Author's Note: I bet you all thought I forgot about this fiction, didn't you? Well, for shame! I would never forget about Two Brothers, and to prove that to you I have brought with me my latest installment. Of all the chapters, this one decided to give me a bout of writer's block, but I over came it and believe I wrote a pretty good chapter (at least I am pleased with it). Okay, enough of me, I mean, how many of you out there actually read this little author's note? You all know the drill by now, but just in case you forgot: please, read and review!

Chapter Thirty-One: Fears

It was dark when Chris opened his eyes, and cold. There was something about the surroundings that just didn't feel right and he wanted out. Slowly he stood and only then did he realize that he hurt. His body was sore, but he could not remember what from. A throbbing pain in his head had him place a hand over a bump, but there was still no memory of what had happened. Seeing bars all around him, Chris rushed forward and grabbed them, shaking them in a vain attempt to free himself.

With a sudden jolt, he was sent backward into the cage and slumped to the floor. A laugh echoed through the darkness and it was then when Chris remembered.

"A neat little trick I picked up from a few demons Wyatt had enlisted," a voice said. The figure stood before the cage and Chris saw the silvery white hair and the dark robes. "They have come in pretty handy in the last few days."

Chris only glared.

"I had thought about warning you," Barbas continued, trying to make light conversation, "but that would involve being nice and that is something demons don't do."

"Nice?" Chris questioned.

Barbas shook his head. "Do not think that just because you found your parents means that you know everything that there is about demons and the Underworld. You knew nothing before you were found and you still know nothing."

"Lost or found, you are the cause for both so you are the only one to blame."

Barbas laughed. "You are annoying, a common trait in your family. Too bad you couldn't escape it, being raised elsewhere. But I suppose that human saying is true: blood is thicker than water…"

"You know nothing about family," Chris spat.

"That is the beauty of being a demon. I don't have to worry about others, about caring and loving those who will only die in time. You should know that better than anyone. Deaths come unexpectedly and see how much pain it can bring with it? Without having to care or love, there is no pain, no loss."

There was silence then, and Chris tried to think of a way out of the cage. His ears were deaf to the words of the demon, his eyes searching for a way out. Chris wondered if his family was looking for him, and his heart and his mind told him yes. They had fought so hard to find him; he didn't believe that they were going to abandon him now. But Barbas wanted to play with Chris.

"They won't find you, you know," he said, waltzing around the cage. "You've been magically sealed in, and cloaked. There will be no finding you."

"Don't think you can try and trick me into believing that. If evil magic could put me here, than good magic can get me out."

The demon laughed. "An expert on the subject, are you? You think that just because you have found your parents and have learned what you are that you know all that there is when it comes to magic? Inexperience is something you excel in and will for quite some time. You know nothing, and will know nothing but sorrow and death now that you have returned."

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked, his tone angry as he tried not to listen.

"Magic will bring nothing but pain to your life now. But you know that, don't you? Of course, your mind is naïve, and you probably think that life will get easier with your being able to do things that other mortals cannot. All your life you have wanted nothing more than to find your family, but in doing so your life just got worse."

"Liar!"

"Think about it: Magic will destroy you as it has your family."

Chris stared at the demon, not understanding.

"Yes. You know that your mother is a Charmed One, one of three sisters who are the most powerful of all witches there ever were, but you know nothing else. They had normal lives once, almost like you until magic entered the picture. It ruined everything, and your mother and aunts learned the truth: it kills. Magic killed your grandmother, it killed your eldest aunt and her lover and it killed you. Don't think I don't know about your future self and his crusade to save Wyatt. It was very…heroic of you, yet foolish."

"Stop!" Chris shouted.

The demon didn't hear him. "And look at your parents. Over and over were they broken apart, separated by the Powers That Be. Your mother was never supposed to marry your father, which means that you and Wyatt were never supposed to be born. Yet they did and here you are, forced to suffer as a punishment for their breaking the rules."

Chris shook his head. "That isn't true."

"Oh it is, and that isn't even the half of it. Now that you've come back the entire Underworld knows who you are and what you might become. If you escape, I would advise you to be on your guard. Those demons will be after you so fast and you will always be in danger."

Moving to the back of the cage, Chris had long forgotten his escape and was lost in Barbas' words. The harsh realities of the words were sinking in, and though Chris didn't want to believe them, he couldn't help himself. Drawing his legs close to his body, Chris hugged himself tight as he slowly rocked back and forth, trying to shake the images out his mind. He remembered speaking with his grandfather earlier that day and how Victor has spoken about his deceased daughter.

"I'm sorry that you will never get the chance to meet her," Victor had said. "Prue and I didn't always get along, but we still loved each other. And she was always there for your mom and Aunt Phoebe. Family was extremely important to her, as was her work. Did you know that she was a photographer for a magazine? Before that she used to work at an auction house."

"You must miss her," Chris remembered he said.

"With all my heart. "Victor tried to keep himself composed. "I've never been too accepting when it comes to magic. It broke my marriage and it took my little girl away from me, but I don't want you to let these things bring you down. If it weren't for magic, I wouldn't have the family I do, or any of my grandchildren. There is the bad that comes with this life, Chris, don't get me wrong…but it seems that the good will always outweigh it."

His ears echoed with his grandfather's words, but the shadow Barbas was spreading was getting darker over Chris and he was becoming doubtful. Barbas smiled, knowing that Chris was feeling the one emotion he craved, the one he loved to feed off of: fear. Chris practically reeked of it and Barbas wanted nothing more than to feed the fire and consume it. Moving closer to the cage, the demon closed his eyes and sensed what was going on in Chris' mind. Images were everywhere, and Barbas chose a few and decided that it was time to play.

"I see you are afraid, Christopher," Barbas teased. "Your parents didn't warn you that it isn't a wise thing to be afraid near me, did they? But, what is it that you are afraid of?"

Chris looked up as Barbas paced outside the cage bars. The bars of the cage seemed to disappear and the lair itself began to vanish into a haze. Through the mist, Chris could see the smile on the demon's face grow larger.

"Ah. You are afraid of being abandoned."

Suddenly, the haze was gone and Chris was standing alone in the foyer of the Manor. It's empty, and Chris runs from where he is standing into the living room. When he finds no one he makes his was through the conservatory and the kitchen, each room silent and cold. His footsteps on the stairs echoes loudly in his ears as he races up them.

"Piper? Leo?" Chris calls. No one answers, so he tries again, this time using different names. "Mom? Dad?"

Chris' voice bounces off the walls as he searches through each room, looking for his family. The bedrooms are clean and neat, nothing is misplaced and there is no sign of life. Piper and Leo's master bedroom is vacant as well, but Chris notices that certain things are missing. Walking toward the dresser, Chris reaches up for the picture he had found with his parents, Wyatt and himself. It was gone, along with everyone else.

"You are afraid that your family has left you." Barbas' voice rings out clear in the fear. "They haven't come for you and you don't think they are going to find you. Without them you are helpless and lost, here to die without knowing that you were ever really loved."

Leaving his parents' room, Chris made his way up another flight of stairs and into the attic. Standing in the doorway, he finds his family there, gathered around the Book of Shadows. No one hears him enter and they don't turn when he calls out for them. Piper and Leo are hunched over the book while Victor speaks with two strangers, women whom Chris hasn't met.

"There they are," Barbas continues, "the happy little Halliwell family that has no place for a Christopher in it. A boy who was lost to them years ago is now lost forever. They finally accepted fate and now there is no reason to reopen old wounds for a boy who is nothing to them anymore."

Chris walks forward, going to his mother and father, tugging at them, trying to get them to turn around. The two shrug him off, but he persists until Leo pushes him back onto the floor. Hurt, but not defeated, Chris goes to Victor and tries in vain to get his attention. Placing himself in the center of the attic, Chris becomes frustrated and throws out his hands, causing multiple pieces of furniture to explode throughout the room. No one flinches and Chris collapses to his knees, tears of pain falling on his cheeks.

"They don't need you," the demon said. "They don't love you. Now, you have no one. No parents, no family, and no friends. Cathy is gone, Piper and Leo have given up on you and your friends are leaving you."

The attic vanishes from Chris' sight and he finds himself in Daniel's house, kneeling in the living room. Derrick and his son are standing there, watching Chris on the ground, their eyes filled with hate. Confused, Chris stands and asks what the matter is as he moves toward them. Both move back, remaining silent.

"Daniel…" Chris calls.

"You're not welcome here anymore," the half demon says.

Aghast, Chris steps back. "What?"

"You're not welcome here anymore," Daniel says again. "I already have a family and you have one too. We don't need each other anymore."

"This is crazy," Chris tells his friend. "You can't be serious. We've been through so much together, how can we just give up on each other now? You are my family, Daniel, whether I have my parents or not. I need you just as much as I need them."

Daniel stood his ground and shook his head. "Please. You are not welcome here anymore."

"Even your friend," Barbas said, "who has been there with you through thick and thin, will leave you. He will abandon you as you abandon him for your new life. He feels that you have no need of him now that you have a home and those who will love you. He feels that everything he has done for you shall have been in vain."

"No!" Chris shouts, taking Daniel's hand. "I will not abandon you!"

Daniel stares Chris in the eye and fades away. Looking in the shadows of the living room, Chris sees Derrick also fade to nothing. Once again, he is left in the darkness alone. Losing his will to stand, Chris sinks to his knees and tries to hold back tears.

"But those are not the only fears your mind holds," Barbas mocks. "Your mind can reveal all to me, if it chooses and there are other secret fears hidden there. Lurking. Including those about losing your family. Perhaps you will be saved and you will find your home and where you belong. Perhaps all the love you crave so badly will be yours and despite the fact that magic keeps you from exposing the real you, you find a way to have a normal life…but there it is…that one thing that you are afraid of…"

Daniel's living room is gone and Chris is back in the Manor's foyer once again. His parents are there, surrounding him and loving him. Lost in the illusion, Chris embraces them and loses all thought as wave after wave of love and hope pass through him. Victor stands in the distance with the two strangers, but Chris knows them to be family. Others begin to appear and Chris thinks he spots Bryn out of the corner of his eye.

Piper and Leo take each of Chris' hands and lead him into the living room where they sit with him on the couch and the remaining Halliwell's gather around them. They laugh and smile as they talk with Chris about everything. Nothing could spoil the perfect moment of happiness, until there is a crash in the foyer and a tall being appears in a large gust of wind.

Chris is pushed back by his parents and a name is called out, but the voice is lost in the loud hum that has filled the room. Piper rushes to the other side of the couch and throws out her hands in attempts to vanquish the demon, but her powers have no effect and with a wave of his hand, the demon throws Piper towards the conservatory. Leo takes his turn with the demon as Chris leaves the protection of the couch for his mother's side.

Piper is laying face down, pieces of a chair broken underneath her. A pool of blood is forming around the body and debris and Chris doesn't know what to do. Not letting the commotion in the background get to him, Chris gently turns his mother over. Her eyes are wide open, and her mouth is slack, yet there is no beat to her heart and there is no breath in her lungs. Resisting his urge to cry, Chris summons the strength to close his mother's eyes and to return to the living room.

The demon has since left, and there is nothing but death and destruction around him.

Barbas' voice fills the empty echo of the living room. "As with Cathy, you feel that you will be too late to save them all when they need you. You will lose the one thing you have just gained and it will break you. Even with all the power you have, there will be nothing you can do to save the family you have found. They shall be lost to you forever."

Chris shakes his head and the scene spins around him. He feels dizzy and when it stops, he finds himself in the same Underworld lair where Barbas had captured him. The lair appears to be the same, with the minor adjustments of no cage and no demon of fear. It is empty and there is a cold wind that tugs at Chris' body causing him to shiver. In the distance there is the sound of footsteps and Chris looks up and sees a shadow moving toward him.

"But your family is not the only one whom can't be saved," Barbas says. "You as well fear that you will meet your demise. There is a horrible death that awaits you, and you fear that it shall be at the hand of one you thought you might be able to save if there was any good in him."

The figure becomes clear as it comes into the light.

"The other who was lost and then found."

"Wyatt..." Chris says.

His breath catches in his throat as he watches his brother stride toward him. There is a confidence in his walk, yet it is plagued with arrogance. The walk frightens Chris nonetheless and he backs away as the other holds out his hands before him and calls out a name. Chris' eyes grow wide as a magnificent sword appears in the other's hands. Knowing that he has no other weapons than his hands and his magic, Chris moves away and tries to think of what to do.

"Now, it shall end," Wyatt says.

"Please, leave me alone," Chris begs.

"Do you not wish to join your mother? I am sure she would be more than happy to welcome you."

Angered, Chris stood his ground, surprising Wyatt. "No. I may have lost one mother, but I have another and I am sure she wouldn't want anything to happen to either of us. So please, stop this and lets go home."

Wyatt laughed. "You believe I would even think about listening to the words of that stupid darklighter? Or listen to that foolish old man and his daughter the witch or her whitelighter husband? You are denser than I thought, Chris. I am a demon and the Charmed Ones killed my parents. That filthy good witch and her disgusting whitelighter of a husband are of no relation to me. And neither are you. Therefore, I shall have no remorse when you are gone."

Chris stared at Wyatt. "And if I was? If I was your brother would you hesitate to kill me?"

Wyatt gave no answer instead he advanced toward Chris.

"You wouldn't kill me if I were your brother." Chris watched Wyatt flinch. "When are you going to realize the truth? You were lied to! We all were and we are just going to have to get over it. Believe what you feel, not what you hear. Do you honestly think that a demon like Barbas could love you like a son? Take you in after your demon parents were killed and raise you? How can you not see that it makes sense why he did it? Barbas wanted you for your power and nothing more, just like every other demon out there."

Still, Wyatt said nothing.

"If anyone were the stupid one it would have to be you and not me," Chris shouted, not knowing where he was finding his strength.

Anger flaring in his eyes, Wyatt lowered his sword and looked Chris in the eye.

"You efforts will have been in vain," Barbas said. "You will try and try to make Wyatt see the truth, yet he is as stubborn as your father and will not budge. Try as you might, Wyatt will defeat you whether you want him to or not. You only hope that there will be someone left out there to save you."

Shaken by the demon's words, Chris was unprepared for the strike. His body felt as if he were on fire and all the strength left in him was leaving. Looking up, Chris saw that hatred in Wyatt's eyes and the contented grin on his face. Hesitating, Chris turned his gaze downward and saw half of a sword pressed up against his abdomen. This must be where the pain is coming from, he thought as his legs gave out beneath him and he began to fall.

"Wyatt…" Chris called, his voice failing him.

"Your words were in vain," Wyatt said, twisting the sword within Chris' body. "But my will is done."

With a forceful tug, the sword was pulled free and Chris fell limply to the dusty floor of the lair. His body convulsed as the wound took its toll. Wyatt's shadow looming over him, Chris managed to call out for his brother one last time, his voice a mere whisper. The elder of the two did nothing except watch until satisfied with his work. Giving Chris a final nod, Wyatt turned to leave.

Reaching out, Chris tried to call out for help.

Back in the Underworld lair, Chris' hand was still outstretched as Barbas looked into the cage. The boy was slowly loosing consciousness thinking that he had been mortally wounded and the demon knew that it would give him some time to think and plan. Leaving the boy to his fears, Barbas walked away from the cage silently.

Slowly, Chris' hand began to fall.