Chapter Twenty:
After a rather sleepless night Chris woke up from the few hours of rest he had managed to attain. He had been driving himself nuts all night thinking about Bianca and punishing himself for being attracted to a phoenix assassin, a member of the very coven the witch who killed his mother had been a member of. On top of those thoughts he also had great dread about what Wyatt was planning to do to those he cared about. He knew that by saving the senator, Prue and the others had made themselves targets, and Wyatt himself was in hot pursuit. Chris knew he needed a plan, a way to get out of this trap Wyatt had placed him in, so he could protect the ones he loved. He decided to once again wander around the surrounding underworld cave, this time to try and see if there were any possible ways to escape.
After having exited his "apartment" Chris bumped into Granchus. "Watch where you are going witch." Granchus spat. Chris answered in a very sarcastic tone. "I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not." Chris answered. His remark angered Granchus who spat back "If I wasn't such a loyal follower of the source I would take you out right here and right now." Chris simply laughed at the demon's remark, angering Granchus even more. "You need to shut up kid. Until Wyatt decides that you have finally joined our side, I am second in command down here, and I deserve respect." Chris was amused by the fact that the demon was threatened by him. "Oh don't worry Granchus." Chris answered. "I have no interest in your position in the underworld hierarchy." That remark was followed by an intense amount of glaring.
However, the heated exchange between the two, was interrupted when Bianca shimmered in. Granchus seemed annoyed by the distraction. "What do you want Phoenix?" He demanded. "I am here to talk with the source." she answered. "Where is he?" "He's busy." Granchus answered. "But whatever it is you can leave a message with me and I will pass it along." Bianca did not like that idea. "I'd rather talk to him in person." she answered back." Granchus seemed infuriated by her lack of respect. "I said that the source is busy right now." he shot back. "I guess I'll just have to wait then," she answered. "If you insist" the demon answered abruptly before storming off, not making any effort to hide his annoyance.
"Nice guy, huh?" Bianca said turning to address Chris. "He's a demon what do you expect." Bianca just nodded. "So what are you really doing here huh? Hoping to run into me?" Chris asked sarcastically. Bianca pretended to be insulted, not wanting to give Chris the satisfaction of knowing he was right. "You know, you are quite full of yourself." She spat back. "For your information, I am here to speak to Wyatt. I want to offer him my assistance with the senator situation after my failure last night." Chris face took on a more angry, serious look.
"So much for you being sorry that your information put Wyatt on a mission to kill my family and friends, huh?" Chris demanded relaying both anger and disappointment in the tone of his voice. Bianca did not let it phase her. "Hey it is all about self preservation. Besides if I promise Wyatt to try and locate the senator and his wiccan protectors, than perhaps Wyatt will spend less time trying to locate them himself. And if your cloaking magic is as good as you claim it is, Wyatt can't really be to angry if I'm not successful now can he?. You said yourself it would take him quite sometime to find them, so I doubt Mr. Giant Ego will expect me to pull off something even he can't."
Chris was staring at her intently the entire time she spoke, hoping what he was reading in between the lines was correct. "Well if you are doing what I think you are… then, thank you." He told her after a brief silence. "And just how do you know I have earned your gratitude?" she asked sarcastically. "I don't" Chris answered, "that is why I used the word 'if.'" Bianca simply gave him a sarcastic grin. Then she noticed that Wyatt had orbed in. "Well looks like its time for me to go and kiss some ass." she said before heading in Wyatt's direction. However, before completely walking away she turned around and added, "By the way… Your welcome."
Chris simply nodded understanding what she meant and hoping her plan would work. He needed her to buy as much time as possible so he could find a way to escape before Wyatt went after those he cared about. Slightly more hopeful than he had been when he woke up that morning, Chris revisited his plan to look around for an escape route. It was a lot easier to focus knowing he had a potential ally, and knowing that he was not attracted to a purely evil women. Bianca had good in her, and today had confirmed that.
Back at P3 Senator Hall had finally been convinced that he was among good witches and that Wyatt was the evil one. He however did not like the idea of simply hiding while a murderer had managed to deceive the whole world into putting their lives in his hands. "I can't just stay here." He said. "I need to let the Senate know what is going on, so the government can stop Wyatt from gaining power while they still can." The senator was speaking only to Leo as Prue had gone over to talk to Sean, while Bridget and Brian wanted to let their little sister know they were all right.
"Do you really think they will believe you?" Leo asked, not really asking for an answer. "The entire world thinks he is a savior and they think witches are the enemy. Many of the witches hiding out here are fugitives we helped escape arrest. Besides if you leave here Wyatt will be able to sense you out in the open and you won't get the chance to warn anyone about anything." The Senator seemed to be understanding what Leo was telling him, but he still was not happy.
"I need to ask you some important questions though." Leo asserted. "Is there anyone close to you that you think Wyatt could or would go after in an attempt to draw you out?" The senator looked thoughtful for a moment before answering Leo's question. "Well I am one of the few unmarried politicians, so I don't have a wife or children that could be potential targets." Leo nodded. "Things should be alright then. Besides I doubt Wyatt would go after any of your loved ones anyway as long as you are in hiding and out of his way. He will most probably just bide his time, and come after you if and when he manages to locate you. If you wish to continue this campaign against him though, I am sure that he will go after anyone he thinks may be important to you."
"So you expect me to just stay here and do nothing while the world goes to hell?" The senator shot back misreading Leo's intentions. "You know what I think…" the senator continued. "I think that in your own twisted way you want to protect that son of a bitch, after all he is family right. Your Prue's uncle, and he's her cousin so you are related no?" Leo, normally very pacifist in nature was extremely enraged by the reference to Piper as a 'bitch.' "Don't you dare refer to the woman I love like that, you hear me?" Leo fumed. "What?" The senator answered back confused at first before the realization hit him. "Wyatt is your son?" The senator asked, even though he already knew the answer. By that time Leo was a little calmer, and simply nodded.
"So where is his mother?" The senator asked purely out of curiosity. Leo hesitated before answering. "She's dead. Wyatt was indirectly responsible." The senator nodded showing some compassion. "I'm sorry." he said. "But still how do I know you are not trying to protect your son?" "You can't know that." Leo answered. "Because I am trying to protect him, or rather trying to save him. Ever since his mother's death he has been consumed by this black hole of hate. My eldest son is lost and somehow I am going to find him. All you need to do is trust me and the others to protect you and to stop Wyatt's power trip. That is simply the best way to keep you and the ones you love safe." Understanding, the senator agreed.
"So you have another son?" The senator inquired, having picked up on Leo's reference to Wyatt as his 'eldest son.' Leo nodded. "Yeah, and he is a great man. It is just so sad, all the stuff he has had to endure." "Is he here?" The senator inquired feeling bad for pushing but allowing curiosity to get the best of him. "No," Leo answered. "His brother is holding him captive, trying desperately to get his little brother to join him in his quest for world domination. Chris however, just won't have it." The senator nodded realizing that all of his questions had not been that appropriate. "Sorry, I didn't mean to press you for information." the senator told Leo. "Oh it's okay. We've given you a lot to swallow today, it is only natural that you would have questions."
By that point in the conversation Prue and Sean were approaching the two older men carrying a sleeping bag. "This is for you," Prue said handing it to the senator, before sarcastically adding, "I know it is not what you are used to, but if you want to live, you will just have to deal." Prue's attitude surprisingly amused the senator, "You know you are a very interesting young lady." He said before adding. "And don't you worry, this sleeping bag will be just fine."
The senator's easy going attitude led Prue, to change her demeanor, from one of annoyance, after having been accused of being evil, to one a little less defensive. "Right," she said. "We all usually sleep in the backstage area, at least when we find time to. Whenever you want to get some sleep just go ahead, for now this place is safe, my cousin cannot locate us." The senator simply nodded amazed at this young girl's maturity. "For now huh?" he questioned, "well that's comforting." he added, before going backstage to get some sleep. He had been up almost all night questioning just what was going on and trying to swallow all of the new information.
"Maybe you should go and get some sleep." Leo suggested to his niece. "No." she answered. "Now that we have insulted Wyatt by thwarting his plans he is going to be coming after us. We need to expect that he will eventually find us and be prepared with a number of vanquishing potions and spells, so I am going to work on some." Sean looked at her in a rather disapproving way. He was worried that she was not taking care of herself, not eating, or sleeping. "You need to get some rest." He told her assertively. Prue may have been very stubborn, but if there was one person she would really listen to, besides maybe Chris, it was Sean. "Fine," she said "…but only for an hour or two, there is a lot of work to be done." Sean agreed, knowing this was the best he was going to get. "Okay." he said, before leading her backstage, leaving Leo alone.
Leo himself had rarely been sleeping, especially since Chris had taken Wyatt's deal to go stay in the underworld. Despite Leo's absence for the better part of his son's life, he still loved Chris, even though seeing him often made him think of losing Piper. After all it was all but unmistakable that Chris was Piper's son. At this point though all Leo wanted was to know that his son was safe again. It was hard enough for the elder worrying about saving Wyatt from the twisted being that he had turned into, knowing his younger son was trapped in the underworld was simply too much. Leo simply couldn't deny that he had been a complete failure as a father.