All Alone
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, so there is no reason to envy me...lol.
Chapter Six:
Worst is Over
"I wonder what it would be like," said Mel after a long pause, leaning back on the attic window with a dreamy look in her blue eyes.
"What what would be like?" he asked, diverting his attention from the Book of Shadows. He grabbed another cookie from the box of Oreos and offered her one.
"Thanks," she said, accepting it. She took a bite and chewed with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I wonder what it would be like if Wyatt wasn't evil. No—I wonder what it would be like if we didn't have any magic."
Chris flinched. "Don't think like that, Mel. It's not all bad."
She shrugged. "I know. I was just wondering. I mean, I love having powers. It's awesome. And I love being able to help people. But it's really more trouble than it's worth." She sighed wearily. "Sometimes I just wish there were no elders or witches or demons and stuff. Sometimes I just wish…." She trailed off.
Chris put a hand on her shoulder. "I know what you mean." They both looked over at the clock. "Three hours," Chris muttered. It had been three o'clock when they'd left. Now it was six.
"Yeah. Three hours," she repeated numbly. She shot up out of nowhere. "You know what? Let's go."
"Go where?" he asked, startled.
"I don't know!" she burst. "Somewhere. I don't want to be in this stupid old house. I can't take this anymore." She paused at the doorframe. "Are you coming with me or what?" she demanded.
Chris spared one last glance at the attic of the manor. "Yeah," he said hesitantly after a moment. "I'm supposed to be watching you…so I guess I have no choice."
She was already half way down the stairs and hadn't heard his words.
Chris wouldn't have woken unless he heard the crash coming from somewhere inside the P3. The orb washed over him reflexively and in half a second he'd whirled himself into the middle of some alley someplace in San Francisco.
He managed a slight smile despite the possible danger he may have just barely escaped. At least it didn't make him so tired to orb anymore.
But he couldn't help but wonder exactly WHAT it was he'd just barely passed by. A demon? Maybe it was Liz and he'd missed her. He looked up at the sky. She'd be in school now, by the looks of things. The sun was directly overhead and nearing lunchtime. He moaned, realizing how hungry he was. Usually, when he was really starving, he'd admit defeat and go over to Catty's house and maybe munch on something small. Normally he got free school lunches.
But not anymore. He hadn't eaten…wow. How many days had it been, anyways? Three? Four? Maybe even five…
He shuddered. He couldn't even keep track of time anymore. There had to be something he could do to fix this—he couldn't just wait around to get shot like a sitting duck. He had to take action.
And do what, exactly?
He sighed. School wasn't an option with Prue there. He couldn't face her, and there was a reason behind that…but he'd never admit it that he was scared again. Scared that she would die, too. Because around him, nobody lasted too long.
He feared for Catty and the Alliance members once more. Seeing them so angry at him hurt him more than all of the years of rejection from his family. And he couldn't do anything to fix it.
Okay, he had a grand total of zero options here. Notta. Nothing.
He called himself the leader of the Alliance and he couldn't even find a way out of this! He wanted to kick himself but found that he felt too weak. He reached a hand up, rubbing the dried blood crusting on his forehead. This was not his day. No, this was not his month. Year.
Life.
He'd try one more time, he decided. If he could orb to the manor for just enough time to grab some crystals and get out, he could trap Catty and maybe some of the other Alliance members.
He braced himself. He knew that facing the manor would be hard. Somehow he couldn't tell himself it was just a place…somehow he couldn't get their screams out of his head…with or without the manor's presence.
"Here we go," he whispered to himself, orbing.
The place was a dusty mess, even worse than last time if possible. He coughed, squinting his eyes at the scene around him. Cobwebs, dust, debris from that last battle…the place was almost unrecognizable. Like a haunted house or something out of a movie, it seemed to mocked his every move.
"Crystals, crystals," he muttered, walking past the objects strewn on the floor. "Ah." He lifted the box, brushing off the dust collected on it. He orbed away to the P3, where he set up two crystal cages side by side.
"I summon witches under spells
Clouded where the darkness dwells
Come to me, show yourselves
So we might return to where we fell."
He was a little surprised when both Catty AND Ollie arrived in a swirl of glittering lights, but then he realized that Ollie must be under the spell as well. Though he didn't have much time to dwell on it…they were MAD. Not just mad…FURIOUS.
Without wasting a second of precious time, he orbed the crystals into place. They were trapped.
"You traitor!" Catty shrieked. "You betray us and take us as your prisoners? You're sick! SICK!"
"Let us GO!" Ollie screamed, banging and pushing at the walls of her cage. "You BASTARD! LET US GO!!"
"Ollie, Catty. Stop—" he pleaded.
"NO! LET US GO!" Catty screamed an unnatural animal-like cry. Chris clamped his hands over his ears, wincing at the sound. Even Ollie seemed to flinch.
"SHUT UP!" Chris yelled, surprised to hear his own voice booming above hers. "JUST SHUT UP!"
They silenced. He took a few deep breaths, trying to stop the dull ringing in his ears. "You guys are under a spell. I didn't do anything to you. I'm your LEADER—"
"You work for Wyatt, scum," Ollie spat. "Once a Halliwell, always a Halliwell. You're all insane. Your family deserved to die. They always hunted demons like maniacs. They were a shame to all witches, using their powers to punish the guilty instead of saving the innocents!"
Catty joined in. "And your BROTHER—he's killing people! All over the place! How could we ever call you our leader, hm? Maybe it was YOU that had us under a spell the entire time! I'd never trust anyone related to the source of all evil!"
Chris' expression hardened. "Look at me, Catty."
She sharply turned her head to the floor. "No way. You'll hypnotize me."
"I said, LOOK AT ME, Catty!" He telekinetically raised her head to face him. Her blue eyes locked with his and for a moment they were silent in their own defiance. "You're my best friend and you're under a spell. I don't know what happened to you, but I know that Wyatt himself has something to do with it." He took a deep breath. "Please let this work…"
He paused to think.
"What is he doing?" asked Ollie incredulously.
"Planning our deaths," Catty hissed.
"Shut up." Chris opened his eyes. "Okay, let me try it…"
"Put the evil to an end
Turn the foe back to the friend
Point the lost back to the light
So we can end the hostile fight."
A wave of blue entrapped the two girls and succumbed them. They screamed and kicked, attempting to wriggle away with no avail. Chris watched, holding his breath. Would it work? Would they be normal? Or would all be lost?
Their forms gradually began to reappear. Catty opened her mouth, face twisted in rage—he braced himself—
"Chris, watch out!" she shouted.
That was unexpected, but it wasn't enough to alert him in time. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head before crumpling to the ground. The last face he saw…was Liz. Crying.
"Where are you supposing we go?" asked Chris as casually as he could, shrugging on a coat and following her outside. He shivered, partly from the cold air but mostly from apprehension.
She didn't respond right away. "Oh, I don't know. Anywhere. Got any money?"
"Five bucks," he snorted. "Enough to have a shopping spree at the nearest 7-11."
She rolled her eyes. "Let's just take a walk, then."
"But shouldn't we be there when they come back?" asked Chris, following her on the sidewalk. "They'll be worried."
Now it was Mel's turn to snort. "Don't kid yourself, Chris."
They walked a few aimless miles in silence before Chris felt an unusual pang in his gut. Instantly he was alarmed. This only happened when someone in the family was hurt; it was a part of the whitelighter genes he'd inherited. "Mel," he moaned, "they're in trouble. We've—we've gotta go back."
"What?" she asked, panic evident in her voice. "Are you okay? You're really pale and the last time you were like this—"
"Wyatt was trying to kill our moms," he finished with a groan. "God, I wish I could orb," he added as they ran. He clutched his side in agony, feeling their every burn and stab. When they finally reached the front steps, he collapsed onto the ground.
"Chris!" Mel shrieked.
"I'll—be fine," he lied. "Find them."
When the next overwhelming stab of pain came, he knew that he would never see Mel or the rest of his family again.
"Liz?" Catty breathed, shocked. "Liz Eaton?"
The girl was shaking and sobbing, continuing to whack Chris on the head with the pan. Catty was alerted out of her dumbfounded state as soon as she realized the danger Chris was in. "Liz, stop! What are you doing? Let him go!" She pounded on the cage walls desperately.
"Why do you care?" Liz choked. "You think he's evil!" WHACK. "He told me!" WHACK. "So you can just shut up!"
"Don't hurt him, Liz! What the hell is wrong with you? Don't! You're gonna kill him! STOP!" she shrieked hysterically, bursting into sobs along with Liz.
"It's not my fault," Liz cried. WHACK. "I have to kill him. Either that or Bianca will kill me and my mother." WHACK. She turned to face Catty, eyes wild and distorted through her tears. "You think I wanna kill him? He's my friend, too! While you were under a spell, I was helping him!" WHACK. She stood, weeping harder, and shimmered away.
Ollie was on the floor, sending her energy balls at the cage furiously, not bothering to suppress her frustrated screams. "Chris is going to die! What are we going to do? Catty? Catty, what'll we do?"
Catty slid to her knees, still unable to break the barrier. Then it hit her.
"PRUE!" she yelled. "PRUE, WE NEED YOU!"
Prue orbed in with Alia, immediately seeing Chris on the floor. Wasting not a moment, she leaned down and started healing while Alia released Catty and Ollie from their cages. Prue finished healing and sighed in relief, but Chris remained unconscious.
"Let him rest. He'll be fine." She turned to Catty and Ollie. "The spell's broken?"
"Yeah," said Catty shakily.
"We've got to fix the boys, then," Alia said quietly.
"I know the spell Chris used. I still remember," said Ollie. "I'm on it. I know where to find them." She looked at Chris. "If he wakes up before I get back, tell him I'm sorry," she said quietly before turning to leave.
Catty sighed and let out a grateful smile that Chris was okay. "We all are. But tomorrow's another day."
Prue smiled, too. "I think it can only get easier from here."
Mel watched them from Up There. She was on a break in her education as whitelighter, at which points in the day she would always check up on Chris and the other Alliance members.
For the first time since she'd died, she was satisfied with what she saw below. Things wouldn't be as bad any longer.
-Fini-
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