Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed world belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Wow, everyone really seemed to enjoy that last chapter. I love that. I just hope everyone likes this one as well. It's not gonna be a pleasant one, for sure.
Chapter 13: I Made a Promise
Once he appeared he stared around the underground chamber and felt fear piercing every inch of his soul. He could see the Necromancer standing next to a stone table and little Chris was kneeling on the table in front of him with an Athame to his throat. The small child was crying and to Chris' astonishment was calling for his brother to save him. This wasn't at all how things had happened the last six times. He shouldn't be talking to anyone yet.
Wyatt was standing in the middle of the room with his shield up surrounded by dozens of undead beings. He had nowhere to turn and couldn't move any further forward towards his little brother with the undead beings pressing in on his shield. They could not breach it but the sheer mass of them were holding Wyatt back anyway.
Chris felt as if his legs were paralyzed by the sight. This was the stuff of his nightmares and something that he found almost impossible to face no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise.
The others orbed in behind him and he heard gasps from all three of the women. Piper immediately threw her hands up to blast the undead creatures surrounding her oldest son but was stopped by the Necromancer's voice. "Ah, ah, ah. If you want your son to live, you'll leave my pets alone." She stared at the demon that she thought she had vanquished weeks ago and saw the deadly look in his eyes and the terrified look in her youngest son's face. Those two things combined forced her to lower her hands slowly. She could hear the pitiful crying coming from her youngest son as he was forced to live out the worst scenario imaginable to his young mind and it threatened to rip her heart apart. "Much better. My master told me to expect the Charmed Ones and their pet Elder, but he never mentioned a boy and a Whitelighter. Never figured him to get anything like this wrong, but what does it matter if I eventually get all your corpses anyway?"
"Fat chance, demon scum," Paige called out.
Chris finally managed to find his voice again after hearing his aunt's sarcastic quip. It reminded him of the fact that he was no longer a child and far from helpless at the time. "He's right about one thing. This has never happened before," he said only loud enough for those behind him to hear him.
"What hasn't?" Piper asked also lowering her voice.
"Wyatt orbing down here. I gave him a little push to try to keep the sibling rivalry down a bit when the kid first showed up. I guess he was able to form a bond with his brother quicker this time than he ever did before. That must be why he could sense him when none of you could." Chris was explaining what had happened to them as he figured it out himself a little surprised that he hadn't ever thought to take Wyatt to little Chris. It was iffy and dangerous but there was actually a possibility that they could save both of them at least.
"Did he say his Master?" Leo asked looking nervously at the undead creatures that surrounded his son. He knew that Wyatt was safe for the time being at least, but they were still at a standstill in regards to his youngest son. "He's not the one orchestrating this?"
"No, I wish he was. He's a lot easier to vanquish than his Master is." With that Chris turned halfway around knowing that they wouldn't let any of the undead attack him while his back was turned. He'd have to tell them about Barbas no matter how much the thought of the foul demon disturbed him and he wanted to see their reactions to the revelation himself to gauge whether or not the sisters would be able to face the Demon of Fear again.
"Yeah, I don't think that's such a good thing, Chris," Phoebe said still looking at him in some worry. She couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible was gonna happen to him very soon. Actually sooner than she'd ever dreamed though.
Just as Chris opened his mouth to mention the name of the Demon of Fear, the demon himself appeared directly behind him. "No need to introduce me, Christopher, I'll do it for you." With those words Barbas thrust an Athame into Chris' back and then pulled it out as he stepped backwards pushing Chris forward towards the group gathered there.
"Chris!!!" Phoebe screamed feeling the pain coursing through her body as Chris stumbled forward a look of anguished shock on his face.
Leo and Piper each grabbed one side of him as his knees began to buckle. They all three sunk to the floor and Leo turned Chris over so he was facing up, leaning back against Piper and as she pulled her hand out from under him it was covered in bright red blood. "Oh my god, Leo. Hurry. Heal him," Piper said panic in her voice. She had seen the young Witchlighter injured before and never had such a fearful reaction but something about his blood staining her hands made it seem all the more real and frightening and the fact that his attacker was Barbas actually made the fear press in so much more on her, not because Barbas was causing it but because of the fact that she had nearly lost two of her sisters to that particular demon before.
Barbas had backed away a few feet further and was admiring the Athame clenched in his hand and the way the firelight in the cavern made the blood on the blade shimmer before him. "Go ahead and try to heal him, Elder, but I'm afraid it will do you no good. Myself and one of your own, who shall remain nameless at this time, have jointly blessed this blade. I have been holding onto it for seven long years now waiting for this moment knowing it would come. I was actually quite surprised to see that it would take place here instead of at your home but logistics matter little to me as long as the outcome remains the same, as it always has."
Even through the pain Chris was suffering the demon's words still reached his clouded mind. "How do you know what has happened before?" he breathed out through clenched teeth even as Leo tried and failed to heal his wound.
"Ah, silly boy, did you think your nightmares these past weeks were just horrible childhood memories brought to light by them finding the young lad? Not quite. I must say that the quality of fear in your night terrors is way above what I am used to from pitiful humans and the average everyday witch. My feedings have been way above par recently and for that I must thank you," The look of complete gluttonous pleasure upon the demon's face disgusted them all. "But imagine to my surprise to find visions of the future and of the past six times that your counterparts have come to this time. You are an open book to me, young one. I know everything there is to know about you. Your secrets, your fears, which ironically go hand in hand. Honestly I know more about you than you even do yourself. Even that little nightmare you had this morning. Even though I have to admit that one was pulled from another source. The Seer really can be of use when the right motivation is used."
The Seer? Now it made sense. Why hadn't Chris realized that she was working for the demon? If Chris was honest with himself he would have to admit that the demon's words did not surprise him whatsoever. He had halfway been suspicious of the nightmares himself but that no longer made any difference. All that mattered was getting Wyatt away from the demon before he could take him from them.
The others though were thinking about the demon's words. They all knew that Chris had been suffering from nightmares for weeks now but none had known exactly how they could stop them and honestly they hadn't actually tried to help him with them anyway and that fact made them all feel just a little bit guilty at their actions. Nightmares brought on by the Demon of Fear were more dangerous than most of them could ever imagine.
But Phoebe had caught onto something else that was said. "Wait, counterparts, what does that mean?"
Chris swallowed a little harder, but did not answer. But Barbas wasn't going to let it go at that. "Oh, I'm sorry. He didn't tell you, did he? The other six versions of him that have traveled to this time before he did, that is. The ones that failed your son. He had to make up for their mistakes now didn't he? Someone had to be responsible for their actions now didn't they?"
All three of the sisters looked questioningly at Chris. "You mean it wasn't you that came back before. Just some other version of you, but how?" Paige asked feeling a little guilty about everything they had accused him of.
Chris knew he had to answer that or Barbas would find a way to twist the situation to his own advantage. "Each of the last six times that a Chris Perry has come back through time there was always a younger version of him out there somewhere who was sharing his magic, his emotions, and his memories with him." Chris had to pause as his breathing became more labored by his injury. He knew his time would soon be running out. "So that younger version always grows up and does the same as the one before. He travels through time and tries to save Wyatt. And each time he has failed. Last time around I was that younger version, and I saw it all happening, so I've done what I was destined to do."
"And the vision of you betraying Wyatt… was that version not actually you," Piper asked realizing that they had probably placed the blame on the wrong person.
Chris was about to answer that but Barbas interrupted his words. "Ah, but only Chris and I know the true answer to that question, but I think it's for the best that it stays between you and me." Barbas really didn't want them to forgive him. It was so much better when they hated him.
Leo wondered what that was supposed to mean. "Or was the vision of something that was to come. Something that was changed when Wyatt decided to orb down here?" He was not quite yet ready to let go of the anger he felt for Chris. But he had also caught onto another part of the demon's previous statement that did surprise him. "Did you say that an Elder was involved with this plan of yours? If you did, I'm afraid you've lost any belief you might have been trying to gain from me."
Piper and Chris both snorted at that statement and the sound surprised Leo, as they sounded so similar to each other. He looked to Piper and she adopted a defensive look. "What? Elders aren't perfect."
"Amen to that," Chris bit out under his breath still clenching his teeth as he attempted to force back the pain.
"Believe what you wish, Elder. It matters little now anyway. The Elder that was involved has left us for parts unknown," Barbas answered offhandedly.
Piper honestly had had enough of all of this. "What will it take for us to walk away from here with both our sons intact and Chris healed?" she asked ready to make a deal with the devil himself if she had to. Chris turned his head slightly so he could see Piper's face surprised that she had actually included him in that statement. He couldn't help the feeling of elation he felt knowing that she would actually care enough to try to save him too, but he squashed the feeling as fast as it had appeared knowing that he couldn't let himself get caught up in his feelings for her. That was one thing that at the moment he was very tempted to do. He was dying and he knew there was nothing stopping that fact but the feel of her strong arms wrapped around him and the smell of the lilac soap she always used brought back too many memories of better times gone by and he wished that his last moments on earth could be spent reveling in these simple things that meant more to him than anything else he could ever imagine.
But he wouldn't be allowed any such thing as he heard Barbas' voice echo through the chamber again. "Ah, alas, you can't have it both ways I fear. As far as the two youngsters go it seems as if it will have to be one or the other. You must choose the lesser of two evils. On one hand an evil son to fear or on the other hand a dead son to mourn. As far as this one, well I'm afraid his time on this earth is limited no matter what any of you do?"
Piper's face turned pale at his words and she stared at both her sons and knew she could never make that kind of decision, and then she looked down to Chris, who didn't even flinch at the words that pronounced his own death. He had told them that he was trying to take the decision out of their hands and part of her wanted to thank him for the act for one second. She hadn't realized how horrible it would feel to actually have that decision set before her. "I can't decide," she whispered pain coursing though her heart.
Chris looked away from those pain filled eyes and sought Leo's. He could see the wheels turning in the Elder's head as he tried to figure a plan of action out. But then Leo opened his mouth and the words he spoke came out as a growl. "I won't doom either of my sons to your sick deeds."
Chris wanted to smile at that statement. How ironic it was that this one time around, that Leo had managed to come to love his younger self just as much as he did his own biological son, was also the time that he hated the grown version of Chris the most. How completely and utterly unfair it was, but it was as it was and there was no turning back now. "There is a third… choice," Chris said stuttering from the pain and weakness he felt.
Leo looked to him and Chris continued softly. "An enraged Elder… can sometimes be even more… deadly than a Charmed One."
Leo looked down at the young man slowly dying before him and understood his words and what they meant. Elders were gifted with a power that Leo hadn't even once tapped into before but he knew of it. It was destructive and devastating to any being they used it upon, whether human, witch, or demon. But in his understanding the power was set off by strong angry emotions, emotions that were normally not displayed by typical pacifistic Elders and Leo wasn't even sure he would be able to use them.
But Chris knew. He had seen Leo use the power in his memories of other trips to this timeline. The Elder had been forced to use it to save the sisters and the younger child from the undead beings that were now before them in every time before that he had traveled back. "You have it in you," he whispered praying that Leo would believe him. "Just draw on… the fear of losing your son... Get angry."
"Ah, is the hero trying to convince you to use your powers on me, Elder?" Barbas asked his voice full of fake pity. "I must commend him for facing death so bravely. Personally I would have preferred crying and begging for mercy, but I will be satisfied as long as he perishes."
Leo listened to the harsh uncaring words of the demon and felt the anger billowing inside him as if it were a flame fed by pure turpentine. "Do you want to die today, Monster?"
Barbas howled in laughter at that. "I know the hero is willing to sacrifice your son for his cause but I didn't think you'd go for it so readily," he answered once the laughter had died some.
Leo looked to his youngest son and felt as if ice water flowed through his veins as he deflated not prepared at all to risk the young life he had grown to love so dearly. He looked down to Chris and shook his head. "I can't," he whispered almost apologetically.
Chris sagged realizing that he could never force Leo to cooperate with his plan and yet again all was lost. He would once again be doomed to repeat this life to save his brother and more than likely he would again find himself dying, afraid and feeling alone among those that he loved most in the world. He wasn't sure he could do this again though. It became so much harder each time. Was there no way to salvage any of it? He had to try. "You have too… Wyatt's more important… You have to save him… Forget the other one. He doesn't really matter." Chris couldn't look at his younger self as he said those words. It was hard enough to feel the pain and betrayal that they caused across the mental link that they shared without seeing that look upon his face.
Another pitiful cry came from the stone table and Chris found himself wishing that his younger self had never uttered a sound. He was not making this easy on them at all.
Leo heard the cry though and it caused his heart to constrict as he imagined losing the son that had made that sound. He shook his head. "I can't forget him, Chris. He means too much to me," Leo said as tears started to stream from his eyes.
Chris saw this and it hurt even more to see his father showing emotions for the child that would someday become him. Everything Chris had wanted for his younger self was coming to him in spades this time around but now was the wrong time for it. Now when he needed his father not to care for him was when he showed the most heartfelt emotions. He had to stop this. He had to focus Leo on Wyatt. So he gathered all the strength and courage he had left to speak without stuttering and put as much force in his words as he possibly could. "He's not even your child, Leo. He's just a stray that your wife picked up in the underworld. Your real son needs you to be strong and save him."
Angry words started flying around the cavern from all directions. "He is not a stray," Piper said nearly angry enough to drop Chris where he was but she refrained knowing the damage it could cause.
"Chris, please, you don't mean that," Phoebe called sinking against the wall behind her feeling the weight of emotions crushing against her from all sides.
Paige shook her head at the notion that the younger boy didn't mean anything to them. "He means the world to us, Chris. You can't be serious."
"You're wrong, Chris. He's just as much my son as Wyatt is," Leo said softly almost to himself.
Barbas gleefully listened to all of the comments and decided that it was time to bring the fear in the room up another notch. "Ah, Christopher, me thinks your ploy to convince them to sacrifice one for the other just isn't working out so well. I could help you with that though. Do you think they'd be more willing if they truly knew who he is and who he is to become?"
Chris had still been reeling from the effort it had taken to speak before but Barbas' words brought his full attention back to the present. "Shut up, demon," he hissed.
"Ah, then again, they might just see him in a different light if they know that he will eventually die anyway to save his brother no matter what the outcome of today might be," Barbas said again instilling false pity into his words.
Piper's hand flew to her mouth as a sob escaped it at the demon's words. Was her son truly doomed to die no matter what they did to save him? "No, no, no!" she called out her voice almost choked with sobs.
"You bastard, stop this!" Chris said raising his voice and trying to sit up no matter how weak he felt. The demon was so close to revealing everything to them and Chris felt his heart clenching in fear of that ever happening. "Leave it alone."
Barbas just cackled at the display before him. "Ah, now your greatest fear comes to light, doesn't it, boy? I would think that out of all the horrors you have seen and experienced in your young life that this secret you keep would hold very little sway in the arena of fears. But not for you. No, them learning your secret holds more fear for you than all the monsters in the world. And with your fear you feed me. I can feel it pouring from you like a waterfall."
Chris sat helplessly surrounded by the fear that the demon was permeating him with. Barbas was right. No matter what he faced in his life the idea of facing them with the knowledge that he was their son was more frightening to him than any demon or undead being could ever imagine being. Every part of him felt secretly that if they knew who he truly was everything would fall apart. It would affect every aspect of his younger self's future, and he feared how devastating it would be for him. Chris' greatest fear was that they eventually would learn to see him as the young man they had all come to hate in this timeline and that would lead to the future rejection of a child that they all claimed to love in this time. And rather than face that possibility, Chris would take death over it any day for both he and his younger counterpart.
Wyatt couldn't believe Chris was doing this. He was trying everything in his power to doom his own existence but he wasn't about to let it happen no matter how hard Chris might be pushing things in that direction. No matter what he had to do he'd be leaving the underworld that day with his little brother. So knowing that the demons were distracted by the conversation happening behind him Wyatt quickly dropped his shield and then orbed behind the Necromancer. The sound of twinkling orbs though caught the attention of everyone in the room and all eyes were drawn to him, including the Demon of Fear's.
The Necromancer didn't realize where the child had gone to though, which turned out to be his one fatal flaw as Wyatt used the new power he had discovered not so long ago blinking his eyes and then watched as the demon before him burst into flames.
Barbas saw his opportunity though and his form began to flame to the other side of the room to grab the child he wanted.
"Leo, now!" Chris called seeing their chance to end this. Leo's hands flew up automatically with the rage and fear he felt fueling his need to protect his children. Bright streaks of electricity flew from his hands striking the demon before he could fully flame out and knocking him to the floor.
"Wyatt, take your brother home," Piper called seeing their opportunity to flee.
The undead creatures surrounding them, lost without their master, began to push in towards them ready to strike. Piper's hands flew up as she started to blast the creatures to bits as she watched in relief as her oldest son grabbed his little brother's hand and they orbed away. The other two sisters struck out also destroying more of the creatures that seemed aimlessly lost.
Chris watched as the events unfolded before him. He had no strength left to help defend them and shortly after Wyatt and little Chris orbed away he slid sideways to the floor next to where Piper was kneeling and closed his eyes waiting for it to all be over.
Piper had her hands full and was unable to catch Chris as his body slumped to the floor but she knew that he had very little time left and they needed to get him out of there. "Leo, we have to get Chris back to the Manor," she called to her husband as he continuously struck the demon with his electric attack.
Leo lost his concentration for only a moment as he glanced at Chris and Barbas took the opportunity to flame his damaged body away from there and to his own underground lair, which to Leo's dismay was sense proof. Leo cursed bitterly that he hadn't been able to finish the demon off but realized that they had much greater concerns at the moment so he bent placing one hand on Piper and the other on Chris and orbed them away from the cavern and into the Manor's attic.
Wyatt and his brother stood to one side and they could see that Wyatt had erected his shield around them both and that the younger one was wrapped in his brother's arms and was crying on his shoulder. "It's okay now. They'll fix everything. I promise," Wyatt was whispering to the distraught child.
Leo reached down and picked Chris' unmoving body up and laid him on the couch rolling him over to see the wound on his back. His hands reached out again trying to use his healing touch. After several seconds of nothing the wound began to slowly heal, too slowly for Leo's liking though.
Paige and Phoebe also had orbed in right behind them and were watching in fear as Leo's brow furrowed in worry. The wound itself healed but left behind an angry red welt that was inflamed and hot to the touch. Chris moaned as Leo rolled him to his side so the wound wouldn't touch anything and he could face them. "Chris, the wound healed but something is still very wrong about it," Leo said placing one hand on the young man's forehead and pulled it back as if the heat he felt burned his very skin.
Piper crossed over to her sons and after Wyatt lowered his shield she gathered both of them into her arms as she tried to sooth her youngest son's tears. "Mommy, I don't want to die," the young boy said clinging to his mother as the sobs wracked his body.
Piper sucked in her breath for the first time hearing her son utter real words. And what words those were. She wanted to cry right along with him but knew she had to reassure him. "You aren't gonna die, Peanut. I promise you. We are going to keep you as close to us as possible and you'll be safe from now on."
This did not seem to allay the young boy's sobs though and he grasped her even tighter as he buried his face in her hair. Wyatt knew that his brother wasn't actually referring to himself. The link between both younger and older versions of him was causing the boy a lot of confusion as he felt his older self slipping away from them and it felt as if it was he who was dying. But now that Wyatt had his little brother back he wasn't so quick to reveal any of this to them. He had after all promised him that he would keep the secret as long as the older version of Chris was in their time. So instead of speaking he just wrapped his arms around his little brother and his mother and prayed that they somehow could fix what was wrong with the older Chris.
Chris could see what his pain was doing to his younger self and he desperately forced a barrier down on the link between them, not wanting the child to experience what was happening to him. He then realized that every time in the past when he had traveled back in time they had shared the same link and every time he had shut it down so his younger self would not remember. That was why he never could remember which demon had taken Wyatt. This time around though, Barbas had given him those memories back in the form of a nightmare using the Seer's visions to do so. This time he wondered if he had waited too long to severe the link between he and little Chris. His younger self had seen so much and would remember so much. Maybe too much. But he couldn't change that now. All he really had left to do was to die. But just maybe this time Wyatt would not turn evil and there would be no need for his younger self to come back and save them. Wasn't it all worth it if that was the case? Leo was talking to him but somehow he seemed so far away but Chris knew he had to respond. "Athame, cursed," he whispered not feeling up to saying anymore.
"I know that, Chris. But how do I break the curse?" Leo asked hoping that somehow Chris would know.
Chris' face shifted so he could look at Leo and for one moment he thought he saw a flicker of real concern there but he knew he had to be imagining it. "Can't," he finally answered and let his eyes again settle on the vision of his mother holding his younger self, comforting the small child as she had done with him so many times in his past. He sighed deeply wishing for a moment that he were that child again.
Phoebe sunk to her knees before him and reached out one hand taking his. His skin was so warm to the touch as the fever of the cursed wound raged through his body. "Chris, did this ever happen in any of your other times here?If so you'd know how we broke it before woudn't you?"
Chris reluctantly turned his head away from the vision he had been memorizing and looked at his empathic aunt. Did it really matter? They didn't know that it was a useless effort. Only he knew what it was like to die like this over and over again but would telling them that make any difference? No, he was dead no matter what they did, so just shook his head not bothering to answer her.
Paige too kneeled next to her sister where Chris could see her. "Chris, come on. We really do want to try to help you. None of want to see you dead."
He had to smile slightly at that statement. It was nice to know that your family didn't really want you dead. He was tempted to say something sarcastic but that would take too much effort so instead he just shook his head slightly but was surprised to feel a single tear cascading down his cheek and fall to the couch where his face rested. He had wanted to be strong in front of them and face this with dignity but apparently his heart was not keeping with his mind's plan on the matter.
"Chris, none of this martyr stuff okay? If you know something you need to tell us so you can be saved." Leo was pretty sure that Chris knew something else. The conversation between he had Barbas might have been cryptic but he could tell that the two of them shared information that the others did not. "I know you don't want to die. What's the use coming to the past to change the future if you can't enjoy the future you've saved?"
Chris thought about that question for a moment but could only come up with one answer. "That doesn't really matter, Leo. I had to," he responded quietly again staring at the group across the room from him. "I made a promise." His voice had the quality of someone who was lost to some other place or time and it frightened those around him.
Wyatt stared across the room at him and felt the tears pricking his own eyes knowing exactly what promise he was speaking of. Chris would do anything for him including die for him. The last of his nagging doubts as to whether Chris was his brother of the future were swiped away with those words and he felt for the first time how it must feel to be losing someone you loved. For just as he loved his little brother he cared just as deeply for his older counterpart, who was willing to give up everything for him. Silent tears began to stream down his face and he pulled away from his mother ready to go be with his brother during his last moments alive but a bright light caught his attention and he turned to see a large Triquetra symbol glowing blue on the wall of the attic.
All eyes were drawn to the portal as it opened and a young man stepped from inside it. Chris couldn't help but blink a few times, not believing what he was seeing. He was almost positive that his foggy mind was playing tricks on him and he dare not believe it could be true.
"Who are you?" Piper asked, immediately on the defensive placing herself between the newcomer and her two sons.
But Wyatt pushed his way around her and stared in awe at the young man. "It's okay, Mom. That's just me."
A/N: Okay yeah, did it again. Cliffhanger from hell. So anyone see that last bit coming? Hope not. I try not to be obvious with where I'm going with these stories. But it's hard to find something original in a genre where almost everything has already been imagined. So what do we all think now?