Chapter 2
It's been one year. One full year to the day that Piper and Christopher Halliwell died and Marie and Christopher Bennett had been born giving them both the fresh start they deserved and more importantly a way out of a life style that would have eventually claimed both their lives. The woman's quest for seeking out a better life for she and her child had turned into a rather successful one and given all she had accomplished she felt pretty good about herself and now more confident then ever that she had made the right choice. But buried deep within the back of her mind lay the truth masked in lies that she had forced herself to believe as images of them came into view.
The thought brought about painful memories and pictures of a family and life long gone filled with love, sisterhood and bond that no matter how far away they were could never be broken. A husband whom of which she loved dearly and missed more and more with each passing moment and as much as the woman missed him, her son and her sister she just couldn't bring herself to go back. To return to an existence full of death, self sacrifice and anguish that grew increasingly devastating with each generation of Halliwell's, one where the greater good was more important then the lives and well being of her family. No, she wouldn't go back there and had they seen what she saw, they wouldn't blame her for her actions.
Flashback
In the attic of Halliwell manor sat a still grieving Piper as she enclosed herself in a crystal cage, desperate to see what the new future held for her little boy, hoping that this time around Chris had gotten everything he deserved for being such a good boy and such a brave young man. The thought instantly made the woman's eyes tears as she remembered the pained look on her husbands face and the hysterical crying she witnessed as the man informed her of her son's demise and the person responsible for his death. At first she didn't believe it. She shook her head yelling at the angel, calling him a liar and ordering him out of the room. But deep down she knew he was telling the truth. She knew her baby was gone, she had felt it the instant her senses were returned to her after her near brush with death all she needed was conformation, giving new life to the term "Be careful what you wish for"
And now two whole months later the pain had not ceased or lessened. In fact it felt worse now then it did the day that the crime against her youngest son had been committed so in order to keep her sanity and be able to complete the necessary day to day task of any other parent she needed to make sure everything was ok. She needed to know that her son's death had not been in vain and that he, his father and his brother were the best of friends and happy in the new future, then and only then will she be able to truly move on.
After taking a sip of the potion the woman made herself comfortable on a stack of pillows she had laid down early, closing her eyes and waiting for the liquid to take it's effect and pull her into a happy brighter future.
She had no idea how truly wrong she was.
Future
The second she opened her eyes she found herself in the foyer of Halliwell manor and from her view point there was nothing a mist. She was pleased to see that her family home had not turned into the museum that Chris had spoken to her about during his stay in the past so this had to be a good sign, right?
Suddenly voices could be heard coming from the direction of the dinning room. A smile formed on the woman's face as she recognized one as Chris's. Although the voice was slightly muffled she was still able to tell that it was in fact her little angel and she couldn't wait to see how he looked and to hear how great his life had turned out.
Walking anxiously towards the dinning hall Piper stopped short when she noticed four dark figures standing in each corner of the room. The men, who appeared to be demons, were dressed in black form head to toe, wearing heavy scowls on their faces, with athames firmly held in their belt loops almost as if they were standing guard.
"Not again" she whispered to herself as a sickening feeling came over her. What the hell were these demons doing in her house? What were they all doing wearing the symbol of the book of shadows on their arms?
"They have to be taught a lesson in respect and that's all there is too it!" the voice of her youngest son spoke out instantly demanding her attention.
There he was. Her little boy, her angel was sitting at the head of the table wearing similar attire to his little demonic friends. This Chris was wearing a scar next to his right eye. Above it was an eye brow piercing and on his arms was the same tattoo that the four demonic henchmen were wearing.
"No this is all wrong!" she shouted. "LEO! LEO!" she screamed hoping somehow that her husband could hear her and come to the rescue of their son who had apparently lost his mind. "LEO please, Chris needs you. He's under some kind of spell" she cried out not knowing what else to do.
"I know brother and they will pay, make no mistake about it. No one disobeys us. No one" a deep voice spoke in an menacing tone. And that's when she noticed him.
Her elder son was sitting at the other end of the table looking anything but innocent and sweet like the child in her present. The darkness, the darkness and evil within his soul and his very being forced the woman to quickly look away from the monster that her son was destined to become.
She wanted to leave this horrible place. This nightmare that she had brought upon herself but she knew it wasn't possible. She had to wait until her question was answered but looking at her two sons she already knew the response to her inquiry and it turns out that the future is anything but happy and bright.
"You know Christopher I have to say, you've taken to our new lifestyle very well. I must admit, I am genuinely impressed"
Those words disgusted her. How did her baby go from such a strong willed young man who would never go against her teachings to his brother's evil partner in crime? What happened to her good child, the one she knew she wouldn't have to worry about giving her trouble or falling prey to evil? Was it something she did or didn't do? Had his brother cast some sort of spell on him?
"Cut the love fest shit and bring the bitches out here so I can have my fun for the night before we go to bed"
"CHRISTOPHER PERRY HALLIWELL!" she yelled before walking over to the man and trying to make eye contact with him. "You listen to me young man I don't care how many demons you have bowing before you or what the hell ever else you're doing but you will not use that language in my house. Do you understand me?" she screamed as loudly as she could. She knew that nothing would change and that he couldn't hear her but she was his mother after all and no matter if he heard her or not, she needed that release, to feel as if she had some control.
"I love you too" he sad with a sinister grin that his brother returned "Very well" the older witch turned to now look at three of the demons. "Go get them and bring them to us, unharmed" he said while nodding to the men who quickly obeyed his orders as new guards formed to take their place.
Piper could feel her body shake with anxiety and fear. Something besides the obvious was wrong here, very wrong. And where were she, her sisters, and her husband for that matter? Had they all died in this future as well?
A few short seconds later the demons shimmered in with three women in tow. She then placed a hand over her mouth and gasped in shock as she studied the three women over carefully. It only took two short moments for her to realize that it was she and her two sister looking exactly like they did today, how she wasn't sure but it looked as if they hadn't aged one bit over the last twenty years.
"Get your got damn hands off of me!" she heard her own voice scream out loud.
Then her son's words replayed themselves over and over again in her head.
"Cut the love fest shit and bring the bitches out here so I can have my fun for the night before we go to bed"
Oh my God. Her son was talking about his aunts, the women who helped raise him and most of all, her, his own mother. Piper had to grab onto the table next to her in order to keep herself from falling over. What the hell was going on here? What had she and her sister's done wrong to deserve such harsh language to form on the tongues of her son's for the purpose of describing them.
"Oh mother, aunt Paige, aunt Phoebe, so lovely of you to join us" the elder witch spoke as both he and his brother moved to stand before them.
They circled the women in a threatening manor before continuing. "We have been oh so gracious to you over the years. We've given you shelter, food, your youth, money, the best clothing, freedom to do what you chose and still you defy us by using magic when we strictly forbid you to. Now what do you supposed we do about this? After all no bad deeds can go unpunished" the blond man spoke as he stopped in front of his aunt Paige, waiting for her to reply.
"My God, what happened to you Wyatt? And what have you gotten your little brother into?"
The man smiled at the woman before, slapping her gently on the face before walking off again "I haven't done anything to Chris. In fact I didn't want him to be a part of this at first. I wanted to give him everything I've given you, to keep him safe and away from my dealings but you know how stubborn he can be. He begged me every day to become a part of my empire, to teach him everything I knew. He wanted power, control and to be praised just like his big brother. So I gave it to him"
"That's a lie" future and past Piper spoke at the same time. "It's a lie right baby. You can tell me, just tell me what your brother did to you and I promise I will fix it" the woman pleaded as her son now stood face to face with her. He then bent down and gently kissed the woman on the lips in no way a son should ever kiss his mother.
He then replied. "He didn't do anything to me that I didn't want him to do mother. I chose this life. I chose to be by my brothers side and that's all there is to it" he smirked at the woman's disgust and double meaning to his words before forming an athame in his hands. "Besides wasn't it you who always told us to stick together and to play nice" he continued to the amused snicker of his brother.
"This isn't you baby. I know you Chris, I know who you are and you're nothing like him. You're strong and resilient, you're a fighter honey and deep down inside you know that this is wrong" the mother said now running a loving hand down her son's face and for an instant, just one fleeting moment she saw her Chris. The young man that she had lost so long ago, but just as quickly it was replaced by the evil Chris of this time as he took the opportunity to stab her in the stomach as she woman leaned over and cried out in pain as her sisters held on tightly to each other, in shock and fear.
"I'm sorry Mom but you had to learn your lesson and trust me, that hurt me a lot more then it hurt you" the young man said turning to face his aunts. "Hey" he began with a smirk. "Why so quiet today aunt Phoebe?" he laughing knowing full well that he had cut the woman's tongue out a year ago.
Wyatt then went over to his mother and healed the woman, who when awoken recoiled from both her sons and looked at them with hurt and dejection in her eyes, probably wondering the same thing past Piper was.
"Now let that be a lesson to you all and next time, there will be no healing"
"What did they do now" Leo Wyatt said as he black orbed into the room.
"Your wife and her sisters tried to cast a spell on us, again" the younger boy said walking over to his father. "You really should keep a tight leash on her, after all we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my favorite girl now would we"
"Of course not" the woman's husband said before walking over to her. "Dear sweet Piper, whatever am I going to do with you?"
"I have a few suggestions" said Leo's youngest son before blowing a kiss in the woman's direction.
"Gees Chris, she's our mother for goodness sakes don't you have any limit to your perversion?" teased Wyatt who only succeed in making the younger boy laugh.
"Hey, when the lights go out I can't see her face anyway and if you ever let go of that whole "mother" thing then you'd understand what I'm talking about"
Future Piper just sat there in her sister's arms crying while she held her hands up to her ears trying to block out her sons words and the memories of so many nights in his bed.
While past Piper stormed over to her son with tears in her eyes and tried to slap him over, and over and over again with each hit making her arms tense in pain when she came into contact with nothingness. She was angry not only at herself but at her husband and sisters as well for allowing her sweet angels to turn out this way. Turn out be evil, incest loving monsters with no morality, no fear, no concern for their family none of the teachings she had instilled in them.
Her little boys were the sources of all evil.
Opening her eyes she now found herself back in attic and in her own time, with tears streaming down her face as she covered her eyes trying to eject the horrid images from her head and silently cursing herself for going on that damn vision quest.
Shat had to think.
She had to find a way to keep this awful future from coming to pass, she had to save herself, her sisters and her boy's from the hell that she was just forced to witness and that's when it hit her.
She had to leave.
She had to get away from this place and the legacy that only served as a curse to her child and their relationship with each other and their family.
Releasing herself from the crystal cage Piper ran into her bedroom, packed everything she could, grabbed her baby boy, ran out of Halliwell Manor and never looked back.
End of Flashback
That night had been the driving force that kept her from returning to her old life, to her family and she would stay away all her life if she had to. Anything to ensure that her vision, the nightmare of the future never came true.
The soft moans of her sleeping child interrupted her thoughts as walked over to him and laid down beside the boy, drawing him in close and taking comfort in having at least one person that she loved in her life. Closing her eyes she would allow herself to dream about what life could have been like for she and her family, and in the morning she would force herself to tolerate reality but for now the dream world was calling out to her from a far away land filled with the warm smiles of her sisters the hugs and kisses of her older son, the happiness of her younger child and the love and warmth of her husband's touch.
If only it was real.