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 25
~ flash back to the present ~
Chris struggled to compose himself as he recounted the most painful day of his young life. His hands still held on to the fleece sweatshirt as his eyes took on a distant look. "My mom gave me a sweatshirt like this the Christmas before the demons drove us from our house. I got one and Ben got a similar one," he explained softly.
Paige's heart ached as she listened to Chris recall the memories of his family. She didn't even notice her own tears smearing her makeup. Piper and Phoebe were just as shaken by Chris' revelations.
Paige pulled Chris into a hug as she tried to comfort him. She had never seen him look so distraught and vulnerable. Behind the façade of cockiness and confidence was really a young man who had experienced so much pain and grief. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I don't know what do say."
Chris hugged his girlfriend tightly, almost as if he was afraid to let go. "I'm sorry for ruining your night," he finally said to all three witches. "I think I was okay until I saw the sweatshirt. I just kinda lost it after that."
"That's okay," Phoebe answered sympathetically. "You don't have to apologize for things like that."
Chris finally pulled away from Paige and wiped the remaining tears from his face. "Oh God, I can't believe I just cried like a baby in front of my charges. So much for the cocky, know-it-all Whitelighter image," he laughed lightly through his tears.
"Hey, you blew that image of yours quite a while ago," Phoebe teased lightly. "Ever since you became Paige's good, obedient boyfriend."
"That was uncalled for," Paige answered back with a smile as she watched Chris slowly get back to his normal self.
"I'll leave you three to battle this out. I think I better head home and get some rest."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Chris smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry. I'm a big boy so I'll be fine."
"Alright," Piper answered in a motherly tone. "You know that we're all here if you need us."
"I know," he answered. "Thanks so much for everything," he said as he motioned to the gifts.
"You're very welcome," Phoebe said with a smile as Chris prepared to orb out. "Oh, and Chris?"
The young Whitelighter gave her a quizzical look as he waited for her to continue.
"You might have lost your biological family, but we really want you to be part of our family now."
Chris smiled and looked to the floor for a moment before meeting the eyes of his charges again. "Thank you," was all he said before he orbed out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Paige had a hard time sleeping that night. Not surprisingly, her thoughts were filled with images of Chris' childhood. She never thought that he had suffered so much in his young life. All this time, she always thought of him as a cocky Whitelighter who was obsessed with demon killing. Now, with the knowledge of his childhood, she began to see him in a new light.
The time that she has spent getting to know her boyfriend has really opened her eyes to a new side of Chris. Despite the image that he tried to portray, Paige saw a kind, gentle young man whose life has been plagued by pain and sadness. She wanted to change that, but was afraid that she would not be able to erase the pain that has already been etched in Chris' memory.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phoebe tossed and turned in her bed. She remembered the day when Prue died. She remembered the pain that she felt for the longest time as she tried to deal with her older sister's death. Now, it was almost she was reliving everything all over again with Chris' revelations.
Even though she wasn't related to Chris, she felt his pain as he recounted the events of that fateful day. She admired his courage, being able to carry on despite the horror and tragedy that he faced. She began to realize that Chris was not the immature Whitelighter that she once thought. In fact, he is continuously showing her that he is mature beyond his age. The only question that nagged her was whether or not there was anything that she could do help Chris? The pain and sadness that she saw in his eyes haunted her, and she knew that there had to be a way to bring him happiness.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Piper rested on her bed with her eyes open. Chris' revelations shocked her, to say the least. It also revealed a huge piece of the puzzle known as Chris Perry. As she thought about this, she began to piece together what she knew about Chris. All of a sudden, he didn't seem to be such a mystery anymore. He wasn't some unknown creature from the future. In fact, he was just like all of them. He experienced pain and sadness just like they did when Prue died. It really made Chris all that much more comprehensible.
On the other hand, Piper could not help but feel that somehow, Chris still had not revealed all of the important pieces of information. There was still something that he was hiding. Something that he desperately does not want anyone to know. "What could it be?" she wondered.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The morning sunshine woke Chris up from his sleep. Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed and got ready to begin his day. He had lots of his agenda today and there was little time to waste.
The sweatshirt that he received from the Charmed Ones last night really threw him a curveball. He really wasn't expecting it and the events that followed were totally unplanned. Looking back, he could only blame himself for being so careless and for revealing so much. What he did was dangerous and could have easily derailed his plans. Now he had to make amends to make sure that his grand plan would not be affected by his one moment of weakness.
After grabbing some quick breakfast, he headed to Morris Park outside the city. He had a couple of hours to spare before he had to meet Paige. Looking around, he finally located what he wanted. Moving towards the target, he was stopped when green lights appeared in front of him.
"Well, well," the visitor greeted. "We meet again, Christopher."
Chris' clenched his fist and tried to control his temper. "What do you want, Arkon?"
"Nothing," the demon replied innocently. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Spare me the act and just tell me what you are doing here," Chris seethed.
The demon sighed dramatically. "I'm heartbroken, Christopher. Here I was coming to see if you were alright after last night's ordeal and this is the treatment I get. I know it must have hurt you to realize that you were the cause of your parents' death."
"Shut up," Chris shouted, barely able to control his rage.
"Face the truth, Christopher. No matter how much good you try to do, you can't change the fact that you killed your parents."
"You're lying!" Chris countered, his voice trembling. "You're lying!"
Arkon laughed at the young Whitelighter's reaction. "How do you think the demons found your parents if you weren't so clumsy when you went to find the balsam shoots? Your orbing was a clear signal to the demons as to your location."
Chris fell on his knees as Arkon spoke, his eyes wide, his body trembling from shock.
"If you had even half a brain, you would have actually walked a while before orbing. But no, you just decided to orb right from the cave. That was just plain stupid."
"You're lying," Chris whispered, his voice weak and unconvincing.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Arkon laughed. "All this time, you've been trying to rid the world of your parent's killers when you've been the one responsible for their death all along. What good is your magic then? You are a disgrace to your family, a disgrace to the supposed forces of good. You're just an embarrassment to Whitelighters the world over."
Chris covered his ears, trying to block out Arkon's voice. But the damage had been done. "You killed your parents," a voice in his head condemned him. "You killed Ben," the voice continued. Chris struggled to his feet and unleashed an energy ball towards Arkon. The demon didn't even bother to move as he stood there with a grin. It was Chris who gasped when he realized that he couldn't summon any energy balls.
~ 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 25
~ flash back to the present ~
Chris struggled to compose himself as he recounted the most painful day of his young life. His hands still held on to the fleece sweatshirt as his eyes took on a distant look. "My mom gave me a sweatshirt like this the Christmas before the demons drove us from our house. I got one and Ben got a similar one," he explained softly.
Paige's heart ached as she listened to Chris recall the memories of his family. She didn't even notice her own tears smearing her makeup. Piper and Phoebe were just as shaken by Chris' revelations.
Paige pulled Chris into a hug as she tried to comfort him. She had never seen him look so distraught and vulnerable. Behind the façade of cockiness and confidence was really a young man who had experienced so much pain and grief. "I'm so sorry, Chris. I don't know what do say."
Chris hugged his girlfriend tightly, almost as if he was afraid to let go. "I'm sorry for ruining your night," he finally said to all three witches. "I think I was okay until I saw the sweatshirt. I just kinda lost it after that."
"That's okay," Phoebe answered sympathetically. "You don't have to apologize for things like that."
Chris finally pulled away from Paige and wiped the remaining tears from his face. "Oh God, I can't believe I just cried like a baby in front of my charges. So much for the cocky, know-it-all Whitelighter image," he laughed lightly through his tears.
"Hey, you blew that image of yours quite a while ago," Phoebe teased lightly. "Ever since you became Paige's good, obedient boyfriend."
"That was uncalled for," Paige answered back with a smile as she watched Chris slowly get back to his normal self.
"I'll leave you three to battle this out. I think I better head home and get some rest."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Chris smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry. I'm a big boy so I'll be fine."
"Alright," Piper answered in a motherly tone. "You know that we're all here if you need us."
"I know," he answered. "Thanks so much for everything," he said as he motioned to the gifts.
"You're very welcome," Phoebe said with a smile as Chris prepared to orb out. "Oh, and Chris?"
The young Whitelighter gave her a quizzical look as he waited for her to continue.
"You might have lost your biological family, but we really want you to be part of our family now."
Chris smiled and looked to the floor for a moment before meeting the eyes of his charges again. "Thank you," was all he said before he orbed out.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Paige had a hard time sleeping that night. Not surprisingly, her thoughts were filled with images of Chris' childhood. She never thought that he had suffered so much in his young life. All this time, she always thought of him as a cocky Whitelighter who was obsessed with demon killing. Now, with the knowledge of his childhood, she began to see him in a new light.
The time that she has spent getting to know her boyfriend has really opened her eyes to a new side of Chris. Despite the image that he tried to portray, Paige saw a kind, gentle young man whose life has been plagued by pain and sadness. She wanted to change that, but was afraid that she would not be able to erase the pain that has already been etched in Chris' memory.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Phoebe tossed and turned in her bed. She remembered the day when Prue died. She remembered the pain that she felt for the longest time as she tried to deal with her older sister's death. Now, it was almost she was reliving everything all over again with Chris' revelations.
Even though she wasn't related to Chris, she felt his pain as he recounted the events of that fateful day. She admired his courage, being able to carry on despite the horror and tragedy that he faced. She began to realize that Chris was not the immature Whitelighter that she once thought. In fact, he is continuously showing her that he is mature beyond his age. The only question that nagged her was whether or not there was anything that she could do help Chris? The pain and sadness that she saw in his eyes haunted her, and she knew that there had to be a way to bring him happiness.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Piper rested on her bed with her eyes open. Chris' revelations shocked her, to say the least. It also revealed a huge piece of the puzzle known as Chris Perry. As she thought about this, she began to piece together what she knew about Chris. All of a sudden, he didn't seem to be such a mystery anymore. He wasn't some unknown creature from the future. In fact, he was just like all of them. He experienced pain and sadness just like they did when Prue died. It really made Chris all that much more comprehensible.
On the other hand, Piper could not help but feel that somehow, Chris still had not revealed all of the important pieces of information. There was still something that he was hiding. Something that he desperately does not want anyone to know. "What could it be?" she wondered.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The morning sunshine woke Chris up from his sleep. Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed and got ready to begin his day. He had lots of his agenda today and there was little time to waste.
The sweatshirt that he received from the Charmed Ones last night really threw him a curveball. He really wasn't expecting it and the events that followed were totally unplanned. Looking back, he could only blame himself for being so careless and for revealing so much. What he did was dangerous and could have easily derailed his plans. Now he had to make amends to make sure that his grand plan would not be affected by his one moment of weakness.
After grabbing some quick breakfast, he headed to Morris Park outside the city. He had a couple of hours to spare before he had to meet Paige. Looking around, he finally located what he wanted. Moving towards the target, he was stopped when green lights appeared in front of him.
"Well, well," the visitor greeted. "We meet again, Christopher."
Chris' clenched his fist and tried to control his temper. "What do you want, Arkon?"
"Nothing," the demon replied innocently. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"Spare me the act and just tell me what you are doing here," Chris seethed.
The demon sighed dramatically. "I'm heartbroken, Christopher. Here I was coming to see if you were alright after last night's ordeal and this is the treatment I get. I know it must have hurt you to realize that you were the cause of your parents' death."
"Shut up," Chris shouted, barely able to control his rage.
"Face the truth, Christopher. No matter how much good you try to do, you can't change the fact that you killed your parents."
"You're lying!" Chris countered, his voice trembling. "You're lying!"
Arkon laughed at the young Whitelighter's reaction. "How do you think the demons found your parents if you weren't so clumsy when you went to find the balsam shoots? Your orbing was a clear signal to the demons as to your location."
Chris fell on his knees as Arkon spoke, his eyes wide, his body trembling from shock.
"If you had even half a brain, you would have actually walked a while before orbing. But no, you just decided to orb right from the cave. That was just plain stupid."
"You're lying," Chris whispered, his voice weak and unconvincing.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Arkon laughed. "All this time, you've been trying to rid the world of your parent's killers when you've been the one responsible for their death all along. What good is your magic then? You are a disgrace to your family, a disgrace to the supposed forces of good. You're just an embarrassment to Whitelighters the world over."
Chris covered his ears, trying to block out Arkon's voice. But the damage had been done. "You killed your parents," a voice in his head condemned him. "You killed Ben," the voice continued. Chris struggled to his feet and unleashed an energy ball towards Arkon. The demon didn't even bother to move as he stood there with a grin. It was Chris who gasped when he realized that he couldn't summon any energy balls.
~ to be continued ~
