Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the television show Charmed. All characters belong to Spelling Television, and The WB.
I'd love to get feedback! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far. Please continue to review the story and feel free to e-mail me with your comments!
ooooooooooooooooooooooo
The Pain of Future Wrongs – Chapter 70
Wyatt reached out to take Excalibur but withdrew his hands at the last moment. He found himself trembling uncontrollably as he felt an inner struggle. He felt a strong pull towards the sword but at the same time, his heart was telling him to flee. He continued to struggle as he heard someone coming up into the attic. His eyes widened as Excalibur suddenly disappeared.
"There you are," Ryan called out. "What are you doing up here?"
"Uh…I…uh…" Wyatt fumbled for an answer. "I was just checking up an entry in the Book of Shadows," he finally stammered.
"What, you're turning into another Chris now?" Ryan smirked as he asked his older brother.
Wyatt laughed nervously. "Must be rubbing off on me…"
If Ryan noticed Wyatt's weird behaviour, he didn't let it on. "Well, come on down. Dinner's almost ready and I'm not coming up to get you again."
Wyatt breathed a sigh of relief and headed out of the attic, following Ryan. He turned a quick glance back to where Excalibur laid just a few minutes ago before heading down the stairs.
ooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Hey, Ryan, where's Wyatt?" Chris asked as he walked in on his younger brother finishing up his report for school.
"No idea," Ryan answered. "But maybe try the attic."
"The attic? Wyatt hates being in the attic," Chris answered.
"That's what I thought too. But it turns out that he's starting to becoming infatuated with looking up entries in the Book of Shadows. Sound familiar?" Ryan teased.
"Oh, get back to your school work, smart ass," Chris laughed before heading up to the attic to find his older brother. As he walked into the attic, he caught sight of Wyatt staring blankly at a spot on the floor.
"Wy?" Chris asked cautiously, not wanting to startle Wyatt. When the older Halliwell didn't respond, Chris walked towards him and placed his hand on Wyatt's shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Wyatt hissed turning around to glare at Chris.
Taken aback, a sudden feeling of fear gripped Chris as he looked into Wyatt's eyes. These eyes looked familiar to him, they were the same eyes that haunted him in nightmares ever since Wyatt turned evil in the future.
Instinctively, Chris backed away, the look of terror on his face. As if broken from a trance, Wyatt suddenly realized that his brother was terrified.
"Chris?" Wyatt asked worriedly. "What…what happened?"
"You tell me…" Chris answered with a shaky voice.
Wyatt knew what had happened. It was the damned sword again. He knew it but he couldn't tell anyone, especially not Chris. He knew how much his younger brother had given up to save him and that it would devastate Chris if he found out about his fear…that he might be turned again.
"I don't know…just feeling under the weather, I guess," Wyatt answered as convincingly as possible.
Chris looked at his brother with obvious disbelief. "Wy, you actually think I'm going to buy that?"
Wyatt ran his hand through his hair as he debated what to do. "I promise I'll tell you eventually, okay?" he pleaded, hoping that his brother would understand.
Chris still looked unconvinced, but he knew that continuing to prod would do little good. "Just know that I'm here for you, okay? We all are," he added with an obviously worried tone of voice.
Wyatt couldn't help but smile at his brother's concern for him. "You know, those types of things are usually reserved for the older brother to say to his younger siblings."
"I can't help it if both of my siblings are big babies…" Chris laughed. In the blink of an eye, Chris felt a pillow hit him in the head. He turned around to see Ryan smirking mischievously at him. Before long, Chris found himself cornered by Ryan and Wyatt. "Hey…I was just joking there…" he laughed nervously. "Sorry…" he yelped before orbing himself away to safety while Ryan and Wyatt laughed, the older boy's problems temporarily forgotten.
ooooooooooooooooooooooo
Wyatt found himself once again walking quietly into the attic. This time, however, it was in the dead of night when the rest of the family was fast asleep. And once again, Excalibur appeared in front of him. He felt the strong pull towards the sword and this time, he reached out to grab it. Wyatt felt power surge through him as he made contact with the sword. It was a feeling that felt exhilarating and made him feel strong and invincible.
"What are you doing?"
Wyatt turned around to see Ryan staring at him in horror.
"Excalibur?" Ryan gasped. "Wyatt…put that down…" he said as be backed away.
Wyatt sneered and flipped his hand, shutting the attic door and cornering his younger brother.
"Wyatt…put the sword…" Ryan never finished his sentence as Wyatt plunged Excalibur into his younger brother's body. He used his other hand to muffle Ryan's cries of anguish until he felt his Ryan's body go limp.
"RYAN!" Chris screamed as he looked at the horrific sight before him. "RYAN!" Chris stood frozen to the spot as he stared disbelievingly at Ryan's bloody body. He turned his gaze to Wyatt, would wore a crazed expression as he gripped Excalibur.
"You…" Chris whispered before launching himself at Wyatt. The older boy easily dodged Chris' furious attacks and with Excalibur in hand, he managed to inflict numerous wounds on his younger brother.
Minutes had passed but it seemed like eternity. Wyatt stared at his injured brother sadly. "Don't make me do this, Chris…" he whispered.
"I hate you, Wyatt," Chris shot back, anger in his eyes. "I hate you and I'll never forgive you!" With that, Chris gathered his remaining strength and made a desperate charge towards Wyatt. Raising his sword, Wyatt impaled his brother on Excalibur as Chris made a painful cry. As if possessed, Wyatt twisted Excalibur inside Chris' body, making his younger brother cry out in indescribable pain and anguish. With a primal cry, Wyatt gave a push to the sword, sending it flying towards the other side of the attic, pinning the now lifeless Chris against the attic wall.
Seeing his two dead brothers brought on a sudden wave of guilt in Wyatt. Excalibur disappeared and an evil laugh could be heard. Wyatt looked around the room and saw no one. All that was in the attic was himself and his two brothers who he had murdered in cold blood. As if coming out of his trance, Wyatt scrambled over to Ryan's body, trying desperately to heal him but to no avail. He pulled Ryan close and sobbed uncontrollably, realizing the atrocity that he had committed. He whispered apologies profusely to Ryan, but none of his words could bring his beloved brother back.
Wyatt can then tearfully crawled over to Chris. With the disappearance of Excalibur, Chris' body had slid down onto the attic floor. "No…" Wyatt cried as he cradled Chris in his arms. "Chris…I'm sorry…please…" he cried. While he loved Ryan to death, Chris had always been Wyatt's favourite. "Come on, Chris…don't do this to me…I'm sorry…oh god, what have I done? Chris…come on…don't leave me…you're my best bro…my best friend…" Wyatt sobbed with anguish as his calls went unanswered. "What am I going to do? Chris, I need you…you're the most important person in my life…" He shook his brother's body, hoping that he would wake up from his slumber, but it was not to be. Realizing that both his brother's were indeed gone, Wyatt screamed at the heavens, his cries heard across the city. "NOOOOOOOO!"
ooooooooooooooooooooo
Wyatt flung his arms in a mad rage as he felt someone trying to constrain him. "Get off of me!" he yelled before he felt his fist connect with this assailant. He heard a groan before he felt a warm light envelope him. He felt himself calm down considerably. He soon felt safe enough to open his eyes, only to come face to face with Chris. He almost screamed in horror as he backed away from the younger man.
Immediately, Wyatt felt Chris' strong arms on his shoulders. "Wyatt, what the hell?" Chris asked with worry. "That must be one freakin' nightmare you're having."
Wyatt was about to retort when he gave Chris' words a second thought. "Nightmare?"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Geez, it's two in the morning and you're screaming like there's no tomorrow. So unless you've been talking to an imaginary friend that I don't know about, then I'd say that you were having one hell of a nightmare." Wyatt's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas day and he wrapped Chris in a tight hug. The younger Halliwell was completely confused by his brother's strange behaviour. "Uh, as much as I'm touched by your demonstration of brotherly love, I have to say that you're really starting to freak me out."
Wyatt ignored his brother's comment and instead hugged him even harder, as if he was afraid that Chris would disappear if he let go. Chris rolled his eyes and had to gently yet firmly pry his brother's hands off of him. Chris sat Wyatt back on his bed and then took a seat in the chair across from him. "Okay, Wy, what is going on?"
Wyatt avoided his brother's questioning gaze and decided to focus on a suddenly very interesting spot on his bed.
"Wyatt…" Chris began with a semi-warning voice.
"Nothing…like you said, it was just a nightmare."
"Right," Chris brushed the answer off, rolling his eyes in the process. "So you're telling me that I got woken up in the middle of the night, got my face punched out by my brother, then almost had my ribs crushed by his hug, for nothing but a nightmare?"
"Punched in the…" Wyatt's head shot up as he saw the growing bruise on Chris' face for the first time. "Chris, I'm so sor.."
"Don't say you're sorry, Wyatt," Chris interrupted. "I just want to know what's going on. Something's obviously bothering you, so just let us know what's going on," he pleaded.
"I can't," Wyatt answered as he debated whether or not to tell Chris. "It's not as simple as you think."
Chris sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "I won't tell the others about it if you don't want me to," Chris offered as a concession, hoping that this would be enough to get Wyatt to talk.
"Fine…" Wyatt finally answered about a moment of thought. Chris felt a wave of relief as he looked on expectantly at his brother, offering Wyatt a reassuring smile. Chris' smile was short-lived as it faded from his face once Wyatt uttered the dreaded word, "Excalibur…"
to be continued -