CHARMED

"Prevention"

By J. B. Tilton (a.k.a. NoAzMale) and Teri Thibeault (a.k.a. Tessalynne)

Emails:

evilgidget_

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: "Charmed" and all related characters and events are the property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

In order to prevent demons from being exposed to the mortal world, Cole must go after an impossible target.

ONE

Cole sat in his hotel room going over the information he had gathered on his latest target. He didn't see anything of significance about this particular witch. By all accounts she was a peace lover and not of any great threat to the Underworld. But the Source had given him the assignment of killing her. The why wasn't important.

He looked up at the television he had on for background noise. The news was just coming on and the lead story was about a visit by President Kennedy to Dallas, Texas the next day. He was on a political trip to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals and conservatives.

Cole gave very little consideration to human politics. Unless he needed them to accomplish one of his assignments they held very little interest for him. And it wasn't all that different from many of the other trips Kennedy had undertaken. National elections were coming up and there was always some news item about some politician trying to get elected or reelected. For the most part, Cole found them very boring. Besides, Dallas was a long way from San Francisco.

His more pressing problem at the moment was how to get close to the witch. He had considered a direct approach. Simply shimmer in while she was sleeping some night and strike before she knew he was there.

But there were complications. The witch was married and had a very young daughter. This meant the witch would rarely be alone. He had no problem taking out the husband. Collateral damage often occurred when killing a witch. But he was uneasy about killing a child. Even a child that might one day grow up to be a witch. Killing a witch was one thing. But killing a defenseless child was never part of the deal.

Suddenly he looked around the room. He had heard something. He couldn't quite tell what it was. Like some distant echo barely at the range of his hearing. He got off the bed and walked over to the window. Looking out into the street he found nothing unusual.

The sun had set hours ago and the night denizens of the city were about whatever concerns brought them out in a night such as this. While it was late November, this part of California was still quite warm. One of the benefits of living on the west coast.

Suddenly he spun around. There was that sound again. He couldn't identify it and he couldn't quite place it. Like a name that was right on the tip on your tongue, it eluded him. He was sure he hadn't imagined it. And he was sure it was nearby despite the fact that it sounded farther away.

Suddenly he began to get a strange feeling. A feeling as if he was moving. Not unlike the feeling one gets when riding an elevator. But that was ridiculous. He wasn't in an elevator. As he looked around he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but the strange sound and a vague feeling.

The feeling began to grow stronger and Cole's vision began to blur. He shook his head to clear the sensation but to no avail. He put his hand on the window sill to steady himself. The feeling wasn't uncomfortable. But it was unsettling. As he began to move back to the bed to sit down his head began to swim and his vision became less and less distinct.

Suddenly, without warning, everything went blank. Nothing but pitch blackness greeted him wherever he looked. And the feeling of moving intensified. As if he had suddenly stumbled over some great precipice and was falling. Within moments Cole lost consciousness.

Cole opened his eyes and found himself lying on a stone slab. He sat up and looked around. He was in some kind of a stone chamber. From all accounts it appeared to be one of the myriad chambers found in the Underworld. He was somewhat lightheaded but found the sensation beginning to pass.

Somehow he had been brought to this place. But he couldn't think of why anyone would resort to magic to transport him there. If they had wanted to speak with him all they had to do was contact him. He could have shimmered to them. But someone had used a spell to bring him here. For what reason he could only guess at.

"Ah, you're awake. Good. I trust your little trip wasn't too unpleasant."

Cole looked over and saw someone standing at the entrance to the chamber. It was a demon dressed in the familiar gray robes of the Underworld. The demon was tall and lanky and appeared to be about 60, although Cole knew this to be misleading. This demon was one of the oldest in the Underworld.

"Tempus?" questioned Cole, looking at the senior demon. "You brought me here? Why didn't you just send for me?"

"That will take some explaining," said Tempus. "First, you must recover from your . . . . transport. It can be somewhat unsettling especially the first time."

"I'm fine," said Cole, getting up and walking over to Tempus. "Why have you brought me here? I'm on a mission for the Source. He's not going to be happy that you've interrupted that."

"That is the least of my concerns for the moment."

Cole found this an odd remark. Tempus was one of the Source's most trusted subordinates. And no demon would risk the Source's wrath by interrupting one of his plans. Not without very good reason.

"This must be very important if you're willing to risk the Source's wrath," said Cole.

"More than you can know, Belthazor," replied Tempus. "I have an assignment for you that must take precedence over even the assignment given you by the Source. Once I've explained, I'm sure you'll agree."

"What assignment could you possibly have that is more important than one given me by the Source himself? Your main power is time manipulation. I specialize in witches. I don't see how the two would have any connection. Unless, of course, you want me to go back in time and deal with a witch."

Tempus just smiled. "I'm afraid that, even if that were the case, it would do no good. The past cannot be altered. Not even I can accomplish that feat. But this does not have to do with a witch. Rather, it has to do with another demon."

"So you want to hire me to kill another demon," said Cole. "Well, it's not the first time. And once I've completed my assignment for the Source I'll be more than happy to consider your offer. But the Source has a witch he wants dealt with. And there is something of a time constraint. He wants her dealt with quickly. So I'm afraid I really don't have the time to listen to you right now."

"You have all the time in the world," said Tempus. "Once I'm finished explaining what I need of you I will return you to precisely the moment when I first brought you here. So as you can see, you do have the time to listen to me."

Cole thought for a moment. Of all the magical beings, only Tempus had the power to manipulate time. And he had done so for hundreds of years. If he claimed he could return Cole to the moment when he first brought him to the Underworld, he could do precisely that. Finally Cole decided to listen to him. After all, once Tempus was finished Cole could return to his assignment without even a second being lost.

"Very well," said Cole. "But with the understanding that whatever it is you want done will have to wait until I finish with the witch. I do have a reputation to consider. I've never failed to complete an assignment. And by all accounts this one shouldn't be all that difficult."

"You will change your mind," said Tempus matter-of-factly. "As I said, this is more important than any single witch."

"We'll see," said Cole, not understanding how anything could be more important than a mission personally given him by the Source. "Why don't you tell me what you have to tell me and I can make a decision then?"

"Very well," said Tempus. "But it would be best if I show you. What is the human expression? A picture is worth a thousand words. I need you to come with me somewhere."

"Lead on."

"You can follow my shimmer. Once we get to our destination we must remain covert. What you see may surprise you. And there will be more than a few explanations needed. But as I said, it will become self-evident quite soon."

Tempus shimmered and vanished from the chamber. Cole also shimmered and followed Tempus to this mysterious destination.

Cole and Tempus stood in the doorway to a building. Cole had no idea where they were. The sun was high overhead and it appeared they were on the outskirts of some large city. Cars and people traveled the streets obviously on whatever task they were about. By all accounts it looked like any scene from any city anywhere in the United States.

"Okay," said Cole, looking about the street. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Look closer," said Tempus. "You have a reputation for attention to detail. Don't look at simply the big picture. Look at the details in the picture."

Cole looked around again. At first he didn't notice anything unusual. People were walking the streets, going in and out of businesses. In the distance a couple of flags flapped in the wind. Cars, trucks, and a variety of other vehicles moved through the streets. It looked perfectly normal.

Then he noticed something odd. There were several police officers on the streets. Some were walking along with the crowds. Others seemed to be standing on corners looking around. He didn't recognize the uniforms the police were wearing. But then, each jurisdiction had their own uniforms. And there were hundreds of different jurisdictions he had never even set foot in.

He also noticed the women's hair styles. Normally this would not be something most people would notice unless it was something strange or unusual. Like someone with purple hair or the spiked hair style which Cole never cared much for. But the style many of the women were wearing was not indicative of the "society norms" that he was used to.

He also noticed that the clothes seemed a bit different. Many of the skirts were noticeably shorter than was considered acceptable. The suits the men were wearing were also different. As a very successful mercenary Cole normally had his suits professionally tailored. He rarely, if ever, "bought off the rack". And he was very conversant with current styles and trends. These suits were definitely not the normal styles considered appropriate for successful businessmen.

He also noticed several types of cars that he was unfamiliar with. He wasn't much of an expert on cars. With the ability to shimmer he rarely had need of any type of vehicle, except to maintain his cover as a human. But many of the cars he saw on the street were like nothing he had ever seen before. They were sleeker, more aerodynamic. And they were smaller than most of the cars currently in use. Many of them looked to be brand new.

He also noticed several street signs along the road. Not at all unusual especially in a large metropolitan area. They didn't look any different from hundreds of signs he had seen in cities all over the world. But one in particular caught his attention. It read "Highway 101".

He was familiar with that one. It was a major highway in San Francisco running from San Jose to San Francisco. It was also known as the Bayshore Freeway as it passed through Palo Alto and many other major communities along the San Francisco Peninsula.

But that was impossible. It was after 9:00 o'clock at night. And yet the sun hung high the sky. Cole estimated that it was just before noon.

"What's going on?" Cole demanded.

Tempus just smiled. "I told you there would be a great many explanations. Let me begin with the first. Welcome to the year 1972."

Cole could hardly believe it. Tempus had brought him forward in time nearly 9 years.