Of All the People

Chapter 26

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.

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

Unable to resist the telekinetic pull, Chris suddenly found himself standing toe-to-toe with his brother. He didn't dare try and use his powers against the older man since his mother currently stood behind him, and any action on his part would surely land her directly in the crossfire. "You may as well let me go, Wyatt, because otherwise, you're going to have to kill me to stop me!"

Wyatt listened to the tirade and quietly seethed. He wouldn't tolerate such insubordination from anyone else. And even with Chris, it was wearing thin. He darted his hand out, snaking it around the back of his brother's head and grabbed a tuft full of hair. He yanked his head forward so the younger man could see no deception in his eyes and barked, "Listen to me you idiot—"

Chris fought the iron grip that held him in place, pulling at the hand that was causing tiny shooting pains through his scalp. He hated when Wyatt did that, treating him like an insolent teenager rather than the independent adult that he was. In fact, the last time he had done that was when he was an insolent teenager. The harder he struggled, the tighter Wyatt's grip got. He decided that if he relaxed, maybe Wyatt would as well.

"Let go of me!" Chris demanded of his brother.

"Not until you listen to reason."

"You haven't said anything reasonable since you became evil."

Chris watched the irritation flicker in the ice blue eyes mere inches from his own with a small amount of satisfaction. But when another emotion crossed his gaze and lingered, he lowered his eyes guiltily and Wyatt's fingers slackened somewhat.

He knew what Wyatt was trying to do, but he had already made his decision and couldn't afford to let himself be swayed from it now. And letting Wyatt know that he knew would only make the older Halliwell dig his heels in deeper.

When the older man finally released him, Chris used the opportunity and craned his neck searching for his mother. She stood back with her hands slightly raised and shaking, tears in her eyes at the idea of harming either of her children, evil or not. Unlike the previous time they had faced off in the mausoleum, this time, Wyatt didn't look like he would back down. She didn't know what Wyatt had in store for his brother, but from what she saw, it didn't look good.

With a soulful and desperate glance, Chris pleaded with her to help him, before Wyatt could interpret their unspoken communication.

Piper squinted her eyes shut tightly in acknowledgement, silently mouthing the words 'forgive me' to her oldest. When she opened them again, she focused all of the raw power that she possessed, guided by her emotions and the need to protect her child. The blast was enough to knock him off his feet, and he lost his tentative grip on his younger brother.

From his position on the floor, Wyatt looked up at her in shock before his eyes suddenly blazed with fury.

"CHRIS GO!" She shouted and stepped in between them, blocking Wyatt's path to the escaping witch.

After all that had happened in the past week, and all that he had been shown in the seer's pool, Chris knew that Wyatt wouldn't hurt him or his pregnant mother. But keeping him there against his will was definitely in the cards if he didn't take the last opportunity given to him to change the future. There was nothing in his way to stop him. Even the seer stood back and avoided the melee. A split second later, Chris scrambled backwards and turned, needing no further encouragement before he dived through the awaiting portal.

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

2003…

Chris literally fell through the portal landing painfully on his face. "Just once," he grumbled, "JUST ONCE! I'd like to come back here and land on my feet!"

Leo helped him up worriedly, his eyes darting back to the open portal. "Where's Piper?"

Chris brushed himself off and removed what he considered his 'evil-looking' glamour, finally happy to be himself again. "She's right behind me. Don't worry, he won't hurt her. Phoebe, Paige—you have to write a Power of Three spell to prevent Wyatt from coming back. Ban him—if you don't things are not going to end well."

His aunts nodded and immediately began bouncy ideas off of each other to word the rhyme. Chris took a deep breath and pulled his father aside anxiously. He knew what horrors lay in store for him, and he didn't want to be hampered in the next nine months from protecting his brother with thoughts of his own impending death. "Leo, I need you to use your memory dust and erase my memory of the past week."

"What? Why?"

"I don't have time to explain that right now, it's complicated. But you have to trust me and do this."

"Chris, I don't think that's a good id-" he suddenly paused midstream and looked up to the ceiling at the familiar call. He shook his head as if deny the other Elder's rather persistent request, then turned back to his son.

Chris huffed in irritation at the interruption, "Don't worry about that right now. Look, Gideon—NO! Crap! Not now!" he hissed as he grabbed for his father who was unexpectedly orbed away by what he assumed were the Elders. He spun around intent on warning the two remaining sisters, but saw that they were deep in an animated conversation trying to come up with the spell. They had to work fast and he couldn't afford to distract them with news that would bring their brainstorming to a grinding halt.

Chris ran to the potions table and grabbed a spare pen and pad to write down the information he had gathered in the future.

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

2027…

Wyatt rose to his feet glaring at the woman inching backward toward the portal. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

"Yes, I do. I'm your mother, Wyatt, and I'll always love you. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to stand by and let you harm your brother."

"I'm trying to save him!" he answered in frustration.

Piper furrowed her brow in confusion to his cryptic answer, but retorted with one of her own just before she slid into the glowing blue puddle. "The only way you can do that is to let him save you…"

Wyatt grabbed for her to stop her from entering, but since he had made the portal specifically for her, it closed the moment she stepped in.

"This isn't over…"

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

2003…

Chris had barely spelled out his father's former mentor's name before Piper jumped through warning, "Wyatt's right behind me!"

He dropped the items quickly, focusing on the more important matter of keeping his brother from returning. As the portal closed, he began rubbing off the chalk outline on the wall while the Charmed Ones chanted the spell several times.

Minutes letter, with the spell performed, all four stood back anxiously and wide-eyed as the portal emitted a faint greenish glow.

Piper glanced at her son, "Is it supposed to be green?"

For the first time since she had known him as their whitelighter, he sounded unsure of himself. "Um--I don't think so? But I've never rubbed it off the wall before—I just thought it would make it a little weaker, and I've also never had the Charmed Ones performing a spell to block it. So I don't know what it supposed to do."

The wall glowed a little brighter and Chris subconsciously took a few steps back, crossing his fingers and muttering, 'come on, come on, work…'

They all held their breaths to find out if their barrier would hold against the Twice-Blessed Witch…

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

2027…

Wyatt cursed loudly for the tenth time as he stood in front of the chalk outline in the manor's attic. Each time he tried to open the portal, it glowed a faint greenish color before fizzling out, taking with it the remainder of his patience.

Kira approached him quietly and decided that it was time to voice the answer she and Wyatt both knew. "I think it's safe to say that they've blocked you from returning."

The blonde whipped his head around and glowered at her. "Don't you think I know that?"

"Yes, but knowing it and facing it are two different things. You're up against the Power of Three with very little time left to counter their spell."

"If I don't go back, do you even understand what will happen?"

"Yes," she answered sympathetically. "And so does he. I showed Chris the pool. When he jumped through that portal, he made a conscious decision that saving you was more important than saving himself. If that ain't love, I don't know what is."

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

2003…

"I think it's safe to say that he wasn't able to break through the spell—which was damn good on such short notice if I do say so myself," Paige quipped proudly.

Chris had to nod his own appreciation as he stared at the three women, rocking back on his heels with his hands in his pockets. "Wyatt's never had to face off against the Power of Three before. He's not used to loosing."

Any remark the Charmed Ones would have made was cut off by the sudden appearance of a group of Elders that surrounded the youngest Halliwell. "What's going on?" he asked nervously as one grabbed his arm and spun him around.

Chris' face barely registered the shock as he breathed in the memory dust. He swayed on his feet unsteadily as the sedative that accompanied the dust began to take effect. Just before passing out, Chris glimpsed the dark-robed figure that caught him, thinking faintly that there was something he meant to say.

"What the hell are you doing!" Piper hissed and threatened to blow up the intruders, her sisters reaching for their nephew protectively. "What did you do to him?"

Leo orbed in just in time to hear the question, answering disappointedly, "I'm too late. Damn it! Gideon, he's my son! I told you not to do this to him."

Gideon relinquished his tentative hold on the young man offered his most sincere and apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Leo. But it's for the best. Really."

Piper felt for the pulse in her son's neck, breathing a sigh of relief when she found it strong and steady. It appeared that he was just sleeping. "What did you do to him?"

"The other Elder's think it could compromise the future too much if he's aware of what happened this week. They erased his memory of it, gave him a sedative. When he wakes up, they don't want us to let him know that we even know who he is. Everything should go back the way it was before this all happened."

Piper whirled on her husband angrily, "How could you let this happen?"

"It wasn't my choice Piper! Besides, Chris wanted me to erase his memory as soon as he returned from the future." Even as Leo defended his mentor's actions, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and he voiced his opinion. "He was going to tell me something important—I know he was. Damn it, Gideon! Couldn't you have just waited a few minutes!"

"Again, I do apologize, Leo. But what's done is done. Now, it's also come to our attention that he somehow possesses demonic powers. Is that true?"

When no one answered, Gideon shook his head disappointedly and informed the sisters, "Before he wakes, you three will have to bind those powers. If he should remain in possession of them—well, I would hate to see the cleaners become involved…" The Elder bowed and orbed out, the remaining Elder's dispersing as well.

Piper kneeled down, gently brushing the dark strands of hair from Chris' forehead. "Leo, how can I go back to pretending that he's not mine? He's my baby." She spoke softly when he rubbed small circles on her back. "You should go, Leo…"

Leo dropped open his mouth in shock, "Piper, I thought we were…ok?"

"We are. But Chris doesn't know that. If you're suddenly here again…We'll do things slowly. Get him to admit who he is. I'm not giving him up."

Nodding reluctantly, Leo orbed out, leaving the sisters to care for his youngest son.

The paper that Chris had barely written on lay crumpled in the corner, unfinished. And with no memory of the knowledge, it would remain that way…

€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€-€

Strolling into his office in magic school, Gideon nodded confidently to his assistant. "Our plans are still safe, Sigmund. If Chris had told them already, they wouldn't have hesitated to vanquish me as soon as I had arrived. No. Child or not, that abomination will be eliminated as planned."

TBC…

Thank you all so much for the reviews. That's all for now, but there is still one chapter left to go. I think you can guess where it's going from here since my little detour is getting back on track with the Charmed universe. Let me know if you need to see it or I need to clear anything up before the end. Can I say thank you so much again:) It's been a blast!