Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed.
All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 19
The smell of coffee and another gourmet breakfast greeted the entire household as the morning sun filtered through the windows. The usual morning routine was soon in full swing, with Piper being the first to join her son in the kitchen.
"Mmmm...I could really get used to this, you know," she smiled as she kissed her son on his cheeks.
Chris laughed at the comment. "I'm sure you would, mom. After all, there aren't many Halliwells who can actually work this kitchen without burning it down, right?"
"You do have a point there," Piper conceded with a playful smile.
Chris soon placed a plate of pancakes in front of Piper along with a bowl of fresh assorted fruits. "You have to try out these pancakes and let me know how they are. I kinda modified the recipe a bit."
Not needing any further encouragement, she dug into the pancakes. "Wow, these are really good!" she replied, obviously impressed.
"You really think so?" Chris asked, somewhat unsure of himself.
"Of course, honey," Piper answered with another smile. "The cocky Chris Halliwell isn't doubting himself, is he?" she teased.
"I am not cocky!" Chris protested. "I'm just...just..." he struggled for words.
"Cocky," Piper finished for him.
"Am I really that annoying?" Chris asked as doubt crept into his voice again.
Piper got up and pulled Chris to a seat by the table. "Chris, where is all this coming from?"
"I'm fine, Mom," he answered, not too convincingly.
Piper was not fooled by her son's response. "Chris, I'm your Mom. I can tell when you're hiding something from me."
"Let's not go into that today, okay?" he said as he put on a smile. "Let me finish up the breakfast before the rest of the gang shows up."
As Chris got up the table, the manor shook violently. Chris reached out to Piper, preventing her from falling from her chair. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," a safe but shaken Piper replied. "What happened?"
"Umm, earthquake?" Chris offered, not really knowing the answer himself.
"CHRIS!!!" Phoebe yelled from upstairs.
"Wyatt!" Chris called out to his brother, who immediately orbed into his arms. He placed Wyatt on Piper's lap. "Protect Mom, okay?" Immediately, he activated his forcefield.
Chris orbed up to the attic only to be faced by a legion of demons. Paige and Phoebe were valiantly fighting against them but surprisingly, the demons were immune to their powers. Soon, Wyatt had orbed Piper into the attic as well, although that did little to change the balance of the battle.
Chris summoned an energy ball and sent it towards a demon, but the demon easily absorbed it. "Uh, I think we should get out of here," Chris suggested, realizing that they were fighting a losing battle.
Just then, another demon shimmered into the room, holding a petrified Ryan hostage. "Well what have we here?" he taunted.
"The son of a Charmed One," another replied with glee.
"Let him go now!!" Piper demanded, her anger increasing with each passing minute.
"I don't think you're in a position to demand anything," the demon answered. To prove his point, he punched Ryan in his abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain.
"You let him go right now," Chris threatened menacingly, barely able to contain his fury.
"And what are you going to do, pretty boy? Send us another one of your energy balls?"
Chris hesitated, knowing that the demons were right. What was he going to do? Despite this uncertainty, his anger was clearly the more powerful emotion at that moment. "I said LET HIM GO!" he yelled as he unleashed his anger-driven power. The Charmed Ones gasped as they saw a bright light from Chris' hand. The light circled the room and proceeded to slice all the demons into two. Cries of anguish filled the attic as the demons were ruthlessly destroyed by the light. Once the last demon was vanquished, the light made its way back into Chris' hand and the room returned to normal.
Piper immediately hugged Ryan, who was still quite pale from the ordeal. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"I'm fine, Mom, I think," Ryan answered, his voice still shaking.
Meanwhile, Chris was staring at his hands in a daze. He started to pace the attic, talking to himself. Everyone just stared at him with a worried expression.
"Chris?" Piper asked, a concerned expression written all over her face.
"This can't be..." Chris kept mumbling to himself. Suddenly he stopped pacing and stared at Piper. "Did you see that?" he asked.
"See what, Chris?"
"The light...the white light...the demons..." he continued. Chris looked lost and confused, almost as if he was about to cry.
"Yes, honey, we saw the light," Piper answered. "You saved your brother's life."
Chris shook his head furiously. "No...I'm not supposed to have that power...something isn't right."
Piper walked over and hugged her distraught son. "Chris, sometimes we discover new powers that we were not born with. Take Phoebe's empathy powers for example."
Chris was now wracking in sobs. "You don't understand, Mom. That wasn't supposed to happen!!"
As Piper was about to say something, Chris' posture suddenly hardened. "I know who's responsible for this...damn him!!!" Without another word, Chris orbed out, leaving a stunned group of witches in the attic.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryan carefully drank his hot tea as he tried to calm his nerves. This was the first time he had some so close to being killed by a demon, and the feeling wasn't a very good one. Still, the tea was working its magic, slowly but surely. Even from the kitchen, Ryan could hear his mom and aunts conferring in the parlour. He knew exactly what they were talking about, even though he couldn't hear a word that they were saying.
Sighing, he slowly made his way into the parlour to join the Charmed Ones. "Is Chris back yet?"
"I'm afraid not," Phoebe answered. "He seemed awfully distraught upstairs. I would've thought that it would have been exciting to have a new power."
"Well, Chris and power don't mix well together," Ryan mumbled, not realizing that he was speaking aloud.
"Why?" Paige asked.
"Why what?" Ryan asked before his eyes widened in fear as he realized that he had voiced his thoughts out loud.
"I just said me and demons don't mix well together."
"Sit, young man," Piper ordered, obviously not buying Ryan's weak attempt to cover up his slip of the tongue.
Ryan meekly did as he was told, feeling cornered and exposed.
"Now talk," Piper said assertively.
"But..." Ryan protested, knowing that Chris would be furious if he told his family about the future.
"No buts. Now spill it, young man."
"Okay," Ryan answered softly, staring at the floor. "Chris is a very powerful witch-whitelighter."
"Of course, he's the son of a Charmed One and an Elder," Phoebe interrupted.
Ryan smiled weakly at that comment. "No, you don't understand. Chris isn't just a witch with lots of powers, he is extremely powerful. His powers are only second to one other being."
"Wyatt," Piper answered.
"What he has shown you in his time here is just a small fraction of the power that he possesses."
"Okay, that's pretty scary," Paige commented. "I've seen quite a few powers already."
"So you get my point," Ryan continued. "Anyway, even though he possessed all these powers, Chris hardly uses them anymore."
Paige felt another pang of guilt at the comment. "Because Piper tried to bound Chris' powers when he was younger."
Piper and Ryan stared at Paige in surprise. "How did you know that?" Ryan asked.
"Chris told me about it."
Ryan nodded. "Yes. Ever since that day, Chris began to hate his powers, convinced that they were the reason why..." he stopped, not knowing how to finish.
"Why what, Ryan?" Piper asked as her youngest son hesitated.
Ryan sighed. "He was convinced that his powers were the reason why Leo and you guys didn't love him." The Charmed Ones gasped at the revelation. "He thought that Leo didn't love him because his powers allowed him to challenge Wyatt. Leo thought that Chris was jealous of Wyatt and was using his powers to discredit Wyatt."
"That makes no sense," Piper interrupted.
"I know that," Ryan answered. "But in a way, he was right. That's how Leo thought...he even said so a few times."
"And what about us?" Phoebe asked.
"Wyatt used Chris' powers against him, making you guys think that Chris was using his powers for questionable reasons such as for personal gains."
"Oh god, I'm getting a major headache," Piper lamented. She could not believe that her son would think this way and that they could all have been so blind.
"So Chris went on a personal crusade to remove his powers, convinced that if he had no powers left, you would all accept him and love him...and Wyatt would stop hurting him."
"You can't remove powers that you're born with," Paige offered.
"That didn't stop Chris from trying."
"Oh dear..." Phoebe said, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Well, being the resourceful and stubborn witch that Chris was, he actually found a way."
"WHAT??" the Charmed Ones exclaimed.
Ryan nodded. "He created a powerful spell to bind certain of his powers. The spell was so powerful that it would seem like Chris never had those powers in the first place."
"I'm so going to smack some sense into that boy when he gets back," Piper fumed while her heart ached for her son.
"Chris kept some of his powers so that he could protect me and other innocents. But they were mostly defensive powers. He almost bound all of his offensive powers, except for energy balls," Ryan explained. "Then after you all...died..." he paused to calm himself down. "Wyatt started killing innocents...including family."
"We were already dead..." Paige wondered aloud. "What other family would there be?"
"Aunt Phoebe's children..."
"I have children??" Phoebe asked, curious and excited at the same time.
"Yeah. Aaron and Sarah. Aaron is my age and Sarah is two years younger."
"Are they....dead?" Phoebe asked, afraid of the answer.
"No, they're still alive," Ryan answered as Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief. "But there was a time when Wyatt almost killed them...and me."
Piper felt faint. She couldn't believe that her oldest son would turn out to be such a monster and would even turn on his own family.
Chris tried to save us, but with his limited powers, he was no match for Wyatt...but Wyatt made a deal with him.
"What deal?" Phoebe asked.
"Chris had to give Wyatt one of his remaining powers for each one of our lives..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris emerged 'Up There' to find the Elders roaming all over. He was shaking with fury as he scanned all over for the one he was looking for. "LEO WYATT!!! Get you ass down here right now!!!!" he hollered.
~ to be continued ~
I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story or e-mail me at jeff_langdon@hotmail.com!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 19
The smell of coffee and another gourmet breakfast greeted the entire household as the morning sun filtered through the windows. The usual morning routine was soon in full swing, with Piper being the first to join her son in the kitchen.
"Mmmm...I could really get used to this, you know," she smiled as she kissed her son on his cheeks.
Chris laughed at the comment. "I'm sure you would, mom. After all, there aren't many Halliwells who can actually work this kitchen without burning it down, right?"
"You do have a point there," Piper conceded with a playful smile.
Chris soon placed a plate of pancakes in front of Piper along with a bowl of fresh assorted fruits. "You have to try out these pancakes and let me know how they are. I kinda modified the recipe a bit."
Not needing any further encouragement, she dug into the pancakes. "Wow, these are really good!" she replied, obviously impressed.
"You really think so?" Chris asked, somewhat unsure of himself.
"Of course, honey," Piper answered with another smile. "The cocky Chris Halliwell isn't doubting himself, is he?" she teased.
"I am not cocky!" Chris protested. "I'm just...just..." he struggled for words.
"Cocky," Piper finished for him.
"Am I really that annoying?" Chris asked as doubt crept into his voice again.
Piper got up and pulled Chris to a seat by the table. "Chris, where is all this coming from?"
"I'm fine, Mom," he answered, not too convincingly.
Piper was not fooled by her son's response. "Chris, I'm your Mom. I can tell when you're hiding something from me."
"Let's not go into that today, okay?" he said as he put on a smile. "Let me finish up the breakfast before the rest of the gang shows up."
As Chris got up the table, the manor shook violently. Chris reached out to Piper, preventing her from falling from her chair. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," a safe but shaken Piper replied. "What happened?"
"Umm, earthquake?" Chris offered, not really knowing the answer himself.
"CHRIS!!!" Phoebe yelled from upstairs.
"Wyatt!" Chris called out to his brother, who immediately orbed into his arms. He placed Wyatt on Piper's lap. "Protect Mom, okay?" Immediately, he activated his forcefield.
Chris orbed up to the attic only to be faced by a legion of demons. Paige and Phoebe were valiantly fighting against them but surprisingly, the demons were immune to their powers. Soon, Wyatt had orbed Piper into the attic as well, although that did little to change the balance of the battle.
Chris summoned an energy ball and sent it towards a demon, but the demon easily absorbed it. "Uh, I think we should get out of here," Chris suggested, realizing that they were fighting a losing battle.
Just then, another demon shimmered into the room, holding a petrified Ryan hostage. "Well what have we here?" he taunted.
"The son of a Charmed One," another replied with glee.
"Let him go now!!" Piper demanded, her anger increasing with each passing minute.
"I don't think you're in a position to demand anything," the demon answered. To prove his point, he punched Ryan in his abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain.
"You let him go right now," Chris threatened menacingly, barely able to contain his fury.
"And what are you going to do, pretty boy? Send us another one of your energy balls?"
Chris hesitated, knowing that the demons were right. What was he going to do? Despite this uncertainty, his anger was clearly the more powerful emotion at that moment. "I said LET HIM GO!" he yelled as he unleashed his anger-driven power. The Charmed Ones gasped as they saw a bright light from Chris' hand. The light circled the room and proceeded to slice all the demons into two. Cries of anguish filled the attic as the demons were ruthlessly destroyed by the light. Once the last demon was vanquished, the light made its way back into Chris' hand and the room returned to normal.
Piper immediately hugged Ryan, who was still quite pale from the ordeal. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"I'm fine, Mom, I think," Ryan answered, his voice still shaking.
Meanwhile, Chris was staring at his hands in a daze. He started to pace the attic, talking to himself. Everyone just stared at him with a worried expression.
"Chris?" Piper asked, a concerned expression written all over her face.
"This can't be..." Chris kept mumbling to himself. Suddenly he stopped pacing and stared at Piper. "Did you see that?" he asked.
"See what, Chris?"
"The light...the white light...the demons..." he continued. Chris looked lost and confused, almost as if he was about to cry.
"Yes, honey, we saw the light," Piper answered. "You saved your brother's life."
Chris shook his head furiously. "No...I'm not supposed to have that power...something isn't right."
Piper walked over and hugged her distraught son. "Chris, sometimes we discover new powers that we were not born with. Take Phoebe's empathy powers for example."
Chris was now wracking in sobs. "You don't understand, Mom. That wasn't supposed to happen!!"
As Piper was about to say something, Chris' posture suddenly hardened. "I know who's responsible for this...damn him!!!" Without another word, Chris orbed out, leaving a stunned group of witches in the attic.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryan carefully drank his hot tea as he tried to calm his nerves. This was the first time he had some so close to being killed by a demon, and the feeling wasn't a very good one. Still, the tea was working its magic, slowly but surely. Even from the kitchen, Ryan could hear his mom and aunts conferring in the parlour. He knew exactly what they were talking about, even though he couldn't hear a word that they were saying.
Sighing, he slowly made his way into the parlour to join the Charmed Ones. "Is Chris back yet?"
"I'm afraid not," Phoebe answered. "He seemed awfully distraught upstairs. I would've thought that it would have been exciting to have a new power."
"Well, Chris and power don't mix well together," Ryan mumbled, not realizing that he was speaking aloud.
"Why?" Paige asked.
"Why what?" Ryan asked before his eyes widened in fear as he realized that he had voiced his thoughts out loud.
"I just said me and demons don't mix well together."
"Sit, young man," Piper ordered, obviously not buying Ryan's weak attempt to cover up his slip of the tongue.
Ryan meekly did as he was told, feeling cornered and exposed.
"Now talk," Piper said assertively.
"But..." Ryan protested, knowing that Chris would be furious if he told his family about the future.
"No buts. Now spill it, young man."
"Okay," Ryan answered softly, staring at the floor. "Chris is a very powerful witch-whitelighter."
"Of course, he's the son of a Charmed One and an Elder," Phoebe interrupted.
Ryan smiled weakly at that comment. "No, you don't understand. Chris isn't just a witch with lots of powers, he is extremely powerful. His powers are only second to one other being."
"Wyatt," Piper answered.
"What he has shown you in his time here is just a small fraction of the power that he possesses."
"Okay, that's pretty scary," Paige commented. "I've seen quite a few powers already."
"So you get my point," Ryan continued. "Anyway, even though he possessed all these powers, Chris hardly uses them anymore."
Paige felt another pang of guilt at the comment. "Because Piper tried to bound Chris' powers when he was younger."
Piper and Ryan stared at Paige in surprise. "How did you know that?" Ryan asked.
"Chris told me about it."
Ryan nodded. "Yes. Ever since that day, Chris began to hate his powers, convinced that they were the reason why..." he stopped, not knowing how to finish.
"Why what, Ryan?" Piper asked as her youngest son hesitated.
Ryan sighed. "He was convinced that his powers were the reason why Leo and you guys didn't love him." The Charmed Ones gasped at the revelation. "He thought that Leo didn't love him because his powers allowed him to challenge Wyatt. Leo thought that Chris was jealous of Wyatt and was using his powers to discredit Wyatt."
"That makes no sense," Piper interrupted.
"I know that," Ryan answered. "But in a way, he was right. That's how Leo thought...he even said so a few times."
"And what about us?" Phoebe asked.
"Wyatt used Chris' powers against him, making you guys think that Chris was using his powers for questionable reasons such as for personal gains."
"Oh god, I'm getting a major headache," Piper lamented. She could not believe that her son would think this way and that they could all have been so blind.
"So Chris went on a personal crusade to remove his powers, convinced that if he had no powers left, you would all accept him and love him...and Wyatt would stop hurting him."
"You can't remove powers that you're born with," Paige offered.
"That didn't stop Chris from trying."
"Oh dear..." Phoebe said, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Well, being the resourceful and stubborn witch that Chris was, he actually found a way."
"WHAT??" the Charmed Ones exclaimed.
Ryan nodded. "He created a powerful spell to bind certain of his powers. The spell was so powerful that it would seem like Chris never had those powers in the first place."
"I'm so going to smack some sense into that boy when he gets back," Piper fumed while her heart ached for her son.
"Chris kept some of his powers so that he could protect me and other innocents. But they were mostly defensive powers. He almost bound all of his offensive powers, except for energy balls," Ryan explained. "Then after you all...died..." he paused to calm himself down. "Wyatt started killing innocents...including family."
"We were already dead..." Paige wondered aloud. "What other family would there be?"
"Aunt Phoebe's children..."
"I have children??" Phoebe asked, curious and excited at the same time.
"Yeah. Aaron and Sarah. Aaron is my age and Sarah is two years younger."
"Are they....dead?" Phoebe asked, afraid of the answer.
"No, they're still alive," Ryan answered as Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief. "But there was a time when Wyatt almost killed them...and me."
Piper felt faint. She couldn't believe that her oldest son would turn out to be such a monster and would even turn on his own family.
Chris tried to save us, but with his limited powers, he was no match for Wyatt...but Wyatt made a deal with him.
"What deal?" Phoebe asked.
"Chris had to give Wyatt one of his remaining powers for each one of our lives..."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Chris emerged 'Up There' to find the Elders roaming all over. He was shaking with fury as he scanned all over for the one he was looking for. "LEO WYATT!!! Get you ass down here right now!!!!" he hollered.
~ to be continued ~