Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed.
All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
This is my first Charmed fic. I apologize if I get any of the show's details wrong. I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Anguished Soul - Chapter 10
~ flashforward continues from last chapter ~
The pain was so great that Chris was quickly losing consciousness. Laughing sadistically, Arkon infused another dose of demonic power into Chris, preventing him from blacking out.
"You're not going to have this the easy way, Christopher," Arkon laughed. "I want you to experience every second of this pain and agony. Don't you worry, you won't die just yet. I've given you a dose of my very special spell. I want you to die a slow, agonizing, and painful death!!"
Chris was screaming out in agony. When he was sure that he could not longer endure the pain, a huge gust of wind blew into the building and bright light shone everywhere.
"What's this?" Arkon shouted, furious at being interrupted.
"You have quite some nerve to abuse your power as such, Arkon," the voice replied as an old man appeared, accompanied by a few other middle-aged men.
"If it isn't Afilla and his legion of gods. What a pleasant surprise!" Arkon remarked sarcastically. "If you know what's good for you, you would mind your own business. This punk is mine!"
Chris struggled to get up as the events unfolded. Pain shot through his body and he felt paralyzed.
"Leave Christopher to us and we will let this incident go. Otherwise, you will be quite sorry, Arkon."
"Never!" Arkon barked as he attacked the intruders, only to be overwhelmed by the power of the gods. Realizing that he was no match for the gods, he conceded his defeat. "Very well, Afilla. This punk is yours - but I will not forget this day." With that, Arkon disappeared.
Afilla and the gods descended to the ground and stood in front of where Chris was lying. Struggling to get up once again, Chris gave up as the pain overwhelmed him. He began to shiver and convulse violently. "Please," he begged, "help me."
"Christopher, you have disgraced the forces of good," Afilla rebuked sternly.
"No," Chris sobbed. "Akradonis killed Annette. He killed Annette."
"You killed Annette, Christopher, because of your pride and selfishness. Didn't we warn you that this day would occur if you didn't put your ego to rest?"
Afilla's words stung Chris. He never felt that he was responsible for Annette's death - until now. Could it be? Could it be that he himself was responsible for Annette's demise?
And the gods didn't stop there. "To make things worse, you dared to summon the power of Hades - the powers of evil - in your bid to exact revenge. You have committed the greatest transgression possible."
Afilla's damning accusations blew out the faint glimmer of hope that Chris had. Arkon might be gone but it was clear that the gods would not spare him either.
"Just kill me," Chris whispered. "Just let me die."
"You are in no position to demand anything Christopher," Afilla chided. "We will uphold Arkon's curse on you."
Chris' heart sank as he heard the verdict. The gods had effectively condemned him to death. He knew that there was no way he could escape this predicament.
"But," Afilla continued, "given the many deeds that you had done for the forces of good, we will give you one chance at redemption."
At this point, Chris didn't really care. He just wanted to die. After all, he had already lost everything.
"You will be sent back to the not-too-distant past. If you can change the history of mankind, and prevent chaos from enslaving them, we may consider removing Arkon's curse from you. If you fail, that you will be condemned to suffer the painful, agonizing death that Arkon has bestowed on you."
~ back to the present ~
"So that's why you are here," Paige remarked as she finally put the pieces together.
"Like I told you before, I didn't choose to come here," Chris answered. "I've got nothing to gain by hurting you and your sisters."
"I know that you're not here to hurt us. You've already proved that on more than one occasion."
Chris smiled weakly at the comment. He never really considered delving into why he came back from the future with anyone before. The thought scared him somewhat, making him feel vulnerable. "Please don't tell anyone about what I told you tonight."
Paige looked at Chris and could not help but feel for him. "You have my word." Another moment of silence passed before Paige spoke again. "Oh, before I forget, Phoebe asked me to make sure that you had dinner. I brought some stuff over."
Chris laughed softly. "You treat me like I'm a helpless four-year-old." He grinned as he saw Paige's mock angry look. "But thank you. I appreciate it."
As Chris sat in the kitchen table eating his very belated dinner, Paige sat across from him, gazing into his mesmerizing eyes and trying to sort through all the information that she had learned from Chris. She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't even hear Chris ask her a question. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"I asked if I have something stuck on my face or something. You've been staring at me funny for a while."
Paige could feel her face becoming red with embarrassment. "Uh nothing. I was, uh, just thinking about some stuff," she stammered. "So what are your plans?" Paige asked, quickly changing the subject.
"You mean getting a job and stuff?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, I have an interview tomorrow morning."
"Really? That's great!"
"Well, we'll see what happens."
"I'm sure you'll do great, Chris."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ugh, gridlock," Chris thought to himself. "Why did traffic always have to be such a nightmare in San Francisco?" If he had his way, he would orb himself to the interview, but it was too risky to do it in public unless he absolutely had to. After what seemed like hours, Chris finally arrived at his destination. He was quickly ushered into the office where a young lady was waiting for him. He smirked to himself as he saw the dreamy look on the young lady's face.
"Hi, I'm Melanie."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Chris."
"Well, Chris, I'm really glad you came today. We've had such a hard time finding the right person for this position. You'd think a city the size of San Francisco would have a few more eligible candidates."
Chris said nothing but smiled politely.
"So you've done photo shoots and other similar projects before?"
~ to be continued ~
This is my first Charmed fic. I apologize if I get any of the show's details wrong. I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Anguished Soul - Chapter 10
~ flashforward continues from last chapter ~
The pain was so great that Chris was quickly losing consciousness. Laughing sadistically, Arkon infused another dose of demonic power into Chris, preventing him from blacking out.
"You're not going to have this the easy way, Christopher," Arkon laughed. "I want you to experience every second of this pain and agony. Don't you worry, you won't die just yet. I've given you a dose of my very special spell. I want you to die a slow, agonizing, and painful death!!"
Chris was screaming out in agony. When he was sure that he could not longer endure the pain, a huge gust of wind blew into the building and bright light shone everywhere.
"What's this?" Arkon shouted, furious at being interrupted.
"You have quite some nerve to abuse your power as such, Arkon," the voice replied as an old man appeared, accompanied by a few other middle-aged men.
"If it isn't Afilla and his legion of gods. What a pleasant surprise!" Arkon remarked sarcastically. "If you know what's good for you, you would mind your own business. This punk is mine!"
Chris struggled to get up as the events unfolded. Pain shot through his body and he felt paralyzed.
"Leave Christopher to us and we will let this incident go. Otherwise, you will be quite sorry, Arkon."
"Never!" Arkon barked as he attacked the intruders, only to be overwhelmed by the power of the gods. Realizing that he was no match for the gods, he conceded his defeat. "Very well, Afilla. This punk is yours - but I will not forget this day." With that, Arkon disappeared.
Afilla and the gods descended to the ground and stood in front of where Chris was lying. Struggling to get up once again, Chris gave up as the pain overwhelmed him. He began to shiver and convulse violently. "Please," he begged, "help me."
"Christopher, you have disgraced the forces of good," Afilla rebuked sternly.
"No," Chris sobbed. "Akradonis killed Annette. He killed Annette."
"You killed Annette, Christopher, because of your pride and selfishness. Didn't we warn you that this day would occur if you didn't put your ego to rest?"
Afilla's words stung Chris. He never felt that he was responsible for Annette's death - until now. Could it be? Could it be that he himself was responsible for Annette's demise?
And the gods didn't stop there. "To make things worse, you dared to summon the power of Hades - the powers of evil - in your bid to exact revenge. You have committed the greatest transgression possible."
Afilla's damning accusations blew out the faint glimmer of hope that Chris had. Arkon might be gone but it was clear that the gods would not spare him either.
"Just kill me," Chris whispered. "Just let me die."
"You are in no position to demand anything Christopher," Afilla chided. "We will uphold Arkon's curse on you."
Chris' heart sank as he heard the verdict. The gods had effectively condemned him to death. He knew that there was no way he could escape this predicament.
"But," Afilla continued, "given the many deeds that you had done for the forces of good, we will give you one chance at redemption."
At this point, Chris didn't really care. He just wanted to die. After all, he had already lost everything.
"You will be sent back to the not-too-distant past. If you can change the history of mankind, and prevent chaos from enslaving them, we may consider removing Arkon's curse from you. If you fail, that you will be condemned to suffer the painful, agonizing death that Arkon has bestowed on you."
~ back to the present ~
"So that's why you are here," Paige remarked as she finally put the pieces together.
"Like I told you before, I didn't choose to come here," Chris answered. "I've got nothing to gain by hurting you and your sisters."
"I know that you're not here to hurt us. You've already proved that on more than one occasion."
Chris smiled weakly at the comment. He never really considered delving into why he came back from the future with anyone before. The thought scared him somewhat, making him feel vulnerable. "Please don't tell anyone about what I told you tonight."
Paige looked at Chris and could not help but feel for him. "You have my word." Another moment of silence passed before Paige spoke again. "Oh, before I forget, Phoebe asked me to make sure that you had dinner. I brought some stuff over."
Chris laughed softly. "You treat me like I'm a helpless four-year-old." He grinned as he saw Paige's mock angry look. "But thank you. I appreciate it."
As Chris sat in the kitchen table eating his very belated dinner, Paige sat across from him, gazing into his mesmerizing eyes and trying to sort through all the information that she had learned from Chris. She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't even hear Chris ask her a question. "Sorry, what did you say?"
"I asked if I have something stuck on my face or something. You've been staring at me funny for a while."
Paige could feel her face becoming red with embarrassment. "Uh nothing. I was, uh, just thinking about some stuff," she stammered. "So what are your plans?" Paige asked, quickly changing the subject.
"You mean getting a job and stuff?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, I have an interview tomorrow morning."
"Really? That's great!"
"Well, we'll see what happens."
"I'm sure you'll do great, Chris."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Ugh, gridlock," Chris thought to himself. "Why did traffic always have to be such a nightmare in San Francisco?" If he had his way, he would orb himself to the interview, but it was too risky to do it in public unless he absolutely had to. After what seemed like hours, Chris finally arrived at his destination. He was quickly ushered into the office where a young lady was waiting for him. He smirked to himself as he saw the dreamy look on the young lady's face.
"Hi, I'm Melanie."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Chris."
"Well, Chris, I'm really glad you came today. We've had such a hard time finding the right person for this position. You'd think a city the size of San Francisco would have a few more eligible candidates."
Chris said nothing but smiled politely.
"So you've done photo shoots and other similar projects before?"
~ to be continued ~
