...It's been so long hasn't it? Unfortunately something called real life got in the way. I hope this chapter meets expectations and that you haven't given up on this story despite the long wait. Thank you all so much for reading!
Autumn-371
Chapter 26
The group reappeared in Sanctuary within a cloud of orbs and found a small group assembled to meet them.
"How did it go?" questioned Orion.
Chris nodded, "Inside the factory is pretty much destroyed. They won't be making anything in there for a while"
The Elder smiled in response, "Good. For the moment, at least, we appear to be one step ahead of Wyatt."
"Why don't Darryl and I give you the full report while the others get some rest," suggested Chris, trying to be casual about getting Orion alone to tell him about their discovery. However the moment he said this he felt a pair of piercing eyes on him. Looking up he saw Bianca standing at the edge of their welcoming committee, giving him a questioning look.
'I can't hide anything from her,' Chris thought admiringly. If there was one good thing that had come out of Wyatt's takeover, then it was meeting Bianca. Their relationship was only a fledgling one at the moment, but it was undoubtedly progressing into something much, much more.
He offered her a small smile, 'Later' he inwardly promised, 'I'll tell you later'.
Bianca seemed to understand and Chris broke his gaze to follow Orion and Darryl into the appointed centre of operations.
"What did you find?" Orion asked without preamble as soon as all three were ensconced in the room.
Darryl and Chris exchanged glances, a slight tilt of Darryl's head indicating that Chris should be the one to break the news. The teenager sighed.
"Wyatt has somehow managed to create a type of probe that can detect magic." he told the Elder, "It seems to be a combination of magic and technology. They fly or hover in the air and have a sort of scanner that can detect magic in a person. "
Darryl added, "They can also, apparently, detect the use of magic from quite a distance and set off city wide alarms, alerting Wyatt's forces."
Orion was silent for a moment, digesting this information. "This is bad." he said eventually, "Any sorties we send into San Francisco..."
He trailed off but Chris finished the sentence for him, "Wyatt will be able to find them. Immediately."
The three men looked grimly at each other. "Did you destroy them all?" Orion asked.
"Yes," Chris answered, "But who knows if any had already left the factory. There were a number there already assembled. And also, whoever created the plans... well, we'd be foolish to think that they couldn't recreate them."
"There must be a way to hide from then though," Darryl muttered, "There has to be something."
Chris shrugged, "I can ask Prue to look into it? Maybe a spell or a potion."
Orion nodded, "It's worth a try. I'm afraid I know nothing about technology or machinery. Who knows how effective out spells will be."
"What about..." But Chris was cut off by a distant cry from outside. The three men exchanged worried looks, before rushing outside, almost colliding with an Elder running to find them.
"Quickly, come to the seeing pool." Mayer gasped, pointing behind him. "We felt something from the Overworld so turned the sight towards there and... and he's there!"
The four set off at a sprint towards the centre of the commotion. None needed to ask who 'he' was. Wyatt.
Wyatt left the dungeons at a fast pace, Kezlar close behind. The Resistance was getting to be more than a simple irritation and he couldn't wait to crush them and bring his baby brother back where he belonged.
As it was though he was interrupted before he had even made it back to his office. A relatively human looking demon approached the twice-blessed hurriedly, nervousness clearly apparent on his face. "M'Lord? I have some news..."
Wyatt came to an abrupt halt. "I'm busy." he stated abruptly, "What is it?"
"M'Lord, one of the factories was destroyed last night." the demon muttered apprehensively.
"What?" Wyatt frowned, his eyes becoming frosty, "Which one?"
The demon ducked his head, "The new one M'Lord. The one we were creating the probes in."
Wyatt growled in frustration. "That dammed Resistance!" he spat, angrily, "I will destroy them!"
"O-of course M'lord." the demon agreed quietly.
"What are you waiting for? Start rebuilding it!" Wyatt demanded of the demon, "Kezlar, see to it. I have a brother to deal with. And he's going to regret the day he crossed me."
With that Wyatt strode away, more angry than he had been in a long time. He entered his office a short while later and dropped his athame onto the desk. It was still smeared with the blood of the Elder. Rummaging in one of the drawers, he extracted a clean athame and muttered a spell to clean the Elder's blood of his black clothes. He was taking a trip to the Overworld.
"How long has he been there?" demanded Orion to the crowd gathered around the seeing pool.
Mayer shrugged, "Not long."
"What is he doing there?" Darryl wanted to know, but all anyone could do was shrug. There was nothing in the Overworld anymore, save for the dead bodies of the Elders and Whitelighters Wyatt had killed.
Chris stood next to Bianca as he watched the imposing figure of his brother stride up and down the Overworld, muttering what sounded like spells under his breath. "He's looking for something." Chris realised.
"But what?" Darryl asked again.
"Let us wait and see." Orion suggested, "There's nothing else we can do for now."
In the Overworld Wyatt was getting nowhere fast. He kept shaking off the feeling that he was being watched. After all, there was nothing here but a load of dead bodies.
"Hidden in the clouds..." Wyatt mused on the captured Elder's final words. Well there was no shortage of clouds here, he noticed in irritation. The walls and ceiling appeared to be made of them.
Wyatt muttered a number of spells designed to reveal hidden things but nothing happened. Scowling he repeated a number of them, but, again, the result was nothing.
Frowning he tried to recall what the Elder had said exactly. 'Look up... move the clouds...' The words floated back to him and Wyatt tilted his neck to examine the ceiling. Fluffy white clouds drifted serenely overhead, but he could see nothing beyond them.
"How do I move them?" the twice-blessed pondered. Spells didn't appear to work but then... Wyatt started as a brainwave hit him: Elder's didn't have any witches powers, all they had were Elder's powers. Therefore there was only one way in which to move the clouds.
Smirking, Wyatt gestured with a strong hand at the clouds above. "Move." he commanded clearly, although unnecessarily, as his attempt to orb the clouds away was already working.
The orbs cleared slowly and Wyatt's smirk grew larger as he looked up into the seeing pool.
The spectators gathered around the seeing pool in Sanctuary looked at each other in puzzlement as Wyatt kept gazing upwards, but apparently seemed unable to see them.
"It's as if he's looking for the Overworld's seeing pool" muttered Orion in horror, "But how can he know about it?"
"There's another one of these in the Overworld?" Chris asked.
"Yes, they're linked." Orion explained, "They were originally used as a communication method between our two safe havens, but were modified over the years to show other things too."
Darryl looked up from the pool, "Communication method? If he finds it he'll be able to talk to us?"
"Worse than that." Mayer contributed, "He'll be able to use it to travel here. Sanctuary will no longer be safe."
Bianca grabbed Chris' arm, bringing his attention back to the pool, "Look, what's he doing?"
The group watched in dread as Wyatt waved his hand straight at them and the scene from the pool vanished in a cloud of orbs.
"Move." The command filtered through the obscured pool, even as the orbs began to fade.
As the image became visible again, Wyatt stood in the centre, head tilted back and smirk firmly placed upon his face. His eyes met Chris' though the seeing pools.
"Hello Chris."