Dichotomy
A/N: Okay, the first half of this chappy is a little dark, be warned.
Summary: Christopher Peregrine Halliwell died. Yet he is now alive and well. Surely that doesn't happen so easily? And if it does, whatever happened to the Chris who died to save him?
Disclaimer: Charmed belongs to someone who is very rich, so we can immediately assume it is not me. Don't sue, you'll only get a half empty jar of old fashioned jelly babies.
Chapter 5
When Wyatt first entered the attic, it was not to a scene he had expected, at all. There was no utter devastation, no bodies lying in a pool of their own blood. The only thing which appeared out of place was the now shattered mirror, which lay in hundreds of pieces all over the floor.
And the fact that Chris was now curled in on himself, trembling, against the opposite wall.
Wyatt hurried over to him, quickly scanning his little brother for injuries of any kind and probing his magic, preparing to heal. But he could find nothing wrong, apart from Chris being shaken and apparently terrified.
"Hey, Chris? Little brother? What is it?"
Chris' hands were covering his face, his breathing was harsh and shallow, as though he was going into shock. Wyatt gently grabbed his brother's wrists and tried to pull his hands away from his face to study him properly, but Chris wrenched them out of his grip and turned towards the wall, both arms now covering his head as though trying to protect himself.
Wyatt stared about, noticed the red peardrop lying still and abandoned on the floor, and angrily addressed the room at large.
"Perry! What the hell did you do to my brother!"
The notebook was slammed angrily down in front of him, the pen sitting on the desk snatched up, and the untidy scrawl appeared again, spilling over the paper in angry blotches.
I didn't do anything! He just freaked out when he looked in the mirror.
Wyatt eyed the mirror with trepidation, and craned his neck to study it further. It seemed perfectly ordinary, and held no magical aura or any trace of a curse. He glared back down at the notepaper.
"Then what could he have possibly seen to make him scream, huh!"
"Dead…"
Wyatt whirled around, to find Chris staring up at him with a strange, unfocused, blank look in his eyes. He smiled twistedly and cocked his head, and seemed to stare straight at something above the notebook. He looked like he was hallucinating to Wyatt.
"Chris? Can you hear me?"
Chris didn't answer, and Wyatt hastily put a hand to his forehead, and drew back with a hiss. Instead of it being overly warm, it was perishing with cold, so much so that it stung to touch it. Chris was still staring unblinkingly at the same spot far above Wyatt, now frowning as though concentrating.
Suddenly, he nodded, as though answering a question. Wyatt blinked and waved a hand in front of his brother's face.
"Chris? Hello?"
"Yeah…red really…isn't your colour…"
Wyatt frowned, now thoroughly concerned, and looked from the notebook, up, to Chris. His brother had not been speaking to him. Wyatt waved his hand back and forth above the paper, but felt nothing.
"Hey, Wy?" Chris was now looking up at his brother, eyes drooping slightly "M'tired…" he muttered, before slumping against Wyatt's chest and going utterly limp. Wyatt felt fear rise in his chest.
"Chris? Chris! C'mon, little bro, don't die on me…"
"..ead…"
Wyatt froze. It was like an echo, so quiet he had barely heard it, and crackled in and out of tune like a broken record. He could only catch brief sections of it, but listened carefully.
"…idn't ex…to go a…eak lit…ing…isn't he?"
Wyatt allowed his gaze to travel up from the notebook, and is eyes widened as he saw a translucent mist, swirling and folding itself into the shape of a figure, blurred and indefinable but obviously human.
"Perry…what…just who the hell are you!"
The semi translucent figure distorted slightly, then seemingly placed his hand on his hip and cocked his head to the side.
"And what wou…be the fun in…you?"
Wyatt blinked, shook his head, and asked Perry to repeat what he had just said clearer. Wyatt distinctly heard him sigh.
"Fine…I said 'and what would be the fun in telling you'?"
Wyatt gaped, as the figure slid in and out of focus, then seemed to gain some solidity. His eyes widened, and he clutched his brother to him convulsively as he saw the features of the translucent figure become clearer.
"CHRIS!"
Piper watched as her eldest son leapt up the stairs and out of sight, and sighed and muttered about men. She raised her eyes to the heavens and placed a hand on her hip.
"Leo! Get your ass down here!"
She hastily undid her apron and tossed it on the kitchen table, beginning to hurry over to the foot of the stairs. Before she could place a foot on the first step, a swirl of blue cloud announced Leo's arrival.
"Piper? What is it?"
Piper hurried up the stairs, calling over her shoulder to her husband.
"I don't know, but I think I heard Chris scream. Hurry."
Leo, who had been particularly protective of his youngest son due to past events, didn't bother to follow his wife up the stairs but orbed up to the attic instead.
Leo blinked as he stared at the scene before him, both his sons huddled together against the wall, Wyatt staring fearfully at a figure which was slightly hard to see standing in the centre of the room. Leo, reacting on instinct, immediately sent a shot of lightning towards the figure.
It went straight through it.
The figure gave a yelp, and turned, and Leo felt his stomach to a leap and his heart stop beating. He was semi visible, translucent, but it was unmistakable that the face that stared back at him was Chris'.
But he was different. His hair was longer, and reached his chin. He was taller and thinner than the son Leo had grown used to, and his eyes seemed darker. But, most telling of all, his entire left side was drenched in blood. The shirt had once been a pale cream colour, the fleece a light sky blue, but there was dried blood trickling down the sleeve. The face that turned to look at Leo also bore a large gash from his left temple to the top of his cheek.
The Chris which stood in the centre of the room smiled a bitter, sinister smile, and turned fully to face Leo.
"What's the matter, Daddy?" his face took on a look of mocking sadness "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Wyatt stared from Perry, to Chris, to his father, then back to Perry. Perry was…Chris? And yet, he wasn't…he was different…
"What . The . Bloody . Hell . Is . Going . On!"
He hissed, rising to his feet, placing one arm under his little brother's knees and another under his back and holding him off the ground.
Perry, as he called himself, shrugged, and fiddled with his sleeve in a way which was sickeningly similar to the quirks which Wyatt's own brother practiced. He eyed Chris with bitter resentment.
"Long time no see, Wyatt. You don't remember me, do you?"
Perry walked over to Wyatt, who tightened his hold on his brother, reached out a hand and placed it on his other self's forehead. Immediately both Chris' yelled out in pain, and Wyatt stepped back abruptly. Perry doubled over in seeming pain, and Wyatt saw the coloring in his pale cheeks begin to grow darker, his clothes grow brighter, and he seemed suddenly more solid.
As though to test this, Leo reached out and placed a hand on Perry's shoulder. It did not sink into the spirit as he had expected, but sat rather awkwardly on the limb, which was now perfectly solid.
"Chris Perry?"
Wyatt stared, open mouthed, at his father now.
"Dad? What…how did you know his name?"
"Because we have met before." Perry interjected, shoving Leo's hand off him in disgust. "Isn't that right, Leo?"
"Then you are Chris Perry? But…I…you…"
"Died? Yeah. Hurt like hell, you know. Not literally of course, never actually got to heaven or hell. Got stuck in purgatory thanks to Christopher minor."
He said it so casually, Wyatt shuddered at how uncaring he seemed. What was this? Was it a trick, by some demon? He said Leo and he had met before…he said he and Wyatt had met before. Wyatt racked his brain, trying desperately to recall, but nothing came to mind. How did they know they could trust him?
"You want proof, Wyatt?"
Perry said, as though he had read Wyatt's mind. Wyatt immediately erected barriers around his mind, and Perry laughed. He walked over to the bin, where the broken shards of the vase now lay, and retrieved a tiny, silver key from the wreckage. He smirked.
"Hidden in the vase. I saw Piper do it."
He then walked over to the desk in the corner, and fitted the key into the top left draw keyhole, the one which was always locked. He opened it, scrambled around inside, then withdrew a small slip of paper with a triumphant grin. He walked back over to Wyatt and held it up in front of his face.
It was a picture of Chris, or Perry, sitting on the floor, showing a three year old Wyatt one of his toys. Wyatt stared. The little boy was definitely himself. He had seen pictures of himself at this age before…but how the hell did his brother at age twenty get there?
The door banged open once again, and they all jumped. This time, Piper entered, looking flustered. She looked around the room, eyes wide, then turned on her heel.
"I'd better call the others, then."
A/N: Okay, so now things are gonna get a little awkward. Perry is in one hell of a pissy mood and, personally, I don't really blame him. But his presence is going to cause more complications than even he has predicted…(evil smirk)
Translation for Perry's broken speech: Woah…didn't expect him to do that…weak little thing, isn't he?
Liked? Hated? Review!
