"You're WHAT!?" Victor cried.

"Assassin," Wyatt mumbled. "But don't worry, she won't hurt him unless I give the order..." He grinned at the thought and Victor slapped him.

"GET—HER—AWAY—FROM—HIM," he said between clenched teeth.

"No." Wyatt shook his head. "She's been hired."

Leo looked at Wyatt, disgrace written all over his face. "You aren't my son anymore," he growled, watching the heartless villain. Wyatt didn't so much as flinch.

"I didn't exactly FEEL like your son in the first place," he told Leo. "Go ahead—orb down to Chris. I'll be right here to give her the signal, with no one to stop me..."

Leo grabbed Victor's hand and orbed down to a surprised Chris and Bianca.

"Son, get away from her," Leo ordered harshly.

"Why should I? She's my friend," said Chris. "She's against Wyatt, too."

"No she isn't!" Leo barked. "Chris, listen to me—"

"Listen to YOU!? Why would I ever try to listen to YOU when you never listen to ME?"

"Chris, you'd better—"

"LEO," Victor interrupted, "let me handle this. He knows me better."

Leo winced but reluctantly let Victor take control.

"Chris, just hear me out for one moment." Chris remained silent. "Thank you. Now, this may be hard to believe, but we were just talking to Wyatt and this is his assassin. Bianca, I presume?" he asked the girl.

"I don't want to be his assassin!" she cried indignantly. "I only took the job to get away from Wyatt! I want to join you!"

"Yeah, right," said Leo. Victor glared in his direction to quiet him.

"Leo, sense for evil," Victor commanded. "I'm sure an elder can at least do THAT."

Leo glared right back at Victor but obeyed. He walked closer to Bianca, who shrugged away in fear but eventually allowed him to come nearer. He placed a hand on her head and closed his eyes in concentration. Bianca seemed to quiver.

"No evil," reported Leo in surprise after a moment. "But..."

"See?" Chris exclaimed. "She's good! Why don't you trust me, dad?" He turned to Bianca. "Show me where."

"Where's 'where'?" Leo demanded.

"A place," said Chris lightly. "C'mon, let's go."

Bianca nodded. "It's the Rebellion, if you really want to know," she explained to Leo and Victor. "It's hidden. You can't find it unless appointed by another member. Buh-bye, now!" She shimmered them away.

"Anyone that can shimmer like a demon does NOT seem safe to me," Leo said under his breath. "'Rebellion' my foot."

"Leo, don't rush into—"

"Victor, I'm not going to let him get into any more danger! There are murderers after him! HE IS A TARGET!"

"I know, Leo, but maybe we should wait a little while—I'm sure Chris would call if something went wrong—"

"I'm not so sure of that, Victor." Leo sighed, looking broken. "He really does hate me, doesn't he?"

"It took you THAT LONG to realize it, huh?"

"But—why does he hate me so much? I love him. He should know that."

"How could he know that, though? You were always spending time with Wyatt and Piper, taking them Up There, training Wyatt, getting romantic with Piper—you forgot him. You saw so much potential in Wyatt's power that you ignored Chris. He'd lock himself in his room or run to my place, furious every time that you left him, but he got over. He still tried to please you, again and again, always trying to make you proud—but you never noticed. Remember the time you missed parent-teacher night in the first- grade? He did a presentation on his idol: you. Remember the times you always made it to Wyatt's basketball games but always found an excuse to miss Chris' swim meets? He made junior Olympics and you never took the time to find out! Remember the time—"

"Alright, I get it!" Leo moaned, rubbing his head. "I can't believe I've been so blind. I always thought that Chris liked being left alone."

"You are one big idiot, Leo."

"Thanks. I guess I deserved that." He buried his head in his hands, ashamed. "What can I do now?"

"Wait for him. He'll come back, he always does. He's a good boy, Leo; I can assure you of that. And when he does come back, you should talk to him. Don't get angry, don't yell—just sit him down and talk to him for once. Ask him about all the things you missed, show him that you love him so he knows for once."

"How much did I miss?"

"Only fourteen good, long years of his life. I have a feeling that the two of you are going to have one hell of a long talk."

"Yeah..."

"Why don't you come over to my place? I don't think it'd be best for you to go...well, wherever elders go at the present time, considering..."

"Thanks," responded Leo, knowing that Victor was right.

"Chris should be back soon...really, Leo, I know he will be."

"I hope you're right."

((()))

TBC. HAHA. LOL.