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!

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Anguished Soul - Chapter 30

Chris groaned as he felt his aching muscles. Taking a moment to clear his head, he slowly got up from the floor. Surveying his surroundings, he realized that he had somehow ended up in the Haliwell attic. Taking a step towards the Book of Shadows, he felt pain surge through his body as he walked into an invisible magical wall. It didn't take him long to realize that he was in fact imprisoned inside a magical cage.

"What's going on here?" he called out to no one in particular, hoping to get some answers. When no one responded, Chris tried to orb out of the cage, only to remember that he had already lost that power. The manor remained eerily quiet, which only caused the young Whitelighter to become even more anxious. Despite his valiant attempts to reconstruct the events of the recent past, he couldn't quite remember how he had ended up in the attic.

Finally, after he had just about given up, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Sure enough, the Charmed Ones emerged and walked towards where Chris was confined.

"Will someone like to tell me what is going on here?" Chris asked, clearly annoyed.

"I think we will ask the questions here," Piper answered coldly. "You can just stick to answering us."

The look in Piper's eyes made Chris feel uneasy. He turned to Phoebe for answers, but was met with an impassive stare. Finally, he turned to Paige for help, but his anxiety only intensified when she avoided his eyes.

"Is there really a need to put me in this 'thing' just to ask me a few questions?"

"We wouldn't know," Piper answered again. "Since we don't really know just what exactly you are."

"Is there a point to all of this?" he asked, very annoyed by this inquisition.

"Who and what exactly are you, Chris Perry?" Phoebe spoke up for the first time.

"What kind of a question is that?" he asked incredulous, unable to believe that he was being held prisoner by his own charges.

"Just answer the question, Chris," Phoebe ordered.

The young Whitelighter rolled his eyes and sighed. "Your Whitelighter, in case you have forgotten."

"Then how do you explain the fireballs?" Piper asked as she fixed her angry glare on him.

"Fireballs aren't limited to demons, you know," he answered matter-of- factly. "Perhaps," Phoebe answered skeptically. "But why would you, of all Whitelighters, be able to use fireballs?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Chris asked defensively.

"Never mind," Piper cut in. "How do you explain the poison arrows?"

Chris paused as he thought about his answer, knowing that a wrong answer could spell dire consequences. "What about them?"

"Poison arrows are never used by Whitelighters. That I do know," Piper accused.

"So what are you saying, exactly?" Chris asked without backing down. "If you want to say something, why don't you just come right out and say it instead of hiding behind your questions?"

"Oh, you're one to talk," Phoebe joined in. "You of all people telling us to come clean with you?"

"Well, it's obvious that you don't trust me. And if I guess correctly, you never did trust me in the first place."

"You never really helped your cause with your cryptic answers."

Chris laughed at the comment. "In case you haven't realized yet, I didn't come back for my 'cause.' I came back to save your sorry lives and now I'm seriously doubting the sanity of those who sent me back."

"You can cut the bravado, Chris. Your days of lying to our faces are over."

Chris snorted at the threat. "Whatever. If you think that putting me in this cage of yours can help you save Wyatt, you're seriously mistaken." Chris smiled inwardly as he noticed Piper blanche at the comment.

Phoebe moved threateningly close to Chris, her eyes betraying her fiery anger. "What do you know about Wyatt's future? And don't try to hide anything from us."

The young Whitelighter put on his trademark smirk again. "Why would you want to ask me? It's obvious you don't trust me, so don't waste my time asking for answers that you won't believe anyways."

"Don't play games with us, Christopher," Phoebe said. "If anything happens to my nephew, I will personally vanquish you."

"Let me guess," Chris answered, "This is where I'm supposed to start trembling in fear, right?"

"Tell me who's after Wyatt, dammit!" Piper yelled, finally unable to control her anger any longer. Her outburst silenced the entire room.

Chris looked at the floor, debating whether or not to reveal what he knew. Finally, he sighed and looked at Piper. "A legion of Vankyrs is after Wyatt. They are gathered in a cave 15 miles northwest of the city. Tomorrow morning is when they had originally planned to attack. If you want to save Wyatt, you'll have to vanquish them tonight."

"If you're lying to us." Phoebe threatened.

"Do what you want with the information," Chris said with resignation. "What benefit is it to me to lie to you?"

"Fine," Piper said. "We'll deal with you when we return."

"Wait," Chris called out. "The Vankyrs will use distractions to separate the three of you. You have to stay together no matter what. Otherwise they will easily defeat you."

"Let's go get ready," Piper said to Phoebe as they headed downstairs.

Paige stood in her spot, staring at the floor. After a minute, she finally summoned the courage to look at Chris. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, Paige," Chris apologized. "I just couldn't."

"I loved you. I trusted you, Chris. But all along you were lying to us.lying to me."

"Paige, I didn't lie to you."

"I don't even know which lines of yours are real and which are lies," Paige continued. "You really frighten me, you know that?"

"Fine," Chris answered, his voice suddenly turning cold and emotionless. "If that's what you want to believe, that go ahead. I'm sick and tired of trying to explain myself to you three." With that, he turned his back on Paige and stared out the window.

After a minute, Paige went to join her sisters downstairs as tears streamed down her face. Had she paid attention, she would have heard Chris' soft sobs as she walked out of the attic.

~ to be continued ~