Chapter Seven
A long time after they'd left the manor, Chris and Wyatt finally appeared in the house.
Wyatt had woken up not too long after he'd collapsed, but the brothers had been stalled for a long time while they waited for the ambulances and police to arrive. Even with murdering demons chasing them, there was no way to avoid the legal system, which dictated that they would have to wait until doctors made sure the other driver was ok, and then for the police to decide who was paying for both cars.
Even when it was discovered that the Halliwell car had blown a couple of its tires, Wyatt had had to call his mother's insurance to pay for the damage of the other car. Luckily, the family was used to having to replace things, so they had great insurance behind them. But still, it took a long time to make their way through the system before they were finally let go.
Their car's tires having been blown up by demonic powers, the brothers had had to use an unorthodox method to get home, even with Chris protesting the entire way. Wyatt ignored him as he simply orbed inside his house, holding onto Chris's arm.
As soon as they landed, Chris pulled free from his brother's strong grip.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked, rubbing his pained arm. "I can orb by myself, you know."
Wyatt ignored him as his little brother continued complaining about the recent occurrence. Chris might not be so scared about demons attacking them so often, but Wyatt was terrified.
Just a short while ago, Chris had nearly been killed by an extremely powerful demon. If Wyatt hadn't been there, his brother could have died.
Grabbing Chris's shirt, Wyatt pulled him into the living room. Chris squawked in surprise, before struggling.
"Stop it, Wy!" he grumbled.
Wyatt was deaf to Chris's comments as he mulled what had happened over and over in his mind. The demon had caused the accident to get to them. Yet, once the accident had happened, he'd been intent on getting to Chris, instead of Wyatt. This left Wyatt with only one horrible conclusion.
"Mom!" Wyatt called, his voice drowning out his brother's protests.
-)-(-
Piper descended the stairs quickly, having heard her son's call. She'd been rather worried about the pair, and now, she was beginning to turn her concern into the usual mother-like fury.
"Where have you two been?" she asked, even if she still hadn't arrived at the living room. She just couldn't stop herself from chastising them.
Piper stopped short as soon as she saw her older son standing protectively over her younger, who was sitting on the couch, looking frustrated.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice changing dramatically. She knew Wyatt well, and she did not like the look that was on his face.
Her son only said shortly, "Call Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige," before looking back at his brother, who squirmed uncomfortably.
Piper gaped for a second before yelling her sisters' names up at the ceiling, hoping that neither of them had something important to do at the moment, and that they would both be able to get away.
Luckily, neither of the sisters was held up, and just a few minutes later, Paige orbed into the room, holding Phoebe's hand.
Usually, the middle sister would have protested being called away in the middle of her busy day, but, she had a feeling that this time was different. If Piper needed her and Paige, and couldn't just make do with her children, that meant that something was very wrong. So, instead of starting to complain about how she would miss one of her many appointments, she simply turned to Piper and asked worriedly, "What happened?"
Piper, hoping to find out herself, turned to Wyatt, who took a deep breath before stating the extremely short explanation.
"Demons are after Chris."
Emotions surged through the room like a tidal wave as everyone reacted to the simple statement. Phoebe staggered slightly as she noticed what everyone was feeling, but after she shook her head slightly to clear it, she was fine and able to start thinking about what Wyatt had said.
Piper was shocked by the statement, uncertain of what to think. For one thing, Chris was usually a very low-key witch, who didn't call much attention to himself, meaning that the more powerful demons tended to ignore him as they searched for prey. Luckily, Chris was able to lead a more or less normal life because of this, but it seemed that he hadn't been protected from them all.
Paige felt very surprised herself, knowing that it was usually Wyatt or the Charmed Ones themselves who were hunted, and not her youngest nephew. Not only were the younger children discouraged on going out on demon hunts on their own, but they were protected by very strong magic. Demons had learned very soon that taking on the children of the Charmed Ones was practically suicide.
Unwilling to believe Wyatt's statement himself, Chris stood up and protested, as his aunts and mother turned and looked at him worriedly.
"Demons are not after me," Chris stated, negating the truth he knew well.
Ignoring Chris once more, Wyatt continued, his voice urgent as he tried to convey the danger his little brother was in. "They attacked us not too long ago, but their main focus was Chris. They didn't even seem to care about me."
Chris, frustrated, yelled out, "Would someone please just listen to me?" He was tired of people handling his business as if it was their own. It was something usual in his life, but today, it seemed that he'd reached a breaking point.
Four pairs of eyes turned to look at the emotional witch, as he took a deep breath.
Slightly more calm, Chris continued talking. "Demons are not after me," he repeated. "It's just all been a mistake. They obviously thought I was Wyatt or something."
"That's impossible," Paige interrupted. "Every demon knows what Wyatt looks like. There's no way they could think you were him."
"And besides," Phoebe broke in, "Wyatt's power aura is unmistakable."
"Then there's got to be another explanation," Chris said, his voice nearly failing him. He just couldn't believe this was happening now. Sure, he'd been the target of a couple of demon attacks before, but never so many powerful ones. It just didn't make any sense to him. Wyatt was always the one who got attacked by the worse ones, and he only got the mediocre. That was life.
But apparently, life had taken a drastic twist. Now, demons were after Chris, and completely uncaring about Wyatt.
"Sorry, bro," Wyatt said, finally talking to his little brother. "These demons are after you, not me."
Chris collapsed onto the couch, his eyes wide and shocked. Wyatt sighed and sat down next to him. The Charmed ones made themselves comfortable as well.
"Chris, there's no other explanation," Wyatt said slowly, knowing that this knowledge must be difficult for his brother to hear. "You saw him when we crashed. He didn't even look at me. He went straight to you."
Wyatt wouldn't admit it at the moment, but he was slightly affronted that the demon at the crash site had simply ignored him. That had never happened before. Even when he wasn't the main target of an attack, he usually got some attention, even if it was only the demons running away screaming. This occurrence was something that had never happened before. But now that it was going on, Wyatt wanted his little brother, the actual target, safe.
"Wait, you crashed the car?" Piper asked, her worry about her son searching for a release as a mother's usual anger at broken items.
Her voice broke into Wyatt's thoughts, and he just stared at his mother with a meaningful look that very plainly said that now was not the time to worry about the state of the automobile.
Seeing this, Piper forced down the scolding she'd been about to give both of her sons, and instead stopped fighting against the fear that was threatening to overtake her.
"What did the demon look like?" Phoebe then asked, deciding to stick to the magical problems and try to avoid any sort of conversation about vehicles. She sure didn't want to hear a safety lecture from her older sister at the moment, not when something so serious was going on. Even if the talk wouldn't be meant for her, Phoebe would inevitably be drawn in, as an example of what not to do when driving. Not pleasant at all.
Hearing his aunt's question, Wyatt answered her, forgetting that neither of his mother's sisters had been told of the recent events. "It was the same demon that attacked Chris earlier."
Paige looked at her oldest sister, surprised. "A demon attacked Chris before and you only call us now?" At least she and Phoebe should have been told about this earlier, just to be more prepared when the actual moment arrived.
"I thought we could handle it," Piper protested.
"Obviously you couldn't," Paige muttered, trying to be quiet enough so that not everyone heard what she said.
Unfortunately, Piper heard the comment, and she'd just opened her mouth to continue the argument when she was interrupted by her older son.
"We don't have time for that right now," he said. "Right now, we have to decide what we're going to do about these demons."
And with that, Piper snapped her mouth shut, and the sisters and Wyatt set down to talking. Chris didn't even listen. He was still caught up in the shock that for once he was the main target. For once, he was considered more important than his brother, even if it was only by demons.
(A/N) Hello! I hope you guys all enjoyed that chapter, and I apologize for not putting it up yesterday... I completely forgot. Anyway, I worked hard to develop the way Chris has inferiority issues in this chapter, and how, despite his being in danger, he kind of feels glad it's his turn to be more important than Wyatt. The next chapter will be up next Friday, and I hope you guys all stay tuned to read it!
That being said, I wanted to thank my wonderful reviewers: Patry, Killing Crusem's Paige, Drunk, xxxwallflowerxxx, Nosside, and Veradjna. You guys make me happy about posting new chapters!
Anyway, read, review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!