Of All the People

Chapter 22

By teal-lover

Summary: Wyatt reflects on the events after Chris Crossed and decides to do something about it.

Rating: PG13, T

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, just borrowing, promise to give them back when done, don't get any money for this.

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The seer grinned widely as she stepped back and watched the two men facing each other angrily. "Ooh, a showdown. And me without my popcorn."

"Stay back, Kira!" the blond ordered with a slight bit of concern to his voice.

With green eyes trained on the dark clad figure a few feet away, Chris mimicked the older man sarcastically. "Yeah, stay back, Kira. Wouldn't want you to get caught in the crossfire, Kira." He smirked at the huffing sound she made and the slight twitching of Wyatt's jaw to the remark. Finally addressing the blonde, he snarled, "Didn't I leave you in the past?"

A brief look of confusion passed over the older man's features and he looked to the seer for a moment, who shook her head subtly. He quickly schooled his features and faced the younger of the two again, missing the curious glance he shot him.

"Since when do you need a seer's permission to answer a question, Your Highness."

"I don't require anyone's permission for anything. After all, this is my kingdom." He glanced at the woman again.

Chris began circling the other man suspiciously. There he goes again. What is he up to? "Funny, with the way you keep looking to her for approval, you don't seem so sure of that. Besides, you did sign it over to me."

"And you believed that? You actually think I'd let you rule my kingdom?"

"That's fine by me, I'd be more than happy to give it back," he quipped then thumbed his finger toward the portal, "I'll just head on back to the past and mail you the pink slip."

"I don't think so."

Flicking his palm upward, Chris conjured another fireball, causing the other man to do the same with an energy ball.

The brunette flexed the fingers on his free hand itching for a challenge. "Try and stop me."

The blonde straightened his shoulders back, grinning sinisterly. "Happy to oblige…"

The seer's brown eyes widened as she watched the deadly balls heading for each other, shimmering out to avoid being hit, "Uh oh."

Kira appeared just outside the door and yanked it closed. When one of the minions headed for the attic after hearing the crash inside, she blocked his path. "You don't want to go in there right now."

"But…"

She winced as she heard another loud grunt from inside the room, followed by the floorboards vibrating from something—or someone—crashing into them. "Trust me. They've got some issues to work through. And I for one, don't want to get accidentally vanquished while they do it."

Suddenly, she jumped away from the door in alarm as the taller man came crashing through it, landing on his back and looking a bit surprised. She helped him up and raised her fist in the air, unable to bite back a retort. "Way to teach him a lesson, Boss. Now get back in there and kick his scrawny little butt some more…"

The demon's eyes widened at seeing his master bested, and he craned his neck to see how the other Halliwell could have managed that.

Before he got a glimpse into the room, she hooked her arm into his and began leading him away. She pretended to laugh heartily then inhaled sharply. "You didn't see that."

"But he could escape—"

"If you want to live, trust me—you didn't see that. Don't worry. Chris won't be going anywhere. We've got a little surprise for him."

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2003…

"Please, stop pacing, you're wearing away all of the dust on my floors."

Being that she was referring to an old cave in the Underworld, he was not amused and scowled at the woman venomously.

She ignored his sour mood while she movedbehind him and rubbed his shoulders. "You're so tense. You really need to relax."

He slapped her hands away and frowned at her again. "Would you stop that and concentrate on helping me to find a way back into that house."

Shrugging apologetically, she told him plainly, "Well sorry, but I just can't help myself. With you standing there looking so temptingly evil all in black…"

With an irritated sigh, the man waved his hand and quickly conjured himself into a faded pair of blue jeans and a matching tee. He had yet to remove the patterned white shirt that he wore on arrival. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Better?"

She suddenly lost interest and her voice dipped low with disdain. "Much. I don't understand why you have to get back into the manor in order to get to the future. Why can't you just leave from here?"

"Because, leaving from the place where you spent most of your life will ensure that the portal will open up exactly where you want it to go. That's why I made sure Bianca left from her mother's house. It enhances the amount of power within you. And now that they've put an anti-shimmering spell on the house, I can't get in. Which means—I have no idea where I will land! I've explained all this to you."

"Sorry, I guess I wasn't listening. But anyway, what does it matter? Even if you make it back to the future where you want to go, you'll only be disappointed when you get there."

"And why is that?"

"Because being a demon, I do happen to know a thing or two about them. And I know that since you didn't go with your brother, and knowing how upset you were that he escaped back to the past--they will probably try to get on your good side. And kill him as soon as he steps through."

Wyatt sighed loudly in agreement. "I know. Damn that woman! That's the second time in one week that she may be the cause of his death. I should kill her now and be done with all of her future stupidity."

The seer smiled, "Well, as much as I would enjoy the thought of killing a Charmed One, I do have to remind you that your infant self needs the Power of Three protection for as long as they can offer it." He stared at her as if she were an idiot and she gulped nervously, "Ok, I get that you were just ranting and probably not serious. So forget what I said about enjoying it. Anyway, I may not know how to get you back into the house, but I do know of a way to save your brother."

He spun around suddenly with interest, "How?"

"Well, if I were alive in twenty-three years, I could wait for him. Make sure that no one else entered the museum before you get there. But only if I were alive."

"You're not alive now, so what's your point?"

"Well technically, no since I'm a demon. But right now, I'm as alive as I'm ever going to be. But then again, I had a vision that I'm going to be vanquished next year by Zankou—which I don't get at all because he's not even free." She sighed dramatically, "So I wouldn't be there to help your brother."

Wyatt smiled at her sly response. She knew that if anyone could, the Twice-Blessed Witch would find a way to ensure her survival and played on that. She hadn't survived for hundreds of years so far if she hadn't been cunning enough to use every trick in her little black book. So she wasn't as stupid as he had first thought. And she probably only babbled to make herself seem non-threatening, keeping her alive while every other demon around her was vanquished.

He walked around her slowly, studying her movements before smiling slowly. He could definitely use someone like her working for him, and so he agreed readily, "Alright. You'll work for me and no one else. You will reveal yourself or your true nature to no one—not even me, until after I leave for the past. After that, you will give my clone instructions on how to—handle—my brother. And you will keep him there until I arrive."

"How?"

A ghost of an arrogant smile played on his lips as he stood back, refusing to answer her verbally. Without taking his eyes off her, he waived his hand, instantly creating a double version of her that now stood beside the seer's pool as if she belonged there.

The seer gasped in horror, looking down as he waived his hand again and her familiar, but skimpy clothing was suddenly removed. If they were gone completely, that she wouldn't have minded. But the fact that she was now dressed in baggy denim jeans and an even looser fitting UCLA sweater was just plain outrageous. "You have got to be kidding me?"

His only answer was to conjure a knapsack into her awaiting hands. He resisted the urge to laugh at her school girl appearance. "The instructions, as well as proof you can provide to my double, are in the bag beside your world history textbook."

"I lived world history! I'm not taking a stupid class on it!"

He ignored her outburst, the amusement clearly evident in his features, "What's your name, by the way?"

"Kira!" she grumbled.

"No last name?"

"No. Can't remember." She said in a clipped tone.

He laughed again before waiving his hand, conjuring her paperwork to take on a new identity. "Then you'd better hurry Jessica Downing, because you're going to be late for class." He waived his hand again, shimmering her out of the cave to start her new life for the next twenty-three years.

He turned to the duplicate seer knowing that the clone had all of the original's memories up until the point where he just created it. "Now. Where were we?"

She sidled up to him and smiled seductively, "I was going to help you get back into the manor…"

His eyes rolled back in his head as he considered killing the duplicate demon himself in irritation. She may have been attractive, but her timing was just plain off. Speaking, or rather thinking, of timing--He vaguely wondered how his family was planning to get to the future to fetch their wayward son. Maybe, if he timed it right, he could hitch a ride.

TBC…

Thank you all so much for the reviews. So I think we've got 2 chapters left, so everything will be resolved and you'll find out why Wyatt did what he did—probably next chapter. It's so hard for me to end this story, because it's probably been the most fun for me to write. But I'm so ecstatically grateful for everyone thats been a part of it :-)

I hope you understood the part in the beginning--notice I never called him--Wyatt:)

Just a heads up, the last one will end the same way it began—Wyatt centered.