Duality
By Risa
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
The doorbell rang. Piper ran out from the kitchen to answer the door. She opened it to find a Chinese couple standing on the doorstep. "Hi," Piper said politely.
The girl smiled. "I'm Fortuna Ji, a friend of Phoebe's… I told her that I'll be dropping by?"
"Oh! Phoebe's internet friend!" she grinned at the two of them. "Come in."
The two followed behind Piper into the foyer as Phoebe came running down the stairs. "Fortuna?" she asked.
"Yep," Fortuna replied. "Phoebe, right?"
"It's so great to see you in person." Phoebe turned to the guy who was standing slightly behind Fortuna. "And who's this?"
Fortuna pulled Darien forward. "This is Darien Li, my fiancé."
"You didn't tell me you had a fiancé!"
"Well, the subject didn't come up and can you imagine saying out of the blue, 'by the way I'm getting married?'"
"So I guess Phoebe probably didn't tell you that she's getting married as well?" Piper said.
"No!" Fortuna said. "Who is he?"
"His name's Cole Turner," Phoebe said. "Hold on a sec, I'll get him down here." She turned to the stairs and shouted, "Cole! There's someone here I'll like you to meet!"
"All right," Piper said, "Much as I'd like to stay, I've got to get down to P3 to meet up with the manager of the band tonight. You guys have fun!" She left the house as Phoebe steered the rest of them into the living room.
Cole walked down the stairs, trying not to let his irritation show. He had just returned from yet another session with the Seer. By now, Cole's human half was nearly totally submerged by the Source's power. Even so, it still resisted him, particularly when it came to matters concerning Phoebe. He had managed to reassume his role when he saw the couple sitting on the sofa. He was stunned. He knew that woman.
But it couldn't be her. She was human, last time he checked. There was no way she could still look so young after a hundred years. Immediately, he could feel the temptation to attack her, get rid of her. But perversely, at that same moment, Cole could feel his human soul asserting itself stronger than ever before.
He stared at the woman closely. No, it wasn't who he thought it was. The features were different. Hers were softer, more delicate. She was also taller and of a bigger build. She was probably related to the woman he knew.
Cole stood beside Phoebe and asked, trying to disguise his surprise and suspicion, "Who did you want me to meet?"
Phoebe had not noticed the fleeting look of surprise that had flown past Cole's face as her back was facing him. She only turned to him after he came beside her. Phoebe took Cole's hand in hers and said, "Cole, this is Fortuna Ji and her fiancé, Darien. Fortuna's a friend of mine that I met through the Internet. Fortuna, Darien, I think it's pretty obvious who this is."
Ji, Cole thought. It was as he suspected. They were related. This was probably not a coincidence – a purely casual visit. She had a motive for being here and Cole had his own suspicions about that. He would have to be on his guard… their family was too unpredictable. As these thoughts were racing through his mind, he smiled, nodded and said politely, "Hi."
Darien had been observing Cole with increasing curiosity and caution since he first came into sight. He had suspected that this was the man that Zimei was talking about – the one who was possessed by the Source. As he was shaking the hand which Cole offered, he did a quick scan of Cole's mind.
Darkness. Deep, heavy, impenetrable, endless and terrifying. With swirls of fierce orange fire.
Darien quickly withdrew from Cole's mind – he suspected that if he had not, he would probably have gone insane. The contact lasted for only a second, but Cole had already noticed the intruding presence in his mind. Cole's face darkened as he tried to keep his temper in check and prevent himself from incinerating Darien right on the spot.
Phoebe saw Cole's face darken and she asked him with concern, "Are you all right? Is there something bothering you?"
"No," Cole lied quickly, "I just haven't been able to get enough sleep."
He's the one, Darien murmured telepathically to Fortuna as Phoebe and Cole were talking.
You scanned his mind, Fortuna said flatly.
I had to make sure, Darien said defensively.
You do know that the contact could have killed you, she replied tartly.
Phoebe starred at the two of them. Fortuna and Darien had been staring at each other, as if in silent conversation. Cole guessed that they probably were. Fortuna would probably have some sort of magical ability since she was a Ji, but that Darien was a wild card, an unknown.
An uncomfortable silence developed. "So…" Phoebe asked, trying to cut through the tension that was growing increasingly stifling, "how long will you guys be here for?"
"Oh, about two weeks or so," Darien said casually, "Depends on whether we'll be able to finish what we came here to do."
"I think you'll be able to finish it soon," Cole said smoothly. Phoebe looked at him, confused, "What exactly is going on?"
You'll have to knock her out or get her out of here, Fortuna said silently to Darien. We have to talk to Cole and I don't think she's ready to hear this just yet.
Give me your hand, Darien said, I'll need a power boost. He shut his eyes right then and sent a quick blow into Phoebe's mind. She fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Well," Cole said slowly, "that saves me the trouble of trying to convince her to leave us alone. It'll be… inconvenient to have her around while I try to kill you." Without waiting for them to say anything, he flung a fire ball at Fortuna.
Fortuna was pushed out of the way by Darien. If not for his preternatural senses and reflexes as a vampire, Fortuna probably would not have been able to escape from the fireball. Then Darien flung himself onto Cole, trying to hold him down. Cole vanished from beneath him, in a flame which scorched Darien.
Cole reappeared behind Fortuna and was about to launch another fireball when Zimei appeared, her form translucent in the afternoon sun. She pulled Cole to the ground and held him down. "Now!" she shouted at Fortuna. Cole somehow could not flame out from beneath the ghost and could only struggle to get free.
Fortuna rushed over, taking out a charm from her pocket. This she quickly placed around Cole's neck.
Instantly, Cole felt a tearing pain inside of him and something pulling at him. It felt as if something was trying to force part of him away. It was not unlike the feeling when Belthazor was vanquished within him. He felt the evil in him fade and loosen its hold as his human soul gained in strength and finally gained control of the driver's seat.
"What did you do?" Cole asked Fortuna.
It was Zimei who answered the question instead. "This is a charm that has been infused with as much power that all of the Ji family – dead and alive – can provide. It's meant to hold down the evil of the Source within you."
"Thank you," Cole said gratefully.
"Don't thank me yet," she warned, "it's not permanent. It'll only last a month at most and with each passing day, the charm will get weaker. The Source within you will therefore become stronger. The Source's strength aside, he has already managed to entwine his powers with your soul closely enough that the bond is too strong for our powers to break."
"So you're just delaying the inevitable?" Cole said bleakly.
Fortuna shook her head. "Your resonances are not so closely interlinked that it is impossible to break, it's simply that it'll require more power than what we have. That's why we need more time."
Cole sighed. He then remembered just who was standing beside him. "I guess Fortuna's related to you isn't she, Zimei?"
Zimei nodded. "My grand-niece."
"So you're still wandering around as a ghost?" he said, a small smile appearing on his face.
"What does it look like?" Zimei said waspishly. "Do I look like I'm real?"
Cole laughed. "And what are you exactly?" he asked, turning to Darien. "You could have gotten yourself killed with that mental probe."
"That's what I told him," Fortuna said before Darien could reply.
Darien glared at Fortuna, "You didn't say anything before. That's when it mattered." Then he turned to Cole and said, "I'm a vampire. You've probably heard of the Nightworld?"
Cole nodded. "I should have guessed," he said ruefully. "I've heard of the Nightworld although I've never had any personal experience with them." Then he asked, "Why are you guys intervening? Compassion? A belief in true love and redemption?"
Zimei snorted. Darien began to laugh. Fortuna glared at the two of them. "Very nice idea actually, but I'm afraid we aren't as noble as that. We're basically intervening because – "
"– you aren't meant to be evil. You're supposed to eventually work for us," Zimei interrupted.
"And you can tell Resident Evil that Zimei isn't exactly too thrilled about him messing around with the Balance like that," Darien said, grinning.
"Thank you, Darien, for that unneeded remark," Zimei said tartly.
Cole shook his head. "I always wondered how you guys get anything done with all that bantering you do. The Halliwell sisters too…"
Zimei's expression became serious. "You have to tell them the truth, Cole."
"I know," Cole said sighing. "So that they know what to do if The Source gains control again."
Fortuna shook her head. "It's not just that. They have the right to know, especially Phoebe. You're a part of their lives and their family."
"Don't be too hard on him," Darien said. "He doesn't have a lot of control over the evil within him."
"Not much of an excuse though," Cole said. "I think I'll tell Phoebe first, if you would wake her up…" the last was directed to Darien.
"No problem," Darien said, as he took Fortuna's hand once more and boosted his own telepathic powers. As he did so, Cole took a deep breath and readied himself for what was to come.
~* To be continued *~