Author's Note: Warning, this is a very short chapter. Though, there is a reason for it having been written, it helping the plot. Well, you'll see when it comes. I am glad that at least one of you didn't mind my random Star Wars comment. I recently bought the trilogy and felt that Chris was having this Luck Skywalker moment when contemplating about Wyatt and the possibility of him being good (just like Vader). Anyway, it's in there so deal with it. Chapter 24 is in the works and I have the next three chapters after that fresh in my head so I will write them and post them as soon as I can.
P.S.: Thank you all for being so patient about the updates. I'm glad that you don't mind my taking so long. And thank you for all of the reviews.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Demons and Darklighters
Barbas flamed into his lair desperately looking for Wyatt. The two had not been getting along for the last few days and the demon was beginning to believe that the young man was spending a little too much time on his "test" of ridding the world of Chris. Although he may have been confident in Wyatt abilities, Barbas was using his time wisely in the Underworld and getting factions of demons, warlocks and others to join him. Wyatt's minions soon dwindled in numbers and Barbas was becoming a big name when it came to demons.
This was due in part to his pushing Wyatt to focus on Chris and making sure that he did not stand in their way. Wyatt had been on the road to becoming the next Source, and that wasn't sitting too well with Barbas, considering why he had kidnapped the boy in the first place.
Wyatt was supposed to have grown up eating out of Barbas' hand, doing everything the demon wanted and letting him use his powers in his own ascend to the thrown of the Underworld. But Wyatt wasn't stupid. At a young age he realized that he wasn't like all of the other demons and knew that he was special. Powerful. Upstaging Barbas wasn't easy and it happened quickly and must to the distain of the demon. After all those years of raising the little brat, this was how he was repaid.
Barbas wasn't going to let this all go unpunished and it was while Wyatt was consumed with defeating Chris that the demon took the time to sway the Underworld to his side and away from Wyatt. His plan worked, and those who opposed him were killed instantly, much in the fashion of how Wyatt got rid of those against him.
Yet rumors began to spread about the rumored Great Good and many of the demons feared it to be the lost son of the Charmed One. Demons everywhere commended Wyatt for taking on the challenge of defeating the long lost son, but there was one particular person who found the predicament rather familiar. He knew the lost son better than any and had known Barbas' plan from the start. When he had come forward to others of his kind, they shunned him afraid that they would have been killed for what he had told them. So the person decided to take matters into his own hands.
The day Barbas flamed into his lair, the person was there waiting. He stood in the shadows, his dark clothing blending him in perfectly. In his arms he held his weapon of choice and waited for the opportune moment to step forward. Watching the demon carefully, the person quietly moved out of the shadows and followed the demon closely behind. Knowing that someone was there, Barbas turned around instantly and stared at the figure.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite Darklighter," the demon said. "I haven't seen you since the day you took the youngest brat of a Charmed One. What can I do for you?"
"Don't act as if you are my friend, Barbas," the Darklighter spat, "you are anything but. I wanted you to know that there is no hiding what you are doing from me. I have been following your work over the years and see that my prediction has come true."
"And what prediction is that?"
"That the boy you kept would turn on you," the Darklighter answered. "Do not think I have not noticed, or that any other demon has not noticed either. It was big news when we learned whom you had kidnapped and we were afraid of what you would do with the boy. But, as he grew older he pulled away from you. I've seen it with my very own eyes. He knows he has power and he got sick of you telling him when and where to use them."
"Foolish lies from an even more foolish person," Barbas said.
"You think it is foolish what I say?" the Darklighter asked, raising an eyebrow. "What I think is foolish is how you are sending Wyatt on a path that shall lead him to the truth of who he really is."
"What are you mumbling about?"
The Darklighter paced back and forth. "I have heard the rumors of the Great Good and know for a fact that it is the boy you had me leave behind. I also know where I left that boy and I know where Wyatt has been to defeat this same Good and know them to be the same place."
Barbas shook his head. "All of these roundabout statements. I know this and I know that," the demon said mockingly, "would you kindly get one to what you mean?"
Moving in front of Barbas, the Darklighter leaned in close. "If Chris was able to learn the truth about his parents what makes you think that Wyatt will not? If you keep sending Wyatt after Chris and Wyatt learns who Chris, there is not much more than to say the boy you raised to do your bidding will know what really happened to his parents. And when he knows the truth, because I assure he will, it will not matter whether he is good or evil, you took him away from his family and that is something that Wyatt will let go unpunished."
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Barbas backed away from the Darklighter and threw his hands out in the air. "Ah, but Wyatt knows nothing and once Chris is dead there will be no truth for him to find."
"It is safe to assume then that you have not heard about where Chris has gone and who he has met."
Barbas stood still. "Where?"
"I have it on good authority that Chris has met with the Charmed Ones, or at least one of them. Very soon he will know who he is and possibly who Wyatt is. I believe that when Chris first arrives at the infamous Charmed Manor, Wyatt followed him, not knowing where he was. The Whitelighter your friend Gideon betrayed caught sight of your boy and instantly knew who he was. When the Charmed Ones figure out it was you who had the boys taken from them, they will find you and vanquish you like they did years before."
"And why are you being so negative toward me?" Barbas demanded. "I thought those of the Underworld were supposed to stick together. Are you going good?"
"Quite the contrary. I am only warning you of what is to come. With you out of the way and Wyatt gone as well, there can be a Source that I might not mind following. Knowing that with one little arrow I could kill Wyatt if Source would just be too tempting and following you...do not get me started," the Darklighter answered.
Frowning, Barbas walked after the Darklighter who was leaving the lair. "Have you not forgotten who I am? I am the Demon of Fear; I can read your deepest fears better than you know them. I can make you fall before any of what you have said comes true."
The Darklighter turned. "But have you not forgotten your greatest fear, the one I predicted so long ago?"
"I have no fear."
"Oh, but you do. And you are living it right now. Very soon, Wyatt will know the truth and what you have tried so hard to keep a secret shall be ruined and if Wyatt does not destroy you, the Charmed Ones will."
With a smirk on his face, the Darklighter black orbed away and left Barbas alone in his lair.
