Chapter Twenty
Piper gasped and hugged her unconscious husband tighter. "Hold on," she encouraged him, "hold on."
Phoebe was sick to her stomach at the thought of Leo dying. He couldn't, not after everything he and Piper had been through to get back together. "There must be something you can do."
"I'm sorry, Phoebe," the leader apologized, "but Leo's an Avatar and was exposed to a poison for which there's no cure."
"Then make him not an Avatar," Piper hissed as tears streamed down her cheeks. Leo couldn't die.
"I've got more of the potion," Kyle boasted. "I'll kill you, each and every one of you."
"Remove Leo's powers so he can be healed," Belthazor ordered the Avatar, "and I'll make sure this one doesn't kill you."
"Can you do that?" Phoebe wondered.
Simultaneously, Paige had asked Kyle, "You have more of the vanquish?"
"You think Zankou was gonna let the only one be used without having back-ups?" he countered. "As soon as enough's manufactured, every upper level demon'll be given a bottle of it to increase the chances of killing Avatars. They won't stand a chance against us."
She was really beginning to worry about this unexpectedly bloodthirsty side to him. "It's over now," Paige patiently told him, "you've gotten your revenge. But Leo's hurt because of it. Please, Kyle, let it go."
"Not until they're all dead," he maintained through gritted teeth.
Belthazor squeezed Kyle's arms in a nearly bone-crushing vise, "You're a fool, just like all other Gloryhounds."
"Please, Kyle, you've spent your life helping people. Don't give that up," Paige implored.
"Gloryhounds obsess over one thing to the exclusion of everything else," Belthazor reminded her.
"Help Leo," Piper pleaded, "before it's too late."
The Avatar scanned the faces of those in the room before closing his eyes and raising his hands to the ceiling. Both he and Leo began to glow in amber light. After nearly half a minute, Leo's aura separated from him into a large ball of light that hovered in the air before soaring through the ceiling.
His eyes fluttered, "Piper?"
"Oh thank God," Piper murmured, hugging him tightly in her arms. "You're gonna be okay, honey, you're gonna be okay."
"He is as he was before he joined us," the Avatar explained. "And as an Elder once again, he may now be healed by one of his own."
"I'll take him," Paige quickly decided as she knelt next to Piper and Leo. "Don't worry, sweetie," she promised her sister, "I'll bring him right back good as new."
But Piper couldn't stop shaking after Paige orbed her husband away and she barely felt Phoebe's arms encircle her. "I can't lose him, Phoebe, not now."
"Shhhh, you heard Paige," Phoebe soothed. "She'll get an Elder to heal him and he'll come right back. He'll be fine. You'll see." She looked up at the Avatar, "Can we go ahead with Utopia?"
Piper immediately pushed herself free from her sister's arms, "What? How can you even think about that now?"
"But Piper," Phoebe said as she, following her sister, scrambled to her feet, "Zankou's gone for good. Now's our chance to make this a better world."
"I know how badly you want your little girl to grow up in a peaceful world without demons, Pheebs," Piper shook her head, "but I still have too many questions about how it'll all work and not enough answers."
"You're crazy," Kyle shouted, "I'm not gonna let you do this…"
"Hold still," Belthazor warned him, "or it'll be the last move you ever make."
"It makes no difference," the Avatar spoke, "because we no longer have the power to make Utopia happen."
"Maybe you need someone better than us," Phoebe suggested.
He smiled at her, "Right now, there are none as strong or as trustworthy as the Charmed Ones. Understand, the collective of Avatars has been drastically depleted of power by the successive deaths of two members… friends…and we no longer have the required energy to transform the world." He observed Phoebe's crestfallen expression and clarified, "But we will…eventually. And perhaps then you'll be ready to accept our offer."
"We're ready now," Phoebe insisted.
Acknowledging Piper's motion to argue, he smiled again, "No, Phoebe, you're not. Your sisters have too many questions and you, you're conflicted too. You heart wants to believe but you don't, not completely."
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
"Don't be," he said. "This is the furthest we've ever come in our quest for making the world one of peace and harmony and I've no doubt we will achieve it in the near future."
"Don't give me that," Belthazor scoffed. "You know damn well there'll be consequences and repercussions to your plan. All your promised peace won't ever become a reality."
"Consequences, yes, but it will be a --"
"Leo!" Piper exclaimed in relief when he suddenly orbed into the apartment at Paige's side. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I thought I'd lost you."
"I'm okay," he softly assured her. "I love you, Piper." He relished the strength he received from being in her arms. Although he'd been healed physically successfully, he felt drained emotionally. He'd managed to avoid answering the Elders' questions but knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have to face them with the truth of what happened. 'And then I'll have to accept the consequences of my choices.'
"What'd we miss?" Paige asked her sisters, wishing Kyle wasn't still struggling in Belthazor's grip.
The Avatar turned to Belthazor, "Use this opportunity wisely and learn from your mistakes."
He knew why the Avatar would no longer trust him to rejoin the collective, "I don't need to become one of you. I never did."
The Avatar glanced at Phoebe and nodded, "I understand now. Good luck, then." He then turned to Leo, "In time, when we are stronger, we will return and extend to you the same opportunity."
Leo's arm was wrapped around Piper's shoulders and he shook his head, "I'm happy being exactly what I am."
"We all are," Piper agreed. She smiled when she caught sight of Paige's emphatic nod.
The Avatar regarded Leo with mild amusement. Leo would return to the fold in time because the chance for peace and happiness would be irresistible to him. "Goodbye……for now," the last words echoing as he disappeared from the apartment taking his dead colleague with him.
Paige approached Kyle and gently brushed his cheek with the back of her hand, "Let me help you."
He jerked out of her reach and was further angered by the demon restraining him. "You let him get away!"
"They can't hurt you," Leo told him. "And they can't change the world. It's over."
"I'll find them," Kyle swore. "I'll spend the rest of my life hunting them down."
"Which will prove to be extremely short if you continue with that objective," Belthazor angrily predicted.
Kyle indicated to Phoebe with the snap of his chin, "Ask the witch. She'll tell you the truth, the truth that Zankou believed. The Avatars are finished and we will rule."
"Except that I lied," Phoebe told him. "I lied in order to trick Zankou. There was no vision."
"What? But that oracle or whatever she wa--"
Phoebe shook her head and interrupted, "I faked that vision in the kitchen, Kyle. I'm sorry, but I used you as bait to tempt Zankou and it worked. We destroyed him."
"Not exactly," Belthazor corrected.
"Close enough," Piper said. "He won't ever be freed, not even after we're long gone from this world."
"Amen," Paige whispered.
Kyle made a move in Phoebe's direction but Belthazor continued to restrain him and threatened, "Don't even think about it."
"Doesn't matter," Kyle grunted, "They'll pay. I'll kill them all!"
"Won't do you any good without the vanquish," Belthazor snarled, "and I'm sure Zankou didn't trust you with its location."
"I'm good at finding things," Kyle sneered. "Just like I found the witches and Zankou, I'll find the vanquish."
Piper suddenly froze Kyle. "I'm sorry, Paige, but they're both ready to lose it."
"Me? I'm in complete control," Belthazor defiantly declared. He focused on Phoebe and growled in annoyance when she averted her gaze. He immediately morphed back into Cole's form. "Didn't believe I could do it, that I could remain in control?" he accused her. "Didn't I protect you all? Didn't I let Kyle live?"
"Didn't you once tell us that Belthazor got stronger the longer you're in that form?" she quietly countered. "We've never seen you as Belthazor for such an extended period of time and Piper didn't want to risk it after all you've been through today."
"It's different now," he insisted.
"Just like that," Paige snapped, "you're cured?"
"Temptation will always be there," Cole calmly admitted, "but I am in control. It won't be any different for me now than it is for you fighting your own evil urges."
"Me you mean," Phoebe commented with disappointment. Somehow they'd taken two giant steps backward.
"This isn't the time," Leo refereed. "Right now we have to figure out what we'll do about Kyle."
"He's a danger. I'll take care of him." Cole made a move towards the frozen demon but was stopped by Paige.
"He needs a chance," she explained. "Just like the one you've wanted."
"Except I've wanted it to show I can do good," he argued. "Kyle's incapable of that now."
"No, I don't believe that. He just needs to remember who he is," Paige desperately replied. "He's still good."
Noting that Phoebe was quietly keeping her distance, Cole leapt at the chance to get away for a while and announced, "I know someone who might be able to help. I'll start looking for him."
"Who?" Paige asked suspiciously.
"A Mercury Demon I know. Not well but I'm sure he'll be interested." To keep their anticipated outrage to a minimum, he quickly continued to clarify, "Kyle's a demon now and he'll need to learn about his breed but I can only help so much in that area. He needs someone more knowledgeable about such things and this demon's a virtual walking encyclopedia."
"But a demon, Cole?" Piper frowned. "I don't like the idea of sending Kyle to the Underworld. We might never get him back."
"You're right, Kyle should remain up here. And that's the beauty of this particular demon," he smiled knowingly, "Drake wants to be human."
"What?" Paige exclaimed in disbelief.
"He loves the arts…" Cole shrugged, "music, literature, movies, you name it. It's a win-win situation. Kyle stays under your influence and learns to control his powers while Drake has the chance to live out some of his dreams."
For the first time all day, Paige began to feel some hope, "Are you sure?"
"I can count on one hand the number of beings I trust completely," he stated in a serious tone. "I may not know him well but Drake is one of them."
Piper gave him a hard look and believed him, "Good enough for me." Then she waved off everyone's look of surprise, "It's been a long day. Now, how long will it take you to find this Drake?"
"I'm not sure," he replied. "I know he likes to attend musicals so I'll start with Broadway in New York." He had begun to shimmer when Phoebe called his name. "All I'm doing is shimmering to different theatres. Nothing lethal in that," he retorted before she could say another word.
All she'd wanted was to ask that he keep in touch and it stung to know that he'd thought she was about to warn him to be good. But at the same time she was angry with herself for feeling that way. Of course he'd think that because that's all she'd been drilling into him from the moment she'd learned about Belthazor. It was one more on the list of things she had to change about herself. But maybe a break right now was what they needed even more. Too much had happened too soon and they each needed time to adjust before they caused irreparable damage to their fragile relationship. "Never mind…"
Cole realized she was holding back her original statement. But from her tear-filled eyes, he understood it was better not to probe further. He'd watched the different emotions flicker across her face and he sighed inwardly at their sudden inability to communicate. Or maybe it wasn't so sudden. It had been a long day with so much happening in such a short amount of time. Maybe this break now would be good for them. Maybe after he found Drake he'd be able to spend some time with her and talk about their future, if they still even shared one. He nodded again to her, hoping he conveyed his apology and intentions for after the search. When she mouthed her farewell, he shimmered from the room.
"So what now?" Piper asked. "I can't keep him frozen forever."
"Let me take him some place safe," Leo advised, "where he won't be able to get away and won't harm anyone."
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