A Charmed Story - Part Two:
Brothers Love Through The Times
Chapter 3

"No!" Wyatt yelled again. He shook his brother, tried to wake him up. But Chris was dead.
Wyatt put his head on his body and cried. At this moment he felt like he had lost everything. He felt that there was nothing worth left... nothing worth to go on. What should he do without him? Who would take care of him now?
And then... suddenly a warm yellow light appeared under his hands which were still lying on Chris's chest. Wyatt noticed it with disbelief. That wasn't possible.
Then Chris started to cough, he woke up.
Slowly he rose to the half.
"What happened?" he asked, looking at his older brother.
Wyatt was looking at him like he had seen a ghost. "I don't know," he answered confused.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Wait a second," said Phoebe still sitting on Cole's knees stubbornly, despite the attempt the ex-demon made to stand up.
"There's not even a second to lose, Phoebe, for God's sake!" yelled a very furious and nervous Bianca.
Phoebe didn't pay attention to her, or to any of the complaints of the others in the room. She was just looking down to the floor, frowning, as if she was thinking about something hard.
"Look..." she finally broke, "I hate this stuff of timetravelling and all, but.. if you think about it... Wyatt told you, Cole, that he came because YOU told him something in the future."
"Yes..." said Cole, impatient."
"Well, that's why you ARE in the future, isn't it?"
Cole nodded. "But time changes, and it's clear that it has changed now, with the coming of Wyatt..." he said.
"No, she's right," intervened Leo, "I get what she means: Wyatt had nothing to do with the smoke and all. He came to tell Chris something. If he hadn't come, you would have been alone at home, and the smoke would have come for you and taken you, for sure, instead of them!"
"And..." continued Paige, pensive, "if you were in his future, that means you survived..."
"What is more..." said Leo, looking straight in Cole's eyes, "if the smoke didn't attack you anymore, that means we found the way to destroy or stop it!"
Cole kept silent, thinking about it for a moment. "So, guys, you think we can stop it, we can kill it? But that's impossible..."
"What if we go to the future and ask Cole?" said Piper, unable to stay calm when the lives of both his sons were at the stake.
Cole shook his head peremptorily: "That's not a good idea, and you know it. Even Wyatt shouldn't have come... We could change things we don't want to change, we could even worsen the situation."
"Good, because it seems it was you that told him to come!" joked Phoebe, trying to soften the tension.
Cole smiled weakly: "I don't think so... Whatever I told him, he took it in the wrong way. Whatever... If my other self in the future or any of you, found the way to escape and defeat that... thing, then we can do it again. Only this time it's not for saving me, it's Chris and Wyatt."
The others nodded.
"Ok, then there's no time to lose. I'll go to the library and check the books. Bianca, sweetie, come with me, ok? Four eyes see better than two," Phoebe winked, trying to cheer up the girl.

°°°°°°°°°°

Chris was still breathless, disoriented and freaked out, staring at his brother and not knowing what had just happened.
"I... I saw a light, Wyatt. They say you see a tunnel and a light when you..."
"That's impossible, brother, because I've healed you..." Wyatt himself wasn't sure of what had just happened. Had he really healed his brother?... Chris was dead. He knew that, even if he tried to deny it... He knew Chris wasn't breathing, and his pulse had stopped, so he was dead. Which meant that...
Chris shook his head, even more freaked out than before: "No, Wyatt... you didn't heal me... I felt it. It wasn't like when you get wounded and then healed. Not even when you're about to die... This time, it was real. You didn't heal me Wyatt..."
"Nonsense." His brother stroke his hair and hugged him strongly. "Thanks God that's nonsense and you're wrong."
"Wyatt... You didn't heal me." Chris repeated, his face buried in his brother's shoulder, shaking, and tears running down his face. "You brought me back to life," he muttered, finally.
Wyatt wrapped his back tightly and took a deep breath.
"You're just confused. Forget about this, brother. We have to get outta here now. Then, we'll speak about this... Promise. But you didn't die, believe me. If you had, I wouldn't have been able to save you and you know that."
Chris shivered once again, but didn't answer.
Wyatt wouldn't let him go immediately. He was right... He had made him resurrect. But they could deal with the possible consequences of that action later. Now, they had to find the way out.
They didn't even know if the smoke would come back. And if it didn't... what if they couldn't escape? Anymore...?

°°°°°°°°°°

Cole followed the sisters, who left the room one by one, with his eyes. The Elder also wanted to leave.
"Leo? Wait a moment, please," Cole said hoping the sisters didn't hear it.
Leo frowned and turned back to him: "What? Is there more you want to tell?"
Cole nodded. Then he began to whisper: "I maybe know how we can find out who the master of the smoke is."
Leo seemed not surprised: "Cole, damned, I knew there is more. Why can't you..."
"Hush..." Cole interrupted him, "not so loud, the sisters..."
"You won't tell them?"
"I don't want to get them into trouble. The person I mean, is too dangerous for them... Cause she knows everything," Cole explained.
"What do you mean, she knows everything, is she a kind of seer?"
"She is even more... much more..." Cole answered, "take me to the Underworld and I will take you to her."
"Are you crazy? The smoke will find you down there!" Leo felt that this wasn't right. It was too dangerous to go there.
"The smoke is afraid of her... like everyone else down there. So we will be safe in this place," Cole added.
And it seemed to Leo that he really meant it... so he nodded. "O.k.," he said with a sigh. Then both men orbed to the Underworld.

°°°°°°°°°°

Bianca was looking through a book. But she wasn't able to concentrate. She was trembling.
"Are you o.k.?" Piper asked. She herself didn't feel very well.
Bianca nodded, but her eyes turned wet.
Piper sighed. Then she went over and wrapped her up with her arms. "It's o.k.," she said softly, "we'll find him."
"I'm sorry, Piper... I'm sorry for everything," she whispered under tears.
"Hey, girl, there is no need to be sorry." Piper said, not knowing what Bianca meant.
"There is, " she went on, "I'm sure you would prefer a witch, or a human being on his side... rather than... me."
Piper frowned, then she took Bianca's head in her hands and looked her in the eyes: "Bianca, dear, he loves you... and you love him. And you saved us. All of us. So why the hell should I think there has to be a better one for my son, than you?"
Bianca shrugged, trembling because of her sobs. "I just... I thought I was good in a world in which everything was wrong for him. But now I feel this is not my place," she said, "you're too good for me."
"Sweetie, sorry that I was listening, but you're being a total fool right now," Phoebe had turned to them and was staring at the young girl. "Of course this IS your place. Look what you did to Chris, he wouldn't have achieved it without you, he needs you! You'd just kill him if you'd leave... He loves you, baby... He really does. And now, he needs you more than ever. And don't dare to say that you're not good enough for us because you ARE the best. If something's been proved in this family is that we can help evil turn good, can't we?"
Bianca chuckled.
"Yes, I was not referring to Wyatt only!"
Piper had raised an eyebrow.
"I meant Cole too... And Bianca, you're good! Maybe you come from an evil heritage... But you're now good, because you are with Chris! Love, want it or not... You now belong to the Halliwell clan."
Bianca couldn't help laughing grateful: "Ok, sorry, I was so stupid... We need to find something now... By the way, thanks..."
"Hey! Wasn't it a red smoke, girls?" asked Paige from the other side of the room.
"Nope, Paige... It was dark... I think," answered Piper.
"Ouch... Then, this must be wrong... Smoke of death, a reddish smoke... That's what this book says."

°°°°°°°°°°

Wyatt and Chris kept a bit longer wrapped in their embrace. Then, Chris pulled away from his brother gently.
"Ok, Wyatt... I'm fine now... And you're right, we have to do something, else than just wait..."
He stood up before Wyatt's worried look. The eldest of the brothers sighed, as he saw Chris stumbling towards the walls again.
"There's no way out here... And we can't orb. That's no use!"
Chris kept touching the walls, and putting his ear on it, to see if he could hear something: "Perhaps there's some kind of hidden exit. Wyatt, we were brought inside, so we should be able to get out!"
Wyatt frowned, pensive. He was right, but he couldn't find a solution to that dilemma. After some minutes, he looked up to the ceiling. Then he looked down to the ground...
"Hey.. Chris... What if the hidden exit is not ... on the walls?"
Chris stopped his searching and turned to Wyatt wonderingly: "What do you mean?"
Wyatt was touching the ceiling now.
"Oh..." How had he been so stupid as not to have thought about that before? He started to do the same.

°°°°°°°°°°

"You've found an entry?" Bianca was wondering. "But I thought that no witch ever met it."
"Well it seems that someone did... this book is over 200 years old...," Paige answered, "here it tells that the red smoke of death is - as Cole said - a kind of demon who caught other demons when he is ordered to do so. And only huge demons are able to speak out such an order."
"But the smoke is black," Bianca remarked again, "I have seen it on my own!"
The other turned to her in surprise. "You have?" Piper asked.
Bianca lowered her eyes, then nodded.
"And why didn't you tell us that?" Piper asked again.
Bianca sighed: " Because I saw it, killing witches a few times... in my time... And if it's true that it doesn't kill in this time, and that it was working under orders, I think it must have been Wyatt's orders. He was the only one who could have been able to force it to kill, I think."
Piper felt sick that she had to remind her of all that again. "Sorry," she said.
"Well... I think we should ask Cole about that," Phoebe remarked and left the room.
But a few minutes later she returned. "He is gone," she said with a little panic in her voice, "and Leo too."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Leo asked.
Cole nodded: "I am."
They went trough a tunnel, then Cole stopped: "I think it's better if I do this alone, she..."
"No way, I'm with you. Phoebe will kill me if something happens to you," Leo answered
The man nodded with a sigh and they entered a big hall-like cave.
"Be careful about your thoughts and emotions, she's able to turn them against you," Cole whispered.
Then a woman appeared. She was really beautiful, she was perfect. But her eyes were red and full of evil.
"Cole," she said, "nice to see you again."
"Hello Viviona!" he answered emotionless.
"Who is your friend?" she asked.
"Don't care about him, I just want a question to be answered."
The woman went closer to Leo. She touched his chest, she smelled at him like a cat. "Very nice," she said.
"Viviona, I want to know who sent the smoke of death after me."
"Oh come on Cole, let's have a bit of fun," she said with a bittersweet smile. Then she blew a kind of powder on Leo.
The Elder heard his friend yelling "NO!"
But it was to late. Everything started turning around him. Leo felt confused. Then all was as usual again. But Cole and the woman had gone... The only person besides him in that cave was his son.
"Wyatt?" he asked.
Wyatt was looking at him very evilly. He was holding the sword in hands ready to attack him.
"What have you done to him?" Cole asked frustrated looking at the unconscious body of Leo.
Viviona just smiled the same way she had done before.

°°°°°°°°°°

After some minutes of touching and pressing the ceiling, and after getting the hands marked with little scratches and injuries, Chris desisted and sighed, letting himself fall against the wall again, and sitting down, frustrated.
"This is useless!" He was tired of the effort, and all his body hurt because of the previous attacks from the smoke.
Wyatt felt the same way, but he wouldn't show his weakness to his little sibling, not now that he needed him to be strong. Never. He limited himself to smirk at him mockingly: "Ok, little brother. I understand... After all, you're shorter than me, you need to stretch you body too much for this task." And he went on searching for whatever that could help them out.
"Ha, very funny!" Chris's statement was meant to be sarcastic, but it sounded more like relieved and grateful.
Chris stayed there, breathing heavily and looking at Wyatt with a feeling between pride and confusion. Then he closed his eyes, and leaned his head on the cold stony wall. He could hear the hard breathing of Wyatt too. He himself wouldn't be able to recover his rhythm.
Man, he was tired. Why was he so tired? He frowned and stared at his brother, who was sweating but focused on his task: "Wyatt... Aren't you tired?"
"No, why? I'm much stronger than you, want it or not," he winked.
But Chris shook his head, ignoring his joke: "No... I mean, aren't you more tired than you should in this situation?"
Wyatt stopped doing that to turn to him: "Well... yes, I feel as if I hadn't enough air in my lungs... Is that what you mean?"
He started to panic, as he saw Chris nodding slowly, scared.
"We have to get outta here, NOW, Wyatt... Or we'll run out of air!"
Both brothers realized for the first time that the possible cause of his imminent death wouldn't be a magical one. They had been left there, imprisoned, to die from suffocation!

°°°°°°°°°°

"Oh! Damn you! We don't have time for your games!" Cole had knelt by Leo and was trying to wake him up, shaking his body and slapping his face. "I told you, you shouldn't have come, shit!" he added, referring this time to Leo.
"I told you, dad, you shouldn't have come..." Wyatt raised his sword and made an attempt of stabbing him, but Leo quickly rolled to one side and stood up before Wyatt had the chance to charge again.
Leo moved to one side and moaned.
"Oh, easy, easy!" cried the amused woman, who had walked slowly around the body, and was now kneeling by his other side.
"You bitch, bring him back, NOW!" yelled Cole.

°°°°°°°°°°

Piper and Bianca couldn't believe what they were hearing. Gone? What the hell were those two thinking?
Bianca had grabbed Piper's hand tightly and wouldn't let go; both of them sat down on the floor, feeble and unable to react.
Phoebe was trying not to lose her temper, but she had to deal at the same time with the feelings of two devastated women plus hers own, and finally started to call Leo hysterically:
"You stupid madman come here right now! LEO! Come here and bring Cole with you, or else I myself will kill you! Come here NOW!"
Paige left the open book on a table and ran to her, trying to calm her sister down: "It's ok, babe, we have to think coldly, right? Don't let me be the only one cold-headed here, please! I'm trying to sense them, but if you keep yelling that way I just can't ok?"
Phoebe nodded, shivering and tears running down her face uncontrollably: "I can't lose him again, Paige. I just CAN'T!"

°°°°°°°°°°

"There is no way out of here," Chris said with a low and breathless voice.
Wyatt nodded: "However we got in, it must have been a magical way, or more exactly, a demonic way."
The blonde man sat down beside his brother and put his arm around him.
"Wyatt what I said before... I..." Chris started.
But his brother stopped him: "Don't mind, Chris, don't mind."
Chris felt so much sorry, for all what he had said. Now he knew that this Wyatt was that person he always wanted him to be. And he felt sorry that he hadn't realized that before.
"I love you Wyatt," he answered with a sad smile and put his head on his brother's shoulder. Finally they really were brothers, but they would not be able to enjoy it... 'cause they would be dead in a few hours, or maybe only a few minutes.
"I love you too," Wyatt answered, "and I wish you had had the opportunity to spend with me all the time I spent with you."
Chris sighed then he raised his head.
"Wait," he said, and his voice was full of energy again, "you spend time with me? How long have you seen me in your time?"
"Till you... well till short before I came here," his brother answered confused.
"And you still remember that? All of that?" Chris went on asking.
Wyatt nodded: "Clearly."
Chris yelled out with pleasure.
"What... what's going on with you?" Wyatt asked more and more confused.
"That's simple to explain," Chris answered, "if you can still remember that I was there before you left, then I will be there before you left... That means we'll not die here... We can't die! So we'll find a way out!"
Wyatt was still confused about what his brother said, but it sounded logical to him... in a way...
"But how will we get out? It seems that only a demon can take us out of here..." he remarked still looking at his younger brother.
Chris frowned, thinking hard about that for a moment. Then he began to laugh.
"What?" Wyatt asked again. He was already thinking that his brother had become sick by breathing too much carbon dioxide.
"How didn't I think about that earlier?" Chris answered still laughing, "you will get us out of here."
"Me?" Wyatt asked in disbelief.
"Yes you..." Chris started to explain,"a few days ago you were here as the man who was going to rule the Underworld... you just have to do that again... You have to be your evil-self and order them to take us out!"
Wyatt stared at Chris in horror. "No way!" he said, flinching back, "I can't do that, Chris! All you've been through, all that our family has been through in order to turn me good, I just can't ignore that and do what you ask me to do!"
"Wyatt!" Chris grabbed his shoulders firmly and made him look him in his eyes, "I prefer you evil rather than dead! And besides, it won't be permanent!"
Wyatt shook his head: "You don't understand... I can't turn evil or good whenever I want! You saved my little self, that's why I can't be evil!" He was seriously thinking his brother was lacking oxygen.
"A spell, Wyatt, we can use a spell, come on! You'll be back! I promise, when did I break a promise, huh?"
Wyatt stared at his smiley face, and his eyes became glassy. 'When you said you'd always be with me, Chris,' he wanted to answer. But instead, he just shook his head slightly and said: "Never, you stubborn little brat."
Chris grinned, happy to hear that he wasn't wrong about it: "Then, let's do it."
"Just save air, ok?" said Wyatt trying to make a little fun of the situation.
"Yeah, promise," he winked.
"Besides," he continued, standing up with renewed energies, "I want to be alive to hear what you came to tell me, brother... I'm a very curious person."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Ok... breathe..." was still saying Paige to her shaking sister.
Bianca and Piper had relaxed a little bit, and were helping with Phoebe, so Paige took advantage of the situation and starting to sense Cole and Leo.
"What?" asked Piper anxiously.
"Nothing," the youngest of the Charmed Ones finally sighed, "which means they're in the Underworld, I guess."
Bianca nodded: "Yeah... And they'll be probably tracking the smoke..."
"It'll take him!" said Phoebe feeling really sick.
"Hey, sister, you know that Cole is not any fool, neither is Leo... They know how to take care of themselves!" answered Paige.
"Yes, but we need to find them anyway, and the smoke, and whoever ordered all this, and this way bring my sons back home... And coming back to the point: Bianca, dear, didn't you say that you knew how this smoke acted and all? Cannot you figure out how to reach it? Or... at least do you know where it takes its... victims?" said Piper.
Bianca shook her head: "No. I just saw it kill witches... twice. It just wrapped its victims. And after a few minutes it left them... left them dead."
"Right," Paige sighed, "that's not very helpful."
"Well it does... It's more probable that they are alive, cause we haven't found them so far."
Paige smiled at her older sister. She admired her ability to think logically even in the hardest days.
"Oh Cole, sweetie were are you?" Phoebe sighed and started crying again.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Wyatt what the hell are you doing?" Leo yelled.
"End what I've started, that's why I'm back..." his son answered with an evil smile and attacked him again.
"Wyatt, I don't understand?" the Elder was too confused to think logically. Otherwise he should have realized that there was something wrong, something unreal.
Wyatt just smiled and stabbed his father with his sword.
Leo groaned and curled up himself. His face was full of fear and pain.
"Help him out or I swear I will kill you!" Cole yelled at Viviona grasping her throat.
"How would you do that? You're not a demon anymore, you're just... a man," she was laughing, even if she had problems to breathe.
Cole was still holding her: "Even if I'm human, I have a good memory. And I remember you told me, that breaking your neck, kills you like everyone else..."
The demon turned pale.
Cole smiled: "You see... never trust a demon, even though you're in love with him... And now... Set him free!"
Viviona moved her hand over Leo's body, and the Elder slowly woke up.

°°°°°°°°°°

Wyatt was observing his brother while he tried to write the spell. Luckily he had a pen and a piece of paper in his pocket... as always. Chris had taught him that.
"Why can't I just play the evil?" the blonde man asked, still worried about what could happen to him.
Chris looked up: "First, because that's too dangerous. They could sense our trick in some way. And then they would kill us."
Wyatt nodded: "And secondly?"
"Secondly you don't know anything about your past life, you don't know how to do all that, who to talk to and so on... That's something you have to remember."
Wyatt sighed. He didn't want to remember all that.
"When you cast the spell to bring me back... Will I still remember?"
Chris looked at him with sad eyes. "I don't know. But you will be good again, I promise"
Wyatt nodded. He knew there was no other chance... as it seemed...
"O.k.," he said finally, "But I will take a look on these spells before you cast the first on me... Just to see if they are o.k., right?"

°°°°°°°°°°

Leo opened his eyes widely once he realized where he was.
"Wyatt is evil again!" he cried, grabbing Cole's shirt in a very distressed state.
"What?" Cole turned to look at Viviona, "what has he seen?"
The woman shrugged: "The truth."
Leo stared at Cole, in panic: "This cannot be true, Cole."
"No, it isn't," the ex-demon said, helping his brother-in-law to stand up and glaring furiously at the seer. "You cannot believe what she says or what she has made you see, Leo... She's got a deceiving nature..."
She shrugged again: "I always show the truth."
"And I saw Wyatt, he said he'd come to end what he had started, and used Excalibur against me."
Cole took his eyes away from Leo's, nervously: "This must have an explanation..."
"He's alone with Chris!" Leo panicked, before the smirking expression of the tricky seer, "we have to find them, I need to sense them."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Summon them... Just let's summon them. They'll appear right in front of us if they're fine," suggested a very nervous Phoebe.
Piper shook her head: "It won't work... Chris and Wyatt were kidnapped. If they couldn't come on their own, the same magic will stop us from summoning them."
"Cole and Leo!" yelled Phoebe fiercely, "I mean Cole and Leo, damm it! They were so stupid as to go there alone!"
Paige, caressed her face in the attempt of calming her down: "Ok, we can try... But I guess we should focus on Chris and Wyatt."
"What if we make teams?" Bianca was thinking aloud, "two of us, try to summon Cole and Leo, and the other two, go on searching for information about the smoke, and a way to save the boys... what do you think?"

°°°°°°°°°°

"Ok..." sighed Chris, "look at this..."
Wyatt approached his brother and read the spell silently:
'Black turns white and white turns black,
Let things be like in the past,
Let the evil never have gone
to the old source the power restore,
until we get out of this cave
then things, turn to your place.
I order; you obey.'
Wyatt nodded, pensive. He wasn't sure, this spell was somehow weird, but it could work...
"I could hurt you, Chris..." he muttered, sadly.
Chris smiled at him reassuringly: "Just look at me. Remember that, whatever happens, I love you, and you love me... This bond won't break."
Wyatt nodded: "Let's go, then..."
They recited the spell with a trembling voice. Afterwards, they held their breath back for some seconds, waiting for something to happen.
Chris stared at Wyatt in awe, he even stepped backwards a little bit. Wyatt had closed his eyes. But nothing happened.
He sighed resignated.
"Are you... are you evil?" asked Chris.
His brother shook his head: "I'm afraid not. I had never thought I'd say that! But we should have guessed that in this place, white magic must be banned!" Wyatt kicked strongly a wall, mad at their situation.
Chris wasn't very sure if he was still good, anyway.
"Hey... The spell..." said Wyatt turning to him suddenly: "'Let the evil never have gone to the old source the power restore'... I wasn't the old source, Chris! I haven't been any source at all, because you prevented me from turning!"
"Oh..." Chris was frustrated because of his own lack of precision. "I hate all this timetravelling stuff, it drives me crazy... And now?"
"Now, probably, you restored the powers to the old source, the true old source... and I hope he didn't turn evil too..." Wyatt said, sitting down, disappointed.

(Chapter 3 written by Chrissy.W.x and Belén)