Unbeta-ed work, so all mistakes are mine. Enjoy :)
Brotherly Bound
"We don't need your help. I will get my son back and when I do, I want you out of this house and I don't wanna see you again."
He almost flinched. Piper's words had hit him where it hurt, her coldness matching her irritation and worry, and for a brief moment, he wanted to crumble. But he couldn't. He wasn't her son, he wasn't someone she had watched growing up, had loved since birth. To her, he was just this freaking annoying whitelighter who lied to them all the time. And he had done nothing to encourage their trust.
The three sisters stood side by side, watching him in silence as he definitively slipped from the status as tolerated ally to enemy. He stared back at them, one after the other, one last time. None would speak up on his account. None of them trusted him anymore. Staying longer would do no good, and there were more urgent matters at hand.
"I'm sorry," he could only say.
As he orbed out, he felt wards of the manor pushing him away. He sought refuge down to the Underground, where he had set up a hidden safe place for emergencies. It wasn't until he looked around the dusty, rocky room that his situation dawned upon him. He had just been exiled from the manor. Kicked out like a fucking moron. By his own mother.
Chris sighed and forced the pain in the back of his mind. He could always deal with it later. Right now, he needed to find Wyatt, and quick. Racking his memories, he remembered that while the Order worked underground, they had a sort of gathering place somewhere out there. He didn't have access to the Book anymore, but he had been investigating them and had a good idea where to find their ritualistic spot. Finding Wyatt and reversing the spell would be the easy parts. He had gone through recuse missions alone with far less intel before. His banishment, however, was a bad turn. Without access to the house, he could no longer keep an eye on Wyatt, follow his every move and make sure no-one unsuitable approached him.
The thought made him grimace, the roles were reversed now. Wyatt had done the exact same thing, in the future. Before he could properly escape, his elder brother wanted to know exactly where he had gone, with whom, what he was doing there and so many intrusive questions he would usually end the interrogation by orbing away to his room –or telekinetically throw something at him before running away. The worse had been when their fraternal bound had been active; then he couldn't even-
Chris paused mid-thought. The bound. The fraternal bound he and Wyatt had developed growing up. It used to transmit various information, including whenever the other was in danger and, to some extent, his localization. He had broken it two years ago, when it became clear that his brother was studying ways to make that bound stronger and a lot more intrusive –like immediate summoning, one-way style. Chris wasn't born yet, but if he could recreate that bound with Wyatt –he would know when the toddler would be in danger.
Saving Wyatt had just become a lot more urgent. He needed to find him before the sisters, and take him away for a few hours. Now that the baby saw good and bad reversed, this was his chance. He would just need to find a way to wake up the bound before its due date, and then leave the sisters to find him.
Plan made, he stood up. Time to raid some demons' ceremony.
Rescuing Wyatt turned out to be a real hassle. Leo only received the information second handed, but it seemed that when the sisters showed up at the ceremonial site, there were not more demons. Or rather, they found piles of ashes and burned clothes. Someone had come before them and cleaned up the place. And Wyatt was nowhere to be found either. That had led to another scrying, until Piper decided to just go down and raid the underground.
Every demon they came across swore up and down that they had no idea where the Twice-Blessed could be hiding. Two hours later, Wyatt miraculously orbed back to the manor, looking perfectly fine. They suspected Chris had something to do with it, but since he wouldn't reply to their calls and Piper declared once again that she wanted nothing to do with him, they left it at that.
They didn't hear from him afterwards. At first, the sisters were very happy about it. Not having the traitorous and unreliable whitelighter under their roof brightened her day. No more time spent on demon chasing –except for Paige and her occasional magic encounter at her temp jobs –more time to spend with families, social lives and work lives. Leo had stepped in as a replacement whitelighter and got to spend more time with his son, and closer to his ex-wife.
Unfortunately, after a full week went by, his absence began to be noticed. The janitor at P3 asked if Chris had moved –since his stuff had disappeared from the makeshift room in the back of the club. His name would drop in a conversation, immediately followed by an embarrassed pause, and a shift of subject.
Two weeks later, Phoebe asked:
"What happened to Chris anyway? Did you set him with another charge?"
Leo shook his head. He hadn't thought of the younger man lately. The other Elders hadn't mentioned him either. He had just assumed they had taken care of it.
"I didn't contact him since he left the manor. Why?"
"I've been trying to call him again but he never showed. I even told him Piper wasn't there." Piper was the happiest about the situation. She had spent a lot more time on personal stuff instead of running after demons. "Do you think he's alright?"
"I would have heard of something if he wasn't," Leo replied reassuringly before offering: "Why do you want to check on him?"
She hesitated a brief second before shaking her head.
"It's nothing. I had a vision about a demon this morning and I wanted to know if it was related to Wyatt, but I'll probably find what I need in the Book." She smiled tightly. "He knew a lot about demons."
And Leo couldn't help feeling a little tinkling in the back of his mind, like an instinct trying to warn him something wasn't right. He knew, guiltily, that the sisters had neglected their Charmed Ones duty lately, and he needed to remedy to that. But they had been so relaxed and happy…and they truly deserved the break. He shook the thoughts away. If anything catastrophic was to happen, they would feel it. And the Elders were a lot more vigilant since their numbers had reduced.
"I'm sure it's alright," he said. "Piper did scare him off last time; he'll come back eventually."
But as he spoke the words, he could tell she wasn't certain she believed him. And Leo thought that Chris' silence might not be as reassuring for everyone as it should be. A few days later, he decided to go after the young whitelighter. He tried to sense him with his Elder power, but couldn't. He asked the other Elders about him, but they surprisingly replied they had assumed Leo was taking charge of the situation –and frankly, they had other stuff to think about.
A full month went by, and after reluctantly asking help from Paige for a scrying –and still coming up empty handed, Leo seriously began to genuinely worry. Not much about Chris' wellbeing, but more because he would rather know where to find him and keep watch in case he was up to something. Alright, maybe a bit for his wellbeing, because he had done a good enough job of protecting his son, even if he didn't agree with the methods.
But one month turned into two, and Leo's attempts to get the Elders help him in his search turned moot, so all he could do was ask to be warned, should anyone see the wayward witchlighter.
And finally, one evening, Leo sensed him.
He immediately orbed to his location, up on the highest point of the Golden Gate Bridge. Chris was there, sitting on the curved arc, a bottle of alcohol in hand. He looked just the same, with a thin leather jacket and his hair waving in the wind. He also looked a bit intoxicated. And Leo felt annoyed at having worried at all.
"Fancy meeting you here," Chris said with an odd smirk on his face.
"Don't look surprised, you knew I would come."
He shrugged.
"Not really. You don't often show up when I call."
Leo ignored that and added:
"You've been ignoring the sisters' call too."
Chris blinked with wide puzzled green eyes. The Elder would have almost bought it had the younger man not been slightly smirking.
"I put them on mute," he replied unashamedly.
"Is that how you avoided my scrying too?" Leo went on. Chris shrugged negligently but didn't bring a reply. It seemed his secret technique for avoiding Elder's influence would remain a secret for now. "Why?"
"I was fired, remember? I can hardly take care of charges that don't want me to care for them."
Leo rolled his eyes. Chris sounded so irresponsible now!
"How did anyone think you would make a good whiltelighter?"
"You tell me. It's your fault I became like this."
Leo sighed. So he was partially responsible for this? How? He had petitioned against assigning him to the sisters, but the Elders had made their choice.
"Obviously this was a massive screw up," he dropped sarcastically, quite annoyed now. "You should have never been there. I should have known you weren't up to the task."
To his surprise, Chris laughed. Hard.
"Oh god, I've been waiting for so long for you to say that!" he exclaimed, but there was no joy in his tone. "Thank you for having the balls to admit it finally! All this time, pretending to care, but thinking deep down that I'm not good enough, saying those pretty, empty words instead to cover up your disappointment." His voice trailed off and he glared at him. "I'm so glad I don't have to pretend anymore. You may not like me Leo, but you know what? I hate your guts."
The vehemence with which he spoke startled the Elder and he gave Chris a new, cautious look. This wasn't just dislike. This was genuine, deep sentiment that had been lingering for a long time –older than since he had arrived. This sounded like years of resentment that had never been in the open before. He had never showed this behavior with the sisters, and Phoebe had never said anything about that. How deeply had he hidden this, and how come he had managed for so long?
"And what about the sisters?" he asked, and became worried of the answer. "Do you hate them too?"
Chris barked another laugh but this time, he sounded…different. Like, sad and…broken.
"Some days, I don't know whether I hate or love them more." he took a swing of his beer. "But don't worry; I am the very last person who will go –or work- against the Charmed Ones. If I wanted to kill them, I wouldn't have bothered with all this."
He made a wide gesture, to show something –but what? Leo studied him a few moments. In spite of his clear resentment, the Elder thought he wasn't lying.
"I believe you," he said, and Chris laughed again.
"Oh man, I don't need you to believe me. I just came here to ask you to tell the sisters to stop calling after me."
"They just want to talk."
"Well I don't," he shot back petulantly. "And even if I did, I can't. Piper banished me from the house, remember? What were the words already? 'I will find my son and after that, I want you out of this house and I never want to see you again'. Something along these lines?" He paused, opened his arms in some sort of showmanship. "She's the fucking matriarch. I was banished. Can't orb in."
"And what about Wyatt?" he asked, and added with a feeling that had haunted him since the day he was kidnapped. "You are the one who rescued him from the Order, aren't you. Why didn't you bring him back right away?"
He sensed a slight hesitation there.
"Wyatt," Chris echoed, suddenly looking pensive. "I don't know if I want to save him anymore."
Leo suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. There was something oddly cold in the witchlighter's expression now; a shift in his body language, and a dark glint in his eye. It occurred to him that if Chris had indeed rescued Wyatt, he would have had to face a group of demons on his own. And come out victorious. With a baby in tow.
Chris was a huge source of information, but Leo couldn't remember a time where he had seen him in action. The witchlighter usually stood in the back, gave indication, barely involved himself during a battle where the sisters were involved. But behind the scene, he hunted demons, led astray Titans, and had powers Leo hadn't witnessed yet. They knew Chris was part witch, but they had no idea what he was actually capable of.
And that made Leo see him in a new light. Maybe the witchlighter was much more of a threat that he had first thought.
"He killed Bianca, in the future, you know." Chris went on, seemingly ignoring Leo's epiphany. "The Phoenix assassin Piper tried to blow up. She was the love of my life. And he killed her. Would have killed me too, if I hadn't escaped to the past." He leaned back against the metallic bean. "So as far as I'm concerned, he's not my favorite person right now."
"Why? You worked so hard up till now." It didn't make sense. His return from the future had been months ago. Why hadn't he shown his resentment against Wyatt earlier? Why hadn't Phoebe –oh, empath blocking potion, right. The younger witchlighter looked down, his gaze suddenly lost to the city.
"Why not? No matter what I say, I'm not taken seriously. And I'm tired of having to fight the sisters every step of the way. Not when they don't fucking care that the world is going to go to shit soon. Too busy with their own personal petty lives."
"They had earned that right," Leo protested, but Chris wasn't listening to him.
"I wish I had loved him less," he mused, almost absentmindedly. "If only I had loved him less…maybe more people would be alive. Maybe I would have already changed the future for the better. Or maybe it would have gone for the worse. Who knows? It's too late for 'what ifs' now."
He was talking about Wyatt. And Leo began to realize that Chris knew him. Not just as a passing acquaintance, or as a powerful figure of his time. He actually knew him in the future. How? He wanted to ask but had a feeling he wouldn't be answered anyway.
His thoughts were interrupted by a jingling sound. Piper.
"Duty calls eh?" Chris taunted a bit. Away from the sisters, under the influence, Leo sensed that he was far more honest than ever. He would have ignored his ex-wife's call, had the jingling not returned with a vengeance.
"I'll talk to Piper and tell her to let you back in."
Chris waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't bother. I won't answer the sisters' call anymore. That's what I came to say." The witchlighter stood up, bottle in hand. He seemed pretty steady on his feet, for someone who had emptied at least three bottles. "Congratulations for the baby, by the way."
"What ba-" Leo started, but Chris had already orbed away.
As Chris reappeared to the underground, he couldn't bite back a smile. Leo had definitively taken the bait. He would work to lift the ban, if only to make sure he could return. The sisters would not welcome him back, and he had no intention of showing himself to them. Piper's pregnancy was both a good and a bad thing for him. Good, because it meant he would still be alive for a few months more, bad, because it marked the beginning of the countdown. By November, he would have to catch who was after Wyatt. If not, his efforts would be vain.
He felt tingling warmth inside his chest, and couldn't help but smile. The bound he had awaken between him and his elder brother had worked and been active since the ritual. He could sense Wyatt's most intense emotions, and sometimes, knew Wyatt could sense him back. Just like now. The warm feeling came to counter his worry, as if he were asking –what's wrong? Are you alright?
"I'm fine Wy," Chris replied out loud. He put his hand over his chest and repeated: "I'm fine. Go back to sleep. I'll come to see you soon."
"How did he know?" Piper wondered –as did Leo. It had been a one-night thing, a mistake, nothing they intended to happen –but it had. And they were now facing the consequences.
"Maybe Wyatt had a brother in the future?" Phoebe assumed. "Chris didn't tell us a lot of things because of future consequences. Was this supposed to happen?"
"Not that I am not thrilled about the news, but I would also like to know since when can we ban people from the manor," Paige pointed. "That would be an amazing way to keep demons out!"
Since no-one had a tangible answer, they called upon someone that might. Grams looked just as peachy as ever, and overly pleased to hear a new child was on the way. But when she heard their question, she became a little confused.
"Banishments don't work for everyone," Grams explained. "You said you banished Chris, that…whitelighter from the future, from the manor?"
"He claims he can't orb in anymore, and I believe him," Leo added. "Did you know you could do that?"
The spirit frowned, definitively bothered now.
"It did once, back when I was alive," she admitted. "I had this cousin I couldn't stand, especially after Allen died. And during her last stay, she said something that really angered me, so I banned her from the house. She couldn't set a foot inside till the day she died."
"So you actually can?" Piper asked, scandalized. "If we'd known, we would have done something to make the house safer a long time ago!"
"It could only work because we were blood related," Grams interrupted sharply. "It wouldn't work on another witch."
Silence fell upon the room, and they all exchanged uneasy glances.
"But how can that be possible? Chris isn't family. I mean, we aren't related." Piper's voice trailed off, uncertainty clouding her features. "We aren't."
"Or maybe we are," Paige said quietly, her eyes troubled as she lingered speculatively on her sister's still flat belly. "We just never asked."
Wyatt brightened and made a happy sound when Chris orbed into his room. The elephant nightlight glowed softly in the dark, casting a blue halo on his small face. Chris stepped closer, switched the baby monitor off. No need to alert his parents of his presence. Piper and Leo were sleeping in the next room, and any single disturbance would wake them up.
"Hello Wy," he greeted softly and crouched next to the crib. "I see you are still awake. Were you waiting for me?"
Wyatt blinked sleepy eyes and grinned mischievously. Months of feeling and feeding each other emotions had somehow brought them closer. Chris could tell Wyatt had grown fond of him, just as he knew it had been a long time since he had felt so close to his brother. The scary part was the genuineness of the exchange. They were blood brothers, they couldn't force each other to feel something –or else Wyatt would have likely turned him a long time ago.
"Sorry I couldn't come in earlier. Some demon out came after me, caught me off guard."
Wyatt redirected his gaze on his arm. Chris followed and noticed he had an open gash. Odd, he thought, it hadn't stung earlier.
"It's nothing," he assured his little brother. "I'll take care of it later."
Wyatt extended his arm and white sparkles came out of his tiny hand. A few seconds later, the wound had healed. Chris chuckled and saw the reflected amusement in the toddler's eye.
"Thanks Wy," he said, and meant it. "Your powers are really growing, it's amazing."
Amazing. Frightening. Terrifying even. Today, this one and a half year old was able to heal a minor wound. In twenty years, he would have the power to rule the world. But to Chris, he was, had always been, first and foremost, his beloved brother.
"So, I heard you went to the magic school today," he went on. "Was it fun? Did you make friends? I remember the headmaster. Gideon. He hated your guts -probably feared you, like many others. I didn't like him much either, to be honest. Too much of a prick, even when you took over and allies were scarce. He wanted you dead the most."
He kept talking softly, and Wyatt kept listening, his eyes blinking slowly, fighting the urge to sleep. So young and so stubborn, Chris thought in amusement. But eventually, the natural urges took over and the toddler began nodding off. Chris watched him as he lost the battle and slid on the side, eyes closed, hand clenching at his favorite blanket. He stood up, leaned into the crib and pulled the cover over his small body.
"Sleep well, Wy," he whispered.
The door creaked as it opened but Chris didn't turn around. He had felt Phoebe's presence for a while, but hadn't wanted to cut through his time with his brother. Priorities, he supposed.
"Hello Chris," she greeted.
She was wearing a pink, short nightgown. She had circles under her eyes, and looked like she didn't have a good night sleep in a while. It was the first time, in both timelines, that he saw her looking so vulnerable.
"You've been away for a while. Are you alright?"
He didn't reply. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably, but not backing out yet.
"I'm sorry, about our last conversation. We were upset and –we shouldn't have said what we did. We shouldn't have done a lot of things we did. To you."
Stony silence. He didn't move. She tried again.
"Chris, are you Wyatt's little brother?"
Chris snorted. He didn't want to give her an answer. He didn't think she deserved an answer. Even with her eyes wide and hopeful, even if he saw the painful 'he's family' hanging in there, he wouldn't give her satisfaction. He wondered how differently she saw him, how she could easily shift her perception of him during his absence.
"Go back to sleep Phoebe," he replied instead and turned around.
"You should stay. I'm sure Piper wouldn't mind setting up a room-"
He turned around, glared at her.
"You know, your apology might have meant something had you said if before figuring out that we were blood related." Phoebe flinched back. "Leave me alone, I don't need –nor do I want –you –any of you –around."
And before she could reply, he orbed out.
He didn't return to the manor the following days. With his small outburst, he was certain Phoebe had already spread the news that he was Piper and Leo's second son. He busied himself by trying to investigate further leads. Without the sisters to watch over, he could fully commit to undercover time amongst the demons. And that time paid off. He ended up hearing rumors about someone trying to recruit demons to set up against the Charmed Ones, a coordinated attack. And that someone happened to be an Elder.
Piper was watching TV when Chris popped out seemingly out of nowhere. The surprise stunned her into silence, and for a few seconds she couldn't find her words.
Chris, twenty something witchlighter, her future son whom had been avoiding everyone for months, was standing in the living room, staring at her with a flat expression. The same expression Prue use to have when she felt particularly unimpressed. How could she have missed it?
"Hello Piper," he greeted casually, as if they hadn't seen each other more than a day and not nearly seven months. "I may know who's been after Wyatt now."
"Chris," she growled. "Where have you been?"
"You are the one who didn't want me here, remember?"
And his words tore her heart apart. Phoebe had given an account of her encounter with him –very brief, very to the point, very blunt too –and up until this point, she had never realized how unfair she had treated him. Yes, he had been manipulative, secretive, lied to them but-
"You are my son."
Once again, the same unexpressive look, like he couldn't care less. But he must, she thought, he must feel something.
"Yeah, and the world is still going down if we don't stop whoever's after Wyatt to get to him. Reinforce your defenses and tell Leo he should start investigating Elders. One of them is campaigning to recruit demons to launch an attack or something. I'll try to find out more."
He made to leave. Piper thought 'no you don't' and grabbed his arm.
He stared at her, irritated, but didn't try to push her away. Most likely because there was furniture behind her and if she did topple a bit she might also tumble down and hurt herself. Whatever worked.
"Stay," she asked. "Please. Don't go back. Can't we –can't we just talk or something? Can't you wait for everyone to be there to plan?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"You've done well on your own far before I came, and you will do just fine when I'm gone." He shook his arm away from her grasp, so easily it hurt. "Just forget the part where 'I'm your son'." And she physically flinched.
"I can't do that! You are my son, I can't pretend and let you walk out like that!"
"Remember to tell Leo about the Elder," he repeated impatiently. "And set up better security around the manor. Anyone can come in and out day and night with an invisibility spell."
As he had done, she realized. They've been looking for him all over the place, and he –he had been right there, under their nose. From the beginning.
When she returned to her senses, she was alone again. The only leftover of Chris' presence was the marks of mud on the carpet, but she wasn't even upset about that. It was proof he had showed up. That he cared, somewhat. He was right, she thought, and blew through her nose. He had come here for a reason. He had sacrificed a part of his life –a part of his future –to save his brother. The least she could do was to listen and help him, even if he didn't expect her to. She could always try to talk to him once it was all over.
Chris was in the middle of some information hunting when he felt it -Wyatt's fear, clear as day, clawing its way into his chest. He didn't think and orbed away immediately.
He ended up in Wyatt's room, where three beast-like demons surrounded him, hissing and yowling. When he appeared, all three gazes shift on him. In his crib, Wyatt was surrounded by his shield and crying loudly. Where are the fucking sisters? Chris wondered and flicked his wrist at the closest one. The first demon was sent flying into the other. A quick clenching and twisting of both fists and two demon necks snapped. He threw his athame into the last one's chest and watched him burn in a screeching cry.
Wyatt was still crying, but his shield descended when Chris stepped closer.
"It's alright," he cooed as he picked up his big/little brother and sent waves of calming emotions through their bound. "You're safe Wy, it's alright."
The cries subdued as he felt the toddler's complete trust sinking in, and his small hand clenching at his shirt. His big wide eyes were filled with fear, but he leant his head against his chest and kept quiet after that. Chris couldn't help but think that if the others from the Resistance saw them now, they would not be happy with him. Most of them had wanted to kill Wyatt while he was still defenseless. Chris would have loved to see them try. In spite of what he had told Leo -or at least suggested -he didn't think he could have 'vanquished' little Wyatt. Even knowing the terrible things he had done in the future, he couldn't -wouldn't have -found the resolve to kill his brother.
After a few moments, he heard some noise in the corridor and figured he had overstayed. He gently put a protesting Wyatt back in his crib, gave him a little wave, and orbed out just in time. He still got to hear Paige's panicked voice and wondered if they would realize what had happened.
It happened a few times more -Wyatt's fears calling him and him orbing to take the situation in. Most of the time, he didn't have to interfere -the sisters showed up seconds after him, and all he had to do was to remain invisible and watch. But twice, he had to intervene. And it pissed him off. No wonder why Wyatt grew so paranoid, he thought grimly, if the adults supposed to protect him didn't. And he wouldn't be there forever. Three more months. And since the new threat might come from closer than feared...He wondered if Piper had passed along his message. If Leo had spoken to Gideon or kept the information for himself. He hoped it was the latter. The last thing he needed was that particular Elder on his case.
And then, one day, the oddest thing happened. Chris had been injured during a heated exchange between demons, and found refuge in his cave. He had been about to lie down and pray his self-healing would suffice to take care of the wound when he heard someone orb in. He just had enough energy to look up from his makeshift bed, and had to blink twice -because his visitor was none other than baby Wyatt.
"How did you find me?" he asked without really expecting an answer. Warmth ran through his chest, and he understood. Wyatt had felt his pain and- and if felt so much like the brother Chris had known in his teenage years, when he would respond to his distress calls and take care of him.
He laughed, stumbled down on the floor and made his way to his brother. Little Wyatt extended his hand and began healing him.
"You really are a piece of work, Wy," he said without heat. The toddler giggled, as if understanding his words, and willingly stepped into Chris' arms once he was done. The little body fell limp and promptly went to sleep. Chris smiled a little, feeling a lot better, but a bit tired too. He figured that he might as well take a nap along with his brother. What harm could it do?
(Panicked sisters, hours of unnecessary scrying since he protected the cave very thoroughly, and when Chris discreetly delivered him back to the nursery room, lots of hugs and cuddles and whispers of reproach for scaring them like that. Wyatt only grinned at the invisible Chris as he orbed away).
Wyatt's last abduction happened the day Chris was born. Piper was away, at the hospital, Phoebe working on her latest article, and Paige running after a charge. Leo had dropped him off at magic school, where Gideon had taken his sweet time in taking him away and trapping him in a circle. Wyatt's fear had never been so deep, so gut-wrenching, and so this time, Chris came prepared. He knew he would have no chance against an Elder -at least, he knew he wouldn't come out alive if he confronted him head on. Instead, he orbed in just in time to see Gideon approach his brother with an athame -reeking of darkness -and ready to strike.
Chris freed his whitelighter aura, and stroke first. Unfortunately, revealing himself also alerted the Elder of his presence and the surprise effect was lost. Later, as Chris lied curled on the ground, half-gutted by the athame's blade, he figured he had put up a good fight. He was dying, for sure, but he had at least managed to incapacitate Gideon so badly the Elder couldn't move at all. Legs broken, his face disfigured by Chris's own athame, a couple of stab wounds and, cherry on top, fourth degree burns on various parts of his body. The electricity discharged he had inherited from his father had come in handy. But it hadn't been enough. It hadn't been nearly enough...but at least he had bought some time. And sure enough, the cavalry came.
Leo orbed in, looking both anxious and eager and stopped in confusion when he saw the scene. Wyatt trapped under crystals, Chris bleeding out on his side, and Gideon a wreck. He first hurried to Chris, knelt down and tried to heal him, asking at the same time:
"What happened?"
Gideon spoke first and quick:
"He kidnapped Wyatt and tried to kill him. I had to do this to defend us both. I'm sorry Leo."
Chris barked a shaky laugh. Leo stared at him in incomprehension. The wound wasn't healing, even with his best efforts.
"His magic, won't work." He breathed. "And he's the one who took Wy."
Leo blinked, and a desperate expression grew on his face. Chris could almost read his thoughts then -why? why did it come to this? why didn't you tell us? why does it have to end like this? why did you give us a chance, time-
"Don't listen to him Leo," Gideon hissed. "Help me."
But his words didn't reach him. Chris could see it in his eyes. Leo was stuck watching his youngest son die, the son who hated him, who had given up everything to protect his sibling so far -and there was nothing he could do about it. Or rather-
The Elder stood up, pure fury and hate painted on his face. He stepped closer to Gideon, arms opened wide.
"Chris is my son," he said, half a growl, half a desperate cry. "And you killed him."
And Chris watched with a twisted sense of glee, Leo's elder powers activate and strike Gideon even further down. He next redirected his gaze on Wyatt, who was watching him with those wide worried eyes, feeling confused and scared and desperately needing comfort from someone -and he couldn't get out of the cage. With his last strength, Chris sent him a wave of reassurance through their bound, and whispered:
"It's okay Wy. You'll be alright. And I will meet you again very soon."
The baby stared back, still confused, but not as scared anymore. And upon that last reassurance, Chris closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.
Wyatt stared at the newborn. His dad's clothes smelt like burn, and the evil man was dead. His mom was beaming, tired but happy, and his aunts were cooing around the red, wrinkled little thing. Wyatt however, was confused. The tall man who had helped him, who had always answered his calls, had vanished. He couldn't feel his presence anymore. Instead, he could feel the new person -his little brother, his parents said -very clearly. More clearly than the tall man, even.
"Kwiss," he said, pointing at the baby. His parents congratulated him at recognizing who he was, even though no-one realized they hadn't officially told him of his new brother's name.
He didn't understand everything, just that the tall man had become small. And it was alright. The bound was still there. Tall Chris wouldn't answer anymore, wouldn't protect him anymore, because he had disappeared after fighting the evil man.
So it was Wyatt's time to care for his brother until he could take care of himself again.