SIX
Trey was gone for several hours. What he was doing in all that time was anyone's guess. Phoebe had finished the separation spell and the girls had thoroughly familiarized themselves with it. When he returned they wanted to be ready to use it before he had a chance to escape or protect himself. When Trey finally did return Piper was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Phoebe and Paige were in the living room talking.
"Well," said Trey shorbing into the kitchen, "I've given you time to think about it. I'm sure you see now that trying to separate Leo and Cole is tantamount to murder. Can we please put this behind us and get on with protecting the innocent?"
"Phoebe, Paige," Piper called out, "we have company."
The two sisters came into the kitchen immediately. They stood together with Piper on the side of the table opposite from Trey.
"Have you three come to your senses yet?" Trey asked. "I know this has been a shock for all of you. It has been for me, too. But I've come to see that this is actually a blessing in disguise. With me we have a greater weapon with which to fight demons. I'm sure you can see that now."
"I'll tell you what we see," said Piper. "We see someone who shouldn't even exist."
"There really isn't much you can do about it," said Trey.
"Actually there is," said Phoebe. Together the girls began to incant the spell.
"White Lighter and demon joined as one. Their magic fused in a single form.
"Divide the one and make him two. Return them to the way they were born."
The magic of the spell began to envelope Trey. He fought violently against it as it attempted to separate Leo and Cole. For a moment he began to separate into two distinct beings. Then, just as suddenly, the remerged into the single being known at Trey. Within seconds the magic dissipated away.
"That was foolish," said Trey. "I told you before that I'm the merging of a White Lighter and an upper level demon. I have enough power to rival even that of the Source. It's a shame you can't see what a great boon this is to the forces of good."
"Okay, now who talks like that?" Piper asked. "A great boon? Please. I'm just sorry you can't see what you're doing. You don't belong here. You were never meant to exist. You only exist now because of a horrible accident. Can't you see how wrong that is? I want Leo back. To hell with 'the great boon' you claim to represent."
"You're so short-sighted," said Trey. "With my power we can vanquish all the demons we need to. We can finally put an end to the demonic threat that plagues humanity. We can wipe them out and they'll never threaten the innocent again."
"That's just wishful thinking," said Phoebe. "There are too many of them to wipe them all out. And if you declare all out war on the underworld they may decide that protecting magic from the mortal world isn't worth their annihilation. You could end up exposing magic."
"Not if I stop them first," said Trey. "I've all ready proven that even the Power of Three is no match for me. If you can't hurt me what chance do simple demons stand?"
"Do you hear yourself?" Paige asked. "You sound crazy. Like you're drunk with power. You can't possibly believe that. First of all there's no such thing as a 'simple' demon. You of all people should be aware of the demons we have to face every day. Why do you think there are three of us? One person can't possibly stand up against all the demons."
"I can," said Trey. "We can finally have what we've always wanted. A life free of demons. Once I've dealt with them we won't ever have to worry about them again. And if you join me we can finish them off just that much quicker. The underworld can't possible stand against all of us."
"You're talking crazy," said Piper. "Paige is right. You sound just like Dr. Williamson did when he got infected with our blood. Trey, I think this joining is affecting you more than you realize. You need to let us help you."
"I don't need any help," said Trey. "And if you won't join me I'll just have to do it myself. I'll show you. I'll put an end to the demonic threat once and for all."
Suddenly Trey shorbed out of the manor.
"He's talking crazy," said Phoebe. "You think he honestly believes what he was saying?"
"Unfortunately, yes, I do," said Piper. "I think Leo and Cole fusing is just too much for Trey to handle. Leo's a White Lighter and Cole is a demon. They're diametrically opposed. Even though Cole is good physically he's still a half demon. That's got to be causing conflict inside him."
"And it seems to be getting worse," said Paige. "Look, I like Leo and Cole, too. Well, maybe not Cole so much. But I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him because that would hurt Phoebe. But I think we have to face facts. If we're going to keep him from starting a war with the underworld and protect all of humanity I don't think we have any choice. We have to vanquish Trey."
"There has to be something else we can do," Piper protested.
"I'm with Piper," said Phoebe. "We can't vanquish him. We'd be vanquishing Leo and Cole. We can't do that. Besides, if Piper is right then he's not responsible for what he's doing. The conflict that's going on inside him must be messing with his mind. He may honestly not realize just how crazy and dangerous what he's doing is."
"Okay, so we don't vanquish him," said Paige. "But we have to do something. We can't just sit back while he goes and starts Armageddon. At the very least we have to find someway to confine him until we have a chance to undo what's happened."
"What about the crystal prison?" Phoebe asked. "It should be able to hold him. The problem is how to get him in position so we can use it."
"I think I know how," said Piper. "We can trap him in the attic where no one is likely to see him. Then we can see if there's anything in the Book of Shadows that can help."
"How do we get him here?" Paige asked.
"Well, he is part White Lighter," said Piper. "And he's our White Lighter. I'm willing to bet he can still hear us if we call for him. He did hear at least one of his other charges. If we call him and say we've changed our minds he might come just to find out."
"I should be able to get the crystals around him before he can stop us," said Paige. "I can orb them in place before he knows what's going on."
"Great," said Piper. "Let's go. The sooner we have him confined the less we'll have to worry about."
The girls moved to the attic and gathered around the Book of Shadows.
"Trey," Piper called into the air. "Trey, we need to talk to you. We've thought about it. Maybe you're right. Maybe we do have a chance to rid humanity of the demons."
Suddenly the girls watched him shorb into the attic opposite the Book of Shadows.
"So, you finally realize I'm right," he said. "Together we can rid mankind of any more demonic intervention."
"Actually, we realized something else," said Piper. "Paige, the crystals."
"Crystals," said Paige.
The crystals were on a table to their left. As they began to orb she redirected them toward Trey. As they orbed into place the crystal prison suddenly sprang to life.
"You tricked me," said Trey. "You never had any intention of joining me."
"It's for your own good," said Phoebe. "You aren't rational. Your White Lighter and demonic halves are fighting each other. They're making you delusional. We're just trying to help."
Trey just smiled. He waved his hand and one of the crystals suddenly slid across the floor to the other side of the attic.
"Okay, how did you do that?" Piper asked.
"You forget," said Trey. "One of my White Lighter abilities is a limited form of telekinesis. Oh, it's not as powerful as Prue's was. At least not normally."
"What's that supposed to me?" Paige asked.
Trey waved his hand again and the three sisters were suddenly cast across the attic away from the Book of Shadows. They tumbled to the floor as Trey walked over to the book.
"I told you," he said, "the joining has made me much powerful than either Leo or Cole could be separately. I can guess what you were planning. That something in the Book of Shadows was going to help you 'fix' me. Well, I'm not broken. And I can't let you interfere with me. No matter how remote the possibility you might just find some way to stop me. So I'll just hang onto the Book of Shadows until I'm finished so you won't be tempted to try."
Trey reached out and took hold of the Book of Shadows. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light that blinded the girls.