"Setting it Right"
by shel
© september 2002
disclaimer: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…
rating: pg-13
summary: a demon's attack brings an end to the charmed ones as we know them…
timeline: september 2002 ~ takes into account everything thru the end of season 4…
archive: please don't without express permission…
warning: i experimented a bit with this tale so, lest y'all think otherwise, please keep in mind that phoebe and cole are my favorites….
notes: any copyrights for spirograph belong to kenner/hasbro toys…this tale also contains specific references to people, situations, and/or spells from 'marry go round,' 'we're off to see the wizard,' 'all hell breaks loose,' 'enter the demon,' 'size matters,' 'black as cole,' and 'paige from the past'…please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…
Saturday, September 14, 2002
Phoebe awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed. She drew her hand to her chest as if it could somehow stop the pounding of her heart. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath but the sudden vivid image of Cole's look of resignation, when she vanquished him months before, startled her and she pressed her hand harder against her heart.
Phoebe blindly grabbed one of her pillows and hugged it tight as she curled into a ball under her covers. But the thought that it might have been his pillow suddenly crossed her mind and she let out a choked sob. And, once started, she found she couldn't stop the tears. So, she buried her face in the pillow and did her best to control herself so as not to alert anyone else in the household to her sobs. Even after all this time, she still couldn't allow herself to fall apart, not even alone in her own room. After a few moments, Phoebe had calmed enough to toss the pillow behind her, back to its spot next to hers. She took several ragged breaths before she rubbed the last tears from her eyes and finally looked at her clock.
Eight-thirty. She had actually managed a straight five hours of sleep. Phoebe couldn't recall the last time she'd had a truly good night's sleep. One night without waking in a panic because she relived it all. 'Who am I kidding?' she thought to herself, annoyed, 'I know exactly how long it's been. Four months. More than that, even.' Tears trickled down the side of her nose as she remembered kissing him that last time. She licked away some tears that crossed her lips. Salty. Like then. She had never expected to see him again. But she'd been wrong. About a lot of things. Phoebe reached for a tissue and wiped her nose before she rubbed her eyes again.
Phoebe needed to get out of the house. She felt it closing in on her. If she was quiet enough, she could sneak out before her sisters were up to notice she was gone. Paige never woke up before ten on a Saturday, especially when she'd been out clubbing the night before. And Piper had been staying in bed as long as possible to avoid the right-out-of-bed nauseous feeling she'd been suffering from these past few months. 'Maybe a run would help,' she considered. Her sisters wouldn't think twice if she announced she'd been out jogging and it might actually help her focus on how to deal with whatever was bothering her. Or who. Cole. For so long she'd been able to push thoughts of their life together deep down inside. She focused on work and saving innocents. On Piper's new baby. On anything but him. And it worked. During the day at least. At night…Well, night was a different story. 'And it's been getting worse,' she realized, "and I just wish I knew why."
Phoebe tossed back her covers and sat up again. She stretched slightly before she rose from bed and carefully stepped to the other side of the room to her dresser. Phoebe opened the drawers and pulled out various essentials and, just as carefully, crossed back to her vanity and sat down.
She stared at her tired and pale reflection as she pulled her hair back in a ponytail. 'The way I look,' she contemplated, 'I couldn't attract a new guy if I even wanted to.' She reached for the nearby, face-down, silver picture frame and turned it over. It was one of her favorites of herself and Cole from the early days in their relationship, back before she'd learned the truth about Belthazor. Prue had never admitted to Phoebe when she had taken the candid shot of them. 'Probably on one of her less suspicious days….We were so innocent then,' Phoebe thought with a wry laugh. 'If we had only known what we were in for……' Phoebe traced Cole's face and whispered, "Please stop haunting me." She began to remove the frame's backing to finally remove the picture but a thud from the floor above startled her and caused her to drop the frame into her lap.
****** ****** ****** ******
"Piper?" Phoebe asked in concern as she entered the attic. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Piper answered distractedly as she knelt in front the trunk she had just opened, "I'm fine. Just lost my grip on the box."
"Box? Piper, that's a massive trunk!" Phoebe exclaimed as she stared at her disheveled older sister. "What do you think you're doing moving furniture by yourself? And do you know what time it is?"
Piper stopped lifting out stacks of clothing and knick-knacks and finally looked up at her annoyed and agitated, pajama-clad sister. "I'm sorry, honey, I couldn't sleep and tried to be quiet."
Phoebe realized Piper was fine and waved her off as she sleepily dropped onto the sofa opposite Piper. "'Sokay, it's not really that early and I guess I wasn't gonna fall back asleep." Phoebe watched Piper smile to herself as she set aside a yellow blanket. "So, what're you doin' up, anyway?" Phoebe asked curiously. "No more morning sickness?"
Piper immediately put her hand to her mouth and grimaced. "Please, don't mention the word, I don't want to tempt fate. I thought I was finally leaving that unpleasant phase behind." Phoebe smiled and Piper swallowed before she explained, "I just wanted to find some of our baby things that Mom and Grams had packed away. I know I've got plenty of time 'til the baby comes but I wasn't hungry and…I don't know, feeling sentimental. Hormones, I guess." She caught Phoebe yawning and added, "Speaking of time, what're you doing up? You went to sleep pretty late last night."
Phoebe looked back at her in surprise. "How do you know? You and Leo both turned in early."
"Bathroom break," Piper answered with a sheepish smile, "and from what I've read, I may never leave this phase." But her smile quickly faded and she added, "I heard your TV."
Phoebe looked down at the pillow she grabbed. "Sorry, I didn't think I had it so loud."
Piper shook her head, "You didn't. I saw the glow from under the door and was going to check on you when I heard…How many times did you watch it?" Phoebe didn't answer and, instead, toyed with the pillow's fringes. Piper sadly commented, "Phoebe, it's not healthy to watch that video over and over again."
"It's not that long," Phoebe shrugged.
"That's not the point," Piper countered, "and you know it. Please, put it away with the rest of the stuff. It's only hurting you when you keep it lying around where you can see it." Phoebe glared at her and Piper apologized, "Honey, please, you've been moving on so well, I don't want this to set you back."
"It was a beautiful ceremony, wasn't it?" Phoebe quietly asked. "I mean those few minutes, from when I walked down 'til when the Lazarus demon attacked, it was beautiful, wasn't it?"
Piper looked at her sister and quickly went to Phoebe's side. Piper pulled Phoebe into a hug and stroked her hair as she rested her head against Piper's shoulder. "Of course it was, sweetie, of course it was….What is it, Phoebe? Did something happen that set you off last night?" Phoebe shook her head and Piper gently told her, "You know you can talk to me, don't you? You don't have to keep this all inside."
Phoebe nodded but pulled back. "But there's nothing to talk about…Look, why don't I get dressed and then I can help you find whatever you're looking for."
"Phoebe, I know you're still hurting. Talk to me, please," Piper requested as Phoebe stood. "Are you having that nightmare again? The one you had after…well, after? Is it Cole? Did you see him again?"
"I'm fine, Piper," Phoebe declared as she ignored her sister's questions. "I'm moving on with my life and I'm fine."
"Who's fine?" Paige sleepily asked as she entered the attic.
"I'm fine," Phoebe repeated as she passed Paige.
"You're not fine," Piper argued.
"Look," Phoebe told Piper, "I'll be right back and we can search together."
"Search for what?" Paige asked with a yawn as she glanced from the trunk to each of her sisters. "What's going on, guys?" she asked as Phoebe stopped in the doorway.
"Nothing," Phoebe gently answered. "Piper's just practicing some of her maternal instincts."
"Did I wake you, too?" Piper groaned as she ignored Phoebe's tease. "I knew I should've waited for Leo's help and done this later when you were all out."
"Help with what? Where's Leo?" Paige asked with growing interest as she knelt in front of the trunk. Piper glanced up towards the ceiling and Paige added, "Oh, anything we should be worried abou-- Hey, a Spirograph!"
Phoebe turned around, smiled slightly to Piper and then turned back and explained to Paige, "That was Prue's. She was the creative one. Me? It drove me crazy that the little discs never stayed down in the grooves. I used to pound them down so Grams took it away from me because she was afraid I'd break it. Prue must've packed it away when she "outgrew" it."
"Yeah, it took me a while to get the hang of it but I had so much fun with it," Paige recalled. "My mom bought it for me when I was six. She told my dad she wanted to encourage my artistic ability. Our fridge was Spirograph-City for two days before my dad had to take it away from me for a month." Phoebe and Piper laughed pleasantly along with Paige and Paige touched the box fondly and added, "I've still got my set, too. And still in working order…well, most of the pieces, anyway."
Piper quickly glanced to Phoebe, who smiled back with a nod, and then went over and knelt next to Paige. She lifted out the box and handed it to Paige. "Here." Paige tried to protest but Piper insisted. "One, it'll be a long time 'til this little girl here is ready for it," Piper said as she patted her slightly bulging abdomen, "so you can borrow it 'til then and, two, you'd actually appreciate it and I think, no, I know, Prue would want you to have it."
Paige choked up and accepted the box and carefully hugged her sister. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Piper answered with a smile. Piper noticed Phoebe once again heading towards the door and stopped her. "Phoebe…"
Phoebe turned around and practically whined, "I just wanna get dressed, Piper."
Piper looked skeptically at her but suggested instead, "How 'bout I whip up some sister favorites and we have a sister-bonding-breakfast."
"Sounds yummy," Paige smiled as she stood up and held the toy. "I'll be down in a couple of minutes to help."
"Sounds like fun," Phoebe grinned broadly, "Be there in a few…"
Phoebe had barely left the attic when Paige quickly turned to Piper and asked, "Okay, what's wrong with Phoebe?"
"I'm not sure," Piper answered with concern. "She won't talk to me. Why do you ask?"
"I saw her wisdom teeth," Paige answered as she stood up and headed towards the doorway.
"So?" Piper asked in confusion.
"So it means she was lying," Paige commented as she left Piper alone in the attic.
Piper stared at the empty doorway and sighed. Cole was involved. She was sure of it but unless Phoebe…Piper sighed again. She'd have to try talking again with Phoebe and somehow help her baby sister deal with whatever was going on. Piper gripped the edges of the trunk to push herself up but, as she did, she noticed a folded piece of parchment on top of the pile of clothing that had been hidden by the Spirograph box. She picked it up and gasped when she recognized her sister's handwriting. "Guys!" she yelled as she scrambled to her feet. Her hand trembled as it clenched the parchment and she again shouted, "Guys, get back up here! Hurry!"
********** ********** **********
Phoebe tried to catch her breath as she shut the door to her room behind her. She leaned against it for a moment, closed her eyes and promised herself she wouldn't cry. Instead, she opened her eyes, went over to her bed, and grabbed the pile of clothing. But she froze when, from the corner of her eye, she caught lurking a dark figure. She dropped the clothing and quickly spun around to face the figure but, before she could react offensively, she was hit by something that felt like a bolt of intense heat. She pressed her hand to her chest in pain as she crumpled to the floor.
"It's done," the figure spoke as it stepped into her view. "Finally."
Phoebe lay curled in a fetal position in pain as her whole body uncontrollably trembled. She couldn't catch her breath much less move to defend herself from his approach. But he didn't attack again. He stood over her. She looked up and figured him for a white human male in his thirties. Tall and solidly built and dressed in an all-black suit. But it was his eyes that scared her even more than her inability to defend herself. His irises were pitch black with bright red pupils. For a wild moment, she thought of that red-eye side-effect that too often appeared in photos she'd had developed. Truly a demon's eyes.
"Hurts, doesn't it, witch," he sneered down at her. "No matter, it'll all be over in minutes."
"Who?" Phoebe struggled to speak the word.
"Me?" he laughed. "I would have told you anyway but I am pleased you asked for yourself. I know I'd want to know the name of anyone who dared kill me." Phoebe grunted in pain and he laughed. "I, witch, am Drezdor; the one who will forever be known as having done what no demon nor Source could ever do. I am the one who destroyed the Charmed Ones."
"W.w..why?" she asked as a fresh wave of pain ran through her and she held herself tighter.
"Because the Charmed Ones have been a thorn in the side of the Underworld for ages. First from prophecy and then from reality," he complained. "And, you, you're the reason for the chaos that exists now. You turned one of the most respected and powerful demons the Underworld had seen in ages into a sniveling, weak, pathetic, human. Because of you, not only were two Sources vanquished but the magical world lost its most powerful future leader. All because of you," he spit at her. "But it's over now. Forever."
"N…never!" Phoebe grunted as she struggled against the pain. She was barely able to prop herself up on one elbow. "W…won't let you. The…Power…of Three --"
"No longer exists," Drezdor barked. "Haven't you understood a thing I've said? Nothing can save you," he taunted. "My poison's already working its way through your system. And there is no antidote. I know because I've spent the past three years perfecting it to make sure no last minute spell could save you." He smiled viciously as Phoebe's elbow gave way and she collapsed again and moaned in agony. "With your death," he commented in great satisfaction, "the Charmed Ones will be no more and I will have earned my place as the new Source. No one will be able to challenge me."
"Wrong," Phoebe weakly protested as he stepped back from her.
"Greetings to that last failure of a Source, your mate, when you meet him in hell," Drezdor spat as he disappeared in a dark cloud of smoke.
Phoebe coughed and moaned in pain. "Piper! Paige!" she shouted but her voice was a mere whisper. "Leo?" Her body felt like it was on fire and she moaned again. "Cole…" she desperately called.
Everything was growing fuzzy and Phoebe couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. 'He doesn't know about Melinda,' she thought of Drezdor. 'But what if Melinda isn't enough to reconstitute the Charmed Ones? Why wouldn't the Angel of Destiny have warned us? It couldn't have all been for nothing.'
Phoebe felt herself slipping away and struggled to open her eyes again. Tears of pain were streaming down her cheeks and she no longer had the energy to even desire to wipe them away. She was dying and she knew it. Her breath grew short and choppy but, amazingly, she suddenly no longer felt the hot, burning, sensations that had been coursing through her. Instead, she felt cool. Her eyes darted around her room looking for some sort of inspiration but her vision was clouded. She didn't have much time left and she barely even caught the glint of the silver frame she'd looked at earlier. A simple spell might work. It was her last chance and she desperately tried to focus on the words as she whispered them,
"Magic forces burning bright,
Grant…my last request and…set things right."
Spent from her effort, Phoebe closed her eyes and gave in to the cold and the darkness. Her last conscious thought was of him. 'Cole…'
********** ********** **********