Part Twenty-One

Phoebe crept along the wall of the dark warehouse and wondered for the hundredth time whether she was making a mistake in not alerting her sisters to the premonition that woke her. Leo had repeatedly warned them not to deliberately go after the Kort while separated. 'But Piper needs her rest,' she reasoned, 'and Paige needs some non-crisis time with Richard, and I wouldn't've been able to fall back sleep anyway. I can do this.'

Things had been anything but quiet lately and she was sure it was related to Piper's pregnancy. 'Somehow they found out. The Underworld knows about the new baby and is more determined than ever to use that supposed weakness to kill us and take Wyatt.' And, once again, Phoebe swore she would never let anything happen to that child or to the coming baby. Chris. She smiled when she thought of him and how stupid they'd all been in not figuring out his identity while he'd been living with them. He'd all but given them the clues to put it together but they'd been blinded by his sincerely urgent need to protect Wyatt that they completely missed the obvious. Other than Paige and Wyatt, how many other half-Whitelighter/half-witches could there possibly be? 'It isn't the first time we've missed the obvious and,' she sighed, 'it probably won't be the last.'

But just because the Dark Starling hadn't succeeded in breaking the Power of Three didn't mean another demon wouldn't. 'And with Chris, the future Chris anyway, gone, it's now our responsibility to make sure that what he told us about the future doesn't come true.' And just because Piper and Paige wouldn't be killed until after Piper had delivered Chris, didn't mean they still wouldn't die by the end of the year. They were both still in danger. 'But I won't let it happen,' she resolved with an angry shake of her head, 'just like I won't let Chris's death be meaningless. He lost his life protecting me, all of us, so I'm gonna make sure that he and Wyatt are protected now. I won't bring any more pain to this family.' Her heart suddenly screamed that Cole would protect them but she sadly dismissed that thought. 'I was wrong about that. Cole's path isn't with ours or we'd have heard from him by now. He's doing whatever he's doing and I've gotta accept that once and for all.'

A shadow flashing by interrupted her melancholy thoughts and Phoebe ducked between two tall stacks of crates. After a moment, and realizing she hadn't been caught, her heartbeat slowed to a more normal rhythm and she carefully continued down that aisle. A scream suddenly filled the air and she picked up her pace as she began to weave her way through the stacks. She now heard the all-too familiar low buzzing sound that preceded a Kort kill and, as she drew closer to its source, she gripped in her hand the vial containing the vanquishing potion and willed away the idea of calling home for help.

She came upon a clearing, near the center of the warehouse, and, peeking around the corner of the stack in the darkness, was able to make out only the shapes of five figures. But she had seen only one Kort in her premonition and had therefore only armed herself with one vial of the potion. Could her premonition have been off? Maybe this wasn't the attack she'd envisioned. She had been overdoing it lately. 'What if I made a mistake?' But, just as she was about to give in and call Leo for help, a sudden burst of electricity from one of the "shadows" allowed her to see more clearly. 'Kort,' she acknowledged with dismay. There was no way she could leave now. And there was no longer enough time to call for help.

The four lean dark demons, cloaked in their tattered black rags, surrounded a young man who was dressed on the grungy side. He was definitely the innocent from her premonition. She watched when, as they closed in on him, he stepped back and tripped over a piece of pipe. He yelped in fear as he stumbled to the floor and, as all four demons sparked dangerously with electricity, Phoebe stepped into the open. "Hey, over here!"

The Kort spun around and Phoebe was momentarily surprised from the way their sharp white fangs glowed in the light of the blue-white electricity they were emitting. But when she became their target, she easily leaped up onto the top of the nearest stack. Wood exploded and splintered and she quickly hopped to the safety of another stack. "Run!" she shouted to her stunned innocent as she levitated over the scene and landed in front of him but behind the demons. She yanked him to his feet and pushed him into the aisle that would take him straight to the exit. "Go!"

As Phoebe watched him run, pain sizzled her cheek and she fell to the floor. She shouted again to her innocent to keep running while she immediately rolled and scrambled to her feet, out of the line of fire of the advancing Kort. As she darted to the right and dove behind a heavy metal desk, she threw her vial at them. Shrieks of anger came through the thick grey smoke and she held her breath in anticipation of the vanquish. But, as she'd feared, the potion wasn't enough to vanquish them all. Even before the smoke had completely cleared, two remaining Kort, crackling again with electricity, were advancing menacingly toward her.

Taking a chance, Phoebe ran to her left but she tripped over the same pipe her innocent had and she stumbled to the floor. She instinctively covered her face from the incoming electric shock but shrieks from the demons forced her to look. As she turned her head, she caught sight of them being flung away from her into another of the tall stacks of crates.

"Run!"

Phoebe's heart pounded when she recognized his voice and she looked up. But the demons were quick to recover and she wasted no more time heeding his order. She ran in the opposite direction of the Kort but still narrowly missed being hit in the back by a bolt. With the darkness providing some cover, she weaved her way through the maze of stacks but a nearby shriek, followed quickly by an explosion of wood, sent Phoebe jumping to safety on top of the stacks. Panting heavily, she looked down and tried to spot the Kort. And him. And then, in spite of the darkness, she recognized his silhouette in the aisle below her. But the Kort were right behind him. "Cole! Look out!"

Cole turned, orbed away from the electric attack, and joined her on top of the stack. "What the hell are you doing here alone?" But she said nothing and he quickly toned down his anger. "Are you okay?"

"You have Prue's power," she whispered with bittersweet emotion.

Unsure what to say, Cole simply answered, "Among others." Crates below them suddenly exploded and, the instant they began to tumble, he grabbed hold of Phoebe's hand and orbed them to safety, a few stacks away. But one of the Kort suddenly appeared on top of a stack opposite them. "Throw your potion!"

"I already used the only one I had," she told him. He growled a curse and she quickly explained, "I'd only seen one Kort in my vision so I only took enough for one. I'm lucky I vanquished two with it." She jumped from the sound of another explosion beneath them and she looked down into the aisle to find a dark shadow heading their way. "One's coming."

"C'mon," Cole growled as he grabbed her arm, "let's get out of here."

But, as they began to orb, Phoebe pulled herself free from his grip. And she didn't have to see him clearly to know he was angry. "I won't let them go," she announced, ducking from another bolt, "not again. They're responsible for the Dark Starling attack and they won't quit 'til the Charmed Ones are broken. And I'm not gonna wait 'til I lose an innocent to do something about them. I'm gonna keep going after them and vanquishing them until the Kort are a thing of the past."

"The Kort weren't responsible," he calmly told her as he orbed her to the safety of a stack at the far end of the warehouse. He felt her tense and admitted, "A trio of Lardin were behind that plot to kill you but you don't have to worry about them."

"What, what do you mean?" she nervously asked as she unconsciously took a step back from him.

"I took care of them," he replied in an unapologetic tone. Another explosion reminded him of the immediate danger and he again demanded, "How could you come here alone and unarmed? Didn't Leo warn you about going after the Kort alone? How could you risk everything for a little revenge?"

"It's not revenge," she retorted. "Maybe they weren't behind the attack against me but they've been on a killing spree for months and we have to stop them." Her hands clenched into fists and she snapped, "And I'm not one of your charges so don't go all Whitelighter on me!"

"It's got nothing to do with Whitelighters and witches," he impatiently declared, "and everything to do with practicality and rationality. You came here alone, unprepared for a group of Kort, and almost single-handedly broke the Power of Three for them. I saw the way you levitated. You're exhausted and are in no shape for a confrontation of any kind."

"I'm perfectly fine," she angrily countered as she gave him a shove backwards. "I'll get rid of them myself so you can just orb back to wherever the hell you've been for the past three months!"

"Like hell," he muttered. "We're leaving together," he announced, "whether you like it or not." Suddenly, a flash of blue-white light radiated from Phoebe's back and, to his shock, she fell forward into his arms. "Phoebe!" He knelt with her on top of the crate and he looked up to see both Kort demons coming for them. With one angry motion of his hand, he flung the Kort across the warehouse, smashing them into the wall.

His sudden movement caused Phoebe to moan and she coughed painfully. "Cole…" she croaked.

Cole immediately focused on her and shifted her in his arms so that he had better access to her back. He could barely see in the dark but he could smell her burnt clothing and skin. "Shhh," he quietly soothed, "it'll be okay." He held his hand just above her wound and watched as it began to glow. "You're gonna be fine," he promised while he buried the fear he felt when his glowing hand revealed just how badly she'd been hurt.

After a few moments, Phoebe no longer felt intense burning in her back. She moved slightly and he helped her sit. "I don't understand," she murmured with a cough as she turned to face him. She couldn't see him clearly and couldn't quite make out his emotions. "How?" she asked with another cough.

"Another one of Chris's powers," he replied as he brought his hand to her chest and watched as it glowed. "Never thought I'd have to use it on you," he added as an after-thought.

"But he couldn't heal as an adult," she commented in confusion while she tried taking a deep breath. "I figured he lost the power at some point when he was growing up." She cautiously took another deep breath and nodded to herself with satisfaction when she didn't cough. She tenderly touched her bad cheek and couldn't suppress a groan.

Realizing she'd been hurt earlier, Cole held his hand above her cheek and watched as the wound healed. The glowing from his hand faded and Cole's fingers brushed against her skin when he moved away his hand. After a split second of that familiar yearning, Cole remembered they no longer had a future together and stood up. Even though it was dark, he still turned his back to her and tried not to even picture her face. "Chris still had the power," he explained. "But it had atrophied to the point where he no longer knew it could be accessed again."

Something suddenly whizzed past her and thunked into the crate and Phoebe felt for the object. "An arrow," she whispered with horror as she glanced in Cole's direction. Another whizzed by her and she screamed, "Darklighter!"

Cole grabbed her and orbed to the safety of one of the stacks behind their attacker. He waved his arm and sent the Darklighter crashing to the floor.

"Call for the bow," she told him.

"My power doesn't work like Paige's," he replied simply. "Time to go."

"No, wait, I know how we can get them all," she insisted when she caught sight of the recovered Kort. The Darklighter suddenly appeared in their path too. "Orb between them," she instructed. "Between one of the Kort and the Darklighter. The Kort will aim for you and, as soon as you orb away, it'll hit the Darklighter."

"The Darklighter's the least of our concern," he disagreed. "We'd still have the Kort to deal with. You have to know when to give up," he advised. 'A lesson I've learned all too recently.'

'He's talking about me,' she understood. But Phoebe hid her disappointment and quickly explained the rest of her plan. "Once the Darklighter's gone, I'll levitate between the two Kort and, just as they each fire at me, you'll orb me away so that the two will destroy each other."

"That," Cole began to argue before he realized, "that just might work." He pushed her away from the path of an incoming electric bolt and asked if she was ready.

'That Darklighter can kill him,' she feared before she composed herself. "Go."

Just as Phoebe planned, Cole's orbing between the Kort and Darklighter resulted in the destruction of the Darklighter. And, before the stunned Kort could react, he'd orbed back to Phoebe's side. "Are you sure?" he worried. "I can still get you out of here."

"Trust me," she quietly requested before she impulsively pulled him close and kissed him passionately. 'What the hell'd I do that for?' she angrily thought and, just as Cole began to speak, she immediately levitated out of reach.

'What the hell was that for?' Stunned, Cole stood there unmoving until an electric bolt hit the crate near his feet. He looked at the demons and, from the glow of their electricity, saw Phoebe land between them. His heart stopped as he waited for the Kort to face Phoebe. He moved the instant they fired at her and he could almost feel the burn from their bolts as he orbed her to safety.

On top of one of the few remaining whole stacks, the couple turned just as the Kort exploded in a shower of sparks. The explosion rocked the warehouse and both Phoebe and Cole stood silently as they watched the sparks dissipate.

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