𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 || 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥

Chapter 30 - Master Chris Makes A Wish

A giggle threatened to burst free from my lips but I smothered it with a cough as I eyed Phoebe's new "outfit". She sent a glare my direction, noticing my pursed lips and amused expression but said nothing. Instead her attention turned back to Chris who was looking just as entertained as I was with this new turn of events. Of course, he was also more to blame than myself. After all, he was her "master" now.

"You look ridiculous," Piper said between laughs, grinning over at her baby sister.

Phoebe rolled her eyes indignantly, "I feel ridiculous,"

"How am I supposed to get back to Greg now with this?"

"Is that all you care about? Would you look at me?" Phoebe asked, gesturing to her clothes, "I am trapped in pantaloons right now. Where is the mirror?"

Glancing around to find it, she stalked over to her reflection only to frown once she'd seen it, "Oh, and why do I always get stuck with the wig?"

Piper shook her head in exasperation, "Trust me, you don't. Leo!"

Chris eyed her, "Have you ever noticed that Leo is the first person you call in your time of need?"

I slapped him on the arm as Piper shot him a strange look, muttering under my breath, "Cool it, will ya?"

Chris only shrugged in response as Leo orbed in beside us.

Leo took one look at Phoebe and breathed, "Uh-oh,"

She shot him a mock-smile, "Yeah, right, uh-oh,"

"I still can't believe you made a wish with a Genie. You know better than that," Piper told her.

"I thought she was an innocent. How was I to know that I was gonna unleash a demon?"

Leo's hands wrapped around the pink Genie bottle on the table, "It says so right here."

"Oh, right! Right there in Arabic," Phoebe made a face and I chuckled, putting an arm around her comfortingly.

"Well, now you're a genie in a bottle, baby," I sent her a cheeky wink to which she shot me an exasperated look.

"Yeah, just don't sing the next line, okay?" she retorted and I laughed.

"There's a warning label on the Genie bottle?" Piper frowned.

"Yeah. An ancient sorcerer condemned a demon into the bottle for not marrying him. It says whoever tried to free her they have to switch places with her," Leo explained, reading from the bottle before looking up at Chris, "Missed a big one here, bud,"

Chris scoffed, snatching the bottle from his father's outstretched hand, "You wanna pin this on me?"

Thankfully, Phoebe came to his rescue before I had to. Seriously, though, what was with this family and always blaming Chris for everything?

"Leo, it's not his fault, it's my fault,"

"How come your, uh, empathy thing didn't give her away?" Piper questioned.

"She tricked me and obviously the book, too,"

"Let's just figure out a way to fix this, okay?" Chris interjected and I nodded in agreement.

"Well, the only way to fix it is to get the demon to wish Phoebe free, reverse the magic," Leo pointed out.

"That's what we need to do then," Phoebe nodded.

"I'll call Paige," Piper volunteered before walking off to do just that.

"Yes. I do believe the element of surprise is very important here," the middle Halliwell stated, watching her go.

"You sure? Because we could always take our time with this plan, you know, keep Piper around just a little bit longer," Chris told his aunt pointedly, emphasizing his last words as he lowered his voice.

"Yes, master," Phoebe immediately answered, frowning once she realized what she'd said.

"Good, I'm glad you agree,"

"Actually, I don't agree, but I-I can't... How am I supposed to take charge and take commands all at the same time?"

"Well, you won't have to," Leo chipped in in what he assumed to be a helpful gesture, "Chris is coming back up there with me. The Elders have agreed to send him back to his time,"

"What?" Chris and I asked in unison before I continued that thought, "Are you crazy? Leo, we need him here! I...I need him here,"

Chris' hand went to the small of my back, effectively bringing me closer to his side. But it didn't help, not even the warmth of his touch could remove the cold feeling washing over me.

"You don't know what you're doing here, Leo," Phoebe told him softly, her voice gentle but firm.

"You don't belong here," Leo told Chris harshly before directing his next words to Phoebe, "And as your Whitelighter he's doing more harm than good,"

"You're so full of it! This isn't about me being a bad Whitelighter, it's about you feeling like I've let you down somehow!" Chris shouted, his green eyes blazing with pent-up anger, "So whatever issues you might have with me, I wish you would just get over it already!"

Leo rolled his eyes just as Phoebe put her hands together. I realized too late what was happening, "Phoebe, don't-"

A change washed over Leo then and his expression, his whole demeanor really, transformed drastically. The look of hard anger melted into that of complacent joy, making my eyebrows hit my hairline as a laugh escaped his mouth.

"Of course I forgive you, man. You don't have to yell! All you gotta do is ask," Leo told him jovially, smiling over at Chris.

Chris frowned, mystified, "I did?"

"Yeah. And listen, with all that whole going back to the future thing, you know, don't even worry about it because I'll talk to the other Elders and we're gonna work it all out, okay? It's no big deal, okay? Come on, give me a hug."

With that, Leo swept his son up into a bro hug and my eyes widened even more if that were possible. Phoebe and I shared a look, shock and confusion written all over our faces.

This was going to be interesting.