FOUR

"Excuse me?" questioned Piper.

"Like I said," said Cole, "Gastion always preferred human women to demonic

females. He kidnaps them and uses his secretions to subdue their memories.

Then he convinces them that they are his wife. When they get too old to be of

use to him he discards them and gets a new one."

"Nice guy," said Paige.

"He is a demon," said Cole. "But I don't see how it could be him. Like I

said, he was banished to the Émigré about seventy years ago. There's no way he

could have gotten here."

"Well, he obviously found a way," said Piper.

"You don't understand," said Cole. "The reason the Émigré was chosen was

because there's no way out of it. And like I said, it's been used for thousands

of years and no demon has ever escaped it."

"What about his banishment being lifted?" Leo suggested. "If that

happened he'd be free to roam the underworld and could easily move to the mortal

realm."

"The Source banished him," said Cole. "By the rules of banishment only

the Source can lift that banishment. And since there is no longer any Source,

there's no one high enough to lift his banishment."

"What about another demon?" Paige asked. "Maybe a high level demon with a

lot of power."

"It doesn't work that way," said Cole. "The demons that guard the

entrance to the Émigré follow the rules of banishment to the letter. They would

never allow a lower level demon to lift the banishment of a demon. It's just

not done."

"Demons aren't know for their cooperation," said Piper.

"It's not that," said Cole. "Just because demons are evil doesn't mean

they are stupid. Or that they can't work together. Most demons have a

particular function or job. They rarely deviate from that. And the rules for

banishment are very succinct. A demon can only banish one of its underlings or

the underlings of a subordinate. Only that demon, or a higher level demon, can

lift the banishment. And since Gastion was banished by the Source, only he can

lift that banishment. Trust me, the demons guarding the Émigré would never

violate those rules. They've enforced them for thousands of years."

"Well something's going on," said Piper. "Either this Gastion has had his

banishment lifted or he's found a way out of the Émigré. You saw yourself that

he was here in the manor. What explanation do you have for it?"

"I don't know," said Cole. "I know you don't accept what I'm saying but I

know he couldn't have escaped the Émigré. It's just not physically possible.

And no demon is high enough in the hierarchy to lift his banishment. But he was

here. I just can't explain how."

"So what do we do?" asked Paige. "Where would Gastion take Phoebe once he

kidnapped her?"

"Probably to the domain in the underworld where he resided," said Cole.

"Listen, I'm going to go down there and see what's up. If Phoebe is there, I'll

bring her back. Even as Belthazor Gastion was no match for me. He won't like

it but I'm not going to let him keep her. I shouldn't be gone long."

"Just bring her back," said Piper. "And if Gastion has harmed her in any

way then we're going to take care of him for good."

"I'll let him know," said Cole. "That will probably be enough to force

him to release her."

Cole shimmered and was gone from the manor.

"What do you think?" Paige asked Piper. "Do you believe him?"

"He seemed sincere," said Piper. "And you're right about one thing. He

does love Phoebe. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. But this

better not be one of his ploys. If it is I'm going to find a way to vanquish

him."

Cole was gone for several hours. Piper and Paige were becoming more than

worried. Even Leo was more on edge than normal. It was beginning to look like

Cole would never return. When he suddenly did shimmer into the manor, he was

alone.

"Where is she?" Piper cried. "Where's Phoebe?"

"She wasn't down there," said Cole, a perplexed look on his face. "No one

has seen or heard of her which means she wasn't taken there. Trust me, you

don't just kidnap a Charmed One and take her to the underworld without word

spreading like wildfire."

"He's right about that," said Leo. "If she was down there every demon in

the underworld would have known about it."

"So what did this Gastion have to say?" Paige asked. "Did he tell you

where he did take her?"

"That's just it," said Cole. "As far as anyone knows, Gastion is still in

the Émigré. There have been no reports of his banishment being lifted and no

demons have seen him since he was banished."

"They're probably lying to you," said Piper.

"Doubtful," said Cole. "My reputation alone is enough to get the truth

out of those low level demons. And let's just say that I demonstrated my

displeasure at her being taken. No, they were telling the truth. Gastion is

still in the Émigré."

"Which means he's found a way out of there," said Piper.

"As impossible as it sounds," said Cole, "I don't see any other

explanation. Which means that's probably where he's taken Phoebe. It's the

only place he could take her that the underworld wouldn't know about."

"So we just go to this Émigré and get her," said Piper.

"Hold on a second," said Cole. "You can't go down there. It's only for

banished demons. No one else has even been there before."

"Listen," said Piper, "this is my sister we're talking about. You of all

people should know what she means to me. To us. And if she's being held

against her will in a realm of demons, you're going to need us to get her out."

"Piper," said Cole, "do you remember the last time you went to the

underworld? Do you remember how useless your powers were?"

"Yes," said Piper.

"It will be worse this time," said Cole. "The Émigré is the lowest part

of the underworld. There's not even any guarantee that your powers will work at

all down there. And believe me any demon in the Émigré will see you as their

way out of their prison. Destroy the Charmed Ones and get instant freedom."

"Piper is right," said Paige. "Phoebe is our sister. If she's in danger

we have to go get her. You have to take us with you."

"Leo, talk to them," said Cole. "This is stupid. It could put all of

them in danger."

"Sorry," said Leo, "but you know how they are. Especially when one of

them is in danger. I can't say I completely agree with this but I also know

there's no way to talk them out of it."

"Besides," said Piper, "I'm invulnerable, remember? That will give us a

little edge."

"Invulnerable up here," said Cole. "That might not be true down there.

Remember, you daughters' powers come from you. If your powers don't work down

there, neither will hers. You might consider that before you decide to go down

there."

"I have," said Piper, putting her hand to her abdomen. "But it doesn't

really change anything. Phoebe's in danger and we can't just sit by and hope

you can do something about it."

"Well, I guess that means we're going to the Émigré," said Leo.

"Your going?" questioned Paige.

"Of course," said Leo. "My powers work differently from yours. Part of

my ability is to travel between different realms. It's unlikely that they will

be affected even so far down in the underworld. Besides, you might need me. If

any of you gets hurt you won't have any other way to heal yourself."

"Okay," said Piper. "It's settled. We're going to get Phoebe."

"Which may be easier said than done," said Cole. "The guardians of the

Émigré answer only to the Source. Since there is no longer a Source, they may

not let you in. I'm not even sure they'll let me pass. I was vanquished. They

may consider that I don't have the authority to circumvent the rules."

"If they don't, we'll just vanquish their butts," said Paige.

"Not likely," said Cole. "There will be too many of them. But I guess we

can at least try. If they won't let you pass, I promise to do everything I can

to get Phoebe back safe and unharmed. Just be ready in case they won't let you

pass."

"We're wasting time," said Piper. "Let's get going."

Still unconvinced, Cole acquiesced. He shimmered them all to the

underworld and the only entrance to the Émigré.