Yeah, I know that the series finale implied that Chris was either the same Chris from season 6 or somehow retained his memories, but that doesn't fit in my head. So this is what I came up with instead.

With a swirl of golden light, Wyatt Matthew Halliwell found himself in the sun room of the manor once again. The only question is, was he in the correct time. He wasn't one to question his mother's magic--even his mother from over two decades ago--but he still wanted to know for his own sake.

"Mom? Chris?"

"In the attic!" his brother called back.

Phew, it seemed like the right time, Wyatt thought as he walked up the stairs. He walked slowly, checking the framed pictures hung on the walls that were defiant of demon attacks. He quickly grazed over the ones of his mother and aunts; those had been there for years. He also passed by the early family portraits Piper had insisted on after Chris had been a few months old. The next few after that were of he, Chris, and their little sister, Melinda growing up. That was promising since in the past he had come from, Melinda hadn't been born yet. Finally, he found the picture taken at his graduation, thankfully, right before his cousin Henry had orbed Wyatt's cap off his head.

Wyatt got to the attic and found Chris leafing through the Book of Shadows without any sense of urgency.

"Are we researching something specific, or just in general?" Wyatt asked.

"Just general. What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much, I just got back from a little trip to the past," Wyatt causally mentioned.

Chris kept on flipping pages for a few seconds more until realization set in. His head snapped up with an audible 'pop.'

"You were just in the past? Mom told us not to time travel unless we could avoid it. And why didn't you bring me?"

Wyatt smirked. "Please, give me some credit. Actually, it's Mom's fault I went to the past. She conjured me."

"Are we talking about the same Piper Halliwell? She always complains about time travel."

"This was Mom from about twenty years ago. By the way, your baby pictures don't do you justice."

"Huh. Maybe it's your little trip that makes Mom not like time travel. What'd you do, burn down the manor?"

"I resent that."

"Resent what?" Piper interrupted from the doorway.

"Hey, Mom, do you remember conjuring Wyatt from the future when we were little?" Chris asked, straight to the point.

Piper Halliwell colored slightly as she responded, "It was not my intention, but yes, I do remember. I'm guessing you just got back?"

"Yeah, I can't believe I was able to see all that."

"Lucky you, I want to see what Mom and Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe were like back then," Chris complained a little.

Piper's face twitched just enough that Wyatt noticed.

"Mom, what is it? You just looked like a demon had come back from a vanquish."

"A lot of things change with time travel that's all," Piper evaded slightly.

"No, it had something to do with the idea of Chris going to the past, not that I blame you."

"I think that it's best if you don't know," Piper said in that tone of voice Wyatt knew not to push.

Chris, however, either didn't hear the tone or didn't care.

"Come on, you never have problems talking about anything else from your demon-fighting days," he protested.

Piper sighed the sigh of all mothers, one of exasperation and grudging acknowledgement.

"I reacted like that because in our time, when Wyatt wasn't even a year old, we met a traveler from the future who introduced himself as Chris Perry." Piper paused and looked at her boys.

"Wait, am I named for this guy or something?" Chris asked.

"No, you were that guy."

Wyatt opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him for a moment. "Wait a second, are you saying that Chris time traveled? Or will time travel... grammar tenses are so confusing sometimes."

"That's impossible. wouldn't I remember it?" Chris protested.

"Not exactly. You changed time, or rather, the other you changed time," Piper explained.

"What did I change?"

Piper hesitated for a moment before answering. "The other Chris went back in time to save his family, specifically, Wyatt."

Wyatt nearly fell over. "How many times did I need saving as a kid? Apparently the other him didn't do such a good job, because I just got back from saving my past self, myself!"

"You didn't really need saving from evil... the other Chris came back to save you from turning evil," Piper explained hesitantly.

"Wyatt? Evil?" Chris stuttered. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I was evil?" Wyatt asked in a small voice.

Piper frowned. "According to the other Chris, you turned into an evil tyrant and he used a time travel spell to go back and fix it."

"But, I was evil..." Wyatt muttered.

"Wait a minute, you were evil?" Chris asked incredulously.

"Only a few hours," Piper corrected. "Your dad was able to turn you back."

"Yeah, something with the teddy bear."

"What else did I change?" Chris asked.

"You made your dad an Elder," Piper answered. "That's what started our separation, and then our reunion, and then a lot of other things which eventually made him mortal."

"I think I need to get away and think a little," Wyatt said.

Piper nodded in acknowledgement. "I understand. Be safe."

Wyatt orbed out before either Piper or Chris could say anything else.

I was an evil tyrant. Chris' other self went back and changed everything to make sure that I didn't turn evil, and then I end up turning evil for a bit anyway. The Halliwell children had always heard how the corrupt Elder Gideon had attempted to kill Wyatt as a toddler to eliminate the risk of Wyatt's potential power. Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda had always just assumed that that had been the end of it. Wyatt fought for good just like generations had before him. Now he was forced to re-evaluate that knowledge.

The wind whipped around him, eerily echoing his whirlwind of thought. Wyatt could never remember how, but the top of the Golden Gate Bridge had always been a refuge to his family--or at least those who could orb. Phoebe's children were never comfortable up that high, perhaps because they couldn't orb to a different place if they ever fell. Paige's children loved the spot just as much as Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda because it was at this spot that their father learned the true nature of magic and proposed to their mother.

At that moment, Wyatt desperately needed the isolation to organize his thoughts. Chris must have called the other cousins to let them know some of what had happened because none of them came to him which would have been normal. While not empathic or able to completely sense each other like full whitelighters, most of the cousins were dimly aware of each other and their emotional states.

Finally, Wyatt was forced to reflect on his stint of darkness and his redemption. Dad got the younger me to trust him. And I didn't stop him. I could have, I could have completely destroyed him if I wanted... But I didn't. Dad's mortal, yeah, we've had to shield him every once in awhile, but he was always there.

Blue lights formed in Wyatt's peripheral vision. In the growing darkness--had it really gotten that late in the day already?--he could just make out the lanky form of his brother. Without a word, Chris sat down a few feet away and merely waited.

"Mom get worried?" Wyatt asked.

"About an hour ago. Dad convinced her that you weren't in danger and to give you more time."

"Huh. I was just thinking about Dad," Wyatt laughed.

"Really, what about Dad?" Chris said as he sat down next to his brother.

"Well, when I was evil, Dad was the one to save me," Wyatt answered.

"Didn't Mom or Aunt Phoebe or Aunt Paige stop you?" Chris asked.

"No. It was just Dad. I had the younger me and I wanted him to get me the Book, but Dad stopped us. He didn't even really do anything, he just broke the spell by himself."

"I can't really believe that you being evil would just stand there while that happened," Chris pointed out skeptically

"But, that's what I did. Or—didn't do. It was about trust, I think. And, Dad was, is, mortal. I could have flattened him in a heart beat, but I didn't."

"Maybe that's why it worked," Chris said as if he were just coming to the conclusion himself.

Wyatt looked at his younger brother closely. "What do you mean?"

"I kind of interrogated Mom a little more about the other version of me who traveled back to the past. Remember how she said that it's because of him that Dad became and Elder, then an Avatar and then mortal? And I think we can agree that Dad being mortal played a huge part in breaking the spell."

"So, it wasn't just stopping Gideon that saved me from being evil, it was changing Dad," Wyatt said.

"Yeah. I guess Mom and Dad never thought about it like that."

"Looks like your other self did accomplish his mission, just not in the way he thought."

"Apparently." Chris looked smug. "See, I'm a genius even by accident."

Wyatt shoved him with a laugh.

"Don't take too much credit. That guy was a totally different person. Genius, right."

Chris accepted the shove and then stood up.

"Ready to go back yet? Mom's making all your favorite foods for dinner."

"You'd think we still lived at the manor for all the dinners we have at home."

"With Mom's cooking? You bet."

The brothers orbed in a swirl of blue lights but someone else was watching. The Chris-that-faded-away had been keeping an eye on them since he had died and disappeared into the magical ether for lack of a better term. He had watched the boys grow up and grow together in ways that Chris-that-was had never had with his brother. But that was the point, wasn't it? His whole scheme was for this purpose. And it had worked. With a final smile, Chris-that-was released his attachment to the ether and passed on to the next stage of life.