TWO

Patrice and her sisters took up defensive postures between Cole
and the Halliwells. Leo and Matilda moved in, ready to orb the now
powerless Charmed Ones away at the first hint of danger.

"Come back to get your butt kicked again, demon?" asked Patrice,
ready to attack at the slightest provocation.

"What?" asked Cole. He seemed genuinely surprised. "Phoebe,
honey, you want to tell me what's going on here?"

"Cole," Phoebe whispered tentatively.

"Okay, this isn't funny," said Cole. "Piper, Paige, what the
hell is happening here? What's this about demons? Phoebe, you
promised me you had quit hunting for demons. You know how much
trouble we had when we got married. My boss wasn't exactly thrilled
with me marrying a convicted felon. My being an assistant district
attorney and all. You promised me you wouldn't do anything to
jeopardize our marriage or my job."

"It won't work, demon," said Patrice, holding up the vial with
the vanquishing potion. "We're ready for you now. Leave these
innocents alone or we'll destroy you. I don't know what your game is,
but you'll never get to her or the others."

"Demon?" questioned Cole. "I'm no demon. Granted, lawyers may
not have the best reputations, but we're a long way from being demons.
Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"He acts like he doesn't know what you're taking about,"
commented Matilda. "Is it possible that in this time line, Belthazor
and Cole are different people?"

Phoebe stepped up next to Patrice and looked at Cole. She
wanted so much to believe that he wasn't a demon. That he was just
another mortal, like so many she had helped to save in the past. He
did seem genuinely surprised at the turn of events. But she also knew
that Belthazor was very crafty.

"I've had enough of this," said Patty suddenly. She raised her
arms and Cole simply froze in place. "If he is Belthazor, that won't
hold him for long."

"Yes," said Leo, "but only if he fights against it. If he just
stands there, there's no way to know for sure."

"There's one way to tell," said Phoebe. "Give me the
vanquishing potion."

"It's the only one we have," said Patrice. "If you use it, and
he's not really Belthazor, we'll have lost our greatest weapon against
him."

"I know," said Phoebe. "Don't worry." She took the vial and
poured a small amount into her hand. "This small amount shouldn't
vanquish him, but it should cause some reaction in him. And if he is
Belthazor, we'll still have the potion to use against him."

The others stood and watched as Phoebe moved up next to Cole.
She paused hesitantly, looking up at him. Then, she reached up and
smeared the potion in her hand onto his right cheek. Everyone
watched, half expecting that the potion would cause some type of
blistering sore on his exposed flesh.

Nothing happened. The liquid simply ran down his cheek and
stained the collar of his shirt green.

"Well," said Piper, "it seems that this Cole is NOT Belthazor."

"Apparently," said Patty. "I suppose I can unfreeze him now.
From the way he was talking, Phoebe must have been some kind of
amateur demon hunter or something."

Patty unfroze Cole and he stood looking at everyone. He
suddenly noticed Phoebe standing next to him and felt the potion
running down his cheek. He reached up and wiped the potion off his
skin.

"Phoebe, what's going on?" he demanded, his temper beginning to
flare. "Who are all these people and why do they keep calling me a
demon? I'd better start getting some answers real quick."

Phoebe just hugged Cole close. After everything they had gone
through, she had accepted the fact that, in this time line, they might
have to vanquish him yet again. It was no small relief to discover
that he was apparently as human and as mortal as she was.

"Mr. Turner," said Leo finally, breaking the awkward silence,
"we'll answer all of your questions. But first, we need to have some
answers of our own. It's kind of complicated, but we'll tell you what
we can. To begin with, what did you mean when you said that Phoebe
had promised to stop hunting demons?"

For a moment, Cole just stared at everyone as if they had all
suddenly lost their minds.

* * *

"So, I'm supposed to be this demon, Belthazor?" questioned Cole,
after the explanations had been made. "And I'm out to kill Phoebe and
her sisters."

"That's about the size of it," said Patrice. "At least, that's
what we thought. As we said, the way they remember it, they're the
Charmed Ones and you and Belthazor were the same person. Only they
vanquished Belthazor and left you fully human. Then, you and Phoebe
were married."

"After we took over the underworld?" asked Cole, disbelief
apparent in his voice.

"Kind of," Phoebe squeaked out. "It's kind of a long story. We
vanquished the Source, he possessed you, and then you and I took over
the underworld. Then, we had to vanquish you when you threatened to
kill Piper and Paige."

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," said Cole. "I'm no
more a demon than you are. I didn't even believe in demons."

"But you said that Phoebe used to hunt them," said Paige.

"She was obsessed with them," said Cole. "She was convinced
they existed and kept looking for some way to prove it. She promised
to give it up if we got married. Now, to find out she was not only
right; that they actually do exist; but that one is actually after
her."

"Well, you saw me orb," interjected Leo. "If White Lighters
exist, you have to admit that demons do, too?"

Cole had not believed their story at first. He only relented
when Leo finally orbed out then back in, proving the existence of
White Lighters. After that, Cole had no choice but to accede.

"And you say this Belthazor is very dangerous?" asked Cole.

"He's one of the upper level demons," said Paula. "He
specializes in killing witches. Although we aren't quite sure why
he's after Phoebe."

"I think I know," said Cole. "Several years ago Phoebe
witnessed a murder. The man who was eventually charged with the crime
claimed that he had been possessed by a demon that forced him to kill.
When the district attorney found out that Phoebe had witnessed the
killing, he made a deal with her. She testifies for the prosecution
and she gets a sentence reduction for her theft charges.

"It's one of the reasons she was released early. I did most of
the work on that case so Phoebe and I had a lot of contact. We fell
in love, and after she was released from prison, we were married. I
always assumed the killer was trying to cop to an insanity plea. Now,
I'm not so sure."

"But I didn't witness any murder," protested Phoebe.

"That's not what you told me," said Cole. "You said you saw the
whole thing. But if what you say is true, and you're not the same
Phoebe, you may not have seen anything. If reality as we know it has
changed, you may not have seen the murder."

"Unless this is what all of this is about," suggested Leo.
"Maybe Patty's right. Maybe it's their memories that have been
altered, not reality. So that Phoebe can't testify. If she does,
it's possible that the existence of demons could come to light. That
would be pretty good incentive to kill her."

"Then how do you explain me?" asked Matilda. "How come I
remember things the way they do? How come not even the Elders
remember me when it's quite evident that I'm a White Lighter?"

"I don't know," said Leo. "I don't have all the answers."

"Well," said Patrice, "there was nothing in the Book of Shadows
about any of this. It still doesn't make any sense."

"We're missing something," interjected Paige. "There has to be
something we haven't thought of. Even with this psychokinetic power,
whoever is doing this had to have left some sort of clue. Something
that will tell us what's going on and why."

"I wish I could accept that," said Piper. "It would make things
a lot easier to accept. But it seems that whoever is doing this has
thought of everything."

"I'll leave the vanquishing potion with you," said Patrice.
""You'll need it if Belthazor should return. In the meantime, we do
need to get back home. There are other innocents that need our
protection."

"We understand," said Phoebe. "We remember what it was like to
have to juggle a million things at the same time. I feel a lot better
with Cole being back."

"I never went anywhere," protested Cole.

"Okay," said Leo. "Matilda will stay with you. If you need
anything, she can get hold of us. If we learn anything else, we'll
let you know."

"So will we," promised Piper.

Leo orbed Patrice and her sisters back to their home while Piper
began to make up the sofa for Matilda. Even though it was still
early, they knew it was going to be a long night.