A Charmed Story - Part Five:
20 Weddings And A Funeral?
Chapter 9

Michael was still lying in the grass. "I think you want me to play the 'still-wounded', when he returns, right?" Chris just nodded. "Will you tell me the rest of your story... one day, when we're out of here, I mean?"
Chris nodded again; then he sighed: "There are two ways, I think... One leads us out of here within the rest of this day... how long it'll be..."
"And the other way?" Michael asked, fearing the answer.
Chris sighed again: "That way... hopefully, we'll not take it." Michael nodded.
Then Chris saw the air waving in front of them. "He's back," he said to his friend who closed his eyes.
But when Chris saw the person next to that evil guy, the blood in his veins froze. "Oh my God," he muttered.
Michael opened his eyes a little, just to see that the clown was pushing someone over to them. "Here you have one of your witch-friends... when it's time to end this, they will all be here to see you die!" the clown yelled at him. Then he disappeared again.
Chris hugged his uncle tightly. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked.
"Wow, that's funny, you can hug me, but I can't give that back, buddy, sorry. I'm just touching through you..." Cole answered a little confused and still shocked.
"You will get used to that," Michael said, sitting up, "don't worry."
Chris shortly introduced his friend, then he asked again: "Cole... What are you doing here? And what about Bianca? And mum... and... me?"
Cole raised his hands to stop him. Then he sat down. "The last time I saw them, they were all fine... And because of the fact that I'm the only one new here, let me also hope that they are still fine!"
"But..." Chris said.
Cole sighed: "Jake came to the manor... He wanted to catch Phoebe... I had to save her..."
"Jake?" the other two asked surprised.
"That's what we've found out... His name is Jake Fl..." he stopped and looked at Michael. Then he turned to his nephew and asked: "Do you really want him to hear all that?"
Chris nodded: "Yeah... He's my friend and he knows already quite a lot about me, and the family."
"Hey, don't worry," Michael said, "I will tell no one that you're a witch."
Cole frowned: "Oh, I am not a witch!"
"But the clown said you are one," Michael said confused.
Cole grinned: "I think he meant someone else... he was also talking about two witches before he caught me, even if Phoebe was the only one in the room... He's mad... I'm not a witch... I can't be... I'm definitely not a witch..."
Now it was Chris, who frowned. Then he asked: "Sure?"

°°°°°°°°°°

"Oh my Goodness, what happened?" Odin said after he, Nicki and Steve had finished the orbing. They looked at Piper and Paige who tried to calm down her crying sister, at the Phoenix who was taking care for the shocked couple and at Leo and Tom, who tried to arm them for the next attack.
"Cole is caught," the other Elder explained shortly.
"Oh my God!" Nicki exclaimed and went also over to Phoebe.
Odin sighed. He wished he hadn't gone... If he had been there, he might have been able to help. He really regretted it.
"If we only had a potion to kill him..." Phoebe cried desperate. Bianca nodded.
"It's sad that we didn't keep a bit of the potion we used for the double-demons," Steve remarked.
Piper looked up, facing Odin: "I didn't think about that... Is there maybe a little more of this potion? Or do you know how to make it?"
The Elder just shook his head: "No... sadly..."
"How come you don't know how to make it?" Phoebe yelled at him. Odin lowered his eyes.
Paige sighed: "That crying doesn't help us right now..." Then he looked at Steve: "Did you find something new?"
He nodded: "Yeah, we know now how he makes it... How he turns humans into holograms."

°°°°°°°°°°

Cole raised an eyebrow: "Sure? Are you ok, son? Or are you going nuts in this place? Of course I can NOT be a witch, for God's Sake! I was a demon! Demons and witches are not compatible!"
"I wouldn't say so..." said Chris, unable to avoid smirking.
"Ok..." Cole rolled his eyes, "not in that sense, but you understand what I mean..."
Michael, meanwhile, had gone pale, and had walked backwards a little bit: "Demon you said...? Like Satan?" Both men turned to him suddenly, their eyes widely open.
"Of course not!" exclaimed Chris.
"Not exactly," said Cole at the same time.
Then, both of them looked at each other. "Ok, ok... Michael... We witches usually fight demons. Demons are not exactly what Christendom or any other religion has transmitted, ok? They are like... Just the bad guys, the total evil. Then, you have the good ones, but I'll have to tell you that story in another moment."
Michael shook his head pointing at Cole: "Didn't he just say he was a demon, then?"
"Well, actually I was, yep. And that's also a looong story." he clarified, looking at Chris out of the corner of his eyes.
His nephew nodded: "You don't need to worry, ok? This is a good demon. Actually, he's not a demon anymore. He's my family."
Michael nodded, wanting to believe him: "...Ok..."
"But definitely, I'm NOT a witch, buddy..." Cole remarked.
"Well, that's what I wanted to say before. Cole... You might... Look, you came with me to some place, remember? Remember Hope?"
Cole raised his eyebrows staring at him: "What?" But then he realised what Chris meant. "The fields..." he muttered.
"Well... That was a place for testing witches... And you and I passed the trial!" he ended triumphantly. Cole was speechless.
"So... He was a demon, but now he's a witch... And you... were a witch, and are still one, but more powerful than before... and you have a daughter who hasn't been born yet... Anything else I need to know before you drive me crazy?" Michael was trying to appear like the victim, but he really enjoyed all that stuff. It was so exciting!
Chris and Cole looked at each other and smiled: "Actually, there's a lot more but all in good time. Now..."
"Now we have to save you, son... After what I heard, I think this is gonna be hard. And again, someone wants to see you dead, what the hell did you do to all those people?" finished Cole.
Chris shrugged. "Just tell me about your discoveries and all... And I guess this is time to try to get outta here."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Really?" Tom asked.
"And how?" That was Piper.
"Well, actually they are not holograms at all... they are ghosts." Steve explained.
Phoebe jumped up: "You mean they are dead?" Again she was crying.
"No," Nicki said, and forced Phoebe to sit down again, "they are not dead... they are..."
"He turned their bodies into a kind of energy..." Steve went on. "They are made of energy now, like ghosts for example... But they are not dead. Otherwise Jessica and Jason wouldn't be here."
"Alright, and how will we bring them back to our reality?" Paige asked.
"Well... I believe that carrousel must be the key... If we can destroy it..." Odin suggested.
Phoebe frowned: "And what if not?" She didn't dare to think about what could happen to her love.
"It will work," Nicki said. Then she looked at Bianca.
The Phoenix nodded and hugged Phoebe, while she whispered to her ear: "Otherwise Hope will help you... at least she will try."
Phoebe looked at her thankful. "I'm so happy Chris brought you back," she whispered back.
Meanwhile Odin looked at Leo. When he was at the school he had a little time to think about all that stuff. Now he had to talk to his fellow-Elder. He just went over to him and orbed with him away.
"Leo!" Piper exclaimed but it was too late. "Great," she mumbled after the last pieces of orbing lights had gone.
"And now?" Tom asked.
"We still need to find a way to stop the clown!" Phoebe said while shaking her head. They had even no point where to start. So how are they supposed to find a way?
"I will do that," Bianca said determined. "I know how to kill a witch!"
"No," Piper said, "I know that you can do that, but you're pregnant, and..."
"Piper, look," she interrupted her mother-in-law, "Hope will protect me, I know that. Same as you knew that you were safe when you were pregnant with Wyatt."

°°°°°°°°°°

Odin had orbed him and Leo to a little lake. It was a beautiful place, quiet and peaceful.
But Leo had no eyes for that: "What is it?"
"We have to talk Leo," Odin said. Leo just narrowed his eyes. "Look..." Odin sighed, "I... I... I'm overwhelmed... I don't know where to start..."
The other grinned: "So maybe you should think about it... meanwhile, I'll go back and..."
Leo tried to orb, but Odin held him back: "Look... I don't hate you, or your son, or your grandchild... I'm just... I feel worried... that's all."
"They are no danger... they are good," Leo replied.
"Now!" Odin said. "But what about next year... or in five years... What if another girl steals the puppet of your grandchild... How will she react...?"
"Hope has wonderful parents, I'm sure they can handle that!"
"And your son?" Odin went on. "What about his powers. He has too much. How can you be so sure that he will be always good!"
Leo laughed: "That's simple." Then he turned serious again: "Because he has seen where this would lead to. I'm sure he will never be like his brother was in his timeline... And by the way, Wyatt is still more powerful than him. Only a little, but he is... or better, will be."
"But Chris is an Elder... He knows too much." Odin replied.
"So Chris is more dangerous for you!"
"Leo, you know what I mean!"
Leo sighed and nodded: "Even if he knew every single witch on this planet... He has seen what happened to his brother, what he did because of that. And you don't know how he felt after he... saved him." Odin lowered his eyes.
"He has done so many things which he never wanted... Just to save the future... not for him, or for the family... no... he did it for the whole world! For every single creature. He has to live with what he has done, with all of it... And believe me, that isn't as easy for him as you may think. But he accepted it, 'cause he knew it was and is for a good reason. A reason that is much more important than himself... And that's the way you say 'thanks'?... That's really great!"
"I'm sorry," Odin muttered, "I never saw it from that point of view. I'm truly sorry."
Leo nodded.

°°°°°°°°°°

"And Bianca wasn't there, when that Jake attacked you?" Chris asked after Cole had finished his report. Meanwhile, he was looking around, looking at the other couple. They were lying in the grass, finally sleeping a bit.
"No," Cole sighed, "and even if she were, your daughter would protect her... You know, after you were caught, your wife came back to the manor..."
"Yeah, I had the hope that she had shimmered home." Chris replied.
Cole grinned: "No, buddy... she orbed... or better Hope did. Your daughter orbed her home, 'cause Bianca was too freaked out to leave that place on her own."
Chris's eyes got bigger and bigger with every word. "WHAT?" he exclaimed surprised, "She's already able to orb?"
Cole just nodded.
"Well... I don't know what that means," Michael said, "but it sounds good... seems your daughter is really powerful." He grinned too, because for his ears all that sounded very amazing.
But Chris kept silent for a while; then he muttered: "Hopefully she will not end up like her uncle."
Cole sighed, knowing exactly what Chris was thinking about: "She will be good... I'm sure."
Michael wanted to add something, but he didn't. Suddenly he felt something floating heavily in the air. He didn't understand anything, but he saw the sorrow in the eyes of his friend.
Finally he decided to change the topic, to cheer his friend up a little. He looked at Cole: "So if you are a witch, too... What powers do you have?"
Cole looked at Chris, who shrugged. Then he said: "I'm still not sure that I'm a witch... I have no powers... I mean... I never noticed if I had any..." He made a short break. "I can't believe yet that I'm a witch. I just..."
Chris sighed: "I'll find out." Then he laid his hand on Cole's chest and closed his eyes.
"What are you doing?" Michael asked.
Cole looked at the man, frowning: "He's seeking for magic inside me, I think."
"Is that the way, witches discover each other?"
"No, it's they way Elders seek witches."
"Elders?"
"Could you please shut up," Chris said impatient. Then, after a few more seconds of silence, he smiled. "Take it or leave it, uncle Cole... it's very weak, but... yes, you're a witch now!"
"You're kidding!" Cole replied, still unable to believe that. He had already got used to live a life without any demonic powers... and now he had to be a witch... That was too much, simply too much...
"I'm not... I never would make a joke like that!... by the way, I noticed it already when you came here, but I wasn't sure and I never noticed something like that about you before..."
Cole just shook his head: "Don't tell the others, ok?... I mean... you know what I mean..." Chris nodded. Then Cole folded his hands and mumbled: "Please God, help me to deal with this"

°°°°°°°°°°

Odin and Leo stayed in the lake for a while, looking aside, pensive. Odin seemed to be a little bit embarrassed, and didn't dare to speak. Finally, Leo thought he had given him enough time to think, so he said: "So... You'll leave him alone? And all my family?"
Odin looked straight in his eyes: "Leo, look... Even though I see your point, and I'm almost sure now that he won't turn evil... there are a lot of things to consider..."
Leo rolled his eyes and moved his hands in a gesture of desperation, but Odin wouldn't let him talk.
"I just want to be sure that everything's ok! I won't tell anyone else about my worries, not about what really happened with Gideon. I told you... I've been actually protecting him all this time. But in turn, I'll have to keep an eye on him. I'm not going to do anything at all, Leo... Only watch out."
Leo shook his head, unbelieving: "If you don't trust Chris now... Who will you trust?"
Odin sighed: "That's the way we survive, Leo... Not trusting anyone at all."
Leo gave him a furious glare, but Odin went on: "Don't misinterpret what I mean, please... It's clear to me now that Chris is good. He's a great boy, and you must be proud of him. The thing is... There are demons out there, longing for power. They know the Halliwells, they know Chris and all your story. And they may know Hope too. What I mean is, perhaps they will never go to the dark side willingly, Leo... But what if some demon finds a way to control them, to steal their powers, or something like that? There's so much power in them!"
Leo lowered his eyes, but persisted stubbornly: "The sisters have had to deal with something like that for several years now, and they survived and kept their powers. My son and my granddaughter will do it too. You don't need to worry about it, Odin."
The Elder stared at Leo with sorrow. Finally, he patted his shoulder and said: "Let's pray that you're right..."
Both men looked in each other's eyes deeply, in a tense silence. Then, Leo started to orb away. "We should go now." he said before disappearing.
Odin sighed and followed him. He was confused and worried... He appreciated Chris, and after his talk with Leo, he somehow understood the boy and felt so much sorrow... But the potential danger was too high to forget it.

°°°°°°°°°°

Michael couldn't help but laugh after hearing Cole's words: "This is the last thing I expected... A demon..."
"EX-demon," remarked Cole, interrupting him.
"...an EX-demon, praying to God!"
Cole shook his head tiredly, and Chris rolled his eyes: "Michael... I know this is weird but... Just, please... Forget everything for now. I promise we'll have a long chat in a good coffee shop when all this is done, but now we need to get out..."
Michael nodded. "Sorry" he mumbled.
"It's ok, man... I know it's weird... It's even for me. But if you wanna know, I was half human too, not a complete demon."
"Oh..." Michael was about to answer, but Chris hushed them both. The couple had just awoken and looked around them, worriedly. They all looked around alert. It was as if they had sensed something...
All of a sudden, a terrible laughter sounded in the air, and afterwards, the clown, Jake, appeared. "I need my new acquisitions now. I'll come for you later..." he said, grasping the man's and woman's arms, ignoring their complaints and cries.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Ok, so then... we agree, don't we?" Bianca asked, after a moment of silence.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea yet..."
"If I go, you won't need any potion or anything... I'm a Phoenix! I can kill him..."
"Are you sure we wanna kill him?" asked Nicki suddenly. All the faces turned to her. "I mean..." she was a bit embarrassed, "shouldn't we find a way to stop him without killing him? He's a witch, he was good, I'm sure... Maybe he went nuts, but... hey, we only kill demons. He's more like a human being..."
"Sweetie... I know this is kinda new for you, but... You'll learn that sometimes you have to take some decisions, and..."
Tom lowered his eyes: "Actually I was thinking the same thing..."
"Ok... I can try to just take his powers off him! Then, we'll see. But I need to go, NOW!"
"How do you plan to get there, Bianca?" asked Paige.
Phoebe looked at her, her eyes red, but calmer now. She hadn't said a word yet, as well as Jessica and Jason, who just stared at the sisters.
"I can just go to the very same place where we heard the music... and wait. I'd bet he's gonna appear very soon. So, let's go." She grabbed Paige's hand.
"Hey you should wait for Leo and Odin, what if you get hurt or something?"
Steve nodded: "And we might need a plan B, just in case we need some emergency escape, don't you think so?" Phoebe nodded.
"I may help, if you like..." Jason had stepped forward. "I can go with you... After all, I've been there for a long time." Jessica was about to complain, and everyone had turned to look at him, amazed, when Odin and Leo reappeared.
"Oh, you're back, right on time, as it seems," Paige said.
Piper hugged Leo tightly: "Everything ok?" He nodded.
"Anything new?" Odin asked. "Did you have a premonition or something Phoebe?"
She shook her head: "No, actually..."
"I'll go and end this," Bianca interrupted her.
Odin and Leo looked at her with their mouths wide open.
"What?" Leo exclaimed. "You can't do this... what if you get hurt... Chris wouldn't..."
Bianca rolled her eyes. "I will do... I'm..." suddenly she felt a little dizzy "... I... I... Hope..." Then she broke down.

°°°°°°°°°°

"Hey, Uncle Cole!"
The three raised their eyes to see who had spoken to them. For a second they were all shocked.
Chris jumped up, went over to the little girl and hugged her tightly. The little girl hugged him back. "Hey daddy," she whispered to his ear.
Cole looked at that scene in disbelief. "Oh my God," he muttered. Then he turned to Michael: "Is that...?"
"His daughter, it seems," he answered.
"Uncle Cole, are you ok?" the little girl asked again.
Chris took the little girl in his arms. Now he felt not so weird as he had when they met the first time. Now it was kind of natural for him to have his unborn child around him like that. He went over to the others and sat down next to him, still hugging his child.
Cole couldn't believe his own eyes. That was completely crazy. But he couldn't deny that this girl looked like Bianca, but with Chris's eyes... Hope was still looking at him.
"I think she wants an answer," Chris said with a smile and kissed Hope on her cheek.
"I... I think... I'm... I'm alright," Cole stuttered.
The girl smiled: "That's good, I'll tell mommy; she will tell Aunt Phoebe."
Cole smiled: "Yes, do that, little princess. And tell Phoebe that I love her ok?"
The girl nodded. Then she turned to Chris. "Mommy will free you."
Chris frowned: "How? I mean... what do you know?"
"Mommy will kill the evil clown." Hope said these words with such a serious voice that the three men needed a moment to let it sink in.
"No," Chris exclaimed then, "tell her that your daddy doesn't want her to do that... it's too dangerous, for both of you! Tell her she must NOT do it!"
Hope smiled but shook her head: "Mommy said she's the only one who could do that... And I think she's right."
"But..." Chris wanted to add something.
"I think she's right, buddy," Cole interrupted him, "Bianca is a Phoenix, she's able to do that."
Chris looked at him. Then he nodded.
"I have to go back now... talking to you takes a lot of energy from mommy," Hope said.
"Alright, sweetie... Take care of mommy ok?" Hope nodded. Then she disappeared.
"Wow," Cole said, after the girl was gone, "Are you sure that this was real?"
Chris smiled at him: "It was... I could feel it."
"That's so weird!"
Michael, who had kept silent the last minutes, just watching his new friend with his daughter, now asked: "What is a Phoenix? I mean... you didn't marry a horse with wings, right?"

°°°°°°°°°°

"Oh my God," Phoebe said, and tried to hold Bianca. Leo and she lay her back down on the sofa. She was sweating.
"That's not good," said Piper while touching her forehead, "she's got fever."
Odin went over to her and was about to touch her womb, but Leo held him back.
"Damn!" he said, "I just want to help." Odin looked deeply into the eyes of the other Elder.
Then, Leo let him free: "Don't do wrong."
Odin nodded. He knelt down next to the girl and touched her womb carefully. Then he juddered. He was shaking. "Oh my God," he muttered; then he was thrown back to his ass.
After that Bianca woke up slowly. She opened her eyes and sat up. She didn't care about Odin that moment, who was still sitting on the ground looking really confused and shocked.
Bianca was looking for Phoebe. She took her hand and looked at her smiling: "There is something you need to know." Then she put the hand of the empath on her womb and in the same second Phoebe had a vision. A vision of what Hope had seen, and about what she had heard.
After that Phoebe's eyes were welling up with tears again, but she was smiling. "Thanks!" she said and hugged Bianca tightly.
Meanwhile Paige and Nicki were taking care of Odin. They helped him stand up. "What happened?" Paige asked looking at the still shocked Elder.
"Now I understand..." he said, "I understand everything... The girl... she's good... she's like their parents..."
Bianca frowned, Leo did the same. Piper looked at the Elder questioning: "Could you explain to us what you're talking about... clearly?"
Odin had problems to make his thoughts clear. What he had just seen was so overwhelming. He had seen a whole life put into a second... "The girl... she's out of time..." he stuttered, "she's able to see the past, same as the future... she can be in every time at the same time... she showed me, that she will be alright... that she will be good."

°°°°°°°°°°

This time it was Cole that tried not to laugh. The only image of Chris with a horse with wings... That Michael was really funny. "Well what you mean is a Pegasus, Phoenix was that bird who came back from the ashes..."
"Whatever... so you married a bird?"
"No," Chris began to laugh, he couldn't help it. "A Phoenix is actually another kind of... witch, so to say. She's not a witch, but... Ok... Let's say she's a witch, for now. I'll explain later. Just make a list of the things you want me to answer!" Chris answered, still smiling. Then he had to laugh again. Michael's attitude was so natural, and understandable!
Cole smiled too. He could feel how happy Chris was. At least, in relation to the situation in which they were now... He was happy to have a friend. A true friend, non-magical, but reliable enough to count on. That was really good... Chris needed that, to disintoxicate from magic, to relax... to live.
"Well, ok, man... let's get outta here... With all you're telling me, I'm starting to think that you're keeping us here on purpose, just to enjoy looking at my astounded face. Because surely you've got enough power to get us free..." Michael said, standing up with a quick jump.
Chris smiled sadly: "I wish you were right, but yet, I'm not sure of how we could get out... I'd risk crossing that forest, but Jake's threats scare me... I don't want any of you to be in danger, so what if I go alone?"
Cole shook his head: "You heard Hope, they're gonna try something. You just wait here. With us... Let them work for this time."
"But Bianca..."
Michael patted his shoulder: "Your wife will be fine, I'm sure, after seeing such an amazing child..."
Chris nodded, and sighed: "Ok... So what do we do while we wait?"

°°°°°°°°°°

"Wow..." was the general exclamation in the room.
"Bianca, is that true? Your daughter can do THAT? Does she know all THAT?" this was Paige's amazed voice.
Steve frowned: "Can Elders or Phoenixes do that?" Leo and Odin shook their heads.
Then Nicki looked at Piper: "Can you the Halliwells or your ancestors do that?"
"No! I mean, I don't think so..."
"That's... incredible..." Odin was still too shocked to elaborate a complete sentence. "So much power..." Bianca smiled tenderly.
"Do you think it's because Chris is too powerful now?" Tom asked.
Leo startled and turned to look at Odin, suspicious. But his fellow-Elder smiled: "I think I understand it now... This power... It had never existed before. An unborn child who is actually out of time... Out of time..."
All the people in the room looked at Odin expecting for some clear statement, and not so much mumbling. But Odin needed his time to process what had just happened.
"It's because of all the time travelling stuff... This child was meant to be born in another timeline, in the future. Her parents were separated from their timeline, they're now out of time too... They conceived a child out of time... and her power is the result! It's like she's got the time in her hands. She'll be one of the most powerful beings ever... But she'll be good."
Everyone opened their mouth, surprised by the explanation. It made so much sense! But Bianca just smiled. She knew that... she felt that. But now, she had something to do... "Paige, give me your hand... Orb me to Disney World, please. I better save my energy... Let's finish with all this stuff," she commanded.
"Will you free all the people imprisoned there?" Jessica and Jason asked, a little bit afraid that they wouldn't.
But Bianca nodded: "Of course we'll do. That's what we do..."
"Bring my husband back, please..." Phoebe muttered with her face wet with tears. The others were shocked at her calling him 'husband'. "Bring Cole to me... "
Bianca nodded, feeling a gulp on her throat. Then she indicated Paige that she should start orbing.
Piper turned to Leo and Odin: "You two, go after them... But be careful not to be caught. Just go in case they need help."
Leo nodded, and kissed his wife on the forehead. "And you promise you won't leave this house... I need the little child inside you to be safe, as well as his mom."
Piper grinned: "Sure, we'll be fine... Phoebe, sweetie, sit down... It's time that the Charmed Ones have a rest... Let's let the rest do the dirty job."
Phoebe obeyed, feeling so feeble. She knew Cole was alright. But she wanted to see him... More than ever. She couldn't afford losing him one more time. She wanted to spend her whole life with him!
Paige was right... She was seeing weddings everywhere for some reason... And all this story might be a signal, but she needed Cole to be safe, to survive...
Leo and Odin orbed away, and at that very moment, Tom took his friend's hands.
"Piper is alright... It's time for the young generation to do this kind of dirty job. We'll help them!" he said, and shimmered his friends and himself away before the two sisters could protest.
Jessica and Jason looked at each other and made themselves comfortable. What else could they do? Just wait...

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