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 24
Everyone sat in stunned silence as they listened to Ryan's revelations. Leo looked lost as he contemplated his role in the event. His thoughts were interrupted as Ryan spoke once again. "So like I said, you have no right to judge when it comes to morals and ethics, Leo. What you and the Elders did was unforgivable, and yet Chris still came back to save your sorry life. And this is how you repay him..."
Paige also glared at Leo in anger. While she understood that it was the future Leo who committed this unforgivable act, she could also see how current events would lead to those in the future. She had never been fond of the Elders, seeing them as some exclusive clique who claimed to have authority and responsibility over the forces of good. Ryan's revelations just confirmed her suspicions and dislike of them.
Phoebe and Piper were confused. They were dismayed at Leo's alleged actions but it still didn't change the fact that Chris had killed his own sister or that he had dealt with demons. The more that Piper thought about it, the angrier she got at Chris.
Ryan, as if sensing his mother's anger, moved to quell her rage before they could manifest themselves. However, he decided to target Phoebe first. "As for the demon dealings, there was a reason for that."
"Dealing with demons is never an acceptable course of action," Phoebe stated. "There is always a better way."
"Even if the better way would cost the life of someone close to you? Would you refuse to deal with a demon if doing so was the only way to save Mom or Aunt Paige's life?" Ryan questioned. Phoebe faltered at the question and failed to come up with a good answer. "I thought so," Ryan muttered.
"What happened, exactly?" Piper asked.
"You can thank your precious Wyatt," Ryan answered bitterly.
~ flash forward ~
"Wyatt, what are you doing?" Ryan cowered in fear as his older brother advanced towards him.
"Don't worry, Ryan. Chris won't let you die."
"You're crazy, Wyatt. Chris will never turn evil."
"Maybe not. But I can make it so that he'll no longer be a threat to me," Wyatt smiled evilly.
"You're sick!" Ryan yelled. "How could you use your own brother as bait?" Ryan's comments were met with a powerful slap to the face from Wyatt.
"Don't ever talk to me like that again, Ryan," Wyatt warned before inserting a syringe into the younger boy's neck.
~ flash forward ends ~
Piper gasped as she digested the new information. "What did he do to you?"
"He infected me with a concoction of demonic poison," Ryan answered matter- of-factly as his eyes clouded over.
"But why would he do that if he knew that Chris wouldn't turn evil?" Paige asked, not quite able to put the pieces together just yet.
Ryan sighed as he relived those moments. "Because the only way to save me was to obtain antidotes from various demons. Wyatt knew that Chris would have to work with the demons in order to save me."
"But what would that achieve?" Leo asked, still suspicious of Chris despite the earlier revelations.
Ryan glared at Leo again, still furious with him. "Because unlike your precious Wyatt, Chris was 100% good. Do you understand the hell that Wyatt put him through by forcing him to work with demons in order to secure the antidotes for my poison??"
~ flash forward begins ~
Chris sat on the chair, staring blankly out the window. Ryan walked into the room quietly and placed his hands of Chris' shoulder. The younger boy was taken aback when Chris flinched at his touch.
"I'm sorry," Ryan apologized. "If I had been more careful..."
"It wasn't your fault," Chris replied.
"Then..." Ryan was confused and not sure where to take the conversation. "I understand why you're angry with me..."
Chris turned to look at his younger brother, his own bloodshot eyes eliciting a soft gasp from Ryan. "I'm not angry with you, Ryan. You know I would never be angry with you. I'm just angry with myself..."
"Chris..."
"I dealt with demons, Ryan. Don't you understand?? The very beings that Mom, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Paige spent their lives destroying. I made a deal with them!! My hands are covered with the blood of innocents, Ryan! I'm no better than Wyatt..." his voice cracked with sorrow as he explained.
"Don't do this, Chris," Ryan pleaded. "If it's anyone's fault, it would be Wyatt's or even my fault. But this wasn't your fault! You did this to save me!"
"I should have found another way...there's always a better way than dealing with demons," Chris chastised himself.
~ flash forward ends ~
"So Aunt Phoebe, if you thought that Chris enjoyed working with demons, that you were dead wrong," Ryan said. "He hated himself for it. It took months for him to recover and deep down, I think he still blamed himself for it to this day. That was exactly what Wyatt hoped to accomplish."
Phoebe moved to hug Ryan, angry at herself for jumping to conclusions, but still unsettled by the question of Rachel. Ryan, knowing that this was the biggest roadblock, turned his attention to Piper.
"Mom, about Rachel..." he began, knowing that the consequences of revealing the truth will be severe. "It's not what you think..." Paige wrapped Ryan in a hug, encouraging him to go on. "You know what, let's go sit down in the parlour...this could get pretty long...."
Everyone did as Ryan suggested and soon, he was ready to launch into his story. "You know, Chris is going to kill me when he finds out that I told you. This was one thing that I promised him never to tell anyone...but I can't keep it a secret any longer. I'm so scared that if I don't tell the truth now, we're all going to lose Chris...for good." Piper didn't like the sound of this at all and she braced herself for the worst.
Ryan took a deep breath and launched into his explanation. "I don't know what's been happening...why all of you are suddenly having dreams and seeing things that happens in the future. Whatever it is, I am sure it traces back to Wyatt. I know he's doing it to turn everyone against Chris, and unfortunately, his plan is working. Rachel was my twin sister, she was older than me by one minute. We were always close to Chris because he took care of us all the time. We weren't very close with Wyatt though, since he was never around..." Ryan explained with a faraway look on his face.
~ flash forward begins ~
"Ryan, what are we doing here? Mom told us not to leave the manor today!" Rachel scolded.
"This will be quick," Ryan said excitedly. "I just wanted to try this out."
"Try what out?"
"This new spell. It's going to be so cool!"
Rachel walked over and snatched the piece of paper from Ryan's hands. "Let me see," she remarked as she read over the spell. She looked suspiciously at Ryan as she looked over the spell again. "Who gave this to you? You don't know how to write a spell like this!"
"I can too!" Ryan objected.
"Oh please," Rachel rolled her eyes. "You know you can't write spells even if your life depended on it. And this spell...it's too complicated for you anyways. I don't think even Chris could write this type of spell."
Ryan huffed in frustration, knowing that his sister was right. "Alright, Wyatt gave it to me, okay?"
"Do you even know what the spell is supposed to do?"
"He said it's a surprise. All he said was that it's a spell that I'll never forget..."
"That doesn't tell me much," Rachel answered skeptically.
"Whatever," Ryan brushed her concerns aside. "Let's just try it out and then we can go back home before Mom yells at us."
~ flash forward ends ~
"So what did the spell do?" Phoebe asked, curious about the spell that Wyatt gave Ryan.
"Wyatt was right," Ryan said softly. "It was a spell that I would never forget..."
~ flash forward begins ~
"Ryan!" Rachel yelled. "Help me!!"
Ryan ducked as a fireball flew by. He glanced over as Rachel was now surrounded by demons. To his horror, the spell caused a whole legion of demons to attack and the two young witches were completely outnumbered and overpowered.
Ryan ran towards his sister, knowing that she would not stand a chance against the demons. Using his quick speed, he moved around the demons and grabbed Rachel as they both fled their enemies.
"Ahh!" Rachel yelled in pain, causing Ryan to turn back towards his sister.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, his voice betraying his fear.
"I sprained my ankle," Rachel said, trying to hold back her tears.
Ryan tried to carry Rachel on his back, but the sight of the rapidly advancing demons temporarily distracted him. Knowing that he can't outrun the demons, he desperately called for help.
"Dad!!! Wyatt!!" he cried out, hoping that they would come and rescue them. As he yelled again for assistance, he heard Rachel cry out in pain. His legs buckled as he saw the gaping wound on Rachel where the demonic fireball had hit her. Rachel's body slumped to the ground as the demons turned their attention to Ryan.
"Rachel!!!!" Ryan screamed, tears streaming down his face. "Dad!!! Help!!" he cried out again. This time, blue orbs appeared and Ryan felt a glimmer of hope.
A flash of energy balls cleared the area of demons. Chris ran to Ryan and hugged him. "Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes full of worry and panic.
"Rachel!! Rachel!!" he kept crying out.
Chris turned to where his sister laid and rushed over to her. "Rachel, you'll be okay," Chris called out as he began to sob. "Dad!!" he yelled, hoping that the Elder would appear.
Ryan crawled over to Rachel and held her hand. "Rachel...I'm so sorry!!!"
"Be good, Ryan..." Rachel gasped as she struggled for air. "Love you, Chris..." she whispered before her eyes closed and her body slumped lifelessly into Chris' arms.
"RACHEL!!" Chris cried out in anguish as he held her tight while Ryan knelt on the ground, completely stunned.
The two brothers sat in the empty field, holding Rachel's body for several hours, neither knowing how this tragedy could have happened and how they would break the news to the rest of the family. Soon, however, they both knew that they could not avoid facing the music forever. Ryan was trembling as he thought of how everyone would react.
Chris pulled Ryan into a hug, trying to reassure his younger brother. "I love you, Ryan, you know that, right?"
Ryan nodded as he began to cry once again.
"I need you to listen to me and do as I say, okay?"
Ryan hugged Chris tighter, afraid of letting go. "I'm scared, Chris..."
"Everything will be okay," Chris comforted his brother. "We can't tell Mom and everyone what happened."
"We can't lie to them. They'll find out."
"I'll tell them that it was a spell gone wrong...a spell that I wanted to try out."
"No!! You can't tell Mom that you killed Rachel. It wasn't even your fault."
"Ryan, you promised to do as I told you. You have to promise that you will never, ever tell anyone what really happened!! Promise me, Ryan!"
Ryan stared at the ground and just cried. "What have I done?" he thought to himself.
~ flash forward ends ~
Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo sat there in shock. "Chris didn't kill Rachel..." Piper finally whispered, her voice quivering as the realization struck her.
"It was my fault, Mom," Ryan confessed as he began to break down and cry. "I'm sorry...Chris didn't have anything to do with it. He just wanted to protect me. I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to kill Rachel..."
"Chris..." Mom whispered as she realized the implications of her actions.
~ 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 24
Everyone sat in stunned silence as they listened to Ryan's revelations. Leo looked lost as he contemplated his role in the event. His thoughts were interrupted as Ryan spoke once again. "So like I said, you have no right to judge when it comes to morals and ethics, Leo. What you and the Elders did was unforgivable, and yet Chris still came back to save your sorry life. And this is how you repay him..."
Paige also glared at Leo in anger. While she understood that it was the future Leo who committed this unforgivable act, she could also see how current events would lead to those in the future. She had never been fond of the Elders, seeing them as some exclusive clique who claimed to have authority and responsibility over the forces of good. Ryan's revelations just confirmed her suspicions and dislike of them.
Phoebe and Piper were confused. They were dismayed at Leo's alleged actions but it still didn't change the fact that Chris had killed his own sister or that he had dealt with demons. The more that Piper thought about it, the angrier she got at Chris.
Ryan, as if sensing his mother's anger, moved to quell her rage before they could manifest themselves. However, he decided to target Phoebe first. "As for the demon dealings, there was a reason for that."
"Dealing with demons is never an acceptable course of action," Phoebe stated. "There is always a better way."
"Even if the better way would cost the life of someone close to you? Would you refuse to deal with a demon if doing so was the only way to save Mom or Aunt Paige's life?" Ryan questioned. Phoebe faltered at the question and failed to come up with a good answer. "I thought so," Ryan muttered.
"What happened, exactly?" Piper asked.
"You can thank your precious Wyatt," Ryan answered bitterly.
~ flash forward ~
"Wyatt, what are you doing?" Ryan cowered in fear as his older brother advanced towards him.
"Don't worry, Ryan. Chris won't let you die."
"You're crazy, Wyatt. Chris will never turn evil."
"Maybe not. But I can make it so that he'll no longer be a threat to me," Wyatt smiled evilly.
"You're sick!" Ryan yelled. "How could you use your own brother as bait?" Ryan's comments were met with a powerful slap to the face from Wyatt.
"Don't ever talk to me like that again, Ryan," Wyatt warned before inserting a syringe into the younger boy's neck.
~ flash forward ends ~
Piper gasped as she digested the new information. "What did he do to you?"
"He infected me with a concoction of demonic poison," Ryan answered matter- of-factly as his eyes clouded over.
"But why would he do that if he knew that Chris wouldn't turn evil?" Paige asked, not quite able to put the pieces together just yet.
Ryan sighed as he relived those moments. "Because the only way to save me was to obtain antidotes from various demons. Wyatt knew that Chris would have to work with the demons in order to save me."
"But what would that achieve?" Leo asked, still suspicious of Chris despite the earlier revelations.
Ryan glared at Leo again, still furious with him. "Because unlike your precious Wyatt, Chris was 100% good. Do you understand the hell that Wyatt put him through by forcing him to work with demons in order to secure the antidotes for my poison??"
~ flash forward begins ~
Chris sat on the chair, staring blankly out the window. Ryan walked into the room quietly and placed his hands of Chris' shoulder. The younger boy was taken aback when Chris flinched at his touch.
"I'm sorry," Ryan apologized. "If I had been more careful..."
"It wasn't your fault," Chris replied.
"Then..." Ryan was confused and not sure where to take the conversation. "I understand why you're angry with me..."
Chris turned to look at his younger brother, his own bloodshot eyes eliciting a soft gasp from Ryan. "I'm not angry with you, Ryan. You know I would never be angry with you. I'm just angry with myself..."
"Chris..."
"I dealt with demons, Ryan. Don't you understand?? The very beings that Mom, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Paige spent their lives destroying. I made a deal with them!! My hands are covered with the blood of innocents, Ryan! I'm no better than Wyatt..." his voice cracked with sorrow as he explained.
"Don't do this, Chris," Ryan pleaded. "If it's anyone's fault, it would be Wyatt's or even my fault. But this wasn't your fault! You did this to save me!"
"I should have found another way...there's always a better way than dealing with demons," Chris chastised himself.
~ flash forward ends ~
"So Aunt Phoebe, if you thought that Chris enjoyed working with demons, that you were dead wrong," Ryan said. "He hated himself for it. It took months for him to recover and deep down, I think he still blamed himself for it to this day. That was exactly what Wyatt hoped to accomplish."
Phoebe moved to hug Ryan, angry at herself for jumping to conclusions, but still unsettled by the question of Rachel. Ryan, knowing that this was the biggest roadblock, turned his attention to Piper.
"Mom, about Rachel..." he began, knowing that the consequences of revealing the truth will be severe. "It's not what you think..." Paige wrapped Ryan in a hug, encouraging him to go on. "You know what, let's go sit down in the parlour...this could get pretty long...."
Everyone did as Ryan suggested and soon, he was ready to launch into his story. "You know, Chris is going to kill me when he finds out that I told you. This was one thing that I promised him never to tell anyone...but I can't keep it a secret any longer. I'm so scared that if I don't tell the truth now, we're all going to lose Chris...for good." Piper didn't like the sound of this at all and she braced herself for the worst.
Ryan took a deep breath and launched into his explanation. "I don't know what's been happening...why all of you are suddenly having dreams and seeing things that happens in the future. Whatever it is, I am sure it traces back to Wyatt. I know he's doing it to turn everyone against Chris, and unfortunately, his plan is working. Rachel was my twin sister, she was older than me by one minute. We were always close to Chris because he took care of us all the time. We weren't very close with Wyatt though, since he was never around..." Ryan explained with a faraway look on his face.
~ flash forward begins ~
"Ryan, what are we doing here? Mom told us not to leave the manor today!" Rachel scolded.
"This will be quick," Ryan said excitedly. "I just wanted to try this out."
"Try what out?"
"This new spell. It's going to be so cool!"
Rachel walked over and snatched the piece of paper from Ryan's hands. "Let me see," she remarked as she read over the spell. She looked suspiciously at Ryan as she looked over the spell again. "Who gave this to you? You don't know how to write a spell like this!"
"I can too!" Ryan objected.
"Oh please," Rachel rolled her eyes. "You know you can't write spells even if your life depended on it. And this spell...it's too complicated for you anyways. I don't think even Chris could write this type of spell."
Ryan huffed in frustration, knowing that his sister was right. "Alright, Wyatt gave it to me, okay?"
"Do you even know what the spell is supposed to do?"
"He said it's a surprise. All he said was that it's a spell that I'll never forget..."
"That doesn't tell me much," Rachel answered skeptically.
"Whatever," Ryan brushed her concerns aside. "Let's just try it out and then we can go back home before Mom yells at us."
~ flash forward ends ~
"So what did the spell do?" Phoebe asked, curious about the spell that Wyatt gave Ryan.
"Wyatt was right," Ryan said softly. "It was a spell that I would never forget..."
~ flash forward begins ~
"Ryan!" Rachel yelled. "Help me!!"
Ryan ducked as a fireball flew by. He glanced over as Rachel was now surrounded by demons. To his horror, the spell caused a whole legion of demons to attack and the two young witches were completely outnumbered and overpowered.
Ryan ran towards his sister, knowing that she would not stand a chance against the demons. Using his quick speed, he moved around the demons and grabbed Rachel as they both fled their enemies.
"Ahh!" Rachel yelled in pain, causing Ryan to turn back towards his sister.
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked, his voice betraying his fear.
"I sprained my ankle," Rachel said, trying to hold back her tears.
Ryan tried to carry Rachel on his back, but the sight of the rapidly advancing demons temporarily distracted him. Knowing that he can't outrun the demons, he desperately called for help.
"Dad!!! Wyatt!!" he cried out, hoping that they would come and rescue them. As he yelled again for assistance, he heard Rachel cry out in pain. His legs buckled as he saw the gaping wound on Rachel where the demonic fireball had hit her. Rachel's body slumped to the ground as the demons turned their attention to Ryan.
"Rachel!!!!" Ryan screamed, tears streaming down his face. "Dad!!! Help!!" he cried out again. This time, blue orbs appeared and Ryan felt a glimmer of hope.
A flash of energy balls cleared the area of demons. Chris ran to Ryan and hugged him. "Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes full of worry and panic.
"Rachel!! Rachel!!" he kept crying out.
Chris turned to where his sister laid and rushed over to her. "Rachel, you'll be okay," Chris called out as he began to sob. "Dad!!" he yelled, hoping that the Elder would appear.
Ryan crawled over to Rachel and held her hand. "Rachel...I'm so sorry!!!"
"Be good, Ryan..." Rachel gasped as she struggled for air. "Love you, Chris..." she whispered before her eyes closed and her body slumped lifelessly into Chris' arms.
"RACHEL!!" Chris cried out in anguish as he held her tight while Ryan knelt on the ground, completely stunned.
The two brothers sat in the empty field, holding Rachel's body for several hours, neither knowing how this tragedy could have happened and how they would break the news to the rest of the family. Soon, however, they both knew that they could not avoid facing the music forever. Ryan was trembling as he thought of how everyone would react.
Chris pulled Ryan into a hug, trying to reassure his younger brother. "I love you, Ryan, you know that, right?"
Ryan nodded as he began to cry once again.
"I need you to listen to me and do as I say, okay?"
Ryan hugged Chris tighter, afraid of letting go. "I'm scared, Chris..."
"Everything will be okay," Chris comforted his brother. "We can't tell Mom and everyone what happened."
"We can't lie to them. They'll find out."
"I'll tell them that it was a spell gone wrong...a spell that I wanted to try out."
"No!! You can't tell Mom that you killed Rachel. It wasn't even your fault."
"Ryan, you promised to do as I told you. You have to promise that you will never, ever tell anyone what really happened!! Promise me, Ryan!"
Ryan stared at the ground and just cried. "What have I done?" he thought to himself.
~ flash forward ends ~
Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo sat there in shock. "Chris didn't kill Rachel..." Piper finally whispered, her voice quivering as the realization struck her.
"It was my fault, Mom," Ryan confessed as he began to break down and cry. "I'm sorry...Chris didn't have anything to do with it. He just wanted to protect me. I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to kill Rachel..."
"Chris..." Mom whispered as she realized the implications of her actions.
~ to be continued ~