Wicked Games
Summary: AU. When Cole is back in town and after the sisters again, Phoebe is forced to reveal a secret that she never meant to keep.

Chapter Two- Pandora's Box.

She let out a frustrated sigh. Papers were scattered on her desk in front of her, papers from weeks ago that she had totally forgotten about. She sifted through them in a rush, making the mess worse than it had already been- where could it have gone? She had landed this job by luck, and by talent, and she couldn't afford to miss a deadline so early in her career.

She cursed under her breath. No matter how many times she looked through them, the paper just wasn't there. And the deadline was in thirty minutes.

There was a soft knock and the door. Without looking up, she said, "Come in."

The door opened and her eyes drifted towards the person who entered: Everett Halliwell. The eighteen year old boy who occupied the office next to her. As far as she knew, he had just graduated high school a few months ago and he was now in college working towards a degree in journalism. How'd he do it? It took her years to get into an actual newspaper with a good standing reputation.

"Hey Adelie," he said with a charming smile. "Having problems?"

"Yeah, I can't seem to find my draft. I had it here yesterday, I swear to God I did." She ran her hand through her long, black hair and sighed again.

"Try the top, right corner. Under last week's reader statistics."

Everett smiled at her again and turned and left her office, closing the door behind him. She bent over her desk and sifted through the papers on the corner. At the bottom of the pile was her draft. She chuckled softly to herself and watched the young journalist leave the office.

- - - -

Everett climbed into the car and let out a heavy sigh. The uneasy feeling in his stomach wasn't getting any better- something bad was about to happen and he knew it. The telepath wasn't at all clairvoyant, not in the least, but he had been able to develop a predisposition about certain things. And he had a bad feeling about arriving at the manor- and he rather highly doubted that it was because he was so late.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, pushing and holding a button on the side to turn it on. Immediately, a call came through. He flipped it open and answered. "Everett Halliwell."

"It's about damn time you answered your phone."

Everett smiled as his twin sister's voice came through. "Sorry, sis. I had to turn it off- I didn't want any 'family emergencies' to stop me from meeting my deadline."

"Yeah, well, we have one." Paris's voice sounded annoyed; he couldn't tell if it was aimed towards him or whatever had happened.

"Demon?"

"Worse," Paris replied. "Cole."

Paris heard her brother become short of breath. "C-Cole?" he stuttered.

"Yeah, he's back. He's been sending demons left and right- I barely got away from them to call you."

"So that means-"

"He's more powerful than he used to be."

"All right, I'm on my way. Be safe, Paris."

Everett heard the line go dead and he tried to control his breathing. Phoebe's demon ex wasn't a secret that she hid from her children, but there was one thing she didn't let them know. A secret, in fact, that had been kept from everyone in the family- and it was only by accident that Everett knew it.

- - - -

Heavy rain pounded against the Manor windows, as if it had nothing better to do. The sky outside was darker than dark- a sea of nothingness with promises of danger. The rain pounding against the windows also pounded against Phoebe Halliwell's temples. She sat at the kitchen table, nursing her headache with a less-than-comforting cup of herbal tea.

The demon attacks had finally stopped, thank god, and the kids had all bunked up in the Manor's living room. Everett had defeated the last of the attackers when he arrived- Cole must've gotten the hint that they weren't simply a family of three witches anymore.

But, if he was as smart as she knew he was, he would have known that long in advance.

An uneasy feeling had sifted through Phoebe's heart the moment she had heard of Cole's return. And she knew why. It was the same feeling that she had got every time he had come back… A feeling of dread, of betrayal, of being helpless to do anything but sit by and watch what he might do.

But would he really have the guts to go after her? She didn't think so. He hadn't tried before, when he came back before the family had started to grow, but there wasn't a guarantee that he wouldn't this time. The Cole she had known twenty years ago wasn't the same one they were facing today- Cole would never have hurt her back then.

It seemed like all the rules and all of the pretenses were thrown out the window this time. Cole had purposely lured Paige to her charge with his underlings to send Phoebe a message. I'm back.

His message had certainly gotten through to Phoebe, as well as her sisters and the kids. But they wouldn't hold back like they did twenty years ago. If it was a fight he wanted, then she'd fight with everything she had. And if he wanted Pandora, then he better try like hell to get past her. She wouldn't let him get to their daughter, there was no way.

Phoebe snapped out of her thoughts when Everett entered the room, his eyes red because of lack of sleep. She smiled at her son. "You're supposed to be in bed, young man."

"Don't worry about me, mom, I'm used to late nights. It's you I'm worried about." The young witch opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water, then took a seat across from his mother at the table. "You haven't had an ounce of sleep, have you?"

Phoebe shook her head. "But it's okay, Everett. You forget- I had your job before you did."

"But that's not why you're sleeping."

Phoebe looked at the mug of tea that was cupped in her hands. Her son was right. She had known that either Paris or Everett would approach the situation eventually- she had expected Everett more so than his sister, for he had inherited his intuition straight from her.

"You're afraid, mom. I can feel it- even without being a telepath."

Phoebe paused for a moment and sighed. "You're right. I'm afraid. I'm afraid that whatever Cole's planning will be too much for your aunts and me. I'm afraid that Cole is more powerful than we can even imagine, that he is-"

"Going to go after Pandora."

The mug dropped out of her hands and onto the tabletop, busting into several chunks and spilling the tea everywhere. Phoebe's mouth was agape, her hand on her chest. She had lost her voice.

"H-how do you know-"

"When I was first coming into my telepathy, I couldn't control it. Remember?" His mother nodded, but only slightly. "Well it was our fifth birthday, me and Paris, and I remember that you were wishing more than anything that she could be a part of our family. I knew that it had been a secret kept from the family for a reason, even though I was young. I've never said anything about it to anyone."

Tears began to roll down Phoebe's cheeks. "I wanted to keep her, Everett. I did… more than anything in the world. But I-"

Everett reached out and touched his mother's hand. "I know, mom. I know."

- - - -

Cole rested his hand on the railing and switched his weight from one foot to the other. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, but he ignored it and watched impatiently as the elevator began to ascend. It had been a long while since he had been nervous about anything… In the Underworld, showing nerve was your one way ticket to Hell- literally. And Cole had been head of the Underworld long enough that he had lost most of his human emotions.

Most of them.

He let go of the railing and crossed his arms over his chest. Time seemed to go at a decelerated rate when he watched the numbers light up as the elevator passed the floors.

Pandora was on floor sixteen, or so his men had told him. And they knew better than to be wrong, so he had faith in the information received. Correction: partial faith.

This was a rare time when Cole didn't have a plan. Sure, he had gotten lost in deep thought about how he was going to approach his daughter- he had done that many times. Yet, when the time came for him to actually make his move, he froze. He couldn't force her to believe him. "Hi, I'm your long lost father, and I'm also the Source of all evil." No, that wouldn't settle right with anyone, let alone a twenty-five year old girl who knew nothing about her parents or her heritage.

Of course, the suggestion had been made that he take her by force and have a dark priest or priestess turn her evil with dark magic. But that wasn't what Cole wanted.

A witch or a demon or a warlock had to choose what side he played for. Yes, they could be swayed by dark magic- and yes, that could be an easy way out of a hard situation. But Cole would never be satisfied, for he wouldn't accurately know that Pandora chose him over her mother. His ex-wife. His beautiful ex-wife…

Cole shook the thought of Phoebe out of his mind when the elevator door opened. He cleared his mind of all thoughts, of all possibilities, and headed for apartment 163.

- - - -

Everett had continued his promise not to tell anyone about Pandora the next morning, though secretly he wondered how long it would be able to stay a secret. Cole had come back for a reason, more powerful than he had even been before, and that reason, Everett thought, might just be to get Pandora on his side.

A tense silence had moved through the Manor overnight. Simply put, the Halliwells were afraid. Fear might have been the one thing that they had in common, if nothing else. Fear of Cole. Fear of losing a cousin. A sister. A brother. A nephew or a niece. A family that, during times like these, became greatly appreciated because you never knew how much you loved someone until their life was at stake.

Phoebe watched as Piper moved into the kitchen without noticing her. Her eyes were red with lack of sleep, yet she began brewing coffee without delay.

"We're going to need something stronger than coffee," Phoebe said quietly, running her hand through her hair.

Piper turned around quickly. "Okay, we need to make a rule about sneaking up on PIPER in this house." The eldest Halliwell turned back to the coffee maker, pressed a button, and walked over to the kitchen table and sat across from her sister. "You've been here all night, haven't you?"

Phoebe nodded. "I couldn't get to sleep. Not that I tried."

"I don't think anyone slept in this house," Piper replied. She reached out and touched Phoebe's hand. "We'll get through this. I promise. We always have before."

"But this time, it's different, Piper. I can feel it. He's not holding back this time. He's after something."

"But what? What could he possibly want with us after all this time?"

Phoebe paused and looked at her hands. Ever since she had become a witch, her hands had been the source of her premonitions. And now, as she aged, they were slightly wrinkled but still held their power, if not more. She sighed aloud. There wasn't going to be another chance to tell the truth. "Our daughter."

Piper stormed through the house, into the living room, where the cousins were sitting on the furniture, barely awake. Tears strolled down her face, caused by a feeling of being betrayed or of anger, she didn't know. She made her way through the foyer to the stairs, where she spun around to face her younger sister.

"I can't believe you," she shouted. "I can't believe you'd keep something like that from us, your sisters."

"Piper, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

"What's going on?" Mel asked as she walked into the foyer, followed by Perry, Paris, Everett, and Peyton.

"Your aunt has big news," Piper retorted, her eyes not leaving Phoebe. "Go ahead, Phoebs, tell them."

Phoebe turned toward the kids, but her eyes wouldn't leave her own two children. Tears began to stream down her face, though she remained silent.

"Mom-"

Phoebe rose her hand to stop Everett. She took a deep breath. At that moment, more than ever, she wished she could take it all back. She wished that none of it had happened- meeting Cole, sleeping with him, giving birth to Pandora. But it was her past, her story, and there was no way she could escape it now. She tried to control her breathing, but it wasn't doing any good, and sharp pains went through her chest as she took jagged breaths.

"Mom, I'll explain it to them," Everett said, wrapping his arms around his mother and hugging her tightly. He felt her nod slightly and he left the embrace. He motioned for his sister and cousins to follow him into the living room.

A bright blue light then flooded the foyer and Leo appeared. He looked at Piper. Her hands were on her hips, her face was contorted into that of an angry mask. The tears had stopped, though they still stained her cheeks. Her eyes didn't leave Phoebe.

"What's going on?" Leo asked.

"Phoebe and Cole have a daughter," Piper replied. "A twenty-five year old daughter."

Leo looked at Phoebe, whose back was still towards Piper. He said, "That would mean-"

"That she had her when Prue was still alive. She hid it from us, Leo!"

Phoebe twisted around towards her sister. "I'm sorry, Piper, all right! I know I made a mistake! I've lived with it day after day, ever since I gave her to that family. I'm sorry I hid it from you and Prue and Paige, but I didn't know what else to do at the time. Pandora was half witch, half demon, and I knew that she would have been a curse to the family- in your eyes, anyways. So I bound her powers and gave her away."

"Piper, Phoebe-"

"Leo, not now!" Piper shouted. Leo flinched and looked at the ground. Then he orbed out of the Manor.

The tension filled the room like a thick liquid, threatening to kill one or both of the sisters before they could say anything.

"Do you really think Cole is after her?" Piper asked finally, her eyes now on something in another room.

"Yes," Phoebe replied quietly. "He wanted to keep her, but I…"

"We need to unbind her powers before he gets to her, so when he does, she can defend herself." Piper turned around and climbed the stairs towards the attic. Phoebe followed her.

- - - -

Adelie set down her coffee and her copy of the paper when she heard the knocks at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone. She made her way through the cozy apartment. As she approached the door, a sharp pain went throughout her entire body and she fell to her knees, clutching her stomach.

In a matter of seconds, the pain was gone and Adelie was back on her feet. She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again, as if impatient. She gripped the doorknob and suddenly, her body felt like it was being pulled a thousand different ways.

A tall, dark haired man summoned some kind of light in his hand and threw it at Everett. The young journalist screamed as his body began to be covered in bolts of electricity, and then he disappeared. Dead.

Adelie opened the door quickly to find the stranger's fist was up against the door, getting ready to knock again. Her breath caught in her chest. Standing in front of her was the man she had just seen kill her coworker.

"Does Pandora Ayres live here?" he asked.