Disclaimer: I swear on all that is Wiccan that someday, somehow, Charmed WILL BE MINE! AS WELL AS DREW FULLER! But for now I must live with the limitations. But when I'm old enough to hire assassins...lol! Just kidding! Oh, and a hint to all of you "amateurs": plastic spoons make great weapons!

Thanks for checking out the story, peoples!

"What the hell...?" Paige cried, setting the sleeping baby into the crib. "Who is that?"

They had just recently settled down from the hospital after Chris' birth. Only moments before, they'd set Piper down and told her the terrible tale of 23-year-old Chris' death. It'd been an hour and she was still crying, but now she had leapt up in shock with her sisters.

"It's a boy," Phoebe gasped. She ran up to him and checked his pulse. "He's fine. Just unconscious."

"Did he just come through a portal?" Piper asked, clearly fretting. "A portal, Phoebe! Don't you get it? He could be evil! From the future—oh, maybe Chris died for nothing..." She began to tear up again.

"Honey..." Paige warned.

"It's only a boy," Phoebe assured her. "He's not armed. He doesn't look dangerous—he's probably just an innocent."

"Right," Piper snarled, "completely innocent. Evil comes in all shapes and sizes, you know!"

Phoebe turned the boy over so they could see his face. Phoebe and Paige jumped back and Piper let out a loud hiccupping sob of surprise. The boy had brown hair identical to Piper's and a little freckle on his nose. He was carrying a messenger bag.

"Oh my god," Phoebe gasped. "He looks just like..."

Another squeal from Piper interrupted her. "Don't say it! If you say it, I'll wake up and find out I'm dreaming!"

"Piper, you're not dreaming," Paige assured her. "We all see him."

"Then it's a nightmare," she choked. "Either that or a demon in disguise!"

"He's hurt," said Phoebe, seeing the blood running down his knee and jaw. She clearly wasn't listening to her sisters. "It looks like he fell."

"It's Chris," Paige marveled. "I can't believe it. What is he, like, twelve? Eleven?"

Piper couldn't help but notice how pale and thin the boy was. "He doesn't look like Chris," she said uncertainly. "He looks sick."

Phoebe pried open the flap of the messenger bag and leafed through its contents. "Some food," she noted. "And a notebook." She opened it and began to read. "'Chris Halliwell,' " she said aloud. "It is him."

The room was dead silent for ten seconds. Finally Piper shouted, "LEO!"

The baby started to cry. Wyatt orbed in from the nursery wearing a hopeful expression and Phoebe and Paige jumped.

The boy stirred and moaned, sitting up. The room froze.

A shocked, anguished expression reached his face. He backed away from them, green eyes wide. "You're not real, you don't exist," the boy was whispering, closing his eyes. He was, if possible, even paler than before, and shaking. "You're not real, you don't exist. You're not real, you don't exist..." He was choking on his words.

"Chris?" asked Phoebe tentatively. "It's okay."

He opened his eyes, staring at Piper. "You're dead," he whispered with a faraway look. "You're not real...you d-don't exist..."

"Mom used to say that," said Piper. "Remember? When we were scared at night."

"Where am I? Why did he do this?" he asked.

"You're okay," Piper assured him. Motherly instincts took over. "I'm not dead. I'm right here." She crossed over to him, putting an arm around his shoulder. He shrugged away, flinching.

"No, no...you're not...you're dead!" The boy wasn't crying. His face was a dead blank of every emotion but fear.

"I can't read him," Phoebe said worriedly.

"Tell us," asked Paige, "who are you?"

The boy looked up at her. "Who are YOU?" he asked coldly. "This isn't funny. Stop it! Where did you get the baby? Why is she suddenly alive?" He was on his feet now, furious. "Why are you doing this?! To remind me that it was all my fault??"

"Chris, you're in the year 2004," said Paige.

"No," said Chris between gritted teeth. "I recognize you—you're DEAD in the year 2004!"

Once again, there was silence.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he moaned again, orbing away.

"Come back!" Piper cried. "LEO! LEO!!"

Leo orbed in from the Underworld. "What? What's wrong?"

By now Piper was sobbing too hard to answer. "Find him," she wailed, "find Chris!"

Rage consumed him. "THEY KIDNAPPED HIM?" he demanded.

"No, he's right here," said Paige, calming him by showing him the baby. "Leo, there's an older Chris here. He looks about eleven. He's running around the city somewhere after stepping into a portal and he's in bad shape. You've got to find him."

"I—I—WHAT?" he stuttered, flabbergasted. "What are you saying?"

"He stepped through a portal out of nowhere. He's Chris, but he's younger. Try sensing for him," Phoebe advised. "But be careful. We don't know that much about Chris' past. He...he kept claiming that Piper and I were dead. He was really upset."

"I thought we fixed that," Leo whispered.

"Yeah. I know," said Phoebe. "But it could be a fluke. Maybe we did fix it."

Leo nodded uncertainly, closing his eyes. "I think I've got something," he said after a moment. "This is going to be awfully weird," he muttered, a dazed look on his face as he orbed away.

Chris orbed into an alley and jumped up, shocked at the noise. His hands shot up to cover his ears. What was happening? Cars honking, footsteps, talking, yelling—it was utter chaos! Were they under attack?

He ran out of the alley to get a better look. Everybody looked perfectly calm as they bustled hurriedly around the streets. It was suddenly like a fairy tale to him—the mothers scolding children, the businessmen on their cell phones. He grinned. There were even girls and boys his own age riding around. Some one bumped into him from behind.

"Dude, you got nailed," said the kid on skates. "Lost your board?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah," he said as the kid rode away. This was too weird.

He went back into the alley. As much as he'd love to stay and watch the streets, he was pretty sure it was all an illusion. He wouldn't allow himself to enjoy it much longer; it would only be taken away.

Suddenly another set of orbs filled the alley. Chris' heart seized with panic at the thought of even seeing Leo, and he orbed away on reflex to the only place he knew Leo wasn't stupid enough to go to.

To his surprise, the Golden Gate Bridge was beautiful and sparkling in the light. The water below was clean and plentiful and there were actually cars driving around on the streets. And he wasn't alone.

He jumped back at the sight of a woman in her mid-40s.

"Who are you?" he demanded, leaping to his feet.

The woman opened her eyes. "Arabella. I'm an elder. Are you a whitelighter?" she asked.

"Um, no."

"Ah, I knew you were out of place on earth. Whitelighters in training aren't allowed on earth, young one. There is still much for you to learn." She cocked an eyebrow in disapproval of his appearance. "Exactly how long have you been down here?"

"Uh...my whole life. I'm not some whitelighter in training and I'm definitely not dead. I think. What's going on here? Why is everything still in tact?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, stepping over to him. She placed a hand on his head as if reading his mind. "You come from the same world as Christopher Perry."

"I AM Christopher Perry. How do you know my name?"

"You're journey here will be shorter than his, but remember the goal is to save Wyatt. Preserve this world, for it is beautiful. Good luck, young hero."

"Huh?"

She orbed away and more orbs replaced her. Leo formed on the bridge, looking haggard and dirty. Not like the Leo Chris knew. But then again, Chris wasn't sure if he wanted to know any Leo at the moment.

"Chris?" Leo asked tentatively.

"Go away," said Chris, backing up. "Stop following me!"

"This isn't your time, you have to come with me," Leo pleaded. "You don't understand. You could easily get killed out here. We need to send you back."

"You're not Leo," Chris realized.

"Yes I am." Leo frowned, confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Chris opened his mouth to say exactly why, then decided against it and said something else. "This makes no sense. The man just told me to step through the damn portal and I was stupid enough to do what he said. This place...it can't be real! You're not real!"

"What man? Who made you come here?"

"I think he was me or something. From the future."

"Chris lived?" Leo asked hopefully.

Chris was surprised by the concern in Leo's eyes. Leo usually cared more about Wyatt. "See, I knew you weren't real. Why would you care if he died? It's not like I'm good for anything."

Leo seemed shocked. "I'm not the Leo from your time," he tried to reason.

"Then—then where AM I?" Chris asked quietly.

Leo took a step closer. The kid was obviously scared of him, scared of what was happening. He looked like he was in bad shape; pale and too skinny and small, cut up in several places.

"It's a long story. Here, take my hand and we'll head back to the manor. The sisters and I will explain. Do you want me to heal those cuts?"

Chris shook his head, flinching as he took Leo's hand. Suddenly he snatched his hand back. "I can orb on my own," he said quickly, orbing away from Leo. Leo could only hope that he'd orbed as directed, orbing to the manor himself.

He sighed in relief, seeing Chris in the attic. But the relief was short lived. There was a blonde boy with a knife...held up to baby Chris' throat.

"You wouldn't," the older Chris choked out.

"I would."

Lol. You'll just have to wait for the next chappie to find out what happens...

Pink-Charmed-One