A Charmed Story - Part One:
Saving The Future Over And Over Again
Chapter 5

"What have you done?" Piper screamed at her little sister.
"I've rescued you," Paige answered.
"But Chris... he..." then he turned to Leo and Cole who were just coming through the doorway... "And you? Why did you let him go?"
Leo raised his hands: "Calm down Piper."
"What? I can't calm down, if my son is getting killed by his brother!" She started to slap against the Elder, in anger.
"Well... Penny said she would take care of him." Cole said to help Leo.
Phoebe and Paige looked at him in disbelief: "What?"
"Did you summon her?" asked Phoebe, shocked, "That's impossible, you're not witches... "
But she just stopped talking at the sight of Gramms, who pushed the two men aside.
"Hey dears, how are you?" she asked, visibly concerned.
"How we are?" Piper's face was wet with her tears. "What do you think Granny? My son has been kidnapped and is gonna be killed by my OTHER son, and my sisters didn't let me help him, and these two," she added, looking at Leo and Cole with despise, "were not able to take care of my little child, and I will never be able to treat him as he deserves, and give him all what he missed so much!" She couldn't stand anymore, and fell on her sisters' arms.
Cole felt really bad, knowing he had been the one that had let him go. He had killed Chris. Leo turned to Penny: "Hurry up! Didn't you say you could find a solution to save Chris? What are you waiting for? "
Gosh, he was so mad! Penny raised a brow: "Ok, son, calm down, right? Look over here..."
At that very moment, the hurt body of Chris materialized behind her, on the floor in the middle of the lounge.
Once he finally took form, he started to breathe heavily. What had happened? He should be dead by then. He thought Wyatt's ball had already hit him, but evidently it hadn't. His heart beat strongly, all his body hurt, and he felt sick.
"Chris!" exclaimed everyone at the same time. Chris tried to stand up, but fell down again, as Cole and Leo rushed to offer him their help, and Piper let go off her sisters and followed them.

& & & & &

Wyatt was pacing the lair so furious that he was even not able to think. They had exhausted his patience. This time, nobody would escape. And he was going to inflict so much pain to that little brat that he would just beg him to give an end to his life.

& & & & &

"You shouldn't have done this," Chris said while Leo was healing him... again. And he felt like this was at last one time to much at this moment.
"It was the only way to save you, my little boy," Penny said with a smile on her face, "I just let you though the plane of those who are dead, just a second, and take you here."
Chris looked at his grand-grandma: "But you don't know him, you don't know what he's able to do!"
"Chris," Piper said, "first you should take a little rest, and come back to yourself."
Chris looked at her with frustration: "He has stolen all my powers. He will kill all of us, I know it. He will come back, we will never be safe again!"

& & & & &

"What are we doing here?" the darklighter asked the demon besides him.
They were standing in a big cave, together with hundreds of others from the underworld. Someone has built up a little podium in the middle of that place.
"I don't know," the demon said, "I just got a call to come here."
"Me too," the darklighter answered.
Then suddenly Barbas appeared on the podium. Everyone was looking at him.
"Friends," he started, "you are all here, cause there is somebody very powerful, who is asking for your service." He made a short break and looked around. His guests were not looking very friendly to him. But what should he do, he was in his hands, like all the others there would be. So he went on: "May I introduce you to the great Master of the World!"
In this moment Wyatt appeared besides him.
All the demons, warlocks, darklighters and any unthinkable ugly evil creature someone could make up, stopped talking and held their breath at the sight of this young tall blonde man who was standing before them, with a half sarcastic smile on his face:
"Thanks for coming," he said smirking, as if he were a rock star grateful to his fans; just, in this case, he knew none of those 'fans' were there on their own will, and this really pleased him. "Today is a new day for you, for everyone on Earth, Underworld or Elderworld. Today, we are gonna change things. We're gonna create a new world and you, my friends, will help me."
"Why should we do that? And whatever... Who are you?" asked one of the demons in the front rows.
Wyatt turned his cold eyes to him. Then, with a sudden movement of his hand, he made the demon explode.
"That's why. Any more questions?"
Everyone kept silent, Barbas even stepped backwards, fascinated and spooked at the same time.
"Fine. Then, listen to me with attention..."

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"Chris, you had much for one single day, so now just take a nap; forget about trying to save the world, or whatever. That's now our problem. Just sleep, and try to forget, ok?" Piper had approached him for the first time since she knew his identity, and was caressing his face.
Chris shook his head: "No, I cannot stop worrying. I don't even have powers now to help you guys..."
"One more reason for you to stay here. You don't want dad to have to heal you again, do you?"
Chris raised his eyes to look in his mom's.
"So now, just do what we say, and don't worry. We're going to create a forcefield here for you, Cole, Leo and Gramms."
"No, please, not another cage...!" he cried frustrated.
Cole smiled and tried not to laugh.
"No, son, this won't be a cage. It's for protection. Nobody will be able to enter, but you can go out, ok? However, you need to promise you won't." Then she turned to the others above-mentioned. "None of you."
They all nodded, and at last, Chris also accepted. He was really tired, and actually, he didn't want to be hit again.
At that moment, Leo looked at the ceiling: "They're calling me."
"Now? " yelled Piper, "You have to stay, we need to save our sons!"
"This seems important, Piper... "
"Let him go, maybe it's related to all this stuff..." suggested Paige.
Piper was thinking about that for a moment. Then she nodded.
"I'll be back as soon as possible," Leo said and orbed away.
The sisters created the forcefield for Cole and Chris and went upstairs to the attic. Penny followed them. Even though the sisters wanted her to stay with the others Penny knew that they would need her help.
So Chris and Cole were left alone.
"Now, it's just you and me," Cole remarked and sat down next to him.
Chris was grinning.
Then there was a deadly silence between them. Nobody knew what to say.
Cole felt a bit uneasy, not because of Chris, but because that was all a bit to much for him... He had missed too much time.
And Chris? He wasn't sure how to behave... Cole had always been a friend for him, he had been even more than that... But this Cole didn't know him...
"How..." Cole started after a while, but stopped again.
Chris looked at him: "How... what?"
"How could I come here? I'm sure you know it, right? And you know why I can't go back," he said.
Chris nodded.
"So... how?" Cole asked again.
"Only a part of you has returned."
"Only a part? I don't understand I..."
"Only the human part... Your sympathy for me, your pity..." Chris explained, "Your humanity has returned. Only those parts of you, which are human, have returned. You are human now."
While Chris was telling that, Cole's eyes became bigger and bigger.
"What?" he asked, "I'm human?"
Chris nodded: "With all it's assets and drawbacks."
Cole leaned back on the sofa. "Wow," he said.
Chris smiled: "In my timeline, it was Phoebe who brought you back..."
"How could that be, she hates me."
"No, only the demon you were," Chris answered.

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Meanwhile, in the cave, the demons and other creatures became jumpy. The blonde guy was beating around the bush. There was nothing, that sounded like a plan, till that moment.
Wyatt noticed that. "Friends," he started again.
He started to get annoyed, edgy and angrier that he was. The Lord was not used to the fact that someone - except his family and that little bastard Chris - said something against him and was not willing to take orders.
He had to change his attitude, otherwise they wouldn't listen.
"Friends, please listen to me. I'm not here to harm you or our world. I'm here to vanquish the Charmed Ones."
"What the hell!" a demon raised his voice. "You can't go after them, they'll kill you!"
The blonde curled hair flew through the air as Wyatt turned his head. "I know that you think that it is impossible but I've done that before and I can do it again..."
"What!" a woman, wearing a tight leather outfit looked at him and started to laugh. "They are not dead. What are you talking about."
He sighed. "I'm from the future. I've killed the Charmed Ones...one by one. I know how to do that, so you just have to be willing to help me a little bit." Before someone could say something again he added: "I will go after them myself, so you guys won't get harmed. Just to show you how nice I am." He grinned. "After that, I'll rule the World and be the new source. Any questions!"

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"She did!" Cole was shocked. "She brought me! She still loves me?" The "newborn" Cole started to breathe irregularly because of his excitement.
Chris laughed. The first time since...well even he didn't know anymore... Way too long, for sure.
The green-eyed man laughed till he started crying. "This all is so fucked up," he sobbed a little bit. "I can't take that anymore..."
Cole was uncomfortable. He didn't know what to do.
It was a strange picture. This young boy, who fought so hard and so long - and Cole didn't even know everything - was crying. He never broke down in front of anyone. Never showed his feelings. He was the strong one, he was the one who should save his family and his world without any help. 'I should carry the weight on my shoulders without breaking down like a little baby' Chris thought, trying to stop his tears. But he couldn't.
Cole sat near him. He grabbed his hands and hugged him. They were sitting like this for a long time, holding each other and trying to feel better.

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The girls together with Penny were studying the book in search for something, or sat down somewhere in the attic, just thinking and trying hard to figure out how to get a happy end.
"Granny..." started Phoebe, "exactly why did you come? And how? Nobody summoned you..."
Penny smiled: "It seems that up there someone finally realized that what your nephew is doing is worth paying attention. You were in a terrible danger, and the world was being destroyed little by little, so they thought you deserved some help. Chris deserved it, after such a long, long time fighting alone," she added with a saddened expression.
Piper smiled at her, weakly. "So?"
"So they sent me here to rescue him, and give him a second chance, even though we had to break some rules, -like sending him through the world of the dead- it was with their consent."
At that very moment, Leo came back, with a very worried look in his eyes: "Things are getting worse and worse each minute. It seems that Wyatt has decided to begin his empire of terror sooner than he did in his original timeline. We're getting out of time, and they think Wyatt must die, girls... Little Wyatt. Or else..."

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"It's ok, buddy, it'll be fine soon..." murmured Cole, still wondering what was going on, and if what he said could really happen.
Chris moved a little bit from his embrace, and wiped his tears with his right sleeve.
"So sorry, uncle. I didn't mean to cry... " he mumbled a bit embarrassed.
Cole just grinned: "Hey, Chris, it's good to cry. Maybe you needed it. And believe me, don't think I'm gonna see you from now on like a weak guy. On the contrary, I'm amazed at your strength, at your endurance. What you're doing is just... huge! You're saving the world, man, you alone. But you know, every hero needs a rest, and every hero cries. If you hadn't, I'd have thought that you were actually dead. No one can live what you are living without suffering and crying."
Chris smiled back at him, grateful. "Thanks, uncle. I wish I could tell you more about the future... But right now, I'm not sure that even those few good moments are still there. Because all I have achieved by coming here is spoiling everything even more. Perhaps now you'll never be really back, none of us, because Wyatt is going to kill all of us, I myself will disappear... His dark kingdom will start even sooner, and it will only be MY fault." Chris was crying again.
"No, no, no way, Chris!" Cole shook him, holding his shoulders. "Cry if you need to, yell at me or at whoever you want, whatever... but DO NOT give up, are you listening to me?"
He forced his nephew to look in his eyes: "Promise me you WON'T give up! You have to resist, we're gonna do this. Above all, now I know I will have a second chance with you guys! I want to be there to get to know you, and see why you feel that way about me, ok?" He paused, staring at him."Ok?" he asked again after a few silence moments passed by.
Chris nodded.
"That's what I wanted to hear!" Cole stood up, and forced Chris to go into Paige's room.
"Now, we should get some rest," he said, while he knocked over the blanket of the bed. "Chris!" he turned around.
Chris had sat down on the chair, his head leaned against the wall, his eyes closed. He was sleeping. Finally. Cole smiled. He went over and lifted him up.
"Wow boy. You look so thin but you're not that light as I thought you would be..." he mumbled smirking. He toddled and nearly stumbled but he and Chris made it safely to the bed.
He put his nephew down and covered him up. "I'm so sorry. No one should carry such a weight," he sat beside him and watched his sleep.

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"What?" Piper got pale after Leo said those words. "W-w-what! No, NO! Killing my son! NO!"
"I don't want that either, but we have to figure out why Wyatt turned evil. We have to find a way to stop and save him or else he'll destroy the world!" Leo was frustrated.
Paige, who was taking care about Phoebe, suddenly said: "We have to go to the future!" The four heads turned to her.
"What!" Leo said.
Penny looked at Paige and slightly smiled. "She's right about that."
Paige stood up and wanted to go to Chris. "We have to ask him. He knows the future and maybe he knows a spell to send us into the future...I mean, he did come back, so he has to know how to go back home...That's our only chance..."
Piper wanted to interrupt her but Paige went on talking: "We could just go and find out, why and when he turned evil and then destroy this source and he'll be save!"
Piper and Phoebe were just looking at her with astonishment. The idea was simple but brilliant.
While her little sister went out the attic, Piper turned to Leo: "What about baby-Wyatt? Will he be safe at the magic school, or will the Elders kill him?" Piper said these words so calm and composed, that Leo thought her heart had turned to ice or something, but it was just the last try to keep herself from turning crazy.
"I think so, I told them that we will find a way. They gave us 24 hours," he answered.
"That must be enough."

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"Chris!" Paige yelled while entering the room.
"Hush, not so loud, he's already falling asleep," Cole said.
Paige looked at her nephew. She felt pity, cause she had to wake him up, but she had to.
"We need his help," she said to Cole, "now! Or little Wyatt will be killed by the Elders!"
Cole, who had held her by her arm, let her free. "That's unbelievable," he said.
"But it's the truth," she answered and then she softly shook Chris.
"Hmmmm," he growled.
"Chris, sweetheart, wake up... we need you," his aunt said.
Slowly he opened his eyes. "What shall I do," he said, still half sleeping.

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A few minutes later they all returned to the attic.
"Chris, we need your help," his mother said.
"Yeah, heard of that," he said grinning sarcastic, "but could you please tell for what you need me?"
"We want to go to the future," Paige said.
"What?" Chris and Cole screamed at the same time.
"We want to find out why Wyatt turned to be evil, cause the Elders want to kill him, the baby... So that's the only way to stop that, and save him. We have to know what happened," the youngest witch explained while the other sisters were watching her.
"That's freaky," Cole said.
"That's impossible," Chris answered, "there is no way back. Even not for me. Cause the timeline, where I come from, doesn't exist anymore. I've changed too much, and even Wyatt changed too much... It's impossible."
"Then everything is over," Paige remarked sadly.
"No," Cole said.
All faces turned to him.
He looked at Chris: "You must know what happened in your past, so just tell us..."
"What the hell are you talking about!"
Cole sighed. "Well, I mean you can remember what happened in your past. Maybe you can remember the event which caused that turning."
Chris looked at him bleary-eyed. His harrowed body screamed for sleep and rest but he couldn't give in. "I don't understand..."
"Oi!" The group looked at Piper who yelled out that word.
"Since when do you speak Jewish!" Paige asked ironically.
"Well... Alright..I know what you mean... But... I can't tell you everything... I even don't remeber every detail... I..."
Piper moved her hands to hush him. "Sush! Well, we could use the spell, we cast on me and Leo! We could go to the earliest memory and watch what happened!"
"That's a great idea my sweet." subjoined Penny.
Chris laughed. "You can't be serious. You would see too much and you could change something by walking through my memories and..."
"It's just your memories, it's already over... They can't change it..." Penny explained.
"Who cares. It's worth a shot." Phoebe walked to the book and looked for the spell. "Got it!"
"Ok. Cole and Grandma you're staying with Chris and going through his memories. Leo you stay with Wyatt and we three go in." Piper had it all under control.
No one tried to say anything against it, not even Chris. He heard this tune in his mother's voice. He hadn't heard it for a long time, but he still had in mind how determined that voice was.
"Let the truth be told,
let our lives unfold,
so we can relive memories,
and stop being enemies."
They burned the paper after they had said the spell.

& & & & &

Wyatt had still needed a while to get all the Underworld come to his side, and a couple of deaths more; but finally, all the creatures seemed ready to accept his orders, although some of them showed their reluctance.
Barbas, who was the only one that knew who he really was and where he came from, turned to him and asked flatteringly: "My Lord... may I ask, if it is not a terrible bothering for you, how are you supposed to rule all these demons in the future? I mean, in OUR future, since you, my Lord, I guess, won't stay in this time forever..."
Wyatt grinned: "A good observer, you are. For now, just worry if my orders are not carried out when I want them to. Let the rest for me... All in good time, Barbas... All in good time."
Barbas nodded, as Wyatt raised his voice to make himself heard:
"Ok! Listen to me, you craps! I have some orders for you!" Then he glanced all around until his eyes stopped on some glamouring demons: "You three. I need you to go and find the Elder and whitelighter that take care of the Charmed Ones. Just set a trap for them... I need you to make them believe you are the sisters. Then..." He looked around once again: "You!" he pointed out to a group of darklighters: "You already know what to do. But to prevent them from being healed, when you have hit them and you make sure the poison is working, bring them here. I'd like to see them before they... pass away." He smirked evilly, seeing how the demons in question nodded and shimmered away.
"And once we have got rid of them both, I'll do my part. Let the Charmed Ones just for me.- With no one to heal them, it'd be easy."
"But my Lord... What about the demon that escaped from the ghostly plane?" Barbas insisted.
"Cole? He's not a demon anymore... I'm not worried about what he can do."
"But master, he... "
Wyatt turned to him fiercely, but then he softened his countenance, and smiled: "You want him, don't you?"
Barbas nodded: "He thought he could kill me. It's my turn to kill him."
Wyatt nodded and said: "If that's what you want, go ahead. It's all yours. Find his worst fears, and do whatever you like."
Barbas smirked, even chuckled of satisfaction: "Thanks, My Lord..."

(Chapter 5 written by Belén, Chrissy.W.x and Dark Angel)