Hey folks, just changing up the order here...I'd like to respond to my reviewers first this final time.

Flephanie: Don't be sad...maybe there'll be a sequel. Thanks for the compliments – I think I'm going to have a swelled head soon.

CaliforniaChick: Crying? Really? I'm flattered! Thanks so much for your review and all the ones for the other chapters.

Icantthinkofafnick: I always believe that great minds do, indeed, think alike. (wink, wink.) As to saving Wyatt...

Cat: This is definitely a 'poor Chris' story. I didn't mean it to be, but somehow the story just insisted that this was the way it wanted to be written. Thanks for the kind words – hope I've updated soon enough for you.

Calen: Here's the last bit. Thanks for all your words of encouragement throughout this process. It is very much appreciated.

Sickle Sword: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! And again - thanks for the multiple reviews...

Demonman21: I'm glad you picked up on all the clues throughout...that was incredibly important to me so I appreciate you letting me know that the plot device actually seemed to work. The slow build was something I was really trying to work on to create the story flow. Unfortunately, some of the side plots seemed to peeter out as time went on.

Hoshi Tamamushiirono: Very good! That is one of my all time favourite series...I remember reading them in grade school, and I love that the stories still hold up after all this time. There are a couple of nods to other science fiction & fantasy stories as well, throughout this fic, but I'll let you guess.

Alexis Rose: As I mentioned to demonman21, I'm sooooo happy that people did pick up on the clues! It was the main reason I plotted out the story first before I began writing the stories. Thanks for taking the time to give me feedback not just for the last chapter, but the many others as well.

Manette: Merci! Comment allez-vous? I haven't heard from you in awhile, so glad that you enjoyed the chapter. As to whether I will continue to write other fanfics, please see my comments at the end of the epilogue...

StoryDiva: Glad you loved the chapter. Thank you so much for all your continued support throughout this creative process.

A/N: Well, we're finally at the end of the road, folks. Again, a big thank you to all who stuck it out with me to read and review. This story would never have been completed so quickly without your encouragement.

As you know, this is the last chapter. Originally, I had the epilogue tacked onto the end, but I've decided to post it as its own section. I will upload it at the same time as this Chapter, as they really should be read together – the split was purely for aesthetic reasons.

And to dispel the myth that I'm creative, or a good writer, which, while incredibly flattering, credit must be given to the following: Definite nods to Terminator 1 and 2 (I only saw half of T3), LOTR, the Matrix movies and countless science fiction & fantasy books that I read. Also, there were some sneaky references to Green Day songs I was listening to while writing these chapters. (Yes – besides the rather obvious ones at the beginning of Chapter 14 and the epilogue.)

I will probably be going back and fixing up my mistakes over the next week or so, so if you see an 'update', it's not – I'm just reposting some chapters that I've corrected. For all intents and purposes, this story is complete.

And so, without further adieu...

Chapter 15

The demons had been disbursed; without Wyatt to control them, the cohesiveness of the army had collapsed. Infighting and general chaos left in the wake of Wyatt's death had made it easy for the Resistance to drive the creatures away in defeat. Now, all that was left was the aftermath. The dead were being collected and buried; the wounded were treated by the returning whitelighters. And the survivors tended to themselves – either celebrating or mourning.

Paige bit her lower lip, guessing that there would be no rebuilding of the city. At least, not in this particular area – for as the smoke cleared, it was evident that the entire area would continue to smolder for years to come. She tried not to think of the loss of life that had happened today – it was simply too horrific to contemplate. No wonder Chris is so neurotic, Paige thought sadly.

Huddled together, the sisters stood apart from the crowds of survivors, not sure of their role. They watched as Leo moved from person to person, healing those he could.

"How did Chris orb?" Phoebe suddenly piped up, breaking the gloomy silence that had befallen the sisters.

Paige shrugged. "No clue."

"Have you tried lately?" Phoebe pressed. At Phoebe's insistence, Paige sighed and tried to orb.

"Hey!" Piper yelped, startled, as Paige orbed in behind her. "Guess the spell is broken?"

"We'll have to ask Chris when he gets back," Leslie injected, as he walked towards the girls. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing you. Thanks for waiting." After Chris had orbed out, Leslie had gone to assist Darryl with coordinating the clean up efforts, leaving Leo and the girls on their own, with strict instructions on not to go anywhere.

"Hey," Phoebe smiled softly at him. "Everything okay?"

Leslie shook his head. "No, but they will be. Look – I spoke with Darryl and he thinks it's time you guys head back. Before anything else happens."

"You don't think something else is going to happen, do you?" Piper asked, worriedly.

Again, Leslie shook his head. "Nah. Darryl's just being cautious. But I agree with him. Besides," Leslie looked around him, "the only thing we'll be doing for awhile will be rebuilding."

"Can you?" Paige wondered, staring at the devastation around her. "Will you be able to rebuild?"

Leslie shrugged. "If not here, then somewhere." Looking over to where Leo was finishing up with one of the wounded, Leslie called him over, "Leo!"

Hearing his name called, Leo looked up, and seeing Leslie, signaled another whitelighter to take his place, as he jogged over to the sisters. "What's up?"

"It's time to get you home," Leslie held up a potion in his hand. "Here's the potion – let's find somewhere to go, and we can send you back."

"Wait! What about Chris?" Piper questioned. "When is he coming back? He's been gone for hours – I need to say goodbye to him."

Not wanting to disappoint Piper, but knowing she would press for an explanation, Leslie explained, gently, "He – I don't think – Darryl thinks he kind of needs to be alone right now."

"I'm not leaving without seeing him," Piper's eyes flashed. Leave without seeing my son? Over my dead body, Piper thought. "I want to see him, Les. Now."

As Leslie racked his brain for a worthy counterargument, Leo shook his head. "No, Les. Piper is right. We need to see Chris before we go. And he needs to see us."

Leslie saw the determination in Piper's face, and sighing, he gave in. "Okay."

"So where did he go?" Paige asked.

"He didn't say, but I've got a pretty good idea. You and Leo are going to need to orb us there."

They materialized in the clearing where they had first arrived in the future.

In the ruins of what was left of the Manor.

Spotting her son, Piper began to move forward with Leo, as her sisters and Leslie hung back, to give them what little privacy they could.

He was crouched over a small mound of earth, kneeling in the freshly dug earth. Excalibur lay on the ground a few feet away, where it had obviously been carelessly discarded. On either side of him, other mounds of dirt surrounded him.

Graves.

From the grass freely growing around and on them, it was obvious that they had been there for some time. Keeping her eyes firmly away from the tombstones that marked each one, Piper picked her way among the rocks, to stop a few feet away from her son.

"Chris," Piper called softly, hesitantly.

He raised his head slowly, peering through blurred, burning eyes, to see his parents standing in front of him. Grief and pain blazed from his eyes, meeting their worried ones. His face was dirt stained; there were blotches where he had wiped his face with his sleeve and his cheeks were streaked with faded tears. His arm, where Excalibur had cut deep, wore a dirty, bloodied, makeshift bandage.

"What happened to your hands?" Piper whispered, aghast at the state of Chris' hands, as she moved to kneel next to him. Gently she picked up his hands in hers, holding them carefully as she studied them.

Chris shrugged, his voice hoarse, his throat still raw from grief, "I didn't have a shovel." His hands were raw and bleeding from clawing at the dirt with his bare hands.

"Let Leo heal them for you. It must be painful," Piper murmured, as she turned his hands this way and that, studying them.

Jerking his hands away from his mother like she had burned them, he responded dully, "It doesn't matter."

"Chris –," Leo started.

"Why are you here? I thought I told you to go back already," Chris brutally cut his father's words off.

"We're here because we were worried about you," Piper gently touched her son's shoulder, wincing, as he cringed at her touch. "We just thought –"

"What? What did you think, mom?!? That everything would be okay? Wy's dead." Chris practically shouted at his mother. His voice dropped to a whisper, "And I killed him."

"Son, we know you're hurting –," Leo tried.

"No. No, you don't. To you, Wyatt's still a little toddler. You can't understand how I feel. You didn't grow up with him, didn't know him, like I did." Chris dismissed his father's attempt to comfort him. What did either of them know? They were going back to their time, where everything and everyone was okay. How could either of them even begin to understand the intense pain that he felt deep in his heart?

"Maybe Leo doesn't know what you're feeling, but I do," Piper caught Chris' chin firmly in her hand, forcing him to look into her eyes. "I lost Prue."

"You lost your sister to evil. You didn't kill him," Chris said, bitterly.

"You lost your brother to evil too, Chris. You need to understand that. That man, today – he wasn't really your brother. Not anymore," Piper tried to comfort her son. She set aside her own grief and guilt, concentrating on helping her son right now.

"It's just – it hurts so much, Mom. I didn't know it could hurt somuch." His voice was low, hoarse, "I feel like...I think I lost more than my brother today. It's – I think I had a piece of myself torn away."

"Oh baby," Piper embraced Chris carefully, and kissed his forehead. Her eyes were filled with tears as she looked over his shoulder at Leo, who's own eyes were wet with unshed tears.

"He wasn't always this way, you know," Chris reflected, softly, his head resting on his mother's shoulder. "There were good times, too. When we were younger, we'd play orb and seek...he always let me win. He was – he was a good brother...once."

Piper hugged him tightly. "Remember those moments, and not the end. That man...Excalibur had warped him so much, he wasn't the Wyatt you knew anymore. Choose to remember the good times, and let go of the others."

"It's not that simple, mom," Chris' voice was agonized, tortured.

"It is that simple, son," Leo knelt next to his family, enfolding them in his embrace. Piper's heart ached for her son; he had had more heartbreak than anyone should ever have in one lifetime.

The family huddled in silence, drawing comfort from each other.

Clearing his throat, Leslie cursed himself for interrupting, but knowing he had no choice, "Piper, Leo. We really need to get you back to your time, okay?"

Drawing back, Piper reached up to softly brush her son's hair out of his eyes. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm so f---ing happy, I could cry, okay?" Chris snapped. Instantly regretting his tone, as his mother recoiled in alarm, he sighed, wearily, "Look, I'm sorry. I...Just – just go. Make sure I never have to kill my brother. Ever."

Piper touched his cheek in a gesture of affection, wanting so much to take her son with her, back to their time. She didn't want to lose him, this version of her son, whom she had come to love so much. It wasn't fair, Piper thought resentfully. Even though she knew it was better this way. Chris had sacrificed so much, for so long, and yet – if they changed the future, his future, and achieved the ultimate reward for his efforts – he'd never know. And while in her heart she knew it was, in the end, better for him, her heart still selfishly pined for this version of her son, whom she would never get to know.

As if reading her thoughts, Chris caught her hand and held it, smiling wistfully into her eyes, "It's better this way, Mom."

"And Mom?"

"Yes, Chris?"

"I never want to see that damn sword ever again," Chris' tone was soft, low and full of resentment. "Get rid of it. I never want to see it. Ever."

"Chris...you can't run away from your destiny," Piper chided her son, gently.

"That's bullsh-t. Mom – that thing caused Wyatt to turn evil. It helped him destroy the city, the future. Believe me when I say we're all better off without the cursed thing," Chris jerked away from his mother's touch. "If you want to save the future, save me, save Wyatt – you'll get rid of that thing as soon as you get back."

Taken aback by her son's vehemence, Piper hastily reassured him, not wanting their parting words to each other to deteriorate into a fight, "All right. If it will make you feel better."

"It will."

Knowing that there was nothing more that either of them could do, Leo nodded. "Just remember, we love you son. We won't let you down. I promise."

Piper pulled Chris' head towards her, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. "We love you so much. I'll change this. I promise you that."

"I know you will, Mom. I'm counting on it," Chris nodded, his eyes closed.

Taking Leo's hand in hers, Piper slowly backed away from her son, "Will you see us off?"

For just a moment, he hesitated and then, Chris shook his head slowly, "I don't think so."

"All right," Piper nodded sadly. "Chris –,"

"Just – just go, Mom."

Nodding, she slowly turned away from her son, following Leslie, Phoebe and Paige away from the gravesite.

Watching his family disappear around one of the towering piles of rocks that was all that was left of the Manor, Chris looked back at the mound of dirt in front of him. Using his telekinesis, Chris dragged a nearby rock, using it as a marker. Picking up Excalibur, he began to etch his final words to his brother into the stone.

Here lies Wyatt Halliwell.

Cherished son.

Beloved brother.

Flinging the sword down, Chris stood back to stare at the words. He could almost hear his brother's voice in his ears.

...I'd never let anything bad happen to you, you know that, right? Because we're brothers. You and me. Against the world...

Dropping to his knees, he buried his hands in the dirt. His grief was so painful, he was numb. He wanted to grieve, to mourn, to cry...but he had nothing left inside. Getting to his feet, he wiped his hands on his pants and said his final goodbye.

Rest in peace, Wy.

It won't happen, Wy. I won't let it happen.

I promise.

"You ready?" Leslie nodded at Leo and the sisters. They had milled around the area, where the Manor's front lawn used to be, hoping Chris would make one last appearance to see them off. As the minutes crawled by, Piper knew he wasn't going to come.

It hurt.

Leo gently took Piper's hand, bringing it up to his mouth to press a kiss against her knuckles, "I know."

Blinking her tears away, Phoebe tried to distract herself, and looked at Leslie. "What about you? Are you coming with us?"

Leslie shook his head regretfully, his gaze never wavering from Phoebe's, "With Wyatt gone, I doubt you'll have any problems with time-travelling demons. Besides, I should stay here. There's a lot that has to be done...they need me."

Hearing the intent behind those words, Phoebe nodded, just as solemnly, "Yes – they do."

Piper turned to Leslie, "You'll take care of him? For us? For me? He's going to need a friend."

Leslie nodded. "Not just me. Darryl and I will look out for him. Heck, the entire base will look out for him. Just – change the future, okay? So that we don't have to."

Leo and Piper exchanged glances, "We will."

"You have the potion?" Phoebe asked Leslie, who nodded.

"Yeah, but let's try your spell first – I think a power of three spell would be better," Leslie suggested.

"Well, if you think so," Phoebe said, doubtfully, reaching into her pocket to pull forth a piece of paper. Unfolding it, her sisters and Leo gathered around, and the sisters began to read the spell.

Take us back from whence we came,
To time and place that are the same.
A time for everything, and to everything it's place,
Return what has been moved, through time and space.

And a swirl of golden orbs began to surround Leo and the sisters...

He hadn't wanted to come. Not really.

Today had been hard enough – losing his brother, burying him. Elsewhere, people were celebrating, and so they should. They were free from tyranny, after all. But for Chris, it was a day of mixed feelings. Relief, guilt, grief – were just some of the feelings coursing through him. Chris wasn't sure he could stand seeing his family leave him too. Even if he knew it was necessary. No one better than him understood just how important it was for his family to go back to their time and stop all this from happening.

But it didn't mean that it didn't hurt – that it didn't make him selfishly wish he could go with them. Almost.

But something inside him made him want to see them, one last time.

He shrank back into the shadows, watching. From where he was hiding he could see Leslie murmuring to the sisters and Leo.

He watched silently from the shadows, as his parents and her sisters began to chant. Slowly he stepped forward, as he watched the golden lights begin to swirl around his family, to take them back to their own time.

As if she sensed his presence, his mother looked up, her eyes quickly finding his.

The sadness that had never quite left his face was apparent in his gaze.

His eyes held hers, and as she began to disappear, he could see her mouth moving. Mouthing something to him. I love you, peanut.

As the last lights of the spell faded away, Chris stood staring at the spot where his family had just been.

I love you too, Mom.

I love you. Piper thought, as the familiar sight of the attic slowly replaced the image of her son.

"We did it! We're back!" Phoebe said, excitedly, rushing over to the window to throw it open. "Breathe in the beautiful air, people!"

Paige joined her sister by the window, content to stare outside silently, giving thanks to the powers that be.

Leo put his arm around Piper, as he watched her wipe away her tears. "Hey, we're going to fix everything, remember? No need for tears."

Paige agreed, her gaze resting on Excalibur, still stuck in the stone, sitting in their attic where Paige had orbed it. "Yeah, I think Leo should orb that thing away somewhere...like wherever you took the genie bottle."

Piper shook her head, "But that would be denying Chris his magical destiny."

Phoebe whipped her head around so quickly, she practically gave herself whiplash, "Excuse me?!? Didn't you just promise Chris that you were going to get rid of it?"

Piper waved her hands dismissively, "Look, he wasn't thinking clearly at the time. The way he grew up, his future, it's all going to be different now. We've changed his timeline. I want my son to embrace his new destiny." Seeing the light of battle in Phoebe's eyes, Piper glared at her sister, "We're going to bury this thing in the attic, end of story. When the boys are older, I'll sit Chris down and explain it all to him."

"Leo?" Phoebe turned to her brother-in-law for help. "Could you please tell your wife that she's crazy?"

Leo shook his head. "I think Piper's right. It would be selfish of us to keep Excalibur away from Chris. Just like it would be wrong of us to bind Wyatt's powers. It's the same argument. Besides," Leo smiled at Piper, reaching out for her hand, to bring it to his lips for a kiss. "Now that we know it's destined for Chris, everything will work out. We've changed the future."

"We've changed fate."

A/N: Don't forget to check out the epilogue...