Chapter 4: Something Charmed This Way Comes
Cole looked at Wyatt with uncertainty. He wasn't sure what he should do here; continue this fun energy ball juggling session with him, or dark shimmer to somewhere calmer and find the other Avatars for answers? Unfortunately, Cole didn't have time to evaluate his choices.
Wyatt released his blue shield and produced a reddish black energy ball from his hand again. He hurled it at Cole, and the ball zoomed straight towards the Avatar. Cole quickly conjured up his own orange and black energy ball, and tossed it directly at Wyatt's sphere. The two balls collided into each other, resulting in a loud, colorful explosion that knocked both men backwards.
"Ugh!" Cole exclaimed as the impact took him by surprise. He stumbled back several feet, but not too far enough to not see that the same had happened to Wyatt. Cole climbed off the ground, and immediately felt a sharp pain the palm of his hand. He examined it -- a cut. It seems one of the glass shards on the ground had sliced him when he pulled himself up. Almost instantly, the red in the blood darkened to a pitch black, and tiny orange sparks flashed around the wound. Cole stared at it, and the wound healed.
"That's.. something you don't see everyday," he commented, slightly put off by his new Avatarian healing powers.
At that point, blue and white swirls manifested next to Cole, and he jumped back in time to dodge one of Wyatt's punches. Instinctively, Cole grabbed onto Wyatt's wrist to counter, and -- suddenly, an intense pain that he had never felt before surged through his entire being. Cole released Wyatt and dropped to his knees in, screaming in agony.
"UUGHH!!" the Avatar howled, his hands grasping the top of his head. Wyatt looked down in confusion -- what the hell just happened?
Cole's eyes whited out as scenes of events he had never witnessed before invaded his brain. Memories? He flashed to a blurry scene of a baby in a crib, crying for its mother -- who was this baby? The scene intertwined to the sight of a child... a lonely child, seemingly practicing his aim with energy balls... while other children around him played soccer. Cole blinked in confusion, and a third scene followed; this time, two siblings -- both boys -- lonely and playing with only each other on a playground while other kids rejected them. The playground scene then came into focus, and zoomed in on the background. There was a woman. Long hair -- brunette. Middle aged -- 30ish, perhaps. Two baby strollers sat on each of her side -- one blue, one white.
Piper. Cole recognized her right away.
The scene slowly faded away, and another one replaced it. Cole's white, pupiless eyes widened as a familiar figure became the center of attention in this memory. Oh, no. The last person he'd expected to see, yet should've known would show up eventually.
Phoebe. Cole reached his hand out for her.
Wyatt noticed this sudden motion, and he realized what was up. "I see. I never figured you for an Empath." he said, as red and black sparks flashed in the palm of his hands.
Phoebe's face remained solemn as she seemingly stared at Cole. Her lips moved rapidly, and Cole could make out this strange blue energy -- no, aura? -- that was slowly emitting from her body. What was she chanting? Cole felt as if he was watching a magical home movie of some sort. The scene then pulled back from Phoebe to reveal another figure ominously standing over her. It was a young man, blonde, muscular.
Wyatt. Cole's wide eyes looked around as he tried to fathom what was happening in the scene.
Behind Wyatt were several shadows -- powerful shadows. Even though Cole wasn't present at the event, he could sense a fifth of their power, just from laying his eyes on them. At that point, young Wyatt in the memory summoned a familiar red and black energy ball with one hand, and Cole became aware of what was about to happen. "No... no..." he murmured, taking several steps backwards in disbelief.
Suddenly, he realized that he could now see everything clearly. In the background was Leo, face down. Piper lie next to him, on her side with her back towards the view. Her clothes were torn and tattered, and it wasn't too hard to imagine the fight she must've went through prior. Thankfully, her face was obscured in Leo's arms, although it wasn't hard to imagine her teary eyes and pained expression.
Cole searched around the view. Someone was missing. Leo? -- dead. Piper? -- dead. Paige -- Paige! Where was she? Even if he had personally detested the third or fourth Charmed sister, he prayed for nothing else but to see her rescue Phoebe. After all, this was a classic "save me" moment that the Charmed Ones always manage to pull, wasn't it? Right then, Swetow's words revisited his mind, and they reminded him of the fact that the Charmed Ones were already dead. Vanquished.
Cole came to the realization that what he was seeing was really a flashback of events that had already occured, and that he must've triggered them from Wyatt when he grabbed ahold of him. So these were Wyatt's memories? Cole closed his eyes in an attempt to block out the sight of Phoebe being vanquished. He squeezed his eyelids shut as he saw young Wyatt hurl the energy ball at his former love. Unfortunately, the haunting scene was still very much visible, and every millisecond of it was projected into his brain.
Meanwhile, present Wyatt was getting frustrated. He growled as he tossed yet another energy ball at Cole, only to see it bounce back at him. Surrounding Cole's entire body was an orange-yellow shield, similar to the one Wyatt uses whenever he felt threatened. Needless to say, Wyatt felt frustrated, even though somewhat intrigued. When the hell did this barrier form around Turner, and how was it able to withstand attacks from someone as powerful as he?
Wyatt realized that he needed something stronger to pierce the shield, and he had just the right thing for the job. However, at that moment, Cole's eyes returned to normal and he quickly snapped out of the trance he was in. The orange-yellow shield faded away. Cole turned his head towards Wyatt, his face expressing the rage that had consumed his body.
"You son of a bitch, YOU KILLED HER!" the Avatar barked and squeezed onto Wyatt's throat with both his hands. Wyatt gagged in response -- things were happening a little too fast, even for him. Blue and white swirls replaced Wyatt's body and he instantly orbed out of Cole's grasp.
But, Cole was quicker. Faster.
As soon as Wyatt teleported to the other side of the street, Cole had already summoned an Avatarian flame ball, ready to go. The orange-yellow ball was much more larger -- and stronger -- than anything he had previously created. Wyatt stared in horror as he began to realize the mess he had gotten himself into.
"Grraahh!" Cole growled, and served the flame ball straight towards Wyatt's temple.
"Apollo, Hephaistos, Agni!" Wyatt quickly chanted in response, and the flame ball that was inches from touching his forehead vanished into thin air at once. Still, it wasn't fast enough as seconds were coming -- Cole had already conjured up two more flame balls by now, and he chucked them both at the evil Halliwell.
"Excalibur!" Wyatt commanded and the sword materialized in his right hand. He slashed horizontally in a single motion, slicing both balls in half and out of existence. Wyatt then charged towards Cole with the sword in hand, and the intent to kill. No way was he going to sit around and play baseball with the invincible Cole.
In response, Cole momentarily dark shimmered out. He was also tired of playing catch with Wyatt, and seeked the satisfaction of avenging his love -- even if he knew that Phoebe probably wouldn't want him to do it. Still, the fact that Wyatt was inhumane enough to kill Phoebe -- and possibly Piper and Leo -- was deserving of a vanquish. In retrospect, Cole couldn't deny that he thought the whole "inhumane" concept felt somewhat foreign to him -- after all, he himself was a demon just two, three years ago. Nevertheless, this was a great wrong that needed correction, and Cole speculated that perhaps it was the reason why he landed into this future.
Wyatt briskly stopped when he saw Cole teleport away. He remained still, and his senses heightened considerably as he listened for a sign of the Avatar. "Come on, old man... where are ya?"
Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind Wyatt, and Wyatt instinctively swung around -- both body and sword -- to face the shadow. Millisecond before the sword actually sliced flesh, however, Wyatt halted. He looked up at the man that had manifested before him, baffled.
"You? What the hell are you doing here??"
The man, tall, buff, and perhaps even handsome, stared down at Wyatt with an unperturbed expression on his face. His cruel eyes sunk into the Halliwell's, and even Wyatt felt a bit uneasy. Two other shadows suddenly emerged from the darkness, each wearing an identical white garment that their leader donned.
"What has taken you?" the buff man demanded, his voice deep and threatening.
Wyatt moved the sword from near the man's wrist and it vanished into thin air, probably back to wherever he had summoned it from. He stood up straight and composed himself properly. "I was preoccupied with someone. Nothing serious."
The man's acquaintance, a second male, examined around the surroundings. "The atmosphere has been disturbed. There was another presence here -- someone powerful."
"Are you sure it was nothing alerting?" the leader's second henchmen -- or rather, henchwoman -- demanded. "If this being is powerful enough to leave traces of energy intact, then perhaps he is not to be underestimated."
Wyatt rolled his eyes in disgust. "You're forgetting who I am."
The trio's leader suddenly smirked imperiously. Wyatt stared at him cautiously, unmoved. "Ah, that's right." the man began as he slowly stepped towards Wyatt. His two henchmen followed. "You're Wyatt Matthews Halliwell. The strongest being in all of existence."
Although instinct told him to otherwise, Wyatt remained firm and still, his eyes intent. The giant stared down at him as he came closer and closer.
"You really should be occupying your time with something more important, Halliwell." the first henchman asserted. "A man from the past should be of no concern to you... and to us."
Wyatt nervously glanced at the accomplice, perturbed. "You know?"
"Of course. Or have you forgotten that we're the Titans?" was the response he was met with, from the woman. She smiled menancingly, as if challenging Wyatt. Wyatt glanced away in response, his expression reflecting his displeasure. These sons of bitches.. all this time, they were just standing in the background, watching? Unbelievable.
The leader resumed speaking as he placed a hand on Wyatt's shoulder. "Nevertheless," Wyatt cocked his head at it. "Cole Turner is no longer someone that you should trouble yourself with. Meta and Demetrius will deal with him."
Of course, upon hearing that, Wyatt felt all hope of him accquiring Cole's powers slip away. He quickly spun around and began to voice his disapproval -- but the giant cut him off before he could even get a word out.
"Don't worry, I have no interest in his powers," he assured, as if he had just read Wyatt's mind. "If you want them, I'll make sure my servants preserve it."
Wyatt glared at him.
"Go. You still have the end of a bargain to keep."
Wyatt's eyes shifted to Demetrius, then at Meta. He glanced at their leader one last time, then orbed out -- but not without one last look of irritation on his face. After the last traces of blue sparks and white swirls faded out, the female Titan turned to her leader.
"Chronus, are we really going to preserve Cole Turner's powers for him?" she pondered, her voice reflecting an alerming uncertainty that she understandably felt.
The lead Titan smirked. "Of course not. Do you really think I want him to be powerful enough to destroy all three of us? He has enough power as it is."
"I see," his henchman noted. "What do we do with this Cole Turner, then?"
"Kill him."
* * *
Darkness.
Cole reappeared from nowhere and impulsively chucked the fresh orange-black energy ball at his target. The ball flew straight across as if it had been thrown by a skilled baseball pitcher, and zipped away at its target with intense speed. It collided with thin air and bursted into flames.
Cole looked up, and darted his eyes around. It was then he realized that his target was not anywhere to be found. In fact, nothing was anywhere to be found. What the hell? Where was he? More importantly, where was Wyatt? Cole stood up straight and composed himself as searched the room.
Right then, there was a sound of WHOOSH, and Cole instantly spun around with an energy ball in his hand. Seconds before he would use it, however, he stopped as he recognized the beings that had appeared.
His fellow Avatars.
Cole squeezed his hand into a fist, crushing the deadly energy ball he had summoned. "Will one of you explain what the hell is going on? Where's that son of a bitch?"
"Relax, Turner." the Avatar to the left commanded, his face stern and uncaring. The man had a certain aura of power that seemed to demand respect from all who came across him. In fact, he reminded Cole of an Army drill sergeant. Yeah, that must be it -- the man probably served in the Military somewhere prior to becoming an Avatar, Cole concluded.
"Wyatt is but a mere stepping stone to your mission," Swetow began, joining his hands together in a cup. "A mere stepping stone to what you were really sent here for."
Cole jerked his head to the side, and his face contorted to meet the confusion he felt. "What?"
The Avatar merely smirked in response. This irritated Cole.
"Look, I don't care. I want that bastard dead, now that I know he's responsible for killing the Charmed Ones. For killing Phoebe."
Without saying further, Cole dark shimmered and exited the Avatarian dark room. He knew he was wasting time talking to his seniors -- time that could be used to right a wrong. Seconds later, Cole reappeared in the room, fully expecting to be back on the streets and confronting Wyatt.
"Welcome back, Cole." Swetow greeted with a smile.
Cole looked around, and realized he hadn't left at all. "Wha..? What the hell..?"
"You should've known that your novice powers are almost useless here," the drill sergeant Avatar commented, smirking. "Learn to complete your mission, learn to master your skills, then teleport to wherever you please."
Cole sighed, as he felt aggravated and helpless. All that power at his disposal, and not one of them was useful. He squeezed his hands into a fist as, for the first time since he'd received his new powers, he felt incompetent. Cole turned to Swetow, his eyes pleading. "Swetow, please. I just want to go back and do what needs to be done. To right this wrong. To restore balance."
Swetow placed his arms to his back and turned around, away from Cole. The other Avatar felt further amused. Swetow began to walk around the darkness. There was a slight but captivating glow that surrounded his entire body.
"Unfortunately, Cole, that's not your mission. It's not what you were sent here to do," the elder Avatar of Power explained, his voice showing no concern for Cole's request. Cole looked down, dejected... no, there must be something that he could do. Something that would enable him to exact revenge. But what?
At that point, Swetow spoke again. "Although..."
The Avatar of Power perked his head up into the air above, and his eyes whited out. He was looking into his visions. The other Avatar watched him cautiously. "...Hrmm."
"W-what is it?" Cole asked, with a tiny shimmer of hope.
"I see. Yes, I see." Swetow remarked as a grin began to show on his face. Promptly, his eyes returned to normal and he turned around to face Cole. The other Avatar was curious as well.
"What did you see, Swetow?" the drill sergeat demanded.
Swetow placed a hand on his goatee and stroked his chin. His eyes were staring at the floor below, and he nodded as if to confirm something. "Cole, if the Charmed Ones' vanquish is what you want to avenge, then I believe I have something that'll prove to be even more satisfying than killing Wyatt."
Cole blinked at Swetow. He was confused, but interested -- very interested.
"Yes, I can see it now." Swetow claimed, his voice enthusiastic. "You, Cole, are going to STOP the Charmed Ones from being vanquished."
Cole's eyes widen in shock, bewilderment, confusion, and astoundment -- all in one. His eyes glanced down at the floor, then quickly back up at Swetow. "I'm gonna... what?!"
The other Avatar was just as confounded. He quickly dark shimmered over to Swetow and whispered to his ears. "...are you sure you know what you're doing..?" Swetow nodded assuringly and insisted that it was fine. The other Avatar was still not convinced, but maybe it was better not to speak out -- after all, Swetow was one of the oldest, most experienced Avatars, and no one hardly ever doubted him. Yet.
Cole was still dumbfounded. In his heart, he knew it would be the best thing to do, and the best course of action -- killing Wyatt would only prove to be satisfying for himself, but probably won't do much for the barren world. However... to stop the Charmed Ones' execution all together...? Just how exactly would he be able to pull this off?
"Cole, we have every confident in you. What do you think?"
Cole blinked as he thought about all this. No, he was going to do it. It's just that there were things he needed to know. To figure out. Things, like how the Charmed Ones will react to him -- assuming he won't be invisible. Things, like if these sisters will be the same Charmed Ones from his timeline, or if they'll be the insane, vanquish-happy Charmed Ones from that damn alternative dimension. You know, things.
"I-I.. well, I'm.. I'm not too sure." the novice Avatar began, his voice doubting. "Don't get me wrong, I'm going to do it, but.. there are things I need to know. I assume I won't be invisible like before?"
Swetow shook his head slightly. "You'll be able to interact as you please."
Cole nodded, in deep thoughts. "Right." He then glanced back at Swetow. "And what about Wyatt? He was just as powerful as I was when I fought him. Am I to expect the same thing?"
The Avatar of Power placed his arms behind his back and walked over to Cole. His eyes whited out for a second, then just as quickly reverted to normal. "Young Wyatt seeks power. It's what he was taught, felt, and know. The Wyatt you've battled was one who had grown to control his enormous gifts. Mastered them, I dare say. The one you plan on facing will be an inexperienced amateur in comparision."
"I see." Cole understood. "An amateur, huh?"
Swetow nodded. "That's right. And all of your powers, both new and old, will be available to you at anytime. With them, you are sure to succeed because you'll be one extra asset that the Charmed Ones didn't have."
Upon hearing this, Cole glanced to the right, away from Swetow and the other Avatar. He was thinking, evaluating. Maybe even forming strategies to save his beloved Phoebe -- the same Phoebe Halliwell that had attempted to vanquish him not once, but twice. The same Phoebe Halliwell that Cole had sworn to stay away from, to no longer love.
"Of course, that's not an invitation to underestimate him either. He is still Wyatt Matthews Halliwell, the single strongest being in all of existence."
Cole exhaled a long breath of air, and stuffed his hands into his pants pocket. He pointed his head towards the room's ceiling, and thought back to the visions he saw when he came into contact with Wyatt. He looked down and turned to Swetow.
"I will NOT allow what I saw back there to happen. I don't care if I die and don't succeed as an Avatar. You understand me?"
Swetow folded his arms and smirked. "Shall we, then?"
Cole bowed his head.
* * *
Halliwell Manor. Present. Stormy night.
The Book of Shadows lie comfortably on the altar in the attic, and within a setting that was vastly different from the future's. This was the manor before it became a tourist attraction. The Manor before its rightful owners were destroyed. Before the great vanquish.
Below, voices can be heard, chattering much about nothing. But more importantly, these were voices belonging to historic figures in the magical world.
"I don't know if I should keep on going out with him," one started, already in the middle of a conversation. "I mean, he's so mysterious all the time. I barely even know him."
"Well, I think you should give it a little more time." another voice responded, this time belonging to someone older. "Maybe there's a reason why he's always shutting himself away."
The scene moved down from the altar and towards the couch on the side. Two women were seated on the furniture, discussing the various men in their lives while enjoying pints of ice cream. Only one of the Charmed Ones was missing, away with parental duties.
Suddenly, the attic's windows shattered into pieces as a bolt of orange lightning struck through. Pieces of glass and debris were sent flying through as the two girls took cover.
"Oh, Jesus.. now what?!" the older of the two demanded as she and her sister slid to the side safely. "What the hell's going on now?"
No response.
"...Paige?" the woman called out. Again, no response. She looked around her surroundings. Everything seemed to be in place, for the most part. Except, her sister was nowhere to be found.
* * *
Heavy rain poured down from the heavens above, accompanied by strange orange lightning bolts and deafening thunder. This was the result of the spell the Avatars were casting; a spell to send Cole, a being from the past in the future, precisely back to the past yet still remain in the future. It was a complicated incantation that required the right balance of power and precision. Thus, many Avatars were summoned to aid Swetow.
Six hooded figures circled Cole. His face was distorted as orange and black energy poured into his entire body, while his eyes were transparently white. Each of the Avatars' eyes reflected the same, and their arms were extended towards Cole to transmit their energy into him. Cole himself was paralyzed from moving even an inch as a result, but it was no concern to him. At the moment, all he thought about was if he will successfully land in the timeline he desired, and if he would be enough to save the Charmed Ones from a certain doom.
The Avatars, with each hands shooting orange lightning bolts, slowly ascended upwards while keeping the spell steady.
"Onimus, Pultrus, Zuhupre," Swetow began, his voice somehow booming over the crash of thunder and lightning.
"Onimus, Pultrus, Zuhupre!" the other Avatars followed. Slowly, the surroundings began to swirl around them, until everything was but a blur -- with the exception of the spell casters and their mark. Cole could feel his head spinning, and he began to feel slightly wheezy.
That was, until everything came to a sudden halt.
Cole dropped to his feet, sweat pouring down his face. He inhaled and exhaled the air as he realized that he was once again trapped in darkness. The Avatars were gone, and he could tell that he was no longer in the same building as they were. Did the spell work?
Just then, the darkness began to lit up, and something caught Cole's attention. He heard breathing -- heavy breathing that wasn't his. Another sound then caught his ears -- laughter. Sinister laughter, from two different voices. As the background slowly emerged from the shadows, Cole noticed that someone else was definitely in the same room as he was, and the horrible realization that the Avatars' spells might have failed began to catch up to him.
And then, Cole was met with another dismay -- one that was arguably even worse than the spell failing. He recognized the person next to him as the last person he would've ever expected to see again.
"...PAIGE?!"
*[Note 1: Excalibur is, of course, the legendary sword belonging to one King arthur. First appeared in the season 6 episode, "Sword And The City".]
*[Note 2: The Titans = Giants from Greek Mythologies. First appeared in the season 5 episodes, "Oh My Goddess" part 1 and part 2.]
*[Note 3: The "Drill Sergeant" Avatar is based on the same Avatar played by Tony "Candyman" Todd. He and Swetow first appeared in the season 5 episode, "Sam I Am".]
