Chapter Fourteen: The Ninth Circle

The feeling of lightness was spreading, seeping through his body. It was warm, and filled him with a peace that he had not felt in years. It would be so easy to give up, to fade away… His life had been a constant battle to survive for so long, and nonexistence was finally offering him a chance to rest.

But Chris was a Halliwell, and Halliwells did not rest.

"Chris?"

The three sisters appeared in a swirl of orbs, and Chris' eyes were immediately drawn to Piper. She was calling out for him, but he was much less interested in her words than in the fact that she was covered in dirt and blood and her clothing had been singed by fire. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but what was the point? She couldn't see him, couldn't hear him. He had no way of reaching out to her. He barely even existed anymore.

Piper dropped Paige's hand and headed towards the stairs. "Chris!" she called again.

There was no worry in her voice. No panic. Chris bit his lip, feeling almost guilty about that. If he'd been honest with her, if he'd told her how much time he really had left… Well, if he'd done that, then his absence now would be terrifying her. As it was, she seemed to think that he was merely ignoring her calls.

He'd done enough of that recently for her to make the assumption.

He sighed and followed her up the stairs towards her room.

There were cuts on her skin and her knee was already starting to swell. But the vanquish must have been successful, because Paige and Phoebe had been smiling and Piper was flushed with exhilaration.

Chris knew he should be happy about that, but he couldn't stop the unease from expanding inside his chest. Something about Lucifer still bothered him – something he couldn't quite place. This was all wrong. It had been too easy, too straightforward.

Lucifer wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

Piper shoved the door to her bedroom open and walked inside. The door swung shut, but Chris walked straight through it, unbothered by the solid wood blocking his path.

There were some perks to being a ghost. Or whatever he was.

Piper paused and looked back at the door, her mouth partially open. But then she stopped and shook her head. She turned around and looked at the bed, and her expression fell into something more somber. Her lips pressed together into a flat line, and as Chris walked around the room so that he was facing her once more, he caught a glimpse of tears sparkling in her eyes before she hurriedly blinked them away.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes. Chris stood there, watching her, and the lightness continued spreading through his body. It infiltrated his mind, and his thoughts suddenly became sluggish and incoherent.

This wasn't right. He'd made a deal with Lucifer. The devil had to return Leo before Chris ceased to exist – so why was he disappearing now?

He opened his mouth, wanting to cry out, but couldn't form the words. "Piper!" he finally managed to choke out as his vision darkened and everything around him grew fuzzy. Panic settled in, and although he had convinced himself that he'd accepted the possibility of his own nonexistence, he now had to face the reality that that simply wasn't true.

He wanted to live. He desperately, passionately, frantically wanted to live.

"Piper… help me!"

The last thing he saw before his vision went completely black was Piper's eyes snapping open even as she froze on the bed, almost as though she had heard him call out.

Then…

Nothing.

He became aware of his surroundings quickly. It wasn't like coming back from hell – that had been long and painful. This was fast, like a burst of lightning that suddenly illuminates everything. One moment there was nothing at all, and the next he was standing in the middle of Piper's bedroom, fully formed and visible.

The sheets on the bed were strewn about, and the blankets and pillows were tossed onto the floor. There was a pile of clothing by the foot of the bed - Piper's clothing. And a flannel shirt tossed on the chair - Leo's shirt.

And it hit Chris – with the full force of sudden clarity – just what had happened.

"Oh, God!" he gasp, practically gagging. He backed away from the bed, from the sheets and blankets, from the evidence of what had just taken place. "Oh… oh, God…"

The door to the bedroom opened and Leo came in. He had a towel wrapped around his waste, and his hair was wet. His skin was pale and his eyes were haunted and he looked so beaten down, but none of that mattered to Chris because the young white-lighter was suddenly feeling sick.

"Chris…" Leo whispered.

Chris backed away from him. "You… you and Piper…" His eyes darted to the bed. "You and Piper just…"

It shouldn't have come as such a shock. After all, he'd known all along that the two of them would need to… do that… as soon as Leo returned. He had to be conceived – that was the entire point of getting Leo back.

And now that Chris was solid again, now that he was no longer in danger, it was clear that his soon-to-be parents had done exactly what needed to be done. He should be happy, he should be relieved. After all, he had so desperately wanted to live.

He just hadn't expected to find himself standing in their bedroom moments after they'd… done… that.

He couldn't even bring himself to think the word. It was far too disturbing. Who wanted to envision their parents… doing it? Who wanted to find themselves standing in the middle of the room, in front of the bed – in front of the very sheets – on which their parents had…

And with Leo standing there, too, staring at him…

"Chris," Leo said again, his voice louder this time. "Chris."

"Don't," Chris said, sounding harsher than he meant. He held up a hand to stop Leo. "Just… don't. You can go put some clothes on and then we can talk. But not here." He looked at the bed with a shudder. "You know what? Let's not even talk in this house. Let's go some place very, very far away."

Leo stared at him uncomprehendingly. "What?" he asked.

"God, Leo… you and Piper… you had sex," Chris said. Then, unable to stand it anymore, he orbed out of the room.

"Oh, thank God!" Phoebe cried, running forward to hug Leo the moment she spotted him. He tensed and flinched away from her, and she felt the full force of his pain and panic and other jumbled emotions slam into her, causing her to stumble backwards.

Paige was at her side quickly, steadying her.

"Sorry," Leo whispered, his voice rough and raw. He looked apologetic, apparently knowing that it was his emotions that were hurting her, but still unable to do anything about it.

Phoebe gave a wan smile. "Don't be," she said, rubbing at her temples. "It's not your fault. I'm just really glad that you're back."

"Me, too," Leo murmured.

Paige reached out and tentatively squeezed his shoulder. He didn't flinch, but his eyes darted warily away before moving back to Paige's face. It was almost as though he was afraid of them, but that didn't make any sense. Chris, too, was filled with nearly uncontrollable emotions now that he'd returned from hell, but his emotions made sense. They were just stronger versions of things he'd already felt. But Leo's fear…

That wasn't a stronger version of anything. Leo had never been afraid of them in the past. How could he be afraid of them now?

Phoebe glanced at Piper. She was standing behind Leo, and she was the only one Leo wouldn't flinch away from. She was smiling, a warm smile that lit up her entire face. Although she must have seen just how damaged Leo was, she seemed to think that this obstacle could be surpassed.

Maybe it could. They were finally all together again, after all.

With that thought in mind, Phoebe asked, "Where's Chris?"

Leo blushed. "He… uh… he's fine. He's just…" He looked over his shoulder at Piper, and she was blushing, too.

"You two slept together!" Phoebe said, a smirk playing at her lips. Then her eyes narrowed. "Instead of coming to tell Paige and I that Leo was back, you decided to let us keep worrying so you two could sleep together?"

"I wasn't thinking clearly," Piper said, averting her gaze quickly. "I was just… relieved to see Leo."

"Obviously," Paige said, rolling her eyes. She looked down at Piper's stomach. "So… is Chris… in there?"

"Yeah," Piper said, her voice awed. She touched her stomach. "It's so… weird. I don't even feel pregnant, but I must be, because Chris is back…" She shook her head, a soft smile on her lips. "Chris," she whispered, as though testing out the name.

The room suddenly filled with the light of white and blue orbs, and Chris appeared. He gave Leo and Piper a quick look, his eyes darting to Piper's stomach before moving away. His face was flushed slightly, and Phoebe could feel his embarrassment and disgust.

She almost laughed as the realization hit her, and felt somewhat tempted to ask Chris just what he had witnessed. But she doubted he would take that teasing particularly well, so she wisely kept her silence.

"You're solid," Paige said, grinning at Chris.

"I am," Chris replied. "And Leo's back."

"How?" Piper asked. Phoebe looked at her, but Piper was too busy looking at Chris. "I mean… I'm glad he's back, but… how?"

"I made the deal with Lucifer," Chris answered. "He came to me after you guys left. He knew that Lola had turned on him, knew that…" He stopped, frowning. "He made the deal with me."

"What was the deal?" Leo asked sharply, panic coloring his tone. "Did you trade your soul? Did anyone trade their soul?"

"No," Piper said quickly, turning her attention to Leo with a reassuring smile. "We forced Lucifer into a deal. We got the upper hand."

"I'm not sure that we did," Chris interrupted.

Phoebe lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she demanded anxiously.

Chris sighed. "I can't really explain it. I just… I think… Lucifer agreed far too quickly to my deal. It was almost like… like he wanted it."

"What did he say?" Piper pressed.

Chris leaned against the counter and surveyed the other four. "Lucifer came to me. At first I thought it was just to gloat, but then I realized that he knew what we were doing. I told him that he could either make a deal with me – Leo in return for our silence – or the entire magical world would know that he could be betrayed."

"And he agreed to the deal," Piper said.

Chris nodded. "We're not allowed to tell anyone about the deal, though, or Lucifer gets my soul." He rubbed his eye. "There's something we're missing," he muttered. "I just… I can't see it."

Phoebe could feel his frustration and his worry. It was intense, almost more intense than Leo's emotions. He was truly afraid.

"We'll figure it out," Piper said. "As long as we're together, that's all that matters."

Chris didn't look convinced.

"I don't understand," Leo said, "what deal did you make with Lucifer? How did you force him into the deal? And what's this about him being betrayed?"

"I'll fill you in later," Piper said quickly.

Phoebe chewed her lip as she studied her family. Leo was an emotional mess, Piper seemed to be so fixated on the good that she couldn't see that anything might be wrong, and Chris was a strange mixture of worry about Lucifer and simmering anger at everyone else. They were all damaged in ways that even she couldn't fully understand, and she was the empath.

Leo was staring at Chris. It seemed like there was something he wanted to say, but he couldn't find the words.

Phoebe knew exactly how he felt.

"You still need to be careful," Chris said. "I don't trust Lucifer. I don't trust that this is over."

And without waiting for an answer, he orbed away.

"Chris!" Leo called out quickly, but Chris was already gone. The Elder stared blankly at the spot where Chris had stood, unable to fully comprehend that Chris had just left, and Phoebe felt a bit of sympathy for him. He hadn't been here for the past several days, didn't understand just how strained things were between everyone.

Piper narrowed her eyes. "He said you," she muttered.

"What?" Paige asked.

Piper shook her head. "He said you," she repeated, but didn't elaborate.

Phoebe didn't need her sister to elaborate, she had a pretty good idea exactly what Piper was thinking. Before focusing on saving Leo, Chris had been determined to return to the future to check on Wyatt. Once they'd finally had a plausible plan for fighting Lucifer, Chris had reluctantly put aside his plans to return to his own time in favor of helping them. But now that Leo was back…

It seemed he was planning on finally leaving.

"Leo's back, Michael. Lucifer released him."

"I know, Aravis," Michael said heavily. The white mist and fog of Up There swirled around the two, hiding their meeting from the view of other Elders and white-lighters, offering them the privacy necessary for a discussion of such delicate nature.

"Lucifer would not release Leo unless he had some plan. Unless the Charmed Ones had offered him something," Aravis said, her voice coated in apprehension. She narrowed her eyes. "I don't trust them."

"Do you believe the Charmed Ones would work with Lucifer?" Michael asked skeptically.

Aravis sighed, shaking her head slowly. "I don't want to believe it, but if they were blinded by their own desires…" She paused. "Michael, they convinced so many to help them against our explicit orders. And to help them do what? Get rid of demons that Lucifer wanted them to destroy?"

Michael nodded slowly. It was true that the Charmed Ones had convinced a substantial portion of the magical community to ignore the Elders' rules. And – despite what the three Halliwells clearly believed – the rules were actually there for a reason. They protected the world from demons and other evils, and couldn't be ignored simply because they were inconvenient.

Lucifer was known for his manipulations. He was known for driving people insane, for bring out their worst attributes, for whispering words in their ears and making them do horrible things.

Was it possible that Lucifer could have turned the Charmed Ones evil?

And was it possible that the Charmed Ones had turned the magical community against the Elders?

He had the Book open to the entry on time portals.

He had stopped looking at the entry about twenty minutes ago, and was instead staring into space, thinking.

He'd called out for Piper. That moment when he was finally about to cease to exist, when the fear gripped him and he desperately didn't want to give up…

Yes, Piper had been the only one in the room, but it was more than that. He'd called out to her because hers had been the first name that had come to mind. He'd been afraid, and he'd wanted help…

And he'd instinctively turned to Piper.

Why?

He couldn't answer that question. She was Piper, not Mom. And Mom – that was someone he would have – someone he did – instinctively go to for help. But Piper…

There were lines that separated the two of them – Piper and Mom. When had that line blurred?

"Chris?"

Chris started, having been so lost in his own thoughts that he'd not heard Leo's approach.

"Leo," Chris said warily.

He didn't know what to make of Leo. His father… well, that relationship hadn't been great. His father hadn't been a bad father, not really. He'd heard plenty from Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry about the kinds of bad parents they dealt with in their respective lines of work. Abusive parents. Parents who were always drunk or high. Parents who beat their children, or locked them in closets and refused to feed them, or kicked them out of the house.

His father had never been any of those things.

He'd missed plays and birthday parties. He'd sent letters of apology, always asking for forgiveness, always saying he would be there next time. But then it would happen again.

He was always busy. Always working, always answering the Elders' every beck and call. Like nothing else mattered – like Chris didn't matter.

"Your mother told me about everything that happened," Leo said, interrupting Chris' thoughts.

"Piper," Chris corrected automatically, not realizing that he'd said it aloud until he registered the look of surprise on Leo's face.

Leo didn't comment on the correction. Instead, he said, "I'm sorry that we… that we let you trade your soul for Wyatt."

Chris blinked. That wasn't what he had expected.

"I'm not sorry," he said honestly.

"Trading one child for another is never…" Leo stopped, the words breaking off. His tone was brittle, unsure. "I would rather it have been me. That's why I…" Again, he stopped.

Chris didn't know what to say. He should be angry. He was angry. Leo had nearly ruined everything – and for what? To appease his own guilt? To make himself feel better?

Even if Chris had already been conceived at that point, even if Leo sacrificing his own soul hadn't threatened Chris' existence, it still wouldn't have been what Chris wanted. But what he wanted hadn't mattered to Leo then, just like it never seemed to matter to Piper. Did everyone in the entire family always believe that they knew best?

Chris snorted. It wasn't a surprise Wyatt had ended up with a God complex, given his genes.

Orbs appeared abruptly in the middle of the attic, and Chris and Leo both turned in surprise to face the being that appeared.

It was Michael.

"Blessed be, Leo," the Elder said, gazing at Leo was undisguised suspicion. "You're back."

"I am," Leo agreed. He paused, then said darkly, "You don't seem pleased."

Michael tilted his head to the side and contemplated Leo. "I am mostly just surprised. This is… unexpected."

"Well, I was a little surprised as well," Leo answered flatly. "But I am happy to be back with my family." He glanced at Chris with a slight smile.

Chris studied Leo, concerned. The Leo that he had spoken to in the kitchen had been bewildered and… diffident. Almost afraid. But the Leo that was facing Michael now, the one that was staring at the other Elder with a look of distaste on his features and a hardness in his eyes…

This was a Leo who was not afraid of a fight.

It was a strange and somewhat disturbing juxtaposition. How could Leo be afraid of Paige and Phoebe and yet show no fear at all before an Elder?

"Did Lucifer say anything to you when he released you?" Michael questioned.

"No," Leo said. "I didn't even see him. I didn't realize I had been released until I found myself in Piper's bedroom."

That was remarkably different from the experience that Chris had had, and again, the white-lighter was hit with the suspicion that Lucifer was still playing them.

Michael turned to Chris. "Did you make a deal with Lucifer?" he asked. His tone was mild, curious. Nonthreatening. But underneath that superficial veneer, Chris could sense something else, something darker. Michael was desperate for answers.

Chris opened his mouth to answer, then paused. He and Leo exchanged a meaningful look. They couldn't tell Michael about the deal. No matter how much the Elder might want an explanation, the entire thing would undo itself if they gave him an answer. Lucifer had made sure of that.

"Don't worry," Chris said finally, "we didn't do anything that you'd disapprove of."

Michael's eyes widened ever so slightly. He turned away from Chris and Leo and said with a sneer in his voice, "You organized many of our sons and daughters to turn against us. I'm not sure how you can think that is something that we would approve of."

"We didn't…" Chris started, and then once again had to stop. They had done exactly what Michael was accusing them of, but Chris still couldn't explain why.

"We warned the Charmed Ones not to have any more dealings with Lucifer," Michael said coolly.

"You were content to leave me with him?" Leo practically hissed.

Michael spun around. "You made the deal," he snapped. "It was your fault that you ended up in Lucifer's grasp. Don't act as though you were innocent and we were abandoning you."

"You were abandoning me," Leo said furiously. "You were abandoning this entire family."

"Leo," Chris warned in a low tone. The last thing they needed right now was a vicious argument with an Elder of Michael's power.

"We were attempting to protect the world, Leo," Michael defended himself. "Or do you really believe that Lucifer is no threat to us, that making deals with him will not end up hurting us all?"

"So… my soul for the Greater Good," Leo said quietly, venom dripping from his tone. "What is one life weighed against an entire world?" He paused, glaring at Michael just long enough for the other Elder to know exactly where this statement was going, then, "Where have I heard that before?"

"Leo!" Chris said again, louder this time. He didn't quite agree with Leo's assessment of Michael's actions. Although there was no love lost between Chris and the Elders, and although he was utterly appalled by how quickly they had turned their backs on Leo, he didn't think it was right to compare Michael to Gideon.

Michael, at least, had not wanted to kill an innocent baby.

Unless, Chris had to admit, the Elders were aware of who Chris was and just how close he had come to not existing. In which case, Michael had been content to let Chris – both the adult and the baby – disappear in order to protect the world.

Michael had gone completely still at Leo's words. His face was pale, nearly white, and his eyes flashed with a dangerous fury.

"Careful, Leo," the Elder warned in a hushed tone, "you don't want us to recycle you, do you?"

"Stop it!" Chris said, raising his voice. "Just… don't. Can't you see we're all on the same side?"

That was a statement he had never thought he'd make. He had never been good at keeping the peace. He'd learned some of the skills necessary for it in the future when he'd been responsible for keeping warring factions of the Resistance from hurting each other. But it didn't come naturally to him.

Still, they were on the same side, whether Michael realized it or not. Gideon was gone, Wyatt was no longer in danger, and Lucifer had given up his claim on Leo. Life could go back to normal – or as normal as it ever was for a Halliwell.

"Are we?" Michael asked. He gave Chris a long look. "Then tell me what you did. Tell me how you convinced Lucifer to release Leo."

"I can't," Chris said desperately.

"Very well," Michael said finally. His tone turned brisk, businesslike. "Leo, your access to Up There has been revoked. The other Elders will hold a meeting to discuss what to do with you. I will let you know what we decide. In the mean time…" his eyes traveled briefly to Chris, "I suggest you say goodbye to Christopher. We will be returning him to the future soon."

"Wait! You can't just…" Leo started, but Michael had already orbed away.

"Sigmund, you cannot possibly be suggesting that we recycle Leo," Zola said softly. "He's an Elder, and he's done so much good for us."

"Indeed," Sigmund agreed with a nod of his head, his tone serious. "But now he has been corrupted by Lucifer. If we recycle him now, then we will be preserving Leo's memory as the memory of a white-lighter and Elder who saved us from annihilation at the hands of the Titans. If we do not, if we stand by and allow him to turn completely evil… he will always be remembered as the Elder who tried to destroy us."

"I agree," Aravis chimed in.

"The Charmed Ones will never let us," Zola said.

"Then we must deal with them as well," Michael said gravely. He glanced around at the Elders seated before him in the white marble meeting chamber. Each sat on a white marble chair, and each chair was decorated with thin veins of gold. It was a sacred place, a place the Elders very rarely went. It was used only for the most important of meetings, and it greatly upset him that they were meeting in this room now.

"There is no way to deal with them," an Elder said, pursing her lips together. "The Charmed Ones have long since proven that they will not follow our rules."

"We have allowed them leeway because of all the good they've done," argued another Elder. "Let us not forget the number of times they have saved our world. Let us not forget the number of times they have saved us."

"No one is discounting the good they have done," Michael said.

"But we have allowed them to flout our rules," Sigmund argued. "And though they have done an incredible amount of good, because they have gotten away with ignoring us for years, they are not going to start listening now."

"Besides," another said with a heavy sigh, "we have not yet fully discussed the possibility that Lucifer has corrupted them, too. We do not know what deal they made with the devil, and they are unwilling to tell us."

"Isn't that proof that they have turned?" Sigmund asked. He received several incredulous stares, and so he hurried on, "If they had not turned, wouldn't they just tell us what they had done? Why would they feel a need to hide their actions unless those actions were evil?"

Michael considered this carefully. The argument made sense. He didn't like to even consider the possibility, but he couldn't deny the logic.

And more than that… Leo had been different. The confrontation in the attic, the argument… there had been something darker, something angrier, something more dangerous about the Elder.

"We cannot recycle the Charmed Ones," Aravis said wearily. "They are not white-lighters or Elders."

"We could erase their memories," Zola suggested.

"Or them," Sigmund muttered under his breath.

Michael ignored Sigmund and instead focused on Zola. "That is a possibility," he conceded. "We could bind their powers and erase their memories, give them new ones."

"They could always unbind their powers," Sigmund argued.

"Only if they remembered that they had magic in the first place," Zola countered.

"You don't think Lucifer will remind them of that?" Sigmund snapped back. He turned towards the other Elders, appealing to them. "Is there anywhere we can send the Charmed Ones where Lucifer won't be able to reach them? If erasing their memories is meant to protect them from him, will it really work?"

"And what about everyone else?" Aravis said. "The gypsies, dwarves, leprechauns, fairies, witches, oracles… what about all the other members of our world that the Charmed Ones convinced to turn on us? Should we erase their memories as well?"

"Would that even work?"

"At least if we did all that," Zola said, "it would take Lucifer a long time to return all of their memories."

"He's immortal," Michael said pointedly. "He has time." He leaned back in his marble seat and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, already feeling the beginnings of a headache forming behind his eyes.

"I cannot condone erasing all of them," Zola said.

"I agree," Michael murmured tiredly. "But instead of binding the Charmed Ones' powers, we could remove them. Cage the Charmed powers in the same way we caged the powers of the gods and goddesses. They will be safer up here – the Charmed Ones will not be able to reach them, and even Lucifer would have a hard time getting to them."

"We can protect them with the same enchantments that are on a witch's Book of Shadows," another Elder suggested. "Then they will protect themselves from evil."

"Assuming the powers haven't already turned evil. A witch's power responds to her orientation. It is possible that these powers have already been corrupted."

"We can still remove them," Michael said. "Evil or not, we can trap them here, out of the Charmed One's reach."

"And what happens when the Charmed Ones go to their new allies for help?" another Elder demanded bitterly.

"Demons cannot get up here," Michael replied.

"I don't mean the demons or even Lucifer," came the reply. "What happens when the Charmed Ones go to the dwarves or the leprechauns or the gypsies? What happens when they go to those allies?"

A complete silence met that question.

"No matter how we look at this," Sigmund said gravely, "Leo and the Charmed Ones have betrayed us. The question, now, is how far are we willing to go to protect our world?"

"I feel like I should have a cigar," Lucifer said idly, twirling his sunglasses around in one hand. "Isn't that what humans do to celebrate? Smoke a cigar?"

"You are about fifty years out of date," Lola answered with a smirk. "Besides, isn't it a little too early to celebrate?"

"Of course not," Lucifer replied. "We've already won. Give it twenty-four hours… and the magical community of Good will be in the midst of a civil war."

A/N: The title of this chapter is taken from Dante's Inferno. In his book, the ninth circle of hell (which is the deepest part of hell) is reserved for traitors.