The next morning, Chris awoke with a start. He frantically looked around at his surroundings; he was in a strange bed in a room he had never seen before. He glanced down at the night stand on his right and a familiar picture frame caught his eye.
The picture frame he had given Leo…
This must be his father's room, he realized suddenly. Leo must have brought him here after he had fallen asleep last night.
Last night…
Bianca.
The horrible images came flooding back and it took every ounce of strength he possessed not to break down.
Wyatt had gone too far this time. He had taken away the person that mattered most…
He felt ill and weak and his eyes still stung from the endless sobs that had overwhelmed him in the library.
Everything after Bianca had been taken was sort of a blur. He could vaguely remember the pain of the fire ball…and then arriving in magic school. And Leo…Leo had healed him…and held him like a child, as he cried for his lost love. Chris suddenly felt very foolish; he should not have lost control like that, he should have been strong- worked on a way to get her back…
Instead, he had cried to his father on the floor of the library. Cried until his worn body forced him into a restless sleep…
He would not allow himself to behave that way today.
Today he would get her back.
Not wanting to waste another moment, Chris threw off the covers and brusquely opened the door. He would go to the library...scry for Wyatt…and then blast him until every
last particle had dissolved into nothingness.
His brother would pay for what he had done.
Chris took only one step away from the room, however, when he noticed a figure slumped beside the doorway.
"Dad?" he said, tentatively giving the man a shake.
Leo looked up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as he attempted to smile at his son.
"Good morning." He said somewhat groggily as he got to his feet.
Chris stared at him in confusion, momentarily forgetting about his plan to obliterate Wyatt. "Did you sleep in the hallway?" he asked.
"Yes…" Leo replied with a slow nod. "I wanted to make sure that you were going to be okay…" he trailed off and looked at Chris sympathetically. "You were tossing and turning rather badly and you even orbed back to the library at one point."
Chris felt himself blush slightly. He hadn't sleep-orbed since he had been seven.
"I knew that if I sat outside the door I could sense if you were okay or not." Leo finished. "I didn't mean to-"
"Thanks Dad." Chris cut in with a sigh. "I'm glad you were here…but it must have been horrible sleeping in the hall."
Leo smiled widely for a second at his son's approval and then, remembering what had happened to cause Chris' restless night, quickly turned his expression sombre. "It was fine." He assured. "I'm dead; I don't need that much sleep in the first place…"
Chris nodded a few times before turning around and continuing his trek down the hall way.
Wyatt. Get Wyatt. Save Bianca. His head screamed again.
"Chris?" his father called from behind him. "What are you doing?"
"Getting her back." He replied without turning around.
Leo took off after his son and stopped him with a firm grip on his shoulder. He could see the determination in Chris' eyes and it broke his heart to think about all that he was going though.
He could remember all the times that Piper had been taken by one creature or another…it had killed him to know that his beloved wife was out there somewhere…suffering at the hands of evil…
And it was even worse for Chris…this time, the evil that had taken Bianca…the evil that was undoubtedly causing her pain…was his own brother.
"Chris," He began, his eyes pleading. "I know that this must be terrible for you, but you know that you can't take on Wyatt. You've tried, remember? Please don't do something you're going to regret."
Chris' eyes narrowed as his head snapped around to face his father. "You're just saying that because you hate her." He retorted. "You don't want her to be saved."
The boy attempted to orb away but Leo quickly forced him back to the ground.
"That's not true, Chris." He insisted, his voice full of honesty. "I'm sorry for what I have said…I know that she makes you happy, and all I want is for you to be happy…" he paused as he fought back the lump forming in his throat. "Please Chris, you have to listen to me. If you charge in there now he will kill you…the only way to save her…to save you both…is to go ahead with the plan. We need you here; you have to lead your group into battle so that you can rescue everyone that Wyatt has taken…rescue Bianca."
Chris felt his knees grow week as he slowly processed everything that his father said.
He didn't want to wait.
He wanted to barge in there right now.
Wyatt. Kill Wyatt. Save Bianca….
But Leo's heartfelt words had created a seed of doubt inside of him. He couldn't take Wyatt alone…he had proven that before. If they carried out the plan- infiltrating Wyatt's base when it was unoccupied by the biggest threats- then there would be a chance…
As much as he hated o admit it, that was the only possible way.
"Yes…" he choked out suddenly. "We follow the plan."
Leo gave him a reassuring smile. "Good. Let's go finish up with the potions…it will help take your mind off things."
Chris nodded, still not entirely convinced that he was doing the right thing…maybe if he waited, it would be too late…
No.
If she was hurt- if the baby was hurt- he would be able to feel it. She was after all, still technically one of his charges…
So far, she was fine. And he would know as soon as she wasn't.
For now, he would continue as planned, pouring every once of himself into making this mission a success.
Counting down the days until he would see her beautiful face again…
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Down in a small alcove of the underworld, Bianca defiantly turned her head away from the demon. She had not slept since she had arrived, but rather sat in complete silence as Barbas used his power to sort through her deepest fears.
As soon as she had regained full consciousness she had discovered that any attempts at a magical escape only resulted in more pain.
There was no way out.
She was trapped.
A single candle cast an eerie glow on the stone wall and centuries of dust coated almost every surface. There was just one roughly carved chair, upon which she had been uncomfortably chained. She was finding it harder and harder to focus her vision as the hours dragged by. She had no idea how long it had been…twelve hours perhaps?
It felt like an eternity.
She yearned to see Chris…to be held in his comforting arms…but she wasn't sure if she would ever see him again…she wasn't even sure if he had lived through Elizabeth's attack…
"Well well well." Barbas said in his slow drawl. "It seems that you, my dear, have a great many fears just waiting to be surfaced." He paused and circled her chair for dramatic effect- he had learned long ago that the delivery was just as important as the words themselves. "Yes. I think our time together is going to be quite enjoyable, don't you agree?
Bianca said nothing, and continued to keep her head turned as far from him as she could.
The demon had not said more than a few words in the past several hours- it seemed as if he was taking his time reading her- making sure that what he showed would be just right. Although she fought with all of her might not to show it, Bianca was already terrified. She did not need the demon of fear to tell her that she harboured a great deal of inner turmoil; she had been conflicted about many aspects of her life for as far back as she could remember and she had always worked so hard to keep her fears repressed.
Bianca had never encountered this demon before, but from what she had heard, she knew that a few hours was all that he would need to send her hurling over the edge.
"Maybe" Barbas continued. "We should start will some of the less prominent fears…you know, work our way up to the really, really, big issue here."
He leaned towards her and she cringed as she felt his warm sour breath against her neck. "- and I think we both already know what that issue would be…" he whispered, a slow smirk spreading across his pale face. The demon drew back slightly and made a small hand gesture- turning his palm towards his face as if to read something off of it.
"Oh yes…this is a good one." He muttered, looking up towards her; locking his cold grey eyes with her warm brown. "You fear that one day your sweetheart is going to leave you…poor Bianca, left all alone…"
She tried to turn away from him again but she was unable to fight the hypnotic force that drew her too him. He was reeling her in…his words filled her body with a cold fear and her mind could not help but dwell on what he had said…
What if Chris did leave her one day?
Would she be able to carry on…?
A flash of light blinded her momentarily and she felt a strange force pulling her to her feet.
She was no longer in the small cave but rather back in her apartment. Something was different though…it was almost as if a thin curtain had been placed across her eyes, obscuring the scene and making her feel like an outsider. An observer.
She watched as both she and Chris walked into the room and she was suddenly very aware that this was only a vision…she wasn't back home…and this hadn't happened
…yet.
"I just talked to Leo." Chris said, his tone lacking all of the warmth that she had come accustomed to. He was dressed strangely in white and gold robes unlike anything she had ever seen. "Now that Wyatt has been defeated" He continued. "We both agree that it is important to rebuild what was destroyed 'up there'. We have quite a few new whitelighters who need to be trained and we're working on recruiting even more."
"That's great." The other Bianca said, stepping forward to give Chris a hug.
But he pulled away from her grasp- looking annoyed and…repulsed.
"I won't be staying here any longer." He stated, giving her a steely gaze. "My father has asked me to join the council of elders and I have agreed. That is my true destiny, Bianca, I was never meant to be here with you…we're too different. We were foolish to think that this could ever work."
The other Bianca fell to her knees, sobbing as she clung to the hem of his robes. "No…"she choked "…you can't"
"I am sorry." Chris replied, not sounding sorry at all. "But you've always know that this would happen Bianca…you said it when we first met…good and evil are never meant to be." And with that he dissolved into a cloud of blue…
Bianca felt her heart crumble as she watched Chris orb away to the heavens…to where he belonged. She saw herself collapse onto the floor like a lowly beast…mourning for the one shred of hope in her life that had now left her forever…
A sickening tug jerked her back into reality…back to the cave.
Back to the darkness.
Barbas shook his head in mock sympathy as he watched a few tears stray down her face. "Poor Bianca…" he whispered in her ear. "All alone…she doesn't deserve to be loved…especially not by the son of a charmed one and an elder….oh no, he was never meant to be with her…"
She drew in a shaky breath. "That will never happen." She hissed. "All you do is create lies…"
"I create nothing- I simply show you what is already there- building inside of you. You are the one that fears it, Bianca. You fear that one day he will realize what a horrible being you really are…realize that every moment he spends with you is a waste."
"No!" Bianca shouted, refusing to succumb to the tears burning in her eyes. "He loves me, I know he does."
Barbas gave a slow chuckle. "He may be infatuated with you …but those feelings will soon fade. He will never truly love you. How can he? You're a monster; you hunger for your next kill…"
The light flashed before her once again and she found herself in a dark alley way, surrounded by almost twenty people. Without even thinking about it she threw herself at the closest one, plunging a knife into his gut.
Once the first had crumpled to the ground she moved on to the next victim- pelting him with fire balls until he was nothing but ash.
Again and again she stabbed. Fire balls erupted from her hands- flying in all directions around the alley.
Screams filled her ears and warm blood splashed across her body.
She hardly noticed.
Finally the last was gone and she stood alone.
Fulfilled.
She had forgotten how satisfying a successful mission could be.
"Bianca." A soft voice called from behind her, breaking her away from her thoughts. The girl turned around to see that Chris had joined her.
He stood in the darkest corner, enveloped in a golden ray of light, his beautiful green eyes red with tears. "How could you?" he asked his voice barely above a whisper. "How could you kill all of those innocents?"
Bianca looked down at her bloody hands which were now shaking uncontrollably. She had killed so many…without even a second thought.
It had been instinct.
She truly was a monster…
"So you see- you are a terrible person...no one can ever really love you." Barbas' words brought her back to the cave and filled her with a darkness unlike any she had felt before. "Especially not him. Angels don't love those who have fallen to hell…those who are filled with a thirst for blood. You were born among the damned, Bianca…that is were you belong…"
Bianca cold not hold back any longer. She allowed her sobs overrun her she shook in a combination of grief and terror.
She was afraid that Chris would leave her…
She was afraid of being alone…
And most of all, she was afraid of herself…
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The sound of sobs from the neighbouring room told Wyatt that his plan to break Bianca was going as planned. Barbas had spent a great deal of time reading her and he had now moved on to showing her the fears that would best achieve what they had discussed.
Wyatt knew that for his plan to work, every thing would have to be timed just right. Luckily, Elizabeth had managed to deliver Bianca soon enough before New Years Eve… the girl would be almost fully manipulated by the time Chris arrived.
That was crucial to his plan…He needed Bianca on his side before he began to work on Chris. Chris needed to hear directly from his beloved that joining Wyatt was the best choice. Wyatt had tried telling him exactly that on many occasions, but the boy had refused to listen…refused to give in to the temptation.
He knew that once Bianca seconded the plea, Chris would be much more likely to sway.
Wyatt had prepared the perfect room for his brother…one that would undoubtedly assist in the dredging up of past memories. Unlike Bianca, he did not want Chris imprisoned in discomfort; doing that would not help to achieve his goal.
He wanted Chris to join him willingly- to see that he really did care for him. He wanted his brother to realize that he could be merciful as well a cruel.
To do so he had prepared a special potion that would assist him in calling up specific memories that Chris needed to relive…
This, accompanied with a few visits form Barbas (who had jumped at the opportunity to work his magic on the son of one of his most memorable foes) was his best hope of finally getting Chris at his side….
"Four more days, little brother." He muttered to himself with a satisfied smirk. "Four more days until you're mine."
XXXXXXXXXXX
A/N Phew, another one down. Not entirely happy with it, but it said what it needed to say. PLEASE REVIEW…I was so sad, only 3 reviews for the last one and personally, I thought it was one of my best chapters. Are people still reading this? Are you loosing interest?? Please tell me!
On the plus side, the reviews I DID get were some of the best thus far:) Thanks guys!
charmedchick4eva- So glad that you liked it! In answer to your question; Wyatt isn't pure evil, he is just very very misguided (as a result of Gideon and various other events I may discuss) thus, Piper and especially Chris still matter to him. I've been trying to establish that his love for Chris is the last thing that keeps him somewhat sane…if that goes away, we'll have to see what happens, muhahaha. I'm happy to hear that you liked the Leo-Chris moments (I love those too!), and thanks for your input on the ending!
Alyssa – Yay! The last Chapter was one of my favourites too, so glad that you enjoyed reading it. In regards to the ending, I've been thinking and I'm pretty sure that I will be doing a sort of combination of happy/sad…something that leaves a bit of hope for the future. Thanks so much for the input and thanks for the great review! (and don't worry, there is still quite a bit left)
mizunderstood writer – Yes, I also love Leo- Chris moments, lol, I guess that's pretty obvious, eh? Thanks for the review and for giving your opinion about the ending!!
Finial Note- Alyssa brought up the idea of a sequel in her review and I have already been considering it and have now decided (with some certainty) that there will be one. So even when this ridiculously long story ends, there will be more! Horary! (First I have to finish my other fic though…just to be fair to the people who like that one.)
Tata!
