Chapter two: How we got here

Chris tossed in his bed. He was suddenly awakened. He felt uncomfortable; he had been feeling like that for over a month. He could sense something was wrong with him, he couldn't tell exactly what but he was sure he it has to do with magic, some sort of magic was acting on him. He tried to focus; he thought he could ask Wyatt for help. But his instinct told him not to. And it also told him not to go on with the thinking. Things were better this way.

Not very sure of what had happened, he went back to sleep, something was wrong but it was better to deal with it later. He wasn't aware that he had been doing the same for almost two months.

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The next night Wyatt was again sitting nervously at the throne. Chris´ plan had been brilliant. They had gotten a lot of people on their side and no one had been harmed. Chris was a good ally but that was just wrong. Chris had always hated him and it would be better and safer if he was dead. He cursed the day he had chosen that particular spell to put on his brother. It just had seemed like the perfect solution to his problems

Wyatt had decided he would become the source when he was very young. But he wouldn´t let his parents know he was different, he wasn´t a good kid and he didn´t believe in good and evil. And that personal gain could bit his ass. Yes, to his family´s standards he was evil. And he knew it and he didn't regret it a single bit.

But he was also smart and he knew he needed a lot of powers to do that. He needed his parent's protection while he gathered those powers. So, since he was little he pretended to be good, to believe in good and evil, to want to fight demons, well, that part was true, but he had his own reasons. His parents never guessed he had found a way of keeping the demons´ powers to himself once they were dead. His dad was so proud of him and those powers he got because he was "Twice blessed" (ha ha, it wasn´t that simple. He had worked a lot for them) that he never had a clue. His mom sometimes suspected something but denial, Leo and Wyatt´s persuasive manner convinced her of not to worry. That left only one person, Christopher. Wyatt didn´t really hate him, at some point, when they were kids, he had really enjoyed having a little brother. But of course he didn´t take very well Christopher not admiring him blindly as Leo did (because the kid did look up on him just not in the passionate and blindness way Leo did, he could tell).Chris also had the bad habit of saying no to his requests. No one said no to Wyatt Halliwell without a price. And he had always had the feeling that Chris knew from the beginning his big brother was evil. While they grew older, Chris became more stubborn trying to show Wyatt at every step of the way, that he didn´t need or like him. Wyatt did some intent to control him until he realized it was too late. One of his demons told him that he had found the resistance's leader, the good witch that had done everything in his power to stop him from becoming the source. He had been searching for that bastard for years and then he learnt the bastard was his own brother. Wyatt had feared it. And he had realized Christopher had been clever enough not to tell his parents. He knew they wouldn´t believe him. And Wyatt had to end Chris and win time to become the source without anyone else knowing and he decided to use that.

Some days before he learnt Chris was opposing him, Wyatt had killed a witch in order to get an amulet. His parents and the elders suspected there was a good witch that was planning to be the next source, if that was true that good witch would need that amulet to become the source with no consequences to his original powers. Of course, they didn´t have a clue that that witch was him. But Chris knew it perfectly.

One night Wyatt told his parents with tears in his eyes that Chris was the one trying to take the underworld. His parents didn't want to believe him, even if Leo trusted him blindly. Leo was silly. He liked Wyatt so much because the Wyatt he knew wasn´t real. He had a real and a faked son and he had chosen the fake one. Wyatt told his parents that he knew Chris had the amulet and he was trying to hide them that he had seen it. When Chris orbed to the manor from a friend's without suspecting anything Wyatt summoned the amulet to his pocket and he made it fell from there right in front his parent's faces. Leo believed in Chris´ guiltiness immediately. Piper was shocked. Wyatt waited for Chris´ vain protests but they never came. He just looked at Wyatt.

"You are the only one in this house that really knows me. I wish you would have used that for something better than messing up with me. After all being evil doesn´t change the fact that we are family" he only spoke to Wyatt really sadly without looking at any of his parents and he orbed out before anyone else could stop him.

It had been the perfect strike, Wyatt wan some time and he took the underworld without Leo having a clue. Piper suspected something, she was never really sure of Chris´ guiltiness. After he left, Chris had sent warnings, telling his parents through some of his friends that Wyatt was the witch planning to take the underworld. But he had only sent friends. He had never allowed Piper or Leo to see him again.

Wyatt had seen him, in battles. He was always vanquishing demon after demon. He knew his brother lived with other "rebels" and that the rebels were more each day. Chris was a tough target. No demons seemed to be able to kill him and Wyatt didn´t want to do it himself. Not while he was still fooling his parents.

Once he became the source, his parents had been shocked with grief, surprise and remorse. There was nothing they could do at that point. By the time they listened to Chris´ friends it was already too late. After Wyatt took the underworld Piper and Leo had tried to join Chris but Chris had never wanted to see them again, especially Leo.

Ironically, Wyatt was the one that saw him the most. Chris was there, in every plan he had ruining it. And every time Wyatt thought he was about to catch him, he slipped away making Wyatt look like a fool. And Chris was the best demon vanquisher ever, at least that was what Wyatt thought..

Wyatt was now ready to kill Chris (whenever he could catch him) but he also had the problem of the elders. He wanted to kill them before they figure a way to vanquish him with his dear family's help.

He realized that he hadn't enough power by himself to do so, not yet. But by killing them he would become the most powerful being on earth. He had to end them all at once to achieve that and not give them an opportunity of striking back.

Among all the magical beings he knew there was only one powerful enough to help and that he could make sure it wouldn't turn his back on him afterwards. His stubborn brother was the answer. Same magical roots as him, a lot of power, he knew he needed a way to trick him to help him. And once the elders were dead he would kill him.

He though of all the ways he had: threatening someone Chris loved, spells, potions. He decided for a spell. When he was deciding which he thought of Chris´ last words the day he left.

"You are the only one in this house that really knows me. I wish you would have used that for something better than messing up with me. After all being evil doesn´t change the fact that we are family"

What if he had done it? Leo had never supported his poor brother. Piper had in some senses but she had no clue of what Chris was going through. What if he had been there for Chris? What if Chris had believed him when he had tried to play good big brother? In that case may be Chris would trust him blindly and join him just not to be apart from him. He decided to make a spell to make sure of that. To let Chris be who he was but twisted his memory and his trust a little, to make him think he had always been there for him and they had been close and that if he had harmed him he had a good reason. And the same for anyone Wyatt would harm. It wouldn't change Chris much; just make him think Wyatt had a good reason for everything.

Wyatt managed to capture one of Chris´ friends, and while Chris was trying to rescue him, he managed to whisper the spell in Chris´ ear. Being the spell about trust, it needed to be said directly to the person. Wyatt was amazed at the result. It had worked immediately. Wyatt knew he had to hurry because that kind of magic didn´t last much on a powerful witch. But he only needed to kill the elders and then he would kill Chris.

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The elders had been dead for two months now. And Chris was still under the spell, there was only one explanation for that and it was that Chris wanted to be under it. He wanted to believe what Wyatt had made him believe and Wyatt couldn't help feeling bad about that. Remorse was a strange feeling for him but he could still recognize it.

And yet, he hadn't found the strength to kill Chris. All he had to do was throwing an energy ball and then summon the athame. But he hadn't dared to.

His organization was better since Chris had joined him; Wyatt had to give him that. From an organization of killers it had turned into a kind of idealistic witches club that wanted the magical world to live under Wyatt's command but without the annoying rules they had always live with the Elders. Chris had turned Wyatt´s mantra about good an evil not existing (nothing Wyatt cared particularly about) into a real philosophy that made demons and good witches want to join them and not fight any more. Now they had the Valkiries too and a lot of beings related to them. Chris had done it in one day, it would have taken months to kill them all. Wyatt couldn´t protest much. People were joining them. And they were respecting him. And obeying him and the order he had created. But it still felt weird, he had to admit. May be this wonderful new order would be lost with Chris´ death but well he still could kill people to make them join him.

So, why wasn't he killing Chris?

He thoughtfully played with the green stone his brother had given him. At first he had planned to laugh at Chris once he was under the spell. It would be fun to see his brother believing him, with all his trust and the closeness Chris thought they had. The spell would prevent Chris from reacting angrily to anything Wyatt did to him. But Chris´ ideas had turned out to be so useful, Chris seemed so eager to spend time with him and have fun together that he found he did no harm in playing along. Just until the elders were death, he used to repeat to himself. He would pretend to be a good brother and to love Chris till they were dead. That took only two weeks. Once they were death, every night Wyatt was sure he would kill Chris but that never happen. His parents had seen Chris the day Chris and him had killed the elders. But Chris had his own resentments against the Elders. Wyatt would have never guessed that. Apparently Chris thought (with reason) that the Elders should have been more aware of who Wyatt was. He thought they hadn't let Leo spend enough time with his family and they used Piper not letting her live in peace whenever she wanted and taking her husband away.

Chris would have never killed them without the spell but Wyatt assuring him he had a reason and a new philosophy to spread around the world was enough. Chris hadn't listened to any of his parents and Leo had tried to tell him he was under a spell but Chris wouldn't listen. He seemed happy enough to return to Wyatt's side and build a new world with him. A world where witches would be able to stay with their families and where they didn´t have to hide his magic. Wyatt didn´t want to admit it but he felt touched, besides Chris confessed he had discovered a while before a plot the elders had to kill both of them. Wyatt had suspected that but he had never been sure. It was good to know that now the elders were dead and they weren´t a threat. Thanks to him. And Chris.

Wyatt looked at the green stone again. He remembered he had never told anyone he collected them. They were stones of power and he was afraid Piper would suspect something if she knew. But after Chris left he had gone to his little brother´s room to search for things that could be useful for him and he had found four green stones, they had a not "For Wyatt, thanks brother". Apparently Chris had kept them as a gift to him but he had never dared give them to Wyatt.

Once Chris was under the spell he always seemed to find a new stone to bring to his brother. Wyatt had kept all of them. He played again with the last one . Chris was late. They had both taken the habit of chatting every night before going to sleep. It was kind of report of what it had been done during the day but Wyatt found himself waiting for those moments eagerly. He sighed, worried, he had never realized of how used he was to those night chats.

But they had to end. He had decided he wouldn´t take the spell out of Chris and apparently he wouldn´t be able to kill him while he was till under it. But he knew what he had to do. He had to help Chris get rid of it and then kill him. And he'd do it tonight.