Convergence
By Risa
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Author's Note: Hopefully this chapter doesn't get *too* confusing… I wanted to include so many things, which is partly why this chapter took so long to write. Anyway, I hope that you'll enjoy this!
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Chapter Two
"What? You mean there's another Cole running around?" Paige said, startled. "There's just no way of getting rid of you guys, is there?"
"This feels like a bad science-fiction movie," Phoebe groaned, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes in exasperation.
"But why's he doing this?" Piper asked, baffled.
"I don't know," Cole said, his old frustration rising once more. "I don't know anything about what he is, where he comes from…"
Just then, Leo orbed into the living room. "I don't like this!" he shouted as he glared upwards.
"And hello to you too," Paige remarked.
"That was meant for Them," Leo said sheepishly. Then he saw Cole, who was looking at him curiously. "You're here already," he said dispassionately. "Good. Saves us the trouble of having to look for you."
Four pairs of eyes stared back at him blankly.
"The Elders said that we'll have to work with you on this," Leo explained, his expression wary. "But one wrong move – "
"Okay, I've had enough," Cole interrupted, frustrated. "Look, I have no idea what the Cole in this world did to you but I'm sick of all this suspicion. I am not that Cole." He paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "The Coles of all the different worlds start out with similar souls, but that isn't the end of the story. The kind of person that we are is also the result of what has happened in our lives. We aren't carbon copies of each other."
Leo sighed. "Perhaps I was overreacting," he admitted, the weariness and tension obvious in his face. "After all we had been through with Cole and all the chaos that's going on right now…" He sat down and leaned back in the sofa in an attempt to relieve some of his tiredness.
"Leo, what's wrong?" Piper asked in concern. She had rarely seen him look this exhausted.
"The barriers between heaven and hell seem to breaking down. We've got demons and all sorts of other stuff trying to invade heaven. All the Whitelighters have been called back to try and keep them out."
"So that's how he's doing it this time round!" Cole exclaimed.
"Care to translate that?" Paige said impatiently.
"Well, he's used quite a few ways to destroy the different worlds. This time, he's decided to break down the barrier between heaven and hell. See, heaven and hell are like two opposing forces – they've got to be kept separate. If you force them together before the time is right…"
"Backlash and the world as we know it goes boom," Phoebe finished bleakly. "Great. This is just great."
"Hey, it's not so bad. I've chased him through more than ten worlds and this is the closest I've got to stopping him," Cole said, with a small, bitter smile on his face. He had felt so tired, so helpless, so alone, chasing his double from world after world without any success. He would have given up or gone insane a long time ago if it wasn't for Phoebe.
"You're our only chance left to stop him from doing this again."
"Cole?"
He blinked in confusion, as his mind was pulled back to the present. Piper looked at him in concern. "I asked if you had any ideas about how to stop Cole," she said slowly and gently. She had caught the look in his eyes and knew that whatever he was thinking about, it was obviously something that brought him a great deal of pain. She had seen that look often enough on their Cole's face. That pain, that hurt, that longing… She began to wonder just how different this Cole really was.
"The barriers are usually held up by crystals in certain locations – do you think those Elders you were talking about will know where they are?" Cole asked, thinking aloud.
Leo nodded.
"Good. Then we'll know his location and we can end this once and for all," Cole said with grim, determined finality, his brown eyes dark and cold.
"You're planning some sort of kamikaze attack, aren't you?" Phoebe asked accusingly. She knew that look, that I'll-do-this-even-if-I-die-trying look. The depth of fear and concern that she felt for this Cole was disconcerting. She barely knew him. Maybe it was just because of his resemblance to her Cole, but even that wasn't right. She had hardly felt anything for Cole for so long…
"What I do is my own concern," he said coldly, as he glared at the rest of them, daring them to question him and his actions. He didn't want to put them at risk with their involvement. It didn't matter if he died, as long as he brought his double along with him. He should have been destroyed with his world anyway.
"While you're in our world what you do is our concern," Piper said firmly. "You're talking about the fates of everyone in this world – we should at least know what you're trying to do."
Cole sighed. "There's a world that's dying," he began reluctantly. The Keeper of that world and I placed a barrier over that world – you can still get in, but you can't get out. All I need is body contact with my double and I'll be able to get both of us there."
"No, there has to be some other way," Phoebe said, rejecting Cole's idea immediately. I just don't want anyone innocent to die, she told herself, that's perfectly normal. She ignored the small traitorous voice in her head that said, So why are you so concerned about justifying your actions to yourself?
"We don't have time to find another way!" Cole said, raking his hand through his hair in frustration.
Piper saw the stubborn glint in Phoebe's eyes and knew that unless she intervened, this issue wouldn't be resolved without a fight. "Leo, you'll need some time to get the location from the Elders, right?"
Leo nodded. "Everything's chaotic up there right now. It'll probably be a while before I can get hold of the Elders."
"In the meantime, Cole, you'll let us see if we can find some other way out. After all, you can't do anything until you get the location from Leo, right?"
Cole nodded reluctantly.
"That's settled then," Piper said with some satisfaction. "Now let's get to work."
"There's something bothering you," Phoebe stated as the rest left the living room. Throughout their discussion she had noticed how frequently Cole would look at her. The looks were sometimes haunted, sometimes longing but always aching. This might be a different Cole, but she could still read him like a book – a fact that was just slightly disturbing.
Cole sighed. "It's nothing. You just remind me of the Phoebe I knew." He drifted off, lost in memory. His voice became distant, as if he was talking to himself instead of Phoebe. "She died with the rest of my world. I could have saved her…"
"Phoebe!" Cole yelled in panic as the force of the vortex pulled her away from him. He turned, the harsh winds causing his hair to whip against his face, and saw Phoebe clinging to the pillars of a large building as the vortex continued to suck in everything in its path. "Hold on! I'm coming!"
"No!" she shouted. "Cole, you have to get out. I can't let you risk your life for me. You're our only chance left to stop him from doing this again. Besides, there's nothing I can do to help you. I'll only be a burden."
"No, I'm not leaving without you – "
"Go," she said, as the tears began to fall. She had to make him leave. She released her hold on the building and allowed herself to be pulled into the vortex. "I love you, Cole. Remember that."
"Phoebe!" he shouted in despair and anguish. He felt the tears well up in his eyes as he closed the portal he created, leaving his world behind. But he would not cry, he thought in steeled determination and cold fury. He would hunt down the man who did this and God help him when he did.
Phoebe felt her heart twist as she saw the pain and despair on Cole's face. He had loved her doppelganger deeply, passionately and, for a moment, she was envious of her double. Then she remembered. She had been loved like that once before. And she realised, in that instant, that she had never really stopped loving Cole. She had just tightly locked away those feelings, refusing to acknowledge their existence. She kept telling herself that she didn't love him any more and all she wanted to do was get on with her life. She buried away the memories of everything they had shared together, fearful that the regret would shake her resolve. Soon, the lie she had so carefully built became the only truth she knew.
She had been so scared of the power of the love that they had shared. She had very nearly gone against everything she believed in because of that love. She had always prided herself on her independence but the love she had for Cole seemed to have a mind of its own, depriving her of all her self control. And she was terrified. She was also weary and tired. Their relationship had been so full of complications and difficulties; it was just so much easier to just throw in the towel.
But now, staring at the Cole in front of her, she realised just how much she had missed him. The way he looked at her, the way he smiled at her, the way he would gently hold her in his arms... back in the days when everything had seemed so perfect…
Cole's mind was gradually pulled back to the present as the memories faded away. Phoebe's presence had barely registered in his mind. He looked at her and was caught by the brown depths of her eyes, staring at him with wistfulness and something almost like wonder. For a moment, the line between reality and memory disappeared. This was the face that he had missed so much, the only thing that kept him going. Hesitantly, he raised his hand to caress her face, almost afraid to touch her, scarcely believing that she was real and frightened that this was only smoke and illusion.
Phoebe leaned into his touch, into that familiar hand, that familiar gesture… Then she felt the cool touch of a metal band that had never been there before. She blinked, pulling away and shaking her head, dragging herself back to reality. This was a different Cole and it was a different Phoebe that he was thinking of. "I'm sorry, it's just…"
"I know," Cole said softly, as he pulled back as well, straightening. It had been so tempting to just forget everything that had happened, to imagine that the Phoebe in front of him was the Phoebe he knew. But that wasn't fair to her. And they had far more important things to deal with right now.
"Anyway, we should go see if Paige and Piper have found anything," Phoebe said uncomfortably, as she stood up and tried to push away all the confusion in her mind.
Cole nodded as he followed after her, each maintaining a careful distance from the other.
It was three hours later when Leo finally returned. "It's almost impossible to find anything up there," he said wearily. "Anyway, I'll orb you guys there if you're ready."
"Well, we've finished the banishment spell and Wyatt's at the babysitter's so – " Piper began before the ground began to shake. The vases and other glassware crashed to the ground. Shouts were heard in the distance amidst the dull rumbling of the ground.
"The strain from the breakdown of the barrier," Cole said, raising his voice above the din as he tried to keep his balance, "We don't have much time."
"C'mon," Leo said, as he held out his hands.
They arrived on a large cliff in what seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Waves crashed against the steely grey stone as the dark clouds gathered above. Apart from the grass that they were standing on, there was no other sign of life.
Except for the man in front of them. He stood with his palms open above a large crystal, staring down at it intently. The crystal was clear, with swirls of blue and purple. Right now however, it was glowing with a sick, dirty, yellow glow.
"Cole, you can stop what you're doing right now," Cole said, his tone icy.
His double looked up, briefly startled. Then a large grin appeared on his face. "Ah, Cole!" his double exclaimed. "You finally managed to catch up with me. There again, you are my doppelganger. It figures that you should have at least some of my intelligence."
"I'm nothing like you," Cole said angrily, "you're sick, twisted and insane."
The look on his double's face hardened. "As if you wouldn't be under the right circumstances?" Then he noticed the people standing behind Cole. A look of shock appeared on his face as his eyes fixed on Phoebe. But the shock quickly dissolved into another mad grin. "How considerate of you to bring company. I always did enjoy performing in front of an audience. And Phoebe, you look enchanting, just like all your doubles."
Phoebe looked at the two Coles in front of her, disconcerted. They looked exactly the same but they were totally, utterly different. Cole's double – Mad Hatter Cole, as Phoebe had silently dubbed him – was as handsome as the two other Coles she had known. But for all his cheerfulness and charm there was a terrifying insanity in his eyes which Phoebe had never seen before. The closest to it was the look she had seen in her Cole's eyes in the months before Paige vanquished him for real. And that was nothing compared to this.
It was at that instant that she fully comprehended just how dangerous this Cole was.
Suddenly, without warning, Cole lunged towards his double, pushing him to the ground, nearly causing the crystal to topple in the process. As he held on to his double's neck, a violet glow began to appear. Then the glow abruptly vanished as Cole was kicked off his double. The other Cole stood up and raised his hand, a grim smile on his face. Cole found himself immobile and involuntarily cried out in pain as he felt the squeeze of an invisible hand around his neck.
"The spell! Quick, Paige!" Phoebe said urgently, as Paige passed her the paper that they had written the spell on. Phoebe, Piper and Paige read out the spell as fast and as clearly as they could, hoping that the spell would work and that they wouldn't be too late.
Cole felt the pressure on his neck cease abruptly as his double knelt onto the ground, doubling over with pain. He roared in rage and pain as he disappeared in flames. A sigil appeared, as if it was imprinted onto the flames. The flames soon died away but the sigil lingered for a moment longer before slowly fading away.
"Oh God," Paige said, reeling, her face pale as she recognised the sigil.
"Paige? What's wrong?" Piper asked, touching Paige's shoulder in concern.
"I was the one who gave him the power to destroy all those worlds." Paige said softly, as realisation dawned on her, her eyes shadowed with grief and horror.
*~ To Be Continued ~*