Disclaimer: just an amature writer playing in the Charmed universe, I own nothing.
A/N: I hope the story is staying interesting so far... this is my first attempt at writing fiction in about 15 years and I'm having a lot of fun with it. I do have a general outline for the entire story and the next several chapters pretty well mapped out, but there are still some things in flux. Also- I reference a lot of other great work out there, I'd love to know if anyone picks up on it as the story progresses. Enjoy!
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An agonized scream escaped from Chris as the jolt of purple energy surged through his body. After a few seconds the most intense pain subsided, leaving an aching numbness that reached into his very bones. He could feel something wet and warm trickling down his face as he curled his knees into his chest, the dirt of the floor beneath his cheek mixing with his sweat and blood.
"Its for his own good," he heard Wyatt's voice murmur in the distance. "Lock him back up Tam and make sure he isn't dead yet."
Chris clenched his jaw and opened his eyes enough to catch a glimpse of his older brother marching away. Tam looked down at him, a look of mingled concern and disgust on her pale face.
"God, Chris," she started. She checked his breathing and rolled him over, squeezing a dirty, wet rag over his face to give him a little water. He coughed and tried sitting up, slouching against the rough concrete wall. "He will eventually get tired of you defying him you know."
Chris glared in response.
Tamora sighed, "Honestly, you can't deny he's got a point. All this fighting, it will never end. At least… at least with Wyatt we'll be on the winning team."
"How can you…" Chris began coughing again and Tam handed him the water bowl. He tried to drink a little and his cousin began using the damp rag to clean some of the blood off of his face. Chris pulled away from her touch, wincing in pain. "How can you defend him? After… after he killed them?" He saw the flash of grief that passed over Tam's face before she could mask her emotions.
"They were weak Chris, you know that. They were a liability, always being used against us. We're safer without them," she said coldly.
Chris shook his head, "A liability? He killed your dad! Your brother! And you're here following his orders, enforcing his reign of terror." He started coughing again, pain wracking his body.
"If you keep this up Chris, he will kill you," Tam said, leaving the cell and both physically and magically locking it before storming out of the dark prison.
Chris let out a long, painful breath, leaning his head back against the wall. The dungeon reeked of urine and blood. He tried sensing for other life around him, but he was blocked. Of course Wyatt would take all necessary precautions before throwing him down here. How could he have been so careless? Wyatt should not have been able to catch him this time. All the weeks of careful planning, losing two spies, and not to mention that painful not-quite healed stab wound in his side, all for nothing. The Resistance was no closer to taking back any of the ground they had lost. Chris yelled in frustration, then winced as pain ricocheted through his broken body.
Just then Chris caught a small flash out of the corner of his eye. He looked over his shoulder and saw a single red-orange feather float down to the ground. He smiled and watched the feather glow red-hot like an ember, sucking in the air around it until it popped and fizzled like a tiny firecracker, leaving a singed sheet of paper in its place. Chris reached over and saw a spell hastily written out in familiar loopy cursive. He breathed in, clearing his mind focusing his intent and gathering energy from the space around him. With a surge of power he chanted:
Water and Earth, hear my plea,
Eastern Sun warm this cell,
Northern Wind come to me
And free this captured Halliwell.
He rolled his eyes, 'always so, so… witchy' he thought with a smirk as a hairline crack began to form in the wall. He watched, still focusing his power and intent, willing the crack to continue growing. Soon the line had formed a large circle on the wall and he watched as the concrete began to shimmer slightly. It looked as if the rock-hard material was separating into its original elements, the water pulling away from the cement and pooling on the floor. A soft breeze flitted into the cell, scattering the cement ash and granules; Chris had to cover his face with his arm to avoid breathing in the particles. Beyond the wall he saw the compacted earth that had already begun shifting, gradually sloping up to the ground above.
After a moment's hesitation, he looked back at the darkness of the cell then gathered what was left of his strength and crawled through the opening in the cool earth. As he went he could feel the wall closing back, the earth moving back into place behind him. A soft hand grabbed his arm as soon as he pushed it through to the fresh air above and helped him scramble out of the quickly closing tunnel. Chris swayed as he tried to stand, but the woman grabbed him, holding him steady.
"Alright there Raven?" She asked.
"Thanks," he said, grabbing her and pulling her into a strong embrace. He was too weak to stand on his own, even too weak to orb. The woman pulled back, looking at him, searching his eyes, concern and fear flashing through her own.
"C'mon, I'll get you back to headquarters," she said as she shimmered the two of them to safety.
Bianca.
Bianca, Chris thought, startling himself awake. He sat bolt upright, eyes roving his room for any danger, then leaned heavily against his headboard rubbing his face with his palm. It took him a few minutes to gather his thoughts and realize that he had been dreaming. At least he thought it was dream. It felt strangely real though, his body seemed to ache with phantom pain and his stomach turned as he remembered the smells. And Bianca. Why would Bianca be rescuing him? And Tam… and Uncle Henry and Junior… and… his mind reeled… Wyatt.
Wyatt had killed them, Wyatt had tortured him. What kind of whacked out dream was that? Chris shook his head and tried to push the unsettling images from his mind. He needed coffee, lots of coffee. After all, it was just a dream.
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Paige was pacing in the Manor attic, looking at the floor and occasionally talking out loud to herself. Not paying any attention she nearly walked right through the swirl of blue orbs that had just appeared and quickly materialized into her two nephews. She stopped short, only a few inches from Wyatt's shoulder. "Geez, can't you orb, you know, not directly on top of people?" she grouched.
Piper's head popped up, she was flipping through the Book of Shadows with Bianca. Piper had been trying not worry herself sick all morning. She and Leo had stayed up late talking through everything, worry over Chris's possible destiny plaguing them both.
"Well, its about time you two showed up," Piper exclaimed. "I've had nearly every one of your cousins through this morning, Phoebe's already gone through about six cups of coffee and your Aunt Paige, well, Leo might have to replace those floor boards she's worn down."
"Sorry Mom," Chris said as he walked over to give her a quick hug. "I overslept, trouble sleeping last night." Piper looked sharply at her youngest son, quickly noting the circles under his eyes indicative of a restless night.
"And I was trying to prioritize my focus: weird spidery-Ethiopian or imminent demon uprising, hmmm…" Wyatt quipped. "I think my spider-man might move to the back burner."
Bianca smiled tightly, still looking at the Book. "We'll have to get you two up to speed, I've already shared the basics of what I know with everyone else," she said, looking up at Wyatt.
"Cliff Notes version," Paige started. "About, oh, twenty years ago we teamed up with a skeezy demon named Nomed to take out the Triad." Chris and Wyatt nodded their understanding, then laughed. The sisters looked at them, alarmed.
"Uh, yeah, that was last year for us, remember?" Chris prompted. "We were there during all of that, babysitting our mini-selves."
Paige face palmed and shook her head, "I hate time travel." She took a breath and continued, "So yeah, Nomed has been organizing all this time. According to Bianca he's been garnering powers from the Wasteland and rebuilding the demonic hierarchies. Currently he's been sending out his best assassins to find and capture ancient magical relics—like that athame Jude had."
"Magical relics?" Wyatt asked, looking concerned.
"Yeah," Bianca answered. "I don't know what all he's after though. I know he's recovered some of the relics he was hunting. He has them well protected and away from prying eyes. I was part of the team to recover a large block of stone from the middle of Ireland and I've heard rumors about a large cauldron and a spear of fire, but that's all I know."
"What does the stone do?" Chris asked Bianca. He was still suspicious of Bianca, but also a little weirded out after the dream he'd had. He looked at her warily. She looked so much like the Bianca in his dream, but not exactly the same. The Bianca before him, strangely enough, didn't seem as anxious; she was softer somehow. The Bianca in his dream seemed hardened almost like a war veteran. Then again, so was he. The dream version of himself was able to push through the pain, pain like he'd never experienced in real life before.
"I don't know," she sighed. "Nomed's been pretty tight lipped about everything."
"Your dad headed to Magic School to search the library, there has to be some sort of a connection between the objects he's looking for," Piper added. "And Bianca's helping us update our demon entries over here."
"So, where do we need to focus?" Wyatt asked.
"Well, I'm glad you asked," Phoebe said, walking through the attic door dressed in gym clothes. Chris and Wyatt spun around, looking at her quizzically. She continued, "We're going to start some training sessions with all of you."
"I'm guessing these aren't your typical Wiccan training sessions are they?" Chris asked, smirking.
"No, smart-ass," Phoebe started. "I'll be doing martial arts training with you all, your dad is going to handle the heavy duty battle training and general warfare strategies and your Uncle Henry is chipping in on self-defense."
"You guys are serious," Wyatt said, dumbfounded. He'd never seen his family this worried about anything. Sure, they'd had their share of demonic activity over the years and he and Chris had gotten into some tight scrapes, but this was an entirely new level. Battle training? Warfare strategy? "But, since when is Dad a warfare expert?"
Piper laughed, "He was a soldier, you know."
"And Valhalla, he learned a lot there," Chris blurted out, then looked confused. Piper gasped and Paige and Phoebe went slack jawed.
"Valhalla?" Piper asked nervously. "What do you mean Valhalla?" Chris and Wyatt knew nothing about the year the Original Chris spent in the past, why would Chris suddenly mention Valhalla?
"Uh…" Chris was genuinely confused. "I have no idea where that came from." Wyatt was looking at him strangely, actually everyone was looking at him strangely. "Ok… so, what's Valhalla?"
"Nothing really," Phoebe started. "It's a magical island where warriors spend their afterlife training for the final battle between good and evil."
"And Leo spent some time there actually," Paige added. "Before you were born."
"But," Piper continued, "I don't think we've ever told you about that."
Chris looked at his aunts and mom, seeing the sudden fear in their eyes and not understanding the extreme reaction. He just shrugged, "You must have, or I saw it in the Book or something."
After a few tense moments Phoebe broke the silence, "Well, no matter, you two better get changed and then meet me in the basement. I'm about to kick both your asses kiddos."