Author's Note: All right, this is what you have all been waiting for so I hope you are happy and that it pleases all of you. I do have a bit of sad news for all of you, though, this is the last chapter I have written ad I am not sure how soon I am going to get the following chapters to you (my being a full time student and my now having a job). Believe me, I try my hardest and actually stay up into the wee hours of the night/morning to finish chapters (I get just as excited as I write them as you all do when you read them). If any of you want to bug me about hurrying up and finishing/updating go to my profile and there is a link to my LiveJournal. Go there and you can give me a piece of your mind. That being said, I will leave you all to read and will await your reviews because I have a strange feeling that you are going to be dying for Chapter 22.
Chapter Twenty-One: Lost and Found
Piper paced in circles in the attic as she waited for Leo. It had been nearly an hour since she had last called him and she hoped that his tardiness was due to something of the most extreme importance. Long after Darryl had left the Manor, Piper had come to grips with what he had said. Chris was still alive, in a neighboring town and in danger. Becoming the strong and determined Piper that her family knew so well and loved, she locked herself in the attic and spent her time wisely, scrying with the picture Darryl had left behind and making as many potions as she could in case they were needed if she and Leo went off looking for their son and were confronted by an unknown foe.
"For God's sakes, Leo!" she shouted, the impatience in her voice returning. It seemed as if the old Piper was finally back.
There was a jingling sound and a fury of bright lights that left a confused Leo standing in the middle of the attic. "What? What is it?"
Calm, Piper walked over to Leo and guided him over to the couch and sat him down. "Leo, I need you to listen to me, all right?"
"Of course, Piper. What's the matter?"
"Darryl was over here a little while ago and I made a little bit of a mess downstairs, but that is another story. He came because there is a murder case he is currently working on and he believes it to be magical," Piper began.
"The Elders didn't say anything while I was up there," Leo said. "They are concerned, though, about two forces of power and not knowing exactly what sides they are on."
"Well, that is just going to have to wait. Leo, a woman was murdered and she had a son." Reaching out to the table that sat near by, Piper handed Leo the photo Darryl had left behind. As Piper had, Leo dropped the picture once he realized who it was.
"My God, it can't be," he whispered.
"It has to be, Leo," Piper said, taking the picture back. "I've looked this picture over a thousand times and I know it's him. And his mother being killed by what Darryl thinks is a demon? How could there be another boy out there who looks just like our son and is involved with magic?"
Leo took a deep breath. "Are you sure?"
Piper looked away. "No. I mean, it is too good to be true...but what if it is him? Leo, Chris is alive and he needs us. I don't know if now is the best time to go out there and find him, tell him who he really is, but I know that he is in danger. The demon that attacked his mother is going to be back and is going to go after him, that is what demons."
Leo nodded. "He has to be so scared."
"You think he knows about his powers?"
"They were never bound by you or your sisters so he has to have them," Leo answered. "I can't imagine what he is going through right now. His mother is dead, a demon is after him and he had magical powers that he probably doesn't understand."
Standing, Leo noticed the map and scrying crystal lying on the table. Piper and her sisters had spent hours trying to scry for the boys when they had first been kidnapped, but each must have had a cloaking spell cast over them for their location was never known.
"I used the picture," Piper answered. "The crystal keeps landing on one address a little out of town."
Leo could sense where Piper was going even before she said it. Both stood in silence in front of the map and thought to themselves. Each wanted to rush out there and get their son, to bring him back home. But they were torn, knowing that he had grown up never knowing them and having loved other parents. Yet there was still the demon to consider and if Chris really was in danger than they had to find him and at least protect him, to let him know that they could be trusted and it time reveal the truth about who they were.
Holding out his hand, Leo looked at Piper. "Ready?"
She nodded as she took his hand and the two disappeared in a swirl of bright lights. Downstairs, Phoebe was returning from dropping Bryn off at school and was in time to hear the phone ring. Calling out to anyone else who might be in the house, she made her way into the kitchen and picked up the phone, wondering where Piper and Leo might be.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Yes, is this Piper or Paige?" a male voice asked.
"Phoebe, actually."
"Phoebe hi, it's Derrick. You helped me years ago save my son from the Manticore demons," he said, trying to help bring back memories.
"Oh hi! Been a while since we last heard from you. How is everything?"
She could hear the uncertainty in his voice. "Not well. There seems to be someone after a friend of my son's and I was wondering if you and your sisters would be able to help us out. You think it would be all right if the three of us came down maybe a little later today?"
"Of course, of course," Phoebe replied. "Is it a demon or some other kind of demonic being?"
"We're not sure."
"Well, don't worry," she assured him. "I have to go on some errands in a little while, but there should be someone here no matter what time you come. I suppose I'll see you later then."
"Yeah. And thank you, Phoebe."
Hanging up the phone, Derrick turned to Daniel. Nodding, he let his son know that the Charmed Ones were on their side and they would leave in a few minutes. Heading off into the living room, Daniel found Chris sitting on the couch, his arms wrapped around a pillow. Sitting beside his friend, Daniel told Chris the good news, though Chris only turned away.
"What's the point?" Chris asked. "He already killed all that mattered to me, why do I need to go and bother these other witches who he will end up killing once he knows I went looking for help?"
"It's better than sitting here and letting him get away with what he did," Daniel answered. "Chris, these are the most powerful withes there are, even Wyatt won't be able to stand up to them. We need to go now so that we can get to them before Wyatt realizes what we are doing."
Chris stared blankly off into space.
"Look, I know you are hurt Chris. She was like a mother to me too, but I know and you know that she would not have wanted it to be this way. Your mom wanted you safe and her death will mean nothing if you just sit back and do nothing."
Taking a deep breath, Chris turned back to his friend. "When do we leave?"
As Derrick drove Daniel and Chris to the Halliwell Manor, Piper and Leo had orbed into a secluded area near Cathy and Chris' home. Walking out casually, it didn't take them long to figure out which house they were looking for. The Knight house was surrounded by police tape and there were still police cars and officers located in and outside, trying to find out what had happened. Making their way closer, the two stopped in front of Mr. Winters' house and looked on as the older man was watering his lawn.
"Such a tragedy," Mr. Winters said, stopping what he was doing and glancing up. "She was such a nice woman."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Leo said, stepping closer to the fence.
"Thank you, but it is not me who needs it. It belongs to her son, wherever he ended up," he old man replied.
"Her son?" Piper asked.
"Christopher. Such a good boy. Never met a family as happy as that one and it's such a shame that it has been destroyed. I suppose he went to his friend's home, someplace where he could grieve and not be bothered. Wonder who is going to take him in?"
Piper glanced up at Leo. Saying their goodbyes and thanks, the two went on to the house and tried not to look as interested as they were. Making sure that no one was looking, Piper threw out her hands and the entire street froze thanks to her powers expanding over the years. Moving passed the police officers and not touching a thing, the two entered the house and Piper froze the crime scene after she locked the front door.
"Piper look," Leo whispered, placing a hand on her arm.
Turning around, Piper found herself staring at the ruins of a once beautiful home. It almost felt like the Manor after a demon attack and Piper could only imagine what had gone through Cathy's mind as the demon came after her. Going into the different rooms, Leo accidentally found the den and the other pictures Darryl had seen and left behind. With a heavy heart, he offered them to Piper and they watched through frozen memories as their son grew up before their eyes.
"I only hope he was happy," Piper said, placing the photos back where they had been.
Finding nothing that would help them name the demon that was after their son, Piper and Leo decided it was best that they leave before the freeze wore off. It was time, they thought, to tell Paige and Phoebe what they knew. During their time at the Knight home, Derrick had arrived at the Halliwell Manor. Phoebe had since left and the house was empty, but Derrick did not know that. Getting out of the car, the three made their way to the house and looked it over. To Derrick, it was as if time had never passed for the house never changed. Daniel was in awe of the old Victorian home and Chris was still in a daze.
Walking up the cement pathway, the three were stopped by a shadow that loomed over them. A shiver ran down Chris' spine as he felt the same magical spark as when he had met Bryn and Wyatt. Knowing it could be no one other than Wyatt, Chris clenched his fist and turned around, facing his mother's murderer.
"I thought I had lost you Chris," Wyatt said, his hands behind his back as he sauntered closer. "You didn't return when I hoped you would have."
"You killed her, you bastard!" Chris shouted.
"Hush, don't want to gather any unwanted attention, do you?" Wyatt replied in a cool voice.
"What do you want?" Derrick said, taking a step forward.
"To finish what I started the other night," Wyatt answered. "And to think, you were going to get help in trying to stop me. Don't think you are that powerful, Chris? Well, if you believe that then you really will be no match for me and your death can be painless and you can join your mother soon."
Without warning, Wyatt waved his arm and sent Chris flying over into the grass in front of the house. Standing up, Chris watched as Wyatt came toward him, but wasn't ready when Wyatt repeated the move this time sending Chris even further back and having him land just outside of the conservatory in the back of the Manor. He fell atop a table on the patio, toppling it over and falling in a heap.
Leo and Piper heard the crash as they orbed into the kitchen. Their minds had been preoccupied, trying to think of ways to let Paige and Phoebe know that Chris had been found, but all this vanished at the noise. Looking at the other with confused faces, they left the kitchen and entered the conservatory in time to see three figures appear in the backyard. Throwing open the doors that led outside, Piper and Leo watched as a young man dressed in black threw out his hands and exploded one of the patio chairs that sat near a figure who lay huddled over on the ground.
"Hey!" Piper shouted, getting the attention of the young man in black. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
With a frustrated sigh, the young man in black created an energy ball and threw it in the woman's direction. With a smirk, Piper froze the ball and glared at the intruder.
"Get the hell out of my house!" she demanded, throwing out her hands and blowing up a potted plant that hung near the young man's head. Adrenaline pumping, she didn't flinch when he threw out his hands toward her. Expecting something to happen, Piper realized that he had been trying to freeze her as she had done the energy ball, yet the freeze only bounced right off her.
Through all of the confusion, Leo stared at the young man and suddenly felt as though he had seen him before. Memories flashing through his mind, a voice echoed through his head and his eyes widened as he looked back at the young man, knowing who it was.
"What's the matter dad, don't you recognize me?"
"Wyatt?"
The young man stopped at the sound of his name and stared at Leo. How did he know what his name was? Confused, but not afraid, the young man glared at the body on the ground, saying that he would return and finish what he had started, before he orbed away, leaving the others in silence.
Horrified, Piper watched the figure disappear in the familiar swirl of lights and turned to Leo. He couldn't have called the young man that, their son wasn't evil, Leo was wrong. Her voice hoarse, it took all the courage she had to ask him what she dreaded to be true. "What did you call him?"
Before Leo could answer, there was a shout from Daniel. "Chris!"
Instinctively, Piper and Leo followed Daniel as he ran to his friend's side and gently turned him over. Chris lay on his back, grimacing in pain as the three hovered above him. Grabbing Chris' hand, Daniel felt for a pulse and found one, weak yet there. Turning back to Piper and Leo, Daniel begged them:
"Please help my friend."
