A/N: I went back and forth on the issue of Chris and Wyatt having a little sister and I have finally decided that for that for this piece of fiction she doesn't exist. It's not that I don't like the idea of her character or anything, it's just that she wouldn't appear as major character and it would be one more thing to worry about when creating some of the flashbacks that will occur throughout the story. It's just too complicated. Sorry!

A/N: The flashbacks (really flash forwards) that I will be including in some of the chapters may occur out of order. Hopefully you won't become confused with the timeline, but let me know if you have any questions. The flashbacks tie into how LEO is feeling about everything and help to tell the mystery of what happens in the future. You will know much more than the Charmed Ones ever will.

Chapter 5- The Deception Unfolds

As Chris orbed them up to the attic, LEO couldn't help but remember the last time he had a conversation with his son.

* * *

Leo had orbed into Victor's apartment to find Chris.

"Hi, Dad," the teenager had said, not even looking up from his homework from where he sat at the kitchen table. Chris seemed to be in an amiable mood for a change.

Victor had been standing by stove, making what appeared to be a stir fry of some sort. Apparently his culinary skills had improved somewhat since Chris had come to live with him. "Hello, Leo," Victor said curtly.

Leo had nodded and turned to his son. "Can we speak in private?" he asked. There were some things he needed to say and he didn't want Chris's decision to be swayed by his grandfather's presence.

"About what?" Victor asked, turning towards them with a wooden spoon in his hand. He looked like he was on the defensive already. He and Leo had not always agreed on how to raise Chris since he had chosen to live with his grandfather less than a year ago.

"It's between us-" Leo began.

"Well, I think anything you have to say to him can be said in front of me," Victor argued, setting down his spoon and crossing his arms over his chest.

Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to offend his father-in-law after all he had done for them, but this conversation was important. It had taken a lot for him to muster up the courage to speak to Chris about it again and he didn't want to postpone it any longer. "Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I really would like to speak with Chris alone."

Chris sighed and closed his math textbook. "Its okay, Grandpa. I'll talk to him. Do you want to go to the bridge?"

"That we would be fine," said Leo, feeling relieved. He was about to grab his son's arm to orb him, when Chris orbed out on his own. Turning to Victor he said, "Don't worry, I'll have him home for dinner."

He then orbed to bridge and found Chris already seated with his legs dangling over the beam, waiting for him. Leo sat down beside his son and found himself at a loss on how to begin. He had practiced this conversation in his head a hundred times, but he felt no more prepared to handle Chris than before.

"What did you want?" the sixteen year old suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"Just to talk," Leo began. "I've missed you…"

Chris turned to look at him, his eyes looking hopeful. "Really?"

Leo was shocked by the question. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know…" Chris mumbled, looking away.

Leo noticed him tugging on the cuffs of his sleeves nervously. Things had been difficult between them for a long while now. Some of it was his fault, but the large majority of the problem was because of Chris's skewed perception of how things had played out over the years. Leo had desperately tried to rectify the situation on many occasions, but the stubborn teenager was still holding fast to his inaccurate belief that his father didn't truly care for him.

"Chris, look at me," Leo said. "Please…"

After a long while, Chris finally looked up at him. "You are my son and I love you very much. Of course I miss you… Just because I supported your decision to move in with your Grandpa, it doesn't mean that I don't think about you every day. I just wanted to make sure that you were comfortable where you were living so that you could get better."

"There's nothing wrong with me…" Chris muttered, still tugging on his sleeves.

"I know…" said Leo, knowing the scars that lay hidden beneath those long sleeves. "How are you doing?"

"Good," Chris said, nodding. "I've started going to high school again."

"I saw that. You were working on math when I orbed in. Things are going well?"

Chris shrugged indifferently. "Yeah. I'm pretty behind, but my teachers are helping me catch up."

Leo smiled, knowing just how far his son had come in recovering. "I'm proud of you." He reached out and gave Chris a one armed hug, sensing that he wouldn't shy away from him.

"Thanks," said Chris, leaning into his embrace.

Leo cleared his throat, and figured now was as good of a time as any. "Listen… I know you are finally adjusting to everything again, but I wanted to ask you question…"

"What?" Chris asked.

Leo took a deep breath and just came out and said it. "I was wondering if you might want to come home…"

He watched as Chris sat up straighter and took a shuddering breath. "I don't know…"

"Chris, if living at the manor is too much for you, then we can live wherever you want. I just want you with me. I miss you," Leo implored, knowing how difficult it would be for Chris to return home after everything that happened.

"I don't know," Chris repeated, "If we lived somewhere else, what would we do with the manor?"

Leo had already considered this and it was a concern. As it was they were at risk of losing the house because of financial matters that had arose since Piper's death. He was trying his best to keep P3 up and running, but it was stressful trying to be at the club and be an elder and look after his estranged sons.

"Well, we couldn't sell it because we have to protect the Nexus, so I guess it would sit vacant for a while," Leo finally said. "We could always get an apartment somewhere or something."

"Wouldn't that get expensive?" Chris asked in surprise.

"It doesn't matter and you don't have to worry about that. I'd do anything to have you safe with me again. I'm still concerned that you are unprotected living with Victor," Leo said firmly.

Chris frowned at this. "I can take care of myself."

"I know," said Leo, even though he wondered just how true that was. Chris may not have as many powers as Wyatt, but he could be a force to reckon with if he only had the confidence.

"What about Wyatt?" Chris asked.

"What about him?" Leo asked, already knowing where he was going with this.

"Would Wyatt live with us too?"

"If he wanted to, I guess. I honestly don't see him much anymore," Leo said in frustration. His eighteen year old son had moved out long ago after their many arguments had caused a rift between them. The last time he saw Wyatt, things had ended badly. "I tried to keep tabs on him for a long while, but it just got too hard… he's changed…"

"I know…"

"You do?" Leo asked in surprise. He didn't realize Chris saw Wyatt anymore. His eldest son was usually so consumed with grief and regret whenever he saw his younger brother that he would end up leaving or avoid him altogether. "Have you seen Wyatt lately?"

"He stops by sometimes," said Chris. "Been coming around a lot more… And you're right. He has changed…"

"What do you mean?"

"He wants me to live with him too… says that he can keep me safe, but he kind of scares me…" Chris said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why? What has he done?"

"Nothing really. It's just a feeling I get. He doesn't even care about innocents anymore, and he seems hell bent on vanquishing every last demon. He's always in the underworld, and he tries to get me to come with him," he explained, shuddering slightly.

Leo hugged him tighter to him, knowing how much it would upset Chris to be in the underworld again. "I didn't know that…"

Chris suddenly sat up a little straighter, looking around them. "What is it?" Leo asked.

"He's here."

Leo sensed for his other son and realized that Chris was right. They both stood up. "Wyatt?" Leo called.

A young man with longish blonde hair suddenly appeared, having dropped his invisibility. He was clad all in black and Excalibur lay on his back, sheathed in a holster that hung from a strap that crossed his chest diagonally. "Hello Chris… Dad…" he said nodding to them both. "Isn't this a happy little reunion? What's the occasion?"

"Dad wants me to come live with him," Chris replied.

Wyatt looked surprised by this and frowned deeply. "And are you going to?"

"I'm thinking about it," Chris admitted.

"Really…"

Leo could see that this troubled Wyatt for some reason. "What Chris does is not your concern. It's his decision," he said, trying to ignore his son's appearance. He knew from experience that making any comments about his dark attire or that fact that he openly carried Excalibur would end in argument.

"Chris will always be my concern. And what concerns me now is that he would foolishly live with you when he'd be safer with me," said Wyatt.

Leo disregarded Wyatt's comment figuring he was still bitter about how things had been left between them. "You know you could return home too if you wanted. You are always welcome."

"Somehow I don't think that would be true… not now…" he said, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, his concern for his son growing now. "What have you done?"

"Only what I must…" said Wyatt. With a wave of his hand two demons appeared by his side. "I just wanted you both to know that you no longer need to fear an attack. I am in control now."

Leo sucked his breath in shock and pulled Chris behind him. "Wyatt, what have you done?!"

"Just taking out an insurance policy," he said with a sick grin.

"What did you do? Take over the underworld or something?" Chris asked.

"No, but I'm close…"

* * *

Two days after that little encounter on the bridge, when he was coming to pick up Chris to bring him home, Leo was ambushed by demons… Wyatt's demons. He later learned the extent of Wyatt's treachery. Leo shook his head to clear his thoughts.

The twenty-two year old Chris had yet to say anything to him, and Leo was nervous about how to begin to explain to him his brother's betrayal. He watched his son pace around the attic nervously and marveled at how much he had changed.

"I can't believe how much you've grown," he said.

Chris gave him a funny look and said, "Yeah, well you missed a lot…"

Leo's eyes must have revealed how much that comment hurt because Chris suddenly said. "Sorry… I didn't mean that…"

"Yes you did," said Leo knowingly. "You're still hurt that I wasn't there for you."

"Why weren't you?!" asked Chris, suddenly full of rage once more. "I've gone over this in my head and I still can't figure it out. Where were you all this time?"

Leo really didn't want to have to spell every last awful detail out to him. "C'mon Chris. You must know…"

"With Wyatt?" Chris asked, his voice cracking. "Your favorite?"

Leo sighed and shook his head. "Despite what you may think, I never played favorites."

Chris snorted. "Yeah, right…"

"It's true," Leo said firmly.

"Whatever," he replied snidely. "So did you and Wyatt have fun making me believe you were dead? Did you think I was better off without you?"

"It wasn't like that."

"Then tell me what it was like!"

"I was in his dungeons, okay?" Leo yelled back. "For the last six years I have spent every moment in a small cave guarded by demons."

"No!" said Chris in disbelief. "I don't believe you. Wyatt wouldn't do that to you, not after…"

"Chris, he did. Alright?" Leo said sadly. "I tried so hard to escape and get back to you, but nothing I did worked, especially after he bound my powers. After a while, I think I gave up... it was easier than caring… easier than trying to make Wyatt see that he was becoming evil…"

"You were down there all that time?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper.

Leo nodded despondently.

"Oh God…" said Chris, looking as though he was starting to panic. "All that time and I didn't know. I could have rescued you or something…"

"Chris, calm down…" he tried.

"All that time… what did they do to you?" he asked desperately.

"You don't want to know," Leo said.

"Oh God… six years…" he began to pace around the attic, apparently distraught over his father's imprisonment. "The damage they must have done…"

Leo reached out and grabbed his son by the arms and shook him to make him snap out of his tirade. "Chris, calm down! It wasn't like what happened to you!"

Chris gave him a doubtful look.

"I promise you, it wasn't as bad as… that…" Leo said, unsure of how to explain it without setting Chris off into a self-destructive mood.

"Six years…" Chris whispered again, tears in his eyes. "If I had known…"

"I know, Chris. I know."

"But why would Wyatt do this?" he asked once more.

"For whatever reason, Wyatt saw our bond as a threat to his rising regime. He once told me that that there was only room for one person's influence in your life," LEO explained. "He knew that I wouldn't be understanding of his cause, but hoped that he could persuade you to his way of thinking. So he did the only thing he could think of… he severed our bond by making you think that I was dead. Trapped in the underworld, you wouldn't be able to sense me and would believe my faked death. With me out of the way he hoped that you would join him."

Looking tired and defeated, Chris said. "I'm sorry for the way I have acted… I didn't know…"

"I know," said Leo, pulling his son into an embrace. They held onto each other for a long while, before Chris finally pulled back.

"How much do you know about what happened to the family?" he asked.

LEO swallowed thickly, remembering how frustrating it had been to learn how his family was falling apart and being powerless to stop it. "A little… Wyatt used to come down and talk to me occasionally," he said. "Mostly he gloated over his victories, but he also shared news about what was happening to the family."

"So you know that Uncle Henry and the rest of the cousins died fighting?" Chris asked, wiping away the tears gathering in his eyes now.

LEO nodded miserably. "And I was told that Uncle Coop was banished from earth by a spell."

"We tried to break it, but nothing we ever tried worked," Chris explained. "I guess it's better that he wasn't able to return to earth anyway. He would have probably fallen too."

LEO put a hand on his son's shoulder and felt the ache in his chest continue to grow. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"Grandpa died two years later after you disappeared… did you know that?" Chris added.

LEO was surprised to hear this. "No. I didn't. How did it happen?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Lung cancer. It got pretty bad towards the end," Chris explained. "He was the only one that actually died of natural causes."

Leo sighed sadly and moved his hand to caress his son's face. "I'm sorry you had to go through that at such a young age," he said.

Chris shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I was grown by then and I could take care of myself."

"But you shouldn't have had to…"

"I didn't really have a choice. Wyatt had become the Source by then," he said. "We created a resistance against him."

"I heard," said LEO smirking. "Wyatt was furious when he found out you were the leader."

Chris nodded and took a deep breath, looking despondent. His son really had been to hell and back again and it pained LEO that he had failed him so badly.

"Chris, I tried to get back to you. I really did," LEO tried to explain once more. "But without my powers-"

Chris cut him off. "Wyatt really bound your powers?"

LEO nodded sadly.

"Maybe we could write a spell to reverse it?" Chris inquired.

"I don't think it would work, even with the Power of Three," said LEO.

"You're probably right. Only Wyatt could reverse a spell strong enough to bind an Elder's powers," Chris admitted. "But it's still worth a try…"

LEO shrugged. Losing his powers didn't bother him anymore. He had lived so long without them that he almost couldn't remember what it was like to have them. They were both quiet again for awhile, lost in their own thoughts.

LEO finally broke the tension with a heartfelt apology. "I'm so sorry Chris… that I wasn't a better father… I did everything I could think of to escape. I even tried tunneling through the cave walls, but I was always caught. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

"It's okay," Chris said, his voice choked with emotion.

"No, it's not. But we're going to stop it from ever happening," LEO said determinedly.

"I hope so…"

He pulled his son back into another rough embrace, holding him tightly. He was so thankful to have Chris in his life again.

That was how the sisters found them a moment later, when their curiosity finally got the best of them and they came to investigate.

A/N: Sorry to end it there. I will hopefully be posting again soon. Let me know what you think!