Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of its characters except the ones I make up. I do not seek to make profit out of this story.
Wyatt's Birthday
"My mom is going to kill me, unless you help me fix this fiasco," Wyatt pleaded to his younger cousin before he even rematerialized through the orbs.
"Don't be so dramatic. Aunt piper is a sweetheart. She's not going to kill you on your birthday! Now, tell me what happened," Henry Jr. asked his older cousin with a calmness and control he had clearly inherited from his father.
"Odie, I'm the one who lost Piper Halliwell's precious little peanut. I would be lucky if she doesn't bind my powers and ground me till I'm thirty," Wyatt attempted to convey the gravity of his situation. Junior looked at Wyatt dumbfounded for a moment before he realized what Wyatt had said.
"Whoa there. How the hell did you loose Chris? For goodness' sake he's not a child. And why the hell are you wet?" Junior bombarded Wyatt with questions. He had just realized after arriving that Wyatt was soaking wet and slightly shivering.
"It's a long story, Odie," Wyatt said as he proceeded to change into dry clothes.
"I would refrain from using that nickname if I were you. Now, Why don't you give me the cliff notes version?" Junior asked irritated reminding Wyatt of his aunt Paige.
"Here's what happened…" Wyatt began his narration.
About an hour earlier…
"I can't believe you are ditching me again. You promised me that we would do something together. Ever since you began college, I hardly get to see you. But apparently hanging out with your college friends is more fun than spending time with your boring little brother," Chris was seething with anger. As long as he could remember, Wyatt had been his best friend. Wyatt had always been more sociable and surrounded himself with friends. Chris on the other hand was a bit of an introvert. Ever since Wyatt began college, Wyatt's friend circle had widened. Although he wouldn't have admitted it explicitly, Chris started to feel left out. Today Wyatt agreed to meet his friends at the mall, completely forgetting that he had promised Chris to spend time with him. This was the last straw and his rather volatile little brother had blown the fuse.
"Listen to me, Kitten. You know I love hanging out with you. You're my best friend. Besides you've been hanging out with Aaron," Wyatt said referring to Chris's only close friend outside family. He quickly realized he had stepped into a minefield considering the fact that Aaron was in a relationship now while Chris was single. Wyatt knew he had to trade very carefully.
"Whatever. Aaron has a girlfriend now. Do you really think he would want to hang out with me? I could never compete with that sprite," Chris said with a slight bitterness in his voice. Things were a little complicated as Aaron's girlfriend had been Chris's first crush and she wouldn't give him the time of day.
"Don't worry bro, I know its rough. But You'll find your own sprite soon enough," Wyatt had unwittingly rhymed and before he realized it, there was swirl of golden lights that materialized into a group of sprites. Before the boys could react, the sprites began to flutter around Chris's torso and levitated him. The sprites disappeared in golden lights along with Chris.
"Oh crap," Wyatt said as he realized his baby brother had been kidnapped by sprites he had accidently conjured.
"And you didn't try to follow them?" Junior asked incredulously. Wyatt rolled his eyes.
"Of course I followed them. From what I could gather from my encounter with the sprites, they have Chris under some kind of spell. They want to make him their prince," Wyatt informed. Despite the gravity of the situation, Junior burst out laughing as he imagined Chris as the prince of sprites.
"And let me guess, the sprites dumped your ass in a lake when you attempted to get Chris back," Junior observed after he got his laughter under control. Wyatt's embarrassment was boundless.
"It was a well. I was in my bathtub when I resurfaced," Wyatt admitted in a barely audible voice. Henry Jr. had another fit of uncontrollable laughter. Wyatt narrowed his eyes and glared at Junior just as Chris would have but Wyatt's glare wasn't nearly as effective as that of Chris.
"Chris is far more resourceful than any of us. I'm sure he'll find his way back. So all you have to do is hide from your mother till he does," Junior tried to reassure his older cousin but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"I'm not sure it's that simple. I think he's there because he wants to stay. Or at least he doesn't want to be here," Wyatt muttered.
"I beg your pardon?" Henry Jr. asked.
"Do I have to spell it out for you? Chris has been feeling a bit left out lately. And I didn't help the situation by ditching him again. It's all my fault. I made him feel unwelcome," Wyatt revealed his fear.
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. And I have heard quite a few ridiculous things from you. Do you honestly think Chris, of all people, wants to be prince of the sprites? Besides you just said that he was under some spell," Junior said matter-of-factly.
"He wouldn't want to, not intentionally at least. But I think his desire not to be left out is making the spell so strong. Otherwise I, of all people, would have been able to break it," Wyatt's last sentence was borderline egotistical. Henry Jr. was quick to mock him.
"So, almighty twice blessed one, what do you need me for?" Junior asked. Wyatt was about to say, 'sprites are smart and I need a nerd to outsmart them', but didn't say anything as he realized he would be calling himself an idiot. Besides calling Junior a nerd was probably not the smartest move in his given predicament. 'I'm not that dumb', Wyatt thought to himself.
"Oh come on. Help me before mom finds out. Don't you want to have Chris back with us?" Wyatt decided to appeal to Junior's fondness for Chris.
"Alright, alright. I'll help you," Junior said.
"Good. Now, what is the plan of action? I can show you where they took him," Wyatt said pulling a world map from one of the drawers.
"I don't think following them is a good idea. I think you should summon Chris," Henry Jr. said pointing towards Wyatt's discarded wet clothes. Wyatt simply nodded in agreement. His face turned red with embarrassment once again. Without another word, Wyatt gathered all the ingredients needed for the summoning ritual.
"Can you still sense him through your brotherly bond?" Junior asked. Wyatt nodded.
"Good, because I'm not sure if he counts as a witch in his current state. You need to summon him as your brother," Henry Jr. told his older cousin as he scribbled something on a piece of parchment.
"This should work," Henry Jr. said. Wyatt nodded and began chanting. He was amazed by Chris and Junior's ability to come up with working spells on the fly.
Connection we share as brothers
Is stronger than that with others
Blood to blood, I summon thee
Blood to blood, return to me
As soon as a trop of Wyatt's blood touched the flame of the candle, the familiar golden lights swirled and reformed into a not so happy Chris. Unfortunately for Wyatt and Junior, he was followed by about twenty-five sprites that immediately attacked the Halliwell cousins.
Wyatt and Junior soon found themselves on the loosing side of the battle; mainly due to two reasons. Firstly, the sprites were so small and fast that blasting them without inflicting too much damage to the attic was nearly impossible. And secondly, sprites are mischievous little creatures but not necessarily evil. Wyatt wasn't sure if hurting sprites would count as hurting innocents. Incapacitating them would involve a well-worded spell. Given Wyatt's luck with spells, his spell would probably backfire.
"We need a spell," Wyatt said looking at Junior. Unfortunately, the sprites had managed to tie Junior's hands with a chord from the curtains and put a gag in his mouth effectively neutralizing him. It was clear to Wyatt that Chris was controlling the sprites. He could have easily hurt Junior but he merely incapacitated him. That meant Chris was still in there somewhere deep down. Wyatt just needed to get his brother to fight the spell.
"Chris, Listen to me. You have to fight it. This isn't you. You would never attack Junior and me on purpose. Listen to me kitten. We're brothers. Our bond is stronger than whatever enchantment the sprites have put on you. We may fight occasionally but deep down we love each other. That love is going to trump this stupid spell you're under. MMhhaaffasdf…" Wyatt's voice was muffled as the sprites gagged the twice-blessed witch with a towel and bound his hands with the cord. In a moment of confusion Chris stopped and looked at his brother and cousin bewildered. He telekinetically pulled the gags out of both their mouths. A golden glow began spreading across Chris's body signifying the spell of the sprites being broken. Seeing as their enchantment was being dispelled by Chris's love for his brother and cousin, the sprites suddenly attacked Chris. This was enough to remove the effect of the spell completely and Chris was back to normal.
"Chris! You're back," Wyatt and Junior yelled almost in unison. Chris telekinetically pulled Junior closer as he moved near Wyatt.
"Wy! Shield!" He yelled. Wyatt immediately obliged and enveloped Chris, Junior and himself in his protective blue shield. He kept mentally kicking himself for not thinking of this before. He also realized that the shield was a response to fear and panic. Due to their small size, he never truly considered the sprites as anything more than a minor nuisance. As a result his reflex to raise the shield was never triggered.
"What do we do now?" Wyatt asked a slight hint of irritation in his voice. Chris seemed thoughtful for a moment before he began chanting.
Essences of mischief and freedom
Those are found in a city seldom
Move them through time and space
Return them to their rightful place
The spell worked as expected; after all it was Chris's handiwork. As soon as the sprites disappeared, Chris quickly unbound Wyatt and Junior's hands.
"I'm sorry about you know… All this," Chris said pointing at the cords and gags used to incapacitate his brother and cousin.
"Don't worry about it. It was partly my fault anyway. After all I was the one who conjured them. And I'm sorry for forgetting about our plan," Wyatt said apologizing to his little brother.
"Its OK, Wy. I understand. Go, have fun with your friends. I'll be all right. And don't worry; I'm not mad at you. Not anymore anyway," Chris said a bit sadly. Wyatt put an arm around Chris's shoulders.
"No. I want to hang out with you. You're my best friend, kitten. This whole debacle has made me realize that I have been taking our friendship for granted. If I have to choose between you and anyone else, I'll always choose you," Wyatt said with a smile but the fear of losing his brother was evident in his mannerism.
"I'm sorry they destroyed your birthday present," Chris said gingerly handling the broken tripod he had bought for Wyatt's new camera.
"That's alright. You have given me something much more important. You reminded me the importance of our friendship. Now, that's enough of this touchy feely crap. Lets go have some fun. What do you want to do?" Wyatt asked.
"Well, it's your birthday. I know you've been dying to see that new photography exhibit and enlighten me with the excruciatingly detailed analysis of each picture so lets do that," Chris told his brother.
"Are you sure? I mean, every time there is a new exhibit, I have to drag your ass kicking and screaming," Wyatt asked.
"Well, think of it as an apology for trying to kill you on your birthday. Although you might want to hurry before I change my mind," Chris warned his big brother.
"You're right. Let's go," Wyatt said. Henry Jr. who was mutely watching the interaction between the brothers pouted silently, conveying the fact the he was feeling left out. Wyatt rolled his eyes and offered a hand to help Junior off the ground.
"All right Odie, you can come too", Wyatt said smiling at his little cousin. The brightest grin appeared on Junior's face as the three rushed downstairs and towards the front door.
Kindly read and review