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!
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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 23
Leo orbed into the manor just as another massive rumble of thunder rocked the neighbourhood. The wind began to pick up speed as debris ranging from garbage cans to basketballs littered the streets. "Is everyone alright?" he asked as he saw the Charmed Ones sitting by the kitchen table while Piper tried to calm Wyatt's cries.
"Yeah," Paige answered, "at least those of us in the manor are anyways."
Leo gave Paige an odd look before kissing Piper on the forehead. "Where's Ryan and Chris?"
The Charmed Ones looked at each other, trying to figure out who was going to answer the question.
"Well, Chris got thrown out and Ryan stormed out," Paige answered before giving another glare to her sisters.
"Whoa," Leo said, holding out his hands. "Run that by me again?"
"Your wife threw your son out," Paige explained again.
"He killed our daughter and tried to hide the fact from us," Piper added as she tried to defend herself from her sister's accusations.
"Not to mention that he made deals with demons," Phoebe added for good measure.
"But it's not like they even gave Chris a chance to explain before they threw him out," Paige replied.
Leo looked both confused and frustrated. "So let me get this straight. We have another child, a daughter. But apparently Chris kills her but didn't bother to tell you the fact. And apparently Chris makes a deal with demons."
The three Charmed Ones merely nod to affirm Leo's summary. The Elder sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "And where is Ryan?"
"He stormed out after finding out that Chris was thrown out."
"You let him storm out in this weather?" Leo asked with an incredulous glare.
"It was actually quite sunny at that time. This strange weather just began a little while earlier."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryan ran through the streets, soaking from the pouring rain. He didn't know where he was going but he kept running anyways. He finally found himself at a neighbourhood park. He fell on his knees and sobbed. "Chris...where are you?" he asked. "Don't leave me alone..." Ryan looked towards the sky and issued a heartbreaking plea. "Chris...please come back. I need you, Chris..." For the next few minutes, Ryan sobbed in the downpour, not caring about the havoc that the weather was wreaking around him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryan dejectedly opened the door and walked in, his body dripping from the rain. Immediately, the Charmed Ones ran from the kitchen to meet him.
"Ryan, where have you been?" Paige asked as she took in his appearance.
"Out," he answered, his teeth chattering from the cold rain.
"You're going to take a hot shower and dry yourself up, young man," Piper ordered. Ryan obeyed the command without any hesitance.
It was about ten minutes before Ryan rejoined the rest of the family in the parlour. There was an awkward silence and no one quite knew what to say. Finally, Ryan decided to speak out.
"Sorry for storming out earlier and worrying all of you," he began, careful to avoid eye contact with Leo.
"I know you're upset, Ryan," Piper began. "We're upset too, but we needed to protect Wyatt."
Ryan once again glared angrily at his family. "Why does it always come down to Wyatt?" he demanded sharply, causing Piper and Leo to flinch. "Did it ever occur to you that you have more than one child?"
"That's not what I meant," Piper answered.
"Some things never change. You all thought that Wyatt was perfect and could do no wrong. Well, I can tell you that you're all damn wrong. Wyatt's the worst terror that the world has ever seen. But that didn't stop Chris was giving up everything so that he could try and save your precious son...but what did he get in return? Nothing...aside from having his own family turn against him."
"We didn't turn against him," Phoebe interjected. "He never denied doing any of the things that we accused him of doing."
"Would it have done any good? None of you ever believed in him anyway! Why should he have to explain himself time and time again? Wyatt never had to do that...even I didn't have to prove myself every single time."
Everyone was silent as they tried to take in Ryan's words. Leo placed his hand reassuringly on Ryan's shoulders, only to have his son brush him off. "Don't ever try, Leo. Just because we're in the same room doesn't mean I forgive you for everything that you've done."
"Ryan, I know that you are close to Chris. But you can't be blind to the fact that he killed your sister. You can't just pretend that it never happened," Leo explained to his son.
Ryan was livid at Leo's seemingly noble comment. "Don't you even dare talk to me about justice. You have no right to lecture me or Chris or anybody else for that matter. You want to talk about murder? Maybe you should examine your own life first, Leo!"
"Ryan, you can't talk like that to your father!" Piper scolded.
Ryan was not backing down from his fury. "Chris made me promise never to tell you any of this, but I'm sick and tired of all of you treating him like he's some criminal. You want to know why Chris hates you so much, I'll tell you why..."
~ flash forward ~
"I wish everyday would be like today, Chris," Marisa said softly as she held Chris' hand in her own. "No demons, no fighting, no deaths, no Wyatt..."
"I promise everything will turn out okay," Chris answered with a mixture of love and determination. "We'll stop Wyatt...and he'll be good again."
"I wish I share your faith in your brother."
"It's not too late, Marisa. He can still turn back," Chris said.
Marisa sighed. She knew that deep down, Chris still loved his brother despite everything that Wyatt had done to hurt him. She admired his loyalty, which was one of the qualities that drew attracted her to him. "You know what the others are saying about you..."
Chris looked down at the water and nodded. "I know. They're saying that I'm not a true member of the resistance because I still feel compassion for Wyatt. But they don't understand. He's my brother!!"
Marisa leaned against Chris and soon, a tear was rolling down her cheeks. "Even if Wyatt turns good again, people will never accept us."
"They will, Marisa. They will..."
"You're the son of a Charmed One. My parents were demons. They'll never accept us together. Your dad and the Elders hate me."
"I don't care how they feel. You are not your parents. Look at all the good that you've done. You've never hurt anyone in your life. You've saved many witches, whitelighters, and innocents. Your parents don't determine who you are, Marisa."
Marisa hugged Chris and kissed him passionately. "What did I do to deserve you, Chris? I love you so much."
Chris eagerly kissed her back. "I'll do anything to make things work for us. You have to believe me, okay?"
At that moment, several demons shimmered in and began to attack. Chris and Marisa valiantly fought against the demons, slowly vanquishing the enemies. Suddenly, Chris heard Marisa cry out as he saw a demon dig his claws into the love of his life.
"Marisa!!!" he cried out as he destroyed the demon with an energy ball. He caught Marisa she her body slumped to the ground.
"Chris," she cried out in pain.
"You'll be alright," Chris answered, trying to sound strong but unable to hide his faltering voice. He orbed them to the house that they shared and carefully laid her on the couch.
"Leo!!!" he cried out. "Leo!!! Dad!!! I need you...."
At that moment, Leo orbed in with a number of other Elders. "What is it, Chris?"
"Marisa...she was injured by one of the demons that attacked us. You have to heal her. Hurry!!"
Leo nodded and examined Marisa. "The poison is strong, Chris. I'll need the leaves from a special plant, the bovilian fern, to heal her." He gave instructions to his son and Chris orbed out, desperate to find the plant that Leo was looking for.
~ flash forward ends ~
"Your dad helped Marisa," Phoebe concluded. "So why would Chris hate him for that?"
Ryan glared at Leo and continued the story.
~ flash forward begins ~
Chris searched all over the mountain that Leo sent him to, frantically searching for the plant. Fortunately, he saw another man, an elderly man, at the far side of the hill. Orbing himself over, he asked the man for assistance.
"Can you please help me look for the bovilian fern?" Chris asked.
The elderly man looked at Chris with a funny expression. "You must be mistaken."
"No," Chris answered. "Please, I really need to know where I can find this plant."
The old man shook his head. "Young man, there is no such plant."
"Are you sure? The plant is supposed to grow in this area!!"
"I've been studying plants all my life and I can tell you that there is no such plant as the bovilian fern."
Chris felt like he had been punched in the stomach and he found it difficult to breath. As the horrible truth hit him, he immediately orbed back to the manor, hoping that he wasn't too late. He rematerialized to find Marisa lying lifelessly on the couch. His knees buckled and he buried his face in her hair, crying in anguish. "NO!!!!!!" He looked up to see Leo and the other Elders looking very uncomfortable. "How could you do this to me? Why??? Why????"
Leo remained silent, but another one of the Elders spoke up. "She was a demon, we had to rid the world of this evil."
"Wyatt is the demon. If you were as noble and just as you claimed to be, you would spend you energies trying to save the world from him!! Marisa never harmed an innocent being, how is she evil???? You're all a bunch of cowardly hypocrites!!!!"
"This had to be done for the greater good," another Elder replied.
"GET OUT!!!" Chris ordered as he shook with fury. "NOW!!!!"
The other Elders orbed away, but Leo stayed behind as he looked sadly at his son. He flinched as he looked at Chris' furious glare.
"Leo Wyatt, you get this straight," he hissed bitterly. "I will NEVER forgive you for this. NEVER!!!!"
~ flash forward ends ~
~ 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!
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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 23
Leo orbed into the manor just as another massive rumble of thunder rocked the neighbourhood. The wind began to pick up speed as debris ranging from garbage cans to basketballs littered the streets. "Is everyone alright?" he asked as he saw the Charmed Ones sitting by the kitchen table while Piper tried to calm Wyatt's cries.
"Yeah," Paige answered, "at least those of us in the manor are anyways."
Leo gave Paige an odd look before kissing Piper on the forehead. "Where's Ryan and Chris?"
The Charmed Ones looked at each other, trying to figure out who was going to answer the question.
"Well, Chris got thrown out and Ryan stormed out," Paige answered before giving another glare to her sisters.
"Whoa," Leo said, holding out his hands. "Run that by me again?"
"Your wife threw your son out," Paige explained again.
"He killed our daughter and tried to hide the fact from us," Piper added as she tried to defend herself from her sister's accusations.
"Not to mention that he made deals with demons," Phoebe added for good measure.
"But it's not like they even gave Chris a chance to explain before they threw him out," Paige replied.
Leo looked both confused and frustrated. "So let me get this straight. We have another child, a daughter. But apparently Chris kills her but didn't bother to tell you the fact. And apparently Chris makes a deal with demons."
The three Charmed Ones merely nod to affirm Leo's summary. The Elder sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "And where is Ryan?"
"He stormed out after finding out that Chris was thrown out."
"You let him storm out in this weather?" Leo asked with an incredulous glare.
"It was actually quite sunny at that time. This strange weather just began a little while earlier."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryan ran through the streets, soaking from the pouring rain. He didn't know where he was going but he kept running anyways. He finally found himself at a neighbourhood park. He fell on his knees and sobbed. "Chris...where are you?" he asked. "Don't leave me alone..." Ryan looked towards the sky and issued a heartbreaking plea. "Chris...please come back. I need you, Chris..." For the next few minutes, Ryan sobbed in the downpour, not caring about the havoc that the weather was wreaking around him.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Ryan dejectedly opened the door and walked in, his body dripping from the rain. Immediately, the Charmed Ones ran from the kitchen to meet him.
"Ryan, where have you been?" Paige asked as she took in his appearance.
"Out," he answered, his teeth chattering from the cold rain.
"You're going to take a hot shower and dry yourself up, young man," Piper ordered. Ryan obeyed the command without any hesitance.
It was about ten minutes before Ryan rejoined the rest of the family in the parlour. There was an awkward silence and no one quite knew what to say. Finally, Ryan decided to speak out.
"Sorry for storming out earlier and worrying all of you," he began, careful to avoid eye contact with Leo.
"I know you're upset, Ryan," Piper began. "We're upset too, but we needed to protect Wyatt."
Ryan once again glared angrily at his family. "Why does it always come down to Wyatt?" he demanded sharply, causing Piper and Leo to flinch. "Did it ever occur to you that you have more than one child?"
"That's not what I meant," Piper answered.
"Some things never change. You all thought that Wyatt was perfect and could do no wrong. Well, I can tell you that you're all damn wrong. Wyatt's the worst terror that the world has ever seen. But that didn't stop Chris was giving up everything so that he could try and save your precious son...but what did he get in return? Nothing...aside from having his own family turn against him."
"We didn't turn against him," Phoebe interjected. "He never denied doing any of the things that we accused him of doing."
"Would it have done any good? None of you ever believed in him anyway! Why should he have to explain himself time and time again? Wyatt never had to do that...even I didn't have to prove myself every single time."
Everyone was silent as they tried to take in Ryan's words. Leo placed his hand reassuringly on Ryan's shoulders, only to have his son brush him off. "Don't ever try, Leo. Just because we're in the same room doesn't mean I forgive you for everything that you've done."
"Ryan, I know that you are close to Chris. But you can't be blind to the fact that he killed your sister. You can't just pretend that it never happened," Leo explained to his son.
Ryan was livid at Leo's seemingly noble comment. "Don't you even dare talk to me about justice. You have no right to lecture me or Chris or anybody else for that matter. You want to talk about murder? Maybe you should examine your own life first, Leo!"
"Ryan, you can't talk like that to your father!" Piper scolded.
Ryan was not backing down from his fury. "Chris made me promise never to tell you any of this, but I'm sick and tired of all of you treating him like he's some criminal. You want to know why Chris hates you so much, I'll tell you why..."
~ flash forward ~
"I wish everyday would be like today, Chris," Marisa said softly as she held Chris' hand in her own. "No demons, no fighting, no deaths, no Wyatt..."
"I promise everything will turn out okay," Chris answered with a mixture of love and determination. "We'll stop Wyatt...and he'll be good again."
"I wish I share your faith in your brother."
"It's not too late, Marisa. He can still turn back," Chris said.
Marisa sighed. She knew that deep down, Chris still loved his brother despite everything that Wyatt had done to hurt him. She admired his loyalty, which was one of the qualities that drew attracted her to him. "You know what the others are saying about you..."
Chris looked down at the water and nodded. "I know. They're saying that I'm not a true member of the resistance because I still feel compassion for Wyatt. But they don't understand. He's my brother!!"
Marisa leaned against Chris and soon, a tear was rolling down her cheeks. "Even if Wyatt turns good again, people will never accept us."
"They will, Marisa. They will..."
"You're the son of a Charmed One. My parents were demons. They'll never accept us together. Your dad and the Elders hate me."
"I don't care how they feel. You are not your parents. Look at all the good that you've done. You've never hurt anyone in your life. You've saved many witches, whitelighters, and innocents. Your parents don't determine who you are, Marisa."
Marisa hugged Chris and kissed him passionately. "What did I do to deserve you, Chris? I love you so much."
Chris eagerly kissed her back. "I'll do anything to make things work for us. You have to believe me, okay?"
At that moment, several demons shimmered in and began to attack. Chris and Marisa valiantly fought against the demons, slowly vanquishing the enemies. Suddenly, Chris heard Marisa cry out as he saw a demon dig his claws into the love of his life.
"Marisa!!!" he cried out as he destroyed the demon with an energy ball. He caught Marisa she her body slumped to the ground.
"Chris," she cried out in pain.
"You'll be alright," Chris answered, trying to sound strong but unable to hide his faltering voice. He orbed them to the house that they shared and carefully laid her on the couch.
"Leo!!!" he cried out. "Leo!!! Dad!!! I need you...."
At that moment, Leo orbed in with a number of other Elders. "What is it, Chris?"
"Marisa...she was injured by one of the demons that attacked us. You have to heal her. Hurry!!"
Leo nodded and examined Marisa. "The poison is strong, Chris. I'll need the leaves from a special plant, the bovilian fern, to heal her." He gave instructions to his son and Chris orbed out, desperate to find the plant that Leo was looking for.
~ flash forward ends ~
"Your dad helped Marisa," Phoebe concluded. "So why would Chris hate him for that?"
Ryan glared at Leo and continued the story.
~ flash forward begins ~
Chris searched all over the mountain that Leo sent him to, frantically searching for the plant. Fortunately, he saw another man, an elderly man, at the far side of the hill. Orbing himself over, he asked the man for assistance.
"Can you please help me look for the bovilian fern?" Chris asked.
The elderly man looked at Chris with a funny expression. "You must be mistaken."
"No," Chris answered. "Please, I really need to know where I can find this plant."
The old man shook his head. "Young man, there is no such plant."
"Are you sure? The plant is supposed to grow in this area!!"
"I've been studying plants all my life and I can tell you that there is no such plant as the bovilian fern."
Chris felt like he had been punched in the stomach and he found it difficult to breath. As the horrible truth hit him, he immediately orbed back to the manor, hoping that he wasn't too late. He rematerialized to find Marisa lying lifelessly on the couch. His knees buckled and he buried his face in her hair, crying in anguish. "NO!!!!!!" He looked up to see Leo and the other Elders looking very uncomfortable. "How could you do this to me? Why??? Why????"
Leo remained silent, but another one of the Elders spoke up. "She was a demon, we had to rid the world of this evil."
"Wyatt is the demon. If you were as noble and just as you claimed to be, you would spend you energies trying to save the world from him!! Marisa never harmed an innocent being, how is she evil???? You're all a bunch of cowardly hypocrites!!!!"
"This had to be done for the greater good," another Elder replied.
"GET OUT!!!" Chris ordered as he shook with fury. "NOW!!!!"
The other Elders orbed away, but Leo stayed behind as he looked sadly at his son. He flinched as he looked at Chris' furious glare.
"Leo Wyatt, you get this straight," he hissed bitterly. "I will NEVER forgive you for this. NEVER!!!!"
~ flash forward ends ~
~ to be continued ~