A Charmed Story - Part Three:
Double Demons
Chapter 9

Steve watched the woman walking around very slowly. She was facing every single Mestizo in the room, as if she could find out who was the traitor that way. Or was she really able to do so...?
Steve felt his heart beating faster, he had to think... think... think...
Suddenly he heard the voice of Chris in his head, in his memory. He heard what he had said in one of the first lessons he had held.
"You can fool anybody as long as you never get into the position of defence. 'Cause no one distrusts someone who wants to help."
'Man, I hope you are right,' he thought, and stepped forward.
The woman turned around to him. "Yeah?" she asked.
Steve tried not to look into her eyes: "I was at the school for a while, before I came here. I just remembered... The sisters, they had found a letter from an Elder... The letter was about double-demons." At that point, it was good that the connection with Tom worked in both directions.
"So? Did they?" the woman asked suspicious.
Steve tried to be cold: "Yeah."
"Who wrote that letter, do you know that?" she asked.
Steve shook his head: "Don't know, but it was sent to an Elder named Eridon, and there was a note from Gideon, our former headmaster, on it."
The woman looked at him for a while, without uttering a word. Then she nodded, turned around and walked back to her place on that table.
"So it seems they found out on her own," she whispered. "That's not good."

°°°°°°°°°°

Piper was still sitting on that chair, her hands on the table, looking at her fingers, while Tom had started to pace around.
"Why don't you sit down again, you're making me nervous," she said.
"Because I still think that we should do something. BIANCA IS IN DANGER! Damn it!"
"Again, I can only say that there is nothing we can do," Piper replied.
"You could call Leo."
"And then?" Piper asked. "What will he do? Orbing there, right next to thousands of demons? No way!" Tom sighed. "Come on, boy... Sit down, there is something more I want to ask you." Tom nodded and sat down next to her.
Piper frowned, then she started: "What about Steve's parents... I mean... You talked about that angel you saw in his mind... and then, this angel was his mother?" Tom nodded. "So... is his mother an angel?"
Tom shrugged: "If I understood him right he doesn't think so... She's a witch. But... well that's what Steve thinks, but he doesn't now it."
Piper was still frowning: "So she is the good... Where is she now?"
Tom frowned. "I'm not very sure myself. I think that not even Steve knows all about his family... But after what I saw, what he showed to me... My impression is that his mom wasn't that angel exactly. I mean, the angels were erased from the existence centuries ago, if I got that well... But his mother wanted to show him what Mestizos had done... So she must have taken the shape of an angel to do so. She must be a witch... and his dad is the evil side, I guess. She knew that her son is a mestizo, a double demon, and wanted to show him the truth about them..."
Piper nodded, but she was a bit lost in the explanation.
"Look..." he went on, after sighing, "his mother, somehow knew that this was the time for the double demons to act... She must have discovered even before us that those witches and whitelighters were disappearing because of that, so she took the advantage that our best friend Nicki had also disappeared, and took her shape, so that Steve saw what the double demons were actually up to, and he could stop them, instead of listening to them when they were trying to convince him... as they must be doing right now!"
Piper was listening attentively, and thinking about something else...
"Tom..." she finally said, "you have just said that they took Nicki. They took her from the very same school? Because that's not possible..."
Tom frowned again: "Well... Now that I think about that too... Probably Steve's mother was the one that took her out of the school, and caused this way her kidnapping. So that she could come in more easily... She didn't have to wait for her to disappear. She herself must have exposed Nicki, in the same way she took Steve out of the school..."

°°°°°°°°°°

When Cole opened his eyes again, the girls and Phoebe's body had disappeared. Besides, he didn't have the shape of Belthazor anymore. Also the trees and plants were gone. He was in the ghostly plane again... as he had wished.
He shuddered and looked around, trembling, still lying on the floor. "Phoebe?" he mumbled.
His eyes were completely red and teary. He blinked and looked again to the opposite direction, and he couldn't help startling.
There he was... lying, unconscious, dying... Chris, his beloved nephew, the one that had saved him.
Or not?
"Chris?" he said, approaching him. He was there, very pale...
Had all been only a dream? What if he was actually in that damned plane yet, with Chris dying, waiting for Leo to come back? What if Chris hadn't saved him after all? Or what was even worst... What if he couldn't save Chris?
He'd never see Phoebe again; that must have been a terrible punishment that was being inflicted upon him...
Cole crawled towards Chris, and caressed his face: "Buddy..."
The boy's face was covered with tears. He had given up... he'd die...
"Chris, I'm right here... You're gonna be fine soon. You need to hold on, o.k.?" he muttered, trying to forget the horrible images he had been obliged to see before, because now he knew they were all lies. He still could save Chris, however, and he needed to focus on him.
But the boy wouldn't wake up... He shook his body gently.
"Chris, it's o.k., you're gonna be fine... Just wake up, please..." he begged, almost moaning. He needed to save him, he didn't mind if he was doomed, but he had to save that boy...
Chris finally opened his eyes: "I can't..."
"You have to, man... You have to," Cole insisted, almost weeping.
Chris shook his head, weakly: "No, you have to... Can you hear me? You have to fight, uncle. Fight against your fears, 'cause these pictures aren't real..."
Cole was shocked. "Chris..." he whispered, "you're not yourself... You need to stay in the reality... don't leave me, o.k.?"
"I'm right here with you, uncle... I won't leave you... you need to fight, please, I know you can..." Chris repeated in a very weak voice.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Come on, uncle..." Chris was hugging his trembling uncle, stroking his hair, begging him to be back... His own eyes were full of tears.
"Don't leave me, o.k.?" Cole said in a very low voice.
Chris didn't know what he was seeing exactly, but he just answered: "I'm right here with you, uncle... I won't leave you... you need to fight, please, I know you can... Come on... "
"Chris, you're not gonna die... I swear by my life..." his uncle said.
Chris swallowed. He had to help him out of this pain, out of this nightmare he was in.
"Uncle, I'm here... I'll not die... listen to me... You have to fight," he whispered into his ear.
"Don't leave me..." Cole sobbed, "I can't be alone again."
Chris sighed. He was hugging his uncle tightly. He kissed his forehead, as if he were a little child. Chris sobbed a little, tears ran over his face. He was suffering with his uncle, remembering the pain he himself had gone through. "You're not alone..." he then whispered, " You'll never be alone...

°°°°°°°°°°

"...you're a Halliwell," Chris said with his weak voice.
Cole looked at him without understanding. 'What was this boy talking about?' he thought, 'he must have been in a kind of dream because of his state.'
But the dying Chris went on talking to him: "Uncle, please. You're one of us, you're a Halliwell..."
Cole was looking at the boy in astonishment. It seemed to him that his voice had changed a little. It was now stronger in some way. Even if the body of Chris was lying there, very pale, very close to death... his voice was strong and powerful now.
"...That's why you'll never be alone. So let me help you, as you helped me before."
His words went deep inside Cole's mind. It took a moment till they sank in completely. Slowly he began to remember.
"Uncle you have to fight against you fears... This isn't real," Chris went on talking.
Cole sighed. Then, he closed his eyes.
"This isn't real," he whispered.
"Yeah, go on!" he heard Chris's voice.
"This isn't real," Cole said now louder.
He stood up. He listened... he wasn't able to hear anything. But there was a little wind...
It had never been windy in the ghostly plane! He opened his eyes. He was in the wood again. In front of him stood Phoebe, looking at him with a smile.
Cole just stood there, looking at her, knowing that it wasn't her, that it wasn't the real Phoebe. He stood there, still with tears in his eyes, but strong now, strong and self-confident. But he couldn't say anything, he just didn't know what he should say.
"We never thought that you could get through this," she said, but it wasn't Phoebe's voice... It was kind of magical.
"I'm always surprising people," Cole replied with a weak smile.
The false Phoebe nodded. Cole felt that she was going to disappear.
"Thanks!" he said.
She looked up to him again: "For what?"
Cole sighed: "You showed me something that I needed to know, something about who I really am."
The woman smiled, then she disappeared.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Uncle? Are you o.k.?" Chris asked again.
Cole turned around. Behind him stood Chris, his eyes red from tears like his own, his breath going fast, looking at him with sorrow.
But when Chris looked into the eyes of his uncle, he knew that he was back. He smiled a little and asked again: "Are you o.k.?"
Cole was unable to answer. He knew what this boy had done for him, even Chris had to live - and Cole was sure about that - his worst fears on his own. He just thought, that his nephew was amazing!
Chris was still waiting for an answer. But then he saw a little smile on the face of his uncle, too.
And then they hugged each other, very tightly as if the never wanted to be alone again. And again both started to cry. They just stood there, hugging each other and crying for a couple of minutes.
Then they separated. Cole was wiping away his tears, same as Chris.
"Come on, we have to find that damned little potion, and then let's get out of here," he said to his nephew. Chris sighed and nodded.

°°°°°°°°°°

John led them to the place from where they could reach the imprisoned witches. There were only a few low-level demons guarding the entrance.
"That's too easy," Phoebe remarked.
"Well... I guess they don't think that they are in danger," Leo said, "they caught nearly every witch in the world... except our little group."
Odin nodded: "But anyway... we should be careful."
The others nodded.
Leo and Phoebe orbed over to the demons that, with a few kicks, were knocked out.
When Odin and John went over to them, Phoebe was looking at the dark entrance of the tunnel with fear.
"Any warnings, Phoebe?" Odin asked.
"I'm not sure, I feel a lot of fear, but I think it's from the witches... I hope there is nothing else." She sighed, Leo too. Then they went in.

°°°°°°°°°°

Belthazor and Bianca advanced very self-confidently. Belthazor was especially crossed at the lie he'd been a victim of. He hated to fight on the sisters' side, but he knew he had to, in order to end up with the problem they had in common. But as soon as he got rid of those double demons, he'd be back... The Source of all Evil.
When they reached a small and dark little entrance, they stopped. "Wait" ordered the red demon.
Bianca obeyed, staying behind, as Belthazor paid attention to any possible noise.
Finally, with a gesture of his hand, he indicated her that they could go on...
Suddenly, an energy ball came from somewhere inside the narrow tunnel. Bianca ducked just in time to dodge the impact, and when a second attack took place, Belthazor was ready to counteract it with his own balls of fire. "Damn it!" he exclaimed in a very strong scaring voice.
Bianca took advantage of his huge body to cover herself, as she waited for him to end with the enemy. It didn't take much time. It seemed there were only a couple of guardians, or three, inside.
"Clear," announced Belthazor in a very bad mood, once he finished his job.
Both of them continued their way along the narrow passage to which the small gate served as entrance.

°°°°°°°°°°

Veronica was stroking Sarah's hair softly, because the girl had fallen asleep, while Nicki leaned her head on the wall, pensive, as well as Tom's father did.
Paige had stood up, tired of being a prisoner, unable to fight, and anxious, because she didn't know how her sisters and the rest of her family and friends were doing out there. The fact that none of them had been taken yet to those caves, was both good and bad. Good, because it could mean that the surely-to-be double demons hadn't been able to catch them; bad, because it could also mean that they had been badly wounded, or killed... She shivered at that thought. Things were turning really bad, from her perspective, with all the good witches of the world imprisoned there, and probably also the demons...
Suddenly she heard a voice, a very familiar one...
"Paige? Nicki? Steve?" Phoebe was trying all the names from which she could get a response.
Then, at the sound of her voice, everyone inside the cave started to cry, scream, and call asking for help.
"Phoebe?" exclaimed Paige, feeling her heart beating strongly and struggling to make her own voice heard. "Phoebe, we're here!" Paige shouted. Nicki and Veronica started to their feet. They were saved!
But Phoebe couldn't hear their voices.
The two girls joined Paige in their attempts of attracting her attention, but it didn't work. Everyone inside there was trying to do the same thing. Tom's father, took the scared Sarah in his arms, as he waited eagerly.
Veronica, fed up with the situation, took a breath and shouted: "SHUT UP! EVERYONE... SHUT UP, OR I'LL TURN YOU ALL IN STATUES OF STONE RIGHT NOW!"
It was a clear bluff, but it worked. At the same time, blue orbs illuminated the cave, making all of them close their eyes.
"There they are, Phoebe..." the voice of Leo said.
He, together with John and Odin, had created little balls of energy similar to their own orbs, and kept them floating, so that they could see in the darkness.
At the end of the corridor, there was a big gate covered with strong bars, probably protected magically, and that was the reason why the witches inside couldn't use their own magic.

°°°°°°°°°°

Tom and Piper had kept silent for a while, thoughtful. Finally, Tom turned to the Charmed One and asked: "How do you feel, Mrs. Halliwell?"
Piper frowned: "Do you mean... because of my pregnancy? I'm fine, but..."
Tom blushed: "Yes, I meant that, but not... Not exactly. I mean, I know you're fine right now, and all... I just was wondering how does it feel, if I may ask... Having your own baby wandering around you, 23 years older than he should be in this time... " Tom had lowered his voice, regretting having asked that question at all. But he had been thinking about that for a long time, since the moment they all knew who Chris really was... The family had explained something to them after the last adventure, but it was really weird, and even more now, that she was really bearing the very same person in her womb... Or at least another version of Chris, as they had been explained.
Piper smiled, and then chuckled: "Oh, that's what you meant... Well, it's difficult to say... Chris is my son, and this little child I bear will also be my son, but, as I see it now... they're like two different people. I guess that's the best way to understand and get used to this. And to love them both equally, but separately."
"But they'll be like clones!"
"Yeah, but..." she'd been wondering the same thing for a long time, as well as Leo had, "they'll be like two different people, hopefully... and I guess they'll want to be treated as such. I mean... comparisons are bad... Even if they're the same person, you know... But imagine that little Chris makes some mistake. That doesn't mean the adult version had anything to do with that." Tom nodded as she continued: "They will be treated equally, but separately... as individuals. I'm sure that Chris would agree." She smiled, and Tom did the same.
"Yes... I guess that's the best way to handle that," he answered satisfied with the explanation. But then another question came to his mind: "And... if I'm allowed to ask... what about the baby? How do you plan to explain that to him?"
Piper smiled again: "When Wyatt and Chris are old enough, we'll tell them the same as we told you... That Chris came here to save us, that he did it, and that, because of that, he couldn't return."
"Yes, but... I just imagine how I would feel if I would know me, when I'm 23 years older... If I would know now how I would look like with 41... That's..."
"... very weird," Piper ended his sentence still smiling. "But... Look, future Wyatt was here... And I think that if we were not able to handle that problem, he would have told us... So... We can..."
Suddenly there was a noise, as if something broke.
"What?" Piper exclaimed and stood up, as well as Tom. In the next moment they were surrounded by five lower demons, ready to kill them.
The witches watched the demons, aware of any attack. But nothing happened. Then, two men in grey appeared in front of them.
Both could imagine who they were. Tom trembled a little, fearful. He wasn't able to use his powers, he wasn't able to defend himself. He thought he wouldn't be able to resist them.
The man looked at Piper, then at Tom... and then he smiled.
"Take the witch to the cave," he ordered, "the boy comes with me."
Then the man took Tom's arm and both disappeared.


(Chapter 9 written by Chrissy.W.x and Belén)