"We should kill her," voiced one demon in the gathering. "Just to make sure."
"No one will harm her," Cole ordered, stepping to the forefront of the dais. "The power of the Ancients is irresistible. It's stronger than anything today. This spell permanently stripped the entire Halliwell line of their powers forever. And nothing can ever restore it.
"No demon will take retribution against the Charmed Ones. They are mortals now and of no threat to us. It will do no good to kill them now."
"It will give us revenge for all they have done since they received their powers," said the demon that had spoken first. "Revenge is part of our heritage. We have the right to exact vengeance on our enemies even if they no longer have any powers."
"Your rights are what I say they are," Cole said, his eyes flashing. "I am the Source. I speak for the underworld. If you doubt that then challenge me now. Let us see who has the right to lead us."
The demon didn't say a word. He looked at Cole for a moment then stepped back. He clearly did not want to challenge Cole.
"Any demon that attempts to harm the Charmed Ones will answer to me personally," said Cole. "I have promised Phoebe that her sisters won't be harmed. I intend to keep that promise. The Halliwell manor is forbidden to all demons. And don't misinterpret my actions for weakness. If any demon defies me he, or she, will live to regret it. I promise you that."
Cole turned to one of the Brotherhood demons.
"Take her to her quarters," said Cole. "Get her whatever she wants. We must make plans for the Ascension Ceremony. The ceremony must take place immediately, within the next few days. It will take time for the Elders to discover what has happened. Once they do they'll try to take steps to protect other witches. We have to act before that happens."
He turned to Phoebe.
"I shouldn't be long," he said. "Then we can sit down and talk."
"Take your time," said Phoebe, undisguised anger in her voice. "As far as I'm concerned we have nothing to talk about."
"That will change," said Cole, smiling.
As Cole turned to talk with the demonic hierarchy, the Brotherhood demon escorted Phoebe to her quarters.
"Well, that didn't take as long as I thought," said Cole, coming into the quarters Phoebe had been assigned.
Cole stopped short. Phoebe wasn't alone. She sat in the chamber with Piper and Paige sitting on either side of her. The Seer was also there as were the two demons that had escorted Phoebe to the ceremony that had stripped them all of their powers.
"What are they doing here?" Cole demanded.
"You wish your queen to be happy," said the Seer. "I felt she might be a bit more comfortable if her sisters were with her. I had Torgas bring her sisters here. Without their powers they are not a threat."
"I see," said Cole. "That was very thoughtful of you."
"Simply trying to follow your wishes, my Lord," said the Seer. "If you are to rule the underworld you must be content. You have made it clear that your primary concern is your queens' happiness. I have simply tried to facilitate that happiness as best I can."
"Piper, Paige," began Cole.
"Save it," said Piper. "You've stripped us of our powers. Are we supposed to be grateful to you for that?"
"Not right now, no," said Cole. "But you'll soon come to see it's for the best. Phoebe can tell you that you need never fear any demons again. Without your powers you're no threat to them. And I have ordered that no demon is to attempt to take revenge on you for what you have done in the past."
"And you expect them to just sit back and obey you, is that it?" Paige asked.
"They'll obey me," said Cole. "I'm their leader. They won't dare disobey me. They know what will happen if they do."
"And what about all the other witches?" Phoebe asked. "Not to mention all of the innocents we help? What about them? Are we supposed to be happy that you've left them powerless?"
"Innocents have nothing to fear from us," said Cole. "They are as powerless as you are. As for other witches, I can't help that. I'm sorry. They're the enemy. You must understand that. Besides, they aren't helpless. They still have their powers."
"No thanks to you," said Paige. "You guys should have listened to me. I told you he couldn't be trusted. Now it's too late."
"This is no time for recriminations," said Piper. "Cole, Phoebe doesn't belong here. She's not a demon. She belongs at home with us. You have to let her go."
"I can't do that," said Cole. "As I said, she's to be my queen." He pulled out a paper and looked at it. "I'm sorry it has to be this way. But you'll just continue to cause trouble unless I do something about it."
"You said none of us were to be harmed?" Phoebe said.
"You won't be," said Cole. "It's just a spell that will bring you around to my way of thinking. So that we can be happy together."
"You mean a spell to brainwash us," said Piper. "Is that what you call happiness? By keeping us as slaves against our wills?"
"It's for the best," said Cole.
"You keep saying that," said Paige. "Tell us. Just how is this for the best?"
"It will keep you safe," said Cole.
Phoebe looked at Piper and Paige. The Seer moved over to stand next to her servants who simply stood by patiently waiting. Cole seemed a bit nervous. The part of him that was still Cole Turner regretted what was happening. But the part that was the Source was relishing what was going to happen. Cole held up the paper and was preparing to incant the mesmerizing spell.
Suddenly the Seer formed a fireball. She cast it directly at Cole and he was engulfed by it. It didn't vanquish him but it obviously hurt him. The paper with the spell on it vanished from the fire of the fireball. The Seer cast another fireball before Cole could react.
"Now," she called out as she formed another fireball.
Piper, Phoebe, and Paige all pulled out pieces of paper. As the Seer continued to attack Cole without let up, the sisters cast their own spell.
"Light to darkness and darkness to light, a mortal is bound in an eternal fight.
"Vanquish the evil and set him free, we compel the unjoining by the Power of Three."
Cole had just formed a fireball and was about to cast it at the Seer when the magic of the girls' spell enveloped him. He screamed in agony as the fireball was extinguished. He fought vainly against the magic of the spell, dropping to his knees. For several moments he struggled against the magic.
Suddenly he began to divide. Within moments two Cole Turners lay on the floor in near exhaustion. They were virtually identical save that one has horrible scars on the left side of his face. Torgas, the demonic underling of the Seer, reached over and grabbed the unscarred Cole by the arm. As he did, the Seer cast another fireball at the scarred Cole engulfing him in the weapon.
"Traitor!" screamed the scarred Cole. "You have betrayed me and the underworld. You shall die for you impudence."
"Not today, my Lord," said the Seer, "not today."
The Seer reached over and grabbed her other underling by the arm. Before the scarred Cole could react, they shimmered and were gone from the chamber. At the same instant Paige took Piper and Phoebe by the arms and orbed them out of the underworld. The scarred Cole howled in rage as he sat helplessly by and watched them vanish.