Author: Escargoat

Rating: Why don't we go FRM – I'm going to be on the borderline of FRT, and I prefer to err on the side of caution.

Part: (10/?)

Season: Season 8 AU

Disclaimer: I don't own. I'm making no money. Rights go to whole bunch of people such as the (now defunct) WB, TNT, the CW, Spelling Productions, and others. I'm not any of those people.

A/N: Many of you have expressed an interest in Wyatt's powers. When I originally came up with the concept for this story, one of the things I considered was that there would be no neat return of those powers. As such, it will continue to be a bit of a plot issue as I go through the story, but rest assured, it will be eventually resolved, just not in this chapter :).

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"Yes, that sounds like a spectacular idea Phoebe, why ever didn't I think of it?" Cole snarled at his ex-wife.

"Dammit Cole, he has a destiny to fulfill!" she snapped back.

"Phoebe, it is the Hollow. You know the thing that eats all magic? The thing that you aren't EVER supposed to unleash? Summoning it isn't just dangerous. It is the most asinine, stupid, idiotic, moronic thing you could possibly do!"

"You're just taking this way too personally."

"Given that the last time I encountered it I ended up possessed by the Source I think I have a right to take it personally," Cole responded angrily.

"So this is all about you?"

"No, it is all about the world and all those innocents that you are supposed to care about. Or have you gotten so wrapped up in Wyatt not having powers that you've forgotten what his destiny is about?"

"I haven't forgotten, but if he doesn't have powers, then he doesn't have a destiny to fulfill," Phoebe argued back.

"Well Phoebe, some destinies aren't meant to be fulfilled."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that sometimes the other side wins a round, and there is nothing you can or should do about it. If you summon the Hollow to try to retrieve Wyatt's powers, you could end up destroying the entire world. Do you really think that once magic is destroyed the Hollow will stop? Destruction is destruction and it is never satisfied. Once the Hollow is through with magic it will probably start to consume non-magical life too."

"Cole, I know the risks. But we got our powers back when we destroyed the Source…"

"You got your powers back because the Source had them. He was using dark magic to manipulate the Hollow. Once the Source was dead, it released the powers that it had consumed because of the will of the Source. It did not just release all the powers it had ever taken. You would not have been able to retrieve your powers if you had not killed the Source"

"So why can't this be the same?"

"You don't really mean that," Cole said in a shocked tone.

"Cole, in case you haven't noticed, I'm very serious about this entire topic."

"Phoebe, you would have to kill Billie. She is in a federal prison. You would be committing a crime in a federal building. Wyatt would have to live the rest of his life with not only the shadow of dead parents lurking over him, but an aunt who committed murder. It wouldn't be self-defense. It would be premeditated revenge."

"I didn't think…"

"No, you often don't," Cole snarled.

"Watch it buster, I can still send you back to whence you came."

"Oh, now there is a new solution," Coles voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Vanquishing you wouldn't be murder," Phoebe snarled emotionally.

"No, but I'm willing to argue that vanquishing a possessed mortal is," Cole bit back.

"You aren't mortal, and you aren't possessed!"

"I was!"

Phoebe physically stepped backwards as if she had been slapped. Cole's wounded eyes bored into her own for a second before staring at the nearest wall. She could physically feel the hurt and pain roiling around in him. Mentally, she tried to block him out, but Cole had never been one to feel things lightly, and his emotions kept pounding against her atrophied defenses.

Desperately, she forced herself to focus on the confusion and light fear that Chris and Wyatt were projecting. Their emotions were predictable. They were merely the reactions of children who did not understand why adults were arguing.

"I didn't have a choice," she finally said when she managed to calm down a bit.

"That is bullshit, and you know it," Cole grit out without looking at her.

"What was I supposed to do? Huh? Tell me what I was supposed to do. The Source had to die for the greater good of the world."

"And yet you are willing to risk destroying the world for one boy's powers? Like it or not, I was a human mortal that was possessed by the Source. You and your sisters chose to vanquish me, chose to kill me, instead of finding a way to end the possession before the vanquish. You did it for the greater good. I can accept that. But the Hollow can do much more evil than the Source ever could."

"What about all the innocents that Wyatt is destined to save?"

"Who said he can't save them? The Hollow took his powers, not his birthright. He's still a witch. He just isn't a powerful one anymore."

"He's supposed to be! All the prophecies…"

"Phoebe," Cole interrupted tiredly, "do all your premonitions come true?"

"No, that's why I get most of them, so I can change what happens. You know that."

"What about the good in your premonitions? Does that always come true?"

"Usually," Phoebe hedged thinking about the little girl she had given up on having.

"Then why can't you accept that another person's premonition won't come true? Or that the good foreseen will come true in a different way?"

"Because this is different," Phoebe replied weakly.

"Even if there was a chance that you could get his powers back from the Hollow, you aren't the third part of the Charmed Ones anymore. Wyatt isn't the only one who isn't as powerful as he used to be."

Phoebe hung her head in defeat. Cole, as much as she hated him at the moment, was right. Even if she could summon the Hollow, there was no guaranteeing that she could control it by herself. In fact, the odds were definitely against her.

"Do you remember Prue's funeral?" Cole suddenly asked.

"It's kind of hard to forget about," Phoebe responded acerbically.

"Do you remember why Paige showed up?"

Phoebe frowned. "Is this your way of saying that magic doesn't always work like you think it will, but it will always work?"

"In a way."

Phoebe exhaled noisily and put her hand to her forehead. "Fine. You win. I won't vanquish you, and I won't summon the Hollow. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to keep trying to get Wyatt's powers back."

"I don't want you to stop trying Phoebe. I just want you to be smart about what you do. After all, you brought me back to keep the boys safe, and that's what I'm doing."

Phoebe nodded. In truth, she just wanted to be alone. She had never realized how emotional Cole was before. He seemed to feel everything deeply, and she was having a very hard time shutting him out. His fear, his anger, his loneliness: all of his emotions were pounding at her, especially his loneliness. It felt horrible.

"Cole, could you put the boys to bed? I'm feeling pretty tired."

She could feel Cole's confusion and disbelief.

"You don't look tired; you look like crap. What's wrong? You didn't look like that two minutes ago."

His worry for her spiked through her head.

"I've got a bad headache from arguing with you. That is what is wrong," she snapped without really meaning to snap.

His worry increased, so did the pounding in her skull.

"I'll put the boys to bed, but first I'm putting you there. If you aren't going to tell me what's wrong, you're at least going to get a good rest."

"I think I can get there myself," Phoebe pointed out.

"Given how you look right now? I'm not so sure," Cole said as he extended his hand for her to grab. "Come on Phoebe, I'm not going to try to get fresh with you. I'm just making sure you don't pass out on the stairs."

Phoebe rolled her eyes, grabbed his hand, and let him take her to bed for the first time in years.