A/N: Oh...my...god...Over a YEAR!!! I cannot believe it's taken me that long to update this! I'm SO sorry! In all honesty, I've been very busy and- Well, actually I've been downright neglectful. After getting a second account, I've found I'm forgetting about the stories on this one, and I know, it's very bad! -scolds self- Please forgive me! I actually had severe writers block (actually it was like a huge thick wall, made out of layers of brick and cement!) with this, but I think I've finally got past it. I've written out a chapter plan for the next five chapters, so I think that having an outline will help me a LOT!
All I can say is that I'm so grateful to everyone that's reviewed this, and stuck by it! It really means a lot, so THANK YOU!! -hugs!- Believe it or not, every review pushed me that tiny bit more to updating and I finally did! That's gotta be something right?... Well anyway, again, I'm sorry, and I'll try my best to update regularly from now on!
You may need to go back to refresh your memory of what's going on, but here it is! The next installment! Woohoo!
"Oh thank god!"
Piper embraced her youngest son tightly, tears shining in her eyes. He hugged her back, breathing in the smell of her perfume as her hair tickled his face. Piper sniffed and held him at arms length.
"Let me look at you. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
Chris shook his head, his brown hair falling into his eyes. He didn't want to worry her anymore. He was still in slight shock.
They turned as they heard someone mumble incoherently. Piper gasped when she saw Wyatt lying on the floor with Leo knelt beside him.
"Oh my god, is he okay!? she exclaimed worriedly as she remembered that Leo had sensed he was hurt.
"Don't worry he's fine. I healed him." said Leo as Piper hurriedly walked over to her oldest son.
Chris stood in the background, silently watching as Piper stroked the hair off of Wyatt's forehead. He felt guilty knowing that if it weren't for him then Wyatt wouldn't have gotten hurt. And to be honest, he felt slightly out of place.
"Where are the Elders?" Piper quietly asked Leo, referring to the three Elders that had followed the boys, as she rested Wyatt's head on her lap.
Leo swallowed and Chris was gripped with sudden fear. Was he going to tell her he'd killed the Elders? How would she react if she knew?
He watched his newly found father with frightened eyes and Leo glanced at him.
"Uh they orbed away when I got there." he said.
Chris held in his sigh of relief. Piper just nodded at that then looked back at Wyatt as he started mumbling again. His eyes clenched shut and then slowly they opened.
"Mom?" he said, quite confused as he looked up at her.
"Hey sweetie." said Piper gently. "How are you feeling?"
Wyatt closed his eyes again. "M'ok…the Elders…"
Suddenly his eyes snapped and he sat bolt upright.
"Chris, is he ok?!" he said.
"Whoa calm down. He's fine." said Leo and he nodded his head at Chris.
Wyatt looked and Chris and Chris saw the relief wash over him as he visibly relaxed.
"What happened to you?" Piper asked, turning his attention to her.
Wyatt's brow furrowed in thought. "I…don't remember."
"An Elder stabbed him from behind." Chris cut in.
Anger flashed in Piper's eyes but she pressed her lips together, holding it in, as she and Leo helped Wyatt to his feet.
As this was happening Chris let his eyes scan the surroundings. There were scorch marks all over the walls. Or what was left of the walls. The floors were white with plaster dust and broken furniture littered the place. Some of the photographs that had been hanging on the walls were now lying scorched, with the glass shattered and the wooden frames splintered.
Piper noticed him looking around.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Paige can come up with a little spell to clean this mess up."
"She can?"
Piper smiled slightly as she nodded her head. "Yeah we normally turn to her when we need a little magical help with cleaning the house after demon fights."
Chris swallowed and fiddled with his hands.
"I…I'm sorry about all this." he said nervously.
"Don't be ridiculous." said Piper.
She walked over to him and put her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm just glad your alright." she said and she pulled him into a hug again.
Leo sighed in the background and Piper and Chris broke away to look at him. He was deep in thought, staring at the floor.
"Leo," Piper began, concern evident in her voice. "Are you okay?"
Leo swallowed and looked at his wife, forcing a reassuring smile on to his face.
"Yeah." he said. "Yeah I'm fine."
His eyes drifted to Chris as Piper moved to fuss over Wyatt some more. Chris avoided his gaze and bit his bottom lip. Leo's look wasn't accusing but Chris still couldn't stand to look at him. What he'd done was still clawing him on the inside despite what Leo had said to make him feel better.
"Maybe you two should get back up to bed." Piper said with a hand on Wyatt's shoulder.
"I think we all should." said Leo. "It's been a long night."
Piper nodded in agreement and gestured with her hand for Chris and Wyatt to go up. She took Leo's hand and the climbed the stairs after them.
The ground beneath the demon's black boots crunched as he walked, and his shadow was projected on to the wall from the flaming torches sitting in their brackets on the rock walls. He reached an opening to a cavern, where two other demons were standing guard. He stopped in front of him and crossed his arms across his chest, staring into their eyes. After a few moments, they stepped aside and let him pass.
Once inside, the demon approached a large figure sitting on a big throne like chair at the far end of the cavern. There was a wall of fire raging behind him, but he didn't seem fazed by the extreme heat. Once within a few feet of reach, the demon got down on one knee and bowed his head. The figure slowly tapped his long white fingers on one arm of the chair, and watched the demon from underneath the hood of his large black cloak.
"I have news my lord." the demon stated, not daring to make eye contact.
No-one EVER made eye contact with the Source of all Evil.
The Source said nothing, and the demon hurriedly elaborated before he lost patience and killed him.
"The Twice Blessed child's brother-
"Is alive." the Source finished in that bone chilling voice. "I know this already. What is your point?"
"T-That's not why I'm here, my lord." the demon stuttered. "It's about the Elders."
"What about them?" the Source snarled as if they were something disgusting he wanted to step on.
"It was them that kidnapped him as an infant." the demon explained. "Then tonight they tried to kill him, and mortally wounded his brother. He killed three of the Elders, my lord."
The Source's fingers froze in mid tap, and he laid his hand flat on the armrest before leaning forward slightly. The demon started trembling slightly under his intense gaze.
"Christopher killed three Elders?"
"Y-yes my lord."
The Source leant back in his chair again, thinking about this new piece of information. And even though the demon couldn't see, he smiled slightly. This was good...very good...
"Leave me." he demanded, and the demon immediately scurried out of the cavern.
Once out of the way, one of the guards entered and knelt in front of The Source.
"Summon Vicus," the Source demanded. "I wish to speak with him..."
"You're going to school." Piper said firmly.
"But mom!" Wyatt whined as she stood making breakfast. "We want to help!"
"There's nothing you can do." Leo chipped in, looking over the top of his newspaper.
"Like hell there isn't!" Wyatt argued.
"Wyatt, watch your language!" Piper scolded. She shovelled scrambled eggs on to Chris's plate and he gave her a thanks before starting to eat his large breakfast.
"Seriously Wyatt, the best place for you and Chris is at school. The Elders would never think of attacking Chris there." Leo reasoned as he got up and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"But-
"No buts Wyatt." Piper cut in. "You're going to school and that's that."
"Fine." Wyatt grumbled. He sat down beside his brother and placed his elbows on the table with his chin in his hands.
"But if we get attacked..." he started again, but his mom put her hand up to silence him.
"You won't! Now shush and eat your breakfast!"she ordered, placing his plate in front of him.
Wyatt pulled a face at her back when she turned around to put the frying pan in the sink and Chris smiled slightly.
"And don't pull faces at me either young man." she said without turning around.
"I wasn't!" Wyatt protested, feigning innocence. However Piper knew him all to well and just raised one eyebrow at him as she sat down.
The day wasn't going so well. Chris had arrived late for his first class (on purpose. It was math. Did he need a reason?), had been sent out the class for not paying attention again and not bringing his math textbook (which was so not his fault considering all his school stuff was back at Rob's house, and no way was he going back there) and then had gotten a detention for "breach of the peace" when he got into a heated argument with Marcus.
Needless to say, by the time he was halfway through the day, Chris was wishing he was at home. He was itching to just leave, but he didn't want to get in anymore trouble. Well actually, the real reason he didn't go was because his parents had specifically told him to "Stay with Wyatt" outside of school in case of any more attempts from the Elders to kill him.
Having the threat of death over his head was pretty unnerving. The thought of being fried with bolts of electricity made him shiver, which was also why he was very keen to master his powers. The thought of all that magic at his finger tips was exhilarating but at the same time he was almost scared to use it, mostly because he didn't know how yet. The last couple of times had been flukes, brought on by fear or anger mostly, and he didn't yet know how to tap into those powers at will.
"Don't worry, your mother and I will teach you." Leo had told him, but Chris couldn't help but feel slightly impatient. When exactly? What if he killed someone else before they decided to?
Chris sighed and fixed his backpack more securely on his shoulders as he walked. He looked at the other teenagers around him, feeling more out of place than ever. He was a witch now, and they were just...teenagers. Which is all he thought he was until recently. Now he actually had a title; Chris HALLIWELL (not Brown anymore), witch/whitelighter, son of a Charmed One and part of the most powerful line of witches. It was a strange thought.
"Hey, Brown!"
Chris closed his eyes in exasperation and reluctantly turned around. Daniel Clarkson, a friend of Marcus's, was making his way towards him and the other teenagers made a circle around them, excited at the prospect of a fight.
"What do you want?" Chris asked, sounding bored.
"Because of you, Marcus is gonna miss football practise because he has to do a stupid, fucking detention!" Daniel said angrily.
"Big whoop." Chris replied. He turned around to leave but Daniel grabbed his arm and spun him around roughly. Chris placed a fiery glare on him.
"It's the big game on Saturday and this practise is important!"
"It's not my problem!" Chris snapped, wrenching his arm out of Daniel's grip.
Daniel's face contorted in anger and he immediately swung a punch at Chris's face. Chris ducked and Daniel's fist went flying above his head, just as Chris went to send a punch back at him. But at that moment something strange happened. Chris felt warmth spread through him, running down his arm, and the moment his fist connected with Daniel he went flying backwards by at least four feet. Some of the teenagers around them scattered so as not to get hit by Daniel as he thudded to the ground, and they gasped, all turning to look at Chris in amazement. Chris himself was surprised, and looked down at his hand wide eyed.
Daniel struggled to his feet and looked at Chris.
"What the hell..?"
"What is going on here?" a teacher cut in after coming out of his classroom, and the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving Chris and Daniel to deal with him.
"Nothing sir." Daniel said quickly. He looked at Chris one last time and walked in the opposite direction after the teacher sighed and waved them away.
Chris let out a deep breath and turned around. He walked right into Wyatt.
He was standing with his arms crossed across his chest and was giving him a strange, almost calculating look. Chris bit his bottom lip, looking sheepish, knowing that Wyatt had watched him use his powers against Daniel. He hadn't meant it. Or at least he thought hadn't...
Wyatt, it seemed, didn't share this view by the looks of things. Chris didn't really know what the big deal was, but the glimmer of accusation in Wyatt's eyes told him that what he'd done was obviously going against some sort of rule.
"You used your powers against a mortal?"
"I didn't mean to..." Chris protested weakly.
He was back home now, after a long stressful day at school. However, hoping he could leave that stress there had obviously been too much to ask for because here he was, getting the third degree from his newly acquired parents.
Wyatt hadn't said much about the incident at school. In fact, he'd talked about things that had nothing to do with it on the way home. Then after around half an hour of getting back his parents had called Chris down to the living room to have a chat and he realised that Wyatt must have told on him. He didn't know if he should feel angry about this or if he deserved it.
Piper sighed. "Chris I know it must be difficult for you to adjust to all this, but you have to realise that unless you really have to, you don't use your powers in front or against mortals. It can cause a whole array of problems."
"I didn't do it on purpose."
Leo sat down opposite him, looking sympathetic.
"Chris, your powers are tied to your emotions and until you can control them, you need to try and keep as calm as possible." he said.
"Easier said than done." Chris muttered. They didn't know how hard it was for him at school; he always got into fights.
"We don't want to lecture you, because we know this is all very new," Piper continued. "But showing mortals your powers can be really dangerous. My sister died because we were exposed as witches."
Chris's eyes widened slightly. "She...died...?"
Piper nodded. "And I don't want the same to happen to you, or anyone else in this family for that matter."
Chris lowered his eyes and looked at his hands. He felt guilt twisting in his stomach knowing he could get someone hurt by using his magic in public.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled.
Piper put her hand on top of his and he looked up.
"Honey, we're not mad at you." she said gently. "We know how hard it is to deal with your powers when they're new to you."
"We just don't want for anyone to get hurt." Leo said and Piper nodded.
Chris didn't like the look in Leo's eyes when he said that. It felt like what he'd really meant to say was "We just don't want for anyone ELSE to get hurt."
"Okay. I'll try my best." Chris said quietly, looking away from his father.
"That's all we're asking." said Piper, putting her hands on his face and kissing his forehead. "Once we have time we'll start teaching you how to handle your powers. Now go on upstairs and get any homework you have done."
Chris nodded and got up so he could head upstairs. He hardly ever did his homework but he figured he better at least pretend so he could stay in his parents' good books. He climbed the stairs and when he entered Wyatt's bedroom, Wyatt was sitting on his bed texting on his cell phone. He looked up when Chris walked in and looked at him guiltily.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked hesitantly as Chris sat down on his camp bed. Chris didn't need to ask what for, but he actually didn't feel angry at his brother. He was glad he'd been set rules, otherwise who knew what would have happened. Someone might have gotten hurt next time.
"No." he answered truthfully, looking up at Wyatt. "I shouldn't have used my powers on Daniel."
"Well you didn't mean it." Wyatt said, putting down his cell phone. "I know that. The only reason I told mom and dad is because I figured they should explain the "rules" so to speak."
Chris just nodded, picking at a loose thread on his quilt.
"The rules suck." Wyatt admitted. "You don't know how many guys at school I'd love to use my powers on."
"It just happened." Chris said. "I was angry and then I made him go flying. I didn't mean it."
"Well, in risk of sounding like dad, you're powers are tied to your emotions. Each power has a different trigger. Telekinesis is an anger response." Wyatt explained.
Chris nodded and put his attention back to the loose thread. Wyatt moved to the edge of his bed with a creak of the springs and looked at his brother thoughtfully.
"Why don't you try practising your powers?" he suggested.
Chris looked up, his interest sparking. Practise his powers? That sounded like a good idea...
"How?" he asked.
"Well, why don't you start with orbing?" Wyatt suggested. "It's a fear response so until you can control it, you just have to-
"Get scared?" Chris finished and Wyatt nodded. "That shouldn't be too hard."
"Ok, come on then." Wyatt said enthusiastically, standing up. He pulled Chris to his feet. "Ok, maybe we should just start with orbing in the same place."
Chris nodded nervously. He was going to screw his up, he knew it.
"I'll show you first." Wyatt said, and he disappeared in a flurry of orbs. A second later and he reappeared back in the same spot.
"Now you do it." he said. "Try thinking of something that really scares you."
Chris nodded and closed his eyes. He felt slightly stupid but tried hard to listen to Wyatt's instruction. There were a lot of things that scared him, namely the abuse he had suffered over the years, but he found it difficult to feel scared now when he wasn't faced with it.
He opened his eyes with a sigh, and shrugged helplessly.
Wyatt looked at him thoughtfully then nodded. "Okay, let me go get something."
He turned around to leave them room, but just after taking one step he jumped around.
"ARGH!" He screamed and Chris jumped, giving a squeak of fear and disappearing in a cloud of orbs. Wyatt straightened up, feeling pleased with himself as Chris reappeared, looking terrified and breathless.
"What the hell?!"
"Sorry." Wyatt said sheepishly.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Chris snapped, a hand on his chest.
"It worked didn't it?" Wyatt said defensively, crossing his arms across his chest.
"I orbed?"
"Yup."
"Oh," Chris thought about this for a moment. "Cool."
Wyatt grinned. "You just need to keep practising," he looked at his watch. "But I actually have to go."
"Where are you going?" Chris asked.
"I'm going to the movies with some friends." Wyatt answered, then he realised how that sounded and looked at his younger brother guiltily. "It's been planned for a while and I kinda forgot about it till today so-
"It's okay." Chris cut in with a smile. "I don't mind being by myself for a while. I'll practise orbing when you're gone."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, go have fun."
"'Kay thanks." Wyatt said, grabbing his wallet. He smiled at his brother. "Be careful."
"I will." Chris said and Wyatt left.
Chris sighed and moved to an empty space of the floor. He needed as much space as possible if he was doing magic by himself.
Chris had been practising orbing for an hour, but so far he'd only been able to accomplish it twice. He tried remembering the fright Wyatt had given him to do it, but the fear from that had worn off and Chris was getting impatient. He wanted to master his powers as soon as possible, and yet he still couldn't do a simple orb on command.
Chris closed his eyes again and tried to think scary thoughts. He managed it at first, but soon his mind kept drifting to other things. He was about to open his eyes and admit to defeat when a car back fired outside unexpectedly, and he jumped, feeling the unusual tingling sensation of orbing at the same time. He kept his eyes firmly closed, just about seeing the blue light behind his closed eyelids.
Then his feet found solid ground. He yelped as he fell backwards on to his butt due to a large gust of wind that knocked him off balance, and he started shivering as the bitter cold seemed to seep into his bones.
He looked around fearfully. The Golden Gate Bridge. How the hell had he managed to orb to the Golden Gate bridge?!
He staggered to his feet and wrapped his arms around his shivering body. His legs wobbled in fear, as he gulped, casting a fearful eye down at the traffic below. Last time he'd been here was when they were chased by the Elders, and that time he'd been blasted off the edge.
His breathing becoming quick and shallow, Chris decided to sit down again so he could try on concentrating on orbing home. He'd orbed so far, and he didn't even know how. Maybe if he thought of the manor hard enough, he'd go there.
He closed his eyes and thought hard, clenching his knuckles in concentration. He didn't like it here and as soon as he was away, the better. The wind blew noisily around him and he clenched his teeth.
"Nice view up here, isn't it?"
Chris snapped open his eyes and looked to his left to see the source of the voice. A man was standing there, watching him with his arms crossed across his chest.
"Who are you?" Chris asked hesitantly. He swallowed nervously, panic rising in his chest knowing that if this guy was a demon, he wouldn't be able to protect himself properly.
The guy smiled. "My name's Vicus." he said. He uncrossed his arms and started to walk over to Chris. He stopped when he noticed Chris shifting away from him.
"Don't worry," he began, putting his hands up. "I'm not a demon."
Chris didn't relax his tensed muscles and eyed him suspiciously.
"Then how did you get up here?" he asked.
"I have powers; just like you." Vicus replied. He finished his walk over to the fourteen year old, and sat down beside him.
"You orbed up here?"
"Not exactly." Vicus began slowly. "But it's like it."
"What are you?" Chris asked, studying his face. "A witch?"
Vicus chuckled slightly and shook his head. "No, not a witch. I've been sent here to help you."
Chris frowned slightly. "Help me?"
Vicus nodded. "With your powers. You have powerful gifts Chris; I've been sent to help you use them."
"By who?"
"Let's just say, a higher being." Vicus said vaguely. "Don't worry, not those stupid Elders." he added at Chris's worried expression.
Chris relaxed slightly, and let out a sigh of relief. "You don't like them either?"
"You kidding me? I hate them." Vicus replied with a grin. "Those assholes know nothin'."
Chris gave a slight smile back but said nothing. He'd been about to tell Vicus about his encounter with the Elders, but decided against it. He was a stranger and what he'd done was a serious thing.
"But anyway, back to business." Vicus said lightly. "If you do as I say, I'll be able to teach you how to master your powers as quickly as possible."
"Well, I think my parents are-
Chris began but Vicus shook his head and cut him off.
"Chris, do you really think your parents are going to have time to teach you? You're mom is a Charmed One -she has all those demons to fight- and your dad, well..." Vicus leaned in closer. "He's one of those stupid Elders."
Chris thought about this for a moment, frowning slightly. "But they said they'd help..."
"They will; until they have to run off to do something more important. Whereas as I have been sent here solely to help you, which means I have nothing else that'll get in the way."
Chris eyed him again. "Who did you say sent you again?"
Vicus smiled again. "Persistent aren't you?"
Chris didn't say anything and Vicus shook his head with that same smile on his face.
"I'm not allowed to tell you right now, not until you've mastered your powers. But when you do, you can meet him."
Chris frowned at him, confused, but Vicus didn't say any more about this.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked suspiciously, and he grew even more confused when Vicus chuckled, casting a glance at the glittering ocean in the distance.
"Good question." he said, looking back at Chris. "But I'm not asking you to trust me yet, all I'm asking is for you to let me help you. You could do great things with yours powers, if you just knew how to use them properly.
A few moments passed as Chris thought about everything Vicus had told him. He'd been desperate to control his powers after that night with the Elders, but he'd of course been expecting his parents to teach him. Not some guy he didn't know. However...
Chris looked at Vicus, who was looking at the ocean again, and thought hard about his offer.
Maybe...maybe it couldn't hurt to get some extra help, could it? His parents could teach him and so could Vicus. Having someone else to guide him would just mean he would learn faster, which was a good thing all round, wasn't it?
"Well?" Vicus queried.
Chris hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded. "Alright." he said slowly.
Vicus smiled widely and nodded. "Great! Here," he held out his hand and Chris shook it. "Don't worry, you won't regret it."
Chris wasn't sure how to respond, but before he could, Vicus stood up and stretched before looking down at him again.
"I'm sorry I can't stay right now, but I need to go and talk to my boss." he explained. "I'll come see you tomorrow though."
He turned as if to go, but then looked back at Chris.
"Oh and Chris?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't tell anyone about me 'k?" he said.
Chris frowned slightly. "Why?"
"Because I'm only to help you, and it will make things much easier if we don't have others butting in. Plus, you're the only one that can see me. Wouldn't want them to think you're seeing things, now would you?"
"You're invisible to everyone else?" Chris asked after shaking his head to the last question.
"Yup. I'm only visible to the people I'm helping." Vicus explained and he smiled again. "So you'll keep this a secret?"
Chris nodded and gave a slight smile back to him. "Yeah."
Vicus nodded. "See you later then." And then he was gone, his eyes flashing and lingering slightly after his body disappeared, before they followed suit.
Chris let out a deep breath and turned his head so he was sitting straight. He couldn't help thinking that maybe this could be a very good idea. He could imagine his parents' faces, how pleased they would be, when he showed them how well he'd mastered his powers in such a short space of time...
Chris closed his eyes and started to concentrate again. He really needed to get home; hypothermia was the last thing he needed.
Pleeeeeeeease review! I may not deserve it after the HUGE wait, but it'll make me very happy. :-)
Oh! And btw, I know Vicus was vanquished by Phoebe and Paige in season 7, but lets imagine he didn't really die 'k? ;)