Chapter 4
Piper and Leo sat anxiously awaiting the arrival of their oldest son as time seemed to drag on and taunt them. Neither one spoke a word as several different scenarios ran through both their minds. Ones where their youngest child was returned to them safely, loving them and forgiving them for his past and their future mistakes. In this blissful scenario the boy's brother would also forgive them and the family would work together to save both of their futures. Then there's the other three endings that are a lot less happy.
In one instance the boy is returned safely only to be dragged back to the future by his evil sibling and forced to remain by his side, living in and ruling an evil empire. Of course Piper and Leo hand no way of knowing for sure whether their son was evil or not but they were aware of his cold and ominous demeanor and appearance so the idea of their son being evil was not too far fetched.
Another alternate ending would have the boy coming home safely but this time he would hate his family and return to the evil future willingly with his brother ruling by his side and adopting his evil traits. Leaving the Halliwell's with two evil sons and a future where both good and evil will cower at the once deemed good last name.
The third was even worse then first two, the strong possibility that their son may never come home. That he will remain dead and lost to them until the smaller version of him (if he's ever born) grows up, leaving the two heartbroken and guilt ridden parents years to dwell on the mistakes of the past.
Leo was about to voice his concerns when the feeling of an approaching third party interrupted.
"Let me get one thing straight, I'm here to save my brother and that's it, nothing more, nothing less. There will be no warm and fuzzy feelings or family bonding moments, do you understand me?" Wyatt Halliwell spoke rather bluntly as he formed in front of his parents and his younger self.
"You came" his mother said as a glimmer of hope became evident in her eyes.
"Like I said, I'm here to save Chris. Not to reconnect with the murdering Elder and his" the man said looking in his father's direction before shifting his gaze back to his mother "enabler"
The words cut like a knife as Piper stared back into the eyes of her son. The woman wanted to speak out and deny the man's harsh words and allegations but she couldn't because deep down she knew that he was telling the truth.
She was partially responsible for Chris's death. In fact at times she down right despised the boy and questioned his every move openly all the while accusing him of lying at every turn and giving her husband good reasons to mistrust the male witch, all leading up to the boy's death at his father's hands. She set to fall deeper into the pool of guilt until her husband's voice broke through her thoughts.
"I've punished myself enough already as it is I don't need you to remind me how badly I screwed up Wyatt" the father replied making sure not to sound nasty. Leo was in no shape or form to go another round with his stronger and more powerful son.
"What incredible bullshit! The pain you're feeling right now is far from being enough father but don't worry, I'll take care of that once Chris is back. Besides I'm sure my little brother will want in on the fun seeing as how you murdered him and all"
"Would you stop saying that!" Leo screamed out as his son continued to taunt him.
"Oh does the truth hurt Elder? If not I have something that will" the man smirked as he formed an energy ball in his hands causing his father to take a step back.
"Wyatt please!" his mother called out trying to defuse the explosive situation in front of her as she moved quickly to place the small version of her son back in his crib.
"Oh fine but this isn't over, not by a long shot" the man finished as he clasped his hands together distinguishing his weapon.
"Enough with the threats Wyatt"
"Oh, it's not a threat mother, it's a promise" the man shot back as he moved to stand toe to toe with his father whose back was now firmly pressed up against the wall.
As much as Wyatt was taking great pleasure in showing dominance over both his pathetic parents the man knew that there was a very important mission that needed to be handled before the real enjoyment could begin. So he backed away from his father with an evil grin on his face showing him that the worse was yet to come before he turned his attention back to his mother.
"Phoebe and Paige are working on a potion and a few spells to help us locate Chris in the sprit realm and once we find him we…" the woman stared before being cut off.
"There's no need for all of that mother, I have a better and much more simple way to bring him back" the man replied looking as if he were a detective that just found the last piece of evidence that would pull the whole investigation together.
"Ok, what's that" Leo asked in a soft tone trying not to set the man off.
"Hey, you don't get to ask any questions the only thing you're entitled to do is listen" the man shot back easily silencing the Elder.
"We're all on edge after suffering from emotional over load Wyatt so please just tell us what you have in mind without the theatrics" Piper snapped slightly returning to her normal self.
"Only because I love you so much" the man replied earning him a small smile from the woman.
"Don't get too happy mother, I was being sarcastic. Anyway there's only one way to bring Chris back but we're going to have to be very careful while we're executing the plan" the man continued giving a "yuck" kind of look to a picture of his parents that sat by their bed.
"And what way is this? How do you intend on bringing Chris back?"
Turing to the couple the man stood up straight and clasped his hands together behind his back tightly in his usual fashion before saying
"That's easy. We have to go back in time. Back to the day where his Father killed him"
"Time travel again?" Piper spoke dejectedly.
"No that's not a good idea, we might end up doing more harm then good" Leo added.
"Are you two suggesting that I don't know what the hell I'm doing?" Wyatt spoke with his voice full of warning.
"No sweetie we just…"
"First of all don't call me sweetie. Second of all I wasn't talking about time travel you idiots, I just going to RESET time"
"You can reset time?" Piper asked now feeling more scared then ever about the amount of power her son was packing.
"Did you not just hear me?" the man replied, annoyed by his mother's question.
"Hey! Who are you getting smart with boy" the woman shot back getting more and more pissed off by her son's behavior whom of which only laughed in response to his mother's warning.
"Oh I so love it when you're trying to be all tough. As if you could do anything to me. HA! You slay me Piper"
"And you're such a jerk. I can't believe you and Chris are both my sons, you're like night and day. Chris would never behave in such a manner"
"Oh really Piper? That's not what you used to say. Remember according to you Chris was the one who did everything wrong and I was your little angel. At least that's what you said when you and your little lover boy over there used to beat him"
"This is getting us nowhere" Leo spoke as he laid a comforting hand on his wife who looked as if she would break down once again.
"I agree" Wyatt said as his voice went soft for the first time.
"When can we do this?" the Elder continued.
"I'm ready when you are"
"Wait. What about us? I mean if we reverse time then none of us, except for you will know what's going on so, I'm not understanding how this is going to work"
"Leo will remember and because he's an Elder there will be two versions of him and only one of the rest of us. It's kind of hard to explain but once I've reversed time none of this will matter anyway so I'm not going to waste my time explaining it to you"
"Well that's not good enough damn it" the woman yelled.
"Piper, please" Leo spoke.
"No, I don't want to forget him. It's not fair! You can't make me"
"Once everything is straightened out Piper I'll tell you about him. I promise" the man spoke again trying to calm the mother of his two boys.
"Ok, let's go get Phoebe and Paige" Piper said as she tried to move to the door before being stopped by her son.
"There's no need to. Once I restart the day they won't remember any of this either so telling them will be a waste of time" the man said before releasing his hold on the witch and closing his eyes.
Focusing all of his energy Wyatt began to reverse time as everyone in the world stopped what they were doing and began walking and driving backwards in "rewind" motion and night turned back into day and the sun replaced the moon.
When he opened his eyes both he and Leo were standing in front of one very confused Piper.
The women shifted her gaze between father and son before asking
"Leo what the hell are you doing here and who's he?"