FALSE MEMORIES
My first posted story here. Also my first Charmed Fanfic, although I have written fanfiction for other shows.
Disclaimer: The characters in Charmed do not belong to me. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Summary: Loved the Piper/Leo/Chris family dynamic in Season 6 so that's when this story is based. Set after Chris-Crossed and Prince Charming. Nobody knows who Chris is yet, but they're about to find out, courtesy of an unexpected visitor from the future…
Notes: Hi! New chapter for you at long last. Apologies for it being a day later than promised to the reviewers. Real life interfered so I didn't have time to post yesterday. Anyway, let's get on with the show…
Chapter 30
In the early hours of the following morning, Chris jolted awake with a start. He had fallen into an exhausted sleep several hours earlier, physically drained by the events of the day. Now though, he was wide-awake and… about to throw up.
Knowing that he would never make it to the bathroom in time otherwise, he orbed there, only just coalescing into human form before his stomach heaved and the sickness came. After he had emptied what must have been his breakfast, lunch and dinner into the toilet bowl, the nausea gradually subsided, leaving him kneeling on the floor with his forehead resting against the cool porcelain and tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.
He stayed there like this for perhaps a minute or more, breathing deeply as the stomach cramps slowly died away, and then struggled to his feet and staggered over towards the washbasin to clean up. Here, he swilled out his mouth with water and brushed his teeth to get rid of the nasty taste in his mouth before raising his gaze to the mirror in front of him.
He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting – for his reflection to look different somehow, he guessed. However, apart from the sallow cheeks and the dark smudges staining the area under his eyes, he still looked remarkably like himself. As he stood there contemplating his reflection in the glass though, an irritating prickling sensation started up on the skin of his stomach again and he reached down to relieve the itch with his fingers, immediately regretting it when the action proved to be painful rather than soothing.
Stepping away from the washbasin, he looked down and saw that the whole area was red and inflamed. It was almost as if he was having an allergic reaction of some sort. The soft flesh was beginning to crack and blister in a narrow strip across his abdomen just below his belly button. Touching it gingerly with his fingertips, he realised it mirrored exactly the trajectory of the cut that he'd received from the demon's athame two days before.
That thought sent a cold shiver down the length of his spine as a horrible realisation dawned. Stacey hadn't been the target, he had. She was just the bait, a witch in trouble to lure him into the ambush. It didn't make any sense though – his Dad had healed that injury. He shook his head – he was just being paranoid. It was simply a coincidence, probably nothing to worry about at all. That was it. It had to be.
Flushing the toilet, he exited the bathroom and padded down the hallway back towards his bedroom, only to be distracted by the soft murmur of voices coming from above. Wyatt was yet to come to, and Future Leo had volunteered to guard him while the rest of them caught up on some much-needed rest. One of the others had obviously elected to join him in the task however, and Chris, whose stomach was still feeling somewhat delicate, resolved to find out whom. Sleep, he decided, wasn't going to come easily until the churning nausea settled down a bit.
As he reached the top of the wooden staircase and stepped over the threshold into the attic, he discovered his two fathers sitting side by side on the sofa, their heads bent together in quiet conversation. They both looked up as he entered and he felt uncomfortably like a bug under a microscope as they each registered his rather sickly appearance.
"Are you all right?" Present Leo asked, quickly coming to his feet as he took in his son's unhealthy-looking pallor.
"I'm fine," Chris insisted, waving off his father's concern and tugging up his pyjama pants to hide the nasty irritation scarring his lower abdomen. "I just… I think the power swap messed up my biorhythms or something. I feel… umm, kind of weird and a bit off-balance."
"Understandable," Future Leo said, seeming to accept this rather vague explanation much to Chris's relief.
He didn't know why he felt the need to conceal the true extent of his malady from them, but something stopped his tongue from confiding it. It was as if the burden was his to bear alone, a private concern that no one else needed to know about.
"So, I take it his Lord and Master is still out for the count then?" he asked instead, turning the conversation away from himself and towards his brother.
Future Leo frowned. "Yeah – I think I might have gone a little overboard on the sleep dust."
"Overboard? More like Overdose," Chris rejoined, "It's been hours, Dad!"
"He's usually quite good at throwing off things like that though," Future Leo said defensively. "It didn't occur to me that without his powers he'd be more susceptible to the effects."
"I don't think it's such a bad thing," Present Leo said. "It's given Chris some time to adjust to the consequences of the power-switching spell, hasn't it?"
"I guess," his other self agreed. "How are you going with that by the way?" he asked their son.
The question went unheard however, for Chris's attention had suddenly snapped towards his brother. "He's waking up," he informed his fathers in an ominous tone.
Present Leo glanced at his eldest son, who still appeared practically comatose to his eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked Chris doubtfully.
The dark-haired witch-whitelighter nodded, his expression tight and wary. "I can hear him."
"Hear him?" Present Leo was confused.
"You know the mystical bond that the girls share?" Future Leo said.
Present Leo nodded.
"Well, our sons have the same thing," his future self explained. "Only it's a bit more developed."
Present Leo's eyes widened. "You mean they're telepathic?" he asked with a certain amount of awe, wondering why this nugget of information had been omitted from his borrowed memories.
"Only with each other," Future Leo replied. "Mix that special Charmed bond with their whitelighter sensing powers and that's what you get."
"And I didn't expect to be coming back, let alone bringing Wyatt with me, so I didn't think it was particularly relevant," he added, answering his counterpart's unspoken question as well.
"They can block it out though," he continued, "Which is what you should be doing," he warned their son. "We discussed this, Chris. You need to stay focused. Don't let him get under your skin."
Chris's gaze was still riveted on Wyatt however, who was now stirring and mumbling under his breath as the fog of his artificially induced slumber slowly lifted.
"Chris!"
The young witch-whitelighter jumped at his father's sharp remonstrance. "It's not like he's going to say anything that he wouldn't say with his mouth," he reasoned.
"Maybe not – but when you're not in his immediate vicinity, you block him out, okay? He's an expert manipulator. Don't give him the opportunity to play you."
"I know his tricks, Dad."
"Yes, but you're not always immune to them. Promise me you'll be careful."
Chris turned his gaze on his father. "Look - I promise okay?" he said. "I've come too far to mess this up now, you know. I just… I need to say goodbye, that's all." He let out a short laugh. "How insane is that, huh? He's nearly killed me - more than once - and he did kill Bianca. Yet still I feel the need to connect with him somehow."
Future Leo sighed. "We all do, son. For me it's because, every so often, I see glimpses of the old Wyatt amidst all that darkness and it makes me think that maybe there's still a way to get him back. I know, in my heart of hearts, that unless you change the future that's just not going to happen, but I can't help hoping for it nevertheless. Giving up on him is just unfathomable to me. He's my son."
"And my brother," Chris said, echoing the sentiment if not the words.
Their conversation was interrupted then, as Wyatt finally threw off the last lingering effects of the sleep dust and jerked awake with a sharp intake of breath. For a brief moment, he looked around wild-eyed, confused by his surroundings, but then quickly regained his composure and leapt to his feet.
"Where have you brought me?" he demanded of his father without pausing to take a breath.
Utterly unmoved by this threatening behaviour, Future Leo folded his arms across his chest and returned his son's steely gaze with admirable calm. "Somewhere you'll be safe," he quietly replied.
"Safe?" Wyatt let out a derisive snort. "And what makes you think I need protecting? I can handle…"
He broke off then and stared, goggle-eyed, as Present Leo stepped into his field of vision. Blinking rapidly, it took him a while to realise that he was indeed seeing double, and then his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"The past," he guessed shrewdly. "You've brought me to the past. Why would you…?"
He stopped again and spun around to face Chris, whose presence he had belatedly registered. There was something different about his little brother, he realised, something different about himself in fact. Why did he feel like Chris was inside his head somehow? It wasn't their telepathic link; this connection was far more profound, something that was integral to the fabric of the person he was.
The need to escape his confines suddenly overwhelmed him and he raised his hand, only to discover that the energy ball he had been intending to fire up didn't materialise.
'Got a little problem, bro?' his brother's voice sounded mockingly in his head, inciting his anger.
'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?' he telepathed back with incredible force, satisfied to note that Chris visibly winced as the silent words hit him squarely between the eyes.
'And here's me thinking you were smart,' the dark-haired witch-whitelighter drawled back sarcastically, otherwise unaffected by his brother's soundless bellow.
"I switched our powers," he went on to explain, speaking aloud for their fathers' benefit. "There's this pesky upper level demon that I'm supposed to kill and I'm told your powers'll come in handy with that."
"That spell doesn't work unless both parties are willing," Wyatt shot back immediately and was infuriated to see his brother's lips quirk up in a scornful little smirk.
"That's rather a moot point now, don't you think?" he queried laughingly, making Wyatt's blood boil.
Chris's forehead creased in concentration and a surging ball of violet energy appeared his upturned palm. "Is this what you were looking for?" he asked airily.
"Ahhh!"
Losing his temper, Wyatt gave vent to his rage, raising his hands and repeatedly throwing his brother's telekinesis power at the crystal cage that he was trapped inside. The bars of light undulated dramatically under the unrelenting onslaught but remained intact, although not without giving his watching captors some cause for concern.
"Whoa! That was a quick study," Present Leo murmured in his other self's ear.
Future Leo nodded in agreement. "His mind is extraordinarily attuned to the metaphysical. It's part of why he's destined to be who he is, whether that be good or evil. You may have noticed that Chris doesn't lag very far behind him on that score. You are aware that it took him mere hours to gain control of powers that should have taken him decades to perfect, right?"
Present Leo nodded. Chris's aptitude for learning hadn't escaped his notice earlier, although he'd chosen not to comment on it. There didn't seem to be any point, considering the ability could only be an advantage in the fight against their enemy.
As he watched his brother's fury escalate to epic proportions, Chris felt a deep sense of satisfaction run through him. Despite his desperate need to rescue Wyatt from the claws of evil, he still felt anger at his sibling's unwitting betrayal of him, their family and everything that they stood for. Not to mention the mental torture that Wyatt had put him through since his defection – the enforced and unnecessary estrangement from their father for instance, the immense pressure he had been placed under to join his brother's twisted regime, another example. As well as Bianca's death…
Or should that be murder? Because whether he had meant to or not, Wyatt had killed the unfortunate Phoenix and, on confronting his sibling for the first time since that last fatal encounter, Chris felt a strong desire for revenge, for retribution of some sort. What's more, he had the means to take it now. Immense power was flowing through his veins, potent and seductive. He could end this. Destroy the evil that had devastated his life and taken away the four people he had loved most in the world. His Mom, his Dad, Bianca and his brother, they were all lost to him in some shape or form.
Ending it was simple. All he had to do was to tear down that crystal cage and unleash his brother's power – the Ultimate Power – against its occupant and the havoc that Alcathan had wrecked on their lives would be no more, would be reduced to dust in an instant, a baby's breath, a heartbeat. If he could only find the courage, the strength, the will to take the revenge that belonged to him; it would finally all be over.
Except it wouldn't. Because, while it might have been Wyatt's hand that had crushed so much of his hope, it wasn't his brother's. The body and the mind might be one of the same, but the heart and soul were anything but. The once shining soul was riddled with the scourge of evil, the heart withered and only capable of a mere fraction of the love that it used to feel and give out in abundance.
If he ended the life before him, he would be destroying the last remaining fragments of a once-revered brother and he knew that he'd never be able to forgive himself for that. To spill the blood of the innocent child sleeping peacefully in his cot far away at Magic School, he just couldn't do it. Alcathan was responsible for this, not Wyatt. It was Alcathan who deserved all of his anger, all of his pain. The demon was the one who had started this war and Chris had finally discovered the key to unlocking the strong and steady resolve he required to finish it…
Once and for all.
Finally.
No matter what…
Unaware of their youngest's internal struggles with the darker side of his conscience, the two Leos stood calmly, shoulder to shoulder, watching as their eldest son's rather spectacular temper tantrum reached a rapid crescendo and then gradually began to burn itself out.
"Bet you can't wait for the terrible twos now," Future Leo quipped dryly at one point, making his younger counterpart laugh despite the very real horror of the situation. To see one's son utterly consumed by such out of control fury was no laughing matter for any father. How had it all come to this?
Understandably, Wyatt's awakening had aroused the rest of the household and Paige and Phoebe, both still dressed in their nightclothes and rubbing sleep from their eyes, soon joined them. Piper, on the other hand, slumbered on oblivious in her bed at Magic School, her little boy snoring in the cot beside her and her unborn child cocooned protectively in her swelling womb.
The arrival of his Aunts finally brought Wyatt out of his fit of temper and he lowered his hands to greet them. "Oo look - a family reunion. Aren't I the privileged one?" he said sarcastically. "Gotta say – you're both looking good. I'd forgotten how time hasn't been kind to you."
"I see he's still a charmer despite being evil," Paige remarked wryly to Future Leo who shot her a brief, pain-filled half-smile in return.
"Actually, speaking of family reunions…" Wyatt continued thoughtfully, his gaze ping ponging between his brother and father as it occurred to him that they'd been working on this little charade together.
"I broke your memory spell seven months ago, Wyatt," Future Leo explained wearily. "Did you really think I wouldn't find a way?"
"No actually. I knew you'd have an original thought sooner or later. I'm kind of disappointed in you though. I didn't think it'd take you five long years to do it. Poor little Chris thinking his Daddy didn't love him for all that time. You'd think you'd have tried a bit harder to make it all better for him, wouldn't you? Maybe those memories weren't so false after all. Maybe secretly you were glad that I gave you some freedom from the whiny little runt."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Chris stormed, his hands clenched into fists by his sides and his eyes glittering with a mixture of emotional pain and uncontrollable anger.
Sensing that his son was teetering dangerously close to the edge, Present Leo quickly reached out and placed a calming hand on Chris's forearm, while Future Leo faced down Wyatt. "Nothing could be further from the truth," he told him. "And you know it."
"Yeah, but he's just so gullible he falls for it every time, doesn't he?" Wyatt shot back. "I used to think he was a complete Mommy's boy, but now I'm not so sure. Daddy's girl is a lot more like it, don't you reckon?"
"CHRIS!"
Future Leo warned sharply when Chris reacted hotly to his brother's taunt by hurling an energy ball at the shimmering crystal cage. Wyatt jumped back as his prison buzzed, a self-satisfied smirk crossing his handsome face.
"Get him out of here," Future Leo instructed his other self.
Nodding curtly, Present Leo caught hold of their irate son's arm and orbed him downstairs to the kitchen.
"Calm down," he said, grabbing hold of Chris's shoulders and shaking him slightly. "You're reacting exactly the way he wants."
"So I should give him the satisfaction of getting away with it, should I?" Chris burst out angrily, his green eyes flashing with fire.
"You already did, Chris! Wyatt might not be able to break out of that cage with your powers, but you can easily break in with his! And he knows it."
"Oh." Chris said, his temper deflating as he realised how easily he'd been manipulated. "Dammit!" he swore, angry with himself now. "He's right. I am gullible."
Leo shook his head. "No, you're just human. He's playing on the lingering fears that his memory spell has wrought in you… and the anger he knows you must harbour against him for casting it. I know it won't be easy but you need to try to turn off your emotions when you're around him…"
"Or avoid him as much as possible," Chris cut in.
Leo nodded. "That might be an idea. It's important that you keep your wits about you. You can't afford to get distracted."
"So everyone keeps telling me," Chris said with an exasperated roll of his eyes. "Will you all save it with the responsibility crap already? Don't you think that I don't know that the fate of the whole world depends on whether I live or die? Don't you think I don't lie awake every night thinking about what will happen if I fail? It's all I ever think about these days, believe me."
Leo felt suddenly guilty. Hadn't he said to Piper only yesterday that they shouldn't forget that Chris was still only twenty-two, despite his apparent maturity? Hadn't he reminded her that they needed to support him every way they could so he didn't feel so alone in all of this?
What's worse was that his son's words rang with an uncomfortable vein of truth to them. This could very well be the life and death situation that Chris predicted, and that reality filled his father with stone-cold fear. It was the reason why he – along with everyone else, he presumed – had been pushing Chris to focus on the task at hand, to stay vigilant at all times. Unfortunately, in doing so, they'd only succeeded in heaping more pressure on him. Pressure that he didn't need.
"I know, I'm sorry… Son, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly when Chris suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth, pushed him aside and bolted for the kitchen sink.
The sound of retching came moments later and Leo quickly moved over to assist the stricken witch-whitelighter, rubbing his hand in soothing circles over his back as the boy's throat convulsed in a series of dry, painful heaves. Reaching out for a glass, he filled it with water and calmly handed it to his son when the sickness had receded.
"Thanks," Chris muttered, gulping down the cool liquid in an attempt to soothe his parched throat.
Leo pulled out a chair from the table and urged him to sit down before taking the chair alongside him, his blue-green eyes filled with fatherly concern. Chris was pale and shaking, beads of sweat standing out on his forehead and his eyes red with involuntary moisture.
"Do you need me to heal you?" Leo asked.
Chris shook his head violently from side to side. "No, no, I'm okay… I think it's just the spell…"
"And the rest," Leo remarked astutely.
"The… the rest?"
"It's okay to be frightened, Chris, you know. Nobody will think any less of you for admitting that."
Chris didn't answer. Instead, he kept his head bowed as he nervously twisted his fingers together in his lap.
Leo sighed. "You need to get some sleep," he said, smoothing his hand over the top of his son's bent head. "You'll feel better in the morning."
"But Wyatt…"
"I think we're capable of handling him without your assistance," Leo said, pushing back his chair and rising to his feet. "You go up to your room and get yourself settled, while I mix up a sleeping draught to help you relax."
Chris didn't see any point in arguing. He was tired. Bone-tired in fact, his limbs were literally aching with fatigue and his eyes felt sore and gritty, as if he'd been forced to keep them open for a week. Dragging himself to his feet, he slowly made his way up the stairs to the first floor landing, where he could hear voices filtering down from the attic above. He chose to ignore them though, instead retreating into the sanctuary of his room and crawling into bed, where he curled up under the comforter and closed his eyes with a deep sigh.
His brain wouldn't shut down however. Images of Alcathan's scarred face; Wyatt, his eyes filled with hate, Bianca, her body impaled on a broken piece of wood; his Mom, lying in a pool of her own blood on the kitchen floor - all flickered one by one across the screen of his closed eyelids and, try as he might, he couldn't close his mind to them. The images haunted him almost every hour of every day, keeping him awake at night when everyone else was at peace in their respective dream worlds. Chris was beginning to think that he hadn't actually ever known the definition of a good's night sleep; it was so long since he had experienced one.
His confused and wandering thoughts drifted back to the demon attack the other day. His Dad might be right; his symptoms could just be a result of his spiralling nerves, but then again… He needed to do some investigating, he decided. At least it would get him out of the house and away from Wyatt for a while, and would be a good opportunity to try out his newly acquired powers on some lesser demons before tackling Alcathan too.
"Chris?"
His father's soft questioning voice cut into his thoughts and he wearily opened his eyes. Leo was standing next to the bed, a glass half-filled with pale green liquid held in his right hand. Chris pushed himself up into a sitting position and docilely reached out for the drink. He swallowed it in a couple of gulps and immediately felt a deep lassitude wash over him.
Leo quickly removed the glass from his son's suddenly limp fingers and urged him to lie back against the pillows. By the time, he'd tucked the comforter over Chris's prone form, the boy was asleep, his breathing deep and even and his mind free from all extraneous thought. Luckily, the potion Leo had concocted didn't have the same drugging quality as sleep dust, promoting natural slumber instead. Chris would therefore wake in the morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, without the groggy after-effects of sleep dust to contend with.
Stepping back, the Elder nodded in quiet satisfaction. His healing power could only cure the physical. Stress and nervous tension were beyond his reach. However, his years as a doctor had generated an interest in the medicinal value of various magical potions, a subject that he'd studied widely unbeknownst to the majority of his family. He'd therefore made the sleeping draught deliberately concentrated and had added a few extra ingredients to create a calming effect that would aid restful sleep, figuring his son needed some respite from everything that was going on around him for a little while.
Turning away from the bed, he flipped off the light switch and plunged the room into darkness, before stepping out onto the landing and closing the door behind him with a soft click. He paused there for a moment, taking some time to gather his thoughts, and then made his way over to the attic staircase and went to rejoin the rest of his family.
OOOOOO
The Attic, a short while earlier…
"Gee! Was it something I said?" Wyatt asked as his brother and the present version of his father disappeared in a familiar swirl of blue lights.
"This isn't a game, Wyatt," Future Leo said snappily, his patience starting to wear thin.
When he'd returned to the future seven months ago, he had thought that Chris was finally free of all of this, of having to contend with this cruel parody of the Wyatt that once was. He'd known that the weeks and months ahead were not going to be easy for his youngest son, but he had still believed that this was one thing that Chris would never have to endure again, a brother who tortured and tormented him without any apparent concern for his feelings. How wrong could he have been?
Wyatt however, didn't falter. He remained as bold as brass despite being aware that he was caught in a no-win situation. "Au contraire, father," he replied smoothly. "That's exactly what it is. Haven't you figured that one out yet?"
Future Leo didn't answer so his defiant son changed tack, returning the conversation to its original thread. "Are you going to tell me why you've brought me here or am I supposed to guess?" he demanded.
His father considered it. Should he tell him the truth or not? Would Wyatt be able to use the information to his advantage somehow? Was it even right to keep it from him? If Chris succeeded, then neither he nor Wyatt would continue to exist in their current incarnations. Shouldn't his son therefore be forewarned of what was about to happen to him?
Leo sighed. He knew he shouldn't feel any loyalty to the evil tyrant standing before him and yet he did, he just couldn't help it. When push came to shove, Wyatt was still his son. He was still a father and a love like that didn't ever completely die, no matter what the circumstances. He would still heal the boy if he were hurt, do all he could to protect him from his enemies, stand in between him and certain death…
The only thing capable of persuading him not to was Chris. Choosing between his sons was incomprehensible to him, but he would protect the good above the evil because he had to, because there was no other choice. Fate had forced him into a Faustian bargain and there was no way out of it. It was one or the other and he would willingly sacrifice himself and his eldest son to give both his boys the chance of a better future. It was his blessing and his curse, his most fervent hope versus his saddest reflection. There wasn't anything else he could do…
"We know who it was who turned you," he announced, deciding to tell Wyatt at least part of the truth it not all. "We know all about Alcathan, Wyatt. He tried to hide in the shadows, remain undetected, but he couldn't escape the power of the entire Charmed line."
Wyatt blanched and paled slightly. "You… you can't stop him," he warned darkly.
"There's a prophecy that says different, that he is destined to die at either your or your brother's hand."
Wyatt was clearly gobsmacked by this, but Leo could almost see the cogs whirring in his brain as he fit the pieces of the jigsaw together inside his head.
"You're sending Chris to his death," he said in a bleak tone of voice. "Alcathan can't be stopped; he can only be… contained. Whatever you've got in mind, it's a suicide mission. You can't succeed; this is how it's meant to be."
"No Wyatt, this was never how it was meant to be."
"Is that what you've done to him in the future?" Phoebe asked her nephew. "Contain him?"
"That's non of your business," Wyatt snapped.
"Ahh, but I think it is," Paige countered. "Question is why? What was it that he did that made you turn against him?"
"Killed your Mom maybe?" she queried when Wyatt didn't answer.
The reaction from her nephew was swift and immediate. "He wasn't responsible for that, he helped me avenge her. Which was a whole lot more than you ever did."
Paige laughed quietly. "Oh yeah, we saw your 'vengeance.' We saw what it did to you. Your Mom would have never wanted you to sacrifice your soul in her name you know that? And can I say naïve? You can't possibly believe that Alcathan seeking you out after her death was pure coincidence can you?"
"This conversation is completely pointless," Wyatt returned arrogantly. "I don't know what you think you're going to achieve by it. I am who I am. I would never go back. My life is simple, uncomplicated. I have the power and I use it. People bow down at my feet."
"Not all of them obviously," Phoebe said. "It seems your brother is more than a little uncooperative."
"Yeah – the brainwashing is rather extensive, I'll admit that. He will break eventually though. It's inevitable."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you," Future Leo said.
"Ahh Dad, ever the optimist. You always did put too much faith in him. You can give him my powers, but he'll never be me. He doesn't have what it takes to defeat Alcathan, not by a long shot. If you believe that he does, then you're kidding yourselves. Chris is…"
"Stubborn as hell and endlessly determined," his father put in firmly. "Rather like his mother in fact. And you're right; this conversation is getting us nowhere. This is the way it is, Wyatt, so you better get used to it. You're going to be here for a while."
"He's so going to bottle it," Wyatt predicted.
"That is a matter of opinion," Future Leo said dismissively. "I think you girls should go back to bed," he told his sister-in-laws brusquely.
"But…," Phoebe protested, desisting when he shook his head at her.
He herded her and her sister out the doorway and down the attic stairs, where they met his present counterpart coming in the opposite direction.
"Can you…?" Future Leo asked his other self, throwing a pointed glance back over his shoulder towards the attic.
"Sure," the other Leo agreed, stepping around them and continuing his ascent.
"What did you do that for?" Phoebe said when they reached the first floor landing. "We were getting somewhere with him."
Future Leo shook his head. "No you weren't. This is what he does. Twists the conversation, reacts in all of the right places to lure you into a false sense of security and then strikes."
"But he can't not care about Piper's death," Phoebe objected.
"Oh, he cares but not in the way you'd think, not enough to hear what you're trying to say. Listening to that is counterproductive for him, you see. It erodes his belief system and he won't have that. He won't relinquish his control on the world for anything."
"So you said he was trying to manipulate us?" Paige asked, "How exactly?"
Leo gave them a wry smile. "By trying to persuade you that Chris isn't up to challenging Alcathan," he explained. "That he's only going to die in the attempt. He's playing on your desire to protect your nephews from harm. If you start to believe the risk is too high then you're not going to let him go through with it."
"Wyatt's not wrong though, is he?" Paige said solemnly. "It's not exactly a no risk strategy."
"No, but the outcome is not an eventuality either. The prophecy exists for a reason and Chris's greatest advantage is if he believes in himself. For him to do that, we have to believe in him too; even if deep down we are as scared as hell."
Paige and Phoebe exchanged a significant glance but said nothing.
"Go and get some rest," Leo said in a gentler tone. "There's nothing more you can do until morning. Hopefully then we might be able to turn the tables on him a bit."
"How?"
"With Piper," Leo said simply. "You were right about one thing, Phoebe. He does care about her death. Seeing her again is going to knock him for six; that much I do know."
Upstairs meanwhile, Wyatt was getting decidedly frustrated. Every attempt to engage his past father in conversation was being met with infuriating silence. The guy was so serene it was unbelievable. He knew the years of upheaval had hardened his father's resolve, but this was the man who had existed before all of that. How could he be so immune to the emotional reality of the son that stood before him?
What Wyatt didn't know of course was that Present Leo wasn't completely unprepared for this meeting. He had the advantage of his other self's memories and he had talked extensively to Chris as well. It had taken some doing, but he had finally persuaded his son to confide in him about the future. He therefore knew the way his eldest child operated. Silence seemed like the best countermeasure to that.
Despite a penchant for dogged persistence, Wyatt eventually gave up and sat down on the wooden floor with a thump, reconsidering his options. Okay so if his past Dad wasn't going to talk, then he would find someone who would. Closing his eyes, he sought out his brother's mind, only to find it completely blocked off to him. But that was impossible - Chris could actively shut him out, yes, but this wasn't simply a door closed in his face, this was a hundred metre thick wall. Plus, he could sense his brother was asleep and he'd always been able to invade his dreams.
"I imagine it's a side-effect of the sleeping potion I just gave him," Leo's dry voice cut into his musings and Wyatt's eyes snapped open to find his father regarding him knowingly.
"It's supposed to bring about restful sleep," the Elder went on. "I think that probably extends to blocking out anything that would interfere with that."
Wyatt found himself a little unnerved. He was beginning to think that maybe he'd underestimated his father somewhat. He knew that he was focused and determined now, but back when all this had started, he'd assumed that Leo had just been flailing about in the wind, not knowing what to do. This told him different. He'd not been incapable; he'd just been in the dark as to what was going on, and, to a certain extent, incapacitated by grief at effectively losing his entire family.
He was going to have to refine his strategy for escape slightly, he realised. His family were not going to be as easily swayed by his emotional mind games as he'd originally thought. They'd obviously planned this carefully, covered every angle so they were fully prepared for anything that he might throw at them. Chris had reacted hot-temperedly to his taunting, true, but it was unlikely that he'd make the same mistake twice. He was going to have to rethink things. In the meantime, however, he was stuck here whether he liked it or not.
"This is inhumane, you know," he burst out in frustration as the older version of his father rejoined them. "Keeping me here like this. What happens if I need to take a leak, use the shower or something?"
"You have temporary facilities for that," Future Leo replied matter-of-factly, indicating the covered bucket in the far corner of his cage.
"You have got to be kidding me!" his son exclaimed in outrage.
"And you'll be allowed out under strict supervision," his father went on, ignoring the outburst. "But don't get any ideas," he added when Wyatt's eyes immediately brightened as he spotted a possible loophole in their plan, "You won't make it past the perimeter of the house."
"This…" he gestured at the circle of crystals that encapsulated that majority of the attic's dusty floor, "Isn't the only cage you're trapped behind. The Manor essentially forms the other, much larger one."
"Well congratulations," Wyatt observed bitingly, "I think I'm almost impressed."
Future Leo sighed. "This isn't a punishment, Wyatt. It's for your own protection whether you believe that or not. The girls and the other me have tried to make things as comfortable as possible for you."
Although he was loath to admit it, Wyatt could see that this was indeed the case. A futon with boldly patterned pillows and matching coverlet had been provided, along with an armchair, a small portable TV and a stack of books. He wasn't about to act grateful for their thoughtfulness however.
"So if you've sealed the Manor, why bother imprisoning me up here at all?" he demanded.
His father laughed, a startlingly empty sound that was devoid of any actual humour. "You didn't honestly expect us to let you roam freely about the place, did you?" he asked in a harsh tone. "Exactly how naïve do you think I am?"
"Careful Dad, you're beginning to sound rather bitter," Wyatt remarked insolently, pleased at having struck a raw nerve. "Isn't that supposed to be against an Elder's religion or something?"
"Quite possibly," Future Leo freely admitted, refusing to be drawn into his son's physiological game, "But then I never did make the best Elder, even before…"
"I learned that there was more to life than just being a fully paid-up member of the Brady Bunch?" Wyatt interrupted acidly.
"Before your mentor put out a contract killing on the love of my life," Future Leo finished coldly.
It was almost undetectable, but Present Leo, watching the exchange between his eldest child and his future self from the sidelines, caught the slight flicker of uncertainty that passed over his son's face at this. It was something that Wyatt had not allowed himself to consider, he could tell. The metaphorical armour, which he wore against all the things that reminded him of what he once was, had a few chinks in it seemed.
Leo wondered how he was going to react when he came face to face with Piper tomorrow. He was under no illusions that Wyatt was suddenly going to turn into Mr Cooperative as a result, but it would be interesting to see how it affected him nevertheless. Would it quieten him down or antagonise him further? There was no way of knowing. They would just have to wait and see.
Thoughts of his wife made him suddenly long for the tranquillity of her presence. It was difficult to witness what the relationship between himself and his beloved son had tragically become. Wyatt was condescending, disrespectful; rejecting everything that Leo stood for, the values he had hoped to pass on to his sons. As for his future self, he was - as Wyatt had pointed out - bitter and resentful, almost hating the love that he still felt for this shell of his first-born but not knowing how to escape from it. It was painful to behold and he didn't know how much longer he could stand to watch.
"Go."
Startlingly slightly, Present Leo looked up to find his future self regarding him with quiet understanding in his steady gaze.
"But…"
"I'll handle it."
Present Leo bowed to unspoken words he could hear in this short rebuttal of his protest. He could virtually read his other self's mind, which made sense seeing as it was simply himself twenty years down the line. He knew what he'd have said if it were him:
'I'll handle it; you'll have enough to deal with when I'm gone. Take strength from your family while you have the chance. Let them bolster you for what lies ahead.'
Rising to his feet, he nodded briefly at Future Leo in thanks, then orbed out to Magic School. The small apartment set aside for Piper's use was dark and peaceful, an oasis in the gathering storm. Wandering into the only bedroom, he smiled as Wyatt's contented little snuffles reached his ears and stopped by the cot to lightly stroke his son's downy cheek.
"Leo?"
Piper's voice sounded quietly in the darkness.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said, crossing to the bed.
"Where've you been?"
"The Manor."
"He's awake, isn't he?" Piper said and he could hear the quiver of apprehension in her voice.
Leo sighed. "Yeah," he replied, the one word speaking volumes.
Piper sighed and fell silent as he quietly undressed and slipped into bed beside her.
"Should we…?" she started to ask as he curled his body round hers, spooning her from behind.
"Tomorrow," he cut in firmly, his hand coming to rest on her protruding belly. Her stomach immediately rippled under the weight of his palm and he drew in a surprised breath.
"Did you feel that?" Piper asked in a hushed tone.
"Yes."
"I guess someone decided it was about time he said hi to Daddy - even if it is way past his bedtime."
Leo smiled contentedly, tucking his face into the crook of her neck. "It's funny," he mused. "I didn't think it would be such an incredible moment the second time round, but it's not really any different."
"No, I know," Piper said, her hand closing over his. "It's not quite the same journey into the unknown as before, but it's no less of a miracle…"
"And someone needs to go back to sleep or Mommy's going to be very cross," she added sternly as baby Chris performed another somersault inside of her, apparently deciding that this was a good time to play.
Leo chuckled, the knots of tension slowly unravelling. "Well, it wasn't as if we didn't know this one was going to be trouble," he quipped.
"And that's a fact," Piper agreed wholeheartedly as their tiny unborn child continued to make his presence well and truly felt, using the walls of his mother's womb as a convenient trampoline...
To be continued…