FALSE MEMORIES
My first posted story here. Also my first Charmed Fanfic, although I have written fanfiction for other shows.
Disclaimer: The characters in Charmed do not belong to me. The spells in this part are borrowed from episodes of 'Charmed' with a few lines of my own added. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Summary: Loved the Piper/Leo/Chris family dynamic in Season 6 so that's when this story is based. Set after Chris-Crossed and Prince Charming. Nobody knows who Chris is yet, but they're about to find out, courtesy of an unexpected visitor from the future…
Notes: Hello – back from my holiday with a new chapter for you. All being well, I should post another part of this and also my other story 'Unrequited' at the weekend. Replies to reviews below:
Re: Martina G – Read on ;-)
Re: terra fea – no, the story hasn't ended – I hate to leave things unfinished. I was just suffering from a bit of writer's block with it, hence the big delay between posting Chapters 19 and 20. I think we're back on track now (fingers crossed) so the updates should be a bit more regular than they have been.
Re: Altaira – when I read it back after I'd posted it, I did think I might have gone slightly over the top with Chris coming up with all the ideas thing! I wanted to show that Wyatt has all the power, but Chris is the thinker. With everything he's done – coming back to the past and successfully concealing his identity from everyone for so long – he's got to have some brains - in my opinion anyway!
Re: crazyDFFgang & NothingButSarah – two new readers/reviewers – welcome aboard :-)
Re: Victorious Light – I was pretty clueless about the threat to Wyatt too until recently. I'd not really thought through that plot-point in any kind of detail beforehand, which is why progress on this story slowed down while I figured it out. However, I think I have a handle on it now, so things are flowing much better again.
And yes, I always like to put in little reminders about Future Leo being a good Dad. As I'm sure I've said before, I've always found it hard to believe that Leo would deliberately neglect his son, which was the whole reason for writing this story in the first place.
Anyway, on with the story…
Chapter 22
Mid-afternoon, the following day…
Leo sat quietly at the kitchen table, watching his wife and her sisters put the finishing touches to the two Power of Three spells. A sudden movement caught his eye and he looked up to see Chris standing in the doorway, beckoning to him. Getting to his feet, he followed his son out into the entrance hall and looked enquiringly at him.
"The more family members actually present when we do this the better, right?" Chris asked.
Leo nodded. "That's why the girls are going to summon your grandmother and great-grandmother to help."
"And wouldn't two lots of 'Power of Three' add a little extra oomph?"
Leo's blue-green eyes widened as he realised what his son was suggesting. "It's not time for Prue to cross over yet," he said.
"It nearly is though, isn't it? I mean, I've known her all my life so it can't be much longer now."
"The first time was when you were about six months old," Leo said, drawing on his other self's memory for the information. "And she wasn't exactly summoned; she kind of crossed over of her own accord."
"To save my life," Chris finished and then rolled his eyes at the astonished expression that crossed his father's face.
"Come on – I'm not stupid. Future You, Mom and the Aunts always avoided the question if any of us asked. But you also always looked towards me whenever the subject was mentioned too, so it wasn't hard to put two and two together."
Leo sighed. "Okay yes – it was to save your life, but don't go repeating that - to your Mom, Phoebe, Paige, - or Prue for that matter. There are some things that need to remain the same and this is definitely one of them. From what I understand from my future self's memories, Prue is the only one capable of protecting your baby self from this particular attack."
Chris nodded. "Don't worry; I'm not going to say anything – future consequences I know all about those."
Leo smiled. "Yeah so I recall," he joked before turning serious again. "That doesn't change the fact that it's not time yet though."
"But these are special circumstances," Chris protested. "As long as we keep our mouths shut, it can't affect anything, can it?"
Leo paused to think about it. Logic told him no, but his heart didn't want to risk it – this was his son's life after all. "She wouldn't be allowed to come even if the girls did try to summon her," he eventually replied.
"Yes but she might if I do it," Chris countered. "I'm from the future so the time issue shouldn't be a problem."
Leo shook his head in resignation – his son had an answer for everything it seemed. "I think that's what they call 'beating the system'," he said with a wry smile. "How exactly did you get so good at it?"
"I imagine that's what comes from allowing me and Wyatt to 'spread our magical wings'," Chris told him, his face splitting into a wide, Cheshire-cat grin.
"Yeah well, for god's sake, don't tell your mother that or she'll be binding your powers as soon as you're conceived."
Chris laughed heartily at that, but quickly sobered up. "There's just one possible problem," he said in a much more serious tone.
"What?"
"Do you think they can handle it?" the young witch-whitelighter asked, gesturing with his hand towards the kitchen.
Tilting his head to one side and nibbling at his bottom lip, Leo considered it for a few moments before answering the question. "Yes – I think they're ready. You can't just spring it on them unawares though. You need to warn them beforehand – Piper and Phoebe especially."
Chris nodded, turned on his heel, and went through into the kitchen intending to do just that. Leo followed closely in his footsteps.
"I think we're done," Paige said, looking up as the two men entered the room.
She glanced between her sisters, who were sitting either side of her. "So when are we going to do this?"
"Now is a good a time as any," Piper replied. "It's going to be painful whatever. Let's just get it over and done with."
"I suppose it's time to summon Mom and Grams to fill them in on the plan then," Phoebe decided, getting to her feet to go and fetch the candles that they'd need for the task.
"Umm – hang on a minute," Chris said, holding out his hand to stop her leaving. "There's something I have to discuss with you first."
Phoebe sat back down, the quizzical look on her face exactly mirroring the expressions decorating her two sisters' features.
Chris shuffled his feet uncomfortably, exchanged a quick look with his father, and then finally began to speak. "We want to give this the best chance of working, right?" he asked earnestly.
The trio of witches nodded in silent unison. "So the stronger the magic behind the power-calling spell the better," he concluded for them.
"That's why we're summoning Mom and Grams," Piper told him.
Chris nodded. "I know but I thought that maybe I could summon a little extra help."
"Like your cousins," Phoebe cut in immediately, her eyes lighting up with anticipation.
"No," Chris shook his head. "We said no more time travelling, remember?"
"Oh," Phoebe said with obvious disappointment. "Who then?"
"My other Aunt," Chris suggested in a slightly hesitant tone.
There was a long, pregnant pause, as the three women first looked confused before it dawned on them what he meant.
"The 'Power of Three' twice over would add some extra kick," Paige eventually said, not so emotionally affected by the idea as her two elder sisters, having never known Prue personally.
"They said it wasn't time yet though," Piper said, looking over at Leo, her expression desperately sad, yet oddly hopeful as well.
Her husband nodded. "I don't think that will matter if Chris summons her," he told her.
"And it won't affect anything?" she asked, throwing a worried look at their son, who was waiting on tenterhooks for their verdict.
Leo shook his head. "No, I don't think so – just as long as no one mentions anything about the future - other than what we're trying to do here that is."
"What do you mean? You don't think so?" Piper prompted, not fully satisfied with his answer.
"Provided everyone sticks like glue to Chris' future consequences rule, I'm positive it's safe," the Elder clarified for his concerned wife.
"And I'm sure even the more loose-tongued among us," he added with a faint smile at Phoebe, "Wouldn't dream of doing anything to risk their family's safety."
"You know I won't, Piper," Phoebe quickly assured her sister.
Piper nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "And what about…? Can you handle this?"
"Yeah, yeah I think I can," Phoebe said softly. "It'll be hard, but this is for Wyatt, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," her sister replied with a heavy sigh. She drew in a steadying breath and nodded at her son. "All right – you can try to summon her."
Chris let out his unconsciously held breath. "It gets easier with time," he told his mother quietly.
"What does?"
"Being around a dead loved one," he replied, his liquid green eyes holding her gaze captive.
Piper got to her feet, moved around the table, and reached up to cup his sad, reflective face between her hands. "I'm not leaving you this time round, okay?" she said firmly. "We're going to save your brother and everything is going to be as it should be."
Chris nodded. "I hope so," he said softly, before making a conscious effort to put aside the sudden wave of grief that had overwhelmed him.
"I think the attic is the best place to do this," he said, his voice sounding much stronger. "Especially as it holds a particular significance as far as magic in this house is concerned."
Nobody could fault his logic, so they all made their way upstairs to the attic, stopping off at the nursery on the way to collect Wyatt.
"You're calling on the Power of the entire Halliwell line," Leo told his wife as he pushed open the door to their eldest son's bedroom. "Wyatt is part of that."
"But he's only a baby," Piper protested.
"A baby with a whole lot of power," Leo reminded her, lifting a sleepy Wyatt from his cot.
Chris looked at his brother, his eyes contemplative. "It seems ironic that he should help to save himself," he remarked, "But I suppose it's kind of right too. It's not as if he asked for this to happen; he deserves some sort of personal justice, I guess."
"Which you should remember when you go back to the future," Leo told his son gravely.
"I'm not going to hold a grudge, Dad, I promise. Maybe if I hadn't grown up with the real Wyatt it'd be different, but I separated the two versions of him in my head a long time ago. I had to in order to survive in my world without going completely crazy. I'm fighting to save my brother here, not the evil tyrant who terrorises the future. As long as I remember that, all of the bad stuff I can cope with."
Leo nodded and reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "All right – let's get on with saving your brother then."
Once they reached the attic, Paige and Phoebe immediately set about positioning candles in a roughly circular pattern, while Piper followed in their wake, lighting the wicks with a burning taper.
"So who first?" Chris asked, once the summoning circle was ready.
"Mom and Grams, and then Prue," Piper decided.
Chris nodded and stood to one side as his Mom and her sisters summoned their relatives from the beyond.
"What now?" Penny asked irritably, stepping out of the circle of candles with her daughter. "I was busy."
"Too busy to help save your great-grandson?" Piper quickly retorted.
Penny's sharp attitude immediately softened. "Of course not," she said. "What is it you want our help with?"
"I'll tell you when everyone gets here," Piper replied, before swallowing hard and nodding at her youngest son.
Chris moved forward to stand in front of the circle of flickering candles. Willing their subterfuge to work, he crossed his fingers behind his back, fixed a picture of his eldest Aunt in his mind, and recited the summoning spell in a strong, clear voice.
"Hear these words, hear my cry,
Spirit from the other side.
Come to thee, I summon thee,
Cross now the great divide."
A swirling mass of white lights immediately filled the circle, then cleared to reveal the filmy form of Prue Halliwell standing in the centre of the attic. Behind him, he heard Piper and Phoebe's sharp intakes of breath, as well as Penny and Patty's shocked gasps.
Prue's mouth fell open in astonishment as she quickly took in her surroundings. "Where…? How did you…?" she started to ask, but broke off as her gaze landed on Chris.
"Hey Aunt Prue," he said with a little wave of his hand and watched with amusement as her eyes widened with further amazement.
"Girls – this is forbidden," Penny admonished her granddaughters once she'd recovered her temporarily lost voice.
"And of course you never broke the rules, did you Grams?" Prue said with heavy sarcasm, as she stepped out of the circle of candles and became corporeal.
"That isn't the point."
Prue laughed and turned to address her nephew. "Chris I take it?" she asked, one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Last time I checked, yeah," he replied with a cheeky grin.
"So you're the one," she murmured softly, her penetrating eyes committing his features to memory.
"I'm the one who what?" Chris challenged, momentarily forgetting that this wasn't the ghostly Aunt of his childhood – not yet anyway.
"Chris…," Leo quickly warned.
"Sorry," the dark-haired witch-whitelighter said contritely, shooting an abashed look at his Aunt.
Prue however, smiled warmly at him. "I wasn't going to tell you anything anyway," she declared before turning to face her awe-struck sisters. "So are you just going to stand there?" she asked bluntly.
This immediately broke through Piper and Phoebe's trance-like states, and they each rushed forward to hug their sister at the same time. Nonplussed, Prue wrapped her arms around both of them as they clung tightly to her, their tears dampening her skin through the material of her top. Finally, she pushed them gently away and turned to Paige, her hands outstretched.
"Hey little sister," she said in greeting.
Paige hesitantly reached out and took her hands. "Hey big sister," she returned, not really knowing what to say.
Prue squeezed her fingers and shot her a knowing smile. "Weird huh?"
Paige relaxed. "Yeah – I guess you could say that," she said. "I hope I'm a worthy replacement," she added, a few insecurities escaping nonetheless.
"Worthy? Yes. Replacement? No," Prue replied, her expression growing suddenly serious. "I'd say we're the Power of Four now, wouldn't you?"
"Works for me," Paige agreed with a smile and a nod of her head.
"So who's going to tell me what we need the Power of Four for?" Prue demanded, looking around at her other sisters, who had finally managed to compose themselves.
"And you thought Piper was bossy," Phoebe commented slyly to her youngest sister.
Paige laughed and the slight tension in the room broke. This she could handle – being the fourth sister rather than a replacement third. It wasn't necessary for her to live up to her Prue's reputation after all; she could just be herself and still have a proper place in the family. While she was absorbing this suddenly realised truth, Leo bent and retrieved a cooing Wyatt from his playpen and crossed to stand in front of Prue, his little son cradled in his arms.
"This is what we need the Power of Four for," he told her.
"Hey Leo," Prue said, drawing her former whitelighter into an affectionate one-arm hug before taking her baby nephew from him. "Hey little guy! Look at you!"
"He's so beautiful," she said to Piper as she smoothed down Wyatt's blond curls and smiled down into his cherubim face.
"I can't believe you're a Mom," she said. "Boys too," she added, smiling at Chris with a teasing twinkle in her eye. "I guess that's what comes from breaking the rules and marrying your whitelighter, huh?"
"This family needed some additional male representation if you ask me." Chris replied drolly.
"I suppose this summoning was your idea, young man," Penny asked sternly.
Chris shrugged. "Some times you have to bend the rules for the greater good – isn't that the family legacy that you passed on to us all?"
Prue laughed. "He's got you there, Grams."
"He's got a smart mouth, you mean," Penny retorted, "And a reckless nature by all accounts."
"Which of course isn't a Halliwell trait at all," Leo remarked glibly, making them all laugh – including a reluctant Penny.
"All right," she said. "Is someone going to tell us what this is all about?"
Piper quickly explained the ambitious plan to her three deceased relatives, who all look suitably stunned at the prospect.
"Let me see that," Penny demanded, holding out her hand for Melinda Warren's amulet. Chris handed it over and she examined it with avid interest.
"Well – it certainly seems to be the genuine article," she concluded. "I guess you girls had better update the Book."
"It's in the Book of Shadows?" Paige asked curiously, moving over to the bookstand to have a look. Sure enough, she found it a few pages in.
"Melinda Warren's amulet," she read the script beneath the picture. "Believed to have magnified her powers. Passed onto her daughter Prudence and down through future generations until it was reportedly stolen by an upper level demon, named Dracken, in 1821. Only a true descendant of the Warren line can unlock its power. It is useless in the hands of anyone else – demon, warlock and witch alike. Current whereabouts unknown."
"Until now," Penny said, holding up the pendant so that it caught the light.
"Until you guys find it in two year's time, you mean," Chris corrected. "I'm pretty sure it'll disappear again when I go back to the future."
"Well we have it now – so let's get this show on the road," Prue said, taking charge of the situation. "You got the spell?" she asked her sisters.
"Yeah." Paige brandished a piece of paper. "I just need to modify it a bit," she said, swiftly crossing out the word 'three' and replacing it with 'four.' "Okay, I think we're ready."
Penny handed the amulet to Prue, who laid it across her upturned palm with the chain dangling from the ends of her fingers. Then, with Penny and Patty standing either side of them, the reunited sisters gathered together in a tight huddle and began to recite the spell, which was a modification of the enchantment that Penny had used for Wyatt's wiccaning several months before:
"We call forth from space and time,
Matriarchs from the Halliwell line.
Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends,
Our family spirit without end."
Filmy, indistinct figures began to appear as the Charmed One's combined voices echoed around the attic, rising in volume with each line of the spell.
"Lend your powers to us sisters four,
Unite in this charm and help us learn more."
Chris gasped as something shifted deep inside him, and he watched, mesmerised, as white and blue lights began to stream from his fingertips towards the necklace in Prue's hand. Glancing to one side, he saw the same thing happening to his brother. Wyatt was looking at the sparkling illuminations with wide, astonished eyes, his tiny mouth formed into a perfect 'O'.
Gradually the room began to fill with a veritable rainbow of twinkling lights as their ancestors' power streamed towards the amulet, imbuing it with magical energy. The triquetra pendant began to glow brighter and brighter until they were forced to close their eyes to shut out its dazzling radiance. The musical tinkling sound that accompanied this process swelled to a rapid crescendo and then, all of a sudden, there was complete and utter silence.
Chris cautiously opened one eye and saw that the ghostly forms of his ancestors had vanished. Melinda Warren's necklace lay dormant in a stunned Prue's hand, but he could feel the immense power emanating from it from several metres away.
"Whoa! That was some spell!" he exclaimed, voicing what they were all thinking.
Paige forcibly shook herself out of her shock. "So let's find out whether it's enough, shall we?" she said, pulling a second piece of paper from the back pocket of her jeans and unfolding it. Her three elder sisters nodded in agreement and bent their heads together once more to cast the second spell:
"In this night and in this hour,
We call upon the ancient power.
We, the heirs of the Halliwell line,
Wish to open a window in space and time.
Use this charm to show us tonight,
Why the Twice-Blessed Child turned away from the light."
Chris watched with baited breath as a beam of light emerged from the pendant and projected a hollow circle of yellow onto the panelled wall in front of him. It widened until it was about the size of a portable television screen and, if he squinted, he could just make out a blurry picture inside of it. However, after hovering in mid-air for a few brief seconds, the circle of light suddenly emitted a sharp pop and immediately shrunk back to the size of a pinprick before disappearing completely.
"Dammit!" he swore, sending a large vase smashing into the far wall with his telekinesis. He slumped onto the dilapidated sofa and tipped his head back against the cushions, looking up at the ceiling. "It should have worked," he said dejectedly. "Why does everything I try always lead to a big, fat nothing?"
Nobody answered him; they were all struggling with their own disappointment – except for Prue, who was looking thoughtfully at the amulet in her hand. "Maybe it only works properly if the right person casts the spell," she said slowly.
"What do you mean? It's a Power of Three spell," Piper snapped back in obvious frustration.
"No Piper, it isn't," her elder sister replied calmly. "We're not the heirs of the Halliwell line anymore, are we? Your children are. And this amulet belongs to you, right?" she asked her nephew.
Chris stared at her. "But I can't…"
"Don't be silly, boy, of course you can," Penny cut in sharply. "You're a Halliwell, aren't you?"
"Yes, but my power doesn't come close to matching that of the Power of Three, even with Melinda's amulet."
"Yours and your brother's power combined must do though," Patty pointed out to her grandson.
"But Wyatt can't even talk yet!" Chris protested.
"He doesn't need to, Chris," Leo said. "He just needs to have hold of the amulet while you cast the spell."
Chris looked dubious, still not entirely convinced.
"It's worth a try at least, isn't it?" His father prompted. "Or is it your policy to give up at the first hurdle?"
"If it was, I wouldn't be here today," Chris told him.
"My point exactly."
Chris's lips quirked up into a small smile. "All right, I'll give it a go," he said, getting to his feet and taking his brother from his father's arms.
Prue handed him the amulet and he dangled it in front of Wyatt, who immediately made a grab for the shiny object, catching the pendant between his tiny hands with a delighted squeal.
"Okay bro, hold on tight," Chris instructed and began to speak the words of the spell in a calm, measured tone:
"In this night and in this hour,
We call upon the ancient power.
We, the heirs of the Halliwell line,
Wish to open a window in space and time.
Use this charm to show us tonight,
Why the Twice-Blessed Child turned away from the light."
Chris felt the amulet vibrate and its power buzzed through his veins as the window in time slowly began to open once again. Much to his delight and relief, this time it widened to the size of a large wide-screen TV, bringing the picture inside into sharp focus. They were looking in on a bedroom that Chris instantly recognised as his older brother's.
"Is this the right time?" Piper queried urgently.
"Umm – I think so," Chris replied. "It looks about right. I won't know for sure though until…"
He broke off as the door suddenly banged open and a blond, teenage boy strode purposefully into the room that was projected onto the attic wall. Chris let out his breath in a rush at the familiar sight of his sixteen-year-old brother.
"Yep – this is the right time…"
To be continued…
P.S. – I've been thinking about buying the Charmed DVDs but haven't yet, so it's been a long time since I've seen an episode with Prue in it. I'm therefore working from my extremely hazy memory of earlier seasons, so I don't know how well she is 'in character.'