Phoebe blinked as the premonition ended. She hadn't had a premonition that
attenuated for quite a long time. It had been several snippets combined to
formulate a story: Cole's. It didn't do justice to what Cole did to her, but it
explained some of the things he had done, like killing that witch, Jenna, which
had planted the first seed of doubt into her heart. For a while, she had even
blamed that incident for Prue's death- back then, she had thought that if Cole
hadn't killed Jenna, she would not have needed to save him from evil
influence on the day that she lost her eldest sister. If she hadn't gone to the
Underworld, she would have been able to cast the spell to turn back time
(which required the Power of Three to cast), Leo wouldn't have needed to go
to the Underworld to get Cole to summon Tempus and therefore would have
got back to the Manor in time to heal both Piper and Prue.
Phoebe shook the thoughts out of her head- one sorrow at a time: she
didn't need to tap into the pain of losing Prue when she was trying to figure
out what her latest premonition was for.
She had recognised the first snippet of her vision: the demon taking the
child away from his father. The demon was Cole's mother- she had stolen
Cole away from his mortal father and killed him. Cole had never had a chance
to be when his mother nurtured Belthazor only, and though Cole had been
alive for 117 years, he never forgot his father. and the Brotherhood had
used that as blackmail to sway Cole/Belthazor back to their side. Maybe
Benjamin Turner was the key to connecting with Cole again, to remember his
good side: his human half.
Had Ben's spirit been released? Doubtful, when there were so many
demons around: whether it was the bounty hunters that came after Belthazor,
or the upper level demons that followed Cole when the Source possessed
him, or even when Barbas had stalked him. Phoebe's mind flashed back to
the end of the vision- when Cole had put his goodbye letter to Phoebe in the
penthouse safe: the orb containing his father's soul had rolled out and gone
underneath the couch. There was one problem- after Cole had been
vanquished as the Source, and the failed attempt after he had tempted the
sisters to kill him, and then the suicide missions using head choppers and full
force energy balls, the couch had pretty much been wiped out of existence.
What had happened to the orb? How was she going to find it?
"Paige!" Phoebe called out before she realised what she was doing.
Paige had hated Cole, and it hurt Phoebe when she found out, even though
she knew Paige did have a good reason to dislike her boyfriend. Would her
half sister be keen on locating the soul of the father of the man she had
hated? Phoebe was sick of asking questions to herself: even if Paige detested
Cole, technically Ben was an innocent. And Phoebe was her sister.
Paige wandered in, dressed in her usual household style- jeans that
were too short for her long legs and a T-shirt she had borrowed from her
adoptive mother when she was 16. Paige was not one to wear out of style or
unflattering clothes out of the house, but inside with no plans, Paige wore the
first thing that she picked up in the morning.
"What's up sis?" Paige asked as she entered. Phoebe met her gaze squarely,
"I just had a premonition." Paige's brown eyes widened,
"What happened? What did you see?"
"Snippets- Cole."
"Cole? Honey, he's dead. He's not an innocent that needs saving." Phoebe
didn't say anything.
"Sorry Phoebs," Paige apologised after realising how blunt she had sounded,
"But why would you have a premonition about a man who is not an innocent
or good guy anymore."
"Cole may have not been a good guy, but his father was- he's our innocent."
"Cole's father? Didn't he die in the 1800s?"
"1888. His soul has been trapped in an orb since he died. The Brotherhood
blackmailed Cole with it, and Cole still had it when he was vanquished. My
premonition told me that it's still in the penthouse, but the couch that it was
hidden under is long gone."
"How does this involve me?"
"Well, you are half-whitelighter- do you have the ability to sense souls?"
"I don't think so." Paige replied apologetically. Phoebe stood up, dropping
the photo,
"Please Paige. You've sensed evil before- and Leo's other charges as well.
Could you please try? I don't owe Cole much, but his father deserves to be
free after all this time." Paige sighed,
"Okay, Phoebs, I'll try." Phoebe bounded over to Paige and hugged her sister,
"Yay! Thank you, Paige. You have no idea how much this means to me."
attenuated for quite a long time. It had been several snippets combined to
formulate a story: Cole's. It didn't do justice to what Cole did to her, but it
explained some of the things he had done, like killing that witch, Jenna, which
had planted the first seed of doubt into her heart. For a while, she had even
blamed that incident for Prue's death- back then, she had thought that if Cole
hadn't killed Jenna, she would not have needed to save him from evil
influence on the day that she lost her eldest sister. If she hadn't gone to the
Underworld, she would have been able to cast the spell to turn back time
(which required the Power of Three to cast), Leo wouldn't have needed to go
to the Underworld to get Cole to summon Tempus and therefore would have
got back to the Manor in time to heal both Piper and Prue.
Phoebe shook the thoughts out of her head- one sorrow at a time: she
didn't need to tap into the pain of losing Prue when she was trying to figure
out what her latest premonition was for.
She had recognised the first snippet of her vision: the demon taking the
child away from his father. The demon was Cole's mother- she had stolen
Cole away from his mortal father and killed him. Cole had never had a chance
to be when his mother nurtured Belthazor only, and though Cole had been
alive for 117 years, he never forgot his father. and the Brotherhood had
used that as blackmail to sway Cole/Belthazor back to their side. Maybe
Benjamin Turner was the key to connecting with Cole again, to remember his
good side: his human half.
Had Ben's spirit been released? Doubtful, when there were so many
demons around: whether it was the bounty hunters that came after Belthazor,
or the upper level demons that followed Cole when the Source possessed
him, or even when Barbas had stalked him. Phoebe's mind flashed back to
the end of the vision- when Cole had put his goodbye letter to Phoebe in the
penthouse safe: the orb containing his father's soul had rolled out and gone
underneath the couch. There was one problem- after Cole had been
vanquished as the Source, and the failed attempt after he had tempted the
sisters to kill him, and then the suicide missions using head choppers and full
force energy balls, the couch had pretty much been wiped out of existence.
What had happened to the orb? How was she going to find it?
"Paige!" Phoebe called out before she realised what she was doing.
Paige had hated Cole, and it hurt Phoebe when she found out, even though
she knew Paige did have a good reason to dislike her boyfriend. Would her
half sister be keen on locating the soul of the father of the man she had
hated? Phoebe was sick of asking questions to herself: even if Paige detested
Cole, technically Ben was an innocent. And Phoebe was her sister.
Paige wandered in, dressed in her usual household style- jeans that
were too short for her long legs and a T-shirt she had borrowed from her
adoptive mother when she was 16. Paige was not one to wear out of style or
unflattering clothes out of the house, but inside with no plans, Paige wore the
first thing that she picked up in the morning.
"What's up sis?" Paige asked as she entered. Phoebe met her gaze squarely,
"I just had a premonition." Paige's brown eyes widened,
"What happened? What did you see?"
"Snippets- Cole."
"Cole? Honey, he's dead. He's not an innocent that needs saving." Phoebe
didn't say anything.
"Sorry Phoebs," Paige apologised after realising how blunt she had sounded,
"But why would you have a premonition about a man who is not an innocent
or good guy anymore."
"Cole may have not been a good guy, but his father was- he's our innocent."
"Cole's father? Didn't he die in the 1800s?"
"1888. His soul has been trapped in an orb since he died. The Brotherhood
blackmailed Cole with it, and Cole still had it when he was vanquished. My
premonition told me that it's still in the penthouse, but the couch that it was
hidden under is long gone."
"How does this involve me?"
"Well, you are half-whitelighter- do you have the ability to sense souls?"
"I don't think so." Paige replied apologetically. Phoebe stood up, dropping
the photo,
"Please Paige. You've sensed evil before- and Leo's other charges as well.
Could you please try? I don't owe Cole much, but his father deserves to be
free after all this time." Paige sighed,
"Okay, Phoebs, I'll try." Phoebe bounded over to Paige and hugged her sister,
"Yay! Thank you, Paige. You have no idea how much this means to me."