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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 18, 2007 19:59:40 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Chapter 22 ~ Halliwell Power
“Okay, so how did we manage to get this task?” Paige asked in annoyance as they prepared to summon the third demon on Chris’ list of possibilities.
“I don’t know, but this is getting to be just gross,” Phoebe answered still trying to wipe demon goo from her favorite pair of shoes.
Paige was putting the finishing touches on the vanquishing potion they’d need for this particular demon. “You know, we could have written that spell and Chris could be here vanquishing the demons.”
Phoebe looked up sadly at her sister and sighed. “Paige, don’t you think Chris deserves a little break when it comes to the demon vanquishing department? How many demons do you figure he’s vanquished since he’s been here?”
Paige hadn’t thought about it that way but Phoebe was right. Chris never did seem to get a break. “Not to mention how many he probably vanquished in his own time. Yeah, you’re right. You know what though?” she asked sadly.
“What, hon?” Phoebe usually didn’t sense her sister’s emotions since they had taken the empath blocking potion months before but every once in a while the stronger emotions would slip through. Right then she sensed a great deal of sadness from her sister.
“If they can make that spell and we find out that the future is fixed, that’ll mean that Chris has to go back there.” Paige didn’t have to say anything else. Phoebe understood exactly what she was getting at.
“I’ll miss him too, honey,” she whispered walking to her sister and wrapping her in a hug.
“We’ve only really had a month with him actually being our nephew. I mean, we knew before that but we could never show that we knew. I haven’t had enough time to spoil him, or just to sit and get to know the Chris who’s not a neurotic demon hunter.” Even in the month they had with him, Chris hadn’t let up on his demon hunting tasks and that meant that whenever they talked it was mostly about demons. None of them really got to talk about him. They really never had the time to get to know what he was like.
“Paige, we have a whole lifetime to get to know Chris. We even get to influence who he’ll become,” Phoebe said and Paige knew she was referring to baby Chris.
“I know, but somehow I don’t think it will be quite the same. I’m sure we’ll love baby Chris as much as we do this Chris but he’ll be different in some ways. The things we survive in life effect who we are and what we become. Baby Chris won’t have things quite as hard as this Chris did, so he won’t be affected in the same ways.” Paige had been thinking a lot about the whole changing the past thing and had decided that she definitely wouldn’t like the not knowing part of making changes.
“I don’t really like thinking of them as two separate people, Paige. It’s confusing enough as it is, without thinking that way. But I do know that even if baby Chris is different, we’ll see this Chris again in twenty some odd years. I mean, remember what Leo said. Chris will return to his own time with both sets of memories.” None of them had liked that idea to begin with. They hated the fact that Chris would have to remember the pain of his past, but they could all see that he had grown into a good man despite it and if he thought he could handle the knowledge then they would support him when the time came and he merged with the new Chris in the future.
“I wonder if that ever scares him. Knowing that he’ll never be able to completely lose his past.” Paige figured that she’d hate the idea herself, but she wasn’t Chris.
“I’m sure it does,” Phoebe answered sadly. “But now we need to get back to work before the neurotic taskmaster figures out that we are slacking,” she added teasingly.
“Yes, we wouldn’t want another lecture from our Nephew to be.” With that the girls began to chant the spell to summon the next demon.
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Piper knew this was just busy work. She had no doubt in her mind that her husband and son had sent her to Magic School to keep her out of danger. It was just like the two of them to do something like that. But she had to admit for baby Chris’ sake she did feel a lot safer there. She hadn’t admitted to any of them how terrified she had been ever since her time spent below with the demon who almost killed her unborn child. That one event had done more to shake her up than anything they had faced since becoming the Charmed Ones. It had nearly destroyed her when she had lost Prue but she had moved on and continued with her life anyway. It still hurt to think of it but she had accepted it. But if she had lost her child to that demon, she knew there would have been no turning back. She would not have been able to continue. Oh she would have lived through it. She would have had to for Wyatt’s sake, but she would have been done with magic forever. She had lost her mother and a sister to magic but she’d never abide losing a child to it too.
But she had to keep reminding herself that she didn’t lose Chris. He was safe and whole and she would do whatever it took to keep him that way. So if that meant doing busy work at Magic School then so be it.
“Piper, I didn’t realize you were here,” A man’s voice spoke behind her back. She turned to find Gideon standing in the door of the library.
“Gideon, hello. I hope you don’t mind me being here. I need to do some research, if it’s all right with you,” she asked cordially. She had to keep reminding herself that even though he was an Elder, he had helped them several times before.
“Why of course I don’t mind. Leo is one of my dearest friends and any member of his family is more than welcome to my school and all of the knowledge it might hold for them,” Gideon answered smiling brightly at her. “Is there anything I might help you with?”
Piper paused a moment. She knew that Leo had told his friend and Mentor about most everything that was happening in their lives at that time. With Chris’ secret revealed Leo had finally decided to ask the advice of the one Elder he knew he could trust. “Well the truth is that Chris and Leo thought that maybe our assumption that a demon turns Wyatt might be a little too narrow minded. So I need to look into other options. Other magical creatures and such. They thought that maybe I might find something here.”
Gideon crossed his arms and then ran his fingers along his chin in a way that made it seem he was deep in thought. “That is an interesting theory. One I haven’t considered myself. They might be on to something there. I’d be happy to help you find the books you are searching for.”
“I would greatly appreciate that, Gideon,” Piper said thankfully.
They searched for and found several books for Piper to search through but then Gideon excused himself, saying that he needed to confer with the Elders on another matter. Piper thanked him for his help and he orbed away. “Maybe not all Elders are so bad,” she mused then went back to her reading.
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“Chris, I really think if we combine a potion with a Power of Three spell we should be able to open a portal to see through,” Leo suggested as he sat on the couch next to his son in the Family Room. Chris had pen and paper in hand and was trying to figure out the perfect way to write the spell.
“I say I just reword the spell that I used to come back here and go back to my own time,” Chris suggested. He knew it would be easier than trying to create a viewing portal in time.
Leo shook his head looking away from Chris. He didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t ready for Chris to go. He knew it was selfish of him, but still… He hadn’t had enough time with his son yet and if Chris arrived in the future and things were changed for the better Chris wouldn’t be coming back to them. But he couldn’t tell Chris that that was his reason for not wanting to send him back. It wouldn’t be right and it would be very selfish of him. So he decided on another reason that bothered him just as much. “Chris, I’m worried about doing that. If things aren’t changed, your brother might be waiting there for you. I don’t want to risk losing you on a chance like that.”
Chris understood his father’s fears. He too knew that Wyatt would be waiting for him. A portal through time was enough of a disturbance in magic that Wyatt would sense it the moment it opened in their timeline. “All right. We’ll try the viewing portal first. At least Wyatt couldn’t use it to come here. I wonder if he’s figured out how to reconstruct the time travel spell that I took when I left? You’d think if he had, he would have come and tried himself to bring me back. Maybe he just hasn’t tried to yet." Chris shrugged at the notion but something told him that Wyatt wouldn't wait forever. But then he thought to add, "I am gonna go ahead and reword the time travel spell too, just in case things are fixed in my timeline.”
Leo ignored the last statement. He still didn't want to consider that option. He had been meaning to ask a question thought even if it was a very touchy subject for them. “Chris, if Wyatt were ever to come to our time, do you think he’d do anything to hurt his family?” It was a fear that had been growing in Leo with ever day that passed since he had learned that his son would be evil someday unless they stopped it. Would Wyatt consider killing his aunts or even his mother to keep them from changing him?
Chris wasn’t exactly sure how to answer that. He wanted to say no, that he had never seen Wyatt hurt a member of their family, but truth be told many of his cousins had died at his brother’s orders. Not to mention the many times that Wyatt had inflicted pain on Chris himself. “I wish I could say no...” He didn’t go on with the statement though. It was just too painful to consider it too much. “I’m sorry.”
Leo could sense his son’s distress over the subject. “You know, Chris, I’m here if you ever need to talk. I know your timeline was very difficult on you.” Leo wished that there were some way to get Chris to open up. They hadn’t really spoken about any of the painful parts of Chris’ life. Chris had avoided them at all costs. But was that the best thing for him? Leo didn’t think so.
Chris sat stock-still and thought about his father’s words. His father was offering him so much but he knew he couldn’t do that. Not yet, not now. He swallowed hard and stared at the coffee table in front of him, not looking at his dad. “I really wish I could do that, Dad,” he said softly, “but I just can’t.”
Leo’s head dropped slightly and he nodded in defeat slowly. “Okay, Chris. I understand.”
Chris could hear the pain in his father’s voice and he turned to him. “Don’t get me wrong, Dad. I love talking to you. And I trust you with anything I have to say. It’s just that… well I just can’t think about any of that right now. I’m afraid that if I give in and let myself get too wrapped up in it, that I’ll forget why I came here. I can’t ever let myself give up. And at times when I start to dwell on the bad things too much it becomes very tempting to just say it’s too hard and quit. That’s actually the way I felt in the Tribunal Chamber. I don’t like feeling that way.”
Chris hadn’t mentioned the chamber since the day they had told him the truth. He hadn’t asked what they’d seen or even how those things had affected them. And Leo hadn’t tried to talk about it either. He had figured that the subject made him feel too uncomfortable to speak of. “We made you want to give up and quit, didn’t we?” he asked realizing just how far they had pushed Chris. Chris was strong and he was tough. Leo had begun to see him as the most driven person he’d ever known but to see that his son had wanted to give up instead of deal with the pain they put him through, it was a harsh fact to deal with.
Chris didn’t want to make his father feel guilty though. “It was just a build up over time. It was getting to me. It’s probably a good thing that I passed out when I did. Then when I woke up and things were different, it was sort of like part of the weight was lifted from my shoulders.”
“I still wish we had never done that to you, Chris. Especially the things I did. You deserved a lot better, and not just because you are family. You deserved better because of the type of person you are and the things you were doing to help us. None of us could see past our own suspicions to see that though. I’m sorry, Chris.” Leo hadn’t really had a chance to apologize to Chris for all of the bad stuff so now he wanted to take the time and make sure he did so before Chris left them for good. He didn’t want there to be any residual tension between them in the future.
Chris considered stopping his father. He didn’t want his father to feel like he owed him an explanation or an apology. He just wanted him to be his father and to stay the way he was now whenever it came time to be a father to little Chris. That would be enough for Chris. But he also understood the amount of guilt his father was carrying around at all times and some of that guilt needed to be assuaged and the only way to do it was to say his peace on it. Once his father was done he gave him one of those dazzling smiles that were so rare for him. “Dad, we’re cool. Just don’t ever change on me, okay.”
Leo was amazed by how easily Chris accepted his apology and forgave him. But he realized that somewhere deep inside Chris had always wanted to forgive him, even when he was furious with him. He always sought his father’s love and approval. It was just so sad that he had had to travel back in time to before he was even born to gain it. “I promise, Chris, I’ll always care for you as much as I do today.”
“That’s all I can ask. Now don’t you think we should get this spell done before Paige and Phoebe accuse us of slacking?” he asked thinking it was a rather ironic thought. Usually it was him that was accusing them of slacking.
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They all gathered in the attic while Leo orbed to Magic School to collect Piper.
“Are you nervous?” Phoebe asked Chris. She could see that he was chewing his bottom lip in nervousness. He was standing staring at the wall where he’d just drawn a smaller version of the Triquetra. They didn't neeed the full sized symbol for just a viewing portal so the smaller one would do for now.
“Maybe a little bit,” he answered turning to her. Everything rested on this one day. Things could go good but then again they could go very wrong too. What if he hadn’t affected anything? That thought was devastating.
“Hey, don’t worry so much. We aren’t giving up hope yet,” Phoebe said encouragingly.
Paige had come over to join the conversation. “Chris, if things are fixed in your timeline are you gonna go back immediately?” She couldn’t help asking it. Phoebe gave her a dark look but she didn’t care. “What, I want to know?”
Chris looked at his aunt and smiled. “I wish I could stay longer, Paige. But I’m afraid that the longer I stay the more chance there is that I’ll mess something else up and have even worse consequences.”
Paige’s face took on a wistful look. “I understand. I just think I might miss you. I mean who’s gonna get my butt up and force me to go demon hunting, at all hours of the night and day, after your gone?”
Chris shook his head in exasperation at her snide comment. “I’m sure you’ll survive. And I’ll miss you too.” He realized that this kind of humorous banter was just what he needed to calm his frazzled nerves. And she never even realized she was helping him, that was the best part about his aunt Paige. She always knew how to cheer him up without even really trying.
At that moment Leo and Piper orbed back in. He could see that Piper’s eyes and nose were slightly reddened. Leo had offered to break the news to her that if this portal showed them what they wanted to see that Chris would be leaving. Chris walked over to her and she wrapped him in a tight hug. “It’s not fair,” she whispered.
He pulled back and looked at her questioningly but didn’t ask. “I guess I never really thought about you leaving,” she whispered not yet letting go of him.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he said hugging her again tightly. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I might not be going anywhere yet.” All of them were hoping that things had been changed but none of them could deny the fact that having Chris there for a short time longer would be good too.
Phoebe had been standing by the table in the center of the room and was reading over the spell that Chris had written. “Chris, not to try to tell you what to do but this spell isn’t exactly right.”
Chris pulled away from his mother rolling his eyes. Phoebe always was a know-it-all when it came to spell writing. But he knew better than to argue with her. “Just change what needs to be changed, Pheebs.” He sighed in exasperation as he pulled the vial of potion out of his jeans pocket.
Phoebe made some quick changes and then joined her sisters in front of the Triquetra symbol. Chris handed Paige the potion and stepped back waiting patiently.
“All right, lets do this,” Piper said looking over the spell once.
Paige threw the potion vial against the wall and they began to chant the complex spell.
To see forward through time We the Powers Three Call the Halliwell line To the strongest powers be
Show on this darkest night Show us what we need Give us the sight So that new memories may be freed
Mattering not what the passage Through time to travel Send us a future message So the secrets may unravel
Chris had been listening to the chant and frowned for a moment at the changes Phoebe had made but once the Triquetra began to glow he didn’t have another thought. It had worked. But then his eyes widened in surprise as the symbol seemed to stretch in size to almost as big as the one he used for time travel. His mouth gaped when he realized what it was doing. Then the part of the spell that had bothered him clicked in his mind. “Oh god no. Phoebe, what was that forth line again?”
She looked at him in confusion but before she could answer a dark clad figure appeared in the center of the Triquetra and the man wore a smug smile as he stepped down onto the attic floor. “What a bold move, Chris. Never thought you’d do something like this.”
Everyone in the room stood in complete silence staring at the familiar figure from the future. Chris closed his eyes for a moment in exasperation. “Actually not my idea, Wy. We can thank Phoebe for this one.” He looked sideways towards his aunt, who had a ‘who me’ look plastered on her face. “Aunt Pheebs, meet the strongest power from the Halliwell line.”
“Oh,” was all she could manage to say but then decided to defend herself anyway. “You said I could change the spell.”
Wyatt had started laughing and the sound chilled them all to the bone. “So, now you got me here, what are you gonna do with me?” he asked crossing his arms across his chest with a look of smug satisfaction crossing his face. He knew none of them could truly do anything that would harm him and he was finding it rather amusing that they had blundered so badly. He had sort of missed this side of his family. The side that seemed almost inept when it came to getting things right.
Piper and Leo were both shocked into inaction and Chris was working through ideas in his mind but Paige was the first one to react. “Crystals,” she yelled and swiped her hand out towards Wyatt. The protection crystals she always kept in a box in the attic sprung forward and surrounded Wyatt forming a barrier between him and them.
He looked unimpressed by the action. “Nice to see you again too, Aunt Paige.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Yes I did really do that. That is evil Wyatt standing in the attic. I know, it’s not all that original a plot point. It’s been done a million times before but I’m hoping that what I do with it might make up for that fact. So please bear with me a bit longer. And yes that was a nice little Cliffhanger too. I hope you enjoyed it. The chapter that is, not the Cliffhanger.
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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 18, 2007 20:25:31 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Chapter 23 ~ Getting Angry
“What did we just do?” Piper asked in a panicky voice. How had things gone so wrong? She could feel her heart start to pound wildly in her chest as she stared at her oldest son. She could see some of the features of her toddler in the man before her, but the coldness in his eyes petrified her.
“Come, Mother. Don’t you want to welcome your oldest son with open arms?” Wyatt asked with a smirk crossing his features. He wasn’t moving at all. Just standing there as if this was just a small inconvenience for him.
Leo stepped closer to Piper protectively. “Chris, I don’t understand how this happened. The spell we wrote should have only opened a viewing portal.”
Wyatt turned to his father and a strange look crossed his face for a moment. “Chris, is Dad really asking for your input on something? My that is a change, isn’t it?”
Chris gave his brother a loathing glare and ignored him. “When Phoebe called on the strongest power of the Halliwell line the spell didn’t differentiate between timelines, so it adjusted to bring a messenger, so to speak, back to our timeline. Someone who would be able to unravel all the future secrets.”
“Oh god. Chris, I am so sorry. I had never imagined it would do that,” Phoebe said covering her mouth with both her hands. She had made some big mistakes in her time when it came to spell writing but never quite this catastophic before.
“It’s okay, Phoebe. It’s not your fault. I should have taken a look at the spell again before you said it. It’s not something you would have noticed.” Chris wasn’t about to start pointing fingers and he also knew how Phoebe prided herself on her spell writing ability. He didn't want her to lose confidence in herself. But most of all they had to stay focused on the problem at hand. They had a very serious situation to correct.
It hadn’t escaped him that Wyatt was very much still his evil self. That was one part of his mission that was a failure so far. It was very disappointing to say the least. But they still had to someway figure out if he’d changed anything else from his timeline. He was very concerned with whether or not killing the demon who killed his mother in the future would make any difference at all. “So, Wyatt, how are things going back in our timeline?”
Wyatt smirked. “I bet you’d like to know, now wouldn’t you?” he asked giving his brother a 'cat that swallowed the canary' look. “You know, you made a mistake, brother.”
Chris frowned at that statement. What kind of mistake could he have made that would give Wyatt so much cause to gloat over? “I can see that you are just dying to gloat over something. Go right ahead and do so.”
“You think that you are changing the future and that I won’t know any different, don’t you? That I'll just go about life as if nothing was amiss. Don't count on it little brother.” Wyatt grinned broadly. When Chris didn’t answer he continued. “Do you remember that little spell that Mom and the Aunts used when the Cleaners tried to erase me? The one that let them remember me and made them redo that day over.” Wyatt paused to let Chris digest that then went on. “The rewrite on it was so easy you know. Now I have both my original memories and the one’s you’ve changed. It’s quite fun to see your pitiful attempts to change time. And believe me they are pitiful.”
Chris blanched at that. Wyatt knew exactly what was changed and what wasn’t and that was information that Chris wanted. “So tell me what I’ve changed then.”
Wyatt snorted at that and looked around the attic not even bothering to respond.
Chris could see how unresponsive his brother was gonna be but he knew how to change that. It was a dangerous game to play, but he had no intention of losing. He walked forward to within just a few feet of where Wyatt was caged and nodded slightly to his father. Leo followed him and they ended up standing next to each other. “Well, Dad, you were curious as to what he was really like when we were talking earlier. Here’s your chance for an up close and personal view.”
Leo was shocked by the words. What was Chris trying to do? He couldn’t even imagine but decided to follow his son’s lead trusting in him to know how to handle his own brother. He did have twenty or so more years of experience in this case. “So this is the ruler of all evil in your timeline?” Leo asked not sure if that was how Chris wanted him to play it. He glanced first at Chris then stared hard at Wyatt crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head as if looking at a very interesting spectacle.
Chris smiled. His father was doing just as he hoped. He moved even closer to Leo so their shoulders were almost touching. “It’s no wonder I wanted to come back and change things, huh?” He leaned in closer to his father as if he was sharing a conspiratorial moment with him. He knew exactly how that would affect his brother.
“My, aren’t we chummy, now.” Wyatt’s voice dripped with malice seeing how close his brother and father seemed to be now. It was not at all what he expected.
“Why shouldn’t we be? He’s my father, isn’t he?” Chris asked clapping one hand on his father’s shoulder.
Leo finally understood where Chris was going with this. Wyatt had always protected Chris from him and now Chris acted as if he no longer needed Wyatt for that. It might just make him angry enough to lose his composure. Leo gave Chris a huge smile full of happiness and pride in his son. “Always will be too.” It wasn’t hard to see the look of affection on Leo’s face for his youngest son.
Wyatt almost snarled at the words. Not only had Chris betrayed him by coming back to try to change things but now he was siding with the one person that they had always thought of as a common enemy. After all the times Wyatt had protected Chris from their father’s mistreatment… It was too much for him to bear. “You are so naïve, Chris. I thought you were smarter than to fall for his sugary words.” With that he started to send energy balls at the barrier surrounding him. The crystal cage absorbed the energy but they all knew it wouldn’t last too long against a witch as powerful as Wyatt.
“Oops, not exactly what I had in mind,” Chris said as he and Leo backed away slightly.
“Are you two just trying to piss him off?” Piper asked from where she stood several feet behind them.
Chris looked at Leo and they both shrugged slightly. “Um, sort of,” he answered.
“I think it’s working.” Paige said moving towards the couch on the other end of the attic, pulling Piper with her. She wanted to be ready to dive for cover in case the crystals failed.
“We have to find a way to diffuse him and keep him under control, while we get the answers we want,” Leo surmised.
“Good idea. Why don’t you figure that one out,” Phoebe commented and then joined her sisters near the couch.
Chris looked at Leo as an idea came to mind that might work to their advantage. “Dad, the chamber.” He hoped his father would realize what he was talking about. “You know where we were eight months ago.” Leo looked at him in confusion for a moment and then a silent understanding passed between them. Leo nodded and he and Chris both walked casually over to the crystal cage that was barely keeping Wyatt contained. Each of them stood to one side of the cage and stared casually at Wyatt.
“You know, you won’t be able to keep me here forever, don’t you?” Wyatt asked with that cocky devious smile of his that was half smile and half snarl as he paused in attacking the barrier.
“Maybe we won’t have to,” Chris said glancing at Leo once again. At that moment Chris tk’d one of the crystals away breaking the cage just as Leo reached out grabbing Wyatt and orbing away. Chris immediately followed.
The three sisters stood in silent shock on the other end of the attic. Piper turned to Paige grabbing her arm. “Hurry, follow.” Phoebe just barely had enough time to grab her sister’s other arm as they sped off after the men in their family.
Leo and Wyatt appeared in the chamber first and Leo immediately sent out a silent call never letting go of his son, who seemed stunned. Four floating heads appeared in the air above the chamber, surprised. “I need the chamber again. Same as last year,” Leo called and the Tribunal members nodded and disappeared.
At that moment Chris orbed in followed shortly by the sisters. Wyatt pulled his arm free of his father and scowled. “Mistake, now I’m free.” He raised his hand expecting an energy ball to form in his palm but nothing appeared there. “What!” he bellowed in rage trying to shimmer away but nothing happened. “Where are my powers?”
Leo crossed his arms over his chest smugly. “You don’t have any, at least not until midnight. I’d say that’s just under an hour from now.” It wasn’t as much time as he had had with Chris but it would have to be enough. How ironic it was though. They were back where it all started.
Piper threw her arms out testing her powers and again nothing happened. “Yeah, but same as last time, we don’t have any either.”
The smug smile slipped from Leo’s lips. He hadn’t thought to stipulate that change. His only thought had been to contain his son.
Wyatt seemed to draw that smug smile into himself and immediately struck out hitting his father on the jaw knocking him half way across the room. He would have continued his attack but Chris stepped in front of him both hands on his brother’s chest. “No, Wy! I won't let you hurt him.”
The girls had made their way to Leo and were trying to help him up as he clasped his jaw which hurt like hell.
Wyatt looked at Chris a look of confusion covering his face. “After everything that B*st*rd did to you, you’re still gonna protect him.”
Chris and Leo both flinched at those words. Leo again felt the overwhelming sense of guilt that had been his since he found out Chris was his son. Chris on the other hand just shook his head backing away slightly not wanting to be in such close proximity to his brother. “He’s not the same man, Wyatt.” It had taken Chris a long time to realize that but over the past eight months Leo had proved to him that he wasn’t and that he could be counted on when ever he was needed and more than that Chris knew just how much he was loved by his father and it was more than he had ever dared to dream of.
“He just hasn’t become that man yet. You just wait and see. No matter what you change here, history will repeat itself. He doesn’t have a choice,” Wyatt scowled deeply. He knew so much more than Chris did but there was no way he was gonna reveal what he’d learned. At one time he would have gladly told Chris about it, but not since he had betrayed him. No, Chris could just go on thinking he knew what was what in their world and Wyatt would keep his secrets to himself.
Chris knew his brother better than anyone else alive and somehow he felt that there was so much more Wyatt wasn’t saying. “What are you hiding from me?” he asked walking up to his brother again standing within inches of him. He had to look up a couple of inches but he stared his brother straight in the eye and wouldn’t look away daring him to do something.
Wyatt couldn't believe his brother was actually willing to physically challenge him. This was so unlike what he was used to seeing from his brother. Chris always had defied him but it was more in a psychological manner, never physical. “Chris, I outweigh you by at least fifty pounds and can wipe the floor with you when you are powerless. Don’t test me!” Wyatt warned.
“Wyatt, several years ago I wouldn’t have even considered it. But I’ve got a lot more to fight for now, don’t I?” Chris knew it would sound like false bravado but he meant every word of it.
“Chris, be careful,” Piper called out in fear. She could see just how much stronger Wyatt looked and she wouldn't fool herself into believing that Wyatt would be prone to sparing his brother any pain.
“I’ll be fine, Piper,” Chris answered her not realizing he had slipped into the old habit of caller her by her name instead of Mom.
“Still can’t call her Mom, I see,” Wyatt taunted. That was one wound of Chris' that he was sure would always remain raw and painful.
Chris shook his head at the pitiful attempt to hurt him. It still did hurt some to think of Piper as his Mom but he had long since dealt with that pain. “Don’t you worry, Wy. Mom and I are just fine.”
Piper couldn’t help herself smiling at that statement. Every time Chris called her Mom it was music to her ears. After seven months of praying to hear the word it still now made her pause. But she loved hearing it.
“My, my. A little over a year ago when you left our time you were close to being a complete basket case anytime any of them were even mentioned. Things must be going well in this timeline,” Wyatt had decided that a little mental torture before the physical pain was in order.
“Things change,” was all Chris was willing to say, not taking his brother’s bait.
“So, you’ve dealt with their deaths?” Wyatt asked casually hoping to hear some shocked gasps.
Chris felt as if a knife was shoved into his heart at those words. He had hoped and prayed that he had changed it. Chris could also see the disappointment in his family around him. He didn’t want to give Wyatt more fuel for his tormenting though. “I’m good at dealing with stuff, now aren’t I?”
“Oh but what about them. Did you tell them that they died on your fourteenth birthday?” From the looks he had seen on their faces Wyatt wasn’t sure if they knew or not.
Paige caught onto what Chris was doing and decided to help out. “Sorry to burst your bubble, kiddo, but we already know that one,” Paige said nonchalantly. “Won’t happen. Chris and Leo won’t let it.”
“Chris, I’m surprised you let that one slip, with future consequences and all,” Wyatt said in surprise but his face had taken on a look that said he knew so much more than the rest of them did.
“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” Chris answered looking back at the rest of his family. He noticed that they all sort of looked down in embarrassment.
“Did we mention that we were sorry, Chris?” Phoebe asked weakly.
Chris just smiled at her. “You know I’m okay with it now, Aunt Pheebs,” he said assuring her.
“I bet that is an interesting story. I wonder how much torment they've put you through since you came here." Wyat had caught onto the tension between Chris and his family but he wasn't quite sure what had caused it. "Anyhow, that’s beside the point, because it will happen again. And none of you can stop it,” Wyatt said coldly smiling at his little brother.
“I can,” Leo pointed out. He had made it back to his feet but was still clenching his sore jaw. He had to admit that Wyatt packed a lot harder punch than Chris did. “I know this time around, and when Chris calls there won’t be any hesitation.”
Wyatt just smiled even larger. “You think?”
Chris was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Wyatt definitely knew something that he wasn’t telling. They were standing on one of the tiles adjacent to the middle tile with Wyatt having his back towards it. It was a chance but Chris knew it was one he’d have to take. “Wyatt, what secret are you keeping from me?” he asked and then shoved his brother backward into the center tile.
Wyatt was shocked for a moment but as soon as he recovered from it he started forward to attack his brother, but in that second an image projected on top of him and he had to move so as not to be standing in the middle of it. He stared at it in shock realizing it was one of his memories.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Oh another little cliffhanger. So anyone imagine we’d be back in the tribunal chamber by now? Hope not. That was supposed to be a big shock. So what secret does Wyatt hold that might shed a little light on the situation? Next chapter, you’ll find out.
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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 18, 2007 21:02:41 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended
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Chapter 24 ~ Reasons Why
A year younger and maybe only slightly less angry at everything, Wyatt stood atop the Golden Gate Bridge. His eyes were closed and it was easy to see he was mumbling a spell under his breath. Within seconds five figures appeared on the bridge before him and then his shield came up encompassing all of them.
“Wyatt, what is going on here?” Leo asked in confusion seeing four of the Elders he had known for many years standing near him on the bridge.
One of the Elders, Wyatt believed was named Zola, tried to orb out but immediately found himself slammed back to the bridges surface. “What is this?”
“None of you can orb out. I’ve adjusted my shield to hold people in along with keeping other’s out. So calling for help will do you no good either. And don’t attempt to attack me. My powers are strong enough to deflect your attack right back at you,” Wyatt explained wanting them to all have fair warning. He really didn't want to have to kill any of them before he was ready to.
“You can’t do this. We are Elders. Leo stop him,” Zola said in anger.
“Just shut up,” Wyatt said throwing his hand out and tossing the Elder against the edge of the shield. “Right now, I just want to talk to him.” He motioned to his father. The other Elders stood back in complete silence. There had been run-ins among the Elders and Wyatt before. None of them were willing to risk their existence against him.
“What is this about, Wyatt? You haven’t ever attacked the Elders before,” Leo asked in worry. For many years now Leo had stood back along with most of the other Whitelighters and Elders watching the devastation his son was visiting on the world. A few of them had tried to stop him at first but once they realized that he had grown strong enough to destroy them they had drawn back to ‘up there’ and waited for something or someone else to come along with a solution.
“This is about what you did yesterday,” Wyatt said scowling darkly. “Did you think that I wouldn’t figure it out? He was devastated. Only you can do that to him.”
Leo looked away with a disgusted look on his face. “All I did was go talk to your brother. I’m assuming he told you all kinds of convincing lies about the things I said.” Leo had hoped that he could convince Chris to do something about his brother. He was after all the only person who still had Wyatt’s confidence. But Chris for the most part had refused to discuss the matter with his father all together. Leo knew that some of the things he had said were very harsh but didn’t Chris deserve it? As far as Leo could see he was doing nothing to stop his brother’s tirade on the planet.
“No, no he didn’t. He wouldn’t tell me a thing. I guess he thinks he’s somehow still protecting you,” Wyatt snorted in derision. “He should hate you after everything you’ve done, but still, he just can’t. It makes no sense to me. You treat him like dirt and he protects you and I treat him like family and he won’t even consider taking my side in this war.”
“Boy does he have you fooled. He’s not protecting me. He just doesn’t want to deal with what I said. And he won’t take sides in this war because he’s a coward,” Leo shot back in disgust.
Leo had walked forward during the image watching himself and loathing his actions with every word. Once he was close enough he reached out and laid one hand on Chris’ shoulder. Chris flinched slightly looking at his father, with pain in his eyes. “Chris, that’s not how I feel and you know it. I’m not going to become that man and I’m never gonna treat you that way. I’ve told you how I feel about you and I know it takes a lot of bravery to come back here and to do the things you’ve done, all for someone who doesn’t know how to appreciate it.” The last statement was directed towards Wyatt but he didn’t let his eyes leave Chris.
Chris just nodded as tears welled in his eyes but he refused to let them fall and then he looked back to the image. No matter how much he told himself that his father loved him now it became hard when he was forced to think of single events from his past that had hurt so much at the time. Not many of the conversations he had with his father in the future had ever left him with anything but pain.
“Awe, how touching,” Wyatt added sarcastically from Chris’ other side but kept staring at the memory. It still fascinated him even now to try to figure out the dynamics of his brother and father’s relationship.
“Thought that might have been some of what you said. You know, father, I once promised Chris that if you ever hurt him again, I’d kill you,” Wyatt said nonchalantly raising his hand as an energy ball appeared there. He bounced the ball back and forth like a juggler would do and looked deviously at his father. “But since I know Chris would not like me to do that, no matter what you do to hurt him, I think I’ll just hit you where it will hurt the most.” With that he let the energy ball fly and it hit one of the four Elders, standing idly by watching them. The energy ball was not quite strong enough to kill the Elder but Wyatt knew that several such balls would do the trick. With that he systematically started tossing energy balls at all four of the Elders. Oh they tried to defend themselves, but every time they attempted to use their electric current attack on him he just deflected it to one of the others.
Before it was over with there was only one Elder left living along with Leo who had been defenseless as a Whitelighter and could not help them. Zola was down on his knees pleading for mercy in front of Wyatt. “Mercy. You want mercy. Why in the world would I grant you mercy?” Wyatt asked playing with his prey.
“I know things. Things about your family. About why your father hates your brother,” Zola at that point was willing to tell anything to save himself.
Leo was trying to deal with the devastation he felt at his son’s killing spree of some of his closest friends but those words brought him out of the grief slightly and drew his attention. “My family?”
Wyatt looked to his father and was tempted to just kill the Elder to complete his revenge but he truly was intrigued at the possibility of finding more insight into his father and brother’s relationship. “Go on. If I like what I hear, I might let you live.”
Zola paled visibly but started speaking without further prompting. “We really had no choice. We couldn’t risk what we knew could happen. Leo was too good a Whitelighter to lose like we did Sam.”
Wyatt seemed to be confused at the statement but Leo understood whom they were speaking of. “Patty’s Whitelighter, Sam.”
“What does Aunt Paige’s father have to do with Chris?” Wyatt asked angrily his patience wearing thin.
“We lost Sam for many years after Patty died and then even after we got him back he always put Paige above his duties. We couldn’t risk the same thing happening to Leo,” Zola explained in a rush.
“What did you do?” Wyatt was beginning to get suspicious as an inkling of a notion slipped into his mind.
“We knew that if we allowed Leo to become too attached to his family that one day he would eventually clip his own wings to be with them. So we cast an enchantment on him,” Zola was trembling in fear knowing how well his words would be accepted.
“And what did this enchantment do?” Wyatt asked his voice deceptively calm.
“We cast it not long before Chris was born. It was designed to work slowly to dissolve the link between Leo and Chris. That way he would never expect something had been done to him.” Zola swallowed hard realizing that his own words were probably signing his death warrant. “By the time Chris was four years old Leo could no longer sense or hear Chris when he called and the enchantment was designed to make him not even care that he couldn’t. Eventually his feelings for Chris were just gone replaced with annoyance and dislike. As if Chris was an intruder in the family he already cared for.”
Leo blinked in horror at what the Elders had done to him. They had tricked him into not giving a d**n about his second son. “Why, why Chris?” he asked. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to make the enchantment on all of them or at least on the two members of his family that he already loved above anything else?
“Because knowing that Piper and Wyatt would want to protect Chris from your hatred, we thought it would have drove a wedge into the middle of your family and they would have eventually drove you off themselves, making you turn to us, where you truly belonged. And it was easier to dissolve a link that was just forming than one that was already established.” Zola let his head sink, no longer able to look at his former friend.
Leo was in a daze. He started thinking back over all the years and all the arguments he had had with his youngest son. He tried to look at his own actions objectively as if he was an outside party just watching. It was hard to imagine that he had been at all wrong in his actions but still he knew he must try to get past the enchantment that was placed on him. He slowly began to realize how many times he had been completely unreasonable with Chris. And how Chris had always just stood back taking the abuse, without a single word to defend himself most of the time; and the look in his eyes every time it happened; that look of complete and utter pain. “My god, what have I done?”
Wyatt felt the anger welling inside him. At that very moment he wanted to destroy every Elder in the heavens but he knew there was something much more important he would have to do instead. No matter how much he had grown to hate his father, it had to be done for Chris. “How do we break the enchantment?”
Zola knew there was no use hiding it. His time was already done and he had actually been one of the Elders who had thought what they did was wrong. “Leo has to clip his own wings and become a mortal. He has to take the fall from grace. It’s the only way to break it.”
Leo took a deep breath nodding. At that point the idea of being a Whitelighter was too disgusting anyway. Anything that put him in contact with the Elders was just too much for him to bear anymore. They had ruined his life. They had tried to destroy his family. And they had made him hurt someone who he should have loved all along. He turned looking out over the city and called out to Wyatt. “Lower your shield, Wyatt.”
Wyatt looked at him in confusion. He knew what clipping a Whitelighter’s wings was and what it resulted in, but he had no way of knowing exactly how one went about doing it. But for once he listened to his father without questioning and dropped the shield. Zola immediately orbed away but Wyatt was too concerned with what his father was doing. Besides, he could kill the Elder later. And he would kill him, along with all the rest of them.
Leo smiled briefly taking a deep cleansing breath stretching his arms out and just let himself fall from the bridge top.
Wyatt’s eyes rounded in surprise and he rushed to the edge of the bridge. He looked down and saw his father’s body on the freeway below. He wondered for a millisecond if he was dead and for that second he actually felt a small amount of pain touch his cold heart but then Leo started to move and got to his feet limping away. Wyatt let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Then one thought struck him and he knew it was very important to find the one person this would most affect. “Chris,” he said shimmering away from the bridge.
At that moment the image died on a completely silent room. Leo was visibly shaking and his breaths were becoming louder as it seemed he might hyperventilate at any moment. Tears had sprung to his eyes during the memory and he felt as if his heart was being torn into shreds.
Chris turned to him placing a steadying arm on his shoulder. “Dad,” he said the one word in concern.
“I never dreamed that they would do anything like that to us,” Leo said grabbing onto Chris. He had the sudden urge to fall to the floor and wasn’t sure how long his legs would hold him.
Chris grabbed him tighter and motioned for Paige to help. She grabbed one of the chairs at the hearing table and pushed it behind Leo who sank into it numbly not even realizing it was there.
Chris himself was still in shock. Everything he had just seen was slipping into his mind, which was furiously trying to process the information. His father had never meant to be cruel to him. He had never meant to neglect him or to say abusive things. It was all an enchantment. And in the end he had clipped his own wings to break it. After all of those years of thinking his father hated him it was all a lie created by the Elders to tear their family apart, and it had done just that. If only they had somehow realized it sooner, none of the pain and suffering of his timeline would have happened.
Then another thought struck him. He swung on his brother angrily. “You didn’t tell me.”
Wyatt had wondered when that was coming. “I would have. I was planning too. I left there to go and find you. But all of that had distracted me and I hadn’t realized what was happening back in the Manor. When I shimmered in the Book of Shadows was back on the podium and the Triquetra was on the wall. And to my astonishment, you were nowhere to be found. I couldn’t even sense you. Then I saw which spell you cast.”
Chris’ mouth dropped open in shock. “That was the day that I came back here?”
Wyatt nodded bitterly. “Ironic wouldn’t you say? At that point, when I realized that you had betrayed me I just didn’t care to tell you anymore.”
“What happened to Dad?” Chris asked swallowing hard. He suddenly became very worried about his now mortal father in the future. He had no family to care for him. He was possibly injured and it would probably seem to him like Chris had abandoned him by then.
“Oh, at first he had no idea that you came back here. He spent alot of time searching for you and with no one left who could sense you, except me that is, well the search didn't go so well.” Wyatt had to admit to himself that watching his father search endlessly wasn’t exactly enjoyable but he wouldn’t admit it to any of them. After all it hadn’t been his fault. The Elders were the ones who were to blame. Good thing he had remembered to go ‘up there’ and finish the job once his temper over Chris leaving had leveled off. It had felt so refreshing to decimate the entire race of hypocrites. "I haven't really seen him but I'm sure by now his memories have changed to accomodate you being here in this timeline."
Chris nodded sadly imagining the man’s grief at everything that had happened. He hoped that his sanity was holding up.
The sisters had kept surprisingly quiet during all of this but that was not a sign that they hadn’t been thinking all this time.
“Wyatt, what event turned you evil in the future?” Phoebe asked hoping the tile would pick up an image. She had a sneaking suspicion as to something they hadn’t even considered yet.
Wyatt turned to her shaking his head. “As I tried to tell Chris so many times in the future. This is not a good vs. evil thing. Why doesn’t anybody understand that?”
But Chris finally had begun to understand it. “You really aren’t evil are you?”
Everyone in the room looked at him in complete surprise except Wyatt and possibly Phoebe.
“Chris, are you feeling okay?” Paige quipped, not believing what she was hearing.
“Yeah, Paige. I actually am. For the first time, I finally get it. There was no specific event was there?” he asked turning back to his brother.
“I’m not gonna hold your hand on this, Chris. Figure it out yourself,” Wyatt growled out walking over to one of the tables and taking a seat, letting it tilt back as he waited to see what his brother would come up with.
“It was everything that happened; the Elders enchanting Dad; his treatment of me; Mom and the Aunts dieing. You just let your inhibitions go. You stopped worrying whether what you were doing was right or wrong, just as long as it got you what you wanted.” Chris’ mind was going a mile a minute. It all made sense now. The claim that it was only power that he sought. His determination never to lose anyone he cared for again. His determination to protect his little brother and never to lose him. When Wyatt sought revenge for his mother's death it was the first time that Wyatt had given into his darker emotions and from there it was all downhill.
“I think you are finally getting it,” Wyatt said clapping gently mocking his brother’s accomplishment.
“And if none of that had happened?” Piper asked beginning to understand her son’s words.
“Well, she speaks,” he said sarcastically, which earned him a scowl from his mother. “Well if none of that would have happened, I guess I probably would have grown up to be what you wanted to me to be.”
“And everything that happened stemmed from the Elders casting that one enchantment. Leo and Chris becoming estranged, which ultimately led to our deaths because Leo wouldn’t have ever been ‘up there’ on Chris’ birthday if he had cared for him, which snowballed into you wanting revenge and then the need to take over the entire world to control everything so you'd never have to lose anyone again.” Paige too was beginning to grasp the entire picture.
“But Chris has already changed so much here. Why are you still like that?” Phoebe asked motioning to his dark appearance. Everything about him screamed ‘evil overlord.’
“No matter how hard you all try to change things, Chris won’t be able to stop the Elders from enchanting Dad. And that is the event that starts it all.” Wyatt seemed so smug in his notion. “Everything, all the bad parts of our lives including your deaths were set in motion that day. Which from my figuring happens very soon.”
“The Elders shouldn’t have any reason to place that enchantment on him. He is an Elder for god’s sake,” Piper was becoming frustrated. “They got what they wanted.”
Wyatt looked surprised by that statement. “What?” Then he turned to Chris. “Wait, you made him an Elder? I never thought you seriously meant that when you said it.”
Chris shrugged. To him it had seemed like a good idea at the time. “So if they got their way why hasn’t the future changed?”
Though Leo hadn’t said a word, he had been listening and it all made sense for one brief moment. “Because they might still do it, as a preventive measure, and because I’ve spent the last eight months down here with all of you. Just because I’m one of them, that doesn’t mean they will not stoop to enchanting me anyway just to be sure to keep me.”
“So what do we do?” Piper asked worried that they’d never be able to stop what was gonna happen. At that moment a chime sounded in the room and it was as if a gust of air swept over them all.
“It’s not what we do, it’s what I do,” Leo said orbing away.
“Where is he going?” Piper screamed.
Both Chris and Paige tried to sense Leo but something was stopping them. “I can’t get him,” Chris finally answered.
“What?” Piper’s eyes had gone wide.
“Me either,” Paige answered.
They all turned to Wyatt expectantly. “You think I’m gonna help you?” he said shaking his head in disbelief. “He’s probably just up trying to talk them into not doing it. Pacifists, what a joke!”
“Chris, why don’t you go ‘up there’ and try to find him, and we’ll go back to the Manor and try to scry for him,” Piper suggested.
Chris nodded orbing out immediately. He had a funny feeling that his father was going to do something dangerous.
The three sisters stood and locked arms but Phoebe stopped them. “Wait. Are you gonna try to kill us?” she asked Wyatt
Piper gave her sister an alarmed look but Phoebe cut off any remark she could make. “What, he’s got his powers now, doesn’t he?”
Wyatt just laughed at that. “No, Aunt Phoebe. I’m having way too much fun watching you all scramble around here like you are lunatics. This is the most enjoyable entertainment I’ve had in years.”
“Well I’m glad you are finding this all so funny while the rest of us are trying to make you and your little brother a better future. You remember him right. The kid who got stepped on and treated like dirt his entire life. Even if you don’t want a better life, I’d say he probably does. Doesn’t he deserve it?” Piper had finally had enough of her son’s uncaring and callous attitude. She had seen Chris’ memories just as the rest of them had and she knew that at one time there was a part of Wyatt that cared for his brother more than anything else in the world. She couldn’t believe that that part of him was dead and gone. There had to be something of that caring older brother left in him.
Wyatt sat in silence for a moment and then decided to speak. “I think I’ll go and try to find Christopher. Maybe I’ll kill an Elder or two while I’m up there.” With that he smiled and shimmered out not giving any indication of what his intentions exactly were at that moment.
“He’s having way too much fun with this.” Paige commented shaking her head. “Do we just let him go?”
“Do you think he’s serious?” Phoebe asked and then shook her own head. At that time she really didn’t even care if he killed all the Elders. “Besides, at this point could we even stop him if we wanted to?” They all three shared a look that said that they couldn’t. With that Paige orbed them back to the Manor.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Well, did anybody expect that little revelation? I’m hoping it was a surprise and that everyone liked it. Oh, and I’m not one hundred percent sure exactly how a Whitelighter or Elder goes about clipping their own wings but I do remember the episode from Season 8, I believe, where Leo does just that to save Piper, so I went with it. That fall from grace thing was just so awesome.
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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 18, 2007 21:28:50 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended
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Chapter 25 ~ Trust Me
Chris had found it extremely difficult to talk to the Elders after everything he had just learned but he had to find his father. So he politely asked for him but none of the Elders seemed to know where Leo had went and none of them could sense him either. That was if they weren’t lying to him. Even if he had never been all that impressed by the Elders, he had never had any reason to distrust them before. But now he had to question everything they did and said.
But still if neither he nor Paige could sense his father maybe the Elders couldn’t either. “Why is he blocking everyone?” Chris asked no one in particular his voice filled with frustration. He was standing in the main chamber of the Elders and several of them shushed him but he didn’t care what they said or did anymore.
“He probably doesn’t want to be found,” a voice said right behind him. Chris turned sharply to see Wyatt standing there.
“What are you doing up here?” Chris had noticed how a being shimmering into the heavens caused all the Elders to orb elsewhere. Not surprised there and not particularly disappointed either he figured.
“You and I have some unfinished business to take care of, Christopher. You betrayed me and I can’t allow anyone to make a fool of me, not even family,” Wyatt said casually crossing his arms over his chest and waiting patiently for Chris’ response.
“Don’t you get it?” Chris shouted. “I came back here to save you.” He was just about tired of his brother’s whole attitude concerning this. It wasn’t as if he was trying to kill him. He just wanted to change things so they could all enjoy a better future, including Wyatt.
“I didn’t want to be saved, Chris,” Wyatt countered.
“Well d**n it. Doesn’t it matter at all what I want?” he asked bitterly.
Wyatt was taken aback by that question. He hadn’t wanted to admit it but his mother’s words right before he had shimmered out had made him feel strange and now Chris was also having the same affect on him. Had he ever truly considered what Chris had wanted? Had it ever mattered? Apparently not. “Well what do you want, Chris?”
Chris paused as his brother’s words surprised him. Wyatt hadn’t cared at all what Chris wanted for such a long time now. It was strange to hear him actually ask. He wondered then if he should really tell Wyatt exactly what was in his heart or hide it? Would Wyatt just use the information against him as he always had in the past? It wasn’t as if he wanted anything more than a normal person would want in his position. He decided not to hold anything back though. He was tired of the games they were playing and it might be his only chance to get through to his brother. “I want my family, Wyatt. Mom, Dad, the Aunts. All of them. I want to be happy for a change. I want the woman that I loved to be alive and well. I want to be able to go to sleep at night without having nightmares of them dieing or of Dad hating me, or of you trying to kill me. Hell at this point I’d love to even be able to sleep at all.” Chris was shouting now and it didn’t matter to him where he was or who was disturbed by it. “I want my brother back. The one who used to protect me. The one who used to love me.”
Wyatt was shocked by all of this. It had been many years since Chris had confided anything in him. It was something that he had missed but he had given it up knowing that if he wanted to keep Chris safe and under his control he’d have to lose a few things. But part of him wondered if Chris’ confidence truly had to be one of those things. “I still protect you, Chris. I always have.”
Chris’ chin sunk to his chest. “I know you do, Wyatt. I really do. But it’s not the same. You protect me because you can’t bear to lose anything else, not because you care for me. I’ve become a possession, not a loved one.”
Wyatt heard the words and for the first time in a long time felt an emotion besides for hate. Pain. It hurt to hear those words from his brother. He loved him. He knew he did. Didn’t he? “Chris, I…” but he didn’t know what to say.
“Are you even capable of love anymore, Wy?” Chris asked looking up at his brother and his eyes had filled with tears.
Wyatt could see his brother’s tears ready to break free and it took him back to all the times he had comforted his little brother when things had become too difficult for him, when Leo had been too hard on him, when they had lost their mom. But this time was different. Chris wasn’t crying because of their father or their mother or even their aunts. He was crying because of him. Wyatt had done this too him. He had been the one to hurt him this time. Something he had never liked to do even though it had happened a few times in the past. He shook his head and a look of anguish covered his face. “I want to love you, Chris. I really do. But I don’t know if I remember how.”
With those words Wyatt turned away in confusion. This was all wrong. It made him feel strange inside and he didn’t like it at all. “I need to kill something. Where did those Elders go?” he said lashing out in anger.
Chris was completely shocked by what he was hearing. His brother had just done a complete turnabout. “No, Wy!” he said grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back around to face him. “You are not getting away from me that easily.”
“Chris, I don’t want to change. This way is better,” Wyatt said in an almost pleading tone completely unlike the Wyatt that Chris had known for the past six years.
“Why, because you don’t have to feel pain?” Chris asked realizing something very important about his brother. Wyatt was afraid. He was afraid of feeling emotions. Afraid of all of the pain that he would open himself up to if he just let himself care for his family.
“If you have to know, then yes,” he answered testily.
“But aren’t all the other emotions worth the pain?” he wanted to know. “Don’t you want to feel what it feels like to have mom hug you again? Don’t you want dad to look at you and tell you he’s proud of you?”
Wyatt ripped his shoulder out of Chris’ grip. “Stop it. I don’t want to hear that. That’s not a part of my life anymore.”
“It can be,” Chris whispered as if saying it too loud would keep it from coming true. “And you don’t have to do anything. Just go back and forget that I’m even here. Reverse the spell and you’ll never even have to know that you were ever this way. I’ll make sure it changes and then when I come back there, things will be better. It’s so simple, Wy. All you have to do is trust me.”
Wyatt looked thoughtfully towards his brother and nodded slightly sighing in resignation. A part of him was screaming not to let this happen. To stop Chris at whatever cost so things could just continue as they were, but then there was another part of him that was daring to believe that things might be better the other way around. “Dad’s at the bridge,” he whispered softly. Chris looked startled at that statement. “My powers are stronger than yours. He can’t block me out.”
Chris smiled. It was a sign that they were on the right track if Wyatt was willing to lead him to Leo. With that they both orbed to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Leo was standing next to the edge looking out over the city. He could sense his sons orbing and shimmering in behind him. He should have known that he couldn’t block them forever. He knew he should be worried about Wyatt being there but for some reason he just couldn’t put that much thought into it right then. “I knew you'd find me eventually,” he said not turning to them.
“What are you doing here, Dad?” Chris asked nervously.
“Changing the future,” Leo answered.
Wyatt laughed a little at that. “d**n, didn’t think he had it in him to do it twice.”
Chris shot Wyatt a look that clearly said ‘shut up.’ He knew exactly what Wyatt was referring too but he also knew that the fall from grace could very well kill his father as easily as clip his wings. “Are you sure there is no other way, Dad?”
Leo turned and smiled at Chris. “I like it when you call me Dad.”
“Nice change in subject there,” Wyatt said smiling as he leaned against the support wall nearest too him.
Chris turned to Wyatt. “What did we just discuss?”
Wyatt stood straight and nodded at Chris. He then turned and waved his hand in front of the wall. Immediately the Triquetra symbol appeared there and shone bright blue. He turned to his brother and smiled the smile that Chris remembered from when they were kids. “I do trust you, Chris.” Then he turned back and walked through the portal and it disappeared from sight.
Chris sighed and turned back to his father. Leo had watched in amazement as Wyatt left. “He went…” his words were cut off in surprise.
“Back to our time to wait for us to change things.” Chris smiled at his own words. He could see the confusion in Leo’s eyes. “We had a talk.”
“Must have been one hell of a talk,” Leo said in surprise.
“Let’s just say that Wyatt isn’t as opposed to a changed future as we originally thought he was.” The smile on Chris’ face couldn’t have been happier and for once the cares and worry he seemed to always be swamped by just didn’t show in his eyes. “We really can fix it all, Dad. I just wish there was another way.”
Leo walked over to Chris and folded him in a hug. “Chris, don’t worry about me. I want this. And it’s the only way I can do it myself. I really don’t see the other Elders being willing to clip my wings for me, do you?”
Chris at first had felt strange about being hugged by his father. It wasn’t a usual event in either timeline but it wasn’t something that was completely uncomfortable. So he gave in and wrapped his own arms around him. “Why am I so afraid that this is goodbye?”
Leo pulled away, not completely letting go of his son but where he could see his face. “Chris, you saw Wyatt’s memory. I survived it in the future and I was just a Whitelighter then. As an Elder it should be even easier.” He hoped he was right but to tell the truth he wasn’t exactly sure. But he’d do it either way, if it meant saving his family. “I would appreciate an assist at the bottom though, if you don’t mind. I’m not sure how well I’ll be walking once I get up.”
Chris couldn’t help the small chuckle that left his lips. “All right, Dad. I’ll be there.”
Leo pulled away from Chris and then walked back to the edge of the bridge and looked down on the cars below him. He spread his arms like a bird about to take flight and took a deep breath, but just as he was about to take the plunge he heard orbs behind him and to the left. He immediately sensed the other presence there and turned his head in surprise.
Chris had also turned to see the figure standing a few feet away from them and his heart froze at the sight.
“Leo, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You wouldn’t want to traumatize your young son, now would you,” Gideon asked grasping young Wyatt tightly to his chest an Athame clasped in one hand.
Leo turned fully to face the one Elder he had thought he might still be able to count on. What was he doing there and why did he have Wyatt with him and holding an Athame? “What is this Gideon?”
“I’m truly sorry, Leo but I can’t allow you to do that. The members of the Tribunal reported to the Elders today of what occurred in their chamber both last evening and the last time you used it. We have made a decision that things will not be allowed to continue in the way they apparently did in your son’s timeline. You must come with me now.” Gideon’s tone left no room for doubt that he had no choice.
“But, Gideon, I can fix it. I can fix it all. Just one fall and the future will be saved.” Leo couldn’t believe that he was this close and yet again an Elder was gonna ruin it all for them again.
“No, Leo, that is not good enough. We have decided on a much more permanent resolution to the problem. Your family will be allowed to live their lives as they normally would have but you will not be in it,” Gideon explained.
Chris couldn’t believe his ears. This was just not happening. They were so close. “If you know everything that was said and seen in the tribunal chamber then you know that it was the Elders fault. They were the reason Wyatt turned evil in my timeline. They were the cause behind all of our pain and the Charmed Ones deaths. And now you are telling me that you are just gonna take my father away from us and that’s supposed to fix everything. You are just downright crazy if you think I’m gonna allow that.”
Gideon didn’t seem to be phased by the threat. “It’s either your father comes with me and submits to our wishes or your brother shall die. Either way and the problem is fixed.”
“Gideon, he is just a child. Can you honestly expect me to believe that you’d kill him?” Leo asked not even imagining that an Elder could just murder a child. Especially not Gideon. Not after everything. He was Leo’s friend and Mentor for so many years. He had pleaded with the Elders to allow he and Piper to be married.
Gideon seemed to be thinking over that one. How to convince Leo? “I am much more capable than you think I am, Leo. Who do you think sent that demon after Piper a month ago?”
Leo sucked in his breath and the look on his face went from disbelief to utter hate and loathing. “But, why?”
“The other Elders and I all agreed once we found out that Piper was pregnant again that another child would be yet another threat that we were not all that eager to see born. Two children from your union could become a threat that we did not want to face. So it was left to me to rectify the situation. Piper would not have been hurt but I’m afraid the child was not supposed to survive.” Gideon hadn’t even glanced at Chris with those words. They all knew he was well aware of the fact that Chris was the child in question.
Chris wanted to dive forward and rip the Elder to shreds but with that information he was positive that Gideon would not hesitate to kill Wyatt. Even if he could knock the Athame from his hand, Gideon could just orb away with Wyatt, who didn’t seem to even notice he was in danger. But why would he expect danger from someone whom his parents had trusted him with?
“You tried to have my unborn son killed and now you are threatening the life of my other son. How have the Elders fallen so low?” Leo asked his voice a wave of pure pain.
“We must survive,” was the only answer Gideon would give. “Now, Leo, if you would come over here and stand by me, we shall leave and both your sons will be left untouched. That I promise you.”
Chris wanted to scream at his father to refuse but if he did he’d lose his brother so he remained silent.
Leo had no choice. For Wyatt he’d have to comply, so he stepped over next to Gideon and waited to be orbed away.
Gideon laid one hand on Leo’s shoulder and as he orbed them away he dropped Wyatt. Chris just barely had enough sense of mind to dive and catch his brother before he hit the hard surface of the bridge. He wrapped his arms protectively around his brother, who had started to scream in fear and tried to shush his crying by holding him in his lap and kissing his forehead. “Shhhh, Wyatt, shhhh. We’ll get daddy back, I promise,” he whispered as his brother continued to cry and he found his own eyes filled with tears.
He immediately tried to sense his father but could feel nothing and then he tried to orb ‘up there’ but that too seemed to be cut off. He wanted to scream in frustration at his inability to follow his father. But he knew for Wyatt’s sake he’d have to keep a calm head and return him to his mother.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Ha, yet another plot twist and does it surprise anyone that Gideon had to butt in and try to mess it all up for them? So anyone liking it? Or have I completely skipped off my rocker?
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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 18, 2007 21:44:15 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: This chapter skips ahead to just about three days before baby Chris is born, and the next few chapters which will be the last ones of the fic are gonna be sort of fast moving since I want a lot to occur during those three days. So without further ado…
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Chapter 26 ~ My Home in Place and Time
Almost 5 Months Later
Chris sat on the attic floor with his back against the couch. He was completely surrounded by maps and was holding a scrying crystal above them concentrating as hard as he possibly could.
He wasn’t sure just how long he had been sitting like that but he was sure that his legs were both asleep and he had no intention of moving anytime soon. He looked up as bright blue and white orbs shone through the room and his breath caught for just a second before he realized that it was Paige and Phoebe orbing in. He had actually allowed himself to hope for just a moment that Leo had managed to find a way back to them.
“Any luck,” they all three said at once.
Chris didn’t speak as he just shook his head and looked down at the maps in front of him.
“Us neither,” Paige said plopping onto the couch behind him looking over his shoulder. “We visited the Fairies, Leprechauns and Ogres. None of them has heard a word about Leo.”
Phoebe pulled a chair up in front of where Chris sat and propped her elbows on her knees resting her chin on her palms. “We even ran into a Whitelighter,” she started and felt sad at the hopeful look that Chris gave her. “Sorry, hon, he orbed the minute he saw us and as you know the Elders are blocking us from following anyone up there.”
Chris’ head sunk in disappointment. They had tried everything. They had tried spells, incantations and all kinds of other less conventional methods, but nothing had come of it. They had pleaded with the Elders. They had even tried to expose magic to get the Cleaners and Tribunal to pay attention to their pleas. But that hadn’t even worked. The Cleaners had just cleaned up the mess and gone away without a word. They had visited every type of magical creature they could imagine. Chris had even gone back to the underworld to the Seer, who could tell him nothing. It was as if Leo had just ceased to exist.
Chris didn’t know how much more he could take of this. He couldn’t believe just how close he had been to truly finding happiness for his entire family. He had finally found a father that he could love and who he wanted in his life and now he was ripped away very painfully. It just wasn’t fair, but since when was life fair for a Halliwell? In utter frustration he slung the crystal across the attic floor. “This is getting me nowhere,” he said in a defeated tone as he pushed the maps away and drew his numb legs up in front of him and sunk his forehead down upon his knees. He knew just how close he was to a breakdown and he really didn’t want to do that in front of his aunts. He knew they’d support him and offer him comfort but he didn’t want it right then. He wanted to not feel like such a failure. He wanted to be able to find a solution that would bring his father back to him. He hadn’t realized just how much he would miss him until he was gone. But he realized it all too painfully now.
He had been thinking so much lately and was beginning to truly understand why Wyatt had taken the path he had in his original future. At least Wyatt had been able to hide from the pain for several years, something Chris had never been allowed to do and it was becoming almost too much to withstand. “I’m all out of ideas,” he whispered in defeat, never raising his head.
Just before his words Piper had walked into the attic and Wyatt was walking slowly along beside her holding his mother’s hand. Wyatt immediately orbed himself next to his brother holding his arms out to him. “Cwiss,” he said in a small pleading voice.
Chris looked up at his brother’s attempt to say his name and gave him a small smile. “Hey, buddy,” he said opening his arms and letting Wyatt crawl into his lap. “You always do know when I need you, don’t you?”
Wyatt didn’t make a sound as he just clung to Chris sensing his brother’s pain.
Piper looked onto her two sons with tears in her eyes. She was glad that they were able to be there for each other now but she still felt so empty inside knowing their father wasn’t here to see it too. She felt a strong kick from the baby she was carrying and looked down running her hand along her side and the sadness increased ten fold wondering if Leo would even get to see Chris born. She had just a few days left and she knew just how much more painful each day was becoming for Chris. She knew he could see a future ahead of him that contained no father at all. That in a way was so much worse for him than his previous future, where Leo was cruel to him. She knew he would have gladly accepted his father that way again if it would keep him in his life. But neither way was fair to him. He had worked so hard to fix things for his family and he deserved to have the father he knew could love him.
Phoebe had been staring down at Wyatt and she was still amazed by the connection the two shared. It was something that defied even time and it was nothing short of a miracle. Wyatt really did know when Chris needed him, and he truly needed him then. Then it struck her like a light from the heavens. “Wait, you’re right. You do need Wyatt.”
Everyone looked at Phoebe in confusion. “Don’t you see? Maybe Wyatt can sense Leo.”
Chris for one brief moment had hoped that she would come up with something that might just work. “I’ve tried that already, Phoebe. I remembered how Paige found Leo in Valhalla using Wyatt. It just didn’t work this time.”
“Not with baby Wyatt. He’s not strong enough yet but what about grown up Wyatt?” Phoebe suggested smartly knowing she was on to something.
Paige understood exactly what she was suggesting. “Yeah, Chris, didn’t you say that Wyatt sensed Leo on the bridge when the rest of us couldn’t. Maybe he can do it again. We can use the same spell that bought him here before.”
Piper’s hopes soared for a moment as she thought they might actually have something this time. But the next moment her hopes were dashed by an unexpected source. “We can’t do that,” Chris whispered sadly. “We don’t know what’s happened in the future. We don’t know how he’s turned out, now that things have been changed so much. He might be worse this time around.” Chris stared down at his older but also smaller brother and his heart broke at the thought but there was no telling with time travel. He truly hoped that he had managed to somehow keep his brother from turning in their future, but he just couldn’t risk something horrible happening to the rest of them.
“Chris, no. Look at Wyatt. He’s fine. Nothing got to him and he’s got all of our love. He’s not gonna change,” Piper argued wanting to cling to the notion that at least they had saved Wyatt.
“Mom, the final act that turned Wyatt before was your death. You died because Dad wasn’t there to save you. Who’s gonna save you now?” Chris hated to have to point it out but there was no telling what had happened in the new timeline. He had to admit that in all of the time he had had to think recently some of his thoughts had turned to very dark ones and he couldn’t deny that any of them could be true no matter how painful they might be.
“I won’t accept that, Chris,” Piper said fiercely denying his words. “We will survive, one way or another and Wyatt will be just fine.”
Chris didn’t want to ague with her but he wouldn’t allow them to put themselves at risk by using that spell again. But there was something he could do; it was just something that in a way frightened him. “I’ll go back,” he said resolutely making up his mind.
“What?” Paige asked in confusion.
“I’ll go back to my timeline and find out what’s happened, and if things aren’t as bad as I fear then Wyatt and I can figure it out. We’ll find a way to get him back. Who knows, maybe we’ve already found a way to do it sometime in the future.” Chris knew they wouldn’t like the idea but he had no choice in his own mind. He had to protect them but he also had to find a way to find his father. And this was their last hope.
Piper really doubted that they had found a way, otherwise they would have found a way to send them that information so Chris could have come back on his own by now. But that was the least of her fears at the moment. “Chris, what happens if you go back and things are worse than before? I don’t want to lose you too.”
Chris could hear the fear in his mother’s voice and he knew he couldn’t say anything that would allay those fears, so he pushed himself into a standing position handing Wyatt to Phoebe and walked stiffly to where she stood wrapping his arms around her. “Mom, I’ll find a way. And if things aren’t right then I'll come back here immediately. I promise.”
Piper hugged her son to her, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I don’t want you to go. Without your father here, I guess I depend on you too much,” she whispered realizing just how much she did depend on Chris to be her rock now. Leo had always been there to steady her and comfort her worries and fears, but somehow Chris had been able to take that place for a very short time. It wasn’t the same, but she didn’t know what she would have done without him.
“Mom, it’s not forever. I’ll get Dad back to you and everything will be right again. Then we can all live the life we deserve.” He wasn’t sure if he said it more for his mother or to bolster his own courage. But he needed to say the words and he vowed that he would accomplish just that.
Piper pulled away from him but kept one hand on his arm as if she wasn’t ready yet to severe the tie between them. “When do you want to go?”
“I’ve already got the spell. I rewrote the one that brought me back here back when I wrote the one for the viewing portal. I don’t want to waste anymore time.” He knew they wouldn’t be ready for him to leave yet but somehow he knew it would be easier if they didn’t have a long drawn out goodbye either.
Paige and Phoebe both stood and walked over to him. “Not goodbye again,” Paige said reaching up and hugging him. “I don’t think you should be allowed more than one goodbye.”
Chris smiled at her. “Well this time, I’m thinking I’ll actually be leaving, so the first time didn’t really count.”
Paige scowled at his logic but nodded. “Okay, I guess you got a point on that one.”
Phoebe also hugged him and tried hard to hide the tears in her eyes. “You know, when you first came here, I never suspected that I’d like you so much. Now I can’t imagine why I didn’t. You're just about the best nephew any woman could ask for. I’ll miss you, Chris.”
“I’ll miss you too, Pheebs. But hey, I’ll be born in a couple of days and then you’ll get to spoil me rotten. Just remember that,” he pointed out trying to make her smile. He knew she would. She had the first time around. It was just a Phoebe thing to do and he was pleased to see that smile he wanted.
After his goodbyes were said he stepped to the attic wall and drew the symbol of the Triquetra and stood back pulling a piece of paper from his back pocket. He had been carrying the spell around for months now, not sure if he would need it soon or not. Somehow he had sensed that this day was coming and now it was time.
His voice trembled as he read the words aloud.
Hear these words, Hear the rhyme, Heed the hope within my mind, Send me forth to where I’ll find, My home in place and time.
With that the Triquetra glowed blue and the portal opened before them. He turned one last time to look at his family and then stepped into the portal ready to face his unknown future.
When he appeared in the attic in his own time he looked around nervously but it looked almost exactly as it had in the past. He glanced over at the cauldron and saw something he hadn’t quite expected. Wyatt stood there along with himself. They had both looked up at the portal opening and had identical looks of surprise on their faces. Chris immediately felt a pulling sensation as he was drawn into the version of himself standing next to the cauldron.
He closed his eyes as a sense of vertigo swept over him and when he opened them he could see that Wyatt had backed away from him slightly, his eyes wide in both surprise and even a little fear. Chris looked up and down at Wyatt and a huge grin covered his features. Wyatt was dressed in blue jeans and a red sweatshirt and his curly blonde hair was cropped neatly and something about him just screamed goodness to Chris. At least they had averted that catastrophe. Chris rushed forward and grabbed his brother in a huge hug and whooped in glee. He knew it was very unlike him and he was probably scaring poor Wyatt to death but he couldn’t contain his happiness at seeing his grown brother like this. “God, Wy, you can’t believe how happy I am to see you.”
Wyatt managed to pull away from Chris and backed away even further. “Okay, who are you and where is my brother?” Chris just smirked at the comment and was even happier to hear Wyatt yell out one word, “Mom!”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Well that looks like a good place to stop that. Well I decided how I wanted to go with this. I hope I haven’t lost too many readers over the fact that I haven’t found their happy ending yet. I promise it is there. I can see it. It’s not even that far away. I can almost reach out and grab it. I promise not to make you all wait too much longer.
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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 18, 2007 21:55:53 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Chapter 27 ~ I Have No Father
Wyatt managed to pull away from Chris and backed away even further. “Okay, who are you and where is my brother?” Chris just smirked at the comment and was even happier to hear Wyatt yell out one word, “Mom!”
Chris turned and waited expectantly for Piper to step into the room. When she did he was amazed just how little she had changed. She had twenty years added to her features but she was still the lovely woman he remembered from both his childhood and his journey into the past. “Mom!” Tears had sprung to his eyes and he rushed across the room grabbing her around the waist and swinging her into the air in a circle. He finally let her down but wouldn’t let go of her. “It really worked. Look at you, and Wyatt. Are Paige and Phoebe here?” he asked expectantly. His words all came out in a rush with the excitement he felt over seeing his future turning into exactly what he had hoped for.
Piper’s face lit up as she realized just who she was seeing before her. She knew the time for him to return had to be coming soon she just wasn't positive exactly when. “They will be soon,” she said as tears flooded her eyes. “Paige, bring Phoebe,” she called out knowing her sister’s advanced sensing abilities would allow her to hear the extra request. “Oh, Chris, we weren’t sure when you’d show up. None of us bothered to ask what date that you’d be returning on.”
Wyatt was standing in shocked silence on the other side of the room. He didn’t understand what was going on or what they were talking about. “Mom, what’s going on here?”
Chris looked back to his brother and still couldn’t help the smile that was on his face. “I see you didn’t tell him anything.” That was probably a good thing, Chris figured.
At that moment Paige and Phoebe orbed in and Chris was distracted with seeing them. He immediately grabbed both of them in hugs, which slightly shocked them. Neither of them were used to this much affection from their nephew. Oh he loved them dearly but like most young men he didn’t go for open displays of affection towards his aunts. It was just too embarrassing at his age. But neither of them would turn away a hug from him.
When he pulled back he just stared at them drinking in the way they looked. Older but definitely alive in this timeline and that was enough for him.
“Okay, so why is Chris wearing such a goofy grin?” Paige asked but felt as if she should know why.
Piper wrapped her arm around Chris’ waist and smiled at her sisters. “Probably because this isn’t just your nephew Chris but also your Neurotic Whitelighter, Chris Perry.”
Chris smiled at that and had to add. “Don’t forget bitchy, Mom. I liked that part.”
“Sorry, Chris, Neurotic Bitchy Whitelighter,” Piper amended.
Paige and Phoebe both grinned from ear to ear. “Well it’s about d**n time. We’ve been waiting for you to come back for the last year and half,” Paige complained good-naturedly. She personally had expected him to come back at about the same time he left, but that hadn't happened.
“I told you it would coincide with the day he left. Just about three days before his 23rd birthday, but you both thought I was wrong.” Phoebe was rather proud that she’d figured it out since most of the time when she thought of time travel it gave her a headache.
“You know, if someone doesn’t start explaining to me what is going on here and what you are all talking about I’m gonna hex every one of you,” Wyatt warned. He was beginning to suspect that they had all been possessed or something.
Chris turned to Wyatt and sighed letting a little of his old sadness out as he realized just what he was gonna be forced to tell his brother. “I promise, Wy, I’ll explain it all but I need to know one thing first. What about Dad?”
He looked around to the three sisters and saw how they each looked down avoiding his eyes and that was enough to tell him what he needed to know but Wyatt’s words really drove it home. “What the hell is wrong with you? You know we don’t talk about him anymore. We have no father.” The words were bitter and angry and Chris flinched at the hate he could hear in Wyatt's voice. What must he think Chris wondered sadly.
Chris swallowed hard and his eyes shut trying to block out the pain he could see on his brother’s face and the pain he felt in his own heart hearing those words. “I was afraid of that,” he whispered.
Piper looked up to Chris and the sadness she had felt for so many years now could be heard in her voice. “We never did get him back, Sweetie. I know you were hoping that somehow you'd come back here and it would all be all right, but we just couldn't find a way, no matter how hard we tried.”
He nodded. “I understand, Mom." he said sadly pulling her even tighter to his side wanting to offer her the comfort he knew she needed after spending all of those years without the man she loved and with two sons that couldn't understand what she was going through. "My memories haven’t really merged yet. I’ve got a few coming to me slowly but nothing about him yet.” The entire time he’d been there he’d had little snippets of new memories surfacing in his mind but nothing that would let him know what he was most concerned with.
“Chris, baby, I know you need to know about the changes in this lifetime but we really need to explain this to Wyatt first,” Piper said motioning her two sons to sit on the couch. Chris couldn’t believe the old couch was still there. It had seemed ancient when he had slept on it twenty some years before. But it was still comfortable. He and Wyatt took seats on each end of the couch and Chris could see the distrust in his brother’s eyes.
“Before I start, I need to tell you, Wy, no matter what you are thinking right now, I am your brother and you can trust me.” Chris knew how hard it would be for Wyatt to just accept everything they were about to tell him but they didn’t really have time to spare just to let Wyatt become accustomed to everything.
Wyatt wasn’t sure why but those words sounded so familiar to him. “I do trust you, Chris,” he said nodding feeling slightly afraid of what he was about to learn.
Chris smirked slightly remembering that the other Wyatt had said the same thing to him the last time he’d seen him. “I’m glad you do, because this is gonna be hard. It always is when it comes to time travel and changing the future.” Wyatt gaped slightly at that statement but did not comment.
Then they started. Chris first told of his original childhood and his father’s mistreatment of him and Wyatt for some reason did not find it hard to believe. He had lived most of his life without his father and it hit close to home to hear how he had been with Chris. And then the death of the Charmed Ones. Wyatt actually thought he’d be sick as Chris told him how they had died and the fact that he hadn’t been able to stop it. Wyatt stared at his mother and his heart constricted thinking of a life without her but he did not comment as he waited for Chris to continue.
Then there were the dark years. It was so difficult to tell Wyatt of what he had been in Chris’ original timeline and he opted to gloss over some of the worst of it not wanting his brother to feel completely guilt ridden. But Wyatt did feel guilty. How could he not? He had killed innocents and destroyed the world and from the painful looks he could see in all their eyes he could guess the horrors he had visited on his brother. He wanted to deny all of it then but he could see how easily his mother and aunts excepted it. It had to be true. They had known it was true all of those years but had never told him and a large part of him was glad that they hadn't. But still...
And then Chris told of how he had traveled back into time and the troubles and difficulties that he had had there. All the hate and distrust and the lies. Countless lies that Chris had never truly wanted to tell, but felt he had no choice but to do so. Wyatt had found himself watching his mother and aunts while Chris told that part. They still managed to look upset by their own actions after all this time but Wyatt could also see that Chris had forgiven them even if they hadn’t forgiven themselves.
Then there was the Tribunal Chamber and the months following that where they had all kept Chris’ secret to themselves. And Chris talked about Leo and all of the things they had done together and how he had been the father that Chris had always hoped for but never dared to dream of. This, Wyatt wasn’t sure what to think of. His mother and the aunts had kept pretty tight lipped about his father since his disappearance. And that had fostered all kinds of horrible thoughts in Wyatt’s head, but none that he had shared with his family. But Chris' words were full of so much emotion and so much love for the man that Wyatt barely even had known.
Then Chris had told of the attempt on his life while he was still unborn. That had disgusted Wyatt to think of. How could anyone even a demon be capable of that? He could also see how much this still bothered his mother. She hadn't told any of them that that one event had brought her the closest to leaving the life of magic completely behind and still to this day she resented her life for what it had nearly cost her.
But then there was the misspoken spell and the Tribunal Chamber again and the original Wyatt's memory of what the Elders had done to his father and Chris. Wyatt felt rage at the Elders for doing such a thing to his family and for causing them all that pain and for a brief moment he wished he were that evil version of himself, so he could exact revenge on them. Then the final blow came as Chris explained how his father was about to take the fall from grace to save them and Gideon had betrayed them using baby Wyatt as a pawn to take their father from them.
It was all so much information to process, almost too much but he knew he must. But then a thought occurred to him. “For the last year and a half now Chris kept telling me that he felt funny. He told all of you that too and none of you acted as if it was a big deal. It’s because he was back in time, wasn’t it?” With that Wyatt pointed to his brother. He was still holding onto the feeling that his brother was being possessed even if he was being possessed by himself.
Chris frowned at that. “My being back there affected him?”
“I think I can explain that one,” Paige piped up happily. She had put a lot of thought into the situation and had come up with a plausible reason for Chris to be as he was. “See even as baby Chris grew up and became the young man he was meant to be, all of us could see you in him everyday as he grew. Not just your physical characteristics but your mannerisms and your words and the way you thought and acted. Even though he was happier for not having to deal with the pain of losing us and Wyatt turning evil he was still growing up to be just like you.” She could see the worried expression on his face. They had after all originally hated him. “And before you go and start worrying just don’t. We loved what we saw. It just meant that we hadn’t lost you after all. Chris was growing into a man that we already loved and missed dearly anyway. Well when he was twenty-one he suddenly started feeling strange. He told me once that it felt as if something was missing and he wasn’t all there anymore. It took lots of time and discussion between us three to realize that he was missing the part of himself that had went back in time. Even though he hadn’t physically went himself part of him was still back there anyway. I know Wyatt was very concerned over this but we knew that we just had to wait till you came back for him to feel whole again. And now here you are.”
“But why couldn’t you tell me what was happening?” Wyatt asked, still not happy with being left in the dark. He was happy to hear that this Chris wasn’t much different than the one he had grown up with but part of him still worried that things would never be the same again.
Piper took over the explanation knowing it was her place to explain it to her son. “This won’t sound right to you Wyatt, but it’s something we lived by for many months while we waited for Chris to be ready to tell us who he was. It wasn’t our place to tell you. It was Chris’. This Chris. The one who lived all that and gave up everything to try to save you, to save us all. And we also needed him in this timeline before we did anything more to try to save your father. Because I think it’s gonna take both of you to be able to do it.”
Chris had still been gaining new memories as they spoke and it was becoming hard to keep his attention on both what his mother was saying and on what was running through his mind. But then a new memory that shocked him to his very core started to play in his mind.
“Wyatt, this is a bad idea,” Chris said for the fifth time.
“Don’t you want to see him?” Wyatt asked his eyes traveling to the heavens.
“But the ban. None of us can orb up there. Mom said it was because they did something that pissed them off a long time ago.” Chris normally would have followed his brother anywhere but for the past couple of weeks he had started to feel funny and the idea of attempting what his brother suggested was frightening in his current state.
Wyatt smiled smugly at his brother as he looked out over the city. They were standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. He knew how much Chris enjoyed going up to the bridge and had picked this one spot to help to convince his brother of his idea. “I told you, I did it on accident last week. But that just means their ban is not strong enough to hold me out anymore.”
“But what if he doesn’t want to see us? He never has before,” Chris suggested sadly.
“Then we just orb back down here and never go up there again,” Wyatt answered. He knew it wasn’t all that simple and it would be very difficult on Chris. Chris had never met his father, not once. Wyatt had and he even slightly remembered it, and he thought that Chris should at least have one chance to meet him. He deserved that much.
Chris swallowed hard. This was not an easy decision to make. His mother would be furious if she knew what they were considering. But still, to just have one chance. Just once to see the man that their mother had loved and honestly Chris believed she still loved. He had caught her on several occasions just staring sadly at their wedding photo. Neither he nor Wyatt could understand why she was so willing to just let him go forever if she still loved him so much. “Okay. We’ll go. If for nothing else we’ll do it for Mom.”
Wyatt smiled broadly and reached over to take his brother’s arm. The look on his face was a mixture of sadness but also mischeive, which in itself should have told Chris to be concerned.
When they appeared they stood in a chamber that was completely white. The walls, floor, and everything within was white except for the beings that all turned to them. They were all wearing golden robes and most were making fast clicking noises. But then one figure came forward and they could see that he was not dressed in Elder robes but instead wore a dark suit and dark scholar’s robes. “What are you doing here? It is forbidden,” Gideon asked sharply his anger at seeing them reflected in his tone of voice. He was looking at Chris the most though and they could both see a small amount of fear on his face. That was strange but it was soon dismissed as Wyatt began to speak.
“We want to see him. We have a right to speak to him,” Wyatt said crossing his arms over his chest in an act of defiance against the powerful being.
“You have no rights here,” Gideon said scowling at the young man’s impudence. Again Gideon gave Chris a scathing look as if it was he that was instigating all of this.
Chris felt deep down that something was very wrong about this situation. He felt as if he should know this Elder before him for some reason. “Wy, let’s just go home. This isn’t worth it.”
“No, Chris. I won’t go home until you’ve at least had the chance to meet our father. I want Leo Wyatt out here, now!” Wyatt wasn’t about to leave until he got exactly what he wanted. But what he wanted the most was to ask why. Why had he abandoned them? Why had he ever had a family if he had no intention of ever caring for them?
The room silenced and one of the Elders stepped forward removing his hood. Chris and Wyatt both recognized him from the wedding picture and he didn’t look any different than the day he had married their mother. “Who are you?” he asked in confusion.
Both young men stared in complete shock at their father’s words. Did he truly not even know who they were? Had he never even bothered to look in on them with or without their knowledge? “We are your sons, Father! Wyatt and Chris. You know the two kids you abandoned,” Wyatt said bitterly.
Chris swallowed hard over the lump in his throat and said nothing. He couldn’t believe that he was actually standing in front of his father and the man didn’t even seem to know him at all.
Leo shook his head in confusion. “I have no sons.”
Wyatt seemed shocked even by that one. Now he was denying that they were even his. The utter hipocrisy of it astounded him. “You might want to tell Mom that, because she seems to think different. You know, Mom, Piper, the woman you married.”
Leo looked around to his fellow Elders wanting an explanation but not sure who to turn to. His eyes finally found Gideon. “What is this, Gideon?”
“Nothing you need to be concerned with, Leo,” Gideon answered waving his hand in front of Leo and orbing him away. “You two need to go. He doesn’t want you here. He has forgotten you and wants it to stay that way. We are his family now and the only ones he needs.” His words were laced with malice as he orbed away leaving them standing in mute silence.
Wyatt screamed in anger and then grabbed his brother’s arm and orbed them back to the top of the bridge. Once they appeared safely Chris pulled away from Wyatt and went to sit on the edge of the bridge to stare down at the cars below them.
Wyatt was pacing back and forth and if Chris had cared to look he would have seen the anger coloring his brother’s features. But he didn’t need to look. He knew it would be there. “I hate him!” Wyatt yelled at the top of his lungs.
Chris flinched slightly but did not answer. He wanted to be able to agree with his brother, to be able to yell it out and truly mean it but for some reason he felt just how wrong that was deep down inside and could not agree. Instead he just felt a deep sense of loss.
“I swear to god, if I ever see him again I’m gonna vanquish him,” Wyatt vowed.
Chris did decide to speak at that. “You can’t vanquish an Elder, Wy.”
Wyatt looked down at his brother’s back and it was not hard to hear the sadness in his voice. “Just watch me. If it can be done, I’ll do it.”
Chris shook his head from side to side. “You can’t, Wy. He’s still our father and Mom still loves him.”
“He doesn’t deserve her love,” Wyatt came back bitterly but he knew his brother was right. “Fine, I won’t vanquish him, but as far as I’m concerned from this day forward, I have no father.”
Chris flinched yet again. He knew Wyatt meant it. It was painful to hear and he knew he couldn’t talk him out of it, but still he couldn’t agree with him. He very much wanted to have a father, no matter what Wyatt said.
Chris pulled himself from the memory and stared over at his brother and he felt a deep sense of sadness, seeing that Wyatt was in very much the same position that he had been in before he ever traveled back in time. Wyatt hated Leo and it was going to be very hard to convince him otherwise. “Did you tell them?”
Wyatt looked at him in confusion. “Tell them what?”
“Tell them that we saw him a year and a half ago,” Chris stated knowing that he probably hadn’t.
“What?” Piper asked in confusion.
Wyatt sighed looking at his mom. “We decided it would be too hard for Mom to know what was said, so we kept it to ourselves.”
Piper blanched. Her sons had seen their father and apparently nothing good had come from it. “Wyatt, I had a right to know.”
“I’m sorry, Mom,” was all Wyatt could say as he looked away from her, not able to look at her.
“Wy, it’s not his fault. You can’t hate him for this,” Chris said his voice strong and demanding. He wasn’t gonna let his brother take this out on his father. "They made him forget us. He never wanted that. I know it as surely as I know that you are good and Mom is alive now."
“It’s not so easy to just let go of, okay,” Wyatt said bitterly standing and stalking from the room.
“Oh my god. How did we let this happen?” Piper asked her heart clenching tightly. She hadn’t ever guessed that Wyatt was holding so much resentment towards his father.
Chris hated to see his mom blame herself for what was happening. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't any of their fault. The only beings responsible for this were the Elders and he meant to do something about it. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll help him get through it and we will fix it.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Well what can I say? Gideon is still a jerk. Wyatt still gets to be angry and a little on the dark side and Chris is gonna take charge. Sound like a good idea to you? It does to me.
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Post by Meluivan Indil on Nov 19, 2007 7:16:24 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Nothing in the Charmed universe belongs to me and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Chapter 28 ~ Something Missing
It wasn’t hard for Chris to find his brother. Even with all of the changes they had went through Wyatt was still Wyatt and he could have sensed him a world away. So Chris orbed onto the top of the bridge, still thinking that it was ironic that they had somehow found that place even without Leo there to show it to them first.
Wyatt was standing on the edge of the bridge looking up to the heavens of all places. “Dad would be happy to know that we still come up here. I remember the first time he brought us up here,” Chris started to tell the story but realized that that had not actually happened in this timeline. Wyatt turned and gave him a dark look. “Sorry, I forgot that was from my other timeline. It wasn’t that good a memory anyway. Dad sort of forgot I was there and I nearly fell from the bridge.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened in horror. “And that’s something you want to remember?”
Chris shrugged. “I’m not trying to make you feel neglected Wyatt. I know it's hard for you to hear about the memories I have of Dad but you need to hear them. You need to know all of it if you're ever going to be able to deal with it. And to set the record straight for me it is a good memory. Dad was in my life then, even if he was a rotten B*st*rd to me he was a part of my life. I'd take that over a life without him anyday.”
Wyatt shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t get you, Chris. That makes no sense at all. If he was such a horrible father then why not leave things as they are? We are happy right now. No one is evil. Mom and the Aunts are very much alive. Why not leave well enough alone?”
Chris stood very still for several minutes trying to decide exactly what to say. He knew that those words probably made sense to his brother but Wyatt had never seen just how great a father Leo could be when the Elders weren’t in the picture. “Wy, how happy are we really? Is mom happy? Don’t the Aunts miss Dad? They once told me that they could barely function without him in their life. And look at you. You’re becoming consumed by hate for a man that was willing to clip his own wings and become mortal to save you from becoming evil.”
Wyatt threw his head up and closed his eyes sighing in frustration. “I don’t know that man, Chris. All I know is the man that looked me straight in the eyes and said he didn’t have any sons. I don't know how you expect me to just forget that.”
Chris understood his brother's mindset. Hadn't he truly hated Leo when he first went back in time? All he was able to see was the man that had mistreated him for so many years. It had taken quite some time to see past that and find the man that he loved. The man that he truly considered to be his father. “Wy, at one point in time I hated him just as much as you do right now. I hated him for everything he was and everything he wasn’t. I hated him because of the way he treated me and I hated him because he couldn’t save you or Mom.” Chris had to admit this. He knew Wyatt would never believe what he was about to say if not. “But then I met a completely different man when I went back in time. A man that the Elders hadn’t gotten to yet. He may have hated me for a while there when I was being that lying, manipulative, jerk but once the truth was out he showed me just what type of man he really could be. He sat and talked to me and he listened to my hopes and fears. He took care of me when I was sick and almost dying. He gave me everything he had to take my pain away. I watched that man who loved his family enough to do anything for them. I watched him kill to protect me even though he knew there would be a penalty if 'they' found out. And then again I watched him holding you in the nursery late at night whenever you’d have a nightmare and he was the gentlest being on the planet then. You could always see his emotions in his eyes, Wy, and whenever he looked at Mom or one of us it was as if he was the happiest man alive and I knew that he'd die a thousand times over just to have us in his life. That is the father that I want back, Wy. That is the father that I want you to have in your life.”
Wyatt had lowered his eyes as Chris spoke. He could see in his own brother’s eyes all of the emotions he was going through. He truly did love their father more than Wyatt could ever imagine possible. “It’s so ironic. When I took you ‘up there’ I wanted you to get a chance to meet him. I thought that it wasn’t fair that you hadn’t ever gotten to meet your father. Now look at us. You know him so much better than I do." He paused for a moment almost afraid to continue with his thoughts. "Chris, I’m ashamed to admit this but I took you up there so you’d hate him as much as I did. I didn’t want to be alone in the way I felt about him. I wanted to share that with you. I guess I figured if you felt that way too that it wouldn't be wrong for me to hate him.” Wyatt looked truly sorry for what he was admitting and Chris could sense just how much it was tearing him up inside. “But you know what? Even after that, you never hated him. I could see it in your eyes. You wanted him to love you even then. I never understood why, but I guess part of you always knew what he could be.”
Chris smiled at that thought. He was glad that his new self was able to still love Leo even though he never really knew him. “He still can, you know.”
Wyatt turned away from Chris at those words shaking his head. “How, Chris? You saw the memory. He can’t even remember us and that other Elder is shielding him from us anyway. It’s hopeless.”
Chris walked up close to Wyatt and gently took his shoulder in his hand and pulled him around to face him. “You heard Mom. It’s just gonna take both of us. My other self didn’t really try to bring Dad back. He didn’t know what to do and he was already confused because he didn’t feel whole. But I’m whole now and I’m willing to try.” Chris found it rather strange to talk about himself as if he was another person but he knew that until the memories were complete in his mind he’d probably see it that way and maybe for some time afterwards.
“So you want to go ‘up there’ again?” Wyatt asked skeptically but he knew deep down inside that if it was what Chris wanted to do he'd do just that. He had never been able to tell his little brother no when it came to the important stuff.
“Yes and no,” Chris answered beginning to form a plan in his mind. “They are way to organized ‘up there’, but don’t worry, I know how to fix that. I need a little time though. These memories pouring into my head are distracting me. By tomorrow I’m thinking the merge will be complete or at least close to it. Then you and I have a father to save.”
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Chris had been right for the most part. It had taken all of the rest of that day and that night for his memories to merge into something that resembled a semi-normal existence. To him it seemed almost as if he had lived two lives back to back with his time in the past as a middle barrier. He realized that that was probably the only way his mind could understand what it had went through. And it did make sense to him even if in a way it made him feel twice as old as he really was.
“Okay, you’ve been pretty closed lip about what we are going to do here,” Wyatt stated as he and Chris stood atop the bridge again the next day.
“Yeah, I guess I have but I wanted to make sure you were capable of a few things before I committed to my plan,” Chris explained.
“Like what?” Wyatt asked frowning.
“Like what active powers do you have?” Chris asked. He knew what powers Wy had had in his original timeline but they were very advanced due to his lack of inhibitions. Chris was hoping that somehow Wyatt had retained some of them though.
Wyatt thought it was a fair question. After all they might actually end up having to fight Elders to save their father. “Of course there's the orbing, tele orbing and the healing, courtesy of being half Whitelighter. I also have an advanced form of telekinesis that is very powerful. I can manipulate objects to go exactly where I want them with that. It comes in a lot handier than your normal swipe and throw technique like what you use.”
Chris nodded. Wyatt had had those since he was a baby so it was no surprise. “What else? No chance that you can throw energy balls is there?”
The look on Wyatt’s face said just what he thought of that idea. “Chris, that’s a demon power. Why would I have it?”
Chris just smiled at that and said, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
Wyatt’s eyes widened in surprise. “No! Are you really saying that I had that power in the other timeline?”
He nodded and went on. “You could also shimmer, had almost supper human stength and could choke someone by just clenching your fist. That one's an extension of your telekkinesis.” With that Chris reached up and rubbed his own throat remembering his own experience with that power.
Wyatt’s glee turned to guilty fright. “Oh, I didn’t.”
Chris held his hand out grasping Wyatt’s arm. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m alive aren’t I?”
Wyatt pulled his arm away from Chris’ hand. “No thanks to me it seems.”
“Wyatt, you need to understand something. Just as I can forgive Dad for what he did in my old timeline, I feel the same about you. You know he even told me once that whenever I made it back to this timeline I couldn’t hold it against you; all the things you did in my original timeline. He was right and I don’t. And even if I could hold all that against you, I’d still have to admit that you did everything in your power to protect me as we grew up. You were a very good older brother, Wy, in both timelines. The best as a matter of fact.” Chris wasn’t about to let his brother start down the same old track of guilt that the rest of his family had traveled over the past year and a half. This Wyatt hadn’t ever done anything to harm him and he wanted to make sure that he understood that. “So, how about we get back to those powers.”
Wyatt shook his head slightly. This Chris seemed just as driven when he set his mind to something as the one he had grown up with. Correction, they were the same person. Wyatt had to keep reminding himself of that. “All right. I still wield Excalibur even though I don’t really do that too often. It feels strange to see myself as the next King Arthur or something.”
Chris understood that one too. Even his own Wyatt from the other timeline had felt that way to some extent, preferring his other powers to using the sword. “And what about your shield?”
Wyatt made a face at that. “Aren’t shields sort of for children, Chris? I mean, yeah it comes in handy at times but I’m usually on the offensive in a demon hunt not the defensive.”
Chris chuckled slightly. “Well I guess this is one thing you do need to learn. The Wyatt in my timeline adjusted his shield to grow and not only to keep attackers out but to keep his prey in, so to speak. It came in handy when he was after beings that could orb or shimmer.”
Wyatt formed a slight “o” with his mouth. “Wow, never thought about that one, but it shouldn’t be too hard to do.” With that he concentrated on throwing up his shield around them. He had always been able to include others in his shield but they could get out by simply walking or orbing away but today he was concentrating on making his shield hold Chris in. “Try to get out,” he said as he finally thought he had it right.
Chris obeyed and tried to orb away only to meet a barrier that threw him back to the hard metal below him. “Ouch. I forgot how much that hurt.”
“Sorry, but at least it worked,” Wyatt pointed out as he lowered the shield.
“Yes it did, now I think we are almost ready,” Chris said climbing back to his feet.
“So, do you want me to just orb us ‘up there’ or do you want me to try to sense him in particular?” Wyatt asked ready to take them where they needed to be.
Chris had neglected to tell one part of his plan because he wasn’t so sure what the others would think about it. “Neither, yet. We need to go back to the Manor.”
Wyatt looked in confusion at his brother. What could they need from the Manor he wondered but followed his brother’s orb trail anyway ending up back in the attic. All three of the sisters were there also and they stared strangely at Chris as he looked through a few things until he found what he wanted. Then he walked over to a bare wall and started to draw on it.
“What are you doing, Chris?” Piper asked in concern. She could see exactly what he was drawing and she had started to feel panic gripping her heart.
He looked back at her and smiled. “You didn’t think I’d try this in this timeline did you? What good is it to get Dad back if we still have to miss a quarter of our lives with him?”
“Chris, don’t you think you’ve pushed the time travel thing just about as far as you should?” Phoebe asked in concern. What if he somehow messed it up, she worried. What if he caused something horrible to happen? "We sort of figured you'd just try to save him in this timeline."
“No, I don’t think I have pushed it nearly far enough,” Chris answered turning back to the drawing of the Triquetra. He had thought it through the night before and he knew that the only way to truly save them and to give Wyatt the father he deserved was to make the change in the past, not now. He was petrified that even if he could win his father back for them that it would be too late to fix what was between he an Wyatt.
He could tell that his mother and Paige were about to add their own concerns to the discussion but he cut them off before they could. “Listen, after everything I’ve went through to fix this timeline, do you think I would give up only partway?” He turned on those words and they could all see the look of determination on his face. “Yes, I saved Wyatt from becoming evil and you all lived this time around and from what you’ve told me even Grandpa Victor didn’t die. All of those things are awesome but it’s not done, not without Dad. And I’m gonna tell you right now that I will do this a hundred times if I have to until I get it right.”
Piper could see the obsession in her son’s eyes and feared it slightly. Part of her wondered if just maybe he had taken this too far this time. She crossed over and stood next to him with her hand on his arm looking up into those expressive crystal green eyes. “Chris, you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to give up your entire life to try to save us again. You’ve earned a break.”
Chris shook his head fiercely. “I don’t want a break, Mom. I want my family. All of my family. Do you realize that in that past timeline I’m gonna be born tomorrow? I’m gonna be born and you and Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige are gonna be there to welcome me home and you are all gonna spoil me and let me get away with murder as I grow older, and Wyatt and I are gonna fight just like brother’s will but he’ll always protect me, because that’s what big brothers do. But there is still gonna be something missing. Something that I’ll always want but won’t be able to quite reach and I’m not gonna be whole until he’s apart of my life. I don’t want to let him slip away.”
Wyatt walked forward and took the chalk from Chris’ hand and for one second there Chris thought he’d have to fight his brother to get them to let him do this, but to his surprise Wyatt walked over to the wall and finished the drawing for Chris. “Well 2004 here we come,” he said finishing it and throwing the chalk down turning back to his brother. "I said I trusted you, Chris, and I meant it."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A/N: Yes, I can say roller coaster ride and yes that is what I’m putting poor Chris through. Let’s see, original future, past, original future (Chris-Crossed), past, changed future, past… And so on and so forth. Poor guy and Wyatt even gets to come along this time too... Oh and yes I do realize that I did not give Wyatt any really cool new powers like I often see in fics but I figured that just advancing his powers to a point beyond any of the other members of his family would be enough to fit his strongest Halliwell power title. It just makes more sense to me that way. And besides if I make him too powerful the fight with the bad guys won't be as much fun. See there is method behind my madness.
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