EIGHT
"I don't remember any of that," said Leo. "Like I said the last thing I remember was trying to orb Piper away from the demon's attack."
"Same here," said Cole. "Phoebe and I shimmered in and then that was it. I have no memory of any of the things you mentioned."
"Well, it all happened, take our word on it," said Piper. "When our spell failed to separate the two of you we didn't know what we were going to do. We thought Trey was going to start World War III with the underworld."
"You're lucky he didn't," said Cole. "What you told him was true. Every demon in the underworld would have ignored the rule about not exposing magic to the mortal world. World War III would have been right. I shudder to think about the carnage that would have caused."
"Well, at least you were able to convince him to stop fighting you and let you separate us," said Leo.
"Yeah, well, only after you two were physically separate," said Phoebe. "What I don't understand is how that suddenly happened."
"The Book of Shadows," said Leo. "Evil can't touch it, remember? Cole may have changed to good but his body is still half demon. When Trey tried to grab the book his body was physically cast away from it because the book protects itself. The force of being knocked away from it must have caused us to separate."
"That make sense," said Cole. "No matter how much I change there are some things I will never be able to change. Having demonic DNA is one of them. I guess we were lucky it is."
"I'm just glad to have Leo back," said Piper, hugging her husband. "I missed you not being around."
"And I'm glad to have Cole back," said Phoebe. "It's bad enough that he has to leave to avoid the bounty hunters. Having him around and then again not around at the same time is just too much to handle."
"Well, I don't think you have to worry too much about that in the future," said Cole. "What happened was a one in a million shot. It probably wouldn't happen again in a hundred years."
"You know," said Phoebe, "with all that's been going on we never had a chance to check the Book of Shadows for a Fusion demon."
"Might not be a bad idea to do that soon," said Piper. "And we can add an entry about this little incident. Despite what Cole says you never know if – or when – it might happen again. It's best to be prepared."
"I'll help," said Cole. "We can make sure the entry is complete. Sometimes there are things about demons that aren't in the book."
"Well, you guys can do that," said Paige. "Right now I'm kind of bushed. I think I'm going to crash early. Tomorrow has to be easier than the last couple of days have been. I, for one, am looking forward to some time off from demons for a while."
"Let's just hope they go along with that," said Piper. "They seem to pick the most inconvenient times make an appearance."
"Well, they are demons," said Cole. "Showing up at inconvenient times is kind of a trademark they have."
"How well we know," said Phoebe. "Maybe when the Fusion demon doesn't return whomever set it will think twice before trying anything again."
"I can guarantee it," said Cole. "Fusion demons have never been known to fail primarily because no one knows they're involved until everything is over. When this one doesn't come back whomever sent it is going to be just a bit confused. Even against the three of you he'll think he had surprise on his side and he won't understand why the Fusion demon hasn't returned yet."
"What about sending someone to check on it?" Leo asked.
"Unlikely," said Cole. "Fusion demons can be notoriously upset when they think they aren't trusted. Especially by the demon that hires them. And as Trey told you, they can fuse with any demon. Whomever hired it won't want to risk angering it and possibly becoming its next target."
"Lucky for us," said Piper. "Well, I think we can all use a treat. How about some hot chocolate?"
"Hot chocolate?" questioned Paige. "I guess going to bed early can wait a little bit."
"Somehow I kind of figured you might change your mind," said Piper as they all headed to the kitchen.
The End
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