Disclaimer: Me no own. You no sue. K?
Character key: (yeah, I realized this is starting to get confusing. Just look up here if you get too lost)
André: team member of FU1
Duncan: vampire, and team member of FU1
Joden: team member of FU1 and Paris' boyfriend
Paris: Chris' best friend and Joden's girlfriend (also on FU1)
Jess/Jessie/Jessica: Chris' twin sister that commit suicide when they were nine
Need be reminded of who anyone else is, just ask me in a review. Don't worry, I don't bite.
The team's chatter and horse playing was endless, Phoebe thought bemusedly as she watched them joking around even at the present moment, three hours into the flight.
"Okay, o-okay," Joden managed through the peels of laughter Duncan's most embarrassing story had caused. "Paris… you go! Most embarrassing story!"
Paris, who had found Duncan's story more mortifying than funny, didn't have a problem speaking. But she did laugh as she considered her own stories. "Okay. I guess it would have to be the time we were trapped in the Source's dungeons longer than planned, and I had 'lady's promise' in a dungeon cell with Duncan and Chris. Chris had to get the Source to supply with tampons and regular bathroom breaks."
"No way," gasped André, barely able to contain her shocked laughter, and doing a much better job than Duncan and Joden. "And the Source just gave it all to you?"
Paris laughed lightly. "Yeah. Chris and the Source have a world of their own when they're together. It wasn't hard, either, since the Source is very civilized about those sorts of things."
Pretty much everyone in the plane laughed, including the ones from the past. They weren't finding it hard to fit in and feel like a part of the group, especially since the team made every effort to include them in conversations and jokes. Paige had even felt comfortable enough around them to tell them about the time she had broken a mirror in school just by looking at it, and laughed with them when they inevitably did. The entire team was just like a group of kids, they were so young (except Duncan, who turned out to be 225) and playful of spirit. And this bunch of kids had saved the world at least a dozen times since the war had begun only a year or so ago. The ones from the past frankly found it amazing how little the horrors of the world around the team seemed to effect them, so that they could still be sitting here, lightly fooling around like they were.
"Okay, Chris," laughed Piper, after having told about the time she was caught by the vice principal drawing mustaches on pictures of the principal around the school bulletin boards. "You haven't gone yet. Your turn."
Chris pulled a comical face. "Embarrassing… hell no. Embarrassing and funny… that would have to be the time with Cheese."
At this, the rest of the FU team burst out in howls of laughter, Joden falling off his seat and rolling around on the ground while the others pounded their chairs in utter mirth. The ones from the past were lost. "Cheese?"
Chris, shaking his head mildly, simply flicked his fingers and used a miniature 3-D image to explain.
"Hey, you guys," said André running up and holding aloft a remote control thingy. "Check this out! It conjures whatever it is you're thinking at the moment."
The rest of the team was interested and watched as she pointed it at Joden and a turkey sandwich appeared, but Chris was busy over some computer, rewiring the hardware and not paying attention. André, sharing a mischievous, wicked smile with Paris, Joden, and Duncan, pointed it at the unsuspecting Chris and hit the button.
What should appear but a giant, winged camel wearing haughty bifocals. That caught the boy's attention. "Wow! That looks just like what I was thinking about a second ago!"
The camel, narrowing his eyes, smacked the boy over the head with a cloven hoof. "Of course I do, you idiot! Were you not paying attention?" the camel demanded in a fancy Irish accent, sending the team into howls of laughter.
"Man, you just got told by a talking camel with wings!" Joden snorted. The camel also smacked Joden, replying primly,
"I'll have you know I am not 'a talking camel with wings'! I am named Cheese, and I'll also have you know I have a degree in psychology!"
The memory ended, Chris looking very tired and the team howling, still. Without an explanation, Chris got up and went into the pilot's pit.
"What's he doing?" asked Phoebe, concerned as she looked at the closed door.
"I don't-- don't know," managed André through her laughter. "Prob-probably to make sure the Source can't s-sense us flying over his ter-territory. Good grief, that never gets old!" she ended, referring to the winged, talking camel with a degree in psychology named Cheese.
Chris reappeared about thirty minutes later. He looked a little disconcerted but nothing too unusual, and joined back in the team's talking without much of a problem. They had managed to fly over the Source's territory even after Damien's threat without a problem… Something wasn't right.
It was another two hours before they reached the tall snowcapped mountain, Mount Levee. The team, Charmed, and Elder companions dismounted from the jet and gathered their packs. The team began the long hike up the mountain like it was a walk in the park, but the sisters and Leo found it a little more difficult. They could battle demons, yes, but the almost vertical hike up a rocky mountain path was beyond them.
The team continued their cheerful, light chatter, unaware of the ones that were beginning to lag behind farther and farther. But at last, Chris noticed the team's guests as they were almost to the point of being out of eyesight, they were getting so far behind.
"Hey, guys," he said, interrupting Joden's tale of a werewolf encounter a few days ago. "Wait for me up there, will you? I'm completely tired out."
"Why? I thought Prue said you actually slept last night," pointed out André, arching an eyebrow.
Chris' eyes narrowed. "She did, did she…? Anyway…" He waved, as in 'goodbye, get lost, don't talk back'. The team laughed and kept going, leaving Chris to sit down on a boulder and wait on the others.
When the four reached him they were at a loss for words. It was such a simple little act, waiting on them like he did, but coming from this boy it seemed so strange… he didn't even know them.
Phoebe, struggling to say something to ease the silence, began offhandedly, "Um… we, um…"
But she stopped as Chris offered them a slight half-smile, his eyes not judging or expecting anything. Just the smile. He got up from his perch and led the way silently back to the rest of the team. The Charmed Ones and Leo followed, feeling very stupid and at a loss for what to say.
They met up with the others shortly.
"What've we got?" asked Chris, indicating the flat, smooth surface of the mountainside where a giant archway was carved into the stone, ancient looking runes above it.
"Ancient Fairy, by the looks," said Paris, tracing a finger over the runes. "Feels old, duh. And… haughty. Like it knows we're primitive beings or something. It definitely doesn't like us. Can you read any of it, Chris?"
She turned to see Chris gazing intently at it. "It says something along the lines of, 'Ask a question, see a truth'. But it rhymes in that language, so, 'Answers sought be known, truths to be seen, shown'."
He realized it was meant to be a spell too late. At that moment, the entire mountainside began shaking, the high archway glowing golden. Loose rocks scattered around them, and the people backed up away from the flying debris.
"We have to ask a question to open the door!" Paris shouted above the thunderous rumbling. "Someone, hurry! It won't last much longer!"
"Okay!" Joden yelled, shielding his face from the flying and falling rocks. "Rock-buddy, how do we find the artifacts once we're inside!"
The rumbling graduated to a silence, and the center of the archway began to swirl in a vortex of color. They cautiously stepped over rocks and made their way to see what it was about to show them. Paris looked up at Joden, who stood about four inches taller than her.
"Nice question," she commented. Joden smiled and kissed her on the lips.
"Ugh, get a room," chorused several voices, making the couple laugh as they turned their attention back to the wall.
The vortex had settled on a single image at a time, and it was currently showing…holes. One hole in the ground after another hole in the ground. After a confusing moment, it showed a wall with the ancient fairy runes on it, then another, and another, until the number of walls equaled the number of holes.
The images stopped, and suddenly the stone within the archway vanished entirely. The team, Charmed Ones, and Elder shared looks, each eyeing the vast open hole of the newly formed door.
"I guess we go in," said Paige with a shrug.
"And follow the holes!" declared Joden, leading the charge into earthen tunnel with a battle cry. André, Paige, Phoebe, and Leo charged after him with similar exclamations. Chris, Paris, and Piper, however, stood back and watched them with their arms crossed.
"Yeah," said Chris, nodding speculatively as they watched the ones disappearing into the distance, still crying strange sounds. "You can tell they really like their jobs."
The two women nodded and the three began their calm walk after the 'war heroes'.
"You know," stated Paris calmly, "that this entire place is laughing at us."
"Fine, then," snapped the adult Chris, giving up after so many vain attempts at getting Bianca to help him. "If you aren't going to listen to reason, then I guess I am going to have to leave without your help."
Bianca smirked. "Good luck."
Chris scowled, one not-so-very-nice word running through his head. He turned to take in his surroundings methodically, strategically. But there wasn't much to see that could help his situation. He noticed his younger counterpart as he, Piper, and Paris followed after his team. His team before it had become so broken… But-- he had been working on Bianca-- fruitlessly-- for that whole flight, for over four hours? Dang!
Chris, he scolded himself, remembering he had a task to do. Get to work! No more regretful reminiscing!
He looked around him once more, taking in everything meticulously. There had to be something… except he was sidetracked yet again.
"Come on, Bianca! What happened that turned you? You would never give in just because he asked you, or you were mad at me! You are better than that!"
The woman arched an eyebrow. "Wow, finally realizing not everything is just in black and white, are you, Chris? Well, I should hope so. I mean, you are eighteen, and most people figure it out before that tender age."
"Eighteen-- a tender age?" repeated Chris with a harsh laugh to cover up how his heart sank. Wow, he thought. How many lies have I actually told my family? I mean, twenty-two? Who in their right minds would believe I was any older than twenty, at the MOST? "The one year I can finally get away is not exactly a bad, tender year, Bianca. And need I remind you that you, also, are eighteen? And you really don't seem like anything I say is honestly going to mean a whole hell of a lot to you."
"You're point?"
"Don't say tender. Neither one of us has been tender for a long time."
Bianca's gaze locked with his own, something flickering behind those dark brown spheres. Something like familiarity, something that showed she knew who her fiancé was… she knew he wasn't just any other captive. She knew that they were alike in at least that one way.
Chris smiled coldly. He already knew that. He already knew that she knew that. So… why then did he feel hope accompanying that look? Maybe he just felt that she was finally allowing a connection with him… Maybe he could use that to get to her…
Once the three had caught up with the others, who had had to stop when they ran out of breath, they began again together. It wasn't long before Chris suddenly fell forward and hit the ground, with a muffled,
"Found the first hole."
As soon as Paris had helped him to his feet, the wall beside the accursed hole began to glow, and ancient runes appeared. Chris cocked his head to one side and read, "To the person who triggered this, honest you shall be. Your intentions are driven by good, though the definition does not seem pretty. Love has a different meaning to everyone, go now, you and the Reading One." He made a face. "What the he--"
But just then a bright stream of light blasted from the wall and hit both him and Paris in the chest.
"Love is something everyone needs to live," Paris said, looking as confused as to why she was saying this as everyone else. Her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. "Love is something that makes the worst situation not seem so bad, or insurmountable. It is something everyone needs unconditionally, and everyone should always look for. Love is love." She made a face, as though waiting to see if her mouth had anything to add, and cocked a thoughtful eyebrow when it remained quiet.
The light that had hit Chris took action, and his mouth said coldly, "Love is not something that should be celebrated or looked for. It's cold, and it's broken, and it only makes betrayal hurt worse. It's never unconditional and it's never free. Love is the thing that breaks families and friends and every person you love will die, as the price to pay for taking the chance on it." He, too, waited to see if his mouth was done, and when he decided it was, mused, "Hm. That was weird."
Everyone was staring at him as though he had a naked dwarf flying around his head like a halo.
"Geez, I bet you were a happy little kid, weren't you?" voiced Joden, breaking the silence at last.
Chris rolled his eyes. "Let's just go. And I'm not triggering the next hole." Little did he know… As soon as he started walking again, he fell forward as he tripped over the next hole. "DAMN IT!"
The wall next to this hole lit up, ancient runes forming again. Chris groaned. "Do I have to read it? Can't we just ignore the little signs?"
Everyone in the cave-like tunnel crossed their arms. Chris groaned again, but stood up, nonetheless. He read the inscription. "Bright and cheery one you are not, but you cannot help how your definition reflects the life you've got. Your strength lies in your honest intentions, but how well do you fair under emotional confrontations?" He sighed heavily, voicing, "This sucks."
" 'Emotional confrontation' ?" repeated Duncan and Leo as one. The vampire and Elder shared curious looks.
Chris arched an eyebrow at that, thinking 'creepy', but replying, "I don't know, but there wasn't a blast of light. Would somebody else like to walk over here? Preferably directly in front of me?" He was having a very hard time keeping a straight face as he added the last part, and when the team laughed, he couldn't help but join in.
They continued walking.
The tunnel was dark and the constant drip of underground water was audible with every step. The ones who had charged in madly had taken down an old-fashioned torch, and now Chris produced his oh-so-familiar lighter and set a flame to it. The shadows it cast flickered like they were alive, seriously creeping out Phoebe and André. As they continued their slower march, the footsteps echoed eerily like a troop of soldiers closing in around them in the gathering darkness. The otherwise silence was unnerving.
The silence, that was, until the FU team began to sing 'The wheels on the bus', the Charmed Ones joining in readily, and Leo shaking his head sadly at the strange scene going on around him.
"And the driver of the bus goes-- good grief, Chris!" said Paris very suddenly, making Chris turn slightly to see her clearer.
"What?" he asked.
Paris stopped almost angrily in her tracks, continuing earnestly, "Can't you see why I have to? I don't have a choice! And you know I never wanted it to end this way but--"
"Jess, stop talking like that!" shouted Joden, stomping his foot. The entire team had stopped walking and singing now.
"Joden, what--?" began Phoebe, but halted when she caught sight of Chris' face. It was completely white, even by the standards of the torch's orange cast. He was staring at Paris as though… as though she didn't know what. The look made her heart clutch in her chest, though.
"Look!" Joden continued just as earnestly. "Just a little while longer! That's all, and we can get out of here. They have to have found someone else to take--"
"No!" said Paige suddenly, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I can't stand just a few more days, Chris! I mean… look what they can do to us in just a few hours." Paige threw out her arms as though the exhibit something they couldn't see. "And you know what can happen in just a few days. Especially what will happenonce they find out where we went--"
"But we don't have to go back!" cried Duncan desperately. "We can run away, orb to Tokyo or somewhere they'll never find us until someone else can help us!"
"No," sobbed André. "You promised last time that Paige could help find us another family, and she didn't! She just called mom to come and pick us up, because she, like everyone one else, thought we were lying! Come on, Chris. We can't live like this forever!"
"And we don't have to," whispered Leo, somewhat dazed, and yet panic interlacing his every syllable. "We can find someone else. Paige isn't the only social worker in the world. Please, Jess. Please don't do this. It doesn't have to be this way."
"Yes it does," countered Piper with heart chilling finality in her voice. "But you can come with me. We don't have to be separated, Chris. We can leave this world together!"
"No," whispered Chris, that unfathomable expression still locked in his eyes. "Please, Jess. Please don't. We can go somewhere else together, but we don't have to leave this world to get there. Please, don't do this."
Phoebe stomped her foot, exasperated. "Why don't you want to?" she demanded. "They treat you even worse than me! Why would you choose this hell over me?"
"Jess, it can get better!" insisted Paris hoarsely. "Please, just give me a chance to make it better."
"It can't get any better," replied André softly. "Nothing ever gets better for us. You know that just as well as I do."
"Jessie, please…"
"Goodbye, Chris," breathed Piper, and the next thing they knew Joden was screaming,
"JESSICA!"
A/n: Yeah… I didn't have this chapter beta-d. I had another version of this chapter proof-read, but I decided this morning that I didn't like it, and I'd already said I'd post a chapter today, so… sue me. Anyway, what'd ya think? Wondering what the other 'booby-traps' are like? Review!
And thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter! I'm loving the support!