CHARMED

"Centennial Charmed - My Version"

Summary
What if it wasn't Cole who got vanquished in that other reality?

Timeline
Season 5 - different ending to "Centennial Charmed"

Disclaimer
I don't own anything about Charmed, I just toy with the characters.

A/N
I think everyone has his own perception about this particular episode.
Be warned, mine is very dark and contains blood, sweat and tears.

The story is starting of in the scene where Cole catches Phoebe with a demon in her room.
I sum up part of the dialogue that is said there and then start off in a different direction.

Rated M for violence and sexual situations.

If you like this story, please leave me review, I'd be happy to read from you!

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Belthazor

Forcefully Cole flings the door to Phoebe's bedroom open. He finds Phoebe all over the demon she went upstairs with shortly before. The demon is sucking on Phoebe's breasts and kissing her hungrily. Taken by surprise the couple disentangle hurriedly and the demon gets off the bed, his shirt already unbuttoned.

The demon pleads with Cole to spare him but Cole growls in fury and obliterates the demon with an energy ball. Phoebe stares at the place the demon vanished and then turns to Cole. She is very pissed off at Cole for killing her boy toy demon of the week. She starts screaming at him and they get into a heavy row.

Cole is seething with rage and frustration that his plan didn't work out and Phoebe doesn't love him in this reality either. He vents his anger on the table pushing the things on it to the floor.

Phoebe looks at his gesture, alarmed. Until now regardless of her affairs he had always been obliging to her. Suddenly Cole advances on Phoebe menacingly, his body rigid with bottled up anger. She looks warily at him and shrinks back from him, trying to soothe him with her voice, while trying to fix her unbuttoned dress. They start accusing each other what each of them gave up for the other.

"Look, the only one getting anything out of this is you, and I have no idea what that is," Phoebe tells him off.

Cole is at a loss of words at her statement but Phoebe continues mercilessly.

"The only reason I'm still here is to make sure that what happened to Prue does not happen to Piper and you know it," Phoebe further enlightens Cole about her view on their relationship.

Cole swallows hard. That is not at all how he pictured the reunion with Phoebe.

"What happened to us, Phoebe? How did we get here?" he asks unbelievingly as his voice is on the verge of cracking.

What the hell happened in this warped reality? He expected to be back to the time where Phoebe would fling herself into his arms as soon as she saw him, when she loved him uncompromisingly.

Phoebe looks to the ground awkwardly finishing closing her robe. Cole is not sure if she can't or won't answer his question.

"We used to be so in love…," Cole struggles to get the words out, his heart aching. This reality is just as bad as the one he came from. "Even without your sisters it is not working," he murmurs.

"The only thing I changed was not meeting Paige. Damn. What was our downfall if it wasn't Paige?" Cole asks himself.

He shakes his head drearily. "Why?" he asks Phoebe with tears stinging in his eyes. Cole is shaken to the core and it clearly shows on his face.

Phoebe lifts her pointed glance to him. "I don't know," she shakes her head slightly. Cole suddenly gets the impression she is not regretting or hurting as much as he does. "Maybe it just wasn't meant to be," Phoebe whispers and turns to exit the room, but Cole grabs her arm, "Wait!"

"Ouch!" she exclaims surprised and then reproachfully, "you are hurting me!" she exclaims as she shoots him a nasty look.

"You can't just leave, Phoebe," Cole stares at her with a freaky determination building in his eyes, "We have to fix this… us. I didn't do this all for nothing."

Phoebe tries to push past him again, trying to ignore him. "Oh Please," she mutters indignantly. Cole is getting on her nerves. OK so he vanquished her boy toy. That should be enough to recreate his pride and leave her alone.

"Does it have to take this that you acknowledge me?" he questions her angrily and turns her around roughly so she has to face him again. Cole pushes her with her back against the wall and holds her there, both of his hands grimly on her shoulders.

"If you need to screw a demon, you have got me for that!" He pushes her into the wall once more. "Is that clear?"

Phoebe stares at him incredulously and fights back, enraged, "Who do you think you are? The ideal loving, caring husband? Let's talk about you screwing around, ha!"

She struggles to get free more fiercely, trying to hit and scratch him, but Cole's grip is merciless on her arms.

Her answer sends Cole into a spin. He turns into Belthazor, rage storming inside him. Phoebe betrayed him with some low-level demon - another man. His Phoebe. His wife. He never dreamt that possible. He tightens his grip on her arms. And now she accuses him of being with another women. That can't be. He can't believe it. Even when he was Belthazor after falling in love with her, he always wanted her, and only her.

"If I catch you touching or even looking at any male creature again, you will regret it dearly." Belthazor growls through gritted teeth.

Phoebe bleaches but looks daggers at him. "Are you threatening Piper now? Don't you dare! We have an arrangement!" she shouts at him, lashing out at his face with her nails again.

"You better not try me," Cole has no idea what kind of arrangement his other self made with Phoebe and Piper, but he gives it a shot in the heat of the moment.

Phoebe becomes silent almost instantly and just looks at him with big eyes. He stares her down fighting with the urge to push her into the wall again. Finally he let go of her, taking a step back. Cole is hardly able to dominate the demon inside him, who wants to make Phoebe hurt as much as he is hurting at the moment.

Cowed Phoebe averts her eyes. She looks at her maltreated upper arms and rubs them slowly with her hands. There are already some red and blue bruises in form of his large fingerprints starting to show.

Belthazor scowls at her for a moment longer, then walks briskly to the door and turns menacingly once more. "You better stay out off my sight for the rest of the day! You already managed to ruin my birthday! Congratulations!"

He turns back into his human form and slams the door behind him as he leaves the room.