"Did you talk to her?" Chris asked as soon as Kyle orbed up to the bridge beside him.
"No, she's blocking me out. I don't know where she is." Chris nodded and rubbed a hand across his temple.
"Well, even though Cole isn't invincible anymore, she won't be able to vanquish him by herself. He's still one of the most powerful demons in existence. It'd take more firepower than what she has by herself."
"That's true, but she can get help, and you know it. Cole's pissed off half of the underworld. A lot of them still see him as a traitor for changing sides back when he first met the girls, and a lot of others will see killing him as their ticket to the top seeing as how he was the last Source. It won't be hard to convince them."
"I know that," Chris let out a frustrated breath. "I grew up with him, remember? The sisters and Leo were the only ones who ever truly trusted him on either side." Chris glanced over at Chris.
"I'm sorry." He said softly. "I know that this is just as hard for you." Kyle shook his head, his eyes guarded. He'd cut himself off from it all again.
"We need to figure out what she's planning, Chris." Kyle said calmly.
"Her plan is to screw up mine. She thinks that killing Cole will solve everything, that it will save the future. She's completely gone off the deep end, Kyle. I mean, she was there when it happened; she was there when this family was destroyed. She should know that it wasn't his fault."
"She doesn't see that, and you know it. She only sees what Mel when she looks at him." Chris sighed, and sat down on the edge.
"It wasn't Mel's fault. I've tried to tell her that. This all started long before Mel even came into the picture."
"I know that." Kyle sat down next to him. "She won't see it. Chris, I think it's time you talked to the sisters and Cole about this." Chris shook his head immediately.
"And tell them what? You want me to go to them and tell them this? You honestly think they'll believe me? Even if they did, you know what it will do to them to find out all this?"
"Will it be worse than Cole dying now before he's supposed to? Worse than what Piper would go through if that happened? Worse than what would happen to you if he died here, now?"
"I just...I don't know if I can tell them." Chris said after a moment. Kyle opened his mouth to say something else, but frowned.
"What?" Chris asked warily.
"She's calling me." Chris stood up, worried.
"That can't be good." Kyle stood as well.
"I'll go talk to her." Chris shook his head.
"No way, Kyle. Not alone. You can't. She could be trying to trap you." Kyle nodded but he stepped away from Chris.
"I have to try. It's my job, after all. Talk to the sisters, Chris, and I have to believe that there's still something of what she used to be in there."
"Hey." Chris frowned when he orbed into the living room and found Cole lying on the couch, reading something. "Where are the sisters?"
"Piper's in the kitchen don't know about the other two." Cole threw whatever magazine he'd been reading aside with a look of disgust. "You need the girls? Demon problems?"
"You almost sound hopeful." Chris said, a little bit amused.
"Well, if you came here with something to distract Piper from the fact that I am no longer invincible, I'll be grateful."
"Sorry. I actually came here about that." Chris started towards the kitchen with Cole following. "Piper's being overprotective?" Cole shrugged.
"It's not like I'm completely powerless. I'm pretty sure that I've still got enough power to fight off a few demons. Hell, I'm still more powerful than I was before Phoebe stripped Belthazor from me." Chris just smiled. He knew that that wouldn't matter to Piper. She was always overprotective, even when Cole was invincible.
"Chris." Piper said when they both walked into the kitchen. "We've been trying to contact you."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry, but I was a little busy."
"Busy?" Chris nodded, glancing at Cole. "Did you find out anything?"
"Sort of." He said hesitantly. "Piper, I don't think it's a demon that's after Cole." Piper did not look surprised by this, though. She simply sighed and exchanged a glance with Cole.
"You knew?" Chris asked. Piper shook her head.
"We suspected from how it happened. Do you know who it is?" Chris hesitated again, and shook his head.
"No, not really. I just know that it's not a demon, although they are working with them. And, whoever it is...they can orb." That stopped her.
"Are you saying that whoever this is...that there is a whitelighter or an elder after Cole?" She looked over at her boyfriend, who did not share her shock.
"It's not that surprising." He said after a moment. He held up a hand when Piper opened her mouth. "Think about it, Piper. I have a feeling that they probably hate me just as much as most of the underworld does. I was the Source, after all. Phoebe turned to the other side because of me. Maybe they think history will repeat itself."
"That's ridiculous. They can't hold you responsible for the things that the Source did. You were possessed." She paused. "Of course, we are talking about the elders..." She let out a sigh. "So, not only do we need a way to protect you from demons, but from the supposedly good guys too?"
"Kyle." She smiled at him when he orbed in. "I knew you'd come." Kyle looked around the room before meeting her gaze.
"Did you bring me here to kill me too?" She shook her head.
"I brought you here to tell you that you can't stop me. This has to be done. It'll save everyone." Kyle stepped closer to her, and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"What about Chris? Don't you care about him? Don't you care that you'll kill him to if you do this?"
"What about everyone else, Kyle? What about my children? The city and all those people who've died? Jack, Ruby, Phoebe, Piper?" Kyle let out a frustrated breath, resisting the urge to shake her.
"You honestly think you'd be helping Piper if you do this?" She stepped back a few feet. Kyle dropped his arms. He could see it in her eyes. She was beyond anyone's reach. He felt tears start in his own eyes. "You think I don't miss them? You think I'm not angry about how Jack and Ruby died? I was there, remember?" He faught not to cry again. It was hard, talking about Jack and Ruby. The only way he got through it was cutting himself off from his own emotions and focusing on Chris and her.
"That's why I have to do this. I have to save everyone. Piper will move on, she'll find someone else. I have to save the power of three." She smiled sadly at him. "And I can't have you interfering." A second later, a potion hit his chest. He stumbled back.
"What was that?" He tried to orb out, but nothing happened.
"A new potion. It prevents you from orbing, at least for a little while. You'll see, after this is over. It'll work; Kyle, and then we'll be okay." He grabbed her wrist before she could leave.
"I love you." He said softly. "Please don't do this, not this way."
"I'm sorry." She said softly, reaching up and touching his cheek. "I love you too." She stepped back once again, and orbed out.
"You know I'm telling the truth. It has to be done." She faced the elder, standing on the bridge. She had to convince them.
"You wish us to face off against the charmed ones." She shook her head.
"No, I wish you to vanquish a demon that has caused my family more pain than any other in existence. For three years he has been there. He nearly killed Prue, Phoebe, and Piper when he first met them. He was the reason that Phoebe turned to evil, he nearly destroyed her, and that's just in the past three years. I could tell you about the future. How it's his fault that the side of good was decimated. How it's his fault that the charmed ones are no more. How it's his fault that my family is dead. It has to be done."
Cole sighed, and lay back on the couch in the attic. Chris had left again, but Piper was still a little bit freaked out over this. He didn't like sitting in the manor, doing nothing, though.
He wasn't sure what he could do. It wasn't like he had a lot of contacts with the side of good. He'd been a demon for a hundred years. Most of the ways he had of gathering information came from the underworld.
He had just gotten up when he felt it. It was sort of the same sensation he got when he shimmered only it was companied by bright lights. When they faded a second later, he was up on top of a bridge, and he wasn't alone.
"Bring me here to kill me?" He asked, staring at the five elders.
"Cole!" Piper ran into the attic, but it was empty.
"Piper what is it?" Phoebe asked when she came back downstairs.
"Cole's gone. He's not in the house." Phoebe frowned.
"Well, maybe he went to see if he could find out anything." Piper shook her head, really worried now.
"No, he would have told me."
"Uh, Piper, are you sure about that?" She asked skeptically. "I'm remembering all the times that he left the manor when we were dating when I asked him not to. Like the time that Leo orbed him to the underworld after his powers were stripped. You know that Cole doesn't do sitting still well."
"No, it's different. He knew that you would know then. He wouldn't leave now, not just to check things out. Especially now that we know that he probably won't find the answers in the underworld. Something's wrong, I can feel it."
"Okay, calm down." Paige spoke up. "We'll scry for him, find out where he is."
"But that'll take to much time. Whoever this is, what if they've already found a way to vanquish him. What if we're not there in time? I need to find him, now." Piper's worry spiked up another notch and a second later, she felt a strange sensation and the world blurred around her. When it came into focus, she was standing atop the bridge.
"What just happened?" She asked, looking around in surprise.
"Piper?" She stared at the elders standing before her before turning her head when she heard a groan.
"Cole!" She knelt beside him. His shirt was smoking and she ran a hand across his exposed chest. Thankfully, there wasn't any damage. Standing, and feeling rage boiling up, Piper faced the elders.
"So, it was you all along, was it? You're the ones who've been trying to kill him?" One of them shook his head.
"No, someone came to us, warned us that he was a threat to the future, and it seams that she was right seeing as how you shimmered here."
"I...what?" She shook her head, deciding to ignore this fact for the moment. "Who? Who was it? Who is doing this?"
"Me." A very familiar voice said as someone orbed in front of the elders. Piper stared at the woman before her.
"Paige?"