Title: A Whitelighter's Priority
Author: rachelAbendstern
Summary: The Sunnydale crowd discovers Chris' secret
Spoilers: Season 6 Charmed; I forgot to mention BtVS last chapter, 'The Gift'
Disclaimer: Neither Buffy nor Charmed is mine, and I don't make any money with it. Lily though belongs to me XP
3. Desperate Measures
Oh how I wish
For soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart
Lost in the dark
For hope Id give my everything
"No!"
Chris ducked under another blow, growing alarmingly tired by now. The witch or demon or whatever she was, was fast, that much he had to give her credit for.
The black haired devil had attacked in a deserted alleyway on his way back to the hideout. He had been on provisions duty, arms loaden with food and water supplies when he had sensed a presence behind him. Two long years of honed reflexes had kicked in and caused him to drop the bags, avoiding the attack he knew was coming.
He just barely managed to deflect that first stroke, throwing the witch against a housewall with his own powers in the process.
"He said, you'd be difficult!" the young woman had stated, unphased, when she got back onto her feet.
She was beautiful Chris noted as he watched her cross her arms over her chest, looking coyly back at him. Tight black spandex clothes covered a lean sinewy body, shiny black hair spilling over her shoulders down her back. Yes, she was beautiful; and entirely too dangerous to let his hormones take control over his body now!
"What do you want?" he asked her defiantly, watching her with suspicious eyes.
She cocked an eyebrow as if he should have known the answer already. "What do you think I want? Your brother desires your presence and he sent me to get you back to him."
A shiver went through the younger witch's body at the mentioning of his older brother, together with a wave of contradicting feelings. He had loved his brother a long time ago, how could he now fight against him? But the monster who sent this woman after him was no longer the brother he once knew. That brother had seiced to exist the year their mother had died.
"He sent an assassin after me?" he asked, feeling betrayed despite himself.
"Oh no, no assassin. Actually you have the choice to come with me willingly," the woman explained calmly, "or have me strip your powers and drag you back to him like a disobedient pet."
The boy bristled at the comment. He was no pet! And he damn well wouldn't go back to him, willingly or otherwise!
"You can tell my dear brother," he told her, sarcasm dripping from his words, "that he should know better than that. I will not go with you, so you can just leave now!"
Clear bone-chilling laughter spilled from her lips then. "I will leave. Once I got what I came here for."
And then, the battle had begun.
They had traded blow after blow, orbing or shimmering from one place to another and Chris was getting desperate now. He had learned to fight those last few years but against this professional he was helpless. Nothing he did was getting her off his back.
Suddenly he felt the world spinning and the next second he was being slammed into a wall hard. Dazed and with a blurred vision, he saw the witch approaching. Frantically, Chris tried to scramble back up to his feet again but his limbs didn't want to obey him and the next thing he knew, searing pain spread through his body like a firestorm.
Panic rose like bile in his throat as he felt some part of him being forcibly ripped out and another part reacting in a way he had never experienced before. All of a sudden, rain came pouring down, the earth beneath them started to shake, his attacker was thrown off him by a strong gust of wind, landing in the middle of the street while fires blazed all around them.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Chris realized that this all was his doings, that somehow he had summoned the elements to his aid but he couldn't control it anymore than he could reign in his terror at that moment. Flames cracked and thunder roared and windows shattered and Chris clutched his head in utter confusion and profound horror.
Only when the concrete under the woman started to crack did he get his emotions in check again. The wind that had assaulted her with pipes and stones and wood and what else it had picked up from the streets, died down as did the fires. The rain tapered off to a mere drizzle while the earth gave a last forceful shudder. The woman who was just attempting to rise, wincing in pain as she did so, looked up at him with wide stunned eyes as the surface gave way and she disappeared into the deep gaping cleft that suddenly crossed the whole length of the street.
Without thinking Chris sprinted towards the rift, his arm outstretched, only just managing to get a grip on the young woman's arm before she would have disappeared into the depths of the earth. Not even noticing his own pain, he orbed them to one of the safe places he knew, despite the chaos in his head remebering not to bring her into the headquarters.
Chris wearliy ran his hand through his hair. Ever since the girls had saved him from that pocket-realm Gif had trapped him in, those dreams kept occuring. They weren't so much nightmares as painful memories of his past. He was 16 in that particular memory. And his attacker was Bianca. It was strange sometimes, the way life worked.
In a way, he was almost glad this incident with the demon had happened. It gave him something to hold onto, a vision of what could be, if he was successful with his mission. But he really could do without the dreams.
666
Dawn watched lazily, as her friends' Whitelighter made dinner for her, swaying lightly to the beat of the Eminem songs he liked to hear, her homework splayed neglected in front of her.
Willow had talked Chris into babysitting her, while she and Tara were off at the library studying for an oncoming exam. If studying was what they were doing...
Not that she minded though. Chris wasn't so bad to hang out with. He actually treated her like an equal. Dawn really liked Spike, hell she had had a crush on him for the longest time but sometimes, the bleach-blonde vampire was entirely too overprotective for her liking.
It had been three or so weeks since Chris had first shown up and still she hadn't found the nerve to ask him about that comment from Leo. As much as she liked to eavesdrop, she didn't like admitting to it. And she had a notion Chris wouldn't be too happy about her listening in on them.
Since that first night, there hadn't been three days in row that he didn't show up one way or another. More than once she had caught him sleeping in the living room, disappearing in the morning once he heard the girls waking up. Dawn was pretty sure neither Tara nor Willow knew about their nighttime-guest, but she believed they wouldn't mind either way.
Spike was another story though. He knew and obviously approved, since he hadn't kicked the Whitelighter out as of yet. She had caught them talking a few nights back when she wanted to get something to drink from the kitchen. And they had both admonished her for being up so late when she had to go to school the next morning. And she had thought Buffy had been bad.
Of course, this lead her to a completely different trail of thoughts. Buffy. She hadn't thought of her older sister in a while now. That realization made her feel incredibly guilty. Buffy had given up everything to save her and that was the way she was thanking her for it? By forgetting her? She was working herself up into hysterics and she knew it. But she just...
"Penny for your thoughts!" Chris' quiet voice interrupted her mental reproach just in time.
Yet, Dawn couldn't make herself to look at him as she lied: "Nothing."
It wasn't that she didn't want to talk, she just didn't thought he would understand, what with him being an angel and all that.
"Don't lie to me, Dawn! I can tell something is bothering you," he calmly advised her. Chris didn't seem mad at all, he sounded genuinly interested.
"It's your sister, isn't it?" he asked quietly when she didn't speak.
Then again, Dawn thought, maybe he did understand.
"It's just... Don't get me wrong, but ever since you showed up, I didn't think of Buffy at all. I mean, what kind of sister does that make me? She gave her life for me, and I don't even take the time to remember her!" Even though she was agitated, it felt good to voice the thoughts that kept spinning in her mind. She wanted him to tell her that she was wrong and that made her feel even more guilty.
But Chris didn't speak right away. He took his time forming an answer while Dawn watched him with rapt attention.
"She wanted you to live, Dawn!" he finally told her. "That's why she risked so much, saving you. I didn't know your sister, but from what you all told me, I believe she wouldn't want you to waste your life mourning after her."
Dawn bristled angrily, but before she could yell at him, he continued: "I didn't say 'Don't mourn'. I'm just saying, that life goes on, and your sister wouldn't have wanted you to miss out on that. Visit her grave, cry over her death or whatever else you feel you must do, but don't stop living your life because of your pain. Believe me, it only makes things worse."
Something in his voice told her that there was more to those words than were obvious to her, but she felt too angry to care. What the hell did he know!
"You're an angel!" she reminded him accusingly. "What do you know about life's pains?"
His eyes suddenly turned cold and his whole posture closed up visibly; it sent a shiver down Dawn's spine.
"I had a life before all that, you know." His voice was dead, when he said those words, and at that moment Dawn wished she knew what had happened to him to make him so bitter. This sudden change in demeanor disturbed her.
Then he sighed and everything seemed to be back to normal, the soft look she liked so much returned to his eyes and he told her with a sad voice: "I know what it is like to lose someone you love, Dawn. At least you have the comfort of knowing that your sister loved you back."
He looked so tired, so full of grief right now that she couldn't hold up her anger any longer.
"Who did you lose?" the teen asked equally compassionate and curious. The young man seemed to be debating something, working his lower lip as he did so. "My brother," he finally admitted.
Dawn was taken aback. She hadn't known he had had a brother. Actually, she didn't know very much about the strange young man in front of her. "I'm sorry. When did he die?"
"He didn't." What? Then why did he say he lost him? Dawn wanted to ask, but Chris beat her to it. "I lost him to darkness not death!"
666
Neither of the two youths noticed the other presence in the large kitchen, concealed by shadows and his invisibility shield.
Leo had watched the interaction between the two with keen interest. Oddly enough the young man seemed more at ease here on the Hellmouth than in San Francisco with his family.
The older Whitelighter's distrust finally won out over his guilty conscience at spying after Chris in the last week, but so far the young Whitelighter from the future hadn't done anything particularly suspicious. Except for misusing the local magic shop for research – a lot of research.
However, although all evidence pointed to Chris telling the truth about his intentions, Leo couldn't help but feel that the boy was hiding something from them. Which was why he had been listening in on Chris trying to comfort Dawn. Actually he had done quite a nice job at it.
What concerned the Elder more was that he didn't know what to make of Chris' last statement. He felt its importance, but it didn't make any sense at this moment. Chris lost his brother to darkness? If only Leo could understand what the younger man was saying between the lines.
666
The room was murky and smoky and loud, three things Chris loathed with all his heart – which was one of the reasons he avoided the P3 even in his own timeline as much as possible – but, and that was the important part here, it was also up to the ceiling full with demons of all kinds.
He had left Dawn in Tara's care about half an hour ago, once the witches had returned from their studying. At least, Chris wanted to think that they had been studying all the five hours they had been gone, since everything else was really nothing he liked to indulge in too much; well, not unless it was night and he was safely in his bed where he couldn't embarrass himself in front of a teenage girl...
After going through a real mountain of books at the Magic Box, Anya's little occult shop, for the last three and a half weeks – and wasn't Sunnydale the only town, where a shop with actual magical items could be run undisguised without so much as a raised eyebrow! - he thought it time to pay the local underground a little visit.
He still had absolutely nothing to go on as to what demon turned Wyatt, and the sister weren't exactly helping with their quest for a normal life. God, had his family really been that egocentric? Leo being an Elder now didn't exactly help this development either and the young man knew that that part was his own fault. But his father becoming an Elder had been the essential ingredient for his plan to work at all.
So, he had to deal with the consequences and keep his mind focused on discovering the truth about his brother's state of insanity. Though, as more and more time passed without any sign towards something or someone in particular, Chris was growing impatient. He still had enough time, he knew that, but he had hoped that his mission would be over with in one or two months. That was one of the reasons why he originally banished Leo to Valhalla, to get him out of the picture for a short time. His stay there was never meant to last longer than those two months, as Mist had so kindly pointed out to him that fateful day.
The young witch really didn't like to remember the events, which had taken place after Leo's 'rescue'. To take a beating by his father had been bad enough. And what a beating that had been. The bruises on his back had lasted for a good week. But for Leo to challenge him with a goddamn sword in his hand had been ten times worse. Damnit, Chris knew how to defend himself but facing the older Whitelighter, it was as if he had been paralyzed, only just avoiding the angry blows. Leo might have been a crappy father, but he still was his father. And until then, he had never laid a hand on him.
A rough shove to his shoulder and an angry: "Watch your step, boy!" shook him out of his depressing thoughts and brought him back to the task at hand. He really, really hoped Spike wouldn't be here to witness him undercover. The fiery vampire would take it the wrong way, and as much as Chris didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to lose his friendship.
Glaring back at the human-guised demon, he barked: "Keep to your own business!" It wouldn't do for him to show weakness. Only the strong survived here.
The tall burly demon wasn't ready to let it go just yet however. He gave an incredulous laugh and announced loudly: "So the whelp wants to play?" Suddenly, a long athame appeared in his outstretched hand. "Go, boy, before you get hurt!"
But Chris hadn't fought demons all his life to be intimidated this easily. Cocking his head to one side, he let his cold stare linger on the taller man. Without warning, he snapped his hand into a fist in front of his face, thus activating his own powers. Watching indifferently as the demon clutched at his neck, fighting for air for a few moments, he finally spoke. "Pardon me?" Oh, his brother would be so proud of him...
"Anyone else wanna try me?" he asked for all to hear, still keeping his gaze on his struggling victim.
When everything stayed quiet, he released the only half conscious demon from the grasp of his powers and turned around to take a seat at one of the tables. Soon, the noise started up again as if nothing had ever happened.
Chris let out an unnoticable sigh of relief. His initiation was over. Now all he had to do was find someone who could give him the right kind of information.
666
The night was young, there was no demon to hunt, no vampire to slay, Dawn was out with a friend, and Tara and Willow had the house all to themselves for a while.
Indulging in a spontaneous movie-/cuddle-session, the two witches were sitting in front of the tv, watching a sappy Bollywood musical or romance or whatever they called them, while Tara was combing and braiding Willow's hair with intense care.
She was feeling at peace here, with her lover in her reach and the knowledge she had friends out there who would unconditionally watch her back. Even though it was dangerous company sometimes, meeting Willow and her friends had been the best thing that had ever happened to the blonde young witch. She had always been shy and never made much friends back in highschool, but Willow never seemed to mind. And although her relationship with the Slayer and the rest of the Scoobies had been awkward at first, it had all turned out better than she had ever hoped possible. She would be forever grateful to Spike for hitting her on her eighteenth birthday, showing her that there was absolutely no demon blood whatsoever running through her veins. Watching the pissed off vampire snap at her family and friends had been hilarious in hindsight.
Buffy's death had hurt her as much as the others, but she also accepted and respected the choice she had made not only as the Slayer but also as a sister. Buffy had wanted her baby-sister to live, even though she knew that Dawn was not so much her sister as a being, created with her very own essence that didn't even exist until a few months ago. They had never told Dawn though. The girl still believed she was Buffy's sister and had a lifetime of memories to prove her point.
Which was exactly why Tara had been so concerned about her after Buffy's death. The blonde girl never quite knew how to approach the subject and Dawn hadn't come to her or anyone else on her own. But apparently, Chris had gotten through to her somehow this afternoon. After her Whitelighter had been gone, the teenager had asked her, if she would accompany her to the graveyard as long as the sun was still up.
They had talked. And although Dawn was still hurting, Tara was confident that she was going to get over her sister's death alright.
"You know," Willow's low voice startled her out of her revery. "I saw that movie once with Xander and Buffy."
Tara quietly listened, sensing that her lover didn't really expect a reply. "Xander complained about the singing and Buffy asked: 'So – how does the water buffalo fit in?' "
The redhead chuckled softly in remembrance of those days. "It's strange I can remember those little things, when I can't even remember which day it was. I miss her Tara." Her whole posture gave away her sorrow, shoulders hunched, knees drawn to her chest and her head propped up by the couch in her back.
"I know, sweety," Tara tried to soothe her, stroking her hair gently all the while. "I miss her, too."
Suddenly, Willow turned around to face her friend. "Do you think we could bring her back?"
"Bring her back?" Tara was taken aback. "What do you mean?" Please, please not what she thought she did...
"With magic. Bring her back to life. Xander did it before!" Willow looked up with so much desperation and hope in her eyes, that Tara's heart clenched painfully.
"But Sweety; Xander didn't use magic. And she had been dead only for a few moments then." She really didn't want to crush Willow's hopes, but she also knew she had to.
"But, but..." her friend was fishing for arguments, anything to have a reason to bring Buffy back. It broke Tara's heart watching this. Perhaps, Dawn wasn't the one she should have been so concerned about.
"What if she's in some kind of hell dimension, like Angel had been. Buffy doesn't deserve that!"
"Why would you think such a thing?" Tara tried to reason. "Angel had to suffer for his crimes. What crime has Buffy done? And what do you think Chris would say to such a plan?" She knew she was restoring to unfair measures, but she didn't know what else to do.
"But he doesn't have to know, does he?"
Oh god, someone please help, Tara thought helplessly.
666
She knew she shouldn't have gone back home all by herself after dark. She had been living on the Hellmouth long enough to know that. And yet, she had done it, trying to prove to the Scoobies that she was able to take care of herself. She really should have known better! Even Buffy hadn't liked to go patroling alone.
Dawn was running for her life from some vampires or just plain old human bullies. She didn't actually know but she didn't care either. All she cared about was reaching safety before they could get her.
Looking back over her shoulder, she saw in panic that they were coming closer. She stumbled, frantically searching for a place for her to hide in before she turned into an alley, realizing only a second too late that she had run into a dead end.
Heaving with exhaustion, she turned on her heels only to see them closing in on her like a pack of predators. Vampires then. Humans didn't act like that, they lacked the certain grace those children of the night could call their own. Not that that made her feel any better as she backed away from them.
Dawn's heart beat in her throat and she couldn't make her voice working.
"What is a pretty young lady like you doing in this part of town?" One of them asked her with a mocking smile on his face before he changed in his game-face, growling in bloodlust. The shock shook the teen out of her muteness however and she began screaming for help.
"Help! Please somebody, help!" God, if only Spike was somewhere around here. He would hear her for certain. Or maybe Chris. He did say, he would hear her if she called for him.
"Chris! Please Chris!" She screamed and screamed, while the vampires' cruel laughter filled the dark alley.
Suddenly one of them, the one who had been talking, jumped and the girl already thought that was it, this was how she was going to die, when unexpectedly the undead was thrown in the opposite direction mid-jump.
"You get the hell away from her!" A cold voice demanded and then, Dawn saw Chris standing in front of her, brunette hair spiky, clad in dark clothes, looking every inch a pissed off fallen angel.
"Who are you?" The vampires seemed more confused than scared, but Chris remained his cold confident self. "No one you want to know!"
He touched Dawn at the elbow, ready to orb them away.
"Really." One of them snarled, while Dawn saw another one stalking up on Chris sideways.
"Watch out!" she yelled, backing away again in fright just when the vampire attacked. But the Whitelighter easily blocked his attacker, trading a hard blow to his stomach in return, which caused the fanged demon to reel back with the force of it.
And then, the battle began in earnest.
The young man went through the vampires almost like the Slayer herself, blocking and trading kicks and punches so fast Dawn could hardly follow. But they still had the advantage, about a dozen of them going against one. Chris was perhaps skilled enough to fight them but nevertheless he lacked a Slayer's strength and endurance.
And he had no stake at hand, the girl realized with a start. Fumbling through her own pockets, she triumphantly brought out one of the stakes Xander had placed into her clothes for safety.
"Chris!" Dawn called out to him and he shortly looked up at her from the demons who currently had him under attack. But just as she wanted to throw him the sharp piece of wood he had to duck another blow at his head and the stake landed somewhere in the middle of the jumble of bodies.
When Dawn later thought back to the moments that followed, everything that had happened after she had thrown the stake was a huge blur of images in her mind, so fast things had come about. A vampire who was about to attack Chris from behind suddenly turned to dust. The familiar dark graceful form of Spike appeared next to the young man, backing him up. The Whitelighter lifted his hand and a few feet away, another vampire combusted, Dawn's stake in his chest. And a few moments later it was all over, the remaining vampires either fleeing or killed as well.
Leaving the two men stand in the middle of the alley, back to back, still in fighting stance.
Dawn moved first after a few seconds of tensed silence.
"Are you guys okay?" She asked worried, while already walking over to them.
"Yeah," Chris replied, relaxing slightly and turning around to survey his unexpected helper. "Thanks man!"
The vampire just looked at him for a moment then shook his head, clearly amused.
"What?" The Whitelighter now wore a slightly irritated expression, Dawn noted interested.
"Never mind that I always thought you folk were meant to be pacifists," Spike began, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Why didn't you just orb!"
"Uhh..." Now, that was something new, the girl decided. Chris had never looked sheepish before.
"Adrenalin rush?" The young man asked with an obvious squeak in his voice. Spike and her couldn't help but burst out laughing at his expression of utter chagrin.
They walked home together after that, each one enjoying the friendly banter that filled the silence of a regular Sunnydale night.
666
"No, no, no!" Bianca exploded exasperated, watching Chris get up from where she had thrown him onto the floor.
"You have to become faster!" she lectured him impatiently, repeating what she said a hunderd times before. "You don't have the advantage of weight or physical strength, so you have to become faster!"
"I know!" He snapped angrily. "I'm trying!"
"Don't try it, do it!" The woman tied her hair up anew and took a fighting stance once more. "Again!"
Chris sighed tiredly and copied her, trying to guess what move to expect next.
It had hardly been half a year since he had met the Phoenix assassin. And to be honest, he didn't really know why he had saved her that very first day when she wanted to bring him back to his brother. Or why she now helped him, going against Wyatt behind his back. And what he really didn't understand was why he trusted her despite all that. His empathy told him he was right about her though, so the boy took the chance and let her train him every time he could.
Bianca knew about the hideouts and strongholds where the refugees of Wyatt's regime sought shelter, but she never asked about their location or the people living there. For that Chris was grateful. The less she knew, the safer all of them would be, including Bianca herself.
He had already gotten better at what she was teaching him and sadly he had opportunity enough to test her tricks in real life. But if they wanted to survive in this world no one had a choice but learn how to fight.
And besides, he really liked having her around...
666
Spike didn't want to believe his eyes when he saw Chris sitting there in Willy's bar, talking jovially with a warlock or Darklighter or whatever that man was. Had he been so wrong about the boy?
'Just when I thought I had figured him out...' the vampire thought somewhat frustrated as he continued to watch the girl's Whitelighter from his place in the shadows.
Then again, there had always been some things that didn't add up about the boy. Like the way he fought two nights ago. Him sleeping at his charge's instead of – whereever it was Whitelighters usually stayed. Or that he didn't want to get two new charges asigned in the first place. His whole attitude was not that of a Whitlelighter.
Spike interrupted his musings about the strange young man in favour of listening in on his current conversation.
"You're no warlock!" The apparent Darklighter spat contemptfully. "You have Whitelighter powers and no one can consume a Whitelighter's power, not even us."
But Chris wasn't easily intimidated, Spike already knew that.
"No you can't." He agreed readily enough. "But you can be born with them! Only because my father was a Whitelighter doesn't mean I am, too! Hell, it doesn't even mean I'm good!"
The vampire wasn't too sure what to think anymore. If this was all an act – and he was suprised himself that he wanted it to be some kind of act – Chris was playing his part awfully well.
"Oh, but it does mean you're still vulnerable to my arrows!" The tall Darklighter wasted no time standing up, eyes cold and threatening, conjuring his crossbow and aiming at the lanky Whitelighter, who sat across from him at the table.
Before the arrow was even released completely, Chris had orbed out of the way, materialized again next to his attacker and had a long athame at the man's throat so fast even the vampire could hardly follow.
Well, at least the boy had style, he had to give him that. Chris looked downright intimidating with that cold calculating expression and despite his rather frail appearance, Spike once again had proof that he wouldn't want to mess with him.
The question now was what to do. He couldn't just go over there now, seeing as Spike had absolutely no idea how the boy was going to react. Chris was unpredictable and the vampire actually liked that about him. It made things more interesting. Heaven knew he could do with a little bit of excitement from time to time.
But once again, the vampire was interrupted in his wonderings.
Red's girlfriend had chosen this exact moment to enter the demon bar.
Had everybody's attention been on the two opponents before, it was now on the shy and vastly misplaced young witch standing just inside the door. What little noise there had been stopped completely at her appearance.
What the hell does she think she's doing?
Unbeknownst to the bleach blonde undead the exact same thought went through another head as well.
"Well now," the Darklighter spoke up, catching everyone's attention again. "The perfect opportunity for you to prove your point!" Despite the sharp dagger still at his throat, the Darklighter smirked confidently down at Chris.
Chris didn't even blink, only raised his eyebrows questioningly. Either he had to compliment the boy for his composure, or Spike would have to think of a way to get rid of him and the girl out of here soon.
"If a good witch doesn't mean anything to you," the stranger explained, "then you won't mind me doing this." And with that he raised his crossbow once again, now aiming at the blonde witch, closely watching the boys reaction.
Chris let out a slightly incredulous laugh, never loosing his cool. Lowering the athame, he replied frighteningly indifferent: "The witch is not my problem!"
Now Spike was truly taken aback. Did the boy really mean that? Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tara standing paralyzed at the door, with a hint of betrayal showing on her face.
But Chris wasn't done yet. Athame suddenly gone, he raised an empty hand as if to run it through his hair.
"Neither is she yours."
He clenched his fingers curtly. Spike had no idea what that gesture was supposed to mean until he heard the crossbow clatter heavily to the ground and saw the Darklighter scratching his own neck in desperate need for air.
"I'm your problem!" Chris' cold voice cut through the tensed silence, eyes blazing green fire.
The vampire couldn't help but watch in fascination. The boy was now as far from the slightly neurotic but nevertheless amiable young Whitelighter as Spike could have ever imagined.
"Get her out of here, Spike!"
When he first heard Chris' voice speak again, he only was startled that the boy actually knew he was there. Then something clicked in his head and he realized two things at once. First, why would Chris risk losing his cover by speaking so loud the whole room could hear it? And second, Spike had been looking at Chris this whole time but his lips had never moved...
"Get her out, Spike!" He heard the boy speak again in his head only, more urgently this time. "I'll meet you at the house."
You bet you do, an irritated vampire thought, hoping this mojo worked both ways. You have some serious explaining to do, once I get a hold of you!
666
When Chris finally orbed into the kitchen, he didn't even have time to estimate the trouble he was in because he immediately had a seriously pissed off vampire at his throat. Literally. He didn't even see Spike move.
"What the hell did you think you were doing!" Spike roared, game-face to the fore, tightening his grip on Chris' neck while holding him at arm's length.
Well, he was in deep shit now, Chris mused curiously detached. It was better to be indifferent than let the mistrust of yet another person he cared about affect him too much.
"Will you let me explain first?" He guessed he owed them an explanation of some sorts, although he was not too sure if he was allowed to give one.
The anxious young witch needn't have worried though since the vampire calmed down quickly enough, his face turning human again and letting go of the other's neck.
"Explain then."
Huh. Easier said than done. Chris didn't even know where to begin, let alone how much to tell them. Desperately trying to hold his act together, he bought himself some time by sitting down on one of the chairs, exhaling slowly to cover up the turmoil in his mind.
Just when he had composed himself enough to begin, someone blurted out: "You're from the future, aren't you?"
Dawn. He hadn't even seen her standing with them in the kitchen. And then suddenly, it dawned on him exactly what it was she had been saying.
"What!" Was that really his voice? It had sounded too shrill. Chris didn't like to admit it, but the girl had caught him utterly off guard. How the hell did she know?
"Who told you!"
Now it was the teenager who looked decidedly uneasy, never meeting his gaze when she replied. "I, I... kind of heard Leo say that when you two were talking."
Leo? When had he ever said something like that in front of anyone from here? Well, it was a logical possibility, even if he didn't know when it had happened. Damn.
"It's true then?" Another voice he hadn't expected here. Willow peeked her red head through the doorway, looking a bit confused and uncertain from one face to the other. Oh well. She was one of his charges and seeing as he almost endangered her girlfriend's life, Chris guessed she had a right to know as well.
Nodding his head in defeat, he simply admitted: "Yeah."
"Why did you come here?" Dawn sounded both curious and scared as she asked this question.
Chris really didn't want to discuss his reasons, but he didn't want to lie to them either. "I can't tell you." That was about as much of the truth as he was willing to give.
But Spike had other ideas. "It's got to do with your other charges, doesn't it? After all, you told us they were your first priority."
When Chris only watched him with a defiant glare in his eyes, the vampire continued as if Chris' silence just affirmed his suspicions. Which it propably did.
"And you're no full Whitelighter either," he continued, almost annoyingly selfconfident. "You're a nephalim. Part witch, part angel, am I right?"
Eventually, Chris nodded wearliy. What good would it do to deny that. Tara and Spike had already seen too much.
"Well?" Spike pried impatiently after a few moments. "Why did you come here? And why have you been in a demon bar, talking to a Darklighter of all people?"
God, this couldn't be happening! Chris wanted nothing more than to orb out of here right now, getting out of the position they had him cornered in. But he knew, he couldn't flee the confrontation, not this time.
"I can't, Spike!" The boy hated how pleading his voice sounded. He felt like dying.
But once again, Dawn took matters in her own hands. "It's because of your brother, isn't it?" She asked softly. "You came back to save your brother."
No, no, no, that wasn't supposed to happen! Why couldn't they just be as oblivious as his family? The small voice in his head uttered a very different opinion. Why couldn't his family be as perceptive as those two?
"I knew I shouldn't have told you that," he declared tiredly after long last.
Chris told them more about himself that evening than he had told the sisters the past three month. He told them about Wyatt destroying the world as they knew it; about how the resistance had tried to stop him, voting Chris himself for their leader; about learning to fight in order to survive. About his own powerlessness when it came to fighting against his own brother, the one he had believed in unconditionally all those years ago. About going back to the past to find out and prevent what had happened to him.
And although he knew how dangerous this knowledge could be for them, for him and for everyone else; once he had started he couldn't stop anymore, it all came pouring out of him. There were still some things Chris didn't tell them; Bianca and Lily for one and some other stuff that was too personal. But it felt good to talk, to have them listen to him without the threat of instant judgement hanging in the air.
666
Silently standing beside Tara and listening to Chris's story, Willow wondered what had triggered this astounding confession. All she wanted to do was find Tara to convince her of Willow's plan when she had heard the voices in the kitchen.
And although all this would have fascinated her any other time, all the redhead cared about at the moment was getting Buffy back to life. She didn't understand how Tara and Spike and even Dawn could let her go just like that. Like she never meant anything to them. She died to safe them all, closing a portal to hell and was now propably suffering in an unknown hell dimension, only waiting to be saved by her friends. Didn't they understand that?
Well, at least she had Xander and Anya on her side, she had talked to them this afternoon.
Wait, a sudden thought formed in her head. If Chris had gone to that length, going back in time to change the future and bring his brother back, maybe he would help her resurrect her friend. They had the same motivation after all; if anyone understood why she wanted this so badly, it would have to be the witch-Whitelighter from the future!
A good few heartbeats of silence followed Chris' explanation, before he himself spoke again. Looking questioningly at Tara, he asked confused: "Why have you been in that demon bar in the first place, Tara? You should know how dangerous it is."
Tara had been at Willy's? Jerking her head around to her girlfriend, Willow saw her blonde friend cringe in discomfort when everyone's attention was suddenly focused on her.
"I, I, I..." Tara stuttered and casted Willow an uncertain glance, guilty conscience clearly written on her face.
"Tara?" The witch questioned, not knowing whether she wanted to hear the answer.
"I wanted to get Spike to talk to Willow," the shy witch finally answered in a small voice, nervously wringing her hands, and then hesitantly but with quiet determination meeting Willow's eyes at last.
The redhead felt like someone had just drenched her with cold water. Tara didn't mean this, did she? She only wanted her friend back, was that so bad? The last thing she needed was the magic-hating vampire to know about her plan!
"Tara, no..." Willow moaned desperately, the feeling of betrayal already growing stronger, but her lover only cast her an apologetic glance before she went on with her explanation.
"Willow wants to bring Buffy back to life!"
As expected, the protest followed immediately.
"What!"
"Have you gone bonkers?"
However, there were only two loud voices. Chris' was softer when he told her: "You can't do that."
Except that his soft tone made her angrier than the other's disbelieving surprise ever could. Who was he to tell her she wasn't allowed to save her best friend, when his own doings were even more drasticthan that! And she told him so.
"How dare you!" Willow burst out furiously, discarding the startled looks on her friends' faces.
"How dare you tell me I cannot save my friend when you yourself went back in time to get your own brother back!"
The almost compassionate expression on her Whitelighter's face vanished at once as if wiped off, leaving behind a cold hardened mask.
"You didn't listen to a word I said, did you?" He asked surprisingly calm. "Because, as much as I do want my family back, I didn't come here for my own comfort! I came here to prevent my brother turning evil not to get back the man he used to be, but to save our world from becoming his own evil little playground. So yes, I did come here to save my brother; but if I can't save him, I will stop him!"
Willow stared at him, not knowing what to say. He just sounded so scarily impassionate, telling them that he was ready to kill his own brother if he had to. She honestly had no desire to experience a world that could do this to the young halfbreed. Making him a soldier.
And yet she couldn't let her friend go either. How did they know, Buffy wasn't suffering because of them?
"But we have to save her!" The redhead insisted, her voice quivering and scratchy because she was doing such a lousy job at fighting back her tears.
Chris sighed wearily once again, reverting to the caring Whitelighter she knew.
"Why do you think you have to save her?" He asked quietly.
Willow felt her mouth working without a sound coming out. She wanted to tell him what she had told Tara before, that Buffy was stuck in a hell dimension because she closed the portal. But she had a feeling that he wouldn't go for that.
Before she was able to get a word out of her mouth, Chris said something that made her heart beat faster.
"Listen, if you want to see your friend so bad, there might be another way to bring her back. You're a witch. You can summon her spirit. See for yourself if she needs to be saved or not!"
Willow stared at him for a long while. This idea has never occured to her. And maybe because she didn't want it to, the witch acknowledged now to herself. She wanted Buffy back in person not as some kind of ghost. But that wouldn't be fair to so many people, so in the end Willow nodded her head in affirmation.
Tbc
A/N: Did I say, this is an AU? Buffy wasn't brought back in Chris' future and I don't plan to either.
Originally I planned to not place answers to your reviews anywhere in here, but as some of you didn't leave your email-addresses (mock-glare) and I don't want to not answer:
phoeeebs: Thank you! I hope you I live up to your expectations.
Phoebe Turner: And again Thank you! Hope I can top that, although I don't think so.
Lonnie: Yeah, poor Chris. He's in for so much more. evil laugh
And thanks again to you others, but you already got a reply XP
As you might have guessed, I try to update once a week, but I think the next chapter will either be a very short one or it will take me a bit longer to post, because I really have to learn for my exams in medicine, maths and electronics. Odd combination, I know, but I study computer science with special weight on uses in medicine. Wish me luck.
Todays intro was taken out of 'Nemo' by Nightwish for anyone who wants to know.
Read and review, pwetty please?