Thnx for all luvly reviews! Sorry for the wait but its extra long to make up for it!
Chapter 10: Suspicious Minds
"The truth is I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this." admitted Cole.
"Doing what?" asked Phoebe.
"You know; the running, and the hiding. Even if I stop, where do I go? I'm still half human, but I can't go back. On the other hand there's really no place for me in your world either." Cole stopped walking and stared pensively into space.
Phoebe turned to face him, "What are you saying?"
"I'm just saying it's complicated. But it doesn't have to be, not with magic on our side. I've been thinking, isn't there some kind of spell or something in the Book of Shadows, you could strip my powers?" Cole looked into Phoebe's eyes hopefully.
"Wait, you wanna give up your powers?" she questioned in surprise.
Cole nodded, "If I don't have them, I can't be tempted to use them, I could just stay good..."
I can't believe you're here with me,
And now it seems my world's complete,
And I never want this moment to end.
I close my eyes and still I see,
My dreams become reality,
And now I know how it feels to be in love.
I prayed so many nights that you would come my way,
An angel from above to light my darkest day.
We're gonna be together for eternity.
I prayed so many nights that you would come my way,
An angel from above to light my darkest day.
A love so strong it can't be wrong,
It's with you that I belong.
Cole's P.O.V
If that was what it would take for me and Phoebe to be able to be together without putting her in danger, then I would strip my powers. If that was what it would take for me to stay good, with no possibility of turning back evil, then that's what I would do. I never wanted to go back to the place I was at before I met Phoebe and I was prepared to give anything up for it.
"The Brotherhood of the Thorn are way beyond anything you've dealt with before." informed Leo, a slightly worried expression on his face.
"So we can't just let them go. There's gotta be a way to find out what they're planning." insisted Phoebe.
"There is one way." spoke up Cole, "For me to go back."
"Cole…" started Phoebe
"If you want to know what they're up to we have no choice." continued Cole, deliberately not looking in Phoebe's direction.
"Okay, but you'll be exposing yourself to the source. They'll kill you." discouraged Phoebe desperately.
Cole shook his head, "Maybe not; they've probably already surfaced, set up camp in this world. I won't have to go under completely."
"It does kind of make sense." admitted Prue apologetically.
"Well, if course it makes sense to you, Prue, you're always looking for a way to get Cole out of our lives." snapped Phoebe suddenly
"Phoebe." Piper tried to placate Phoebe.
"This isn't about her, Phoebe, it's about me." persisted Cole.
"No, it's about us." retorted Phoebe tearfully as she strode out of the room.
Phoebe's P.O.V
Maybe I was just never meant to find happiness. Just when I thought Cole and I could be together, without any fears of demons coming after Cole, everything collapses. Just like when I thought Cole was human then I found out he wasn't. I wasn't angry at Prue; I was angry at the possibility of losing Cole. If he went under he might never come back and I didn't want that to happen; I wouldn't let it.
"Phoebe, I have to go." insisted Cole gently, watching as Phoebe gathered ingredients for the power stripping potion.
"Nope, you can't." responded Phoebe shortly.
"Phoebe…."
"Remember that power stripping potion you asked me for, like an hour ago, and everything was still wonderful? Well, I have an idea, I just need some time." Phoebe began to grind some ingredients up for the potion, not acknowledging Cole's words.
"Phoebe, I have to go. And I'll need my powers while I'm gone."
"Why? What are you gonna do?" challenged Phoebe.
Cole sighed, "Just blend in." he replied, "That's it. I won't do anything evil."
"Well, let me make sure you can't." Phoebe said resolutely continuing to grind the ingredients.
Cole reached out a hand and took the mortar and pestle of her and put them on the table. "I'll be smart, and careful. I'll check in with you every two hours." he promised.
"How? They'll track your shimmer." countered Phoebe, still trying to stop Cole from going.
"Not if we meet in the mausoleum. That's the second safest place I know."
Curiosity overcame Phoebe's determination, "What's the safest?" she asked.
"With you." responded Cole simply. "I thought you'd be proud of me." he continued at Phoebe's sigh.
" Of what? Being suicidal?" yelled Phoebe, tears forming in her eyes.
"I am coming back. I always have." assured Cole.
"How can you be so sure that you're gonna come back this time? Cole, you've been hiding from them for months. And I don't understand, there's a price on your head and now all of a sudden you're willing to expose yourself? For what?" exclaimed Phoebe.
"For good." replied Cole, "You taught me not to walk away and let evil win, to fight the good fight. That's all I wanna do."
Phoebe ducked her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "They'll kill you." she whispered.
"I have a plan, don't worry. This is the right thing to do, Phoebe. You know that, we both do." Cole kissed Phoebe's hand, "Mausoleum, two hours, okay?"
Cole paused then abruptly shimmered out before Phoebe could stop him.
Cole's P.O.V
I didn't want to do it any more than Phoebe wanted me to but I knew I had to. Despite what she said I knew that Phoebe wouldn't think so much of me if I just sat back and let evil win. Besides, I was fighting for good now, and that meant fighting against evil. Everybody has to make sacrifices sometime in their life and now was my turn. Even though I promised Phoebe everything would be ok, I wasn't completely sure myself. The Brotherhood of the Thorn were powerful and they knew me well. They might not believe me and then they wouldn't hesitate to kill me.
Leo orbed into the mausoleum, seeing Phoebe staring dejectedly at a column. "Anything?" he asked.
"I'm sure it's not as easy to break away from there as he thought. He'll show." replied Phoebe.
"It's okay to be scared." offered Leo.
"No, I'm not scared. Concerned maybe, a little." Phoebe tried to smile but it didn't work, "We shouldn't have let him go." she sighed unhappily.
"We didn't. He chose to." replied Leo gently.
"I know, and for what? To prove to me that he's good? He doesn't have to prove anything to me." Phoebe was interrupted by Cole shimmering in, "Cole." she exclaimed running over and hugging him. "Are you okay? Did they buy your story?" she asked.
Cole nodded, "For now, but I gotta get back. They're suspicious enough as it is."
"Well, then maybe you shouldn't go back."
"I want to, to stop them. Look, I don't have much time. All I know is they're after someone who's gonna be at Pier and Pescadero at 8am. But I don't know who."
"We might." Leo spoke up, "Frank Pirelli runs Lexserom but he doesn't want a big merger to happen."
"The brotherhood does. Makes sense," acknowledged Cole, "Explains why they've taken over investment banking firm."
"How does it explain that?" inquired Phoebe.
"The best way for evil to get a foot hole in the human world is to take over their businesses. Work from the inside out." explained Cole.
"You just learn that, did you?" questioned Phoebe almost accusingly.
"No." replied Cole shortly.
"So" planned Leo, "We need to safe guard Pirelli, till the merger vote at 11:00, and the brotherhood loses."
"Yes, but if you intervene, they might think I had something to do with it. You could blow my cover." pointed out Cole.
"We can't let them kill Pirelli." countered Leo.
"But you can let them kill me?"
Phoebe interrupted the two men, "No, no, Cole, look at me. We're gonna find a way to protect you. You'd better get back."
"Alright. I'm looking forward to seeing you in your cape and gown." grinned Cole.
Phoebe's P.O.V
I was really worried then that Cole wasn't going to come. I tried to put on a face for Leo but It didn't work. I knew that something was going to go wrong.
"Wouldn't it be nice to save the world at a descent hour?" asked Piper grumpily.
"Okay, well, we have to focus here because if we don't pull this off just right, Cole is screwed." pointed out Phoebe.
"Well, as long as we wait until the last second, Cole should be fine." reassured Prue.
"Well, let's just hope that killing Pirelli isn't all they want." interjected Leo.
" Well, if it wasn't he would've told you, right? I mean, unless you think he's holding something back." asked Piper.
Phoebe snorted in anger, "You know, this is amazing. First Prue can't sacrifice Cole fast enough, and now you can't wait to sell him out as a traitor."
"She was just asking a question, Phoebe." soothed Leo
"That she should know the answer to." snapped back Phoebe, "We all should. Cole is risking his life for this. The least we can do is trust him."
Further down the road members of the brotherhood were waiting for Pirelli.
Vornac glanced at his watch, "Go." he commanded one of the demons. The demon got into a car and started up the engine. Klea appeared beside Vornac, "Well?" he asked.
"I haven't been able to prove Belthazor's story one way of another." reported Klea.
"That's alright." replied Vornac, "We're about to find out if he's telling the truth or not."
Vornac and Klea walked over to Cole and Tarkin as a black limo drove out of a building car park. The demon in the car drove out in front of the limo, forcing the limo to stop.
"I've got it, Mr. Pirelli." called the limo driver getting out the limp and storming over to the demon's car. "What the hell's the matter with you? Move your car now!" he demanded.
"What are you waiting for?" spat Vornac to Cole on the side of the road, "Kill. Or be killed."
Cole moved slowly onto the road and the demon got out of the car and walked away.
"Hey, where are you going?" the limo driver yelled after him, "Where you going, damn it!"
Cole powered up an energy ball and threw it at the limo.
Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Leo came running around the corner at the same moment and Piper froze the energy ball in mid-air. They ran over to the limo.
"Alright, Leo, go, go, go!" directed Prue.
Leo climbed in the limo and orbed out with Pirelli. The sister's headed back past Cole.
"Maybe we should take Cole with us." suggested Phoebe, glancing back at him.
"No, he has to look innocent after the fact. He's gotta figure out a way to get out on his own. Come on." Prue and Piper started walking away but Phoebe paused then ran back to Cole and slipped a note in his pocket. She stared into his face for a moment before running after Prue and Piper.
Piper sneaked a look around the corner of the wall and unfroze everything. The Cole's energy ball continued moving and hit the limo and blowing it up. The driver dove to the ground.
"Go get the body." commanded Vornac to Klea.
She left and Cole walked back over to Vornac.
"What do you want the body for? inquired Cole, "There won't be much left."
"But even a trace could alert the humans to the switch." replied Vornac
"What switch?" questioned Cole, his question being answered by Vornac shape shifting into Pirelli.
In the Halliwell Manor Leo had given Pirelli a sleeping potion and he and the sisters were discussing if the kidnapping would make the morning news.
"What do we do now?" asked Phoebe, taking her eyes off the TV screen,
"Well, I don't know, that's up to Cole. He's gotta let us know what the demon's next move..." Prue trailed off as Frank Pirelli appeared on the TV screen, "…is." she finished in amazement.
Vornac, as Pirelli, was making an announcement "It's no coincidence that just last night I changed my mind and decided to support this merger. Now someone's trying to kill me. That convinces me I've made the right choice. This merger will happen. Thank you."
"What was that about Cole telling us everything?"
Lyrics from Finally Found by the Honeyz