DISCALIMER: - I only pretend to own Charmed. And ruining a guy's fantasies by suing me for it would be cruel, so don't, ok?
I am so, so sorry for the delay. I know it's been far too long, and I hope I haven't lost any of you because of that. I'm really sorry; I've just been so busy and the only time I get to write properly is the weekends… I spent all day today writing this… Well nearly, I had some school stuff to do --, but I hope you like it.
Nautica7mk: - Yup, they're gonna loose them both… Heh, heh, heh… Well thanks for your review!
MarieWalker: - Thanks so much! Unfortunately Chris DOES believe Wyatt…
Alcandre: - Well I guess we could take a trip to the Issue Store… They might sell more issues… Don't cry or all my freedom will be taken away!
cherry7up56: - Wyatt? Sentimental? Maybe, lol… Or maybe not… Thanks for reviewing.
princesscatie21: - Yup! Chris is evil… uh-oh… Oh well, thanks for reviewing, it will all be resolved in the end!
X3: - Lol, yup… Piper was right when she said the family needed therapy… Thanks for reviewing.
Faith: - Wow, I loved your review. Thanks so much. The conflict of the brothers is sad, but they really do have to deal with each other in the end…
Charmed Amber: - Hey! I changed my pen name too; I get bored really easily… Which is why my hair is no longer blond, it's red… Yeah, I know, but I remembered now! I'm not Charmed Leo anymore! Don't take five years… Whoops… Sorry…
Karone Evertree: - Chris can wield Excalibur, and I'm not sure if it's a real idea… But the Charmed writers seemed to have forgotten about the Sword, it's just stuffed in the attic and no one has seen it since the end of that episode… HOW CAN YOU FORGET ABOUT A HUGE LUMP OF STONE?! Lol sorry… Yes, Wyatt, get in the damn corner! No, don't blast me, don't! Argh! … Whoops…
Terra fea: - Lol, you like bad Chris, huh? Thanks for reviewing, I am rather proud of my twist, lol, seeing as how it wasn't planned… But oh well…
Chrisoriented: - Wow, thanks so much!
Pheniox-skye: - See, here is more… Just not very quickly, but here is more…
Musicstarlover: - Wyatt… And caring… there's a possibility that he doesn't care, but then again he might… Lol, I'm not too sure… thanks for reviewing, though!
denna5: - I think EVERYONE'S gonna need a whole lot of therapy by the time this is over… Thanks for reviewing.
Aldrea: - Lol, thanks… They could do great things, but with Wyatt at the helm do you think they will? Nah… Thanks for reviewing.
Whyra-carna: - They should team up… Hm, maybe…
Queen of the Elven City: - Thanks! Wyatt has got Chris truly believing that Wyatt is the only one who cares, that's why Chris went with him.
Claddagh Ring: - Oh, no! Don't get jealous! And I have the opposite problem; I only seem to get ideas for Charmed fics… Which really bugs me because I like other genres… I just never write any… I thought chapter nine was my worse chapter so far, but apparently not… Thanks a lot, reviewers like you mean so much to me, you make me feel great.
Dark Fires: - Definitely poor Chris… I like bashing him too much, huh?
Mor Cartel: - Wyatt… compassion… Compassion… Wyatt… Lol, I don't actually know, I shall have to get back to you on that one…
Rando insane person: - I'd like to write the Charmed scripts… No one would accept my writing, but I'd like to right them all the same… Thanks a lot, by the way.
Taynna: - Yup, Wyatt is horribly possessive… And the pregnancy symptoms are cool! Even though I made up the pretty little things and I'm being horribly immodest, but hey… That's just what Wyatt does though… Damn short fuse…
Amila007: - Thanks for reviewing, I liked it a lot.
Caro: - I updated! See! Lol, thanks for reviewing.
Ok… is exhausted so many of you fabulous people reviewed! It makes me fell great! Sorry if I left some of you out, though… I think ff.net might be being screwy… If I left some of you out then I'm really sorry, I love you anyway!
Twisted Flame
"What do you think, Christopher?" Wyatt asked, holding out both arms and revolving slowly on the spot. "What do you think to this place?"
Chris looked up at the high vaulted ceiling that was hidden in shadow and then around at the slightly damp and, in some places, slimy, rocky walls. An air of gloom hovered over the place; the cold appeared to hang in the air, biting at exposed skin. He shivered appropriately.
"It's…" Chris began, not quite knowing what to tell Wyatt. "It's… it's a good place for a throne room…"
"I know that, Chris," Wyatt said impatiently. "That's why I picked it. But what do you think?"
"It's… nice?"
Wyatt snorted with contempt. "Never really were one for words, were you, Chris?" The younger just shrugged, proving Wyatt's point. "It's not just nice, it's prefect… A perfect place to rule from… I could conjure a throne right in the middle…"
Chris turned away from Wyatt, rubbing his arms to try and discourage the Goosebumps. In the dim light, he spotted Excalibur, lying where Wyatt had abandoned it in the dirt. It glinted invitingly, and he took a few steps towards it.
The sword twitched and then slid neatly across the ground, levitating about an inch from the stone floor. Wyatt trapped it under his foot as Chris whirled around looking confused.
"I told you, it's MINE," Wyatt spat, the selfish air coming across in the face twisted with anger. "If you try something like that again, I am really going to have to hurt you, understood?" Chris focused on the part of the sword where the tip of the blade disappeared into a point too fine to see. "Chris?" Wyatt's arm shot out and the telekinetic blast hit his brother in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.
He groaned and rolled over, his eyes screwed shut against the pain. Wyatt was the last and only member of his family that had ever treated him decently, and now this? Now his big brother was flinging him into walls?
"Listen to me, ok?" Wyatt said, extending a hand to help Chris up. "Always listen to me…" He paused, suddenly getting what looked like a brainwave. With a gesture of his free hand Wyatt lifted Chris up the wall, pinning him there.
Chris struggled against the grip, even throwing his own telekinesis as his brother, but the Sword seemed to absorb it, batting it away as if it never existed. Chris quickly gave up struggling, reasoning that Wyatt wasn't hurting him. After all, what did he have to struggle for? What was there to escape to?
"Wyatt, please, put me down," He was ignored, and he watched his brother become mesmerized by the blade, in much the same way as he himself had earlier. Chris suddenly saw a flash of steel and then heard an odd noise as Excalibur plunged deep into his shoulder and into the stone beneath.
Wyatt, not wanting Chris' weight to tear the whole shoulder out, kept him pinned to the spot. Slowly Chris felt the wound begin a dull throb, pulsating and spurting blood forwards with every heartbeat. He tried to move his other hand to probe the wound but the magic holding him was too strong.
The room began to spin and he breathed deeper, trying to ignore the odd roaring and rushing noise in his ears. The sight of himself skewered to the wall was making him feel sick… The blade had sunk clean through his shoulder and straight into the stone beneath…
But then the throbbing started to cease and he felt a burst of power explode from the wound, binding to his blood and creeping into every corner of his body. It danced in his very eyes and tingled at his fingertips. Chris gave a shuddering gasp and closed his eyes, barely feeling the Sword being wrenched free and him dropping to the ground. Wyatt healed the wound and Chris looked around, gazing up at Wyatt.
His black pupils had taken over his eyes completely, devouring the aqua colour whole.
"I don't know what else to try…" Paige whispered, setting the crystal down and burying her face in the crook of her arm. She yawned deeply, her eyelids fluttering closed.
"Hey!" Piper yelled, clapping her hands loudly. Paige jumped awake.
"Yes, ok… So I can't find Chris…"
"Maybe Leo will have had better luck…" Piper mumbled hopefully, not really believing it. "Come on, get up," Piper grabbed Paige's hand and pulled. "We're gonna try Calling a Lost Witch again…"
"Not again, Piper…" Phoebe whined. "You still haven't scraped the wax of the floor from last time…" She continued, motioning to the ring of candles that had guttered and then drowned in liquid wax, spilling candle wax all over the floor that had now hardened in shiny white puddles.
"Come on, Honey…" Paige gently steered Piper to the couch. "Sit down…"
"I'm pregnant, not an invalid," Was the reply, a line Paige now recognized and was very familiar with.
She tactfully steered around it. "If not for you, for Chris… For both Chris's sakes…"
"Huh?"
"If you go into labour now not only might both of them die, but little Chris would get his powers. And if little Chris has his powers, it means that big Chris can't have his… So big Chris would be defenceless against Wyatt…"
"Are you just trying to confuse me enough to make me sit down and think about it?" Piper asked.
"There's that…" Paige said, grinning and almost forcefully sitting Piper on the couch. "Now you sit there until Leo comes back…" Just that moment the Elder decided to orb in. "Damn you, Leo!" Paige said as Piper stood up with a smirk.
"Ha!"
"W-what?"
"Never mind…" Paige groaned, slumping down into the seat that Piper had vacated. She tucked her legs under her and laid her head on the arm of the couch. She closed her eyes again, and was soon breathing deeply. Phoebe, taking advantage of Paige being oblivious to the world, grabbed a cushion and put it on her sister's thigh, resting her head on it.
"Hey, sisters!" Piper yelled, but Leo caught both of her hands before she could clap them together.
"Let them sleep, they're exhausted… They're gonna need all the energy they can get, trust me…" He stepped closer to Piper, getting a closer look at her face.
Last night's makeup was patchy now, the lipstick less perfectly applied, eyelashes glued together with mascara. Foundation was streaked, indicating that she had been crying. But as she stood there in the light, her eyes swollen and puffy, her makeup literally falling off her face she looked beautiful. Six moths of pregnant bump swelled out before her, and she was tired and had purple rings under her eyes, a stark contrast against the pale face. And yet she has never looked so radiant, so alive, with the light making a halo on her hair she looked so…
"Leo!" Piper yelled, snapping him out of it.
"Wha-, huh?"
"I thought you were going to sleep on me as well…"
"No, sorry, Piper…"
"What did you find out?"
Leo strode across the room instead of explaining, kicking out at cardboard boxes and sending them skidding across the floor. "This…"
Piper looked at what he was showing her. The Sword was gone from the stone. She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. Wyatt and herself were the only ones who could pull the Sword, so that meant that Wyatt had taken it. She shook her head and turned away, fear creeping through her for the first time.
"The Elders what? They sensed the Sword?" Piper asked, draining the last of her coffee. She was sitting at the kitchen table opposite Leo, and their hands were wrapped around their separate mugs.
"No, they sensed a great power. Then they realized that the great power was Wyatt wielding the Sword. They'd already felt a minor disturbance, because of the portal that brought Wyatt here… But Wyatt masked it, meaning that They didn't know that he was back in this time…"
Piper grabbed the coffee pot and poured herself some more coffee, wordlessly offering Leo some. Leo, just as mutely, declined the offer with a shake of his head.
"What are we gonna do, Leo?" Piper asked, stirring in sugar and sipping her coffee, looking small and lost.
"We're gonna find them, and-"
"I mean about Wyatt… and about Chris… We have one evil son and one that Wyatt has turned evil…"
Leo reached out a hand and grasped Piper's, letting his thumb caress the top of her hand. "We'll deal with it, Piper. We've dealt with worse…"
"Have we? I don't remember when…"
"Listen Piper, we're going to get them back… We're going to send Wyatt back to the future and then we're gonna try and help Chris, ok?" Piper took her hand away and rubbed them across her eyes. "You're exhausted…" Leo noted, a hint of sympathy creeping into his voice.
Piper shook her head. "No, I was napping on the floor while you were all unconscious… I'm fine, trust me…" She drained her mug, took Leo's and went over to the sink. She ran water and began to wash up.
The pregnant brunette gasped slightly as Leo came up behind her and let his arms encircle her waist, comforting her with his presence. She pressed herself backwards into his reassuring bulk for a while and smiled, before picking a mug out of the sink and putting it on the side to drain.
"I don't know what to do, Leo… everything's out of my control… And that scares me…"
Leo nuzzled into her neck, only half listening and breathing in her scent. Gently he kissed the warm flesh, closing his eyes. He felt Piper stop moving, her abdomen hitch as she drew in a gasp, and then she turned around, pulling his head downwards so their lips could meet long enough for them to share a kiss…
Piper pulled away, her doe eyes horrified. She was a terrible mother, her sons were missing and all she could do was kiss her husband… All she could think about was her own satisfaction and Leo…
She pushed him away and turned back to the sink, her eyes pooling and shimmering under salt tears. She couldn't do this right now, it was hormones… God she was so confused…
"Piper?"
"Leave me alone…"
"Piper…"
"No, Leo, don't. Just… don't, ok? This is all really confusing for me, and having you so near when… when you're going to leave me again... leave us again… Just… it… I can't do it, ok, Leo? I just can't…"
"Ok, I'm sorry Piper…" Leo said, hurt evident in his voice.
"Just… just… yeah…" She fished out the last mug from the suds but her vision was so impaired by tears and her hands were shaking so much that she dropped it. She flicked her hands, intending to freeze it but it blew up, sending ceramic shards skimming across the tiles. "Dammit!" Piper cried, burying her face in her hands. Leo went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, but she turned and blew him up.
"Look, everything is really hard when you're near me, ok? So let's just… let's just do our jobs as parents and then we'll see, ok?" She told the mass of floating orbs before running out of the room in tears.
Chris sat on the floor next to Wyatt's new throne, staring blankly ahead with his latest, Wyatt-induced monochrome stare. Wyatt flicked his hands, causing another demon to appear in the room.
"Chris…" Wyatt prompted gently. Chris' hand shot out and sent an energy ball flying at the demon, incinerating him. "Good…" Wyatt reached down and ruffled Chris' hair, treating him more like an obedient pet than a human, than a brother…
Chris blinked, the old colour appearing in his eyes again for a second, the contact bringing the old Chris to the surface. "Wyatt? What… where?" Suddenly Chris felt a searing pain in the back of his skull and his eyes slid back to black.
"Good Chris…" Wyatt summoned another three demons, moving his brother with his power to the centre of them. "Go on…" Chris lashed out with his hands and within two seconds they were all dead. Wyatt smirked, dragging Chris back to beside his throne.
"Now… One last thing…" Wyatt waved his hand, and a piercing scream filled the air. A teenage girl appeared in the cavern, looking completely petrified.
"What… Who are you people? Where am I?" She looked around at the rocky walls and shivered. Still in her powder blue tank top and pyjama bottoms she trembled slightly, feeling her toes start to go numb. She turned on the spot and revealing a ponytail of dark blond hair that stopped about mid-shoulder. "Who are you?" She asked again, blue eyes shining with tears. "W-where am I?"
"The last place you'll ever see…" Wyatt told her, looking down at Chris. Chris raised his hand, forming an energy ball in his palm.
"Wait, please, stop… I-I-I I don't even know you, why are you trying to kill me? Please, don't… please…" The girl pleaded, letting out a sob. Her breath came in ragged and fearful gasps.
"Chris…" Wyatt said, prompting his brother to kill the mortal. The younger Halliwell seemed to hesitate before throwing the deadly orb in the direction of the screaming teen. She held her hands in front of her face, giving a loud shriek. Suddenly the ball deflected and smashed into the wall, sizzling out and leaving a scorch mark.
"What did you do to me?" Chris demanded, standing up. His arm was still raised from throwing his own energy ball into the wall. "How am I throwing energy balls?"
"Who are you people?" The girl asked again, tearstains tracking down her face. She sunk to her knees and hugged herself. "I want to go home…"
"I know, it's ok…" Chris soothed, taking a step towards her.
"Chris, kill her…"
"No." He said coldly, turning back to Wyatt.
"What?" Wyatt asked in disbelief, refusing to believe that the Sword had failed. "Why not?"
"I am not going to kill an innocent, Wyatt. I will not sink to your level…"
Wyatt cursed himself, realizing that he had forced Chris to progress too fast, allowing Chris' good upbringing to shine through and defeat the Sword's power. Trying to get Chris to kill an innocent had shattered the hold he had had on his brother, snapping Chris out of the evil trance.
"I'm not going to let you kill her," Chris snarled, walking over to the girl and extending an arm to help her from the floor. She didn't take it, just looked up at him fearfully.
"Oh, you'll let me…" Wyatt said tauntingly, conjuring ten light darts and firing them into Chris' back, thudding into the flesh. Chris dropped to the floor, crying out and reaching behind him to wrench the weapons free with a fierce determination, glaring at Wyatt. The light darts disappeared as soon as the last one had been pulled out.
The girl screamed in fear, watching the blood bubble forth from the wounds and wind its way down Chris' back, soaking into his shirt. She began to scramble backwards, screwing her eyes shut and pretending to herself that this wasn't happening, that it wasn't true, that it was just a nightmare…
Chris rolled onto his back, using telekinesis to cast a rock at his brother. Wyatt gestured and the rock crumbled to small pieces, raining harmlessly to the floor in midair between the two men. Wyatt, taking a leaf out of his little brother's book, sent two rocks at Chris.
Chris deflected one of them, sending it crashing to the back of the throne half an inch from Wyatt's head. The blond ducked as he was showered with pieces of rock. But the other stone hit Chris in the jaw, causing some damage.
Chris' head snapped to one side, spraying blood everywhere. He put the back of his hand to his mouth, gingerly testing it for blood. His hand was stained red. He spat out something hard in his mouth, and he realized that it was two teeth. His lip was split and there was the coppery smell of blood, and the metallic tang of it filled his taste buds.
"Bathstud…" Chris slurred, tracing his tongue over the two holes where the teeth used to be.
"Is that anyway to talk to your brother, Chrissy?"
"Don call meh that…"
"Why not? What are you going to do?" Chris gestured and flipped Wyatt over the back of his throne.
"That." Chris spat, glaring hatred at his brother.
"Leave him alone!" The teen screamed, finding a voice and sticking up for Chris.
"Die bitch!" Wyatt yelled, throwing an energy ball. Chris put up his hands, ready to deflect it. But then he realized that Wyatt had been aiming at the teenager and not him… He flicked his hand but all that he moved was a pile of ashes. He shuddered, her dying screams echoing around in his mind.
"I ate yoo, Wyatt…" Chris said, climbing shakily to his feet. Wyatt smirked and made a fist, and Chris felt the sense of dread that he associated with Wyatt trying to choke him. He tried to pry the invisible grip from his throat but failed.
Slowly Wyatt lifted him into the air, and Chris looked down, seeing Excalibur propped up against the throne. He held out a hand and the Sword flew up to him and he gripped the hilt until his knuckles went white. The edges of his vision were going black as he swung the blade, connecting with Wyatt's magic and severing it. He fell to the ground choking.
Wyatt made another fist, this time lashing out at the air and giving a howl of anger. Chris caught the telekinetic blow in his stomach, and it sent him crashing into the wall. His grip on the Sword loosened, and it nearly hit the floor, but at the last minute his fingers curled tighter around the hilt.
Chris rolled immediately, just feeling a glancing blow skim past his side. He winced, scrambling to get to the only cover in the room, the throne. He flung out an arm, but Wyatt held up his hand and the power dissolved.
Chris swore, realizing that he was in no state to win a fight against Wyatt, even with the Sword. He orbed away and Wyatt made a fist again, this time forcing Chris to reappear near the ceiling. The younger Halliwell hit the floor hard, bouncing once before coming to rest. He groaned and turned on his side, his hand reaching out for the Sword.
Wyatt stepped on his fingers, grinding them into the ground and smirking. Chris was a state, blood pouring from both nostrils and his face a bloody pulp. He had a black eye and what looked like a broken jaw. Blood dribbled constantly from in between his lips and the wounds in is back bled freely. Wyatt heard a satisfying crack as a finger broke, relishing Chris crying out with as much voice as he could with broken ribs restricting the volume.
Chris swung his other fist, smashing it hard into Wyatt's kneecap. Wyatt swore and his foot left Chris' hand, and Chris grabbed the Sword and orbed again, somewhat slower than before, behind the throne. He caught his breath, knowing that he didn't have long.
He gripped Excalibur with both hands, standing on wobbly legs and slicing the top point of the throne off. He Tk'd the stone into Wyatt's chest, and the blond fell to the floor. Chris orbed away, urging himself from the cavern before Wyatt could come to his senses.