Hurray! Lovely new reviewers, welcome to the story wickedwms, teal-lover and rhia. Thank you very, very, very much for the reviews and kind words, although teal-lover you made me work hard to squash in your request and I'm blaming you if everyone has to put up with a bit more Wyatt angst. ; )

For reasons you'll see I am slightly less grateful to Stony Angel than usual even though she is nicer to me than I deserve, Arylee two reviews I am very happy and very flattered, particularly coming from you and Emma15 you don't know how much I look forward to your enthusiastic comments - seriously, thank you. As for Ligia Eleana, sorry could everyone else just turn away for a moment - NOOOO!, where did you go? What did I do? Was it naked Chris? Please come back. - Ahem, thank you, you can all turn back now.

Ok now thats off my chest, the final part of the story will be sometime this week, no honestly. - amazingly enough I even know what happens.

His face was impassive, the embodiment of calm indifference. Inside Tiathon seethed. It had been forty minutes. For FORTY MINUTES he had stood there like some lackey, waiting for Wyatt to acknowledge his existence.

Tiathon studied the familiar face, each line, each mark and expression, was etched into his mind and he loathed every single one passionately, as for the hair! He shifted his weight slightly and glanced at Mark stood some distance away, the temptation to hurl a fireball at Wyatt now, while he sat there defenceless and unaware, was almost overwhelming. To see him engulfed in the blaze, flames blistering his skin. No, better still an acid ball, skin peeling away layer by layer revealing meat and veins and sinew and bones. He grinned savagely, hearing Wyatt's dying screams in his mind, there could be no better music.

Wyatt's eyes were closed and his head laid back in an attitude of total relaxation, an athame plunging into that exposed throat would end him forever. Tiathon dragged himself back to reality, for a moment uneasy that Wyatt could hear his traitorous thoughts. No, if that were true he would already be dead. Reluctantly he put aside his fantasies knowing that this appearance of vulnerability was just an illusion, the more defenceless Wyatt looked the more dangerous he would be. It would be safer to stick with plan A, even if that meant depending on the spineless elder. Thinking of whom...

Tiathon coughed and Wyatt leisurely opened an eye. The arrogant bastard didn't even deign to look apologetic. Taking a deep breath Tiathon managed a pleasant smile. "Its about the elders, they have requested a meeting, a delegation would like to see you today – I think that they wish to capitulate."

Wyatt was surprised, his thoughts jumped to Leo. "That's unexpected, not to mention unlikely, do you think it's a trap?"

Was his father behind this? Another ruse to vanquish him? He quickly rejected the thought, even as he had stormed out of the Manor he had known that wouldn't happen, then why arrange this meeting? Was Leo that desperate to see him that he would involve other elders, Wyatt thought of all the letters

Tiathon was talking. ".... shouldn't think so, I wouldn't give them that much credit. So will you see them?"

"NO!"

It was Tiathon's turn to be surprised and it showed.

Wyatt inwardly cursed, that wasn't supposed to have come out. Maybe he was wrong and the deputation was genuine. He desperately didn't want to see Leo and would have given a lot to ask Tiathon if his father would be amongst delegation. He contemplated stipulating that he would only meet with the elders if Leo wasn't involved, but that hardly sent a message of strength to his enemies. No, if he did this he had to do it properly, like the leader he was which would mean, if necessary, facing Leo. He would have to lower the barrier.

"Wyatt?" Tiathon looked curious, Wyatt pulled himself together, it didn't do to look so indecisive in front of the demon.

"Bring them on. So, the Elders may be giving in at last" He had known that he was close, but not as close as this. Wyatt managed a wry smile at fate and his pyrrhic victory before attempting to appear more business like. "If they join us, who does that leave outside?"

"Of any note, just the demons you blacklisted, unless of course you've changed your mind?" Tiathon asked this familiar question as a matter of form. Who cared? Wyatt would be dead in hours and his bastard alliance with him; to his amazement Wyatt actually appeared to be considering his answer.

Why didn't he, it was obviously what his family expected of him. These demons were powerful beasts and could make strong allies, so what if they needed to kill mortals to survive. Wyatt came to a decision.

"No, my rules still stand, they remain on the vanquish list" With nothing else to hold on to all he had were his plans for the Alliance, and barren though that was it was better than nothing.

He turned to Mark, stood against a wall. "Yes?"

Mark was surprised to be noticed, let alone asked his opinion. "Elders are powerful and I, well I was just thinking it might be dangerous."

Wyatt laughed. "Elders? I killed my first one before I was two." Not strictly true, but it was good for the image. "They are no threat to me."

Tiathon smiled as he left, laugh while you can pretty boy your time is coming.

Wyatt looked over at Mark, distracted by the guard's racing mind, Wyatt sighed.

Since the confrontation with his family, Wyatt increasingly found himself viewing his actions through their eyes and he shied from what he saw. His old rationalization seemed to crumble under the scrutiny, his atrocities laid bare for what they were. While he still believed in his Alliance, at night it wasn't success he dreamed of but the accusing eyes of his family as victim after victim denounced him.

The strain was beginning to tell and to escape from his own thoughts he found himself increasingly holidaying in Mark's. Usually the hero worship that he found there acted as a balm, soothing Wyatt's nerves and shoring up his floundering self-image, but not always. Occasionally Mark would begin to speculation in areas that only Wyatt's conscience was willing to go. He could feel it happening now and as a diversionary tactic he quickly asked about Marks father, Derek.

Wyatt enjoyed Mark's thoughts of his father, which was fortunate as Mark dwelt on him a lot, he had evidently been a man of decided opinions and some choice phrases. Mark's highly entertaining speculation on what Derek would make of Tiathon had just passed a particularly amusing 40 minutes, where as Derek's credited opinion of Wyatt himself was much more flattering, if not so accurate. The great love Mark had for his father was reminiscent of Wyatt's own and he was affected without realising why. With every thought of Derek that he shared with Mark Wyatt felt the loss of Leo that bit more.

"So how did your father manage to rescue you from the other manticores?"

Marks face lit up at the prospect of talking about Derek. "He took potions to make himself strong enough to fight; they made him inhuman, a beast"

Wyatt was interested despite himself "And that enabled him to kill them?"

"Oh no he was helped by witches; they rescued me and then made him human again. He used to call them miracles, answers to a prayer he had never dared to make" Mark hesitated as though about to say more then was silent.

Wyatt read his thoughts, so he had played with Mark as a baby? Wyatt couldn't remember that, why would he? Mark would have been just one more innocent amongst the cavalcade that traipsed through his childhood. Still, he might have known Piper would have been involved and looking at Mark, what he had become out of such beginnings, he was proud of her, of all of them.

He smiled at Mark. "It's lucky that your father didn't do anything terrible when he was a beast."

Mark was surprised. "What makes you think he didn't?"

"Because you can't come back from evil." The reply was unthinking, a fundamental truth so emblazoned on Wyatt's psyche that he had never even questioned it.

Mark laughed at this naivety, and then abruptly stopped, remembered where he was and to whom he was talking. "Who says that?"

"Le.." Wyatt stopped. "the Eld..." he hesitated again before finally finishing weakly with "everyone knows that."

"But it doesn't make sense. Everyone does evil things at some point. Dad did loads of bad things, so did I when I was a kid and trying to figure out who I was. Dad always said it's not where you've come from that counts but were you are going."

Wyatt looked away. After a moment he said quietly. "He was wrong."

"NO! Are you deaf? Did you not hear me the other 57 times?" Chris began to pace the room in frustration.

Piper caught his arm. "Oh no Mister, you don't get to talk to me like that, ever"

He pulled free. "Or what, you'll haunt me? - Too late".

They stood glaring at each other, looking like bookends and Bianca on the sidelines wanted to laugh at the picture. There could be no doubt whose son he was and to see her clever, passionate, sarcastic fiancée finally meet his match was something she would have paid money for. Still, this had gone on long enough and was beginning to get old.

She tried to intervene. "Look, why don't..."

"NO!"

She suppressed a smile. "Stereo. Well at least you agree on something."

They took a small break from glaring at each other to glare at her.

Piper tried again. "Please Chris. Wyatt needs you, we all do. If you didn't think he was worth saving you wouldn't have gone back, and he did save you."

"I wouldn't have needed saving if it hadn't been for him. Accept it Mom, I'm through, I gave it my best shot. Hell I gave it everything I had and I changed nothing. I finally get it. Wyatt is evil, not because a demon changed him, or because he didn't get enough attention as a kid, it's just who he is and nothing you or I can do will change that. Call up the newspapers, a Halliwell has finally learned to let something go."

There was a pause, before Piper said quietly. "He didn't give up on you."

"Yeah! Well good for Wyatt, he comes top in the stubborn stakes as well as everything else. Why count the corpses when you can admire that level of tenacity." Piper looked hurt, to Bianca's mind deliberately so.

Chris tried to make amends.

"I'm sorry Mom, can't we just leave it?" He took her hand. "I finally have the two women I love together in one room and I had wanted your meeting to be special."

But Piper was not that easily sidetracked, she looked at Bianca coldly. " We've already met, I found the athame to my throat a particularly special introduction and I'm sure your father is looking forward to being knocked out again soon. And while we are on the subject, can I ask is the hand of death in the chest thing, a gesture of affection you extend to everyone or just my sons?"

Even while reeling from the attack on her, Bianca mentally applauded Piper's style. Damn she was good. Having rendered the two of them speechless, Piper went straight back to the fight with a subtle ruthlessness that took Bianca's breath away.

"Is that what this is about, your feelings of inadequacy towards your brother?"

"NO! God no way! How could you think that? It's just, it's just I refuse to waste any more of my time on him."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "I see, you've got better things to be doing." She gave a disdainful look in the direction of Bianca, who despite herself blushed. The woman was merciless, no way would Bianca ever argue with her.

Chris, mortified, began to backtrack. "That's not what I meant...I just" but it was all over, for most of their encounter he had tried to block out the toe curling embarrassment of his mothers arrival and almost had, now it came crashing back in full force. With all his instincts shouting for him to run away and hide it was impossible to argue from a position of moral indignation. Knowing he was beaten he looked away sulkily. "Why is it that everyone is always so desperate to save Wyatt?"

Bianca smiled."Funnily enough that's exactly what he said about you just after he saved my life."

He looked at her, vibrant and beautiful and most importantly alive, because of Wyatt. When it came down to it he had never had a choice to make. He sighed. "So where is Dad?"

Piper smiled contentedly at her future daughter-in-law, maybe she would work out after all.

"Am I late? I missed the memo." Leo spoke pleasantly but as he took in the furtive gathering of elders he had orbed in on his heart sank. This had to be about Wyatt.

A few of the elders looked uncomfortable, but nobody replied. Leo spotted Graden holding a vial. "I guess this means that you stole the potion after all."

Graden turned away, torn between shame and anger that his deviousness was so publicly exposed.

Another elder stepped forward and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I realise how this appears, but we just wanted to spare you the pain of having to choose between us."

Leo looked around at his colleagues and friends, some he had known for decades. So this was what it must have felt like for Piper. He smiled sadly. "How could you know me so little? I've been a loyal and proud servant to the Elders for almost a century. There was never a choice to make."

Before anyone could react he orbed the potion from Graden while sending a wave of energy into the surrounding crowd of elders, blasting them from their feet and sending them crashing into their neighbours. It was chaos and in the confusion Leo quietly orbed out.

Well almost. Streaks of blue light flashed out from elders throughout the room converging on his orb cloud and dragging him back. He jerked into focus suddenly falling on his ass, for a moment disorientated. The blue light formed a silhouette around leo before it gracefully evolved into a shimmering ball encircling him,. Realising what was happening Leo tried again to orb out, but it was too late, he was trapped. He looked out at the blue tinted world beyond his prison, at the grim expressions of the recovering elders and gripped the vial tightly.

Having tried, and failed, to orb the potion from Leo's determined grasp Graden tried a different tack. "Let it go Leo, this is exactly what we wanted to avoid. We are all your friends here, no one wants to hurt you."

Leo was unimpressed. "Is that a threat?"

"Of course not, we're the good guys remember." Garden's smile was warm and friendly. "Give me the potion."

"No. He is my son and he can be saved."

The smile slipped. "Before or after he destroys us all?"

They tried everything. Taking it in turns to reason and plead with him, appealing to his loyalty, his better nature, his sense of duty, the well being of his charges and it was hard to resist. They were not evil or his enemy and he understood their position completely, how could he not, it had been his own only two weeks before, but not now. Now it was different, now that the black cloud of inevitability had been lifted Leo knew things could be different and while there was even a chance for his son he would protect him.

As time moved on the elders became increasing agitated, Leo could see them splitting into factions and arguing with each other furiously. He considered breaking the vial, but realised it would be pointless they would just orb the spilt potion into another container.

He could make out Graden's voice above the rest. "We are running out of time, if we don't act now it will be too late." Frustrated he approached the ball. "Leo, I am asking you for the last time, give me the vial."

"Or what, you'll hurt me? An innocent, that's a serious line to cross Graden, once there what makes you better than Wyatt?"

Furious Graden spat out. "This is for the greater good."

Leo smiled. "Funnily enough my son says the same thing."

"Enough!" Graden turned and strode towards the others raising his hand as a signal. Immediately bolts of electricity shot through the air encasing the ball. Leo screamed, his body shuddering as wave after wave of pain jolted through him At last it stopped and to week to stand he fell to the floor sobbing, with the vial still tightly grasped in his hand.

Graden walked back to him, ignoring the outcry of protesting elders. "Nobody wants this Leo, see sense. That was just a taster and you know you can't stand out forever. It's hurting now I know and it will just get worse, let us help you. Give me the vial and the pain will stop, we can heal you. Think about it."

Unable to ignore the clamouring any longer Graden turned to the others raising his hand for silence. "My friends. I know how you feel, no one here loves Leo more than I but we have no choice. If there were any other way believe me I would gladly grasp it, but there isn't. We have been given one chance to vanquish this monster and time is running out. Our loyalties lie to the greater good and to hold back now would be a much greater betrayal than this. We do not have the luxury of debating this any longer. We have voted, the majority ruled that the greater good must come first, before even brother Leo and the day we forget this, this fundimental law governing our very existence, then that day we will be defeated indeed.

For the elders there was no argument against this, and the noise abated as elder after elder orbed away, some in anger, some in shame or disgust, but not one would look at Leo, while they could not be party to the torture ultimately they wouldn't oppose the council. They took with them any remaining hope Leo had and he watched the last one leave with despair.

Divisions over, the remaining elders turned their attention back to Leo with a vengeance and as they advanced he braced himself for the next assault.

The pain was almost more than he could bear and came time after time. Eventually Leo could no longer even register the breaks between the attacks, he vaguely heard Graden appeal to him but the words meant nothing, yet still he hung on to the vial, shattered and broken and beaten and dying all he still knew was that while the potion was with him his son was still safe and that was enough. Then it was over, the world went black and brought with it peace.

When he came to only Graden remained.

"Where?" Even speaking hurt.

"...are the other elders? Oh they've gone to meet with Wyatt" He smirked. "I volunteered to stay behind to heal you, because we are so close."

Every part of Leo's body seemed to scream in agony. He clearly hadn't been healed and this didn't make sense.

For some reason Graden appeared jumpy and inclined to talk. "Ah, you are thinking that you hate me too much to let me heal you. Don't trouble yourself, its not going to happen."

With a lot of effort Leo managed "Why?"

"Why am I still here, or why am I not going to save you?" Graden shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, the real question is why haven't I killed you yet and to that my old friend I have no answer. Its funny, it turns out killing elders is much more difficult than I thought it would be. Perhaps I should be asking you, how many did you kill again?"

"One too few."

"Ha! Thank you Leo, a few more quips like that and I should have no trouble at all" Graden stood up and began to pace nervously, trying to psyche himself up for what he had to do.

Seeing his chance Leo attempted to orb out but the pain was overwhelming and the effort left him winded.

Oblivious, Graden continued to pace. "I wonder if it's over yet?"

In a bid to gain time Leo tried to engage him in conversation. "Why not there?"

Graden walked back to him. "Do you mean apart from my concern for your health? Well I'll let you into a secret, it won't be an elder throwing the potion, Wyatt would see that a mile off, the attack will be from behind, the elders are just there as a diversion."

Leo was appalled. "They'll die."

"Maybe." Graden looked ashamed."I'm not proud of this, but it's for the greater good."

The familiar sound of orbing filled the room, they both recognised Leo's signature jingle, which meant Chris. As his form started to appear Graden turned away from Leo to face his son, hands raised ready for attack. "I'm sorry Leo but I can't afford a witness, this wasn't w....."

He didn't finish.

"NOOOO!" Summoning every remaining last ounce of his strength, fuelled by desperation and despair Leo blasted him with all he had left and taken totally unaware Graden was defenceless. He staggered forward his arms flailing as he tried to retaliate but it was too late, colliding with Chris's forming orb they both fell and by the time Graden hit the ground he was dead, yet so too was Leo.

Yes he is and I'm blaming Stony Angel as she took away my other options. Boo! :(

I am not sure how crass this might be, but if you liked this story you might like "Righting Future Wrongs" I wrote it first and at this moment, as I am miserabley mourning poor dead Leo, I think its a lot better, well at least less miserable.