"Oh my God! Leo!" Piper cried as she watched her husband fall to the floor.
Samantha felt panic rise in her chest as Leo's limbs went limp. "No, no, no, no. Not again. Daddy!"
As she moved toward to her father, the demon grabbed her roughly, trapping her arms against her side and pressing a blade to her throat.
"What the hell?" At Paige's outburst, Samantha looked over to see that her aunt had also been captured much as she had and then yet another demon materialized in the center of the room where Phoebe and Cole stood, jerking Phoebe against him and pinning her arms.
"Piper, freeze them!" Phoebe yelled as she tried to struggle against her captor's hold.
"I've been trying. They won't freeze." Piper looked to the demon that was holding Samantha. "What do you want? What did you do to my husband?"
Sam heard the demon laugh, his breath puffing against her ear. "Darklighter poison--only more effective. He should be dead in about ten minutes or so. As for what we want..." The demon turned, moving Sam in front of him like a shield until he was facing Cole. "We came to stop you, my liege."
"'My liege'?" Phoebe glared at Cole. "You know these guys? I can't believe you set us up, Cole."
"No, this is not a set up." Cole struggled against his impulse to use his powers, realizing that he had none. "I'm not anyone's liege. I've never seen these guys before."
"You may not know us now," the gray-clad demon continued, "but you will. At least you will in the future we are trying to protect."
Samantha bit her lip nervously. Her coming here must have alerted the other side, and they must have sent these demons to stop her from changing the future. She felt a sinking in her stomach and began to tremble. She had come to keep her family safe, but now they were in just as much danger as they were in her time.
"You are the future of evil, sir." The demon smiled almost gleefully. "You cannot jeopardize your destiny, and ours, by trying to be vanquished."
Piper glanced around the room, trying to size up the situation and weigh her options. Even though the demons were immune to her freezing power, she could try to blow them up, but the demons holding Paige and Phoebe were shielding themselves too well with her sisters. She was afraid that if she tried to vanquish them, she might blow up one of her sisters instead. Piper turned her attention to the demon in gray that held Samantha. As the demon spoke to Cole, he turned slightly, giving Piper a clear shot at his back. At the thought of accidentally hurting Samantha, Piper hesitated, but she realized that she needed to take the risk.
Raising her hands, Piper paused for a second before unleashing her power on the demon. As if he had sensed what she was doing, the demon raised a hand in her direction and it glowed, absorbing her power. Turning to Piper, he sneered. "I am immune to your powers, witch." He waved his arm, flinging the explosion back at her, and the baby's shield materialized, deflecting it.
"And I'm immune to yours," Piper replied.
"Unfortunately," the demon said as he pulled Samantha more tightly against him, "your daughter is not. So if you don't want to watch her die before she is even born, you'll do as we ask." He pressed the knife more closely against Sam's throat and she whimpered in pain.
Piper felt her heart beat jump and a tightening in her chest, and she wordlessly lowered her hands.
"Look, I don't want to be the future of evil." The demon turned his attention back to Cole. "Besides, you're too late. They've all ready stripped my powers."
At Cole's revelation, Samantha felt her captor's hold loosen, the blade no longer pressing so firmly against her throat, and she contemplated trying to escape him.
"Then the witches will just have to reverse whatever magic they performed," the demon said, his voice breaking a little.
As he spoke Sam felt his hold loosen a little more, and she tried to squirm free, pulling the knife away from her throat. The demon that had captured Paige drew back an arm, forming an energy ball in his hand that he threw at Samantha.
"No!" Piper cried, but before she could react, Cole stepped in front of her daughter, the energy ball hitting him squarely in the chest and throwing him backwards onto the floor.
Her captor distracted, Paige managed to free one of her hands and called for the athame he was holding to her throat. Turning, she rammed it into his stomach, and the demon screamed as he disappeared in flames.
Phoebe also managed to escape her captor's grasp. "Piper!" Phoebe yelled as soon as she had freed herself from his hold, causing Piper to turn and blow him up.
Samantha finally struggled free as the demon in gray looked to Cole's body sprawled on the floor, his mouth opening in shock. "You killed him," he murmured softly. Turning back to the sisters, his face twisted in anger. "You killed him!"
He drew back his arm, preparing to attack, but before he could use his powers he erupted in flames, screaming as the fire consumed him.
"What the..." Paige gaped and the demon disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
"I used the baby's powers." Piper motioned urgently to Paige. "Quick. Come heal Leo."
Hurrying to Leo's side, Paige kneeled next to him and gently pulled the knife from his chest. Taking one of his hands in both of hers, she held their joined hands over his injury and concentrated. After a few seconds, Leo's hand began to glow and the wound vanished, restoring his clothes as well.
Leo's eyes fluttered open, and he sat up abruptly in panic. "Piper? What happened?" He looked from his wife to Paige. "Is everyone all right?"
"No, Cole's hurt. You need to heal him," Paige said as she helped Leo stand.
"No, you don't." Everyone turned at the sound of Phoebe's voice. She was sitting next to Cole's body, holding one of his hands in hers, her eyes glassy with tears. "He's all ready dead."
"Oh my God," Paige breathed as her stomach lurched in shock. She moved over to Phoebe, sitting next to her and placing an arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'm so sorry, honey."
Looking down at Cole's hand, Phoebe nodded sadly. "It's okay." She breathed in shakily, blinking away tears. "Before he died, he said, uh...He said that this was for the best. That now he knew he couldn't hurt us. And that, uh, that he was glad he died trying to keep my family safe." As she finished speaking, Phoebe's emotions overwhelmed her and she pressed a hand to her face as tears began flowing from her eyes. Paige pulled her close and Phoebe rested her head against her sister's shoulder.
Piper silently stared down at Cole, mindlessly rubbing her thumb against the seam inside of her sleeve. She wasn't sure what she should be feeling right now. Relief? Remorse? Guilt? Satisfaction? Somehow all of those emotions seemed to hit her at once. Cole had been a piece of their lives for so long, and a part of her couldn't quite believe he was really gone this time.
But there was something very final in the way his body laid on the floor utterly still--head turned to the side, arms spread, one of his legs twisted a little unnaturally. He was dead; he wasn't coming back this time. And he had died saving her daughter.
"Thank you, Cole," Piper murmured, smiling slightly.
After a moment, Piper's brow furrowed and she glanced anxiously around the room. Leaning in close to Leo, she whispered, "Where's Sam?"
Samantha felt panic rise in her chest as Leo's limbs went limp. "No, no, no, no. Not again. Daddy!"
As she moved toward to her father, the demon grabbed her roughly, trapping her arms against her side and pressing a blade to her throat.
"What the hell?" At Paige's outburst, Samantha looked over to see that her aunt had also been captured much as she had and then yet another demon materialized in the center of the room where Phoebe and Cole stood, jerking Phoebe against him and pinning her arms.
"Piper, freeze them!" Phoebe yelled as she tried to struggle against her captor's hold.
"I've been trying. They won't freeze." Piper looked to the demon that was holding Samantha. "What do you want? What did you do to my husband?"
Sam heard the demon laugh, his breath puffing against her ear. "Darklighter poison--only more effective. He should be dead in about ten minutes or so. As for what we want..." The demon turned, moving Sam in front of him like a shield until he was facing Cole. "We came to stop you, my liege."
"'My liege'?" Phoebe glared at Cole. "You know these guys? I can't believe you set us up, Cole."
"No, this is not a set up." Cole struggled against his impulse to use his powers, realizing that he had none. "I'm not anyone's liege. I've never seen these guys before."
"You may not know us now," the gray-clad demon continued, "but you will. At least you will in the future we are trying to protect."
Samantha bit her lip nervously. Her coming here must have alerted the other side, and they must have sent these demons to stop her from changing the future. She felt a sinking in her stomach and began to tremble. She had come to keep her family safe, but now they were in just as much danger as they were in her time.
"You are the future of evil, sir." The demon smiled almost gleefully. "You cannot jeopardize your destiny, and ours, by trying to be vanquished."
Piper glanced around the room, trying to size up the situation and weigh her options. Even though the demons were immune to her freezing power, she could try to blow them up, but the demons holding Paige and Phoebe were shielding themselves too well with her sisters. She was afraid that if she tried to vanquish them, she might blow up one of her sisters instead. Piper turned her attention to the demon in gray that held Samantha. As the demon spoke to Cole, he turned slightly, giving Piper a clear shot at his back. At the thought of accidentally hurting Samantha, Piper hesitated, but she realized that she needed to take the risk.
Raising her hands, Piper paused for a second before unleashing her power on the demon. As if he had sensed what she was doing, the demon raised a hand in her direction and it glowed, absorbing her power. Turning to Piper, he sneered. "I am immune to your powers, witch." He waved his arm, flinging the explosion back at her, and the baby's shield materialized, deflecting it.
"And I'm immune to yours," Piper replied.
"Unfortunately," the demon said as he pulled Samantha more tightly against him, "your daughter is not. So if you don't want to watch her die before she is even born, you'll do as we ask." He pressed the knife more closely against Sam's throat and she whimpered in pain.
Piper felt her heart beat jump and a tightening in her chest, and she wordlessly lowered her hands.
"Look, I don't want to be the future of evil." The demon turned his attention back to Cole. "Besides, you're too late. They've all ready stripped my powers."
At Cole's revelation, Samantha felt her captor's hold loosen, the blade no longer pressing so firmly against her throat, and she contemplated trying to escape him.
"Then the witches will just have to reverse whatever magic they performed," the demon said, his voice breaking a little.
As he spoke Sam felt his hold loosen a little more, and she tried to squirm free, pulling the knife away from her throat. The demon that had captured Paige drew back an arm, forming an energy ball in his hand that he threw at Samantha.
"No!" Piper cried, but before she could react, Cole stepped in front of her daughter, the energy ball hitting him squarely in the chest and throwing him backwards onto the floor.
Her captor distracted, Paige managed to free one of her hands and called for the athame he was holding to her throat. Turning, she rammed it into his stomach, and the demon screamed as he disappeared in flames.
Phoebe also managed to escape her captor's grasp. "Piper!" Phoebe yelled as soon as she had freed herself from his hold, causing Piper to turn and blow him up.
Samantha finally struggled free as the demon in gray looked to Cole's body sprawled on the floor, his mouth opening in shock. "You killed him," he murmured softly. Turning back to the sisters, his face twisted in anger. "You killed him!"
He drew back his arm, preparing to attack, but before he could use his powers he erupted in flames, screaming as the fire consumed him.
"What the..." Paige gaped and the demon disappeared in a wisp of smoke.
"I used the baby's powers." Piper motioned urgently to Paige. "Quick. Come heal Leo."
Hurrying to Leo's side, Paige kneeled next to him and gently pulled the knife from his chest. Taking one of his hands in both of hers, she held their joined hands over his injury and concentrated. After a few seconds, Leo's hand began to glow and the wound vanished, restoring his clothes as well.
Leo's eyes fluttered open, and he sat up abruptly in panic. "Piper? What happened?" He looked from his wife to Paige. "Is everyone all right?"
"No, Cole's hurt. You need to heal him," Paige said as she helped Leo stand.
"No, you don't." Everyone turned at the sound of Phoebe's voice. She was sitting next to Cole's body, holding one of his hands in hers, her eyes glassy with tears. "He's all ready dead."
"Oh my God," Paige breathed as her stomach lurched in shock. She moved over to Phoebe, sitting next to her and placing an arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'm so sorry, honey."
Looking down at Cole's hand, Phoebe nodded sadly. "It's okay." She breathed in shakily, blinking away tears. "Before he died, he said, uh...He said that this was for the best. That now he knew he couldn't hurt us. And that, uh, that he was glad he died trying to keep my family safe." As she finished speaking, Phoebe's emotions overwhelmed her and she pressed a hand to her face as tears began flowing from her eyes. Paige pulled her close and Phoebe rested her head against her sister's shoulder.
Piper silently stared down at Cole, mindlessly rubbing her thumb against the seam inside of her sleeve. She wasn't sure what she should be feeling right now. Relief? Remorse? Guilt? Satisfaction? Somehow all of those emotions seemed to hit her at once. Cole had been a piece of their lives for so long, and a part of her couldn't quite believe he was really gone this time.
But there was something very final in the way his body laid on the floor utterly still--head turned to the side, arms spread, one of his legs twisted a little unnaturally. He was dead; he wasn't coming back this time. And he had died saving her daughter.
"Thank you, Cole," Piper murmured, smiling slightly.
After a moment, Piper's brow furrowed and she glanced anxiously around the room. Leaning in close to Leo, she whispered, "Where's Sam?"
