliwell grimaced at the coffee. "Jeez, how do you drink this without burning everything in your mouth?"

Chris laughed. "Don't be such a baby, it's not that hot."

The small talk between the brothers was interrupted when Chris' phone started ringing. Their mother's picture filled the screen.

"Well, better get that. You know mom doesn't like waiting." Wyatt said to his brother. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Yeah, sure thing." Chris replied as Wyatt got up to leave the kitchen. "Oh but Wy, one thing though."

Wyatt cocked his head at his brother. "What?"

"Your shirt is inside-out." The younger brother said with a big grin, before quickly walking away to the sunroom.

Wyatt looked down at his shirt, seeing that it was not only inside-out but also backwards. He sighed loudly and got on his way to the bathroom. The loud voice of his mother made him pause on the stairs however.

"CHRISTOPHER PERRY HALLIWELL!"

A smile appeared on Wyatt's face, at least his smartass brother didn't get away with everything either it seemed.

"Mom please." Chris held his phone at arm's length in order to ensure he wouldn't turn deaf from his mother's yelling.

"Where is the thyme I put in my bag?" Piper Halliwell asked through the phone, knowing full well which one of her kids would have taken it.

"I don't... Why would I know?" Her middle child replied with an unsure tone in his voice. Chris nervously felt at the pocket of his jeans, where he had three small flasks of vanquishing potion.

"Because mister, your older brother actually tells us when he goes on a vanquish and your sister is on her university trip to Europe. Since I only got the thyme yesterday afternoon, for today's client, there is no other reason than you going off on your own again vanquishing... most likely a grimlock I would say."

Chris closed his eyes and sighed. His mother was way too suspicious of him going off on his own. Not that she was wrong, he thought, but this would surely earn him another lecture when she would be home from work.

"What? No..." He walked back in to the kitchen, scrambling through the cabinets to see if he still had some of the thyme left. "Maybe it fell out of your bag."

"Don't lie to me Chris."

The young witchlighter stopped at the tone of his mother. Apparently the lecture couldn't wait.

"You're only 23 and you still live under our roof. You shouldn't be going out vanquishing demons on your own. It's way too dangerous."

"I wasn't going to vanquish the grimlock alone. Wyatt's free this weekend too."

"I don't care Chris, when your dad and I get home we'll have a talk about this."

"Mom..."

"No mister. Now, I'll have one of the staff here get new thyme, but you can be damn sure you're not off the hook. No vanquishing today."

With that his mother ended the call and Chris huffed in frustration. He angrily shoved the phone back the pocket of his vest.

The brunette got out of the kitchen and in to the hallway to get upstairs. Shaking his head while making his way further up the stairs towards the attic. Chris couldn't stand the babying he would get from his parents sometimes. It was always him. Wyatt had gotten too strong for the underworld to actively hunt him down. Even though Chris knew that his brother had been targeted a lot when he was a child. Those days were over and with that also the babying.

Melinda on the other hand wasn't powerful enough to scare demons into staying away. However, his sister was a lot like his mother. She loved having the semblance of a normal life. While she was fine with being a witch and helping out her brothers for the greater good, she did love having a life without magic. Being less active with her magic gave her a lower profile than he did and with that less attention drawn to her. So their parents didn't worry too much about her either.

Chris loved magic. It was such an inherent part of him and he worked hard for it. His brother might be the powerhouse of the family with his active powers, but Chris also honed all the other aspects of being a witch. At a young age he would help his mother with making potions and in Magic School he absolutely aced Spellcasting. It also seemed that he was more sensitive when it came to sensing and seeing spirits. Being faster in locating them and even seeing the spirits who were already crossed over to another plane until they truly moved on. He just wished that his parents would see that he wasn't a little boy anymore. He did everything he could to be able to protect the ones he loved and himself. For some reason however, his parents had become even more vigilant ever since a year or two now. This only spurred Chris on more. His most recent project wasn't actually vanquishing but mapping the underworld. While he tried to do this in secret, so once in a while it couldn't be helped that he ran into trouble. This time it was a group of three grimlocks.

Having passed the hallway upstairs and hearing his brother showering, Chris reached the attic and quickly got to the Book of Shadows. Even if his mother didn't want him to go on a vanquish, he was quite sure she would be even more upset if the grimlocks decided to drop in during the talk she had planned. Better to go against her wish now and clean up the mess rather than having her point shoved up right in his face by a demon appearance at the most inconvenient time.

"Shisandra root... Check." He mumbled while reading the entry on grimlocks. "Orange or gold candle..." Chris traced his finger along the lines of text. In the background he could hear his brother turning off the shower. "Throw in the eyes."

A firm nod followed as he knew the potions would do their job. Chris closed the book and stepped away from the altar. Now to make sure his mother wouldn't kill him for doing this alone, he called out to his brother.

"Wy!" Chris was nearly at the attic door as his brother's muffled yes came from the bathroom. The young witchlighter suddenly stopped in his tracks however as he felt his breath being stolen away from him.

He made a sharp intake but no air entered his lungs. Chris' hand went up to his throat feeling for the constricting hands that weren't there. His eyes widened as another intake of breath turned out to be useless. His energy started to drain and he roughly landed on his knees as they buckled beneath him. Chris managed to turn his head and his eyes quickly fell on the three grimlocks that had shimmered into the attic.

Shit.

Where was Wyatt? He couldn't throw the potion like this. Another desperate try to breathe and Chris waved his hand haphazardly backwards in the hope of hitting them with his telekinesis. The pedestal of the Book of Shadows was flung away, narrowly missing one of the grimlocks.

He tried to orb, but the strain of getting choked by his aura kept him from successfully doing so.

Shit, shit, shit.

The edges of his vision started to blur and darken. He was caught off guard and it was going to cost him. No way his mother would ever let him forget this.

Chris couldn't call out at all, he couldn't focus on his magic, he couldn't do anything. Nearly falling forward, Chris caught himself on his right hand and the thud rang clearly through the attic.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Wyatt called from down the stairwell, just out of sight. The grimlocks didn't make a sound, they didn't need to. Chris, however, realized he really needed to. He brought his other hand down hard on the floor and tried to cry out through his magic. His magic signature fluctuated harshly but he couldn't keep it up. His lungs screamed for air.

"Chris?" Wyatt's voice called out again and was followed up by his footsteps on the stairwell. Turning around the corner of the stairs, Wyatt with his hair still damp from his shower could see his brother on hands and knees near the attic door. Chris looked strained, his eyes wide and face red. The alarm bells in Wyatt's head rang clearly now and he quickly ran up the last few steps.

Now being able to see the entire attic, Wyatt's eyes were drawn from his brother to the cause of the problem. The grimlocks backed up, realizing the twice-blessed would be an adversary they couldn't win from. The middle grimlock, who had been choking Chris, released his hold. One of his companions quickly conjured a portal and tried to step through. Wyatt's reflexes were faster and with a wave of his hand he covered said grimlock in orbs before forcing the orbs to scatter and explode the demon. The shockwave rippled through the portal before bouncing back and engulfing the entire attic in an energy wave.

Wyatt's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden development. "Oh cr-.." The wave cut him off and a bright flash blinded them all.