Cole sat on the sofa in the living room with his head in his hands. His head was pounding and he felt like he had been dragged for miles. He looked around him. The Seer sat in a chair across from him, her two underlings standing next to her. Phoebe sat on the arm of the sofa next to Cole. Piper sat on the other side of Cole. Paige didn't seem to be present.
"Would someone care to explain to me what happened?" Cole asked, looking around him.
"It's very simple, my Lord," said the Seer. "You were foolish enough to listen to me." Suddenly the Seer changed form. Michael sat in her place. "Of course, it might have been a different story if I had been the real Seer."
"But the spell," Cole said, looking up at Phoebe. "I cast it on you. It should have stripped your powers. I don't understand."
"Oh, that," said Phoebe. "As you told the hierarchy, you had tailored it to strip the Halliwell witches of their powers." Suddenly Phoebe changed form, too. Leo sat on the arm of the sofa next to Cole. "But since I'm not a witch, it had no affect on me."
"Now I'm really confused," said Cole.
Just then Phoebe came out of the kitchen carrying a glass of water and some aspirin. She handed them to Cole.
"How do you feel, honey?" Phoebe asked.
"Like I've been run over by a Mac truck," said Cole. "I'm still not sure exactly what happened."
"It's a bit complicated," said Torgas. He, too, changed form and Paige stood in his place. "Leo and I impersonated two of the Seers' underlings while Michael impersonated the Seer. When we took Phoebe to the great meeting hall, Leo took Phoebe's place and we used a spell I wrote to make her look like the other underling."
"We had to put the Source off guard," said Michael. "The Seer told me she had to prepare a fertility potion for Phoebe. So that he would have an heir as soon as possible."
"While you were stripping Phoebe of her powers," said Piper, "the rest of us orbed to her quarters and waited. Confident that we weren't a threat to you, we waited for you to come comfort Phoebe. When they brought Leo back to Phoebe's quarters, we took our true identities. Leo and Jarrod took our places as the Seers underlings while Michael continued to impersonate the Seer."
"Phoebe, I'm so sorry," Cole said, taking Phoebe's hands in his. "It was like watching a movie. I could see and hear everything but I couldn't do anything about it. I could feel the Source taking control of me and it was all I could do not to be consumed by him."
"It's okay," said Phoebe. "Michael has explained everything. We know it wasn't you. It was the Source doing it all. You had no choice."
"I wish I could believe that," said Cole. "But I honestly can't say how much of my demonic half played a part in it."
"Believe it," said Michael. "I sensed two forces in you while the Source was possessing you. One was a terrible evil. That was obviously the Source. But I also sensed a great good. That had to have been you. The Source is a demon. There is no good in him."
"And I'm half demon," said Cole.
"Were half demon," Michael corrected. "Remember, Belthazor was stripped from you. But it was your love for Phoebe that kept you fighting against the Source. That proves there's good in you. As you once told Phoebe and her sisters I believe, demons can't love. It's not in their nature."
"Is it really over?" Cole asked. "I'm free of him forever?"
"For the moment," said Michael. "But we aren't out of the woods yet. He still has the pages from the Tome of the Ancients. How much do you remember of what happened?"
"Everything," said Cole. "The Seer had a vision about you. She uncovered your secret. That's how I knew... he know who you really were."
"I knew that was always a risk," said Michael. "Frankly, I'm surprised she hasn't had one before now. I've been very lucky."
"Okay, so far I understand just about everything," said Cole. "What I don't understand is who he is?"
He indicated the Seers' underling still standing next to Michael.
"Piper, would you mind," asked the underling.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Piper said. She snapped her fingers and the underling changed. "I guess in all the excitement I kind of forgot."
"I know you," said Cole. "You're Jarrod Parker. You came to see me a few days ago about having a will drawn up."
"Actually," said Michael, "Jarrod was doing a favor for me. I can explain that later. But he was very helpful in getting you away from the Source. In addition I hope he got what we need."
"I think so," said Jarrod. "It was in the forefront of his mind. It was very easy to get the information."
"Wait a minute," said Phoebe. "I thought your power was to be able to remove memories from peoples' minds?"
"Actually," said Jarrod, "my basic power is telepathy. It's just a natural extension of my telepathy. Just as Piper's explosive ability is a natural extension of her freezing ability."
"Oh, that makes sense," said Paige.
"He keeps the pages locked away in a secret antechamber to his main chamber," said Jarrod.
"I remember that," said Cole. "He had the chamber constructed several years ago then vanquished the demons who created it so no one would ever know of its existence."
"No wonder I haven't been able to find them," said Michael. "We have to get those pages from the Source. There's no telling what he plans to do with them."
"I can tell you," said Cole. "I seem to have his memories still. Do you remember Aames?"
"He was the warlock stealing witches powers so he could decimate the White Lighters," said Leo. "It was because of the girls' help in vanquishing him that the Elders finally agreed to let Piper and me get married."
"Yes," said Cole. "Well, the Source is after a much bigger prize. It's not enough for him to decimate the White Lighters. He's after the Elders. He thins if he can use that power stripping spell of the Ancients on one of them he can strip them all of their powers."
"And it might just work," said Michael. "The Elders' powers are all connected. That's why they can do so much. They are able to combine their powers much like you do with a Power of Three spell."
"Wouldn't that make them more powerful than even us?" Paige asked.
"No," said Michael. "It's your blood connection that gives the Power of Three its punch. Your unconditional love for each other that makes it so potent. Not even the Elders have that.
"But if he can use that spell on one of the Elders, he could conceivably strip them all of their powers. And White Lighters get their powers from the Elders. If he strips the Elders he'll also strip all White Lighters. Only Paige and I would be immune since we were born with our powers."
"And with no White Lighters to help them," said Leo, "every witch would be in danger. Demons could overwhelm them. A lot of witches could die."
"And because of the nature of the spell and its' power," said Michael, "it would forever prevent any future Elders. The spell actually undoes the magic that created them in the first place. It won't exist any longer. Which means there would be no way to replace them if he does strip them of their power."
"That's his plan," said Cole. "And only he can get into the antechamber with the pages in it. One of the pages is a protection spell that protects whatever it's cast on from anyone the caster wishes. He's used it to protect the antechamber from every being but himself."
"We have to figure a way to get into that chamber," said Michael.
"How?" Piper asked. "We certainly can't go down there. And it's a pretty safe bet that if you show up again you'll be killed on sight. I'm not sure even your glamour ability will protect you this time. There's no way for us to get there without at least some of us getting hurt. Or killed."
"Maybe there is a way," said Michael. "I have to go check on something. It's a long shot but it just might work. While I'm gone be on your guard. The Source is not going to be happy we've separated him from Cole. It's very possible he'll send some demons to try and kill you."
"Don't worry about us," said Piper. "We've dealt with demons for a long time now. Any show up here and it's vanquish first and forget about any questions."
"Good," said Michael. "I shouldn't be gone long."
"Any idea what he has in mind?" Paige asked Leo as Michael orbed out of the manor.
"Not a clue," said Leo. "But his plans are legendary in the underworld. And as you've seen yourself, while they can be a bit unorthodox, they can also be quite effective."
"Well, Cole needs some rest right now," said Phoebe. "After what he's been through he must be exhausted."
"I am kind of tired," said Cole. "You can fill me in on everything else after I get some sleep. If no one minds."
"Sleep as long as you want," said Piper. "In the mean time I think we need to set up a magical alarm system. So we know if anyone, or anything, enters the manor."
"Good idea," said Paige. "I'll get started on that right away."
"I need to go see the Elders," said Leo. "They need to be made aware of the turn of events."
"Well, as much as I hate to do it," said Piper, "thank Thaddeus for us, will you? If not for him we might not have been ready when Cole, I mean the Source, attacked."
"I'll do that," said Leo smiling.
As Leo orbed out of the manor Phoebe took Cole up to their room while Piper and Paige began to enchant the manor to warn them if any intruders entered.