Disclaimer: I own nothing. Charmed and its characters belong to their respective owners.
A/N: AU but based on many season 6 plots.
BREAKING FREE
Chris looked around from his place in the cage and sighed. This house, the manor… it used to be filled with happiness. Joy. Laughter. Children running around, having fun at big family gatherings. Countless demons met their end there. It used to be a good place. Now it seemed that only witches, benevolent beings and the occasional demon were killed there. He hated to see what had happened. The manor was a museum, the Book of Shadows was on display, mortals knew of magic.
He'd seen the signs. He knew his brother was changing. At first, it was small things, little, insignificant things that Chris was sure he had no reason to worry about. But those little things grew into important matters. He didn't want to admit it, but he could no longer deny the truth when he caught his brother conversing with demons as though they were his allies.
At thirteen years old, Chris was going down to the kitchen for a glass of water. But the kitchen door was shut. His hand on the handle, he was about to open it when he heard voices inside.
"You are not to harm my family. Do you understand me?"
"Of course, my liege."
"Good. Return to your duties. Any witch or benevolent being unwilling to turn must be killed. Any demon unwilling to follow me must be vanquished. Leave my family. I will deal with them."
Chris frowned. He was sure that was Wyatt's voice. But what was he doing talking to demons? And why were they calling him their 'liege'? What did he mean by turn?
Confused, he pushed open the door. Wyatt spun around at the noise, and the demons immediately shimmered out.
"Chris! What are you doing here?"
"I was coming for a drink. Who were you talking to?"
"Oh nobody important. Don't worry about it."
Not satisfied with the answer, but knowing it was pointless to argue, Chris filled a glass with water and made to go back to his room. But Wyatt grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Chris… you know I would never let anyone hurt you, right?"
Chris nodded. "Goodnight, Wyatt."
"Goodnight, Chris."
But as he crawled back into bed, Chris was sure that whoever Wyatt had been talking to wasn't 'nobody'. He didn't doubt for a second that Wyatt was speaking the truth when he said he'd never let anyone hurt Chris. But, what did he mean by dealing with his family? How could Wyatt give permission to kill anyone who refused to follow him?
Chris' heart sank as he remembered something that happened five years ago.
An eight year old Chris woke up alone in his room, after tossing and turning from a nightmare about the demon that had attacked his family the previous day. He wanted Wyatt. Wyatt always made things better. So he slipped out of bed, looking around for the vanquished demon, just in case he wasn't really vanquished. Then he ran towards the light switch and flipped it on, sighing with relief when he saw there was no evil being in his room, waiting to kill him. Nevertheless, he wanted Wyatt. Slowly, Chris turned the handle and pulled the door wide open. He couldn't turn any other lights on otherwise he would wake his parents, so he left the door open and let the light from his room stream out. Then he crept to Wyatt's room and knocked on the door.
No answer.
He knocked again. Still, there was no answer. Becoming increasingly fearful every second he stood there, barefoot and shivering, he decided to go in. Wyatt had once said he was always welcome…
"Wy. Wy!" he whispered, creeping towards the bed. "Wy, wake up."
But Wyatt simply rolled over, still fast asleep. There was a small crashing sound from nearby, and Chris' eyes widened. Frantically, he shook Wyatt, desperate for him to wake up.
"Wy! Wy! Wake up, Wy! Please!" he begged.
"Go away," Wyatt mumbled, glaring at Chris, mad about being disturbed from his sleep.
"Wy, I'm scared. I had a nightmare and-"
"You had another nightmare? Come under the blankets, Chris. But shut the door first!"
Chris nodded, shut the door quietly, and slid under the blankets, inching himself closer to his brother.
"What was it about?"
"The demon. From yesterday. The one with the horns that almost killed Mommy."
"Oh, Chris. You're too old to be having these nightmares. You know Auntie Paige will always heal Mommy. And we'll all protect you."
Chris snuggled closer to Wyatt, feeling safer. Wyatt always made him feel safe.
"Besides, one day, I'm going to control demons. They'll all have to answer to me if they so much as touch you."
Too young to understand what Wyatt was implying, Chris soon fell asleep again.
-
Yes, Chris thought, bitterly. The signs had all been there. He just hadn't wanted to see them. He didn't want to believe his Wyatt could be so evil.
A red hot rage spreading through him, he threw down the pen and paper. It simply bounced off the magical walls of the cage Chris was in, and landed at his feet. He was furious at being stuck in a cage. It was for his own protection, Wyatt said. But he could fathom how being kept in a cage like a wild animal was going to protect him.
"Chris, calm down. Very, very soon, you will be out of that cage. You'll be out of this time."
Looking up, happiness replaced the fury. Zeke was holding a stick of chalk and a potion. He then proceeded to draw a triquetra on the wall.
"Spell ready?" he asked.
Chris nodded, picking up the paper.
"Ok, the second the cage is broken, Wyatt will know and he'll come here. We have to be quick," Chris said, going over the plan in his head one last time.
Together, they read the spell.
"Joined forces, dark and light,
Reach out through day and night,
With the ancient power of the universe,
We destroy this cage, break this curse!"
Zeke threw the potion at the cage and it disappeared before them, fading into nothing. Chris allowed himself a moment to be glad the spell and potion worked, before he dragged Zeke towards the triquetra and began chanting.
"Hear the words, hear the rhyme,
Heed the hope within my mind,
Send me back to where I'll find,
What I wish in place and time!"
The time portal opened just as Wyatt orbed in.
"Chris!" he shouted, enraged. An energy ball formed in the palm of his hand, but Chris and Zeke stumbled through the portal before they could be harmed.
They staggered back out in 2004. Chris dived towards Phoebe who was on the floor, and turned her head away from Meta.
"Don't look into her eyes!"
He proceeded to throw potion after potion at Meta, until she spun and disappeared.
"Is Paige okay?" Chris asked.
Zeke nodded. "Phoebe?"
"She's fine," he replied, helping Phoebe to her feet.
"Huh," Paige said, shaking her arms, "That didn't go well."
"Yeah. You're welcome. What were you even thinking?" Chris exclaimed.
"That was stupid and rash," Zeke added. "You want to use yourself as bait, go up against the Titans, at least do it with a well thought out plan."
"What did I tell you?" Phoebe asked, but Paige ignored her.
"Look, here, Mister. I don't know who you are or where you came from. So you aren't going anywhere until you tell us."
"Oh no. What happened this time?"
Everyone turned towards the door, where Piper stood, staring at the mess made of the attic. Chris' breath caught as he saw his mother for the first time in years.
"Who are you?" she asked, looking expectantly at Chris and Zeke.
"Zeke Daemon."
Piper raised her eyebrows and eyes him, distrustfully. Then she turned to Chris and a flicker of confusion crossed her face.
"I'm Chris. Chris Perry."
What do you think? It's not much but it's just the beginning