Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for my clothes, my books and my CD collection :D
The Ties That Bind
Chapter Seven
Phoebe was not pleased and it was written into her voice when she spoke, "Chris, why is she fading?"
Chris stared at Cadey -in the last few hours, whilst they had scryed for so long that their arms hurt, called the lost witch spell until their voices cracked all to no avail -she had steadily grown more and more transparent and Phoebe was finally voicing the question. It looked like more future consequences were coming their way.
"I don't think that story," she said, referring to the other 'forbidden' couples tale he came up with at the beach, "is gonna go over now, Chris."
"What story?" Paige demanded.
"There's only one reason why Cadey would be fading, isn't there?" Phoebe held Chris' gaze, understanding clearly written in her posture. Earlier in the year he had been forced to explain to them why he was fading, it was going to be pretty hard to make up another lie now. It was worth a try.
"The future is being changed too much by Wyatt's actions, and it's affecting -"
"Don't give me that crap Christopher Halliwell!"
Chris winced, as did Cadey. Phoebe would rarely swear in front of them in the future, let alone at them.
"You're one of their children, aren't you? You're fading because of Leo."
Cadey audibly gulped and stepped closer to him, wanting him to do the talking and he could guess why. Aunt Phoebe's wrath was just as formidable as their mothers. He was her big brother, ergo; he was supposed to protect her from it.
"Future consequences, Aunt Phoebe…"
"Yes or no, Chris."
"Yes."
Phoebe calmed somewhat now that her question was answered, and she peered around him to get a look at the now hidden Cadey.
"How old are you, sweetie?"
Sensing that the storm had been avoided, Cadey must have felt safe enough to reply because she stepped out from his shadow, "Eleven."
Paige jumped up and down, clapping her hands and smiling, "We have a niece! We have a niece!"
"But you won't if we don't find Leo!" Chris reiterated. Now was not the time to celebrate their newfound niece, just like he didn't like being celebrated as their newest nephew. He didn't like those memories -for every celebration there was mourning later. "Lets go over it again, what happened exactly? Tell us again and don't leave anything out, even if it seems stupid or trivial."
"Ah alright alright. We will. After coffee." Paige grumbled, already half way to the kitchen, "Don't you get tired? Jeez Chris it's three in the morning."
Chris shook his head. No, he didn't get tired -not when his family was in danger, and despite his, his feelings towards Leo if he was hurt bad, if he was dying as evidence was in Cadey, then he definitely couldn't let that man die. There was more than just his whitelighter ass at stake.
And maybe, just maybe, in the bottom of his soul, heart, or whatever anyone wanted to call it, this Leo was starting to grow on him. He was making an effort, had made a promise to be there this time and was doing as well as could be expected for a man who technically wasn't allowed a family.
No, there was too much at stake to get tired. He had five hours to save more people that Phoebe or Paige knew about. Adrenaline was keeping him awake and alert. He'd pay for it later.
"We were wondering where you orbed out to,"
"And then we heard orbs in the foyer and thought it was you,"
"Turns out it wasn't,"
"It was Wyatt, and he bought a friend from the future,"
"A darklighter,"
"He shot Leo, Piper ran over to him,"
"Wyatt vanquished the darklighter, grabbed them and orbed out."
"He came back like, a minute later, knocked us out with some funk potion,"
"And when we woke up we were in the crystal cage and Wyatt was lounging about on the sofas,"
"Telling us that you would always come back."
"He said you were predictable."
Chris pulled away the cup of coffee Cadey was about to drink and swirled his own, pouring a little milk into it to soften the caffeine kick he was about to get.
"Did he say anything about where he orbed them to? Anything at all?"
"Nothing."
"I thought he was stupid?" Cadey asked, dragging to cup to her again.
"He's always been conniving when it came to his plans. He's only stupid about the things we talk about. Family stuff." He floated the coffee away and poured it down the sink and spoke absently, "No coffee."
Chris started to tap out a rhythm, just like when he was younger except with a musical instrument, to help him think.
This was a problem, so far one that he didn't understand. He knew the solution he wanted, Piper and Leo safe, Wyatt locked in his own time and no more portals to surprise them… the quirks were that Wyatt wanted Piper and Leo dead, to erase him from existence (without physically killing him) along everybody else. Tap, tap, tappar tap. And Wyatt always got what he wanted.
So where would Wyatt hide what he didn't want found?
When they were little, when they played hide and seek, or orb and seek if they were feeling rebellious against their mom's strict orbing rules. Wyatt always hid in the most dangerous places, always orbed the furthest to prove he was the strongest, and always went to the most obvious places in a bizarre way.
Where was the most obvious place now? Tap tap. They weren't ten and twelve anymore, weren't screwing around on a rainy day, weren't giddy from mild infraction, the defiance of no orbing unless it was necessary. This was life or death. Definite death; murders in the multiples of his own family.
It's not like he hasn't done it before, one of the voices that sounded an awful lot like his Grandpa said, why wouldn't he do it again? Because there was nobody else to blame this time, no surprise demon attack, no out of hand warlocks, no disobedient darklighters like there was in the beginning. Of course later on there weren't either. Tappity tap, tapper tapper tap tap. But to kill those who hadn't even been thought about yet, let alone conceived… even Chris thought Wyatt would never fall that low.
So where would Wyatt hide them? Back to his first, and most important question. It would be somewhere big, somewhere marked on a map so that everyone would be able to point to it and say 'Wyatt orbed there!'
"You got a world map?"
"Uh, sure? Atlas!" Paige held out a hand, summoning the atlas from wherever it was tucked away neatly to one side.
"Cadey, put your finger on the map anywhere, okay? I'll do the same and then we'll see what we've got."
Cadey closed her eyes and stubbed a nearly transparent finger on Egypt, near where the pyramids were located, and Chris roughly where the Great Wall of China was.
"Why can't you guys just sense for them?" Phoebe enquired, helping herself to another cup of the savoury substance.
"Wyatt blocked us from sensing him and mom and Leo so we can only sense them if we're close, within a few miles or so."
"He does it to all his hostages." Cadey added grimly. "He thinks it makes it more interesting."
Chris made a note of the places in his mind and waved, "I'll be back in five minutes."
Ten seconds later he was in Egypt near the pyramids. Nothing. He orbed around the desert for a while, just in case but found nothing. Next stop, China. Ladies and gentlemen please keep your hands and feet inside at all times, or a demon might cut them off. That one sounded like Uncle Darryl, who wasn't really an Uncle, and at this point wasn't even a friend. Shelia was still nice to them though, despite her husband's current feelings. He'd come around in about… two years? Be a firm family friend in three.
Once more he sensed no Piper, Leo or even Wyatt. Back to base camp then.
"Wanna take another guess?"
Cadey screwed her eyes shut, and jabbed her finger at Mount Snowdon in the United Kingdom. Wales, to be precise. His landed at Easter Island.
He waved again, and with a cheeky grin at Paige who was yawning widely, "See you soon!"
Easter Island was a bust; he knew that as soon as he became corporal again. Mount Snowdon it was, and when he arrived there he felt it. Or rather, he felt them.
"Mom? Leo?" They were nearby, he could feel that, so he concentrated on that and orbed out again.
"Mom?" Chris almost ran to her right then, he stood in the entrance to a small cave; his mom bent over… Leo. "Oh god, mom… oh man, come on. We gotta get you home."
"He's dead Chris! It doesn't matter!"
"He's been dead since you met him, mom. We'll fix this, I'll fix this." He placed a gentle arm around her shoulders and placed a hand on Leo's. This was going to be a tight fit, but luckily the power-swapping spell already existed in this time.
He would fix this. He was not going to go to a future with so many people missing. He wanted the perfect future, and that couldn't exist if half his siblings were never conceived and Wyatt was still evil. Although, if he didn't stop Wyatt soon, he, Chris, wouldn't exist anyway and Wyatt would grow up without a mother and siblings. The future might even be worse that way… and that Chris couldn't bear thinking about.
He would fix this. Leo would survive; he would have the chance to fulfil his promise.
Chris wanted a father.
-----------------------
Author's Note:
Review Thank You's To:
melissa-p: Would I let Leo die?! Well... okay... maybe, so I guess I can't offer an reassurances :O
Queen of the Elven City: Yeah, it was appallingly short, thankfully this one came out a little longer :)
ChArMeDcRaZiChIcK: whoah! that is horribly early! Heheee this one isn't much happier though
The Ties That Bind
Chapter Seven
Phoebe was not pleased and it was written into her voice when she spoke, "Chris, why is she fading?"
Chris stared at Cadey -in the last few hours, whilst they had scryed for so long that their arms hurt, called the lost witch spell until their voices cracked all to no avail -she had steadily grown more and more transparent and Phoebe was finally voicing the question. It looked like more future consequences were coming their way.
"I don't think that story," she said, referring to the other 'forbidden' couples tale he came up with at the beach, "is gonna go over now, Chris."
"What story?" Paige demanded.
"There's only one reason why Cadey would be fading, isn't there?" Phoebe held Chris' gaze, understanding clearly written in her posture. Earlier in the year he had been forced to explain to them why he was fading, it was going to be pretty hard to make up another lie now. It was worth a try.
"The future is being changed too much by Wyatt's actions, and it's affecting -"
"Don't give me that crap Christopher Halliwell!"
Chris winced, as did Cadey. Phoebe would rarely swear in front of them in the future, let alone at them.
"You're one of their children, aren't you? You're fading because of Leo."
Cadey audibly gulped and stepped closer to him, wanting him to do the talking and he could guess why. Aunt Phoebe's wrath was just as formidable as their mothers. He was her big brother, ergo; he was supposed to protect her from it.
"Future consequences, Aunt Phoebe…"
"Yes or no, Chris."
"Yes."
Phoebe calmed somewhat now that her question was answered, and she peered around him to get a look at the now hidden Cadey.
"How old are you, sweetie?"
Sensing that the storm had been avoided, Cadey must have felt safe enough to reply because she stepped out from his shadow, "Eleven."
Paige jumped up and down, clapping her hands and smiling, "We have a niece! We have a niece!"
"But you won't if we don't find Leo!" Chris reiterated. Now was not the time to celebrate their newfound niece, just like he didn't like being celebrated as their newest nephew. He didn't like those memories -for every celebration there was mourning later. "Lets go over it again, what happened exactly? Tell us again and don't leave anything out, even if it seems stupid or trivial."
"Ah alright alright. We will. After coffee." Paige grumbled, already half way to the kitchen, "Don't you get tired? Jeez Chris it's three in the morning."
Chris shook his head. No, he didn't get tired -not when his family was in danger, and despite his, his feelings towards Leo if he was hurt bad, if he was dying as evidence was in Cadey, then he definitely couldn't let that man die. There was more than just his whitelighter ass at stake.
And maybe, just maybe, in the bottom of his soul, heart, or whatever anyone wanted to call it, this Leo was starting to grow on him. He was making an effort, had made a promise to be there this time and was doing as well as could be expected for a man who technically wasn't allowed a family.
No, there was too much at stake to get tired. He had five hours to save more people that Phoebe or Paige knew about. Adrenaline was keeping him awake and alert. He'd pay for it later.
"We were wondering where you orbed out to,"
"And then we heard orbs in the foyer and thought it was you,"
"Turns out it wasn't,"
"It was Wyatt, and he bought a friend from the future,"
"A darklighter,"
"He shot Leo, Piper ran over to him,"
"Wyatt vanquished the darklighter, grabbed them and orbed out."
"He came back like, a minute later, knocked us out with some funk potion,"
"And when we woke up we were in the crystal cage and Wyatt was lounging about on the sofas,"
"Telling us that you would always come back."
"He said you were predictable."
Chris pulled away the cup of coffee Cadey was about to drink and swirled his own, pouring a little milk into it to soften the caffeine kick he was about to get.
"Did he say anything about where he orbed them to? Anything at all?"
"Nothing."
"I thought he was stupid?" Cadey asked, dragging to cup to her again.
"He's always been conniving when it came to his plans. He's only stupid about the things we talk about. Family stuff." He floated the coffee away and poured it down the sink and spoke absently, "No coffee."
Chris started to tap out a rhythm, just like when he was younger except with a musical instrument, to help him think.
This was a problem, so far one that he didn't understand. He knew the solution he wanted, Piper and Leo safe, Wyatt locked in his own time and no more portals to surprise them… the quirks were that Wyatt wanted Piper and Leo dead, to erase him from existence (without physically killing him) along everybody else. Tap, tap, tappar tap. And Wyatt always got what he wanted.
So where would Wyatt hide what he didn't want found?
When they were little, when they played hide and seek, or orb and seek if they were feeling rebellious against their mom's strict orbing rules. Wyatt always hid in the most dangerous places, always orbed the furthest to prove he was the strongest, and always went to the most obvious places in a bizarre way.
Where was the most obvious place now? Tap tap. They weren't ten and twelve anymore, weren't screwing around on a rainy day, weren't giddy from mild infraction, the defiance of no orbing unless it was necessary. This was life or death. Definite death; murders in the multiples of his own family.
It's not like he hasn't done it before, one of the voices that sounded an awful lot like his Grandpa said, why wouldn't he do it again? Because there was nobody else to blame this time, no surprise demon attack, no out of hand warlocks, no disobedient darklighters like there was in the beginning. Of course later on there weren't either. Tappity tap, tapper tapper tap tap. But to kill those who hadn't even been thought about yet, let alone conceived… even Chris thought Wyatt would never fall that low.
So where would Wyatt hide them? Back to his first, and most important question. It would be somewhere big, somewhere marked on a map so that everyone would be able to point to it and say 'Wyatt orbed there!'
"You got a world map?"
"Uh, sure? Atlas!" Paige held out a hand, summoning the atlas from wherever it was tucked away neatly to one side.
"Cadey, put your finger on the map anywhere, okay? I'll do the same and then we'll see what we've got."
Cadey closed her eyes and stubbed a nearly transparent finger on Egypt, near where the pyramids were located, and Chris roughly where the Great Wall of China was.
"Why can't you guys just sense for them?" Phoebe enquired, helping herself to another cup of the savoury substance.
"Wyatt blocked us from sensing him and mom and Leo so we can only sense them if we're close, within a few miles or so."
"He does it to all his hostages." Cadey added grimly. "He thinks it makes it more interesting."
Chris made a note of the places in his mind and waved, "I'll be back in five minutes."
Ten seconds later he was in Egypt near the pyramids. Nothing. He orbed around the desert for a while, just in case but found nothing. Next stop, China. Ladies and gentlemen please keep your hands and feet inside at all times, or a demon might cut them off. That one sounded like Uncle Darryl, who wasn't really an Uncle, and at this point wasn't even a friend. Shelia was still nice to them though, despite her husband's current feelings. He'd come around in about… two years? Be a firm family friend in three.
Once more he sensed no Piper, Leo or even Wyatt. Back to base camp then.
"Wanna take another guess?"
Cadey screwed her eyes shut, and jabbed her finger at Mount Snowdon in the United Kingdom. Wales, to be precise. His landed at Easter Island.
He waved again, and with a cheeky grin at Paige who was yawning widely, "See you soon!"
Easter Island was a bust; he knew that as soon as he became corporal again. Mount Snowdon it was, and when he arrived there he felt it. Or rather, he felt them.
"Mom? Leo?" They were nearby, he could feel that, so he concentrated on that and orbed out again.
"Mom?" Chris almost ran to her right then, he stood in the entrance to a small cave; his mom bent over… Leo. "Oh god, mom… oh man, come on. We gotta get you home."
"He's dead Chris! It doesn't matter!"
"He's been dead since you met him, mom. We'll fix this, I'll fix this." He placed a gentle arm around her shoulders and placed a hand on Leo's. This was going to be a tight fit, but luckily the power-swapping spell already existed in this time.
He would fix this. He was not going to go to a future with so many people missing. He wanted the perfect future, and that couldn't exist if half his siblings were never conceived and Wyatt was still evil. Although, if he didn't stop Wyatt soon, he, Chris, wouldn't exist anyway and Wyatt would grow up without a mother and siblings. The future might even be worse that way… and that Chris couldn't bear thinking about.
He would fix this. Leo would survive; he would have the chance to fulfil his promise.
Chris wanted a father.
-----------------------
Author's Note:
Review Thank You's To:
melissa-p: Would I let Leo die?! Well... okay... maybe, so I guess I can't offer an reassurances :O
Queen of the Elven City: Yeah, it was appallingly short, thankfully this one came out a little longer :)
ChArMeDcRaZiChIcK: whoah! that is horribly early! Heheee this one isn't much happier though
