A/N: Surprise! Bet you didn't see this coming but there were some things that needed a little shaking up and maybe a little explaining so I'm not done just yet.
Icantthinkofanick: This might not seem redeemable as an answer but all I can say is that there a higher powers than the Woogey man (or the charmed ones for that matter) at work.
Wyatt wasn't inside Chris' head, someone you are going to meet brought them both back to the manor. Lets just say I'll explain it in chapter nine okay? Thanks for the constructive review
Chapter eight
My dear readers I hope you weren't fooled by the seemingly happy ending our heroes and their family received because this tale takes on a much darker twist, because all is not what it seems in the Halliwell manor. I am yet to introduce myself; I go by many names these days most of which I have no doubt you will be unable to pronounce so you may call me…Melinda.
I see everything that goes on in this house and my children are going to be rocked by something so shocking it tear this family apart.
Chris poured over the book of shadows; he hadn't slept in days. His mind was ticking over everything that had happened to him in the past month. He'd had two demons inside his head that had trapped him inside himself and had almost destroyed his family.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the family Chris had unwillingly kept Barbus' powers; he hadn't realised that at the time he was freed but three days after the event Chris read his mother's fears.
Since that day Chris had been taking extra doses of his empath-blocking potion, Chris had been an empath since he was a small child. With the onset of these new powers all his perceptive powers had been heightened which was causing the young witch to be slightly more irritable than usual.
The smell of fear threatened to intoxicate him at times but he was getting the hang of things, even though he used this new power against his potions teacher at magic school just the once. He could not deny he was tempted to use it more often, Chris had tried to lock it in the proverbial box inside his head.
Fear, Chris soon discovered, was a branch of empathy that involved a type of telempathy that he was yet to discover. He could implant the seeds of fear in another's mind then waited as their fears played out in their head from Chris' projection.
He could hear hushed voices floating up from downstairs as Piper and her sisters discussed the young half Elder.
"He's not himself." Piper sighed, "I don't know what to do."
"Piper maybe it's hormones." Paige suggested, "Or it could be that Chris is going to you know…this time."
They didn't know it before that moment but Chris had shimmered just out of the room so he could eaves drop. Phoebe felt a sudden surge of pure anger and its intensity scared the hell out of her. She pushed her chair away from the table and walked to the door where she was greeted by green eyes burning with an angry fire.
"How can you think that?" He shouted at them, "Paige, Phoebe I'm your nephew for crying out loud and you," he glared at his mother, "I'm your son. You're supposed to believe in me!"
"Chris I do."
"I am not evil." He ground out, "I'm a good person and a damn good witch and if you three pulled your heads out of that twisted paranoia you live in you might see it! you have the audacity to even consider I would turn just because Wyatt turned last time. For Christ's sake I'm part Elder, part god, part witch and part demon, you can't expect perfection mum because as much as I want to…I can't give it."
Piper engulfed Chris in a hug, "Peanut, we're just worried…we want to know what's wrong?"
"I've just been coping in my own way with what happened with the Woogey man. But I've kinda realised that I'm not."
Chris looked into his mother's eyes and said, "Can you help me?"
"Of course we can baby." She hugged him tighter, "You'll be okay."
"I'm going to go back to bed okay?"
Piper kissed his forehead, "Love you baby."
Chris orbed away, not to his room but to that of his older brother, "Wy…" He shook his shoulder, "Wy wake up!"
"What's up?" Wyatt asked groggily, "demon attack?"
"No, just had a nightmare. Can I sleep in here tonight?"
Wyatt sighed in annoyance but when his vision cleared and he saw just how scared his little brother was and lifted the doona. "Here you go."
The fifteen-year-old curled into Wyatt's shape then pulled the doona around him, "Thanks Wyatt." He mumbled softly and was then soon asleep.
Wyatt was worried, it had been a month since the events with the demons but he had thought Chris was over it but it was becoming obvious he wasn't anywhere near over it.
There was a day a couple of weeks ago when the boys were playing in the park with their cousins and something had frozen the city. The world had stopped and each one of the Halliwell children had been exposed to their greatest fears and when it stopped it had been Chris who was left standing looking at them all like they were crazy.
Chris had said something the night before he'd stolen their powers, "Wy," Chris sighed with a grin on his face, "Listen, I'm okay. There's need for you to worry everything's going to be okay." He chuckled softly, "We're not going to have a trouble from Barbus anymore,"
"We're not?"
Chris nodded, "He's gone."
Chris held his arms out and the room began to spin, he laughed, "Free at last!"
At the time Wyatt had wondered what Chris meant by the whole thing but in time he'd forgotten. Soon Wyatt fell asleep and the two boys were thrown into a nightmare of Chris' creation.
The nightmare…Chris was running across the attic he had to get to the child before the other man.
He was halted by the force of an athame sliding into his belly he fell to his knees looking down at the spot where the Elder's hand and athame still remained. The other man pulled it out and as Chris fell to the floor he cried out, "Dad."
Blue orbs fell in front of him, "Oh god, Chris."
"Wyatt…" he said, using his head to indicate behind him, "Wyatt."
Leo looked up at the man holding the infant, "It's for the best Leo." But as the man orbed out Leo stayed with Chris. Leo picked him up and walked them to Piper's room he helped him onto the bed.
"You have to find Wyatt." He gasped.
"We'll find him together." Leo reassured him.
He shook his head. "It won't work, you've already tried." He said, referring to Leo's healing attempts, "Gideon's magic did this to me, he's the only one who can stop it." He brushed Leo's hands away.
"Go, saving Wyatt saves the future, you know that."
"Gideon doesn't know how to kill Wyatt remember? We still have time."
"Only 'til the trauma turns him."
"I'm not going to choose between you and Wyatt Chris, I can't."
"You don't have to dad. Find Gideon…you save us both."
"Alright, alright but I'm not leaving you alone."
I'm here now, you can hold on okay, hold on, hold on. I'm here now you can hold on okay?"
He nodded, tears were brimming in his eyes, and he wanted to stay, to hold on. He couldn't, he wanted to tell his father how much he loved him. He wanted to stay he really did but it hurt too much to hold on. He just wanted to know Wyatt would be safe.
"Don't give up okay?"
"You either."
Each breath grew shallower and shallower by the second, he rolled his head to the side. Even though he was dying he didn't want his father to think he was weak, it just hurt too much to see the pain in his eyes.
Everything was fading and as the dark closed in his breathing stopped and then there wasn't any pain or cold. There was nothing.
Both boys woke up screaming, Chris opened his eyes and saw Gideon standing in front of them, fumbling backwards for Wyatt's hand, as the elder raised the sword above his head Chris found Wyatt's hand and they orbed to their parents bed.
"Chris, Wyatt what's the matter?"
"There was this dude in Wyatt's room, he had a sword and he was going to kill us!" Chris cried.
Piper and her husband ran to the twice blessed's room and halted when they saw the sword sticking out of his bed. Piper looked at Leo, "What's going on Leo?"
Leo shivered, "So much fear."
Chris walked into the room, "So, do you know what did it?"