Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: All right even though Piper is against the idea I am going to be referring to little Chris as 'the kid' or 'the boy' in most of the chapters to come. It's easier than saying little Chris and big Chris. Words in italics represent a flashback or a dream.
Chapter 3 Acceptance and Nightmares
"I gave you one task; just one. It was a rather simple task, something that I could have trusted to any demon in the underworld but I chose you. Why have you failed me, Necromancer?" he asked slowly circling the trembling demon who had just moments before been able to regenerate himself.
"I apologize, Master. But it was the Charmed Ones. How was I to react to them? My dominion is over the dead, not the living. And they most certainly are the living. Without one of their loved ones to reincarnate I truly could hold no sway over them," the demon explained never removing his eyes from the floor.
"I needed that boy. He was part of a much larger plan. One that I have been orchestrating for six years now. But I truly do understand your predicament. And I shall give you the opportunity to redeem yourself, when the time is right." With those words from his master the Necromancer truly smiled. He knew what the penalty was for failing his master and did not wish to suffer it himself.
"But fail me again and your worst fears will become a reality." With that the Demon of Fear shimmered away leaving the Necromancer still trembling where he stood. He stared around his lair and half expected the corpses to come to life and turn on him. How ironic that the one thing he took the most pleasure in could also become his deepest fear.
Wyatt was slightly surprised when he turned to look at the new kid and saw that he was awake and staring at him. "Hey, how long you been awake?" he asked smiling at the smaller boy.
The kid sat up quickly and backed up into the corner of the couch looking around in fear. He could remember being in the underworld and then there were people there, no witches! He was sure they were witches. And they had killed the demons that he had been with. Then he had hidden. It was just a habit. When in fear, hide. It had been ingrained into him from the time he took his first steps. If you could hide well enough they couldn't find you and hurt you.
It was strange to find himself with witches. The only times he had ever seen any of them was right before they were killed by the demons that kept him. But these witches hadn't died. They had been the ones doing the killing and they had taken him away from the demons and apparently out of the underworld.
That was another first for him too. He had heard things about the human world, but most of that had been groaning laments from the corpses that the Necromancer had revived. Those soulless beings that still had the twisted memories of their wasted lives. He had not been at all sure what was real and what wasn't about the things they had said and to be honest, he was so frightened of them that it wouldn't have mattered what they had said to him anyway.
But now he was with witches and for some reason the thought almost comforted him even though his life was now a complete unknown. Somehow he felt like maybe he belonged with them. Hadn't the Necromancer on several occasions called him 'witch brat'? Didn't that mean that he was one of them?
But still even though he knew that he some how belonged in this world there was still the terrifying fear of the unknown. He stared at the boy who had spoken to him and found that even though he wanted to open his mouth and speak it just didn't seem to want to work for him. But then again, how long had it been since he had spoken to anyone? He really had very little concept of time but he knew that he had been at least a head shorter than he was then. That had to have been a long time, didn't it?
"It's okay. No one is gonna hurt you here. Mom and the Aunts just want to take care of you," Wyatt explained seeing how skittish the boy was. "Oh, and I'm Wyatt. What's your name?"
The boy sat very still taking in what was said. The only children he had ever spent any time with at all had been demon children and honestly they had treated him almost as bad as the adult demons had. But this boy wasn't a demon. No demon had ever smiled at him like that. And he had learned early on that if a demon was smiling at you, you best run and hide because you were in for something seriously painful. But this boy's smile seemed genuine and his eyes even lit up when he did so. The boy liked that. Even though Wyatt's eyes were dark in color similar to some of the demons he had known they seemed to hold a light that was full of something that he could not describe. Something he had never felt before himself. If he had known the words happiness and joy he would have been able to describe that light but those were two words he had never heard before.
But the boy had asked him a question and he wanted to answer it. He had a name. He hadn't heard it too many times but he knew he had one. But for the life of him, he just couldn't remember it right then. So he helplessly shook his head hoping the boy would understand.
Wyatt quirked his head in confusion. "Do you have a name?" he asked knowing that surely the boy had to have had one. The boy nodded his head but shrugged his shoulders not sure how to convey that he couldn't remember it. When he saw the other boy's confusion though he frowned and it was all he could do to stop the tears of frustration that threatened to spill from his eyes. He reached up and touched his head and then his lips hoping to make the boy understand.
"You're confused," Wyatt answered for him. "And you can't talk." He wasn't so sure about that but since the boy hadn't uttered a sound yet it was a good guess, he figured.
The boy just nodded and reached up to wipe at his eyes that were threatening even harder to pour forth tears. He hated to cry. Whenever he would cry in the underworld the demons would become angry with him and beat him. He had never seen a demon cry before and he supposed that they did not cry because it was a sign of weakness. He didn't want to seem weak in front of this boy who had been nice to him so far. He growled in frustration when the first of the tears escaped his eyes anyway. He tried to swipe them away angrily and the action seemed so harsh to Wyatt as if the boy would hurt himself to stop it. "Hey, hey, don't do that. It's okay. We all cry sometimes," Wyatt tried to assure him as he grabbed the boy's hand, which had stilled at his words.
The boy stared at Wyatt in confusion. It was okay to cry? How could that be? He dropped his hand into his lap and let the tears fall waiting for the angry words or the harsh slap he had come to expect.
Wyatt didn't let go of the boy's hand as it fell to his lap and he squeezed it reassuringly. "I promise if you don't want me to say anything about it, I won't tell anyone that you were crying. Mommy tells me that even though I'm a big boy now, that it's okay to cry but I just know how much my friends would tease me if they knew that I cried sometimes. So I understand and I'll keep it our secret if you want. But don't worry so much. Mom and Dad and the Aunts wouldn't care if you cried either. They cry sometimes too. I've seen them."
This made him cry even harder. He wouldn't be punished for crying and the witches cried sometimes too. The life of a witch was certainly a lot different than what he was used to with the demons. He sat like that for a few minutes until the tears had finally dried up and he nodded at the boy who was still holding his hand.
"Do you feel better now?" Wyatt asked smiling that bright smile again. The boy just nodded as he wiped away the last of the tears. "Good. Are you hungry? Mom is cooking something really good. I can smell it. My stomach's been growling for almost an hour now."
The boy smelled the air and he too could smell something that had to be the most delicious smell he'd ever come across. He had to admit that it was making his mouth water slightly and he licked his lips. He nodded just slightly and Wyatt stood pulling him up off the couch. But then he frowned at the boy. "You need to get cleaned up a little though. Mom doesn't allow me at the table unless I've washed up really good first. Come with me. I'll get you fixed up in a jiffy."
The boy followed him and part of him was frightened. There were underground pools below that he sometimes would douse himself in when he felt disgusted by his own appearance or smell but none of the demons had ever actually mentioned him being dirty or needing to clean up. Would this boy's mother make him leave if he wasn't clean enough?
They stopped downstairs in a room that contained one small bed and lots of bright colored things that he wasn't exactly sure what they were, but he of course could not question so he just followed obediently. Wyatt found a box in his closet and started to pull out some cloths that were too small for him. "Perfect. They might be a little baggy on you, but they'll work. A bath will have to wait till later but we'll get you mostly cleaned up and then changed. You'll be passable for now."
He again followed the boy into another room and Wyatt turned on the water in the sink for him. His eyes widened at the contraption. Running water from a metal pipe was not something he had ever imagined possible. Wyatt could see the surprise in his eyes. "Wow, you really have been living one hell of a life, haven't you. It's okay. Just splash the water on your face and arms and use some of this soap. It'll take the dirt off."
The boy did as Wyatt told him and watched as Wyatt cleaned his own hands and arms. Once they were done Wyatt looked him over and decided he'd probably pass inspection for his first meal with the Halliwells.
After that they made their way to the bottom floor and into the kitchen where the witches were gathered along with a man that he hadn't ever seen before. He moved in close behind Wyatt and grasped his arm in a slight amount of fear. Wyatt looked at him and saw that he was staring at Leo. He leaned in and whispered to him. "It's okay. That's my dad. He's an Elder."
The boy wasn't sure what an Elder was but he could hear no fear in the boy's voice. "Hey, everyone," Wyatt called out waiting for them to be noticed.
All eyes were drawn to them and the boy sank even farther behind Wyatt. Piper was the first to respond. "Wyatt, hey honey. I see our new friend is awake."
"Yeah, we could smell the food and got sort of hungry," Wyatt explained.
Phoebe had come forward and was trying to get a good look at the small boy as she kneeled in front of them. "Hey, little buddy. I see Wyatt found you some cloths to wear too. You look a lot better. How do you feel?"
The boy looked at her over Wyatt's shoulder and could see that there was no malice in her eyes at all. But that didn't change the fact that he was suddenly feeling the urge to flee and find a hiding place. Phoebe's empathy kicked in full force and she could feel his fear. "It's okay, hon, you don't have anything to be afraid of here," she tried to assure him but then a thought struck her and she continued to talk. "But I'll tell you what. If you do feel frightened at times I can show you some of the places I used to hide when I was little like you. I have to admit I was always afraid of the basement myself and whenever Grams went down there I'd get scared and go hide until she'd come and find me. And to tell the truth it wasn't very long ago that I stopped being afraid of it either."
This intrigued the boy. She had admitted to being frightened herself both when she was little and just recently. He didn't think that adults were ever frightened. But apparently they could be. He just nodded letting her know that he understood her offer and appreciated it. He felt the urge to run abate slightly and moved to Wyatt's side but hadn't let go of his arm yet.
Piper joined Phoebe on the floor and smiled at him and he noticed that her smile was the same as Wyatt's and yet again he thought how much he liked it. "Well, I guess we should tell you our names. I'm Piper. I'm Wyatt's mom. This is my sister Phoebe. And the other one is my sister Paige. And he is Wyatt's daddy, Leo. We already know that you can't talk but whenever you can, maybe you can tell us your name."
The little boy nodded slightly but Wyatt spoke up for him. "From the way he was acting upstairs he doesn't really remember his name but he knows he has one."
The looks on the sister's face fell and it was as if a sad sigh overtook them all at once. It was just so pitiful what kind of life the boy had been living.
Piper didn't give voice to her thoughts though. She really didn't want to upset the boy if she didn't have to. "Well that's okay. Once you remember, you can tell us. That is if you want to stay with us. I know there are other magical families that would take you if you didn't want to stay with us. We would like you to though, but …" She didn't know what else to say. They had all been wrapped up in the fact that Chris had told them that they'd adopt the child that none of them had thought whether or not he wanted to stay with them.
It wasn't hard to see the amount of thought that was going through his young mind as a frown covered his face and his eyes seemed far away. They were asking him if he wanted to stay with them and she had said that they wanted him to. Where else would he go? Were there other witches that he could go live with? He certainly could not go back to the demons. That was out of the question. But she was giving him a choice. Did he want to stay with them or not? He had never had a choice before as to where he would live. He glanced at Wyatt though and could see the look of hope in his eyes. Then he looked at Piper and she too had that same look along with both of the other sisters. He wasn't quite sure what the look in Leo's eyes meant. It wasn't an angry look but it wasn't quite the same either.
He let a small sigh escape as he made his decision. He tried to mock the smile that he had seen on Wyatt's face but it came out very weak but still there anyway and he nodded towards Piper.
The grin on Piper's face more than doubled in size as she let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. Some small part of her, though she knew it was right to give him the choice, had been dreading the idea that just maybe he would deny them. Chris had said that they would adopt him but she wasn't sure if in Chris' timeline if they had even given him the option not to. They might have just assumed that that was what he'd wanted. But now she was sure that he wanted to stay with them and it was as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders.
She stood and reached out her hand to him. "I'm glad that's settled. Now, are you hungry? I fixed a lot of food."
He hesitated a moment and let go of Wyatt's arm reaching out and taking her hand as she led him to the table and helped him to take a seat. Everyone else took their respective seats except Leo. "Piper, I need to go talk to the other Elders. See what they can tell me."
Piper looked at him in confusion. "Didn't you hear what Chris said? They don't know anything about him."
Leo frowned slightly. He had had this conversation with them already. "He's lied before, Piper." He just couldn't trust what Chris said to be the truth. There had been too many lies and half-truths. Leo couldn't trust him even on this.
She sighed and had to admit that he was right. But this time she didn't want what he had said to be a lie. If the Elders did know something about the little boy they might take him away. "Just try to be discreet as possible. Okay?" she requested.
Leo nodded as bright blue and white orbs surrounded him and he disappeared through the ceiling.
The boy stared in awe at the spectacle. He had seen demons shimmer or flame out before but never had he seen such a beautiful display. He himself had been dozing when Paige orbed them to the Manor so he had missed that and he had yet to use his own power to orb. Wyatt could see the look of wonder on his face. "Elders, Whitelighter's and Witchlighters orb like that. Aunt Paige and I are Witchlighters, half Witch; half Whitelighter, so we can do it too."
Paige smiled at her nephew and added her own comment. "We were told that you are a Witchlighter too, kiddo. So I'm thinking that if you haven't figured out how to orb yet that you will someday soon."
A genuine smile touched the boys lips then as for the first time in his life he could remember feeling so good about something. He had no clue that he could do something like that and he couldn't wait to learn.
Piper's heart felt as if it would burst seeing the smile on the boy's face. She knew it wasn't something he probably often did but she planned on trying to make him do so a lot more often in the future.
"Ah, just where I wanted to be," Barbas' corporeal form said appearing in the middle of the busy dance floor at P3. He had thought about making himself visible as he appeared but truly did not want to draw attention, so invisible it would have to be. He quickly moved through the couples in the bar and shimmered through the wall leading into the back room of the club.
He immediately saw the person he was looking for. "Ah, still so young and innocent, almost like the smaller version of yourself," he whispered as he kneeled next the Chris' sleeping form.
If he had been awake he would have thought to question how the demon knew he was that small child but as he slumbered on Barbas smiled happily knowing all the secrets but delighted in the fact that they were his to keep until he was ready to use them to his advantage.
"But for now I am here for another reason," he whispered running his hand in front of Chris' slumbering features with the palm cupped inwards as he stared at it. "Ah, there are many, many fears in you; a veritable playground for me to enjoy. Normally I would prefer to go straight to the worst to make the killing blow, but not this time. You will suffer greatly but over time. Let's start with something small shall we?" With that Barbas' eyes closed as he fed off of the fear that he projected into Chris' dream.
He stood trembling inside the cavern door hiding from those that were searching for him. This clan of Karas demons seemed to have an overabundance of child demons and to Chris' horror they had been told upon him joining their clan that he was their pet to do with whatever they wished as long as he remained alive. He had spent the last four days hiding from the demon children.
His small frail four-year-old legs were beginning to give out on him, as he had had no chance to find food and only a small amount of water the day before. But the demons were close. Way too close to worry about the pain in his legs or the exhaustion he felt.
He was hiding just inside the Necromancer's lair and part of him feared the few corpses that were there but at least they were all dead this time. The ones that had been reanimated were the ones that he feared, but no more than he feared the Necromancer himself.
But today would not be a day for the Necromancer's torment. No, today was time for child's play. He heard the demon children's feet pounding down the corridor outside and his heart gripped in fear as the first one stuck its head into the door and caught sight of him.
He backed himself into the corner and waited for them to come for him and they did. He flung one hand out in an almost instinctual way and watched as one of the demons flew into the wall and exploded. His mouth dropped in surprise at what he'd done. Never had he showed the possibility of any powers before. But his surprise turned into utter fear as several of the other demon children screamed in anger at him and moved forward.
Barbas smiled devilishly at the whimpering noises that Chris had started to make in his sleep. Ah, such sweet joy he felt as the fear he fed off of coursed through his body as if a drug to an addict. He could see that the young man had started to thrash around in his sleep thinking he was fighting off the demon's from his nightmares, and normally most beings would soon wake from their nightmare and see that everything was fine, but not when the nightmare was orchestrated by the Demon of Fear. This was a ride Chris would have to take to the end.
Chris fought harder that day then he could ever remember fighting before but even with his new power he was no match for so many and soon he found himself in another chamber and he had been chained by one ankle to the wall as the demon's took turns whipping him with long braids of rope that had been crafted for just that purpose.
He covered his face and cried through the pain that he felt running through his small form, knowing that if any of the demons saw his tears the beating would be ten times worse.
Barbas drew back sensing that the dream was nearly over and waited for Chris to wake from it. The young man did not disappoint him as his eyes flew open and he immediately covered his head with his arms not quite awake enough to realize the dream was over but then the sounds of the nightclub and his own labored breaths were the only ones that assaulted his ears and he pulled his arms away from his face seeing the room around him.
It came back to him in a rush where he was and what he was doing there. He sat up quickly scooting into the corner of the couch and pulled his knees up to his chest as he wrapped one arm around them and rested his cheek against his other hand with his elbow supporting his arm on the back of the couch. He rubbed the side of his face a few times rocking back and forth as he stared blankly at the wall behind him trying to calm his breathing. It was working ever so slowly but he could still see the scenes from his nightmare so fresh before his eyes and he was thankful that he was alone at that moment. He was sure that if anyone had seen the petrified look on his face at that very moment that there would be no way he would have gotten away with vague explanations this time.
Barbas again smiled at what he had accomplished as he watched the young man break down before him and then he shimmered away unnoticed ending up back in his lair in the underworld. A wicked laugh of triumph cascaded around the cavern as he saw events coming together just as his new plan dictated.
A/N: All right yeah, uh huh, I know. I deserve to go to the deepest darkest pits of hell for doing that to poor little Chris and for making big Chris relive it in such a heinous way. I know. I'm horrible. I'm evil. Wait, why am I apologizing? I am evil. I've never denied it. So what are you going to do about it? Leave me all kinds of hateful reviews. I thrive on that. Yippee!!!!! Okay, maybe I do need to lay off the caffine for a bit.