Part Five: All This Time
Chapter One
Just shy of fourteen years old, Chris Halliwell was half-witch, half-Whitelighter. Or was it Elder? No one ever put it that way, he supposed because he had never shown any particular powers beyond what a Whitelighter would have. But for a time – around the time he was born – his father had been an Elder, promoted from Whitelighter for saving the world or something. Chris didn't know the details much. The Titans had been defeated, his father had helped, and his mom and aunts had temporarily been goddesses. But Mom wasn't a goddess when she had him. Just a witch. Well, "just" a Charmed One, if there could be such a thing.
Later, something had gone wrong, and his father had been demoted down past Whitelighter to mortal. He didn't seem to mind or resent the change, and Chris's mother seemed to like it better. It was enough, she said, to deal with her half-Whitelighter sons, who didn't have to take the demotion along with their father.
There were some strange things about his life – no, not the magic, that was normal in his family. Often it was in odd things people would say. Once … Chris wasn't even sure what he had said or done, but his aunt Paige shook her head in mock irritation, the way she would when he was peevish, but this time, she started to say, "I swear, just like —"
Then Mom cut her sister off with a quelling glance. Chris wondered who or what he was like. Like … his mom? A half-Whitelighter? A half-Elder? He couldn't think of any answer that explained his mother's reaction.
Another time it was Aunt Phoebe. Chris's dad was in one of his occasional over-attentive moods with his younger son, and Phoebe, noticing, joked, "Jeez, Leo, overcompensate much?" She immediately regretted her offhand remark and apologized, so profoundly hurt, even saddened, did Leo look. Chris felt guilty himself that he had been about to brush his dad off.
Thinking about it later, Chris could come up with an explanation for the "overcompensating": Dad felt sorry for him, because he had to be ever in the shadow of his older, far more powerful brother, Wyatt. And, yeah, that was hard to deal with, but being the object of pity rankled more.
He expressed this to his mother, but she rather sharply objected. "It's not that, Chris. It's not that at all."
"What is it then?"
"Your father loves you and wants to spend time with you. End of story, okay?"
End of story. Unless the story is retold.
"Hey!"
The indignant exclamation that Chris began as he was standing near his brother in the Demon Market ended as he was involuntarily orbed in front of a startled Vincenta in the common hall of Magic School.
"Oh," she said. "There you are."
There was some muffled laughter from other scattered students, including, Chris saw, the insufferable Joe Lasota. Even Vincenta looked a little amused, and she tilted her head toward something past Chris's shoulder.
He turned and gave a groan at the sight of the headmaster looking at him expectantly from the entryway. "Great," he muttered. "Thanks, Wyatt, this is just perfect."
But a moment later, he knew at least that Wyatt would be sharing in the downfall. His brother materialized, closely followed by his friend Mark. The half-Manticore boy's claws were out and he was winded, but Wyatt was triumphant — if slightly singed — and carrying the artifact they had been seeking at the market.
"Looks like all three of you are coming to my office."
At that, Wyatt and Mark noticed the headmaster as well. Mark ruefully put a hand to his forehead.
"Oh shit," Wyatt growled, then added with a wry grin, "Hi, Dad."
Between the three of them, the full story came out: After disposing of half the Dalzior artifact like Phoebe had requested, Wyatt got the idea that his half-demon friend Mark could get him into the Demon Market to retrieve the other half. Wyatt "made the mistake" (as he put it) of telling Chris, who insisted on going along. Once there, they found it on display at a Hawker demon's stall. Wyatt tried to orb it to him, which set off a raucous alarm system. At some point, he decided the situation had become too dangerous for his little brother, whom he orbed back to the school before dodging a fireball, grabbing the artifact by hand — while Mark fended off an attacker — and heading back to school.
"Oh yeah," Wyatt added. "I think I saw Paige there. Someone needs to tell her we've got it."
"I'll admit, your intentions were good, but that was far too dangerous," Leo said, claiming the artifact from his older son. "And unnecessary, since you obviously know that your aunt Paige was taking care of it. For leaving during school hours, you all get detention. As for what you were doing off school grounds, that's a matter for parents. So Mark, your father will hear about this, and you two — we'll talk tonight. With your mother."
Chris glanced at Wyatt; they both knew that Mom would care far less than Dad about good intentions when it came to her sons putting themselves in danger.
The school day was over by now, and Leo ordered them to get their stuff and go straight home.
"I'm predicting a grounding," Mark said with affable resignation as they walked down the hallway to the empty classroom where they had stashed their book bags. "Maybe for the whole summer."
Chris finally had his chance to take Wyatt to task. "If you were going to let me come along, you should have let me stay and help. You didn't have to send me back here."
"I didn't have time to think about your feelings, Chris. There was a fireball headed right for you."
"I could've ducked. And you needed my help. All your orbing TK did was set off the alarm, but I was the one who was able to knock the stand down and break it with my plain old TK, and that's why you were able to grab the artifact. 'Cause otherwise, knowing you, you probably would have stuck around fighting for it, and got killed. And you being dead — that would have ruined my birthday."
"Aw, I'm touched, little brother."
"Well, it wouldn't have ruined it a lot. Being grounded on my birthday, on the other hand, that really sucks."
Wyatt laughed. "But was it worth it?"
"Totally," Chris admitted.
They were interrupted by the approach of their cousin, Penelope, who said eagerly, "I heard you got in trouble. That idiot Joe was talking about it."
"What a surprise," Wyatt said.
"Yeah, he took a break from yakking about his, oooh, great new power."
It still had taken Penelope weeks to forgive Wyatt after he accidentally broke her wrist in a confrontation with Joe — defending Chris. Eventually, though, she had thawed, and had decided to blame Joe instead.
"Anyway," she said as she followed along, "I'm supposed to go home with you. Mom and Dad both have to work late, and Mom's going to pick me up at the Manor after an interview she has to do." She held out her hand to Wyatt and said, "Orb me there?"
"You ready to watch Aunt Piper yell at us a lot?"
The little girl narrowed her eyes at her cousin. "Do you deserve it?"
"Probably," he said.
They were interrupted by the appearance of Wyatt's tutor, Merlin, who peered around his office door.
"I thought I heard your voice," the wizard said. "We were supposed to be meeting today … an hour ago."
"You're right," Wyatt said. "But I was too busy getting into trouble."
"So I've heard," he chuckled. "Next time, then."
"Hold on. You ought to know that your friend, that demon Penka, stopped by this morning. He wanted to tell us that something called 'the Fortalice' is after Excalibur."
"Yes, that's the one your aunt Paige found in a book somewhere. As I told her then, I've never heard of the Fortalice. Of course, the information came from a book that said I was a myth — and I do know that's wrong."
"So you don't know anything about her powers, how to fight her …"
"As far as I know, she's the one who's a myth. Sorry I can't help."
Wyatt shrugged, and said, "Thanks anyway." They trailed away as Merlin closed his office door.
After the boys fetched their book bags, Wyatt took Penelope's hand, and said before orbing to the Manor, "See you later, Mark — good luck with your dad. Chris, ready to face the music?"
First Wyatt and, now more and more lately, Chris had developed a desire to get more involved in the demon-fighting side of magic than Piper appreciated, but they had never quite gone this far — walking right into demon territory and, accordingly, getting fireballs thrown at them. After the obligatory lecture about skipping school and putting themselves in danger, Piper and Leo settled on three weeks' grounding (with an exemption for Chris's birthday); the rest of the summer would be on probation. Of course, Piper had to admit, grounding with sons that could orb was on the honor system anyway, but she remembered Phoebe sneaking out the window by more traditional means, and realized that if kids wanted to escape, they would — her sons could just do it more quickly than most.
The former teenage terror that was Phoebe showed up shortly before dinner to pick up her daughter. "Look who I found on the street!" she told Piper, who answered the door.
"Dad," Piper said as she hugged Victor. "This is unexpected. What are you and Phoebe up to?"
"We just met on the doorstep, that's all," Phoebe said, and added brightly, "I heard my brilliant nephews did our work for us today."
"When it's Penelope, you won't be so chipper about that, believe me."
"What happened?" Victor asked.
"Ugh, long story," Piper said. "Dad, not that I'm not happy to see you, but you do remember that Chris's birthday dinner is two days from now, not tonight, right?"
"Actually, that's what I'm here to talk to you about," Victor said. "Are the kids around?"
"I think they're upstairs."
"Good, I need to talk to you alone. Phoebe, you don't have to go but just — not the boys."
Piper led them to the living room, where there were no children, but Leo sat reading. Victor accepted his presence.
"You might as well all hear at once," he said, and took a deep breath before letting it all spill out: "I made a promise to Chris, and I've kept it for a long time, but now that it's come down to it … I can't. Wherever he may be, I hope he can forgive me, but I'm going to have to break my promise. You know what he told me about Piper. Because he asked me not to, I never told you the one detail he gave me. But I'm telling it to you now. Chris said Piper died when he turned fourteen."
"Two days from now," Phoebe said.
"That's all I know," Victor added a little helplessly.
"It's not a lot to go on," Piper said levelly. She was surprised to find herself so calm, but she had lived fourteen years herself knowing this — that in the original future, she had died sometime before Chris had come back to the past.
" 'Turned fourteen' — those were his words?" Leo asked Victor, who nodded. "How precise is that, really? That's not necessarily his birthday; it could be sometime around the day…"
"If it's all we've got to go on," Phoebe said, "then we have to act as if that was exactly what he meant. We've got to do something."
"Do what?" Piper said. "We don't even know what happened. I mean, right now the Fortalice demon is supposed to be here in town …"
"Wait, she's here?" Phoebe asked. "Do you know something new that I don't?"
Piper sighed, "That demon Penka came by again this afternoon, and told me that's what he heard. I don't completely trust him …"
"But we should be on the lookout. What if this is it?"
"But if it is, we don't know what to do differently. And maybe it's not her at all; it could be what's-his-name, Dalzior — maybe his followers will go volcano diving and retrieve that artifact. Or it could be something else that will catch us completely off guard."
Leo said, "You could just be extra careful."
"The point is, I can't go second-guessing my every move, or live in a box until Chris turns fifteen."
"We'll figure something out," Phoebe declared, pulling her sister into a determined embrace. "I am not going to let you die. None of us will."
While Piper and Phoebe discussed how best to prepare for dealing with the Fortalice at least, Leo saw Victor out. They had decided not to let the kids see their grandfather; best to avoid coming up with excuses for his short, unexpected visit. They would get to see him in two days.
From the front porch, Leo watched Victor go to his car, but when he turned to go back inside, Wyatt was standing in the doorway. So much for avoidance.
"Was that Grandpa?"
"Yeah, he stopped by to talk to your mother," Leo said as they came back inside.
"And not talk to anyone else?"
"He was in a hurry."
The worry that Victor's revelation had inspired must have shown on Leo's face as Wyatt's eyes moved from his father to the glimpse of Piper and Phoebe wrapped in intense conversation in the next room. "What's going on?"
"Nothing you need to worry about." Wyatt was obviously about to argue, but Leo cut him off, with a touch of humor, but firm: "The last time we let you know what was going on, you took it as a cue to take an excursion to the Demon Market."
"Okay, okay, two points to Dad."
Leo added more seriously, "And to bring your brother along, too …"
"Is that what you're maddest about? I don't even have to ask Mom; I know that's what pissed her off the most. Like I said, it was Chris's idea. And he needs to learn to take care of himself too, you know."
"I know. And he will. But …" The memories revived by Victor's visit were overtaking the conversation in Leo's mind. "No need to rush it. For either of you."
Wyatt gazed again at the sisters talking in low voices, but this time they noticed him and changed their demeanor, standing up, undoubtedly changing the subject to more mundane matters, even though husband and son could not make out the exact words.
Before they came over, Wyatt asked Leo, "Whatever's going on, is it serious?"
"You already know about the Fortalice and the threat to Excalibur. That's what they're talking about."
Wyatt clearly was skeptical of that partial truth, but he changed the subject: "All this over a damn sword. Let's make this easy. I'm betting all this is because Excalibur is just 'in limbo,' no one's in charge of it — so I just take possession of it, then all this crap will stop."
It was Piper who responded as she walked with Phoebe into the foyer. "We've told you, Wyatt, not until you're eighteen. And," his mother added before he could object further, "you're picking the wrong day to press me on it, if you get my drift."
"Yeah, mister," Phoebe lightly scolded, "I stood up for you this morning, gave you a chance to be involved, and —"
"And I appreciated it."
"And you took advantage of it!"
"C'mon, Aunt Phoebe. I helped, didn't I?"
She was still playful as she tapped him on the chest — at sixteen, he was definitely taller than her now. "Just don't worry your mom like that."
Once Penelope came rushing down the stairs, Phoebe promised Piper again before leaving, "We'll work something out. I'll call Paige, and we'll figure out a potion, a vanquishing spell, something. Don't worry."
Unless it is something completely unknown, out of the blue. There was so little time, and Leo found himself fervently wishing that Victor had broken his promise to Chris years earlier.