Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed (or there wouldnt even be talk of a reboot, which has thankfully been shelved)
Timeless Mistakes
Leo, so shocked by Rennek's unexpected appearance, could do nothing as the arrow pierced right into his chest, however, he had leaned back slightly in shock so it punched through right over his heart rather than going into his heart, which was the one saving grace that he had.
Screaming in pain, Leo toppled to the ground, the arrow already spreading its poison through his body as Rennek readied another arrow, grinning darkly as he slowly advanced towards his mortal enemy.
"Been a long time Leo. Bet you thought you'd gotten rid of me, didn't you?" he asked, and Leo, gasping in pain, managed to glare up at his nemesis, teeth grinding against the pain that he was in.
"You! You murdered her, she was innocent…" he hissed through his teeth and Rennek gave a small, mocking laugh as he advanced towards the fallen Elder.
"Innocent Leo? Come on, you know me better than that, I have no use for anyone that has anything to do with you. Is she another part of your reward for apparently vanquishing me? Or was that only your whore and her sisters?" he hissed and anger flared through Leo, sparks blasting from his fingers at the slight on Piper as Rennek waved his crossbow around, as if searching for the best place to fire his next attack.
"Leave Piper out of this!" he spat and then screamed as Rennek fired another arrow into his knee, screaming in pain as the arrow broke through bone and flesh, spreading more poison into his body.
"Of course, Piper. Word has it she's pregnant with another of your spawn, maybe I should look them up. Have some fun…" Rennek purred, loading another arrow into his crossbow, and waving it once again, and Leo struggled to move, the poison was burning through his system, and he could feel the void calling him but no, he had a wife, two sons, he couldn't leave now, but Rennek was slowing, he was about to find somewhere else to put another arrow, and Leo knew that this one would be fatal.
"You know Leo, I was paid an awful lot, promised an awful lot, just to come out of retirement and take you down. I'd have done it for free, but why do it for free when you're so good at it? So, I think I'll kill your baby first, then your wife and your unborn child while her sisters watch. That sound like good times to you, because it really does to me." Rennek sneered, aiming his crossbow towards Leo's head.
"Leave Piper-Wyatt-Chris!" Leo spat, the pain blinding him, but in his paralysed, dying state, he could barely speak and to his horror he saw blue orbs appearing beside him.
Rennek span automatically, firing an arrow towards the newcomer, but Chris automatically raised his hand in a panic, the arrow flicking back and stabbing through Rennek's shoulder. As the Darklighter screamed in rage and pain, Chris saw his father lying on the floor with two arrows sticking out of him.
"Dad!" he cried in alarm, firing a jet of lightning at Rennek who swore as he dove to the floor to avoid the attack.
But now Rennek had his measure and sprang at Chris, his touch of hate searing onto Chris' outstretched arm. Chris shrieked in pain as the touch burned into him, Leo protesting deliriously behind him, and Chris frantically squinted his eyes and sent Rennek blowing backwards into the wall, before gesturing towards his father.
"Home!" he yelled desperately and was relieved that despite the pain both he and his father were in, it actually worked and Leo vanished in a flurry of orbs.
"You're going to pay for that you little brat!" Rennek spat and seized an arrow and threw it, just as Chris orbed out of the apartment, leaving a furious Rennek and the dead body of Astoria behind.
But as Rennek breathed out, anger still coursing through him, he realised he hadn't heard the arrow land anywhere. And even better, the kid he had thrown the arrow at had called Leo 'dad'. He was Leo's son. And now, Rennek had a much easier way to hurt his old nemesis, by hurting his mewling brats.
"Oh yeah, this is shaping into a pretty good day!" he gloated, chuckling darkly as he orbed away to report to the Triad.
XX
"Ok buddy, how about we play cars, you like that huh?" Piper asked, sitting down beside her young son in the sun room now that Prue was safely out meeting the inspector, and that Phoebe seemed to have stormed off to work, but where Cole was now was anyone's guess.
Piper couldn't help but smile a little. While the thought of Cole being back did fill her with some trepidation, it had been rather amusing to see Phoebe nearly blow a gasket upon his reappearance. But that did leave the major question, where did they stand with Cole and more importantly what was he, and if need be, how did they stop him should the need arise?
"Kwis!" Wyatt cried, after passing his mother a red car and picking up his own blue car, pointing to the green car, and Piper smiled, stroking her son's cheek.
"You really do love your baby brother don't you?" she asked fondly, feeling only a miniscule amount of resentment that her neurotic son from the future seemed to have replaced her as Wyatt's favourite playmate, so much so that he now had his own car for the occasion.
"Yeah!" Wyatt said cheerfully and she allowed herself a smile as she took her car.
"Well I'm not Chris, but I can legally drive. Want to race mommy, let's go!" she encouraged, putting her car beside Wyatt's just before there was a flurry of orbs and Leo appeared on the sun lounger.
Piper immediately dropped the car and gave a startled cry, Leo was barely conscious, muttering deliriously to himself, and had two Darklighter arrows sticking out of him.
"LEO!" she shrieked in alarm, and almost grabbed the arrows before stopping and thinking, she was pregnant, the arrows would harm baby Chris, she was powerless, what the hell could she do?
"Dada?" Wyatt asked, plodding towards his father and Piper jetted towards him in blind panic, grabbing her young son before he could try and help his father, her heart hammering in her chest, what could she do?
Prue or Phoebe, she needed Prue or Phoebe, because Paige would be unable to help as well, but with the two of them out what was she to do? But then, Chris did have telekinesis like Prue, perhaps he could whip the arrows out without getting hurt himself?
However another flurry of orbs immediately caught her attention, and for a split second Piper thought that it would be fine, but then she saw the weak, slow way they were appearing and Chris orbed onto the floor, groaning in pain, clutching the arrow that was embedded in his stomach., and his arm seemed to have been seared by something red hot.
"Oh god Chris, it's ok sweetie, we're going to save you and your dad…" she promised, wishing she could soothe both her husband and her son, both of whom were groaning in pain, Leo muttering deliriously while he did so, but as it stood she was rendered impotent, at least until she could get those arrows out of them.
"Oh god, it's ok just hold on, I'm going to get Prue or Phoebe, just hang on!" Piper breathed, trying not to panic, reaching for the phone but just as she did so, the door opened.
"Ok people, I've got a lot of homework to do, so I'm going to scoff the pastry things left from the feast then, oh my god!" Prue cried seeing her brother in law and her nephew lying in pain in the sun room.
"I can't help them because of the baby!" Piper said by way of greeting as Prue rushed in, throwing the files she had in her arms onto a chair as she did so, while Piper held Wyatt to her as he seemed rather determined to go to his father and brother, and Prue nodded before looking apologetically at Leo, who was in the worst state of the two.
"Sorry Leo, but this will hurt." She said with a wince before flicking the embedded arrows out of him, clattering them against the wall while Leo screamed in pain his eyes bulging as he cried out.
"Leo, shh, it's ok, we'll think of some way to fix you don't worry." Piper soothed, rushing to her husband's side and mopping his brow, while Prue flicked the arrow out of Chris as well, making Chris yell in pain as the arrow came flying out of him, leaving him writhing on the floor as Prue leaned down, stroking Chris' hair worriedly.
"We still need someone to heal them." Prue said worriedly, keeping pressure on Chris' wound while Piper did the same with Leo, chewing her lip, that meant they needed an Elder, she didn't think Wyatt would be able to heal the two of them, and if he did, it would probably only be Chris he could heal as he only had one wound.
"Gideon-" Leo breathed urgently, taking Piper's hand and looking at her urgently, trying to convey the urgency of his message, and she looked over at her sister in confusion.
"Gideon? Who the hell's Gideon?" she demanded, and Prue shrugged.
"Gay lover?" she asked, totally at sea and trying to break the tension, which did kind of work, because rather than look terrified for her husband and son, Piper instead shot her an angry look, but at least she didn't seem quite as worried now. More likely to murder her sister though but there was always a trade-off she supposed.
"Don't be silly." She snapped, but then, coughing weakly, Chris took Prue's hand and looked up at her with a half-smile.
"Exactly, dad doesn't have the balls to cheat on mom, she'd kill him. Gideon's another Elder, hes the one who runs Magic school." He explained, his voice weak and tired, and the two sisters looked at each other sceptically, nodded and looked towards the heavens.
"Gideon?" they cried in unison, and to their surprise another flurry of orbs descended, revealing a man in a black teacher's robe with a small neat beard and brown curly hair.
"Ah the Charmed Ones, lovely to meet you in person at long last, and welcome back Prudence, welcome back." Gideon said jovially, but Piper clicked her fingers at him to distract him from Prue, who had stood upright when the orbs had appeared.
"Introductions later, heal now please!" she snapped, and Gideon looked at Leo in alarm before running over and healing him, and Piper breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Leo was going to be alright.
"Leo, what the hell happened?" she demanded as he sat up, but immediately pushed both her and Gideon out of the way and dropped down beside Chris, healing his wound with a frantic expression on his face.
"I could have healed him perfectly well myself, just for the record." Gideon pointed out, smoothing his robes and sounding mildly put out as Leo finished healing Chris, and immediately began fussing, at least until Chris shooed him off.
"I'm fine now dad thanks. So, want to explain who the hell that was and why he's trying to kill you personally?" he asked, and Piper and Gideon looked at Leo in concern.
"Wait, he was actually trying to kill you Leo? Why? Well, other than being a Darklighter I mean." Piper conceded as Leo pulled Chris to his feet and took Wyatt from Piper, his face clouded as he turned to look at Gideon, who looked concerned that Leo was so out of sorts.
"Gideon, it's Rennek. He's back." Leo bit out, and Gideon's eyes widened in alarm.
"Rennek, are you sure?" he asked breathlessly, and Leo nodded.
"Yes. He killed one of my old charges, Astoria, to lure me into a trap." He admitted, not meeting anyone's eyes, and Piper let out a small noise of understanding and went to him, rubbing her hand up his back comfortingly.
"Leo there was nothing you could have done if he lured you into a trap. Who is this Rennek guy?" Piper asked, and Gideon clasped his hands behind his back, looking rather agitated.
Piper had known Astoria, she had met her a couple of times, solely through Leo but she hadn't deserved to die, least of all as part of someone else's scheme to once again hurt her and her family. Rubbing Leo's back still she looked to the other Elder, who turned, his fingers steepled in front of him as he surveyed the people in front of him.
"Rennek is a Darklighter, a powerful one, so much so that he has been called 'the Scourge of the Heavens'. Hundreds of whitelighters have fallen by his hands, and hundreds more charges, be they witches or future whitelighters have also been killed by his hands. Leo fought Rennek for decades, on and off, and it was his apparent final defeat that led to Leo becoming you whitelighter. But if he is indeed returned, all whitelighters are in severe danger." Gideon explained, looking worried, and he actually was.
So soon into their alliance, and the Triad was already double-crossing him. Not only had they gone outside of the boundaries of their alliance, they had contacted Rennek, the most lethal Darklighter that ever was, and had brought him into the plan. Had they perhaps hired him to take out Gideon himself? Or was he merely being used to distract Leo, lure him away from the sisters, lure him away from his two sons, as they had discussed?
"I can't believe that it's him, he's back, I thought I destroyed him!" Leo yelled furiously, and he balled his hand into a fist, and Piper was fairly certain that had he not been holding Wyatt at the time, he'd have punched his fist into a wall.
Gideon then stepped forward and laid a hand on Leo's shoulder, patting it comfortingly.
"It is a great tragedy that he has returned in such a way Leo, but this proves what I have been telling you for weeks. It is time to cut the ties that bind, you must take your position in the heavens with the other Elders, until you do, you will be vulnerable, as will all the other Elders too." He said significantly, but Leo shook his head defiantly, while Piper glared at Gideon.
"Look pal, I don't know who you think you are…" she snapped angrily, flaring up at once, and he raised a hand to stop her diatribe.
"Of course so rude of me. I am Gideon, an Elder, and I am the headmaster of magic school. I have watched over you all, well, the original three all your lives, and Paige too of course when you discovered her. I apologise for not meeting you sooner Piper, especially since I taught Leo the tools of the trade, but ever since the Titan attack," he explained, casting an unfathomable look at Chris, who tried not to look too guilty or triumphant, "I have had significantly more to do than I ordinarily would, and have been withdrawn from the events of my school. My depute, Sigmund, has told me of your frequent visits, and I am delighted that the Charmed Ones are finally making the most of the knowledge my school can offer you." He said cheerfully, shaking her hand, which kind of threw off her feng shui and removed the wind from her sails.
"Um…ok. And it's nice to meet you too," Prue said, stepping in as Piper was a little thrown (not so thrown that she didn't glare at her sister when she said it was nice to meet him, and to her slight consternation the same look was mirrored on the face of her fully grown youngest nephew), "but Leo isn't going anywhere, we have half the underworld chasing Wyatt, and the other half is being infiltrated by Chris to try and find out who is actually after Wyatt in the first place." She explained, and Gideon nodded, looking gravely at Chris.
"Yes, I have heard of your search. I hope it yields some results soon my boy." He told him, and Chris just nodded, unsure what to make of this Elder, who he had heard of but never actually seen before either.
"Prue's right." Leo said, his tone broaching no argument, and Gideon looked concerned.
"Leo, I understand your ties to your family, I helped convince the other Elders that you and Piper should be together…"
"That was you? Thank you." Piper said gratefully, looking at Leo worriedly as he passed Wyatt to her, there was a dangerous look in Leo's eyes, the same look he had only previously had when dealing with Chris, before they had discovered who he was at any rate, but now, she had to admit, it was kind of scary seeing such a change in her usually pacifist husband.
"You are quite welcome. But as I say Leo, there are other more pressing matters now requiring your attention." Gideon insisted, but before the two sisters could say anything, to their slight surprise it was Chris who chimed in.
"Hey? Um, see this big bump here?" he asked, pointing to his mother's slightly swollen belly, "that's baby me. And Wyatt's there too. And that's his wife. We all need him, not to mention as the Charmed Ones they need him as I can't heal and there's someone pretty powerful down there uniting the demonic masses. And now one of the deadliest Darklighters ever is on the loose and if anyone knows how to stop him, it's dad. You need him down here way more than you need him up there." He defended, his green eyes blazing with the same fire that Piper's brown ones did, and Leo smiled for the first time since Rennek had appeared, touched by his son's passionate defence of him.
Gideon looked hesitant, but he did allow himself a small smile.
"I can see that the Halliwell defiance is strong in you too my boy," he said, chuckling and Piper gave him a proud look (Leo also did, but his wasn't quite as obvious), before he turned back to Leo, realising he had been defeated, "Leo my boy, I am not saying you need to abandon your family right this minute, and I agree with your son, Rennek is after all one of the most dangerous evil beings out there. Perhaps I could liaise, you could keep me abreast of developments, and I will be more than willing to help the sisters while you hunt the rogue down? Would that be agreeable to all? And of course the sisters would be more than welcome to come to magic school as well." He said generously, and Prue looked at Piper, shrugging, and she then looked at Leo, who nodded, looking grim.
"Deal. I'll head after Rennek now. Thank you Gideon." He said, clasping his mentor's arm, and Gideon nodded.
"You're quite welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to nip back, I'm teaching Advanced Psychokinesis this afternoon, and you know, young minds tend to wander towards mischief when left unsupervised for too long." He explained, and Prue looked at him curiously.
"What is this magic school?" she asked, her long dead thirst for Wiccan knowledge resurrecting just as thoroughly as she had, and Gideon smiled.
"Well, why don't you come by for a visit in the morning? I'll show you around if I'm able, I don't teach many classes that's true, but of course there's still things to do up there as well, and with Rennek now back, well I'll have to kick up a hornets nest upstairs but I hope to see you tomorrow, bright and early!" he said, and orbed out, leaving the eldest Charmed Ones feeling very wrong footed.
"I need to go Piper. Chris I'm so sorry I put you in danger." Leo said, hating himself, but Chris shrugged, his green eyes alert as he watched his father kiss Wyatt goodbye.
"It's fine I know you didn't do it on purpose, wait, are you actually going now?" he asked, not quite believing that Leo, of all people, was so filled with hate that he was determined to blaze out on a quest for revenge at such short notice.
"Uh, Leo?" Piper asked, astounded as he kissed her.
"Want some help?" Chris asked, ignoring the look of alarm that Piper sent his way as she thought of both her son and husband doing battle with an extremely powerful Darklighter, but Leo shook his head before he clapped both hands on Chris' shoulders.
"No, I need to do this myself. It's nothing against you, I know you're more than capable. But this is my fight. Look after your brother, and your mom. And I suppose your aunts too." He said with a slight grin before he orbed out, leaving a very confused brother and sister quartet standing in the living room of the house, hoping their brains would catch up a little faster.
"I'm now very tired and think I need a nap." Prue exclaimed, trying to wrap her head around the lightning fast deluge of information that they had just received.
"Honey?" Piper asked, picking Wyatt up as she looked at Chris who looked slightly disappointed, "It's nothing against you, you know. He doesn't want to put you in danger, and he wants you here to protect us. And besides, this is personal for him. Very personal." She said darkly, and Chris nodded, before Prue rubbed her temples wearily.
"Alright this is ridiculous. I've got a lot of work to do, but clearly, so does Leo, so, BOS anyone?" she asked, picking up her files as Piper dutifully followed her older sister.
"BOS?" Chris asked, confused, until it clicked, "oh, Book of Shadows, Book of Shadows." He realised, following his mother and aunt up the stairs.
For a recently dead lady, Prue was quite sprightly, and was now standing at the Book with her sister while Wyatt cooed in his playpen, the blonde and the brunette sister flicking through the book with Prue's telekinesis power, the very sight of which made Piper smile.
"It's so nice having you back here. And not having to flip the book anymore!" she told her sister brightly, and she grinned in response.
"Yeah, it's not quite as interesting, flicking the pages from on high. Don't worry scrappy, I'll teach you how to do cross reference flipping later." She told Chris with a wink, and he grinned, it was a skill he had never quite mastered, he could flip it slowly, but not nearly as fast as Prue and he still had to read every page, and obviously in the future Wyatt was the one with the book having corrupted the family tome along with everything else so he couldn't even practice in the future.
And scrappy had been what she had called him in the future after she had finally earned his love and trust and saw just how stubborn her youngest nephew could really be.
"Ah here we are, Rennek. 'An immensely powerful Darklighter, Rennek is a sociopathic murderer with no loyalty to anyone but himself. Unlike other avatars of evil, Rennek has no consideration for a grander plan or the Grand Design, and simply seeks to lash out and hurt good whenever and however he can. This has led to the murder of countless witches, whitelighters and whitelighters-to-be'. Well why wouldn't the father of my children go on a solo hunt for him, he sounds lovely?" Piper grumbled, and Prue frowned as she inspected the page herself.
"No vanquishing spell or potion, we'll probably need a spell to be on the safe side if Leo can't bring him down, but we'll see how it goes." She mused, and Chris went over to Wyatt, who had dropped his bear outside his pen and returned Wuvey to his brother.
"How did your meeting go anyway?" he asked, and she shrugged.
"As well as can be expected, and if you guys don't need me, I am going to go and do my homework, because if I don't get a move on, I'll never come properly back from the dead." She told them, and headed for the door, and Piper frowned at her older sister as she headed for the stairs.
"Prue, I get your reasons for all this, I really do, but, these guys, they're dangerous. We just got you back, I don't want to have to bury you again. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to die?" she asked, covering how worried she was, and Prue grinned.
"I know sweetie, don't worry, I'll be careful. And besides, if Inspector Sheridan is as much of a Rottweiler and is as sharp as I think she is, I'd be more worried about her than anything the Mercers can do to us." She said significantly before heading down the stairs, leaving Piper and Chris with an identical look of worry on their faces.
XX
Phoebe had a pounding headache, and she had been totally unable to write anything all day, not since her demon ex-husband from hell had so rudely reappeared in her life after she had spent the better part of a year thinking she was finally free of him, and worse, he had been brought here by the progenitor of their entire line no less!
It wasn't like they had enough to be getting on with, with an unknown threat against Wyatt apparently cranking up a gear, with Chris becoming more and more neurotic than he already was as the deadline approached, and of course with Prue coming back from the dead, but no, now Cole had to come back from the dead as well.
"Phoebe?" Elise asked worriedly from the doorway, and Phoebe kneaded her temples before opening her eyes and facing her boss.
"Yes Elise?" she asked tiredly, and Elise entered her office, a slight smile on her face.
"Have you been burning the candle at both ends, you look awful." She told her with some dry amusement, and Phoebe sighed wearily.
"It's just been a very long day. Cole is back." She admitted, and Elise looked at her sharply, her pencilled eyebrow raised in question.
"Your ex-husband? I thought you said he was gone from your life for good, and wasn't coming back?" she asked, and Phoebe nodded, wishing so much that that was true.
"So did I, but he showed up again this morning, bold as brass." She told her, and Elise frowned as she sat down on the sofa in the side of the office, looking at her advice columnist worriedly.
"Well, what does he want?" she asked in concern, and Phoebe wondered exactly just how much she could tell her.
Elise was, strange though it sounded, probably her best friend outside of her sisters, and as such, Phoebe had been a little less guarded with her when her marriage to Cole had collapsed. She didn't know that she was a witch, though she had contemplated telling her once or twice, but she did know more than most others she knew about her life.
"That's just it, I don't really know, when he appeared I was too angry to let him get a word in edgeways. I stormed out of the house before I found out what he wanted. This is exactly the last thing that I need, and he's gotten me so riled up I can't even concentrate on my column properly." She complained, and Elise ran a finger along her chin.
"Do you think he's dangerous?" she asked worriedly, and Phoebe flayed her hands in the air helplessly.
"That's the thing I haven't the foggiest idea! I mean he didn't try to hurt me last time he was there, but he could easily try to get to me through my sisters, and I don't know if I trust him enough to believe he won't, and of course there's Darryl, who he never got on with really, and now there's Wyatt and Chris too, I'm kind of stumped." She admitted, and Elise chewed her lip as she thought it over.
"For what it's worth Phoebe, I don't think he'll hurt your family. If he is back, he's most likely back to try and win you back, insane though that might be. Can't very well do that if he hurts anyone you care about." She pointed out, getting to her feet, while Phoebe mulled it over.
"Oh and before I go, could you come in early tomorrow? Dillard's at a conference in Portland, and I've got the dentist." She asked, and Phoebe nodded absently as her boss left the room, still thinking about what she had said.
"Well I thought she'd never leave." Cole commented as he shaded into being beside her, making her yelp in shock before quickly getting up and shutting the door, turning furiously towards him.
"What the hell are you doing here Cole? You and Prue were all chummy chummy in the future, why don't you go and bug her?" she demanded, and he shrugged his shoulders innocently.
"Yeah but unlike Prue, I didn't come from the future, I came from this time. And I'm back Phoebe, I'm back for good." He insisted, and she gave him a bored look.
"Really Cole, after everything, you expect me to believe all that?" she demanded irritably, kneading her temples once again as she leaned against the door, and he sighed in equal annoyance.
"Look Phoebe, I know that far too much has happened between the two of us. I lost your love, and while I might not like the fact, I do accept the fact that I will never get it back. But while I did my share of evil, you need to stop thinking that it was all my fault. We were married, you loved me, you spared me, you stood by me, you betrayed your sisters for me…!"
"Only because I was under the influence of the evil spawn you infected me with." She hissed angrily, her rage seething, but he shook his head defiantly.
"Not true. You stood with me willingly. The baby was in you yes, and for the record that was the Seer's doing and not mine, but you made that choice of your own free will. Stop acting like you're blameless Phoebe, because you're not." He told her frankly, and she seethed, anger rolling off her as she struggled to control her temper, hearing a muffled noise from the other side of the door as she turned away and leaned against the wall, trying to get her temper under control.
Why did he affect her in such a way? She had moved on from that period in her life, she'd put it all behind her and she knew it. But Cole was now back, and knew just how to press her buttons. She had always said in her column about how there was such a fine line between love and hate, something he himself had said in one of his twisted attempts to get her back. But while all that was true, in her heart of hearts, she knew that the real reason he got to her so much was because the two of them had shared such an intense, powerful bond, that some feelings would never truly go away. And at the bottom of her heart, the part she always kept secure, and guarded under lock and key…she knew he was right.
She had made a choice, willingly or not. After they had vanquished him, and he had come back as a crazy all powerful being, yes he had done nothing to help himself, but because he was then the way he was, it became so much easier just to blame him for the entire thing, to paint him as the villain when she knew that in some ways he was just as much the victim of the Seer's manipulations as she was, perhaps even more so. Cole had never wanted to be the Source, never wanted to be evil once Belthazor was vanquished. But rather than face up to her own role in the entire affair, she ran away from her responsibility, she ran away from her guilt, her culpability, and rather than just stand up and say 'I'm also partly to blame', she had vilified Cole, to make accepting her own bad choices better.
She allowed herself a small, sad smile. She wondered if she'd have been allowed to go back to her sisters if Prue had been alive back then. Eventually, maybe…but only after Prue had flayed her alive, she was pissed enough when she left Cole live when he was Belthazor, let alone if she'd stood by him as the Source.
"Ok. What do you want?" she asked, no longer grinding her teeth which she counted as a win.
Cole looked at her brightly, grinning in that annoying roguish way that he had.
"All I want to do is help Phoebe, even after everything. I want to prove to you that I can still be good, not to win you back or anything, but just to prove to you that I am good." He told her plainly, and strange though it sounded, a small part of her did believe him, and she sighed, relenting.
"Alright. Well Chris says that there's a new power rising in the underworld, someone stronger than Barbas hiding in the deepest levels, maybe you could look into that?" she asked, and he frowned, pondering.
"A demon stronger than Barbas, is he muscling in on ruling the underworld?" he asked, now all business, and Phoebe shrugged.
"We don't know, whoever it is, they're being very cagey. If you want to help, you can help us find out who's after Wyatt, which means finding out who the new big bad is downstairs." She told him, and he nodded.
"Deal. I swear Phoebe, I'm back for good." He assured her and she sighed wearily, looking at him pityingly.
"I know you think that Cole, and want it to be true, and I know you mean it too. But that doesn't stop something forever getting in the way." She lamented, and he looked a little taken aback before shrugging.
"Well, I'll show you I'm good. Oh, and, word to the wise Phoebe…you might want to learn to control your new powers." He said with a maddening grin before he faded into nothing, and she looked quizzically at the point where he had vanished.
What exactly had he meant by that?
Deciding she needed a break, she opened her office door to see everyone unconscious on the ground. Alarm filled her, panicking they were under attack, but no, Cole wouldn't have warned her…
"Oh…dear." She grimaced as she realised she, and her out of control emotions, were the reason everyone was unconscious, and pondered just what the hell she should do now.
XX
"AAAGH!" the Darklighter yelled as he was vanquished, Leo a force of fury as he killed yet another Darklighter in his attempt to try and track down Rennek.
"Now, I'll ask again, where is Rennek?" he thundered in the viewing portal, and Asmodeus clucked his tongue in annoyance as he closed the portal.
"You were right old friend, it looks as though recruiting Rennek to the cause was a particular stroke of genius, he'll keep the Elder quite entertained." Asmodeus concluded in their chamber, and Xar, who was sitting with his feet up in the corner, toasted his comrade.
"I told you that Rennek was a master of his craft. That will keep the Elder out of the way. Well, at least that one." He sneered, as Gideon, while not present, had sent his assistant Sigmund to coordinate with the Triad.
"Gideon has expressed some, concern, that you have hired Rennek." Sigmund muttered, terrified to be surrounded by four of the most powerful demons in the underworld.
He knew Gideon was right, Wyatt was far too great a concentration of power, and he had to be stopped. That, along with all the damage Chris had inadvertently caused by coming back and going back and coming back again, which had prompted the timeline change, it just proved that both of Piper's children were dangerous threats, threats that had to be eliminated. However, while he did agree with Gideon on that front, and that the timeline change was alarming, he most certainly did not agree that it was a good idea to work with the Triad, or with Barbas, and now that they had hired Rennek things had gotten even more complicated than they already had been.
The Triad turned to face Sigmund, who seemed to cower before them. Barbas would have a field day with him.
"The plan was to distract Leo. Rennek is more than capable of carrying out that task, and the various Darklighter legions shall help keep him occupied until we are ready to make our move." Baliel sneered at the snivelling sycophant of the Elder, who looked cowed at the very least, but seemed to develop a last little bit of steel to him.
"That was the other thing…Gideon thought you had agreed to use a very specific demon for this task, so why have you not used him yet?" he asked, sticking his chin out in mild defiance, and Candor grumbled as he looked at the Elder's lackey.
"Because unfortunately we aren't yet at full power. We aren't ready, and bringing back that particular demon from the wasteland will require more energy than we can spare at the moment, particularly with the boy and his father now rampaging around down here, it will only serve to draw attention to us. That demon will have to wait, so as such, we are reviewing the plan." He informed him, and Sigmund opened his mouth to argue just as Gideon orbed in, looking most disgruntled.
"Well if your aim was to put the cat amongst the pigeons you've certainly done that. I told you that a single Darklighter attack would do, instead you unleash Rennek?" he demanded angrily, and Asmodeus arched an eyebrow.
"You wanted him out the way didn't you? A single demonic attack would not have drawn him away, not up there as you desired. He wouldn't abandon his wife or his children like that. But a rage filled vendetta, perhaps fuelled by Barbas helping him along, that will keep Leo out of the way and get you closer to making a move on the boy. What progress have you made in that regard?" he asked, and Gideon had to admit, his reasoning was sound, though he would never admit that to the demon.
"The sisters now know me, thanks to your attack and I have offered my school for their purposes, which will allow me to get close to the boy. But I cannot act until the Charmed Ones and Chris are distracted, distracting Leo is all well and good but there are four sisters and an overpowered witchlighter from the future to worry about also." He complained, and Xar got to his feet, patting Gideon on the shoulder, who flinched at the contact.
"Then things are going well. Prue will soon be consumed in her quest to bring down the human crime family she is going after in order to get her life back. Barbas has plenty of demons on standby, and we have also been discreetly recruiting for just such an occasion. We have several demons on standby, awaiting our order, some rather nasty ones. All you need to do is ensure that the sisters keep using your school you see? Between our demons, their lives and their own personal struggles, they will soon be very distracted indeed, problem solved." He informed him, and Gideon glowered at him.
"And the demon I asked you to bring back?" he asked, and Candor rolled his eyes.
"Our power, even with Xar supplementing us, is currently too diminished to bring back that particular demon from the wasteland. It is for that reason that we are acting through Barbas and third parties, to wear down the sisters. That particular demon will instead be our master stroke, when they are worn down, then we will strike with him, and then you can get the boy." He explained, and Gideon scowled before nodding.
"Very well. But remember, the Charmed Ones live!" he insisted, and Asmodeus glowered at him.
"No, that is your problem. We need them dead." He told him darkly, and Gideon shook his head in exasperation at his demonic counterparts.
"Fine then, kill one if you must, four is unmanageable, three can be dealt with. Come Sigmund." Gideon snapped and orbed out, and Sigmund vanished after his boss after throwing the Triad one last frightened look.
"That Elder gets wearisome quickly doesn't he? Why are you working with him old friend?" Xar asked, sipping wine from his goblet, and Asmodeus scowled at the spot where the Elder had disappeared.
"He has a plan to kill the Charmed Ones progeny, the Twice Blessed Child. If that child is allowed to grow to adulthood, to take over the fight from his mother and his aunts, it could well be the end of all demonkind He cannot go after the boy himself, not without risking too much, and he is desperate. We agree that the boy cannot be allowed to grow to full term, and are willing to help him in this, as well as offset the newly established power of four." He explained, and Xar looked sceptical.
"But still, all this, just to kill the boy? All this skulduggery and double dealing, working with rogue Elders, and Barbas of all people, silently trying to take back the underworld while keeping your very existence secret, while trying to direct a war against the Charmed Ones and their protectors…it all seems rather redundant. Why not just go after the witches ourselves?" he asked, and Candor stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.
"We had considered that, a quick strike, but the problem remains the same. As you yourself noted, we were not meant to be active again so soon. The plan, in the long term, is rather good, which is why we agreed to it in the first place. But we cannot change the fact that we have made our return prematurely, and as such, even with your formidable powers at hand old friend, we must wait and allow our demons to fight for us." He explained, and Baliel screwed up his face in irritation.
"We did it before remember, and it didn't work then. I seem to remember a big fellow, bad skin, bad teeth, bad taste in women, we sent him after the Charmed Ones. All we for our trouble was an athame to the chest, Asmodeus got a fireball in the face and Candor got dropped like a sack of onions!" he ranted, and Asmodeus had to admit, he had a point.
"Ah but this time we know better. And we have already begun to recruit demons to send in. Who was it you found for us Xar?" Candor asked, and he smiled sinisterly.
"It's a pure coincidence that she is available, it's coming up to her feeding time. I found us the spider demon." He informed them, and Asmodeus smiled, nodding slowly.
"Excellent. Send her in, and let us see what she makes of the Charmed Ones."
XX
"Wait, you knocked out your entire office?" Piper asked in disbelief as she checked on Wyatt, who was happily playing on the floor of the sun room.
"Yeah. You know it's really Cole's fault, he wound me up." Phoebe complained from the other end of the phone, and Piper hissed through her teeth, the last thing they needed right now was Phoebe's empathy going crazy and getting them all discovered.
"Forget whose fault it is, did anyone notice?" she demanded urgently, not quite grasping why Phoebe wasn't more alarmed by these developments.
"No, thankfully. Don't worry, I convinced them the air conditioning went haywire, so Elise is currently getting it ripped out, and I'm getting a new blower put in my office, it hasn't worked since before I got the job!" she said brightly, and Piper rolled her eyes.
"Phoebe, I'm pretty sure that will wind up falling under the personal gain category if nothing else, and if your empathy powers can do that…" she said warningly, and Phoebe shushed her, which made Piper's eyes flash in irritation.
"Did you just shush me?" she demanded, and Phoebe made a noise of assent.
"Yes because my powers are tied to my emotions, and there's a massive emotional headache going on as it is. I just need to work on it, and not let Cole get to me, that's all." She assured her, when there was a loud bang from the kitchen.
"Never mind, I'll finish yelling at you when you get home. Don't knock anyone else out!" she insisted, hanging up on her sister before looking worriedly in the direction of the kitchen, "Chris?" she called worriedly, heading through.
To her relief, her son was alright, wafting his hand and looking in distaste at the pot in front of him.
"Are you ok?" she asked worriedly, setting the baby monitor down on the table out of harm's way, and he grinned at her.
"Yeah, fine, just overdid the beetle toe a tiny bit that's all." He assured her, and her eyes took in the ingredients he had out, and she raised an eyebrow at him curiously.
"Honey, what you doing?" she asked innocently, knowing full well what he actually was doing, and he shrugged, trying and nearly succeeding at looking innocent.
"Making potions for dad to use." He replied, avoiding her gaze a little, and she smirked.
"Your dad said he didn't want any help." She reminded him, and Chris turned to her with a winning smile on his face.
"Ah but that's the thing, I'm not helping him, I'm assisting him." He reasoned, and she winked at him proudly.
"That's my boy." She complimented, and he grinned as Prue came down the stairs and entered the kitchen, looking at the two most cooking minded Halliwells with a slight smile.
"Aww look at you two, the student is emulating the master." She teased, pointing to each in turn, and Piper stuck her tongue out at her sister as Prue sat down at the table, kneading her head wearily, and Chris looked over at her in concern as he let his potion stew away.
"You ok?" he asked worriedly, and she nodded.
"Yeah, just the Mercers…well let's just say they're not nice people and Sheridan has got the War and Peace of files on them and all their activities." She informed them, and Piper took pity on her and began to make her a cup of coffee.
"It's not too late Prue, we can cast a spell…" she said, but Prue shook her head in refusal.
"No, magic took my life, I'm not using it to get me it back. I'm halfway through the files, and I'm starting to think I'm getting an idea of what to do, but I need a bit of a study break. I kind of feel bad we used to tease her when she was studying." She admitted, gratefully accepting the coffee from her sister, and Piper scowled slightly.
"Well don't go feeling too sorry for her, she knocked out her entire office." She informed her, and both Prue and Chris drilled her with sharp green eyed looks of anger.
"She did what?" they yelled in unison, and Piper smiled, shooting a cocky look at her sister.
"Interesting that his mother isn't the only one Chris emulates." She gloated, and Prue shot her an unimpressed look while he barely hid a grin before turning his attention back to the situation in hand.
"Did anyone notice?" he asked, and Piper shook her head.
"No, thankfully, but unless she can control her empathy it could cause some problems, but it was due to high emotion but still. That's a problem for when she gets home though not now. Are you sure about this Prue?" she asked, and her sister smiled and patted her hand as she came and sat at the table beside her.
"Yes sweetie, it'll be fine. Right, I'm going back to the grindstone, let me know if you need me for anything. Or better yet, call Paige if you do, keep her away from Henry." She grumbled, and Piper looked at Chris in confusion, but he looked vaguely alarmed at the mention of Henry's name.
"Henry? Who's Henry?" Piper asked as Prue left the kitchen, following her sister, eager for gossip while Chris was left with his potions, musing worriedly about Henry's arrival on the scene.
Henry wasn't meant to be in their lives yet, yet here he was, present and clearly interested in Paige two years earlier than he was meant to be. While it did seem rather a small thing in the general scheme of things, if Henry was now present in their lives at this time, how much else was going to change? He knew everything to be much the same as in his future, but now, between him and Neena both messing with the timeline, so much more had changed and was beginning to butterfly outwards. But at the end of the day, whoever got to Wyatt still had to be the same person as it was originally. But…that didn't mean the supporting cast hadn't changed, he thought bitterly, as he began to bottle up the potions he had made to fight Rennek, who was also on the scene far earlier than he was originally meant to have been.
And while Chris mused on the changed timeline, in the corner of the kitchen, a massive spider with glowing red eyes watched hungrily, preparing to make her move when the time was right.
XX
Leo was standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, his eyes closed as he tried to sense for where his mortal enemy may be hiding. Rennek was suddenly back after all these years, and his threat on top of the threat being posed to Wyatt was the last thing he needed right now.
It just didn't make sense. It was conceivable that Rennek had escaped their final battle, that was all well and good, he didn't think anyone had purposely resurrected his nemesis, but why, now that the four sisters were reunited and they finally had the time to truly devote to finding out who was after Wyatt, why was he now back on the scene?
Could it be Barbas? Perhaps, but surely the current de facto head of the underworld would be more interested in distracting the girls than him? Unless it was this unknown threat that had arrived on the scene, but either way, distraction seemed to be the most likely reasoning behind it all, which meant that there was no way his resurgence could be a coincidence.
Leo was distracted from his musings by several potion bottles orbing beside him, and he allowed himself a small smile.
'Dad, I know you said you didn't need any help, but a few extra potions to help you kick ass won't go amiss. Give him hell, Chris'
"Thanks kid." He said, pocketing them, after all, you could never be too safe.
There was another flurry of orbs behind him, and Leo turned to face Gideon as the other Elder materialised before him, and Leo sighed, knowing what was coming.
"Gideon, I've told you, I'm not going up there, not when Wyatt is still in danger, and especially now Rennek is on the loose again." He told the other Elder plainly, and Gideon nodded, clapping Leo on the shoulder.
"Of course, I totally understand. However one day you will need to take your place among us permanently Leo, but that's a discussion for another time. Have you had any success?" Gideon asked, and Leo shook his head.
"No of course not, that would be too easy, I'm trying to get a hint of where I should look next but it's proving difficult." He explained, and Gideon nodded, looking concerned.
"He's waited a long time for revenge Leo, he won't make it easy. In that regard, perhaps it might best if perhaps Piper were to evacuate to magic school? We have more than enough room, and her sisters would be more than welcome too of course." He suggested, wondering if Leo would go for it.
If he did, if he convinced Piper to evacuate the manor to hole up in magic school, he might even be able to cut his alliance with the Triad and Barbas short. If he could get Wyatt and Piper in the school, all he would need to do is send her on a demon hunt and his path to the boy would be clear, and then he could sacrifice Wyatt for the greater good.
Leo grinned slightly.
"Wow, you must have really got the wrong idea about Piper earlier. She won't leave the manor, not till she really has to, even if then. Besides, she has Prue, Phoebe, Paige and Chris around to protect her, and then even if someone gets past all four of them, they'd have to deal with her, and threatening her family, particularly her family, isn't a good move if you're planning to live to a ripe old age. This incident with Rennek was an isolated incident. I'll make sure it is." He vowed dangerously, and Gideon chuckled slightly.
"Yes, she does rather give that impression. And I suppose you're right, but the offer's there should she need to take me up on it, I'll show her and her sisters around tomorrow anyway, see what they think of the place now that I have slightly less to do up there and can devote more time to the school. Just if they need help, don't hesitate to call me." He told him, and suddenly Leo twirled, grinning much the same way Piper did when she found a demon she knew would be an easy vanquish.
"Rennek! Bye Gideon." He said, orbing off in a hurry, and Gideon sighed.
Rennek's resurgence was achieving his wishes he supposed, but he had never wished to directly put Leo into harm's way. The sisters were a different matter, while he didn't want them harmed, Prue's resurrection had thrown the cosmic scales off balance, and as such, due to the power of three and the power of four now able to be used interchangeably, the death of a sister, while tragic and unsavoury, could very well protect the greater good better in the long run. And besides, he mused with wry amusement, its not like the Triad really had a chance against the Charmed Ones, if push came to shove, all he needed was the sisters distracted and out of the way, not dead. And if it did come to a fight, he was fairly certain the sisters would triumph regardless.
All in all though, he only wished for this entire affair to be over, and the sooner Wyatt was dead, the safer everyone and everything would be.
I suppose I owe you all a belated Happy New Year!
Apologies for the length of time, with work being as bad as its been ive not had the motivation to write much and anything i do write takes me ages, but i have the week off so im hoping to get some things updated this week, starting with charmed!
So now we have extra demons, advancing powers and prue about to go to war with mercers, what will happen with the spider demon? Time will tell, and hopefully not as long break as last time. So until then please read and review and ill hopefully see you all soon!