SEVEN

"What the hell happened?" Piper asked. "I can't see a thing."

"Neither can I," said Paige. "I guess that flash of light blinded us. But what was it anyway?"

"I don't know," said Phoebe. "It seemed to happen as soon as Trey touched the Book of Shadows. But I think my eyesight is beginning to clear. I can make out some vague shapes."

"I think you're right," said Piper. "It must be like having a light suddenly turned on when you're in a dark room. It takes a few minutes for you eyes to adjust."

"What about Trey?" Phoebe asked. "What do you think happened to him?"

"He probably did it," said Paige. "To keep us from stopping him."

It took a few more moments for their eyes to adjust. When their eyesight had fully recovered they looked around the attic. Leo lay on the floor on his back underneath the attic window. Cole lay across the room on his stomach next to a chest. The Book of Shadows lay on its podium where it usually sat.

"What happened to them?" Paige asked as Piper moved over to Leo and Phoebe moved over to Cole. "How did they get separated?"

"I don't know," said Piper. She looked down at Leo. "Leo? Leo, honey, are you okay?"

"Oh, what happened?" Leo asked, sitting up. "Why are you calling me Leo? I thought we agreed my name would be Trey?"

"Great," said Piper. "Their bodies have separated but their minds are still joined."

"Cole's not breathing," said Phoebe frantically. "We have to do something."

"Leo, or Trey, you have to heal Cole," said Phoebe.

"It wouldn't do any good," said Leo. "That's only his body. We are still joined. There's nothing to heal because there's no soul in the body. He's gone."

"No," screamed Phoebe. "Your bodies have been separated. We have to separate your minds and put Cole's back in his body."

"We've all ready talked about that," said Leo. "You can't do that. If you do I'll die. That's the same thing as murder."

"That's changed," said Paige. "That was when Leo and Cole were physically joined. They aren't any longer. They've been separated. Which means if we don't separate you now Cole will die."

"She's right," said Piper. "This isn't just about you any more. This is also about Cole. Unless we can get him back in his own body his body will die. If that happens it will be just like murder. You'll be murdering Cole."

"But he will still be alive inside me," said Trey. "It's only his body that will be gone."

"No, It's more than that," said Phoebe. "With his body gone there's no way for him to return to us. He'll be trapped inside you forever. He might as well be dead. And you will have killed him."

"There's another thing," said Paige. "All that power you got from the joining. I'm willing to be it's gone now. You don't have Cole's body merged with you any more. Which means you don't have his powers either. All you are is a White Lighter with Cole's memories. Without Cole's additional powers you have no way of stopping the underworld like you planned."

"And without being able to separate Leo and Cole then Leo is lost to me," said Piper. "You're Trey, not Leo or Cole. Which means I've lost Leo. You killed him."

"They are both still alive in me," said Trey.

"No, they aren't," said Phoebe. "Everything you've done proves that. You may have been born when Leo and Cole merged but you aren't them. Not even a combination of them. Cole knows that there's no way to do away with all demons. He would never think of going after the underworld like you are."

"And another thing," said Piper. "If you refuse to let us separate you that means you'll be choosing to live at the expense of someone else. Two people, in fact. People who haven't done anything and who have no choice in what you're doing. The Leo I know would never sacrifice someone else to ensure his own survival. It's not who or what he is."

"Neither would Cole," said Phoebe. "He's changed since we first met him. He knows how wrong it is to murder an innocent simply so he could go on living. And what's more, he knows that I would never agree to it. Neither of them would. If you're willing to do that then there's nothing of either of them in you."

"But," Trey began to protest.

"No buts," said Paige. "They're both right and you know it. Or at least you would if you really were a joining of the two. If you had their memories you'd know they would never agree to what you're doing. If you're willing to go through with this then you are Leo, Cole, or a joining of the two. You're something completely different."

Trey looked at the three sisters for a moment. He knew that his sense of self-preservation had been fighting against the very thoughts and feelings the girls were now talking about. Thoughts ad feelings he had pushed out of his subconscious because he didn't want to think about them.

"You're right," he said finally. "I've been denying it but you're absolutely right. Leo would never do this. And even Cole now believes it to be wrong. I've fought against it because I wanted to go on living."

"Then stop fighting it," said Piper. "You won't die, not really. You'll still live on in both Leo and Cole. And neither of them has to die."

"How?" Trey asked. "You've all ready tried to separate us with the Power of Three and that failed. How can they be separated when even that won't work?"

"It failed before because Leo and Cole were physically joined," said Phoebe. "Their combined magic was too much for even the Power of Three to overcome. But now they've been physically separated. The additional magic that Cole's body brought to the joining isn't there any longer. I'm willing to bet that without that additional magic the spell will be able to separate their minds."

"You really think it will?" Paige asked.

"We don't have anything to loose by trying," said Piper. "Assuming that Trey won't fight us on it any longer. At least if it doesn't we'll at least have tried. We can't do any more than that."

"I won't fight you," said Trey. "Despite what you may think I do still feel the way Leo and Cole feel. As much as I want to live I can't go on living at the expense of someone else. Especially someone who has done as much good as Leo has. And who can do as much good as Cole can."

"Good," said Piper. "Phoebe, do you still have the spell?"

"Yes," said Phoebe taking a piece of paper out of her pocket. She held it out so the three girls could read it.

"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."

Just as before the magic of the spell began to envelope Trey. This time, however, he didn't fight against it. He simply stood by and waited as the magic surrounded him. For several moments the magic swirled around Trey and then a portion of it began to separate from him. The magic floated over and settled on Cole where it sat for a moment and then dissipated away. Cole opened his eyes and sat up.

"What's going on?" Cole asked. "What are we doing in the attic?"

"I don't know," said Leo. "The last thing I remember was trying to orb Piper and me out of the way from the demon attack."

"Phoebe and I were shimmering in after our date," said Cole. "I remember appearing in the entryway and the next thing I know I'm lying on the floor here in the attic. Would someone care to explain just what is going on here?"

"Looks like they're both back to normal," said Paige.

"Thank goodness," said Piper. "I think we could all use some coffee. Come on. I'll make some and we'll try to explain to you what's been going on.