ELEVEN
"So you're saying that all this is wrong?" Prue asked after Phoebe had explained to her what had happened. "You said you cast a spell and brought this – what was his name, Nostradamus – from the past? And suddenly everything is different from what you remember?"
"That's about the size of it," said Phoebe.
"And you claim to be our younger sister and we have another half sister," continued Prue. "Paige Matthews, probably the most vocal celebrity against witches in the public eye today? And we're supposed to buy all this on your say so?"
"Look, I know how it sounds," said Phoebe. "Piper told me Grams never bound your powers. Which means you've had your powers since you were a child. So you must know that magic can do some unpredictable things. I don't know how or why things changed just because I brought Nostradamus into the future. All I can tell you is as soon as I did some soldiers suddenly appeared in the manor and arrested me."
"Look, I do know that you can't change the past," said Prue. "No matter what you do what happened is what happened. So no matter what you say there's no way you could have changed things."
"That may not be entirely true," said Cole.
"Who asked you?" Piper snapped.
"Look, we need him," said Phoebe. "I know you guys don't like each other. You didn't in my timeline either. But he says he can get us out of here. So you'd just better put your differences aside and start working together or there's no telling what kind of trouble we could be in."
"What do you mean it might not be true?" Prue asked.
"You can't go back in time and alter what happened before," said Cole. "But if you pull someone out of their normal time then whatever they did in that time didn't happen. That would change everything that happened after that."
"Isn't that changing the past?" Piper asked.
"Technically, no," said Cole. "No one has gone back in time and changed what happened. That's not possible. But if what Phoebe says is true then she pulled someone of historical importance out of their time. So whatever it is they did in their life after she pulled him out didn't happen. There's no way to tell what affects that can have years or even centuries down the line."
"That sounds like changing the past to me," said Prue.
"Technically it's not," said Cole. "Phoebe didn't change the past. She changed this Nostradamus' future."
"I don't understand," said Piper. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"Not according to Tempus," said Cole.
"Tempus," said Phoebe suddenly. "Maybe he could help. He is the demon of time manipulation. If the timeline has been altered then he's probably still alive."
"Still alive?" questioned Cole. "He's dead in your timeline?"
"Yes," said Phoebe. "The Source sent him after us. We were able to stop him but it wasn't easy. He died when he reset time one too many times without regaining his strength."
"As far as I know he's still alive," said Cole. "Most demons avoid the mortal plane as much as possible. Those that do usually end up vanquished."
"You seem to know an awful lot about demons," said Prue.
"You know what they say," said Cole. "Know your enemy."
"It's more than that," said Piper. "You talk about Tempus like you actually know him. How is that possible? Demons and witches don't exactly collaborate."
"We need to tell them the truth," said Phoebe. "We're going to need their help and it's best if they know everything."
"What the hell," said Cole. "I'm tired of the games anyway. I've been cooped up in this camp far too long. And if you can help me get out of here then I guess you should know who you're helping."
"What truth?" Prue asked.
"Cole's not a witch," said Phoebe. "And he can get us out of here because that collar doesn't affect his powers. He's just been biding his time so the authorities won't be suspicious of him when he breaks out."
"Okay, if he's not a witch, what is he?" Prue asked.
"My name is Belthazor," said Cole. "I'm an upper level demon. When they captured me they had trouble cataloging me so I 'confessed' to being a witch. If they had found out what I really am they would have killed me on sight. At least this way I have a chance to get away."
"Are you crazy?" Piper asked. "You want us to trust a demon?"
"He's only half demon," said Phoebe. "He's also half human. And at one time he was also my husband."
"Okay, hold on a second," said Prue. "You claim to be a Charmed One and yet you married a demon? What's wrong with this picture?"
"It's a long story," said Phoebe. "One we don't have time to go into right now. What we need to do is get out of here now."
"What do you mean 'we'?" Prue asked. "Seems to me they're only interested in you."
"And when they do a DNA test and find out that I really am your sister what do you think they'll do then?" Phoebe asked. "When they discover that the Power of Three actually exists do you think they'll really let you live then? They'll kill all three of us just to make sure."
"That's assuming you really are our sister," said Prue. "Which as we've all ready told you isn't possible."
"Are you willing to bet your life on that?" Phoebe asked. "What if what I've told you is true? Then I really am your sister. And like I said, a simple DNA test will prove it. You really want to risk your life that it's not true?"
Prue just looked at Phoebe for a moment.
"No, I guess I'm not," she said finally. She looked at Cole. "You say you can get us out of here?"
"Yeah," said Cole. "But it's risky. Getting out isn't the problem. Making sure they don't come looking for us afterwards is. We need to make them think we've died so they won't be suspecting us of escaping."
"Okay," said Prue. "If you're really a demon you should be able to accomplish that easily enough. Any idea how to make them think we're dead without actually having a body to prove it?"
"I have an idea on that," said Cole. "First, we need one of the surveillance devices around the camp. Without it we're dead as soon as we leave the camp."
"If I had my powers that would be easy," said Prue.
"I can get it," said Cole. "They service the devices once a month and they were just serviced last week. The rest of the time they pretty much ignore them. I can remove one of them from the far side of the camp. Once I've done that I can get us out of here. But I need is someone to create a distraction while I do so that the guards don't get suspicious.."
"What kind of distraction?" Piper asked.
"Anything that will keep the guards occupied for a few minutes," said Cole.
"I have an idea that might create just the distraction we need," said Phoebe. "Assuming Prue and Piper are willing to help with it."
"Well," said Prue after a moment, "if it will get us out of this camp I'm willing to give it a shot. What do we need to do?"
"First, I need to know how Cole plans to fake our deaths," said Phoebe.
"It's very simple," said Cole. "Belthazor blows up a building with you three in it."