Part Seventeen

"Why the hell isn't he gone?" Piper screamed at her youngest sister while she clutched Phoebe tighter to herself.

Paige first gazed at Cole who, still smoldering, was kneeling and coughing, before she shamefully apologized to Piper. "I wasn't thinking and grabbed the power-stripping potion. You were right, I should've put them in different pockets."

Not appeased, Piper glared at her and angrily shouted to the ceiling, "Dammit, Leo, get down here!"

Paige grabbed the vial with the orange potion from the table and rushed to her sisters. "Pour it down her throat," she anxiously suggested to Piper as she reached out with the vial, "before it's too late."

From the pain and fog clouding his mind, Cole caught sight of Paige and moved to trip her. "No!" he hoarsely called out as she dropped the vial which then shattered. "It's not what she wants!" he added, unable to feel any satisfaction.

"Don't tell me what she wants, you son of a bitch," Paige snarled as she shoved him away and got to her feet. She looked from the spilled potion to Piper and nearly cried.

"You come any closer," Piper warned Cole, "and I'll blow you back to hell where you belong."

"You can't, Piper," Chris cautiously told her. "He's human now, an innocent."

"Don't give me that crap! He's killed her," Piper raged, "something he's wanted to do all along."

Cole shook his head and croaked, "I love her, Piper, and you believe that or you wouldn't've brought me back to save her."

"That was desperation," she snapped.

"You knew I'd do anything to save her," he argued. He glanced at Phoebe who was barely breathing. "She begged me…made me promise to do it if she asked."

"Helluva time to finally give her what she wanted!" Paige barked. "She's dying! You --"

"Piper, What's going on? I can barely sense Phoebe," Leo interrupted when he orbed into the attic. He saw her holding Phoebe and, without waiting for an explanation, he knelt opposite Piper and held his hands over Phoebe's chest wound.

"Don't, Leo," Cole warned. "She's still marked by the Dark Starling. You won't be saving her. Let her go."

"Shut up, Cole," Leo hissed. He concentrated and watched as his hands continued to glow but he still snuck a peek at Piper whose eyes were filled with tears and prayer.

"It's what she wants," Cole continued with a shake of his head. "Leaving her in limbo would be worse than killing her."

"We'll have the time we need to find the Dark Starling and destroy it," Paige insisted.

"You don't know that," he countered as his head finally began to clear. He tried to ignore the growing sense of emptiness he felt and stared at Phoebe. "It was pure chance we found a pack of Dracken willing to help. I doubt I'd be that lucky on my own."

"That's a chance we're willing to take," Piper stated.

"What's taking so long?" Paige nervously questioned. "Why isn't it working, Leo?"

"The star's affecting the healing," he answered while he ignored the sweat beading across his forehead. "There's barely anything left for me to hold onto," he murmured.

"No," Piper gasped and squeezed Phoebe's hand. "Phoebe, you hang on! Do you hear me?"

Leo turned to Paige, "C'mere, maybe our combined powers will work."

Paige quickly heeded his instructions and held hands with him over the wound. "What about Chris? He said he's half-Whitelighter. Maybe he can help too."

"Maybe we should just feed her the potion," Piper nervously suggested when Phoebe didn't seem to get any better.

Just as Chris moved forward, a Dark Starling suddenly appeared in the room, brandishing a sword, and swung at Chris.

"Look out!" Cole shouted as he grabbed Chris's legs and pulled the younger man down to the floor. "You okay?" he asked distractedly while he turned back to Leo and the sisters. They were all shielding Phoebe and he tried to fire at the demon before he realized he no longer had his powers. 'Dammit, Paige, you couldn't've waited 'til after the danger passed?' A gurgle coming from Chris interrupted his frustrated thoughts, he looked back and, to his surprise, he found a deep slash across Chris's chest. "Leo, he's hurt!"

The Dark Starling pointed at Phoebe with the sword and shrieked in such a high tone that all closed their eyes and covered their ears.

"Keep at it, Leo," Piper pleaded above the noise. She opened her eyes and was terrified to see the star on Phoebe was even darker than before. "It's almost completely black," she announced to no one in particular. "What's that demon doing to her?" A fireball narrowly missed her head and she automatically reacted by trying to blow up the Dark Starling and, when it suddenly vanished, she asked hopefully, "Did I get it?"

But it reappeared a moment later and sent another fireball at Piper. This time, its aim was off by an even wider margin and it shrieked again in anger.

Suddenly, Cole realized, "This could be our only chance to destroy it! Stop, Leo!"

"Are you out of your mind?" Piper snapped.

"It had a clear shot but missed," he explained. "It's weak. Look at it," he demanded. "The red aura in its chest's spreading."

"Red aura? I thought I was seeing spots from squeezing my eyes shut," Paige complained.

"So?" Piper snapped to him. "I don't give a damn what color it is, we still can't destroy it. We tried but it's too strong."

"We can," he insisted, "if it's weak enough. Say the spell."

"We can't without Phoebe," Paige pointedly reminded him while she kept her hands tightly gripped with Leo's.

"Might not need…Power…Three…" Chris weakly agreed with Cole, "Not if its bond…to her…breaking…"

To her surprise, Leo suddenly removed their hands and Paige tugged them back. "Leo, we have to save her."

"Cole's right," he quietly said. "Phoebe's dying, the link to the Dark Starling's breaking. That's why it came back."

"Then why's it attacking?" Piper wondered. "Wouldn't it want us to save her?"

"Maybe it doesn't know that's what you were doing," Cole suggested.

"I don't know," Leo replied. He hesitated a moment before he brought his hands back over Phoebe's wound.

Exasperated, Cole said, "I'm telling you, stop what you're doing and we can destroy it."

Piper again tried blowing up the demon to no avail. "I'm not letting her die!"

"I don't think we have a choice," Leo quietly told her, "not if we have the power to destroy the demon."

"What if it doesn't die?" Paige questioned as she ducked another passing fireball.

"Then it'll eventually recover and move onto another victim," Cole replied.

"Then Phoebe will have died for nothing," Paige commented through clenched teeth.

"There's a greater good at stake," Leo grimly acknowledged while he stared helplessly at Phoebe's pale face.

Paige grabbed his hands and held them over Phoebe's wound, "I say we save her and take our chances."

"Can you bring her back when we kill it?" Piper quietly asked Leo.

"Piper!" Paige gasped.

"We've done it before," Piper countered. "Come back from the dead. Leo, can you do it?"

"I don't know," he reluctantly admitted. "There may not be enough time and the star's damage may be irreversible."

"Get the sword, Paige," Cole ordered. She glared defiantly at him so he snapped, "Just do it."

After Piper nodded in agreement, she grudgingly called for the sword but had to use it to immediately swat away a fireball sent by the surprised Dark Starling. The fireball narrowly missed Cole and she momentarily wondered if fate would ever allow them to be rid of him once and for all.

Cole held out his hand and ignored Piper's panicky cry to Phoebe. "Hang on, babe," he whispered to himself. "Paige, the sword. Now!" In an instant, the sword orbed into his hand and he charged the Dark Starling, spearing it in the chest. Surprisingly drained from the exertion, he was completely unprepared for the resulting explosion and he was thrown back, nearly crushing Chris with his body.

When the echoing booms faded, Leo sat up straight and glanced down at Phoebe. "I think the star's fading."

"It worked?" Piper tearfully exclaimed and squeezed Phoebe's hand, pressing it to her own heart. "Stay with us, Pheebs."

"Paige, get back here," he urged. "We've gotta hurry."

Cole took a deep breath and turned back to Chris. He pulled the cloth from the table and pressed it to Chris's wound. "Hang on, Leo'll be right here."

"Not soon enough," Chris weakly said. "Not…way I planned…"

Cole had to bend close to hear Chris. "That's the problem with you Halliwells," he whispered, "you never count on your plans backfiring."

Chris's eyes widened. "You…know?"

"Phoebe told me what she knew about you," Cole confided. "The clues were all there but, as you've learned, the Charmed Ones can be rather self-absorbed and slow at figuring out what's right in front of them."

"I think it's working," Paige excitedly told Piper.

"Thank God," Piper murmured as she watched Phoebe continue to be healed.

"Can't…tell…" Chris turned his head and strained to see the sisters. "Not…ready…"

"I won't," Cole promised in a low tone. "Wouldn't want to disrupt any more of your misguided plans."

Chris coughed up some blood. "Your plans…now…not mine."

"What're you talking about? I'm about to be vanquished yet again," Cole half-joked.

"Listen," Chris whispered, "truth…" He took a painful deep breath while Cole bent even closer. "Wyatt's evil…"

"You said the Elders saved him," Cole uttered in surprise.

"Faction…knew Wyatt too…powerful…" Chris haltingly explained, "went after…baby…"

"You," Cole realized. "They were after you."

Chris grabbed onto Cole's arm and tried to pull him closer. "Elders…saved us…Trained…mentored us…Wyatt…resented them…blamed them for…taking away…so much…everyone…"

"You really did come back to protect Wyatt," Cole concluded. "To change his future."

Chris could barely nod. "Some ways…he's worse…than…you…"

"Phoebe!" Piper cried out as her sister finally stirred.

"Thanks…I think," Cole told him distractedly as he turned to see Piper pull Phoebe into her arms.

"Promise…protect them," Chris whispered.

Cole glanced down at him in alarm. "Leo, over here, now!"

Cole's image was fuzzy and Chris knew Leo wouldn't be in time. He chanted in a voice so soft he almost didn't hear it himself.

"Future's lookin' pretty dim…

'less I…transfer powers…me to him…

No longer evil…deep inside…

Whitelighter…witch…now will reside…"

A bright white light emanated from Chris's body and encompassed them both. The others didn't have time to react and shielded their eyes from the glare.

As soon as the light faded, Cole whispered to Chris in a daze, "What'd you do to me?" The emptiness from Belthazor's most recent vanquish was replaced by something else. Something new. Power. But different from what he'd ever felt before. "What'd you do?" he repeated more urgently.

"Wild card…" Chris smiled before he closed his eyes.

"Dammit," Cole shouted, "don't you die now!"

Leo pushed Cole back when he raced to Chris. His hands glowed for a few seconds over Chris's wound before they stopped.

"Leo?" Piper quietly questioned as she and Paige came closer, supporting Phoebe between them.

"He's gone," Leo sadly informed them. "There's nothing I can do."

*********** ********** ************