A Charmed Story - Part Eight:
Chris To The Max
Chapter 10
Odin had orbed with Michael and Angela to the attic of the manor. But no one was there.
Angela stood there, frozen in shock about that way of travelling. Then, when she realised what had just happened, she broke down crying. She couldn't understand all this... How was that possible.
Michael knelt down next to her. He hugged her relieved that she was alright... physically at least. First Angela felt safe in his arms... for the first time in the last 36 hours. But then she remembered that he had lied to her and pushed him away. "GO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" she exclaimed.
Alerted by the yell, Bianca shimmered in: "What happened...?"
Michael looked at his wife who was looking at him fearful. He swallowed, afraid that he still could lose her in a way... Or maybe he already had...
"Where is Chris?" Bianca asked after noticing that he wasn't there.
Odin sighed, seeking for the right words. But Michael, as angry as he was about that whole situation yelled: "IT WAS A TRAP DAMNED!"
The Elder rolled his eyes. 'These were surely not the right words,' he thought.
Bianca looked at them shocked, same as Veronica who just had entered the attic, too. "Wha... What do you mean?" the young witch asked with a lot of fear in his voice.
Odin sighed again: "Well, when we left, things were a little messed up because this other demon appeared.
"WHAT?" both women exclaimed at the same time.
Meanwhile Michael again tried to approach his wife, but she flinched. He sighed, then he turned to the others: "I'm afraid we're not save here, too... if that demon wants to erase the whole family..."
Odin nodded: "Yeah... Bianca, you should go with them and the kids to the school and I..."
"NO!" the Phoenix exclaimed. "I will not sit back, while my husband is in danger and..."
"Bianca," Michael said looking at her with watery eyes, "you can't go... Chris would kill me if I let you... You've given birth to your daughter just four days ago... You nearly died, and you're still looking a little pale... it's to risky till you're not completely fine."
Odin looked at the man surprised. After all he had gone through, after all he still has to go through with his wife... he still was caring about the wife of his friend... 'He is truly a real friend,' he thought, 'and worth the risk of exposing magic.'
Bianca sighed, knowing that her friend was right. And then she noticed for the first time, the state Angela was in. "Alright," she said, "I agree... but..." She turned to Odin again: "You go back and help them... bring him back to me save, ok?" Odin nodded and orbed away.
For a moment the Phoenix stared at the spot where the Elder stood seconds before, then she turned to Veronica: "Take the kids up here and I'll shimmer us to the school."
The woman, who was kind of shocked about the fact that also Tom was in danger, nodded weakly. Then she ran out the attic and down the stairs.
°°°°°°°°°°
The fight was hard, but they were doing as much as they could. Chris tried desperately to break through the second forcefield that had prevented him from reaching his mini-self, but demons were implacable.
Wyatt looked at him out of the corner of his eye as Chris sent a demon telekinetically against the forcefield and knocked him out. His brother was surrounded... Chris was tired and for each demon he vanquished, three more appeared. What the hell was that?
Wyatt sighed and said: "Ready to duck?"
Chris looked at him, questioningly, but he had no much time to do anything.
"NOW!"
The young Elder-witch ducked just in time, because suddenly a huge blast of orange colored energy was emanating from Wyatt's hands, killing most of the demons there. Chris gasped in shock, but then he turned. There was no time to lose...
°°°°°°°°°°
Christopher was again on the ground, and Rhashirk had left him alone. In fact, he had gone out of the centric forcefield to take care of the business in which he was interested: The sisters.
Besides, Cristóbal would love to take that information out of that clone on his own, but Rhashirk himself didn't mind at all. That little crap would be done once he had killed the sisters... His family.
Christopher's nose was bleeding, and Cristóbal seemed to be really pissed off.
"Where's the true Chris, the real Chris???" he asked, getting nearer to kick him again.
At that moment Christopher raised his hand and sent him telekinetically to the floor, but this time the attack was weaker.
Cris stood up angrily and ran towards him, determined to kill him if he didn't talk.
"I'm here!" Chris suddenly exclaimed, from outside the forcefield. Both men inside turned to look at him and Cris smirked, as his enemy begged: "Free him... You can have me if that is what you want."
"CHRIS!" Christopher cried frowning angrily.
But neither his other self nor his enemy paid attention to him. They just stared at each other, the second one with an evil smirk on his face. "Come in..." Cristóbal said. Chris swallowed and nodded, as he saw the forcefield being pulled down.
"Chris, no..." Wyatt tried to stop him, but as soon as he tried to cross the line, the forcefield was raised again and rejected him.
"You let him out!!" Chris said referring to Christopher, who had not had time to escape.
"I'm not gonna go anywhere!" he answered.
Cris grinned: "Two by one... That sounds good. But I don't like that you tried to trick me out... You two have your powers..."
°°°°°°°°°°
Meanwhile, Wyatt had stood up again, in pain. He had not time to see what was happening inside that forcefield, since his eyes caught another sight... The sisters and Tom. They were fighting Rhashirk on the other side. And they were being beaten really hard.
"Mom..." he muttered, and orbed to the other end of the forcefield that still surrounded them. Piper was on the ground, bleeding in her chest, and Paige and Phoebe could not do much... They were held by demons. But Tom... He wasn't there anymore. Whatever, he had to save Piper.
°°°°°°°°°°
Bianca had taken them all to the library were they had placed Angela onto the sofa. The woman was completely shocked about what had happened to her... All the things she had gone through with that man who looked like Chris... that was nothing to the last minutes, when she had discovered that it was true that her husband had lied to her, when she had been at different places within a second... What the hell was that... and where was she now??? It was all a little too much.
Michael was sitting on a chair, facing his love. He felt so much sorry, for all that had happened to her. He wished he could turn back the time to stop all that from happening. But even if he knew that Chris maybe could... that wouldn't change anything... something like that could always happen again. The only thing he could do was separating from Chris... and that was something he just couldn't... he didn't know why, but... he knew he wouldn't be able to.
Bianca and Veronica had built up a kind of bed on the other sofa for the babies. They were still sleeping peaceful while Wyatt was completely awake and frolicked around the room. Bianca observed her sleeping little daughter. A tear ran down her cheek, while she watched her little chest go up and down softly.
"Are you ok?" Veronica asked.
Bianca nodded but said: "No, I'm not..." She made a short brake and sobbed a little. "I'm afraid to lose him," she said then, "how shall I raise her without him...?"
Veronica sighed: "I'm sure they will come back... you will not lose him..." The Phoenix nodded.
Meanwhile Wyatt walked around the room and then stopped in front of Angela. "Hello," he said to her. Then he noticed that she was crying. "Do you've ouch?" he asked childishly.
Angela looked at the boy confused, then she shook her head: "No I'm ok... I guess." Michael, who was still observing her, sighed.
"So you sad?" the small boy asked.
Angel smiled at him, and caressed the boy's cheek. She didn't know him, she didn't know why she was doing that, but he was so cute and nice to her...
Wyatt felt sorry. He himself didn't like to be sad, and he was sure with other people it was the same. "Got'n idea," he said and then he orbed his teddy to his hands.
Angel looked shocked at the small boy... He couldn't be older than three and he was doing THAT too???? 'Oh my God,' she thought.
But Wyatt didn't notice the look in her eyes. He just put, the teddy in her arms and said with his cute voice: "That's my bear... he'll soothe you."
°°°°°°°°°°
Tom hold his hands in front of his face, waiting for the fireball to hit him. But nothing happened. Then hesitating he opened his eyes...
'What is that?' he thought. He was outside the forcefield... actually a few yards away from the sisters. He saw how Piper got hit... Then how Wyatt appeared there... But how did he get out? He didn't understand it. Thinking about that, he saw how Wyatt began to heal his mother.
He sighed relieved. But then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Startled he turned around.
"It's ok, it's me... Leo!"
"Leo?" Tom asked still confused. "What happened? How..."
"You don't know?" Leo asked while pulling him up. Tom shook his head, while Leo pushed him behind the trees to the other two men.
The Elder couldn't help grinning: "You've shimmered out... It seems you're able to cross the forcefield."
"What?" Tom exclaimed with a low voice."
Cole nodded: "Yes you did... and that means you can bring us in..."
°°°°°°°°°°
Chris was looking worried to his grown-up mini-self, how could he be so stubborn to stay there? To have stayed when he could have gone? "Let's make this fair, Cris: You and I, and with our powers. Let him alone."
Cris smirked. "You man, do not set the rules of the game," he answered.
Christopher frowned, as he stood up slowly, and went towards Chris stepping backwards. Was he nuts? Did Cris really want to face them both with their powers? He glanced at Chris out of the corner of his eye. It seemed he had thought the same thing...
They both raised their hands at the same time to throw Cris telekinetically through the air, but Cris did the same thing, and it was them that ended up flying and crashing against the forcefield.
The demon laughed as he approached the two good versions of himself: "You really thought that I was a fool..." He shook his head in disappointment, as the two men on the ground looked at him in horror. "Try it again Chris," he said grinning evilly.
Chris stared at him, breathing heavily, and thinking of a way to destroy him once and for all, when the terrible yell of Cris made them startle.
"Try it, DAMMIT!!"
Christopher looked at Chris, nervously. Then, seeing that he would not do anything, he himself used his telekinesis.
"NO!!" Chris cried.
But it was too late. Again the power had been reflected against him, and Christopher felt the result of the strong thud against the forcefield.
Chris's instinct made him use his own rays against Cris, in revenge, but as soon as he raised his fist to attack, his enemy did the same thing and changed the direction of the rays, which hit strongly on his chest.
"Chris!!" an anguished Christopher half-ran half-crawled towards him. He had a big wound on his chest and had lost his consciousness, but he breathed.
Christopher turned to Cris, and clenched his fists. He had to do something.
Cristóbal smirked and laughed: "Finally... I got my revenge on that bastard... And now it is time to take care of the rest of the family."
Christopher stood up: "You son of a bitch... you have killed Christopher, and you're gonna pay for it."
Cris frowned: "You're not gonna trick me out again, little brat."
Of course it was a trick, but he wouldn't admit it. So Christopher stood up: "Did you really think that I would have sent him in my place?? Fool!! We just exchanged our powers!!! That was not me, you wanna kill me, but you won't... YOU WON'T!" And he jumped on him, aware that his magic was being somehow manipulated by Cris. He fought so fiercely that Cris had no chance to use his powers.
None of them noticed Tom's presence in the forcefield... nor Leo's, Cole's or Odin's.
°°°°°°°°°°
Meanwhile, Wyatt had finished healing Piper, as the sisters kept Rhashirk busy. They had been hit badly too. That demon... who the hell was he?? The Lord of Darkness... A threat for Belthazor, the Source, too... They did not have time to think, they had to do something...
But even if Wyatt knew what he didn't have to do, he had no idea of what he should do... He just knew that Rhashirk should not die. That Chris should not kill him...
"Thanks," Piper muttered, pulling Wyatt out of his thoughts.
"You're welcome..." the twice blessed said while ducking to avoid being hit by a fireball.
They rose and Piper tried again to blow Rhashirk up. And again nothing happened.
The demon smiled. Then he moved his hand and Piper and Wyatt flew through the air and crashed into the forcefield.
"We need to get you out of here," Wyatt muttered while struggling to stand up again, "you and your sisters."
Piper complained, but her son didn't listen. He just looked around, seeking for someone.
°°°°°°°°°°
While Cris was distracted, Leo and Cole had ran over to Chris. Odin and Tom stood in the back, to observe the demon and Christopher.
"What do we do?" Tom asked.
"We wait," Odin said, "maybe we'll get a chance to do something, till then we make sure that the demon will not surprise Chris, Leo and Cole."
Tom nodded. Then he suddenly felt a kind of headache, which slowly turned into the voice of Wyatt. "Tom, come over here! I need you to get the sisters out," he heard him in his mind. Confused he looked around.
°°°°°°°°°°
"Oh my God," muttered Cole, kneeling down next to the wounded Chris. Leo immediately started to heal his son.
An unbelievable long moment later Chris woke up and inhaled deeply. "What happened?" he asked.
"You were hit by your own powers," Cole remarked with a worried voice, helping him to stand up.
When Chris saw his baby-brother fighting with that demon, he wanted to run over to him, to help him. But Cole hold him back: "Buddy, he'll kill you if you jump the gun... we need a plan, a good idea, to vanquish him." Leo nodded agreeing.
Chris sighed. Then he remembered... the potions... he had still the potions in his pocket.
°°°°°°°°°°
Rhashirk was smirking evilly as he calmly approached the weary sisters and Wyatt, who had run to them as soon as he was back on his feet. It was as if the demon didn't have to be afraid of anything. "Well... I have to say that this is impressing... But I'm afraid that I don't have time for more games. Say goodbye..."
He raised his hands prepared for an imminent attack, while Piper tried once and again to blow him up. But this time, her power did not make any effect at all on him...
Wyatt covered the other two sisters with his body and called Tom again, with his mind.
"Wyatt, damn it, do something!" Paige cried, desperate.
"Mom!!!" he cried, opening his eyes widely. Rhashirk had produced a huge blast of energy which in second would kill Piper. He ran to her, in order to push her out of the way, but at that moment, Tom appeared, grabbed them both, and shimmered out, causing the energy to hit the forcefield and dissolve into nothing.
"Oh, oh..." Paige and Phoebe looked at each other, pale as a sheet of paper, as they stepped backward. Rhashirk swore, really pissed off, as he attacked both sisters, but Paige had time to orb with Phoebe to another spot inside the forcefield.
"You cannot do this forever. I'll get to you, and kill you both!" the demon said.
°°°°°°°°°°
Meanwhile, Tom reappeared outside with Wyatt and Piper, who no sooner had rematerialised, were yelling at the young boy.
"Are you crazy?? I need to go back!!" Piper exclaimed.
"Take me in there again and get Phoebe and Paige out!!" Wyatt commanded.
Tom nodded, ignoring Piper's complaints. He'd rather obey Wyatt...
°°°°°°°°°°
At the same time, in the inner forcefield, Chris was playing with the two potions nervously, as he watched the fight between the two men. Leo and Cole stood by his side, and Odin joined them, after seeing what Tom was doing outside.
"Throw them," Leo said.
Chris nodded. They would not hurt Christopher at all, the only thing that could happen was that it did not work on Cris either. He threw them to the men... The bottles broke, the liquid spread and touched both of them... But nothing happened. They did not even notice. Chris looked at Leo and Cole, anguished. He had no idea of what to do now...
At that moment, Cris was punching Christopher on the face. Once... twice... The young Halliwell could hardly breathe, could hardly think... His mind only was able to transmit a message: Use your telekinesis. He knew that this would be reflected to him, but that was the way instinct worked: He used it... and Cris flew against the forcefield, letting Christopher sit down and catch his breath.
The other four men in the prison saw it in amazement. What had happened??
"I thought he had the power to reverse our magic, to put it against us..." Chris murmured.
"The potions did that..." Cole said, seeing how Leo ran to his son in order to heal him. But Christopher rejected him with a gesture and stood up slowly .
"Whatever, brother..." he said, as Chris approached him too, "I hit him well, too... and he's knocked out, I guess. We need to finish with this son of a bitch," he said as he approached the unconscious body of Cris.
°°°°°°°°°°
Outside, Rhashirk had raised his hands for the third or fourth time, as Paige kept orbing her sister throughout the whole forcefield. Finally, when Wyatt and Tom were back, they focused on saving the girls. The twice blessed used his telekinesis on the demon, which did not work but at least distracted him, so that Tom could shimmer the exhausted sisters out. Even if he did not want to hear their yells, he had to do as Wyatt had said... He took them home.
"Bastard!" the demon cried, attacking Wyatt fiercely. "You don't see that you can't escape?? Sooner or later, you'll all die!!"
Wyatt orbed, but the attack reached him, and he fell badly wounded on the ground. He tried desperately to use his energy balls, his blast of energy, and his telekinesis, but nothing worked... Was this how he was supposed to die, then?? He saw the others in the inner forcefield, out of the corner of his eye. He needed their help, or they would find a dead Wyatt when they got out.
°°°°°°°°°°
Cole noticed what was going on with Rhashirk and Wyatt, but they needed Tom... He had to come back for them. Otherwise they could do nothing.
Leo and Odin watched silently and tense what the "twins" did. Chris had joined his mini-self, as they saw how Cris was gaining his consciousness back. "Let's try something..." Chris said. He took Christopher's hand, and made him stretch his arms. "NOW!!!"
Christopher, somehow, knew what he had to do... He just focused on the victim, who was standing up, slowly and lost. Chris did the same. Soon, the forcefield was filled with a blinding light that made Cole, Leo and Odin cover their eyes.
But all the energy was focused on Cris. The young man cried in horror and pain... and soon he was reduced to ashes.
°°°°°°°°°°
In the outer forcefield, Wyatt could happily see that the inner forcefield had been destroyed with the impact. This had somehow pushed Rhashirk to the ground when he was about to attack again.
At that moment Tom shimmered in: "Can I... oh, my God..." He opened his eyes widely, not because of what Chris and Christopher had done, but because of Wyatt's wound. He was breathing heavily. "Leo!!!" he called.
The two elders ran over to Wyatt to heal him.
°°°°°°°°°°
Cole kept looking at his nephews in awe. Was that power produced because of the union of the two selves?? But the two brothers seemed to be so calm...
"Wow," Christopher said as Chris nodded. Then he pointed at Rhashirk: "Now, him." It was clear that their power had affected him, and they knew now how to vanquish the demon...
Chris nodded. They had to destroy him. He was powerful, and already a real threat to the family. And besides all that, Chris wasn't sure if he could vanquish Rhashirk without Christopher's help. So slowly they approached the demon. He didn't know where this huge power came from, even if he had a little tiny idea... But he refused to think about this now...
°°°°°°°°°°
When the sisters and Tom had arrived at the attic, no one was there. While Piper had been complaining, Paige had sensed the other at the school. After Tom had left them again, they decided that it would be the best to join the others so Paige orbed them to the library.
When they materialised, Piper ran to Wyatt to pick him up and hug him tightly. Paige went over to Bianca, who immediately was asking what happened, and where Chris was...
Phoebe meanwhile, went over to Angela and sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Are you ok? Did the demon hurt you?"
Angela shook her head. "No... I guess I'm alright... thanks," she said hesitating.
Phoebe could feel her fears and her anger against her husband. But she also knew how much she loved him... still. She sighed relieved. Sometimes it was good to know what everybody felt. And in that case, she was sure everything would turn out to be alright... more or less.
Michael still observed his wife, worried but with eyes full of love. He wanted to talk to her, but he thought that this was surely not the right moment... But which moment would be the right one?
°°°°°°°°°°
As soon as Leo had finished the healing, Wyatt sat up and looked around. He saw his brothers approaching Rhashirk slowly. 'That's not good,' he thought and stood up. He turned to the Elders and said: "Let Tom take you and Cole out of here. I'm sure this will be over soon..."
They nodded. And Tom took the Elders hands and shimmered over to Cole, to finally leave this place.
(Chapter 10 written by Chrissy.W.x and Belén)
