"SECOND POWER" by RFK
PART FIVE
The words reverberated inside Olivia's mind.

"O eternal Goddess, Maiden, Mother and Crone, I am made from your flesh and you know me better than I know myself."

Her eyes firmly shut, Olivia become attuned to the forces surrounding her. Forces that radiated from her body.


"You understand depression, frustration, and anxiety. Please help me to control these emotions, and help me to convert these powerful feelings into love."

Now other forces captured her attention. They seemed to have originated from another dimension. Filled with magic and wonder.

"O eternal God, King of infinite wisdom and goodness, I am created from your essence, and I thank you for the gift of life."

A long tunnel appeared before Olivia. At the end, a bright light illuminated. She slowly made her way toward the light, while the chant continued filling her mind.


"Please teach me to be patient and humble, tolerant and gentle, especially when life's problems become heavy and difficult to bear. So Mote It Be."

Finally, she reached the end of the tunnel and stepped forward. Olivia emerged into the bright light and found herself in a whole new world. One that seemed filled with wonders and enchantment.

* * * *

Leo and Piper appeared in the hallway, outside Olivia's apartment. Both heaved sighs of relief. The whitelighter raised his hand and knocked on the door. Seconds passed and no one answered. Keeping his frustration in check, Leo knocked again.

"Maybe Paige was wrong and she's not home," Piper commented. She looked eager to leave.

Shaking his head, Leo replied, "No, she's home. I can sense her."

"Then why doesn't she . . .?"

Ignoring his wife, Leo knocked once more. When Olivia failed to answer, he and Piper exchanged worried glances. Then the whitelighter closed his eyes in another attempt to sense his charge's presence. "Oh my God," he murmured.

Piper frowned. "What?"

"Something's going on in there. I don't know what. Hold on. I'm going to orb us inside."

After Piper grabbed Leo's hand, he orbed out of the hallway. The moment he and Piper appeared inside Olivia's living room, they were met with a shocking surprise. The couple found everything hovering inches off the floor. Including Olivia, who squatted in Yoga position. Within seconds, both Leo and Piper were also hovering.

"Oh my God!" Piper cried out. "Le-eee-eo-ooo!" While her bulky figure hovered in the air, she waved her arms about. "How in the hell do we get down?"

Unfortunately, Leo was in no position to help his wife. Not while he was floating ten inches off the floor. Even worse, he could not orb. Olivia. He must get through to Olivia. Leo called out his charge's name. To no avail. The red-haired witch remained in a trance. He tried once more. "Olivia! O-liiv-vee-ah!"

* * * *

Something that faintly resembled a voice, echoed in Olivia's subconscious. It was only a glimmer, but loud enough to interrupt this new spiritual exploration. After a silent pause, Olivia happily resumed her meditation. Then the voice returned. "Olivia." Was someone calling her? And why was someone trying to pull her from this alternate dimension? Because quite frankly, she had no desire to leave. "Olivia! OLIVIA!" Finally, she recognized the voice's owner. Leo. Olivia finally snapped out of her trance and returned to her old world.

She slowly opened her eyes and found everything inside her apartment living room, floating in mid-air. Including Leo and Piper. Olivia let out a gasp. Objects started falling toward the floor. And the couple screamed. Using her telekinesis, Olivia again levitated both the objects and the bodies, before slowly lowering to the floor. Especially Piper, with whom she tried to be as gentle as possible. Once the pair reached the floor, Olivia cast them anxious looks. "God, I'm sorry! Are you guys, okay?"

Leo let out a gust of breath. "Yeah, I'm . . ." He frowned. "I'm fine. What happened? Has your telekinesis developed?" The whitelighter helped his wife to her feet. Then he helped Olivia. "I don't recall you ever doing that, before."

Olivia shrugged. "It was probably the meditation. Remember, Harry once read one of Phoebe's premonitions while he was meditating. And they both were miles apart, at the time."

"Try it again."

Before Olivia could make the attempt, Piper interrupted. "Uh, before you do, would you mind if I step outside?"

A small smile tugged Olivia's lips. "Perhaps I should try it another time. So," her smile disappeared, "what do I owe the pleasure of your company? And what are you doing inside my apartment? Without my permission?"

"Uh, Leo?" Piper shot her husband an uneasy glance. "I think you should answer this."

The whitelighter squirmed under Olivia's direct stare. "Uh . . . well, it's like this. You didn't answer, when I rang the doorbell."

"So?"

"C'mon Olivia! I thought something was happening to you!" Leo protested. "I could sense your presence inside and you didn't answer. So . . . we . . ." He glanced at Piper, "I thought it was best to orb in right away. Just in case."

Nodding, Olivia said. "Okay. I guess you had every right. Next question. Why are the Founders so interested in my relationship with Cole? Has this something to do with my new power?"

This time, the whitelighter hesitated. "Well, as a matter of fact . . ."

A long dry sigh escaped Olivia's mouth. "Awwww, I knew it! Good grief! I should have known they wouldn't be able to keep their damn noses out of my business!"

"Olivia! They're very concerned, and quite frankly, I don't blame them! You now have a strong firepower. And a powerful - almost invincible - demon is helping you control it. That's a pretty dangerous combination!"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Really? And what exactly do you think Cole is going to do? Lure me to the demonic world? Into evil? Hell, I don't need his help to do that! And neither would anyone else!"

"I don't know about that," Piper commented coolly. "My sisters and I aren't exactly inclined toward . . . the dark side."

Shooting a contemptuous look at the Charmed One, Olivia coolly retorted, "I wouldn't sell myself short, honey, if I were you." Piper's face turned red.

"Look Olivia," Leo continued, "I realize that you consider Cole . . ." He paused, as another frown flitted across his face. "Wait a minute! Why are you letting Cole train you in the first place? Paige told us that you two were not spea . . ."

The doorbell rang, interrupting Leo. Olivia strode toward the door. A quick glance through the peephole revealed Cole standing in the hallway. Speak of the devil. She opened the door and drawled, "Well, look who's here. Cole."

The half-demon greeted her coolly. "Olivia. Are you ready for . . .?" His eyes fell upon the two visitors inside the apartment. Cole paused. "Oh. Leo. Piper. What are you two doing here?"

"Actually, we should be asking you that question," Leo shot back, hostility brimming in his voice. "Since Olivia is my charge and I'm her whitelighter, I couldn't help but wonder why 'you' are helping her with this new power."

The combination of a sneer and a smirk marred Cole's handsome face. "Well, if you had been around more often, instead of meeting every half hour with your masters, maybe you would have found the time to help Olivia."

Leo's face turned red with anger. Even Piper seemed upset by Cole's remark. "Hey!" she protested. "Leo's only doing his job!"

"And what exactly is that?"

The whitelighter made a threatening step toward the half-demon, before either Olivia or Piper could stop him. "And what are you doing here?" Leo accused. "Last I heard, Olivia had been avoiding you for nearly two weeks! And now you decided to pop back into her life, the moment her second power manifested!"

Olivia began uneasily, "Uh, Leo . . ."

"What?" Leo rounded on his charge. "Are you telling me that you never found it odd that Cole suddenly became interested in helping you with your new power, after you two spent two weeks not speaking to each? And what happened to the witch who was supposed to help you?"

The uneasy memory of Margot Palmer's flight, flashed in Olivia's mind. "Well, about Margot . . ."

"What about her? What happened to her? Did Cole frightened her away? Suddenly offered to help you in her place? I wonder why?" Leo glared at Cole. "Maybe the Elders have a right to be . . ."

Cole waved his hand at Leo. Who immediately transformed into a mini tape recorder. The half-demon picked it - Leo - from the floor and pushed the STOP button.

"What the hell?" Piper cried out.

Olivia shot her neighbor a warning glance. "Cole . . ."

"He wouldn't stop talking," Cole protested with a shrug. "I had to shut him up some way."

Piper demanded angrily, "TURN HIM BACK! NOW!!"

"I will," Cole replied casually. "If you promise to keep him quiet."

The Charmed One raised her hands in a threatening manner. "Turn him back now, Cole! Or I will . . ."

"You'll do what?"

Dark eyes slitted dangerously, Piper hissed through clenched teetch, "I'll make you wish you had never returned from the Wasteland! Don't forget that I'm carrying a very powerful baby!"

"Powerful enough to hurt me?" Cole's blue eyes flashed in a challenging manner. "Wanna give it a shot?"

Piper made a threatening move forward. At that moment, Olivia decided to step between the two hostiles. "That's enough!" she bellowed. "I'm not in the mood for a supernatural smackdown! Not in my place!" She faced Cole. "Will you please do as Piper asked and transform Leo back to his normal self?"

Cole let out a sigh. Then he dropped the recorder on the floor with a casual thud, garnering a cold glare from said recorder's wife. With a wave of his hand, he transformed Leo back into the latter's original form. The whitelighter opened his mouth to speak and the rest were greeted with silence.

Olivia glared at the half-demon. "Cole! His voice!"

"Oh. Yeah, right." Cole waved his hand once more and restored Leo's voice.