A/N: And this is where 7x20 comes in to play. Wyatt's story will not solely focus on that episode but it is still something he has to go through for what I have in my mind for this story. Also little mistake on my part, this chapter is just as long as chapter 2 haha... I checked to be sure and Chapter 4 is definitely longer so you'll have to forgive me this one time. Enjoy!
The lights slowly dispersed and Wyatt found himself standing in the sun room. Back in a colourful world with furniture in place and the sounds of birds chirping outside.
Huh? Okay, I'm back?
He looked around, a momentary sense of relief going through his system. Before he could think about his brother, his gaze fell upon the two women in front of him. Wyatt needed a second to recognize them as they were much younger than when he last saw them.
Back... in the past. Far back in the past it seems.
"Mom?" His mother looked at him as if he were a complete stranger and Aunt Paige expression showed that she probably thought the same. "It's me... Wyatt."
Their jaws dropped as they looked at the 25-year old in shock. Piper stood up from her chair carefully, unsure how to react. Her son didn't give her a chance to dwell on it as he closed the distance and gave her a hug.
"Wow, mom, look at you. You look great!" He said with a smile. Wyatt meant every bit of it. While Piper did age just fine in his time, she had been stressed a lot since two years and it showed in her face. In this time did she not only look a lot younger, a near 23 years, but she seemed a bit more relaxed.
Meanwhile Paige took a moment to shrug the surprise away and as mother and son let go of each other, Wyatt was met with a beaming smile from his aunt. His mother had a more hesitant smile.
"Right. Okay..." She started, not sure what to say.
"Looks like you are as surprised to see me, as I am to be back." Wyatt replied as he noticed his mother's hesitant behaviour.
"Yeah..." Piper deflated into an uneasy expression while Paige's gaze shifted between her sister and Wyatt. A combination of confusion and curiosity bubbled up in her. "Back from where?"
"The future." His answer confirmed their suspicions, Paige nodding her head somewhat happy she guessed right before her smile disappeared as she realized the possible consequences. Piper immediately thought of the possible trouble. "Oh no. No, no, no."
Wyatt's face fell a bit. "We wanted to communicate with you." His mother started. "I mean, the younger you." Piper threw out her hands, trying to avoid any miscommunication, while Paige kept nodding at her sister's words. "The two-and-a-half-year old you."
The young man understood his mother's apprehension at having her son drop out from the future. However, everything always happens for a reason.
"Well, if there is one thing you guys taught me, magic may work in mysterious ways, but it always works." He said to them.
"Where'd you hear that?" Paige asked. "That's nice."
Wyatt smiled at her question. "I'm surprised to hear you ask. In the future, you're always telling me that."
"Huh!" Surprise lingered on her features. "Well, that's future me. I'm me now who clearly doesn't have those kind of brilliant thoughts." She sheepishly added.
Trying his best not to laugh at his aunt, Wyatt replied. "Right. Look, all I am saying is if your spell brought me here, there's got to be a good reason." By the end of his reply, he had become a tad more serious again. His thoughts had dwelled back towards where he came from.
Chris.
His mother, however, couldn't read his thoughts. "Well, I don't know. Do you remember anything about what you were going through when you were two and a half?" She asked uncertainly.
Wyatt wasn't really known for a strong attention span. Her question pulled him right back in to the situation in front of him. "No, not really."
"So then we are still looking for that reason."
Ever the optimist though, Wyatt quickly brought up what he thought was good about him being there. "But still, this is a fantastic opportunity that magic's brought us!"
His mother and aunt didn't really seem to be on the same page as him, but he continued on. "For me to see the past, for you guys to learn about the future." Wyatt turned around to take a look at the old manor.
Piper was quick to interject. "Oh, no, no!" After the whole ordeal with Chris coming back she had learned her lesson with time travel. "No, no, no." She followed her adult son as he walked towards the hallway. "We don't want to know anything about the future."
Wyatt turned around towards his mother, confused. "We don't want to risk changing it... Again." She continued.
"Again?" Wyatt asked. Had they changed the future before? He had never heard anything about that before. Neither did Chris or Melinda as far as he knew.
Paige threw up her hands with a sigh. "Oh don't ask."
Deciding it would be better for now, Wyatt let it be. "Okay. But until we figured out why magic brought me back, we could at least try and enjoy the moment, right?"
His mother looked at him as if she wasn't sure if she could take him serious or not. "How did you become such an optimist?"
"From you, mom." He immediately replied and gestured to her. Paige laughed shortly at that.
"You must have turned over a new leaf in the future." She said to her sister.
"Don't count on it." Piper quipped back. "So that doesn't help us with our Wyatt..."
"No." Paige agreed with a heavy sigh.
Meanwhile Wyatt had turned around again and wandered a few steps in the hallway. Magic always has a reason to work, he thought. Besides, this was time travel. They could make sure he would return to the exact same moment as he left. Maybe with some luck, he'd reappear outside the Ghostly plane and could find a way to get Chris out of there. It was going to be fine. He hoped.
His thoughts were interrupted as his Aunt Phoebe came back home. First he would help out his family here.
"Who are you?"
Chris eyed the stranger suspiciously. The man knew his name and it felt as a disadvantage to him that he didn't know who he was dealing with.
"I'm not a threat to you, Chris. We have met before." The man stood with his hands behind his back.
The young Halliwell scoffed. "I think I would remember meeting a magical janitor."
"We have met in a new past that was created for your family. You wouldn't know, because the you that you are now was not yet born."
"The I... what?" Chris tried to repeat the man's words in his head. "I don't understand... Who are you? What are you?" He pulled his shoulders up and gestured towards him.
The janitor kept calm the whole time, giving Chris a moment to try and grasp the situation. "While I actually have no name of my own, you can call me Clarence. As I have been known as Clarence to you before."
"Okay well..." Chris looked around. "Clarence, I guess... Again, what are you? I'm pretty sure we are in the Ghostly plane... So you are either a ghost or an-.."
"Angel of Death." Clarence completed Chris' sentence and kept looking at the young man calmly.
The colour drained from Chris' face. Involuntarily he made a step back. "I'm not dead. I'm not. I know I'm not, we got here by accident."
Clarence reached out with his right hand in a pacifying gesture. "Relax, Chris. I'm not here to guide you to the beyond."
Chris gave the man a troubled look. "Then why are you here? What do you want with me?"
"As an Angel of Death I come here quite frequently. You know we guide the deceased so that they may find the way to move on. From the world of the living, on to the ghostly plane and hopefully to the beyond. This plane is where the deceased have time to process what happened." The angel clarified. "As someone who is still alive, you shouldn't be here. Nor should the grimlocks be here."
"What about Wyatt?" Chris crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Neither should he, right?" There was a small moment of fear for his brother. What if the Angel of Death intended to take him away?
"Your brother is no longer in the Ghostly plane." Clarence replied. "You'll find your way back to him eventually."
"He's not? What do you mean? We came here together, the portal in the manor can't be used and if he found a way to get out of here, then he would have made sure we both would get out."
"Chris. Your brother is safe, trust me." The angel motioned to the sidewalk of the street. "Please, walk with me. We have more to discuss. I will explain."
Chris looked over his shoulder hesitantly. "I..."
"You don't have to worry about the manor or your brother or the portal. There is nobody else here who can do anything about it. You'll get back." Clarence walked down the porch and looked back at the young Halliwell, indicating for Chris to follow him.
The brunette complied, still somewhat uncertain. Only an Angel of Death or higher entity would have powers here. Chris knew that if Clarence wanted to harm him, he could have done so already. If Clarence turned out to be anything else than an Angel of Death, well in terms of being a threat it either meant Chris stood even less of a chance or Clarence would not have any magical powers either. In that last case, he felt confident enough that he could outrun the middle aged man. He just had to make sure not to let down his guard.
As he stepped down beside the man, Chris did feel there was something familiar about him but he couldn't exactly tell what it was. Clarence gave him a small smile, seemingly glad that he trusted him enough to walk with him.
"Do you know how we got here?" Chris asked with a frown on his face. "I mean, we thought something backfired with Wyatt vanquishing one of the grimlocks as he tried to use the portal but I can't see why a grimlock would make a portal to a plane where he has no powers."
The Angel of Death nodded as he listened to Chris' hypothesis. "You're not far off. Your brother's magic indeed collided with the magic of the created portal. It's highly unusual. Normally the portal would simply disappear. There are more factors that come in to play though."
"Like what?" Chris didn't understand. Nothing else had happened.
"It's early October, Chris." Clarence lifted his hands, gesturing around to the world around them. "With all that is, it is around this time that the connection between the spiritual plane, ghostly plane and the world of the living is stronger. The walls between the planes can be broken more easily."
"And the death of the grimlock with the magic colliding paved the way?" Chris' eyebrows went into an ever deeper frown as he looked up at the sky. "But I thought that demons had no souls... Only souls move on to the ghostly plane."
"You are right. Demons have no souls. However, they are still beings possessing extraordinary energy. That energy has to move on. It's different than a soul moving on, but in this time while the barriers are more fragile that is enough."
The two had walked quite far already. Chris saw they weren't that far away from where his mother's club used to be. Another three turns, right, left, right, and they would be right in front of the former P3. Now known as Beats with the new owner.
"Can it be fixed?" Chris asked, looking back at Clarence.
The angel shrugged and gave a small smile. "I'm pretty sure you can."
Chris stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded. "Excuse me? What do you mean I can?"