THIRTY-SIX

"You said you could fix it," Phoebe cried. "You said you could unfold time and put things back the way they're supposed to be."

"I thought I could," said Tempus. "Until now there has been nothing about time that I couldn't do. But even my power has its limits. It would take a much greater power than mine to unfold the time lines."

"What about the Source?" Cole asked, putting the athame away. "He has the power of the underworld at his disposal. Surely he has the power to do this."

"Not even the Source has that kind of power," said Tempus. "While the Source has the power of the underworld at his disposal it would take combining all the power of all upper level demons to affect the timelines. And that is simply not possible. Demons cannot combine their power in that way."

"No, but we can," said Prue. "We're the Charmed Ones. We have the Power of Three."

"Four," said Paige, "if everything I've learned is true. The Power of Three is supposed to be so powerful because you're blood sisters. You're able to combine your power because of your blood connection. If that's true, the I should be able to combine my power with yours as well. I'm a blood sister, too."

"And I'm their mother," said Patty. "It just might work. If we all combine our power into one spell it should be more than enough to separate the timelines."

"Except that it won't work," said Tempus. "Oh, it would be the most powerful magic ever known. But Belthazor's' magic is intermingled within the folded timelines. Demonic power which holds the timelines in place. It would be necessary to combine his power as well to unfold the timelines. Otherwise all of the elements would not be present."

"There has to be something we can do," Phoebe protested. "That can't be everything. Something we've overlooked."

"I'm afraid not," said Tempus. "Believe me, I wish to unfold the timelines as much as you. I have no desire to live in a time where I am a virtual prisoner of the underworld. But I do not see how we can undo the folding. It is simply too powerful."

"So that's it then," said Leo. "Without Cole's power the changes can't be undone."

"I don't accept that," said Phoebe. "Tempus. What if we could combine Cole's power with ours? Would it be enough to unfold the timelines?"

"That's not possible," said Tempus. "A demon cannot combine his power with good. Besides, Belthazor is only an upper level demon. Powerful, yes, but hardly powerful enough to affect the folded timelines. His power would have to be comparable to yours to affect that and I'm afraid he just isn't that powerful."

"Yes he is," said Phoebe. She turned to Cole. "Cole, I know you're in there somewhere. Your acid blood proves that. If we could restore your real memories the you'd remember just how powerful you really are."

"That's insane," said Cole. "You heard Tempus. I don't have nearly enough power to do that."

"Yes, you do," said Phoebe. "After you came back from the Wasteland you had more power than you ever had. More power than I've ever seen in one being. I don't know how you did it but somehow you became nearly undefeatable. I watched you turn Darryl into a water cooler with a wave of your hand, for crying out loud."

"I'm not capable of doing that," said Cole. "Not even the Source can do that."

"You can," said Phoebe. "You just don't remember it. If we could just make you remember we might have the power we need to fix things."

"Is this true?" Tempus asked. "He really returned from the Wasteland?"

"Yes," said Phoebe. "And like I said, he had more power than I've ever seen. Possibly enough to help restore the timelines."

"If this is true," said Tempus, "then we have one chance. The magic I possess is not enough to pierce the timelines and restore Belthazor's memories. But the Power of Three might be able to. While it cannot affect the intermingled timelines on its own it is possible that it could pierce a small portion of them. Enough to lift the veil that now clouds Belthazor's mind and restore his true memories."

"How does that help?" Piper asked.

"Like most magical beings," said Tempus, "demons can utilize the magic they possess to its fullest only if they are aware of that magic. Without the knowledge of how much and what type of magic he possesses he will not have access to all of that magic."

"That makes sense," said Paige. "From what Phoebe has told us I've always had my White Lighter powers. But I've never used them because I didn't know I had them. The one time I did use them it was subconsciously. But I've never used most of them because I didn't know I had them."

"My point exactly," said Tempus. "If what the witch says is true then the only way for Belthazor to fully access his power is to clear his mind and restore his memories."

"So we use a Power of Three spell to see if we can restore Cole's powers," said Phoebe. "I need something to write on."

Tempus held out his hand and a pad and pencil magically appeared in the palm. He handed the pad to Phoebe who immediately set to writing a spell to restore Cole's memory. It took her a few minutes and when she was finished she showed the spell to Piper and Paige.

"This is the best I can do on such short notice but it should work."

"I'm part of the Power of Three, too, you know," said Prue.

"Oh, sorry," said Phoebe. "I'm just not used to showing you my spells." She held out the paper so they could all see it. "Mom, maybe you should help too. The more power we have the better our chances of the spell succeeding."

They all looked the spell over for a few moments and then they incanted the spell together.

"Demon born of human lineage. A soul possessed we now must find.

"Restore to him his birthright knowledge. And pierce the veil that clouds his mind."

Cole suddenly grabbed his head and fell to his knees. He cowered on the floor for several moments and then suddenly he looked up. He stood up and looked around the room.

"Tempus?" he questioned. "But that's not possible. What are we doing in the underworld? Phoebe, what's going on? What's Prue doing here?"

"Well, it seems to have cleared his mind," said Phoebe. "Now we have to go through the whole process of explaining everything to him again."

"Not quite," said Tempus. "Wait a moment."

"Explain what to me?" Cole asked. "Phoebe, just what the hell. . . Whoa, head rush. I wonder what caused that?"

"It would most likely be you adjusting to the new timeline," said Tempus.

"Yeah, I guess that's it," said Cole. "Time travel always did give me a headache. I guess this time it happened literally."

"Cole, do you remember what's going on here?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes," said Cole. "It took a moment for my mind to separate all the information in it. But I remember it all. The time folding, the camp, everything. Phoebe, I'm sorry about the way I treated you in the camp. The only thing I can say is that I didn't know who I was."

"That's okay," said Phoebe. "This whole folded time thing is confusing to me, too. But if you remember everything then you must remember why we used the spell to clear your mind."

"Yes," said Cole. "Tempus doesn't have the power to unfold the timeline. But with you, your sisters, your mother, and me we think we might be able to do it."

"I still don't understand why you think Cole can combine his power with theirs," said Leo. "It's just not possible. Cole's power is demonic in the first placed. In the second place he's not related to them. There's no way to combine his power with theirs."

"Ordinarily you'd be correct," said Tempus. "But when time became folded it caused portions of both times to overlap and intermingle. That is why the present appears to have the same ideology and beliefs as the past. In the past witches were considered abominations. Most were murdered for simply being witches. In the same way Belthazor's power is intermingled with the two timelines. It is inextricably combined and it should therefore be possible to augment the power of any spells cast by the witches."

"How do you know what the real timeline is supposed to be like?" Paige asked.

"I am Tempus. Mine is the power to manipulate time. My senses of time go beyond those of humans or even demons. As I said when we first met, I knew that something was amiss. I just couldn't figure out what it was. When Phoebe told me about her spell and how things had changed I began to search. While there is much I cannot see I am able to pierce portions of the folded timelines."

"Okay, that's all nice," said Cole. "But if you don't mind I'd just as soon get back to the real world. My memories of this timeline aren't real fond memories."

"Right," said Phoebe. "I guess we'll need another spell for that, too. I should be getting overtime for all the spells I'm writing."

"You can use the incantation I used," said Tempus. He held out his hand again and a piece of paper appeared in it. "When you are dealing with time the wording of any spells you use must be precise. I am confident if you use this incantation as a spell there is a minimal possibility of anything going wrong.

"The witches must incant the spell inside the circle. Belthazor. Once they have cast it you will need to direct your magic into them. But you must do so from outside the circle. It will allow the power of their magic to increase exponentially. If there is enough magic, then the timelines will unfold and all will be as it is supposed to be."

"And if there isn't enough magic?" Prue asked.

"Then nothing will change," said Tempus. "The timeline as we know it now will continue on."

"Oh, that's just great," said Piper. "Not one of my fondest desires."

"This is in English," said Phoebe taking the paper. "The incantation you used was in Greek or something."

"Latin, actually," said Tempus. "And it isn't usually important what language the spell is cast in. There are exceptions, of course, but generally it's the wording of the spell, not the language."

"Okay," said Phoebe. "I guess there's no time like the present. With any luck in a few minutes everything will be back like it's supposed to be."

The five women stepped inside the circle. Phoebe held out the paper so everyone could see it. As before they all read the incantation over for several moments to familiarize themselves with it. In unison the five witches began to incant the spell.

"We call upon the power of time. We summon the past, present, and future. We command that which is joined to be unjoined. To be restored as it was meant."

The magic from the spell began to swirl around them just as it had when Tempus had attempted to cast it. After a few moments Tempus said, "now," and Cole began to direct his magic into the swirling magic. The magic began to build for several moments and, just as before, the light from the magic began to increase in intensity. Suddenly the light flashed and everyone was momentarily blinded.

"That was more intense than before," said Phoebe as her sight began to clear. "Did it work? How long before the timelines become unfolded?"

She was meant with silence.

"Tempus, did it work?" she asked again. "Was the magic enough?"

Again she was met with silence. He sight finally cleared and she looked around. Instead of standing in a magical circle in the underworld, she was standing in the attic of the manor. Standing in front of the Book of Shadows that was sitting on its pedestal where the girls kept it. And she was alone.