It's been a while. I almost forgot how to do this, lol. Anyway, for you
Phoebe/Cole fans out there, this reunion is for you.
And by the way, I don't own these characters but I sure do like putting words in their mouths. So, sue me! Ummmm, wait... backspace, delete "so" and replace with "don't." Yeah, that's better. "Don't sue me!" Just enjoy.
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A MAN ADRIFT
"Oh no, not again," Cole said to no one in particular. He was back in the Wasteland and despite the fact that he was in no mood for humor, humor was his only weapon and his only way to remain sane. He laughed at the absurdity of his situation. Vanquished twice by the only human being he ever truly loved. The irony was not lost on him and he began to laugh, only the laughter never reached his eyes.
There was no longer a creature here to devour him and take him out of his misery. He had taken care of that himself the last time he was here and in effect he had sealed his own fate. He was trapped in the Wasteland for all eternity, set adrift, a fitting end for what turned out to be a miserable existence.
All around him, scattered about were the powers of vanquished demons. It would be so easy for him to absorb those powers, step into them, as he'd done before, but as tempting as that was, where would that lead him except to more misery. No, he wouldn't go back to the pain of living without Phoebe, he couldn't go back to living an empty existence as a demon, and there was no third alternative either except to wait for the universe to provide him with an answer.
As crazy as this situation was, Cole didn't feel at all crazy anymore. In fact, he felt more like himself than he had in quite some time. Though he was now powerless, his head felt clear and reason flowed through him as naturally as it had once done in over a year and Cole couldn't understand what had driven him to commit the mad acts he'd perpetrated not only on himself but on Phoebe and her sisters as well.
As unhappy as Cole was at losing Phoebe, he had always been a survivor and had never once entertained the notion of suicide. And the acts of desperation he committed while trying to get Phoebe back were not at all like him either. He'd always been a planner and believed that patience and carefully thought out plans were the best offence. So why did he hatch that crazy mummy scheme and endanger Paige's life? That sure made no sense. What made him think that alienating himself from Phoebe's sisters would win her back? After all, what did he really have against Paige? She was the only one to help him and show him any sympathy when he was attacked by the demon of fear. If he were smart and in his right mind, he would have played upon Paige's sympathy, mended fences with Piper and used Phoebe's sisters as allies in his fight to get his wife back. That would have been the smart thing to do, and the sane thing as well, but he wasn't sane -- not then.
As the days in the Wasteland turned into weeks and months -- though there was no real way to calculate time there -- Cole had nothing else to do but think of the craziness that enveloped his mind in the last few months and he realized what it was that caused his insanity. It had to be the demons' powers he'd picked up in the Wasteland over a year ago. He wasn't meant to have them, they weren't his own and they had attacked his senses like a cancer slowly driving him mad without ever knowing it.
Cole looked at all the powers just dangling in mid-air and the hunger for them was pure torture. It was a part of his genetic makeup, this craving for power. He took a step forward and then stopped, just in time. Yes, those powers were indeed a way out but the inevitable madness would eventually envelop him again.
Though it was not in Cole's nature to give up, Cole didn't see any way of escaping this time. He could of course try and contact Phoebe as he'd done before, but Cole's pride finally kicked in and prevented him from that act of desperation.
"Once vanquished, shame on you. Twice vanquished, shame on me." As poorly conceived as the alternative universe scheme seemed to him now, he did learn one very valuable lesson and that was that Phoebe's love for him was transient and couldn't be counted on when needed most. He was nothing more to her than a phase from which she'd readily moved on. Though Cole's heart wasn't as pliant and therefore hurt far worse than Phoebe's when broken, Cole's head accepted what his heart would not and his mind gave the order that it was time to let go.
"Great, I finally have sense enough to move on just when I have nowhere to go." Cole laughed again at the irony and then stopped laughing when he saw the creature approaching.
It was not the same as before, this one was larger and had a maw on it that could devour Texas in one swift gulp. For a moment, Cole hesitated, wondering if defeat was the best way to win his release, but a stronger instinct took hold and Cole decided to hang on for as long as he could, to what end he didn't know. But one thing he did know, was that he was a survivor. He survived his father's murder at the hands of his heartless mother, he survived the childhood tauntings. "Halfbreed," they called him, but he didn't cave. Instead he used what nature gave him, charm and a keen intelligence which gave him the tools to survive in a world where no half human could survive.
He survived all of that and now he had survived Phoebe too. He was prepared never to see her again and to never let the heart he'd grown be broken again.
If he got out, he'd find a place on earth that would accept him for what he had evolved into. He was certainly no angel and never would be, but he was no longer a devil either and he'd find some new cause or purpose to sustain him...if he got out which at the moment, didn't look too promising.
Cole kept on the run, but was growing tired and knew it was only a matter of time before the creature found him out.
And by the way, I don't own these characters but I sure do like putting words in their mouths. So, sue me! Ummmm, wait... backspace, delete "so" and replace with "don't." Yeah, that's better. "Don't sue me!" Just enjoy.
********************************************
A MAN ADRIFT
"Oh no, not again," Cole said to no one in particular. He was back in the Wasteland and despite the fact that he was in no mood for humor, humor was his only weapon and his only way to remain sane. He laughed at the absurdity of his situation. Vanquished twice by the only human being he ever truly loved. The irony was not lost on him and he began to laugh, only the laughter never reached his eyes.
There was no longer a creature here to devour him and take him out of his misery. He had taken care of that himself the last time he was here and in effect he had sealed his own fate. He was trapped in the Wasteland for all eternity, set adrift, a fitting end for what turned out to be a miserable existence.
All around him, scattered about were the powers of vanquished demons. It would be so easy for him to absorb those powers, step into them, as he'd done before, but as tempting as that was, where would that lead him except to more misery. No, he wouldn't go back to the pain of living without Phoebe, he couldn't go back to living an empty existence as a demon, and there was no third alternative either except to wait for the universe to provide him with an answer.
As crazy as this situation was, Cole didn't feel at all crazy anymore. In fact, he felt more like himself than he had in quite some time. Though he was now powerless, his head felt clear and reason flowed through him as naturally as it had once done in over a year and Cole couldn't understand what had driven him to commit the mad acts he'd perpetrated not only on himself but on Phoebe and her sisters as well.
As unhappy as Cole was at losing Phoebe, he had always been a survivor and had never once entertained the notion of suicide. And the acts of desperation he committed while trying to get Phoebe back were not at all like him either. He'd always been a planner and believed that patience and carefully thought out plans were the best offence. So why did he hatch that crazy mummy scheme and endanger Paige's life? That sure made no sense. What made him think that alienating himself from Phoebe's sisters would win her back? After all, what did he really have against Paige? She was the only one to help him and show him any sympathy when he was attacked by the demon of fear. If he were smart and in his right mind, he would have played upon Paige's sympathy, mended fences with Piper and used Phoebe's sisters as allies in his fight to get his wife back. That would have been the smart thing to do, and the sane thing as well, but he wasn't sane -- not then.
As the days in the Wasteland turned into weeks and months -- though there was no real way to calculate time there -- Cole had nothing else to do but think of the craziness that enveloped his mind in the last few months and he realized what it was that caused his insanity. It had to be the demons' powers he'd picked up in the Wasteland over a year ago. He wasn't meant to have them, they weren't his own and they had attacked his senses like a cancer slowly driving him mad without ever knowing it.
Cole looked at all the powers just dangling in mid-air and the hunger for them was pure torture. It was a part of his genetic makeup, this craving for power. He took a step forward and then stopped, just in time. Yes, those powers were indeed a way out but the inevitable madness would eventually envelop him again.
Though it was not in Cole's nature to give up, Cole didn't see any way of escaping this time. He could of course try and contact Phoebe as he'd done before, but Cole's pride finally kicked in and prevented him from that act of desperation.
"Once vanquished, shame on you. Twice vanquished, shame on me." As poorly conceived as the alternative universe scheme seemed to him now, he did learn one very valuable lesson and that was that Phoebe's love for him was transient and couldn't be counted on when needed most. He was nothing more to her than a phase from which she'd readily moved on. Though Cole's heart wasn't as pliant and therefore hurt far worse than Phoebe's when broken, Cole's head accepted what his heart would not and his mind gave the order that it was time to let go.
"Great, I finally have sense enough to move on just when I have nowhere to go." Cole laughed again at the irony and then stopped laughing when he saw the creature approaching.
It was not the same as before, this one was larger and had a maw on it that could devour Texas in one swift gulp. For a moment, Cole hesitated, wondering if defeat was the best way to win his release, but a stronger instinct took hold and Cole decided to hang on for as long as he could, to what end he didn't know. But one thing he did know, was that he was a survivor. He survived his father's murder at the hands of his heartless mother, he survived the childhood tauntings. "Halfbreed," they called him, but he didn't cave. Instead he used what nature gave him, charm and a keen intelligence which gave him the tools to survive in a world where no half human could survive.
He survived all of that and now he had survived Phoebe too. He was prepared never to see her again and to never let the heart he'd grown be broken again.
If he got out, he'd find a place on earth that would accept him for what he had evolved into. He was certainly no angel and never would be, but he was no longer a devil either and he'd find some new cause or purpose to sustain him...if he got out which at the moment, didn't look too promising.
Cole kept on the run, but was growing tired and knew it was only a matter of time before the creature found him out.