Chapter Two
"I mean, we don't know what happened," said Chris. "One minutes…everything's fine, we're kicking demon ass, and—"
Wyatt interrupted. "Actually, I was kicking some demons ass—"
"Oh, pshh —" scoffed Chris. He shook his head, looking at Wyatt.
Penny—Grams—pointed her finger at the boys. "Watch your language."
"Sorry, Grams," said Chris.
Wyatt turned to Chris, trying to be quiet but not really succeeding. "Wait, Grams? As in THE Grams?"
Chris nodded smugly. "Yeah."
Grams smiled smugly at her own legend.
Patty interrupted. "Uh, confused." She turned to Piper. "Are these my future grandkids of yours?"
"No, yours," said Piper.
Patty smiled and looked at the boys. "Oh, hi."
Chris and Wyatt smiled and waved back to her.
"As you were saying," said Piper.
"Suddenly, in the middle of all the fighting, everything changed," said Chris. "And the demons started kicking our ass—butts—" Grams nodded with approval, "—butts, just because Wyatt here lost his powers."
"Wait, how did you loose your powers?" asked Piper.
"That's the thing, we don't know," said Wyatt.
"So we cast a spell to take us back to when they were lost, and it took us…here," said Chris. "To you."
Wyatt nodded.
"Maybe we messed up something without realizing it," said Patty.
"Well, with all the jumping around we've done, it's a wonder everything's not messed up," said Grams.
"No, it's gotta be Billie and Christy, they used the Hollow to steal his powers," said Piper. "I'm gonna kill them."
Phoebe shook her head.
"Well, before you do that, we need to get Wyatt's powers back, otherwise, there's…not going to be any future to save," said Paige.
"Well, I think the only way to do that is to go back and stop them," said Phoebe.
"But how do we know exactly when to go back to?" asked Grams.
"I'll know, or at least I'm hoping little Wyatt might jog my memory," said Wyatt.
"Well, he's at Dad's, I mean, grandpa's, um—" started Piper. She turned to Chris. "Do you remember how to get there?"
Chris nodded. "Yeah, absolutely."
Patty smiled and got up eagerly. "I'll go, too."
"Um, but Dad's gonna be there," said Phoebe.
"I know, I miss him," said Patty. "Besides, I'm dying to know what he looks like at this age. Whoo."
"She, uh, doesn't know," said Piper.
"Apparently I hadn't chased him away yet," muttered Grams.
"What are you talking—" Patty groaned. "What don't I know?"
"Alright, everybody, go, but just, you know, hurry back if you find anything," said Piper.
Patty whacked Grams' arm affectionately, then headed over to stand between the boys. Coop suddenly flashed in, glowing pink.
"Hey," Coop told Piper. He turned and saw Phoebe. "Phoebe."
"Hi," said Phoebe.
"Thanks a lot for telling me she's alive," said Coop.
Piper handed Coop's ring back to him. "You're welcome."
Wyatt gasped. "Uncle Coop!"
Chris whacked Wyatt on his arm. Wyatt silently groaned at his mistake. Phoebe whirled around and stared wide-eyed at Wyatt. Wyatt covered his mouth with his hands to stop himself from saying anything more. Behind Patty's head, Chris glared daggers at him.
"Uncle Coop?!" said Phoebe. Wyatt groaned as Chris silently berated him. Piper turned and looked at Coop. "What?!"
Coop shrugged, clueless. Piper turned and looked at her boys. Wyatt shrugged apologetically at Phoebe. Phoebe stuttered, completely stunned. Paige wisely remained silent. Piper clapped her hands loudly and chased the boys out.
"Alright, everybody out, go!" said Piper.
Wyatt and Chris took ahold of Patty and orbed out. They appeared in an apartment hallway and knocked on the door. A moment later, it opened and Victor stared at Patty.
Patty squealed with surprise as Victor squealed with horror. "Oh, surprise!" Patty jumped into his arms to give him a huge hug. Patty smiled at him. "Oh, my—oh, goodness! Oh, you're just as handsome as you ever were."
Wyatt and Chris stepped into the condo.
"W-what's going on?" asked Victor.
Chris stepped forward. "Hey, Gramps, how you doing?"
"Chris!" Victor smiled and gave Chris a hug. "Uh, what are you doing here?"
"Hey, Grandpa, how you doing?" asked Wyatt. He stepped forward and gave Victor a hug. Victor was a little confused as to who he was.
"Now, this is our grandson, Wyatt," said Patty, gushing. "Oh! So handsome."
"But I—I'm—I'm, I'm so confused," said Victor.
"Yeah, you'll get over it," said Patty. "I did."
Victor looked warily at Patty. "Where did you come from?"
"1975," said Patty. "How do I look?"
"Didn't anyone tell her we're divorced?" said Victor.
Patty's face fell. "What?" She turned just as Wyatt tried to signal Victor to stop. Wyatt closed his hand and looked sheepishly at Patty.
"You dumped me for your whitelighter," said Victor.
Patty scrunched her face. "Oh, Sam?"
"Yeah, Sam," said Victor. "Paige's father?"
"Listen, Gramps, we're in a bit of a jam," said Chris. "Where's little Wyatt?"
"He's in the other room, with, uh, with you," said Victor.
"Thanks," said Chris. He and Wyatt headed for the other room, picking up their younger selves for a chat.
Chris and Wyatt orbed into the conservatory, and Piper walked in with Phoebe and the others.
"Where's Mom, I mean, Grandma?" asked Piper.
"She wanted to stay with Grandpa to talk," said Wyatt.
"Well, that had better be all that they're doing," said Grams.
"What did you find?" asked Piper.
"Well, Grandpa said that someone came and picked up little Wyatt, just before five in the afternoon yesterday," said Chris.
"Some man, but that's all I could get out of him," said Wyatt.
"Wait, what man?" asked Phoebe.
"Dumain," said Billie. "He brought Wyatt to Christy and me to summon the Hollow."
"And then you stole his powers," said Piper.
"We were being infected," said Billie. "We didn't have a choice."
Piper turned and glared at Billie, her voice low and dangerous. "You used my son?"
Grams interrupted. "That is all in the past, dear. Now let's just focus…on how to fix it now, okay?"
"Okay, so we have to go back in time to the day Dumain took Wyatt," said Phoebe.
"No, we have to go before that," said Billie. "I know him, he's gonna warn the Triad before you can vanquish them."
"Then you have to get the ring," said Paige.
Phoebe looked up at the ceiling. "Coop?" Wyatt watched Phoebe and turned to look at Chris, sharing a look. "Coop? We need you." Nothing happened. "Something's wrong."
Chris sighed, sharing another look with Wyatt. Wyatt also sighed.
"What?" asked Piper.
"The Elders sent Coop down to you, Phoebe, not just to help you find love, but to help you find him," said Chris.
"They were hoping you'd fall in love with a cupid," said Wyatt. "It was the only way that they could make it up to you after everything you sacrificed."
"And they weren't gonna put you through what Mom and Dad went through, so—" said Chris.
"It wasn't and it will not be a forbidden love," said Wyatt.
"Okay," said Phoebe. "Uh—I don't know how that information helps us right now."
"Well, in the future, when you're together, you guys are like one," said Wyatt.
"All you have to do is think about him and he's there," said Chris.
Phoebe closed her eyes and concentrated, and Coop appeared on the floor, grunting and groaning in pain.
"Oh, my God," said Phoebe. "What happened?"
Wyatt and Phoebe helped Coop to his feet. Wyatt stepped back next to Chris.
"I fought him for as long as I could," said Coop.
"Okay, who did this to you?" asked Phoebe.
"Some demon," said Coop. "I'm sorry, he, uh, he took my ring." He showed them his ringless finger.
"We're too late," said Billie. "They're going back in time." Piper looked at Billie. "But I can, too."
Grams paced as everyone sat and waited. The girls suddenly flashed in, glowing pink.
"Oh, thank God," said Grams.
"Is everything alright?" asked Piper. "Did anything…change that wasn't supposed to?"
"Nope," said Wyatt. He orbed over to stand next to Piper. "I got my powers back."
"I see that," said Piper.
"Now, where's Billie?" asked Chris.
"She used her own power to get back," said Paige.
"But she at least tried to help out, right?" said Coop. "I mean, tried to make amends at least."
Phoebe looked at Coop. "Yeah."
From out of the ceiling, a ball of light descended, swirling and twisting in the air. The Angel of Destiny returned with Leo. Piper and Leo looked at each other and smiled.
"Okay, hang on a second, you're not gonna take him away again, right?" asked Piper.
"No, this is the way the battle was supposed to end all along, and it's over," said the Angel of Destiny. "Congratulations." She left.
Leo reached for Piper's hand.
"Hi, there," said Piper. Leo pulled her into his arms and they kissed. Everyone applauded.
Coop opened his arms to Phoebe. "Come here." They kissed.
Piper and Leo laughed and hugged. Patty and Victor carried little Wyatt and little Chris into the conservatory.
"Did we miss anything?" asked Patty.
"Uh, no," said Piper. "Well, we…changed the past, fixed the future, and saved the present, that's all."
"What's that?" asked Victor.
"Yeah, if you haven't figured it out by now, ya probably won't," said Paige.
"Oh, it doesn't matter, just as long as everything's back to the way it's supposed to be," said Phoebe.
"It will be if you get us back, I mean otherwise, uh—" said Grams.
"How are we gonna get them back?" asked Paige.
"Oh, I can take care of that," said Coop.
"Yeah, but how will you know where to take them back to?" asked Phoebe.
"Well, the ring will," said Coop. He looked at Piper. "If I can ever get it back." He winked at her.
Piper rolled her eyes and chucked the ring to Coop. He caught it and laughed. Chris turned to Coop.
"Just make sure you return them to just before they were taken, that way they won't remember anything," said Chris.
Grams groaned. "Oh, no, don't-don't do that, I mean there are so many things, wonderful things that I just don't want to forget, you know." She giggled, and Chris shook his head.
"There's just as much I don't ever want to know," sighed Patty. "Like what happened to Prue. Victor told me."
"Oh, Mom," said Piper.
"That's alright," said Patty. "I know everything happens for a reason. I believe that." She looked at Paige. "I also know that when one door closes, another one opens."
"Thank you for coming by," said Victor.
"Anytime," said Patty.
After Coup had disappeared with Grams and Patty, Chris and Wyatt took out the spell to return to the future.
"A time for everything and everything in its place," Chris and Wyatt recited in unison, "return what has been moved through time and space."
White lights shimmered around the brothers as they waved goodbye. The scene changed before them from a conservatory full of family to a conservatory that was completely empty; even the furniture was gone. Chris and Wyatt looked around themselves in confusion. There was a layer of dust everywhere.
"Did we come to the right time?" Chris asked. "It looks like the manor's been abandoned for ten years."
"Let's check the book," said Wyatt. They ran upstairs, finding every room deserted. They got to the attic door, and couldn't open it.
"It's locked," said Chris. He raised his hand and blew open the handle. The door swung open to reveal an attic that looked the exact same except for the layer of dust covering everything. On the table that Wyatt and Chris themselves used for potion-making were four framed pictures. Two center pictures were of Piper and Phoebe, and the two outside photos were of Paige and Prue. There were melted candles standing around the photos, and wilted, brown flowers lain in front of the frames.
"What's this?" asked Wyatt. "I think we went too far."
"Or something else," said Chris as he indicated the book. It was thinner than they had remembered; like it was twenty years ago. Chris flipped to the back of the book where the sisters had written their memoirs after they had destroyed the Triad…but it wasn't there. Instead, there was something else.
"This looks like Dad's handwriting," said Chris.
"He never wrote in the book," said Wyatt, coming over as Chris began to read out loud.
"'I know I'm only a mortal; a husband of one of the Charmed Ones. But I feel compelled to tell their story,'" Chris recited. He looked up at Wyatt. "Sounds like they died…'The Charmed Ones were truly remarkable in their lifetime. They were constituted in 1998 with Prue, Pipe and Phoebe Halliwell. Over the three-year span before Prue died, they developed incredible power and unity. In 2001, the Charmed Ones were reconstituted with their half-sister Paige Matthews. For four years, the sisters fought off everything they came across. In 2005, the sisters' lives were cut short during a surprise attack.'"
"What?" Wyatt exclaimed as Chris went on.
"'The demons attacked and caught us all off-guard. We were tending to Billie when she was sick with a mystical virus. They came crashing through the conservatory windows and knew what to do and when, as if they knew what was going to happen. Once they had killed Paige with a darklighter arrow, they had moved onto Piper and Phoebe. I was helpless to watch from my spot under a fallen chest. They completely ignored me as they left. Once I had gotten free, I tried to resuscitate them, but it was too late. After the funeral, I resolved to take care of Wyatt and Chris at the manor.'"
"This means we don't have a sister," Wyatt said.
"'We set up an altar in memory of all four sisters in the attic, and locked the door. I couldn't handle going in that room anymore. The Triad along with Dumain and Christy have now taken control of the underworld, Magic School, and the Elders. It's getting harder and harder to protect the boys, although their grandfather is a real help sometimes. The Charmed Ones are truly missed, and will always be remembered.'"
"It sounds like these demons came from the future," said Wyatt. "Where's Dad?"
"Try sensing him," Chris said as he did the same. There was silence for a minute as they both concentrated. "I got nothing."
"Me either," said Wyatt.
"What are we gonna do?" asked Chris. There was a pink glow in the room near the altar as Coup appeared with Victor. They jumped back when they saw Chris and Wyatt.
"Grandpa!" said Wyatt.
"Uncle Coup," said Chris. The two men were looking at them in shock.
"How did you get in here?" Coup asked them. "And why did you call me Uncle Coup?"
"I blew the door open," Chris said, pointing.
"It's alright, Coup," said Victor, looking at Chris. "He's my grandson. But I don't know who he is."
"Wyatt," said Wyatt.
"I don't know how you two are here," said Victor.
"What do you mean?" asked Chris.
"You're dead," said Coup.