A/N: I'm hoping to update When You Left tomorrow or sometime soon. But since school has now started, I'm going to have to start splitting my focus. It's what happens in college as we all know! Also, sorry I'm not going to be answering your reviews, just know that I appreciate PhoebeColefan, kagomekikyo-arrow, Draco's-Loyal-Longing, lizardmomma, and Cole + Phoebe = Love Forever for all your wonderful reviews. Hope you all like this next chapter!

Chapter Seven

Prue jumped as someone knocked twice on her door. She hastily wiped the tears away from her eyes and made like she was sorting through the clothes in her closet.

"Prue?" Piper's voice came from the entrance to her room, and Prue couldn't help but roll her eyes. Piper was coming into her room after all. Who else would be in here? "Prue, honey, do you want to talk?"

Piper's voice was shaky, and Prue could tell that she was trying very hard to hold it together after her meltdown with Leo. Prue put on her strong face and turned to face her younger sister. She smiled and touched her hand to Piper's shoulder.

"I'm fine, Piper. I was just thinking that now would be a good time to get some spring cleaning done. You know I've been meaning to throw out all my old clothes forever," Prue said as though she hadn't just been crying her eyes out just a moment ago.

She sprung over to her closet once more as if to prove her point, but she knew that if she could see Piper at that moment, she would've seen a disapproving scowl.

"You're cleaning now?"

Prue nodded. "Yeah, well, no time like the present." She took out a dark green halter top and held it out at arms length and inspected it. She remembered the time Phoebe had worn it to P3 on one of her many dates not too long ago. She remembered being so pissed at her that she refused to speak to her for two days, even though she knew she was being petty and childish. After all, it had only been a stupid shirt.

Somehow, though, she couldn't find the strength to do anything with it. Unexpected tears fought to the surface and clouded Prue's sight despite all her efforts to keep them at bay.

"Oh honey, come here," Piper soothed and took Prue's arm and led her over to the bed. That gesture became too much and Prue broke down for the second time that day.

"It's okay, Prue. We're all hurting here. You can let your guard down for a minute or two," Piper continued, stroking Prue's back.

"B-B-But, I was so...so h-hard on her...I ne-never got the ch-chance...to t-tell her...how s-sorry I was!" Prue gasped between sobs. She couldn't remember ever feeling this much grief over one person before in her entire life. Not even when their mother died.

Prue felt rather than saw Piper's eyes cloud up with tears and she hugged Prue closer to her. Prue returned the gesture and accepted the tissue Piper held out to her. She gratefully took the opportunity to blow her nose.

"We...we should have d-done something," Prue continued. "We...we should h-have s-summoned her b-back."

Piper took a minute to collect herself. "Prue, you know that wouldn't have done anything. We all would've been dead. We're no match for the Source."

At this Prue pulled away and went back to stand by the closet. She still held the green halter top in her hands. "At least we would've been together!" she cried. "We would've been able to say goodbye that way!"

Prue sank to the ground, covering her red, blotchy face with the halter top so that Piper wouldn't see. She never showed this much vulnerability to anyone, least of all her sisters. She didn't want them to see her as weak because then they might not believe that she could take care of them.

"Oh sweetie." Piper knelt down to console her older sister, and the two sisters cried together for what felt like ages. Prue didn't have the strength to get up, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. She believed that if she just stayed in that place in that moment, then the whole world would go away, and it would just be Piper and herself.

"It's not fair. It should've been me," Prue said after a while.

"Don't say things like that. It shouldn't have been any of us. There was nothing we could've done," Piper argued, but Prue just shook her head.

"No, Piper. It should have been me. I'm the oldest sister; it's my job to protect this family. Phoebe's death is my fault. I should've been down there with her, I should've watched over her better! All I ever did was yell at her and bitch about how irresponsible she was when, in fact, she was one of the most responsible people I've ever met. I never told her that...and now I'll never be able to," Prue said desperately, searching Piper's eyes for some sign of understanding.

Piper just gave her a sympathetic smile. "Oh Prue, you didn't have to tell her. She already knew. She knew how much you loved her, and she knew how hard you protected this family. We all did. And we still do."

"But it's not enough. I should've told her all that. I should've given her the time." Prue looked down, not sure whether it was the grief or the guilt that was weighing her down more. "She deserved that much."

Piper didn't reply, and Prue was silently grateful for that. It hurt to talk; all it did was remind her over and over again just how much of a failure she really was.

Yet, at the same time, it felt good to let some of her guilty feelings to the surface. It brought closure to her somehow, and she believed that somehow, the messages would get back to Phoebe so that she would know just how much Prue really loved her.

"You know I never told her that I didn't mind her borrowing my clothes all the time," she stated.

Piper frowned disbelievingly. "You never told us that before."

Prue shrugged helplessly. "Well, you know...deep down I was really flattered that you guys wanted to dress like me and be like me. I mean yeah, sometimes I'd get annoyed that she would do it without asking all the time, but really I sort of liked it. It made me feel appreciated and loved as an older sister, you know?"

Piper laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I do." Then she turned serious again. "But you know, as much as Phoebe means to us, we have another sister out there. And even though we don't know her all that well and she doesn't know us, she lost a sister too. And she probably needs our help trying to get through it and to understand just what she's lost."

Prue nodded slowly. "You're right. We should. I guess I'm just having trouble opening my heart up to someone else when I'm not quite ready to let go of Phoebe. She was our baby sister, you know?"

Piper nodded and hugged her again as Prue began crying again. "I understand. I feel the same way. But Paige lost a sister too, and we've got a duty as older sisters to look out for her. Phoebe wouldn't want us to turn our backs on her."

"Okay. You're right." Prue stood up and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeves. "Let's go."

She wrapped her arm around Piper's shoulders and they headed to the door. On the way out, Prue threw the halter top on her bed.

"Cole, are we ever going to back up? My skin is starting to turn pale," Phoebe shuddered as she inspected her hand.

Ever since they had vanquished the Source, Cole had been on edge. Some might even go so far as to say paranoid. They'd been running from cave to cave because Cole was worried that there would be demons everywhere ready to challenge him for his power.

Every time Phoebe told him that he was being crazy and that no one else knew that he was the Source he would get this look in his eye and tell her that it was better to be careful then to be dead.

Now Cole shook his head and peered around the corner to check for rogue demons ready to start a fight. "We just have to stay down here for a little while longer. Just until we know it's safe to go back up."

"But Cole, you're the Source! You have more power than all of them combined! You should be rubbing their noses in it," Phoebe argued.

"Phoebe, you haven't been evil even half as long as I have. You don't know how demons work."

Phoebe scoffed. "I've vanquished enough of them over the last three years to have a pretty good idea."

Cole sighed impatiently. "Okay, but you don't know how they work. There's a system this. It's a very complicated hierarchy. I may be the Source and you may be my queen, but that could all change by tomorrow. All we'd need is one slip up and end up in the demonic wasteland for eternity. And believe me, Phoebe. That is one place you never want to go."

Phoebe gulped and felt a small pinch of fear, but only for a minute. She didn't care what Cole said. He was the Source, and he should have every demon in the Underworld absolutely terrified of him. He needed them to respect him, not him to be afraid of them.

"But Cole, how many demons do we have to run away from before we're safe? In the end it doesn't matter how long we run. In the end, the Underworld is going to be a much safer place once everyone knows that they have a new leader instead of fighting in chaos," Phoebe argued with her hands on her hips.

"Phoebe, if we rush this, we could be in more danger than we were when the old Source was still alive."

"We're just as dead if you don't get coronated and claim your throne!"

Cole didn't say anything, and Phoebe could see that he was thinking it over. She decided to push him a little further.

"I'm sick of running. I just want to be with you and not worry about whether I'll be alive tomorrow!"

It felt like a century, but Cole finally nodded and gave in. "You're right."

Phoebe smiled. She'd already known that, but it felt nice to hear him say it anyway.

"Of course I am. Now, do you know where the coronation sight is?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I think I have an idea," he said and held out his arm for her to take.

She gave him a knowing look and took it. "Where are we going?"

He smirked, and Phoebe was finally starting to see the Source in him. "Deep in the Underworld. Further than even I have been."

Phoebe then felt the all too familiar feeling of being shimmered to another location, and a second later they were standing in what could only be called a lair. It was lit by firelight and a large, black pedestal stood in the center with a matching black stepping block in front of it.

She also noticed the hoards of demons standing by it. Well, not standing as much as arguing heatedly. She didn't have to have premonitions to know what they were talking about.

"Hey!" Cole yelled across the chatter, and the place was immediately silent.

Phoebe followed as Cole stepped up onto the block and held out his arms as a sign of the power he now wielded. She also noticed his eyes glaze over into a dark black pit for only a second before they were burned away with fire, and his normal eyes now watched over the room.

"I have come to tell you that there will be no more in-fighting. At least, not for the power of the Source. I am the Source now, and I'll be reigning over you with my queen. Phoebe?" Cole turned to let Phoebe know to make her presence known.

Phoebe took that as her cue to step forward and stand by Cole's side. As she came into view, many of the demons gasped and started whispering amongst themselves.

"She's a Charmed One!"

"She's gonna kill us all!"

"She may be the Source's prisoner!"

"Silence!" Cole boomed again, and the whispers were gone. "Despite what many of you are undoubtedly thinking, Phoebe is no longer a Charmed One. However, that doesn't mean that the Charmed Ones are no more. There is another one, and if you expect to stay alive, I'd suggest staying away from them. If there is one thing the Charmed Ones aren't, it's careless. Stay away from them and they'll stay away from you. That being said, if anyone tries to attack Phoebe they will have to answer to me. And I don't think any of you are foolish enough to attempt that. Am I right?"

No one moved or spoke.

"Good. I'm glad we're all in agreement. There will be a coronation here tonight, and after that, you will officially have two new rulers. I trust that won't be too difficult to get used to."

Again no one spoke.

"You're all dismissed," Cole said, and with a wave of his hand, the demons were gone.

Phoebe turned to him. "See? That wasn't so hard."

Cole leaned down to kiss her. Phoebe returned it, and they stayed like that for a while until Cole pulled away, much to Phoebe's dismay.

"It's time to keep up my end of the bargain," he said, and with a wave of his hand, a key materialized out of thin air and hovered in front of Phoebe.

"What's this?" Phoebe asked curiously as she took the key and inspected it.

"This," Cole began, looking quite proud of himself, "is the key to our new apartment. Before all the mess with the Source and me turning evil again, I'd been scoping out apartments back on the surface. I finally found one, but I was waiting for the right time to tell you."

Phoebe was speechless. She just stared up at Cole with her mouth hanging open.

Cole continued. "I know you don't want to live the rest of your life down here, and you shouldn't have to. I can just as easily rule the Underworld from up there just as easily as I can down here. If you want I can take you there now."

Phoebe smiled and kissed him again. "Oh Cole. I don't know what to say. You sure the Source can even live up there? Aren't you more powerful if you're down there?"

Cole shrugged. "Maybe the old Source was, but he was careless. And besides that, I have you. Together we have more power than I think even the Charmed Ones have. Believe me, we'll be fine," he said.

"Then I say let's go see our new apartment!" Phoebe squealed in delight and hugged Cole close to her so that he could shimmer them up.

The first thing Phoebe noticed was how big it was. The living room was about the size of the living room in the manor and the conservatory combined. The walls were painted white and there was a grand piano in the far right corner. A soft white suede sofa sat in the center of the room, and there was a clear dining table that could seat roughly eight people by the large windows that overlooked the entire city.

"Cole. How could you have afforded this?" Phoebe asked in wonder as she inspected the table.

"Oh, I...persuaded the landlord. He eventually saw it my way."

Phoebe laughed, loving him even more. "You know, it feels like forever since I've seen the sun," she said, gazing up at the late afternoon sky.

Cole stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso and resting his head on her shoulders. "Now you can see a thousand sunrises since we no longer have to worry about demons stabbing us in the back."

"You were worried about them not too long ago," she reminded him, murmuring into his arms.

"That was before I realized that you were right. The demons understand what would happen to them if they betrayed us or tried to challenge us. Nothing's going to happen, Phoebe. I promise."

As Phoebe stood there, watching the sun in the sky that she hadn't seen in so long, she honestly believed him. Now that they were together and ruled the Underworld, she didn't think that anything could ever happen to them. They were utterly invincible.

The next day they would find out just how wrong they were.