Meanwhile back in San Francisco, the Charmed Ones were working themselves into a state of near panic.
"Oh God, he cannot come back again! Hasn't Cole done enough to destroy my life!" Phoebe cried out, pacing furiously across the attic.
"You guys, we have got to find some way to kill him for good."
"Phoebe, we tried everything before. Cole is invincible. He's immune to our magic. The only reason we got him the last time is because I
got sucked into his warped alternate reality. Cole's not going to make the same mistake twice." Paige said. She was scared too. Cole had made
no secret of his hatred of the youngest Halliwell sister. Time after time Paige had been the target of his insane rage and his obsessive need to
have Phoebe back no matter what the cost. Yet she was more scared for Phoebe. Her sister was finally starting to get her life back together again
After Cole had first been vanquished, Phoebe had had nightmares every night, sometimes twice a night. Her work had suffered and her social life
had become nonexistent. But now she was slowly healing. The bad dreams only came once or twice a week and her advice column was back up
to its usual high standard. She hadn't even objected when Paige had offered to set her up with some eligible guys she knew. Paige knew that if
Cole ever came back in their lives, Phoebe would be destroyed. She couldn't let that happen! Once again Paige flipped through The Book of
Shadows and came up with nothing. "Damn it!" she screamed, hurling the book across the room and nearly hitting Piper and baby Melinda.
Immediately, the baby began to squall.
"Paige, could you be a little more careful?" Piper asked in a strident tone as she cooed and cuddled her daughter in an attempt to calm her
down.
"I'm sorry Piper. It's just so frustrating not being able to do anything to help Phoebe." Paige walked over to Piper and Melinda and gently
kissed Melinda on the forehead. "I'm sorry Melinda, Aunty Paige didn't mean to scare you." Baby Melinda was in a forgiving mood. Within
minutes her sobs had faded to sniffles and Piper was able to put her in the crib they kept up there and go over to Phoebe.
"Hey Phoebs, how you holding up?"
"OK, I guess. It's just. . .you know what the most awful part is? The waiting. Waiting for him to show up. Here, at work. Wondering what
sick twisted thing he's going to do next." Phoebe replied.
"He hasn't made any contact with you at all?" Piper asked in surprise. Phoebe shook her head. "Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe
Cole has finally realized that the two of you are never going to get back together and he left town."
"That's never going to happen, Piper. Cole's obsessed with me. He loves me. He's not going to leave, not unless we kill him!" Phoebe
cried out in terror and frustration. Yet deep inside there was a part of her that liked the attention Cole paid her. She did want Cole out of her
life forever, preferably in a body bag. But at the same time, the thought that Cole might actually get over her and move on with his life made her
feel like throwing up. Suddenly Paige shouted in triumph.
"I got it!"
"Shh, the baby!" Piper whispered angrily. "What have you got?"
"It's so obvious, I can't believe we didn't think of this before."
"Think of what?"
"We can just strip his powers! I already did it once remember? That whole thing with Barbas? Without his powers, he'll be vulnerable
and we'll be able to. . ."
"What? Kill him?" Phoebe asked. "Paige, we don't kill human beings remember?"
"Well I think we should make an exception in this case." Phoebe glared at Paige. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Maybe we could get Darryl
to arrest him though. He's already killed at least four people that we know of. God knows what else Cole has done."
"Paige, even if we manage to strip his powers, they still have to go someplace. Into the nearest demonic home remember? How long do
you think we'd live if that happened? Fifteen minutes? A half hour?"
"Well maybe we can put the powers someplace else like a jar or something." Paige answered defensively. "OK, I guess I didn't think this
through. Maybe this was a bad idea after all."
"A bad idea's better than no idea at all." Piper said, taking charge. "You heard what Prue said. Cole is out there, and he's going to
destroy a lot of innocent lives unless we stop him. Paige do you remember what you put in that potion?"
"I think so, yeah."
"Good, you and Phoebe get started on that. Leo's talking with the elders right now about Cole. As soon as he gets back, I'll ask him
about vessels for containing magical powers."
"Whitelighter Wyatt, the elders will see you now." A blandly smiling whitelighter informed Leo. Leo jumped to his feet and hurried to the
Elders then forced himself to slow to a more respectful pace. Leo waited in the doorway of their inner chamber and when the elders beckoned,
he walked up to them and stood with his head bowed. Savannah, the highest ranked elder, spoke first.
"What is it that brings you here, Whitelighter Wyatt?"
"My former brother-in-law has come back to life. Again. He's a threat to my family. My daughter. I came to ask for your help in killing him."
"The Charmed Ones have been unable to find a way to defeat Cole Turner?"
"No, they only beat him the last time through blind luck. I was hoping that you would know about some spells that weren't in the Book of
Shadows."
"I hope you're not referring to dark magic, Leo." Gavin, Savannah's second-in-command said sternly."
"No sir."
"Good. We must remember what side we are fighting on." Leo forced himself to remain dispassionate. He didn't like the idea of
hurting people either, but sometimes the elders carried pacifism too far.
"I'm sorry this distresses you Leo, but Gavin has a point." Savannah said gently. "You must not forget who you are. To answer your
earlier question, we did some research when it first became clear how powerful Cole had become. Unfortunately, we couldn't do anything.
The powers that Cole Turner obtained from the wastelands are very potent. They've coalesced into something with a life of their own. Our
best shot at fixing things was when Paige Matthews managed to strip his powers."
"So let's do that!" Leo exclaimed.
"It's too late. Cole's powers have grown considerably. I know you would not think this is possibe after seeing some of the things he has
done, but I assure you the potential has barely been tapped. Even if you managed by some miracle to strip his powers. there isn't a vessel in
this world or any other that could hope to contain them."
"Why can't we give them to someone else?"
"Like Barbas perhaps?" Gavin's voice was thick with sarcasm.
"Anyone's better than Cole! The guy's a lunatic!" Leo yelled, his temper finally getting the best of him.
"Leo, I think you're forgetting where you are." Savannah said coldly.
"I know exactly where I am. I'm with the elders. Land of the useless! You know what Cole has done to my family, yet you sit here and do
nothing!"
"And what would you suggest we do Whitelighter Wyatt? Give Cole's powers to some other demon? Someone who would use these
powers to end the chaos of the Underworld, who will have the power to breach even our borders and destroy us all. Or worse yet, what if they go
into some neophyte incapable of controlling them. What if he ends up accidentally killing hundreds of innocent people? At least Belthazor is an
experienced and accomplished demon. Also his ahem fascination with Phoebe Halliwell has prevented Cole from doing anything. . .global."
"Your using the Charmed Ones as bait?"
"To help protect innocent people? Yes."
"That is sick. All of you are just plain sick! You claim to be so good, but you're worse than any demon I've ever met. Now I know that you
have power, even if you choose not to use it. You should combine these powers, use them against Cole, kill him once and for all!" Leo looked
at Savannah and instantly realized that he might have gone too far.
"It is not your place to tell us what to do." Savannah said, her voice like cold steel. "We do not serve you. You serve us. We are not
murderers. Even if we had the power to defeat Cole, which I assure you we do not, we wouldn't. The Powers That Be have seen fit to restore
him to life. I do not know why, but I seriously doubt that any of them give a damn about Phoebe and Cole's relationship. Cole Turner was brought
back for a higher purpose, and even though we don't know what it is, we will not interfere."
"I'm sorry. I overstepped my bounds. I shouldn't have tried to go against fate." Leo said contritely.
"That's all right, Leo." Savannah softened. "We know you just want to protect your family."
"Yes. Speaking of which, do you mind if I return to them? I don't like to leave Piper and Melinda alone for too long." Savannah silently
acquiesced and Leo orbed out. As soon as he disappeared, Gavin turned to Savannah.
"You didn't really buy that little apology of Wyatt's did you?"
"Of course not. Don't worry. Leo is going to do exactly what he's supposed to do."
Leo orbed into the kitchen just as Paige was finishing up the power-stripping potion. Piper ran up to him and gave him a kiss. "Hi honey.
Were the elders able to help?"
"No, they said Cole is too powerful to be vanquished." Paige walked over smiling triumphantly.
"Well maybe we won't have to. Voila! One Acme Power Stripping Potion." Leo frowned worriedly. "Geez, Leo don't rush to congratulate
me."
"It's not going to work."
"What do you mean?"
"You were planning on moving the powers to some sort of magical containment vessel weren't you?"
"Yes."
"The elders told me that none of them are strong enough."
"So we put them in another demon! Anyone is better than that bastard Cole!" Paige shouted angrily.
"Actually, the elders think we should leave well enough alone." Leo quickly informed Piper and Paige of everything the elders had told him.
By the time he was through they were both livid. Piper was the first to find her voice.
"Those sanctimonious jerks want to use Phoebe as bait! They better hope that I never find a way to go 'up there' because if I do, I am so
kicking their asses!"
"No Piper they're right." Phoebe stepped to the kitchen. "I couldn't live with myself if innocent people died because of me. I know that
Cole is all twisted and evil now, but at least he has a human soul."
"You really think that's going to make everything better, Phoebe?"
"No, but it probably means that until we can vanquish Cole, the only lives that are going to be in danger are ours. I think that's the way it
should be."
"OK, so the power stripping potion is out. Any other ideas?" Phoebe shrugged.
"What about this Willow Rosenberg? Didn't Prue say she could help us?" Paige asked. The sisters had been reluctant to contact her
because they didn't want to risk an innocent life. Besides they didnt even know if this Willow actually had any powers or not. If she was just
someone who dabbled in Wicca, then they were all pretty much screwed. But now everyone realized that they had no choice.
"OK, I'll start scrying for her." Piper said already moving to the map and crystal. Suddenly Phoebe slapped herself upside the head.
"Oh my God! I can't believe it! I am so stupid!"
"What?"
"I know that Willow, I mean I think I do. I met her in a chat room for Wiccas. We ended up e-mailing for a while. She told me her name
was Willow, that she was Jewish, and that she came from a little town called Sunnydale."
"That's where Prue said this Willow Rosenberg was from." Leo remembered.
"Right, so it's got to be her! I can get my laptop and IM her right now. I just hope she remembers who I am. It's been a while since I've had
any contact with her. I wonder what she's been up to."
"You really think she can help?" Paige asked.
"Well from what she's told me, Willow is supposed to be pretty powerful. So yeah probably, but even if she can't, it's not like it's the end
of the world."