A/N: I have this addiction... It's quite unhealthy. See, I'm addicted to cliffhangers. ;) I know you guys are curious about what really went on that night in Cole's appartment and I promise that it WILL be explained in good time. I actually gave you a pretty good hint but none of you noticed it yet. ;) I'm really, really thankful that you're all reading and reviewing and don't worry - at the end of the line, I won't let your expectations down. Hopefully. ;)
Chapter 11 - Now We Wait
"Are you sure this is the right place, Paige?" Phoebe looked around awkwardly.
"Phoebe, I know how to orb." Paige said quickly. "Besides, you know demons and alleys..."
"Right but this is not an alley, this is..."
"Just plain creepy?" Piper filled her in.
"Maybe we should split up and look around a bit. We're either gonna run into one or two demons or, as I'm expecting, into the whole organization." Cole said.
"Cole, I've seen too many horror movies to agree to splitting up." Phoebe replied.
"He might have a point though, Pheebs." Paige said.
Cole and Phoebe exchanged surprised looks. "Who are you and what have you done to Paige?" Phoebe joked.
Paige rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying. You saw how many alleys this part of San Francisco has on the map while scrying. We can't know which one of them they are in, the crystal isn't really all that specific."
"Okay, well how about you and Phoebe go that way..." Piper pointed to the right and Paige nodded. "And I'll go with Cole in the opposite direction."
"Keep in mind that this place is a maze, no wonder they're hiding here." Cole said. "If you hear any noise, even if you're not sure, call for help or orb out together. We'll shimmer to get you if we run into something."
Phoebe nodded. "Okay, let's go..." She took Paige's hand.
"Be careful." Cole said slowly and Phoebe smiled to herself, her back turned to him.
"I'm always careful, Cole." she replied and walked into the first alley on the left with Paige.
"Okay, this one's even creepier and barely enough for two people to walk... Who could ever live in this neighborhood?" Paige complained.
"Demons hide out here, means it's either a dangerous neighborhood or a partially or fully deserted one." Phoebe stated the obvious.
"Well, that just made me feel a whole lot better about being here." Paige muttered sarcastically.
"Hey, you're the one who supported the crazy let's split up idea." Phoebe teased as they continued walking.
"Well it was your lover who proposed it." Paige teased back.
"He is not my lover, Paige." Phoebe uttered quietly.
Suddenly, they heard a loud noise a few steps in front of them and stopped dead in their tracks.
"Okay, what was that?" Paige asked while feeling Phoebe squeeze her hand.
"Something hit that trash can on the right, see?" Phoebe pointed at the silhouette of the trash can on the ground a few feet away from them. She let go of Paige and approached it slowly. "But there's no one..."
"Shhh!" Paige shushed her. Phoebe fell silent and they heard whispers.
"I don't know what idio made met give you that bow in the first place!" a voice hissed at another one. "You missed by five feet! Give me that!"
"Phoebe..." Paige's eyes grew wide as she looked up.
Without saying a word, Phoebe turned around and ran towards her sister as fast as she could. Suddenly, Paige saw her stop dead in her tracks. She drew in a sharp breath and looked at her stomach to notice a huge arrow pointing out of it. "No, Phoebe!" Paige cried and reached out for her sister before she hit the ground unconscious. "COLE! PIPER!" she called out but was pretty sure they were beyond the calling range. She frantically looked for cover, fearing of getting shot herself.
In the midst of half-walking, half-running through the small alleys, Cole almost collapsed to the ground when he lost all breath all of sudden, unexplainably. "Cole?" Piper squinted her eyes in the dark to check what was wrong.
"Phoebe." Cole whispered quickly. "Something isn't right. Take my hand, quick."
Piper grabbed his hand and they shimmered right next to Paige and wounded and unconscious Phoebe in her lap. They rushed to their side. Cole scooped Phoebe into his arms and Piper looked around. "What..."
Before she could even finish her question, an arrow missed her head by an inch.
"Let's get out of here!" Cole yelled and shimmered out along with Phoebe in his arms and in the matter of seconds, Piper and Paige followed his example.
As soon as they orbed into the Manor, they all surrounded Phoebe, whose abdomen was pierced by a long arrow. "What do we do?" Piper whispered, trying to hide her panic.
"Get me two cloths." Cole said quickly, now almost shaking in fear and anger. How could this have happened? What was he thinking to even suggest splitting apart? If he were with her, she would not be halfway dead ten minutes later.
He grabbed the cloths Piper brought. "I'm gonna need for the two of you to hold her while I get that thing out of her." he said in barely audible tone of voice. Piper and Paige tried to steady Phoebe while Cole grabbed the arrow with the cloth he'd had, careful not to touch it himself and broke it on one end. He looked at Phoebe's face and took a deep breath. "Hold on." he whispered and pulled the other end out of her as fast as he could. Piper and Paige looked away and Phoebe didn't move a muscle, still fully unconscious. Cole took her into his arms again and took her to the living room sofa. "She's bleeding pretty bad. We need to stop it." he said in low voice and touched her cheek gently. "I'm so glad you can't feel this." he whispered. "Just hang on."
"Leo!" Piper yelled. "Leo, we need you."
"We don't actually." Cole interrupted her. "He'll be useless."
"What are you saying?" Paige asked quickly. "Is..."
"Don't even think it, let alone say it!" Cole warned her. "The arrow is poisonous, which is why I didn't touch it directly but used the cloth instead. I will investigate the poison in it while Piper and you work on stopping the bleeding."
Leo orbed in. "Sorry, I was in a meeting..." he spotted Phoebe on the couch and stopped in mid-sentence. "What happened?" he rushed over to her.
"You can't heal her." Cole stated the obvious after Leo's attempt failed. "She was shot by a poisonous arrow."
"What kind of poisonous arrow?" Leo asked quickly.
"That's what I intend on finding out. You just make sure you stop the bleeding..." Cole looked at Phoebe's figure and swallowed, attempting to close his mind to the negative thoughts that kept rolling in. "Paige, I'm gonna need you to tell me what happened."
Visibly shaken, Paige obviously dreaded the moment when she'd have to remember the moment she let her sister let go of her hand and approach that trash can all on her own. "There were two of them." she began.
"Two of who?" Leo was confused.
"Demons who shot her, I don't know. One of them missed us the first time and hit the trash can in front of us. Phoebe approached to see what was going on and then another demon gave the one who missed a lecture about it and we realized they were trying to shoot us from somewhere. Phoebe turned around to run towards me and..." she took a deep breath. "And he shot her."
"Listen, if what I see here is correct, this is the poison which works like a bomb..." Cole said as he examined the arrow.
"Meaning...?" Piper looked at him.
"Meaning she should be okay as long as one of those demons doesn't pull the trigger." Cole said slowly. He took a deep breath. "We're cornered here. We need to go and try and negotiate with them... or at least find out what they want in exchange for Phoebe's life."
"Negotiating with evil isn't the best idea..." Piper started.
"But it is our only option at this point." Cole cut in. "If they wanted her..." he swallowed and closed his eyes. "...dead, she probably would have been by now. By using this particular poison, they have clearly pointed out that what they want is for us to go there and try negotiating." he sighed. "Also, I think I should go alone. I know she is your sister..." he said as he watched Piper and Paige open their mouths. "...but I am the only invincible one here. Another fallen sister will not do us any good at this point."
"They may not be able to kill you but they can capture you if they realize you're on your own." Leo spoke his mind.
"I can always bluff and say that I've got undercover backup." Cole said. "Besides, I can take care of myself. Phoebe's life is at stake here and I am going to need you to believe me that I love her just as much as the rest of you do." he cast his eyes on her figure on the sofa. She looked so peaceful, almost as if she were sleeping.
"We know you do, it's just too risky for both her and yourself..." Piper tried arguing again.
"If I don't return, just make sure she knows that too." Cole said quickly and before another word was uttered, he had blurred out.
--
"Move a muscle..." a tall demon whispered at the other one. "And you'll be wishing you were back in hell with your friends."
"I know how to stand still." the other demon hissed back. "I just don't understand what we are waiting for."
Suddenly, a tall, dark figure blurred into the middle of the room. Before he even managed to turn around, a tall demon fired a small projectile into his neck and he collapsed to the ground. "This is what we were waiting for." the demon said with triumph. "A would-be the most powerful demon underworld has ever seen."
"Is he dead?"
"Of course he isn't, you fool! Haven't you heard what I just said? He is, by the power that rests within him, the most powerful demon to ever exist." he took a deep breath as he examined Cole's seemingly lifeless body. "Shame really. He would make a hell of a leader if it only weren't for that human part always pulling him back. What you see here isn't a demon who blurred in here thirsty for blood or power. This here is the demon looking to trade his soul to the devil in exchange for his lover's life."
"Are we gonna kill him?" the shorter demon asked excitedly.
"No, we are not. The one thing which will save us from failing the same way hundreds have failed before us will be level-headed thinking." a tall demon replied coolly. "He is invincible and the Charmed ones are too, as long as they are the Charmed ones. Back in the day, the Source himself had realized that, as long as their powers rest within them, the three sisters are no match for any demon who would dare standing up to them."
"But they killed him..."
"I know they killed him. He was an impatient fool. He went over his own head by messing with the magic that was locked up and guarded for a good reason. We are not going to use any magic except for our own. We shall be patient."
"What do we do now?" A demon cast his eyes on Cole on the floor.
"Now we buy ourselves the time we need. Help me put him into that cage." He nodded towards a big cage in the corner of the room. As soon as the unconscious Cole was in the cage, a tall demon entered and commanded the other one to get out.
"What are you going to do...?"
"I am going to isolate the magic from this cage so that no magic can go in or out, or occur within it. Now shut up and pay attention..." a demon got a piece of paper out of his pocket and chanted.
"Totus veneficus hinc abolesco!"
The cage glowed red and then got back to normal. The demon smirked, clearly satisfied.
"Let me guess..." the other one sighed heavily. "Now we wait."
"Right you are, Yekahel." Agiel smirked again. "Now we wait."