Chapter Text
Voiceless
Part 5
He watched as she crouched next to his body, touched him and froze. In spite of his anger, Wyatt took a step closer. Chris hadn’t moved yet. Probably unconscious after being hit so badly, he told himself. But Bianca looked up, and a tear slid down her cheek. And for the first time in years, he felt…worried.
“I can’t feel a pulse,” she said quietly.
Wyatt’s world stopped spinning at once.
Earlier that day
Chris knew exactly when they were in trouble. After Bianca’s quick retreat, the sisters had gathered and cornered them in the living room. Peyton looked more and more like a mouse trapped in a cage and his vision was starting to blur -a direct consequence of Bianca’s aborted magic stripping.
“What exactly is going on?” Piper demanded. “That woman, who was she?”
His little cousin shifted uncomfortably, sneaking glances at him, waiting for his lead. It was a good thing Phoebe wasn’t there and stuck at her office, else she would have really made a run for it. In the end, Paige crossed her arms and declared:
“You can speak Chris. I heard you.”
Piper stared at her, outraged, before glaring at the time travelers. Peyton stiffened, eyes even wider.
“It’s not-“ she began, and Chris was grateful for her attempt to cover for him, but they wouldn’t lie their way out of this one. Paige had clearly heard more than just Peyton crashing into the wall, she just hadn’t asked right away.
“It’s alright,” he said, using his not-voice, and both sisters jumped in surprise. He looked up at them, met each in the eye. “Hello.”
Paige’s jaw dropped, Piper blinked in a very I’m-not-sure-what’s-going-on-but-I-don’t-like-it way. He knew the situation would be odd, he wasn’t even moving his jaw, and Peyton had described it as a weird experience more than once.
“Is that how you talk?” Paige blurted.
“Hey, I am actually mute,” he replied with a shrug. “I just found a way around it.”
His head was pounding now, his magic slowly draining with each word spoken.
“Why didn’t you talk to us like that from the start?” Piper demanded.
“It’s exhausting after a while,” he said honestly. He blinked quicker and quicker. Dark spots began to blacken his vision. “And you-“
His strength failed him and he passed out. When he came back to his senses, he was lying on the couch, Bianca’s voice speaking slowly and soothingly, and her arm sticking out of his chest again.
“That’s it,” she said as she removed her hand. “You should feel better soon.”
He blinked slowly. He was still in the manor, the sisters –all three of them –were standing in the back, and Peyton shifting on her feet anxiously. Bianca brushed down his chest, satisfied with her job.
“Hello Chris,” she said, and in spite of her attack, that velvety tone of hers did things to his heartbeat again.
He tried to speak –couldn’t anymore. His magic was truly drained. So he raised his hands and signed:
‘What are you doing here?’
“Saving your life,” she replied easily. “You know how my powers work.”
‘In front of the sisters?’
“I convinced them to let Bianca finish the job,” Peyton interfered. Her voice sounded far too quiet. “You were really pale, Chris. I didn’t want to see you die.” She lowered her eyes. Her hands were shaking when she signed: ‘B told me PJ died a few days ago. You are my only family left.’
She wouldn’t count Wyatt amongst ‘family’, which wasn’t surprising. He shifted into a seated position and welcomed Peyton in his arms. He glanced at the sisters. They were standing side by side, observing them like hawks. Their patience wouldn’t last. He could already calculate that Piper was going to speak in three, two, one-
“Now will someone tell us what’s going on?” she glared at Bianca, then at Chris. “You’re from the future too?”
The Phoenix assassin smirked. Chris wouldn’t put it past her to reply something like ‘chatty for a dead woman’. Thankfully, she didn’t:
“I’m here to bring this one back.”
“Back to the future?” Piper questioned. “Why?”
“No!” Peyton cried, holding him tighter. “He’ll kill you if you go back.”
Bianca rolled her eyes and Chris bit back a sigh. Those were the moments that made him regret bringing her with him –just a little. She was too emotive, too caught up in her emotions; she saw the bigger picture, but had trouble steeling herself. He didn’t blame her; she had seen their world going to hell before it actually happened, only two or three years ago and if PJ had just been killed…but he wished she had a better poker face.
“A little more background here?” Paige demanded suspiciously.
As Chris had his hands otherwise occupied with a shaken Peyton, Bianca decided to speak for them three:
“I’m sure these two told you everything you needed to know, but just for the recap: the future is not a place for good witches, and someone very powerful is determined to get Chris back.”
“And you’re his underling? How much did he pay you?” Paige snorted with narrowed eyes. Bianca shrugged.
“It’s either work for him or die.” She nodded towards Chris. “He’s the only one who can piss him off and get away mostly alive.”
He shot her a warning glare, really wishing he could speak again.
Phoebe looked a little confused:
“Why?”
And Paige added, her eyes bright:
“Is ‘he’ your lover?”
Bianca stared at her, then at him, and Chris felt Peyton tense slightly in his arms.
“What on earth made you think that?” the Phoenix assassin asked, genuinely curious.
“Since Chris is gay, I kinda assumed…” Paige went one, watching their respective reaction.
Chris could only be thankful Bianca was quick, even though he was certain she would love to pry that story out of him –or more likely from Peyton –later on.
“I see,” she merely said, and didn’t comment further. “It doesn’t solve the matter; you are coming back with me.”
“I don’t think so,” Piper stepped in, looking very unhappy.
“Let’s put it this way,” Bianca said: “If I fail to return, or return empty-handed, he will send others, again and again, and put you and your family in danger until he gets Chris back.” She turned towards Chris. “The kid can stay, but you must return. Unless you have a better plan?”
Peyton was still clinging to him, so it was complicated to sign, but he managed:
‘I may.’ He asked next: ‘Did you tell him I could use magic to talk?’
Bianca became a little more serious as she shook her head.
“I promised you I wouldn’t.”
‘Then I might be onto something.’ He tapped on Peyton’s back, waited for her to sit by his side. He would give her time to grieve later, but now, he needed to plan. ‘I need my powers back, and then I will follow you.’
Peyton flinched, stood up and ran out of the room. Chris watched her retreat sadly, but this was more important.
“If I give them back to you, he will know. You will have to ask them,” Bianca nodded towards the sisters.
“What are you doing Chris?” Phoebe asked tersely.
‘She is right. I have to return to him but I won’t stay long.’
“What are you going to do?” Piper asked.
Chris sighed. They wouldn’t like it, and he would need Bianca’s full cooperation, but if he pulled it off, they would gain a monstrous amount of time.
‘I am going to fake my death.’
Wyatt stared at the immobile body of his brother. He knelt next to him, touched his neck. Just as Bianca said, there was no pulse. His eyes were half-opened, unfocused, pupils dilated. The body was still warm but he knew that soon, it would grow cold and rigid. He stood back up, feeling empty.
“Bring in the healer,” he ordered as a last resort. He couldn’t heal himself anymore, but he’d be damned if he didn’t try. “Call in Sinead. NOW.”
Bianca bowed and shimmered away, leaving him alone with Chris’s body. Barely ten seconds went by before the Phoenix assassin and the healer returned. He waited for her to make her diagnosis, watched her attempt to resurrect him, but saw her shook her head.
“I’m sorry, my Lord. He is gone.”
The world stopped turning at once. Nothing made sense anymore. Wyatt stared at his brother’s body. Chris should be breathing. Chris had lied, but he should still be breathing. He didn’t mean to. He hadn’t meant to-
“Get out,” he hissed. “GET OUT.”
Bianca grabbed Sinead and shimmered them out quickly. Finally alone, he fell on his knees, and for the first time in his life, remained silent. His mother had died in this attic, killed by a demon. His beloved brother had followed her, undone by his own hand. Because he was angry. Because he had felt betrayed. Because-
He just wanted his brother back, and the moment Chris spoke, he knew it would never happen…because a speaking Chris was far more dangerous than a mute one.
His brother was dead the moment he found a way to talk. Wyatt stood on his feet.
“Bianca!” he snapped.
The Phoenix assassin returned, oddly subdued. She didn’t look at the body, as if trying to avoid its sight the best she could. Wyatt clenched his teeth. He suddenly wished she hadn’t succeeded in bringing him back. If Chris hadn’t returned, he would still be alive as his beloved but missing brother. Now that he was gone…
“Burn his body,” he ordered. “Then come find me.”
She flinched but nodded. Wyatt orbed away, the storm still clouding his mind.
“He’s gone.”
Chris cracked an eye open and discreetly glanced around. The attic was bar with no sign of his brother. He felt a little bad at the deception, especially since he could feel Wyatt was genuinely upset. However, it was necessary. He stood back up, his legs slightly shaking. He had expected his brother to lose it hearing his voice, not the violent reaction. It was a good thing the sisters had cast the spell that would make him look dead. His own power wouldn’t have been enough to cheat his brother or his healer.
“Thank you,” he said, dusting off his knees. “You alright?”
Bianca didn’t reply, but cast an energy ball on the spot he laid previously, watched as it set the ground on fire. The Book of Shadows still rested on its stool –Chris was lucky Wyatt had left it there –so he went there and checked for the right spell. The lines were recited; the gate opened the gate. He tore the page to make sure he wouldn’t follow and stepped towards the portal. As he stopped at Bianca’s side, he said:
“Come with me. If you return to him now, you know he’s going to kill you.”
She held his gaze for a moment before looking away.
“He’ll know you’re alive if I go with you. Leave Chris. Maybe we’ll meet again.”
And before he could protest, she shimmered out. Stubborn till the fucking end, he thought, holding himself back to run after her, and sincerely promised himself to make up with her of they ever had a second change. He closed his eyes, turned around, breathed in and stepped back into the past.
The manor was in uproar when he appeared. Phoebe was bent over the table, a map spread out, crystal in hand. Piper was holding a red-eyed Wyatt. It took them embarrassingly long to realize he was here.
“Chris!” Phoebe eventually said, looking slightly panicked. “Toni is missing.”
Chris quickly stepped closer.
“Since when?”
“Since you left, half an hour ago. We tried to call, she didn’t answer. We didn’t hear the door open. Paige is out there looking for her. She can’t have gone far.”
They didn’t know she could beam away, and Chris was in no hurry to inform them.
“Who is this so-called evil in your timeline, Chris?” Piper asked snappily. He raised an eyebrow and thought –oh, I think she screwed up.
Come to think of it, Phoebe sounded far too worried and Piper far too angry.
“What happened?” he asked eventually.
His future mother narrowed her eyes.
“She called my son evil!” Her voice had a hint of angry hysteria. “She said he was a tyrant in the future!”
“She called me mom,” Phoebe added quietly. “I don’t think she realized that she did.”
Piper’s attention snapped on her, a clear look of disbelief on her face –apparently, she didn’t heard that part. Chris resisted the urge to slap his forehead.
Way to go, Pey. This is the last thing I need right now.
“Her mother’s been dead for over a year, Phoebe. They argued all the time by the end; she probably slipped out of habit,” he said, and every word was true. “As for Wyatt, he’s the evil we are trying to stop by saving him as a baby.”
Phoebe seemed to deflate a little, Piper grew thunderous.
“I don’t believe you,” she growled. “My son would never become evil!”
He stared at the blonde little head.
“That’s what I believed till it was too late,” he replied softly. “I still believe he can be saved if we find the person behind all this.”
“You love him.” Phoebe’s words caught him off-guard, and he realized the empath-blocking potion must be slipping. “Wyatt, I feel that you love him,” she repeated, frowning slightly. Piper’s expression turned incredulous, and Chris thought that if she was wondering if he and Wyatt were a thing, he was going to make Peyton pay.
“He was my best friend growing up,” he admitted, and wondered if that would be enough. Speaking of friends… “Just get Paige back. I’ll go look for Peyton,” he added and orbed away.
His little cousin was sitting on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, legs dangling in the empty space. He landed right behind her before joining her on the edge. The metal underneath his butt felt cold, but he didn’t really care right now. Peyton kept staring at San Francisco with an empty expression.
“I Dreamed, earlier today,” she said quietly. “You were gone, I needed to lie down. I fell asleep and I Dreamt. It’s the first time since we arrived.”
He remained quiet but took her hand instead. She let him.
“She didn’t suffer. Bianca,” she added, and he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to hear, but he had to. She knew exactly what was waiting her, if she returned. He was just glad it went quickly. “He blamed her for your death, and then he just…” she waved her hand. “She fell back on a spike. It killed her on spot.” She turned to look at him. “Also, I’m not the only one who screwed up here.”
“You told them about Wyatt being evil and called Phoebe ‘mom’,” he pointed out.
“And you called my full name right before leaving.” He stared at her, thought back and –oh shit.
“They can’t know about-“
“You use magic to speak, Chris. You cover isn’t blown because Leo doesn’t know yet. The moment the sisters tell him how you found a way around your state using magic, he’ll know you’re a witch too. They’re not stupid,” she added quietly. “I’m a witch whose name starts with a ‘P’ and you are a witchlighter. We are cousins coming from the future and wanting to save Wyatt from becoming a tyrant. And me calling Phoebe…” she paused, swallowed. “We were having that stupid argument about how my powers work. I just snapped because she didn’t know how my power worked, and we had so many arguments about that in the future…”
“So they know.”
Peyton sniffed.
“Not the details, but yeah, they know enough.”
Chris sighed deeply, feeling the tiredness of the day falling back on his shoulders. Everything felt so surreal, he wasn’t sure everything he was going through wasn’t just one gigantic nightmare.
“We’re not surviving this timeline.”
He pressed his lips together, shot her a side glance. She looked defeated and resigned and…yeah, they were screwed.
“Is that a question?” he asked nonetheless.
“No, it’s not.”
“Alright.” He stared back at the city, didn’t ask how she knew. Instead, he squeezed her hand lightly. “We’ll go back when you’re ready, deal?”
Peyton said nothing, but nodded anyway.
He jerked awake, a cry caught in his throat, his body sweaty and hurt. The pain in his abdomen was terrible, he couldn’t breathe. The feeling of the blade piercing his skin and digging into his flesh was still fresh, and dying had almost felt like a relief. Peyton had ended up being caught and tortured by Barbas for two full days. He just had the time to find her before she passed away in his arms.
He took out a lot of demons that day. It was a shame Barbas wasn’t part of them.
“Chris?”
The voice of his mother caught him off-guard. He looked around himself and realized he was in a familiar room. Almost. The walls were the same, but the furniture wasn’t. Shelves with books, a desk, a lump of clothes piled in a corner…his eyes met his reflection in the mirror, and he-
-he was older than fourteen, and his mother’s-
There was a soft knock on the door.
“I’m coming in,” Piper’s voice said and the woman herself peeked in. He stared at her in mild shock. She looked older than he had ever seen her, in her mid to late forties, her hair tied back in a high-ponytail. She looked worried too. “Are you alright, peanut?”
He opened his mouth –nothing came out, more out of shock than the rest –and finally, finally, he heard himself speak:
“Yeah I’m fine.”
No magic involved. His voice worked as it used to. He reached for his neck, touched it in awe.
“Are you sure?”
She sounded a little suspicious. Memories of a life he hadn’t lived were beginning to slip back into his mind, and he didn’t have to fake the upcoming headache.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I just need some sleep.” Wow, speaking with his own voice was so weird.
She entered the room, stepped closer, touched his forehead with the back of her hand.
“You are a bit warm,” she admitted. “Alright, get some rest. I’ll call you when diner’s ready.”
He nodded and waited until she was gone to lie back. He closed his eyes, exhaled slowly. Events twirled in his mind and he had to truly focus to put them back in order. Twenty three years of divergent memories slowly merged together and he had a better idea of what was going on.
His childhood had been radically different than last time. Leo had lost his wings and become human. He grew up with a loving and attentive father, an extra sister Melinda –another sibling, how could that happen? well, he knew how that happened, but still what the heck?- and a rather peaceful environment. His grandfather had passed earlier due to lung cancer and his mother had survived the demonic attack thanks to Peyton’s dreams –which Phoebe knew about after their visit in the past. They weren’t as close in this timeline, likely due to no-one dying and no-one being neglected either.
The parents and aunts never spoke of time-travelers, even though there were leftovers of his and Peyton’s passage –the sisters could all sign a little and the children learned a word or two, really practical when they wanted to be sneaky in the underworld.
His phone vibrated and he picked it up. His heart skipped a beat when he realized the text came from his little cousin.
‘I didn’t tell. Let it rest, it’s best for everyone involved.’
He checked their previous conversations, racked his memories for a different context. Found none. He pressed the call button and waited. She picked up on the third ring.
“Hey,” he said softly. He remembered using his voice. He also remembered using an alternative. This was going to take time to get used to. “How are you?”
He heard her shaky breath.
“Last month has been a bit hard but I’ve adapted. We became good at that with everything that’s happened.”
“I guess so. Wyatt-”
“Wyatt is good here. I feel like I’ve just been stuck in a long nightmare and just woke up. You’ll probably feel the same for a few days too.”
“Phoebe never suspected you remembered?”
“PJ and Parker made me watch horror movies for three days. I told mom I’ve been having nightmares. Look, Chris,” she said, and her voice was shaking slightly. “I just want to put this behind me. I want to move on and forget. That last thing with Barbas-” He closed his eyes, breathed in and out slowly. Failing to rescue her would be his greatest regret. “You did your best, I don’t blame you. You found me in the end; I didn’t die alone.”
“I wish you didn’t have to die at all,” he whispered. Phoebe’s attitude had changed after ‘Toni’s death. Knowing her future daughter had been killed by the fear demon had made her harder, a lot more ruthless. In this timeline, he had never met Barbas. The demon had been vanquished when he was still a baby, far before Peyton was born.
“I knew what was going to happen,” she went on with this eerily soft voice. It was a tone she had adopted after her last vision, a sort of resignation mixed with acceptance. He had grown to hate it and he still didn’t like it now. “It worked out in the end. From what I dreamed, you didn’t have a peaceful death either.”
He absentmindedly touched his abdomen and grimaced. Not a pretty death, but it had served its purpose.
“I’m sorry you had to go through it alone,” he said eventually. “I wish I had remembered same as you.”
“We can stand apologizing for hours or just buckle up and move on,” she replied dryly. “I’m alive. I’m moving on, or at least trying to. Can you do the same?”
“We’re adaptable, you said so yourself,” he pointed out. “And we still have each other.”
Silence was his answer, and he wondered if he had twisted things too hard for her too. Not believing her, using her in the past...
“We do,” and it sounded more like forgiveness that he deserved. “She’ll be at the same club next Monday, ten pm.”
“What?”
“Your girl. She’ll be at the same club you first met Monday, ten pm. I liked Bianca in the end. Treat her right this time. And be nice to Wy; he was an asshole in the previous life, he’d better now.”
Peyton hung up, leaving him staring at the phone in confusion. At the same time, the door opened. Wyatt peeked in.
“Hey, Chris?” his voice was soft. “Mom said you weren’t feeling well. Can I come in?”
His hair was shorted, his eyes kinder. There was nothing of the possessive, intrusive man that kept a tight leash on him. He was the brother he first had before it all became twisted around. Chris stared at him for a long time in silence and thought –yeah, I’ll be adaptable. He’s better now. They had succeeded; it was all that ever mattered.
“You can.”
The nightclub’s lights were flashing in the back. Chris ignored the voluptuous bimbo’s attempts to talk to him and waited until she took off with a huff.
“I’ve seen a lot of techniques to reject a girl, but this one’s a first.”
He looked up. A woman sitting on a nearby stool was looking at him, amused. Dark almond eyes, tanned skin, dark hair tied up in a bun, red revealing dress and –he couldn’t see her feet but he’d bet on high-heeled boots. He approached her, feeling the slight racing of his heartbeat.
“I’d rather keep my conversation skills for someone worth it.”
She held his gaze, that light smirk bewitching him already.
“Well, you are a pretty boy,” she admitted, resting her chin in her palm. “But aren’t you overestimating yourself?”
“I was told many times I’m a great listener,” he replied, glad his voice didn’t tremble. His hands itched to touch her; he held back –she didn’t know him in this timeline. She had no reason to remember. “May I?” he nodded towards the free seat.
“It’s a free country,” she replied, leaning slightly back to lean forwards once again. She eyed him up and down like she did the first time. It felt like ages ago, but he never got tired of that look.
“I’m Chris.”
They hadn’t exchanged names upon their first meeting. She gave him another measuring look.
“Bianca,” she replied eventually, as if he had just past a test. It made him smile.
“Hello Bianca,” he said, and the warmth in his voice must have startled her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He didn’t call her stunning. He had used that word far too often, in ways he shouldn’t have. He would find other words, other ways to express the things he had in his mind. In the meantime-
“You have very expressive eyes,” she said absentmindedly, as if only noticing. “Have we met before?”
“We did, in another timeline,” he replied honestly, and he could tell he caught her off-guard. “We knew each other. I screwed up. You agreed to give me a chance if we ever met again.” He picked her hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles without breaking eye-contact. “Is the agreement still valid?”
Her pupils dilated and her mouth opened slightly as she gasped, ever so lightly. Goosebumps appeared on her forearm.
“One chance,” she whispered and yes, Chris knew he had her interest.
He smiled, trying not to let the giddiness cloud his mind. He had his chance right now; he would not let it go.