Somewhere in the future, in a small slip between dimensions…
Victor Bennet paced around the hardwood floor, and his polished shoes squeaked as they rubbed against the dustless floorboards. The cozily lit room gave an appearance of relaxation, but inside, Victor was in hell.
Bianca had left him in here, promising he would be safe. The cupboards were stacked with food enough to last six months, but his conscience was nagging at him with undying consistency.
His precious grandson was busily working in the past, and his granddaughter and Jonas, who felt more like family everyday although there wasbiological relation, were using their awesome powers to take down their evil, dictatorial cousin whom Victor rarly refers to or thinks of as his oldest grandson.
While he, the man who promised Piper to look after her sons if anything had ever happened, was stuck in God knows where, helpless.
Orbs interrupted his thoughts and Victor swerved toward them.
"Chris?" Victor said hopefully, dragging himself to his feet as his joints creaked with arthritis.
But as the blue orbs materialized in Leo, he was gravely disappointed.
"You," he muttered, and sat back down.
"Victor?" Leo asked, rushing over to the old grandfather, "what happened?"
Victor looked up at him heatedly as the elder continued.
"I went to the resistance base, and it was empty. What happened there? Did demons attack?"
Victor scowled at him. "You know exactly who attacked…your vile son," he spat the words out.
Leo looked infuriated. He glared at Victor, his eyebrows knit so that they almost touched his nose.
"Don't you dare say such things about my Wyatt! He just doesn't know what he's doing! He would never hurt someone good!" Leo rushed on, until he realized his father-in-law was turning red with anger.
"Your 'beloved' son is ruling the world!" Victor exploded into rage, "he's killing innocent people left and right, whether you want to except it or not!"
Leo crunched up his face
"Piper knew it, too!" he continued, his aged voice strengthening as he spoke, "and that's why she chose Chris to be her successor, not Wyatt. Chris is pure good, and has a heart of gold, whereas Wyatt is corrupted by power."
Leo stomped over to Victor, and held him up against the wall with quivering fists. The old man grasped for breath.
"You just shut your mouth," he warned, "you'll always favor Chris, but Wyatt deserved to be a next generation Charmed One! Why Piper couldn't see it, I'll never understand!"
Jingles began to echo through the room. Leo looked up with his eyes closed for a moment, and opened them a few seconds later.
"Excuse me, Victor," he said curtly, "my son is calling me."
And the elder orbed out, leaving Victor wishing he could speak to his true grandchildren, including Jonas but excluding Wyatt, again.
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Back at the Manor (present day)…
The sisters had decided that Melody could stay at the manor in the spare bedroom, but Jonas had to sleep in the storeroom at the club with Chris. Jonas was upset about this, regardless of what Chris said.
Mel however, refused to stay in the manor if Chris and Jonas were not with her. And with all the protest of the sisters and Leo, they could not sway her otherwise.
Leo, however, was feeling guilty about the way he had treated his newfound nieceat the club. He approached her, under the wary eyes of Chris and Jonas.
"You know," he began, "I can heal that properly for you." He gestured at the scar on her cheek, which was the only visible wound remaining. He reached out his hand, while the golden glow appeared.
Mel pushed him away.
"It was done by a cursed dagger," she said coldly, "No thing or person can heal it, except the person who spelled the knife."
Piper and Paige were shocked, and Phoebe rushed over and hugged her daughter.
"Who would do that?" Paige wondered, aghast. "Some sick and twisted sociopath?"
Mel's eyes darted subtly toward Wyatt, who had just gurgled in his crib, then returned her gaze to the sisters.
"You don't want to know."
Wyatt had felt attention on him for a moment, and orbed directly into Mel's arms. She caught him, surprised and almost frightened. She looked at the toddler, and glanced helplessly at Chris and Jonas, who both made a move toward her.
"No, let her hold her older cousin," Phoebe said, smiling, and unaware of the torture her daughter was being put through as she held the little boy who would grow up to be responsible for her father's and little sister's death.
"No, Mom," Mel said, her voice shaking slightly as she tried to cover the rest of the fear-anger mix up. "It's fine…really…"
As she tried to put him back into the cradle, he reached up to her cheek. His little hands glowed yellow, and the scar that was supposedly permanent, disappeared and wascompletely heal.
Leo practically shined with pride. He looked towards Piper, and she looked as pleased as he was.
"Our little boy is so sweet," Piper said, and she took Wyatt away from Mel and hugged him.
"Powerful too," Leo added, and patted his son on the head. Chris looked like he was about to be sick, and Jonas was turning purple with rage.
Mel felt her chin tenderly, and looked back at the small boy.
"So much for your theory about that knife," Paige said lightly.
"My little boy surpassed all rules and standards," Piper said proudly, and she took Wyatt up to his room, to put him to bed.
Phoebe, however, looked at Mel closely, who after a few seconds, averted her eyes to the ground. She could sense that something was in conflict with her troubled daughter, but the girl could somehow block her empathy. She would crack her eventually.
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In the future Underworld
"Son, you called me."
Leo orbed directly into the lair, and the darklighter hidden in the shadows was practically drooling. He cursed under his breath. Being this close to an elder and not being able to shoot at it was infuriating.
Lord Wyatt turned around. He smiled at his father kindly, and Leo's worries created from his conversation with Victor earlier dissipated instantaneously. How could his son possibly be evil?
"Hi Dad!" Wyatt said happily, and rushed to hug his father. The darklighter set his jaw, and grinded his teeth. He hated sentimental crap, even if his master was just acting.
"Son, I've been so worried about you," Leo murmured into Wyatt's shoulder. Wyatt almost moaned with disgust. But he needed information about Chris. His father was extraordinarily gullible, but there was no need to provoke risks that could be altogether avoided.
"Dad, I haven't seen Chris in a while," he said casually after stepping away from his father, "do you know where he is?"