Disclaimer- I do not own Charmed or any of its characters. They are all owned by Aaron Spelling.
After Cole, Piper, and Phoebe had finished eating, Cole stretched his arms and said, "Man that was some good cooking."
Phoebe rolled her eyes then said "Ow!" She glared at Piper and said, "What was that for?"
"He just complimented my cooking, which is something no one else does anymore."
"Well, at least I'm not trying to suck up to you," replied Phoebe.
"I'm not…" stated Cole.
"So what? Complimenting my cooking is a sure fire way to get into my good books," said Piper.
"Humph," replied Phoebe.
"Um, if you two are finished can we get back to why I came here?"
Phoebe rolled her eyes while Piper said, "Sure…Phoebe, do I need to call Grams down here to teach you how to behave in front of ex-husbands? Because she has plenty of experience in that field."
"What?" asked Cole confused.
"Grams was married four times," replied Phoebe in a bored voice.
"Oh, I see…anyways, here's what I have to ask you two. I'm not telling Paige, because frankly, I know that she won't listen so it's up to you two to tell her."
"Ok, keep going," said Piper.
"Well, yesterday evening, I was in my apartment when about ten demons shimmered in asking for my help. They said that a demon name Cragnis has become the new Source of the underworld."
"Why are you telling us about the new Source? Come to warn us about how powerful he is?" asked Phoebe, narrowing her eyes at him.
"That and also, we, meaning all the demons that don't support him, don't want him as the Source. We want him dead and gone."
Piper and Phoebe burst into fits of giggles. Cole frowned at them. Phoebe managed to calm down enough to say, "And why do you want him… dead and gone? Aren't you all in love with him? he gives you the permission to kill and spread evil. That's what you all do best, isn't it?" Phoebe smirked at Cole, who frowned at her.
"This isn't funny, Phoebe," said Cole raising his voice. "Cragnis is a bastard and he…"
"Cole, all the Sources were bastards," said Piper causing herself and Phoebe to start laughing again.
"That means I was one too?"
Phoebe and Piper stopped laughing. "No, you were not." said Phoebe quietly. "As much as we hated you, I don't think I ever thought of you like that. Paige probably did, but you were just someone who betrayed us real badly."
Cole was silent for a while and said, "I see. Well, getting back to why I came here…"
"You're not done?" asked Phoebe rolling her eyes again.
"Phoebe!" exclaimed Piper. She hit Phoebe playfully on the arm and said, "Stop acting like you're back in high school! This is serious."
"What do you mean I'm acting like how I was in high school?"
"You're acting like you're better than everyone here and that nothing is worth your attention unless you have something to say about it."
"That's how you were in high school?" asked Cole, a smile playing on his lips.
"I was not!" said Phoebe to Piper and Cole. Piper raised an eyebrow at the comment and Phoebe said, "Fine, maybe I was like that but I had my reasons…"
"What were they?" asked Piper.
"Well firstly…hey! I'm not telling you."
Cole banged his fist down on the table, causing Phoebe and Piper to jump. "Would you both shut up already?"
"Yes sir," replied Phoebe sarcastically. She mock saluted Cole and turned away. Piper merely shook her head and turned to look at Cole.
"As I was saying before, all the demons who have contacted me want Cragnis dead. I've heard of what he's done and I want him dead too. The only problem is that apart from him being the Source, most of the high level demons are on his side."
"Then why don't you get the ones that aren't on his side?" asked Piper.
"That's the problem. He killed all the ones not loyal to him so I'm the only other demon left with enough power to actually face him."
Cole looked at the two witches in front of him. It seemed like a whole hour before either of them spoke.
"What do you expect us to do about that, Cole?" asked Phoebe.
Cole shifted nervously in his chair and said, "Well, I was wondering…I've talked it over with the other demonic leaders and they've all agreed…could you help us kill Cragnis?"
"What?" yelled Phoebe. "You want us to help you? Why the hell would we do that?"
"Because…"
"No! I am not even going to listen to you. The last time we helped you, you turned on us. What makes you think that we'll even consider helping you now?" Phoebe got up from the table and said, "My part in this conversation is over." She stomped away from the table.
Cole sighed and got up from the table. He was about to leave but saw Piper staring at him. "What were you going to say after Phoebe asked you why we would want to help you?"
"Does it really matter anymore? You guys gave me an answer. My business here is finished."
"So you think that the decisions we make as Charmed Ones is dependent on what Phoebe says?" Piper was still staring at him. "What were you going to say?"
Cole sat down again and said, "Well, I was going to say that with Cragnis gone the other demons will be very glad."
"Your point?" asked Piper not seeing how a demon being glad was good.
"As the leader of this rebellion, I'll be getting a reward if I help the other demons get rid of Cragnis. A big reward. I'm pretty sure I already know what it is."
Piper's eyes widened. "You mean you'll be the next Source?"
"Possibly," replied Cole, rubbing his forehead. "And if you three help us, there will be a reward for each of you no matter what."
"And what would this reward be?"
"That is a surprise."
"Then what's our incentive for helping you?" asked Piper smirking at Cole.
Cole sighed. "I've known you and Phoebe for a very long time. I know you two well enough to know exactly what you both want the most in the world. I'll have to figure out something for Paige, but in the end, if the reward isn't great enough then you can ask for something more. I seriously doubt that you would ask for anything more, though."
"We get that big of a reward, huh?" asked Piper. She looked Cole straight in the eye and said, "I've never been a person who takes bribes but...I know that you're not lying and in all honesty, given time, I might agree to help you. This is just something that I have to talk over with Paige, Phoebe, and Leo first. I don't want to risk my life for creatures who want us dead." Piper paused slightly then asked, "What exactly is so bad about Cragnis anyways?"
Cole smiled a sigh of relief. If Piper was willing to help him even a little, then there was hope for the other two yet. "As I said before, he's in the process of killing every demon not loyal to him. That includes all the demons who pledged their loyalty to me. The demons he has on his side right now are the ones who helped him become the Source. Also, he's going through demonic villages and killing demons leaving their children homeless."
Piper gasped. "Homeless?"
"Yeah and that's not even the worst part of it." Piper's eyes widened. Children being left as orphans were something that Piper hated. It didn't matter that they were demonic children either. Everyone deserved a home whether they were good or bad. "In the Underworld, most children are sent to a demonic training school once they're about 8 years old. Cragnis is going through training school after training school with these loyalty tests. I'm guessing that something scans the child for loyalty and if it comes back negative then the child is killed no matter what age they are."
Piper gasped. "That- that's horrible." She quickly looked around to see if Phoebe was anywhere near where they were sitting. Then she leaned forward and said in a low voice. "Tell your demons that I will help. I don't care if Phoebe and Paige won't help but I will help. I don't care if those children are demons, but they shouldn't be killed like that."
"Thanks, Piper," said Cole.
"Don't mention it," she replied with a tight smile. "You should leave before Phoebe comes back down. I'll talk to her and Paige and see what I can do. Don't expect an answer from me for a while. Paige won't be back for a week."
"Ok, that's fine," said Cole getting up from the table. "By the way, great food." Piper beamed at him and he shimmered out.