Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed

Future Mistakes

"You're really going to do this little brother?" Wyatt asked mockingly, and Chris glowered at him.

"You used me, you manipulated me, you lied to me. I've had it. No more." Chris bit out and Wyatt grinned sinisterly.

"So what, I told you a little fib? I just...I just wanted you back." Wyatt said softly, and Chris shook his head.

"I know you did, but that doesn't excuse what you did Wyatt. You never got it, I never wanted all of this, I just wanted you. And you made me think that you were all I had, all I had ever had." He said and Wyatt shook his head.

"That's because I am all you've ever had Chris, I've protected you and loved you since day one, when all of them died on you, they're the ones who left you behind. I just wanted you to be safe!"

Chris looked at his brother grimly.

"I know you did, but that doesn't excuse what you've done. You made me think no one loved me, you made me weak, emotional and vulnerable and you preyed on that, and worse, you exploited the trust I had in you when you did it! You messed up my memories!" he yelled, and Wyatt shrugged.

"I did it to get you back, you belong with me, we belong together, the two Blessed Ones." Wyatt said, and Chris shook his head stubbornly.

"Not like this. All my life you've misused me, mistreated me, and like an idiot I kept coming back for more. And now you turn me against my family, against my friends, my people, and you expect me to believe it was for my own good?" Chris spat, and Wyatt glared at him angrily.

"It was for your own good, mom and the others filled your head with so much good vs evil crap that it messed up your head, you belong with me, my best friend, my right hand. You're my little brother and I did all this to protect you, to make sure you were safe. But because of them, you kept fighting me!" Wyatt said angrily, and Chris glared at him.

"No, it was because of you! You're an arrogant, twisted, depraved, vicious murderer! You slaughtered all that was good in the world, you killed off our own family just so you could become emperor! Millions are dead Wyatt, and it's all because of you. You made me think I was the problem." Chris snarled, and Wyatt looked down guiltily.

"I didn't mean to, you were just meant to be so miserable that you would come back to me. I missed you." He said pathetically, and Chris narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Boo hoo. Do you think I didn't miss you, and everyone who's dead because of you? No Wyatt! I missed you, but because you were so obsessed with power and your empire, you didn't realise that what you wanted all the time was there all along! And now, you turned me, twisted me, made me something I wasn't, turned me against the resistance, how can you live with yourself?" he demanded and Wyatt looked at him angrily.

"Because I wanted you, I needed you, I wanted my little brother back, and because you're so damn inflexible I had to do what I did, and I'm sorry baby brother, but I would happily do it again." He growled.

"Piper, get out of the way." Prue whispered urgently, knowing what was coming.

Chris began to pace in a circle, as did Wyatt, circling the room with their alarmed looking mother in the middle, who Paige hurriedly orbed out of the way.

"You used me, played me, manipulated me, made me something I wasn't." Chris spat, his eyes blazing furiously, his body quivering in fear.

"I did it for you, they hurt you, pushed you away, made you miserable, they nearly got you killed! And you're still loyal to them? I love you! More than they ever could! They died, they abandoned you, they orphaned you. It was me who looked after you, raised you, and you repay me with rebellion and anarchy? All I wanted was my brother back!" Wyatt roared, and Chris gritted his teeth.

"Which is what I wanted, I was trying to save you until you warped me!"

"I don't need saving." Wyatt spat furiously.

"Yeah you do, and part of you, the good part, the part that kept you from killing me all these years, the part that resurrected me when you broke my neck," he said, earning him alarmed looks from the others, "that part of you knows full well you need saving. Please Wyatt, don't make me do this." Chris asked, but he didn't sound upset, or pleading, he was asking nicely, but he was more than willing to battle his brother.

"I admit, I lost my temper with you a lot, hurt you, and I swear I didn't mean to, but remember what I warned you little brother. I'm not going to let you take away my power." Wyatt vowed darkly, and Chris looked at him sadly.

"So power is more important than me?" he asked, and Wyatt looked at him uncertainly.

Then Wyatt glared at him.

"I did all of this for you, and you still betray me." He cursed, and Chris shrugged.

"I did everything to save you, and you still love your throne more than you love me. You still hurt me, beat me, killed me. Who's the worst of us then?" Chris shot at him and Wyatt glared at the others, keeping to the side of the attic.

"Them! They turned you against me, took you from me, and because of them, you've been doomed to misery, but you're too damn stubborn to see it! You belong with me, the one who loves you, your big brother, but because of them you can't see it!" Wyatt bellowed.

Chris gave him a look of hatred.

"You're just as bad as they are brother dear. You're so determined to get me to see things your way, you're willing to make me something I'm not to do it." He said in contempt, and Wyatt flinched as if burned.

"I know I was wrong, ok? You happy now, I admit it. Now, stop this before I have to hurt you." He snarled, and Chris shook his head darkly.

"No. Not anymore Wyatt. This has to stop. You have to be stopped." Chris said, his voice tearing up, and Wyatt sneered at him.

"And once again you find a way to put those filthy little savages before family. You're more like dad than I thought." He derided.

Chris gave him a slight smile.

"I'd rather be an Elder like dad than a monster like you." He said, and Wyatt's eyes bulged furiously.

"Stop it! Cut it out Chris, or I will hurt you." Wyatt snarled.

"And what else would be new? Even since you got your hands on me you've been mistreating me, hurting me, abusing me. It's over Wyatt. I'm my own person, and I'm not letting you push me around anymore." Chris said, and Wyatt shook his head in disgust.

"I can't believe you'll choose everyone else over me, I'm your brother!"

Chris looked at him sadly.

"And I'm yours, didn't stop you from choosing power over me. Guess we both suck." He said miserably, but his eyes were still blazing with a righteous fire, and it was clear that while he was upset, he was more than willing to fight Wyatt.

Wyatt looked at Chris in a mix of exasperation, sadness and respect.

"Please Chris, stand down. I don't want to kill you." He pleaded.

"Then stand down, help me, and come home with us." Chris said and Wyatt gave a laugh.

"No. You aren't getting my empire, you aren't taking my power away from me!" he declared, and Chris sighed miserably.

"So your empire really is more important to you than I am. Figures." Chris said miserably, raising his hand to prepare to fight.

"You're not giving me any choice little brother. It's for your own good. I'm going to have to hurt you." Wyatt said darkly, though there was something in his eyes that looked tortured by the decision.

"You can try." Chris said, giving Wyatt a cold grin, one full of confidence, a look Wyatt had never seen before.

"Oh god...they're going to annihilate each other." Piper said worriedly, and Prue's eyes widened as Wyatt conjured a powerful fireball, as Chris prepared his electroball.

"Down!" she yelled, as the two brothers fired their attacks at each other.

The two attacks collided in midair, billowing out in a massive explosion that ripped apart the attack, sending an electrical fiery shockwave across the room, blowing holes in the walls.

And with that, the duel was truly on.

Chris was like lightning, throwing everything in reach at Wyatt, his telekinesis working overtime as he threw projectile after projectile at Wyatt. Wyatt was using his shield to counter the attacks, orbing some back, while also adding fireballs and energy balls into the mix. However, Chris was already on the move, jets of lightning lancing from each hand. Wyatt snarled and flamed away from the attacks, arriving behind Chris and kicking him in the back. Chris went forward with the momentum, rolling back to his feet, then lancing his foot out to take Wyatt's legs from under him. Wyatt gave a cry as he fell to the ground, kicking up at his brother as he did so, but Chris, his orbs once more light blue, moved to the other side of the room and conjured a swirling shield of debris.

Wyatt got to his feet, throwing fireball after fireball at his little brother, but the debris kept taking the attacks, and Chris would then use his telekinesis to flick the burning objects at his brother. Wyatt raised his hand to disintegrate them, then orbed Chris' debris shield right at his little brother. Chris grunted in pain as the debris smacked him, but Wyatt ignored the gasp of alarm from their spectators and advanced upon his brother, sending several fireballs towards him.

Chris rolled out of the way, springing up catlike then tackling Wyatt in the stomach. Caught by surprise, a furious Wyatt toppled down the stairs, a disintegration wave further destroying the attic as he toppled. Piper and the others gasped at the attic turned to dust around them, dropping them roughly onto the floor on the level below. Outside the bedroom, Wyatt punched Chris into the wall, then slammed his head hard into it. As Chris staggered, dazed, Wyatt wrapped his arm around Chris' neck, beginning to choke off his brother's air. However, this time Chris was ready for it, and stomped on Wyatt's foot. As his brother yelped in pain, Chris forced him backwards, slamming him into the wall, then biting down hard on Wyatt's hand. Wyatt yelled in pain, allowing Chris to grab his brother's arm and hoist him over his shoulder, slamming him to the floor.

"They're going to kill one another!" Leo exclaimed as Wyatt gave a sonic scream that sent Chris reeling.

Wyatt got to his feet and sent a massive disintegration wave up the corridor, obliterating the walls. Chris then gave a slight smirk, throwing all the items in the room at his brother. Wyatt incinerated them all with his shield, but Chris moved too quickly for him to block his next attack, an electroball hitting him in the chest, smashing him up into the broken remains of the ceiling. Wyatt gave a sonic scream, sending a cascade of rubble down onto his brother. Chris orbed out from the storm, levitating towards Wyatt, kicking him in the chest. Wyatt grabbed Chris' leg, and slammed him hard into one of the remaining walls. Chris groaned in pain as Wyatt hoisted him up by the neck, strangling his little brother, whose legs were kicking violently.

"Not again." Piper said, rushing to help her youngest, but Phoebe stopped her, shaking her head.

"This is his battle." She said, then smiled in approval as Chris kicked Wyatt in the head, making him drop him.

Chris dropped to the floor, flicking Wyatt towards the stairs. Wyatt retaliated by sending a jet of bright green acid from his hands. Chris cursed, orbing out of the way, then flicking the acid into the wall, melting it. He then astralled behind Wyatt, tripping him down the stairs. Wyatt swore as he fell down the stairs, getting to his feet and conjuring a massive fireball that he threw at Chris. Chris looked on in shock, orbing out of the way, and Paige orbed the others to the bottom of the house as the fireball obliterated most of the second level.

As rubble rained into the foyer, Chris levitated into Wyatt, who sent blasts of green magic from his eyes, catching Chris in the chest. Chris gasped in pain as he slammed to the floor, but then flicked the chandelier into his brother. As Wyatt stumbled, Chris flicked outwards, shattering every glass surface on the ground floor. He then swirled his hands around him, forming the deadly little shards into a lethal tornado of broken glass and directed them at Wyatt. Wyatt simply raised his hand, creating a roiling ball of flame, obliterating the glass before throwing the ball at Chris.

Chris orbed away from the attack, flicking his brother into the grandfather clock as he did so. Wyatt swore, flicking his hands at his brother, who ducked the blast. He then created a force blast, sending Chris crashing into the display of costumes. Chris then leapt to his feet, orbing his mother's knives from the kitchen towards his brother. Wyatt deflected the knives before sending a whirlpool at Chris. Chris fired his electrokinesis into the water, forcing it back at its owner, who flamed away from the attack, into the conservatory. Waving his hand to banish the sisters and Leo into the living room, a massive combustive orb then blew apart the wall, and Chris followed through with another one. Wyatt gestured and Chris gasped as his insides were crushed, but he freed himself by throwing a string of light darts at the Source. Wyatt gave a sonic scream of annoyance, conjuring a massive tornado to blow them off target, as Chris sent a jet of lightning at him. Wyatt deflected the attack, stunned by the power, and the two began throwing combustive orbs at each other, each one getting bigger as they did so. Chris then conjured a massive, swirling orange ball of deadly energy, completing it with jagged rings of lightning around it, and threw it at Wyatt. Wyatt flamed out of the way in terror, landing beside his brother and crashing his head into the wall. Chris kicked his leg up, catching Wyatt in the groin, turning and punching Wyatt in the jaw, knocking him off his feet. Wyatt threw his hands up, blasting Chris with powerful shadows that sent him spinning across the room into the conservatory. As Chris slammed to the floor, Wyatt sent two lethal streams of flame at his brother. Chris backrolled, coming up to his feet, casting two streams of lightning, which began to force the fire back. Wyatt snarled and created his shield, warding off the attack, before gesturing at Chris' neck. Chris gagged as he felt his brother's power crushing his neck, sagging as he tried to free himself, and he could see the smug smile on his face as he advanced towards him. Chris then moved, telepathically screaming and knocking Wyatt for six. As Wyatt stumbled, Chris threw an electroball into him, crashing him into the cupboard under the stairs. Wyatt gave a sonic scream, then summoned several demons into the battle as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Phoebe protested from the living room.

Chris simply flicked them all into a pile then created a massive combustive orb, vanquishing them easily. Wyatt was then on him, puinching and kicking at his little brother, but Chris was up to the challenge. Wyatt had the strength but Chris had the agility, and in a move that impressed Phoebe, he kicked Wyatt in each shin, then kneed him in the groin before headbutting him. Wyatt then punched Chris in the mouth, catching his brother's shoulder with a fireball and then orbing him over the room, crashing him into the doorway. Chris then snarled, and threw combustive orb after combustive orb at him, forcing Wyatt back. Wyatt snarled, firing more bolts out of his eyes, but Chris squinted, flicking them back at their owner. Wyatt gave a sonic scream of irritation and orbed to the bottom of the stairs, glaring at Chris, who was in the conservatory.

"I got to admit little brother, I'm impressed. You're putting up one hell of a fight. See, aren't you glad I made you mine again? Otherwise you never would have gotten all of your powers." Wyatt purred, his face ashen, and Chris glowered at him, breathing heavily.

"Not really. I've spent ages trying to deny all my powers." He snapped, and Wyatt laughed.

"Aww, you really are sweet little brother, trying to deny all that's rightfully yours. The world belongs to us, we're the true power here, and you keep denying it. We can make it how we want it to be!" Wyatt urged, and Chris glared.

"Never. That wasn't how we were raised, and you know it. And I've played your game long enough Wyatt. It ends today." He vowed, and Wyatt laughed, then fixed Chris with an evil grin.

"So be it baby brother." Wyatt said, and viciously fired two blazing streams of fire from his hands, right at his little brother.

Chris snarled and retaliated, conjuring two crackling beams of lightning and throwing them right at Wyatt.

The two lethal powers collided in midair, joining the two brothers. The lightning began to push back the fire, but then the fire pushed back against the lightning. Jagged bolts of magic were sparking everywhere, blowing holes in the floor, in the walls and in the furniture. The two beams were getting stronger as the two brothers struggled to overcome each other, blue and orange going against each other as the brothers fought. Sparks were bouncing everywhere, the entire building was shaking, and Leo, feeling the power that was amassing, gulped, and looked urgently for an escape route.

But it was too late.

Unable to overcome each other, the power had overloaded, and now a massive blue and orange energy ball erupted in the centre of the two brothers.

"Shit." Wyatt said simply.

"Oh bugger." Chris cursed, as the ball exploded outwards.

The ball erupted, sending a screaming Wyatt and Chris flying through the tattered remains of the upper levels, while the girls and Leo were blown, screaming through the front window, as the fireball erupted, blowing the house apart. The massive explosion shook the street as the two brothers soared through the air, and the Book of Shadows and the Grimmoire were blown, burning, high into the air, twirling out of sight as the remains of the building were shredded apart, with chunks of wood, plaster and stone, all ablaze, peppered down onto the troops who were standing at the front of the house.

The girls and Leo landed in the garden outside the house the first shapeshifters they had met had been living in, and Piper sat up, looking at the burning wreckage of the manor in alarm.

"They blew up the house!" she bellowed in furious disbelief as the others looked on in shock.

"Whoa." Leo said, rather impressed despite himself.

"They look like they're alright, well, they're getting to their feet anyway." Phoebe said.

"But...but...they blew up the house!" Piper wailed in horror as she saw the remains of her home as her two sons got to their feet, glaring at each other, their clothes smoking and ripped.

"Maybe letting go of your powers was a mistake baby brother." Wyatt snarled, gesturing to the mess they had made of the house.

"Not the only one you made." Chris said with a slight grin, and their family and his brother looked at him curiously, and Chris happily pointed upwards.

Wyatt looked up and swore, as he saw the Ravager, a massive hole blown in its side by the explosion of their powers, listing towards the ocean and steadily descending. Wyatt snarled as he watched his flagship descend, and then abruptly it clicked.

The resistance was surrounded, beaten. But now, seeing Chris fighting him, and also seeing the demise of the Ravager, the enemy that they had taken such pains to sap the fight from would now...

"No!" Wyatt yelled angrily, as his brother grinned, and gestured to Faith.

"Faith, now!" Chris ordered, and the last true Slayer grinned as Chris orbed the scythe from the demons hand into hers, and with great gusto she swung it, decapitating it. She then twirled, taking down another two demons and a vampire, and with that, the entire situation devolved once more into a battle as, with a gesture from Chris, all the manacles dropped off the captive resistance members and the fight was once again on.

Sam and Dean were once more armed, and, as Chris had instructed, pushing against the right flank, backed up by werewolves, vampires, resistance allied demons and witches. Weaver gave a cry of victory and hopped back into the Gargantuan, which immediately laid down a blistering field of fire, scattering or destroying many demons in their path. Riley, picking himself back up, opened fire, and Tyler and Wesley were quick to join in, and even when Wesley was killed by a stray fireball, they still kept up the pressure.

All across the city, the battle suddenly recommenced as the resistance, emboldened by the destruction of the Ravager and the return of their leader, hit back against the empire with a vengeance. In the water, Admiral Garrett cheerfully took her command chair again, and as soon as they received word that the fight was once more on, they opened fire, taking down several enemy cruisers before they realised what was going on. In the air, Commander Dodonna, acting commander of Galactica, took command of the fleet and immediately had their forces move towards the hole left by the destruction of the Ravager. Planes and other forces were suddenly back in the air, catching the imperial forces completely off guard, and with no one to command them anymore, their resistance was messy at best, and the resistance was taking full advantage of that fact.

Wyatt snarled as he saw Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Leo all give enormous grins and begin to blast apart the scattering demons, and he glowered at his brother.

"You are going to pay for that." He vowed darkly, and Chris stuck his tongue out.

"Nah-nah-ne-nah nah!" he taunted, and Wyatt gave a roar of fury, and Chris disappeared in a flurry of orbs, and Wyatt then followed, flaming off in furious pursuit.

XX

Sandra was on the move, her lightning ripping apart demons and blasting away troops. Sam and Dean were pressing their attacks, the enemy lines giving way and Faith was cheerfully hacking through the enemy lines, breaking them apart. Piper and the others rushed into the battle, their eyes on the distant signs of Chris' orbing and Wyatt's flaming as they battled up ahead, vanquishing all who got in their way as they made their way through the milling ranks of the enemy. Cole was a lethal force, vanquishing all in his way, all the while keeping an eye on Zankou as they battled. Connor was blowing through as many enemies as he could get his hands on, Andy Martin was firing bullets like there was no tomorrow, Ben was ripping apart demons with his bare hands, Max was elegantly brawling her way through the enemy lines and as much as they pushed, it became clear that the empire had overextended itself in the earlier battle. Their lines were weak, the unexpected renewal of resistance fighting had caught them all off guard, and now that their commanders had abandoned their posts they were struggling to compensate.

"Keep up the pressure, maximum firepower, we need to take the command centre, all forward!" Weaver yelled as the fight continued, and with that, Faith, Sam and Dean rallied the resistance forces to them and began to push onwards to where the manor was, the symbolic seat of power, and Piper realised that if that was taken, it would thoroughly demoralise the demons.

"Finally." Zankou said as they pushed towards the ruins of the manor, his eyes greedy, and he then flamed ahead, landing on top of the rubble.

"No!" Sandra protested, as Zankou hurriedly recited a spell, and his eyes flashed black.

"Crap, he took in the Shadow!" Prue exclaimed, as that had been what he had tried to do last time, and had been stopped in the nick of the time, as the sisters had taken it in and had turned it on him to vanquish him.

"Now what?" Leo asked, as Zankou laughed.

"Now dear Leo...you all die!" he gloated, and threw a massive smoking blast at them.

Piper tried to freeze it, but nothing happened, forcing them all to jump to the floor to avoid it. Sandra however wasn't nearly so quick, and the shadow ripped right through her, leaving her dead on the floor.

"No!" Ben yelled in shock, as Zankou killed Connor as well.

"Prue, we need to stop him!" Phoebe yelled, wincing as Zankou blew Cole away from him, sending the demon into the ruins of a destroyed tank with a yelp of pain as he took aim at Riley who was tackled to the ground by Faith.

"You cannot stop me anymore! The brats Halliwell will obliterate each other, and then the world, the empire, will be mine, and there's nothing you can do to stop that!" Zankou crowed.

Prue frowned. He was technically right. With the Shadow inside him, it would be hard for them to vanquish him, and she couldn't remember the spell.

But, she was distracted from her musings as Neena appeared on the ruins of the manor behind Zankou.

"Really? I might have something to say about that." She said dangerously.

Zankou moved first, casting a lethal shadow at her. Neena responded by creating a shimmering wall of light, which she then turned into a massive arrow and fired at Zankou, who flamed out of the way to avoid it. He appeared behind her, throwing an energy ball at her, but as he did so, she gestured, making the ground he was standing on split apart. As Zankou stumbled, she redirected the energy ball towards him, gesturing and cloning it so there were three energy balls. Zankou roared in pain as each one reached him, he then responded by sending a wave of acid at her. Neena flicked the rubble up to absorb the damage, before casting two fiery ropes from each hand, whipping Zankou. Zankou created a flaming shield, which Neena responded to by blowing on her hand, encasing the shield in ice. With a well placed flick of her hand, the shield shattered and she blasted him in the chest. Zankou fell into the hole she had created, and she whipped the rubble around her into a dangerous cyclone, pouring it down on top of the demon. Zankou yelled in frustration, firing energy balls up at her. Neena froze them in the air, turning them into wicked looking doves which she then set to pecking Zankou. Zankou swiped at them throwing acid at them, but she gestured, negating his power, making it fizzle out. She splayed her hands and two portals opened, and with a slight smirk she fired lightning and light into them, and with a clap of her hands, two powerful beams of lightning and light exploded from each portal, catching a screaming Zankou in between them. She then gestured, sending a whirlwind at him which sent him toppling back into the hole, and with a further gesture, she commanded the water from the burst pipes to surround him, trapping him in a tempestuous bubble. Zankou roared in frustration, trying to use his powers, but with each flick of her finger she negated the power he tried to use. She then cast more lightning into the water, and Zankou screamed in pain as electricity punctured the bubble and his body. As the buble fizzed out, she summoned a wind to push him back, and then created a large fireball which hit him right in the chest. Zankou threw several balls of shadow at her, but her light was stronger, and with another gesture, she sent him toppling into the very same hole the Shadow had come out of. Zankou roared in annoyance, sending a lethal blast of Shadow towards her.

Neena gave a small smile, creating a shield of light and gesturing, making the ground come together, trapping him fast. Zankou cursed, trying to use his shadow powers to break him out, but she held him fast in the crevice, and he realised that the Alpha had defeated him.

"On water and metal I call

Wood, earth and fire make them all

The First does these elements combine

Erase this shadowy demon from life and mind!"

Metal shards then erupted from the ground, puncturing Zankou's body, making him scream in pain. Water then filled the hole, beginning to drown him, making him gurgle beneath the water. Large splinters of wood then stabbed into Zankou's legs and arms, pinning him in place, and earth fell onto him, crushing him. A fiery bolt then went right into his mouth, and with a final scream, Zankou's eyes, nose, ears and mouth erupted into flames and there was then a massive explosion as he was vanquished, leaving Neena looking down in satisfaction.

"That's better." She said, as Cole came out of the tank to look at her in admiration.

"Wow." He said in awe, and she smiled.

Piper got back to her feet, blasting apart the demon that was running closest to her, smiling as she saw what was happening. Seeing the death of what was effectively their last potential figurehead, the demons were breaking ranks. Some were surrendering, some were defecting but more were shimmering or blinking out as they escaped what was quickly becoming a slaughter. As more and more demons left the battle, the resistance was able to round up the rest of the enemy troops with ease, and the battle clearly began to turn.

On the ruins, Neena finished a chant in the same language Zankou had used, and the Shadow erupted from the ground, but rather than be black, this time it was white, and she pointed. The Shadow then darted at the remaining enemy troops, and with a scream it vanquished or killed them all, ending the battle just like that.

"We've taken the centre. Red and Blue Squads, secure the manor site. Everyone else, follow me! Chris is going to need all the help he can get if he's going to stop Wyatt. Let's go!" Weaver ordered.

Piper looked ahead to where her sons were battling, her brow creased in worry as Chris and Wyatt continued to go at it.

"I'm coming honey, just hold him off a little longer." She pleaded as the entire group moved towards their battle site, and the end of the war.

XX

Galactica, despite being beat up, was still at the forefront of the attack, exchanging fire with the Sky Annihilators that were now leading the fleet, the Impervious and the Corrupter. On the bridge, Commander Dodonna cursed as another blast rocked the airship, and she knew if they didn't do something soon they were going to lose the flagship.

"Commander, we're picking up on a large force moving to intercept!" her scanner officer yelled, and she swore as she saw the readout.

It looked as though the enemy were getting desperate, as Marshal Crabtree had just arrived, with his force of thirty Hammerhead class patrol frigates, and their associated fighters. They must truly be worried, but she supposed, with their fleet having caused a lot more damage than the enemy had anticipated she would be worried too.

"Commander, they're calling us!" her radio officer said, and frowning, she picked up the mic.

"This is Air Marshal Crabtree of the Swiftsure calling the commander of Galactica, we feel that the empire is in need of a change of leadership. May we offer our assistance?" he asked, and cheers went through the bridge, as Dodonna smiled.

"A little late Marshal, but you are more than welcome here." She said, and she heard a chuckle on the other end.

"Very true. Alright, let's end this." He said.

And so the frigates began to pound the left flank of the Sky Annihilator fleet, as more and more fighters joined the battle. And finally, Dodonna saw what she was looking for.

"There, a break in the imperial formation. Red Arrow Squadron, move in!" she ordered, transmitting the coordinates.

"Red Arrow Squadron moving in!"

She watched as the elite fighter squadron blazed through the break in the enemy formation, and while they took a few losses, they took down several enemy fighters with their guns, and with a coordinated missile barrage they brought down another Annihilator. They then pulled themselves in a massive loop, catching another Annihilator by surprise, blowing it apart as well.

"Red Arrow Squadron's through, we've broken their lines!" the call came, and Dodonna smiled, sensing victory.

"Rogue Squadron, into the breach!" she ordered and more fighters then went through the widening hole, bringing down another Annihilator as the enemy fire began to become more desperate, filling the air around them with bullets and missiles. As the fighting became worse, the two squadrons joined forces and brought down another enemy ship, leaving a massive hole in the enemy formation.

Panic and chaos were gripping the enemy fleet, and this was their chance.

"Capital ships, reinforce their position!" Dodonna called, and the airships and frigates then entered the hole and began firing all their heavy weapons at once as they entered the hole.

More fighters and frigates poured in, heavy fire ripping apart the Sky Annihilators as they progressed. Enemy fighters, lost and confused, were being blown apart with ease, Annihilators, lacking sense and direction, were falling easily to the attacks of the resistance forces, fire from the ground was making things worse still, and it was clear that the enemy forces were in dire straits.

"Commander, some Annihilators are defecting!"

Dodonna nodded, she had expected that.

"Very well. Allow all defections, and accept only unconditional surrenders, any other sort, feel free to blow them apart." She said, and they began to gain ships, and other enemy ships stood down, allowing them to focus on the remaining flagship, the Corrupter.

"The imperial fleet is in disarray. Now's our chance, hit the Corrupter with everything we've got!" Dodonna said in relish, watching as the enemy flagship was surrounded in flames as the resistance forces began to win the battle in the air.

XX

Down in the ocean, Admiral Garrett swore as the Chimaera scored another hit on Voyager. Despite catching it by surprise and taking down one of their main weapons, the enemy flagship was still more than dangerous, and the problem was further compounded by the Night Hammer being dead in the water.

"how long until we have the Night Hammer back?" Garrett asked, as another blast rocked the ship.

"Five minutes they say, but our submarines are damaged, and one of the nukes is unstable, and the fleet is requesting instructions on what to do with the shipyard."

Garrett cursed. The shipyard was still cranking out the speedboats that kept ripping up their smaller ships, and going kamikaze against the biggest ships, but with a potentially explosive nuke...

She had it.

"Those shipyards were meant to withstand nuclear blasts right?" she asked, and the officer nodded, and then his eyes widened in realisation.

"Yes ma'am!" he said in excitement, and she grinned.

"Good. Which sub has the leaking nuke?" she asked.

"The Argo."

"Very well. Admiral Garrett to the fleet, destroyer group one, form up with the Onslaught and protect the Argo. Crew of the Argo, prepare to abandon ship. Those things were meant to withstand nuclear bombardment, so we're going to bombard it from the inside. Let's hustle. Take us down to the front of that group, we'll lead the charge, anything to get away from Chimaera." Garrett said, and Voyager began to move to the front of the task force, with the damaged Argo surfacing.

Chimaera continued to fire after them, but it was being swarmed by missile barges and attack boats as Voyager, Onslaught, its sister ship Ruin, several Charmed class destroyers and two Bolton class light cruisers all unleashed a massive offensive, blowing apart enemy ships as they made their way to the shipyard. Escape pods were erupting from the Argo as they got ever closer to the shipyard. Attack boats were zooming out of it, trying to stop the advance of the deadly submarine, but it was much too late.

"All ships, break off and prepare to detonate!" Garrett ordered.

The Argo entered the shipyard, shrugging off the bullets and missiles being thrown at it. The ships headed away from the shipyard as the sub, badly damaged, entered the belly of the factory, and the nuke exploded.

The shipyard erupted into flames, a small mushroom cloud appearing above it, the spells and armour absorbing much of the radiation. As the building burned and the enemy ships around it began to sink, Garrett nodded in approval.

The shipyard was gone, the enemy fleet was largely separated from itself, many of their ships were dead in the water, and many had been destroyed. Those still fighting were doing so in clumps, and now that the tide was turning, ships were surrendering, scuttling or surrendering.

All aside from the Chimaera, which had appeared alongside Voyager, and was now firing grappling harpoons through their hull.

"Damn her to blazes! All hands prepare to repel boarders!" Garrett ordered, taking her short sword, a requisite for all in the military due to many demonic assassins being based on the imperial navy, from her belt.

The enemy troops rushed across the temporary bridge as Voyager rocked and bobbed, buffeted by their bigger ship.

"Signal as many ships as we can, its time we brought down this ship once and for all!" she ordered, and then her heart went still as the copper haired admiral of the empire, Daala, gave a cold smile and boarded her ship.

"Admiral Garrett, I've been waiting a long time for this." Daala purred, and Garrett narrowed her eyes, brandishing her sword in preparation to fight.

Garrett's sword had been a gift from her father, called Sting, and it had a slight purplish hue to it. Daala's however was slightly longer, tinged red with the blood of many enemies from all the ships she had taken.

"As have I. This ends today. I've sunk one of your ships, I'll do it again." Garrett taunted and Daala narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, you will pay for what you did to my Leviathan. Necromancer here will teach you what it means to defy me." Daala bit out, and attacked, lunging at her with her bloodied sword.

Garrett blocked the attack, spinning gracefully out of the way. She kicked up at Daala, who easily avoided the attack, hacking down at her opponent. Garrett swayed away from the attack, cutting upward, trying to go for Daala's neck. Daala blocked the attack, then began to batter away at Garrett's defences, their swords clanging on the cramped bridge of Voyager as the din of a ship at war surrounded them. Garrett blocked a low sing, then punched up at Daala, catching her on the face. As Daala stumbled, Garrett lunged, piercing Daala's shoulder with the tip of her blade. Daala yelled in frustration, swinging her sword down for Garrett's neck, but Garrett had already twirled out of the way, slicing upwards, trimming off some of Daala's hair. Daala gave a hiss of pain and came at Garrett with everything she had. Daala, being stronger, began to push Garrett across her command room, her sword a flurry of steel as she beat back the admiral of the resistance. But while Daala might be stronger, she was more agile, and in her own humble opinion, more cunning.

Garrett allowed herself to be pushed nearly towards the wall when she dropped to one hand, her foot lancing out and taking Daala's feet from under her. Daala gasped in surprise as she fell to the floor, barely raising her sword to block Garrett as she swung down to end her opponent. Daala then kicked Garrett in the stomach, sending her crashing into the wall, allowing Daala to back flip, coming to her feet in time to block Garrett's renewed attack. Purple met red as the two of them battled back across the bridge, Garrett using controlled strikes, lunges and jabs, with the occasional slash to force Daala back, trapping her against the rail. All around her, the crew was triumphing over the boarders, cutting the grapples to free Voyager as Garrett continually pushed Daala back, minimising her efforts while maximising her own. Garrett then slashed down at Daala, who blocked a little too late, and her hand buckled. Garrett, sensing victory, spun around, slashing upwards as she did so, knocking Necromancer from Daala's hand, sending it clattering across the bridge. Daala swore and turned, avoiding a lunge from Garrett. She grabbed her sword and leapt onto the grapple just as it was cut, but she had made it back to Chimaera just in time, as her flagship pulled away from Voyager.

"Alright, time to end this. Signal all available ships, Chimaera is going down!" Garrett said, flushed with her triumph and putting Sting back into her belt as she resumed her command chair.

"Admiral, we have the Onslaught coming to help us, the Takari is on its way, the Night Hammer is just coming back online and the Gorgon and Excalibur are moving to intercept!" an officer reported, and Garrett nodded as the Advanced Dreadnought began to move out of the bay, clearly knowing it was in trouble.

"Helm, match pace with it! Where is the Onslaught?" she asked.

She soon had her answer. As Chimaera, damaged as it was, tried to escape, it was slow, allowing Voyager to easily keep up with it, sailing on its port side. Onslaught was to its starboard. Up ahead, Takari was moving to block the way, and Gorgon was coming to join it. To their rear, Excalibur was keeping up with the ship and just about to enter firing range. And to her great delight, Night Hammer was coming right for it, its heavy guns, in a better state than Chimaera's, were just about to enter range.

"Are all ships in range?" Garrett asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Very well. FIRE!" she yelled.

Missiles and bullets flew at the enemy flagship, ripping holes in the hull, blowing apart guns and radio towers, dismantling engines, shattering windows, damaging ballasts, toppling masts. Fire was erupting all along Chimaera was the combined force slogged it, rendering it dead in the water as they continued to pound away at it.

"Admiral, she's dead in the water!"

"Target the bridge, and fire!" Garrett ordered savagely.

Voyager then fired its last heavy missile. It shot high into the air, then plummeted towards the bridge of the ship. Escape pods were blasting away from it as the combined force continued to slag the ship, and it was with great satisfaction that Garrett watched as the missile punctured the bridge viewport and blasted apart the command tower of the Chimaera in a fiery explosion, and she was sure she saw Daala leaping from the doomed vessel. With a last half hearted explosion, the command tower of the enemy flagship was gone, and the task force radio was filled with cheers as they witnessed the Chimaera begin to sink beneath the waves. Cheers began to fill the radio as the entire fleet noticed what had happened, and Garrett watched in satisfaction as some enemy ships began to make a break for it, fleeing rather than face justice.

"Admiral, we have an incoming message from the Right to Rule, it claims its the new flagship of the fleet!"

Garrett nodded and activated the radio.

"This is Admiral Garrett of the flagship Voyager, what is your request?" she asked sharply.

"This is Acting Admiral Pellaeon of the Right to Rule. It is clear that you have won this battle Admiral. You were a fine opponent, but now it is clearly over. As such, as the acting commander of the fleet...I offer you the full and utter surrender of the imperial navy." He said, and Garrett couldn't stop the massive grin blossoming onto her face.

Surrender. Her part of the battle was over, despite the odds they had done it. Pellaeon had no choice, there had been too many losses, either through desertion, scuttling or defection, and with the loss of their command ships and his fleet split up and surrounded, he really had no choice.

It was over.

"On behalf of everyone here Admiral, thank you. You just saved a lot of lives. I accept your surrender." She said, and heard him give the order to stand down.

"Admiral they're surrendering!" someone said excitedly, and she nodded.

"They are indeed. This is Admiral Garrett to the fleet. Stand down all weapons. The empire has surrendered its navy." She said, and gleeful cheers suddenly erupted from the radio.

People on her bridge were jumping up and down, hugging, shaking hands, kissing. Her first officer suddenly hugged her, then remember who she was and apologised, but she waved it off and wrapped him in a further hug. Other members of her crew came up to her, shaking her hand, kissing her on the cheek, and these scenes were being repeated across the fleet as the navy celebrated its victory over the empire. People were dancing and whooping, clapping and whistling as the news spread and Garrett couldn't keep the smile from her face a sit sunk in.

They had won the battle, and now, with a little bit more, they could win the war.

"Helm, set a course for the bridge. I feel the war is yet to be decided and I want to be there when it is." She said happily, resuming her chair.

"Aye aye ma'am!" her helm officer said happily as they made their way to the final stage of the battle.

XX

Wyatt threw another disintegration wave at Chris, who caught it in his hand and then deflected it into a large group of demons. Fireballs then emitted from Wyatt's hands, forcing Chris to twist them into a fiery tornado which he then directed into another crowd of demons that were beating back the resistance forces. Chris then jumped into the air, using his telekinesis to keep him aloft and he conjured a massive combustive orb and threw it at Wyatt. Wyatt gave a roar of frustration and flamed away from the attack, however several more demons were vanquished as it hit.

Wyatt glared up at his brother, then went into the air himself, throwing debris at his brother. Chris, finally using his power of flight, avoided the attacks, hiding behind the tops of buildings as his brother's projectiles zoomed through the air.

Down on the ground, Phoebe looked up in awe.

"Since when could they fly?" she demanded in shock.

Up in the air, Chris emerged from behind a steeple and fired vicious bolts of lightning at Wyatt. Wyatt caught the attacks on his shield, flinching as he did so, but as he deflected those attacks he was flicked backwards. Wyatt landed catlike on an apartment roof then leapt through the air, tackling his brother to the ground. Chris responded with a punch to the jaw, followed by a powerful kick to the gut. Wyatt smacked him with the back of his hand, before flinging an energy ball at him, following up with blasts from his eyes. Chris flicked debris to take the attacks, levitating and kicking his brother away from him, leaping into the air once more, swirling lightning around a massive combustive orb and throwing it at his brother. Wyatt cried out in pain as the attack smashed him into a building, making the entire thing crumble. Wyatt gestured furiously, sending the toppling building right towards Chris, who orbed away from the collapse. Wyatt then erupted from the rubble, shooting right up into the air, his fiery shield surrounding him.

He then raised his hands above his head, ripping massive flaming chunks of masonry from the ground and sending them at Chris. Chris blanched as his brother attacked with renewed vigour, sending chunk after chunk at him. Chris was barely keeping ahead of them until he landed on top of the Ghirardeli, and caught one projectile with his telekinesis, throwing it back at his brother. Wyatt, who had been laughing until that point, cursed as the rock hit him, but he soon disintegrated it, sending jets of flame at his brother. Chris responded with blasts of lightning as the two of them came to the ground.

Wyatt then gave a sonic scream that shattered all of the windows around them, and Chris was suddenly surrounded by thousands of orbs as Wyatt used the glass to attack him. Chris cursed, raising his hand and forming a glass column around himself, then letting loose with a blast of lightning, making them all into deadly weapons, before casting them back at Wyatt. Wyatt was ready for the attack, disintegrating the glass before Chris appeared in front of him, blasting combustive orbs at him. Wyatt levitated, orbing the attacks back towards Chris. Chris swore, crushing them with his telekinesis as Wyatt threw acid at him once again, forcing Chris to direct it into a parked car.

All around them the battle was continuing, screams filling the air as the two most powerful beings battled it out. Wyatt then reached out a hand, crushing at Chris' windpipe. As Chris gagged, his legs kicking above the ground, he conjured a small, clear ball in his hand and threw it at Wyatt, catching his brother in the stomach. Wyatt yelled in pain, dropping Chris back to the ground, and Chris then tackled his brother, slamming him to the ground, before flicking him tumbling up the street. Wyatt swore in annoyance, creating jagged icicles and flinging them at Chris. Chris rocketed skyward and threw a massive orb at Wyatt, who barely managed to redirect it into another horde of demons.

Wyatt then soared into the air, sending wave after wave of energy beams at Chris. Chris was becoming hard pressed to stop these attacks, his telekinesis and deflection powers working overtime, but as Wyatt paused for breath, Chris flicked him into the side of an office building, shattering the windows. Wyatt gave a roar and fired a massive disintegration wave at Chris, who raised his hands to deflect the attack. He caught it barely, the deadly wave coalescing around him, before he forced it back towards Wyatt with a grunt. Wyatt then screamed, disrupting the attack and gesturing towards the bay, sending a river coursing towards his brother. Chris let loose with his lightning, redirecting the attack with his telekinesis and crashing it into Wyatt, who howled as the attack struck him. As he cartwheeled through the air, he came to a stop, and began ripping planes from the air and sending them hurtling at Chris. Chris gasped in shocked horror, darting between the lethal projectiles, feeling sorry for the poor sods inside them as his brother used them to try and kill him. Wyatt, bored of this game, suddenly developed hyper speed, crashing into his brother and smacking him around several times in quick succession, before punching Chris in the stomach, a move which sent him crashing into the road. As Chris feebly stirred, Wyatt dive bombed right for him, sending an energy ball right for him.

Chris gave a yell, orbing out just in time, and then began to throw damaged vehicles at Wyatt, who had to float in midair to stop the attacks. He then set the cars aflame with bolts from his eyes, hurling them back at Chris, who flew into the air to avoid the attacks. Wyatt then followed up with a swarm of burning particles that hit Chris, burning his skin and clothes. Wyatt, sensing weakness, then slammed a fireball into Chris' chest, blowing him into an office building. Wyatt flew forward, confident the duel was about to end, landing in the office. And then there was a blinding flash of light, allowing Chris to tackle him and send him plummeting back to earth. Chris fired lightning bolt after lightning bolt down at him, forcing Wyatt to block his attacks as he crashed to the ground. Wyatt sent a blast of shadow at Chris, before twirling into the air, firing energy balls and fire balls at his brother. Chris was forced back onto the defensive, forcing his little brother further and further back. Wyatt then made a beeline right for Chris, using his touch of death to burn his brother's skin. Chris cried out in pain before headbutting him, then began darting lightning at Wyatt, who responded with wreaths of flame. The two attacks met in midair and blew them apart, crashing them both into buildings. Chris recovered first, reaching up with his telekinesis and dragging a falling, burning Sky Annihilator from the air and directing it at Wyatt. Wyatt swore and began to fire waves to disintegrate it, firing thermal blasts at Chris, catching his brother in the chest. Chris gave a moan as he fell to the ground, and Wyatt crushed the Annihilator, sending the wreckage slamming onto his own troops, before he went down to face his weakened brother.

Chris then gathered his magic and began to scream, a scream that immediately vanquished nearby demons and made Wyatt stagger. He then fell upon Wyatt once again, crashing his foot into Wyatt's groin, before smacking him with a powerful, telekinesis enhanced punch. Wyatt span through the air, then fired a massive disintegration wave at his brother, which forced his brother into a mound of falling rubble. Wyatt then grabbed him, throwing him through a building, and catching him with a thermal blast as he did so, sending Chris' smoking body spiralling to the ground. Chris slammed down to the ground, directing rubble at his brother, and creating a shield of rubble around him as he slowly got to his feet, panting heavily, bleeding profusely, limping and shaking. Wyatt was in the air, and was cascading attacks down upon his brother, who was finding it harder and harder to deflect the attacks, though every time he did he sent them into the milling throng of demons that was watching their battle. Chris then made another scream, vanquishing more demons, and he then orbed into the middle of them, and with a flick sent several of them screaming through the air towards their emperor, who vanquished them without a second's thought. After he had though, Chris had vanished, he was nowhere to be seen as he looked around.

He was then tackled from beneath by an unseen force, slamming him into the wall, lightning emitting from ten points around him, coursing it through his body. Wyatt screamed, then retaliated with a blazing curtain of fire, making Chris scream and drop his invisibility. He shot bolts from his eyes into Chris' chest, then used his acid touch to make Chris lose his grip on him. Chris fell back slightly, and Wyatt then crashed another wave into him, vanquishing the demons who were caught in the collateral but smashing Chris into the ground, where he feebly stirred. He directed a feeble tornado at Wyatt, but it was clear that Wyatt was now the more powerful, and Chris was struggling to keep fighting. He fired lightning at his brother, but he was weakening, and Wyatt was sensing victory. Wyatt then sent damaged buildings collapsing down onto Chris, and Chris was barely able to make a shield strong enough to protect him. Wyatt flamed to existence right beside him, grabbed Chris by the head and crashed him into a car, slamming his head through the windscreen. He then threw Chris into a wall, sending fire along with him, making Chris whimper. Chris flicked things at Wyatt, but he simply disintegrated them before flinging more rubble into his brother. Chris fired a jet of lightning at him, making Wyatt stumble, but he could tell by the weakness how tired his brother was. He then advanced, ignoring the combustive orbs his brother kept flinging at him, and grabbed Chris by the neck.

"I win baby brother." Wyatt purred, choking his little brother who was looking at him pleadingly.

He then grabbed Wyatt, blasting pure light into his brother, making him stagger. Chris then grabbed him, and with a last burst of effort, he orbed them along the Golden Gate Bridge, the two of them fighting in midair as they did so. Chris then twirled them around, blasting Wyatt with an electroball. The two boys split apart, Wyatt landing relatively catlike on the bridge while Chris toppled to the ground, rolling several times, before coming to a groaning stop.

Wyatt smiled as he took in the scene. His brother was curled up on himself, shivering in pain, bloodied and beaten in front of him. Behind him, his demons and troops were amassing, the clear victors, and the air force and the navy were both on their way to the bridge. Once he dealt with his brother, he would wipe the last of them out. And that would be so much easier as his mother and her sisters were approaching from the city end of the bridge with the resistance forces, his mother looking frantic. Smirking, Wyatt conjured an energy ball, directing it at Chris.

"No!" Piper yelled, blowing it up in his hand, and Wyatt laughed.

"Look baby brother, mommy's here to save you!" he crowed, then kicked Chris in the gut, making his brother cry out in pain.

"Leave him alone!" Leo yelled, firing lightning at Wyatt, and while he flinched, he directed it into the bridge supports.

"Wyatt...please..." Chris begged softly, and Wyatt bent down, kissing his brother's fore head as he tried to pick himself up.

"You put up a hell of a fight baby brother, I'll admit it. You even gave me a run for my money, what more could you want?" he asked, and Chris looked up at him, his eyes wide, round, pained and sad, filled with tears.

"I just want my brother." He said sadly.

Wyatt sighed in irritation.

"You have me, but you keep forcing me away!" he snapped as Chris pulled himself gingerly to his feet, fixing his brother with a despairing look.

"I don't Wyatt. You did everything to bring me to your side, you even succeeded for a while, and it's still not working. Do you really think it should be like this? Look at them, all four of them. They love each other, trust each other, know what the other's thinking, and even when they screw up there's signs of it, they know each other that well. Do you really want power, empire, more than you want a little brother?" he asked miserably, and Wyatt looked away from him, not meeting his eyes, ignoring the restless demons standing behind him.

"Of course I want you, but you won't work with me, please, stop this and come home with me." Wyatt begged, and then Phoebe shook her head.

"No Wyatt, you don't want him to do that. Because no matter what, no matter how many flaws you have, you do love him. And if he goes with you now, he'll only kill himself." She said darkly, and Wyatt looked in alarm at his little brother, and upon seeing the defeated expression on his brother's face, knew that to be true.

"I just want my brother back." He said, and Chris looked up at him desperately, wincing as he approached his brother.

"And I want mine back. But look at what you're doing Wyatt. You and I have just trashed the city, we've killed thousands between us, and you and I just tried to kill one another. You've turned the entire world to your image, oppressed millions, killed millions, and you still think it's all worth it?" Chris asked softly, and Wyatt glared at his little brother.

"It will be worth it when you're back with me little one! You belong with me, I did all of this to make sure you were safe, happy, that you wouldn't get hurt anymore. Look at how much pain they caused you!"

"And how much pain have you caused me? I never wanted all of this, I just wanted my big brother." Chris said tearfully, and Wyatt looked away from him, not willing to see the tears he had brought to his brother's eyes.

"They turned you against me." Wyatt hissed, and Chris shook his head.

"No Wyatt, you did that yourself. And deep down, you know you did. You're my big brother, you were what I wanted, what I needed. I didn't need an all powerful overlord and emperor. I just needed you." Chris said sadly, wincing as he moved towards his big brother.

Wyatt turned angrily to Chris.

"And you had me, only you kept throwing it back at me! I'm giving you one last chance. I don't want to kill you, but I will if you leave me no choice. Come home with me, rule by my side, you'll never be hurt again, you'll be safe, protected, no one will harm you. We can be a family again." Wyatt said desperately.

"And who'll protect me from you?" Chris asked pointedly, and Wyatt stroked his cheek, ignoring the antsy expressions of the demons as he did so.

"But I'll be in better control of my temper now little one. I admit, I vent a lot at you, but now the resistance is finished, I won't need to! It'll just be you and me again, like it always should have been, like it was before they took you from me!" Wyatt said excitedly, and Chris did look a little tempted, but then looked around at Wyatt sadly.

"Wy-Wy, look around." He advised, and Wyatt did so, and then it finally sunk in just how much trouble he was in.

While his demons, whose loyalty was tepid at the best of times anyway, were all amassed behind him, in front of him was the entire force of the resistance, with vehicles and troops all glaring at him angrily, with the Charmed Ones, the Slayer, the First Witch and other beings of note all at the forefront, all standing behind his scared looking brother. Above him, the airships of the resistance, heavily damaged though they were, were moving into position, guns pointed at his amassed demons. And below them, it was Chris' navy, not his own, that was lining up to blow the bridge sky high.

Wyatt gave a small scoff of disbelieving laughter, and then turned to Chris, glowering at him, making Chris retreat fearfully.

"I give you everything, and all you do is repay me with treason. And you wonder why I keep hurting you?" he snarled, and Chris looked at him apologetically.

"Wyatt, I swear I was on your side! But my troops are just, well, more interested in what goes on, their morale is better, despite everything, that's why you lost." Chris said patiently, and Wyatt roared and blasted an energy ball into Chris' stomach, knocking him to the ground, making Piper run from the crowd to check her son.

"You see? You're evil! You just hurt your little brother because he told you the truth, and you didn't like what you heard. You are nothing but an arrogant, spoilt little brat who's perpetual 'why me' temper tantrum has sent the world, your family, and most importantly the one you profess to love most in the entire world straight to hell! He's your little brother, and you keep hurting him. If you truly did love him, you wouldn't hurt him, no matter what." Piper said in disappointment as Chris looked up at Wyatt tearfully.

"I swear I didn't betray you Wyatt, it's just..." he said, and Wyatt shook his head.

"I don't want to hear it. I saved you from them! Protected you, put you back together after we lost mom, I was the one who taught you everything, I made you feel loved again, and you repay me with cowardly betrayal!" Wyatt yelled furiously, and Chris got to his feet, ignoring the pain he was in, glaring at his brother.

"And all I ever did was love you, look up to my big brother, and all I ever got was heartache, betrayal, torture and attempted murder! You took everything from me time and again, you left me weak, emotional and vulnerable, and for some reason I still love you, even though you're the fucking Source! I should despise you, but because you're you, because you're Wyatt, I can't help but love you. Now for once in your life, you arrogant, power hungry bastard, listen to me!" Chris bellowed, lightning crackling from his fingertips, and Wyatt flinched back, but either from Chris yelling at him or from the threatened attack they weren't sure.

"Ok, what?" Wyatt asked sullenly, and Chris glowered at him.

"The empire is finished Wyatt. Your army is in ruins, your fleet and air force have surrendered, you've lost control of the dragons, most of your upper level demons are dead and even now, various rebel cells not in the resistance will have heard of the attack on the capital and will be forcing the empire out. Which means, you've gone from the most powerful man in the world, and you are now the most hated and wanted man in the world. The people of the world are going to be demanding your head on a spit, they're going to want you to pay for everything you've done. And since you destroyed the EU and the UN, they aren't going to be nice about it, you'll be found guilty and killed, no questions asked." Chris said, and Wyatt looked at him haughtily.

"What makes you think they can stop me? I'm not some two bit weakling like you," he snarled, deliberately trying to hurt his brother who just glared at him relentlessly, "I'm the Twice Blessed child, heir to the Charmed legacy, the most powerful of the Blessed Ones, the Source of All Evil and the emperor of this paltry, ungrateful little planet. They can't touch me." He said arrogantly, and Chris glowered.

"Yes they can. And they will. They will kill you Wyatt." Chris insisted and while Wyatt scoffed dismissively, he looked at his brother curiously.

"And what's that to you? Even if they do, doesn't it suit your ends if I'm dead? No more emperor, no more empire, it means you win. You become the emperor, by blood and by right as the conqueror. Isn't that what you want baby brother?" Wyatt sneered, and Chris looked hurt, and Wyatt's demeanour shook slightly as he saw the hurt expression on his brother's face.

"Why would you think that?" he asked miserably, and Wyatt looked at him incredulously.

"I don't know, maybe the endless betrayals, the fact that you kept fighting me, you trying to 'save' me, all of it was about power. You want me dead you vicious little backstabber, so you can take the empire for yourself!" he spat, but even as he did so, angry as he was, he hated the depressed expression on Chris' face, knowing he had been the one who had put it there.

"Is that really what you think?" he asked, his voice hurt.

No one on the bridge was making a sound, all of them were listening too intently to the exchange between the ruler of all evil and the leader of the resistance. And behind Chris, Phoebe was struck by how much the two of them still loved, in fact, even adored each other, despite the fact that they had been trying to kill one another not ten minutes ago. The family was watching the exchange between the two youngest members with baited breath as Wyatt's face softened and he approached his brother hesitantly.

"No, of course not, Chris..." he said, and raised his hand to his brother's shoulder, ignoring the demons who were beginning to mutter mutinously behind him, but Chris shrugged it off.

"Whatever. You never got it did you?" he asked angrily, and Wyatt looked at him in confusion.

"It was never about the empire, not for your brother anyway. It was never about power for him either." Cole said in irritation.

"It was about you." Neena said in exasperation, and Wyatt looked at his brother, who was looking at him, his eyes hurt and angry.

"I never wanted empire, or power, or a war. All I wanted was my big brother back. But that's too much for him to give me isn't it? You think it's all about you, and your power, and your empire...you never ever got it! I didn't want any of that, all I wanted was you! And now, I'm trying to save you. They are going to kill you. And I love you, and I've lost too many people I love to lose you too, I can't lose you as well! I want you to come with us, help us fix all of this, so this never happens. Please! I don't want you dead, I never wanted you dead, please come with us. I can't, I won't lose you too!" Chris begged and Wyatt looked at his little brother uncertainly, shocked by how much his brother still loved him, despite everything that had happened to him.

"Chris...I don't need you to protect me, it's my job to look after you!" Wyatt chided, and Chris shook his head.

"Not this time. Please Wyatt, come home with us before they all rip you apart. Look at your demons, most of them are shimmering out, they know it's over. Don't make yourself a martyr, don't leave me all alone." Chris whispered, and Wyatt turned to his demons, seeing their drastically reduced numbers and rolling his eyes.

"Typical. Never a demon around when you need one." He grumbled, and he turned back to his brother.

"You do realise I could obliterate the lot of you right here and now?" he asked dangerously, and Chris nodded.

"Yeah I know. But you won't." He said confidently, and Wyatt laughed mockingly.

"Oh, and why is that sweet baby brother? Just because you're the so called 'good guys' you assume I'm going to play by your rules even when you want to take my empire from me?" he demanded.

"No...because you're my brother." Chris said softly, and Wyatt looked at him in surprise, as did everyone else.

Wyatt saw the earnest, tender expression on his brother's face, and had to turn away. Even after all of this, all he had done to him, he still (naively perhaps) believed the best in his big brother.

"Stop it." Wyatt hissed, and behind him, Chris shook his head.

"What, stop believing there's good in you, that you aren't all evil? Never." He said stubbornly.

"You're trying to take my empire from me, I won't let you!" Wyatt yelled, and Chris shook his head.

"No, I'm trying to save you dumb ass. Everyone here wants you dead, please, come back with us." Chris begged.

"Um, my lord?" one of his demons asked worriedly, and Wyatt vanquished him, trying to think.

"It's over Wyatt. You've lost. And you will never be safe here. Please listen to your brother. Come back with us, help us stop all this from happening, it's the only way." Leo pleaded, and Wyatt looked on as more and more of his demons fled, leaving him with ever dwindling numbers.

Give all this up? He couldn't, he had built this, it wasn't his fault they didn't like it, it wasn't his fault his brother had been trained to fight him...all he wanted was his brother back, with him, safe and happy, where he belonged. They wanted to take all of this from him, they wanted to take Chris from him all over again, he wouldn't let them. He would rather kill them all than let them take Chris from them. His empire belonged to him, to him and Chris, and because they had broken his brother, now they were close to taking it from him.

"NEVER!" Wyatt yelled and orbed his brother to the safety of his arms and fired a disintegration wave at the assembled resistance fighters.

Piper looked at him furiously and froze the attack, while Prue flicked it away harmlessly into the air, and Wyatt was shaking his head adamantly as he held his squirming brother in his arms.

"You want to take him away from me!" Wyatt yelled, and Paige shook her head sadly.

"No sweetie, we want you to come with us, that way you'll both be safe. Please don't make us fight you, we don't want to hurt you." She said, and while she sounded sincere, the looks on the faces of the rest of the resistance weren't so believable.

"I'm not going with you, this is my world now, my empire. And he is staying here." Wyatt said, nodding at his squirming brother, who was unable to orb as Wyatt had blocked him.

"Wyatt, please, listen to them." Grams said, appearing from the crowd with Patty and Melinda.

"Sure, we'll hear from the ones who tried to kill me earlier." Wyatt snapped, and Chris finally wriggled out of his grip.

"Wyatt, please! We're trying to save you, otherwise you are going to die, the people here will kill you, Twice Blessed or not! They will murder you! They will try you for war crimes, for treason, for mass murder, hell they'll even do you for shoplifting, but all of it amounts to them killing you!" Chris cried in upset exasperation.

Wyatt scoffed.

"They can't kill me. You think these pathetic little mortals are a threat to me, to my power?" he demanded, and Melinda looked at him angrily.

"These pathetic mortals have vanquished your military, and your demons are running out on you. If this comes down to a fight, you will lose. It's over." She said darkly, and he gave a furious roar.

"It isn't! This world is mine! MINE! It belongs to me and Chris, he belongs to me, and none of you are going to take that away from me, so back off!" he bellowed, blasting another wave at them all.

Chris raised his hand, parting the wave and turning it to nothing as he looked sadly at his brother.

"I refuse to believe that you're that evil. Wyatt, they are going to kill you. I don't want you dead." He said miserably, and then he flinched as Wyatt's eyes flashed black.

"You aren't taking my empire, they aren't taking you, and they aren't killing me." He growled, and Piper then went forward.

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell! You will stop this nonsense right now!" she snapped, and Wyatt flinched, while everyone looked at her, impressed.

"Mom, don't make me hurt you." Wyatt snarled through gritted teeth, his eyes still black.

"No. You listen to me. You have made everyone's life a misery, killed billions, destroyed your family, and warped your little brother. And I am sick of it. Now stop acting like a spoilt little brat, and come with us. We'll get rid of the Source, just don't make us fight you." She implored her son, and she wondered if there was indeed any humanity in him, or if it was all pure evil.

"You're our son, and the people here are going to kill you. Come with us, help us, you can be with your brother all you want. Just stop this." Leo begged, and Wyatt scoffed at the two of them.

"What, you think a talking to is going to change anything? I make the rules now!" Wyatt yelled.

"And we all see how well that worked for you! You make the rules and killed us, and you lost yourself your little brother. I've been there, as you so kindly pointed out earlier, and I nearly lost everything I loved when doing it. You have lost everything, but you're getting a chance to get it all back, please don't waste it." Phoebe cried and Wyatt snorted in amusement.

"And now I get to hear from the perpetual screwup. Yay me." He said in contempt, and Prue narrowed her eyes.

"You know, I'm getting a little sick of your attitude. Chris has tried since day one to save you, and even now you can't shut your mouth and back off. He's trying to save you, they all are! So stop acting like a jerk and stand down, you've lost." She hissed and Wyatt laughed.

"I don't think so aunt Prue. Not with my power." He said arrogantly.

"Your power is only clouding your judgement. We're trying to save your life, not take anything from you. We're trying to give you your brother back, but you're too arrogant to see it." Paige said desperately.

"My power isn't clouding anything. All I see is a bunch of useless filthy mortals, traitors, who want to tear me down because I'm stronger than them. These filthy little savages are why Prue died, why we used to hide in fear! They turn on us, when we protect them, and you want me to bow down and submit to them?" he shouted.

"No, we want you to see sense! I admit, mortals can do a lot wrong, like when Prue died. But they aren't all like that, some of them are good Wyatt. And because they are good, and picture you as evil, they will kill you!" Melinda shouted.

"They can try." Wyatt sneered.

Grams shook her head, glaring at him.

"You're a monster, a killer. You should never have been allowed to be born, it was always too much power for a single, weak man. Your brother on the other hand, he can cope with all that power, and not turn evil. You failed Wyatt. The world kicked you, so you twisted it around so it wouldn't hurt you again, and you became a monster as you did it. I should never have blessed you, because you aren't a creature of light, you were a creature of darkness from the get go." She snarled in contempt and Wyatt glowered at her.

"Oh, and of course, what almighty Grams thinks is always the truth! You malicious, sexist, miserable old hag. You died years ago, have the decency to stay dead. You couldn't protect your family either, you hid mom's birthright from her, so don't you come down here and act all high and mighty. I may be a man, yet I'm still more powerful than you. You're a bully, a vicious old scow who thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread. Every time you came down, you made the Charmed Ones weak little girls. How dare you? They're the strongest witches in the world and you made them weak, and you tried to make me weak through them, Chris too. And by the way, I might be a man, but I'm still stronger than you ever were." He sneered, and Grams stood glaring at him, but his words did bother her slightly.

Piper then looked at her son in despair, shaking her head sadly while Chris looked at him imploringly with those beautiful green eyes of his, but Wyatt determinedly ignored them, his eyes pitch black.

"Wyatt...you're my son. And I will always love you, nothing will change that. But I can't condone this anymore. You're a monster, and I can't and won't let you hurt your brother anymore, I won't let you hurt anyone anymore. This is finished. If you won't stand down, we don't have any choice but to fight you. You're breaking my heart, but I won't let you hurt anyone else." She said, and Wyatt glared at her, while Chris looked at them both frantically.

"Wait, mom, no, don't give up on him yet..." he begged, but Prue shook her head.

"Chris, I know you don't want to believe it, but he's evil, and he isn't backing down. We don't want to do this Wyatt. Are you going to get yourself killed and let your brother watch the last person in his family die?" she asked and Wyatt gave her a cold callous smile.

"Either that, or he watches you die all over again. You can't stop me mom." He growled, and Chris came in between the two of them.

"No, stop this! Wyatt please, we're trying to help you, stand down and come home with us!" he begged.

"Get out of the way little brother. I'll stop them, and then you're coming with me." He said, as Piper prepared to once more fight her eldest son.

"No, don't fight them. Wyatt, please..." Chris begged, tugging on Wyatt's arm, and Wyatt then backhanded him, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Stay out of the way! If you hadn't tried to 'save' me, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place! I've done everything for you, given you everything, and you betray me, me, the Twice Blessed, the Source! Who do you think you are?" Wyatt yelled, kicking Chris in the stomach.

"Wyatt, stop that!" Paige yelled furiously, preparing to orb him away from his cowering little brother, but he then raised a hand and erected a bubble around the three sisters, leaving only Chris, himself, Piper and Leo outside.

Leo blasted lightning at him, disgust on his face, but Wyatt simply redirected it into the crowd of demons behind him, before gesturing and sending his father crashing into the support of the bridge. Piper blasted at him, but he simply caught the attack and crushed it dismissively.

He then turned, hurt and angry to his crying brother.

"I loved you, and you still betrayed me. After I gave you everything, you threw it back at me. All I wanted was to protect you, and you couldn't even let me do that because you let yourself get warped by them!" Wyatt roared, kicking Chris again.

"Alright, I've had enough of this, prepare to open fire." Weaver growled from the Gargantuan.

"I'm sorry!" Chris yelped as Wyatt punched him again.

Wyatt then bent down and seized Chris by the neck, making his brother squirm uncomfortably.

"Not yet but you will be. Once I get rid of them little one, I'm going to teach you to love me again, and we'll be a family, and happy...and you little one aren't going to step out of line ever again. I'm the emperor, the Twice Blessed and the Source, and it's about time you started acting like my baby brother again. Got it?" Wyatt hissed and Chris nodded, terrified.

"Just one problem with that little family scene...I will never let you do that to him." Piper hissed and blasted Wyatt, sending him spiralling through the air, leaving Chris gasping for air.

Wyatt then got to his feet, and with a furious roar let loose a disintegration wave that hurtled up the bridge. Chris flicked his mother of her feet and raised his hand, directing the wave around him, swirling it into the air. He then threw it back at his brother, who gestured, orbing all of his remaining demons into the way to absorb the attack.

"There's loyalty for you." Grams commented as she tried to bring down the shield.

"There is good in him, but it's like the Source has taken over completely because we've won." Phoebe said, as Wyatt flung dozens of energy balls at his brother.

Chris leapt into the air, throwing a massive burning orb at his brother. Wyatt orbed it back towards his brother, who pushed back with his telekinesis, making the orb expand outward, snapping several of the bridge supports. Wyatt gave an insane laugh, eyes burning black, and sent the flailing wires up to ensnare his brother. Chris fired lightning into each wire, direcvting them back towards Wyatt, catching him in an electrical net. Wyatt screamed, then let loose with a shockwave from his body, making the entire bridge shake as Chris landed on the floor, sending more orbs at him. Wyatt disintegrated them, then screamed, making Chris stagger. Wyatt attacked with another wave, but Chris raised his hand, dispersing the wave once more, and with a disbelieving, hurt, hateful look, he gathered his strength, and poured pure, burning blue light from each hand, sending it at his brother. Wyatt gasped in shock and awe, and gathered his own strength, firing pure black energy tinged with red right back at him.

Piper struggled to her feet to feel the entire bridge shaking as both her sons, becoming the avatars of their alignment, battled one another for the final time, light and dark going head to head. The bridge was shaking, Weaver was directing the troops of the bridge, fearing it's collapse as Wyatt and Chris backed away from each other, still pouring pure lethal energy at one another.

"I'm sorry Wyatt." Chris said miserably.

"You will be you little brat!" Wyatt roared, and Phoebe shook her head.

"That isn't Wyatt. That's pure Source, and it's finally overcome Wyatt's love for Chris. If Chris doesn't win, he will die. I think being defeated shocked Wyatt, and weakened him, and Chris still trying to save him caught him off guard, but rather than make him stronger, it made him weaker and let the Source exact full control. Chris doesn't stand a chance." She said worriedly.

"The hell he doesn't." Prue said, beginning to blast at the shield that was keeping them trapped, as Piper joined in from the other side, determined to help her son.

The beams of pure energy were blistering hot, further melting the supports as they struggled to overcome one another. Light and dark were clashing in the middle of the bridge, and the resistance forces were falling further back as the two pushed against each other, lightning bolts and fire bolts leaping from the colliding mass of power in the centre. The warped bridge was shaking and groaning, the entire structure vibrating as two massive powers collided on a bridge never meant to take such a beating. Supports were rupturing, the roads cracking, the foundations splitting as the two battled.

"Wyatt, I know you're in there. Please come back." Chris begged quietly as the Source pushed against him.

"Chris, you need to get out of there!" Piper yelled as Leo orbed to avoid being crushed by falling chunks of metal.

The energy beams were getting stronger as the Source pushed against Chris, and with that last burst of strength, Chris' light was beginning to falter, the darkness pushing him back. Chris cried out in pain as the lightning and fire began to burn his hands, the Source forcing him back, and with one last effort by the Source, the black energy crushed the light energy and hit Chris in the chest. Chris screamed as he was blown up the length of the bridge, slamming into the shield, which then electrocuted him before shattering, and he dropped to the ground, groaning weakly. Piper rushed to his aid, as did Leo, who immediately began to heal him as Wyatt, the bridge supports twanging all around him as he advanced, fire billowing from him, an evil, triumphant look on his face as he moved towards his fallen brother, his mother, father, aunts, grandmother, great grandmother and progenitor of the line, as the entire bridge started to crumble and sway, crunching into the ocean.

He then conjured an energy ball, smirking in malicious delight.

"And now you see the folly of challenging the emperor, the Twice Blessed, the most powerful being in existence. Any last words?" Wyatt snarled as Chris looked blearily up at him as the others clustered around him to protect him.

"You're going to kill your own brother?" Paige demanded in disgust, and Wyatt shrugged.

"Now that I'm fully in control, I no longer have the little shred of humanity telling me to keep the treacherous little whelp alive, so yeah, I've got no problem killing him." He sneered.

Chris then gently shoved the others with his telekinesis, standing in front of his brother, his eyes set but sad.

"Alright then. My brother's gone. I should have seen that years ago. You win. I give up. I'm just sorry I took so long to realise you were completely lost to me. So here you go. You've won, I've lost, I can't save you, and I'm not even sure I want to anymore. You want me dead, here I am. Kill me." Chris challenged, his voice angry and bitter, his eyes hard and cold, the look of a man who knew he had lost everything and no longer cared. But there was something in his expression, a tenderness, a love, a regret as he looked at his evil brother.

Something flickered in Wyatt's eyes due to Chris' words, but it was brutally suppressed, and all he did was smile victoriously.

"Chris, no!" Leo yelled, but Wyatt trapped them all behind a shield.

"So die all traitors." Wyatt purred, keeping them in place and raising the energy ball.

Chris took a deep breath, and Wyatt then gave a wicked grin. And threw the energy ball into Piper's stomach.

Piper screamed as she fell to the floor, as did Chris, partly out of fear and horror, and then out of pain as he felt his entire body burning, while his mother screamed and clutched at her stomach.

"NO!" Prue screamed in horror, shattering the force field and combined with Grams, Paige and Leo's powers, blasted Wyatt hurtling up the bridge which was continuing to disintegrate into the water.

Piper was crying and writhing on the ground, holding her smoking and bleeding abdomen while Chris screamed and curled into himself, his skin blistering as smoke trailed from him.

"He must have hit her womb. Come on Piper." Leo begged, trying to heal his wife, but nothing happened, and he looked at her and Chris in alarm.

"The baby?" she begged in a weak voice, and Leo looked over to where Phoebe and Prue were attending to Chris.

And his heart went still, as he saw Chris' foot vanish. It just faded from existence, leaving him without the limb.

"No..." Leo whispered, abandoning Piper and rushing to his son, who was slowly beginning to vanish.

"Come on honey, stay with us." Phoebe begged as Prue laid his head in her lap while she looked desperately up at Leo.

"You need to heal Piper, it's the only way you're going to save the two of them!" she urged.

"Piper isn't doing well Leo!" Paige cried as Grams was trying to help stabilise her granddaughter while medics ran from their lines, looking flustered.

"If we lose the baby..." Melinda said worriedly, and Patty, stroking Piper's hair, nodded grimly.

"Then none of this will happen and Wyatt will reign supreme." She said stonily.

"Piper, don't do this to us, don't this to me, I love you, don't die." Leo begged, trying once more to heal her but it was to no avail, and Chris continued to vanish.

"We're losing him!" Phoebe exclaimed, holding Chris' hand as he panted weakly, everything beginning to fade slowly.

"Wyatt..." he whispered, clutching his pained body.

Piper was holding her hand to her stomach despately, though she could see her baby disappearing before her eyes, refusing to accept it.

"Chris...listen to me honey. Don't you die on me, fight it!" she begged, her voice haggard as Leo tried once more to save her.

"Chris, come on!" Prue cried, as Grams pressed her hand to the wound, trying to stop the loss of blood while Patty held her daughter, watching as Leo tried once again to heal her.

Paige however, span to where Wyatt was getting to his feet, and as she saw a frantic looking Phoebe and a horrified Cole running to her aid, an idea clicked into her head, a memory that might work.

"Wyatt! Get over here and help us damn it!" she shouted.

Wyatt got to his feet, and while he had a triumphant look on his face, it did waver slightly as he watched his brother fade further out of existence, and as he saw his mother howling in pain and fear, his father cursing his uselessness and the forces of the resistance all running to the side of their leader.

"Do not attack." Neena whispered, wondering where Paige was going with this, but the resistance, seeing their dying leader, weren't to be quelled lightly so she created a barrier, watching intently as she did so.

"Wyatt..." Chris begged, his voice pained as he could still feel the burning of his skin.

Wyatt looked at his little brother, who, even dying, knowing who had been the one to strike the blow, was still crying out for him. He saw his mother, screaming in pain and fear as her baby that she had grown to love, even though she hadn't even had him yet, was taken from her. His father, who's one redeeming feature was that he loved his mother, sobbing in panic as he failed to prevent the death of his second son and of his wife. His aunts, all three of them, their concern for Chris and Piper clear, fearing losing the two of them running through them, Prue begging her sister and nephew to stay alive, Phoebe bellowing herself hoarse as she pleaded with her nephew to stay with them, Paige yelling abuse at him as she pointed, tears streaming from her eyes, at her dying sister and vanishing nephew. Grams was trying to soothe Piper, her face desperate as she watched her granddaughter struggle to hold on to her son and life. Patty was crying desperately, telling her daughter and nephew not to even consider joining them. Cole was glaring at Wyatt, yelling abuse at him as he stood idly by and watched his little brother vanish. Neena's eyes were narrowed, her expression sharp yet also curious, sensing the struggle that had suddenly reignited within the Source.

And more than anything, there was his baby brother, his beautiful baby brother, who he loved more than anything, his green eyes pained and filled with tears, holding his burning stomach as he vanished from existence along with his mother.

"Mommy..." Chris whispered feebly, and Wyatt wavered further.

He was his little brother, the reason he had done all of this. The one who, above all, it was his job to protect, to love. He had cared for Chris when no one else had, loved him when no one else had. He had been the one to fix him when no one else could have. He had been the one who had protected him, cared for him, raised him, the one who he had remade the world for, the bright spot in his life, the thing that made it all worthwhile. Yeah he had power, but it was hollow, empty without him, and when Chris had been with him, it had had the best feeling, seeing his baby brother standing by his side, waking up to him every morning. And now, his beautiful brother, his baby brother, his responsibility, his light, was leaving the world, fading away. And part of him, the logical part of him knew that if he died as a result of never having been born he would never know about his brother, but he couldn't help but feel there would be something missing within him.

His brother and mother were dying. The Source, determined to destroy the ones who had thwarted so many of its plans, had struck Piper where she was most vulnerable, and had wiped out the strongest Charmed One and the last impediment to his rule up here. And with Chris gone and Wyatt subjugated, he knew full well that the feeble resistance would pose no threat to him, even with their victory here. The Source had finally asserted his control, he would find it easy to retake the world, and none would be able to stop him now that he had full access to Wyatt's powers.

He had to stop it.

"Wyatt, are you just going to stand there and watch them die? They love you! Chris loves you! I can't heal them, only you can now!" Leo yelled, Chris giving a small moan as his hand vanished in front of his eyes.

"Please Wyatt!" Paige cried urgently as Piper's breathing became shallower.

"Wyatt, there is good in you, prove it to us, save them!" Phoebe begged, as Chris' bright green eyes began to dull.

"You're not completely evil, no matter what we think. Chris never believed you were, and we believe in Chris. Do you want to prove him wrong now?" Prue asked as Piper began to shake, crying and mumbling Chris' name.

Behind Neena, the entire resistance was looking on in desperation, and Neena nodded slowly.

"She's right. There is good in you. I can feel it. If there wasn't, he would have been dead long ago. Do not let the Source win now!" she urged.

"Wyatt, help them!" Melinda begged.

"You aren't totally lost, you can beat the Source, if I can do it, you can!" Cole shouted, and Wyatt bit his lip worriedly.

"Wyatt, don't make me watch my daughter die!" Patty pleaded.

"You say you're better than me? Prove it! Force back the Source, save your mother, and save your brother!" Grams cried, and Wyatt was shaking his head, an internal battle raging fiercely.

Chris was a traitor, a rebel, someone who was determined to destroy everything, all his plans, his world, his empire.

"Wyatt, please!" Leo begged.

"Wyatt, help them!" Paige screamed.

Piper stopped breathing.

"NO!" Prue screamed.

"Chris!" Phoebe wailed.

Chris gave a small groan and his eyes began to vanish.

"Wyatt..." Chris whispered sadly.

Chris was a traitor, yeah.

But more than anything he was his baby brother, and he wasn't going to stand back and let the Source allow him to die.

"NO!" Wyatt yelled, and with a last burst of effort, forced the Source back, retaking control of his own body, and directing powerful healing energy into his mother.

The beam, golden and pure, ripped right through Piper and she took a deep breath of air as her stomach, her womb, began to repair themselves. Beside her, Chris' eyes began to be return, their bright green colour coming back.

"No, he isn't going to die! Mom isn't going to die, and you aren't going to win!" Wyatt screamed defiantly as he continued to heal his mother.

Neena's eyes widened in shock as she watched the transformation in the emperor. His long hair went to a short length with long, gelled bangs, his beard vanished, his eyes lost their cruel edge as he looked desperately at his mother and brother.

"Mom!" he cried urgently, continuing to heal her, and he looked in a panic at his brother, beginning to relax as he saw him becoming more solid by the second.

"He's become good, he fought back the Source..." Neena said, impressed by the display, as the Charmed Ones, their dead relatives and Cole all looked up in shock.

And Piper then bolted upright, hand still on her belly, now completely healed, and beside her, Chris became fully solid again and gasped, scrambling to his feet as Wyatt's healing power stopped, watching as his older brother staggered back in exhaustion.

"Wyatt..." Chris said in surprise, seeing his brother, now on the side of good, looking at him in sorrow.

"Chris, I..."

But he didn't get to say anything else as Chris threw himself at his brother, and Wyatt smiled hesitantly as he wrapped his arms around his little brother, holding him close to him, rocking him gently, stroking his fingers through his hair and making shushing noises as Chris nuzzled into him, healing him as he did so.

"I knew you would come back to me eventually." Chris said happily, snuggling into his brother.

"I'm so sorry baby brother, I am so, so, so sorry!" Wyatt whispered into his brother's ear.

"Well?" Weaver asked Neena in confusion, and she nodded.

"He is, by modern terms, good. The Source has been forced back. Before, the Source controlled most of his body, and his little display earlier was when the Source defeated Wyatt, but now, the Source has itself been defeated. He is good." She said musingly.

"I'll keep my gun on him just in case." Dean growled, and Sam nudged him with his shoulder.

"Hypocrite. I did some stinky things too." He reminded him, and Dean grinned a little.

"Yeah, but you're you." He said fondly, and Sam rolled his eyes in amusement.

Aimo chuckled beside him, then smiled at Sam.

"Yeah, so did he." He reminded him, and Sam gave him an appreciative grin while Dean scowled.

Grams sighed in relief as the others approached Wyatt.

"Well it took you long enough!" Piper scolded, and Wyatt then hugged her desperately.

"Mom...can you ever forgive me?" he asked, and Piper didn't even hesitate, already knowing her answer, and kissing his head.

"Always. I may be pissed with you, very pissed with you, but I will always forgive you." She promised.

Wyatt then looked at Leo, who was looking at him in relief.

"Dad..." Wyatt began uncertainly, but Leo shook his head.

"No Wyatt. We'll talk when we get home ok?" he asked, and Wyatt shook his head.

"No. Because I'm not going home." He said, and Paige shook her head.

"Wyatt, we might be very angry with you, with everything you've done, but you are coming home with us. You can't stay here." She said, though affection was in her eyes.

Wyatt then looked at her plainly in the eye, his jaw set, though his eyes were scared.

"I'm not staying here either." He said, and Piper looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" she asked, but it suddenly dawned on Cole what he was getting at.

"He means he won't be anywhere. He's going to sacrifice himself." He said grimly, and Chris looked at Cole in alarm, then back at Wyatt.

"No, you can't! You can't! You can't do that to me!" he pleaded.

Phoebe nodded, looking at Wyatt intently.

"He's right, you can't just get redeemed then kill yourself Wyatt, no matter what you've done, it doesn't work like that, you need to help us fix all of this..." she said, and Prue saw where he was going and closed her eyes in dismay.

"He isn't committing suicide Phoebe. He's committing regicide." She said, and Phoebe looked at her, bewildered.

"What?"

"If I die now, with the Source defeated inside me, then he dies too. For good. Forever." Wyatt said determinedly.

"No..." Patty said in shock.

Wyatt ignored her and looked at Cole and Neena pleadingly.

"It will work won't it?" he asked desperately, and the two of them exchanged a look, and then Neena nodded hesitantly.

"Yes it would. It would be akin to standing inside to try and avert a nuclear blast, pointless. If Wyatt goes, he will take the Source with him." She said, and Leo glared at her.

"Neena, we just got him back, we aren't going to vanquish him! He may have done awful things, but he's still our son, we can't kill him!" he yelled.

Wyatt also ignored his father and looked at Cole.

"Given the same chance wouldn't you have done the same thing?" he asked, and Cole nodded.

"Yes I would have, but our situations are much different Wyatt. I had lost all I wanted, you have your brother and your family." He said, pointing to Chris, who was shaking his head adamantly.

"Wyatt, you can't do this, you can't leave me alone. Don't do this. I need you!" Chris begged, tugging on Wyatt's arm, but Wyatt shook his head sadly, looking at his little brother.

"Chris...listen to me." He said, but Piper stood in front of him, her face anxious.

"Wyatt, you can't do this, not to him, not now. We'll find some other way to get the Source out of you, an abdication spell or something, you don't have to die. Just give us time." She pleaded him, but he gave her a sad smile.

"We don't have time mom. I can feel him, and he's seriously pissed that I beat him. He's trying to take back control, and I can't fight him off for long, he's been part of me for too long. He's coming back, my hair's already growing, my personality is getting dark again, my eyes are getting harder...this is my chance to stop him. I know it doesn't atone for everything I've done, nothing will ever do that, but I can take down the Source once and for all. But I need you guys help." He said stubbornly.

Prue shook her head.

"Wyatt, we, your brother, went through hell to get you back, and now you're asking us to kill you. I can't say that before it wouldn't have appealed to me, but you're obviously not the Source anymore, well not fully, it wouldn't be a vanquish. It would be murder, you would be asking us to kill you, and we can't do that, you can't expect your family, your brother, to kill you!" she pointed out, and he nodded, his expression miserable.

"I know aunt Prue, and after everything, I don't have any right. But this can make some of it right. Please. If all four of you, with Grams, Melinda, Grandma and the spell, join forces with Neena, if she boosts you, and Chris and I add our own powers to the spell, it will obliterate the Source forever. No one will ever have to deal with him again. Please. We'll never get another chance like this. And I need to do this. This is my fault, I can help clean it up, but only if you guys help me. I don't think I can vanquish him alone, but I will try. But I would rather make it a sure thing." He whispered softly.

"Wyatt, you can't ask us to kill our own son!" Piper cried, and he nodded.

"I know. I'm not. I'm asking you to help your son vanquish the Source once and for all. Mom, he's already getting stronger, he's panicking. He knows that if we do this, he's done for, he can never come back, and he doesn't want that to happen. Please mom, please help me. I know you don't want to, I don't want to die either. I want to make it up to you all, I want to get my baby brother to forgive me, but I've got to stop the Source, otherwise he'll only escape and ruin more lives. And thanks to me, he's had a taste of global power, and he doesn't want to lose that. He will come back, and he will keep coming back, stronger and more deadly than ever before, every time, if we don't stop him. I need your help to do this, to stop him once and for all." He said, wincing as the Source tried to reassert control but he focused on thoughts of his brother to keep him at bay.

Piper shook her head, turning away from him, and the sisters all looked at each other uncertainly.

"We don't have a choice. We need to stop him." Wyatt said, and Piper closed her eyes, trying to blot out his voice.

Because, deep down, she knew it was the truth. The Source was much too deeply integrated into Wyatt, and he just kept coming back. He was the ultimate evil, and they had a chance to destroy him, for the greater good. She couldn't do it, she didn't want to, no matter what he had become, what he had been, he was her little boy. How could they vanquish him and live with themselves? How could she kill her own son?

"I can do this myself. I don't want to do it, I need to. But I'd rather have you guys back me up." Wyatt whispered, and Chris looked at him desperately.

"No, you can't make me watch your murder, I can't watch you die, I can't lose you too!" he cried, and Wyatt sniffed and took Chris' face in his hands, tilting his head slightly upwards and leaning his forehead against his brother's.

"Chris, listen to me. This has to happen. I have to stop him, it's the only way the world, you, will be safe. I have to know you're safe. You're the only one who can stop this." He whispered, and Chris nodded.

"Fine. I stop it. Don't do it!" he said wildly, and Wyatt shook his head.

"Not what I meant. You can save me little one. You always could. I need you to stay strong Chris, you always were the better one out of the two of us. You're my little brother. There isn't much time left, I think whatever it is happens before you're born, but I've blocked it out. Now listen to me. You are my little brother. And I love you, so, so much. You can save me little guy. I know you can." He whispered but Chris' eyes, full of tears, trembled as he shook his head.

"No I can't, I tried and I failed, I'm not strong enough..."

"You are strong baby brother, and in some ways, you're stronger than me. You always were. Please squirt, do this for me ok Chris? You can go back, go back with mom and the others, you can save me, I know you can. Alright? You can save me. I admit it ok? I need saved, and you're the only one who can do it. You're much more powerful than you think, I let your powers go, you'll flatten anyone back there. Please Chris, be strong." Wyatt whispered.

"I can't. I can't watch you die. You're the last person I've got, I can't watch you die too, I can't lose you too, don't make me..."

"I'm sorry baby, I wish it could be different, ok? But I have to do this. And he's getting stronger, and I can't hold him much longer. I don't have much time. I love you Chris. I love you so much little brother, more than anything in the world, but he warped it, twisted it. But know that I love you. I do love you. Ok? I love you so much, my sweet, naive, stubborn little brother." He said, and Chris was sobbing, tears running down his cheeks.

"I...I love you...too...but Wyatt, you just...you just got back...don't do this, don't die on me now, I need you..."

Wyatt shook his head, a small, proud smile on his lips despite the tears in his eyes.

"No you don't. You never did, and that's what I never got. But I do love you. I will always love you. No matter what, I will always love you. But I have to do this, and you know I do. They all know I do." He said, and Chris just sobbed, unable to speak.

Wyatt nuzzled his head against Chris', then kissed him gently, before walking backwards, away from them all, past the crying sisters, his despairing father, ignoring the shocked looks of the resistance and its commanders, trying hard not to look at Chris, fearing his resolve would fail if he saw his brother sobbing for him to come back.

"No..." Piper begged, trying to move towards her son, but he erected a field, staggering as he did so as the Source tried frantically to resume control, knowing his time was limited.

"Look after him mom." Wyatt said, nodding to his inconsolable little brother, who Paige brought close to her and held him tight, eyes flooding with tears.

"We don't have a choice..." Neena whispered in dismay, and he nodded.

"No, there..." Piper snapped, but Wyatt then shot her a look, and her fight failed.

"I know it stinks mom...but we have to do this. Please..." he begged, and she saw his hair begin to grow, his beard begin to reform, but it stopped a second later, and he looked at her pleadingly, knowing he was losing control.

He had to stop the Source now, otherwise, there would be no stopping him, and he would kill them all.

He had to die.

"I love you little brother." Wyatt said and Chris howled in pain, Paige, also crying, struggling to keep a hold on him.

He then erected a shield around himself, trapping the Source inside with him.

"You're going down you son of a bitch." Wyatt snarled, struggling to retain control, his hair and beard growing and disappearing alternatively.

"NO!" the Source screamed as it took control for a moment, but Wyatt forced it down, focusing on his crying brother, and began.

"Prudence..."

Neena raised her hands, sending sheer power coursing through the sisters, through herself, through Grams, Patty and Melinda, and sending it through Wyatt and finally Chris. The other witches behind her then sent their powers to them, as did the angels, the Whitelighters, anyone with powerful magic directed it towards them, the power coursing through Neena as a conduit as they accumulated enough power to destroy the Source once and for all.

"Penelope..." Grams said bravely, her hands and lip shaking, tears coming from her eyes, casting the next part of the spell.

Patty, hating herself, took a deep breath and continued.

"Patricia..."

Melinda then sighed sadly, her eyes wet.

"Melinda..."

Piper who was shaking with self loathing, guilt, fear, disgust, anger and every other negative emotion she could think of, then looked at Prue, Phoebe and Paige, and, hating herself, nodded, Leo, who was holding her inhaling slightly.

"Astrid..."

"Helena..."

"Laura..."

"And Grace..."

Neena then joined in, her face miserable, sorrowful.

"Halliwell witches stand strong beside us..."

Chris then locked eyes with his big brother, who, while shaking in pain and fear, gave him a small, proud nod, and sent a mental message to his brother through their bond, which basically translated as 'I love you' and Chris screeched in misery, before finishing the spell.

"Vanquish this evil from time and space!"

Wyatt then screamed as energy ripped out of him, black energy and white energy exploding from his body as a massive blazing, black fireball ripped out and shattered the shield, and with a final mournful scream, the Source was gone.

But so was Wyatt.

He fell back gracefully, falling to the ground, his good persona restored. He fell back softly, landing on the ruined bridge, his bangs falling about his face, and Wyatt moved no more.

"NOO!" Chris screamed and finally broke free of Paige, skidding to his knees beside his brother, and lifting him up, cradling his body to him, burying his head in his dead brother's chest.

As Chris screamed and sobbed over the dead body of his older brother, Phoebe broke down onto Prue's shoulder, as did Paige, while Prue herself shook in self loathing, grief and remorse. Piper struggled against Leo's grip, howling for her son while Leo screamed in denial and rage, watching his emotionally abandoned son cry and scream over his brother's dead body. Patty had sunk to her knees, bawling her eyes out, and Grams sunk to the ground beside her, holding her tightly to him, while Melinda sat down on the bridge, clutching at her hair as she watched the family, her line, mourn the death of one of their own.

Neena watched as Chris begged his big brother to come back to him, to wake up, to talk to him, hating the situation. She was so past all of this, past her descendants getting continually screwed over while the Angels of Destiny played their little games. She watched as Chris sobbed, holding his brother to him, pleading with him to wake up, stroking his hair, trying determinedly to heal his brother, even though he knew it was to no avail. Unable to watch anymore, she saw the stony expression on Weaver's face, and she turned to Spike, who, despite being bloodied, was looking on in empathic misery.

"Spike." She said, and the blond vampire turned to her.

"Yeah?"

"The emperor is dead. Spread the word. And if anyone cheers, kill them." She ordered, and he nodded, then looked sadly at Chris, he had always liked the kid.

"After watching the kid do that...I don't think anyone will want to cheer anymore anyway." He said grimly.

Neena nodded, turning around to see the stony expression of Weaver, the grim look of Riley, the tears in the eyes of Sam and Dean, the crying face of Aimo, the wavering look of Max, the reluctant look of Ben, and at all the other expressions around the front lines of the resistance as they watched Chris abandoned by what was his last true living relative.

Funny how victory rarely felt like victory.

Piper broke free of Leo and sunk to her knees beside Chris, pulling her howling son to her gently, but he refused to let go of his brother, even as she wrapped him in a hug and tried to soothe him. Leo sat down beside her, holding her gently, as the three remaining sisters, all united in their grief, sank down beside them, the entire family united in their grief, as the dead and the resistance looked on in miserable empathy.

XX

They had found a secluded area of Golden Gate Park. The rest of the world were celebrating the death of the emperor, the victory of the resistance. Various imperial forces were either surrendering or fleeing, and all of that was being left to Neena. The cleanup of the city was beginning as the resistance struggled to cope with its unexpected victory.

But in the park, Chris, Piper, Leo, Prue, Phoebe, Paige, Grams, Patty, Melinda and Neena were all standing, watching as flames consumed Wyatt's body, Chris sobbing onto his crying mother's shoulder as he watched his brother disappear into the flames, and leave him all alone in the world.

XX

The world was writhing in chaos, as an empire without an emperor struggled to figure out their new situation. However, it seemed like the war was over. The demons had fled back to the underworld, thoroughly cowed, and they had apparently fled as deep as they could, for fear of the resistance coming after them. The dragons had been rounded up, and with a little help from Aimo, had been sent back to where they had come from. The imperial air force had surrendered, and Commander Dodonna had been promoted to Admiral and was now integrating the newly gained fighters and pilots into their military to try and re-establish order across the globe, from stopping the rather tasteless parties to trying to install toppled democratic governments. The navy had also been expanded, Voyager was being repaired, and as soon as it was, Admiral Garrett would go after the remaining imperial commanders who had taken control of various island states like Fiji, St Helena and the French Polynesia, and bring them to justice. Weaver and Riley had both been made full generals and now they were overseeing pacification operations in Europe, and Africa, trying to clean up after the massacres, while Cole was trying to appease the Middle East. However, on a pleasant note, he had finally been found redeemed enough to move on, and once he was done with that, Prue, Grams, Patty and the dead future versions of the girls would send him on.

The vampires were getting back into the swing of things, with Spike acting as a leader. Max and Alec were now heading to clean up war torn cities, while Ben worked with Aimo to resettle war orphans. Sam and Dean on the other hand were heading off with Faith to put down various monsters that Wyatt had set loose, and also to bring down various regional governors and rogue Slayers who were now fortifying themselves across the world for fear of losing their position and power. And Connor was working with Lester to round up any usually peaceful monsters or animals that Wyatt had set loose or allowed to be kept as pets and were herding them back to where they came from.

And all of this allowed Neena and Prue, who was technically Empress now that Wyatt was dead and his next of kin, Chris, was going home, to focus on rebuilding a world shattered by war, that had magic exposed, and virtually no infrastructure to support them.

But for now, the two of them were standing in the ruins of the manor, with Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Chris, preparing to send them back to the past. Cole, Spike, Faith, Sam, Dean, Riley and Weaver had all said their goodbyes after the memorial for Wesley, who had fallen in the fighting, and Grams, Patty and Melinda had gone back upstairs to prepare their strength to allow Cole to move on, leaving the Alpha and the Charmed One to send them on their way.

"Thank you for coming here. We couldn't have done this without you." Prue said, hugging Piper.

She gave Prue a sad look, and she looked at Chris, who was staring at the rubble, poking it with his shoe.

"Yeah. Don't remind me." She said, and Prue gave her a sympathetic look and squeezed her hand.

"It was great to finally meet you." Paige said, hugging her oldest sister, and Prue nodded emphatically.

"Same here. Hopefully we can meet each other in your time sooner rather than later." She said, cupping Paige's cheek proudly, then turned to hug Phoebe, but she stopped short when she saw the sad, calculating expression on her sister's face.

"You don't really blame me do you?" she asked softly, and Prue shook her head, smiling in exasperation a little.

"No Phoebe. Wyatt was messing with all our heads. Use your empathy on me if you don't believe me." She advised, and Phoebe did so, and was delighted to find she was telling the truth, and hastily hugged her sister.

"Sorry, had to check." She said, and Prue hugged her fiercely.

"I'm sorry you thought that Pheebs. But you can't deny, he was something of a stinker." She said, poking Phoebe, who nodded a little, the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips.

Prue then turned to Leo and hugged him, and the Elder was a little surprised.

"Wow, I thought you were still mad at me." He said, and she scolded him with a look.

"Oh I am. But now that you've seen how the world turns out, I'm kind of hoping you won't let it happen that way this time. And if it does, I'll know who to blame." She said, a hint of warning, and Leo nodded.

"I swear I won't screw up this time round Prue." He said firmly, and she nodded, her gaze softening.

"I know you won't." She said.

Neena looked at the three sisters who were going home, smiling proudly.

"You have done me proud. The four greatest of all my beautiful daughters. You did an old heart a lot of good coming here, and I will never forget it. The greatest of my descendents. The four Charmed Ones." She said proudly, then hugged the three sisters to her, smiling at their blushes.

She then turned and shook hands with Leo before she and Prue met gazes and looked at Chris.

"Chris?" Prue asked hesitantly, and he looked up at her, his eyes dull and lifeless.

"He hasn't even talked since, well, you know..." Leo muttered to Neena, who sighed and looked apologetically at the kid.

"You be careful." Prue said, hugging him, and Chris nodded a little and hugged her back, but let go extremely quickly, like he didn't think he deserved to be hugged.

"And you are truly the greatest of my sons. I will miss you." Neena said fondly, hugging Chris to her, but once more he said nothing, simply hugged her and looked down at the ruined manor miserably.

"Look after him Piper." Prue whispered, and she nodded.

"Always."

Those going back to the past then gathered together, Chris firmly between Piper and Leo.

"Chris." Neena said, and he looked up at her slowly.

"You're looking in the wrong place." Neena said, and he looked at her in confusion.

"Huh?" he asked, which was the most noise he'd made in days, and his voice was suitably not working.

"Look elsewhere for answers. Look to your own unique strength. And to the greatest of all powers." She advised, and he nodded, though he didn't have a clue what she was talking about.

"Thanks." He said, and she nodded to indicate she had heard.

"Shall we then? I've got a baby waiting for me, and a dad to tell I'm pregnant." Piper said nervously, hating how Chris flinched as she said his brother, and Prue and Neena joined hands, and called upon an old favourite.

"A time for everything

And to everything its place

Return what has been moved

Through time and space."

"Goodbye my daughters. Goodbye Leo. And Chris, best of luck." Neena said proudly as they began to vanish.

"Bye guys. See you soon." Prue said, tears in her eyes, and with a last flash, the five of them were gone, their faces tearful as they left the future behind.

Prue shook her head sadly.

"It just isn't fair. That poor kid has had enough loss, and now this too. I'm sick of this." She said tiredly.

"Not as tired as me my child." Neena sighed.

Prue sniffed slightly, and gave her a wan smile.

"Yeah, you're probably right. And now, we've got a world to rebuild. And while we do it, my nephew is dealing with the latest screwing over fate has dealt him. God I'm sick of this." She said in contempt.

Neena nodded, raising her hands to check her nails.

"As am I. And it's time I do something about it." She said, darkly, and as Prue turned to her curiously, she pointed, opening a portal behind Prue.

Prue spun in surprise, and then looked at Neena incredulously, but it was too late. Neena flicked her finger and Prue gave a cry as she was thrown into the portal, and the shimmering gate suddenly slammed shut as soon as Prue was in it.

She then sighed in exasperation.

"I'm sorry Prue, it'll only be temporary. But it's about time someone dealt with this so called 'Grand Design'. And that person is me." She snarled, as a Whitelighter appeared from nowhere.

"Where is Prue? Is she to become the new Empress?" he asked curiously, and she shook her head.

"No my friend. Prue has a task of her own to complete." She said, and the Whitelighter looked at her worriedly.

"But we need someone to maintain order, if not..."

"Calm yourself. You need not fear." She said soothingly, and he looked at her in concern.

"But..."

"For I am the new Empress." She said, and his eyes widened in realisation, and he then bowed before her.

She smiled. She had to admit, this job would have its perks. Empress Neena. The First Witch, the Alpha, now the Empress of the world. Yes, this would work very nicely.

First, she would consolidate her power.

And then, it would be time. Her descendants wouldn't be meddled with anymore. The Grand Design was flawed, with Elders and Angels dictating the course of events, and it was always her line, her children, who got screwed over. Poor Chris was proof of that, and she herself hadn't exactly had a rosy time of it either.

It was time for it to come to an end. It was time for the Grand Design to be dealt with, and the Angels of Destiny brought low.

It was time for the lunatics to run the asylum.

And from now on, it would be her mission to make them all pay for what they had done to her family, for what they had done to her. No more would hers be ripped apart by the strings of destiny and fate.

Yes, she thought with a smile, it was time for a reckoning. And she was just the person to give them one.

XX

Victor had dozed off in the chair he had taken, watching the wall where the girls had disappeared to go and get Chris. Wyatt suddenly started to fuss, and he jerked awake, just in time to see Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Chris reappear in the attic.

"Chris, thank god you're alright! I've been worried, what happened?" he asked, hugging Chris.

"Hi grandpa." Chris said, his voice lifeless.

"Kwis!" Wyatt chirped happily, and Chris froze.

And Victor got the sudden feeling that the trip to the future hadn't all been spaceships and robots.

No one moved, or even breathed, as Chris saw his big brother, smiling at him from the cot. He then shivered, nodded to himself, and orbed off before anyone could stop him, and Piper was sure she heard a sob as he did so.

"What was that?" Victor asked worriedly, and Piper looked at him miserably.

"That's what happens when the world goes to hell and seems specifically designed to hurt you." She said sadly.

Her little boy, her baby, was hurting so badly. Wyatt was dead, gone, and he and everyone he loved had had a hand in his death, however voluntary Wyatt's death had been. And, despite having all of them, Piper knew that with Wyatt, his Wyatt, gone, he was probably feeling well and truly alone, abandoned by his entire family, all of whom, at least in his timeline, had all died on him or failed him in some way, or even both.

Chris felt truly alone, afraid, abandoned, and to top it off, he was grief stricken and wracked with guilt. And now he was going to deal with it the only way he knew how, by throwing himself at the problem, even if it killed him.

Piper felt tears come to her eyes once more as she considered the plight of her children. One adult version, an evil, vicious tyrant, redeemed at the final hurdle, and now dead, with their own hands stained with his blood. The other adult version an emotionally traumatised wreck, with ever increasing abandonment issues and the only thing anchoring him to life, to sanity, was his mission, which she knew he was even now doubting.

And one innocent child, who didn't know how much pain he grew up to cause, who didn't know there was some threat after him, who didn't know that he would soon get a little brother. And a tiny little child, forming inside her, who had already nearly died once, soon to be born.

"Piper?" Victor asked, seeing the miserable expressions on the others faces.

Piper then burst into guilty, furious, despairing tears as the full weight of what had happened came crashing down on top of her and she sunk to the floor, and Victor looked on in bewilderment as his daughter, the strongest woman he knew, finally gave in and cracked.

XX

And, sitting on top of the fully built and operational Golden Gate Bridge, Chris looked down at the spot where his brother had died, hugged his legs to himself, and shivering in the cold, he took a deep breath as everything finally sunk in, and he began to cry.

And that, as they say, is that.

So that is the end of Future Mistakes. And I suppose I should apologise to anyone who was wanting a happy ending, I did originally consider killing off the Source and having Chris heal Wyatt, but I decided to go this route (and now my flatmate thinks im evil, but she thinks im evil for Phoebe bashing, oh well). If its any consolation I feel very bad for what I did to poor Chris, his life truly does suck at times.

But, is the story quite done yet? Perhaps, perhaps not, only time will tell.

Anyway, the chapter itself. I quite enjoyed writing the duel between them all, with the final battle soundtrack from the Matrix Revelations and Buffy Season Seven playing as I wrote them. The post battle was a bit like the scene from Deathly Hallows when everyone watches Harry fight Voldemort, at least thats what I was going for. And I did want him redeemed, but the Source was simply too great, he didnt really stand a chance. But I will admit, making the others vanquish him was harsh, cruel even, but it was the only way the Source could be stopped.

But, even though Wyatt is gone, the family is a wreck and Chris is feeling oh so very alone, questions now arise, ie, what is Neena up to? Speaking of, I felt she should get a go with Zankou, I'm quite fond of her in the comics (which end season nine this week). I find her very exciting for a villain (much better than Billie and Christy), but if I return to the story, will she be hero or villain? And what has she done with Prue?

And since this is the end, I suppose I should tell you all the various canons that appear within the story:

Max, Cindy and Alec = Dark Angel

Connor, Abby, Becker and Lester = Primeval (new series starting soon!)

Garrett, Wesley and Voyager = Star Trek

Dodonna, Mon Remonda and Gargantuan = Star Wars

Sting and Necromancer = Lord of the Rings

Nebuchadnezzar and Mjolnir = Matrix

Andy Martin, Maggie Rose and Alex Skinner = Quintin Jardine's Bob Skinner Mysteris book series

Faith, Spike and Riley = Buffy

Sam, Dean and Aimo (readers of my series will recognise him) = Supernatural

Ellen Ripley and Nostromo = Alien

Weaver, Ben (my favourite, he's cute), Matt and Hal Mason = Falling Skies

Chegwidden = JAG

Galactica = Battlestar Galactica

Carl Johnson = Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Hal and Tom = Being Human

Aidan = Being Human US

Scott = Teen Wolf

Harry, Ron and George = Harry Potter

Logan and Ororoe = X Men

General Hammond = Stargate

General Crichton = Farscape

Blackadder = Blackadder

Hornblower = Hornblower

Commander Crabtree = Allo Allo

Takari and Solaris = Babylon 5

I think thats them all but I might have missed some, I cant remember.

Anyway, so that is the end of Future Mistakes! Thank you all so much for reading, sorry the last couple of chapters took so long, I hope you enjoyed reading it as I did writing it, with the various ups and downs that I put in it.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it, and even though its the last chapter, please dont forget to read and review, that makes me very happy (and facing the prospect of a day doing tutorial work I could do with a boost) so please review!