Katie steadied herself on a near by table as she and Leo orbed back to the Magic School. Her head was still spinning from the strange force that had begun to draw her upward- summoning her towards Wyatt…Chris' brother…Leo's son…
The man that wanted all witches dead was related to the two angels that had saved her life; it was almost unbelievable.
"He…he's your…" The girl stuttered, looking up at Leo with wide eyes, her mind was swimming with questions.
Leo sighed and began to pace back and forth across the room "Yes." He replied softly, knowing exactly what she was about to ask. "He is my son."
"But, why…?"
"I assure you, he wasn't always like this." Leo cut in, the pain evident in his voice. "He was a good kid, I loved him so much…but somehow…suddenly…he's become someone else. I don't know what has filled him with all of this hate and anger…I don't know what to do…"
Katie rushed over to the man's side and enveloped him in a tender hug. She could tell that seeing Wyatt like this was tearing him up inside; it must have been so difficult for a parent to see their child turn against everything they stood for.
Turn against good.
No matter what his oldest son was like, Katie had no doubt that Leo was a man full of righteousness. He was, after all, a whitelighter- a protector of all things pure in the world; he had been good in life, and even better in death.
"I should have seen this." Leo whispered, tears beginning to fall from his green eyes. He had been holding his emotions in ever since the day he had learned of Wyatt's turning- he had shed few tears, and allowed himself little time to grieve- but as he watched his son stand haughtily above the crowd, manipulating those below him, the reality had truly sunk in.
The Wyatt he knew was gone.
He was evil.
Leo could not help but place some of the blame on himself. He had been so busy trying to protect the world that he had failed to protect the one thing that mattered most; his family. In the end, he had paid a high price for his neglect- he had lost Piper, he had lost Wyatt…it was only a matter of time before he lost Chris too.
"I've failed." He choked, clutching onto Katie for support. If she had not been there, he would have collapsed onto the floor in grief.
"Don't say that Leo." Katie soothed, wanting noting more then to ease his pain. During the time she had spent at magic school, Leo had become a second father to her- he was so gentle and kind and he had always taken a bit of time out of his busy schedule to help her adjust to her new home. "You're not a failure at all. You've achieved so much here- you've rescued so many…cared for them."
"But I couldn't rescue my son." He protested, looking up at her with reddened eyes. "And because of that more are going to be lost than can be saved."
There was along pause.
Katie did not know how to respond. In a way he was right- Wyatt's turning did not just affect one person, it affected an entire city and, eventually, it would affect the entire world.
It would cost many lives…
The sound of orbing caused them both to draw apart and they turned to face the new arrivals in the room. Chris and Bianca appeared before them, both looking sad and defeated.
Chris wordlessly made his way over to a near by couch and Bianca followed, placing a comforting arm around his shoulders.
"You're okay." Leo sighed, the relief evident. "The spell…"
"Didn't affect me. He called for pure witches." Chris cut in quietly, looking down at the floor. "And Bianca…managed to escape it too."
Both Leo and Katie exchanged a confused glance. "You orbed her out in time?" Leo asked.
Chris shook his head and met his father's eyes. "No. I didn't."
"Then who…?"
The young lovers exchanged a quick glance- it was evident that they were hiding something.
"Just tell him Chris." Bianca muttered.
With a nod of agreement, he began to speak. "The baby." he whispered, gently taking Bianca's hand in his. "The baby orbed her out."
A look of realization hit Leo's face and he stared at his youngest son in disbelief. He felt as if he was riding an emotional roller coaster- first the pain over Wyatt's turning, and now this bit of unexpected news….it was almost too much to handle.
"Your…your baby?" Leo stuttered, his mouth agape.
"Yes, my baby." Chris replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "It orbed her out of harms way."
"How long have you known?"
"Just a few days." Bianca began. "And Chris found out tonight."
Leo sat down heavily in a chair and tried to absorb what he had been told; on top of all the chaos that Wyatt had caused, they would now have a baby to look out for…he could not suppress the feelings of dread, but he also felt something else…and for a moment he allowed himself to be happy; he was going to be a Grandpa.
"Wow." He breathed, his eyes not moving off of the couple. "This is…"
"Poorly timed, we know." Chris cut in, locking eyes with his father. "But we're still happy."
Bianca beamed at his side.
"What about the other witches?" Katie asked, unable to wait any longer to hear what had happened after they had left. "Did he get them?"
Chris jerked his head towards her, his expression becoming suddenly bleak. "Yes. He got them. And he killed one in front of the crowd…then he sent the others away, to be tortured later."
Both Katie and Leo gasped- Wyatt's plan had thus far been a success.
They had been unable to stop him.
"We have to do something!" Katie exclaimed, her heart racing. More witches were going to die if they didn't act soon.
"What the hell can we do?!" Chris shouted, his voice growing angry. "He's too powerful! No one can stop him- if we go, he'll just kill us like he's going to kill all of the others! It's too late. It's over. We've lost."
He let our a roar of rage and sent a stream of blue lightening into one of the old wooden book shelves, causing the various books and objects to explode into tiny pieces. "I hate him!"
Katie stared at Chris in shock after he had completed his out burst. She hadn't known him too long, but in the time she had spent with Chris she had gotten a fairly good idea of what he was like. He was not a person who lost control like this.
And he most certainly was not a quitter.
"What's wrong with you? What do you mean, it's over?" Katie shot back, eyes flashing. "We're not going to give up yet. We can't there are lives at steak. We can't turn our backs on them!"
The girl's words echoed off of the old walls of the school before a tense silence enveloped the room. No one knew what to say…what to do. It had been a long, horrifying day and all of their emotions were running high.
"She's right." Leo whispered. "We can't just leave them at his mercy. We have to at least try."
Chris scowled and drew in several deep breaths to calm himself. "Of course, I didn't expect you to understand Leo." He said coolly. "I have a family to worry about now and I can't risk my life like that anymore. Unlike you, I actually want to be there for my child."
Leo's green eyes filled with hurt and he was stung deep by his son's words. "I….I wanted…"
"Save the excuses dad." Chris muttered "I've heard them all before."
Katie threw up her arms in disbelief. She did not like the way Chris was behaving- he had no right to insult his father after everything Leo had just been through, and child or no, he had to help them rescues those that Wyatt had imprisoned.
"This is enough!" She snapped, stepping in between father and son. "We don't have time for petty arguments. We need to come up with a plan…I understand that you're worried about the baby Chris, but do you really want him to grow up in a world that Wyatt rules? A world in which witches are hunted and killed? Quite frankly your child isn't going to live too long if we allow this to continue."
Bianca gave a small cry of pain at the thought of harm coming to the baby, and Chris' green eyes slowly widened as he thought over what the girl had said.
After almost a minute, he began to speak. "Yes." He started in a whisper "I…I don't know what came over me. We can't stand back and watch this happen…I'm sorry."
Katie gave a small sigh of relief. It seemed that he was finally getting control of his impulses and coming back to reality. "It's okay." She replied. "I know that this must be difficult for you, but we really do need your power and input if we're going to get anything done."
Leo nodded in agreement. "So what should we do now?"
"We find a way to save as many witches as we can." Katie replied, her voice full of determination.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
It was almost two am when Wyatt orbed back into his underworld chamber.
The exhilaration was still flowing through him. He had achieved yet another success- the humans had fallen for his every word, more witches were dead and he was on the verge of taking complete control of the city.
"Today San Francisco, tomorrow the world." He muttered happily to himself as he began to neatly put away the various papers strewn across his desk. If all went well, this victory would be one of many to come. He realized, however, that he would have to take it slow. Once he had established a firm base for himself in California, he would gradually draw the rest of the continent into his power- and from there continue his expansion over seas. He had to be careful not to over exert himself too soon; he had learned that from the legendary leaders of the past. Alexander the Great… Napoleon…they had made the same mistakes…their great ambition had got the better of them, and they had been stretched to thin…they had met their downfall.
Wyatt was determined not to fail. He would achieve his goal, even if it took him a hundred years. It was safe to say that he would live to be at least two hundred; he had his father's immortal blood to thank for that. His aunt Paige had been in her forties when she had died, but she looked just as she had at twenty eight; half whitelighters didn't age at a normal rate...his rein would be the longest in history…
He gave a loud yawn and decided that it would be best to get some rest; he had a long day ahead of him- reporters would be flocking from all over to see the mysterious man who had saved the city- he had to be ready to charm audiences across the globe.
Walking into his bed chamber, Wyatt's mind briefly fluttered to thoughts of his brother. Once again, Chris had been the only downside of his success. The boy was proving to be much more stubborn than he had anticipated, and Wyatt knew that if he didn't come up with a plan soon, Chris would become his most dangerous enemy.
Killing him, however, was out of the question. No matter how hard he tried, Wyatt could not stop loving him…he was not ready to give up on his vision of Chris ruling at his side as his most trusted general…his Lancelot. There had to be another way to convince him, simply talking about it was not going to work. He needed to resort to more drastic methods…
And there was still the matter of the baby, he had found out later in the evening that his darklighter had failed to eliminate it. The baby would defiantly become a threat if he allowed it to survive…
"I'll persuade you yet, Christopher." Wyatt muttered as he climbed under the covers and turned out the light.
The whispers of a plan were already echoing in his head.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
A/N Okay. Another one down, sort of a filler, I know, but I need it to build up to my climax. I realize that Chris was acting a bit strange, but you will soon hear his thoughts on the events and that should clear some things up. Hope it was okay, thanks for reading!
ilovedrew88- So relieved that you thought it was believable. Thanks so much for your input!!!
Calen- The answer to your question is yes, but none of the characters realize it…nor will they ever. I'm trying to keep this true to the plot of the show, and therefore Chris is going to travel back in time without knowing what it was that turned his brother. Thanks for reviewing!
Quillsandbolts- Thanks for the review, sorry to hear that you thought it was out of character, but I can see what you mean. You'll probably think the same about this chapter…the way I see it, they are all very emotional at the moment and trying to deal with what's going on…once they come to terms with it, things should become more normal. And yes, this middle part is sort of like a bridge- before was the build up, now we're moving into the chaos of Wyatt's new world.
P.S. I shall try to read your fic, I'll go check it out after I post this. (As long as it's not about Phoebe I'm sure I'll like it, lol)
Darkness Amber- I hope you don't consider sadness a bad thing in a story, because there is a lot coming up. Prepare yourself :) So glad that you liked it anyway…and you'll have to wait and see what happens to the witches.
