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 !
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Note: For those of you who were a bit confused by Chapter 54, "Jason" is Chris under his new identity.
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The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 55
"Mom, duck!" Wyatt called out as another fireball headed towards Piper.
"Tell me a little later, why don't you?" Piper said sarcastically as she blasted another demon into oblivion.
"Well, excuse me, I'm not exactly free at the moment!" Wyatt answered with equal sarcasm, causing Ryan to roll his eyes.
"Can we finish the vanquishing first and then debate this later?" Phoebe called out as she levitated to avoid a fireball.
Just as the last demon was vanquished, a new horde of them appear. "This doesn't look good," Paige observed.
Ryan rolled his eyes again. "Aunt Paige, tell us something that we don't know."
"Okay, Ryan. Quit being a smart ass or I'm going to have to silence you in other ways," Paige shot back, a smug look on her face.
"Alright, alright. Just making an observation...geez," Ryan ranted, but not before rolling his eyes once more.
"Okay, this is not working," Piper concluded. "Everyone...to the attic!"
The entire household soon found themselves barricaded in the attic. "What exactly is the plan here?" Wyatt asked.
"There is no plan," Ryan said flatly. "We haven't gotten to that part yet."
Phoebe was about to say something but decided to turn to the Book of Shadows instead. Meanwhile, everyone else kept themselves busy pushing the demons back and preventing them from getting into the attic.
"Okay, I found it, I found it!!" Phoebe yelled excitedly.
"What exactly did you find?" Piper asked, impatience evident in her voice.
"A vanquishing spell, of course!"
"Then say the spell!" Wyatt and Ryan yelled at the same time.
Phoebe looked indignant at the fact that her nephews yelled at her. "Well, it's a Power of Three spell," she added, explaining why she hadn't recited the spell yet.
Finally, Piper and Paige managed to get close enough to Phoebe to read the spell. Unfortunately, nothing happened.
"What kind of spell was that?" Ryan exclaimed, as he deflected another fireball with his telekinesis. He was surprised that he was able to control the power so well, considering that it was still in the development stage for him.
"Wait, let me read this again," Phoebe replied, causing Wyatt to groan in frustration. "Oh, I know why. It says that the spell needs double the Power of Three to work. These are apparently upper level demons who can't be vanquished otherwise."
"How do you get two times the Power of Three?" Piper asked in disbelief. "We can't exactly clone ourselves, you know!"
"It's us!" Ryan suddenly hollered. "You plus us will equal two times the Power of Three..."
"But..." Wyatt hesitated, not wanting to bring up the subject.
"But Chris is gone..." Piper finished for her son as a look of gloom clouded her face.
Wyatt knew that there wasn't time to waste. "We'll just have to make do with the Power of Five," he concluded, sensing the urgency of the situation. Realizing that he was right, everyone else rallied around and recited the spell.
One quick look and it was obvious that the spell did not work. More fireballs came and the situation wasn't improving at all.
"We'll have to try again," Wyatt said in a frustrated voice. "We don't have much choice." Reluctantly, everyone recited the spell again, knowing that it probably wouldn't do much good.
As they were reciting the spell, the Book of Shadows began to glow and tremble. It first started weakly but the trembling became increasingly strong. Everyone stared in awe, never having seen the Book behave this way before. As they finished reciting the spell, the Book of Shadows flew off of the pedestal straight towards the demons.
Dismayed, Paige called the Book to her, but her calls were ignored. The Book sliced through the first demon, eliciting a painful and agonizing scream from the victim. The Book continued to fly around the room, handing out a similar fate to the remaining demons. The Halliwells could only stand and watch with their mouths gaping open as the Book of Shadows unleashed a spectacular display of power. Once the last demon was vanquished, it created one more spectacle for its audience – it orbed itself back to its pedestal before shutting itself close.
"Oh my god!" Phoebe exclaimed. "It has never done that before!!"
Wyatt and Ryan were equally dumbfounded. "It doesn't do that in the future either," Ryan mumbled, staring at the Book.
"I guess the spell worked?" Paige quipped, trying to lighten the mood.
"I suppose..." Piper whispered absently, her mind still thinking about the son that she lost.
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"Awesome party!" Kerri laughed as she and her friends looked around at the party guests. It was a who's who of the college as the most popular guys and girls were all on hand. After all, when Mike Kerr threw a party, anyone who had any standing on campus had to be there. Just the fact that you were invited to his party meant that you were a somebody.
"Look at all these hot guys here!" Michelle remarked, fanning herself. "I'm in heaven!!"
Sarah just smirked at her friend's comment. "You say that every time there are more than five guys in the room."
Michelle ignored her friend's teasing comment and just continued staring at all the guys around her. Of course, her attention was mostly on the host, who was presently preoccupied with several members of the cheerleading squad.
Mike was bored out of his mind by these girls. All they did was gawk at him and there was no chance of carrying on any half-decent conversation with them. He tried his best to look interested but his patience was really wearing thin.
A few guys from the swim team walked over and starting flirting with the cheerleaders. They exchanged a few pleasantries with Mike and then began to talk about their various sexual conquests.
Just as Mike was about to put in another fake but polite laugh, he caught sight of his saviour. Immediately excusing himself, Mike half ran towards the foyer. "Jason!! Oh my god, you actually came!" he said with a huge grin on his face.
Jason laughed at the expression on his friend's face. "I did promise you I'd show up, didn't I?"
"True," Mike acknowledged. "Let me get you a drink. What do you want?"
"Anything would be fine. Nothing fancy..."
"Beer?"
"Sounds good," Jason grinned.
Mike came back minutes later with two beers in hand. "Come on, let's go somewhere less crowded," he suggested as he led Jason upstairs.
The two guys ended up in the lounge upstairs. They could hear the music pounding away in the main hall but other than that it was rather tranquil in the room. "You came at the perfect time, Jase. I was about to die of boredom!"
Jason arched his eyebrows in surprise, staring at Mike. "It's your party. How could you be bored?"
Mike just shook his head at the comment. "Look at the people downstairs! They are either drunk or they can't carry on a conversation for more than ten seconds. I can't stand most of them!"
Jason sensed that Mike had more to say, so he just smiled and urged Mike to continue.
"I only throw these parties because I have to," Mike said, the usual spark in his eyes gone. "My parents are never around and I live in this big place by myself. So I started throwing these parties. I used to have parties every night, getting myself drunk and doing who knows what. But I realized that it really wasn't making me feel any better."
Jason nodded in understanding but didn't interrupt his friend.
"All I wanted was to have people to talk to. Not about stupid things. Not gossip or rumours or who just bought a new car. I wanted to talk to real people. Someone genuine. But by then I had already built up this reputation as a party guy. Once that happens, you really can't shake that image anymore. You have to live out the image or you'd suffer quite a bit in this stuck up town."
"I know what you mean...not having anyone to talk to. I sort of grew up in a similar way. But I had siblings, so that made it easier," Jason answered with a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, I wished I had a brother. Or even a sister would have been okay," he laughed to himself. "Which is why I really wanted you to come, Jase. You're like the first person that I've met in a long, long time who I can really relate to. You're not like those people downstairs. You are...I don't know...real."
A pang of guilt hit Jason as he heard that comment. "If only you knew..." he thought to himself.
"You look past all the superficial stuff and you care. You care about people...about who they are, what they're feeling, what they need. I don't see that in many people on campus."
"Wow, that's... very flattering, Mike."
"I mean it, Jason. You're like the brother that I never had. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate that."
"Hey, anytime, Mike. And likewise...you've really helped me get settled in this new town...so I'm grateful for that.
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"Tell me why we're driving four hours to see a baseball game again?" Wyatt asked for the eighth time in the last hour.
"Because your brother is playing in the regional championships," Phoebe answered cheerfully.
"Right..." Wyatt answered, sighing as the sun beat down on the car.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Paige said, trying to cheer up her bored nephew.
"I hate baseball. I mean, half the time, I don't even understand what they're doing out on the field!"
"Take it as a chance to learn a new sport then," Piper laughed. "And quit being such a baby! It's a big day for Ryan. It's not everyday that your baby brother is the star pitcher on the college baseball team, you know."
Wyatt just snorted at the remark. "And that is the ONLY reason I'm even making this ridiculously long drive to see this game. And why is the game held in the middle of nowhere anyways? Why can't they come to San Francisco instead of making us drive for four hours?"
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"You were awesome, Ryan!" Phoebe gushed as she hugged her nephew. "That was some pitching you had there!"
Ryan laughed at her aunt's reaction. "It was one of my better days."
Wyatt grinned at his brother's understatement. "I had to admit, it was a pretty exciting game. By the sixth inning, I actually knew what was going on!"
"So it was worth the four hours' drive?" Ryan teased.
"I guess..." Wyatt smiled as he answered. "If you had bombed out there on the mound, on the other hand..."
Piper playfully smacked Wyatt's arm. "Stop trying to make your brother feel bad."
"Don't worry, Mom. Ryan has really thick skin," Wyatt smirked as Ryan tried to look indignant.
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"No, I'll do it myself. It's half way across campus," Mike protested.
"Look, you have a class in thirty minutes, so just let me get the book for you!"
"It's too much of a hassle..."
"I'm not complaining, am I?" Jason asked. "Plus, do you want to pass this course or not? Professor Peterson won't look too kindly on you missing class, you know."
"You sure about this?" Mike asked, still not sure about the idea. "Because I don't want you to do it just because I asked..."
"I'm fine, Mikey. Just relax and go to class..."
Meanwhile, further down the corridor, the Halliwells stood frozen, their faces pale white. Piper was trembling and looked like she was about to faint. Paige's lips were quivering while Phoebe tried to contain her emotions. Wyatt stared through glassy eyes and Ryan felt his heart pounding. There, alive and well and less than a hundred metres away, stood the one person who could fill the huge void in their family – Christopher Perry Halliwell.
"Chris..." Piper whispered, tears streaming down her face. "Chris..." she called out again.
Jason looked at Mike's skeptical look and rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, you can treat me to dinner one of these days, okay?"
"Deal!" Mike answered happily. "I'll see you later tonight then. Thanks, Jase!"
"No problem!" Jason called out as Mike ran to class. Jason shook his head, smiling to himself as he turned to head towards the bookstore. He only took two steps, navigating through the crowded corridor before he stopped. His gazed locked with five pairs of eyes staring right at him, his body quickly tensing.
For a brief moment, Jason/Chris's mind froze, unable to think. But within seconds, he had regained his senses and he did the first thing that came to mind – turn around, push through the crowd, and run.
The five Halliwells immediately gave chase, refusing to lose this miraculous opportunity. Wyatt led the way and Ryan was close behind.
Chris ran as fast as he could, desperate to get away. He rounded another corner before spotting the door to a storage room. He quickly tested it and found it unlocked. Opening it, he slipped inside and closed the door quietly behind him.
Only once he was safely inside the room did his breathing begin to slow down to a normal rate. He could hear Wyatt and Ryan outside, calling out his name. They both sounded like they were crying.
"Chris!!" Wyatt called out again. "Where are you? Please...we just want to talk!!"
Now he heard Piper join in the search. And Phoebe. And Paige.
The searching and calling went on for five minutes. Chris could hear the voices moving farther away until they could no longer be heard. Quickly wiping the tears from his face, he took a deep breath and quietly emerged in the hall. Turning to make sure that no one was there, he continued his journey to the bookstore. He rounded one corner before he came face to face to Phoebe, Paige, and Piper. His face paling, he turned around to make his escape, only to be faced with Wyatt and Ryan.
He was cornered.
- to be continued -