Insomnia (Chris/Future fic)

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Hope. Its a feeling that gives people the strength to keep moving forward in life. Hope that things will get better, and that this world can't be as bad as it seems most of the time. An unethical sense of clarity and peace of mind that lays a firm hand upon the word of better judgement in your mind that tells you to give up and run away.

In this case, hope is the only thing keeping the world from crumbling.

There may only be few who have it, but this hope gives them a strength that none other possess. For, those who coward and try to outrun the evil that lingers...are the ones who fall victim to his unwavering hand of destruction.

This evil is none like any other to ever wreak havoc. It comes from the most unexpected source any could think of. This evil comes from what was destined to be the greatest power of good in history. It comes from the Twice Blessed Child, Wyatt Halliwell. The King of magic seized his throne with ease, but didn't stop when all of the good magic in the world was under his rule. No, he wanted more...he needed more.

In the history book there are no written explanations for this sudden, dispicable, turn of the prophecized warrior of good. Some say it was a progressive series of events that lead to his final turning, but it all started with one ruthless crime. One cruel act of malice that set into motion the creation of a new world. It started with the thing that causes so many things in life...

Death.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



More Coming soon!

[Master of Demon Slayer]

Nice intro! I hope more is coming.

(I'm a sucker for the fantasy genre!)

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter One
Fallen Champions


"Oh god...she's dead." came the stunned announcement from Chris Halliwell as he gazed around at the carnage before him. "They're all...dead." he said, tears welling up as he let this fact set in.

He knelt as his mother's side, and stared deeply into her eyes that stared into nowhere. She was really gone, she was dead. Chris started to cry loudly, his heart wrenching at the sight of her corpse. Piper's neck was lolled at an odd angle and she was bleeding from various wounds on her body. Chris' eyes slowly looked around at his aunts dead bodies, and his fathers with a darklighter arrow sticking from his chest.

This was too much for him. His whole family was lying on the floor...dead.

"How...how did this happen?!" Chris gasped loudly, eyes darting back and forth over the carnage.

Wyatt Halliwell turned his head to address his younger brother. There was a distant look in his eyes, and a demeanor that betrayed the person he really was. There was something different about him, that much was for sure, but Chris couln't put a hand on it...yet.

"I killed her." the twice blessed child confessed before orbing out of the attic, in slightly darker orbs.

"WHAT?!" Chris shouted after his brother's orbs dissipated. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?! WYATT GET BACK HERE NOW!", but Wyatt didn't come back. He was long gone.

That night the Halliwell Manor echoed with the cries of a mourning teenager as he realized that his whole world was gone.


~~~~~~~~~A FEW DAYS LATER~~~~~~~~~~



Wyatt orbed into the dark chamber and brought up his hands. The torches that adorned the walls lit up as he used his magic to enchant them. As the room brightened, he walked up to the Round Table and placed his hand on its smooth surface. He could feel the magic emenating from the ancient relic, and he knew then what he must do.

Opening his palm, the smooth hilt of Excalibur orbed into his hands, and Wyatt tested its weight for a moment and moved it around in his hands. He used to be reluctant about his destiny and about using the blade, but now none of that mattered. He had done something that he would never walk away from. His fate was sealed and he couldn't do anything to change that now.

Now all there was for Wyatt to do was rule. It was his destiny after all. There was no reason for him to have any contact with the mortal world. Now was the time for him to let his magical side take over. But, before he could rule, he needed one more thing.

"Can't have a Round Table without my Knights!" he said with a tisk before disappearing in a cloud of orbs.



Wyatt reappeared in the Grimlock lair and turned as he saw the pale faced demons standing up and preparing to attack him. He smirked at the sight, knowing he could crush them easily, but knew there were more important for him to do at the moment.

"Now now, I come in peace." he said loudly, holding up his hand to reassure them. "I have an offer that you can't refuse." Wyatt added.

One of the Grimlocks stepped forward and motioned for the others to ease themselves. He was obviously the leader of the clan.

"What is this offer you speak of?" he asked, sensing the power Wyatt was packing.

Wyatt grinned. "Its nice to meet you too! I'm Wyatt by the way, what's your name?" he asked, loving the fact that he was in charge on the situation. It was good to have this much power.

"I am Kralik, leader of the Grimlock clan." the leader replied, standing up a bit straighter, as if the position gave him some kind of authority.

"Great, now we're talking." Wyatt said with a laugh. "Well, now. Lets get straight to the point then. I'm going to be King...of everything. And I want you to be on my Round Table. If you agree then your clan will be provided safety and power in the new world, and you will personally be handed raw power to use for my cause and for your own personal vendetta's." he told the demon.

"You plan on taking over the underworld?" Kralik asked in disbelief.

He laughed in reply. "Oh, I plan on taking over much more than that."

[Master of Demon Slayer]

I wonder what Wyatt is planning. Oh, that's simple. Something evil. Hey, good writing! I hope you have more coming soon!

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Two
Family Ties



Chris stood in the Halliwell Manor attic in front of the ancient tome, the Book of Shadows. For hundreds of years the book had assisted the witches in the Warren/Halliwell line, and was continuing to do so. But, as many of the witches in the family had learned, it didn't always do what you wanted it to or give you what you wanted.

His mind was still reeling and trying to grasp all that had happened in the past week and he was struggling to keep from breaking down again. His whole family was gone, well not his whole family, but the only living relative he had had gone off of the deep edge. So, this is where Chris stood. In the attic, trying to find a way to contact his brother, because he was ignoring all of Chris' magical calls.

The last words his brother had spoken to him still echoed in the depths of his mind like a chilling whisper that resonated in succession. He needed to find out what Wyatt had meant when he had said that he killed them. There was no way that his brother could murder his whole family like that. He wouldn't, he couldn't. That wasn't the kind of person Wyatt Halliwell was.

But, deep within his mind, Chris knew that was a lie. His brother had been struggling on the balance beam between good and evil for some time now, and he had a feeling that something had put him on the wrong side. If only he could talk to him.

"How're you doing?" came a sweet voice from the doorway. Chris recognized it instantly as his beloved Bianca.

"I can't find him." replied Chris, looking at her with heavy eyes. He hadn't been sleeping much lately. His dreams tormented him too much to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time.

Bianca walked over to him and kissed him lightly on the lips and they embraced for a moment. "Well, I found got some information from one of my sources." she told him.

Chris' expression lightened up a little at her words and he urged her to continue.

"Its not good news.." Bianca told him, looking to the floor. "Baby, Wyatt's been forming his Round Table...with demons from the hierchy in the underworld." she explained.

He shook his head and avoided her gaze as he took in the information. "No. Wyatt wouldn't do that. He's not evil, damnit HE'S NOT EVIL!" Chris shouted loudly, his hands shaking at his side.

"Baby..." Bianca started, reaching for his twitching hands.

Chris pushed out of her way and flipped through the book again. "No! I'm going to find him. He can't do this. Not my brother." he muttered, then stopped on one of the pages.

Bianca stood and folded her arms across her chest. She knew there was no use in trying to stop him.

"Blood to blood, I summon thee! Show yourself so I may see!" Chris chanted, waiting for the results of his spell.

Wyatt had been mid-orb, on his way to the Warlock lair, when he found himself being pulled back to the manor. Bright lights swirled around him, and when they dissipated he found himself facing his distraught brother and his worried girlfriend.

"Chris, what are you doing? I don't have time for this." Wyatt said sternly, showing no emotion in his face.

Chris was just relieved to see his brother standing there in front of him. "Wyatt, where have you been? You left and didn't...You missed their funerals, and I've been trying to find you..." he said.

"I have more important things to attend to. They are delicasies of the past that I don't have time to deal with. I have a kingdom to form." replied Wyatt, standing tall.

"Wyatt, they're our family...you don't have time? What kingdom?" Chris stammered, having trouble dealing with the whole situation. Bianca stepped forward and took his hand in support.

The Twice Blessed King laughed out loud. "I'm going to rule it all Chris. Its never been more clear to me until now. I was born to conquer, and now I'm going to do just that. Soon enough, this world will be mine, as it was always destined to be." he said, confidence ringing with ever consinant.

"No! You're not evil, god d@mnit!" shouted Chris, still not able to accept this. "You didn't kill them, and you're not evil!"

"Chris, why do you see things in such a black and white spectrum? I'm beyond good and evil. I am pure power, and I plan to use it to my advantage. I have a goal, and what I do to achieve it doesn't matter." Wyatt said loudly.

"Even killing innocent people, and alligning yourself with demons?" questioned Bianca, finally breaking her silence.

Wyatt laughed at her. "Whatever it takes my dear." he told her. "Now, I was actually going somewhere important before I was rudely side tracked. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other soon." he promised before dark orbing out.

Chris fell to his knees. "No..."

[Master of Demon Slayer]

Wyatt definitely needs to see a shrink!

Now, you're really got me hook on your story!! Good job!!

[staceface510]

Awesome job Garret. Keep it up!

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Three
Acer Proditio



Ultimate and extreme power, that was his goal. Supreme rule over everything that's ever existed, does exist, and ever will exist. The power now at his disposal was endless, he just had to learn how to bend it to his will.

So far, Wyatt Halliwell's plan was going accordingly, but there was still much he had to do. Taking over the world is by no means easy, and he had already learned that lesson. But, he started in the most logical place. Gaining power was the only way to insure his throne, so he had formed his Round Table with the most powerful demons of the underworld. Wyatt's own powers were near unstoppable, but there were still some magical abilities that he didn't have that could be useful. He would gain them at a later time.

So, this is where he stood. Each seat at the magically enchanted Round Table was filled. There was Kralik the Grimlock, Zeke the Warlock, Glory the Alchemist, and the Crone.

"How do you expect us to believe that the Champion of Good has all of the sudden switched sides? How can we be sure this isn't a trap to vanquish us all?" Glory asked, energy sparks pulsating from her hands.

Wyatt sighed and shot her a look. "How many times do I have to tell you. I want power...you all are powerful. If we work together then we can take over the underworld and eventually the whole world. Don't you want to be able to practice magic in the open?" he asked rhetorically.

At this point, the Crone cleared her throat, gathering attention from the fellow demons. "He speaks truth." she said simply. "Why do you think I let him live all those years ago when I was in position to kill him? Because I knew what a powerful being he would be and that he was the future leader of our kind." she added in a calm tone.

"Prove to me right now that you're truly evil and I'll pledge my honor to your cause." Zeke the warlock promised.

Wyatt smiled and waved his hand. As he did so, dark orbs formed into a young girl, not more than fifteen. The teen's eyes darted around as she tried to figure out where she was.

"I want your power shapeshifter." said Wyatt before sticking his hand within the center of her back. Blue light emenated from the area as he drained her magical abilities.

A few moments later, the Innocent fell to the ground, nothing more than a corpse. Wyatt turned to look at them, breathing a little heavier, and smiling with bloodlust.

"That was...so exhilarating!" he shrilled, craving for more. He felt so reguvinated, like he could run a marathon.

The evil Knights of the Round Table exhanged a pleased look with one another. They had just signed themselves onto the greatest force of power to ever walk this earth.




~~~~~~~A few weeks later~~~~~~~



~Chris!!!~ came the worried call of his charge, Melissa. It was so loud that Chris almost stumbled when it sounded in his mind. He knew that she was in trouble, so without hesitation he quickly orbed to her location.

When he arrived in the dark alleyway where she called from, he found himself entering a full fledged battle between a group of witches and demons.

"Chris, thank god!" shouted Melissa who was a few yards to his right. She quickly ducked out of the path of an oncoming fireball.

"What's going on?" he asked her loudly, sending a demon crashing into a dumpster and running over to her side.

The frantic witch looked at him with worried eyes. "My friend Lia called me and told me she needed help getting her and some members of her coven to the halfway house, and then we were attacked." she told him.

Just then an energy ball flew at them, and Chris had to orb out of its way. He reappeared and used his telekinesis to deflect fireball at the demon and vanquish it.

"Okay, stay back. I'm going to call for Bianca, and we'll try to get you guys to the Halfway House." Chris told her flinging out his hands and exploding a nearby demon. He then flicked his wrists again and the whole scene froze.

Chris reached out with his mind and moments later a hazard looking Bianca shimmered in.

"What's up? I was trying to defend a group of leprechauns from a Tracer demon." Bianca said in a worried tone.

"We need to get these witches to the Halfway House. Help me take out the rest of the demons and then we can orb and shimmer them there." Chris said hurriedly, and then the demons all unfroze.

Bianca quickly conjured a pulsing blue energy ball and hurled it at a demon who was charging at her. Another demon swung at her with a large fist, but she ducked under it and drove a conjured athame into its gut. Shimmering out, she reappeared behind another demon, and made quick work of him also.

Within minutes the two of them finished off the remaining demons.

"Any casualties?" Bianca asked as she walked over to Chris' side.

They both looked back at the witches. Melissa was trying to calm all of them down. As far as they could see, there weren't any dead bodies.

"Melissa, you teleport two of them, and Bianca and I will get the rest." said Chris as he and Bianca both walked over to the coven.

His charge nodded before teleporting away with two young women. Chris quickly took hold of three other witches, as did Bianca, and they all disappeared.

As they all reformed, they stood facing a thicket of forest. Melissa was already mumbling the password and a doorway shimmered into place. Chris ushered the witches forward, and a moment later the doorway sealed.

"Its getting worse." he said to his girlfriend with a sigh.

"Was that a Power Stealing squad?" Bianca asked him curiously.

He shook his head somberly. "No, they were definitely going for the kill. I think Wyatt's gained all the powers he needs, and now he's trying to take care of the only people who stand a chance at stopping him." Chris said, looking at the ground.

"Well, at least we set up the Halfway House. Witches and good magical beings all over the city are starting to migrate here. We'll keep them safe." she promised him.

Chris shook his head,"No one's safe anymore."

[Master of Demon Slayer]

With Wyatt on the Dark Side...no one is safe...

The act is great! You truly have the tone of drama and fantasy! Keep it up!

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Four
Home Sweet...Museum?


Chris' orbs quickly dissipated and he walked toward the coveted Book of Shadows on his ancient pedestal. He had to do something. He had to stop his brother. This was going way too far.

Witches were being murdered left and right all over the city. Leprechauns getting slaughtered and their blessed gold stolen for use by Wyatt and his superemacy. The only good thing to come out of his brother's new power craze was that he and his minions had vanquished every darklighter in the underworld. It was no use though. Wyatt had taken their poison and was now using it to personally kill whitelighters for fun.

The world was crumbling fast. The underworld was already under his brother's dictatorship. Demons were forming in his ranks and creating different battle forces with different tasks.

There were his killing squads; demon assassins recruited solely for their ability to brutally and mercilessly murder witches, whitelighters, magical beings, and humans alike. Then he had his power gatherers; warlocks trained with a special art called HemaTari that allowed them to steal the powers of witches and mentally transfer them to Wyatt.

So, Chris was going to find a way to stop him, and the Book of Shadows was going to help him. The tome was the only connection he had left to his family. That and the Halliwell Manor, but lately the only thing Chris had been doing there was sleeping...and even that was seldom. Slumber was starting to be a hard task for him to succeed in. His dreams were constantly haunted by painful memories that woke him in migraines.

"Brother." came an all too familiar dark voice from the shadows.

Chris looked up from the book at his older brother. "Wyatt." he said coldly.

Wyatt laughed at his bitterness. "Come here to find a way to stop me, little brother?" he asked, not expecting an answer from him. He knew that was what Chris had been doing. "Your feeble attempts are useless, Chris. You've seen what's happening...its wonderful. I am the true destined leader of this world. My subjects squander at the force of my gale. I am the King, and my day of reckoning is nigh." he said with a gleam in his eye.

"Join me Chris."

Chris looked at his older brother with deep hatrid pouring from his eyes. "Never." was his simple, firm answer.

Wyatt looked as if he had been slapped across the face. "Stupidity! Those moral lessons she branded you with are clouding your better judgement, Chris. Within months everything will be mine. Turn your back on me now and you will suffer a fate worse than death." he vowed.

"So be it. You disgust me!" shouted Chris, sneering at his older brother. "Look at the monster you've turned into!"

Wyatt shot out his hand and Chris was sent flying into the wall. His vision blurred for a moment, but he slowly stood back up and faced Wyatt once again.

The Twice Blessed King laughed loudly. "You've made a great mistake, my brother." he said.

"Get out of my house!" Chris said firmly.

"Your house? I don't think so. From this moment on, the Halliwell Manor is no longer your home. Its mine now, along with the Book of Shadows. Both have important roles to play in my kingdom." Wyatt said to him.

Chris reached quickly for the book, but it soared out of his reach and into his older brother's hands. Angrily, Chris waved his hand and threw Wyatt backward. It was only a mere second before he was back on his feet and not happy in the least.

"Hold on Chris...its going to be one hell of a ride!" Wyatt yelled before jerking his hand forward.

Chris saw the room zoom past him as he flew out and down the stairs. A split second later he was on the sidewalk outside the manor, and he watched as the front door slammed shut.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"He what?" asked Bianca increduously as she listened to his story.

"He took the book and magically kicked me out of the manor. So, its safe to assume that we can't count on those as our resources anymore." Chris told her, putting his head in his hands.

Bianca paced back and forth in the living room of her penthouse. "It guess it was only a matter of time. The Book of Shadows is the greatest collection of magical information in the world, and the manor is located over a spiritual Nexus." she said quietly.

"Yeah, but still...I just...I can't believe this is happening." Chris said with a shudder. "One thing's for sure...there's no hope in saving him anymore. We have to stop him." he added.

The thought of killing his brother pained Chris more than he let on. They were family, they shared the same blood, but Wyatt had changed. No matter how evil Wyatt was, Chris wasn't sure if he could do it. But, that wasn't anything to worry about at the moment. At this point it didn't look like there was any chance of him being able to kill his brother. Wyatt was a juggernaut of raw power.

"Maybe I can get some information out of some of my sources. If I can figure out what his plans are then maybe we can stop him. The witches at the halfway house can help and maybe you can convince the Elders to lend a hand." suggested Bianca.

Chris shrugged. "I don't think the Elders are in any shape to help us out. Along with wiping out most of the whitelighters, he killed four Elders and weakened their Collective." he told her.

Bianca sat down next to his and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Its still worth a try. We're going to get through this Chris." she said to him.

"I hope so." he replied.

[Master of Demon Slayer]

Wow! That's one word for today!!

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Five
Sleepless Beauty



Screams. They wouldn't cease, not matter what he did. The bloodcurtling sound echoed in the chill of the black night. The nastalgic jolt with each tear in the twilight made his stomach wretch. It was so horrible. He could feel their pain...all of their pain. There was so much of it. Like an everlasting force that rocked him harder than the crest of a tsunami.

The voices urged him forward, whispering unaudible commands before letting loose with a terrible yell of distress. He staggered in the direction they directed, but he was finding it hard to stand. All this pain...it was too much for him.

"HELP ME!!" a specter shouted, flitting past him in and into the darkness that awaited.

"I don't know what to do!" he shouted. "I'm not strong enough to defeat him!"

"MAKE HIM REMEMBER!" another spirit commanded, it voice booming, and he fell stumbled slightly.

As he stood back up and faced the sky, a gust of wind picked up, and he struggled to withold his balance. The winds swept together and compressed within each other, forming a large figure that loomed over him in the night sky. He couldn't make out its face. Just when he was about to confront the gigantuous being, it pounced forward from the night sky.

"REMEMBER!" it shouted.

The last thing he saw was the deep green eyes moving toward him.


Chris heaved forward as he was catapulted from his nightmare. Sweat rolled off of him, and with each breath his chest compulsed. These night terrors had been haunting him ever since the day he found his parents and aunts dead in the manor.

The clock next to him read: 5:00. He had only slept for an hour. That was actually good for his sleeping standards lately. Bianca of course was snoozing away next to him. Had his head not been ringing with the zing of a migraine, Chris would've grinned at her beauty.

He quietly got out of bed and slipped on some boxers. After some rummaging in the kitchen, he found the aspirin and popped a couple, before walking back into the bedroom. When he walked back in he saw that Bianca was awake. She looked tired, but knew she was awake for the day.

"Good morning." she said to him.

"I wish." Chris replied as he sat down on the bed.

Bianca put her head in his lap and laced her fingers with his. "Bad dreams again?" she asked him gently.

He nodded in reply and kissed her forehead. "They're just so confusing. I one point it seems like I'm being tortured, and then its like the ghosts are trying to help me." he said with a sigh.

His girlfriend's brow furrowed slightly as she pondered over what he said. "We'll figure them out." she told him.

Bianca cared about Chris more than anything, and it pained her to see him so troubled. As if it wasn't bad enough that his family was slaughtered by his brother, he couldn't even escape the horrible reality in his slumber. She was going to help him. The means to what she would do for him were endless.

"I say we get dressed and get to work. I'll talk to my demonic sources like planned and you can go pay the Elders a visit."

"Sure." was his reply.












~~~~~~~Later that Day~~~~~~~~



Wyatt Halliwell sat in the comfort of his velvet throne pondering his next course of action to take in his conquering movment. Those thoughts slipped away for a moment though as he took in the sight of his newly built underworld palace.

The walls were forged of the most stunning type of marble he had ever laid eyes on, and the floors were stone with dark patterned carpets that made paths through the castle. Magically lit torches danced with light at various intervals around his throne room. Encased in glass cubes were various magical relics that Wyatt had requested earlier in the week.

He was going to have it all.

The Twice Blessed King's moment of bliss was interrupted as the towering doors on the other side of the room opened to reveal Glory. The Alchemist walked toward him with poise that showed her dark beauty. Wyatt would have her in bed, in due time. Red energy sparks danced in her eyes and at her finger tips, a live display of the power she possessed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, my liege, but there was a problem with today's Scourge." Glory told him, her head bowed slightly.

Wyatt perked an eyebrow. "Just what exactly was the problem?" he questioned.

"Well...your brother. He and that...Phoenix" the alchemist told him, showing clear disgust for Bianca.

He chuckled loudly and looked to her. "So, little brother's trying to stop me. Still taking orders from that wretched Council in the sky. Well, I think its time I show him that there are consequences for defying me." he decided.

"Gather Crone, Zeke, and Kralik. We're going to have some fun." he said.

"Very well." said Glory before turning and disappearing in a blast of red electricity.

[staceface510]

This is wonderful Garret! Keep going cause this is really godo!

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Six
Trouble in Paradise



The demon's head jerked backward as the fist connected with its face, and blood filled its mouth. Bianca smiled in satisfaction and then shoved it against the wall. She had been trying to pump the demon for information, but it was proving to be quite difficult. Now that she wasn't an assassin anymore, most of her reliable sources would no longer give her details on anyting, so she had resulted to pummeling on bottom feeders.

"I'm asking for the last time Forisk. Then I'm going to start talking with pointy objects, and we all know what happens when I talk with weapons." Bianca taunted fiercely.

Her life long training had proven to be the key to her survival all of these years. Though the assassin was ashamed of her family and their business, she was glad that she had learned what she had. It was a tool that she had sharpened to perfection, and there were very little a demon who could say they bested her in a battle. None, in fact. Wyatt Halliwell was a different story all together in that department though.

Forisk spat the blood in his mouth out on the ground near her feet. "What do you want to know, Phoenix?" he snapped.

Bianca drew back and punched him again. "What's Wyatt's next move?" she asked, just punching him for the fun of it.

A synical laugh escaped the demon's lips, and a putrid stench accompanied it. His green skin wrinkled into a large smile. "Oh, its going to be great!" he shrilled cryptically.

"What is?" urged Bianca impatiently. She wanted to get back to Chris immediately.

Forisk's dark maroon pupils darted to meet hers. His smile still lingered and he pointed a long clawed finger to the ceiling. "There's going to be Trouble in Paradise tonight." he told her, before ringing out another cry of laughter.

Bianca's eyes widened as she processed the information he had just given her. Her hand opened instantly and the smooth blade of an atham appeared. After disposing of the bottom feeder, she shimmered of the underworld, searching desperately for a whitelighter.



~~~~~~~~~~~~Elder's Council~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



"You can't just sit around and do nothing!" exclaimed Chris hotly. "He's out there killing the people you're supposed to protect!"

Constance, the Elder, unclasped her hands and stepped forward from the Council. She looked deeply at Chris for a moment. "Chris, we've tried to do everything in our power. The power he's gathered greatly outways our Collective by a long shot. Its taking all of out energies to keep this place hidden from him." she said.

Chris cursed under his breath, then looked back up at the Elders. This world had changed so much. The clarity he had once had about the Elders always having the answers was gone forever. His flame of hope that they could help him was extinguished. The all powerful Gods of the Heavens were all hiding away, cowering, in hopes that Wyatt Halliwell didn't find them.

How was Chris supposed to fight his brother if they couldn't?

No, if they wouldn't. The Elders Council still had a great deal of power, but the chose not to use it in risk of unvoluntarily opening up their defenses enough for Wyatt to intrude upon them. They were at a stalemate...unless Chris could convince them to put the needs of their people before their own.

"Your energies should be spent trying to help the witches and other magical beings fight him. They're your priority, remember? Your sold purpose is to protect them and guide them in life, or has your fear caused you to forget that also?" Chris said harshly. He needed to get through to them.

"This is all her fault." came a icy voice from the back of the croud.

"Who's fault?" asked Chris curiously.

"We wanted to keep them apart, but she wouldn't let that happen! She had to argue and pester us until we agreed to let them be together. Then she made this evil spawn!" yelled one of the Elders.

Chris turn and gave the Elder a look of deep hatred. "Don't you ever talk about her like that again." he threatened.

"Don't threaten me, stupid child. We have no power in this world until Wyatt Halliwell is defeated. We cannot help you!" were the Elders' words to him.

Chris was about to argue, but he was interrupted. His heart skipped a beat as he saw dark orbs swirl next to him.

"Aww, how nice of you to say!" Wyatt joked before blasting the Elder with a high voltage dose of pulsing white hot electricity.

The being flew through the air and landed in a lifeless crumple on the floor. The other Elders back up, moving as one large mass, and stood their ground. Just then, four other demons appeared at Wyatt's side. The Crone, Kralik, Glory, and Zeke...the strongest demon's in the underworld.

The melee started as Chris shot a telekinetic blow at Zeke and the warlock careened into a pillar. He didn't have time to attack the warlock further as Kralik stepped forward. The Grimlock gripped Chris' aura with his hands and clenched it tightly. He slowly felt his air being cut off as the demon suffocated him with his aura.

"Kralik, if you kill him I'll have you head on a platter." came Wyatt's rescuing call.

Kralik motioned sharply with his hand and Chris flew onto the marble staircase and landed with a hard thud. He blacked out.

Glory extended her arms and cackling red energy flowed forward and toppled over the cluster of Elders and separated them. She started toward the group nearest her, and Wyatt and Crone went after their own group.

The alchemist had to dodge out of the way of a lightning bolt as one of the Elders sent the attack at her. Glory smiled before flashing out and reappearing behind the god. She placed her palms against his temple and fried his mind with a wave of energy. Two other Elders came after her as the first fell to the ground, but she ended them with ease.

The Crone had an enormous orb of unextinguishable fire floating before her and was using it to quickly dispose of her group of Elders. The hag snapped her fingers and the inferno flew forward and scorched two of the gods into nothing but a pile of ash.

"How fun." she mused with a satisfied smirk.

Kralik had two Elders raised high into the air as he painfully strangled them with their intoxicating auras. He had never gripped such power before in his entire existance. It was utterly amazing.

Wyatt gazed upon the carnage with glee. Energy balls and lightning bolts sizzled through the air around him but his forcefield deflected anything that came at him. As the Twice Blessed King extended his hands a humungus stream of dark orbs and electricity flowed out and killed the five Elders in front of him, and knocked over another to his side.

He was about to resume attack on it when he felt a burning sensation on his lower back, and felt himself catipulting forward. Wyatt landed in a heap on the ground.

Chris' hands were still flung in the air from his attack on his brother as Wyatt hit the polished white floors. He mentally thanked his mother for passing on her powers to him. His brother must have figured an Elder had done it because he got up and continued his pursuit on the being he had been after.

Glory was about to lay down the killing blow on another Elder when a black boot struck her face and she staggered to the ground. Bianca retracted her foot from the air, but stayed in her fighting stance.

"Filthy Phoenix!" shouted Glory with pure hatred. The alchemist floated back to its feet.

"I don't have time for this." drawled Bianca as she shimmered out, reappeared behind the demon and thrust her hand into Glory's back. The familiar blue light emenated from the area as she drained the alchemist's energy.

After a few seconds, Bianca withdrew her hold, and as Glory's unconcsious body fluttered to the ground she searched the battlefield for her boyfriend.

Constance - The Elder who had spoken to him earlier - grabbed Chris' sleeve and looked deep into his eyes. The Elder was mortally wounded and it would only be a few moments before the god's life force would fade.

"Take this.." she slurred, handing him a crystal chalice with a pentagram engraved on one side and a triquetra on the other. "Its the.. Chalice of Perpetual Bliss...gather Elementals...do the ritual...need Book..Of Shadows...for incantation..." Constance slurred.

"What? What's the Chalice for?" Chris asked, needing more information.

"Help..find them...Good luck." were the Elder's last words.

Chris silently mourned her death before closing her open eyelids with his fingers. Returning his focus back to the battle, Chris looked up. There were only a few of the Elders left, and it would only be a matter of time...

"Chris!" Bianca's voice rang out as she ran over to him. "We need to get out of here..." she said to him, not noticing the Chalice.

"I can't orb...I'm too weak right now." he told her, swaying a little as he stood.

"I can get us out." she said before grabbing onto him.

The last image that went past Chris's eyes was the Powers that Be getting slaughtered.

[sweet8]

It is really good. Please write more.

[rylied]

This is really great, keep it up

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Seven
Bittersweet Victory


~~~Fourteen Years Prior~~~


The particles were zooming, moving so fast, the human eye was unable to follow. They swirled in a twister of magical fragments, flitting around, trying peice themselves back together. Her being was dispersed, scattered, into millions of different peices. And the pain was unbearable. It was like an eternal inferno scorching her life force unmercilessly.

Then, there was light. Next there was smell - a slight auroma that tickled her nostrils- and then feeling. She could feel the blood pumping through her centuries old vains, the air brushing over her skin, the ground under her feet. A taste pricked at her tongue, a dry mournful plea for water. And lastly...there was sight. She was in some type of cavern with rough rocky walls and a dirt floor.

And there was someone standing in front of her.

"Yes, now that's better." the man said twittling the fingers of his left hand. He was a tall fellow, had brown eyes, and grey hair with many strands of white that varied. There was one thing that stood out about him though...power.

"What has happened? I was vanquished by the Charmed Ones." she said, unsure of why she was back on this plane of existance.

The man laughed heartily. "Yes, it appears so, but that's the lovely about vanquishing. It never seems to be permenant." he said, smiling distantly as though someone else understood his humor.

She stood up slightly straighter. "Then why have you brought me back here?" she questioned him calmly.

He turned to face her again, a smile playing at the sides of his mouth, and laughed once more. "Because, Crone, you are the only one who can help me. You see, I know what's to come with this...Twice Blessed Child. And quite frankly, I don't like it." he said to her. "But we both know that futures can be changed...with years of fighting. The only way to insure that Wyatt Halliwell doesn't wipe out the demonic race is to make sure he is allied with it. If we set the correct events into place then we can make our futures a lot more...brighter." he said.

He watched as the hag thought about what he had just said. He could see the gears in her head going over what her next move should be, and the demon knew he had chosen the right person to align himself with. She was an intelligent and sharp demon.

"What is your plan?" the Crone asked him.

"We play on his fears."


~~~~Present~~~~


Chris and Bianca reformed in the spotlessly clean living room of her uptown penthouse. Chris immediately started to pace as he the events he had just witnessed all processed on his mind. This was bad, real, real bad. Wyatt had just obliterated the greatest force of good magic left on the earth. Any hope of stopping his brother faded for that one short moment.

But Chris Halliwell couldn't think like that. Being who he was, he didn't have that luxury, never had.

"What's that in your hand?" asked Bianca as she sat down on her sofa and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

He had been so frantic, that Chris had momentarily forgotten the relic within his grasp, and he looked at it again to make sure it was indeed there. His mind reached back as he tried to sum up everything Constance had told him about the magical item.

"One of the Elder's gave it to me. She called it the Chalice of Perpetual Bliss." he told her, drawing a blank with its name.

Bianca shrugged. "Never heard of it." she replied.

"She said something to me, told me I had to gather the Elementals and perform a ritual, and said that the incantation could only be found in the Book of Shadows." Chris said, recalling the memory. "The Elementals...god d@mnit why can't I remember what I know about them..."

"Chris let me see the Chalice." Bianca ordered quickly, and he handed it over to her without hesitation. She looked at it for a moment. "There's a pentagram on here...you know what a pentagram stands for right?"

Chris sighed. "Bianca, I'm not retarded. The pentagram is the Wiccan symbol for the arcane ele...oh." he said, meeting her train of though. "Oh! Constance told me to use it to find them!"

"Okay...but what are we supposed to do? Go up to everyone we know and ask them to take a swig from the Holy Chalice?" Bianca asked skeptically.

He had to think for a moment. "Maybe we can use it to scry for them!" Chris answered proudly.

Bianca stood up from her seat and kissed him passionately. "God, you're so smart." she compliment happily. "But, that still doesn't tell us what this ritual is or what it does." she added sullenly.

"We'll jump off of that bridge when we get to it. Right now we have to concentrate on finding the Elementals. For all we know, Wyatt could be searching for them as we speak, and that is definitely not a good thing." Chris told her, taking charge of the situation.

Bianca smiled and kissed him again. She loved it when he got excited like this, the sorrow seemed to escape from his eyes whenever he did, and she held onto him tightly. Her love for Chris was the only thing that kept her from the horrible hand life had dealt her, and she loved him even more for that.

"Lets get to the Halfway House. We can use their scrying crystal and map." Bianca suggested, stilling glowing.

"Agreed." and they were gone in a cloud of orbs.



~~~~Wyatt's Fortress~~~~



It was extasy. Pure, unadulterated vertigo...and it was intoxicating. So much power, it was endless, a constant stream of energy that flowed within him. He could feel the sparks, the heat, the fog...all of it inside his own body and aching to be vented out on the unsuspecting victims of the world.

Which is kind of ironic if you think about it. The magical power source he had just tapped was constructed of everything pure and good in the world. To think that it had all gone under the influence of his dark magics all ready just made him more joyful.

Wyatt Halliwell, the Twice Blessed King, had defeated the revelled Elder's Council with less effort than it took to make a sandwhich. It was kind of pathetic, really, if you thought about it enough. These legendary protectors of mankind, the high Council of everything that is good, crumbled so easily against the hand of evil. The efforts they had put forth had been little more than an anthole for him to step on. It had been their fruitless attempt that made him even more confident that he would conquer it all. If the Elders had fallen so easily to his power then it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world fell with them.

"My liege...it was simply amazing! Their auras were like noting I've ever experienced! Such power..." Kralik, the pale Grimlock, said to him with excitement ringing in his deep voice.

The Twice Blessed King laughed at his knight. "Yes, their power gave me quite the high." Wyatt said to him.

"The Phoenix still walks though." Glory spat, her hatred for the assassin again evident. "She stuck her filthy appendage into my body and depleted my energy! She will suffer a fate worse than death for cross ing me!" the alchemist vowed loudly.

The Crone turned her head to gaze at her. "There are more important things to worry about Glory. Let us not forget the cause we all serve." she said then turned to Wyatt. "If I am correct...not all was success in tonight's raid." she added.

Wyatt perked an eyebrow, surprised at her comment, and smiled. "Quite right, Crone. You are stronger than I expected. I hadn't told anyone else of my previous agenda tonight." he said to her.

"It is not power but merely knowledge that guided my thoughts." Crone explained to him. "Anyone to raid the Elder's Council would surely pursue the Chalice of Perpetual Bliss."

"Very true, but as you know it was already gone by the time I got to its hiding chamber. Which means that the Elders have it hidden somewhere with someone. And that, in turn, means that someone will be seeking out the Elementals." Wyatt said to them, putting a voice to his thoughts. "I want as many demons as possible searching for the Chalice, and I want the Death Squads to find the Elementals and bring them to me."

His four knights stood from their chairs at the Round Table. "Very well."

[paigenotprue]

This story is great, please more soon!

[GThe4thCharmedOneR]

Chapter Eight
Gotta Have Some Faith


"The Elder's gave you this?" Madison asked Chris with a look of disbelief on her face. She was one of the more gifted empathic seers at the Halfway House, and her abilities allowed her to translate the different energies that people and objects let out.

Chris nodded. "Before they were completely defeated one of them handed me this and told me to gather the Elementals and do a ritual. She said the only way I could get the incantation would be if I had access to the Book of Shadows." he told her, giving the cliff notes version.

Madison listened to what he said and gripped the Chalice a little tighter in her small hands. Power, it emenated from the cup like a rolling wave of thunder. After a few moments of concentration, she gathered all that she could from its empathic energy then turned to Chris and Bianca once again.

"The Chalice plays a pivotal part in the ritual which is called The Arcane Truce. I can't tell you the effects of the spell or what the words are, but I do know that the Chalice can help you locate the Elementals." Madison told them slowly, careful not to miss any detail. "It should behave in a warm/cold type reaction to the Elementals. The closer you are to any of them...the more energy it gives off. Its a kind of beacon that reacts to their auras when they're in the same area." she added.

Bianca smiled faintly. "Well, there's something else we didn't know." she said with a slight laugh. "Have you ever come across that ritual in the Book of Shadows before Chris?"

Chris shook his head. "Not anytime that I can remember, but I can find it easy enough...if I can get to the book. That's going to prove to be the hardest thing here because even if Wyatt sends demon's after the Elementals...we can fight them off, but Wyatt keeps the Book under his constant guarding in his chambers." he said.

"Don't concentrate on that yet. Your first priority is to gather the Elementals. Once they're all with you is the time to form your next move." Madison told him, knowing that it was fate wanted him to do.

Bianca clasped her hands together and put on her game face. "Okay, lets get to it then. Lets scy for the Elementals and gather em' up." she suggested.

"Okay, so we got the Firestarter, Waterbearer, Windwalker, and Earthshaker." Chris said. "Lets go scry."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Faith stepped into the crowd, walking with confidence, and fitting right in with the clientele of the nightclub. The Tank was, by most standards, a dumpy bar with sketchy customers that frequented it. But, it suited her needs just fine. Faith was a girl of the streets who knew how to take care of herself, and made it her priority to keep her streets safe from the darkness that was gathering around her. She knew of Wyatt Halliwell and his battalion of demonic forces that were trying to force their way into leadership. It disgusted her, it really did, that one being had been given so much power when it was clearly obvious that he did not know how to handle it.

That's what had led her to the Tank. Most of the demons and humans there knew her as the rogue demon hunting witch that nobody wanted to mess with. Wyatt Halliwell excluded. Adorned with her custom black leather pants and a dark red top, her chestnut hair swaying, she walked over to the bar. Heat seemed to radiate off of her body, and the bartender instantly knew who she was before he turned around.

"Hey, Mack! Why don't you get me a nice Cosmo and we can chat for a while?" Faith suggested with a grin and a slanted eyebrow.

Mack chuckled after her comment and looked around the sleezy bar room. "You better watch your step Faith. The Big Man's got his boys out for you." he told her, smiling with pleasure the whole time.

"Why would Wyatt Halliwell send his boys after me?" she asked him, not showing the worry that she was feeling at the moment.

Mack shrugged. "Don't know...some big scheme he's concocting and wants you in on I guess." he replied.

Faith rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone knows that I don't play the evil card anymore. I had an epiphany, and unless you forget I've vanquished way more demons than I've even harmed humans." she said to him.

"I'm not the one to be telling." Mack said.

"Don't flatter yourself in thinking that Wyatt Halliwell wants you as one of his demonic assassins, witch." sneered a voice from the other end of the bar. The demon stood up and walked toward her. "You're the Firestarter, and he needs you to take part in a ritual that will reinforce his own magic with the arcane energy of the Elementals."

"Is that so?" Faith asked, wide eyed with mock curiousity. She opened her palm and hurled a large fireball at the demon. "Too bad."

At that moment it was as if the whole bar turned on her. Demons stood up all around her and got into battle stances. She could feel the tingle of magical energy in the air, and knew she was in for one hell of a fight.

"This is going to be fun." Faith said with a grin as the demons started to charge at her. The first one came at her and she disposed of him with a blast of flames.

Grabbing the arm of one demon, she snapped his arm, breaking his elbow and watched as he cried out in pain. Low voltage energy balls were being thrown at her, proving that Wyatt wanted her alive, and Faith could use this to her advantage. Flames erupted over her fists as she slammed them against the jaws of the demons around her, sizzling their skin upon contact.

"You can't take all of us witch!" a demon snapped at her.

"Aww, come on. You gotta have a little Faith!" she countered, roundhouse kicking him into the jukebox. Glass shattered and sparks flew as the musical machine was destroyed.

Fire erupted in a cirlce around her as Faith brought her hands up. Meeting a fiery grave, the demons nearest her cried out in pain, as they were vanquished. Numbers of demons were still intent on capturing her, and the Firestarter knew that if a escape wasn't planned soon she would be on her way to The Twice Blessed King. That wasn't plausible to her.

Her rescue came in the form of shimmering white lights. A guy with green eyes and dark hair appeared with a girl a bit shorter than him with equally dark hair. They both seemed confident, and Faith knew they were here to help her.

Chris recognized the Firestarter at once, for the Chalice started to emanate a bright foglike glow when it faced her direction. Various types of demons were surrounding them, so he had to take action if he wanted things to go his way. A simple wave of his hand sent the tracer demon near him catapulting over the bar and into a case of various liquors. Two more demons were gone in an explosion caused by Chris' extended hands.

"Get to her, I'll play clean up." Bianca told him, falling into her fighting stance. Chris loved to watch her fight, it was amazing. The beauty and grace she executed with her melee was simply awesome. He didn't have time to watch her though, he had to get to the Firestarter.

Chris orbed out and reappeared next to Faith. "Hey, I'm Chris. I came to help you." he told her.

"I figured that one out all on my own slick." Faith replied dousing a nearby demon with a stream of flames.

He couldn't help but grin at that. "I'm going to orb us somewhere safe, and Bianca is going to follow us. Hold on tight." he said, grabbing onto her arm and orbing out of the bar.

Bianca saw them both disappear and was about to follow when a voice rang out over the melee. It was the same vengeance filled call that she had heard at the Elder's Council.

"PHOENIX!" hissed Glory zapping at Bianca with a red hot bolt of energy.

The Phoenix assassin shimmered out, appearing in the same spot, as the attack hit a demon behind her. "You missed." she taunted, hurling a blue energy ball at the Alchemist.

Glory sidestepped and avoided the attack, but Bianca laid into her with a hard punch to the face. The demon was off balance and the assassin hit her two more times, first with a punch and then with a roundhouse kick.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but..." Bianca trailed off, shimmering away.

"PHOENIX!!!!!" the alchemist shouted, wanting to kill her even more in that moment.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"The name's Faith." she told him, as they reappeared.

They had rematerialized in a grown in section of the Golden Gate Park. It seemed quiet in the park, but that didn't mean that there wasn't anyone nearby, so they needed to be quiet. Looking at the with in front of him, Chris was impressed. This girl sure did know how to take care of herself in a brawl.

"So, are ya just gonna stand there, or are ya gonna tell me what's goin on?" Faith asked, cockiness in her tone.

He grinned and looked back at her. "You're one of the four Elementals, and this.." he showed her the Chalice of Perpetual Bliss, "Helped me find you so that we can gather the other Elementals and perform a ritual to help protect us and other witches from my brother." he told her.

"Who's your brother?" she asked him, confused.

"Wyatt Halliwell." he replied, "I'm Chris Halliwell."

"Ohh..I see. Yeah, I'm the Firestarter, but I don't know much about any ritual." Faith said to him.

Chris hadn't been paying attention. A look of alarm and worry was on his face.

"Helloooo..." Faith said, waving her hand in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"Its Bianca. She should've been back by now." Chris told her, reaching out with his mind for her essence. He sensed her, but couldn't tell whether she was in danger or not. That was because she was in the presence of so many demons it was hard to tell whether she was in real danger or just doing some vanquishing.

Bianca shimmered in at that point, putting an end to Chris' worries. "Sorry, Glory held me up. That demon really doesn't like me." she told him. "What'd I miss?"

"Thank god you're okay." Chris said. "I was just filling Faith in on what's going on and what we have to do."

Faith slipped her hands into her pockets and looked at each of them in turn. "Well, looks like I found the right people to ally with. I've the got the baby brother to the King of Magic and a Phoenix gone good. If we need to find the other Elementals then you got the right girl. I know just about every magical contact there is, and with that pimped out cup working its mojo I think we might be able to pull this off." she said.

Chris and Bianca exchanged a grin. "Lets get started." he said.

[staceface510]

This is amazing Garret. Keep it up!