Chapter 8: Hearts Betrayed

"Mmmmm, Piper that smells great," Phoebe yawned entering the kitchen three days later. "Cinnamon buns what's the occasion?"

"I was hoping if I cooked something Chris would come downstairs and eat," Piper admitted. "He hasn't left the attic since..." Piper faded out, but Phoebe knew what she meant. Chris had been in the attic poring over the Book of Shadows with a renewed fervor. He'd even conjured up a cot, much to Piper's dismay, and been sleeping an arms distance from the book.

"Sweetie, I think he just needs a little time to adjust. He's been living as our whitelighter, and pretending we weren't his family. We've distrusted and jeered at him. Now we're trying to baby him, it's a lot to get used to. Not to mention, he got used to Andrea being dead, then she comes back, and now she's betrayed him just like Bianca had. We just need to give him a little time. That's all."

"When did you get so good at sisterly advice?" joked Piper.

"When I became an empath. Now let's go bring your neurotic son some breakfast." The sisters chatted idly as they climbed the stairs to the attic. At the top, they saw Paige standing at the door gazing in.

"Paige-" Piper began to ask, but was immediately shushed by her baby sister. Once Paige moved out of the way, her other sisters saw what she was looking at. Chris lay asleep on his cot with the book of shadows open on his chest. Next to him, Wyatt was curled up in the crook of his arm.

"Aren't my nephews just the most adorable," Phoebe smiled. "Let's go downstairs, so that we don't wake up our little Angels." Phoebe put an arm around each of her sisters and steered them back to the living room.

Meanwhile, Chris' was dreaming of the day his life changed.

It was two years after the sisters had died, and while Wyatt had been slowly gaining power, he still had not set forth his plans. It would be another three months before he exposed magic and began the bloody war that would destroy the world, and wipe out most of the witches.

"Andrea, don't do this. You're destroying yourself. If you keep this up, you're going to get yourself killed." Chris and Andy had had this discussion nearly every day, since her family was killed a year ago. She had become obsessed with demon hunting, even more so than Chris. She had done a spell, so she didn't need food or sleep. All she did was hunt demons, trying to find the master that was controlling them.

"I don't care Chris. I have to destroy the demons that destroyed my life. You don't understand you still have your cousins, and siblings. I have no one!" sixteen year old Andrea screamed. Chris could always tell when Andrea was upset, because the light blue sky began to darken.

"You have me," Chris said softly, moving to his girl friend's side.

"I know, and I couldn't stand it if I lost you. That's why I have to do this, to protect the only person I have left." Andrea looked up into Chris' eyes, and could tell she was hurting him, but she was so far gone, she didn't care. She had to save him, and everyone else. His safety was all that mattered.

"If you keep this up, you'll loose me to. I can't stand by and watch you kill yourself. You go after one more demon, and I won't be here when you come back." Chris knew he was hurting her, but it was the only way he could think of getting through to her.

"Then I'll miss you." Was all Andrea said, before grabbing her potion vials, and climbing through a portal. Chris sighed, and moved to the attic window. He stared at the storm his friend had created. The wind was blowing, and the thunder was so loud he couldn't hear himself think. He decided to go to one of the few people he could talk to about his problems with Andy, Bianca.

Twenty four years later, in the same apartment, Andrea lay next to a very different sleeping Wyatt. She however, wasn't dreaming, but was thinking about the same day, but much later on. Andrea hadn't gone to fight the demon, like Chris thought. She couldn't bring herself to do it, because she couldn't stand to be alone. Not physically alone, but emotionally alone. She had lost her parents, five sisters, and younger brother. She couldn't loose her oldest friend, and true love.

She walked around for hours, and found herself standing outside her ancestral home. She hadn't been back since she lost her family, but now she climbed the marble steps, and entered the mansion. The house hadn't changed much since she'd been here last; the only difference was that the bodies of her family no longer littered the floor. The furniture was broken, and the walls were covered in burn marks, but for some odd reason, she found the destruction comforting. The house looked like she felt. It was so broken, that there was no chance of ever fixing it, just like her heart.

"Hello Andrea." Wyatt's cold voice startled her out of her musings. "I figured you would come here."

"Wyatt, what are you doing here?" Andrea asked. She knew there was something different about him, though she had no idea how different.

"I've come to make you a proposition, have a seat my dear." Wyatt sat down in one of the only two chairs still intact. Andrea slowly lowered herself into the chair next to him.

"What sort of proposition?"

"I want you to rule the world with me," he said simply, enjoying the shock on her face.

"What? Why me? What are you talking about?" Andrea had no idea what was going on.

"I'm about to set into affect my plan to expose magic, and take over the world. As for why you, you my dear are the most powerful female witch on the planet. With the two of us together, there's no telling how far we could go. Besides, I'm going to need a strong heir for the thrown, and you can provide." At the last sentence, Wyatt slowly eyed Andrea with lust in his eyes. He reached over to her but, Andrea pulled back.

"You're insane," Andy said as she stood up, about to walk out.

"No, I'm really not. Here's the deal. I didn't want to have to do this, but I can see you're going to be difficult. Sit down," Wyatt ordered as he pushed her back into the chair, and rose himself. "Either you join me as my queen, or I kill Chris, and leave you completely alone in the world."

"You wouldn't! He's your brother, I know you love him." Andrea was nearing the point of desperation, not to mention denial. Her eyes filled with tears, and for a moment she became the sweet innocent child she was before the Charmed Ones were killed.

"You don't think I would?" Wyatt snickered. "Then take a look." With a wave of his hand a small looking glass formed. After a moment, Chris came into view. He was walking through the park, and was caught unaware as fifteen demons shimmered in and surrounded him. First they blind folded him so that he couldn't use his powers. Then the demons began to beat him mercilessly. "Shall I call in a darklighter, or do you get the point? You can try, but you can't always be there to protect him. I can make sure of that."

Andrea began to sob as she looked on helpless to save her love. She tried to strain against Wyatt's grasp, but she couldn't get to Chris. "I'll do it," she whispered defeated. "Just leave him alone. Please."

"Done," and Wyatt was gone. Andrea rushed to open a portal and get to Chris. After a few moments, she got to the spot where Chris had been hurt, but he was no longer there. Andrea ran across the park to find him, but then she froze. There, sitting on a bench beneath a concrete angel, was Chris, and he was with Bianca. She had her arm around him, and was comforting him. Then, as if in slow motion, the pair kissed.

That's when the transformation happened. Andrea's eyes became cold and dark, her face completely unreadable. That's when she realized that she was not meant to love, she was meant to be alone. Forever.

Andrea turned over onto her side, and looked at the man who had ruined her. He had taken her family, love, her innocence, and her freedom. She remember the first time she had tried to escape, Wyatt had taken a random witch off the street and brought her up to the penthouse. He had held her and laughed, as the demons shot the witch full of electricity, until the woman no longer had the will to stand. Then they had slowly cut her into pieces, until she lost too much blood and died. Andrea had fought hard to save her, but she couldn't. Wyatt was just too strong.

Back at the manor, Chris stood staring at the triquetra he had drawn on the wall. He knew what he had to do, but it didn't make things any easier.