A Charmed Story - Part Nine:
I, Myself And The Elders
Chapter 4

When Michael opened the door he saw a small blonde boy smiling and stretching his arms to him. "Hey Mickey..." Wyatt said. Then he noticed Chris who stood behind his little brother and rubbed his temples.
"What are you doing here?" he asked confused. They had agreed not to meet until Angela said it was ok...
"Sorry, but this little boy escaped from his mom. And Piper is actually screaming for me and Leo, so can I use your phone to tell her where Wyatt is?" Chris asked still rubbing his temples. Pipers voice in his head was really disturbing.
Michael sighed. "Ok," he said and let his friend in. He led him to the lounge and showed him the phone, praying that he had time to go to Angela and warn her about the visit before she... A crash of glasses and plates made the two men turn.
"Broken..." Wyatt said pointing at the glass on the floor, giggling, held back by Chris's hand.
"Angy..." 'Shit,' Michael thought. She had been in the kitchen for half an hour, why the hell had she decided to come back right now? He sighed.
"Oh, my G-g-g-od..." she sat down trembling.
Chris wanted to say something, but a voice from the other side of the receiver distracted him.
"Mom?? Yeah, it's me... Ok, ok, I didn't orb right there because Wyatt is with me. Don't worry. I'll take care... promise... Calm down, mom... He'll be alright... Yeah..." As he talked, he looked at Angela and Michael out of the corner of his eyes. He shouldn't have come... Shit... "Yeah, mom... I'll take him home as soon as we're done... No, mom... I can't tell you ...ok ... Later... Yes, I know... Actually I should be talking to her right now... Yes... she'll understand... Shit!" Wyatt had escaped from his hand and run towards Angela, who jumped a little bit, startled.
"It's ok, sweetie, you know him, he's just a kid," Michael tried to calm her down.
"Hello!" a smiling Wyatt said, jumping on the sofa by Angela.
"Sorry mom... I didn't want to swear but seriously... need to leave. Give a kiss to Bianca. I'll be back in a while." And he hung up the phone, turning to his hosts and sighing, wordless.
"Can I eat cookies?" Wyatt asked.
"We don't have cookies, kid..." Michael answered, looking worried at his wife.
Chris shook his head and went to take Wyatt's hand again, noticing how Angela flinched when he approached. He felt so bad... He was not even able to look her in the eyes. "Sorry..." he muttered, "he's just a... a kid."
Then he knelt by Wyatt: "No cookies now, man. Chris needs to talk with them and Wyatt is gonna be good, promise?" Wyatt nodded very serious, as he sucked his thumb.
Chris smiled, and then raised his eyes, just to turn serious and concerned again. Angela was staring at him, so full of fear...
"I am sorry, Angy, I... I needed to talk to..."
She swallowed: "Why did you do it, Chris?"
"Pardon me?" Chris frowned. That was the first time that Angela actually talked to him after what had happened some months before. He looked at Michael wonderingly but he shrugged. It was too late to go back now...
"Why did you lie to me. Why did you hide all those things from me and treated me as a kid who can not understand what is going on?"
Chris tried to keep his eyes on hers, but her look was so accusingly that he had to lower his eyes. "I... I am sorry... Angela, you have to understand, we thought it was the best thing we could do."
"I trusted you. I've been thinking that I had had another life that I was actually another kind of person, all this time. And he... YOU, Michael, you knew everything..."
Her husband lowered his eyes too. They hadn't talked about it all that time. She had just forgiven him, but bringing all these memories right now could be a disaster.
"Angela, I am sorry... Truly sorry... But I really need to talk with you two. Actually..." Chris turned his face to Michael, "I need to talk to her... To you, Angy."
She shook her head energetically. "No more magic at all. Not in my life," she answered, half angry and half freaked out.
Chris felt that his eyes filled with tears, and tried to hide his face from Wyatt who was now very quiet and somehow scared by the weird situation.
"I am so sorry that I put you in this situation, and that this was all my fault, as it is always. Everything I do is a problem for someone else, but..." He looked her in the eyes again. God, he felt so much guilt. It laid heavily on his heart. "That is why I did it. And that is why I have decided that this time, as soon as we solve the problem we have now and for which I need your help, I will erase your memories... both of yours." He paused, looking aside: "If you agree of course. You can be happy and won't see me again. And I want you to know that I will probably stop being an Elder too. I can't stand this anymore." His eyes were now completely wet and his voice trembled a little.
Michael shook his head and patted his shoulder: "Chris..." He did not know what to do.
Angela stared at him coldly. Actually, lost in her thoughts. She could not blame him, but she needed to blame someone for all the things that had happened to her, and this was the easy way. And now she felt like shit.
"Are you mad at Chris?" Wyatt asked with his sweet voice, as he grasped Angela's hand. She turned to him, flinching a bit, but said nothing.
"Wyatt, this is adult's business..." Chris said.
But the child went on. He was crying. "But Chris is good... And he is very sad, 'cause he likes you and Mickey and you don't."
"Wyatt, please..." Chris stood up and took the boy's hand: "Ok, need to go." He dried his eyes, and prepared to orb back, embarrassed. "I am sorry, I should not have come."
"Wait..." It was Angela's voice. Michael was holding her hand, sadly. "Wait, Chris..."

°°°°°°°°°°

"And?" Bianca asked worried.
"He's with Chris," Piper answered and put her mobile phone back into her bag.
"Yeah, ok... I got that, but what is he doing at Michael's house?" Both women had recognised the number when the phone had rang.
"I don't know," Piper said, "he didn't tell... he seemed to be in a hurry..."
She frowned. But then she smiled and added: "I shall send you a kiss from him."
Bianca blushed: "Thanks."
They both kept silent for a while.
"So..." Piper said then, "what are we gonna do now?"
Bianca narrowed her eyes, hard thinking. Then her eyes began to sparkle: "What about a massage? Actually we could need something to relax..."
Piper looked at her and couldn't help laughing: "Sounds great!"

°°°°°°°°°°

Kyle looked up when the door to his office was opened and Darryl's head appeared in the frame.
"I'll leave now, I have to pick up Sheila..." he said
Kyle nodded: "Alright..."
Darryl still stood in the door: "Shall we maybe pick you up, too...???"
"No thanks, I think I know the way..."
His friend nodded, but then he closed the door and went nearer to the desk.
"What?" Kyle asked.
"Well..." he sighed, "I just want to ask, if you're sure that... I mean... you know what I mean..."
Kyle grinned: "Yeah, I am... I am..."
"Is everything ok?" Darryl asked frowning. His friend seemed to be kind of weird sometimes, since he knew about magic... Sometimes he just wasn't sure what was going on inside this brain...
"Yeah... I guess it is..." Kyle answered with a sigh.
Darryl frowned: "Paige?" His friend nodded. "I see," the detective said and sat down in front of him. "You like her... but you're not sure about what to do, because she is who she is?" Kyle nodded again.
His friend sighed: "I can't tell you what you should do... that's something you have to find out on your own... But I can tell you one thing: Follow your heart."
"Thanks," Kyle muttered.
Then Darryl looked at his watch: "Ok, I really need to go now... See you later..."
"Yeah... See you," Kyle answered. His friend nodded and then left him alone.

°°°°°°°°°°

Leo, Silas and Julian had sat down in one corner of the bar, where they were kind of undisturbed.
"So again... What are you doing here?" Julian asked.
Silas just looked unsure form Julian to Leo. He was scared, he was really scared... Two Elders in a demonic bar... If they would be discovered...
"Chris send us, to ask you, if you know something more about Rha..."
"Shhhhhh," Julian said... "Don't say his name... not here..."
Leo nodded: "So?"
The colored witch looked around carefully then he whispered: "There are rumours that he had stolen some powers, but we don't have a proof."
"We??? And... What kind of powers?" Leo asked. Julian shrugged.
"Maybe some which would let him enter... well... up there...?" Silas asked. He slowly began to enjoy this adventure.
Julian srugged. "No idea."
"Have you any idea where he hides?" Leo asked.
"No..." he made a break, "unless you do me a favour, too..."
"What favour?" Silas asked suspicious.
Julian grinned: "I want the power of sensing."
"What?" the Elder exclaimed.
But Leo put his hand on his arm and sent him a glare to calm him down. "For what?" he asked then, looking back at the demonic witch.
Again Julian grinned: "It would make my job much more easier..."
Silas was about to freak out again, but Leo stopped him. Then he looked at the witch with narrowed eyes. Chris trusted him in a way, he knew that, even if he didn't understand it... But that was a huge favour.
"We have to discuss that first," Leo said finally, "can we meet here again?"
Julian nodded: "In four hours I'll be here again." Then he stood up, paid for all of them and left the bar.

°°°°°°°°°°

Chris turned to them again slowly, while Wyatt freed himself. He jumped to the sofa again and begged, still sobbing: "Don't be mad at my brother... 'cause he's the best brother in the world." He stretched out his little arms to underline his last words. "And he's sooo sad, that you don't like him anymore... and I'm sad too... I'm sad 'cause he's sad."
"Wyatt..." Chris said begging, "come over here, it's better when we go now. I caused enough trouble today." His eyes were still watery and Michael began to wonder what happened to him, that he was so... well... not himself.
"No," Angela said. Then she turned to Michael: "Is he always doing that... feeling guilty for everything?"
Her husband shrugged: "I guess..." Then he nodded.
Angela turned to Wyatt who was still sitting next to her looking at her with his big blue eyes. 'Damned,' she thought, 'he's about three... he's just a kid...' She took a deep breath before she smiled at him: "I have no cookies, but do you like some chocolate?"
When Wyatt heard the word 'chocolate' he beamed at Angela and nodded energetically.
"So... then go with Mike to the kitchen and he will give you some..."
Wyatt turned to Chris: "Can I?"
The Elder-witch smiled weakly and nodded. So Wyatt stood up and pulled Michael out of the room.
Angela turned to Chris: "And you? Sit down... I need you to explain some things to me."
Chris hesitated for a moment. Then he sat down on the edge of the table: "So what do you want me to explain?"
"First: Why did you do that to me, why did you made me forget?"
Chris sighed: "The Elders did... it was their decision, to keep the secret of magic. And on the other hand we thought it would be better for all of you NOT to know what happened to you... Not to remember."
"But what if I wanted to remember?" Angela asked again. "And why was Mike allowed to remember?"
Chris lowered his eyes: "They let him his memories, because he... well he begged me, and I begged them for not erase his memories... because he's the best friend I have in this time and in this world... actually he was my first real friend here, who was not family..." He made a short break before he add: "I'm sorry... I know this was selfish... If I hadn't... If I had erase his memories too, none of those things had ever happened to you... I'm sorry..."

°°°°°°°°°°

Meanwhile, Steve had gone straight back home. He just nodded when Chris told him that he had to leave. He would have liked to talk more with him, but he totally understood. He just took his things, exhaling a deep sigh, and went out of the magic school.
Nicki was already at his home, waiting for him; that was her free day. She had no classes to teach, and she took advantage of that to learn something herself. She was reading some books on magic and other stuff like that, when he arrived.
"Hey, I thought you'd be home today with your parents..." he muttered, smiling weakly. Nicki raised her head and grinned: "Do you want me away?"
Steve shook his head, at the same time he left the books on a chair. "Of course not. I am so pleased to have you here..."
Nicki, still smiling, stood up and went to him, in order to kiss him. "How was your day?" she asked.
Steve hesitated for a moment: "Good... Quite good."
She nodded: "Great, because now we are gonna have something really good for lunch; I cooked your favourite dish." Steve smiled. That was so great...
But suddenly, something would spoil everything. The phone rang, and Veronica was on the other side.

°°°°°°°°°°

Paige sighed, looking at her watch: "Ok, I think it's time to go home..."
Odin looked at her begging: "Please, give me just 15 more minutes... We... I..." The Elder was kind of freaked out, they had already noticed. That someone had entered their halls up their was scaring him, not to mention the fact that this person nearly killed one of them and kidnapped two others.
"Ok, ok," Paige said and grasped another book.
"Here I have something," Cole suddenly said. All the heads turned to him.
"And what?" Odin asked impatient. Cole shortly looked at him, then started to read.
"Rhashirk - upper level demon. Was banished around 1650 by the old source of all evil, cause he turned to be a rival for the source. His powers were a weird mixture of everything. He had telekinetical powers, sensing, fire- and energy balls and if someone was close to death but not dead, he could absorb his powers, too - as long as the body was in the weak state. If the person was healed or died he lost the power again. From that day he was banished he wasn't seen again."
"That sounds not good," Odin muttered turning pale.
"So he could actually use the Elders he had kidnapped to take their powers... That's sounds more than 'not good'!" Cole added.
Phoebe sighed: "We still don't to know enough... So I guess we should look through the older books to find out more..."
"And the dinner?" Paige asked desperate.

°°°°°°°°°°

Kyle stood in front of the manor... since about 10 minutes. He still was not sure about all that... but he liked Paige a lot, maybe even more than that... So, shouldn't he stop being afraid? But still... what if they would be attacked again... Because that seemed to happen really often at that house.
He sighed finally and climbed up the steps. He rang the doorbell and waited...
But nothing happened. He rang again...
Nothing!
"Paige!" he yelled.
Nothing.
He sighed and stepped back to the street again, when a car stopped in front of him.
"Hey Kyle," Darryl said while stepping out the car and then helping Sheila, "have you got cold feet?"
The young man moved his hand through his hair nervously. "No, actually... it seems there is no one at home..."
"What?" Sheila asked. "That's mysterious... They never forgot a dinner before..." Together they went back to the door. Again they rang the bell, but nothing happened.
Kyle sighed again and Sheila looked at him. Smiling she patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure they are fine."
The young man looked at her startled. He hadn't thought about that actually something could have happened to them. What if... Oh no, he didn't want to think about that.
Sheila noticed the worried look on his face and put an arm around him: "Don't worry... I'm sure they are just a little distracted... I mean, they have two babies in this house."
Kyle smiled weakly... babies and demons - a weird combination...
At that moment they heard a voice in their back: "Hey, what are you doing their in front of the door? Why don't you enter?"
They turned around to face Piper and Bianca with the babies. They had just come back from their little walk.
"Actually your sisters seem to be not at home," Darryl remarked. "And the craftsmen are already gone, I think."
Piper frowned and climbed the steps to open the door. But before she hugged everyone to welcome them, also Kyle.
Bianca followed her, doing the same. When she came to Kyle, she smiled at him. "Good to see you again here," she said.
"Thanks," he said kind of shyly.
Bianca smiled even more warmly at him: "Don't worry, everything is fine..."
He nodded, smiling weakly: "Yeah, well that's what everyone keeps telling me."
"Sheila where is your son?" Piper asked while unlocking the door.
The woman smiled warmly: "He's sleeping at a friend's house tonight..."
Piper nodded before they all entered the manor and the oldest Halliwell started yelling for her sisters...
Kyle looked around nervously. Then his eyes went over to the sofa he sat on, when he was there the last time... when the demon shimmered in. He shivered.
Again he felt a hand on his shoulder. This time it was Darryl who smiled at him and said: "Just relax..."
Kyle nodded. At that moment Paige orbed in, startling him. He hadn't seen her doing that since... well... since all that had started.
When the witch-whitelighter noticed his scared look she smiled weakly.
"Where are Phoebe and Cole?" Piper asked, while Bianca put the kids into the playpen.
"Well... The Elders have a little demon-problem. We had been with Odin at the school to help them with the research and Phoebe and Cole are still there..." Paige explained, noticing that Kyle's face went paler and paler.
"Little demon-problem?" Bianca asked worried, remembering the weird feeling she had when they had met Chris this afternoon.
Paige shrugged. She didn't want to tell more about that, as long as Kyle was with them... "Yeah... nothing big... and nothing that has to do with us, so... They just needed some more eyes to help reading through all those books"
At that moment the door on the stairs appeared and Phoebe and Cole went through it. "Hello everyone," the empath greeted while Cole just waved his hand. Kyle had noticed the appearing and disappearing door, but this time he wasn't surprised or something, he just noticed it as if it was something normal... he was sure it was normal, at this place. Maybe he really began to get used to it.
Piper sighed relieved that now everyone was there... She smiled: "Ok, then sit down on the table, the meal will be ready in a few minutes..." Then she turned to her sister: "Paige, could you give our guests something to drink?"
She nodded and followed her sister to the kitchen. But before she whispered to Cole: "What happened?"
"Nothing," he whispered back, "Phoebe just reminded Odin that Kyle is here today too, and that it would be better for all of us to handle him first and then go back to that demon."
Paige looked at him angry: "Cole, he isn't an object you could handle... But..." Then she smiled: "Thanks."
Meanwhile Phoebe had approached Kyle examining him from head to foot. She frowned, but then her eyes grew wide. She turned to the kitchen, where her sisters were already gone to, and yelled: "Paige damned... A blocking potion?????"
Kyle couldn't help chuckling and Darryl smiled relieved seeing how his friend began to relax.

°°°°°°°°°°

For a moment, Angela looked in Chris's sad eyes, and little by little started to be moved by the young man's attitude. She shook her head, trying to hide her distress from his begging look.
"Angy, I am truly sorry, I promise. I wish I could change everything, but the only thing I can really do is erase your memories again, and Mike's, if you agree... And promise that I will get out of your lives, I promise I'll do, I..."
Angela took his hand softly: "Stop it... Self-pity does not help with me."
Chris was shocked, but then he saw her smile, and he himself smiled weakly, lowering his eyes.
"Chris... Just understand how I feel. How I felt when I realised that all my life had been a lie..."
Chris nodded, turning serious again. "I never thought of it. I just thought that it could help." He raised his eyes: "Look, Angy... If we hadn't done it, this would be a mess... Everything. All those people belonging to a different century, just discovering that they live in this time, and that they have lost everyone they loved, and their own lives... I regret not having erased Mike's memories just because of my weakness; but not having erased yours." He looked now in her eyes, waiting for her reaction.
But she simply smiled: "I understand it, Chris. But don't regret having left Mike's memories untouched, please. You're also his best friend... I know. And I am sorry about all this, because I was just in the middle... I am sorry. But Chris. This, time, please... I want my memories. I don't want that huge black hole in my memory again. Those twenty years in that other... that other place... they are part of my life, too."
Chris stared at her for a second. Then he looked aside and swallowed. "You forgive me?" he asked.
She grinned and let his hand go: "I do. And you... Do you forgive me?"
Chris swallowed again, trying to hold back his tears, and nodded: "How wouldn't I? It was all my fault..."
"Oh, yes...yes. Ok... Then, please, forgive yourself first," she was still smiling, and he couldn't help grin a little bit.
"Alright..." he muttered.
"And promise me that... Please, that you won't bring magic, or whatever it is, to my house again." She was begging, rather than demanding. "Listen, Chris: It's just that I am scared of all that. I want to live a life as normal as possible, that is all. And with all I know now... About that time I had to live there and all... It's gonna be pretty difficult. I don't want to be in the middle of you and Mike. I am not prohibiting you to come, or whatever. Just, please... No magic."
He smiled at her, but she kept on talking: "And I also want you to know, that I remember everything... I mean, EVERYthing: Especially what you did that day, just to save us all. That you were about to die. The same as the other day... Just to save me again. And I can't but thank you, Chris, and be sorry for having been such a asshole... I was just so scared."
Chris stared at her in shock. He did not know what to say, after all that: "I... That is what we do, Angy... You don't have to thank me. But yes, I promise, with all my heart, that there won't be more magic. I do promise... I just need a bit of help now. Just information. And I promise that you won't have more magic around."
Angela smiled and ended up hugging the young man in front of her. At that moment they heard the cute voice of Wyatt: "Can we go in now, Mickey? They aren't talkin' anymore."
The two heads turned to the door, just to see how Michael was trying to grab Wyatt and hold him back, blushing significantly: "No, Wyatt, not yet..." He then realised that they had seen him, and smiled apologetically: "Sorry... I could not stop him."
"It's ok, Mike, you can come in, we're done," Angela said, seeing out of the corner of her eye how Chris wiped his tears away.
Wyatt pulled Michael towards them, while he ate chocolate with the other hand. "Want chocolate, Chris?" he said, stretching his arm to give his brother one piece.
Chris grinned, his eyes still watery: "No, Wyatt... That is yours."
Wyatt frowned, angrily: "I don't want the chocolate for me only, I want you eat 'cause you're sad."
Chris chuckled, and took a piece: "Ok, ok... I'll eat it. I am sure the chocolate is..." he was going to say 'magical' but he stopped, "special, and will make me happy again."

°°°°°°°°°°

Odin was submerged into the book, reading the entry again and again. He had never been scared in his life, not really... but now he was. What he had read about that demon... it let him froze terrified. He was reading it again and again, trying to find a trace of hope, a hint how to stop him. But there was none. He sighed and started reading again. He didn't look up when his friends orbed in.
"Have you found something?" Silas asked, his voice full of hope.
Odin sighed and showed them the entry. Both, Silas and Leo, went pale.
"And you?" he asked then.
"Well... maybe we've found someone who knows something," Leo answered cryptically.
Silas rolled his eyes: "Julian knows where he hides, and he will tell us if we give him the power of sensing."
"WHAT?" Odin exclaimed.
"We don't know what he really knows," Leo added, "but yes, that's what he said."
"We can't do that!" Odin remarked surprisingly dryly.
Leo sighed: "I know it's risky... but Chris trusts him, and after all you had found... Don't you think it could be worth it???"
Silas, who didn't know what to think about all that, looked from one to the other.
Odin thought about that... Leo was right, Chris trusted Julian. But who knows for which reasons he did so... Still they had not much to work with at the moment. "Ok," Odin said finally, "bring me all the data we have about that witch... I'll have a look on that, and then we decide." Leo nodded.
"Wait... what about the school?" Silas asked, suddenly hit by a real bad thought.
Odin nodded: "We should close it for a while... and the Elders up there should hide, too."

(Chapter 4 written by Chrissy.W.x and Belén)