Who I am…

Prologue

By: teal-lover

Summary: How Chris learned the cunning and duplicitous behavior we saw for over a year. Alternates between the past, unchanged future, and the changed future.

AN: This is the prequel/sequel to "Do You Really Want to Know," but can stand alone since it doesn't go into detail about the events for that story. This chapter is the prologue, and also part of the last chapter of DYRWtK, so you can skip it if you've already read it.

If you haven't—do so now. Just kidding, the background in the previous story is that something terrible happened to Chris and changed the way he saw things and learned to survive.

Spoilers for all of season 6.

My thanks to Nathy1000000, who's asked me for this so many times that I just couldn't put it off any longer:)

Rating: PG-13, which may change later on in chapters depending on where my mind takes me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of the characters or get any money from writing this fiction.

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Last time on 'Do You Really Want to Know?'

23 Years into the Changed Future….

Side by side, Piper, Paige, and Leo stepped out of the portal into the attic, which didn't look all that different from the attic they had just left in the past.

Confused, Paige spun around and asked her sister, "Do you feel different somehow?"

Piper nodded cautiously, "What's going on? I feel--I don't know--"

Leo looked equally as confused and finished her sentence, "Disoriented? It wasn't like this when you guys pulled me into the past. It was a mus---e-um," his voice trailed off as he noticed the orbs forming in front of them.

"Where have you guys been! I've been looking all over for you. I was starting to get worried. Never mind that, now that you're here--I need to ask you a really big favor?"

The mop of blond wavy hair swung carelessly in tune to the animated figure before them. He finally caught the stares they gave him, "What's wrong with you guys? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

Even as he spoke, the shock of seeing the twice-blessed, former tyrant, bouncing around enthusiastically wore off.

The confusion gradually lifted, only to be replaced by a strange new feeling.

"You guys are acting really weird. Stay right there, I'm going to get Aunt Phoebe."

Orbing back moments later, Phoebe immediately understood their disorientation. She and her father were the only ones alive that knew of the whole sordid affair. She had prepared for this moment for a very long time.

"Wy, honey? I need to talk with your Mom, Dad and Aunt Paige. Alone. Would you mind?"

The young man bristled at being left out, "But--"

Phoebe soothed him calmly, "They'll be fine, I promise. I just have to explain a few things to them." She extended her arms and led them to the couch as soon as her nephew left reluctantly.

"Let me guess. You feel a little confused right now?"

Leo raised an eyebrow, "Uh, yeah."

Phoebe sat down on the arm rest of the couch before explaining. "Then let me start from the beginning. And this is a bit confusing, so try not to interrupt until I get finished, Ok? Ok. The three of you are originally from another future--a very horrible one. Twenty-three years ago, I summoned Paige and Piper--who were dead by the way--to the past, where we also summoned Leo. Now when you got there, Chris had already traveled to the past to change the horrible future you came from. Well, he succeeded."

She motioned her arms to sweep around the room, "This is that new, changed future. Now here's where it's gonna' get tricky--when we sent you back, we thought we were sending you to the future you came from. But it no longer existed because Chris changed it. So you came to the only future that does exist. And in this one, you're not dead. You're souls are in your bodies where they're supposed to be."

Paige asked, "So let me get this straight: We were dead when we left the past, but since Chris changed the future--we've come back and we're not dead anymore?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. He altered the timeline that you three existed in--so that when you came back, you came back into your lives that exist here and now. That's probably why you're confused. You're memories are still catching up while the old ones are fading. But that will take a while."

Piper started to nod in understanding, but suddenly panicked when she thought of one more question, "So what happened to the "souls" that were in these bodies for the last 23 years?"

Phoebe held her hands up to calm her older sister, "The way the Elder's explained it before, is that it's the same soul. The same consciousness. The same person. They're merged together now. Like they should be. You probably don't remember much about the other timeline because we made an agreement with the Elders to remove those memories. Trust me, you would thank me for it--they're nothing worth keeping."

Paige was reluctant to believe it, "But I started to remember something when we first got here."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and glanced upward in irritation, "That's because they said they couldn't remove them until you actually showed up from the past. And we were never certain when exactly you would land."

Leo questioned the empath, "How do you know any of this?"

Phoebe sighed loudly before answering. "Because it happened to Chris years ago. He began having nightmares of the other timeline and memories of returning to the past. We figured out that his soul--his consciousness--was still the same and had simply found its way back to its rightful place. Eventually, we were able to rid him of any knowledge of those events. And we all decided that it was best if we kept it that way, because now he's living the happy future that he helped create. We'll do the same for you if you get any memories of the other timeline."

Leo still didn't quite understand, "How is this possible?"

Phoebe crossed her legs and leaned back, "The Elders. They said that our family had been through enough, and decided to let everyone enjoy the peaceful future we created. Personally, I think it's just because they're so grateful that we pulled their sorry butts out of the fire and prevented their extinction."

Piper asked hesitantly, "So everything is ok?"

Phoebe nodded cheerfully, "Uhm hmm. There's still the occasional demon attack, but--we can handle them as a family."

Paige grinned. "So what was Wyatt hopping around in here earlier for?"

Phoebe laughed, "Oh that. Chris' birthday is in three days. And Wy's been pestering Piper and Leo for weeks to have this big surprise birthday bash at P3."

Leo looked surprised, "And we said no?"

Phoebe's dark eyes twinkled mischievously. "More like you've enjoyed stringing him along the entire time since you've already had one planned yourselves. So anyway, you guys just take it easy for the next few days, and everything will come back to you."

On her way out, she literally bumped into her youngest nephew running in the hallway. "Whoa, what's the hurry? Where are you off to?"

The dark haired witch grinned widely, "Oh hey, Aunt Phoebe. Wy's taking me to a concert as one of my birthday presents. He won't tell me which one though."

Phoebe's eyebrow shot up as she stopped him halfway down the landing. "One of your presents?"

He smiled at her casually. "Yeah. So how's that surprise party coming along?"

She reached up and smacked the tall brunette playfully on the arm, "I hate it when you do that. You're mother has to take the fun out of surprise parties too."

He laughed while sprinting down the stairs as they heard a car horn blaring outside. Calling after his brother, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" Before he headed out the front door, he turned to the empath, "Yeah, but you love me anyway."

Phoebe folded her arms as she watched the door close. "Yes I do, Christopher. Yes I do."

TBC…

AN: You can always tell when I'm getting at least halfway close to finishing one story, because then another one pops up. Well, here's my second.