Family Ties
Chapter II
"Hey, you've got no reason to complain. We've got five of them at once."
The man Paige had noticed at her work place turned to the Demoness, a really pretty, albeit severe, woman behind him.
"Besides, Mother, this is none of your business. I need the distraction, and my way's been working fine until now."
"You're just too daring. This witch might've figured you out."
"And you always worry too much. She fell for me just like all the others… You should know mother, you probably passed on some of your special skills to me."
"That was never what you were supposed to be."
"I've had enough of this…" Melchior said warningly.
"I worry…"
"Don't mother… They can't do anything to me."
"The Charmed Ones might…"
"No witch can destroy me…"
Elizabeth sighed heavily. As a seductress demon, she realized that she might indeed have passed some of her talent to her sons. That was a side effect she had not anticipated. It had already cost her one of them.
"Melchior…Belthazor also believed himself invincible. Yet, a simple feeling was his undoing. Just like you, he believed that nothing or no one would ever touch him…"
"Hey, my brother may have been an oversensitive demon, make that human, but he still managed to be the Source for a while."
"For all the good it did him…and don't forget that you're also half-human…" Elizabeth protested, but this time distractedly. "You know that those Charmed Ones still destroyed him," she continued pensively.
"They did because of his weakness for this wretched witch. That would never happen to me."
Elizabeth turned to her son with a strange look.
"Really?"
"When are you gonna stop doubting me," Melchior replied angrily this time.
"I don't doubt you son," Elizabeth pursued, strangely calm. "Maybe, you could take care of them after all?"
"You mean I can now? You won't try to stop me?"
"By all means, son! I think it's time someone got rid of these witches."
A cruel smile spread over the handsome features of the demon Melchior.
"Finally…" he uttered with satisfaction. "And then, maybe I can pick up where my brother left off…"
An almost soft smile appeared on the Demoness's lips.
"Yes son. I really think you could…."
Cole watched yet another demon falling from the reddened sky with a loud scream, but he only gave his demise a passing interest before returning to his musing. "How ironic," he still thought, "not long ago I was the Source of all Evil and craving for powers…" He could've gone and picked up the new power that positively fell from the sky; but in truth, Cole was already infinitely more powerful than he had been as the Source. Yet, it didn't matter to him. Not anymore. He'd have given all of this just for a smile from Phoebe.
Cole made an impatient gesture, angry with his own weakness. What a change this was from the proud demon he used to be. What good was it to be all powerful and invincible if he couldn't be happy? In this solitude, Cole had a lot of time to think of the past and of his very uncertain future. With an unhappy chuckle, he reflected that his mother would probably have hit him with a power ball for those depressing thoughts alone. A powerful demon like him couldn't let feelings get in the way, she constantly repeated to him. He had been a good student for the most part. So much so, that his mother thought it a good idea to repeat the experience.
A hint of remorse crossed his mind at this, not so much about his past endeavours but more because it was another lie that Phoebe would probably reproach to him. A while back, when they had been faced with the Brotherhood, she'd asked him about his "family". At the time, Cole had been tempted to tell her about Melchior. However, he had refrained from it, even though, he wasn't too certain why he did… "At least," he reflected, "Mother won't let him anywhere near them. Not after what happened to me."
One of the revived power suckers was already launching toward the fallen power. By now, Cole didn't fear or care about these. In fact, he had decided that they were necessary to maintain the balance. At any rate, as mindless as these beasts were, they still knew to stay well away from him. As he watched the beast, Cole thought dejectedly that his lack of desire to use the powers he'd collected made him very similar to them. After all, that's all they did; Collect powers, feed on them and then go back to their lairs. The only difference between them and Cole was that in their small, uncaring brains, there were no regrets… the depressing thought again brought back the longing he felt and Cole looked up, wondering if he had just made things worse between him and Phoebe.
"The bastard…he's stalking me now?" Phoebe exclaimed loudly, startling her sisters.
"We won't let him near you, Phoebe," Piper said as calmly as possible, although she had no earthly idea how she might keep this promise. "You don't have to fear a thing."
"You think I fear him???" Phoebe asked her with an astounded expression. "I don't fear Cole, Piper. I just want him to leave us alone."
"I know, Phoebe…At least, he went away quickly. Maybe he finally got the point?" Piper added hesitantly.
"He's too damn stubborn. I think he needs a refresher," Phoebe exclaimed just as angrily as before.
"Wait a minute," Paige replied suspiciously. "You're not thinking of going back, are you?"
"Why not," Phoebe asked impatiently. "He obviously didn't get my message!"
"Phoebe…I don't think it's a good idea," Piper tried in turn. "You're not exactly strong yet…"
"I'm over him and I'm gonna let him know in no uncertain terms," Phoebe answered stubbornly.
"I can't let you do that, this is crazy," Piper uttered nervously.
"Don't try to stop me, Piper. I won't let Cole hurt you or Paige."
Then Phoebe went to the stairs under the worried looks of her sisters.
In spite of her assurances to her sisters, Phoebe was trembling slightly when she opened the book for the find a lost love spell. She even wondered if Piper wasn't right about her weakness. However, the anger took over quickly again. What right did he have to come near her? Not after all he'd done to her family. Her only concern was then that the lost love spell might not work since she believed that her jitters were only caused by the memory of her love. Again, Phoebe firmly convinced herself that she didn't love Cole anymore. For all she cared, he could have been swallowed whole by the beast…at least, she was trying very hard to believe that as she recited the spell.
The effect was immediate and Phoebe found herself back in the nightmarish wasteland where her former lover dwelled. She looked about nervously, wondering about the beast and as if on cue, she heard the distinctive sound of the monster coming toward her. Anxiously, she ran toward the rocky mound that lay about twenty feet from her. Her heart was pumping with fear as once again, she told herself how stupid she was for having risked this. Behind her the beast surfaced and launched at her. For a second, Phoebe believed that she would not reach safety in time and then, she felt herself being transported magically. Phoebe found herself on top of the mound, knowing full well who'd done it.
"Cole," she called unhappily.
"Phoebe," she heard from behind her. "So, you decided to visit," he added hesitantly.
"Apparently so have you," Phoebe uttered angrily, as she whirled around and faced Cole, who was standing only a few feet away. She couldn't help a little intake of breath at this point. It had been weeks since the last time. Weeks during which she had convinced herself that he wouldn't have any effect on her anymore. How mistaken she had been.
"You have no right to come to my house, Cole. I told you it was over. Hell, you're dead," Phoebe almost screamed to cover her feelings of sudden longing.
"And who exactly is gonna stop me," Cole replied cockily, trying his best to hide his own disappointment.
"You said you had feelings for me still," Phoebe pursued. "Is that the sort of feelings you have? Possession? You can't stand that I rejected you? You're surprised I did after what you did to me…to us?"
"What the hell did I do to you," Cole exploded then. "I sure as hell didn't choose to be the Source!"
"You certainly didn't do anything to reject him."
Cole stared at her in disbelief. Suddenly his anger was deflated, replaced once again by an intense disappointment.
"How the hell can you say that," Cole finally said in a broken voice. "You know the power of the Source. You've been through this. You know how much of a horrible sensation it is to watch yourself do these terrible things, being unable to stop them."
"Don't you dare," Phoebe replied, undeterred. "I did reject him. I did go back to my sisters even after you tried to trick me into staying with you."
"Not me!" Cole screamed this time. "He did!" Cole looked away, unable to sustain the reproaches in her eyes. "All I could do Phoebe was to stay alive in there, no matter how much it hurt. Just so that you'd live..."
"What sort of life was it supposed to be, Cole? You wanted me to be completely evil with you; selfishly. That's all you thought about through all of this. You were so evil, you probably deluded yourself in thinking you were doing it for me."
"Phoebe," Cole trailed unhappily as he turned to her again.
"Don't try this with me, Cole. I won't be swayed. It's over between us and the sooner you get that to your head, the better for everyone. And if you're thinking of taking your revenge on my sisters…"
"I would never do that, Phoebe." Cole protested vehemently.
"Nevertheless, if you do, I'll find some way to destroy you Cole and this time… there won't be any mistake."
"Because you think it's a party here," Cole couldn't help adding sarcastically. "You think I'm having so much fun in this place?"
"If you had been sincere, Cole, you'd have allowed those monsters to consume you by now…" Phoebe uttered coldly. "Don't come back," she added before disappearing in a flash of light.
Cole stared at the spot she vacated for a long moment, and then he screamed as much in frustration as in pain.
Phoebe returned to her body to find her sisters watching her. As soon as the vague dizziness receded, she stood up and faced them as calmly as she could.
"I don't think he's gonna come back," she uttered almost coldly.
"Phoebe?" Piper questioned suspiciously.
"There's nothing more to say," Phoebe replied without flinching. "Now if you don't mind, I intend to get an early start on next week's column, so I'm going to bed early."
"Phoebe, are you sure you're ok," Paige insisted.
"I'm fine," Phoebe answered curtly without looking back. Then she seemed to hesitate.
"Thanks for your concerns, but I'll be fine don't worry," she added softly and she left the attic without another word.
Piper and Paige looked at each other with obvious worry.
"Do you think we should go to her," Paige questioned while turning her stare toward the now closed door.
"Not yet…Phoebe needs some time alone. She got through this until now. I'm sure she'll be fine. I'll have a talk with her tomorrow…"
"I hope you're right. I don't like this rollercoaster, Piper. Remember before we vanquished him?"
"I also remember after and since. Phoebe will be fine," Piper repeated firmly although deep down, she also worried.
Her somber thoughts were interrupted by Leo orbing beside her. Piper tried to keep it in, but no matter how many times that happened, she couldn't help the slightly startled reaction every time he did that. After a second however, Piper noticed the dark expression her husband harboured.
"Leo what is it?" She thought inwardly that she wished problems didn't come all at once.
"I hate to be the bearer of really bad news," Leo began sadly.
"You're scaring us," Paige said, still on edge with the Cole thing.
"Tonight, five witches died all at once…"
"What?" Piper exclaimed, horrified. "How did it happen?"
"That's our problem. We're not exactly sure. They were near their altar in a secret place known only to them. Yet, there were obvious scorch marks from fireballs all over the clearing. The Elders are certain that there were more than one demon in a planned attack."
"Oh no, they're not starting this banding together crap, are they?"
"Well, it's a possibility you can't ignore. After all, this time the Source is really dead."
"Is he," Paige interrupted pointedly.
"What happened," Leo questioned, immediately alerted by Paige's tone of voice.
"Cole came here…and on top of that, Phoebe just came back from a visit to the other side…"
"Cole came here," Leo repeated with only mild surprise.
"Yeah…obviously he can't stay dead and I wonder if the Source is not doing the same…"
"The Source is vanquished," Leo affirmed. "However, this thing with Cole is not very reassuring."
"You tell us!" Paige exclaimed. "And I'm not very comfortable with Phoebe going to him either. She seemed weird when she came back."
"Paige you're exaggerating," Piper said severely. "Phoebe was just troubled. One would be for less. Give her a little space and she'll be back on track. On the other hand, I'd really like to find a way to keep Cole out of our lives for good…"
Phoebe closed her bedroom door behind her and leaned against it. Until this moment, she had managed to keep her cool, but no longer. Suddenly, she felt as if she was choking, as tears burned her eyelids. "Why," she wanted to scream. "Why couldn't I have had the fairytale for once in my life? Why did it have to come to this?"
With an obvious effort, she pulled herself away from the door and walked slowly toward a chair by the bed. There she sat heavily and tried to breathe easier. The questions and recriminations were fighting in her mind. She thought she could still see Cole's eyes watching her as she left. Was this pain she saw there? Was it the same pain she felt now? Why did she have to go there again? This morning, she had almost managed to think about him without the pain and now it was all coming back… It was coming back along with the doubts. Phoebe knew that she had not been fair in her reproaches. She remembered clearly the feeling of helplessness she had while the Source, her own son, was taking over. There was nothing that she could do to prevent it. Yet, in her mind, Cole should have been stronger. He should've been able to fight it more. After all, he had been a demon and rejected the evil inside him before…
"Why couldn't he do this for me again?" Phoebe whispered painfully.
She sat there a long time, staring without seeing anything until she fell asleep on the chair…
The next morning, Paige announced that she was going to visit a new friend, a witch named Lauren.
"You found a witch friend?" Piper questioned in surprise.
"Yes I did, and I really think it's gonna be a good thing. She promised to introduce me to some members of her coven…"
"Paige, as the Charmed Ones, we are a coven of sorts. We're even the most powerful coven of all…"
"Wow," Paige exclaimed, "you're not too modest today now are ya?"
Piper smiled timidly before answering.
"I just meant I don't see why you'd need to be with another coven. Even though, of course, it's nice that you have a friend to talk to about the witchy stuff."
"I was thinking of much more than this," Paige insisted more seriously. "After what you said about the demons banding together, it came to my mind that all powerful or not, we're still only three witches. Shouldn't we try to get allies the same as they do?"
"Is it the demons in general that worry you, Paige? Or is it Cole?"
"I'll admit, both!"
"About Cole…Leo and I had a long talk last night. Even if he's also a little worried about him and what he might do… Leo still thinks that he's no danger to us. Same as me, he's more worried about the pain he's gonna inflict on Phoebe…"
Paige looked toward the dining room doors before answering.
"Well see, I'm also worried about what might happen if Phoebe changed her mind about Cole."
"Paige, please!" Piper exclaimed.
"Let's face it, Piper. It's obvious it's still eating Phoebe inside. I've been meaning to have a talk with her for a while, but I just don't know how to start…"
"I don't think you're the right person to talk to her now, Paige. You're being a little paranoid…"
"And you're gonna tell me you're not?" Paige questioned dubiously.
"Alright, I do worry sometimes… But Phoebe always did the right thing in the end. Even if sometimes it was a little late, but still…I trust that she will again. You can't say she didn't make any efforts. For god sake, she killed her own husband, a man she loved more than life itself for us and the side of good. That has to count for something!"
Paige sighed and closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she finally said. "I know I'm being unfair… Maybe if I'd loved someone like that, I'd know what she's going through better…"
"I think you know better than you're saying, Paige. But I understand your worries. I'll try to talk to her as I promised."
"Thanks," Paige said sheepishly. "But I still wanna meet those witches. My motto is "be prepared"."
Piper smiled gently.
"Ah… you might be right about that. Why don't we try to get some help? If Leo's right about those demons…"
"That was my point," Paige said as she got up and headed for the door with a renewed smile.
Piper chuckled and decided to let her sister have the last word.
A young woman walked down the street leisurely when she suddenly looked up, as if someone had called to her.
"Charles," The young woman exclaimed at seeing Melchior coming toward her. The blond girl of petite stature smiled warmly at the man as he gathered her in his arms and gently gazed down at her.
"Lauren, I missed you…"
Leo orbed by Piper as she was doing the dishes and once again she jumped.
"I don't know when I'm gonna get used to this," she exclaimed with some vague irritation.
"Hopefully never," Leo quipped. "This way, I'll always be able to say I stir something in you."
Piper slapped him jokingly on the chest with the dishtowel and Leo smiled, amused. However, the smile was short lived as he remembered what he had to tell the girls.
"The Elders just got some news…and it's not good."
"Were other witches killed," Piper asked anxiously.
"Not yet…but they think they know how it happened. And you really won't like this at all…"
"What?" Piper questioned impatiently.
Instead of answering, Leo gave a quick glance around the kitchen and toward the door.
"Where's Phoebe?"
"Leo," Piper insisted even more impatiently, "if there's something we should know, tell me now, I'll fill them in later…"
"I'd just prefer Phoebe was prepared for this…"
"For what?" Piper almost shouted as her anxiety level grew quickly.
"They think…" Leo hesitated, remembering how he'd convinced Piper that Cole was no danger… "One of the Whitelighters questioned a witch who belonged to the same coven as the dead ones. She told them that Sharon…she was one of the victims, recently began to see a man that…"
"Leo," Piper uttered warningly.
"He looked like Cole… a lot like Cole…"
In saying so, Leo pulled a picture out of his pocket and handed it to Piper, who gasped…