A Charmed Story - Part Two:
Brothers Love Through The Times
Chapter 2

Wyatt was the first one in waking up. It took him several minutes to adapt his sight to the dark space around him, and to realize where he was... or better said, where he wasn't.
Some steps ahead of him there was something lying... a body. Wyatt stood up with some difficulty, and stumbled in its direction. He felt a little bit sick, and he didn't have a clue about why. He only remembered the smoke, and the panic in Chris's voice... and then, he just felt so tired, he needed to sleep. He didn't even realize he had fallen on the floor, unconscious, and so had his brother.
"Chris..." he whispered, shaking the young man's body, the one which was lying near him.
Chris stirred and mumbled incoherent words. Then, he opened his eyes slowly and looked at his brother, confused. He seemed not to remember where he was, or what had happened, so when he realized it was adult Wyatt that was kneeling by him, he couldn't help flinching a little bit.
"It's ok, brother, it's me..." the eldest said, stroking his hair. "Are you ok?"
Chris frowned as he looked in his eyes. "I'm not sure... where... where are we? What happened? And what are you doing here, Wyatt...?"
Chris sat up and felt everything was spinning around him, then Wyatt had to hold him so that he didn't fall again.
"I came to warn you from something, but I was supposed to leave as soon as I did it."
"So?" Chris stared at him, even more confused. "Are you... Are you fine? I mean... Are you...?" The youngest didn't know how to ask the question he had in mind.
But Wyatt showed a sad smile to him: "Yes, brother... I'm good, if that's what you mean. You did a great job."
Chris sighed relieved for a moment, but then he took a glance at the room where they were in. It was so dark, they could only see what there was near them, the rest was only darkness.
"What are we doing here? Is Cole fine?" he asked, suddenly remembering something about his uncle.
"You had the time to orb him somewhere else, so I suppose he's alright... But don't ask where we are... The only thing I can remember is a dark cloud of smoke coming to us... Then, nothing."
Chris nodded, those were also his only memories.
He kept silent for a while, looking down; his heart beat strongly. Then, he looked in Wyatt's eyes again, who was resting his hand on Chris's shoulder, and smiled sadly: "I'm so happy you're with me on this, Wyatt..."
Wyatt nodded seriously: "Me too, little brother, I wouldn't leave you alone... But we're gonna find a way out, I promise."
"Will you let me know why you came here?" Chris asked, curious. "It seems we're gonna have time for that little story."
Wyatt shook his head: "Later, Chris, this is not the moment, that doesn't really matter now."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Chris!" Leo was desperately calling for his sons, "Wyatt!" But there were no signals of their being there.
After some minutes of yelling and calling them, he went back to the magic school and looked for Cole, who was sitting on a chair in one of the classrooms, very pale, and with his hands covering his face.
Cole raised his eyes quickly as he noticed Leo's orbs. "Where are they?" he asked, when he saw him alone.
Leo shook his head: "Don't know, I can't find them... Cole, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. I'll try to find them before the sisters or Bianca realize... I'm sure this is not so..."
"What are we supposed not to realize?" Paige was standing in the doorway, frowning, looking surprised at Cole, who wasn't supposed to be there. "What's going on, you two?"
Leo sighed. That was the last thing he had wanted... the sisters worrying again.
Seconds later Phoebe went in. When she saw Cole she ran over to him, sat down on his knees, hugged and kissed him. Then she felt that something was wrong.
"What are you doing here? What happened?" she asked.
"We can't find Chris," Leo answered.
"Chris?" Paige asked.
"And Wyatt," Cole added.
"But Wyatt is here," Phoebe said, "I saw him just..."
"No, not the young one," Cole explained.
Paige frowned: "Do you mean the evil one is back?"
Also Phoebe felt a little fear when hearing the words of his love.
Cole stood up: "No... the adult one... and as it seems a good one."
The others looked at him with suspicion.
"How can you be so sure?" Leo asked.
"Well maybe you should tell us all from the beginning," Phoebe remarked. Leo nodded.
"I'll go, and pick up the others, we..." Paige said.
"No!" Leo and Cole yelled.
"But they have to know it," was also Phoebe's opinion.
Leo sighed: "We shall first try to find out what happened, maybe it's nothing to worry about... So why should we worry them."
Paige nodded: "O.k. let's hear what Cole has to say, then we'll decide."

°°°°°°°°°°

The brothers searched for an exit. In the meantime, they had got a good knowledge about their prison. It was a kind of cave, nearly round, about five meters in diameter and about two meters high. And there was nothing in it, nothing else than the two men. And there was no door. The walls were made of stone, there seemed to be no way out... or even in...
"Great!" Chris grumbled.
"We'll find a way out," Wyatt answered.
"And how?"
"Don't know yet, but I will find a way... as always... don't you remember?"
Chris began to laugh. Wyatt was a bit irritated by that.
"Sorry," Chris said as he calmed down, "but... no, I don't... actually I don't know you."
Wyatt sighed: "Excuse me, I hadn't thought about that."
"Forget it...," Chris said and started again to strobe the walls, to find something.
They kept silence for a while.
"What was I like... in your time, I mean?" Wyatt asked then.
Chris stopped for a moment, then he shook his head: "You don't want to know that."
"I do... That's why I ask," Wyatt said again, "please Chris, I want to know... I need to..."
Chris sat down, and his brother sat next to him.
"Well..." the younger one started, "you were evil."
"Yeah, that's what Cole told me too. But what did I? Did I something to you? Well, I hope not, I can't imagine having hurt you..."
Chris laughed again.
"What?" Wyatt asked.
"I can't believe that you've said that!" Chris answered.
Chris was being cruel to him. He knew that, and he felt a little bit of satisfaction. But he couldn't help doing it... It was hard to believe that this Wyatt wasn't the same one he knew, the one he had feared so much, the one he was happy not to have to see anymore because he was now stuck in the past... He had to admit it...
He was relieved when he knew he wouldn't be back to the future, since he wasn't really sure that Wyatt was good, or that he himself would be able to accept him now, to look at him and not feel afraid of his reactions.
He had been happy to stay and be able to see Wyatt, the new Wyatt, grow up, and learn to love him without fear or despise. And this, he was doing, actually.
But seeing the adult one, even if he was good now... was hard. He was feeling all the pain he had been through because of him.
"I'm sorry..." muttered Wyatt, lowering his eyes.
Chris didn't want to look in his eyes right now. He didn't really want to see if he was lying. What if he had come again to do all this to him? Nahh... He had changed him, this Wyatt was good, and had come for him, surely... And now, he was feeling like shit because his little brother was being so cruel and merciless.
Chris finally looked in his eyes, and they were full of tears.
"Hey... I didn't mean to... hey, please, forgive me... it's just... you can't understand..." Chris was feeling terrible at that moment.
"It's ok, Chris, you have the right to feel like that. Moreover, I know you love me, anyway. In the future... Both of you."
"Both? Who both?" Chris was confused now.
"You yourself, and the youngest Chris, the one who's to be born yet."
Chris startled: "Will... will I be there for you?" Of course, he knew he would, that was part of the whole thing of staying in the past and all. Just he hadn't really stopped to think about it.
"You'll be like a father for us, too, our second father. And now I really admire you, how could you be so kind to me after all that I seem to have done to you."
"That was your other self, Wyatt..." he said with sorrow, making comfortable circles on his back, "and I'm... I'm sure that he... you... loved me. In a weird way, perhaps, but you did... at least before you turned."
"I DO love you, Chris, that's why I came," answered Wyatt, staring at him.
Chris smiled triumphantly: "So, will you tell me now?"
Wyatt shook his head: "First, we get out. Then, I'll tell you and you'll tell me. I need to know, Chris, even though it's gonna be so painful for me."
Chris went pale: "What if that's painful for me...?"

°°°°°°°°°°

"And that's all I know..." Cole ended like that his narration of the facts.
"So... Wyatt just came from the future to warn Chris about something.. but he didn't have the time to?" asked Leo.
"It seems so..." Cole looked tired.
"Do you think this is related to what has just happened?" asked Phoebe looking at Leo.
Cole shook his head: "No, Wyatt didn't know anything about the smoke. The smoke came after me, but it must have taken them."
"And what's that... smoke? What does it want from you, Cole?" Phoebe was really worried not only about what could have happened to her nephews, but also about what could still happen to her love.
Cole pressed Phoebe's head against his chest, lovingly: "I'm not sure... Probably that's only a way to bring me back with them... They don't know I'm a human now... But if they take me, they'll end up discovering and then..." He shivered.
"It's ok, honey, they won't," cut off Phoebe.
"But they took my sons... Or they must have taken them; if not, where are they? So... do you think they're in a real danger?"
Cole stared at nothing, silent.
At that moment, Bianca's voice resonated in the corridors: "Chris, sweetie, you won't believe it... the library was a whole mess! These children need a strong scold 'cuz... hey!"
She had just appeared at the door: "Family reunion? Where's Chris?"
Cole sighed.
"Where is he?" Bianca asked again, now knowing that something was wrong.
Leo wanted to speak, but Cole interrupted him: "That's my part." The Elder nodded.
"Bianca, I'm so sorry, but... it seems that Chris was cought by the dark smoke of death which wanted me, actually," Cole explained.
"What?"
"Yeah, so it seems..." Leo added, "and it also took another, as it seems, good version of adult Wyatt."
"WHAT?" Bianca was really shocked. She cried that out so loud that also Piper heard it.
Seconds later she went in. She saw Cole, who shouldn't be there. She saw Leo who sighed when he noticed his wife. She saw Phoebe frowning and Paige also worried about something. And she saw Bianca, who was pale but her eyes were looking very angry. So there was only one thing that could be wrong.
"O.k. what happened to Chris?" she finally asked.

°°°°°°°°°°

Chris and Wyatt sat down on the ground. They tried everything to get out, but nothing worked.
"And now?" Chris asked.
Wyatt just smiled: "I don't know, sorry."
"Didn't you tell me that you always find a way?" Chris said a bit sarcastically.
"This time I'm completely at my wits' end."
Chris just wanted to add something when a red cloud of smoke appeared in front of them.
"What the hell is that?" asked Chris, instead of saying what he had been about to say.
Wyatt stood up and placed himself between the smoke and Chris in a protective attitude.
"Just stay behind Chris..." he ordered, as he watched, out of the corner of his eye, how his brother was standing up, too.
Chris limited himself to obey, surprised that the man who had always tried hard to kill him, even until some days before, was now so engaged in the task of saving him. However much he had thought about future consequences of his saving Wyatt, this, he couldn't understand.
The red cloud kept hovering before them.
Chris finally said: "Is this all one of your plans, Wyatt?"
"What?" The blonde man asked, without taking his eyes from the cloud.
"You just... came here to warn me about something, but you wouldn't tell me; just kept me distracted until we got caught by... this thing! It's really weird, all these coincidences, you know?" continued Chris, very annoyed and not being completely aware of what he was talking about.
Wyatt turned to him, angrily, unbelieving: "What the hell are you talking about, Christopher? You know what? I'm risking my life to come here and tell you that you're gonna... "
But suddenly the red cloud intensified its color and a sort of energy force sprang from it, striking Wyatt and throwing him against the stony wall behind them.
"Wyatt!" Chris turned to him, but then he thought it better. The red cloud was still there, he himself would get hit if he got distracted, so he just kept watching it, alert...
Finally, a shape started to form in front of him, out of the cloud, little by little...
Behind them, Wyatt moaned and groaned in pain, but Chris wouldn't take his eyes away from the mysterious reddish smoke.

°°°°°°°°°°

"What?" Some of the really ugly figures that were supposed to embellish the room exploded as Piper yelled.
Leo rushed to her, and held her hands. "Ok, calm down, Piper..."
"Calm down? Both of my sons are lost, and you ask me to just calm down? I can't calm down, damn it!" She was out of her mind at that moment. "And the smoke of death! What the hell is that, because it doesn't sound like something very good for me, actually!"
"I'm with her!" intervened Bianca, placing herself next to her mother-in-law-to-be.
"Well, girls..." said Paige, trying to reason with them, "I understand your feelings right now, but look... this doesn't help, you know? We need to find them first, and if we keep on yelling at each other, we'll lose a precious time!"
"She's right, honey... Just, calm down," added Leo, still holding her hands.
Phoebe had embraced Cole, who was feeling really guilty.

°°°°°°°°°°

"You are not Cole Turner," a voice said. Chris couldn't see anyone else, so... was it possible that the red smoke spoke to him? In a way he felt that this smoke had a kind of intelligence.
"You are not Cole Turner," the voice said again, and then asked: "Where is he?"
Chris thought about what he was able to do at this point. The answer for that question was easy... Nothing! Nothing than lie, cause he didn't want to hand over his uncle, his friend.
"Sorry, I have no idea," he answered trying to appear ignorance.
But it seemed that the smoke wasn't satisfied with that answer. The last thing Chris remembered was a kind of yell, then he was cast against the wall.

°°°°°°°°°°

"O.k., so what is this smoke of death?" Piper asked trying to gain back her strength, even if she felt this was impossible.
"It's a kind of demon," Bianca said, "one of those you can't fight."
"Well there is always a way to..." Paige remarked.
"Not in this case," Cole answered.
Piper and Leo frowned. "So tell us Cole, it seems you know more than you said before," Leo said really interested in all that, because he hadn't heard anything about that demon before.
"You can't kill it, because it doesn't really exist... it's just a smoke," he explained.
"Yes," Bianca added nearly crying, "a smoke that kills."
Piper turned pale.
"NO!" Cole said, a bit too loud maybe. Everyone was looking at him with suspicion. "It's an rumor... Not many demons know that, only those who are powerful. But he's not killing... He's only catching... He's like a bounty hunter..."
"So you believe that Chris is still alive?" Bianca asked with a trembling voice.
Cole nodded.
"And you mean that thing caught my sons for... whom?" Leo asked still confused.
"No... Hell why is nobody listening to me...? It's ME that the smoke wanted. I don't know why it took Chris and Wyatt... maybe..."
"Maybe it or its master wants to make an exchange," Phoebe ended his thoughts.
Cole nodded helpless. "Then, let it be so... " he said finally, almost in a weak murmur.
"No, there must be another way. Besides, we don't know yet if that's what they really want... an exchange," said Leo, pensive. "What if they decide to keep you all?"
"And what do you suggest?" asked Piper a little too much annoyed. "Because I've completely run out of ideas!"
"Yes, and as far as we know, we can't defeat it, so we might get them back, and then? That sort of smoke will keep coming and coming until it gets to Cole, or whoever it wants!" added Paige, clearly worried.
Cole nodded, very pale: "This is the only way, please.. You have to help me there. The boys will be back."

°°°°°°°°°°

Chris felt very sick, everything spinning around him, and a terrible headache was hitting him strongly. By his side, Wyatt started to wake up.
"Are you ok?" Chris asked with a feeble voice.
His brother nodded, and raised his eyes.
"Where is Cole Turner?" repeated the deep voice in a calm tone.
Wyatt looked at his brother wonderingly, but Chris had closed his eyes, unable to fix his sight after the impact.
"We don't have a damn idea of where he is. If you're interested in him, why did you take us instead?" the eldest boy yelled, fiercely.
"Wyatt, no..." Chris cut him off, "don't make it angry..."
Too late. The whole cave was illuminated all of a sudden by an intense dark red light, and a strong and loud noise filled the room, making the boys cry in pain as they tried to prevent the awful screeching voice from entering their heads.
"Stop it... please!" tears welled up in Chris's eyes, as he saw Wyatt making an attempt of throwing the thing away telekinetically. Something which resulted to be useless.
"WHERE IS COLE TURNER!" The voice went on demanding.
Chris felt that he couldn't stand this any longer. "He... he is..."
"NO!" Wyatt yelled. He rose and went over to his little brother. The sound in his head was hurting so much... He felt so much pain, but he had to stop Chris from telling... Cole had to be alive for his future, like his brother had to.
"Don't say it," Wyatt whispered to his brother's ear, not sure if he will understand him. "Please, Chris, don't tell him."
Chris yelled full of pain. He felt like his brain would have been grilled by that voice. He really wanted to say it... just to make this end. But then he heard the voice of his brother. And he felt his hand on his cheek.
"Chris, please," his brother pleaded.
Chris closed his eyes again, trying to focus. There was this voice which was going to kill him, he thought. But there was also Wyatt... he wasn't alone.
The Elder took a deep breath, then he stood up with his last ounce of strength.
Wyatt was looking a him with sorrow. What was his plan?
Chris tried to focus on that red thing which seems to fill the whole cave now. Then he rose to speak, and he did it very loud: "WE... DON'T... KNOW!"
A terrible sound appeared when he said that. The cave started to shake as if there had been an earthquake.
Then it was all over, the smoke was gone. Chris broke down.
"Oh my God... Chris... Chris?" Wyatt yelled. He tried to feel his bother's pulse, but... there was nothing. No pulse, no breathing either. He was dead.
"NO!" Wyatt cried with so much pain. All what he had done... his coming back to the past to save him... it was all for nothing... No, it was even worse, his brother had died much earlier than he should have.

(Chapter 2 written by Belén and Chrissy.W.x)