Chapter Eight

Chris was still sitting shocked in the same position he had been for quite a while. He just couldn't believe what was happening. Demons were after him, the lesser Halliwell. The Twice-Blessed's younger brother. The guy always in Wyatt's shadow. It was just so unreal.

However, things were still moving on, so, deciding to mull these thoughts over later, when he was alone, Chris tuned into the conversation that his aunts, mother, and brother were animatedly having.

"It's a powerful demon, but nothing a potion can't handle," Piper was saying.

"Great," Paige cut in, already trying to set a plan in motion. "So all we have to do is get Chris outside, lure in the demon, and vanquish his sorry ass."

Hearing this, Wyatt interrupted loudly. "There is no way Chris is going outside with that demon on the loose." He wasn't going to let his little brother out of his sight, let alone into the street. Until Wyatt was sure that the demon was dead and that Chris was safe again, Chris would just have to stay in the manor, where the Halliwell magic would protect him.

"But it's the fastest way to vanquish him!" Paige protested. "Otherwise, we'd have to scry for evil, and that could take ages!" Although Paige enjoyed taking down a demon every once in a while, she wanted to get rid of this one quickly. One of her daughters had a sort of pageant at school that evening, and Paige really didn't want to miss it after promising her all week that she would be there.

"I agree with Wyatt," Piper stated firmly, letting her authority as the eldest sister resound in her voice. "I am not letting you use my son as bait."

"He wouldn't be bait," Paige answered stubbornly.

Phoebe, sensing that Piper would probably explode if Paige denied the obvious, tugged on her younger sister's sleeve, and told her quietly, "Technically, honey, you would be using Chris as bait."

"But still," Paige continued her protests, eager to show that her plan was a good one, "we obviously wouldn't let anyone hurt him or anything."

"No," Piper stated, her demeanor showing that her decision was final. Chris was her son, and he was not going to be used as bait to dangle outside until a powerful demon snapped him up.

"But, Mom," Chris said, suddenly eager to use this as an opportunity to prove himself, "like Aunt Paige said, nothing's gonna happen to me."

Wyatt leaned over the couch and pushed his younger brother slightly. "Chris, what Mom says goes."

Chris fumed silently. Why didn't his mother or brother trust him? Did they think he wouldn't be able to handle acting as bait or something? Was it because he was weaker than Wyatt? Why was he always the one who had to stay home, stay safe? Why didn't anybody believe in him?

Angry, Chris stood up. His brother's eyes followed him worriedly. Wyatt knew that Chris didn't want to stay at the manor while he and everyone else left in search for the demon, but he didn't want his younger brother on the front line. However, he could see that it wasn't sitting well with Chris.

"Why can't I go?" Chris asked loudly. "Don't you trust me?" he demanded of his mother, as she looked at him with wide, and almost hurt, eyes. "I am not weak!" Chris continued. "I can do just as much as any of you can! Maybe even more! Why won't you let me actually help you?"

"Chris," Piper said, standing up from her seated position. "I just don't want to see you get hurt." She reached out as if to touch her son's cheek, but then recoiled at his biting words.

"Then why don't you stop Wyatt from going too?"

Piper was unable to answer this question. Her mouth opened and closed a few times in shock as she tried to find an answer.

Wyatt finally burst in, exasperated at the fact that his brother seemed so eager to risk his life. "You idiot," he said to Chris, "we're just trying to keep you safe!"

"I can protect myself!" Chris said, his voice rising to a shriek. "I don't need anybody baby-sitting me just because I'm not as powerful as you, Wy!"

"Is that what you think?" Piper asked, but was brusquely interrupted by Chris before she could continue.

"I don't need everybody treating me like I'm some weakling who can't take care of himself! Just because I don't use my powers on a daily basis doesn't mean I don't have any, and I'm sick of people treating me not like a witch in my own right, but as Wyatt's younger brother!"

The women in the room stared at Chris as if they'd never seen him before. And, in truth, they'd never seen this side of the younger Halliwell boy. It had never crossed their minds that Chris might feel inferior to his older brother. Sure, when he'd come back from the future, he'd commented on Wyatt's superiority once or twice, but then they'd simply joked the matter away. Now, however, they were seeing eighteen years worth of suppressed anger.

Wyatt went over to Chris and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "I think you need to cool off," he said, and looked deeply into Chris's eyes, silently telling him to calm down, or he'd say something he'd regret.

Chris simply shrugged off Wyatt's hand, and answered, "You can't tell me what to do just because you're more powerful than I am, so leave me alone!" And with that, Chris pushed Wyatt forcefully before quickly making his way out of the room, leaving a dead silence behind.

-)-(-

Chris muttered angrily to himself as he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom.

Not paying attention to his surroundings, he nearly ran into his dad, who was still dressed in his teaching robes and had obviously just returned from magic school.

"Hi, Chris!" Leo exclaimed happily, but then froze at the expression on his son's face.

Chris just glared at his father before running up to his bedroom.

Leo stared uncertainly at the spot where Chris had been standing just a moment ago, before continuing down to the living room, where he was met with the sight of his wife and her two sisters sitting stunned, while Wyatt was getting himself off the floor.

"What's wrong with Chris?" Leo asked, more worried about his son than about wondering what the heck Phoebe and Paige were doing in the house.

Piper snapped out of the trance she was in, and sighed before looking up at her husband. "Where's Mel?" she asked tiredly, her motherly side insisting on asking this before any explanations were given.

"She's staying at Magic School tonight," Leo said, knowing that if he wanted answers, he'd have to give his wife what she wanted to know first. "She has a project to work on, and she'd rather stay near the library."

Piper nodded slightly, before sighing.

"About Chris…" Leo prompted, waiting for someone to answer his previous question.

Phoebe, finally reacting, pointed at the couch as she said, "You better sit down."

-)-(-

Chris slammed his bedroom door behind him. He just couldn't believe that after all these years of proving himself, his family just kept treating him like a kid. It was so unfair that Wyatt had always gotten to do as he wanted, from vanquishing demons at all hours, to not doing his schoolwork because he was too busy for it anyway; while Chris always had to be careful to only go after demons with someone by his side, and actually had to work at his life.

For the first time in eighteen years, he'd allowed his anger at this injustice out, and now, his family would probably think he was acting like a spoiled teenager instead of taking him seriously.

Sighing, Chris leaned against the door, and slid down it to sit on the floor. He put his head in his hands as he calmed himself down, trying to think the situation over rationally.

Now that he'd acted like such a brat, it was unlikely that his family would let him actually participate in the vanquish. They'd probably say that he was 'too involved' or something of the sort.

Groaning, Chris thought his situation over. He really wanted to help, but he had no idea how.

Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind. In a mission a couple of years ago, obviously accompanied by Wyatt, he'd snuck down to the Underworld to find out something about a particular demon.

Chris smiled as a great idea occurred to him. If he went down to the Underworld and figured out who had hired this demon, his family would have no choice but to let him participate. He'd finally be able to prove himself as capable as Wyatt.

Chris stood up and eagerly headed over to his closet, to put on something a little bit darker, to help him blend in. He tore his shirt off and tossed it on the floor, before grabbing a nearby black sweatshirt and pulling it on. Then, after studying his appearance in the mirror for a moment, and messing up his hair slightly, he orbed out, down to the Underworld.

(A/N) Oh Chris! Poor guy, the first time anyone ever considers him more important than his brother, his family insists on keeping him out of danger. And, to retaliate, he goes into the underworld all by himself, which is never a good idea. What do you think will happen to him? Will his family realize that they can't keep protecting him? Will he get caught? You will have to wait until the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one, I know I did!

Anyway, I want to thank my wonderfully fantastic reviewers: Mrs-Fanfiction, Funnie, Drunk, Patry, and Veradjna. You guys rock so much for telling me your opinions about my story! I also want to thank everyone who added this story to their Alerts and Favorites. It's wonderful to hear that you're enjoying reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Love you guys!