A Look into the Future—Chapter 15
Disclaimer: Do you THINK I own Charmed!? Didn't think so.
A/N—Erk!! Sorry for the lack of clarification—PRUE turned into dust, not Bianca!! That would take this fic from slightly AU to totally impossible!
((()))
"PRUE!" Bianca shrieked, running over to the ashes that were now all that was left of her cousin. "No...NO...Prue, you can't be dead..."
The demons grinned and shimmered away. "We'll be back before long," the second hissed.
Chris fell to his knees beside Bianca and Prue, burying his head in his hands and muffling his cries of anguish. "This wasn't supposed to happen...Prue and mom and the aunts...they're dead, it's all our fault...We could've used the plan earlier...stopped Wyatt before...before..." He turned away.
"It wouldn't have worked," Bianca choked through her tears. "MEL, COLIN! COME BACK!"
"We're right here," Mel wept, "we saw everything."
The four of them all huddled together in their sorrow, holding each other close. The thunder rumbled outside but nobody seemed to notice. Present Piper and Leo were accompanied by Phoebe and Paige, and Phoebe started sobbing as well once she saw her future daughter dead.
"I told her everything would be alright...I told her that, I lied..." Bianca said softly.
"It wasn't your fault, Bianca," Colin assured her softly.
"Where are we going to go? What are we gonna do?" asked Mel.
"We still have Jason and Richard..." Chris suggested. He closed his eyes, trying to sense for them, but came up with nothing. He frowned and tried again, but when he opened his eyes they were wet with tears. "They're gone..."
His announcement was only met by louder sobs from the twins, knowing that their father was dead as well as their mother. Once the tears had died down and the acceptance of the many deaths in that day had rubbed in, they settled onto the couches and cried themselves to sleep.
"It wasn't just my death Chris was avoiding, it was all of theirs," Piper realized, watching them sleep. "That was horrible, no kid should have to go through that."
"At least we know that Chris and Bianca will live," Phoebe said gently. The four of them curled up in the office to sleep when they heard an orb.
"It happened, didn't it?" asked Brian, looking at the four remaining children. "They told me ahead of time after you guys changed everything. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, little Prue, Richard, and Jason were all meant to die today. I'm...sorry you had to watch that." He sighed in remorse. "I'll be back in the morning, but not for you."
"Wait—" Piper wanted to show Brian the still shaking, pale Chris but decided against it, knowing that it might change the future again. She let him orb away before she turned to her sisters. "Chris is sick, I can tell. Look at him."
"There's nothing we can do," Leo tried to reason, even though it was evident on his face that he was worried as well. "Just go to sleep, Piper."
((()))
Piper woke first from the sun that was coming in through the skylight. She looked at the kids; Bianca was contently sleeping on Chris' shoulder on the couch and the twins were huddled onto the big chair next to them. 'At least they can forget in their sleep,' thought Piper to herself as she watched them.
But she jinxed it by thinking that since Bianca stirred and opened her eyes. Once she realized that she was leaning on Chris she blushed madly and pulled back from him.
"Chris, wake up." She shook him until he groggily opened his eyes.
He looked around, confused for a moment, then his face went blank. "Wake up the twins, we have to form another plan. Wyatt's too strong," he said, looking defeated. He shivered involuntarily and looked over at the twins, breathing a sigh of relief once he knew they were okay.
"Mel, Col, get up," said Bianca. Once they opened their eyes, she turned to Chris. "I don't think we should try, at least not right now. We just lost them all, Chris, we need a little time to be alone..."
"And the more time that we take, the more innocents are sacrificed," he said harshly. His face softened. "I don't mean to be unfeeling, I miss them too—but I don't want to lose you guys because we were too late to take a stand."
Bianca nodded and stood. "Let's eat first, then; I'll go to the manor and grab some cereal or something. And I'll go up to the attic to find the spells and potions and all that stuff. I'll be right back—you stay here with them, you can protect them better than I will."
"Hey, Bianca, can you get that spell book of mine in the bedside table?"
"Sure," she answered.
"Thanks, and...promise me you'll be careful," he whispered.
"You too." She shimmered away.
"Bianca's coming back, right?" Mel sniffled, watching the spot she had just left expectantly. She didn't get a response. "Right?"
"Of course," Chris replied shiftily. "Why wouldn't she?"
Piper took the moment of pause to her advantage and roused her sisters and husband from their slumber. "The kids are awake," she informed them. "Bianca just left to go and get them all some supplies that they need, I think they're planning to stay here for a while...which makes sense, since there's no one to own the club anymore," she added, slightly sarcastically in her acceptance of her death.
"Piper, the Angel of Death never really did collect your soul, you can be saved..." Leo repeated, giving her a good morning kiss. "Sleep well?"
"No. And neither did Chris, as I can see..." She indicated the dark circles under the young boy's eyes as he looked after his two younger cousins. Something about him seemed weathered, as if that entire night had sucked the life out of him. He coughed loudly but managed to suppress it before Mel and Colin turned around.
"Got the cereal," said Bianca, announcing her presence after she shimmered in. "Here you guys go...There should be some bowls and spoons in the back kitchen if you need them..." She walked over to Chris and handed him the notebook. "Do what you have to do. I'll keep them busy back there, but hurry."
Chris nodded as Bianca directed the twins into the back kitchen. He sighed and flipped the notebook a few pages, stopping when he found the right spell.
"What's he doing?" asked future Leo.
"That's his spell book," Paige explained quickly, "like his own mini Book of Shadows. When we changed time, he had developed a spell to change your future self—but Brian had to change it back, so it didn't really do much good..." She gave up once Leo, clearly not understanding, gave her a bewildered stare. "It's complicated."
"I figured," he responded.
Chris took in a deep breath and crossed his fingers, gripping the book tightly in his shaking hands. "LEO!" he screamed. "COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME!"
"What's he doing?" present Leo screamed. "Is he NUTS? You all saw what has happened—calling him—erm, me—is like suicide!"
"He knows what he's doing," Phoebe reassured him.
"LEO! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" When that didn't work, Chris changed the angle of his bait and began taunting the elder. "AREN'T YOU ANGRY THAT I'VE BEEN POSING AS YOUR SON? DON'T YOU WANT TO GET BACK AT ME FOR KILLING YOUR EX-WIFE!?"
Future Leo orbed down in an instant, maniacally growling, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
Chris gulped. "I really, really hope this works..." He stepped forward, shouting the words as quickly as possible before Leo could muster up an attack.
"Take away the blind one's mask,
Make the father remember his task,
Bring back memories from long ago,
So he will understand friend from foe."
"It's just like before," said past Piper, "he's remembering, look!"
She was right—just like before, the irrationalized anger in Leo's eyes was transferred to a confused look. He gawked at his surroundings, asking, "Where am I? How did I get here?" When he saw Chris, something seemed to hit. "The spell...Buddy, I'm so sorry..." he apologized, walking over to Chris. He tried to give him a hug but Chris flinched and jumped back.
"I guess I deserved that," he admitted. "It was Wyatt's spell, Chris—"
"I know," said Chris coldly.
"I couldn't control anything...when I was around you. You can't begin to imagine how sorry I am for what I put you through, Chris, but I didn't mean it—any of it. You're my son, I love you just as much as I do Wyatt..."
"But Wyatt's evil, he killed mom!"
"I know that. I'm sorry...you had to see that. You look...so much like her, Chris. You're determination...You really are Piper's son. I was never there for you, was I? What kind of a father..." He hung his head low and orbed away.
"WAIT—" Chris was too late; Leo was gone. He sunk onto the couch. "We need your help..." He fell into another coughing fit that lasted a good minute before he stood back up.
A shriek erupted from inside the kitchen and Chris leapt up in fright, rapid accelerating into there. Leo and Paige orbed the four of them, too, to see what was going on. Fortunately, though, it wasn't a demon.
"Hi guys," said Brian hesitantly. Two toddlers clung to his legs. "Meet my other charges...Uh, I'm a whitelighter."
Mel screamed again and jumped back, causing the toddlers to whimper.
"But you're a swim coach!" Bianca objected.
"No, he's the day care man," corrected the first toddler indignantly, stamping his foot down.
"Er...this is gonna take some explaining."
((()))
Okay, not much of a cliffie...but it's gonna be strange...MWAHAH!! Thanks for all the nice reviews, I appreciate it!
Disclaimer: Do you THINK I own Charmed!? Didn't think so.
A/N—Erk!! Sorry for the lack of clarification—PRUE turned into dust, not Bianca!! That would take this fic from slightly AU to totally impossible!
((()))
"PRUE!" Bianca shrieked, running over to the ashes that were now all that was left of her cousin. "No...NO...Prue, you can't be dead..."
The demons grinned and shimmered away. "We'll be back before long," the second hissed.
Chris fell to his knees beside Bianca and Prue, burying his head in his hands and muffling his cries of anguish. "This wasn't supposed to happen...Prue and mom and the aunts...they're dead, it's all our fault...We could've used the plan earlier...stopped Wyatt before...before..." He turned away.
"It wouldn't have worked," Bianca choked through her tears. "MEL, COLIN! COME BACK!"
"We're right here," Mel wept, "we saw everything."
The four of them all huddled together in their sorrow, holding each other close. The thunder rumbled outside but nobody seemed to notice. Present Piper and Leo were accompanied by Phoebe and Paige, and Phoebe started sobbing as well once she saw her future daughter dead.
"I told her everything would be alright...I told her that, I lied..." Bianca said softly.
"It wasn't your fault, Bianca," Colin assured her softly.
"Where are we going to go? What are we gonna do?" asked Mel.
"We still have Jason and Richard..." Chris suggested. He closed his eyes, trying to sense for them, but came up with nothing. He frowned and tried again, but when he opened his eyes they were wet with tears. "They're gone..."
His announcement was only met by louder sobs from the twins, knowing that their father was dead as well as their mother. Once the tears had died down and the acceptance of the many deaths in that day had rubbed in, they settled onto the couches and cried themselves to sleep.
"It wasn't just my death Chris was avoiding, it was all of theirs," Piper realized, watching them sleep. "That was horrible, no kid should have to go through that."
"At least we know that Chris and Bianca will live," Phoebe said gently. The four of them curled up in the office to sleep when they heard an orb.
"It happened, didn't it?" asked Brian, looking at the four remaining children. "They told me ahead of time after you guys changed everything. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, little Prue, Richard, and Jason were all meant to die today. I'm...sorry you had to watch that." He sighed in remorse. "I'll be back in the morning, but not for you."
"Wait—" Piper wanted to show Brian the still shaking, pale Chris but decided against it, knowing that it might change the future again. She let him orb away before she turned to her sisters. "Chris is sick, I can tell. Look at him."
"There's nothing we can do," Leo tried to reason, even though it was evident on his face that he was worried as well. "Just go to sleep, Piper."
((()))
Piper woke first from the sun that was coming in through the skylight. She looked at the kids; Bianca was contently sleeping on Chris' shoulder on the couch and the twins were huddled onto the big chair next to them. 'At least they can forget in their sleep,' thought Piper to herself as she watched them.
But she jinxed it by thinking that since Bianca stirred and opened her eyes. Once she realized that she was leaning on Chris she blushed madly and pulled back from him.
"Chris, wake up." She shook him until he groggily opened his eyes.
He looked around, confused for a moment, then his face went blank. "Wake up the twins, we have to form another plan. Wyatt's too strong," he said, looking defeated. He shivered involuntarily and looked over at the twins, breathing a sigh of relief once he knew they were okay.
"Mel, Col, get up," said Bianca. Once they opened their eyes, she turned to Chris. "I don't think we should try, at least not right now. We just lost them all, Chris, we need a little time to be alone..."
"And the more time that we take, the more innocents are sacrificed," he said harshly. His face softened. "I don't mean to be unfeeling, I miss them too—but I don't want to lose you guys because we were too late to take a stand."
Bianca nodded and stood. "Let's eat first, then; I'll go to the manor and grab some cereal or something. And I'll go up to the attic to find the spells and potions and all that stuff. I'll be right back—you stay here with them, you can protect them better than I will."
"Hey, Bianca, can you get that spell book of mine in the bedside table?"
"Sure," she answered.
"Thanks, and...promise me you'll be careful," he whispered.
"You too." She shimmered away.
"Bianca's coming back, right?" Mel sniffled, watching the spot she had just left expectantly. She didn't get a response. "Right?"
"Of course," Chris replied shiftily. "Why wouldn't she?"
Piper took the moment of pause to her advantage and roused her sisters and husband from their slumber. "The kids are awake," she informed them. "Bianca just left to go and get them all some supplies that they need, I think they're planning to stay here for a while...which makes sense, since there's no one to own the club anymore," she added, slightly sarcastically in her acceptance of her death.
"Piper, the Angel of Death never really did collect your soul, you can be saved..." Leo repeated, giving her a good morning kiss. "Sleep well?"
"No. And neither did Chris, as I can see..." She indicated the dark circles under the young boy's eyes as he looked after his two younger cousins. Something about him seemed weathered, as if that entire night had sucked the life out of him. He coughed loudly but managed to suppress it before Mel and Colin turned around.
"Got the cereal," said Bianca, announcing her presence after she shimmered in. "Here you guys go...There should be some bowls and spoons in the back kitchen if you need them..." She walked over to Chris and handed him the notebook. "Do what you have to do. I'll keep them busy back there, but hurry."
Chris nodded as Bianca directed the twins into the back kitchen. He sighed and flipped the notebook a few pages, stopping when he found the right spell.
"What's he doing?" asked future Leo.
"That's his spell book," Paige explained quickly, "like his own mini Book of Shadows. When we changed time, he had developed a spell to change your future self—but Brian had to change it back, so it didn't really do much good..." She gave up once Leo, clearly not understanding, gave her a bewildered stare. "It's complicated."
"I figured," he responded.
Chris took in a deep breath and crossed his fingers, gripping the book tightly in his shaking hands. "LEO!" he screamed. "COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME!"
"What's he doing?" present Leo screamed. "Is he NUTS? You all saw what has happened—calling him—erm, me—is like suicide!"
"He knows what he's doing," Phoebe reassured him.
"LEO! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" When that didn't work, Chris changed the angle of his bait and began taunting the elder. "AREN'T YOU ANGRY THAT I'VE BEEN POSING AS YOUR SON? DON'T YOU WANT TO GET BACK AT ME FOR KILLING YOUR EX-WIFE!?"
Future Leo orbed down in an instant, maniacally growling, "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
Chris gulped. "I really, really hope this works..." He stepped forward, shouting the words as quickly as possible before Leo could muster up an attack.
"Take away the blind one's mask,
Make the father remember his task,
Bring back memories from long ago,
So he will understand friend from foe."
"It's just like before," said past Piper, "he's remembering, look!"
She was right—just like before, the irrationalized anger in Leo's eyes was transferred to a confused look. He gawked at his surroundings, asking, "Where am I? How did I get here?" When he saw Chris, something seemed to hit. "The spell...Buddy, I'm so sorry..." he apologized, walking over to Chris. He tried to give him a hug but Chris flinched and jumped back.
"I guess I deserved that," he admitted. "It was Wyatt's spell, Chris—"
"I know," said Chris coldly.
"I couldn't control anything...when I was around you. You can't begin to imagine how sorry I am for what I put you through, Chris, but I didn't mean it—any of it. You're my son, I love you just as much as I do Wyatt..."
"But Wyatt's evil, he killed mom!"
"I know that. I'm sorry...you had to see that. You look...so much like her, Chris. You're determination...You really are Piper's son. I was never there for you, was I? What kind of a father..." He hung his head low and orbed away.
"WAIT—" Chris was too late; Leo was gone. He sunk onto the couch. "We need your help..." He fell into another coughing fit that lasted a good minute before he stood back up.
A shriek erupted from inside the kitchen and Chris leapt up in fright, rapid accelerating into there. Leo and Paige orbed the four of them, too, to see what was going on. Fortunately, though, it wasn't a demon.
"Hi guys," said Brian hesitantly. Two toddlers clung to his legs. "Meet my other charges...Uh, I'm a whitelighter."
Mel screamed again and jumped back, causing the toddlers to whimper.
"But you're a swim coach!" Bianca objected.
"No, he's the day care man," corrected the first toddler indignantly, stamping his foot down.
"Er...this is gonna take some explaining."
((()))
Okay, not much of a cliffie...but it's gonna be strange...MWAHAH!! Thanks for all the nice reviews, I appreciate it!