1 THE DEADS ARE WALKING THE EARTH
Chapter one
"It's not fair," Phoebe cried, "it's just not fair."
She hit her pillow repeatedly, which from the look of it had to endure repeated beatings lately.
Tears began to form in her already puffy eyes. She was about to resume the poor pillow's beating but suddenly exhaustion washed over her. Sleep hadn't come easily these past few days. Ever since Cole died, she'd been in a daze; if and when she fell asleep, it was always agitated by awful nightmares. She couldn't help imagining him tortured by the flames of hell.
She gave a somewhat pleading stare toward the ceiling.
"He saved us… and you! Why couldn't you do something for him? You took him away from me and threw him away like he was nothing."
All of this, she told in a desperate voice. She knew that if they were gonna listen to her, they would have by now. She turned back to her pillow and decided to try sleeping again. "Who knows maybe, it won't be so bad this time?" She thought forlornly.
In the living room, the girls were just sitting, while watching a little TV. The manor has been so quiet except for the up and down mood Phoebe had been in the last few days.
"Do you think she'll be ok?" Piper uttered softly.
Prue turn off the set, and then answered in the same voice, almost as if they were afraid that talking louder would be showing disrespect somehow.
"I'm sure she will be eventually… but I've got no idea when. I don't even know what to tell her."
"How do you comfort a person who knows what she does?" Prue thought sadly. There weren't even the usual words of wisdom, like he is now in a better place."
Piper interrupted her grim musing:
"I said it before and I'll say it again. Those rules of theirs are too much."
"Listen to us though… a few months ago we were hell-bent on vanquishing him… no pun intended," she says with a joyless smile. "Now we're debating on why the powers could not let him in heaven."
"Too true, but it doesn't change the fact that he saved us all, and not just once. We may have distrusted him, but he really proved us wrong. Phoebe was the only one who saw it. Poor baby…"
"Leo gave you any news?"
Piper was about to respond by the negative, when the chime announcing her husband's return caught her attention.
Both women looked up as he materialized, but it was obvious from his expression that the news wasn't good.
"Sorry, no news." He confirmed.
"Just how long do they intend to debate this?" Piper exclaimed with an impatient gesture, as she seemed to have gotten over her restraint.
Leo responded in a conciliatory fashion:
"You know that time is not the same here and there. To them, it's only been a short while ago."
"They might try to consider that every moment is an eternity for Phoebe. And I don't even wanna think about Cole." Prue uttered irritably.
"They said that your arguments about Cole's humanity and his right to forgiveness were valid. They understand… However, greater rules are binding them. Not even they can change the facts that a demon can never enter Heaven. When the fallen angels quit millennia ago, they were warned that there would not be any forgiveness for them. I know that it really doesn't seem fair, but they obeyed to a very different set of rules than humans."
"You know, that's one thing I never really understood. They were his creation too. Didn't they have rights?" Piper questioned curiously.
"From what I understand, the powers given to them were such that in order to keep peace in the Heavens, strict rules had to be imposed. It did work for a very long time…Anyhow, like I said, the rules come from way above even the elders. Nevertheless, they hinted that they might've another idea. It's not easy and they're not really sure if it'll be approved. That's why they won't tell me what it is just yet…"
The girls sighed in tandem but said nothing and then they just let the silence fill the room; all of them were lost in thoughts obviously none too pleasant.
In the Alley behind P3, a bright flash of light exploded noiselessly from behind one of the dumpsters. Inside the club, the lights dimmed for a few seconds causing loud recriminations from the customers, but the event lasted only a few seconds and nobody went to investigate. The Bartender only remarked to one of the more sedate customers at the bar:
"Power surge, I guess… I thought that I saw a flash through the back door. Weird though, there was no noise."
The other just dismissed the bartender's musings and returned to his interrupted conversation. The bartender shrugged it off and went back to his own duties without giving the strange event much thought afterward.
Back in the alley, a low moaning came from behind the dumpsters. Then a man, stark naked and apparently covered with some kind of gelatinous substance, came out from behind the dumpsters, crawling and seemingly in pain. He tried to stand up but fell flat on his face. Then he simply stopped moving.
The next morning at the manor, Piper was surprised to get a call from the cleaning crew so early. They were not in the habit of calling her about their assignments. However, what they wanted to report was even stranger. She hung up, and went to the kitchen with a pensive expression.
"Who was that?" Prue asked distractedly.
"It was the cleaning crew at P3. They didn't want to call earlier but they thought that I should know."
"Know what?"
"It's just so strange…they found a man behind the bar last night," Piper answered. "They say he was naked and unconscious."
Prue eyed her sister sarcastically.
"Well it wouldn't be the first time they found original or crazy people in alleys, now would it?"
"No, what's weird is that the guy was also covered with some kind of gelatin. In addition, when the paramedics came to take him, he had just regained consciousness but he couldn't remember a thing."
"I'll admit that's weird but I don't think it has anything to do with our brand of problems…probably just a lunatic…"
Piper was still pensive:
"I guess. I just wonder why they always end up on our doorstep, or the bar's for that matter. We must have some kind of magnet to attract trouble."
Phoebe came in while she was talking:
"What is it about trouble?"
"Apparently, it's not for us this time. You don't have to worry."
"Who's worrying?" Phoebe replied flatly.
The other two exchanges concerned looks.
"How are you this morning?" Prue inquired solicitously.
Phoebe answered after a fashion:
"Well, at least I did sleep last night; and I got another dream about Cole."
Prue came to her and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders:
"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry about all this."
Phoebe looked up, as if she was about to add something none too nice. However, she refrained from it. Instead, she continued on about the dream.
"Anyway, you know that my dreams, or rather nightmares, this week were all about hell and the sort. Last night, it was different."
"Different how?" Piper asked with interest. Phoebe had told them about the awful nightmares she'd been having and she thought that any change might be for the better.
"Well this time Cole was coming to me and there were no more flames pulling him back. He even told me not to worry anymore. That everything would be all right. Maybe I'm subconsciously trying to make myself feel better..." She hesitated and then she added in a strangled voice:
"But I don't want to just forget about it."
At this point she turned toward Prue and sobbed uncontrollably on her shoulder. Piper came closer and stroked her hair sympathetically, while only wishing that they could find a way to alleviate her pain. However, all they could do was to be there for her…
Later that morning, Phoebe was lying down on the couch in the living room while hugging the cushions and staring blandly. Piper had left already, but Prue came to ask her whether she'd be ok by herself for a little while.
"That's ok, don't worry I'll be fine..."
Prue watched her uncertainly still.
Phoebe sensed her hesitation and forced a weak smile as she looked up.
"No really, I'll be fine. Where are you going?"
"Actually, I was going to the hospital to check up on something."
Phoebe is suddenly concerned:
"Is somebody sick?"
"No nothing like that. It's just that they found a man unconscious behind P3 last night and the circumstances were a little weird. I just thought I'd check it out.
Phoebe returned to her brooding mood.
"Ok, well, just let me know I guess."
To Prue, it was obvious that on Phoebe's part, it had only been a polite inquiry at best. Prue tried to put on a good face for her sister but seeing her like this, she couldn't help being apprehensive. Stifling a sigh, Prue waved her sister goodbye and only got a half hearted response again which did nothing to reassure her about Phoebe's state of mind.
At P3, Piper had just arrived when the bartender came to her and asked how much she knew about the preceding night's strange events.
"Well, I got a phone call this morning… Strange, isn't it? Were you there when they found him?"
"No actually I just heard about this myself. But there was something else that happened earlier. At the time, I didn't think much of it but after hearing about that man, I wonder if this could be related?"
Piper became more alert at this:
"What do you mean?"
"Well last night, around midnight, there was a bright flash of light in the alley behind the bar. There was no sound at all, but the lights dimmed inside the bar. You should have heard the customers," he adds with a smile that says you know the kind.
Piper smiled back distractedly but her mind was already working fast on the new problem.
At the hospital, Prue went up to the receptionist and asked if they knew anything about a man found behind P3 the night before.
This one eyed her suspiciously.
"Do you know that man?"
Prue answered as confidently as she could muster:
"How could I? My only interest in this is that my sister owns the bar in question and wants to make sure she won't liable in any way."
"Well I don't really know what your rights are on the matter," the receptionist answered warily, "but if you want to talk to the doctor who signed his release, here he comes."
Prue showed her surprise there:
"He left already?"
"That's all I can tell you." The receptionist answered, obviously already annoyed with the subject. Then she turned to a man in white coat coming toward them.
"Dr Carter," she called. "This young lady here is asking about the strange patient from this morning; you know the one?"
"The one who refused treatment?"
"Yes, that one," the receptionist replied before returning to her paperwork.
Dr Carter took Prue's offered hand with a firm grasp.
"So what is your interest in that patient, if I may ask?"
"Well, you see, he was found behind my sister's bar and we were kind of wondering if it had anything to do with her business."
"Oh I see… all I can really tell you is that we found nothing physically wrong with that man. However, he had total amnesia. He wasn't very cooperative either. He kept saying that he didn't know who he was or what happened to him except that he needed to go somewhere."
Prue questioned further:
"If he didn't remember anything, how could he have known where to go?"
Dr Carter replied with a little smile:
"That was my point exactly, but he said that he saw it in a dream."
"Oh?"
"Anyhow, we believed that he might've been a patient who escaped from another facility, but there was no record of this anywhere in the city. Moreover, even with what he was saying, he didn't seem to be unstable, just a little confused."
Prue seemed already lost in thoughts even as she added:
"I guess it's understandable given the amnesia."
"I suppose… at any rate, he left about an hour ago against my advice. The police didn't even get to question him because he left before they arrived. And as far as your concerns go I don't think it had anything to do with your sister's bar. He didn't have a single drop of alcohol or any drug in his system. A real puzzle…"
"Thank you doctor," Prue uttered, as she shook his hand again before taking her leave.
Outside the hospital doors, her cell phone started ringing and she turned it on while walking toward the car.
"Hello?"
"Prue where are you?" Piper immediately asked.
"I was just at the hospital. They didn't know much about the man from last night except that he lost his memory for unknown reasons and also that he left the hospital against the doctor's advice."
"Was he hurt?"
"Not according to the doctor. He wasn't drunk either or anything like that."
"Stranger and stranger…" Piper trailed.
"What do you mean?"
"Last night the bartender said that he saw a bright flash of light in the back and the lights dimmed inside the bar. Yet, there was no noise and everything went back to normal right away. I almost scolded him for not checking out if there was something wrong, but I'm beginning to think that it might be our kind of problem after all."
"Maybe you're right. But we can't do much about it right now since I have no idea where that man went. Maybe we should meet back at the house and call for Leo. Who knows, maybe he knows something or he can ask the Elders?"
"Ok, see you there. Bye!" Piper simply answered before hanging up.
At the manor, Phoebe has fallen in an agitated sleep.
'Sitting in the sunroom, she was distractedly flipping the pages of a book on her lap. Suddenly she looked up expectantly. Almost immediately, Cole came in the sunroom, smiling softly while Phoebe couldn't seem to move or talk. She just stayed there, staring as he approached. He stopped a few feet short and looked at her affectionately.
"Don't worry anymore, Phoebe. Everything's gonna be just fine, I promise."
Then Cole vanished, just as Phoebe found her voice and called his name.'
She woke up with a start, vaguely realizing that her cheeks were wet with tears. She looked around as if to try to remember where she was. Then a sound caught her attention. She figured that the doorbell probably was what woke her up.
Phoebe stood up slowly from the couch and warily made her way to the front door.
Prue and Piper arrived almost simultaneously in front of the house and as they were parking in the street, Prue noticed a man at the door. From where she was, she couldn't see his face. She noticed his clothing however since those left a lot to be desired, almost as if he had shopped at the Salvation Army.
She waited for Piper to rejoin her before they moved together toward the house. At that moment, Phoebe came at the door. They had almost reached the front steps when they heard a cry that could only have come from Phoebe. As they were about to hurry toward her, Leo orbed between them and the unknown visitor, imperatively gesturing for them to stop and keep quiet. They stopped right there, somewhat confused at Leo's action, but another look toward the door reawakened their anxiety as they saw their sister falling heavily into the stranger's arms.
That was when they finally got a good look at the visitor and both of them could barely contain their surprise, as Leo reiterated his silent warning. There, very much alive, stood Cole, albeit an obviously very confused Cole, who didn't seem to know what to make of Phoebe's reaction. After making sure that Prue and Piper wouldn't say anything, he turned toward Cole and Phoebe, taking control of the situation. The sisters didn't object since Leo seemed to be the only one apprised of what was happening.
He came closer to Cole and took Phoebe in his arms. Cole seemed relieved to get some help, but also very puzzled.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened…she just passed out. Is she sick?"
Cole asked anxiously.
Increasingly confused, the sisters also went passed Cole to assist Leo and check up on their sister. She only seemed unconscious, but they were soon reassured that she hadn't been hurt. Prue still asked:
"Is the baby all right?"
Leo reassured her:
"I'm sure he's just fine. Phoebe is simply very emotional these days," he added more for Cole's benefit than Prue's.
Following Leo's advice, Piper was careful only to ask him the purpose of his visit to the manor.
"Actually, that is my problem," Cole said enigmatically, "I don't really know… Other than the fact that I seemed to know how to get here, and also that I had the feeling all day I had to, I don't remember anything else. At all…"
Piper felt silly. Altogether the whole situation was silly, but she still offered him to come in so they could discuss the matter more comfortably. Cole, grateful, accepted the invitation.
Leo carried Phoebe upstairs to her bedroom after signaling to the girls that they should join him. Therefore, Piper offered a drink to Cole and asked him to wait for them in the living room. He hesitantly followed her, still apparently worried about Phoebe, as he watched Leo going upstairs with her. Once they were in the living room, Piper offered him a whisky and, as she was about to leave, he suddenly asked how she knew what he wanted…
"Hem," Piper babbled, "Just a guess," she continued with a somewhat guilty smile.
Cole watched her with a strange expression, but he finally sat and prepared to wait for their return, after Piper assured him that it shouldn't take too long.
When she got to Phoebe's room, Piper immediately went to her sister's side to verify for her own that she was fine. Phoebe simply seemed asleep peacefully, so she turned toward Leo with a pointed stare.
"What the hell's the matter here, Leo?"
Leo closed the door before answering:
"Well, hell may well be part of it, or rather not anymore."
Prue insisted, as she was getting impatient.
"Please Leo, try to make sense now!"
Leo smiled happily.
"Well let just say that the elders did it for you. They found a way to save him."
"Leo! You mean they brought him back from the dead?" Piper exclaimed incredulously.
Leo patiently explained:
"You got a big favor from them. But they had to do some crafty work. First, he's no longer a demon…"
The two sisters' jaws dropped in astonishment.
Before they could interrupt, Leo pursued:
"In order for him to atone for his past, the elders have granted him a new life, as a mortal. He's also a witch though, since he still has some powers. He doesn't know this however. No more than he remembers much of anything else right now.
This brings me to the reason why I kept you quiet out there. The Elders warned me that he shouldn't be told about his past. They suggested letting him remember on his own. They think that the shock might be too overwhelming if you were to tell him now."
Prue, back to her sarcastic self, chuckled: "Go figure why?"
Just then Phoebe began moving and her eyes fluttered opened. She looked up at them in confusion. She was trying to remember what had happened but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Instinctively she touched her belly to reassure herself about the baby. Then she turned to the others questioningly.
Looking at each of them in turn, she noticed their smiles, and the memory of the recent events came back flooding to her. A little hope started building inside her, as she waited silently for them to confirm what she thought that she knew.
Guessing that Phoebe couldn't bring herself to ask the question, Prue came forward and nodded yes imperatively, while her smile brightened as she did so. Phoebe, still dazed, turned to Piper for some confirmation that she wasn't dreaming. This one smiled softly while nodding in acquiescence as well, and suddenly, all the emotions that Phoebe had kept bottled up inside until now overwhelmed her, as she began crying and laughing simultaneously. Her sisters came to sit by her side, and then they hugged her silently, as no word could express their feelings appropriately.
After a moment, Leo reiterated his explanations for Phoebe's benefit and then continued:
"The only problem is that there's a danger of retaliation from the Source. But on the bright side, He can't find Cole anymore since Cole's now fully human."
Phoebe couldn't accept this as the only problem. She seemed very agitated when she exclaimed:
"What about the fact that he doesn't remember our baby or me?"
Leo smiled reassuringly:
"I wouldn't worry too much about this, Phoebe. Nobody told him how to find this place, but he came here on his own."
At this, Phoebe became very quiet, hugging herself and thoughtfully touching her unborn child.
Leo again took the lead for the shaken sisters.
"Well now that you know the essential, we should go back downstairs and try to convince Cole to stay a while, don't you think?"
"Of course, let's go." Prue agreed right away.
Prue, Piper and Leo were about to leave the room when Phoebe signaled to wait for her.
"Are you sure? You might still need some rest." Prue asked, concerned anew.
However, Phoebe firmly replied:
"Nothing is gonna keep me here."
The others gave her understanding smiles.
In the living room, Cole was now pacing back and forth, trying to make sense of what was happening to him. From the moment he'd awakened on the gurney, that morning, he had been obsessed with coming to this house. All he could remember was a dream he was having just before waking up. In the dream, he was seeing himself getting to this house and, just as had happened earlier, being greeted by the same pregnant girl who lost consciousness when she saw him. This, of course, just added to his confusion. He also remembered that he had seen her somewhere else in the dream and told her not to worry anymore. What it was all about though, he couldn't figure out for the life of him.
At hearing a commotion behind him, he turned to see the girls coming back into the living room, accompanied by the man who had carried the pregnant girl upstairs.
Without knowing exactly why, he got the distinct feeling that he was among friends. Much more than this, he felt as if he'd come home.
After a moment of awkward silence, Leo was the one who spoke, as he was also the one who knew everything about this strange situation.
Therefore, when everybody had been seated, he commenced:
"For starter we all want to welcome you here. As you may have understood already, we're aware of your situation. You were actually found behind a bar that belongs to Piper here," he said pointing to her as he was talking. My name is Leo, here is Prue and…"
However, when he was about to introduce Phoebe, Cole finished for him instinctively. As Cole's eyes met Phoebe's, there seemed to be a hint of recognition in his expression. Then he told her directly:
"You were in my dream."
Hearing this, she gasped and had to repress the urge to run into his arms.
Instead, she just said softly:
"What kind of dream?"
"I saw you at the door, same as earlier, and in the sunroom. There, for some reason I was telling you to stop worrying, that everything was gonna be fine. You smiled at me, then nothing. That's all I remember beside the fact that I knew how to come here."
Phoebe smiled knowingly but just added:
"Strange..."
All the while, they were staring at each other, and Leo had to cough discreetly to break the moment in order to continue his explanation.
"The girls and I would like you to stay here for a while."
"Don't get me wrong," Cole replied hesitantly, "I'm grateful for the offer, but… why would you be willing to have a stranger come into your house," he asked while unable to keep the hint of suspicion from his voice.
Prue intervened then:
"Well let's just say we make a habit of helping people in need whenever we can… and also we feel somewhat responsible since you were found behind my bar," she added with an encouraging smile.
"Well then, since I have nowhere else to go, I'll accept your offer. Thank you!"
Then his gaze returned in Phoebe's direction. With a little intake of breath she said:
"Maybe you would like to change clothes?" She hesitated a moment and pursued, "a friend of mine left many of his outfits here… and I think they should fit you perfectly."
For a moment, his gaze went down to her stomach, probably having guessed that the word friend had been a euphemism. Then, a little embarrassed, he looked away, and instead of commenting on this, he excused his appearance, explaining that it was all the hospital had to offer. He left out the even more embarrassing part about his being found naked and without any identification whatsoever.
Phoebe was already moving to stand up when he quickly came to her help. They both look intensely at each other when their hands touched. However, the moment passed quickly, and then she showed him the way to the guestroom while promising him to bring the clean outfits soon. Once they got to the guestroom, he watched Phoebe intensely for a moment, and then he smiled before closing the door, leaving Phoebe gasping for breath, and shaking with a mixture of joy and sadness.
Prue offered to accompany her upstairs and she takes her Phoebe's arm, guessing that her sister might need steadying to go on. Phoebe, grateful, smiled at her gently. In her expression, Prue could now see the old Phoebe returning slowly. Her newfound happiness was a pleasure to look at.
Phoebe came back by herself toward the guestroom and knocked on the door but she got no answer. With a pang of anxiety, she opened the door slowly and she exhaled deeply in relief when she realized that he had simply fallen asleep. He was lying on the bed with only the towel he put on after taking a shower. Phoebe couldn't resist approaching him and caressing his hair affectionately. She then deposited the clothes she brought along on a chair nearby.
Still hardly believing that he was there, with her, when she had believed that he was gone for good, she smiled contentedly and whispered to her child: "see sweetie, Daddy's home…"
Her smile brightened when she felt the baby moving, seemingly in response to the news or so she liked to imagine.
Outside, it was already dark. On a nearby field, a sudden breeze rose rapidly. The wind picked up as a mini tornado seemed to be forming. The strange thing was that the phenomenon only occurred in a very focused area. Suddenly a blinding flash of red light literally exploded in the midst of the tornado, and all at once the micro storm stopped, albeit leaving behind Belthazor's demon form…
In the Underworld, the Source chuckled at his own cleverness.
"Well now they'll know that this game can be played both ways!" Then, with a hand signal and a sinister laughter, he dismissed his minions.
End part I
Chapter one
"It's not fair," Phoebe cried, "it's just not fair."
She hit her pillow repeatedly, which from the look of it had to endure repeated beatings lately.
Tears began to form in her already puffy eyes. She was about to resume the poor pillow's beating but suddenly exhaustion washed over her. Sleep hadn't come easily these past few days. Ever since Cole died, she'd been in a daze; if and when she fell asleep, it was always agitated by awful nightmares. She couldn't help imagining him tortured by the flames of hell.
She gave a somewhat pleading stare toward the ceiling.
"He saved us… and you! Why couldn't you do something for him? You took him away from me and threw him away like he was nothing."
All of this, she told in a desperate voice. She knew that if they were gonna listen to her, they would have by now. She turned back to her pillow and decided to try sleeping again. "Who knows maybe, it won't be so bad this time?" She thought forlornly.
In the living room, the girls were just sitting, while watching a little TV. The manor has been so quiet except for the up and down mood Phoebe had been in the last few days.
"Do you think she'll be ok?" Piper uttered softly.
Prue turn off the set, and then answered in the same voice, almost as if they were afraid that talking louder would be showing disrespect somehow.
"I'm sure she will be eventually… but I've got no idea when. I don't even know what to tell her."
"How do you comfort a person who knows what she does?" Prue thought sadly. There weren't even the usual words of wisdom, like he is now in a better place."
Piper interrupted her grim musing:
"I said it before and I'll say it again. Those rules of theirs are too much."
"Listen to us though… a few months ago we were hell-bent on vanquishing him… no pun intended," she says with a joyless smile. "Now we're debating on why the powers could not let him in heaven."
"Too true, but it doesn't change the fact that he saved us all, and not just once. We may have distrusted him, but he really proved us wrong. Phoebe was the only one who saw it. Poor baby…"
"Leo gave you any news?"
Piper was about to respond by the negative, when the chime announcing her husband's return caught her attention.
Both women looked up as he materialized, but it was obvious from his expression that the news wasn't good.
"Sorry, no news." He confirmed.
"Just how long do they intend to debate this?" Piper exclaimed with an impatient gesture, as she seemed to have gotten over her restraint.
Leo responded in a conciliatory fashion:
"You know that time is not the same here and there. To them, it's only been a short while ago."
"They might try to consider that every moment is an eternity for Phoebe. And I don't even wanna think about Cole." Prue uttered irritably.
"They said that your arguments about Cole's humanity and his right to forgiveness were valid. They understand… However, greater rules are binding them. Not even they can change the facts that a demon can never enter Heaven. When the fallen angels quit millennia ago, they were warned that there would not be any forgiveness for them. I know that it really doesn't seem fair, but they obeyed to a very different set of rules than humans."
"You know, that's one thing I never really understood. They were his creation too. Didn't they have rights?" Piper questioned curiously.
"From what I understand, the powers given to them were such that in order to keep peace in the Heavens, strict rules had to be imposed. It did work for a very long time…Anyhow, like I said, the rules come from way above even the elders. Nevertheless, they hinted that they might've another idea. It's not easy and they're not really sure if it'll be approved. That's why they won't tell me what it is just yet…"
The girls sighed in tandem but said nothing and then they just let the silence fill the room; all of them were lost in thoughts obviously none too pleasant.
In the Alley behind P3, a bright flash of light exploded noiselessly from behind one of the dumpsters. Inside the club, the lights dimmed for a few seconds causing loud recriminations from the customers, but the event lasted only a few seconds and nobody went to investigate. The Bartender only remarked to one of the more sedate customers at the bar:
"Power surge, I guess… I thought that I saw a flash through the back door. Weird though, there was no noise."
The other just dismissed the bartender's musings and returned to his interrupted conversation. The bartender shrugged it off and went back to his own duties without giving the strange event much thought afterward.
Back in the alley, a low moaning came from behind the dumpsters. Then a man, stark naked and apparently covered with some kind of gelatinous substance, came out from behind the dumpsters, crawling and seemingly in pain. He tried to stand up but fell flat on his face. Then he simply stopped moving.
The next morning at the manor, Piper was surprised to get a call from the cleaning crew so early. They were not in the habit of calling her about their assignments. However, what they wanted to report was even stranger. She hung up, and went to the kitchen with a pensive expression.
"Who was that?" Prue asked distractedly.
"It was the cleaning crew at P3. They didn't want to call earlier but they thought that I should know."
"Know what?"
"It's just so strange…they found a man behind the bar last night," Piper answered. "They say he was naked and unconscious."
Prue eyed her sister sarcastically.
"Well it wouldn't be the first time they found original or crazy people in alleys, now would it?"
"No, what's weird is that the guy was also covered with some kind of gelatin. In addition, when the paramedics came to take him, he had just regained consciousness but he couldn't remember a thing."
"I'll admit that's weird but I don't think it has anything to do with our brand of problems…probably just a lunatic…"
Piper was still pensive:
"I guess. I just wonder why they always end up on our doorstep, or the bar's for that matter. We must have some kind of magnet to attract trouble."
Phoebe came in while she was talking:
"What is it about trouble?"
"Apparently, it's not for us this time. You don't have to worry."
"Who's worrying?" Phoebe replied flatly.
The other two exchanges concerned looks.
"How are you this morning?" Prue inquired solicitously.
Phoebe answered after a fashion:
"Well, at least I did sleep last night; and I got another dream about Cole."
Prue came to her and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders:
"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry about all this."
Phoebe looked up, as if she was about to add something none too nice. However, she refrained from it. Instead, she continued on about the dream.
"Anyway, you know that my dreams, or rather nightmares, this week were all about hell and the sort. Last night, it was different."
"Different how?" Piper asked with interest. Phoebe had told them about the awful nightmares she'd been having and she thought that any change might be for the better.
"Well this time Cole was coming to me and there were no more flames pulling him back. He even told me not to worry anymore. That everything would be all right. Maybe I'm subconsciously trying to make myself feel better..." She hesitated and then she added in a strangled voice:
"But I don't want to just forget about it."
At this point she turned toward Prue and sobbed uncontrollably on her shoulder. Piper came closer and stroked her hair sympathetically, while only wishing that they could find a way to alleviate her pain. However, all they could do was to be there for her…
Later that morning, Phoebe was lying down on the couch in the living room while hugging the cushions and staring blandly. Piper had left already, but Prue came to ask her whether she'd be ok by herself for a little while.
"That's ok, don't worry I'll be fine..."
Prue watched her uncertainly still.
Phoebe sensed her hesitation and forced a weak smile as she looked up.
"No really, I'll be fine. Where are you going?"
"Actually, I was going to the hospital to check up on something."
Phoebe is suddenly concerned:
"Is somebody sick?"
"No nothing like that. It's just that they found a man unconscious behind P3 last night and the circumstances were a little weird. I just thought I'd check it out.
Phoebe returned to her brooding mood.
"Ok, well, just let me know I guess."
To Prue, it was obvious that on Phoebe's part, it had only been a polite inquiry at best. Prue tried to put on a good face for her sister but seeing her like this, she couldn't help being apprehensive. Stifling a sigh, Prue waved her sister goodbye and only got a half hearted response again which did nothing to reassure her about Phoebe's state of mind.
At P3, Piper had just arrived when the bartender came to her and asked how much she knew about the preceding night's strange events.
"Well, I got a phone call this morning… Strange, isn't it? Were you there when they found him?"
"No actually I just heard about this myself. But there was something else that happened earlier. At the time, I didn't think much of it but after hearing about that man, I wonder if this could be related?"
Piper became more alert at this:
"What do you mean?"
"Well last night, around midnight, there was a bright flash of light in the alley behind the bar. There was no sound at all, but the lights dimmed inside the bar. You should have heard the customers," he adds with a smile that says you know the kind.
Piper smiled back distractedly but her mind was already working fast on the new problem.
At the hospital, Prue went up to the receptionist and asked if they knew anything about a man found behind P3 the night before.
This one eyed her suspiciously.
"Do you know that man?"
Prue answered as confidently as she could muster:
"How could I? My only interest in this is that my sister owns the bar in question and wants to make sure she won't liable in any way."
"Well I don't really know what your rights are on the matter," the receptionist answered warily, "but if you want to talk to the doctor who signed his release, here he comes."
Prue showed her surprise there:
"He left already?"
"That's all I can tell you." The receptionist answered, obviously already annoyed with the subject. Then she turned to a man in white coat coming toward them.
"Dr Carter," she called. "This young lady here is asking about the strange patient from this morning; you know the one?"
"The one who refused treatment?"
"Yes, that one," the receptionist replied before returning to her paperwork.
Dr Carter took Prue's offered hand with a firm grasp.
"So what is your interest in that patient, if I may ask?"
"Well, you see, he was found behind my sister's bar and we were kind of wondering if it had anything to do with her business."
"Oh I see… all I can really tell you is that we found nothing physically wrong with that man. However, he had total amnesia. He wasn't very cooperative either. He kept saying that he didn't know who he was or what happened to him except that he needed to go somewhere."
Prue questioned further:
"If he didn't remember anything, how could he have known where to go?"
Dr Carter replied with a little smile:
"That was my point exactly, but he said that he saw it in a dream."
"Oh?"
"Anyhow, we believed that he might've been a patient who escaped from another facility, but there was no record of this anywhere in the city. Moreover, even with what he was saying, he didn't seem to be unstable, just a little confused."
Prue seemed already lost in thoughts even as she added:
"I guess it's understandable given the amnesia."
"I suppose… at any rate, he left about an hour ago against my advice. The police didn't even get to question him because he left before they arrived. And as far as your concerns go I don't think it had anything to do with your sister's bar. He didn't have a single drop of alcohol or any drug in his system. A real puzzle…"
"Thank you doctor," Prue uttered, as she shook his hand again before taking her leave.
Outside the hospital doors, her cell phone started ringing and she turned it on while walking toward the car.
"Hello?"
"Prue where are you?" Piper immediately asked.
"I was just at the hospital. They didn't know much about the man from last night except that he lost his memory for unknown reasons and also that he left the hospital against the doctor's advice."
"Was he hurt?"
"Not according to the doctor. He wasn't drunk either or anything like that."
"Stranger and stranger…" Piper trailed.
"What do you mean?"
"Last night the bartender said that he saw a bright flash of light in the back and the lights dimmed inside the bar. Yet, there was no noise and everything went back to normal right away. I almost scolded him for not checking out if there was something wrong, but I'm beginning to think that it might be our kind of problem after all."
"Maybe you're right. But we can't do much about it right now since I have no idea where that man went. Maybe we should meet back at the house and call for Leo. Who knows, maybe he knows something or he can ask the Elders?"
"Ok, see you there. Bye!" Piper simply answered before hanging up.
At the manor, Phoebe has fallen in an agitated sleep.
'Sitting in the sunroom, she was distractedly flipping the pages of a book on her lap. Suddenly she looked up expectantly. Almost immediately, Cole came in the sunroom, smiling softly while Phoebe couldn't seem to move or talk. She just stayed there, staring as he approached. He stopped a few feet short and looked at her affectionately.
"Don't worry anymore, Phoebe. Everything's gonna be just fine, I promise."
Then Cole vanished, just as Phoebe found her voice and called his name.'
She woke up with a start, vaguely realizing that her cheeks were wet with tears. She looked around as if to try to remember where she was. Then a sound caught her attention. She figured that the doorbell probably was what woke her up.
Phoebe stood up slowly from the couch and warily made her way to the front door.
Prue and Piper arrived almost simultaneously in front of the house and as they were parking in the street, Prue noticed a man at the door. From where she was, she couldn't see his face. She noticed his clothing however since those left a lot to be desired, almost as if he had shopped at the Salvation Army.
She waited for Piper to rejoin her before they moved together toward the house. At that moment, Phoebe came at the door. They had almost reached the front steps when they heard a cry that could only have come from Phoebe. As they were about to hurry toward her, Leo orbed between them and the unknown visitor, imperatively gesturing for them to stop and keep quiet. They stopped right there, somewhat confused at Leo's action, but another look toward the door reawakened their anxiety as they saw their sister falling heavily into the stranger's arms.
That was when they finally got a good look at the visitor and both of them could barely contain their surprise, as Leo reiterated his silent warning. There, very much alive, stood Cole, albeit an obviously very confused Cole, who didn't seem to know what to make of Phoebe's reaction. After making sure that Prue and Piper wouldn't say anything, he turned toward Cole and Phoebe, taking control of the situation. The sisters didn't object since Leo seemed to be the only one apprised of what was happening.
He came closer to Cole and took Phoebe in his arms. Cole seemed relieved to get some help, but also very puzzled.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened…she just passed out. Is she sick?"
Cole asked anxiously.
Increasingly confused, the sisters also went passed Cole to assist Leo and check up on their sister. She only seemed unconscious, but they were soon reassured that she hadn't been hurt. Prue still asked:
"Is the baby all right?"
Leo reassured her:
"I'm sure he's just fine. Phoebe is simply very emotional these days," he added more for Cole's benefit than Prue's.
Following Leo's advice, Piper was careful only to ask him the purpose of his visit to the manor.
"Actually, that is my problem," Cole said enigmatically, "I don't really know… Other than the fact that I seemed to know how to get here, and also that I had the feeling all day I had to, I don't remember anything else. At all…"
Piper felt silly. Altogether the whole situation was silly, but she still offered him to come in so they could discuss the matter more comfortably. Cole, grateful, accepted the invitation.
Leo carried Phoebe upstairs to her bedroom after signaling to the girls that they should join him. Therefore, Piper offered a drink to Cole and asked him to wait for them in the living room. He hesitantly followed her, still apparently worried about Phoebe, as he watched Leo going upstairs with her. Once they were in the living room, Piper offered him a whisky and, as she was about to leave, he suddenly asked how she knew what he wanted…
"Hem," Piper babbled, "Just a guess," she continued with a somewhat guilty smile.
Cole watched her with a strange expression, but he finally sat and prepared to wait for their return, after Piper assured him that it shouldn't take too long.
When she got to Phoebe's room, Piper immediately went to her sister's side to verify for her own that she was fine. Phoebe simply seemed asleep peacefully, so she turned toward Leo with a pointed stare.
"What the hell's the matter here, Leo?"
Leo closed the door before answering:
"Well, hell may well be part of it, or rather not anymore."
Prue insisted, as she was getting impatient.
"Please Leo, try to make sense now!"
Leo smiled happily.
"Well let just say that the elders did it for you. They found a way to save him."
"Leo! You mean they brought him back from the dead?" Piper exclaimed incredulously.
Leo patiently explained:
"You got a big favor from them. But they had to do some crafty work. First, he's no longer a demon…"
The two sisters' jaws dropped in astonishment.
Before they could interrupt, Leo pursued:
"In order for him to atone for his past, the elders have granted him a new life, as a mortal. He's also a witch though, since he still has some powers. He doesn't know this however. No more than he remembers much of anything else right now.
This brings me to the reason why I kept you quiet out there. The Elders warned me that he shouldn't be told about his past. They suggested letting him remember on his own. They think that the shock might be too overwhelming if you were to tell him now."
Prue, back to her sarcastic self, chuckled: "Go figure why?"
Just then Phoebe began moving and her eyes fluttered opened. She looked up at them in confusion. She was trying to remember what had happened but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Instinctively she touched her belly to reassure herself about the baby. Then she turned to the others questioningly.
Looking at each of them in turn, she noticed their smiles, and the memory of the recent events came back flooding to her. A little hope started building inside her, as she waited silently for them to confirm what she thought that she knew.
Guessing that Phoebe couldn't bring herself to ask the question, Prue came forward and nodded yes imperatively, while her smile brightened as she did so. Phoebe, still dazed, turned to Piper for some confirmation that she wasn't dreaming. This one smiled softly while nodding in acquiescence as well, and suddenly, all the emotions that Phoebe had kept bottled up inside until now overwhelmed her, as she began crying and laughing simultaneously. Her sisters came to sit by her side, and then they hugged her silently, as no word could express their feelings appropriately.
After a moment, Leo reiterated his explanations for Phoebe's benefit and then continued:
"The only problem is that there's a danger of retaliation from the Source. But on the bright side, He can't find Cole anymore since Cole's now fully human."
Phoebe couldn't accept this as the only problem. She seemed very agitated when she exclaimed:
"What about the fact that he doesn't remember our baby or me?"
Leo smiled reassuringly:
"I wouldn't worry too much about this, Phoebe. Nobody told him how to find this place, but he came here on his own."
At this, Phoebe became very quiet, hugging herself and thoughtfully touching her unborn child.
Leo again took the lead for the shaken sisters.
"Well now that you know the essential, we should go back downstairs and try to convince Cole to stay a while, don't you think?"
"Of course, let's go." Prue agreed right away.
Prue, Piper and Leo were about to leave the room when Phoebe signaled to wait for her.
"Are you sure? You might still need some rest." Prue asked, concerned anew.
However, Phoebe firmly replied:
"Nothing is gonna keep me here."
The others gave her understanding smiles.
In the living room, Cole was now pacing back and forth, trying to make sense of what was happening to him. From the moment he'd awakened on the gurney, that morning, he had been obsessed with coming to this house. All he could remember was a dream he was having just before waking up. In the dream, he was seeing himself getting to this house and, just as had happened earlier, being greeted by the same pregnant girl who lost consciousness when she saw him. This, of course, just added to his confusion. He also remembered that he had seen her somewhere else in the dream and told her not to worry anymore. What it was all about though, he couldn't figure out for the life of him.
At hearing a commotion behind him, he turned to see the girls coming back into the living room, accompanied by the man who had carried the pregnant girl upstairs.
Without knowing exactly why, he got the distinct feeling that he was among friends. Much more than this, he felt as if he'd come home.
After a moment of awkward silence, Leo was the one who spoke, as he was also the one who knew everything about this strange situation.
Therefore, when everybody had been seated, he commenced:
"For starter we all want to welcome you here. As you may have understood already, we're aware of your situation. You were actually found behind a bar that belongs to Piper here," he said pointing to her as he was talking. My name is Leo, here is Prue and…"
However, when he was about to introduce Phoebe, Cole finished for him instinctively. As Cole's eyes met Phoebe's, there seemed to be a hint of recognition in his expression. Then he told her directly:
"You were in my dream."
Hearing this, she gasped and had to repress the urge to run into his arms.
Instead, she just said softly:
"What kind of dream?"
"I saw you at the door, same as earlier, and in the sunroom. There, for some reason I was telling you to stop worrying, that everything was gonna be fine. You smiled at me, then nothing. That's all I remember beside the fact that I knew how to come here."
Phoebe smiled knowingly but just added:
"Strange..."
All the while, they were staring at each other, and Leo had to cough discreetly to break the moment in order to continue his explanation.
"The girls and I would like you to stay here for a while."
"Don't get me wrong," Cole replied hesitantly, "I'm grateful for the offer, but… why would you be willing to have a stranger come into your house," he asked while unable to keep the hint of suspicion from his voice.
Prue intervened then:
"Well let's just say we make a habit of helping people in need whenever we can… and also we feel somewhat responsible since you were found behind my bar," she added with an encouraging smile.
"Well then, since I have nowhere else to go, I'll accept your offer. Thank you!"
Then his gaze returned in Phoebe's direction. With a little intake of breath she said:
"Maybe you would like to change clothes?" She hesitated a moment and pursued, "a friend of mine left many of his outfits here… and I think they should fit you perfectly."
For a moment, his gaze went down to her stomach, probably having guessed that the word friend had been a euphemism. Then, a little embarrassed, he looked away, and instead of commenting on this, he excused his appearance, explaining that it was all the hospital had to offer. He left out the even more embarrassing part about his being found naked and without any identification whatsoever.
Phoebe was already moving to stand up when he quickly came to her help. They both look intensely at each other when their hands touched. However, the moment passed quickly, and then she showed him the way to the guestroom while promising him to bring the clean outfits soon. Once they got to the guestroom, he watched Phoebe intensely for a moment, and then he smiled before closing the door, leaving Phoebe gasping for breath, and shaking with a mixture of joy and sadness.
Prue offered to accompany her upstairs and she takes her Phoebe's arm, guessing that her sister might need steadying to go on. Phoebe, grateful, smiled at her gently. In her expression, Prue could now see the old Phoebe returning slowly. Her newfound happiness was a pleasure to look at.
Phoebe came back by herself toward the guestroom and knocked on the door but she got no answer. With a pang of anxiety, she opened the door slowly and she exhaled deeply in relief when she realized that he had simply fallen asleep. He was lying on the bed with only the towel he put on after taking a shower. Phoebe couldn't resist approaching him and caressing his hair affectionately. She then deposited the clothes she brought along on a chair nearby.
Still hardly believing that he was there, with her, when she had believed that he was gone for good, she smiled contentedly and whispered to her child: "see sweetie, Daddy's home…"
Her smile brightened when she felt the baby moving, seemingly in response to the news or so she liked to imagine.
Outside, it was already dark. On a nearby field, a sudden breeze rose rapidly. The wind picked up as a mini tornado seemed to be forming. The strange thing was that the phenomenon only occurred in a very focused area. Suddenly a blinding flash of red light literally exploded in the midst of the tornado, and all at once the micro storm stopped, albeit leaving behind Belthazor's demon form…
In the Underworld, the Source chuckled at his own cleverness.
"Well now they'll know that this game can be played both ways!" Then, with a hand signal and a sinister laughter, he dismissed his minions.
End part I