Chapter 1 of 1
“This is crazy. Going to the future will prove nothing,” Leo said to the sisters as they were perusing the Book of Shadows for a spell.
“We’ll see for ourselves if Chris is telling the truth about Wyatt,” Piper said.
“No, we won’t, because there’s no guarantee that Chris hasn’t already changed the future,” Leo said slowly.
“When Bianca came the future wasn’t changed and we haven’t found who supposedly turns Wyatt,” Paige said.
Leo rubbed his temple, “Look, the future is complicated and is made up of all our decisions. You’re right, when Bianca came whatever Chris did hadn’t changed the future yet, but that may just mean that we weren’t on the right path. We may have done something that changed that and set us right and even though we haven’t gotten there yet we might be on the right track, and we would find a different future from the one Chris came.”
“Or maybe he is lying,” piper said firmly.
“Look Leo, we’re going,” Phoebe said as she finished writing the spell, “You can either come with or shut up.”
He sighed again, “I’ll come with.”
They all stood together and started chanting. Yellow lights formed around them and we’re soon mixed with blue from orbing.
Chris materialized next to them, “Guys I nee- what’s going on?” he asked but had no time for an answer as they were all thrown away and started spinning for what felt like forever. They suddenly stopped and were all sprawled on the floor.
“Aw, my head,” Paige said.
“What happened,” Chris asked again.
“Did the spell work?” Phoebe asked.
“I don’t think so.” Paige said.
“What spell?” Chris asked bewildered.
Piper looked around. The attic looked the same but just slightly different. There were more boxes. She felt vindicated. The spell worked. They were in the future and this just proved Chris lied. The manor was standing and was just as they left in the past.
“What spell?” Chris asked again getting up. The others were looking around.
Leo looked guiltily at Chris, “We wanted to see the future. A spell to take us there.”
“Well we’re not,” Chris said crossing his arms angrily. Of course, they didn’t believe him that their precious Wyatt was evil.
“How do you know?” Phoebe asked.
“Because of the Book of Shadows,” he pointed. “In my time this is a museum and that is hologram.”
“Or,” Leo said slowly. “I was right.”
“Or,” Piper said snapping, “He’s lying.” She brushed past them missing the hurt look on Chris’s face and went downstairs. They all followed her.
“Are you crazy?” Leo asked “You can’t just waltz like that. What if we’re attacked?”
“By the boy on the phone?” she asked pointing at a young blond man lounging on the couch and talking on the phone carelessly. Chris looked at him transfixed. He couldn’t take his eyes of him. This was Wyatt, as he should be. He couldn’t help himself and walked further into the living room and whispered:
“Wy?”
The blond turned and smile.
“Oh, he’s here, wait a second,” he told the receiver and covering the microphone ran to Chris. “Dude it’s that cute chick from your school you have to go to this party she wants you too and take me!” he begged.
Piper was shocked. Chris had called the boy Wy and he looked so much like Leo that she just knew this was Wyatt. But how could he be, he seemed to like Chris. To think Chris being in their living room was normal. And Chris, Chris was just standing there like he was seeing a ghost. Chris raised his hands slowly as if to touch Wyatt and whispered again, “Wy?”
“Uh, Chris? Are you okay? Why are you blocking me?” Wyatt asked worried. Then he seemed to look back and see his family. “You guys look weird,” and his eyes went huge, “You guys look young!” He seemed to reach a quick conclusion and said quickly at the phone. “Uh, Chris will call you back we have a family emergency. Of course we’re going. Bye.”
He hung up and said slowly, “Okay, what potion or spell went wrong and why are you blocking me Chris?”
“I’m not,” a voice came from the front door and Wyatt looked at another Chris entering the house and they both leapt into action quickly. The past people didn’t even have time to blink as the two brothers worked in sink. Wyatt orbed crystals and placed them while Chris telekinetically sent all the past people to their cage.
“Demons get stupider and stupider,” Chris growled. “I mean people! At least try to keep up. What did you have some photo from fifty years ago?”
“They look around their thirties,” Wyatt offered. “Mom will be offended if she hears you.”
“Look, er-“ Leo tried to talk to the two boys, “We’re not demons. We’re from the past. We did a spell and came-“
“Yeah, right and how exactly those he fit in this,” Wyatt said pointing at what he had thought previously was his brother. “I have to agree with Chris. You do get stupider by the minute.”
“We’re not lying! He is from the future! He said he came to save you from becoming evil” Piper snapped at her son. How could her own son not believe her?
“Did you hear that Wy?” Chris laughed. “You evil. As if”
Wyatt laughed with Chris but he was a little unnerved by past Chris’s staring at him. The door opened and he could hear his father’s laughter.
“Boys we’re home,” his mother cried and Wyatt cried back.
“We have a problem!”
“Contained,” Chris added and looked at his brother. “You want her to just start blowing randomly. Shesh, I’d think you’d know your own mother by now.”
“Mom!” he yelled and as Piper came into view and glared at her son for being so loud Wyatt added. “Chris called you old.”
“I didn’t!”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You-“
“Boys,” Leo said calmly and as he entered the room and the past people were shocked. Piper looked to be in her fifties and in very good shape. That was expected, Leo being in his fifties as he was wasn’t. Elders didn’t age after all.
Both future Leo and Piper were shocked as they took the scene in, that was for sure. What Chris and Wyatt didn’t understand was why they were staring at past, or fake as they thought, Chris, who had gone from staring gobsmacked at Wyatt to staring gobsmacked at Piper, with misty eyes.
“Chris,” future Piper whispered. This was the boy that she had to say goodbye to. That neurotic little whitelighter that was trying his best to save his brother.
Leo couldn’t stop staring either, his son, who died in his arms was here, leaving breathing. A quick look at the past people and he knew this was before they knew who he was. How they had wronged him. And if he could bet they were here because once again they weren’t trusting him.
Chris looked at his mother transfixed. She hadn’t died. She was here happy, with her boys. He was liking this future very, very much.
And future Chris who did not like their reaction at all, and liked even less fake Chris trying to came forward and touch his mother just to be stopped by a shock that the crystal cage gave him, came closer to her.
“I’m here mom,” he said firmly and narrowed his eyes as the past people gasped. “These here are some impostors, and we just need to figure out which demon so we can vanquish them.”
No, past Piper must have heard wrong. Chris did not call future Piper mom. No he didn’t. She looked at the way future Piper and future Leo were lovingly staring at past Chris and remembered the love she saw on her Chris’s eyes when he first saw Wyatt and had a horrible feeling. She couldn’t help but remember how just a few minutes ago she was ecstatic at proving Chris was lying. But she couldn’t deny any more that Leo had been right. They somehow took the first step to changing the future and maybe that step had been Chris telling them what he was trying to stop.
“Or we could just explode them all and go to that party,” Wyatt said hopeful.
“What party?” future Chris asked at the same time as both future Leo and Piper cried “NO!”
“Mom,” future Chris tried to reason. “These people here had the gall to say they are from the past. And they came with some ridiculous idea of Wyatt being evil and me traveling to the past.”
“They are,” future Leo said.
“And everyone knows that’s crazy,” he continued as if Leo hadn’t spoken.
“They are,” future Leo said louder and Chris snorted and looked at his father. His expression quickly lost it’s mirth at his father’s serious one.
“You boys remember how we told you a man from the future came and saved Wyatt right before you were born Chris?” future Leo asked.
“Yeah, you and mom always take flowers to his grave on Chris’s birthday. The unmarked one that has only a triquetra because of “future consequences,” Wyatt said as if he’d heard that often enough.
The past Charmed Ones and Leo drew in sharp breaths, Chris would die for Wyatt? After the way they had treated him, he would die for Wyatt and more so, he was family. He was a boy who obviously hadn’t been conceived yet and somehow knowing he would be didn’t diminish the fact that this boy they had all accused of being evil had risked his very own existence. And that just made them feel even worse.
“That man was you Chris,” future Piper said looking at her youngest son who was shaking his head.
“No, this is ridiculous Mom! You would have told us. You would-“
“How could I tell you you died mere hours before being born Chris?” Piper asked him in a pained voice but future Chris didn’t want to hear any of this. Past Piper was quite in agreement. She didn’t want to hear that her son would die even if a few minutes ago she thought the worst of him.
“No, you’re lying,” he cried and ran from the room barreling upstairs and a door was slammed. Future Piper and Leo ran after him and Wyatt stared at the past people as in shock. He slowly walked to one of the crystals and picked it up dismantling the cage.
“You don’t think we’re threats anymore,” Past Chris asked.
Wyatt looked at the crystal and said not eyeing anyone, “Mom and dad always treated Chris like he’s made of glass. Ticks him off immensely,” he smiled. “Now I know why.” He looked up and there was immense pain in his eyes. “What will happen when he reaches the same age you were or are going to be when you die?”
“I don’t know,” Chris said and looked around and then at his brother, “But it was worth it.” He said firmly. “You’re the brother I’m trying to save.”
“So I was evil?” Wyatt asked.
“No, you’re not. You’re there buried somewhere but that man hasn’t been my brother in a long time.” Chris smiled and then looked backwards to the rest of the past people. “I guess we better find a way back before we screw this up. I like this future.”
“You died,” Phoebe said quietly and Chris knew she must have been trying to digest who he was.
“No I didn’t,” he looked upstairs. “I got to live in a world that’s not dark and full of death. My mother’s alive. My father seems to remember I’m his son too and my brother is the way he should be,” he smiled.
Piper knocked at the door once again, “Chris, please talk to us honey. We know you’re angry but we couldn’t tell. You have to understand baby.”
“Chris,” Leo called and leaned his head on the door. How could he explain to his son why he never told him? How could he tell him his fears, but he had too. “Everyday since you were born I’ve dreaded your 22 birthday because that was the day you died and we don’t know how that will work. How time travel affects that. That boy downstairs, I loved him. He was my son too and losing him almost killed me. I love you too. To me you are different people and I love you both and losing you will kill me.”
The door suddenly opened and a bloodshot eyed Chris was looking at them, “I thought I was going crazy,” he whispered angrily, “And this whole time you knew what was happening. I felt like a traitor for dreaming of my brother, of you that way. I was ashamed and now you tell me they are not dreams they’re memories? His memories?”
Leo looked at his son horrified. He had noticed that Chris was sleeping less and less but this was his last year of college and Chris wanted to get into med school, he thought he was pulling all nighters, not that he was avoiding sleep.
“We didn’t know Chris,” Piper shook her head, “You didn’t tell us.”
“Because I was ashamed,” he cried and tears were running down his face. “And scared!”
“When, how long?” Leo asked his son.
“For almost a year now. Almost a year.” Chris whispered brokenly and Piper couldn’t take it any more. She pulled him into a hug and led him to his bed where he climbed on and curled into a tight ball hugging her waist like when he was little. Leo joined them and managed to put his arms around both of them.
“Why now?” Chris whispered. “Why now?”
Leo sighed. “I don’t know exactly Chris. We only have theories about what happened after you died. What happened to your spirit.”
“What theories?” Chris asked looking at his father.
“Well,” he said. “When we die our body perishes but our spirit move on. You know that. We’ve called back spirits like your Aunt’s before. When you died we didn’t know what happened with yours because your body just disappeared. We thought maybe, since you weren’t from that time your death served as a time portal transporting you back to your time and you’d die there and since that timeline was erased, you were too. You just ceased to exist, that version of you. Then there was the theory that your spirit moved on,” Leo swallowed hard, “And that’s the worst one because that would mean that you’ll die at the same age. Your spirit is unique Chris, and you can’t continue living without one.”
Chris nodded silently.
“The other theory is that your spirit went straight back into you, which seems to be the case. Except we thought that the spirit would had gone and merged with your spirit as a baby and since you never showed any memories of a past life we had discarded that theory but now… now maybe we were wrong and the spirit did travel back to when Chris left his timeline and started merging with you then.”
“That means I won’t die,” Chris asked and Leo smiled watery.
“Yeah, you won’t.”
Chris nodded trying to digest all he was feeling. He had been a mess this last year. His nightmares were horrible but he couldn’t help but feel that in the end it was going to be okay. Because now he knew and most importantly his family knew and they would help him through this. And from his memories he knew that all worked out for the best.
“This is the spell you used then?” past Chris asked the past Charmed Ones and Leo. Leo nodded and past Chris and Wyatt went back to the Book of Shadows.
“We just have to change a few words and this will take you back,” Wyatt said and started writing on a piece of paper.
“We also have to make sure we don’t remember any of this,” Chris said.
“What?” Piper asked shocked. “No, how can you say that? You can’t make me forget you’re my son! We have to talk.”
Chris sighed, “Do you have no regard whatsoever for future consequences? There’s a reason I don’t spill about the future. We can end up changing something and I very much like this future thank you very much.”
“But you died,” Leo said brokenly and Chris looked straight at him.
“For a good reason and I can’t risk us ruining this because we’re trying to prevent me from dying.”
“But all we have to do is ask future Piper and Leo who is after Wyatt,” Paige tried to argue.
“No,” future Chris’s voice came from the attic door followed by his parents. “He is right. Some things are just meant to be and are for the best.”
Past Piper looked at him pained, “What if you die too? And I don’t want to lose him either, not now that I just found out who he is.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” future Piper smiled conspirationally. “Though you will be the second to last too,” she finished glaring at her sisters.
“And you won’t die completely,” future Leo said looking at past Chris. He put a hand on future Chris’s shoulder and squeezed looking at him with affection, “Apparently someone neglected to tell us he was getting a few strange memories.”
Wyatt came close to his brother and asked quietly, “Is this about those nightmares that make you feel crappy and block me out?”
Future Chris shrugged, “I was ashamed.”
“Why? I’m your brother?”
“That’s why. I was dreaming you were some kind of evil tyrant Wy. How could I come up with that about you? I didn’t know they were memories. Ow! What was that for?” he finished rubbing his head were Wyatt had slapped him.
“Moron,” Wyatt rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t care. I was worried!”
Future Chris smiled at his brother, he had been silly.
“What’s blocking out?” Phoebe asked past Chris.
“We have a link; we can hear each others thoughts and feel our emotions.”
“Oh, that’s how they worked so well,” Paige said awed.
Future Piper came to where past Chris was followed closely by Leo. She smiled sadly at him. “You won’t remember this for many years and I won’t remember I’ll have you back for those same years Chris, but I want you to know that I love you and I missed you and I’m so proud of you,” she finished with tears running down her cheeks. Chris brushed them and smiled.
“Don’t cry mom. I missed you too. So much, I love you so much,” he was pulled into a hug by his mother and relished in her sent. How he missed her. She let him go and stepped aside and Leo took her place. He put a hand on Chris shoulder,
“Right now you hate me, and from what you told me you have every right to but I loved you son. Losing you- I never felt so much pain. And if I could I would spare me the pain but in the end all that pain brought so much happiness,” he finished looking at his two boys that were whispering together.
“I don’t know,” past Chris said. “You’re not like him. I don’t know what to do.”
Future Leo smiled, “I’m glad I’m not like the father you knew,” he pulled him into a hug and said quietly, “I’m very proud of you. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
Future Chris hugged him awkwardly but at the same time was so happy to hear the words he always longed for.
“The spell is ready,” Wyatt said clearing his throat awkwardly.
Future Leo let Chris go and let him join the past people as he embraced his wife.
“Don’t forget to find a way to erase this memory,” Piper called to her past self and raised an eyebrow at the conspirational look. Future Chris gave them the spell and they started chanting. Just as the lights were forming around the past people Wyatt blew memory dust on them, “You’re on the right track, keep going. And trust Chris.”
And like that they were gone.
In the past five very confused people had no idea what they were doing on the floor.
“What happened?” Chris asked.
“Don’t know, but we’re on the right track, “Phoebe said and frowned as the others frowned at her.
“What are you doing here?” Piper asked and Chris frowned at the lack of venom.
“I need you to go after a demon.”
“Okay,” Leo said.
“Okay?” Chris asked.
“Yah, we trust you,” Paige said simply.
“You think they remember?” Chris asked.
“The present hasn’t changed and mom and dad didn’t have a clue they’d be coming. I think we’re good.” Wyatt said to his brother.
“That we are,” Chris smiled. “Now about that party-”
The end