FIVE
"You could have said something," said Paige as Phoebe nursed her head with an icepack.
"There wasn't time," said Trey. "Phoebe was too badly injured. She could have died at any moment. I couldn't risk that she'd die while I was trying to explain things to you. As you're well aware, I can't heal the dead."
"You just scared the life out of us," said Piper. "When you used that energy ball on Phoebe I thought you had lost your mind. I nearly blew you up right there."
"Well even if you had it probably wouldn't have been permanent," said Trey. "Remember, I am half White Lighter. Most likely I would have reformed even if you had blown me up."
"Okay, explain to me again what happened," said Phoebe. "I was unconscious and you say he cast an energy ball at me?"
"Yes," said Trey. "The summons I got was from a witch who was being attacked by that demon. When I got there it was about to kill her. I was able to distract it long enough for her to get away but then it turned on me angry that it had lost its prey. So I returned here but I guess it followed me."
"And your energy ball actually healed me?" Phoebe asked.
"That's about the size of it," said Trey. "Somehow when Cole and Leo formed their powers were slightly altered. Cole's energy balls actually heal instead of harming. And Leo's healing ability actually does harm. I tried to use an energy ball on the demon but it only healed the damage the witch had been able to do to it."
"What kind of demon was that?" Paige asked.
"It doesn't actually have a name," said Trey. "They live on the lower levels of the underworld and are used by high level demons to get human prey for them. Who that one worked for and what he wanted my charge for I can only guess at."
"Well, everything seems to be back to normal," said Piper. "We can get back to trying to figure out how to separate Leo and Cole."
"Separate them?" asked Trey. "What for? I feel fine. I still have their powers even if they do work a bit differently from how they did before. Plus I still have all of their memories and knowledge."
"I want Leo back," protested Piper.
"And I want Cole back," said Phoebe.
"Phoebe, honey, don't you understand?" Trey questioned. "This is perfect. The underworld is looking for Cole Turner. Only Cole Turner no longer exists. We're free from the bounty hunters. And with my power I can help protect you girls from demons. They won't be expecting me."
"That's not the point," said Piper. "They belong here, you don't. You're here because of a simple accident. We need to undo the accident and get Leo and Cole back."
"And what happens to me?" questioned Trey. "If you separate them then I die. I won't exist any longer. That's murder."
"No, it's not," said Paige. "Technically, you don't exist. You're just the culmination of Leo and Cole's experiences. But they're separate experiences. They don't belong together. Just like Piper said, if it wasn't for that accident with that Fusion demon you wouldn't be here. We have to separate you."
"I won't let you do that," said Trey. "I didn't ask to be created and regardless of how I got here I'm here now. And if I let you separate Cole and Leo from me it's the same as if you murdered me. I can't let you do that."
"You aren't going to listen to reason are you?" Piper asked.
"Not that kind," said Trey. "Like any other being I have a need to protect myself. I'm not going to just stand here and let you kill me."
Piper raised her hands and froze Trey.
"That should hold him long enough for us to do something," said Piper. "I think we should start by binding his powers. That won't hurt him and it will give us time to figure out how to separate Leo and Cole from him."
"That's not going to happen," said Trey. "Individually your powers may work on Leo and Cole. But together we're too strong for you to freeze. And I can't let you bind my powers any more than I can let you separate them from me. I have too many charges that need my help and now I can help them even more than I could before."
"Phoebe," said Piper.
Phoebe pulled out the power binding potion Piper had created. She threw it at Trey and the potion vial broke on him spilling the potion on him. Flames erupted around Trey for several moments. When the flames died out Trey just smiled at them.
"That was a futile effort," he said. "Your potions aren't any more affective against me than Pipers' power is. I'm the joining of a White Lighter and an upper level demon. Do you have any idea what kind of power that gives me? Maybe you need a little time to come to terms with it. I'll leave you alone for a while to think it over. I'm sure you'll see that I'm right."
Before any of the girls could respond or react Trey shorbed out of the manor.
"Well that went well," said Paige sarcastically. "Do you think any of the other potions we came up with will be any more affective?"
"I wouldn't bet on it," said Piper. "He seems to be right about one thing. He's more powerful than either Cole or Leo separately. I used to be able to freeze both of them without any problems. But apparently Trey is not as susceptible to my powers as they are."
"Which leaves us with one question," said Phoebe. "What are we going to do about it?"
"There has to be some way to stop him," said Paige. "Some weakness we can exploit."
"I think the only option we have is a Power of Three spell," said Piper. "Nothing less is going to affect him. It seems to be our only option."
"What kind of Power of Three spell?" Phoebe asked.
"One to separate Leo and Cole," said Piper. "I don't want to hurt Trey if we don't have to. He's right when he said he didn't ask to be created. It's not his fault the Fusion demon's power acted the way it did. But we also can't sacrifice Leo and Cole just to let him continue to exist."
"I agree," said Paige. "I know I don't have a lot to say about it since it's not my husband or boyfriend that's been affected. But it just doesn't seem right to let Trey live if it means loosing Cole and Leo."
"You're our sister," said Phoebe. "This affects you as much as it affects us so you have just as much right to have an opinion as Piper and I do. What about what he said though? About it being the same thing as murder if we separate them?"
"I don't see it that way," said Piper. "If anything it would be more like killing Leo and Cole if we don't do something about it. Phoebe, you'd better get started on the spell right away. Trey's becoming more and more comfortable being a single entity rather than a dual one. I think time is running out for us. The longer they're merged the harder it might be to separate them. When he comes back we'd better be ready to separate them before he can do anything about it."
"Right," said Phoebe. "I'll let you know as soon as I come up with something."
"What if we can't separate them?" Paige asked. "What are we going to do then?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Piper asked. "What do we do then?"