A/N: Please Read…
God! Has it been more than a month since I last updated? What happened to me? Was I abducted by aliens? Lol. ;-) I'm really, really sorry guys and girls but here's the sad truth: (drum roll, drum roll, and another drum roll) I had writer's block! A really massive case of writer's block… And for that I am sooooo sorry! I tried to make this chapter longer than usual to make up for it, but I know that this will never be enough. Nothing will ever be enough… Sob… Sorry!
Anyway, as I wrote this chappie, I wasn't too fond of the beginning but I did love the ending! I hope you too give me your comments after reading this update! In short, I'm hinting for reviews! Lol! ;-) Oh, and Paige comes out in this chapter! Yeah!
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Disclaimer:
I so don't own Charmed. In the flashbacks that you will soon be reading, some of them are taken word-per-word from the show while others are from the pits I call my imagination. I disclaim all that were taken from the show and I take pride in those from the pit named imagination! ;-)
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DESTINY'S PULL
CHAPTER 5 – Finding Chris and the Chris in Me
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"A creepy feeling of what, Christopher?" The Angel prodded, slightly alarmed.
Chris couldn't find just the right term so he continued hesitantly. "Of…Ummm… Love, I guess. For lack of a better word…" He added quickly.
"A creepy feeling of love…" The Angel murmured to himself. He pressed his hand to his temples as he tried to concentrate and process the information. After a moment of silence, the scene in front of them completely forgotten, his head snapped as a look of dawning realization glowed in his eyes.
"What is it?" Chris asked, somewhat scared of the answer.
"I have reasons to believe that someone has found your body."
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Chris's eyes widened with fear. Not because he knew it would be difficult to explain this to his parents, but because he was sure that they would go ballistic the moment they see him dead. They wouldn't wait for explanations, they would just act impulsively. He had to do something. There are things that are just too important to ignore. He swiftly faced the Angel with determination in his eyes.
"You have to send me back. Now." He commanded firmly.
Death was taken aback by Chris's resolute behavior. He was silent for a second before answering. "You know I can't do that Christopher. It is necessary that…"
The Angel was never able to finish the sentence. Chris had cut him off instantaneously.
"Screw my past life! Screw this neutral ground! This is my family we're talking about! God, Clarence. You know the Halliwell wrath. Especially Piper's! Who knows what the Charmed Ones and twice-blessed are capable of doing when they see me dead? They could expose magic! They won't listen to anyone. Not even you. You have to send me back. You…"
Chris paused as he realized that he had addressed his mother, aunts and brother so indirectly. Piper, The Charmed Ones, The Twice-Blessed… When did they ever become that? They were always Mom, Aunt Paige, Auntie Pheebs and Wy. And did he just give the Angel of Death a name? What was it again? Clarence? As the seconds ticked by in silence, Chris grew more confused.
Clarence watched with mild interest as he saw Chris stare pass him in bewilderment. He seemed to be having an inner struggle. As to what it was about, Clarence was not sure. He did have an inkling though that it was related to Chris's past and this caused the Angel to smile, despite the weight of the situation.
"He is remembering…" Clarence thought to himself. "He is coming around…"
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"Et tu, Chris? Of all the people to betray me…"
"I didn't go back to betray you, Wyatt… I went back to save you…"
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"I-I-I love you, Peanut…"
"Mom! No! Wake up mom! Please! Wyatt! Leo! Mom needs you! Wyatt! Help! Please Help… Please… Please…No…Please, mom…Don't leave me…"
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"Haven't we been here here before?"
"Maybe we'll be here again…"
"Maybe…"
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"I'm sorry I missed your big day, buddy… Dad was really busy up there in Elder-land…"
"You always are."
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"So… Maybe you came back from the future not just to save Wyatt… Maybe you came back to save us too…"
"I doubt it."
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"You're asking me here? Now?"
"This is still our place Bianca, no matter what he's done to it…"
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"Wyatt! What the hell do you think you're doing? We're good witches! We don't kill innocents!"
"Not anymore, Chris! Not anymore! It all depends on power now… He stood on my way and now he has to pay the price…"
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"Chris! Look around you… We're outnumbered… We have to retreat! The resistance is losing her members!"
"Give the signal Danny…Now! And gather every whitelighter and healer we have. It's gonna be a long night…"
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"Looks like we're one big happy family again."
"You're not family…"
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"Mom! Aunt Paige! Auntie Pheebs! Look! I have the highest General Average in my class! See?"
"Amazing Chris! I'm so proud of you…"
"That's our smart, little nephew!"
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"I have to do this Danny. It's the only way to stop Wyatt… By saving him…"
"Good luck, Chris…"
"Thanks…"
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"Are you Wyatt's little brother?"
"Only if I can get Piper and Leo back together in time…"
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"This isn't you Wyatt! You're not like this! You're not the brother I know!"
"He's dead Chris. He's been so for a very long time. Bring him back by joining me…"
"Never."
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"You don't know me… You don't know me… You don't know me!"
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"Look son, I'm not gonna let you hang here, okay? Now come on. You've got an aunt to save…"
"Thanks…Dad…"
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"Be careful Chris. We'll see you in the good future then…"
"I'll see you guys there… Hopefully…"
"Hopefully…"
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"I love you…"
"I love you too, mom…"
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"Hold on… Hold on… I'm here… You can hold on, okay? Hold on… Don't give up..."
"You either…"
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At the last flashback, Chris truly did feel himself slipping away, floating towards something, towards somewhere... Yet neither towards death nor the after life as he was expecting. It was away from death… Away from the neutral ground… Away from Clarence… Away, away, away… Which was weird for him considering that he had just seen his own death.
The Angel of Death made no move to grab on to the fading figure in front of him. In fact, he merely suppressed a grin as he raised his arm and flicked his wrist to dissolve the forgotten surroundings. The surroundings that were meant to make Chris remember. It was not needed after all… The memories simply lay dormant underneath the new Chris and it only needed a trigger for it to be activated.
As the last remnants of Chris soul disappeared, the Angel of Death closed his eyes and muttered softly, "Mission Accomplished."
He was done with what he was supposed to do. It was now time to hand the torch to the Angel of Destiny.
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Leo embraced the body of his youngest son for a very long time before he stood up to find the rest of the family. They had as much right as he to know about Chris's death. He had to inform them as soon as possible. He made sure to walk out of the kitchen. He knew he would not be able to think straight at the presence of Chris's lifeless form.
Piper, definitely, would be the hardest to control. And Pheobe, with her empathic powers, might be just as wild as Piper. Wyatt would, without a doubt, be blinded by rage and would have no restrain over his twice-blessed gifts. Paige, well, she would feel twice as guilty and as helpless as any other person considering that she had been there when future Chris had died.
Leo cleared his throat and dried his wayward tears as he called for who he thought could handle the situation better than anyone else.
"Paige…" He whispered, his voice hoarse from all the tears. "Paige… Please…"
The jingling sound of orbs could be heard behind him and he knew that his sister-in-law had arrived. Leo, though, could not force himself to turn and face her.
"Leo?" Paige queried, confused at the lack of attention her brother-in-law was giving her. "You called me?"
Silently, Leo nodded his head to indicate a 'yes'. Paige grew more confused as she realized that Leo was deliberately turning his back on her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and asked "What's up?"
The whitelighter had no choice but to face the youngest sister. Paige was taken aback by the sadness etched in Leo's eyes. She was silent for a split second before going into business mode.
"Okay, what the hell happened here? Don't you dare keep this silent mode, Leo Wyatt. I know something's wrong. Please, you have to tell me. I'm your family too… I have to know…"
At these words, Leo completely broke down and he buried his eyes in his hands. Then, it was a role reversal as Paige seemed to become the whitelighter and Leo became the charge. The youngest sister hugged and comforted her brother-in-law as he tried to speak through the sobs.
"C-C-Chris... I-I-It's Chris…" Leo spoke stuttering. "Paige… He's…Chris is… Chris is… Dead." Leo finished in a voice just barely audible.
"What?" Paige asked, thinking she heard wrong.
Leo merely stared at her with resigned eyes for her to realize that she had heard correctly.
"Chris... Chris is… He's… Dead?" She said to no one in particular. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pictured her nephew. Her brave, handsome nephew… dead. "No! That can't be! Can it?" She asked Leo with eyes that begged for the right answer. The answer that it wasn't possible. That everything was just fine.
Leo gave a mournful nod that shattered her hopes. Chris truly was dead. "No…" She said to herself as she allowed a single tear to trickle down her face. Only one tear. She had to stay strong. For her family's sake… For her own sake… For Chris's sake…
"Where is he?"
"I found him in the kitchen..." Leo answered, as the strength of his voice returned. Paige knew now, she would handle things. And he was able to release all the tears he had suppressed. He felt a tiny bit better. Very tiny, but at least it helped him regain composure.
With evident hesitation, Paige walked briskly towards the kitchen. Leo watched her disappear through the door. He had expected to hear a gasp, a sob, a muffled cry or even a shout. What he didn't expect was for Paige to cry out "Leo! Leo, come here! Leo!"
The father rushed into the kitchen fearing the worse: that Chris's body vanished, just like it did last time. What he saw though, knocked the wind out of him. Mainly from fear and concern, but you could feel that small glimmer of hope rising from Leo's chest. Small… Very small… Yet it was there, and it made all the difference.
Chris was glowing. As in, literally, glowing. The kitchen was illuminated by a bright, angelic, golden light that was emitting from the fallen figure. The light grew brighter and brighter until Leo and Paige were forced to cover their eyes. It shone as bright as the sun for one second and then in an instant, disappeared. Even before their eyes adapted to the sudden loss of light, they heard movements and a loud gasp for air. It could only mean one thing…
"Chris!" Exclaimed Leo as he saw his disoriented son sprawled on the floor, in a semi-sitting position, with his elbows propped up to support himself.
The father hurried towards his offspring and kneeled down beside him. He wanted to hug the boy, to ensure that he was indeed alive, to ensure that he was unharmed, but Chris looked at him as if Leo were a ghost and this made Leo hesitant. For an observer, it would have been a very ironic scene. Chris thinking of Leo as a ghost when it should be the other way around. But Leo paid no attention to it at all as he glanced at Chris worriedly.
"Chris? Son? Are you all right?"
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A/N:
Wow! That was a pretty long chapter, huh? Lol. I had tons of fun writing it and I hope you had as much fun reading it! Please, please review! I really would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks in advance to those who'll push that little button below. ;-) Well, Adios Amigos! Adios Amigas! Thanks for reading my story! ;-)
---TriNkIeS---