CHAPTER FIVE

Wyatt and Chris materialised in another part of the Underworld.

"This looks almost the same as the last place you orbed us to," Chris said looking around. "How many dark, dank caves can there be down here?"

"I don't know. At least we haven't come across any more demons, yet."

"We're lost aren't we?" Chris asked his brother as he carefully sat his tired adult body on the damp ground.

"I'm trying my best, Chris. I'm just not strong enough to take us back home." Wyatt said dejectedly. "What do you suggest I do?"

"You're asking me?" Chris asked incredulously. "Up until last night my solution to every problem was to lie on my back, wave my arms and legs around frantically and scream my lungs out!"

"Which was very annoying, by the way," Wyatt told him.

"Well, it got results." Chris defended. "Any problem I had was usually fixed pretty quickly by doing that."

"Well, I don't think it will help this time, but you're welcome to try." Wyatt said as he started to walk down the narrow, rocky tunnel, hoping to find some way out.

"Very funny!" Chris said as he leant against the damp wall behind him and took a few minutes to close his eyes. He was completely exhausted, as well as starving hungry and very thirsty. His whole body ached and he wished that Wyatt was strong enough to heal him. Even though he knew Wyatt was joking, he found himself fighting the overwhelming urge to throw himself on the ground and scream at the top of his voice.

Suddenly his thoughts we interrupted by an energy ball hitting the wall next to him. Chris opened his eyes and was confronted by a group of particularly ugly looking demons approaching. It took all his strength, but using one arm movement as he stood up dodging another energy ball, he was able to use his telekinetic powers to throw the whole group against cave wall behind them.

Wyatt didn't waste any time. Upon hearing the commotion, he came running back, and in a flying leap to push Chris out of the way of another incoming energy ball, he also orbed them both out of there. A few seconds later, the two brothers rematerialised, landing heavily on the rocky ground of another part of the Underworld. They both rolled a couple of times before finally coming to a standstill.

"Are you okay, Chris?" Wyatt asked as he lifted his head to look around.

"No, Wyatt I'm not, I don't know how much longer I can do this. I'm tired and I'm hungry and I just want to go home." Chris whined as he slowly opened his eyes, hoping not to see another dark, dank cave. Chris gasped when all he saw when he opened his eyes was a demon two inches from his face. Chris didn't move or say anything, not knowing what to do as he stared the demon straight in the eyes.

Suddenly a shrill voice broke the silence, "Chris!" the demon yelled.

Chris jumped, startled by the sudden sound. He tried to ignore the incredibly bad breath coming from the demon, as he called out to his brother, trying not to sound as terrified as he felt.

Wyatt had already turned with the sudden noise and using his own telekinetic powers, pushed the demon away from Chris, who immediately moved back up to the protection of his brother.

"I wasn't going to hurt him, we're friends." The demon said directly to Wyatt.

Wyatt continued to stare at him without saying anything.

The demon looked back at Wyatt, obviously petrified by the dead eyed stare he was receiving from the powerful witch. He decided to move his attention to the younger Halliwell, "Chris, remember me? I'm Choz, I was helping you get information on demons down here about a year ago." The demon explained from his new position across the cave.

Chris thought for a moment. Obviously this demon believed he was the other Chris that Dennis also thought he was, so he decided to play along, realising that he didn't have the strength to fight another demon.

"Sure," Chris said unconvincingly.

"Nice to see you again. Where have you been lately?" Choz asked Chris.

"Here and there." Chris answered.

"Come and have a drink with me," Choz suggested.

"No! No drinks. Please NO drinks," Chris refused vehemently, remembering what happened the last time he accepted a drink from a stranger.

"Choz, this is my brother." Chris told him, realising he was staring at Wyatt.

"This is your brother!" Choz asked surprised, "I thought he was evil?"

"No, not Wyatt, he's not evil that must have been my other brother," Chris said, still trying to sound convincing, but not succeeding.

Choz looked at him suspiciously, "you seem different."

"He's injured," Wyatt explained. "We need to get home, can you take us out of the Underworld?"

"I don't go above very often. Why don't you just orb like you always do?" Choz asked, still seemingly suspicious.

"I just told you, he's injured. Now either you take us above, or I'll vanquish you right now." Wyatt insisted, starting to lose his patience.

"Okay, Okay, take it easy. I'll take you, for old times sake," Choz said as he put his hands on Wyatt and Chris's shoulders and shimmered out.

Seconds later the two boys and the demon materialised in a dark, dank alley.

"This doesn't look much different to the Underworld," Chris observed.

"Nice seeing you again, Chris," Choz said as he shimmered out.

"But…" before Chris could finish his sentence Choz had disappeared. "Where are we?" he asked to the vacant space where the demon had just been.

Wyatt looked around the alley, and could hear the traffic of the city street in the distance. "At least we're in the normal world now," he said as he started to walk towards the end of the alley.

"Yes, but how do we get home? Can you orb us?" Chris asked, as he followed a few paces behind.

"I don't know. I suppose I could try," Wyatt answered. He turned to move back to Chris, but was confronted with some strange men running towards him.

Before Wyatt could do anything, one of the men grabbed an unsuspecting Chris, and holding a gun to his head started yelling, "Get back or I'll shoot him."

Wyatt was pushed back as several policemen with guns drawn surrounded them, their weapons pointing towards the men holding Chris captive.

"Wyatt, what's happening?" Chris called to his brother. "What should I do?"

"You should shut up, or I'll shoot you," The man holding Chris yelled at him.

"You know him?" One of the police asked Wyatt as he led him away from the crime scene.

"Yes, he's my brother, please let me go back, I can help," Wyatt pleaded.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing you can do, we'll handle it. Just stay down here away from the danger."

Wyatt tried to follow the policeman back up the alley, but was stopped short.

"Please, do as I say, or I'll have you taken away. We'll do everything we can to help your brother, but you will not be helping if you get in our way, you understand."

Wyatt nodded. He looked around helplessly, not knowing what to do. He could simply orb into where Chris was, but he had been told not to orb in front of strangers. Also, the evil men who were holding Chris could easily shoot him before he materialised anyway. He started pacing in the alley, trying to work out what to do next.

Leo was also pacing in the Living Room of the Manor. The TV was on in the background, but he wasn't really watching it as Piper, Paige and Phoebe all orbed in.

Leo watched anxiously as they materialised, but his heart sank when he realised there was only the three of them. "No luck?" He asked.

"No. You've not heard anything?" Piper asked hopefully.

"Nothing," Leo said.

"Well we must have searched at least half of the Underworld, but it really is like searching for a needle in a haystack down there," Paige exclaimed.

"I've been trying to scry for them too, but haven't had any luck with that either," Leo added.

"Oh my God!" Phoebe uttered as she ran to the TV and turned it up.

"Phoebe, what are you…oh my God!" Piper exclaimed as she saw what was on the TV.

A voiceover was explaining how their news helicopter had followed a police chase through San Francisco that had ended with the bank robbers taking a young man hostage in a city alley. At the same time as the voiceover they were seeing vision of a group of men with masks on, one holding a gun to their hostage's head. They could all see, as plain as day, the hostage was Chris.

"How is that possible?" Paige asked.

"I don't care, orb us all there, quickly!" Piper demanded.

Paige didn't waste any time as they all held hands and orbed out.