A/N: Fanfic screwed with the paragraphing, so I had to space them apart.
Sorry! Hope you enjoy!!
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"Chris, tell me the truth," Piper said firmly. "What were you planning to do with the Book?"
"Look at it. That's all," Chris insisted, but Piper wasn't buying it.
"Chris," Piper repeated, her voice low, menacing, and motherly in a bad way.
Chris shrugged apologetically and, Book in hand, orbed out.
Piper stared, wide-eyes and horrified, at her sisters.
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Chris stood before Wyatt, clutching the Book. "Remember our deal, Wyatt. You said you'd let Melinda go," he reminded his older brother, glancing at Melinda with a frown, then looking back at Wyatt.
Wyatt nodded once. "Give me the Book first."
Chris knew better than to agree and hand such a powerful magical object over to such an evil person without getting what he wanted, but what was he to do? Wyatt wouldn't let Melinda go if he didn't have the Book in his hands first. So, sighing, Chris handed the Book to Wyatt.
Grinning, Wyatt took the Book and stared at it. It was his! Finally his!
"The Book of Shadows . . . and now, it is mine," The Source, standing behind Wyatt, remarked, cackling.
Wyatt frowned a bit, turning to look at the Source. "All yours? You mean . . ." he formed a fireball/energy ball mix and threw it at the Source, who screamed and shrieked before becoming nothing more than a pile of ash, "all mine," Wyatt finished, grinning evilly. He turned to look at Chris again, holding the Book in one hand and holding Melinda's hand in his left.
Chris gulped. If Wyatt had enough power to vanquish the Source with just a fireball/energy ball . . . He shook his head and glared at Wyatt. "Now, Hand Melinda over."
Wyatt hesitated, looking as if he were thinking it over. "Ah, no." He grinned. "Thanks for the Book, though! Ciao, little brother." Holding Melinda and the Book close to him, he shimmered out of the Underworld, leaving Chris alone.
The hard part now? Going home and telling his mom and aunts that the Book of Shadows, source of their magic and powers, was in the hands of Wyatt.
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"What could Chris have wanted with the Book? He knows better than to take it someplace without telling us," Phoebe remarked, watching Piper pace the attic.
"I don't know. But if he did anything stupid, he's grounded until he's married," Piper snapped, pacing more. "Leo! Leo!" she shouted, gritting her teeth. She had been calling her ex-husband for nearly fifteen minutes now with no luck.
Moment's later, blue orbs filled the room. It wasn't Leo, however. It was Chris.
"Chris, you're back! But . . . where's the Book?" Paige asked. She watched Chris closely, mostly because she didn't want to see the looks on her sister's faces if Chris had bad news.
"I have good news and I have bad news," Chris replied calmly.
"Good news first," Piper said, fighting to hold back her panic and dread at 'the bad news.'
Chris hesitated before answering. "Well, good news, the Source is vanquished."
"That's great!" Paige exclaimed. "Now we won't have to worry about him!"
"Hold your cheers, Paige. There's still the bad news," Phoebe remarked, waiting for Chris to continue.
Chris gulped. This was the moment of truth. He was only thankful that Piper couldn't use her powers on him. "Wyatt has the Book of Shadows."
The room became pin-drop silent. Phoebe's eyes widened in shock at what she had heard; Paige looked like she was going to pass out. Piper, however, was pissed off to the tenth degree.
"WHAT??" she roared. "Chris, how could you let this happen?? How could you let Wyatt get the Book?!"
Chris didn't respond. He knew better than to argue when Piper was pissed off.
Piper began to pace the room again. "So now he has Melinda and the Book. Well, great. That's just great. He could strip our powers right here and right now if he wanted to! He could turn the Book evil, therefore turning us evil. He could vanquish us if he wanted to. He has access to spells and potions, demons and warlocks. This is not good at all!" she hissed.
"Piper, calm down. Having a hissy fit won't help get the Book back," Phoebe commented.
Piper stopped pacing and glared daggers at Phoebe. "And how do you expect to get it get, Pheebs? We don't have potions recipes, we don't have vanquishing spells, we don't have spells to summon demons who could take us to Wyatt," she huffed.
"So we improvise. I can write up some spells. Paige could make some potions. We've been witches long enough to know what ingredients do what, and what ingredients work best together. You could try to scry for Wyatt. I could write a spell that will allow you to scry for demons and warlocks in the Underworld," Phoebe replied.
Piper shook her head. "No. It won't work. Wyatt is strong. He's stronger than we are. And now he has the Book. For all we know, he's plotting to kill us right now."
"So what do we do, Piper? Sit here and wait for that to happen? Wait for him to come and kill us?" Phoebe asked. "I won't do that. I'll fight to the end, even if that end is our end and even if it's sooner than it should be." Without waiting for a response, Phoebe marched out of the attic and to her room to write up some spells.
Paige watched Phoebe leave then looked at Piper. "I second that. Wyatt may have our Book and he may be more powerful than we are. But if we don't fight back then we will die. At least fighting gives us the chance to go down as heroes." She hesitated a moment before retreating out of the attic and down to the kitchen to begin work on some potions.
Piper let out an aggravated sigh. She knew her sisters were right, but it seemed hopeless now. At least before, they had the Book as a guide. But now . . .? They had nothing but what they knew and what they knew, even after so many years of being witches, wasn't much. It certainly wasn't enough to defeat Wyatt.
"I'm sorry, mom," Chris muttered.
"You should be!" Piper fumed then saw how upset Chris looked. She sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I'm just . . . I'm fed up with being a witch, I want my daughter back, and . . . and I want Wyatt back. If we hadn't become witches, he'd still be with us. If we hadn't become witches, Prue and Andy would still be with us." She paused, looking down then back at Chris. "And sometimes I wonder if I should just give up my powers to Wyatt. Make a deal with him, my powers for Melinda back and his guarantee that no demons will attack as, ditto any warlocks, Darklighters, and anything else magical."
Chris shook his head. "Making deal with him is worthless. Once he has what he wants, he's done. He won't keep his end of the bargain. I know . . . "
Piper frowned, then opened her eyes wide. "Oh god . . . that's why-"she paused. "You took the Book to Wyatt in exchange for Melinda, didn't you? You gave it to him before you had Melinda and once he had it, he took off with her."
Chris was silent. He couldn't look his mom in the face.
"You did, didn't you??" Piper cried, shaking her head in disbelief. "Chris, how could you? It's one thing if you took it out of the house and he got it. But to hand it over willingly?"
"I wanted Melinda back," Chris snapped. "Wyatt was plotting to come after the Book. So I told him I'd get it for him in exchange for Melinda. I figured once I had her, I'd orb her and the Book back home and we'd figure out how to get her back to normal once we had her. The plan backfired."
Piper swallowed back her tears. Her eyes held disappointment and sadness. Without saying anything to Chris, she turned and left the attic.
"Hurt's doesn't it? It kills to know that her pain was caused by you."
Chris turned to see who was speaking to him. He narrowed his eyes. "Wyatt."
Wyatt smirked. "Hello, little brother."
"What are you-"Chris began, but stopped when he saw Melinda at Wyatt's side.
Wyatt's smirk grew wider. "I wouldn't do anything stupid if I were you, Chris. You wouldn't want to hurt Melinda, would you?"
"You evil bastard!" Chris snarled.
"Thanks!" Wyatt replied, taking it as a compliment. "Now, how do you plan to get out of this mess? I have the Book of Shadows and Melinda. Mother and her stubborn sister's have nothing but powers, which will be mine very shortly, and common Wiccan knowledge."
"What do you mean, the powers will be yours very shortly?" Chris asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.
Wyatt laughed a bit. "You know the answer to that one, little brother." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Has father been around? I hear Piper's been calling him and he hasn't been responding."
Chris felt his anger soar higher. "What did you do with him??"
"He's safe . . . for now. I just need him out of the way for awhile," Wyatt replied coolly, smirking.
"Out of the way for what?" Chris demanded to know.
"For what's about to happen," Wyatt replied. "In about three . . . two . . . one-"
"PIPER! PHOEBE! HELP!" came the strangled cry of Paige from down in the kitchen.
Chris glared daggers at Wyatt. "What did you do??"
'HELP!" Paige cried. She shrieked.
CRASH!
And silence.
Wyatt held Melinda close to his side. "Until we meet again, Chris" and shimmered out.
Chris quickly ran out of the attic and down the hall. He ran down to the kitchen and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Piper and Phoebe were kneeling over a fallen Paige . . . A Darklighters poisonous arrow sticking out of her stomach.
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"Chris, tell me the truth," Piper said firmly. "What were you planning to do with the Book?"
"Look at it. That's all," Chris insisted, but Piper wasn't buying it.
"Chris," Piper repeated, her voice low, menacing, and motherly in a bad way.
Chris shrugged apologetically and, Book in hand, orbed out.
Piper stared, wide-eyes and horrified, at her sisters.
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Chris stood before Wyatt, clutching the Book. "Remember our deal, Wyatt. You said you'd let Melinda go," he reminded his older brother, glancing at Melinda with a frown, then looking back at Wyatt.
Wyatt nodded once. "Give me the Book first."
Chris knew better than to agree and hand such a powerful magical object over to such an evil person without getting what he wanted, but what was he to do? Wyatt wouldn't let Melinda go if he didn't have the Book in his hands first. So, sighing, Chris handed the Book to Wyatt.
Grinning, Wyatt took the Book and stared at it. It was his! Finally his!
"The Book of Shadows . . . and now, it is mine," The Source, standing behind Wyatt, remarked, cackling.
Wyatt frowned a bit, turning to look at the Source. "All yours? You mean . . ." he formed a fireball/energy ball mix and threw it at the Source, who screamed and shrieked before becoming nothing more than a pile of ash, "all mine," Wyatt finished, grinning evilly. He turned to look at Chris again, holding the Book in one hand and holding Melinda's hand in his left.
Chris gulped. If Wyatt had enough power to vanquish the Source with just a fireball/energy ball . . . He shook his head and glared at Wyatt. "Now, Hand Melinda over."
Wyatt hesitated, looking as if he were thinking it over. "Ah, no." He grinned. "Thanks for the Book, though! Ciao, little brother." Holding Melinda and the Book close to him, he shimmered out of the Underworld, leaving Chris alone.
The hard part now? Going home and telling his mom and aunts that the Book of Shadows, source of their magic and powers, was in the hands of Wyatt.
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"What could Chris have wanted with the Book? He knows better than to take it someplace without telling us," Phoebe remarked, watching Piper pace the attic.
"I don't know. But if he did anything stupid, he's grounded until he's married," Piper snapped, pacing more. "Leo! Leo!" she shouted, gritting her teeth. She had been calling her ex-husband for nearly fifteen minutes now with no luck.
Moment's later, blue orbs filled the room. It wasn't Leo, however. It was Chris.
"Chris, you're back! But . . . where's the Book?" Paige asked. She watched Chris closely, mostly because she didn't want to see the looks on her sister's faces if Chris had bad news.
"I have good news and I have bad news," Chris replied calmly.
"Good news first," Piper said, fighting to hold back her panic and dread at 'the bad news.'
Chris hesitated before answering. "Well, good news, the Source is vanquished."
"That's great!" Paige exclaimed. "Now we won't have to worry about him!"
"Hold your cheers, Paige. There's still the bad news," Phoebe remarked, waiting for Chris to continue.
Chris gulped. This was the moment of truth. He was only thankful that Piper couldn't use her powers on him. "Wyatt has the Book of Shadows."
The room became pin-drop silent. Phoebe's eyes widened in shock at what she had heard; Paige looked like she was going to pass out. Piper, however, was pissed off to the tenth degree.
"WHAT??" she roared. "Chris, how could you let this happen?? How could you let Wyatt get the Book?!"
Chris didn't respond. He knew better than to argue when Piper was pissed off.
Piper began to pace the room again. "So now he has Melinda and the Book. Well, great. That's just great. He could strip our powers right here and right now if he wanted to! He could turn the Book evil, therefore turning us evil. He could vanquish us if he wanted to. He has access to spells and potions, demons and warlocks. This is not good at all!" she hissed.
"Piper, calm down. Having a hissy fit won't help get the Book back," Phoebe commented.
Piper stopped pacing and glared daggers at Phoebe. "And how do you expect to get it get, Pheebs? We don't have potions recipes, we don't have vanquishing spells, we don't have spells to summon demons who could take us to Wyatt," she huffed.
"So we improvise. I can write up some spells. Paige could make some potions. We've been witches long enough to know what ingredients do what, and what ingredients work best together. You could try to scry for Wyatt. I could write a spell that will allow you to scry for demons and warlocks in the Underworld," Phoebe replied.
Piper shook her head. "No. It won't work. Wyatt is strong. He's stronger than we are. And now he has the Book. For all we know, he's plotting to kill us right now."
"So what do we do, Piper? Sit here and wait for that to happen? Wait for him to come and kill us?" Phoebe asked. "I won't do that. I'll fight to the end, even if that end is our end and even if it's sooner than it should be." Without waiting for a response, Phoebe marched out of the attic and to her room to write up some spells.
Paige watched Phoebe leave then looked at Piper. "I second that. Wyatt may have our Book and he may be more powerful than we are. But if we don't fight back then we will die. At least fighting gives us the chance to go down as heroes." She hesitated a moment before retreating out of the attic and down to the kitchen to begin work on some potions.
Piper let out an aggravated sigh. She knew her sisters were right, but it seemed hopeless now. At least before, they had the Book as a guide. But now . . .? They had nothing but what they knew and what they knew, even after so many years of being witches, wasn't much. It certainly wasn't enough to defeat Wyatt.
"I'm sorry, mom," Chris muttered.
"You should be!" Piper fumed then saw how upset Chris looked. She sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I'm just . . . I'm fed up with being a witch, I want my daughter back, and . . . and I want Wyatt back. If we hadn't become witches, he'd still be with us. If we hadn't become witches, Prue and Andy would still be with us." She paused, looking down then back at Chris. "And sometimes I wonder if I should just give up my powers to Wyatt. Make a deal with him, my powers for Melinda back and his guarantee that no demons will attack as, ditto any warlocks, Darklighters, and anything else magical."
Chris shook his head. "Making deal with him is worthless. Once he has what he wants, he's done. He won't keep his end of the bargain. I know . . . "
Piper frowned, then opened her eyes wide. "Oh god . . . that's why-"she paused. "You took the Book to Wyatt in exchange for Melinda, didn't you? You gave it to him before you had Melinda and once he had it, he took off with her."
Chris was silent. He couldn't look his mom in the face.
"You did, didn't you??" Piper cried, shaking her head in disbelief. "Chris, how could you? It's one thing if you took it out of the house and he got it. But to hand it over willingly?"
"I wanted Melinda back," Chris snapped. "Wyatt was plotting to come after the Book. So I told him I'd get it for him in exchange for Melinda. I figured once I had her, I'd orb her and the Book back home and we'd figure out how to get her back to normal once we had her. The plan backfired."
Piper swallowed back her tears. Her eyes held disappointment and sadness. Without saying anything to Chris, she turned and left the attic.
"Hurt's doesn't it? It kills to know that her pain was caused by you."
Chris turned to see who was speaking to him. He narrowed his eyes. "Wyatt."
Wyatt smirked. "Hello, little brother."
"What are you-"Chris began, but stopped when he saw Melinda at Wyatt's side.
Wyatt's smirk grew wider. "I wouldn't do anything stupid if I were you, Chris. You wouldn't want to hurt Melinda, would you?"
"You evil bastard!" Chris snarled.
"Thanks!" Wyatt replied, taking it as a compliment. "Now, how do you plan to get out of this mess? I have the Book of Shadows and Melinda. Mother and her stubborn sister's have nothing but powers, which will be mine very shortly, and common Wiccan knowledge."
"What do you mean, the powers will be yours very shortly?" Chris asked, though he was sure he knew the answer.
Wyatt laughed a bit. "You know the answer to that one, little brother." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Has father been around? I hear Piper's been calling him and he hasn't been responding."
Chris felt his anger soar higher. "What did you do with him??"
"He's safe . . . for now. I just need him out of the way for awhile," Wyatt replied coolly, smirking.
"Out of the way for what?" Chris demanded to know.
"For what's about to happen," Wyatt replied. "In about three . . . two . . . one-"
"PIPER! PHOEBE! HELP!" came the strangled cry of Paige from down in the kitchen.
Chris glared daggers at Wyatt. "What did you do??"
'HELP!" Paige cried. She shrieked.
CRASH!
And silence.
Wyatt held Melinda close to his side. "Until we meet again, Chris" and shimmered out.
Chris quickly ran out of the attic and down the hall. He ran down to the kitchen and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Piper and Phoebe were kneeling over a fallen Paige . . . A Darklighters poisonous arrow sticking out of her stomach.