Carry On My Wayward Son
(After watching the season five finale and going into complete shock at the very end of the episode, I decided to write this. There are many possibilities as to who Chris really is, and this is my take on that.)
CHAPTER 1: Resurrection
As Cole Turner, ex-demon, ex-Source of All Evil, recently deceased Avatar regained consciousness, his first coherent thought was that death felt an awful lot like a hangover.
Of course, he then realized that he couldn't be dead, because he should have been burning in the pits of Hell.
Slowly, with much effort, Cole blinked open sticky eyes...and nearly fainted at the figure standing before him.
"LEO?!" Cole exclaimed in a raspy voice.
Leo Wyatt, newly named Head Elder, smiled slightly at his former brother-in-law. "Welcome back, Cole," he said softly.
"Back?" Cole questioned. He then took a look at his surroundings. White pillars stood to the left and right of the walkway where he was lying. A swirling mist lay about half an inch off the floor. "Where..."
"Heaven," Leo answered.
Giving Leo an incredulous look, Cole gently eased himself into a sitting position and then stood up slowly. He was surprised to find that his muscles, which had been aching a minute ago, now felt normal, and his head was no longer pounding. After a minute, Cole finally found his voice again. "Why, Leo? Why would you bring me back?"
"I need your help," Leo began, but was interrupted by a bitter laugh.
Cole laughed softly, and then his face took on a cold look as he said, "Of course, why not? Beat him, kill him, but keep Cole around in case we need him to help...sorry Leo, I'm not some weakling or a masochist. I'm done... " Cole said as he turned and began to walk away.
He got about four steps before he heard Leo say, "She still loves you."
Cole whirled and said, "What?"
Leo sighed. What he was about to say was a conclusion he never thought he would come to, but it nevertheless made sense. "As much as I hate to admit it," Leo said, "and as much as you won't believe it, Phoebe needs you. In fact, she still loves you deep inside, although she won't admit it to herself."
"You're lying," Cole stated flatly.
"You know me better than that," Leo replied seriously.
"You can't be serious," said Cole. "Even if she believed me if I told her I didn't come back on my own this time, she'd still bring up the whole 'You betrayed me' issue, and sooner vanquish me than listen to me. Hell," he added, "she'd probably have Piper blow you up for bringing me back."
"Things have changed since you were alive, Cole," said Leo gravely. "I'm not just a Whitelighter anymore."
Cole noticed the gold-colored robe Leo was wearing for the first time. "An Elder?" he asked in surprise. Leo nodded. "How the hell did that happen?"
Leo explained what had happened recently. He told Cole of the Titans' escape from their prison, how Chris, the Whitelighter from the future, had helped him when most of the Elders had been killed. He told how he'd made the girls' the modern personification of the Greek goddesses in order to have enough power to kill the Titans, and how Piper had nearly lost her mind when she found out about Leo's promotion.
"I managed to give Piper peace about all this, but even I know that it won't be the same as actually being there with her, and my son," Leo said sadly.
"Not that I don't think all of this is amazing, Leo," Cole said dryly, "but what does this have to do with why I'm back?"
"It's about Chris," Leo explained. "I don't know if he is who he claims to be. In fact, I don't even know if he is a Whitelighter at all. He may have just acquired the orbing power from somewhere else."
"What makes you think that?" Cole asked curiously.
"The fact that he somehow blew me into orbs when I was orbing back up here after leaving the Manor a week ago says something about his character," Leo said, shaking his head. "Besides, how many beings do you know of who can transcend time?"
Cole shuddered, thinking of his last memories of being an Avatar. "So, you want me to keep an eye on him and find out if he has another agenda?" Again, Leo nodded. "Why would you want me, specifically, to do this for you?"
"Believe it or not, Cole, I never completely believed that you betrayed us," Leo said. "Of course, the girls would have sooner crucified me than listened to me if I'd said that." Leo chuckled momentarily at the thought. "I can see the good in you, Cole, and despite my previous reservations against you, your humanity, not your powers, makes you one of the strongest beings I've ever seen. You've suffered things I've only seen in my nightmares, and yet you survived it because of the good in you."
"How do you know about that?" Cole asked as his face paled.
"I read your memories," Leo said gravely.
"You had no right!" Cole snarled as he turned his back on Leo.
Leo waited for several moments as he saw Cole shaking slightly before asking, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"You never gave me a chance," Cole said quietly as he fought to master the fear that those memories brought back.
"I'm truly sorry for that," Leo said.
Cole whirled, ready to snap at Leo for patronizing. But something in Leo's eyes made him realize that Leo wasn't lying, he was truly sorry. Cole sighed, and felt deep down some of his bitterness and anger fade, like an old wound finally healing. "Yeah, you would be."
Leo looked into Cole's eyes for several moments, and then added quietly, "We need you, Cole. I need you...she needs you."
Cole pondered and weighed Leo's words carefully. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and finally said very softly, "Alright. I'll do it."
Some of the strain left Leo's face as he replied, "Thank you."
A ghost of a smile crossed Cole's face, but left as he added, "I have a few questions though."
"Fire away," Leo said.
"First, WHAT exactly am I now?" Cole asked. Deep inside, he could feel it. He was different.
"When I brought you back, your original powers came with you," said Leo. "Don't ask me why. That was something I had no control over. However, I figured you would need something else in you to balance against your demonic half, so in case your demonic powers were ever stripped again, you'd have something to fall back on to prevent being possessed." Cole shivered at the reference to his possession by the old Source. "Because of that, I changed your human half, and made you half-Whitelighter, half- demon. You'll be able to orb and heal as well as shimmer and throw energy balls, and your self-healing abilities will be highly advanced. You'll also be able to turn invisible."
"And if I shimmer, it will be harder for Chris to sense me," Cole concluded shrewdly while his mind reeled from the implications. Leo nodded. "Ok. My second question is..." Cole swallowed convulsively and tried to force the words out, "How can you be so sure?"
Leo smiled. He knew what Cole was asking. "As her Whitelighter, and now as an Elder, I can sense Phoebe's emotions. Despite her own claims, I've never felt love in her as strongly as when she was with you. You were a source of strength for her, and without you, she'll become the future version of herself you met when she cast that spell. Now tell me honestly, Cole. Would you really let Phoebe become a bitter old woman if you could stop it?"
"No," Cole answered firmly. "It's just...I don't know if I can take more rejection."
"I'm not saying that you should go right to the Manor," continued Leo. "In fact, I'd suggest that you observe them all first without their knowledge, learn what you can, and report to me. In addition, you may want to look into getting your old job back, so you'll have a steady source of income. As far as I remember, the penthouse should still be registered to you."
Cole nodded. As he turned to leave, he looked back and said, "I'll do this Leo...for her, and..."
"And what?" Leo asked when Cole trailed off.
Cole looked at Leo, and Leo could see the deep turmoil within his soul. "Ever since I met Phoebe, I've been ashamed of what I was, and what I've done. I'm tired of being ashamed. I want to look into the mirror every morning, and I want to like what I see." Cole didn't wait for a response; he shimmered down to Earth, where a new destiny awaited him.
****
"A little help here!" said Paige as she and Phoebe shuffled into the foyer, their arms full of bags.
"Hang on, I'm coming!" yelled Piper. She quickly relieved some of the bags from her sisters and walked with them into the kitchen, setting the bags onto the table. "How much stuff did you guys buy?"
"Hey, it's not like we didn't need it," remarked Phoebe. "Have you taken a look at our potion supplies lately?" She gestured at the open cabinet, which was almost completely empty.
"Alright, point taken," conceded Piper as she helped Phoebe and Paige stock the new potion supplies in the cabinet.
"Where's Wyatt?" Paige asked.
"He's taking a nap. So, Pheebs, how did the date go with Evan last night?" she inquired.
"Eh, it was alright, I guess," Phoebe said indistinctly.
"What's wrong, honey?" asked Paige.
Phoebe sighed. "It's just ever since Cole...you know, I haven't had a solid relationship with a guy, and I miss that. I mean, I liked being with Jason, but he's in Hong Kong now, and when he comes back, what if I'm in another relationship?" Phoebe pressed her hands to her forehead. "This is so confusing."
"It'll be ok, sweetie," said Piper, putting her hands on Phoebe's shoulders. "Everything will work out for you. You just have to be patient."
Phoebe smiled. "Thanks, Piper," she said gratefully.
Suddenly, a noise came from the baby monitor interrupted them. "What was that?" Piper wondered aloud. The sisters went upstairs to Wyatt's room. When they got there, they were shocked to see Chris sitting in a chair watching Wyatt sleep.
Chris looked down at Wyatt, and he said, "You are so quiet, so peaceful...so happy. Trust me, Wyatt; hold onto that as long as you can. You have no idea how much you'll miss it." Suddenly, Chris became aware of the sisters in the room, and he turned expecting warm smiles. However he was shocked to see that all of them, especially Piper, had looks of contempt on their faces instead. Piper walked up and nearly knocked Chris over as she came to pick up her son. "Hey, what gives?" Chris asked in annoyance. Piper didn't answer him and turned her back to walk out the door. As she left, Chris continued, "Why have you been ignoring me for the past week? What did I do to deserve that?"
Piper whirled around, anger and frustration on her face. "I'll tell you what you did. You manipulated things so that my husband is no longer able to live with us, and then, all of a sudden, you think you can just take over as our Whitelighter. Well, let me tell you something, buddy. I don't care if Leo assigned you to us. NOBODY can replace him as our Whitelighter, ever. So, don't say that I owe you anything." With that, Piper whirled around and walked out the door, Paige and Phoebe right behind her.
For a moment, Chris looked at the doorway with sadness on his face. However, the sadness soon gave way to anger, and he snarled, "Ungrateful bitch..." before he orbed out in rage.
****
Cole breathed in the salty fragrance of the air and sighed. It had been quite some time since he'd had the chance to survey the cityscape, and he wanted to relish its beauty.
Ironically, he was standing on the same spot where Piper had summoned a storm while venting her godly rage at Leo's promotion. However, Cole felt no such rage. In fact, for the first time in almost two years, Cole felt at peace with himself, and he wasn't at all surprised. The fact that he was now half-Whitelighter as well as half-demon had given his soul a balance between Good and Evil he had never fully felt before. Giving one last long look at the Golden Gate Bridge, Cole orbed to the penthouse.
As he materialized, the first thing that hit him was the echoing emptiness of the place. While he was staying there, Cole had done nothing, had not personalized the apartment at all. When he left, the place was exactly as he'd rented, exactly as Phoebe and he'd...Cole violently shook his head, dismissing those memories. Right now, he had a life to get back, and a witch to watch. Cole grinned. He may be part Whitelighter, but that doesn't mean he had their ethics. A little 'persuasion' was in order to get his job back. Still grinning, Cole headed for the phone.
****
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a very different event was occurring in the West Andes Mountains. The mountains had an ancient and terrifying beauty to them, an overwhelming silence that seemed to force even the smallest person to give homage, as if they defied all attempts to tame them and rose boldly into the sky to assert their dominance.
The silence was shattered as a cloaked figure appeared on the mountain. The figure walked briskly, through howling winds and deep snows. The figure walked directly towards the mountain face, and paused before it. A few moments later, there was a slight shimmer, and the mountain face vanished, revealing a crevice. Within the crevice lay a book, a book that seemed to pulse with evil. A smile seemed to play over the figure's face as the figure walked forward and whispered, "At last you are back into worthy hands."
A moment before the figure's hands would come into contact with the Grimoire, it vanished. The figure frowned for a moment, and then grinned ruefully, "I obviously didn't give you enough credit Leo...this may take longer than I thought."
TO BE CONTINUED...
(After watching the season five finale and going into complete shock at the very end of the episode, I decided to write this. There are many possibilities as to who Chris really is, and this is my take on that.)
CHAPTER 1: Resurrection
As Cole Turner, ex-demon, ex-Source of All Evil, recently deceased Avatar regained consciousness, his first coherent thought was that death felt an awful lot like a hangover.
Of course, he then realized that he couldn't be dead, because he should have been burning in the pits of Hell.
Slowly, with much effort, Cole blinked open sticky eyes...and nearly fainted at the figure standing before him.
"LEO?!" Cole exclaimed in a raspy voice.
Leo Wyatt, newly named Head Elder, smiled slightly at his former brother-in-law. "Welcome back, Cole," he said softly.
"Back?" Cole questioned. He then took a look at his surroundings. White pillars stood to the left and right of the walkway where he was lying. A swirling mist lay about half an inch off the floor. "Where..."
"Heaven," Leo answered.
Giving Leo an incredulous look, Cole gently eased himself into a sitting position and then stood up slowly. He was surprised to find that his muscles, which had been aching a minute ago, now felt normal, and his head was no longer pounding. After a minute, Cole finally found his voice again. "Why, Leo? Why would you bring me back?"
"I need your help," Leo began, but was interrupted by a bitter laugh.
Cole laughed softly, and then his face took on a cold look as he said, "Of course, why not? Beat him, kill him, but keep Cole around in case we need him to help...sorry Leo, I'm not some weakling or a masochist. I'm done... " Cole said as he turned and began to walk away.
He got about four steps before he heard Leo say, "She still loves you."
Cole whirled and said, "What?"
Leo sighed. What he was about to say was a conclusion he never thought he would come to, but it nevertheless made sense. "As much as I hate to admit it," Leo said, "and as much as you won't believe it, Phoebe needs you. In fact, she still loves you deep inside, although she won't admit it to herself."
"You're lying," Cole stated flatly.
"You know me better than that," Leo replied seriously.
"You can't be serious," said Cole. "Even if she believed me if I told her I didn't come back on my own this time, she'd still bring up the whole 'You betrayed me' issue, and sooner vanquish me than listen to me. Hell," he added, "she'd probably have Piper blow you up for bringing me back."
"Things have changed since you were alive, Cole," said Leo gravely. "I'm not just a Whitelighter anymore."
Cole noticed the gold-colored robe Leo was wearing for the first time. "An Elder?" he asked in surprise. Leo nodded. "How the hell did that happen?"
Leo explained what had happened recently. He told Cole of the Titans' escape from their prison, how Chris, the Whitelighter from the future, had helped him when most of the Elders had been killed. He told how he'd made the girls' the modern personification of the Greek goddesses in order to have enough power to kill the Titans, and how Piper had nearly lost her mind when she found out about Leo's promotion.
"I managed to give Piper peace about all this, but even I know that it won't be the same as actually being there with her, and my son," Leo said sadly.
"Not that I don't think all of this is amazing, Leo," Cole said dryly, "but what does this have to do with why I'm back?"
"It's about Chris," Leo explained. "I don't know if he is who he claims to be. In fact, I don't even know if he is a Whitelighter at all. He may have just acquired the orbing power from somewhere else."
"What makes you think that?" Cole asked curiously.
"The fact that he somehow blew me into orbs when I was orbing back up here after leaving the Manor a week ago says something about his character," Leo said, shaking his head. "Besides, how many beings do you know of who can transcend time?"
Cole shuddered, thinking of his last memories of being an Avatar. "So, you want me to keep an eye on him and find out if he has another agenda?" Again, Leo nodded. "Why would you want me, specifically, to do this for you?"
"Believe it or not, Cole, I never completely believed that you betrayed us," Leo said. "Of course, the girls would have sooner crucified me than listened to me if I'd said that." Leo chuckled momentarily at the thought. "I can see the good in you, Cole, and despite my previous reservations against you, your humanity, not your powers, makes you one of the strongest beings I've ever seen. You've suffered things I've only seen in my nightmares, and yet you survived it because of the good in you."
"How do you know about that?" Cole asked as his face paled.
"I read your memories," Leo said gravely.
"You had no right!" Cole snarled as he turned his back on Leo.
Leo waited for several moments as he saw Cole shaking slightly before asking, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"You never gave me a chance," Cole said quietly as he fought to master the fear that those memories brought back.
"I'm truly sorry for that," Leo said.
Cole whirled, ready to snap at Leo for patronizing. But something in Leo's eyes made him realize that Leo wasn't lying, he was truly sorry. Cole sighed, and felt deep down some of his bitterness and anger fade, like an old wound finally healing. "Yeah, you would be."
Leo looked into Cole's eyes for several moments, and then added quietly, "We need you, Cole. I need you...she needs you."
Cole pondered and weighed Leo's words carefully. After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and finally said very softly, "Alright. I'll do it."
Some of the strain left Leo's face as he replied, "Thank you."
A ghost of a smile crossed Cole's face, but left as he added, "I have a few questions though."
"Fire away," Leo said.
"First, WHAT exactly am I now?" Cole asked. Deep inside, he could feel it. He was different.
"When I brought you back, your original powers came with you," said Leo. "Don't ask me why. That was something I had no control over. However, I figured you would need something else in you to balance against your demonic half, so in case your demonic powers were ever stripped again, you'd have something to fall back on to prevent being possessed." Cole shivered at the reference to his possession by the old Source. "Because of that, I changed your human half, and made you half-Whitelighter, half- demon. You'll be able to orb and heal as well as shimmer and throw energy balls, and your self-healing abilities will be highly advanced. You'll also be able to turn invisible."
"And if I shimmer, it will be harder for Chris to sense me," Cole concluded shrewdly while his mind reeled from the implications. Leo nodded. "Ok. My second question is..." Cole swallowed convulsively and tried to force the words out, "How can you be so sure?"
Leo smiled. He knew what Cole was asking. "As her Whitelighter, and now as an Elder, I can sense Phoebe's emotions. Despite her own claims, I've never felt love in her as strongly as when she was with you. You were a source of strength for her, and without you, she'll become the future version of herself you met when she cast that spell. Now tell me honestly, Cole. Would you really let Phoebe become a bitter old woman if you could stop it?"
"No," Cole answered firmly. "It's just...I don't know if I can take more rejection."
"I'm not saying that you should go right to the Manor," continued Leo. "In fact, I'd suggest that you observe them all first without their knowledge, learn what you can, and report to me. In addition, you may want to look into getting your old job back, so you'll have a steady source of income. As far as I remember, the penthouse should still be registered to you."
Cole nodded. As he turned to leave, he looked back and said, "I'll do this Leo...for her, and..."
"And what?" Leo asked when Cole trailed off.
Cole looked at Leo, and Leo could see the deep turmoil within his soul. "Ever since I met Phoebe, I've been ashamed of what I was, and what I've done. I'm tired of being ashamed. I want to look into the mirror every morning, and I want to like what I see." Cole didn't wait for a response; he shimmered down to Earth, where a new destiny awaited him.
****
"A little help here!" said Paige as she and Phoebe shuffled into the foyer, their arms full of bags.
"Hang on, I'm coming!" yelled Piper. She quickly relieved some of the bags from her sisters and walked with them into the kitchen, setting the bags onto the table. "How much stuff did you guys buy?"
"Hey, it's not like we didn't need it," remarked Phoebe. "Have you taken a look at our potion supplies lately?" She gestured at the open cabinet, which was almost completely empty.
"Alright, point taken," conceded Piper as she helped Phoebe and Paige stock the new potion supplies in the cabinet.
"Where's Wyatt?" Paige asked.
"He's taking a nap. So, Pheebs, how did the date go with Evan last night?" she inquired.
"Eh, it was alright, I guess," Phoebe said indistinctly.
"What's wrong, honey?" asked Paige.
Phoebe sighed. "It's just ever since Cole...you know, I haven't had a solid relationship with a guy, and I miss that. I mean, I liked being with Jason, but he's in Hong Kong now, and when he comes back, what if I'm in another relationship?" Phoebe pressed her hands to her forehead. "This is so confusing."
"It'll be ok, sweetie," said Piper, putting her hands on Phoebe's shoulders. "Everything will work out for you. You just have to be patient."
Phoebe smiled. "Thanks, Piper," she said gratefully.
Suddenly, a noise came from the baby monitor interrupted them. "What was that?" Piper wondered aloud. The sisters went upstairs to Wyatt's room. When they got there, they were shocked to see Chris sitting in a chair watching Wyatt sleep.
Chris looked down at Wyatt, and he said, "You are so quiet, so peaceful...so happy. Trust me, Wyatt; hold onto that as long as you can. You have no idea how much you'll miss it." Suddenly, Chris became aware of the sisters in the room, and he turned expecting warm smiles. However he was shocked to see that all of them, especially Piper, had looks of contempt on their faces instead. Piper walked up and nearly knocked Chris over as she came to pick up her son. "Hey, what gives?" Chris asked in annoyance. Piper didn't answer him and turned her back to walk out the door. As she left, Chris continued, "Why have you been ignoring me for the past week? What did I do to deserve that?"
Piper whirled around, anger and frustration on her face. "I'll tell you what you did. You manipulated things so that my husband is no longer able to live with us, and then, all of a sudden, you think you can just take over as our Whitelighter. Well, let me tell you something, buddy. I don't care if Leo assigned you to us. NOBODY can replace him as our Whitelighter, ever. So, don't say that I owe you anything." With that, Piper whirled around and walked out the door, Paige and Phoebe right behind her.
For a moment, Chris looked at the doorway with sadness on his face. However, the sadness soon gave way to anger, and he snarled, "Ungrateful bitch..." before he orbed out in rage.
****
Cole breathed in the salty fragrance of the air and sighed. It had been quite some time since he'd had the chance to survey the cityscape, and he wanted to relish its beauty.
Ironically, he was standing on the same spot where Piper had summoned a storm while venting her godly rage at Leo's promotion. However, Cole felt no such rage. In fact, for the first time in almost two years, Cole felt at peace with himself, and he wasn't at all surprised. The fact that he was now half-Whitelighter as well as half-demon had given his soul a balance between Good and Evil he had never fully felt before. Giving one last long look at the Golden Gate Bridge, Cole orbed to the penthouse.
As he materialized, the first thing that hit him was the echoing emptiness of the place. While he was staying there, Cole had done nothing, had not personalized the apartment at all. When he left, the place was exactly as he'd rented, exactly as Phoebe and he'd...Cole violently shook his head, dismissing those memories. Right now, he had a life to get back, and a witch to watch. Cole grinned. He may be part Whitelighter, but that doesn't mean he had their ethics. A little 'persuasion' was in order to get his job back. Still grinning, Cole headed for the phone.
****
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, a very different event was occurring in the West Andes Mountains. The mountains had an ancient and terrifying beauty to them, an overwhelming silence that seemed to force even the smallest person to give homage, as if they defied all attempts to tame them and rose boldly into the sky to assert their dominance.
The silence was shattered as a cloaked figure appeared on the mountain. The figure walked briskly, through howling winds and deep snows. The figure walked directly towards the mountain face, and paused before it. A few moments later, there was a slight shimmer, and the mountain face vanished, revealing a crevice. Within the crevice lay a book, a book that seemed to pulse with evil. A smile seemed to play over the figure's face as the figure walked forward and whispered, "At last you are back into worthy hands."
A moment before the figure's hands would come into contact with the Grimoire, it vanished. The figure frowned for a moment, and then grinned ruefully, "I obviously didn't give you enough credit Leo...this may take longer than I thought."
TO BE CONTINUED...