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Chapter 3: Faces Reloaded

Old Phoebe walked into her bedroom she still occupied in her own time as well, although she had changed all the furniture in it since, and picked up a skimpy top, "uhh, the good ol' days. Of course nobody's gonna take you seriously until you stop dressing like a tramp."

"A tramp? Ugh, that is so in right now," the younger Phoebe wondered incredulously at her own older self.

"Oh, you'll learn."

"Learn what?"

Old Phoebe sighed and sat down on her old bed she once shared with Cole, "that making yourself so desirable that every men and demon wants you in their beds is not the right way to find love."

"To find love? But...haven't I...haven't we found love with Cole?"

"You found it and you threw it away. You will, more accurately speaking."

"Why? What has Cole done?"

"It not as much about what he does, but more about what you do."

"Why did I let go of Cole?"

"Honestly? I don't remember. Doesn't seem to make much sense nowadays. But I think it was a confusing time with Prue's death, Paige's appearance and the constant fighting. But I believe I am here to change the future so that you wouldn't have to spend a whole lifetime alone. First of all, before this spell plays out, I'm gonna tell you the things that are not related to Cole that you need to know of. Ten years from now, Piper will die similarly to mom, by the tentacles of a Fomor, a sub aquatic monster."

"Oh, God, that is what she is so afraid of exactly. But we can stop it, right?"

"Fomors kill with the glance of their eyes that they otherwise keep shut, but that is somehow missing from the Book Of Shadows. Would be relatively easy to vanquish with the power of three, but you lost the chance of that at the time. But of course, if Cole stays around, he can tell you all about them, they are not exactly welcomed down in the caves either. The other only half related issue is that Kurzon will attack downstairs in ten minutes time and you will need another power of three spell for that. I've written it down for you and put it in my pocket before I made the time jump, here."

"You made the time jump? I thought I conjured you two to hear my heart's desire."

"You did, and that made it possible for me to come back, but since I've done it forty years ago, I remembered it and came prepared."

"Great," young Phoebe said, not really sure of what to think of it all, "so...about Cole?"

"You had changed him, but you are his hook. You are all he is got to believe in, to hang on to, it is your love that keeps him from falling. If it could just stay like that, oh, he was so strong to resist even the power of the Source for a while. Don't give up on him because that decision will turn into a regret you will think about every day and every hour for the rest of your life. You've seen the good in Cole, you know he has essentially good qualities. You don't give up on a person just because he disappoints you once...now, we don't have time. Go, you have a demon to vanquish. Get him out the way and I'll tell you how to save Cole and yourself."

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"Kurzon is gone, as you said," young Phoebe reported back.

"Where is Cole?"

"Downstairs, watching ten year old us."

"Good, as he should be. He'll probably not move from there for a while. Now sit down and don't freak out anything I say. For everything, there is a solution as well. If you want Cole untainted, you have to perform exorcism on him."

"What? Why? We don't usually do that, it's too risky."

"It's riskier if you don't, you'll be back to square one, believe me. You must! So listen to me now and listen closely. The Source had not completely taken over Cole yet and it never will."

"The Source? Cole is the Source? He's downstairs with..."

"I need you to listen to me, alright? Just..."

"Oh, I knew there was something wrong," young Phoebe jumped up and headed towards the door, "Piper!"

"Will you just shut up for one minute and listen to me! God!" Old Phoebe rolled her eyes, "what a bolshie I've been. Please, let me explain. Cole will never harm you, not even when he commands the whole Underworld. He knows I'm up here, probably telling you anything I want, yet he doesn't stop me. There is no immediate emergency, but it would be better if you acted as soon as possible. Definitely before he has the chance to plant his evil seed into you."

"I can't believe what you're saying!" Her younger version tilted her head, "Cole is good now, he would never..."

"That's right, that is the right attitude. You never have to doubt his love, that is the one thing for sure you could build a whole universe on. He'll love you no matter what. And as such, he'll try to please you and stay on the side you want him on. But the Source is not a normal demon, he is more like an evil spirit. You could vanquish him, but you'd kill Cole is the process, as you did..."

"If we had vanquished him, there was a sound reason for us to do so. You know I love him with all my heart and soul. I would never do anything to hurt him either."

"You didn't find out until it was too late. But this time, you can control the situation. He will go out this evening with the pretext of needing to get out from the house again and when he comes back you will have told your sisters everything and you will be ready with the trap," old Phoebe said, not even bothering to conceal the excitement in her voice.

"I'm afraid you're dead serious," her younger version stood with a scared face to get the Book Of Shadows and a brush on her exorcism skills, "I just hope you also have a way for admonishing The Source for having the guts for choosing my fiancé!"

tbc