Sorry for the lateness, I know I promised it yesterday, but my computer wouldn't let me. Anyway, here it is- enjoy! I've thanked my oh-so-dedicated reviewers at the bottom.

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Chris was frozen. He couldn't feel his legs; even if he could, he would have bet that he wouldn't have been able to move them. Slowly, his racing mind managed to pull together the few words he needed. 'What are you talking about?'

'Haven't you figured that out yet?'

'What have you done to me?' He hated it when Wyatt answered his questions with another question. He just wanted to get himself out of whatever weird dimension his brother had put him in.

But Wyatt only laughed. 'What have I done? Oh, dear brother, I haven't done anything. I'm not real, none of this is real, this is all an illusion.'

'But you created it.'

'Me? No, not me. You.' Wyatt paused. 'So this is your idea of a perfect world? No evil, no worries? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Chris, but no matter how hard you try, you're never going to create a world that's even close to this. You can't have a side of good if you don't have evil. Ever think of that?'

'I know that,'

'Then you'll understand what I'm about to say next; you're the reason I fight with the side of evil.' A grin spread across the man's face and he walked over to his younger brother. 'You offset the balance, killing so many demons. A powerful source of darkness needed to appear, and I was just so conveniently there…'

'No, that can't be true,'

A look that came very close to pity crossed Wyatt's face, but it was a mocking pity, and not a pleasant expression. 'My, you really do live in denial, don't you? You could never accept the fact that our parents loved me more than you, and-'

'You know that's a lie, you just needed more attention.'

'Ha! You really believe that? You're even more gullible than I thought.' He paused. 'Then again, I suppose we always knew that you were a little slow, a little weak. You really think that you'll be able to keep me on the 'right' side? Ha! You don't even know what you're doing! Your entire life has been a series of lucky guesses and good timing, but this isn't a game, Chris, when you screw up you don't go back to start- and we all know you're going to screw up.'

Chris wasn't even aware he'd moved, but he suddenly found himself right in front of his older brother, and his fist was swinging through the air towards Wyatt's head. But it never made impact, as Wyatt easily, effortlessly, raised his hand and blocked the punch.

'Really, Chris, what did you expect that to accomplish? You think you can hurt me? ' He smiled, but there was nothing kind about it, and he rammed his fist into Chris' stomach, forcing the younger boy to the ground. 'You think that you can go back in time and just make everything right? You, who's presence split up mom and dad- twice? Think again!'

Chris' gut was on fire, but he forced himself to at least try to stand up. 'This isn't real.' He murmured.

'Does it matter?' Wyatt asked, and the answer was plain. No, it didn't matter, because the pain was there, and he couldn't escape it. Chris had managed to get both feet under him, but as he pushed himself into a standing position, his brother kicked them out from under him. 'Ah, this brings back memories, doesn't it?' He asked.

'No.' Chris spat, struggling once more to his feet.

'You're right, before, you've never put up this much of a fight. You were always too weak to stand up for yourself.' He didn't wait for Chris to get up this time before delivering a sharp kick to the side of his head.

Chris spat blood out of his mouth, astonished that no teeth had been knocked out of place.

'God, Chris, you really are a pathetic excuse for a Halliwell. You just can't stand that I am stronger, more powerful than you, can you?'

'Wha 'oes hat have o do wih anyhing?' it hurt to talk, he figured Wyatt had broken his jaw.

'Everything, now get up.' Chris looked up at his brother from his position on the floor. 'I said get up.'

Chris continued to stare at his brother, but his gaze was slowly drifting past him, towards the back wall where various portraits were hanging. If none of this was real, then Piper certainly couldn't get mad at him for breaking one or two of them.

Lifting his arm, he swung it and one of the pictures flew off of the wall and hit the back of Wyatt's head.

'You can't win,' he said, pulling his hand away from the place where the glass had shattered; it was covered in blood. 'Your fate has already been sealed.'

Chris spat up another wad of blood as he stood up. 'We'll see about that.' He blinked, and his eyes opened up onto the all-too-familiar ceiling of his room. His jaw was still killing him, and there was a dull pain in his gut.

*

Patrick stared down at the helpless baby, whose eyes he had once stared up from. He could remember looking out of those delicate blue beads, seeing his mother's face, his father's smile. He had loved them with perfect innocence, but one can't grow up in a world of evil and still keep that childish outlook. He'd needed to become cold, hard. It was the only way to deal with it all. It had been hard, turning away from those who would have tried to comfort him- but comfort was the last thing he had needed.

Patrick stared down at the helpless baby, and he realized with a sudden surge of emotion what it was that his little brother was trying to save. Smiling grimly, he picked the child up from its cradle and orbed out of the room.

He materialized in a small cavern, lit only by a small fire, behind which a young woman sat, staring at a corner of the room that was untouched by the glow of the firelight. However, Patrick could still make out the weak form of his brother, who lay sprawled on a blanket, a bloody wound in his stomach from where the darklighter's arrow had hit. He averted his gaze, unable to look at the broken form.

'How is he?' Patrick asked of the woman.

Kirra looked up at him and shook her head. 'It won't be long now, he's started having seizures.' She seemed about as happy about it as Patrick was. 'Wyatt, are you sure there's no other way to do this?' She asked.

The man placed the baby gently on the ground and sighed. 'If there was, don't you think I'd be doing it? I've given Chris many chances to take my side, but he still insists on working against me, insists that I can 'be saved'. I can't have him in the way anymore.'

'Fine, then can't we just kill him now, save him the pain?'

'No, not if there's still a chance I won't have to. What of his delusions?'

'He kicked me out, intent on believing I was dead. I don't know where things went from there.'

Patrick thought about this a moment. 'Well, maybe it's better that way. We wouldn't want him to die knowing you betrayed him, would we?'

'No, we wouldn't.'

'Alright, come on, if we're going to set my past self on the right path, we're going to have to do it now.' Patrick announced.

*

Well, there you have it. Another rather short update, but I quite like it.

Random insane person ~ I'm glad you're enjoying the fic, and who knows? Your idea just might be closer to the truth than you realize!

Magical Princess ~ Sorry about the cliffhanger, this one ended a little less on the edge, right?

PeAnUtBuTTeR aNd JeLLy ~ I'd tell you if you're right or not, but that would spoil things.

Emma15 ~ He doesn't necessarily hate Chris, but his morals and feeling have been twisted around… there was a bit about that in this chapter.

Black Ice ~ What sort of points do you think I should expand on? I'd really like to know, improve my writing as much as possible.

cherry7up56 ~ I'm very glad you're getting into it, *smile* I write for all of you.

Nautica7mk ~ And the mind games only get more complicated.

Laheara ~ I'm impressed, you've got a good portion of things figured out, hehe, maybe I'll have to put in a few more catches to see if you can spot them, too.

goldstranger ~ lol, I know what you mean. It took me ages to figure out which possibility I should follow. I think you'll like the one I settled on…

shaz ~ Oh, do tell me you went to work, I'd hate to think I kept you away from making money, lol