This chapter is going to focus less on the sisters and more on the Destroyer and Cole. There will still be some of the sisters and Jerome, but less than previous chapters. Sorry if this offends or otherwise bothers anyone.
Chapter 14:
Two days had passed since Cole had attacked the Charmed Ones. Cole had taken those two days to heal from his battle with Jerome. That day, however, Excisio had a task for Cole. "You are to hunt down this Defender, defeat him, and bring him to me," Excisio said.
"Where is he?" Cole asked, thinking Excisio had intentionally left that part out.
The Destroyer, rather than replying, waved his hand in front of Cole. Cole saw a flash of light and found himself in the middle of a clearing in some forest. Cole looked around. He heard the sound of people coming from the east. Cole Flamed into a tree, where he was hidden from view, and waited. A few minutes later a tall, muscular man and a small girl entered the clearing. Cole frowned. Were these really Defenders? The man looked like he was no older than twenty five. But, then again, so did Jerome. The girl, however, looked to be eighteen or nineteen. One of them, the man, began to speak. Cole listened closely.
"I'm telling you, Marissa, Jerome's a traitor now. Our only choice is to hunt him down and kill him," the man said.
"We can't just kill him! He was our friend, and I think you just want revenge for how he beat you with only teleporting powers," the girl, Marissa, said.
"He must be punished! He betrayed us for a witch, he'll betray the entire plan, the entire Grand Design if we let him go unchecked!" the man replied.
"Paul! Listen to yourself! You're not thinking very rationally here! You're barely thinking at all!" Marissa said.
"Shut up! I will kill Jerome, no matter what it takes!" the man, Paul, replied.
"Even if it means destroying everything else in the process?" Marissa asked.
"Even then!" Paul replied.
Cole stopped. Maybe there was a way he could get this Defender to Excisio without having to waste his time fighting. If there was one thing that Cole had learned from his battle with Jerome, it was that these Defenders were not to be trifled with. If he could avoid combat, it would save him a world of pain.
Cole jumped down from the tree. Marissa jumped and shot some ice at him. Or, rather, it was more of a cloud of frigid air that froze everything it came in contact with. Cole responded by blasting this attack with a stream of blue fire. Paul was about to do something, Cole didn't know nor care what, but he stopped as soon as he saw Cole's fire. "How do you have enhanced powers?" Paul asked.
Marissa looked at Paul and then at Cole, a look of shock on her face. "Are you one of us?" she asked. "I've never seen you before."
Cole shook his head. "No, I'm not a Defender. I'm just a simple demon who happens to have a very, very powerful employer.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. I, too, have fought Jerome. He is a very powerful enemy. I would very much like to see him beaten, but I don't have the power to do so. My employer, however, does. Would you be interested in teaming up with us? I'm sure my employer would be more than happy to give you the killing strike," Cole said.
Paul looked very thoughtful, though from what Cole had seen of the brute, he doubted that was saying very much. Marissa, however, interrupted his train of thought. "Paul, you can't seriously be considering this?"
Cole internally groaned. From the looks of things, Paul was going to have to not only shut the girl up, but rethink his entire decision. "Yeah, I am. And why not? I told you, I will kill Jerome at all costs, no matter what it takes," Paul replied.
"But what about the Destroyer? His release is imminent, are you really going to risk letting Him destroy everything just for revenge?" Marissa asked. Imminent? Cole thought, He's already free, He's just biding His time.
"Yes, I am," Paul replied. Paul turned to Cole and said "Take me to your boss."
Cole obliged. He grabbed Paul by the shoulder and Flamed them to the Destroyer's realm. Marissa, at the last second, jumped on Paul's back, hitching a ride with them. When they arrived in the Destroyer's realm, Marissa fell off Paul and landed on her back. "What are you doing?" Cole snapped at her.
"I'm not letting my friend face this guy alone," Marissa replied stubbornly. She looked around. "Where are we?"
Cole sighed. "This is the realm my employer chooses to reside in. He should be over this way," Cole said. Cole lead them towards Excisio. Marissa, after a few minutes (or, rather, they felt like minutes) saw a huge, black figure.
"What's that?" Marissa asked.
"That would be my employer," Cole replied.
As they approached Him, Excisio said "I remember saying to defeat the Defender before bringing him here. And I never requested you bring the girl."
"I convinced him to come quietly. And I didn't bring her, she came on her own," Cole replied. As they got closer, Marissa could see some of the grotesque features that Cole's boss had. She saw his long horns, his slightly elongated face, his fangs, and his long, sharp claws.
Cole stopped. Paul and Marissa did likewise. "So, you two are what passes for Defenders these days? No wonder the seal became so weak," Excisio said.
Suddenly, Marissa realized who this was. He was the Destroyer. The biggest threat to the Grand Design ever to exist. Excisio saw the look on her face when she realized this and laughed. "So, you've figured out who I am. But it seems you friend hasn't. I am Excisio, the Destroyer," Excisio said.
"You, you're free?" Marissa asked.
Excisio nodded. "But... why? How did you...?" Marissa stuttered.
Cole rolled his eyes. "Do you plan on finishing any of those sentences?" he asked.
"Wait, if you're Him, the who are you?" Marissa asked, directing the last part of her question towards Cole.
"Like I said, I'm just a simple demon who was given great strength by the Destroyer. My name is Cole," Cole said.
"Paul, you can't honestly be thinking about teaming up with the Destroyer, can you?" Marissa asked.
"I said that I am willing to do whatever it takes to kill Jerome. Even if it means teaming up with the most destructive force to ever exist," Paul said.
"Paul, no! Please, don't do this! We have to get out of here, we have to warn the Council!" Marissa pleaded.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you leave this realm," the Destroyer said. "Are you with me or against me?"
"I'm with you," Paul said.
"No! I refuse to let you do this!" Marissa said.
"Foolish girl," Excisio said. Excisio waved his hand in front of Marissa. She glowed in a dark light for a moment, then collapsed on the ground.
"W-what did you... do to me?" Marissa gasped.
"I destroyed your power to leave. Are you absolutely certain you won't join me?" Excisio asked.
"I... I'll never... join you!" Marissa said.
Excisio's expression became very dark. "Then die!"
Excisio charged up some black lightning in His right hand. He pointed His hand at Marissa when Paul said "No, stop!"
Excisio lowered His hand and asked Paul "What is the meaning of this insolence? You think you have the power to order me around?"
"N-no, no! Of course not, I-I was just going to ask you to spare her," Paul said.
"Why should I do that?" Excisio asked.
"Well," Cole began, "if you spare her you might be able to use her as bait for other Defenders. Maybe for even for Jerome."
Excisio thought for a moment. "Very well," He said. "But on one condition!" Excisio waved his hand in front of Marissa. She glowed in a dark light again, and screamed in pain.
Marissa, after a few seconds, but what felt like a few hours to her, passed out. "What did you do to her?" Paul asked.
"I already have a fire user, now I have an ice user. She has only the powers of cryokinesis and regeneration now. In time, she will join me," Excisio replied. "Now you," Excisio said to Paul. "Shall be lightning." Excisio waved his hand in front of Paul. Paul glowed in a dark light and screamed in pain. He, however, didn't pass out.
"What did you do to me?" Paul asked weakly.
"Your powers have been reduced. You now have only electrokinesis, lightning teleportation, energy balls, telekinesis, and invulnerability," Excisio said.
"You let him stay invincible?" Cole asked.
"No, not invincible. Invulnerable. There is a difference," Excisio said.
"And what is the difference?" Cole asked.
"Invincibility means the powers have little to no effect on you, invulnerable means they still hurt, and can still cause damage, but cannot kill or destroy," Excisio explained. "You possess invulnerability, too."
"Good to know. What do we do now?" Cole asked, eager to be gone.
"We wait. Then, when the Council is most vulnerable, we destroy it!"
Jerome and the sisters had taken the time to heal from Cole's attack. They had Chris investigating Cole and trying to figure out how he returned from the Wasteland and where his augmented powers came from. Chris had refused to leave Melinda since Cole's attack and, even though the sisters had been adamant that they could protect her, he brought her with him.
"I really think that we should give you another power to help you fight Cole next time he attacks," Paige said one day.
"Yeah, you've more than earned it. We never did give you any powers for helping with the Titans, either, and you definitely deserve at least one for that," Phoebe said.
"I don't think that more powers are going to help me beat Cole. We were evenly matched in battle, more powers don't mean more strength, just more versatility. I can't think of any powers that would give me an advantage over Cole," Jerome said.
"Well, we still owe you," Paige said.
"Very well. I suppose since Cole has fireballs along with his pyrokinesis, it would make sense for me to have energy balls with my electrokinesis," Jerome said.
"Any more powers you'd like? Maybe fight fire with fire?" Paige suggested.
"No. I have a theory, just a theory, but one that makes sense, that unless all of my powers are unlocked having multiple elements would actually lower the power of the others," Jerome said.
"How do you figure?" Phoebe asked.
"Mostly because the elements tend to detract from each other when possessed by one being. I've seen it happen to demons before. They'll have powerful pyrokinesis, then gain electrokinesis, only to have it weaken they're pyrokinetic abilities," Jerome said.
"Oh," Phoebe said.
"Well, you still deserve another power. What'll it be?" Paige asked.
Jerome thought for a moment. "There's no longer a healer in the house. Perhaps you should give me that power as well," Jerome said.
"We could just free all of your powers," Paige said.
"I don't think the Elders, or the Council for that matter, would like that," Jerome replied. "It's better to do them one or two at a time."
"Alright, then I'll go get Piper," Phoebe said. Piper was with Wyatt. Phoebe found her, told her the plan, and Piper agreed. Phoebe took Piper back downstairs and the two of them began chanting the spell with Paige.
"The Council has spoken, Jerome's powers are gone. Restore his powers, though only the one. Powers that be, restore healing to he!" the Charmed Ones chanted. Jerome felt the power return to him. The sisters repeated the spell with energy balls, and after they chanted it Jerome felt himself surge with power. Jerome conjured an energy ball in his hand. Most energy balls looked like balls with electrical charges coming from the center to a small barrier around the outside. Jerome's energy ball looked like a solid ball with electrical discharges coming out of it.
"Enhanced energy balls," Jerome explained at the sisters' expressions.
Chris and Melinda were scouring the Underworld, looking for answers about Cole. Chris hated bringing Melinda there, but he didn't want to leave her at the manor without him. He was her older brother, and it was his job to protect her. When he had returned to the manor that day when Cole had attacked he saw Melinda wrapping bandages on Paige. She was in a dress, and looked very uncomfortable. When Chris had arrived, however, she had refused to leave the sisters sides, even to change into more comfortable clothing. Eventually, she had returned to her jeans and t-shirt. The sisters were fine, thanks to Jerome, but Chris still didn't trust him. Nor did he want to leave Melinda exposed to the danger, at least, not without him. She was all he had.
"I still don't see why I have to come with you," Melinda said.
Chris rolled his eyes. He loved his little sister, but sometimes she could be really annoying and stubborn. She probably got that from Aunt Paige. "I've already told you; if something were to happen to you and I weren't there to protect you, I'd never be able to forgive myself," Chris said.
"But mom, Aunt Phoebe, and Aunt Paige are all at the manor. They'd protect me," Melinda said. "Besides, I'm NOT helpless."
"The sisters have been beaten before; they've lost innocents before. I don't want to run the risk of that being you. You're all I have left," Chris said.
"Jerome's there, and he's kind of invincible," Melinda said.
"Yeah, and I trust Jerome about as far as I can throw him," Chris said. "He can't interfere due to some 'unforeseeable consequences.'"
"Isn't that the exact same reason we can't tell them about the future?" Melinda asked.
"Well, yeah, but it's different for us. Jerome interfering isn't going to cause drastic chain reaction changes that could destroy the future," Chris said. "We, however, could."
"I still don't think he'd let anything happen to me," Melinda said.
"Mel, he's only interested in himself! All he wants to do is get his powers back. After that happens, he'll leave," Chris said.
"You didn't see how he lunged at that demon the other day. How he gave it everything he had to fend that demon off," Melinda said.
"He was probably just trying to protect his chance at regaining his powers," Chris said.
"I don't think so," Melinda said.
Chris sighed. "Mel, I don't trust him. Regardless of what he did, I still don't trust him."
Author's Note:
Paul has joined the Destroyer to become his lightning. Jerome now has energy balls as a ranged attack (that isn't a stream of raw power) and he can heal the sisters when (and since it' the Charmed Ones, it will be when, not if) they get hurt. So, anyone want to leave me a review telling me what you think of this story? I like reviews.
Now, I think I'll try hosting a contest. If anyone wants to try and draw a picture of Jerome or the Destroyer and send it to me, I'll use the best one (which means closest to what I was thinking of when I wrote their descriptions AND the one that is the most well drawn) as the cover picture for the story, unless none of them are well drawn. I don't want a poorly drawn picture as the cover picture for one of my stories. Jerome will be featured on The Greatest Power and the Destroyer will be on this story, Jerome's Return. Hopefully I'll get some artistic people to draw these and send them to me.