CHARMED
"BALANCE OF POWER"
by J. B. Tilton

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: "Charmed" and all related characters and events are the property of the WB
television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is
a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

A special thanks to Tracie Joy (a.k.a. Magiklmoon) for her help in this story.

* * *

Authors' note: This story takes place after the episode where the Charmed Ones have
killed the Source but before the episode where Cole discovers he is inhabited by the
Source. It is based on the premise that It took the Source several days to manifest
himself inside Cole and Cole still believes himself to be only a human.

* * *

With the death of the Source, a struggle in the underworld ensues to see who will be
his replacement. In order to make the selection, a contest is started. The new Source
will be the demon who can kill the Charmed Ones

PART 7 - BALANCE RESTORED

With the demons defeated, and Michaels' secred exposed, learn the real story
behind Michaels' history. And what he will do about Belthazor.

* * *

Paige paced the living room. Piper and Michael had been gone for more than half
an hour. They should have been home by now. If they had been successful.

"Will you sit down?" asked Cole who was sitting on the sofa.

"How can you just sit there?" Paige shot back at him. "For all we know, Piper,
Phoebe, and Leo are already dead. Michael could be, too. Which means those
demons may be coming after us next."

"And there's nothing we can do about it," said Cole. "If they're coming, they're
coming. That's the way it is."

"Cole's right, Paige," said Coombs. "Sometimes all you can do is sit and wait. As a
doctor, I can tell you that pacing is not going to help anyone, least of all you."

Coombs had arrived only a short time ago. He had gotten the results back on some
of Paiges' tests and wanted to inform her of the good news. When he had learned what
was going on, he decided to stay around and see if his services might be needed.

Paige had been testy the entire time. Cole had tried to calm her, but was having no
success. Without thinking, Paige had blurted out that, since Cole had once been a
demon, patients was probably not one of his strong suits. After that, they had no choice
but to explain to Coombs about Coles' past. Coombs was still getting adjusted to the
whole idea.

"What about Michael?" asked Paige. "If they are successful, he'll be coming back to
kill you. You're just going to sit there and wait for him?"

"I'm tired of running and hiding," said Cole. "Even if I run, he'll follow me. I want to
get this over with as soon as possible."

"We're the Charmed Ones," said Paige, "the three of us. I should be there with
them to help."

"You wouldn't be any more help than I would," said Cole. "Without your powers,
your just another human like I am."

"I could still do something," said Paige.

"You are," said Coombs. "You're staying out of danger. They don't have to worry
about you which gives them a better chance of succeeding."

"You think they'll succeed?" asked Paige.

"I don't know," said Cole worriedly. "It depends on what type and how many demons
they're facing."

Paige continued to pace. She didn't have anything else to do. She was worried
about her sisters, Leo, and Michael. She wouldn't rest until they returned, safe and
unharmed.

Suddenly, the four of them orbed into the house. Cole immediately went to Phoebe
and hugged her close, asking if she was okay. Paige walked over to Piper, and the two
sisters hugged. Then Paige hugged Leo and Michael.

"What happened?" asked Paige.

"We won," said Piper, looking at Michael. "Of course, we had some help."

"Help?" questioned Cole. "What kind of help?"

"Malevant showed up," said Leo.

"I wouldn't call that much help," said Cole.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," said Piper. "He provided us with a spell that weakened the
demons enough for us to destroy them. And Malevant helped us destroy them."

"Wait a minute," said Paige. "One of the upper level demons helped you destroy the
others?"

"That doesn't make any sense to me," said Coombs. "If what I've learned so far
about demons, working together isn't something they're known for."

"It's not so unusual," said Cole. "It's the way most demons advance in the hierarchy.
I just find it unusual that he would help you destroy them. Certainly he must have
known you'd turn on him when the others were dead."

"That's not exactly what happened," said Leo. "Michael, you said you were going to
explain things. I think now would be a good time."

"Explain things?" questioned Paige. "Explain what?"

"What's been going on the past couple of weeks," said Michael. "There's something
the others haven't told you, Paige, Cole, Dr. Coombs. Malevant showed up and helped
them. Except that I'm Malevant."

Cole sat stunned at the news. He had never meant Malevant personally but he
certainly knew of the high level demon. Most demons did. He was rumored to be one
of the few successors to the Source.

"Let me explain," said Michael. "Part of the known history about me is true. A
demon did capture and rape my mother. And she did give birth to twins; myself and my
brother, Malevant. Once we were born, the demon who was our father murdered our
mother.

"Then he turned us over to a female warlock to be raised. He had great
expectations about us becoming great evils to serve the Source. But it soon became
evident that I would never be that great evil. I inherited too much of my mother. I
couldn't be converted to evil, even though I was being raised in an evil environment."

"So what happened?" asked Leo. "We do know that the two of you ran away from
the warlock when you were twelve."

"In a manner of speaking," said Michael. "When we were twelve, Malevant and I
had an argument as many siblings do. I'm sure the three of you have had arguments."

"We've had some doosies," said Piper. "I think that all siblings argue."

"Yes," said Michael. "It's normal. But Malevant and I had the powers we had
inherited from our parents. He inherited demonic powers from our father and I inherited
White Lighter powers from our mother. We both also inherited some limited powers
from both.

"Anyway, we argued often. Malevant had no humanity in him. He hated everything
that was related to humanity. I, on the other hand, always argued for the good in
humans. On this day our argument got out of hand. The female warlock who was
raising us wasn't at home at the time. Malevant and I fought that day.

"I won. Malevant lost and was dead. I hadn't meant to kill him. But I just didn't
understand the extent of my powers. After I had killed him, I got scared. I knew the
warlock would punish me for killing him. He was the favored one among the demons.
So I buried Malevant in an unmarked grave and ran away."

"So, Malevant died when you were twelve?" asked Leo. "That doesn't make any
sense."

"I'm coming to that," said Michael. "After I ran away, I was found by a witch. She
took me in and taught me how to use my powers for good. When I was eighteen, my
demonic half surfaced. Not the evil part, just the powers. So I found I could be either a
demon or a White Lighter; whichever I chose.

"That witch became my foster mother. She taught me everything about witches,
White Lighters, and the Elders. She suggested that I could use my ability to become a
demon to infiltrate the demonic forces. I looked like one of them and I had their
powers. All I had to do was keep a low profile and learn what I could."

"Ingenious," said Cole. "So all this time you've been spying for the Elders."

"Yes," said Michael. "How do you think they learn much of their information? I
began to rise in the ranks of the demonic hierarchy. Slowly at first, of course. I didn't
want to become too noticeable. Whenever I had the opportunity, I'd rise up another link
in the chain.

"Eventually, I was on the same level as Beelzbor and the others. It's not easy, I can
tell you, pretending to be a demon without taking human life. I specialized myself into
being more of an advisor rather than actually participating. My advice was always
good. Unfortunately, the forces of good always seemed to know what was going on. I
was very careful to make sure it wasn't linked back to me."

"A double agent," said Leo. "No one ever suspected. As Malevant, you were so
determined on destroying Michael, no one ever suspected you were the same person."

"That was my own idea," said Michael. "Eventually I decided that a feud between us
would help allay suspicions. I was even able to make it appear that I was fighting
myself. Pass by a window and throw a fireball as Michael, then orb back unseen from
the outside. Then I'd pass by the window again as Malevant, and throw another fireball
where I had been standing only seconds before. It was very effective. Most who
watched my 'fights' just assumed there were two of us."

"As I did," said Leo, "when I saw you fight. I never imagined anything like that."

"You weren't supposed to," said Michael. "It was supposed to be the illusion of both
of us. After my foster mother died, I decided to devote myself to good. So the
subterfuge began."

"Wait a minute," said Cole. "What do you mean died? You've claimed for more
than eighty years that Belthazor killed her."

"Yes," said Michael. "More subterfuge to conceal my secret. She died of natural
causes. I figured if everyone thought you had killed her, they'd be more inclilned to
accept that Malevant and I were separate entities. You were a demon, so killing you
was always one of my priorities anyway."

"So what do you do about it now?" asked Cole. "You know I was Belthazor. And
you've always swore you'd kill him one day."

"Yes," said Michael. "Belthazor was just another high level demon. I thought if I
made up the story about him killing my mother, I could kill him without suspicion.
Otherwise, someone might wonder why I was going after him specifically.

"I publicly blamed Belthazor for my mothers' death, though he hadn't actually killed
her. And I did plan to kill him the first chance I got. But I don't sense Belthazor in you
any more. The Charmed Ones must have vanquished him. I don't know Cole Turner.
But I have nothing against him. Cole Turner is just another human who needs
protection from demons as far as I'm concerned."

"How did you know we had vanquished Belthazor?" asked Phoebe. "No one told
you that."

"It was the only possible answer," said Michael. "Belthazor was a high level demon.
Not as high level as Beelzbor or the rest, but high enough. If he had been vanquished,
it would take a powerful witch to do it. Or three powerful witches. It could only be the
Charmed Ones."

"How did you recognize me?" asked Cole. "We only met a handful of times and I
was always in my demon form. You never saw me in my human form, as far as I
know."

"Only once," said Michael. "The last time we fought. When was that? About forty
years ago? I was going to kill you then. But one of my powers is precognition, just like
Phoebes'. It's not as powerful as hers. I only get the visions two or three times a year
at most.

"During our last fight, I got a premonition when I touched you. It was only a flash. I
saw a young woman throw a potion on you and watched you being vanquished. Then,
for just a split second, a human stood in your place. I never understood that vision until
I met you here.

"When I first saw you, I couldn't place you. Then I remembered the vision. I knew
you were Belthazor. But I had known Belthazor had been vanquished. The only
answer that made any sense was that only your demon half had been vanquished."

"Actually," said Cole, "Phoebe used a power stripping potion on me. It stripped
Belthazor away, leaving only me."

"Ingenious," said Michael. "I never thought it would work that way."

"I was only half demon," said Cole. "I was also half human. I guess that explains
why it worked the way it did."

"Wait a minute," said Piper. "You started this whole thing. Beginning with Jessica
and those Guardians, didn't you?"

"You're very smart," said Michael. "Yes, actually I did. I apologize for everything
you've been through, but it was necessary."

"You're sorry?" asked Piper, her anger flaring. "We've had God knows how many
demons in our home, Paige was nearly killed by syphon demon, my husband and sister
were kidnaped and nearly killed and you're sorry? Where the hell do you get off putting
us in danger like that?"

"Piper, calm down," said Leo. "If Michael did this, I'm sure he had a very good
reason."

"Like hell I'll calm down," said Piper. "We have enough demons and warlocks and
who knows what else coming after us every day. Now he goes even further. He sets
up a plan to actually draw them to us. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Piper," said Michael calmly, "I understand your anger. I don't blame you. I really
don't. And, on the surface, it does appear that I was very callous with your lives. I can
assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. If you'll give me a moment, I'll be
glad to explain exactly what happened."

"This had better be good," said Piper angrily.

"It is," said Michael. "It actually started several days before you destroyed the
Source. He asked me about using the Hollow to destroy you. I advised against it. Not
only because it would make him unbelievably powerful, but because everyone knows
the Hollow could destroy all magic everywhere."

"They know about that," said Leo. "I explained it to them."

"Good," said Michael. "Anyway, he told me he could control it. And that he was
going to unleash it to destroy you. Before I could do anything about it, he had already
unleashed it. There was nothing I could do but wait and hope you could stop him.
Thankfully, you did.

"But my spies told me that Beelzbor and the others were talking. They told me that
they were forming an alliance to choose the new Source. There could be nothing more
dangerous in the underworld. One of the reasons good can triumph over evil is that the
demons are constantly fighting with each other. Trying to gain more power.

"If those demons had ever formed their alliance, they could have destroyed you
easily. I couldn't let that happen. So I devised a plan to prevent them from forming
their alliance."

"By attacking us?" asked Piper. "That's one hell of a plan."

"It was the only one that allowed me to draw them out and still maintain my cover as
a demon," said Michael. "If they had suspected what I was doing, they would have
joined forces and destroyed me, leaving you vulnerable. The first part was sending
Jessica to you. That part was true. I needed to contact the Guardians and arrange for
them to come get her. And she needed to be protected while I did.

"Before that, I made a deal with Beelzbor and the others. I convinced them that only
the most powerful of demons could replace the Source. To prove who was the most
powerful, I suggested that whomever could destroy you would prove they were the most
powerful.

"This was a dangerous ploy, but the only one available. It limited the attacks on you
to one demon at a time. I knew you could handle that. You've proven it time and time
again. Since I knew in advance what each of them was going to do, I was in a unique
position to foil their plans. Besides, when Mephistan interfered with my attack, it
allowed me to destroy him with a legitimate reason. And I didn't have to expose myself
to protect you."

"What about the syphon demon?" asked Paige. "I nearly died from that attack. I'm
still not up to full strength."

"I'm sorry for that," said Michael. "I tried to prevent the attack, but I couldn't. So I
did the next best thing. I steered Dr. Coombs your way. Not even he was aware I was
doing it. But as it turned out, things worked out for the best."

"I guess I can understand that," said Paige. "And Peter is a great man. Maybe I
should be thanking you."

"I guess that should go for me, too," said Coombs, smiling at Paige.

"What about taking Leo and me being taken captive?" asked Phoebe. "Was that
part of your plan?"

"Yes," said Michael. "I convinced them to make sure you wouldn't be harmed until
Piper showed up. I told them you would be needed, alive and unharmed, if we had any
chance of trapping Piper. I kidnaped Leo, knowing all the time that he was in no real
danger. My 'underlings' wouldn't dare harm him. Before I went to help you and Piper,
I went to the underworld to release Leo."

"That's why you orbed out as soon as Piper left," said Cole, "instead of waiting for
her to call."

"Yes," said Michael. "I also had that spell prepared by a witch friend of mine. To
undo the protection spell the others had cast and to weaken them so it would be easier
to destroy them."

"I couldn't figure out why you had given me that spell instead of the power stripping
spell that you said it was," said Piper. "But I figured with it, we at least stood a chance.
As it was, my powers weren't working and Phoebe was tied up."

"I was counting on that reaction," said Michael. "Once the others were dead, I had
planned to shimmer out before you could attack me. Thus perpetuating my illusion of
being two separate individuals."

"Except you were hurt," said Phoebe.

"More than hurt," said Michael. "I was dying and I knew it. And as I'm sure you're
aware, a White Lighter can't heal himself. I knew that Leo was my only hope if I was to
survive.

"Piper, I would never have put you in any danger if I could have found another way.
But it was the only way to stop the others. You three were the only ones powerful
enough to stand up to them. And with their deaths, their underlings and replacements
will go back to the infighting and bickering they are famous for.

"The alliance Beelzbor and the others had proposed would have upset the balance
between good and evil. If the demons ever learned just how much they can accomplish
if they cooperate, scores of witches would suffer. As it is, the balance is restored and
everything is as it should be."

"Well," said Piper, "I guess I can understand why you did it. I just wish you had said
something."

"I couldn't," said Michael smiling. "To do that, I would have had to reveal that
Malevant and I were the same person. That wasn't an acceptable option. Only the
Elders know my secret. The Elders and now you. If I'm to continue funneling
information to the Elders about demonic activity, I have to maintain my secret."

"Your secret is safe with us, Michael," said Leo.

"I hope so," said Michael. "I'm putting my life in your hands. If any of the
underworld ever learn who I am, I won't live long enough to orb out."

"I don't think you have much to worry about that," said Piper. "We're not on
speaking terms with most demons." She glanced over at Leo. "At least, not any more."

"Thank you," said Michael. "Well, I do have charges to protect. Staying around here
to make sure you all survived has caused me to neglect them. I should be going. This
time, for real."

"The next time you visit," said Piper, "leave all the cloak and dagger behind. I'm not
sure my nerves can take any more."

"I promise," said Michael, smiling. "Leo, it was nice seeing you again. I hope we get
a chance to catch up on old times soon."

"Me, too, Michael," said Leo.

"Cole," said Michael, turning to Cole. "You may be fully human now, but humans
are capable of good or evil. I hope you will turn out to be the former."

"I'm trying," said Cole. "With their help," he indicated the sisters, "I'm sure I can."

"No doubt," said Michael. "Well, I have to go. I'm sure you won't have much to
worry about for a while. The demons in charge now are going to have establish their
control before they can start thinking about you. Take care of yourselves."

Michael orbed out and was gone.

"Some interesting friends you have there, sweetheart," said Piper, turning to Leo.
"Tell me, honey. Do you have any other friends who are part demon?"

"Not that I know of," said Leo.

"Good," said Piper. "One half demon half White Lighter is about all I can stand."

"He's the only one, I promise," said Leo.

"Cole," said Phoebe, "why don't you and I go out and get something to eat? All this
work has made me famished."

"Now that's a good idea," said Coombs. "I'm not sure I'm used to this demons and
witches and angels things, but I do know that we all need to eat. And Paige can use
the strength. Want to make it a double date?"

"Okay with me," said Phoebe. "What about you, Cole?"

"Sounds good," said Cole. "Leo, Piper, want to make it a triple date?"

"Naw, you four go on," said Piper. "I think I'd like to stay home alone with my
husband for once."

As the four left for dinner, Leo turned to Piper.

"Are you sure you don't want to join them?" he asked. "It's not often we get a
chance to spend an evening out with your sisters."

"Like I said," said Piper, "I want to spend some time alone with you. Cole and
Phoebe need the night out. And Paige needs to get to now her Dr. Honey a bit.
Besides, I think we can keep ourselves occupied while they're out. What do you think?"

Leo didn't say a word. He just smiled, kissed her, then orbed them both up to their
bedroom.

The End

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