Chapter Nine

Chris stared at his reflection in the mirror, frozen in shock as he debated what he should do next. All his senses screamed that he should go downstairs and tell his mother and brother about the spirit which was obviously inside of him, but he didn't trust the witch, Jennifer. He knew that she'd been hunting the spirit for years, and if he went downstairs, she might be willing to end his life to get rid of Malachi once and for all. Chris had recently been through enough near-death experiences to know that they were unpleasant, and something that he didn't want to go through ever again, so he instead searched for another solution.

If Chris could get upstairs to the Book of Shadows, there might be something in there that would force Malachi out of his body, but he would have to hurry. So far, the young man had been lucky in that the spirit hadn't taken complete control. Chris wasn't sure why that had happened, but he wasn't going to risk it much longer. As soon as his decision was made, he dashed out of his room, his feet thumping loudly against the floor. He didn't even think of orbing upstairs, and even if he had, he would have been reluctant to use it. He'd already used it to bring the shopping bags inside, and he didn't want to let Malachi know how to access that particular power, especially when it would let the spirit gain access Up There, which could potentially bring about complete destruction.

He hurried up the stairs to the attic and rushed into the room, running to the Book of Shadows which waited only a few feet away. Suddenly, a rushing sound filled Chris's ears, and he gasped as he felt his body cease to listen to his instructions. He struggled a few moments, before he felt himself stop moving and collapse to the ground. He was able to look at the Book helplessly for a second longer before a silver film covered his sight.

-)-(-

Piper and Wyatt had been discussing the potential potion ingredients that they could use to make a spirit that was non-corporeal suddenly have a body. Jennifer had been watching nearby, handling her dagger as she watched the members of the Halliwell family do what they did best. Both mother and son had finally agreed that the potion should be a vapor that would engulf the area that the spirit was in, and had cleared some of the shopping bags from the kitchen counter, when they'd suddenly heard loud, running steps. Piper frowned, wondering what was going on. Their confusion only culminated in yet another loud thump, sounding eerily familiar, yet fainter.

"What is Chris doing up there?" Piper wondered, hoping that she wouldn't have to go upstairs and fend off a spirit without the potion that she and her son had already planned out. When all was quiet upstairs, she figured nothing was wrong, as she imagined that Chris would have either called out or orbed downstairs by then, if it was Malachi who was attacking.

Wyatt, however, wasn't so sure. "I'll be right back," he said quietly, gathering up his magic and using it to head upstairs. His first stop was Chris's room, but seeing the door ajar and the room empty gave Wyatt pause. He reasoned that his brother might have gone upstairs to the attic, and after briefly using his sensing ability, he proved himself right. Orbing upstairs, he then reformed on the rug in the middle of the room. To his relief, Chris was standing there, in front of the Book of Shadows, flipping through the pages.

Wyatt swallowed the relief that threatened to rush out of him and instead said, "Chris, you made Mom worry about you, what with you running all over the place." He noticed that the young brown-haired man looked strangely composed for having just run up a flight of stairs, but didn't think anything of it. "What were you doing, anyway?"

Chris looked up at the blond, and Wyatt felt slightly unsure of himself as he noticed a strange expression on Chris's face. "I was just trying to help you and that poor woman downstairs, Wyatt," the younger man replied seriously. His voice didn't have the usual intonations, and instead of sounding like it usually did, it seemed to have a strange, almost hissy, quality. Wyatt also noticed the way that Chris had said 'woman', and he figured that his brother was still upset at his having ditched him with the bags to hit on Jennifer.

"Oh, ok," Wyatt shrugged the strangeness off and instead walked closer to Chris and the Book. "So, have you found anything helpful?" He glanced over at the pages that Chris was reading, and frowned slightly. The Book was open at the section that described the Charmed Ones, specifically the page that mentioned their powers. "What are you doing?" Wyatt then asked, confused as to what his brother was doing looking through that part of the Book.

"Nothing," Chris replied, a little too quickly. "When I opened the Book of Shadows, it just opened to this page." He began rapidly flipping through the pages now, skipping ahead several sections and ending on the one talking about demons.

Wyatt was even more confused. "Chris, you went ahead too far. Spirits come before major assassins of the Underworld." He pushed his brother aside, not noticing the silver glares that he was receiving, as he began to efficiently turn the pages back to where he knew spirits and ghosts would be discussed in-depth.

"Ok, so it says here that ghosts can only be vanquished by a ghost itself," Wyatt began to read, filling his brother in on the information that was on the page. "So does that mean that one has to be dead to vanquish them?"

Wyatt did not notice the way that Chris had crept up behind him, and the way his strange silver irises were now examining the magical aura that surrounded the blond man. To Malachi, that aura was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen, and although he noticed that the young man he was possessing was quite powerful in his own right, that aura which he was gazing at was so much more flashy and compelling. Malachi knew that the best way to gain a huge demonic following was to have the Twice-Blessed under his control.

So, Malachi in Chris's body was preparing to launch his spirit out once more, into the air and into Wyatt's mouth. A small voice at the back of his mind started yelling out warnings, the real Chris was trapped back there. But he was unable to do anything as the spirit who had taken control of his body prepared to harm his brother.

Malachi was just about to expel himself when a sound caught his attention. Piper had just stepped into the room, and she was watching both of her sons with an authoritative eye. "Oh, here you are," she said, walking up to them. "I thought you might be here. Did you find anything?" she quickly asked, looking at her oldest son to respond to her question.

Malachi cursed inwardly, noticing that his chance had just gone by. He passed his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. Then, he rubbed at his eyes. "I think I'm going to go back to my bedroom," he made Chris's voice moan out. "I'm not feeling very well."

Piper's face turned to one of concern, and she briefly touched Chris's forehead, still distracted by her older son, who was now reading aloud the Book's take on spirits in the background. "You don't feel warm. But I think you should just go lie down for a bit, rest. You had a busy night."

Instead of receiving the amused glance she expected, Chris only closed his eyes and nodded, before shambling over to the door. Piper then turned back to Wyatt, and they began discussing how to vanquish that particular being once more. Neither of them noticed a silver pair of eyes glaring at them from the doorway. Malachi's chance had been thwarted, so now he would have to take other measures.

(A/N) *cues dramatic music* Yup, I love ending it on this. It's not exactly a cliffie, but it's still very ominous, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, poor Chris, who is now possessed. How long do you guys think it'll take Piper and Wyatt to realize that? And what do you think is Malachi's next plan to possess Wyatt? And why does everyone always have to go after Wyatt? I sure love asking questions!

Thanks to everyone who added this to their Favorites or Alerts. I honestly can't believe sometimes how many people like reading my stories! It's so unreal! Special super awesome thanks to my reviewers, you guys rock: DarcieBiffo, Fanycharmed, Guest, and annaangel23. Your reviews make my week gold! Seriously. I went back to read all the reviews I've gotten on the other stories in my Charmed series and realized just how much I've come to depend on your reviews. They make me feel special and amazing, so thank you so much!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please type in a comment if you can. It's right below! It should only take a few seconds! Virtual hugs go out to everyone who does! And, I guess I'll see you next week with the very next chapter. Until then, see ya!