"We shall see your merit throughout this trial." Spoke the nine together, as they watched the whitelighter from above. He sat in the middle of the circle of the nine. Each faced him, watching his movements.
Chris couldn't make out a difference between any of the nine, shadows covered all their faces, and only their green robes could be seen.
Their voices distinguished one another.
"Normally, when starting a trial, we gather information on the subject, their relations, their trades. With you, however, we have gathered nothing.
Two things we do have: you are not from this time, and that you have gone through great lengths to hide yourself.
The latter will not be upholder in here. This is a trial; we need the truth. No others will be present during these proceedings, which allows you room to open up without consequence.
Do you understand Christopher?"
The man looked down for a moment, but immediately looked toward the few he was facing.
"Yes, I do."
He understood there was no way out of this; they would get what they wanted, and he would suffer if he resisted. In his timeline, Chris had known a woman who had gone through these trials.
The nine would not act, until all the information was in. She said that they were just, they took everything into consideration; they understood the shades of gray.
"Since we could not get any background on you, we may ask you for it. We will know if you are lying, so do not waste our time. What is your full name?"
Chris understood that no one would see this, but he still hesitated.
"Christopher Perry Halliwell."
In the future, he never went by his full name, since too many people would try to exploit it. Demons tried to buddy up, to get close to Wyatt; adversaries would try to kill him, being the brother of the man who destroyed the world.
"Well, Mr. Halliwell, what reason do you have for using the services of the demon, Caspian?"
The man shifted his sight, glancing at all of the figures, before returning his gaze toward the ones who he faced.
"Demons attacked the Charmed one, I'm their whitelighter, and as such, I felt it would be better if they were not the ones to destroy the demons. It could get them seriously injured, or killed. So, I used Caspian to vanquish them."
"You felt it prudent to ignore his treacherous lifestyle, his injury of innocence, for your personal gain?"
Chris sighed, casting his eyes to the ground.
"The Charmed ones need to live, they don't die within the next few years, and I would like to keep it that way. I think me coming here, to the past, altered the rate of some events, making them happen sooner."
"How so?"
"I made them more of a threat. As their protector-the reason why I cam back- in the time that I have been here, there have been more demons vanquished, than in the past three years combined. Demons don't like being attacked, so I think some of them have shortened their timetables for their plans of world domination. Which just means more attacks on the girls-the Charmed ones."
"And what is this reason you have come to the past?"
"To protect the son, Wyatt, of the Charmed one, Piper."
"You lie." Chris shook his head, looking across all of them again.
"No, I don't."
"We hear the reason, but you do not say it."
Chris had forgotten what the woman had told him about telling lies and truths. No matter what one said, the nine heard the real response. So if he told a lie, they would hear two things, what he said, and the actual true response.
"It is the reason why I came."
"No, he is a means, not the reason why you came."
A new voice called out a question, it had always been the same one talking,
"You share the name of the Charmed ones, what is your relation to them?" Chris noticed how the robes rustled as the other eight moved, as if whispering. He got the distinct impression, that one of the nine had spoken out of turn, breaking protocol.
"I am the second son of the eldest Charmed one."
"Then Wyatt would be your brother." The same new voice stated, rather than asked. It held a feminine quality to it. The first voice was distinctly male, while the new one could have been a soft spoken young man, or a woman. Since Chris figured it wasn't a question, he didn't respond.
The original voice continued.
"What is your reason for being here?"
"To save Wyatt."
"Have you been saying that lie so often that you believe it yourself?" Asked the now irritated first voice.
"It is true." Chris said impatiently.
"He is a means." Realization hit Chris hard. They were asking for the overall reason for his actions, not just why he was in the past, but what drove him to go to the past. What drove him to do any of the things he had done, or would do.
"To save my family."
The second voice called out again,
"You do not consider Wyatt your family?" He shook his head immediately.
"He lost that title a long time ago."
"Then who is your family?" Still the second voice.
"I don't see what this has to do with Caspian."
"It is not just the actions we consider, but what drives the actions." The first voice again.
"Nicolai and Susie Reid." Again, the whitelighter smiled while speaking their names.
"They do not share your name."
"They don't have to." The nine nodded, then stopped, all tilted their heads slightly, as if listening.
"Susie is your daughter, while Nic is your-husband." A pause overcame the room, "They are dead." Spoke the nine in union, as which Chris flinched. Then the first voice spoke out,
"What good are these actions of yours for the dead?"
"For the dead, none, but for the living they are everything." He spoke desperately.
"They are the dead." The fist voice confirmed to the whitelighter. Chris wrapped his arms around his chest, as he always did when confronted. He closed his eyes, watching the darkness dance, hoping that it would stay that way when he opened them. He liked the hope he had, in a future, a possible future. He didn't like it being questioned. It made the idea seem fragile, like it would break, and he would be left with nothing.
"They don't have to be." He whispered to the room, not opening his eyes.