Hey Readers... FYI, this is set after Chris-Crossed. Enjoy the story and R&R. And no, it ain't a Chris/OC story.
Chapter One
"She's supposed to be here by now." Chris stated, pacing. He couldn't believe this. Mo- Wait, Piper could die because of her irresponsible sisters. They should know by now to not play around when there are demons involved!
"So she's a little late." Piper replied calmly, as if she wasn't at all fazed by this demon. That pissed Chris off immensely. So what if she was a powerful witch? She's still a mortal!
"No she's a lot late," he corrected. "Paige used to be the first one at a vanquish. What's wrong with her?"
"She's in love. That's hardly wrong." Piper drawled. In love? Yeah right.
"It is when it interferes with her responsibilities as a Charmed One." Chris answered. His Uncle Henry had never ever stopped her from a demon hunt. The Asshole Richard is not good for her. Why can't anyone but him see that!
"Why don't you just let me handle this one alone?" She asked. Piper probably thought that was the best solution.
"Because you have handled the last four vanquishes alone." Chris replied softly. There was a 'I don't want to put you in too much danger' hidden in that sentence, but Piper, unfortunately, did not notice that. "That's why you never should've let them move out."
"Hey. You don't see me complaining. I'm happy for them and you should be too." Piper said. Chris just sighed inwardly as he carried on pacing."So where's this demon and what's its name?"
"No one knows its name. And it's too strong for one witch to handle alone." Chris gave a small shrug. At that time, the door opened and Darryl stuck his head through it.
"How much longer is this gonna take?" Darryl asked, obviously worried.
"Go see what Phoebe's doing." Piper told Chris, giving him a resigned smile and Chris immediately orbed out to find Phoebe.
Chris materialised to find Phoebe rapidly folding a piece of paper. Great, her sister's life was standing in mortal peril and she's folding origami. What a caring sister.
"Chris? What-"
"We don't have time," Chris intervened. "We need your help on a demon vanquish."
"Okay okay. Orb orb orb." Phoebe urged and grabbed Chris's arm. Chris just sighed and orbed both Phoebe and him back to Piper.
"Hi," Piper said as Phoebe squealed and ran to Piper. "Wow..."
"Oh how's Wyatt? I miss him so much." Phoebe asked. Chris just crossed his arms, obviously annoyed. If Phoebe missed Wyatt so much, why on Earth hasn't she dropped by?
"He misses you too," Piper said but frowned slighly. "Is this a bad time?"
"No this is a great time. Jason's away on a conference and I was just practicing my origami." Phoebe said, showing Chris a paper tiger. Chris just nodded sarcasttically, thinking about Phoebe's irresponsibility towards her duty of being a Charmed One, but Phoebe just thought he was impressed with her origami making abilities. "This is a tiger." No shit, Sherlock. "You can have that." She passed Piper the origami. Piper just gave an unsure laugh.
"I'm sorry I didn't visit." Chris just stared at her. Would she be saying sorry for not visiting when she sees her sister gravely injured?
"No, no. Don't be silly. You've obviously been really busy folding." Piper answered, showing her the origami. Chris just smirked, hearing the hidden sarcasm in her words. "I'm sorry I've to ask for your help but-"
"No it's ok." Phoebe quickly cut her off. "I mean if you don't enter the tiger's cave you may never get the cub right?"
"Come again." Piper asked, perplexed by Phoebe's sudden wisdom. Chris just smiled knowingly. He had spent his entire childhood wondering where Phoebe had gotten all these wise sayings. He never thought that she got it from Hong Kong.
"Ancient Chinese proverb," Phoebe explained. "It means nothing ventured, nothing gained, you know." Chris turned his attention to Piper and waited for her to direct Phoebe back to the more pressing issues like, oh I don't know, the Demon-with-no-name.
However, all Piper did was look at Phoebe with a 'Oh I get it' expression. Thus, he decided to intervene.
"Can we get the show on the road here?" He asked, but his tone left no space for discussion.
"Sure." Phoebe answered.
"Ok." Chris nodded. He thought he would get another long lecture about needing to lighten up. Not that he was complaining or anything about Phoebe's reply. Besides, he will lighten up AFTER he changed the future.
"Keep that." Phoebe told Piper and Chris just rolled his eyes.
"Ok what do you want me to do?" Phoebe asked him. She'd learnt to trust his plans, no matter how weird or illogical they sounded.
"You're the bait," he explained. "All you have to do is levitate into the air. And when this demon senses your magic it's gonna come fast, and hard."
"Ok." She nodded. That sounded like a rather logical plan. "Be careful of my origami. That tiger took two freaking hours." Chris just felt like crushing the origami then and there to teach her a lesson.
"Ok let's do it." He told Phoebe, diverting his attention from the diabolical thoughts in his head. Phoebe levitated in the air and a few seconds later, the sand on the ground started making a path, as if there was a snake inside the ground. Phoebe just stared at the slimy-demon and her expression turned into one of fright when it covered her.
Piper, unsure of what to do, just did the first thing that came into her mind and blew the demon up.
Chris looked at the puddle of goo, which was all that remained of the demon. He always thought it would take more than an explosion to kill the much feared 'demon-of-no-name' but he just shook away his thoughts. He was probably just being neurotic, as usual.
Phoebe cleared her throat, expecting a lift. Chris rolled his eyes at his aunt's, or rather future aunt's, antics and orbed to the back room of p3.
Chris wanted to go back to the manor, he really did, but he had to check if the future had changed or not, like he did after every demon hunt. He took out his deck of tarot cards and shuffled it. He divided it into three and opened up the three top cards.
The first cup that popped up was ... the three of swords. That was nothing new. He knew he carried around guilt from the past. Next came the Ace of Cups. This surprised Chris greatly. The Ace of cups represented joy and inner peace from friends and family.
The only family members he had alive were Uncle Henry, Aunt Phoebe, Henry Junior, Kat, who was Paige's daughter and Persephone, who was Phoebe's youngest daughter. Persephone had joined Wyatt. Of course there was Wyatt himself but the card meant joy, not sorrow.
Uncle Henry and Aunt Phoebe were busy running The Resistance. Henry Junior was part of the resistance. Kat had been paralysed waist down ever since the attack which she had lost her twin in and the rest of his family were dead. So who could be the friend or family? Billie and her husband are happy in the afterlife. Their daughter, Christy, had joined Wyatt. Darryl and Sheila took their kids on a vacation and they have never returned. Unless the Halliwells find out who he is, this card made no sense. No. The Halliwells will never find out who he is. He will make sure of that.
The Chariot was shown in the future, as usual. It meant that the victory was not his yet, but will be his in due time. The future hasn't been changed. However, Chris was, shockingly, not bothered about that in the present. All that occupied his mind was the Ace of Cups. He kept on pondering over it until he thought it was time to go back to the manor. Knowing the sisters, they would be 'bonding' and all. With this thought in his head, Chris immediately orbed to the manor.
He materialised in Wyatt's new room (Paige's ex room) and much to his annoyance, he saw Leo there before him. This bastard just had to be at the manor. However, Leo was surprisingly pleasant to him.
"How are you doing?" Leo asked Chris. Chrus just shrugged and sat on the arm of an arm chair.
"Oh hi baby!" Phoebe cooed as she opened the door and rushed to Wyatt. Paige just looked around, her face priceless.
"This one too?" Paige asked.
"Yeah. You move, you lose it in this family." Phoebe told her.
"You can lose a lot more than a bedroom when this is over," Chris stated, still frustrated that Paige and Phoebe moved out.
"Hi Chris, I'm fine thank you. And you?" Phoebe huffed. She was clearly annoyed and Chris didn't have to be an empath to know that.
"It's his job to offer his opinion." Leo defended him.
"You know the reason why she's even here, is because Paige missed the vanquish." Chris told Leo.
"Another one?" Leo asked, clearly worried about Paige's irresponsibility.
"Yeah," he nodded and turned to look at Paige. "That makes what? Five in a row now?"
"Guys are such nags." Paige crossed her arms.
"When did you two become so chummy?" Phoebe inquired.
"No we're not chummy. It's just he's gone through a lot protecting Wyatt and I figured that instead of doubting him I should... help him a little." Leo explained. Chris gave an expression that read 'at-least-someone-here-has-common-sense'.
"So..." Piper entered the room. "What do you guys think? You like Wyatt's new room?" Piper asked cheerfully.
"I like it," Paige piped in. "I just like my room too."
"And I like it, I just like my room too." Phoebe repeated.
"Well you guys were the one who moved out, not me." Piper retorted.
"So where are my clothes?" Phoebe asked and the sisters left the room, to head to the attic. Chris just sighed and gave Leo a 'what-the-hell' look. A look he commonly wears nowadays.
"CHRIS! LEO!" Both of them heard Phoebe shout and they rushed to the attic.
"We lost Paige." Piper told the witchlighter and Elder when they arrived at the attic.
"What do you mean you lost Paige?" Chris asked. Great, add this to the never ending list of problems.
"Well it was really weird. I mean one second she was here and the next second... Poof." She said, gesturing an explosion.
"It kinda happened after she put on a pair of Grams's boots." Piper elaborated.
"Gramps used to cast a spell on her clothes when she was young." Leo said.
"Wait, you knew Gramps when she was young?" Phoebe asked. Chris stared at Leo. Why was he not surprised?
"Yeah," Leo replied hesitantly. "We crossed paths once or twice when I was a young whitelighter." Chris just gaped at him. Something was telling him Leo crossed paths with Gramps more than once or twice. And judging by the smile on Leo's face, he knew he was right.
"Ew," Piper stated.
"Well I barely remember it." Leo justified.
"Huh." Piper answered, clearly not trusting him.
"Ew." The Empath agreed.
"Ha ha." Piper gave a forced laugh.
"Well if the boots did belong to your grandmother, then we better summon her from the dead. Maybe she can tell us what happened to Paige." Chris suggested with a small shrug and Leo nodded.
"Ok, let's get the candles." Phoebe said and dragged Piper along, not giving her a chance to further question Leo.
Phoebe returned with the candles as Chris and Leo stood beside each other and the room was filled with an awkward silence. Piper started blaming herself for Paige's disappearance as Phoebe set up the candles.
"What's done is done." Leo and Chris said in unison. Leo tilted his head slightly to Chris while Chris stared at him in shock. He was beginning to sound like a freaking Elder! What next? An elephant in a tutu?
"Okay. You two really need to get a room." Phoebe said, pointing at them. Chris just glared at her.
"Yeah..." Piper dragged uncertainly. Chris just laughed and shook his head. That is so wrong. If only they knew...
"Hear these words, Hear the rhyme,
Spirits from the other side.
Come to me, I summon thee,
Cross now the great divide."
Phoebe summoned the late Penny Halliwell. As the late Grams was being summoned, Chris noticed a bit of the slime that was on his shoe starting to crawl up him and started trying to pry it off his shoe.
"Well it's about time you called to say hello. Oh how are my darlings?" She asked and hugged them.
"Well we got a problem." Piper told her.
"Well you're not the only one." Penny said, looking at Chris.
"Orb out." Leo suggested.
"No. Magic makes it grow." Chris insisted adamantly. "Summoning her spirit ought to give it power."
"Oh you must be Chris, the new whitelighter." Penny announced, delighted. She snuck up to Leo and muttered. "You know, he doesn't look really qualified for the job." Leo agreed with her on that statement.
"Chris, just let me blast it." Piper told him.
"She's right, orb." Phoebe supported.
"Oh for Heaven's sake listen to them. We'll find out how to vanquish this thing later." Penny ordered. Chris, for once felt will crumble and orbed out.
"Now!" He ordered and the slime was blasted into smithereens before escaping into the cracks of the attic's wooden flooring.
"Er... Oh." Piper stated, looking at the spot where the slime escaped from with a disgusted expression.
Chris just kneeled over and shook his head, criticising himself. What was he thinking? He should've known it was too easy back then!
The two remaining Charmed Ones and their Grandmother went downstairs when a low grumble was heard.
"Did you hear that?" Leo asked. Chris nodded and they proceeded downstairs.
"Shh... everyone quiet." Leo told the girls. Chris went over to the wall and placed his ear on it.
"I can hear it," Chris said. "I think it's in the wall."
At that moment, the wall cracked and Chris moved back.
"Yep," Leo said peering around. "It's in the wall."
"Ok we're gonna need Paige it took the Power of Three to vanquish this thing in the future." Chris informed them.
"What?" Piper half exclaimed. "If you knew that, why didn't you tell me that in the first place?"
"Because it was hard enough to get the two of you together, let alone three. Besides, this thing's not that big now and I thought two of you could handle it." Chris justified.
"Leo, you take point. Chris here is much too green to guide my girls." Penny told the Elder.
"What?" Chris replied, not believing his ears. "You know what you can just stop that right-"
"Uh uh," Penny interrupted and the two Charmed Ones looked confused. "Quiet."
Chris looked at Leo desperately, begging him to do something.
"It's time to give this floundering ship a rutter," Penny continued. "Which boots did Paige put on?"
"Red, Go-go boots." Piper said.
"We got a problem," Penny declared after thinking for a moment. "Those boots transported Paige back to the Summer of Love, which was one of the most crucial times of my life."
"What do you mean crucial?" Phoebe asked apprehensively.
"Your grandfather Allen, rest his soul, was a sweet man, but he led me straight down the hippy-dippy trail.
"You were a flower-child?" Phoebe laughed.
"Well, don't rub it in." Penny commented and Leo gave a small smile. "What's important, is that Allen was killed by my best friend. I didn't know it then, but she was evil.. And I walked in right after it happened."
"What'd you do?" Piper asked, unable to imagine the grief she'd go through if the one she loved was killed.
"Well, let's just said my peace days ended fast." She answered and Chris realised what she meant. "Along with that bitch Robin. If she hadn't killed Allen-"
"You'd still be a flower-child." Leo finished for her and she smiled.
"And the Charmed Ones would be dead." She added in. "I know I'm a bold buster, but it kept me alive for me to protect my girls from all the demons that came after them as kids."
Piper sighed.
"I cast the return-to-owner spell on a lot of my clothes that summer. So-" She tried to suggest to them but Phoebe cut her off.
"So we get to go back there?" Phoebe asked. "And we get to meet our Grandfather?"
"Don't make too much out of it because whatever you do, you can't change the past or tell anyone that you're from the future." She informed them quickly.
"Well, why does he get to?" Phoebe pointed to Chris.
"Because I know what I'm doing." Chris retorted and Piper snorted.
"Not from where I'm standing." Penny replied. "I'll stay here with Leo and the newbie to contain the slime until you two can bring Paige back too vanquish it, ok."
Chris swung his legs as he realised he was just called a newbie. She doesn't know the trauma he had faced, she doesn't know what he can do, of course it is justifiable that he is seen as a newbie. Well, the only good thing is that Penny won't pry into his abilities since she assumes that he is new.
"Ok girls, get dressed," Penny clapped her hands. "You are going to the Summer of Love."
The boxes filled with Penny's old belongings were brought out and as soon as Piper and Phoebe had been transported away, Penny whirled around to Chris and Leo.
"The way I see it, we're all targets for the slime. We need a plan to control it till the girls get back." Penny informed Leo.
"In the future, everyone tried to control the Demon-with-no-name. But it can't be done." Chris tried to explain.
"That's hardly a winning attitude young man. And why in Heaven's name couldn't the people from the future find a name for that thing?" Penny chastised.
Chris just ignored her. Of course people of the future had no time to play 'Name the Demon'. They were too busy running from Wyatt.
A loud crash and thud interrupted his train of thought.
"What was that? He asked. It sounded like it came from the attic. Chris walked to the attic hurriedly. If it was the demon-with-no-name, he wanted to see how big it had gotten.
To his surprise, in the attic was a girl who seemed tensed. She hopped off the floor that she was previously lying on and put up her guard. Her familiar green eyes met Chris's own. She broke eye contact and dodged the green slime that came towards her. She sprinted towards Chris and pulled him out before she shut the attic door. All of a sudden, she gave him an amused smirk.
"Bad time?" She asked.