Ghosts of the Future (CHMD,XO,UC Mature) [WIP] 07-31-05

[elfangel01]

Title: "Ghosts of the Future"

Author: elfangel01

Rating: Mature

Pairing: centers and ends with Chris/Liz

Summary: This is a challenge by Traitor link: viewtopic.php?t=6933&highlight=
Liz and the others are followers of Wyatt during his rule in the future, she is his queen and second in command. She starts to realize that everything isn't as happy go lucky as she once thougtht. Liz comes back to help Chris and the sisters and the two of them end up falling in love.

Disclaimer: I don't anything, I wish I did, but I don't. In Roswell, Alex wouldn't have died, and in Charmed a lot of stuff wouldn't have happened the same...


~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Prologue

“Bianca, no!” screamed Chris in agony. He stared defiantly at his so-called brother as Wyatt powered up another energy ball.

“Submit to me little brother, or die like your little whore,” sneered Wyatt.

“I’ll never submit to you, I will stop you,” as Chris was preparing himself to die, the portal that he had originally come through opened up behind him. He staggered towards it and straightened to face his brother, but when he looked up his eyes caught hers. He had never seen that look directed towards his brother before, especially from her. She looked back at him, her face unreadable. Before he knew what was happening he was flying through the portal, with her! The last thing he heard before being plunged back through time were the anguished cries of his brother. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a mass of gorgeous, thick brown hair and the deepest chocolate eyes, he had ever seen.


TBC.....


A/N: More will come soon, I just felt the need to start like this. Feedback is always welcome so feel free to leave it. I'd like to thank Traitor for the amazing banner and NewYorker18 for being my beta. Hope you guys enjoy.

[elfangel01]

CH. 1

“He’s starting to come around,” said a muffled voice.

“Chris, are you alright?” asked another, he was still unable to distinguish who was speaking to him.

“Back up, give him some room,” came another voice, it sounded oddly like his aunt Paige. Whoever it was, he was grateful. Groaning he sat up, gripping his head. It felt like he’d been run over by a truck, which with the way Wyatt threw around those energy balls, it might as well have been. Wait… Wyatt, Bianca, he felt tears prick his eyelids at the thought of Bianca. Bianca had been his first realized love; she had been a fellow soldier in the resistance, so how had she ended up coming after him for Wyatt. He had more pressing matters to think of, and the person who started this mental path could probably answer his questions…. his brother’s queen and second in command. What had happened to her? Did she come through the portal with him? Did she mean to? Oh God, where was she?

“Chris are you ok?” asked Leo. Ah, yes Leo, his father, wait he could tell voices apart again… now that was a step up.

“I’m good, at least I think I am,” answered Chris groggily. His vision began to clear and he looked around the room, wincing at the bright lights. “Could someone turn off the lights, I’m kind of going blind here.”

“Chris, the lights aren’t on,” said Phoebe, looking worriedly at the others.

“Oh, well ok then, I think I’ll just close my eyes again then.”

“You’re gripping your head, do you need some Tylenol or Advil?” mothered Phoebe.

“Naw, I’m probably better off getting a new head, one that preferably still works,” groaned Chris as he struggled to his feet. “Where is she?”

“ ‘She’ is right here,” answered Liz from the crystal cage the sisters had put her in while she was still knocked out. They obviously didn’t trust her and with good reason, they didn’t’ know her, so they had her in here, not knowing what she was capable of. However Chris was awake now and it was time to get down to business. “And I happen to think the head you have is just fine, except that it’s always stuck up your ass. Did you ever consider the possibility that going up against Wyatt like that may not have been your brightest moment? You do however get creativity points. I never would’ve thought to do what you did. Maybe it’s the general in me that makes it so I don’t act first and think later. It’s really quite a marvelous idea, it actually keeps you alive, who would’ve guessed it?”

“And to think I missed you. What are you doing here Liz? Did you come to throw insults at me or do my brother’s dirty work and finish me off?” snarled Chris.

“No, actually I’m here to help you, as hard as that may be to believe. Wyatt’s ‘dirty work’ as you so eloquently put it is getting out of hand. He’s doing more harm than good now and he’s no longer the man I fell in love with. I do still love him and if there’s any chance to save him, then I have to try. I can’t just leave him to that bitch Tess,” snapped Liz. “And for the record, I didn’t want Bianca to die, I know how much you cared for her.”

As the verbal sparring match was going on; Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo all watched with interest, captivated by Chris arguing with the young woman they knew nothing about. “I feel like I’m at a tennis match,” murmured Paige, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two.

“Yeah, I know how you feel, I think I’m going to snap my neck if they keep at it much longer,” whispered Phoebe.

“Why should I believe you? You’ve always stood by his side, although I don’t know why…. you were mine first,” he muttered the last part under his breath where nobody could hear. “This could just be some plot to kill me or bring me back again,” accused Chris.

“You think I want Wyatt the way he is? He’s become destructive and is losing himself in his vendetta. He’s considered a God and in all aspects, I guess he is, but he’s going to be lost forever if we don’t do something. I want to save him, I need to save him,” said Liz firmly, not noticing the gathering tears at her eyelashes.

Chris, noticing they had an audience turned to the others and sighed wearily, “Let her out of the cage, she could’ve freed herself if she wanted to.”

Paige called for one of the stones and the cage Liz was in collapsed. She stepped out of the boundaries and settled herself on the chair near Chris. “Is everything settled, are you both going to shut up for now and stop arguing?” At their affirmative nods, although grudgingly along with the glares they were shooting each other. Piper finally spoke again, “Now would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here!” she shouted.

[elfangel01]

CH. 2

“What’s going on?” repeated Piper, this time a little more calmly. “What’s wrong with Wyatt? Why did you say he was evil, he’s just a baby, he can’t be evil. You must be wrong or misinformed, how would you know? Wait… you called Wyatt your brother, if that’s true then that means…”

“Hi mom, dad,” said Chris sheepishly. “If you two will sit down, I guess we’ll explain what we can,” he sighed wearily.

“Hold on, you came back to ‘fix’ the future and you didn’t tell them anything?” raged Liz. “I gave up my lover, my friends, my home to come help you and you have yet to really do anything?!”

“Not to be rude, but who exactly are you?” cut in Phoebe. She figured she’d better step in and take control of the situation, Piper and Leo seemed catatonic and the way this girl and her apparent nephew were going at it…. well at least looks can’t kill.

“I’m Liz, Wyatt’s queen and second in command,” stated Liz, modestly.

“Queen?” spoke up Piper, as Phoebe did a double take.

“Yes, the future is an…. interesting place and a lot of things have changed. I guess we should start explaining, Chris. We’re running out of time.” Liz nudged him forward a bit.

Where to begin, mused Chris. “Hmmm… the exact time we are from is 2030 and it’s not so much interesting as Liz here said, it’s more like hell. To answer one of your questions yes I am your son… Wyatt is my older brother by two years. About eight years ago from our time Wyatt began showing signs of violence and extreme anger, aggression that shouldn’t have been present considering who our parents are. The elders wrote it off as being special, the first born of such powerful beings, but little by little it grew worse. That first year, I was a freshman in college and that’s when I met Liz. I knew there was something different about her and her friends who were also freshmen. We all got to know each other and a few months later Liz met Wyatt who was home on Christmas Break from Berkeley. They hit it off immediately and we began to see a change in him… for the good. Everyone loved the two of them together, it was like Romeo and freaking Juliet, the dream pair,” he said bitterly. He glanced over at Liz with an unreadable expression on his face. “We all believed Wyatt was better until mom died.” He turned his attention to his parents and aunts, “A demon attacked in retribution for some powerful leader you had just vanquished.” He choked up a little and began to blink back tears, breathing deeply he continued the story. “Mom’s death pushed Wyatt over the edge. He began to take pleasure in the kills and seemed to find a way to harness his opponents powers once they were gone. He became the most feared and powerful witch in the world. Liz was blinded by her love for him and she followed him, even supported his revelation of magic. The world was devastated by Wyatt in his personal vendetta against what he considered evil,” sneered Chris, his voice having become cold and detached.

“Wyatt was doing what the elders were incapable of doing!” spoke up Liz angrily. “But none of you could understand or see that. You pushed him to hard and he broke.”

“No, what he didn’t understand is that there has to be a balance of good and evil,” shouted Chris. “If one becomes to powerful then the world becomes…. off.”

“What happened next Chris?” asked Paige, trying to get back on track. She would have to learn more about Liz and see what exactly was between she and her nephew. There was obviously more to their past than either was letting on.

“Wyatt became a tyrant and god. The world feared him and loved him they worshipped him. He has followers everywhere, including Liz’s friends. I came back to try and change something, anything so that our future would not be this way. When Bianca came back it was because Wyatt got to her. He killed her and was about to kill me when we came through the portal,” finished Chris bitterly. He couldn’t bring himself to tell his parents that the elders really believed Wyatt began his path to evil without Leo’s influence or lack thereof. He didn’t know what had happened to make Leo abandon the three of them, but he was damn sure not going to let it happen again.

“Oh my God, my poor, poor baby,” sobbed Piper, rushing to hold Chris. Leo brought baby Wyatt over as well. “We’ll change the future, don’t worry none of that will happen.”

Liz stood there taking in the family before her. A man she’d known for eight years although now more battle torn and worn; the man she thought she loved, still just an infant in this time, laying in his father’s arms; the mother of both men she’d come to care for and the woman whose death caused one’s downfall; and their father whom she had never met. Because he as an elder had supposedly been kept away most of the times Wyatt had brought her home. She had her own suspicions of the elder’s involvement in Leo’s unavailability, but she kept them to herself. Looking at each face, she saw the love as they all came together; vowing to herself that she’d be damned if the same future were to repeat itself. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Phoebe clearing her throat.

“If you are here to help us, my question is why. I mean if everything changes, you and Wyatt may not have a future together.”

“If Wyatt and I are destined to be together, like in the whole soulmate sense, so be it; if not then we at least had the time we did, even if we won’t remember it,” said Liz with steely resolve. “By the time we left though, I don’t know how he felt, Tess was mind warping him little by little and I don’t know if he was realizing it. Don’t look so shocked Chris, you knew her, and she was a scheming, manipulative little bitch. She is the reason for Bianca; Tess mind warped her into following Wyatt. I tried to help her, but her mind was so weakened by the warp, it was to late if she hadn’t of been killed then she still wouldn’t have been the same Bianca we knew. Just as Bianca, the man I loved ‘died’ a long time ago, I don’t want our future to happen to that adorable baby resting in his father’s arms, I want to help.”

“What happens if you fix everything? What will happen to your bodies as they are now, from the future?” asked Leo.

“I guess we become ghosts of the future,” said Chris resignedly.

[elfangel01]

CH. 3

While the conversation was going on around Liz, she retreated into her memories. She remembered the first time she met Wyatt when she and Chris had been hanging out at the manor watching movies. It had been love at first sight, the unruly blonde curly hair, his piercing blue eyes; even his five o’clock shadow had drawn her in. She already knew about the family, but she saw unsuppressed power in Wyatt, she knew he was powerful and dangerous, all of that hidden under a gorgeously sculpted body. She had gotten to know him and had fallen even harder as time passed. Her most cherished memory was one before Piper had died and he had slowly begun losing himself. He had invited her over to his apartment to hang out and watch movies, that was the day he had revealed his feelings for her, that was the day she was able to finally tell him how much she loved him. They had been together ever since, and it was that memory among others that had made this worth so much. She shook herself out of the memories as she heard Chris calling her name and slowly zoned back in to the conversation. “What?” she snapped irritably.

“Paige asked you what mind warping was and I figured since that is your area of expertise then you should tell them. I didn’t mean to interrupt your plans of murdering me in my sleep, excuse me and I’ll let you get back to them,” said Chris in frustration. He didn’t know what to do; she was here when she wasn’t supposed to be. Should he trust her and accept her help? For now he would let his anger and bitterness keep her arms length from him, she had been his best friend and she hadn’t chosen him, when given the choice she had chosen Wyatt. He looked at her when she didn’t reply at first and he could’ve sworn he saw hurt swimming in her big brown eyes, but he shrugged it off, he couldn’t let her get to him.

Liz didn’t answer at first, too shocked at what Chris had said. She really did want to help; she just didn’t know what to do to get them to trust her. Well damn him; she thought fiercely, pushing down the hurt she felt from his spiteful comment, if he didn’t want to try and work out their past issues then she wasn’t going to force him. She had hoped he had maybe forgiven her for that day, but obviously she was wrong, she looked at the others, steeling herself for the story she was about to have to tell. “Ok, here’s the deal. I’ll try to give it to you as abridged as I can, especially since it’s a long story and we have a lot of work to do.” She looked at Chris as she said this last part, trying to hint that there was more work to be done. “My name is Elizabeth Parker and I’m from Roswell, New Mexico. You’ve heard of ’47 crash, right? Well, it wasn’t a weather balloon like the government said it was a cover up, four of my friends were on the ship that crashed that night. They were the reincarnated royalty of their planet and had been sent here for safety so they could grow and then go back to defeat the tyrant who overthrew them. They spent about fifty years in incubation pods and came out as newborns in ’04.”

“You mean there are four alien babies running around Roswell, New Mexico, at this precise moment? As well as four adult aliens running around a future San Francisco?” broke in Phoebe.

“Yes, now can I get back to the story? Questions can be saved till the end,” growled Liz. “Where was I…. oh yeah. Two were adopted as brother and sister; they were the former king and princess and were named Max and Isabel. Michael, Max’s second in command, was put in foster care and bounced around from home to home. Tess, Max’s former wife, was lost until we were in our sophomore year in high school. You’re probably wondering how I know all this, well I found out because one day I was shot and Max healed me, he was in love with me and we were together for a little while after that. Max saving me was what got all of us involved. Isabel fell in love with one of my best friends, Alex, and Michael and my other best friend Maria got together. A few months later, Tess came to town and started spouting off destiny crap. She had one of my other friends, Kyle, wrapped around her little finger, but it turned out that she and Max were supposed to be together and Michael and Isabel were supposed to be together. I broke Max’s heart and he turned to Tess, they’re not together anymore that I know of. We all ended up here in college together and I met Chris. He introduced me to Wyatt and I fell hard, around this time my alien powers came out, and everyone helped me deal with them. Piper, when you died we all grieved and vowed to help Wyatt; he was so lost and we rallied around him. We became a unit and did everything in our power to avenge you. He started out with the best of intentions he just lost his way. You all may not believe me, but I will fight for you,” finished Liz.

“So when Max healed you, he changed you? I’m assuming that’s what happened since it’s not everyday a normal human gets powers. Is that what Chris meant when he said the cage wouldn’t work on you?” asked Leo.

“Yes, because I’m neither demon or witch or any other actual supernatural entity, the charms for the cage don’t work on me,” answered Liz.

“What was each of your powers?” questioned Piper, she didn’t trust her yet, and what was the old saying, ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’

Liz sighed as she began to recount the powers, this was wasting precious time, but she needed them to trust her. “We all can manipulate molecular structure, and do small scale of everyone’s individual powers. Max could heal and produce a shield that nothing could penetrate; Isabel could dreamwalk; Michael had power blasts; and Tess could mind warp, which meant she could manipulate what people see. All in all it was a form of mind control. My powers are stronger because I’m a healed human. The aliens made it so the powers would be emotion controlled and based off the human brain. When Max healed me, he advanced me. I can astral project, shoot electricity; I have telekinesis and can ‘ghost’ through solid material.

“Whoa,” said Phoebe when Liz finished.

“Channeling Keanu Reeves isn’t a good sign, especially now,” smirked Liz.

“Sorry, it’s all I could think of…. I mean wow!”

“So what do we do now?” asked Piper

“I guess we have to work together,” said Leo. “Can you two try not to kill each other?” he glanced at Liz and Chris.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” said Liz “I gave up my friends, family, life, man I love” her gaze flicked to Chris for the briefest second “to come here and help. I know you’re having problems trusting me, but damn it could you at least try?” asked Liz frustrated beyond belief. “I’ve explained myself to you and I know you have know reason to trust me, but can we move on from complete distrust?”

“I can’t promise anything, and I don’t know if I’m speaking for the others as well but I’m going to try and give you a shot. We have no reason to trust you, maybe you’ll prove that you can be trusted, so for now I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt,” said Paige in an attempt to calm everyone down and try to be the peacekeeper.

“I’ll try and give you a shot after all we’ve all fallen for the wrong guys, I’m not saying my son is the wrong guy, but in your time apparently he was. I digress, anyways, some were demons trying to kill us and some were just the wrong guys, someday you will find your angel Liz, just like I have,” said Piper while smiling up at Leo. “Alright, here’s the deal. We only have one guest room, which at the moment is Chris’s. Now Liz is a girl so she should get it. Wait, wait let me finish,” snapped Piper as both Chris and Liz began to protest. “You two already know each other so it should be no problem for the two of you to share the bed until we can find a permanent place for Liz to sleep right? Since you both seem to have problems with either one sleeping there alone.” At more of their protests, she raised a perfectly sculpted brow in irritation. “Can you two share?” She got a low mumbled yes from both of them. “Ok, now that that’s settled it’s time for bed, we’ve learned a lot tonight and can talk about it more in the morning.”

“C’mon Liz, you look my size… I’ll let you borrow clothes until you can go shopping. Maybe we can go tomorrow after we’ve all talked some more,” said Phoebe cheerfully, trying to ease some of the tension in the room and theoretically putting out a truce. She began dragging Liz out of the attic as Piper and Paige went to put Wyatt to bed, leaving Chris and Leo alone upstairs.

“Uh oh,” said Leo as he looked up.

“What uh oh? No uh oh. They can’t be calling you now. Take a raincheck! Tell them you didn’t hear or you were fighting flying pigs; tell them anything! I don’t care what you tell them, but you can’t leave me here alone,” panicked Chris.

“I’m sorry son, I have to go,” smirked Leo, “You’ll be just fine, just remember to stay out of the girls way, and don’t kill Liz.”

“Some father you are, leaving me alone in an estrogen filled environment. I’ll be dead before dawn, son or no son; nephew or no nephew,” he muttered, “And it’s not me killing Liz you have to worry about,” he mumbled under his breath, then he remembered he was sharing with Liz now. God have mercy on my soul, he thought as he entered the room


A/N: hey guys, I think I got the years right, I went back and changed it.... It's really weird trying to mush the two shows together on this timeline.... I hope I got it right, but if I didn't bear with me. Wyatt is supposed to be 28 and Liz, Chris and the others are 26. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it and continue to leave feedback...

[elfangel01]

CH. 4

As Chris entered the room he looked around and saw no signs of Liz, breathing a sigh of relief he began to strip to his boxers and climb into bed, wincing as his sore muscles protested fiercely. He jumped back up when he heard a gasp and winced in pain at the effort it took, he turned to see Liz standing in the doorway to the adjoining bathroom in nothing but a pair of boxers and a flimsy wifebeater, her revealing sleep wear showed a lot of creamy golden skin and he was no longer sure if this was a good idea, not that he thought it was a good idea to begin with. He snapped out of his daze and looked at her, “What, never seen an almost naked man before? You and Wyatt never sleep together? Wait, I don’t want to know the answer to that.”

“Not like I was going to tell you,” snapped Liz as she walked over to him. “Turn around,” she commanded.

“What?”

“Turn around so I can see your back.” As Chris turned slowly back around Liz gasped again. “Oh Chris, what happened?” she choked. His back was littered with scars; it looked as if he’d been whipped.

“You don’t want to know and I’m not going to tell you.”

“I want to know, but I won’t force you. Please tell me Chris, what happened to you?” What happened to us?

“Fine, your precious Wyatt did that to me, before I left. He drugged me so I couldn’t orb and had me beaten,” snarled Chris, but his snarl didn’t come across as venomously as he wanted. Liz detected a hint of sorrow laced in.

“I’m so sorry Chris, I didn’t know.”

“Would you have done anything to stop it? Or would you have just stood by him like you always did, his docile little puppy?”

“I damn sure would have helped you, I’m more than some ornament to men. I stood by Wyatt because in the beginning I thought what he was doing was right. I can take care of myself and I don’t have to be on some guys arm to make myself worth something. I’m no one’s ‘docile little puppy’; you of all people should know that. I may have loved Wyatt, but I love you too, you’re my best friend and you’ve been with me since the beginning of it all. I wouldn’t have stood by idly and watched him do that to you.”

“I’m sorry Liz, it’s just a foreign concept of having someone care about me like that. I mean yeah I had mom, but she died and dad was never around. And it’s been a long time since you showed that you cared about me.” Chris went to pull Liz into his arms in apology but she shrugged away.

“I’m sorry Chris, it’s just we’re both under heightened emotions and I don’t want to give you a flash of something you may not want to see and I don’t want to get a flash of something you don’t want me to see. I’m sorry about how everything has worked out, I never wanted to leave you…”

Chris nodded and began to back away, “Ok, let’s just go to bed.” As they climbed into bed Chris couldn’t help but ask one more question, “What happened to us Liz? We used to be able to tell each other anything, we were closer than anybody else.” With that, Chris rolled over and went to sleep, hoping that tonight he wouldn’t have nightmares.

Even though Chris went right to sleep Liz couldn’t help but lie there and think about what he had said. They had been closer than anyone else; in fact Wyatt had even been jealous originally due to the amount of time she spent with him. Sleep was elusive that night to Liz until the early morning hours when she finally drifted off, she just lay there thinking over everything that had happened and was happening, hoping that somewhere along the way her and Chris may be able to repair their relationship.

~*~*~*~*~*~
“Do you think she was telling the truth?” asked Paige as the sisters and Leo sat downstairs talking after Chris and Liz went to bed.

“I believe her, there’s something about her that makes her pure even though she’s been through all the things they said,” replied Phoebe, “and I think I would’ve maybe felt something more than what I did if she had been lying.”

“What did you feel?” asked Piper, wanting to see if Phoebe had felt the same things that she picked up in their body language.

“There’s pain, lots of pain, and also a sense of loss. Liz feels betrayed but she also feels hope, and there’s a sense of underlying love. Now to which nephew that love is directed I’m not sure. Chris is feeling the same things as Liz, but he also feels mistrust towards her as well as hope that she’s telling the truth. There’s underlying love in him too, but I’m not sure if it’s towards our new houseguest or this Bianca that came back. They’ve both been damaged by others and each other, we’re just going to have to sit back and watch the fireworks and hope they don’t kill each other on the road to recovery.”

“Love, Chris, Liz, What?” asked Leo.

“It’s ok honey, we understand that men aren’t exactly in touch with these kinds of things, just go back into your little world and we’ll get you when we’re done,” smirked Piper. She loved Leo, but she couldn’t help teasing him sometimes. “I think we should all go to bed and sort through more of this later, whatever is going on between Chris and Liz, they will have to sort out on their own without our meddling.” She looked pointedly at Phoebe and Paige.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Piper, we would never do anything of the sort you are suggesting. Would we Phoebe?”

“Never,” said Phoebe while sliding glances at Paige and smirking.

“You both would and you know it, I’m serious guys don’t interfere,” said Piper sternly, “Now Leo, are you ready for bed?”

“Yes m’am,” said Leo smirking, he grabbed Piper’s hand and orbed them out. The last thing Paige and Phoebe heard was Piper’s giggling voice scolding, “Leo!”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Yep, see ya in the morning sis.”

[elfangel01]

CH. 5

(The Future)

“Where did they go?” growled Wyatt, fury emanating from every pore.

“I don’t know my lord,” said a stuttering servant. His master’s rage had reached a new level since his queen had been taken. “Word has spread of her majesty’s disappearance, the people are mourning and frantic, and the battalions are stirring because their general is gone.”

“Wyatt,” purred a deceptively seductive voice, “Why worry over your lost queen, I can take her place by your side.”

“You try my patience Tess. No woman could take Liz’s place, especially a whore like you,” spat Wyatt. Tess flinched as if she’d been slapped. “Oh yes, I know of your late night visits to the barracks, remember the palace has eyes and ears… nothing escapes me.”

“You bitch!” raged Maria, her green eyes full of fire and hate at hearing Tess’s words of deceit. “You couldn’t wait to get rid of her could you? You always wanted what Liz had. You got Max when Liz broke up with him and you’ve been lusting after Wyatt like a rabbit in heat since he became what he is. Liz stood by both of them before knowing their roles in life. And you’re nothing but a power hungry whore.” By the time she finished her rant she was standing in front of Tess and slapped her. The stinging red handprint did little to satisfy her rage, but before she could attack again she was pulled backwards by Michael.

He whispered in her ear, “Careful, she has powers, you don’t. None of us will let her hurt you, but still…” he cautioned. Maria shrugged him off as she turned to Tess who was struggling to her feet. The two blondes stared at each other warily.

“Hey guys, what’s going on…” Alex trailed off uncertainly as he, Kyle, and Max strolled into the room.

Before the others could reply Isabel came storming into the room in a whirlwind of fury, “How come nobody saw fit to tell me Liz was taken?” she screeched.

“Ok Isabel, only dogs can hear you right now,” smirked Kyle. He turned to see the others glaring at him, “Ok no jokes, check,” he mumbled.

“Wyatt what are we going to do?” questioned Max. “Our queen is gone.”

“Yeah, and we have a sniveling little blonde bimbo trying to take her place not five minutes after she left,” sneered Maria.

“She didn’t leave!” bellowed Wyatt, “that bastard brother of mine took her in revenge and spite.”

“Wyatt, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. We know that Liz would never leave you of her own free will.”

“It’s ok, I know you didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just I’m slightly stressed with Chris suddenly having come back and trying to tamper with our world, and now that he’s taken Liz. I don’t know what to do Maria.” He looked at her forlornly.

Maria took him in her arms and stroked his hair, “It’s ok Wyatt, we’ll get her back, don’t worry.” The others looked at the two and all but Tess agreed with her and placed their hands on Wyatt’s shoulders to show their support. As the friends were comforting each other Tess slipped out of the throne room.

Wyatt looked up a few minutes later after his moment of grief had run its course. “Bring me Jonas,” he ordered to one of the guards stationed at the doors.

Kyle and Michael looked at each other hesitantly then Wyatt. “Are you sure bringing Jonas into this is such a good idea?” asked Kyle.

“Yeah,” agreed Michael, “he is unpredictable and will do anything to accomplish what he’s been sent to do. Besides the fact that he doesn’t necessarily serve you, you did put him in prison after all.”

“Jonas is exactly what I need to get Liz back, and Chris is the reason he’s in prison, maybe that will serve as motivation.” He looked up as the guards brought a man in; Wyatt took in his haggard appearance and ordered for him to have new clothes and a bath before leaving.

“Where am I going?” asked a gravelly voice.

“I’m sending you to the past Jonas, I need you to bring my queen back to me. She was taken against her will and I want her back. You will be given a full pardon if you bring her back safely, you may do with my brother what you wish, he is a traitor. You do remember Chris, don’t you?” asked Wyatt sarcastically.

“As you wish, m’lord,” sneered Jonas as he was led out of the room to be fitted for his trip.

“Wyatt, is sending a demon like Jonas really a good idea?” asked Isabel, fearing for Liz’s safety.

“If he fails I will kill him, unless my mother and aunts kill him first in the past, so either way Liz is safe. Now if everyone will excuse me, I’m going to retire to my chambers and plan this rescue mission.”

The others all watched him as he walked out, all worrying over this mission for different reasons. They all wondered if Wyatt would ever be the same again, especially if this didn’t end well. One by one they all parted to go back to their various jobs and posts, all wondering if anything would ever be the same again.

[elfangel01]

CH. 6

“Give it up Wyatt, you won’t win,” giggled Liz, as she sat astride his chest. They were currently taking it easy in Wyatt’s apartment and were rather involved in a wrestling match that was started by Wyatt laughing at Liz while she was making dinner.

“You won’t beat me,” growled Wyatt, “I refuse to be beaten by a girl.”

“Not even one as pretty as me?”

“Nope.”

“What about one that you love with all your heart?”

“Nope.”

“Fine.” Liz sat back petulantly and let her guard down, the next thing she knew she was under Wyatt and being tickled mercilessly. “Wyatt! Stop,” hiccup… “Stop it… Please,” hiccup… “please stop.” When Wyatt sat up again he pulled her with him and she was able to take in his appearance, his curly blonde hair was unruly, more so than normal and his eyes were sparkling with delight. It was the happiest she had seen him in a long time.

While Liz was looking over Wyatt, he was doing the same thing to her. He took in her disheveled hair and rumpled clothing. Her eyes sparkled and her face was flushed with happiness, Wyatt was proud he could bring out that look, whether it was for innocent reasons or not, he smirked.

Their fun time was soon interrupted when shimmering blue lights appeared. “Chris what are you doing here?” asked Liz, oblivious to the pain swimming in Chris’s eyes at her and Wyatt’s current condition, nor of the heated looks of spite shooting between the two brothers.

“You guys need to come to the manor immediately. Something’s happened.”

“Chris, what happened?” asked Liz again, this time going over to stand in front of her long time friend. She looked up into his eyes and grabbed his large hand in her small ones, “You need to break? Just let it go, I’ll be here to catch you, that’s what friends are for. You can tell us at the manor but for now just let it out, you obviously need to.” As she finished Chris looked down at her, tears swimming in his eyes at her words and the look of love on her face that he knew would never be what he wanted it to be, and he broke. He let out all the pain he was feeling while Liz lowered the two of them to the floor and cradled his body as best she could. She looked up to Wyatt and had him orb the three to the manor. Once there all she could feel was a sense of emptiness, as she looked around at the rooms other occupants. Paige and Phoebe were in tears while Leo appeared catatonic. The first two things she noticed were that Leo was in fact here and that Piper was not. “Where’s Piper?” Her question made Paige and Phoebe cry harder and Leo suddenly snapped out of his trance.

“Piper’s… well, Piper’s…. dead.” choked Leo around his tears. “She, umm… she died because of a former demon that we vanquished. In retaliation, one of his followers attacked the manor while we were unprepared, and she was killed.” A horrifying wail sounded, it was like a dying animal. Liz looked up at Wyatt and through her tears saw him hit the floor and watched the light that was once in his eyes; die… right along with his mother.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz shot awake when she heard another scream echo; only this one wasn’t in her dream. She looked over at Chris who was thrashing around on the bed and it was apparently his screams that woke her up. She heard him keep muttering “no mom, no”. They must’ve made skin contact in the middle of the night and he got sucked into her dream. “Chris, wake up! C’mon Chris, please wake up. It was just a dream, Piper’s here with you now, she’s alive.” She looked up as the others barreled into the room.

“What happened? We heard screams,” asked Paige.

“Oh my God, what’s wrong with Chris? Is he ok?” asked a frantic Piper, moving closer to the pair on the bed.

“One of my powers involves getting flashes from other people and sending flashes, via touch most of the time, touching is what forms the connection needed, but sometimes the connection is already there and I just concentrate. I was having a nightmare and Chris and I must have shifted in the night so that we were touching, my dream was transferred to him and he is reacting to it. I’ve never seen anyone react this way, it’s like he’s stuck and can’t get out.”

“What was the dream? It must’ve been big to affect him like this,” said Phoebe.

Liz looked at Piper, “It was of the day Wyatt and I got the news that you had died.”

“No Mom, please no!!! Liz help me, help me, we have to do something!!!…. just hold me,” cried Chris, still deeply involved in the dream.

“My poor baby, how can we help him?” asked Piper.

“There’s nothing you can do, probably the only person who can help him is me. Even then, all I can do is send energy to him to try and wake him up. I don’t think I could get back in with all the emotions, his subconscious appears to be locked.” Liz moved towards Chris and cradled him to her, his body had stopped thrashing around and was currently balled up, and she almost flinched back at the feel of his skin. He was burning up and sweating but he also felt so cold, it was as if he had chills from when a person gets sick, she was worried that his body would soon be overpowered by the emotions from the dream and after that she didn’t know what would happen. “Leo, will you get me a cold rag or something? He’s burning up and I know you all care about him but could the rest of you please back up?” Paige, Phoebe, and Piper shuffled over to the window seat, all three faces were creased with worry. “Chris, you have to wake up, please wake up,” whispered Liz as she rocked him back and forth. She looked up as Leo brought in the washcloth, “Thank you.” He nodded and moved over to take Piper in his arms. She continued to rock him and began caressing his face with the cloth and running her fingers through his hair “Chris, wake up. You’re family needs you; I need you. What am I supposed to do without my best friend? I know we have our issues, but we can work them out… I need my best friend.” She felt tears well up at the thought of not having him in her life at all and pushed them away along with the thought of not having him with her. “What will baby Wyatt do without his brother? You’re still needed here and you can’t give up. Piper’s still here in this time, and you can’t very well go and leave her now that she’s just found out the truth can you?” She stopped talking and moving and just held his body close. “Can you guys please leave the room, I swear I’ll call you in if anything changes for the worse, but we may have to wait the rest of the night. You can even come in and check on us in the morning if you want, but I need an essence free environment. I can feel it, his aura is torn between which of our essences to react to and I need him to come back to mine, otherwise I don’t know what will happen.”

“Take care of my baby,” said Piper, looking exactly as she felt, a mother torn over leaving her baby in capable, but unknown hands or trying to help him herself, which could do further damage.

Leo moved to lead the girls out, “Take care of my boy, I…”, he trailed off and just looked at her sadly.

Liz nodded in understanding and watched them leave, turning once more back to Chris. He had stilled completely, and she was worried about him more than she had been letting on to the others, and if she admitted it, to herself. She cared about Chris, deeply and she didn’t know what to do for him, for now the only thing any of them could do was sit back and wait. There must be something more going on than what was on the surface to affect Chris so deeply.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“No Mom!!” wailed Chris as Liz held him, he didn’t know what to do. “Can’t we do something, anything?” he heard Liz ask. “Yes, anything… we have to do something!”

“What about Tempest?” muttered Phoebe.

“He won’t come, we already asked a lot of him when Piper was…” Leo choked up, “when she was shot.” He looked around the room and broke down again.

Chris looked around as the room and occupants began to fade, he was left in emptiness… no, that wasn’t quite right, he felt another presence and mist began swirling in… the room? “Who’s there?” A deep gravelly laugh echoed around the room, as Chris began moving around to see or try and get a glimpse of whoever was in here with him. “What do you want? Why do you have me here?”

“Because, I have orders involving the queen, but you, you’re just fun,” snarled the voice.

“Who are you and what do you want with Liz?” asked Chris. I have to get out of here; I have to protect Liz.

“You, protect the queen, from me? You’re nothing but a pathetic little boy trying to be a man… hell what are you going to do orb me to death? That is if you can even get out of here… see I especially designed this for you, it’s nifty if I do say so myself, it traps your subconscious. Keep you away from the queen while I go about my business.”

“I’ll stop you,” growled Chris. “You’ll never get away from me and you’ll never hurt Liz.

“We’ll see, we’ll see… but for now I have an appointment to keep. Do have fun in my absence… I have some videos to watch so you don’t get bored.”

Chris looked around the room after he felt whoever it was leave, suddenly the room was awash with colors, they shifted until he could tell it was in fact a video or image of some sort. He snarled when it registered what it was… they were all of Liz, in danger or dying. He tried to shut it out, but it still didn’t work, it was if they were playing behind his eyelids as well. Dropping to his knees he let out an earth-shattering howl.



A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the amazing feedback! I'm glad you all like the story so much. This is just a quick little note to say thanks and I hope you enjoy the rest of it. Keep up the great feedback... I love it! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

[elfangel01]

CH. 7

“What if Jonas hurts Chris?” asked a worried Maria.

“Please I’m more worried about Jonas,” replied Kyle.

“What do you mean?” questioned Isabel; she had been pacing up and down the length of Michael and Maria’s bedroom for a while now. They had all retired to the closest and most secure room to discuss what all was happening. Everyone was present from the “I Know An Alien Club” except Liz, obviously, and Tess, then again nobody wanted her there in the first place, she had turned into a person the others didn’t recognize anymore.

“Okay, all our cards on the table. We all know that Chris had feelings for Liz that surpassed friendship and possible sister-in-lawness…. so that rift was always there between he and Wyatt. Liz however being the sweet caring friend she is was completely oblivious to Chris’s feelings. Wyatt’s jealousy has been getting the better of him and it’s becoming mixed in with his ruthless quest for vindication of Piper’s murder,” said Maria, looking around the room to make sure everyone was following.

“His jealousy’s done more than begin to get the better of him…” muttered Max.

“What?” asked Michael.

“Nothing,” spoke up Alex.

“Alex, what aren’t you telling us?” asked Isabel.

“It’s nothing,” snapped Max harshly, “He’s gone now anyways so it doesn’t matter.”

“Like hell it doesn’t, what aren’t you two telling us?” shouted Maria. “One of my best friends is gone back to the past with Chris and Wyatt’s slowly losing it and you two know something but aren’t telling us… now what is it?”

Max and Alex looked at each other, and Max shrugged as if telling Alex to tell them. Alex cleared his throat and looked around the room uncomfortably, “Ok, here’s the deal. Max and I were hanging out one day when Chris came back the first time, and well we heard Wyatt talking to someone. It turns out it was Chris… only their sibling conversation didn’t sound all that happy and it didn’t give us warm fuzzies. When we peaked around the corner we saw that Wyatt had drugged Chris and was currently having him beaten. He was screaming something about Chris trying to steal Liz from him, always had been, what kind of brother was he trying to take the one good thing left in his life when Piper was gone. He also said Piper’s death was Chris’s fault.” When Alex finished the room fell deathly silent as the friends looked at each other.

Maria and Isabel had tears in their eyes and Michael looked livid. Of all of them besides Liz, he had gotten to know Chris the best and they had become good friends. “I think it’s time Wyatt was taken care of,” he said coldly.

“Michael that’s treasonous,” gasped Isabel. “I mean I’m sure we all feel the same way, but to actually voice it?”

“Isabel, all of this has gone on long enough, it’s time.”

“What if that’s why Liz left?” spoke up Kyle.

“What do you mean?” asked Max.

“Well if she jumped ship with Chris, it may not have completely been for personal reasons,” he hedged.

“What aren’t you telling us?” asked Michael.

“Nothing.”

“Did I not say all our cards on the table?” screeched Maria, “Now Kyle tell us what you know or by Buddha I’ll make it so your family jewels will never be the same!”

“Damn Maria do you have to be so mean? Alright, alright…. Liz hinted to me before all this went down. She said that not everything would be the way it once was. Time was tricky and things change. That’s all she said I swear!”

Maria looked at him sharply, “I believe you Kyle, but that still leaves us with what are we going to do?”

“I think we should discuss it more tomorrow, for now I believe Liz is ok and everything is fine. We all need sleep so we meet back here tomorrow morning after breakfast, ok? Oh and Isabel, do you think you can dreamwalk Liz?” asked Max.

“I don’t know Max, sure we’re all connected through our powers, but she’s in a different time and plane, I don’t know if my energy will stretch that far.”

“Will you try anyways?” Isabel nodded and he turned to everyone else, “So we meet back here tomorrow morning with Isabel’s report of whatever happens and we can begin discussing the rest of this, ok?” At everyone’s nods of agreement, whether they were grudgingly or not they moved to disperse, each hoping that another day wouldn’t affect anyone adversely.

Before anyone had a chance to move, a servant came rushing in, he was panting and doubled over clutching his stomach. He waved the girls away as they tried to help him and stood up. “My lords and ladies, King Wyatt ordered me to come tell you that Jonas has left for the past.” He turned and scampered off at the call of one of Wyatt’s advisors, bowing as he backed out the door.

“Well I hope everything still works out alright.”



A/N: Thanks for all the amazing feedback guys! Keep up the good work Just wanted to say Happy New Year!!

[elfangel01]

CH. 8

Liz shot awake when she heard the crash from downstairs; startled she pulled her body out from next to Chris’s and covered him back up with the blankets. She stealthily made her way down the stairs and into the foyer. She looked around and not seeing anyone moved further into the house, “Piper, Paige, Phoebe, Leo?” she whispered weakly. She heard another crash followed by a yell and began making her way to what appeared to be the kitchen. Walking closer she began to smell smoke, as she came around the corner, she saw the most horrific sight ever. There was Paige standing over the stove trying to bake something, if the charred lump on the pan was any indication then it had been a cake. She took in the ruffled woman and the pieces of dough lying around the room clinging to various objects and tried to stifle a laugh, she did not succeed.

Paige whirled around startled, “What are you doing down here?”

“I heard crashes and thought you guys might be in trouble. It turns out I was partially right, did the cake best you in a fight?” Liz snickered.

“No… ok yes, but I was just trying to help out Piper, she’s freaking out over Chris and then she got a call from the club so she had to go into work and Phoebe had to go into work as well, and Leo got a ‘call’ from the elders. So that left me here to attempt a decent cake for Piper’s birthday party, and as you can see, I can’t cook.”

Liz sobered up at the helpless look on Paige’s face, “Maybe I can help. I was the daughter of restaurant owners after all.” She took in her surroundings and waved her hand over the kitchen, making it spotless once again with her powers.

“I wish I could do that, but for me it’s considered personal gain.”

“Yeah, it is a handy trick.” She turned back to the task at hand and began calling out various ingredients to Paige. Once everything was assembled in front of her she began mixing and stirring and before they knew it a cake was before Liz and it smelled delicious.

“Thank you so much, it looks and smells amazing!”

“No problem, but I should probably get back up to Chris and check on him.”

“Oh ya, go right ahead, I’ll be down here if you need me,” said Paige distractedly as she took in the cake before her.

Liz headed back upstairs shaking her head and laughing to herself. She was about to go back into the bedroom when she heard Paige’s frantic shout, racing back downstairs she scanned the room for demons or any other bad thing. “What?”

“Call from Phoebe, we’re supposed to grab Piper on the way to downtown, she got a premonition and needs us, she said to bring you along because you were involved. So hurry, go and get changed.”

Liz just waved her hand over her body, turning her old wifebeater into a new black formfitting one and a pair of low slung black jeans, her black converse poked out from the bottom and her hair was pulled back in a messy bun with natural makeup on her face. She looked up at Paige and spun, “Well? Sleep wear to ass kicking wear with the wave of a hand.”

“Very nice, damn I wish I could do that. But we have to go, is Chris going to be ok?”

“Yeah, he should be fine until we get back.”

“Alright then, time to go kick some demon ass!” Paige grabbed Liz and orbed them to ‘P3’ from there they orbed to where Phoebe told them to meet her.

“What a rush, I had forgotten what that felt like,” said Liz when they landed.

“Glad to see you’re still alive and kicking my queen,” sneered a gravelly voice. Liz turned towards the direction the voice came from, but didn’t see anything. “Losing your gift of second sight? A pity. Oh well, it makes my job a hell of a lot easier.” He laughed to himself as he saw the three witches and Liz drop into defensive postures, he knew he should test their strengths and weaknesses, so he could better utilize his capabilities and those of the underworld later, but he was having so much fun. The pride in him caused him to reveal himself, wanting the witches to know who was going to be the cause of their downfall. Shooting an energy ball he materialized in front of them. Liz sensed it coming and threw up a shield. “Very nice, by the way do you recognize me now?”

“Jonas!” gasped Liz; she was shocked at seeing him here. “Wyatt must be pretty desperate to have sent you.”

“Oh he is, he must miss you a whole lot because I get a full pardon if I kill the puny little whitelighter and bring you home. Then again that was because Wyatt thought you to have been kidnapped, whatever will he do when I tell him that you must have left of your own volition? After all it doesn’t appear to me that you are being held against your will by the witches.”

“Fuck you Jonas, I’ll see you in hell.”

“It’s actually quite nice there, you know I’ve lived there the last five years of my life, ever since your so called beloved put me in that prison to rot. And you will join me for your treasonous acts against your king, sleeping with the enemy and his own brother at that. Tsk, tsk Liz. Come to think of it, which beloved put me in prison, Chris or Wyatt? Oh well payback’s a bitch and I intend to have my fun with Chris when the time comes.”

Jonas began powering up another energy ball and Liz stepped forward to meet him head on when sparkling blue lights dropped in front of her. “Chris?” she gasped.

He didn’t acknowledge her just glared at Jonas with the most fearsome look she had ever seen on him. “Leave,” he growled.

“Now, now Chris, I have my orders,” smirked Jonas. “You know how to follow orders don’t you? Oh that’s right you didn’t choose your brothers side.”

“Leave now, don’t come near her again and I will let you live.”

“Oooh I’m so scared, what are you going to do orb me to death? By the way did you enjoy my little home movies?”

At the mention of the images of Liz dying Chris let out a primal cry and sent a stream of electricity at him, and Jonas went flying backwards. He continued the stream, watching Jonas writhe on the ground in pain, a smirk of satisfaction crossing his face. He didn’t pull back until he felt Liz’s hesitant touch on his arm and glanced down into her startled features. He pulled the stream back and snarled at Jonas. “Go report back to your master like the little dog you are, see if he’s man enough to come against me when I’m not drugged,” he spat. He turned to Liz and held out his hand, she took it without hesitation and they orbed out together. Before they completely disappeared he called to his mother and aunts, “Go back to the manor, we’ll explain later.”

The sisters looked at each other and back to the spot where the demon, apparently called Jonas had landed, and saw nothing. There was no trace of him, “He must have shimmered out,” said Piper.

“What the hell is going on?” asked Phoebe.

“I don’t know but we should get back to the manor for when Liz and Chris return. I’ll go get Leo, after I drop you guys off,” said Paige.

[elfangel01]

CH. 9

(Golden Gate Park)

“Chris what the hell happened back there?” asked a confused Liz. “Last time I saw you, you were passed out at the manor and barely breathing, then all of a sudden you’re back to full strength and, might I say this is a huge and, an earth shattering and, an and to end all ands…”

“Liz can you please get to the point?” smirked Chris.

“See and what’s with the smirking, you were just on the verge of losing your mind, literally I might add… “

“LIZ!”

“Sorry, ok, how the hell can you shoot energy streams, I never knew you could do that? That’s not one of Wyatt’s nifty little powers, even with all the ones he’s accumulated through demons.”

“Wyatt was born before Leo became an elder remember?” When he saw her nod he continued, “So if shooting energy streams is an elder power then doesn’t it stand to reason that I might inherit it instead of him, since I was born after Leo became an elder?” When she nodded again he finished, “None of the other elders have ever had children, so this is new territory, but apparently I inherited that ‘nifty power’ as you so eloquently put it, and I didn’t discover and develop it until after we were separated.”

“Well that explains that then… I guess….” Liz looked around the park at all the children playing and the couples walking and holding hands, or even snuggling on a blanket under the trees. She missed that, the innocence that came with being young and in love. She hadn’t felt that way since Wyatt and her first met. She remembered feeling a spark with Chris, but he never seemed interested so she buried it and they became amazing friends, then she met Wyatt. Wyatt seemed to be the end all be all for her and she was completely gone for him. Then he had begun changing and she had turned to Chris for comfort, resuming the close friendship she had once had with him, until Wyatt had separated them with his vendetta. Chris had seemingly disappeared from her life after that, she had gotten so involved with supporting Wyatt and leading the armies against evil that she didn’t even notice his absence, until they met on a battlefield one day, which as she looked around the beautiful and peaceful park had ironically been here.

~*~*~*~*~*~
Blood, screams, and charred flesh were all that could be seen or heard for miles. Liz looked across the battlefield that had once been Golden Gate Park, ash and smoke was everywhere, along with the bodies of demons and her soldiers alike. Her troops were witches and regular people who had chosen to follow Wyatt, the regulars were given vanquishing potions to use since they had no powers and they fought valiantly along side those with magic. She mourned the loss of those who had died out here needlessly, but there was insurrection among the supernatural world. Evil was attempting to mass one last strike against Wyatt before they retreated to regroup and it turned out that some of Wyatt’s own had turned against him, no one knew who was on whose side at this point. The rebels were trying to get rid of Wyatt, thinking he was wrong and that there goal would only help to destroy the world not bring the peace and harmony that Wyatt so desperately wanted and had fought for. A voice pulled her out of her musings, a voice she hadn’t heard in months; she looked up and met green eyes across the field. She would know those eyes anywhere along with that cocky smirk that always accompanied it; it was Chris. She ran across the field with tears of happiness streaming down her face as she jumped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her to him tightly, she breathed in his scent and closed her eyes. She felt at peace now, she felt a strange sense of being home. “Chris, what are you doing here? Where have you been? I was so worried about you,” she rambled off excitedly. Stopping at his sudden stiffness, she looked up at him quizzically.

He pulled back from her as she rattled off her questions and looked down at her somberly, “Liz we won’t be able to see each other again for a while, unless you come with me now.”

“What, why? Chris what’s going on, you’re scaring me.”

“Liz do you trust me?” At her hesitant nod he continued, “You know I would never intentionally hurt you?” He sighed and looked heavenward… muttering to himself under his breath, at her prodding he just blurted it out. “ Well I’m a leader of the resistance. Please hear me out!” he urged as she began to pull away. “You’re my best friend and I don’t want to fight you, but Wyatt has to be stopped. This,” he motioned around them, “this has got to stop, war like this will never benefit either side. I want you with me, you have to see what Wyatt’s really like,” he pleaded.

Liz stepped back and held up a shaky hand, “No, I love Wyatt and he knows what he’s doing. I can’t abandon him, even if he is taking this to the extreme. I’m his general for God’s sake. Chris, no, I can’t leave him and I can’t let you go again after this. If we meet again I will kill you or take you in.” She looked up at him through teary eyes as he grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as she watched him orb out, out of her sight and out of her life. No one saw their famed general fall to the ground in tears. No one heard her desperate cries of pain, loss and sadness, no one heard because all the battalions of men and women were dead or long gone back to the palace. The demons had retreated, and as Liz looked around at the destruction she began to think that maybe she had spoken to rashly. It was too late now she couldn’t betray Wyatt, and Chris was gone. The silence that had fallen, as she was lost in thought, was broken by her anguished cries, her heart torn between two men and her loyalties to them. At that moment Liz went from being commander of entire battalions, to a broken woman weeping on the battlefield for the loss of her innocence and the loss of a friend she thought would be there for the rest of time.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Liz, you okay?” asked a concerned Chris, she had spaced out on him and she looked dazed and sadness was creeping into her eyes. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand was any kind of sadness in her eyes.

Liz snapped out of it and looked at him, she smiled brightly, but soon it dimmed. She knew she could never lie to him, “I was just remembering the last time we were here together.” She motioned around them, and knew the exact moment he registered what she meant because his eyes widened slightly and his face fell.

“I’m sorry Liz, I didn’t think about it.”

“It’s ok, if we’re going to be around each other a lot in the future then we should build happy memories, starting here with the place our friendship semi-ended.”

“I really did want everything to work out that day,” said Chris sadly.

“I know, but we were on two different paths. I loved Wyatt and you were the enemy, as much as I cared about you, I couldn’t make that choice then.”

Chris stopped her, “You loved Wyatt? Why isn’t that in the present tense?”

“It’s not in the present tense for reasons I can’t discuss with you, but I will help you fix everything and maybe we can become the close friends we once were.” She fell silent for a moment and then fastened her eyes back on Chris. “What made you snap out of the dream?” She watched as he tensed up, and then relaxed slightly… he turned to her and she knew he was about to lie, or at least not tell her the entire truth, that thought saddened her. He didn’t trust her completely.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking down at her he sighed again. “Jonas entered my dream and trapped me. He began showing me things, images, which I didn’t want to see and knew I had to stop. The images, I assume, were supposed to keep me weakened and stuck inside, but all they did was piss me off. I became so angry that I tore out of the dream… I felt you and mom, and my aunts in danger and orbed out.”

She watched his eyes cloud over when he mentioned the images, whatever it had been had really set him on edge. She took his hand in hers and smiled up at him slightly, “It’s ok Chris, Jonas is gone for now… nothing will happen, and we’ll stop him. Now I think it’s about time we head back to the manor, but I don’t want to orb, it’s to gorgeous out. We should walk, it’s been so long since I’ve seen clear blue skies, and sunshine.”

As Chris watched her walk off, the sun glinting off her hair and her creamy golden skin shining brightly he felt a pang in his heart. She tossed her head back laughing at something a little boy had done for her and looked back over her shoulder to see if he was coming. He began making his way to her and mumbled to himself sadly, “I love you Liz, when will you ever see that?”