Sorry it's taken me such a ridiculously long time to update, but with school and work and stuff I've been pretty busy, and then I got sick. I'm better now though. But excuses aside, I will be updating both this story, and Little Women, a lot more in the future.

Just to make clear – Leo IS an elder. Also, there's quite a bit of harsh language in this chapter.

Chapter Three: Twice Cursed

Leo was sat at the kitchen table, helping Melinda and Lily so some drawings, while attempting to keep the crayons off the table. He saw the telltale signs of Piper and Paige's return, and smiled as Lily looked in wonder at the swirling blue and white lights. As they re-appeared, Paige moved immediately to make coffee, while Piper sank into a chair next to Leo.

"Not good then?" he asked.

"Not good," agreed Piper.

"Phoebe's kind of a b-" Paige stopped herself. "Ears."

Melinda and Lily put their hands over their ears before Paige continued.

"Yea, kind of a bitch. And don't even get me started on that mistake of a husband."

"Mummy, I draws lots of pictures," said Melinda, climbing into Piper's lap.

"Me too."

"Sweetie, they're lovely. Both of you," Piper told them, kissing her daughter's dark head and smiling at her niece.

"Let's go play," Melinda said to Lily, and the two ran off together.

"So what happened?" inquired Leo.

"We told them the deal, they said no. End of story," answered Paige, cradling her coffee mug in her hands.

Piper shrugged. "That's basically it. Except Phoebe was a bit more dramatic."

Suddenly the kitchen was filled with a blast of heat and Paige jumped back as five columns of fire appeared in the kitchen. When the flames disappeared, Cole, Phoebe and their three children were standing there. Both adults were dressed head to toe in black; Cole in a suit, Phoebe in a dress that fell to her knees.

Cole smirked when he saw the shocked looks on Piper, Paige and Leo's faces.

"What, no hug?"

"Didn't expect you to come here. At least, not so soon," replied Piper.

"Cole and I want to protect our children. If this is the way then we'll do it," explained Phoebe.

Piper smiled softly. "I'm glad"

Phoebe returned the smile and sat at the table, pulling Cole to sit next to her. Paige settled herself at the head of the table.

"Wyatt, Chris, come here and bring the girls," called Leo.

"What are you-?" Paige began to ask.

Leo smiled. "I think perhaps our family should properly meet."

A few moments later, Piper and Leo's sons came into the kitchen followed by Melinda and Lily.

Phoebe's breath caught in her throat as she looked at her two handsome nephews and her two beautiful nieces.

Wyatt, Piper and Leo's eldest son, was blond and blue eyed, a spitting image of Leo, while Chris, their middle child, had Piper's dark hair and eyes. Melinda, their little girl, looked just like Piper had at that age, with her dark hair, large brown eyes and child like innocence.

Paige's daughter Lily was gorgeous, all blonde bunches and blue eyes, with toddler's chubby cheeks and a big grin on her face.

Piper, Paige and Leo, meanwhile, were taking in Phoebe and Leo's children. The twins looked more like Phoebe than Cole, with light brown hair and hazel eyes, but their facial structure, the glint in their eyes, and the way a smirk seemed to tug at their lips, was all Cole. The little boy looked like a little Cole, the only trace of his mother being the shy smile that played around his mouth.

"What's up, dad?" asked Wyatt. "'Cause me and Chris where in the middle of a major Soul Calibur tournement."

"Kids, this here is your Aunt Phoebe and your Uncle Cole," Leo said. "And your cousins"

Despite Cole's grumblings, Phoebe smiled warmly back at Leo.

"And they are your Aunts Piper and Paige, and your Uncle Leo. And your cousins, Wyatt, Chris, Melinda and Lily," she responded.

"Ben, Alexia and Smith," Cole muttered, gesturing at his children, while looking warily at the other four, as if he feared they might curse him at any moment.

The children murmered greetings to each other and then stood awkwardly, looking to their parents for instructions.

"Why don't you guys all go and play on the playstation or something?" suggested Leo.

Seeing her eldest children glance at her, Phoebe smiled and nodded, gesturing for Ben, Alexia and Smith to follow their cousins out of the kitchen.

"So, what do we do?" demanded Cole, all business, his only concern being protecting his children and then getting the hell out of there.

Piper shrugged. "We know about as much as you do. That the three girls are the new power of three, and that, unless that power is re-envoked, the entire universe is screwed."

"I could ask the elders," suggested Leo. "Maybe they could help."

"No!" exclaimed Cole and Phoebe in unison, identical looks of panic on their face.

Paige looked at them. "I don't think the elders are going to come down and smite you," she said, smiling sardonically. "Unfortunately," she muttered, below her breath.

"What's wrong with Leo asking the elders?" inquired Piper. "They'd help to save the world."

"They've been a great help with guiding Wyatt, Chris, Melinda with their powers," continued Leo.

"Something tells me that they'd be less of a help to our children," replied Cole.

Phoebe placed her hand on Cole's knee beneath the table and sighed.

"Wyatt, Chris and Melinda…they're all twice blessed, right?"

Leo and Piper nodded.

"Well, Ben, Alexia and Smith, as the children of the Source and a witch viewed as a 'traitor', aren't twice blessed. They're not blessed at all."

"You're kids got twice blessed," explained Cole. "Ours have been twice cursed."

"Twice…cursed?" repeated Paige.

Phoebe nodded. "The elders themselves cursed our children."

"But why?"

Cole raised an eyebrow at Leo, almost disgusted by the white lighters naivety. "What do you mean 'why'? Isn't that obvious?"

"Cole, calm down," warned Phoebe.

Ignoring his wife, Cole continued. "You're telling me you didn't know that your precious elders cursed our children because they wanted the upper hand? They cursed our babies because they wanted to get one up on us. Because, if ever the truce collapsed, they wanted our children to be helpless, so they could be easily slaughtered!"

"Cole!" Phoebe shouted. "Please, calm down. You're not helping anything."

"Sorry," he muttered, looking at his feet. "It's just-"

"I know." Phoebe turned to her sisters and Leo. "Basically, the fact that they are twice cursed, means that, while their powers are greatly advanced and they can use them to great affect, they are useless against any one fighting for the side of good. This isn't an issue while the truce is in place, but if the two sides were to start fighting again, our children would be completely helpless."

Leo was still frowned. "I still don't understand why the elders would do that."

"Oh for fuck's sake!" exclaimed Cole. "Because they're not as fair and as just as they claim they are. We had issued a truce – not them – not you – us, Phoebe and I – King and Queen of the underworld agreed to call it quits, but still they decided it would be best to maintain the upper hand, just incase we changed our minds. Figured the best thing would be to allow our children to die."

"They did it without our knowing," Phoebe added quietly. "And they refuse to reverse it."

"Understand," muttered Cole, breathing heavily, "I don't want to see any of our children hurt, but what your planning is so much more dangerous for Ben, Alexia and Smith, than it is for Wyatt, Chris and Melinda."

"Just, let me see what I can do," requested Leo, before orbing out.

Eeh…yea, okay, well please review, and play nice.