He did it for me
Chapter 37
By: teal-lover
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Being twice blessed, Wyatt thought that nothing could ever hurt him. It's devastating to find out how wrong you can be. Takes place in the future that Chris changed.
Christopher just turned 19, Chris was already 19, and Wyatt is three months shy of his 21st birthday.
Disclaimer in chapter 1
AN: WOW! Most of you seemed to understand my crazy thinking. Thanks. So we're getting close to the end here. And don't worry, everything I have done has been planned from the start, nothing is random except for the dialog and the interaction—even the end is already written. The only thing I'm doing is filling in the dialog. But I promise you, my friends, that everything has a purpose, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. So I won't confirm or deny anything mentioned in your reviews:) I'm pleading the fifth.
And now that I have some more free time, I should be able to finish soon:)
Just keep in mind that the conversation in italics & the events that follow that takes place between the three boys—is actually the memory that Christopher had in the seers pool & it hasn't happened yet. But the part turned out so long, that I had to break it up into two.
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Several minutes of silence permeated the air before Chris suddenly looked up. "We can see what you saw, right? Wyatt can help us."
"Why would you want to see any of that? I don't even want to see it again. The things we did. Chris, it was horrible." The pleading look in his eyes made Christopher relent. "Ok. What do you want to see?"
"The part just before and after the merge. What were we doing when it happened?"
Christopher stood up and held his hands out for both young men, "See for yourself…" he said as Wyatt initiated the connection to see the future memory…
The three boys see themselves in the vision, much the same as they are standing right now…
Christopher was glad to be in the company of his brother, and finally getting to know the person who was essentially responsible for his existence. Through Wyatt's empathic vision connection, they were able to see much of Chris's life.
"I can't imagine all of the horrible things you've been through, Chris," Christopher shook his head sadly.
Chris nodded and added seriously, "Just be glad you can't. Be thankful that Clarence got to you before Arel could hurt you. I mean, if all he gave you was a simple needle, then you really are lucky."
"In more ways than one." Christopher steeled his gaze making his expression completely unreadable. "I really have to thank you for everything you've done for us, Chris. Because of you, I've had a great life—" he replied rather smugly.
"Oh, way to rub it in," Chris rolled his eyes sarcastically.
Christopher replied briskly, "Yeah, and quite frankly—I'm selfish. I'm not willing to give it up yet. I'm sorry, but only one of us can go back the way things are now. There's only one physical body between the two of us."
Chris understood the second that Clarence and Penny had brought Christopher down when Wyatt had him pinned to the wall, that soon his whole family would know who he really was. The Halliwell's were immediately recalled to the attic and informed of the existence of two Christopher Perry Halliwells. As soon as they all realized that they were two separate beings, they had rushed to envelop them both in hugs to ensure that there was no favoritism.
While the family had worked to come up with a plan to restore Christopher's soul into his body, they had sent the three Halliwell boys away to Sheila's cabin to get to know each other.
Since then, Chris had known what had to happen and thought he had been prepared for it. But hearing it spoken aloud only seemed to intensify his depressive feelings. His time was up.
He gazed at the floor intently, unable to stare into his own green eyes that would soon belong in a body once again, while he was whisked away into an afterlife he wasn't ready for. He tried to mask the pain in his voice as he mumbled a response, "I know."
Christopher's smile widened enormously at the saddened reaction he received as he prepared to shock his duplicate, "That's why I came up with a plan to merge us together."
As Chris's eyes widened in shock, his mouth nearly hitting the floor, Christopher reached under his chin and closed it jokingly.
Wyatt chuckled softly behind them as he recalled Chris doing the exact same thing to him the day before. He had stared in disbelief at the identical boys for several long minutes, unable to comprehend that there were in fact two versions of his brother standing in front of him. "Huh. Seems like you two have a lot in common."
Ignoring his older brother, Chris practically shouted at his identical version before him, "Why would you want to do that! You're already going home—do you know what that would do to you? Have you even BEGUN TO THINK THIS THROUGH?"
Christopher laughed and turned to the blonde while pointing to the other, "I'm not this much of a nag, am I?"
Wyatt nodded emphatically, "Uh—yeah, you kind of are. I told you, the two of you have a lot in common."
Christopher continued, "You've been through--SO many terrible things in your life. Like I said, I can't imagine what it must have been like for you. And it's not fair. If it hadn't been for Wyatt and this empathic vision connection thing he's got, I would never have been able to see how much you'd been through with the family. I actually understand you better now—and the kind of sacrifice that you made for us. I'm willing to do the same for you."
Chris paused reluctantly, "But—you'll have—ALL—of my memories. There aren't many good ones. Trust me, it's nothing you would enjoy."
Christopher shook his head slowly before placing his hand on the other's shoulder, "I'm ok with that, Chris. But you'll have all of my memories too. And since all of mine are good, between the two of us—it should be enough to keep us balanced. Look Chris, I really believe that this is how it was always supposed to be before you and I died. Before Gideon screwed things up. We are meant to be one soul. Besides, I can't live with myself knowing that you would be moving on not having experienced any of the happier times your life could have had. Please? Let me do this. You did it for me. I want to return the favor." He looked to his brother for assistance, "Tell him, Wy."
Wyatt was thrilled at the proposition and readily agreed. He wanted the time to get to know the brother that saved his life. "I think he's right, Chris. I, for one, don't want to loose either of my brothers. Besides, it'll make it a whole lot easier without having to remember what to call you guys. To be honest, I really don't like the full name 'Christopher'. I like either 'Chris', or 'Kid', 'Bookworm', 'Nerd', 'Geek'. Really, any of those will work for me," he added helpfully.
Two sets of green eyes were rolled at him, but only Chris spoke. "Thanks, Wy. Now seriously, Christopher—are you sure about this?"
"More than sure. Ok? Let's get started," Christopher retorted as he rubbed his hands together eagerly.
Wyatt asked, "So what's your plan kid?"
His answer died on his lips as he doubled over in pain and collapsed to the floor. He grunted out, "What's happening to me?"
Wyatt looked down at his brother's neck, his eyes widening with the startling realization that there was glowing a neon green circle on the back of it. And it was spreading. "What the hell is this?"
As he reached down to try and remove it, he touched it and found that the substance was deep under Christopher's skin. "He asked his brother worriedly, "Christopher, the needle—where did they inject you at?"
"…the back of my neck…"
Chris felt the panic welling in his chest watching the other start to disappear with none of them having any idea how to stop it. "What's happening, Wyatt? He's already dead. Why is he fading?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Wyatt cried out in frustration. He tried to hold on to his little brother, but it seemed like the tighter he gripped him, the more he faded. His own panic was growing to the point where he was tempted to call for Excalibur and simply cut it out, but he quickly discarded that idea. Seconds later, he found himself crashing into the floor, filling up the space that had just been occupied by his brother.
When he looked up again, he spoke unnecessarily. "He's gone…I have to find him."
Chris answered determinedly, "I'm coming with you."
Wyatt shook his head firmly, "No, Chris. They did something to him with whatever that crap was they injected him with. They didn't get to you. So you'll be safe here. Just stay here until I get back. I'm not risking you too."
"But—"
Wyatt grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "NO! Damn it! No. Please? Chris?"
The look of desperation as the Twice-Blessed-Witch begged him, was impossible to deny. He tilted his head slightly in a reluctant acceptance. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going home. They can all help me to find him. Please stay here, Chris. I—"
"I know. I promise ok? Go. Get him back," he demanded quietly as the blonde orbed out.
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Prepared to enlist his family's help in finding their youngest Halliwell, he noted that he didn't have to look very far.
As soon as Wyatt arrived in the attic, his attention was immediately drawn to his little brother curled up in a fetal position in the corner, behind what looked to be force field. Beside him stood the Angel of Death, his chest poked out pompously.
Determined to wipe the smirk off of his face, he summoned Excalibur and rushed at the field, confident that the sword could break through it. What he hadn't counted on was bouncing off of the shield like a rubber ball and landing at his mothers feet.
With a wide grin, Julius extended his hand in a deceptively friendly gesture. "Welcome Wyatt. So good of you to join us. Christopher has already joined us, courtesy of Arel and Raina's little summoning potion. Now as I was about to tell the infamous Charmed Ones—and Elder—over here—there are a few fascinating little facts that I bet none of you are aware of."
"Let him go," Wyatt growled forming an energy ball in his palm.
Julius ignored the young man and proceeded to walk around the self imposed force field as he explained. "For instance, did you know that there comes a point for the human body where it shuts down and goes numb? It's called 'shock'. It is a natural defense mechanism to try to prevent the vital organs from going into sensory overload."
Paige raised her hand as if in a classroom, "Excuse me, but are we going to be tested on any of this? Cause I don't have my notebook."
Julius pointedly ignored her mocking and continued. "And did you know that no such defense mechanism exists for the dead who are stuck between this life and the next?"
Piper snarled, "What's your point?"
He answered condescendingly, "My point, dear woman, is that young Christopher currently resides in the second category. You see, he still feels pain. Watch…" he taunted as he pulled on Christopher's hair to force him to look at his family and touched the back of his neck.
Christopher found it hard to focus on his family's features after the potions effects that activated and drew him to the attic. He could hear their familiar voices, but even those seemed to be a bit foggy.
What wasn't foggy though, was the heat that began to radiate from the back of his neck when the Angel touched him. It wasn't long before the heat eventually shifted to a searing pain that spread through every limb in his body. He gasped for a moment at the sudden intense pain and flailed his arms and legs wildly. Unable to hold it in any longer, he let out a deafening high-pitched sound, tormenting nearly everyone in the small room with heartbreak.
Piper almost lost it hearing her baby scream in the most pain that he had apparently ever experienced. She screamed right along with him as she tried desperately to blow up the force field holding him. She barely even noticed all of her family attacking right along side her...
Tbc…
