Author's notes: I remind you STRONGLY of the rating for this fic. It's also shorter than usual – sorry but I thought it ended best here.

Thanks go to: Sparkling Cherries, girl-with-the-green-eyes, charmedtomeetyou, Charmed Ravenclaw, mjp3.


The End of All Things

Chapter 9


Piper gaped at the empty spot where her son had just stood. "Where'd he go?" Piper began to panic, her motherly instincts kicking into high gear. "Leo! He's not supposed to use his powers!"

Seeing Piper was about to lose control, Leo rested a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. Closing his eyes, "I don't know, Piper. But let me see if I can sense him." Leo's eyes popped open, "I've got him. He's in San Francisco."

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Piper demanded, her hands on her hips as she looked at Leo anxiously. "Follow him!"

Seeing Leo glance at Kate's recently recovered body, Paige quickly interpreted Leo's hesitation, and cutting off Piper before she could repeat her demand, "I'll take care of it. Go. Help Chris."

Throwing his sister-in-law a grateful glance he grabbed at Piper's hand and looked questioningly at Phoebe who had stepped forward.

"I'm going with you," Phoebe explained unnecessarily. At Piper's raised eyebrow, "Paige can take Kate's body back to the base herself. Something in my gut tells me Chris needs us more."

Nodding, Piper looked over at Paige who agreed, "Phoebe's right. It shouldn't take me more than a second to drop…this…off. Go. I'll be right behind you."

And without another word, the trio disappeared, leaving Paige to stare at Kate regretfully. Sighing, she made her way slowly over, careful to avoid looking in the direction of the valkyrie's face. Kneeling down in the grass, she gently placed a hand on Kate's leg and took a deep breath before orbing out.


Chris orbed as close as the damn no-orbing spell would allow him. Overhead, the thunderclouds had opened with a vengeance, soaking Chris to the skin within seconds, though he barely registered it. Yelling at the guards to let him in, he ignored their requests for patience, and using his telekinesis, he threw the gates wide open.

Running in, irate men immediately surrounded him, their crossbows trained on him menacingly. His thoughts and focus were only on his friend, and with an impatient wave, he yanked their crossbows out of their hands to fly through the air, landing several feet away. Following his gut, he pushed his way past the astonished group, running full tilt into the city.

In the back of his mind, he acknowledged the commotion he had left behind – Sheridan was going to have his hide for this. Already, he could hear the shouts and calls from behind, as the guards gathered their wits and chased after him down the winding alleyway.

He paused, clearing his mind of all temporary distractions, and listened. He took off to his left, the adrenaline pounding through his blood stream giving him the energy to ignore the pain and exhaustion his illness was causing him. Cutting left and then right, and then right again, Chris continued to run, refusing to listen to his screaming muscles or give in to his shortness of breath. The border guards who'd been chasing him were long gone, likely lost in the maze of twisting paths and dead end roads of the war ravaged city.

He abruptly came to a stop, skidding as his feet slipped across the cobblestones. The street, deserted, was lined with houses obviously damaged during the war with Wyatt. It appeared this neighbourhood had been lucky; most of the houses were still standing, with only a couple on his right that were completely destroyed. Abandoned cars, blackened and rusted, lined both sides of the road.

Shit!

Les was lying on the ground, less than a hundred feet away. Running towards his friend, Chris felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. Listening to his gut, he suddenly veered to his left as bullets sprayed the pavement in front of him.

He made a running leap for the closest car, sliding over the hood and tumbling onto the ground as the bullets chased him. Breathing heavily, he winced as multiple shots were unloaded into the metal frame.

Crouched behind the car, he couldn't see Les anymore. Neither could Chris see the shooter. What the fuck was going on? Guns? What the hell? I thought those were lost during the war, when humans realized bullets don't stop demons…

He cursed, ducking down swiftly as another couple of shots rang out and interrupted his thoughts. Throwing his arms over his head, he sheltered his face from the broken glass as the next shot shattered the car window above him.

"Les!" Chris, pinned down behind the car he was hiding behind, shouted. "Les!"

The sound of the rain pounding down on the pavement was his only response.

Shots continued to wizz over his head. Letting loose a steady stream of swearing, he ducked, crouching low and huddling against the car. Unable to see exactly where the shots were coming from, he cursed again as this time, bullets riddled the car he was hiding behind. Shouting over the car hood, Chris hoped the shooter could hear him, "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Piss off and die, mother fucker!" The heated reply was quickly followed by a succession of shots.

So much for being reasonable…Chris rolled his eyes. Crawling on his hands and knees, he manoeuvred towards the end of the car, peeking over the trunk. A flash caught his eye. Narrowing his eyes, he squinted as he looked for the flash to reveal the shooter's position to him again.

Fuck, Chris thought. "Les! I'm coming. Just don't move. Don't move!"

In his peripheral vision, he could see three people running towards him, their shapes indicating that his family had decided to follow him and unknowingly plant themselves right in the middle of the situation. Cursing his family's timing, he held his breath, muttering a small prayer under his breath.

Come on, come on…

The flash.

"Chris!" his mother's voice called.

His entire being focused on the area where the light had reflected, Chris stretched out his hand and yanked!

The roof of the house a couple doors down collapsed.

A scream.

And then…

Silence.

"Chris, what's going on?"


As soon as she reformed, Paige quickly stepped away from the valkyrie's body. She had chosen Chris' room back at the Resistance's base as it was the only one she was familiar with. Not knowing what else to do, she called out, "Hello? Lilah? Darryl? Anyone?"

In response to her question, blue orbs began to materialize and Lilah turned to face Paige. "Paige? What's going on? I thought you were with Chris? I – oh my God, is that – ?" Lilah broke off, her face paling at the sight of the dead valkyrie on the floor.

Paige stepped in front of Lilah to force the whitelighter to focus on her. "Lilah. I need to get back to Chris. He needs my help. But he wanted me to bring Kate here so we could find out what or who killed her. We think it was a darklighter arrow, but it's just a guess. Can you help us?"

Swinging her gaze back to Paige, Lilah nodded dazedly, "Yes. Yes, I think so. I'll orb the body to the infirmary and inform Darryl. I'm sure Darryl will know someone who can help us with…this sort of thing."

Paige nodded, "Thanks. I really need to get back to Chris and the others." Reaching out, she squeezed Lilah's arm as the whitelighter continued to still appear to be out of sorts. "Lilah. This is really important."

Shaking herself out of her stupor, the whitelighter nodded grimly. "Of course. You're right. I'll take care of it. Don't you worry. Go. Help Chris. I've got things handled on this end."

Excusing herself one last time, Paige stepped back and taking a deep breath, orbed out.

Looking sadly at her friend, Lilah sighed. Waving her hand, Kate's body disappeared in a swirl of blue orbs. Shaking her head slowly, Lilah sighed again before orbing out as well.

How did it come to this?
As they materialized outside the city gates, the rain hit them ferociously, flattening their clothes and chilling them to the bone within seconds. Desperately trying to shield her face from the torrential downpour, Piper brought her arms up and folded them across her forehead.

The rain was coming down hard, hammering down upon her in icy pellets, stinging her exposed skin. Wiping at her nose, Piper could feel her hair stick to her scalp, her clothes quickly turning into ten pound weights as they absorbed the moisture.

She looked over at Phoebe and Leo, who were both equally soaked. Phoebe's hair was completely matted against her skull, and she was shading her eyes, trying to keep the rain out so she could see. On Piper's other side, Leo was shouting something as he pointed to something in the distance. Piper shook her head, unable to hear her husband over the noise of the heavy rain.

"…are open!" Leo yelled again, this time directly in Piper's ear.

The gates to the city were open.

The trio jogged forward, unable to see more than a few feet in front, the rain almost creating a grey physical barrier. Cautiously, they approached the city gates. As they ducked into the shelter of the guard post they were confronted by the sight of Chris running off, a quick glimpse of his back as he turned the corner and five guards chasing after him.

Assessing the situation with a quick glance, Piper threw up her hands, effectively freezing her son's pursuers. Already, Phoebe and Leo were in hot pursuit of Chris, leaving Piper to chase after them. Cursing her son's long legs, Piper also cursed the rain for making the cobblestone street beneath her feet slick and making it difficult for her to run.

As she turned the corner, she slammed into a wall that appeared out of nowhere in front of her. It took Piper several seconds to register that the 'wall' was actually Leo. They were standing at fork in the road, and he was obviously unsure of which way to turn. Thunder sounded and lightening struck, briefly illuminating the area. In that moment, Piper caught sight of her son, crouched down behind something…just ahead. Pointing with her finger, she began to run towards him, shouting to the others, "There!"

Almost tripping over herself, a strong arm caught her from behind, yanking her upright. Throwing her husband a grateful glance, the two traded an intimate glance before lacing their fingers together to continue to slip and slide their way through the rain slick streets. Phoebe brought up the rear, saying nothing as the three made their way eagerly towards their target.

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Piper yelled at her son as soon as they were in hearing distance, thoroughly irritated with his erratic behaviour, "Chris!"

A gun went off.

The building less than twenty feet away collapsed.

A scream.

The rain kept pouring down.


Piper approached her son, who was slowly rising from his position from behind an abandoned car. Even in the rain, Piper could tell he was breathing heavily. Still alarmed and confused, Piper's voice was almost harsh as she demanded, "Chris, what's going on?"

She bit back a cry as Chris raised his head briefly to meet her gaze. His green eyes were ablaze, almost glowing as he shook his head, saying only hoarsely, "Les."

From behind, Piper watched as Phoebe rushed by, letting out a cry. Phoebe rushed towards Les, spotting him lying on the ground less than a couple of metres away. Sinking to her knees, she placed her hand on his shoulder gently rolling him over onto his back to assess the damage.

"Oh my God…" Phoebe gasped.

Following her sister, Piper, unable to bear the sight, turned her head into Leo's shoulder. The bullet had entered his upper chest, leaving a large blood stain to soak on the front of his jacket. His eyes were open and unblinking…his mouth still open. Blood, still fresh, welled in his mouth, leaking and escaping from the corner of his mouth to be washed away by the rain before it even hit the ground.

Phoebe's eyes swelled with tears, as she shook her head in disbelief, covering her mouth in horror, "Oh God…oh God…"

"Dad…you've got to heal him…" Chris approached from behind, crouching down next to his aunt and fallen friend. Looking up at Leo, his eyes pleading, "Dad…"

"Chris…," Leo hesitated, not wanting to say the words. Chris' green eyes burned with an intensity that made Leo flinch. He tried to cushion the impact of his statement in a soft tone, "Son. I can't heal the dead."

Chris shook his head in denial. He placed his hands on either side of Les' head, giving it a little shake. "Breathe, man. Come on…breathe goddamnit!"

"Chris…" Piper choked out. "Chris, he's gone."

"No…," Chris shook his head, angrily now. "No! He called for me. He said my name!"

Piper shook her head again, her face full of sympathy as she tried to place a comforting hand on her son's shoulder. Phoebe just moaned, continuing to rock back and forth, tears running down her face.

"Piper? Phoebe?" Paige's voice rang out from a few feet away. Judging from her horrified expression, she had noticed Les' prone figure. "Oh my God. Is that – ?"

Leo nodded swiftly. As regret flashed across Paige's face, she quickly made her way over to Phoebe's side to sink to her knees next to her grieving sister, "Phoebe. Honey. I'm so sorry." Paige wrapped her arms around Phoebe, offering her what little comfort she could.

Meanwhile, Chris was shaking Piper's hand off, "No. No, goddamnit. I can't be too late. I can't be."

Trading a concerned look with his wife, Leo kneeled down next to Chris, "Son. It wasn't your fault."

Any tears he shed were impossible to separate from the river of rain streaming down his face. Chris stared down into his friend's face, unable to believe Les' expression was frozen in a contortion of pain. Chris whispered hoarsely, "No…don't do this, Les. It's not your time. It's not supposed to be this way."

"Chris…" Piper tried to comfort her son, alarmed by the devastation and self-recrimination in his expression. "Honey. Your father's right. This isn't your fault."

As if her words triggered something inside him, Chris' eyes suddenly blazed, hot with anger as he raised his eyes to meet his mother's, "You're goddamned right it's not my fault."

Piper stumbled back as Chris rose abruptly, stalking towards the recently collapsed house. "Chris? Where are you going? Chris?"

Chasing after her son, Piper quickly got to her feet, concern evident in her every step. Leo cast a look at Paige, who shook his head, "Go. I'll stay with Phoebe."

Running after his son and wife, he flinched as Chris stood before the pile of drywall that had once been a standing house, flinging the materials this way and that with his telekinesis. Skidding to a halt next to Piper who was standing a couple metres back from Chris, Leo whispered, "What's he looking for?"

Piper shook her head silently, her entire focus on her son as concern for both Chris' mental and physical state threatened to overwhelm her. He was breathing heavily and the exaggerated hand movements as he used his telekinesis clearly indicated to her that he was on the brink of exhaustion.

Finally, Chris found whatever he had been searching for because he stopped, stepping back to gaze at the object he'd uncover from the wreckage of the house.

As Chris stepped back, Piper gasped, catching sight of the injured man, who was bleeding heavily. His eyes met hers with a hatred that made her stumble back, as he looked up at Chris, "Fucking fairy."

"Hello, Jeremiah."


The fire from the torches gave the cavern an angry orange glow to the surroundings. The flickering shadows and the dead silence except for the two beings in conversation only added to the threatening atmosphere deep beneath the earth.

As far as the two inhabitants were concerned, it was exactly they way they wanted it.

Zankou regarded his snivelling minion. "Really, Phinks. Please stop that incessant whining. It is starting to seriously annoy me."

Phinks wiped at his nose, his tone meek. "I'm sorry, my lord. It's just…the witch-whitelighter has found the valkyrie's body. It's only a matter of time before he links it to us."

Zankou rolled his eyes, "Even if the boy can trace it back to us, do you really think the humans will believe him? No. No…everything is going according to plan. The humans are resentful and distrustful of the witches and all magical beings."

"But what about Sheridan? There are still those who trust the Resistance and its leader," Phinks pointed out, bewildered.

"They are in the minority," Zankou replied confidently. "Our mole is slowly but surely turning the tide. It won't be long before the distrust between the humans and witches is so great that all semblance of friendship will be lost."

Phinks bobbed his head in agreement, even though he didn't really understand what he was agreeing to. "But I don't understand. How does this help us?"

"Any friction between the humans and the witches we can use to our advantage," Zankou looked at Phinks thoughtfully. "We can and will exploit this to our benefit."

Still not understanding, Phinks declined to further voice his questions, afraid that Zankou would lose all patience with him. "What should I do now?"

Zankou smiled, flashing his teeth. "Go. Watch the humans. Find out what they think of the witches. And when the timing is right to strike, I will let you and the others know."

Bobbing one last time, Phinks shimmered out, "Yes, my lord."

Gazing thoughtfully at the shadows dancing across the cavern wall, Zankou stroked his chin, picturing the young leader of the Resistance in his mind. Soon. Soon, my young friend. Soon you and I will meet. And only one shall survive!


Chris looked down at the man coldly, "You bastard…you killed my friend,"

"I'm only sorry I didn't pop your sorry ass too, fucking fairy," Jeremiah coughed, sputtering up blood. His leg, broken, was bent in an awkward position, the white of his bone jutting slightly out and breaking the skin.

Piper paled, turning away from the disturbing sight. "Leo, maybe you should heal him…"

"No," Chris ordered, his voice low. "This mother fucker is going to tell me who he works for first."

"Fuck you," Jeremiah spat weakly. "I don't work for no one but myself!"

"Chris," Leo shook his head at Chris' tone. "He's in pain. I have to heal him."

Ignoring Leo's reply, Chris looked around. His gaze alighted upon the rifle the man had used to hunt Chris and kill Les. Opening his hand, Chris used his telekinesis so that the gun flew the air to land neatly in his palm. Cocking the piece, he pointed it directly at the Jeremiah's head, looking down the barrel. "You really think I'm that stupid? You don't know shit. There's no way you could have gotten this gun on your own. I won't ask you again, who are you working with?"

"Chris!" Piper exclaimed in alarm. "What are you doing?"

Taking the safety off slowly and deliberately, Chris' cold eyes stared into Jeremiah's frightened ones. Beads of sweat formed on the man's forehead, as he looked down the barrel to meet Chris' unfeeling gaze. Jeremiah licked his dry lips, "You…you wouldn't…"

A shot rang out, nipping the ground next to Jeremiah's head, sending a spray of gravel into the air, pelting the man's face. Chris' eyes formed slits, "You shot my friend, you fucking bastard. Now the next one is going in your brain if I don't hear a name."

Leo stepped forward, attempting to put a restraining hand on Chris' arm. Before he could reach his son, Chris threw his left hand up, effectively throwing Leo back with his telekinesis.

"Leo!" Piper gasped, as her husband flew backwards, landing in a heap a couple metres away. She ran towards him, sliding to her knees next to him, making sure he was okay. "Chris, what are you doing?"

"Last chance," Chris said coldly, his eyes never leaving the man's.

"Okay! Okay!" Jeremiah gasped. "I don't know what his name was. He found me!"

"You expect me to believe that?" Chris yelled, his temper flaring. "You expect me to believe you don't know who the fuck you're working with?"

"I never asked! I swear!" The man was sobbing in fear now, alarmed at the look in Chris' eyes. "He paid me, he did. He said if I did this, he'd make sure I was taken care of."

"Leo, you okay?" Piper asked distractedly, as she threw a concerned look over her shoulder at the confrontation her son was having with Les' murderer.

Leo shook his head, his face contorted with pain. "I think I twisted my ankle…"

"Here, lean on me," Helping Leo up, Piper tried to bear his weight as much as possible as they hobbled back together towards their son. Piper, alarmed at the direction of Chris' questioning, tried to intercede, "Chris. You have to calm down, honey."

Incensed at the senselessness of Les' death, and furious at his own failure to rescue his friend, Chris felt rage encompass him. Grabbing the barrel of the rifle, he flipped it around, holding it like a bat and brought it down hard several times on the injured man.

Horrified, but unable to abandon Leo, Piper called out for her son to stop, "Chris! Stop it! You won't bring Les back! Just stop it!"

Les' murderer screamed in pain, "You fucker! Fuck you!"

Chris paused in his beating, "I want a fucking name!"

Sobbing furiously, the man had his arms up around his head in an attempt to shield his head from Chris' malicious blows, "Zankou. He said his name was Zankou, okay!"

Feeling the energy drained out of him, Chris stumbled a couple steps back, "Fuck."

Reaching Chris' side now, Leo, his face drawn in pain, said, "Chris – Chris, I'm so sorry about Les. But you have to let me help him. You have to let me heal this man."

Jeremiah spat, even as tears of pain continued to stream down his face, "I don't need your magic, you pissant. My own kind will take care of me."

Leo blinked in surprise, hearing the hate clearly ringing in the man's passionate tone. "Are you kidding me?"

The man glared at the three in disgust, "You bastards were the ones who started this whole war. You were the ones who took away our lives."

Piper, who had, up until this point, been sympathetic somewhat to the injured man, replied indignantly, "What are you talking about? The Resistance saved you! They saved all of you! It was the demons that were evil!"

Jeremiah laughed harshly, "And the demons were lead by one of your kind. Who's to say it won't happen again? Blood always tells, doesn't it?"

"And Les? That man you shot to death? You think it was his fault for the war too?" Piper snorted in disbelief. "He was human. One of 'your kind', as you so put it!"

"He was a fucking freak," the man retorted, "he deserved what he got. Freaks like him, they should all be shot on sight."

As Piper opened her mouth to argue with the man again, Chris cut her off, "Leave it. You can't argue with people like him."

Snapping her mouth shut, Piper nodded tightly, "Fine. Then Leo doesn't heal him. He can wait for his 'own kind' to get him then." She turned abruptly on her heel, dragging Leo with her. "Let's go see how Phoebe's doing."

As his parents began to walk back towards Phoebe, Chris continued to stare down at the man who had killed his friend. "You don't feel guilty at all, do you?" he asked, tonelessly.

"For killing that freak?" Jeremiah spat. "I'm just sorry I don't have my gun anymore. I'd kill the whole freaking lot of you. That what you want to hear? Is it?" The man glared up angrily at Chris from his defenceless sprawl on the ground. "Your friend was a fucking coward. Pleading with me not to shoot. Freak couldn't take it like a man."

Hearing the fanatical rhetoric, Piper looked back over her shoulder, "Chris. Come on. You were right. You can't argue with people like him."

Chris didn't move.

Pausing in their slow progress towards the other two sisters, both parents turned back now. Piper called to her son again, "Chris…"

The gun cocked.

Leo gasped, "Chris – wait –,"

"So you going to take it like a man?"

A shot rang out.

Piper's eyes widened. "No…"


To be continued…