Evil Angel, Beba Turner-Halliwell, bblueberry, thanks for your notes of
encouragement.
Nieves & Bubbles for you two, the shirt's coming off not tonight but in the next chapter.
*********************************************
Phoebe's face fell into a trance as Phaedra recited her spell that was slowly and painfully draining the blood and energy out of her. This would not permanently regenerate Phaedra--only the blood of a relative could do that--but it would be a temporary fix, not to mention a pleasure to see this troublesome witch die.
Darryl screamed, "no" and raced forward to tackle Phaedra but she was too quick for him. With a wave of her arm she sent Darryl hurtling back against the wall where he hit his head and crumbled to the ground unconscious.
"Cole's pets can be so irritating at times," she muttered and got back to her incantation.
When she was three quarters through and could feel Phoebe's life force flowing through her, Leo orbed in, immediately assessed the situation and took the hand of his charge whose face was ghostly white, and was about to orb her to safety, but found he didn't need to.
Phaedra stopped her chant, looked up at the ceiling seeing something in her mind that no one else could and slipped out of Alan's body, sending it to the floor in a heap, and urgently shimmered away.
Leo caught Phoebe as she was falling and carried her to the couch, felt for her pulse, which was thready, and then went to check on Alan and Darryl's conditions. Darryl was the worst of the three, with blood pooling around his mouth, at the brink of death. Leo began the healing with him.
****************************************************
Jimmie and Piper were alone in the attic while Cole went downstairs to check on Paige's progress with the power stripping potion. Jimmie asked Piper why she and her sister hated Cole so much.
"I can see that you love Cole and that he's obviously been your protector and has been a good big brother to you, but there's a lot you don't know about him, thing's he's done in his past that has made it kinda hard for us to forgive," Piper explained.
"He told me he's done some really bad things but he's not like that anymore. All he's tried to do is help me and I think that he needs some help too. When he talks about your sister, Phoebe, he gets this look in his eye, like his dog ran away or something and he tries to act like it doesn't bother him, but I know it hurts. I know because I felt the same way when my first foster parents gave me up. They said they loved me but they couldn't deal with me. They didn't even hug me goodbye. They just dropped me off at social services and drove away and just like that, I didn't have parents anymore. Every time I go to a new home, I pretend like I don't care, but it still hurts, ya know? Maybe you don't know. Maybe you never got left behind, but Cole does know. He gets me like no one ever has before and I get him too, but it doesn't seem like you or your sister understand him at all."
"We tried, Jimmy. For over two years, we tried to get your brother but in the end he became something evil and he hurt our sister more than she could stand to be hurt which makes me think that your brother really doesn't care about us very much at all. If he did, he wouldn't have gone back to evil or become the Source."
"You're wrong Piper. He does care. He knew you hated him but he came here anyway because he said he wasn't too proud to ask for help. That means he trusts you and for that you should at least try and give him another chance," Jimmie pleaded.
"You know what, Jimmy? You'd make a great attorney, like your brother. You sure know how to plead a case. Well, I still don't trust Cole, but in a way I am sort of giving him a chance by helping you so let's just take it one step at a time and see how it goes. And for what it's worth, I do know how you feel. I got left behind too most recently by my big sister, and it still hurts."
Piper smoothed the curly hair on Jimmie's head and couldn't help but see the resemblance he bore to Cole in those deep set eyes. It made her think about what Cole must have gone through with a cold demon for a mother and for just a moment, her heart softened for Cole.
"Every kid deserves the chance to live a good life. We're all gonna see you get that chance, Jimmie."
****************************************************
In the kitchen, Cole paced and asked Paige how the potion was coming along for the seventeenth time.
"It's finished. Want to do me a favor and just pour this stuff into that vile?" Paige asked.
Cole picked up the empty vile which shook in his hand and dropped it, smashing it into a million pieces.
"Step back, Paige. Are you all right?" Cole asked.
"I'm fine, but what's with you? I've never seen you nervous like that before Cole. You must really be scared."
"I am. My mother's close, I can feel it and if we don't act fast and get Jimmie out of here in a hurry, she's going to kill him. I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm also pretty worried about Phoebe too. You've never seen my mother angry. It isn't a pretty sight and she blames Phoebe for ruining me."
"Cole, I still don't like the thought of you anywhere near my sister, but in some ways I think I may have been slightly wrong about you. The way you care about Jimmie proves that you're not completely selfish and well, I don't know, maybe there's just some small amount of hope for you yet...very small, like infinitesimal, but some."
"Well don't go getting all sentimental on me here Paige. I wouldn't want for us to start liking each other," Cole wisecracked.
"Don't worry. There's still no chance of that happening," Paige replied, believing there really was no chance of them ever becoming friends. Some things just couldn't be swept under the rug, like him becoming the Source.
Paige removed another empty vile from the cabinet, filled it with the potion, headed to the stairs and stopped. "Aren't you coming, Cole?"
"No you go on ahead. I'll be up in a little bit. I'm gonna work on trying to protect the house, at least temporarily to keep my mother and any of her bounty hunters from getting in at least until I can get Jimmy safely away."
"All right," Paige answered and went to the attic.
Cole saw some crystals on the shelf, mumbled a few words in Latin, waved a hand over them and they started to glow. He was just about to place them around the perimeters of the house when he heard a familiar voice, that was once in his head, but now stood behind him in its own resurrected body.
The former Source was regenerated by the clone Jockomo speedily created in his lab. In the Source's hand was a vile, filled with the hormonal aging potion that Jockomo made for him to destroy Cole.
"How many times do you have to get vanquished for it to stick?" Cole asked.
"That's exactly what I'd like to know about you, Balthazor. What do you say we find out."
The former Source threw the vile at Cole's chest and a puff of smoke filled the air.
****************************************************
In the attic, Jimmie stared at the power stripping potion, hesitating to drink it. Jimmie glanced up at Piper.
"Go ahead Jimmie. Cole's right. It's your only chance," Piper reassured.
Jimmie drank the liquid, staggered, and fell on his knees. The girls rushed to his side, helped him up and he now seemed recovered and able to stand on his own.
"Okay, Jimmie. Now try and shimmer out," Paige said crossing her fingers, hoping she mixed the potion correctly. With Cole standing over her the whole time, he'd made her jumpy.
Jimmie closed his eyes, willed himself to be downstairs and nothing happened. He tried again, and still nothing.
"It worked. I don't have my powers anymore," Jimmy declared with a mixture of sadness and relief.
"Good," Piper said. "Let's all go down and get Cole."
Nieves & Bubbles for you two, the shirt's coming off not tonight but in the next chapter.
*********************************************
Phoebe's face fell into a trance as Phaedra recited her spell that was slowly and painfully draining the blood and energy out of her. This would not permanently regenerate Phaedra--only the blood of a relative could do that--but it would be a temporary fix, not to mention a pleasure to see this troublesome witch die.
Darryl screamed, "no" and raced forward to tackle Phaedra but she was too quick for him. With a wave of her arm she sent Darryl hurtling back against the wall where he hit his head and crumbled to the ground unconscious.
"Cole's pets can be so irritating at times," she muttered and got back to her incantation.
When she was three quarters through and could feel Phoebe's life force flowing through her, Leo orbed in, immediately assessed the situation and took the hand of his charge whose face was ghostly white, and was about to orb her to safety, but found he didn't need to.
Phaedra stopped her chant, looked up at the ceiling seeing something in her mind that no one else could and slipped out of Alan's body, sending it to the floor in a heap, and urgently shimmered away.
Leo caught Phoebe as she was falling and carried her to the couch, felt for her pulse, which was thready, and then went to check on Alan and Darryl's conditions. Darryl was the worst of the three, with blood pooling around his mouth, at the brink of death. Leo began the healing with him.
****************************************************
Jimmie and Piper were alone in the attic while Cole went downstairs to check on Paige's progress with the power stripping potion. Jimmie asked Piper why she and her sister hated Cole so much.
"I can see that you love Cole and that he's obviously been your protector and has been a good big brother to you, but there's a lot you don't know about him, thing's he's done in his past that has made it kinda hard for us to forgive," Piper explained.
"He told me he's done some really bad things but he's not like that anymore. All he's tried to do is help me and I think that he needs some help too. When he talks about your sister, Phoebe, he gets this look in his eye, like his dog ran away or something and he tries to act like it doesn't bother him, but I know it hurts. I know because I felt the same way when my first foster parents gave me up. They said they loved me but they couldn't deal with me. They didn't even hug me goodbye. They just dropped me off at social services and drove away and just like that, I didn't have parents anymore. Every time I go to a new home, I pretend like I don't care, but it still hurts, ya know? Maybe you don't know. Maybe you never got left behind, but Cole does know. He gets me like no one ever has before and I get him too, but it doesn't seem like you or your sister understand him at all."
"We tried, Jimmy. For over two years, we tried to get your brother but in the end he became something evil and he hurt our sister more than she could stand to be hurt which makes me think that your brother really doesn't care about us very much at all. If he did, he wouldn't have gone back to evil or become the Source."
"You're wrong Piper. He does care. He knew you hated him but he came here anyway because he said he wasn't too proud to ask for help. That means he trusts you and for that you should at least try and give him another chance," Jimmie pleaded.
"You know what, Jimmy? You'd make a great attorney, like your brother. You sure know how to plead a case. Well, I still don't trust Cole, but in a way I am sort of giving him a chance by helping you so let's just take it one step at a time and see how it goes. And for what it's worth, I do know how you feel. I got left behind too most recently by my big sister, and it still hurts."
Piper smoothed the curly hair on Jimmie's head and couldn't help but see the resemblance he bore to Cole in those deep set eyes. It made her think about what Cole must have gone through with a cold demon for a mother and for just a moment, her heart softened for Cole.
"Every kid deserves the chance to live a good life. We're all gonna see you get that chance, Jimmie."
****************************************************
In the kitchen, Cole paced and asked Paige how the potion was coming along for the seventeenth time.
"It's finished. Want to do me a favor and just pour this stuff into that vile?" Paige asked.
Cole picked up the empty vile which shook in his hand and dropped it, smashing it into a million pieces.
"Step back, Paige. Are you all right?" Cole asked.
"I'm fine, but what's with you? I've never seen you nervous like that before Cole. You must really be scared."
"I am. My mother's close, I can feel it and if we don't act fast and get Jimmie out of here in a hurry, she's going to kill him. I know you don't want to hear this, but I'm also pretty worried about Phoebe too. You've never seen my mother angry. It isn't a pretty sight and she blames Phoebe for ruining me."
"Cole, I still don't like the thought of you anywhere near my sister, but in some ways I think I may have been slightly wrong about you. The way you care about Jimmie proves that you're not completely selfish and well, I don't know, maybe there's just some small amount of hope for you yet...very small, like infinitesimal, but some."
"Well don't go getting all sentimental on me here Paige. I wouldn't want for us to start liking each other," Cole wisecracked.
"Don't worry. There's still no chance of that happening," Paige replied, believing there really was no chance of them ever becoming friends. Some things just couldn't be swept under the rug, like him becoming the Source.
Paige removed another empty vile from the cabinet, filled it with the potion, headed to the stairs and stopped. "Aren't you coming, Cole?"
"No you go on ahead. I'll be up in a little bit. I'm gonna work on trying to protect the house, at least temporarily to keep my mother and any of her bounty hunters from getting in at least until I can get Jimmy safely away."
"All right," Paige answered and went to the attic.
Cole saw some crystals on the shelf, mumbled a few words in Latin, waved a hand over them and they started to glow. He was just about to place them around the perimeters of the house when he heard a familiar voice, that was once in his head, but now stood behind him in its own resurrected body.
The former Source was regenerated by the clone Jockomo speedily created in his lab. In the Source's hand was a vile, filled with the hormonal aging potion that Jockomo made for him to destroy Cole.
"How many times do you have to get vanquished for it to stick?" Cole asked.
"That's exactly what I'd like to know about you, Balthazor. What do you say we find out."
The former Source threw the vile at Cole's chest and a puff of smoke filled the air.
****************************************************
In the attic, Jimmie stared at the power stripping potion, hesitating to drink it. Jimmie glanced up at Piper.
"Go ahead Jimmie. Cole's right. It's your only chance," Piper reassured.
Jimmie drank the liquid, staggered, and fell on his knees. The girls rushed to his side, helped him up and he now seemed recovered and able to stand on his own.
"Okay, Jimmie. Now try and shimmer out," Paige said crossing her fingers, hoping she mixed the potion correctly. With Cole standing over her the whole time, he'd made her jumpy.
Jimmie closed his eyes, willed himself to be downstairs and nothing happened. He tried again, and still nothing.
"It worked. I don't have my powers anymore," Jimmy declared with a mixture of sadness and relief.
"Good," Piper said. "Let's all go down and get Cole."