TWELVE
"Wait a minute," said Chris. "You're just going to let a witch vanquish
you? I'm not buying it."
"I won't exactly let her," said Cole. "She's someone I had dealings with
some time back. It was a very long time ago. She wasn't my assignment so I
didn't kill her when I had the chance. In fact, I let her go. So in a manner
of speaking, she owes me. My plan is very simple. When the time is right,
she's going to show up looking for her revenge. We'll fight and it will appear
that she has vanquished me. Only I'll go into hiding for a while. When word of
my vanquishing gets back to the Source, I'll be free."
"Pretty clever," said Tiffany. "The girls won't be a threat to the
Source, so he'll stop watching them. And once you're vanquished, the Source
will turn his attention to other matters. After a while you just return to the
manor and you and Phoebe live happily ever after. With no demonic
interference."
"Something like that," said Cole. "That's why I needed to know why you
came back to the manor when you did. In a few weeks I'll put my plan into
action. Then I can return to the manor and live as a human. And the Source
will be none the wiser."
"Well, you know why we came back to the manor," said Leo. "Something is
going on and we're trying to figure out what it is. I needed to look around the
manor and we figured a visit from a long lost friend was a good cover. Now, the
question is, what are you going to do about it? Regardless of what Chris has
told us about you, I still don't trust you. Your elaborate plans are very well
known. How do we know this isn't part of one of your plans and you'll kill us
when we turn our backs?"
"You don't," said Cole. "All I can do is tell you that everything I've
told you is the truth. What do I plan to do? Nothing. If you aren't there to
vanquish or expose me, you aren't a threat. There's no reason for me to do
anything. Besides, I'm trying to be good now. My days as a demonic mercenary
are over. As far as the girls know, I'm just Cole Turner, assistant district
attorney for San Francisco. I want to keep it that way."
"You might be able to help us," said Chris. "You know more about demons
than any of us. It's possible you can help us figure out who went back in time
and changed things."
"You can't change the past," said Cole. "Didn't they teach you that at
White Lighter school?"
"Maybe not," said Leo, "but if someone can manipulate the right people, he
can get them to change their future. That would have the same affect. Or
didn't they cover that little aspect in demon school?"
"Okay boys," said Tiffany, "if the three of your are finished with your
little testosterone fight, we have bigger problems to deal with. Turner, we'll
make a deal with you. We won't expose your cover to the Halliwells if you help
us. In return, maybe we can make your 'death' a little bit more convincing.
It's not very likely that one witch would be able to vanquish you. The Source
may not believe it."
"That's always been a risk," said Cole. "That's why it's taken so long to
work things out. So, I help you figure out who went back in time and changed
things, and in return you help me fake my destruction? Is that the deal?"
'That's it," said Tiffany. "No one need ever know the truth."
"Okay," said Cole. "If I'm going to help you, I'm going to need to know
everything that happened. There aren't many demons that can manipulate time or
open a portal to the past. In order for me to figure out who it might be, I'm
going to need as much information as possible."
"Well," said Chris, "the first thing that seemed hinky was when I orbed
into the manor the other morning. The day before we came to visit you. I
became dizzy and disoriented for a moment. At first, I thought it was nothing."
* * *
"That's quite a story," said Cole.
"It's everything I can tell you," said Chris.
"Plus all the speculations and theories we've come up with," said Tiffany.
"Frankly, nothing makes any sense. If someone went through the trouble of
coming back in time to stop the Charmed Ones, it make more sense to just kill
them instead of preventing them from finding the Book of Shadows."
"Well, I know one thing," said Cole. "Who ever did it has to be human.
The one who came back in time, if that's what happened, could be a demon. But
the person who moved the book would have to be human. A demon couldn't touch
the book."
"He's right about that," said Chris. "It protects itself from evil."
"My guess is the book has been destroyed," said Cole. "While a demon
couldn't touch it, one could figure out a way to destroy it. And after six
years, there's no reason to believe it still exists. It would be much too
dangerous to keep around. So whatever changes have been made you can pretty
much count on them being permanent."
"Do you have any idea who might have done it?" asked Chris.
"My first guess would be Tempus," said Cole. "He's the master of time
manipulation. He's one of the Source's most valuable underlings."
"Was," corrected Chris. "It couldn't have been Tempus. He died when Prue
died. So it couldn't be him."
"He was alive and well the last time I saw him," said Cole. "But if he
was vanquished as you say he was, then he wouldn't have been around to do this.
What about a temporal pixie?"
"A what?" Tiffany asked.
"Temporal pixie," said Leo. "They're sort of like magical practical
jokers. They like to bounce around time and make alterations to the timeline.
But most of their practical jokes aren't this major. And they certainly aren't
permanent. They aren't really evil. They just have a very warped sense of
humor."
"You're right," said Cole. "This doesn't fit the pattern that a temporal
pixie would use. I'll tell you what. Let me check around the underworld for a
couple of days. Like I said, there aren't that many demons that can manipulate
time. With a little luck, I should be able to narrow the list of suspects down
some. At the very least I might be able to find someone who knows something
about the Book of Shadows.
"If a demon did get someone to remove it from the manor, they'll be
bragging about it. Even if no one believes them. It will at least give us a
place to start. It might take me a few days to get some answers. But I'll
contact you as soon as I know anything."
"Don't take too long," said Leo. "Whoever did this may not stop with just
the Charmed Ones. He may decide to alter other past events. Who knows what
catastrophic results that could lead to? We need to know who's behind this and
fast."
"I'll get back as soon as I can," said Cole. "In the mean time, you'd
better stay away from the manor. If the Source learns that a White Lighter and
a witch have been there, he might reconsider them as threats. That could be
disastrous for everyone concerned."
"You seemed more willing to trust him than you were the other day," Leo
said to Tiffany after Cole had shimmered away.
"I sensed something from him," said Tiffany. "His demonic half prevents
me from reading his mind. But I think I can sense his human half. Not
telepathy, exactly. More like an empathic impression. And what I sensed was
honesty. I think he was telling us the truth."
"What if he's right?" asked Chris. "What if the Book of Shadows has been
destroyed? That means the timeline can't be corrected. I can never go back to
my own time because I won't exist in that future. I'll be trapped here in the
past."
"What I don't understand," Leo said, "is why you didn't vanish as soon as
the changes occurred. If you don't exist in the future, that means you couldn't
have come back to the past. You shouldn't even exist at all."
"I can't answer that," said Chris. "I only know that if we can't find
someway to return things to the way they're supposed to be, I'll have to stay in
this timeline forever."
"Wait a minute," said Chris. "You're just going to let a witch vanquish
you? I'm not buying it."
"I won't exactly let her," said Cole. "She's someone I had dealings with
some time back. It was a very long time ago. She wasn't my assignment so I
didn't kill her when I had the chance. In fact, I let her go. So in a manner
of speaking, she owes me. My plan is very simple. When the time is right,
she's going to show up looking for her revenge. We'll fight and it will appear
that she has vanquished me. Only I'll go into hiding for a while. When word of
my vanquishing gets back to the Source, I'll be free."
"Pretty clever," said Tiffany. "The girls won't be a threat to the
Source, so he'll stop watching them. And once you're vanquished, the Source
will turn his attention to other matters. After a while you just return to the
manor and you and Phoebe live happily ever after. With no demonic
interference."
"Something like that," said Cole. "That's why I needed to know why you
came back to the manor when you did. In a few weeks I'll put my plan into
action. Then I can return to the manor and live as a human. And the Source
will be none the wiser."
"Well, you know why we came back to the manor," said Leo. "Something is
going on and we're trying to figure out what it is. I needed to look around the
manor and we figured a visit from a long lost friend was a good cover. Now, the
question is, what are you going to do about it? Regardless of what Chris has
told us about you, I still don't trust you. Your elaborate plans are very well
known. How do we know this isn't part of one of your plans and you'll kill us
when we turn our backs?"
"You don't," said Cole. "All I can do is tell you that everything I've
told you is the truth. What do I plan to do? Nothing. If you aren't there to
vanquish or expose me, you aren't a threat. There's no reason for me to do
anything. Besides, I'm trying to be good now. My days as a demonic mercenary
are over. As far as the girls know, I'm just Cole Turner, assistant district
attorney for San Francisco. I want to keep it that way."
"You might be able to help us," said Chris. "You know more about demons
than any of us. It's possible you can help us figure out who went back in time
and changed things."
"You can't change the past," said Cole. "Didn't they teach you that at
White Lighter school?"
"Maybe not," said Leo, "but if someone can manipulate the right people, he
can get them to change their future. That would have the same affect. Or
didn't they cover that little aspect in demon school?"
"Okay boys," said Tiffany, "if the three of your are finished with your
little testosterone fight, we have bigger problems to deal with. Turner, we'll
make a deal with you. We won't expose your cover to the Halliwells if you help
us. In return, maybe we can make your 'death' a little bit more convincing.
It's not very likely that one witch would be able to vanquish you. The Source
may not believe it."
"That's always been a risk," said Cole. "That's why it's taken so long to
work things out. So, I help you figure out who went back in time and changed
things, and in return you help me fake my destruction? Is that the deal?"
'That's it," said Tiffany. "No one need ever know the truth."
"Okay," said Cole. "If I'm going to help you, I'm going to need to know
everything that happened. There aren't many demons that can manipulate time or
open a portal to the past. In order for me to figure out who it might be, I'm
going to need as much information as possible."
"Well," said Chris, "the first thing that seemed hinky was when I orbed
into the manor the other morning. The day before we came to visit you. I
became dizzy and disoriented for a moment. At first, I thought it was nothing."
* * *
"That's quite a story," said Cole.
"It's everything I can tell you," said Chris.
"Plus all the speculations and theories we've come up with," said Tiffany.
"Frankly, nothing makes any sense. If someone went through the trouble of
coming back in time to stop the Charmed Ones, it make more sense to just kill
them instead of preventing them from finding the Book of Shadows."
"Well, I know one thing," said Cole. "Who ever did it has to be human.
The one who came back in time, if that's what happened, could be a demon. But
the person who moved the book would have to be human. A demon couldn't touch
the book."
"He's right about that," said Chris. "It protects itself from evil."
"My guess is the book has been destroyed," said Cole. "While a demon
couldn't touch it, one could figure out a way to destroy it. And after six
years, there's no reason to believe it still exists. It would be much too
dangerous to keep around. So whatever changes have been made you can pretty
much count on them being permanent."
"Do you have any idea who might have done it?" asked Chris.
"My first guess would be Tempus," said Cole. "He's the master of time
manipulation. He's one of the Source's most valuable underlings."
"Was," corrected Chris. "It couldn't have been Tempus. He died when Prue
died. So it couldn't be him."
"He was alive and well the last time I saw him," said Cole. "But if he
was vanquished as you say he was, then he wouldn't have been around to do this.
What about a temporal pixie?"
"A what?" Tiffany asked.
"Temporal pixie," said Leo. "They're sort of like magical practical
jokers. They like to bounce around time and make alterations to the timeline.
But most of their practical jokes aren't this major. And they certainly aren't
permanent. They aren't really evil. They just have a very warped sense of
humor."
"You're right," said Cole. "This doesn't fit the pattern that a temporal
pixie would use. I'll tell you what. Let me check around the underworld for a
couple of days. Like I said, there aren't that many demons that can manipulate
time. With a little luck, I should be able to narrow the list of suspects down
some. At the very least I might be able to find someone who knows something
about the Book of Shadows.
"If a demon did get someone to remove it from the manor, they'll be
bragging about it. Even if no one believes them. It will at least give us a
place to start. It might take me a few days to get some answers. But I'll
contact you as soon as I know anything."
"Don't take too long," said Leo. "Whoever did this may not stop with just
the Charmed Ones. He may decide to alter other past events. Who knows what
catastrophic results that could lead to? We need to know who's behind this and
fast."
"I'll get back as soon as I can," said Cole. "In the mean time, you'd
better stay away from the manor. If the Source learns that a White Lighter and
a witch have been there, he might reconsider them as threats. That could be
disastrous for everyone concerned."
"You seemed more willing to trust him than you were the other day," Leo
said to Tiffany after Cole had shimmered away.
"I sensed something from him," said Tiffany. "His demonic half prevents
me from reading his mind. But I think I can sense his human half. Not
telepathy, exactly. More like an empathic impression. And what I sensed was
honesty. I think he was telling us the truth."
"What if he's right?" asked Chris. "What if the Book of Shadows has been
destroyed? That means the timeline can't be corrected. I can never go back to
my own time because I won't exist in that future. I'll be trapped here in the
past."
"What I don't understand," Leo said, "is why you didn't vanish as soon as
the changes occurred. If you don't exist in the future, that means you couldn't
have come back to the past. You shouldn't even exist at all."
"I can't answer that," said Chris. "I only know that if we can't find
someway to return things to the way they're supposed to be, I'll have to stay in
this timeline forever."