For those of you who have been anxiously waiting for the arrival of evil Wyatt, I've dedicated this entire lengthy chapter to him just for you…. Okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration. I'm a very selfish person, okay? Don't judge me. I love W&C too much!
(G) Wyatt = Good Wyatt from Changed Future.
(E) Wyatt = Evil Wyatt from Unchanged Future.
It's pretty straightforward…
Disclaimer: If Charmed belonged to me, Chris' revelation would have been planned much, much better.
With a flick of his chubby wrist, little Chris sends a vase flying towards (E) Wyatt's head which he effortlessly deflects by briefly activating his blue shield.
"Aw, come on, Chris. There'll be none of that." He laughs throatily. But his expression soon turns beseeching. "Can't we just hold off the inevitable fight for a few minutes? I haven't seen you in months. And I've missed you so much, squirt. Temporary truce?" Sensing that little Chris is softening, he adds, "Please?"
Little Chris ponders this for a minute.
"Hmm… Fine," he grudgingly consents. "So long as you pwomise nevew to caw me squiwt evew again, you have youwself a deaw."
"Agreed. But just for the record, I think it really suits you."
"Ha ha," he replies dully, narrowing his eyes.
Laughing, (E) Wyatt scoops little Chris into his arms and hugs him tightly whilst little Chris rolls his eyes and edges slightly away with the expression of someone affronted by their parent's excessive show of affection in front of their friends before they leave for summer camp. "So I take it you'll get really mad if I give you a piggy back ride?"
"Don't push youw wuck, mistew," little Chris says grimly. "This is only tempowawy, wemembew? We haven't decided when it ends yet. And if you keep dat up, I can tew you wight now, it won't wast much wongew."
"Yeah… I hear these sounds, kind of like words, but they're not really making much sense…"
"That's it!" little Chris declares, struggling against his embrace. "Put me down wight now!"
(E) Wyatt grins. "Aw, don't be so sensitive, Chrissie. I'll be on my best behaviour from now on, I swear."
"Dat's not vewy weassuwing. And you know I hate dat nickname!"
"No, I mean it," (E) Wyatt insists. "I've really missed you. I can be pleasant for your sake."
"Yeah, yeah. I missed you, too. But I'w bewieve it when I see it," little Chris says, placing his head on his brother's shoulder and relaxing into his hold. "Just so you know, I'm stiw weally mad at you," he mumbles sleepily.
"Shh…" (E) Wyatt whispers, overwhelmed by his relief at having his brother in his arms where he can once again guarantee his safety. "We'll get to that. Just let me enjoy this, okay?"
"Fine," he agrees heavily. "But onwy 'cause thewe may be a tinie tiny pawt of me dat's happy you'we hewe."
"Yeah and it's a good thing, too. What were you thinking, attempting to get down to the Underworld in your condition?" he reprimands.
Little Chris scowls, before arguing, "Hey, I wecaw a cewtain twuce being made that pwevents you fwom talking about 'dis."
"Alright, but if you think for one second I'm gonna let that one slide, you've got another thing coming, young man."
He rolls his eyes. "Eugh. Just dwop it aweady. You'we giving me a headache."
"Really? Are you okay?" (E) Wyatt asks in alarm. "Do you need an aspirin?" His hand flies to little Chris' forehead, before conjuring a thermometer and pushing it between little Chris' lips. "Your temperature is a little higher than normal…" he muses. "Why didn't you mention you haven't been feeling well?"
"Oh my God! Stop it," little Chris hisses, mortified. "I'm fine. Quit embawassing me!"
"As if I should take your word for it!" (E) Wyatt says angrily before his eyes widen and he says in a breathy rush, "What if something's seriously wrong and you're too proud to say anything and you become terribly ill and it's too late to do anything?!" He's almost hyperventilating at the thought.
Illness….
Deadly disease…
Twice-blessed or not, he can't cure illnesses.
He can't prevent his brother from dying from natural causes. He can't protect him from everything…
"Wy Wy, cawm down!" little Chris yells. "None of that's happened! It's aw hypotheticaw! Jeez!"
"Well, sorry for being concerned!" (E) Wyatt growls. "Someone has to be."
"No 'dey don't! What pawt of 'dat don't you get?" little Chris snaps in frustration, scrambling to the ground and glaring up at him, cheeks reddening in anger. "I am fine! I can wook aftew mysewf! I am not a chiwd 'dat you can just ordew awound when you feew wike it!"
(E) Wyatt presents him with his most dry, patronising look. "Uh, I hate to break it to you, squirt, but that is exactly what you are!" he sneers, chest rising and falling rapidly. "A Goddamn child! And I'm not talking about physically, either!"
"Wew den, why don't you go ahead and exwain it to me since I'm too damn ingenuous to know what the hew 'dat's supposed to mean!"
Taking a long, much-needed breath, (E) Wyatt closes his eyes and when he opens them again, despite how outwardly collected he appears, there is a flash of fiery resolve in his eyes that unsettles little Chris more than just a little.
"How long have you been in the past, Chris?" (E) Wyatt asks with the belittling tone of someone who already knows the answer and merely seeks confirmation, and little Chris isn't naïve enough to think that such a seemingly harmless question is going to lead anywhere good.
"I dunno… six… seven months?"
"Exactly. And during that time where did you stay?"
Little Chris gulps, beads of sweat beginning to gather on his forehead. "Er… in the back of P thwee..."
(E) Wyatt simply raises his brows inquisitively, as impassive as ever. "Sleeping on?"
He falters. "A couch…"
"For how long each night?" he continues coolly.
"Howevew long I needed."
"And how often would you say you ate daily?"
"Often enough to keep me going," little Chris replies as indifferently as he can, trying not to squirm under his brother's watchful stare. Heart pounding, this is beginning to feel more and more like an interrogation…
(E) Wyatt nods as though this was precisely what he'd been expecting. "I see. So, how many times have you glamoured yourself to conceal injuries rather than ask to be healed by Leo?"
"Nevew," little Chris says, but it's the way he juts out his chin in defiance that easily gives him away. "Can you just get to 'da point, Wy Wy?"
"My point," he enunciates slowly, "Is that you are completely incapable of taking care of yourself. You simply cannot be trusted to do so. Were you seriously so foolish as to think that I would let you come here without at least having some means of keeping tabs on you? I know you haven't been eating or sleeping properly. You were losing weight, had these huge, dark circles under your eyes…"
"Howd on, you've been spying on me?" little Chris interjects in disbelief, feeling kind of… betrayed or something.
(E) Wyatt ignores this.
Eyes on fire, he rants on feverishly, "And the injuries you've sustained! Cracked ribs, more bruises than I could count… broken bones… internal bleeding!" Gasping for air, he pauses before murmuring lowly, almost disparagingly, "It's a wonder I let it carry on for so long..."
"No!" little Chris exclaims. "No! You don't get to do 'dis anymowe! I am not some bewonging or pwaything! I am a human being! And you cannot contwol evewy wittwe fing I do! I won't awow you to! I weft! I joined the wesistance to get away from 'dis! To save you fwom 'dis!" By this stage he's crying, tears streaming down his face. "Just wet me go, Wy Wy," he pleads. "Pwease!"
"Let you go," (E) Wyatt scoffs. "I love you, Chris! Everything I've done, I've done for you. To protect you!"
"I wove you too, Wy Wy. But this isn't heawthy! You'we obsessed! I can't bewieve you wewe twacking me!" He pauses. "Actuawy, on second thought, yes, I can. Evew since you held me prisonew for eight months anything is possibwe!"
"For the last time, you weren't imprisoned!" (E) Wyatt replies in disgust. "I gave you everything your heart desired! But instead of thanking me, you threw it all back in my face!"
"Yeah, evewything except my fweedom!"
"I was trying to protect you, idiot! Do you know how many people want you dead?" He throws his hands up in frustration. "And then what did you go and do?"
He laughs humourlessly.
"You ran away to help the resistance built against me, which, by the way, I could have taken you away from any time I pleased, but I didn't because I wanted you to be happy, to feel as though you were doing something of some value, even if you were utterly delusional! Then you return to the past in order to 'save' me and almost get yourself killed on a regular basis!"
"Newsfwash, Wy Wy! If it wewn't for you, I wouldn't be hunted in the fiwst pwace!"
"Oh, please!" (E) Wyatt jeers. "Don't pretend like our lives weren't in danger from the second we were born! I was merely defending you from potential threats! There just happened to be a hell of a lot of them!" he booms. "And I don't have to justify myself to you. What the hell would you know with your whole nonsensical, good-versus-evil crap?"
Silence. Just silence...
Then, little Chris whimpers, and at the sound, (E) Wyatt's heart seems to fracture. It hurts that much.
He deflates.
Suddenly, (E) Wyatt glances around the room as though noticing for the first time that anyone else is present.
His family are gaping at him in sheer horror. But he can't care any less.
Little Chris is crying and he simply cannot stomach it anymore. To have his brother gazing at him with that expression of total and utter repulsion… He can't bear it.
The instant he spots what he is looking for, he breathes a sigh of relief and reaches for it hastily.
This… this is it. This is the moment that defines whether or not his plan worked.
"Chrissie?" (E) Wyatt gently implores, and the child lifts his head with a wounded expression that is simply shattering. "Chrissie, look. Look at me. It's your best friend, Rainbow Brian…"
Another sniffle.
Followed by an involuntary hiccup.
"Wainbow Bwain?" little Chris asks almost hopefully, wiping his eyes roughly with his sleeve.
"Uh-huh." He moves closer. "But he's really sad…" (E) Wyatt tells him, face carefully serious.
Little Chris frowns. "What? Why? What's wrong?" he asks worriedly.
"Well, Rainbow Brian says he hates seeing you so terribly unhappy." (E) Wyatt sighs, then his face brightens. "But... I bet if you gave him a cuddle and told him you were all better, he'd be alright."
"You fink?"
Nodding, he says positively, "I know."
"Well…Okay then," little Chris agrees and proceeds to do just that. Afterwards, he gazes up at his brother and asks hopefully, as though they weren't just screaming at each other moments before, "Wy Wy, do you fink since I made Wainbow Bwian aw bettew, I desewve to go to the pawk latew?"
(E) Wyatt smiles softly. "Sure, buddy," he says, ruffling his hair. "I'll take you anywhere you want. I'll even buy you an ice-cream, if you're up for it."
"Cool!" little Chris exclaims excitedly, beaming adorably with his dimples on full display. "And den we can go feed da ducks down at da wake and I can show Wainbow Bwain whewe he used to wive befowe he came to live wif me!"
"Sounds great, little man."
Breathing quickly, Piper looks between the two, totally bewildered, voice shaking as she finally speaks up, "What on earth is going on? What just happened?"
"Why, I just activated Chris' inner child," (E) Wyatt responds casually, grinning triumphantly.
"Wh-what?" she splutters. "How?"
"You see, the potion that I had administered only accounted for the physical aspect of the transformation. In order for Chris to truly regress, I needed something that allows things that Chris has long forgotten to resurface. Thought patterns, emotions, etcetera etcetera…" he says, bored now.
"Wait, you did this?" Piper exclaims in astonishment, voice going up an octave. "You are the one responsible for this?"
"Of course," (E) Wyatt replies proudly. "I am the Source of All Evil, you know. After all, what reason would a lower-level Anno demon from the future possibly have to go after you?" He rolls his eyes. "Seriously, you Charmed Ones can be so… egotistical."
"So-so Rainbow Brian….?"
(E) Wyatt's grin widens, and he gazes fondly down at his little brother, who is currently babbling about innocent, silly little things to his playmate.
"Yes… I cursed the toy. Which would make," he almost laughs at their sickened expressions, "Rainbow Brain the trigger."
In this chapter I really wanted to emphasise the difference in the dynamics of the brotherly relationship between what you've previously witnessed with Chris and Good Wyatt and little Chris and Evil Wyatt. Due to his oversized ego, (E)Wyatt feels he is superior to little Chris in all aspects. Therefore, he is very condescending and overly protective because little Chris is not nearly as powerful as he is, and in his mind, cannot protect himself. Whereas, (G) Wyatt believes that he and Chris are equals so although he is protective of his sibling, it is not nearly as intense or self-destructive.
Just wanted to clear that up…
I'm very keen to portray the relationships of various characters in a way that reflects their nature.
God… just noticed it sounds like I'm writing an essay. Lol. Very deep stuff indeed…*Snorts derisively*