Discliamer: See First Chapter

Author's Note: Hi everyone!

Thank You So Much For All Your Reviews!

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Last Time…

"It needs the water from the well that holds Alatyr Stone." She said quickly.

"Ooookaaaaay…" Phoebe drew out the word, looking around her, "Not that big a deal so we split up… someone gets the unicorn powder and the rest of us go get the water from the well."

"It's a little more complicated than that Phoebe," Paige said.

"Why?"

"Because that stone doesn't exist." Leo answered before Paige could respond, "And if does, than no has seen it for a hundred millennia or so."

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"What?" Phoebe asked, her expression incredulous.

Paige nodded solemnly, "That's what everyone said. The stone doesn't exist, it might have at some point, but no one has seen it for a long time."

Piper shook her head, "It has to exist. Leo can't you ask the Elders…" she paused, than scowled, "… hell you are an Elder. Do something."

Her voice was full of anger, but it was the tinge of despair behind the anger that hit Leo. He looked at her with eyes full of sorrow.

The sorrow of impotence.

Slowly he shook his head, "The Stone of Alatyr pre-dates the Elders, Piper."

"But there has to be a history," Piper insisted.

There was, it didn't offer much hope but Leo shared it with them, "It was said to exist on an invisible island called Booyan in the middle of a raging sea at the bottom of the world. It's as mythical as the Isle of Avalon. Instead of it being inhabited by priestesses though, it's said to be the home of Holy Men. Right after the Mother Rule was abolished these men looked around them and saw the corruption Man was bringing upon the world. They predicted the fall of civilization as they knew it and in order to save themselves and protect the stone they banished themselves and their isle to another realm."

"What's so special about the stone?" Phoebe asked.

"It has healing powers… ultimate healing powers. The Holy Men feared that Man would steal the power and use it to gain immortality. They feared Man would use it to make the corrupt eternal."

"So they hid it," Chris whispered.

"Yes." Leo said softly.

"It was an invisible island!" Phoebe cried after a moment of silence, her voice filled with frustration.

She took a deep breath and continued speaking as she slowly paced back and forth, "Wasn't it hidden enough? Why go through the trouble if it was virtually un-find-able anyway?"

"Because immortality is very tempting, Phoebe," Paige answered softly, "They had to be sure."

"Wyatt would've known all this," Chris said softly, than smirked, "Lucifer was right, there are only two choices."

Piper shot him a glare, "If you can't say anything constructive, don't say anything at all, got it?"

Chris shot her a resentful glare, but nodded anyway.

"Okay people…" Phoebe said her tone meant to rally them, "… yeah this seems impossible, but we've done seemingly impossible things before. All we have to do is find the island. We can do spells, scrying, hell even potions to transport us might work."

"There's more," Paige said, stopping Phoebe in her tracks.

"More?" Phoebe hissed, "More than a possibly non-existent stone on an invisible island that's been banished to another realm and hasn't been seen in millennia?"

Paige nodded, "Yeah, you see if we do find it-"

"We will." Piper interrupted.

Paige nodded again, accepting the input and correcting herself, "When we find it… well the stone has guards… a huge snake is coiled around the well that the stone is in and uhhhh… there's a huge hawk flying above it."

"Gagana and Garafina," Leo said softly, "Gagana is the hawk, she has an iron beak and iron claws; Garafina is the snake, she's poisonous. They too haven't been seen in millennia."

"So it's possible they really are on this island," Piper asked.

Leo nodded, saying nothing.

Paige continued, "Gideon said that the legend is very likely true, but the place hasn't been found in so long, that we'd be wasting our time trying to find it."

Piper scowled, "I'll bet no one's ever looked for it the way we're going to."

Chris couldn't help it, "What way is that?" he asked, his tone skeptical.

"Until we find it," Leo answered steadily.

Again, he couldn't help it, he rolled his eyes; he wasn't comfortable with the way Leo kept on insinuating that he was going to take of it, of him.

Leo had never done either. He'd always said he would, but he never did. He never delivered.

"I promise Chris, I'll deliver, if you trust me - I'll deliver."

The words came him suddenly, Leo's promise from earlier and he almost groaned. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to trust his father. Trusting his father had never led to anything good in his life.

Still he did find the assassin.

He thought suddenly, he'd promised to bring him and he had. He'd delivered.

This time, but of course, there's always an exception to the rule, next time will be different…. next time will be the same as always…

The voice of experience told him that and he knew it to be true. Yet here was Leo - looking at him with steady green eyes and it was hard not to trust… hard not to believe that… that this time he would deliver.

That this time he could trust.

His thoughts were interrupted when Piper released a frustrated growl, "Okay, okay, we need to get started…" She said standing and taking charge, "ummm… okay. First thing we need to do is find a unicorn – let's get that over with."

"Yeah, that'll be the easy part. Leo where can we find one?" Phoebe asked.

"Oberon and Titiana will help you," Chris answered before Leo could speak, "The Fairy Kingdom is a haven for them, but you can't just go in and take it. If you explain the situation to them though, they'll help..." he cut himself off though, and frowned.

"What is it?"

"Well Wyatt would have thought of that too, so there has to be a catch somewhere," he finished.

Piper frowned, "Would he think we'd actually do all this? Maybe he thinks we'll just give up."

Chris shook his head and winced doing so, the world shifted and lurched for a moment; he took a deep breath trying to bring it under control.

Piper took a step towards him, but stopped herself, he wouldn't appreciate her fussing. Not yet. She'd noticed that when he got to a certain point in feeling horrible, he welcomed her fussing… or at least let her do it. If he was just feeling regular horrible he'd turn away.

Since Leo's healing hadn't been too long ago, she knew he'd turn away if she went to him now.

Taking a deep breath, she resisted the urge to sit next to him again and lay his head on her lap.

"You okay?" Paige asked softly, she too neared him a little, her heart going out to her sick nephew, who seemed so young suddenly.

"Yeah," he said, choosing to not nod his head this time.

"I think even our little Wyatt would know that you wouldn't give up." Leo offered after a moment, bringing the conversation back on track.

"So we have to think of another way to get to a unicorn-" Phoebe began but Chris cut her off, his face lighting up.

"Wait!" he said almost excitedly, "The Fairy Kingdom barred itself off decades ago… Wyatt hasn't been allowed to see them since he was child. They kicked him out-" the excitement instantly fled as he realized what that meant.

Slowly his eyes darkened again, "They must have sensed it somehow… the darkness in him. He hasn't been allowed there since he was like seven."

"Seven?" Leo asked, shocked. That was young.

Chris was about to nod, then remembered and said a quiet, "Yeah," than continued, "Before that we used to go a lot. It was so much fun. But that summer…" he shrugged, "I'm not sure what happened, I was pretty little and not really interested in what Wyatt did… unless it was going to get me trouble. Anyway, the point is that Oberon and Titiana told him he had to leave; I could stay if I wanted, but Wyatt was not allowed in the Fairy Kingdom again. When Mom found out she threw a fit and none of us ever went back."

"Did I ask why?" Piper questioned.

"I don't know. Probably not. Wyatt was… is… your golden child. I mean if I hadn't shown up and told he was going to be turned… would it ever cross your mind?" He answered for them, "Of course not. At birth he was the greatest force of good the world had seen in ages. You probably thought Oberon and Titiana were being unreasonable about something. Anyway after Wyatt got expelled they sealed the Kingdom off; basically put it off his radar."

"They were afraid of him," Piper said softly, the realization dawning on her face, "They were afraid of him… of a seven year old child… and I didn't ask why?" her tone was almost horrified.

"Don't blame yourself Piper. Chris is right; we would never have thought Wyatt was evil and if someone even suggested it-"

"We'd bite their heads off," Phoebe interrupted Paige's sentence.

"Exactly," Paige finished, "So don't blame yourself. On the bright side, that means that Wyatt probably didn't figure in on the whole Fairy Kingdom thing so it's safe to go."

"Yeah, I guess," Piper said hesitantly, still not satisfied with her future reaction. "I am not going to be one of those parents who blames everyone else for her kids problems." She said suddenly.

"Uhhhhhhh, okay," Phoebe said shooting her a not-really-the-issue look.

"No, I mean it. I'm not going to be one of those people who thinks their kid is a perfect angel and can't see-"

"Technically your kids are angels." Paige interrupted, earning herself a glare from her older sister, but Paige just smiled.

Phoebe grinned suddenly and patted Chris on the head, ruffling his dark hair, "And just look at him… he is a little angel. A perfect little cherub." She completed the phrase by pinching his cheeks and tweaking his nose.

"Phoebe!" Chris complained.

"Aunt Phoebe," she corrected, "I'm your aunt."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, stop pinching me. I'm not two."

"No, but your sooooo cute." She said, landing a quick kiss to the top of his head. He let himself smile a little.

It was kind of nice to have his family know who he was. He wouldn't admit it, not yet anyway, but it was comforting somehow… and a lot more fun.

"They're half angels," Piper corrected "…and since you seem to know so much Paige. You go to the Fairy Kingdom and get the Unicorn horn powder."

Paige sniffed, "Fine, I will."

"Leo go with her, so you can use some Elder pull," Piper continued, "Phoebe you work on spells that could help us find this isle and I'll work on potions we can use to vanquish the guardians."

"No!" Leo cried suddenly, "You can't vanquish Gagana and Garafina; they're not evil, they serve a good purpose: they keep people from stealing the stone."

"So what are supposed to do Leo?" Piper asked looking annoyed, "Ask them if we could borrow a little magic water?"

"No just…" Leo shrugged, "Knock them out or something."

"They're giants," Paige told him.

"You can't vanquish them," Leo finished firmly, ignoring Paige.

Piper huffed, "Fine… I'll work on a potion to knock them out."

Leo nodded, satisfied, "Good."

"Great, go!" Piper hissed.

But Leo didn't orb away immediately, instead he knelt before Chris again.

"Do you want me to heal you before I go?" He asked.

Still smarting over his father's earlier distrust, Chris glared at him and hissed, "No, just leave already."

Leo nodded, but didn't get up; and Chris avoided looking into his father's eyes – he didn't want to see the hurt he'd put there.

"Do you want me to bring you anything?" Leo asked, surprising everyone, "Ice cream? French fries? A video game? Book? Crossword puzzle?"

Chris looked up quickly, blinking in astonishment, "What?"

Leo shrugged, "Do you want me to bring you anything?" he asked again, sincerely.

The boy bit back the bitter words that rose to his lips; the older man was just trying to be nice.

He couldn't know.

"Would you bring me cotton candy, Daddy."

"Ugh Chris, I wish I could, but I have charges to visit today; and I'm already late. Ask your Aunt Paige, she'll get it for you..."

"Please Daddy, Aunt Paige isn't-"

"I'm sorry Chris but I don't have time for this."

"Daddy I just-"

"I have to go. Glad you're feeling better though."

"Daddy wait..."

"I'll see you soon kid."

He was just trying to be nice. He couldn't know.

It wasn't so much he'd wanted the cotton candy, as much as he'd wanted his Dad to get it for him. Of course at six Chris still hadn't understood that his Dad was too busy... that he was always to busy for anything that had to do with him.

At six he didn't realize that he should have been grateful that his Dad had shown up at all. After all, in two years time he wouldn't show up for anything that wasn't life or death.

That one day he wouldn't show up for even that.

Still this was Leo, and Leo didn't know.

"Chris?" The older man said, concerned now.

"Ummmm, no thanks." He said softly, but Leo had seen something flash across the boys' face.

"Are you sure? I have access to anything in the world…" Leo wheedled.

The older man watched as the boy looked down and took a deep breath, he seemed almost to be scared; when he looked back up his green eyes were wide and glazed with defiance.

And Leo was startled to see that there was fear behind the defiance; fear of rejection.

This time around, things would be different, he promised himself for the millionth time, this time around his youngest son would even conceive of that fear.

"Cotton Candy." Chris said quickly, his words mumbled together.

Leo frowned, "Huh?"

"Would you get me Cotton Candy," he asked, this time his words clearer.

"Absolutely," Leo said firmly, "Where exactly… I mean what… I'm not sure-" he added sheepishly after a moment.

"Jeez, you really are old at heart," Paige cried, "Cotton Candy… you find it at carnivals and fairs…"

"It's usually pink or blue… very fluffy… made of sugar…"

"Sooooo not good for you," Piper stated.

"But it soooooo good," Paige defended.

"In fact I want one too," Phoebe stated, than pouted, "It's the least you can do since you never ask us if we want something when you leave…"

Leo rolled his eyes, as he stood, "Cotton Candy it is…" he said, choosing to ignore Phoebe's statement.

The sisters remained silent after he orbed out; they too had seen the emotions flash across the boys face.

In a quiet voice Phoebe stated plaintively, "Is there somethin-"

"Do not ask me a question," Chris hissed at her and all their eyes widened.

"That's right! We need to be working on that too!" Paige cried.

"First things first," Piper said, firmly, "It's more important to get him well..."

"Shouldn't we be worried about the assassin too... I mean what if he goes to Wyatt or something..."

"Can he do that? Go to the future and back that easily?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, which means we should probably try and find his portal..." Chris said softly, his voice weary.

Paige sighed softly, "List of to-do gets longer and longer."

"Piece of cake!" Phoebe cried, optimistically, "It's been awhile since we actually had to work at this magic stuff... this will serve us good... make sure we don't get complacent!"

Leo's re-appearance cut off everyone's response but the looks on their faces told her enough--they didn't exactly agree.

"Christ Leo!" Piper cried, when her husband appeared completely, "We don't need him to go into sugar shock!"

Leo just grinned as he walked over to Chris and deposited next to the boy seven blobs of cotton candy, two candied-apples, two chocolate covered pretzels, and two bags of caramel-covered popcorn.

Of the seven cotton candy rolls he picked three-- of the pink ones -- and presented them with a flourish to the Charmed Ones.

It was an amusing gesture that made them all laugh and forget for just a moment that they were in a dire situation.

Even Piper took her cotton without commenting on its healthy or lack thereof qualities.

Chris however just studied all the junk food at his side without reaching for any of it.

"The rest is yours," Leo said happily, "There's so much junk food at those places its ridiculous... seemed kinda fun though. I think we should all go when we get this settled."

Paige laughed, "I'm in! I love carnivals!" she said stuffing a chunk of the cotton in her mouth.

"Where'd you find one?" Phoebe asked, imitating her sister.

"Not too far from here, just outside the city; there's one going on."

"Why'd you bring me all this?" Chris asked suddenly, his tone serious. The adults noticed he'd yet to reach for anything.

Leo shrugged, looking a little embarrassed, "I dunno... I thought maybe you'd like some of that stuff... and there's no telling how long we're going to be working on this. I figured you could munch on it while the girls and I work."

No one said anything. They watched Chris and Chris kept his gaze on the ground. And because they were watching him so closely, they could see he was struggling with his emotions.

What he had to struggle over they had no idea, and quite honestly, they were a little afraid of finding out.

After a moment though, they saw his face clear, saw him take a deep breath and look up at them. His eyes skimmed over the sisters before landing on Leo, "Thanks," he said softly, "That was nice."

Leo beamed, "Your welcome." He said sincerely.

Chris nodded breaking eye contact and reaching for a cotton.

"Great! Now could you go!" Piper stated urgently.

Paige nodded, her expression almost eager "Yeah, let's go... I'm kinda excited I've never been to The Fariy Kingdom..."

"Well hun, there's time for you to enjoy it now. Just get the powder and get back." Piper admonished.

"Aye, aye, captain..." Paige said, saluting just before she and Leo orbed out.

Chris chuckled as he took a bite out of his cotton candy, completely oblivious to his mother's intent stare. He enjoyed the taste-- and the fact that he was enjoying it because his Dad had brought it for him.

Piper on the other hand was noticing how young he looked, how adorable with his dark, shaggy hair and those long dark lashes...

"Yes... he's beautiful... let's get to work shall we..." Phoebe interrupted her expression amused.

Chris looked up startled, Piper blinked looking sheepish at having been caught staring.

"Yeah, yeah you're right… let's get cracking…"

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"Hey Chris?" Phoebe asked about half an hour later.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sitting here writing and it's occurred to me… is it safe for us to be working when that demon might still be here?"

"He's not a demon," Chris said, sitting up from where he'd been lying on the sofa, then he shrugged, "And probably not…"

"Is there a way for us to know if that dem- I mean— assassin is still here?" Piper asked.

"What's his name?" Phoebe questioned.

"Luc-"

"His real name," she cut him off, "You said that was what he was called, not that that was his name…"

Chris grinned suddenly, "That's one of the things that make you guys so great… you notice details…"

The sisters smiled at the compliment and Chris continued, "His name's Evan… but no one ever calls him that anymore. He's Lucifer now."

"Was it… Wyatt who changed his name?" Piper asked softly.

Chris was about to shake his head, then thought better of it—it still hurt, "No, it was just people who started calling him that; women mostly, then men. It just fit, I guess." He paused then added, "He earned the name…" he said softly.

"Is there a way for us to know?" Phoebe persisted.

Chris sighed, looking glum again and Phoebe wished she'd kept her mouth shut. They'd been working in silence for a while and Chris had seemed almost—okay. He'd been sitting on the sofa quietly eating the snacks Leo had brought him. He'd stopped about ten minutes ago and laid down.

Neither sister had commented, but Piper had strolled by and felt his temperature. It was rising again. The knowledge had her re-doubling her efforts on the potion and sending Phoebe urgent looks.

Still even with his fever rising, he'd seemed almost content lying there on the sofa—as if everything were okay.

Now, though, he once again looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

"No," he said gravely, "And you're right. It's foolish to work while he could be here. He'd take the information to Wyatt right away."

It was Phoebe's turn to sigh now, "I just don't understand why he's so loyal to Wyatt if Wyatt killed his father?"

Chris shrugged, Piper barely glanced her sister's way—she almost had the right proportion of ingredients—she was just pouring it in a vial.

"Very good question, Phoebe," An amused voice stated as a gentle breeze filled the attic, "Maybe I'm not so loyal…"

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Hi again! Okay, so I decided to make my assasin not-completely-evil; I realize that it's kinda of cliched, especially since Bianca wasn't completely evil either, but I have a good reason... bare with me. )

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Please Review!

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