A/N : Thank you to everyone who read and especially to those who reviewed, it really means a lot to me and makes me want to update as soon as possible. I hope you like this next chapter as much as the last. ;-)
To IWishICouldFlyAway : I took in your advice to be more discriptive and tried it in this chapter, I hope it's what you meant and that you like it more. Thanks for the advice and lovely comment.
-X-X-
Chapter 2 : Painfull Memories
The Future :
It was dark outside, the sky was filled with beautiful bright stars and there was not a clowd in the skies. Six years ago, everyone would have loved to take a nice stroll under in the moonlight, but today, the city was empty, exept for the demons and government agents patrolling the streets. The innocent, the good people, they were too afraid to come out anymore.
They were too afraid of Wyatt's probes finding them. The probes were deffinately the most genius idea Wyatt had ever had, especially for someone evil. The probes were magical machines, created by Wyatt, scanning everyone walking the streets. If any of those people scanned were good magical beings, they would be surrounded by demons within minutes and either killed or captured.
The only safe place to go, when you needed to take a breath of fresh air, was the top of the Golden Gate Brige. The probes never went up so high, because almost no one could reach the top of the now destroyed bridge. The bridge that had once been a crossover to other city's, other worlds, was now torn down, broken in half. But the best point, the point where Melinda Halliwell was currently sitting, was still in one piece, for now.
Melinda was sitting on the highest point of the bridge, looking over the city that had once been a symbol of hope and peace, but had now been destructed. She had been sitting there for almost an hour, ever since she had orbed away from Henry Jr., her cousin, who she loved very much.
Chris had shown her this spot when she was 11 years old. It had been on the day of the first anniversiry of their mother's death. Melinda had been sitting in her room, crying as she thought about the mother she had lost way too soon, when Chris had come in and had told her he wanted to show her something.
He had taken her hand and orbed her to the highest top of the Golden State Bridge. When she had asked him why he had taken her there, he had simply told her it was the best place in the whole city to think, to clear your head, because he thought it to be peacefull. And he had been right, ever since then, when she was upsett or angry or anything at all, she came up there, to cool down.
As she was looking over the ruins of the burning city, she sighed as she shook her head. She still found it so hard to believe, that her big brother, Wyatt, had been the cause of it all. She loved Wyatt, she always had and she would always love him, but she was so angry at him for what he had done. The way he had not only destroyed so many lives and families, but also the hopes and dreams of people, had been inhuman and honestly, she hated him for it.
There were times like now, when she wished Wyatt dead so everything could be fixed again, but she always hated herself for thinking like that. He was still her brother, no matter what. So, whenever she had those thoughts, she came here and thought of her other brother, Chris, instead.
Chris, she had to smile when she thought about him, he was her hero. Of everyone she knew and had known since Wyatt's reign of terror had begun, Chris had lost the most, sacrificed the most. But he never gave up, not on Wyatt, not on anyone. He was the reason the resistance existed, he was the reason why many people who should have been long dead, were still alive.
Melinda looked up at the sky, a small tear forming in the corner of her eye. "Wherever you are now, Chris, I love you and believe in you. I miss you. Come home soon." she said to the stars as she closed her eyes and let the tear that had formed in the corner of her eye, slip away, slowly making it's way across her face, finally, dripping of her chin.
-X-X-
Memory Lane :
The white smoke that had covered their vision, disappeared once again, revealing a new memory to the observing Charmed Ones, Leo and Chris.
They stood in the middle of the living room of the Halliwell Manor. It had changed a lot during the years. The chairs and table standing in the room had been replaced over 50 times during battles they had faced in the future. There were more pictures hanging on the walls now too, pictures of Chris, Wyatt and Melinda all growing up, allong with pictures of many other children and of course of Piper, Leo, Phoebe, Paige and two other men.
There was also a new couch in the living room, it had a dark brown colour and it seemed pretty comfortable. As the spectators looked around the room, they saw no one, not yet, anyway. But this did give them time to get some answers from Chris.
Piper, who had been more baffled by the fact that Chris apparently was her son than by the fact that she would die soon, turned to Chris, who was standing next to Phoebe. She did not know if she could believe any of this, the only thing she didn't want to believe, was that Wyatt, her sweet baby boy, would grow up to be the biggest evil the world had ever seen.
"Are you really my son ? Or is this some kind of trick you're playing on us ?" She asked, and this time, she didn't want to hear anything about any future consequences, she was sick and tired of hearing that. She only wanted to know the truth, no matter what the consequences would be.
"I'm not playing any tricks on you, how could I be ? These are my memories, you weren't even supposed to see them." Chris said, he wasn't yelling, he was tired of yelling at his mother and family and getting angry at them. Well, he had no problem with being angry with Leo, but he had his reasons for it, severall reasons of which he hoped he could keep to himself. He shook his head as he sat down on one of the brown wooden chairs standing in the living room.
Paige and Phoebe followed Chris' lead, because, even though they would not admit it out loud, their feet were killing them. They so weren't wearing the right shoes for this, next time they did something like this, not that they wanted there to be a next time, but just in case, they would wear something comfortable, instead of high heels. Piper seemed to be the smartest out of the three, since she was wearing a pair of basketball shoes, fashionable and comfortable at the same time.
"How do we know you didn't alter those memories in some way ? So we would see what you want us to see." Leo said, he was still standing, as was Piper. They seemed to be forming a front against Chris, they were a team on this one, for once in a long time. Leo had his arms crossed against his chest, trying to make a threatening impression, as Piper was just Piper. Her arms to her side, but still looking threatening enough with her eyes alone.
Chris sighed, he gave up, he couldn't win against them, could he ? They hated him, distrusted him, and yes, it was partially his fault for lying to him, but he had had no choice, he had to gain their trust somehow. But he was wrong, not everyone hated him, at least, not after what they just saw, so Paige defended Chris.
"He couldn't have changed his memories Leo and he couldn't have messed with the spell because it was a Power of Three spell. Besides, he didn't even know we were gonna do this, I think it's pretty fair to say that Chris is your son, these memories are real, I know it." Paige said, as she gave Chris a small smile.
Phoebe looked at Paige and nodded, she knew she was right. "She's right, the things we're seeing are really Chris' memories. He is your son, Piper, our... nephew, I guess." Phoebe said as she took her left shoe of, rubbed her foot and put her shoe back on and continued to do the same with her other foot.
"Okay, then, why didn't you tell us ? Why did you lie ?" Piper asked as she took Leo's arm and sat him down as she sat down besides him.
"Do I really have to answer all those questions now ? Let's just see these memories through, hopefully they'll stop soon." Chris said, as he looked intensly at the middle of the living room. He wasn't sure, but from the looks of it, this could be another memory not long after Piper's death.
"What are we gonna see now ?" Leo asked, he didn't look at Chris directly, he was scared too. He always knew that Chris didn't like him and he hadn't had any problems with it since he didn't trust him. But now he knew that Chris was his son, it was different, it was painfull even, to know that his son would grow up to hate him and not even call him 'dad'.
"I'm not sure." Chris said, and it was true, he wasn't sure, yes, he had a hunch, but that was all it was, a hunch. If he really thought about it, it could be any memory, he had so many of them in this house.
For severall minutes, silence ruled the individuals in the room. They just sat there in their chairs, thinking about what this all meant. And what this meant for Wyatt. Was Wyatt really evil in the future, or was it just a classic case of jealousy that went a little too far ? That was just one of the many questions Piper was asking herself when she saw someone orb in.
Everyone of the viewers sitting in the comfortable wooden chairs looked straight at the person orbing in, so they would not miss who it was. As Chris saw himself orb in the room, he emmediately knew what memory it was. It wasn't really a bad one, but it did show that he had many issues.
A young future Chris orbed into the Halliwell Manor living room in a swirl of bright blue and white lights. He was wearing a blue jeans and a red T-shirt, all thought the colours were hard to recognize because he was covered dirt and something that looked like green, sticky demon blood. He didn't look much older than his last memory they saw, maybe a few months.
"Is this long after I...well, ya know... ?" Piper asked present Chris as she looked at his future young version, or his past version or, ah, she gave up on figuring out the right terms to say.
"Two months." Chris simply replied as he looked at his younger self. He knew how cocky he had become then, not that he wasn't that now, but now, he was more carefull, then, he didn't care about anything.
"And that makes you, how old ?" Phoebe asked as she also looked at the future young Chris, who seemed to be looking around him very cautiously, as if he were waiting for something, or expecting it even.
"I can't tell you that, future consequences, if you don't see it, I'm not telling you." Present Chris simply said, but he knew how old he was, 14 years and 7 month. He almost had to suppress a smile as he knew what was to come, how bold he had been that day.
Young future Chris seemed to be getting tired of waiting for whatever he was waiting for as he tapped his foot to the ground. But finally, after was seemed like an enless wait, something happened.
A demon shimmered in before young future Chris. He was actually rather handsome, he was tall, had dark brown hair and a very cute nose, but his eyes were as black as the night. He was an upper level demon, one that killed witches by trapping them in their worst nightmares, driving them to suicide. His name was Corsan. He had many lower level demons under his command, or at least, he used to.
"I've been waiting for you, Corsan." young future Chris said in an audacious tone, causing the demon to groan.
"You killed my minions. Now you die!" Corsan threatened future young Chris, but Chris was too dauntless to care, he just laughed at the demon.
"Not if I kill you first." young future Chris said, he was fearless. Present Chris remembered that time very well, the time where he wanted to kill as many demons as possible, not caring if he lived or died. He knew better now.
"You can't vanquish me! You're just a boy! You may have tricked my followers, but I am more powerfull then they were!" Corsan said, bragging about himself in the process, but future young Chris didn't move an inch. He had no fear in his eyes, only hate, all the spectators saw that.
"You wanna bet ?" future young Chris said in an overconfident way, Carson seemed to be curious as to why a small boy like him thought he could vanquish a powerfull demon like him. His curiousity was his downfall.
Suddenly, without warning, young future Chris started chanting a spell, as Carson's eye's widened.
'Nightmares are your crime
so now I ask in this time
See this crime
Here my rhyme
I vanquish thee
For all of time.'
As young future Chris chanted, a dark shadow overpowered the demon known as Carson. The shadow invaded his body as he began shaking, he began to whirl around as he started to scream. As soon as future young Chris finished his spell, the demon exploded in a million pieces, but conveniently left no trace.
"That was awsome, it actually worked." Future young Chris praised himself as he conjured up a big smile.
"And you call that a spell, that was ridiculous." Piper scowled as she turned to present Chris, he just shrugged. He had thought it was a good spell at the time and thankfully, it had worked, or it could have been his first self written spell and last.
Future young Chris seemed very content with himself and was about to walk to the stairs when two people orbed in, right infront of him.
"You're in big trouble, mister!" Future Paige said as she and future Phoebe looked very angry yet worried at the same time.
"What ?!" Future young Chris asked, deciding to play innocent, all though he knew well enough what the problem was.
"Sit. Down." future Phoebe ordered future young Chris. Chris did as told and sat down on the couch. He looked as his aunts, they looked very tired and sad, but they were as beautiful as ever. Phoebe waw wearing a blue and white dress that came just above her knees, with a matching pair of shoes. Paige was wearing blue jeans, brown boots and a light brown tank top. Her hair was in a pony tail with several loose strains traveling down her face.
"I thought we told you not to go to the underworld anymore or vanquish any demons. That's our job." Future Paige said, she looked exactly like when she was punishing one of her students at magic school. Present Paige may not know it yet, but she would be one hell of a great teacher later, at a school they had yet to discover back in the past, if they ever got back.
"Whatever, you've hardly vanquished a demon these past two months. And if you're not going to do it, I will. Someone has to." future young Chris said, he looked determined to win this argument.
"You know we only vanquish demons when we have no choice. What you are doing is searching for trouble, for death. You don't see Wyatt or Melinda doing that, do you ?" Future Phoebe said, as she had thought she had made a valid point.
"That's because Melinda's only 10 years old, and I'd kill her if she went after any demons, and Wyatt is a damn coward. He's a year older for heaven's sake and he doesn't seem to care that mom died or that there are demons threatening our existance." Future young Chris said as he seemed to be having trouble keeping his cool. When he thought of Wyatt, he was so pissed of he wanted to vanquish some more demons. Wyatt was 15 now, almost 16, and he didn't even seem to notice that their mom had been murdered by demons. He just carried on his life as usual, which made Chris even more angry.
"Don't say that, you know Wyatt has his own way of deeling with the hard stuff, and pretending like it didn't happen, is probably his way of dealing with things this time. It's not a good way, but going on these suicide missions of yours isn't a good way either. Just talk to us, tell us how you feel." Future Phoebe said as she sat down besides future young Chris and laid her hand on his leg, trying to offer some support. Paige kept standing before him.
"You wanna know how I feel ? Okay, mom's death was my fault, Leo may have not been there to heal her, but it's my fault she got hurt in the first place. And now, I have to do something in return so she'll forgive me." Future young Chris said, again, as so many times in the past months, he had to try to suppress some tears.
"Oh, come on, Piper, your mom doesn't blame you. She was one of the Charmed Ones for god's sake, we always knew this day could come for any of us. I think she'd be extremely proud of you right now, but having known her, she's probably pissed at you for going to the underworld every other day to vanquish demons. She gave her life so you could live, honor that Chris, honor her." Future Paige said.
The onlookers didn't hear what she said next, because the room filled itself with white smoke, once again taking them to a new location, a new memory.
-X-X-
The Future :
Wyatt sat in his chair in the dark attic of the Halliwell Manor, which he had turned into a museum 2 years ago. But sometimes, when he was thinking over some things, he liked to come back to this place, the attic, the darkest place in the house, and just think. When he did, his demons knew to close the museum for the public, untill he was ready to leave it again.
As he thought about his plan to lure Chris back to this time, his time, he smiled. He knew it would work, yes, it would take some time to capture Melinda, but he could always do it himself if he got too impatient. He was pulled from his thought when he saw three people appear before him.
Krista appeared before her cousin in a swirl of black and dark blue orbs, as her two other cousins, Cole and Coop Jr. appeared in a black shade, starting with a broken black heart, untill they were finally in the attic, before Wyatt. Cole and Coop Jr. were half witch, half cupid, so it was very weird that they were evil now, and that the love they had in their heart, their soul, was gone. You could clearly see that it was gone by the way they appeared somewhere, the black shade, the broken heart, their cupid side was dead.
"We have news for you, cousin." 20 year old Cole said as he, his 16 year old brother Coop Jr and the 19 year old Krista bowed before him. Even if he was their family, they were still forced to bow for him, which, to be honest, they hated. Wyatt didn't say anything, he just nodded, telling them to continue.
"I'm getting closer to the location of the resistant. I can sense some of their magic, it's faint, but it's there. It's only a matter of days before it get's stronger and I find them. Someone must have breached Chris's clocking spell, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sense it." Krista said as she smiled, she wanted nothing more than to destroy the resistance that her other cousin, Chris had started, Wyatt nodded, he showed no emotions, but he was pleased with the news.
"Cole and I captured four witches two days ago. We tortured them to get information, but they wouldn't speak. We tried a truth spell, but it seemed as if they were telling the truth, they knew nothing. And even if they did, they died before they could tell us. But at least we're rid of those stupid good witches." Coop Jr. said, even though he had gattered no information, he knew Wyatt would like to know if witches were dead by her minions. Wyatt nodded, he was not thrilled with the news that they had no information, but he was pleased that more good witches were out of the way. He waved his hand, telling them to leave him.
Krista, Cole and Coop Jr. nodded and left Wyatt. Krista orbed out, while Cole and Coop Jr. dissapeared in a black light with a broken heart again. Wyatt sighed, he was so bored with this good vs. evil battle. Didn't they get it ? He knew the truth, there was no good, no evil. Not everything was black and white. There was only power and those who embraced it.
-X-X-
Memory Lane :
When they were finally able to see again, they saw they were in a classroom of some sort. It looked like a very old classroom, not like one you'd see in a high school from their time.
"Where are we now ?" Piper asked as she looked around the room. The desks and chairs were all made out of wood and the setting of the room had a little of a Victorian style to it, like the mansion.
"Magic school." It was not Chris who answered this time, it was Leo. He seemed to know the place just as Chris did.
"What's magic school ?" Paige asked, clueles, which Chris thought to be rather funny, since she would be one of it's finest teachers in the future.
"It's a school where children with magical abilities can come, learn how to control them. It's very much like a regular school, but then for the magical comunity. It was formed by an Elder over hundred years ago." Leo explained, everyone, except Chris, let out a big 'Oh'.
Suddenly they heard a squeaking sound, it was the big wooden door of the classroom that was opening. All thoug they knew no one could see them, they did back away from the door a little. They didn't want anyone to walk through them or anything, that would be just too weird.
A blonde girl, of about 16 years old, walked into the room. She was holding someone's hand, dragging that person along with her, it was a future Chris. He seemed about 16 years old in this memory. He already started to look more like the Chris they knew, but then younger. His hair was shorter, he seemed to look more innocent then now, but he already seemed to have that worried look upon his face that almost never seemed to leave.
"Finally, alone at last." The future blonde girl smirked. She was wearing a pink top, a black mini-skirt and part of black leather boots. She actually looked very hot. Future Chris was wearing dark blue jeans, a light blue t-shirt and a brown leather jacket.
"Girlfriend ?" Present Phoebe questioned as she raised her eyebrow at present Chris, who just rolled his eyes. She always was the romantic, even in the future.
The future blonde girl turned around to face future Chris. She smiled at him before she came closer to him, took his face in her hands and passionately kissed her.
"Ew, I so not want to see my son's tongue going into some girl's mouth." Present Piper moanes as she put her hands before her eyes and looked away.
"Son ?" Chris asked, he was suprised to hear his mother call him that, he didn't think she believed him, even if they saw it in his memories.
"Yeah, well, you are my son, aren't you ?" Piper said without looking up, she could still hear future Chris and that future girl kissing each other.
"Yeah..." Was all Chris was able to say as he looked at himself kissing his girl.
"Mmm, Clara, stop." Future Chris said as he pulled away from future Clara, the girl he loved more than anything, the girl who meant the world to him.
"What ?" future Clara questioned as she looked at future Chris in suprise, he never pulled away from her like that.
"We need to talk." Future Chris said as he sat down on what seemed to be the teacher's desk, he looked very worried about something. Future Clara sighed, she knew what was coming.
"If it's about Wyatt again, I don't want to hear it." Future Clara said, crossing her arms. She looked annoyed to death, by the looks of it, they had had this conversation before.
"Oh, come on, C., you've seen how mean he's been acting lately, it's not like him." Future Chris said as he looked at future Clara, pleading her to talk to him, she just sighed as she faced him.
"What planet did you come from ? Wyatt had always been mean, it's who he is. And lately, he's just become meaner." future Clara said, by which present Piper opened her mouth to protest, but Leo nudged her in the side, he wanted to hear the rest of this conversation.
"He's never been mean to me." Future Chris stated, future Clara rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, that's because you're you. You've always had some strange bond with him. But to everyone else, even Melinda, he's always been mean and you know it." Future Clara said and it seemed as if she were right, because future Chris just sighed and said nothing more.
The room filled itself with white smoke again, taking them to yet another memory.
-X-X-
Memory Lane :
"Uch, headache." Phoebe complained as they appeared in yet another memory. It was in Magic School again, and future Paige was standing in front of a class, wearing a black robe above her regular clothes, teaching.
"What am I doing here ? And what the hell am I wearing ?" Paige asked as she looked at her future self, yes, she was still hot, but the robe screamed garbage can.
"It's a teachers robe." Leo said, he was confused as to why Paige would be wearing a teachers robe in the future, Chris rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe they didn't figure this one out on their own, it was so obvious.
"You're a teacher in the future, aunt Paige." Chris said, he didn't mean to say 'aunt', but it just slipped out, not that it mattered now, because they already knew he was Piper and Leo's son.
"Oh, hey, you called me aunt!" Paige said, as if she had only now heard it, Chris just gave her a small smile, she smiled back, she liked it. But as Chris thought about this memory, his expression turned grim, this was the day everything had changed. And he did mean everything, his bond with Wyatt, his life, everything.
"Okay, so who can tell me how to stop a warlock from blinking ?" Future Paige asked her class, almost every hand in the class went up and future Paige smiled as she looked around her class of 15 students from advanced magics. She pointed at a young girl, about 16, to speak.
"Where are you ?" Present Leo asked present Chris, his son, which he still found hard to believe.
"I'm not here, not yet." Present Chris said, he knew where he had been though. Earlier that day, Wyatt had told him a demon was after Melinda, and Chris had believed him, off course. Melinda had always been and would always be his weakest point. But it had been a trap, Wyatt had brought him to the underworld, where all of Wyatt's newfound minions were waiting. Oh, no, he hadn't brought him there to kill him, he had brought him there to ask him to join him on his quest to conquer the world. Chris had refused, by which Wyatt had told him he'd change his mind after he learned a few lessons. That's when 8 of Wyatt's demons attacked him, not with deadly force, but still powerfull. Chris had been lucky he could orb away in time. That's when he orbed to magic school, to his aunt Paige, because it was the safest place he knew.
As Chris came back from his deep thought, he saw that the Paige from his memory, the future Paige had orbed some potion herbs on her table, he knew he was about to orb in any second now. And he was right.
The whole class yelled as future teenage Chris orbed in, falling to the ground. He was covered with cuts and small burnmarks over his entire body. It seemed very painfull.
"My god." Present Phoebe said as she saw the teenage Chris from the future lying on the ground, with future Paige, who had rushed towards him, next to his side. It only took seconds for future Clara, future Chris' girlfriend, to be by his side.
"Chris, what happened ?" Future Paige asked as she began to heal the many wounds future Chris had, he stayed quiet for several minutes untill he was completely healed.
"It's Wyatt, he's got demons." Future teenage Chris said as future Clara's eyes widened, she seemed to know exactly what Chris meant. But she would, since she was a telepath, she could read his mind, she knew exactly what had happened, but future Paige didn't.
"Demons have Wyatt ?" She asked, pure terror in her voice, she and Phoebe swore, that after Piper had died, that they would protect her children, no matter what.
"No, Wyatt has demons under his control. He tricked me, told me Melinda was in danger, so I went with him to the underworld. He asked me to join him to conquer the world, when I refused, he told me I needed to learn a lesson, so he sent his demons on me." future teenage Chris said, as if he could hardly believe his own words. Everyone in the class gasped for air.
Future Paige stood up and she and Clare helped Chris stand up too.
"Clara, can you inform the other teachers we have a situation on our hands and they need to talk to me. Don't tell them what happened, just tell them that the school might be in danger." Future Paige told future Clara, she nodded and headed out the school.
"I want everyone to go to the library, I'll be there shortly." Future Paige said, the students nodded and went on their way, some dissapeared as other walked through walls, as other just hovered above the ground while some simply walked.
"Are you sure it was Wyatt ?" Future Paige asked future Chris, as she turned to face him.
"I'm sure, he could orb and all, now that I think of it, his orbs were darker then usual, I should have known something was up." Future Chris said as he shook his head.
"I need you to go get Leo, I'm not sure if he'd respond to our call. I need to stay here, check on the students, make sure everyone's safe." Future Paige said, but when she saw future Chris was about to argue with her about the fact that he needed to go get Leo, she sighed.
"No arguments, just do it, Chris." Future Paige said, future Chris glared at her before orbing out. Seconds later, Paige orbed out herself.
"Wait, what happened ? Did something happen to the school ? What about Wyatt ?" Piper asked as she franticaly looked around, searching for answers. Again, they just saw Chris telling everyone that Wyatt was evil, but still no proof that he actually was, but Piper was beginning to fear that they would get proof very soon. Chris didn't answer Piper's questions, he knew, that if they didn't see it, he couldn't tell. As much future information as he could keep from them, the better.
Chris sighed as the room filled with white smoke again, they were going to yet another memory, Chris just hoped it wasn't a bad one, but he knew he couldn't hope too much, cause most of the memories he had since that moment, were bad. Deaths, betrayal's, you name it, it all happened from that moment on.
-X-X-
The Future :
Melinda was still sitting on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge when she felt the presence of evil appearing behind her. She had always been able to sence evil without even seeing it, she had even felt it's presence in Wyatt over the years, but she had always kept that to herself, praying that she was wrong.
She stood up, still not looking to see who was behind her, she was waiting her moment. It only took seconds untill she felt his powers rise, he was about to attack. And she was right, because the upper level demon that Wyatt had sent to capture her, had a fire ball in his hand, a small one, not deadly, but still painfull. He lifted his hands and threw it at her, but right as he threw it, she orbed out, only to appear behind him.
"Hey, behind you." Melinda said as the demon turned around to face her, he seemed very nervous.
"You're coming with me, witch." The demon said as Melinda just smiled, she never could get over the fact of how stupid demons were.
"I don't think so." Melinda said, and without warning, she raised her hands at him and blew him up into a million pieces, vanquishing him. She had inherited that power from her mother. The power to freeze things and blow them up, she was the only one who had that power and she loved it.
"Stupid." Melinda said to herself as she rolled her eyes, thinking about the demon she just vanquished. She knew she had to figure out why he wanted her, since usually they just try to kill her, but this time he wanted to capture her. She orbed out in a swirl of white and blue lights, going back to the home of the resistance.
-X-X-
The Future :
Wyatt was still sitting in the dark attic of the Halliwell manor when he felt that the demon he had sent after Melinda was vanquished. He had expected that, but still, that didn't mean he liked it.
He knew he could send another demon after her, and another and she would just keep destroying. That's when he realized he had to go after her himself. He would be the only one that would be able to capture her, because if he sent more then 1 demon at once, there would be the chance they would kill her, and he couldn't have that, not now at least.
But he needed to prepare first, he couldn't just go after her without a plan, she was too smart for that. And he would have to wait untill she was in the open again, because now, he couldn't sence her anymore, which meant she was at the resistance again.
He needed a plan, a good plan, one to trick her. As he thought about it, he thought about his parents, his aunts, all the things they went through, spells they were under, he needed something like that. A spell, one that would trick or destract her. Now that he had that figured out, he opened the Book Of Shadows, which was still laying on his lap, and began reading, finding the right spell.
-X-X-
Memory Lane :
"Where the hell are we now ?" Piper asked to no one in particular as they appeared in yet another memory. They didn't see much at first, because the place they were in was so bright that it blinded their eyes for a few seconds. But eventually, the image got clearer and they saw Chris standing in the center of the bright place, surrounded by men and women in golden robes, Elders.
"Piper, calm down." Leo said as he looked to his wife, euh, ex-wife or whatever she was to him now. She looked to be panicking and also, she seemed to be very pissed of as she tried to control her breathing.
"Don't tell me to calm down, Leo. The fact that our one son, Wyatt is the biggest evil ever and our other son has come back from the future to save him and our apparant daughter is in the future, all alone, is a little upsetting, so don't you freakin' tell me to calm down." Piper raged, causing Chris to laugh at the way she was talking to Leo.
"Don't you laugh at me. I am your mother, I can still ground you when we get back." Piper said, pointing at Chris, he cleared his throat and looked at the ground.
"Yep, that's the Piper we all know and love." Phoebe said as she looked at her sister, acting like she usually did when she didn't like something. Paige had to control her own laughter.
"Let's just watch this memory." Leo said as he rolled his eyes at the sisters, they could be so annoying sometimes, but he loved them anyway. They did as he said and looked at the new memory. Future Chris looked exactly the same as he did in the last memory, including the clothes he was wearing, so this must be when he went to get Leo.
"Leo ?" future teenage Chris asked as he looked around. Future Leo noticed him and came to him, he was wearing a golden robe, just as the other Elders.
"What's wrong ? What are you doing here ?" Future Leo asked as he looked at his son with concern. Future teenage Chris sighed, he knew Leo's concern was not directed towards him, but towards everyone else, like usual.
"Wyatt's evil, Paige needs you at Magic School. I have to go, I have to get Phoebe." Future teenage Chris said, and before Future leo could say anything, future teenage Chris orbed out. It was obvious that he hated being around Leo.
"A little blunt, don't ya think ?" Present Paige said as she looked at future Leo, who now orbed out too, probably heading to Magic School. Present Chris just shrugged as their vision was filled with white smoke again, bringing them to yet another memory.
-X-X-
The future :
Melinda orbed into the home base of the Resistanca and looked around the small hallway. She saw the twins, Primrose and Persis, Paige's daughters, sitting on the stairs, she walked up to them.
"Hey, guys, have you seen your mom ?" Melinda asked as she stood before the two 15 year old girls. The girls were identical to each other, they had light brown long hair, the same blue eyes and the same pure innocence in their hearts.
"No, she hasn't come back since she was called away by you and Henry Jr. She's probably still healing the people from that attack, the way Henry told it, it was a very bloody one." Primrose said.
"Why don't you just call for her ?" Persis asked Melinda, Melinda shrugged and sat down on the stairs next to the twins.
"I don't want to disturb her, it's nothing that can't wait." Melinda asked, but she did seem concerned, and the twins noticed it.
"What's wrong ?" Primrose and Persis asked at the same time, Melinda smiled, she always loved it when they did that.
"Nothing, just a demon attack. Don't worry, I vanquished him." Melinda added when she saw the worried looks on her cousins faces.
"But the weird thing was, he wasn't there to kill me, he wanted to take me somewhere, I don't know. I probably should have questioned him before I killed him." Melinda said, she realized she had acted too quickly, and now she was left with questions she couldn't answer.
"But enough about me, why are you two sitting here on the stairs ? And don't tell me it's nothing, cause I know that's not true, you never sit on the stairs unless something's wrong." Melinda said, the twins sighed. They loved Melinda, they did, but the fact that she could see right through them so easily was kind of irritating.
"I guess we just feel guilty sometimes." Persis said, she was the oldest of the twins, she was 5 minutes older than Primrose, and she loved to rub that in, much to the annoyance of Primrose.
"Guilty ? About what ?" Melinda asked, she had no idea why they would feel guilty about anything. They were the purest people of the resistance.
"Don't know, I guess because we don't really help out. I know that everyone thinks we're too young, but it eats at us sometimes, you know ? That we're here while everyone is risking their lives out there." Primrose said, Melinda smiled, she understood now.
"If that's the reason why you guys are feeling guilty, then don't. Because everything we do, is for you and people like you. I know, you have powers too and you want to help, but trust me, if we get through this in one piece, and you two manage to keep that sweet innocence in your hearts, then it'll all have been worth it. And you do help, you keep all of us together, without you two, we'd be so lost. You're the heart of this whole thing, remember that, okay ?" Melinda said, the twins blushed, they were flattered by what their cousin had just told them.
"Thanks." They both said as they smiled at Melinda, who just smiled back. She was glad she could help someone in a none magical way for once, she liked that.
-X-X-
Memory Lane :
When the sisters, Leo and Chris appeared in yet another memory, they were shocked by all the chaos they saw. They were at Magic School again, but this time they didn't see future Paige teaching a happy class or anything, all they saw was confusion.
Younger students were screaming, running for their lives, while older students and teachers were fighting dozens and dozens of demons, warlocks, evil witches, name it, they were fighting them all.
"What happened ? Demons can't find this place, it's protected." Present Leo said as he watched the battles surrounding them.
"Hey, there's us." Phoebe said as she pointed at her future self, future Paige and future Leo, fighting of at least 30 demons at once. They saw Phoebe getting throw back by an energy ball, everyone of the spectator, except for Chris, feared she was dead. But when they saw her getting up, they sighed in relief, she only had a burn on her shoulder. She quickly re-joined future Paige and future Leo in the battle.
"Where are you, Chris ?" Present Piper asked, she knew why she wasn't there, she was dead, but she wondered why she couldn't see Chris anywhere, this was, after all, his memory.
"Over there." Present Chris said as he pointed to a corned of the library, where most of the battle was taking place. He wasn't fighting, he was talking to someone, someone who they only saw the backside of.
"Come on, let's get closer." Present Leo said, he wanted to see who future teenage Chris was talking to. Everyone nodded and followed Leo to memory Chris, they tried to avoid everyone, but that was almost an impossible mission. Fire balls were throw at someone, going through them, people walked through them, it was a very unpleasant experience. Finally, they stood next to future teenage Chris and saw who he was talking to.
It was Wyatt, about 17, maybe 18 years old. He was wearing black leather pants and a black t-shirt. His hair was very curly and came to his shoulders, it was dark blonde. His eyes scared everyone except Present Chris, they were black, not pitch black, but much blacker then they usually were.
"Why are you doing this, Wyatt ?" Future teenage Chris asked his brother. The look on future teenage Chris' eyes and well as on present Chris' eyes screamed anger, pain and betrayal. It was painfull to look at.
"Because I can. Because I have the power too do so. And if you join me, you'll have that power too. I promise, you'll be feared and worshipped by the entire world, as I am." Future Wyatt said, future Chris shook his head, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He could hardly believe what he was seeing, Magic School under attack, dead students, dead teachers, all because of his big brother. This hurt him even more then when he had to watch his mother die, he didn't even want to think of what she would feel about this.
"What happened to you, Wy ? This isn't you, you're good. I know you are. Who turned you ?" Future teenage Chris asked in disbelief, he didn't want to believe it, he was so angry that he was standing there, talking to his brother while everyone arround them were fighting for their lives, his family included.
"You're wrong, Chris. This is the real me, not some performance I need to keep up to fool everyone. You may not understand it now, but you will, I promise you." Future Wyatt said before orbing out in a swirl of black and dark blue lights, leaving future Chris stunned, but he was about to wake up to reality after hearing an awfull scream.
"Chrisssss!!" a 12 year old girl yelled. The spectators knew her as Mel, she was probably Melinda, Chris' and Wyatt's little sister, Piper and Leo's daughter.
"Mel !!" Future Chris yelled as he saw his little sister being cornered by 5 demons. If he orbed, he would be too late to save her, he only had one choice, he needed to tap into the one power he had he avoided to use at all costs. The power he had used when Piper died, the power from which he could die, but he had no choice. He would happily give his life for his family.
"What are you doing ? Why aren't you helping her ?" Present Piper asked as she feared for the safety of her daughter, even though she had yet to give birth to her and get to know her, she knew she loved her. How could she not love her, she was her daughter after all. Present Chris said nothing, he looked at himself, he was getting brighter.
Present Phoebe figured out what future teenage Chris was doing when she saw him litting up. "Wait, didn't you say you could be destroyed if you tapped into that power ?" Phoebe asked as she watched the memory Chris getting brighter and brighter by the second.
"I'd rather die than watch my family die." Present Chris answered in pure honesty as he looked at himself, he was ready, it was about to happen. And no second later then he had answered Phoebe's question, it did happen.
A bright light blinded everyone in the room, future people as well as the spectators, for seconds. When they were finally able to see again, all they saw was that all the demons were gone, and piles of ashes were on the floor at several places, while everyone was of the good side had been knocked to the floor, as they were now all getting up.
"What happened ?" They heard severall students and teachers ask. The spectators saw that Melinda was fine, but very shaken up as she too looked at the source of her salvation. They also saw future Phoebe, future Paige and future Leo getting up, looking at the source of their salvation.
"Leo." future Phoebe said as she pointed at someone lying on the floor, apparantly unconsious, it was future teenage Chris. Future Phoebe, Paige and Leo rushed to future teenage Chris' side, as did Melinda at the blonde girl they had seen in a previous memory, Clara.
"What happened ?" Future Clara asked in horror, she looked awfull, she had clearly been in a fight as well. She stroked her hand over Chris' hair, crying, she didn't know if he were dead or alive.
"He saved us." Future Leo said as he put his hands over Chris, trying to heal him, but quickly pulled them away, with a look of sadness upon his face.
"What's wrong ? Why isn't it working ?" Future Melinda asked, she saw so scared, scared for her life, her future, her brother's life. He couldn't be dead, he simply couldn't.
"He's not... dead... is he ?" Future Paige asked with tears in her eyes, this couldn't be happening, he could not die.
"No, he still has a faint pulse, he's still breathing." Future Leo said as he looked at his son with guilt and sadness in his eyes. He had so much to compensate for, he had never been there for Chris, and now that there was a possiblitly that he could die, all he hoped was he could get a second chance.
"Then why can't you heal him ?" Future Phoebe asked, not understanding. Not that she understood any of it, because she didn't. Wyatt was evil, Chris could be dying, Magic School was destroyed, invaded by demons. She needed Piper at times like these, and she didn't even have her, she just didn't understand any of it anymore. This wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't the life she raised her children in.
"Because technically he's not hurt, at least not the kind of hurt I can heal. He used powers that were too strong for him. He's lucky to even be alive, we'll just have to wait and see if he makes it." Future Leo said, praying that his son would make it. He had already lost Piper and now Wyatt to the dark side, he couldn't loose another member of his family.
The present Charmed Ones and the present Leo were shocked by what they had just whitnessed. The boy who had lied to them for months now, the boy who they thought was trying to hurt Wyatt, that boy had a bigger heart than any of them. He was willing to die for his family, for his friends, he was more pure of heart then they could have ever imagined...
As the guilt came over them, their eyes filled with white smoke again as the Magic School dissapeared from sight and they were taken to yet another memory...
TO BE CONTINUED