Cole appeared in the wasteland. He had come to think of it as his home in the long years since his death in the alternate timeline. In that time, he could have left whenever he wanted, but he had no where to go.
He held out his hand. The power of his energy balls had been magnified when he became an avatar. What had once been a crackling blue sphere of energy had become like a star, burning like a miniature sun with the power of an atomic bomb.
He hurled the sphere into the distance, and a tall pillar of stone was turned to molten glass and vapor. Although the blast was nearly out of sight, he could feel the heat from the explosion.
Cole shouted out his frustration. Then, he slumped down, and sat on the same rock that Phoebe had found him on only a short time ago.
Cole heard a familiar sound near him, and could see blue light reflecting off the dust that surrounded him. He didn't bother to look up.
"Cole," Leo said, gently.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"You did the right thing."
Cole stood up and faced Leo, not bothering to cover his anger. "What? When I let Phoebe die? When I let my one true love kill herself? Is that what you're talking about?"
"You were willing to give her up to save people that you've never even met. For you, it was the ultimate sacrifice, but when the time came, you made the right decision," Leo said.
"It doesn't feel like the right decision," Cole said.
"I know," Leo said. "It's never easy to lose someone that you care about. But trust me when I say that this will all work out for the greater good."
"The greater good?" Cole said. "So what? I've lost the only person I care about."
"I know that isn't true," Leo said. "You would've taken the Anubite's offer if you didn't care about the greater good."
"What do you know about the Anubite?" Cole asked.
"I know that he stopped caring a long time ago," Leo said. "He's consumed by evil now, and that's all he can offer you."
"He wants me to help him cause Armageddon. I won't do it, but... he says I'll give in. He said it was in my nature," Cole said.
"He's right. If you don't try to change, he'll find a way to get to you," Leo said. "But we can help you. The Elders have been fighting the Anubite ever since he turned. We can help each other."
"What's in it for me?" Cole asked.
"If you don't want to change, we have nothing to talk about," Leo said. He began to orb away.
"Wait," Cole said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
Leo rematerialized, and he looked intently at Cole. "What's really bothering you, Cole?"
"I don't think I can change," Cole said. "Phoebe was right. Every time I tried to be good, something would make me evil again. I was born a demon, and that's all I was meant to be."
"You really believe that, don't you?"
"I don't know anymore," Cole said. "Right now, all I want to do is go back and save Phoebe, but I know it would harm too many people."
"Follow me," Leo said. "I want to show you something."
Leo orbed, and Cole followed him. They appeared on the steps of a massive, white temple surrounded by clouds.
"Where are we?" Cole asked.
"Holy ground," Leo said. He put his hand against one of the ornate doors. "Can you feel that?"
Cole put his hand against the door. "Protective magic."
"Only people with good hearts can enter the temple," Leo said. "Only whitelighters or Elders, or people worthy of becoming whitelighters."
Leo opened the temple door. "Come on."
"The protective magic's too strong," Cole said. "I can't get through."
"Try," Leo said.
Cole braced himself for the jolt of magic, and stepped through the temple's doorway. He felt nothing.
"Do you still think you were destined to be evil?" Leo asked.
Cole looked at the vast hallway. It was white marble, with pillars stretching from the floor to the tall ceiling. Faint silver writing was everywhere, on the walls, the floor, and on every surface. They were all names, innumerable names.
Leo touched one of the pillars. "These are the names of every person able to enter the temple, and every person that ever will be. They were written here the day the temple was created, and they'll never change."
"I've never heard of this place," Cole said.
"Look there," Leo said, pointing to a name written on the wall a short distance away.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"It's your name, Cole," Leo said. "You've always been here. When I saw you let go of Phoebe, even though you cared about her more than you ever cared about your own life, I knew you were ready."
Cole looked at the carefully drawn inscription. He was at a loss for words. After a moment, he realized that Leo was walking down the long hallway. Cole followed him.
"Why is this place here?" Cole asked. "What is the protection magic for?"
"We use it to protect the things that matter most. Let me show you," Leo said. He led Cole up to a doorway at the heart of the temple. The hallway split off at that point, and continued in both directions, encircling the room. Leo opened the door.
The room was small, less than half the height of the rest of the temple. There were no names written here. The only things in the room were a simple, rectangular stand, and the ancient urn that it held.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"This is the source of all good," Leo said. "This is where all the powers of the Elders and whitelighters and witches come from. Even the powers of the Greek gods are stored here."
"This is your answer to the Source?" Cole asked.
"The original source of all good was human, just like the first source of all evil," Leo said. "But the source of good realized that it was too much power for any person, so the source created a council of Elders, and put its power into the urn. That's the difference between good and evil, Cole. Evil only cares about itself, but good is self-sacrificing. That's why you can be here now."
"Great," Cole said. "If you try to do the right thing, the universe just rewards you with pain."
"I know it seems that way," Leo said. "But that's the paradox of evil. Being evil is the easy road, but it only ends in pain. Being good can be painful, but it's worth it. You'll learn that in time, if you stay with us."
"All right, I'll help you," Cole said. "I just want to go back and find out what happened to Phoebe. Then, I'll be back."
"Wait," Leo said. "You shouldn't go."
"Why not?" Cole asked.
"Because you are still controlled by your emotions," Leo said. "If you go down there now and see what happened to Phoebe, the Anubite will turn it against you. He'll use your emotions to convince you to join him."
"How?" Cole said. "Phoebe saved me, back when I was just another demon. I was just Belthazor, until I found her. I can't just ignore her now."
"She did help you, and you should be grateful for that," Leo said. "But she didn't save you. You had to decide for yourself that you wanted to be good, or her love wouldn't have been able to help you."
"Are you saying I just have to live without knowing what happened to her?"
"No, I'm saying that right now, you have to make a choice about what's most important to you," Leo said. "You'll find out some day, but if you want to be good, you won't go back there yet."
Cole suddenly noticed that there was a woman standing in the doorway behind them. She had a heavy build and grey hair, and her eyes had a piercing gaze. She wore a dark suit like Cole's. Her hands appeared rough with use.
"You aren't alone, Cole," She said. "We can stop the Anubite, with your help."
Cole looked away for a moment. "All right, I'll stay away."
"This will work out, I promise you," Leo said. "Here, follow me."
Leo led Cole out of the temple, but the woman lingered for a moment longer. She reached out with her mind, across even higher planes of existence. Her powers as an avatar amplified even further by the energy of the temple. There was one chance to bring about the perfect possible future, but only one person was capable of doing it, and that person had been out of touch with the living for years now. Maggie only hoped that she could reach her in time.
He held out his hand. The power of his energy balls had been magnified when he became an avatar. What had once been a crackling blue sphere of energy had become like a star, burning like a miniature sun with the power of an atomic bomb.
He hurled the sphere into the distance, and a tall pillar of stone was turned to molten glass and vapor. Although the blast was nearly out of sight, he could feel the heat from the explosion.
Cole shouted out his frustration. Then, he slumped down, and sat on the same rock that Phoebe had found him on only a short time ago.
Cole heard a familiar sound near him, and could see blue light reflecting off the dust that surrounded him. He didn't bother to look up.
"Cole," Leo said, gently.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"You did the right thing."
Cole stood up and faced Leo, not bothering to cover his anger. "What? When I let Phoebe die? When I let my one true love kill herself? Is that what you're talking about?"
"You were willing to give her up to save people that you've never even met. For you, it was the ultimate sacrifice, but when the time came, you made the right decision," Leo said.
"It doesn't feel like the right decision," Cole said.
"I know," Leo said. "It's never easy to lose someone that you care about. But trust me when I say that this will all work out for the greater good."
"The greater good?" Cole said. "So what? I've lost the only person I care about."
"I know that isn't true," Leo said. "You would've taken the Anubite's offer if you didn't care about the greater good."
"What do you know about the Anubite?" Cole asked.
"I know that he stopped caring a long time ago," Leo said. "He's consumed by evil now, and that's all he can offer you."
"He wants me to help him cause Armageddon. I won't do it, but... he says I'll give in. He said it was in my nature," Cole said.
"He's right. If you don't try to change, he'll find a way to get to you," Leo said. "But we can help you. The Elders have been fighting the Anubite ever since he turned. We can help each other."
"What's in it for me?" Cole asked.
"If you don't want to change, we have nothing to talk about," Leo said. He began to orb away.
"Wait," Cole said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
Leo rematerialized, and he looked intently at Cole. "What's really bothering you, Cole?"
"I don't think I can change," Cole said. "Phoebe was right. Every time I tried to be good, something would make me evil again. I was born a demon, and that's all I was meant to be."
"You really believe that, don't you?"
"I don't know anymore," Cole said. "Right now, all I want to do is go back and save Phoebe, but I know it would harm too many people."
"Follow me," Leo said. "I want to show you something."
Leo orbed, and Cole followed him. They appeared on the steps of a massive, white temple surrounded by clouds.
"Where are we?" Cole asked.
"Holy ground," Leo said. He put his hand against one of the ornate doors. "Can you feel that?"
Cole put his hand against the door. "Protective magic."
"Only people with good hearts can enter the temple," Leo said. "Only whitelighters or Elders, or people worthy of becoming whitelighters."
Leo opened the temple door. "Come on."
"The protective magic's too strong," Cole said. "I can't get through."
"Try," Leo said.
Cole braced himself for the jolt of magic, and stepped through the temple's doorway. He felt nothing.
"Do you still think you were destined to be evil?" Leo asked.
Cole looked at the vast hallway. It was white marble, with pillars stretching from the floor to the tall ceiling. Faint silver writing was everywhere, on the walls, the floor, and on every surface. They were all names, innumerable names.
Leo touched one of the pillars. "These are the names of every person able to enter the temple, and every person that ever will be. They were written here the day the temple was created, and they'll never change."
"I've never heard of this place," Cole said.
"Look there," Leo said, pointing to a name written on the wall a short distance away.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"It's your name, Cole," Leo said. "You've always been here. When I saw you let go of Phoebe, even though you cared about her more than you ever cared about your own life, I knew you were ready."
Cole looked at the carefully drawn inscription. He was at a loss for words. After a moment, he realized that Leo was walking down the long hallway. Cole followed him.
"Why is this place here?" Cole asked. "What is the protection magic for?"
"We use it to protect the things that matter most. Let me show you," Leo said. He led Cole up to a doorway at the heart of the temple. The hallway split off at that point, and continued in both directions, encircling the room. Leo opened the door.
The room was small, less than half the height of the rest of the temple. There were no names written here. The only things in the room were a simple, rectangular stand, and the ancient urn that it held.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"This is the source of all good," Leo said. "This is where all the powers of the Elders and whitelighters and witches come from. Even the powers of the Greek gods are stored here."
"This is your answer to the Source?" Cole asked.
"The original source of all good was human, just like the first source of all evil," Leo said. "But the source of good realized that it was too much power for any person, so the source created a council of Elders, and put its power into the urn. That's the difference between good and evil, Cole. Evil only cares about itself, but good is self-sacrificing. That's why you can be here now."
"Great," Cole said. "If you try to do the right thing, the universe just rewards you with pain."
"I know it seems that way," Leo said. "But that's the paradox of evil. Being evil is the easy road, but it only ends in pain. Being good can be painful, but it's worth it. You'll learn that in time, if you stay with us."
"All right, I'll help you," Cole said. "I just want to go back and find out what happened to Phoebe. Then, I'll be back."
"Wait," Leo said. "You shouldn't go."
"Why not?" Cole asked.
"Because you are still controlled by your emotions," Leo said. "If you go down there now and see what happened to Phoebe, the Anubite will turn it against you. He'll use your emotions to convince you to join him."
"How?" Cole said. "Phoebe saved me, back when I was just another demon. I was just Belthazor, until I found her. I can't just ignore her now."
"She did help you, and you should be grateful for that," Leo said. "But she didn't save you. You had to decide for yourself that you wanted to be good, or her love wouldn't have been able to help you."
"Are you saying I just have to live without knowing what happened to her?"
"No, I'm saying that right now, you have to make a choice about what's most important to you," Leo said. "You'll find out some day, but if you want to be good, you won't go back there yet."
Cole suddenly noticed that there was a woman standing in the doorway behind them. She had a heavy build and grey hair, and her eyes had a piercing gaze. She wore a dark suit like Cole's. Her hands appeared rough with use.
"You aren't alone, Cole," She said. "We can stop the Anubite, with your help."
Cole looked away for a moment. "All right, I'll stay away."
"This will work out, I promise you," Leo said. "Here, follow me."
Leo led Cole out of the temple, but the woman lingered for a moment longer. She reached out with her mind, across even higher planes of existence. Her powers as an avatar amplified even further by the energy of the temple. There was one chance to bring about the perfect possible future, but only one person was capable of doing it, and that person had been out of touch with the living for years now. Maggie only hoped that she could reach her in time.