A/N: Hoped you all liked the last chapter. They always seem so short to me. I've got a lot of inspiration right now, but I'm getting to the end of the episode in about 2 or 3 chapters. I try to keep to the standard time of an episode, so...
Lyrics are Keane's and rhymes are mine...I'm getting better at them.
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Leo was in the living room with Phoebe. They'd already noticed. Richard was gone. Chris was still gone, too.
"I don't know where Chris is but we could really use him now." stated Phoebe, looking around and sitting down on the sofa. She looked a little bit desperate.
"I mean, now with Paige gone, Richard gone and Piper gone. And no chance of finding them back, we could use some support, but I reckon he's still after Paige. And seeing as he's obviously the only one to find her, I suggest we wait."
"Well, I think we shouldn't do nothing in the mean time. We could always scry for Richard and Paige. I'm guessing he's with her right now. And maybe Chris is, too." Leo looked at Phoebe, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"M-OK, I'll go get the scrying crystal, and you, uhm...Don't you have some father-son bond or something that you can track him with?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course!" Leo got up so sudden that Phoebe winced and moved uncomfortably on the sofa.
"Hey! Easy! I know you're enthusiastic about finally getting things back on track, but you need to take it slow, OK?"
"Yes, well, I'd better then, should I?" He gave her a tiny smile, from which she derived that he was still hooked on getting Chris back and that he loved him. Then he orbed out and she wondered where he'd gone. She sighed and got up, settling in her fate to scry for Richard and Paige.
"Now where did I leave that ring again?" she said to herself.
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Leo was on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. He could feel the wind rippling his hair and he felt far from all the earthly troubles. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. He focused on Chris and his face fell for a minute, but he recovered and remained focused.
Two minutes later he had to admit that even though he was still incredibly focused, he wasn't succeeding.
"Damn it!" he exclaimed, but there was nobody there to listen to him. These were the times he needed Piper back most of all, but she wasn't here. Her face appeared in front of him and suddenly it dawned on him where Chris was.
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Meanwhile, Chris was in 'his' room at P3. He was scanning the room for things he didn't want to leave behind. Apparently he couldn't find anything else than the small pile already lying on the desk behind him, because he turned around and put a hand in his pocket. When he extracted his hand out of it, a puzzled look appeared on his face, followed by an annoyed one.
"Way to go, Chris. Now you're going to have to go to the Manor to get the spell." He sighed deeply and turned around, not seeing the manlike form melted into the wall.
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Everything at the Manor was in deep commotion. Phoebe felt like heaven and earth had just come down on her. Richard, Paige and Leo had come orbing into the attic at exactly the same time and Piper, whom she had taken upstairs, had screamed out loud. And, to top it all, somebody had rang the doorbell downstairs.
"Phoebe!" Paige exclaimed. "Before you do anything, listen to me. And you too, Leo. Richard is innocent, OK? Somebody got to him, but we don't know who yet. He didn't take out Phoebe, it was some girl in the room and she choked him, too. He's back to normal now, OK?"
"Yeah, fine. Doorbell!" Phoebe said and she ran down the stairs.
Leo hadn't reacted at all, but had knelt next to Piper the moment he came orbing in.
"It's all gonna be fine, you hear me, Piper? We're going to get Chris back and you, too. I've got a plan, I guess?" he muttered, more to himself than to Piper or anyone else.
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Phoebe was running downstairs. The unknown stranger outside rang the doorbell again.
"Coming!" she yelled and jumped the last three steps. She rushed to the door and pulled it open. She was slightly taken aback by seeing Jason there.
Next moment, she kissed him passionately and they stood kissing for about half a minute, before she pulled her head back.
"I'm sorry, now's not really a good time. Can you come back tomorrow, please? Demon business, you know." She smiled nervously at him, awaiting his reaction.
"Um, OK. Can't I help? With anything? Make coffee for after you guys are done?" He said, looking as if he really wanted to help. It broke Phoebe's heart and she couldn't bear to say no, when she had just seen that love was the most important for the Charmed Ones.
"Come in. I'll explain on the way upstairs."
He stepped through the door and seemed so extremely into place in that doorway, that Phoebe sighed and kissed him on the cheek swiftly.
"Fire away", he said, grinning.
"Well, it's not really a demon thing..." she began.
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Back upstairs, Leo, Richard and Paige were waiting for Phoebe to return. When she entered the attic and Jason came after her, they all looked surprised, but they decided not to say anything.
"Hi, Jason", said Paige, "'d Love to have a reunion, but there are more urgent things right now. We need Piper back", she said, motioning to Piper in the chair, "and Leo thinks Chris is trying to go back to the future. No time to explain now", she headed Jason off, before he could ask about the future.
Leo eyed Jason and obviously decided he could be trusted. "OK, everybody listen. Including you, Jason. He might be a witch, but I think we're going to need power more in this matter than witchcraft. I saw him in P3, collecting his stuff. He was going on about some spell that he needed and he was looking for it, but he couldn't find it. He said to himself that he'd need to go here. If I can bring up a shield so he can't sense us, he might orb here to find The Book. And seeing as he used a spell to travel in time..."
"How do you know that?" asked Paige, eyeing Leo with a sudden suspicion.
"Saw the piece of paper in his hand when he returned from the future, but does it matter? I know for sure he'll come here to get the spell and Í don't want him gone. Not before I'm done with him anyway. Now, if you all agree with me, we need to make a plan." He said in a defiant tone, as if daring anyone to object.
"No, I think we all agree", said Paige slowly, "I'm just thinking about Piper, too. Obviously we need some stronger magic than ours. So I'm thinking, what about Grams? Can't she come and help? She's helped us out before and she won't hesitate to hurt Chris in stopping him, that's for sure..."
"No", said Leo, slow and thoughtful, "I think we need someone more powerful. This is not just something you can leave to Grams. She's too involved, she might not understand that we want Chris to stay. I can just see her hurting Chris a little too much. I'm thinking more like..." He paused as if to make sure everyone was listening, "More like...Melinda Warren. She's the mother of all Halliwels and has all our interests at heart. Well, maybe not mine, but yours. Piper's, Phoebe's, Paige's and Chris'. And I don't care, I only want what's best for you all."
"Spoken like a true guardian angel, Leo!" said Phoebe. "That means we agree." She added hastily as he raised one eyebrow.
"Yeah, OK. That brings me to my next point. There is this girl. A guardian angel, as Chris likes to think of her. She's dangerous. She killed some Elders Up There, and that takes a powerful person. She knocked out Phoebe and choked Richard. Whatever evil she's got inside her, she can hide it. That's why Chris thinks she protects him. He can't sense her evil. I want her taken out, that's why we need Chris here, too. She wears jeans and a white tank top. Honey-colour hair and brown eyes. We're gonna get into trouble with Chris if she gets here when he's here. I think he fancies her, but I'm not sure."
"So, what are you saying?" asked Phoebe. "We summon Melinda and wait for Chris and his guardian girl to get her?"
"No", said Leo, "I shield us and we wait for Chris to come for The Book. There are three men, so we can easily hold him, while you two summon Melinda. Everybody OK with that?"
They all said "YES" in unison and gathered round Leo. He brought up his shield around them and they waited, invisible to anyone coming in.
Suddenly Paige screamed: "Wait! Don't we need crystals for a cage or something?" Her voice sounded muffled from behind the shield.
But it was too late to do something about it. Chris orbed into the room, looking around in suspicion. He had something bad-boyish about him as he was standing there in his red shirt. He looked guilty as charged, before he had been charged. He started to draw a triquetra on the wall, just like the one Bianca had made a long time ago. When he finished, he turned around and flicked the book open. He flicked the pages telekinetically.
"Shoot, it's not here!" he exclaimed.
"I call to me
the spell for time travel
so I can be free
and return to the devil
free me from this place
from the things I've done here
I want to travel in space
let me go from those I hold so dear"
He looked utterly desperate at those last words, but nevertheless he looked down upon The Book and was content to see that the spell was there. He began to chant the rhyme to travel in time.
"Hear these words, hear the rhyme
heed the hope within my mind
send me forward to -
He was going to say "What I'll find", but at that moment the three men dived at him.
"What the-"He had barely time to say something before they pushed him against the floor. A wild fight formed in which the girls heard Chris yelling.
"OY, autch- Let go of ME!"
They stood there for a brief moment, then remembered they had to summon Melinda. Paige grabbed the candles and lit them. She placed them in a circle.
"We call forward from time and space
a witch from the Halliwel line
called by thy blood and face
Melinda Warren come to us
mother and head of our line
we summon thee
come and make everything fine
we summon thee
we summon thee
we summon thee
we summon thee"
While they chanted, the forms of a beautiful, wise-looking old lady formed inside the circle. She kept solidifying until the girls finished their chanting. Then she smiled and looked at them.
"Hello, my daughters. What is the matter?"
In the background, Chris was still struggling with the three men and more than once a curse arose from the pile. Finally, the men calmed and cleared out of Chris' sight. They were still holding him and trying hard not to let go. Chris was struggling wildly and he had look of intense anger on his face. Flames seemed to shoot out of his eyes as he talked.
"You can try what you want, but you're never going to get me to stay." He spit at the floor, but Melinda seemed not at all impressed at his outburst.
"Hello, my son." she said to him, and then to the men: "You can let go. I am powerful enough to keep him here."
The men let go and Chris got up. He shot Melinda a very filthy look before orbing out. Or at least, trying to orb out. As the swirl of blue and white lights reached the ceiling he hit the ceiling too and became solid again. He fell hard on the floor and remained there.
"Did I not say I was powerful enough to keep you here, my son?" she said, with a patient smile on her face.
"I'm not your son!"Chris said, while getting up and straightening his shirt. "I am nobody's son!"
Leo looked at Chris as if his world had just fallen. And that was how he felt...
A house on fire
A wall of stone
A door that once was opened
An empty face and empty bones
Who ate your heart?
You're cold inside
You're not the one I hoped for
I'll see you on the other side
The wind wouldn't blow me home
To lie in your heart of hearts
Will I ever see you again
And lie in your heart of hearts
I'll see you on the other side
When you come home
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TBC
A/N: And I don't want to hear anybody say I'm not good at cliff hangers. =P. Thnx everybody for the reviews btw...They help me.