A/N: Thank you to all who reviewed!
Shadow Cat 17: Phoebe is going to stay evil quite a long time. Maybe till the end, though I'm not really sure yet. Glad you like it.
thaatgirrl: Thank you so much, I hope you like the next chapter!
Rahl's beloved Queen Kahlan: Thanks, I didn't think it was that funny until I re-read it.
Glad you like it!
Cole + Phoebe = Love Forever: Thank you! I figured that was the best way to let them know about Phoebe and keep the story moving forward. Hope you like this chapter.
lizardmomma: Thank you. Next chapter will delve into more of the sisters' reactions. This chapter is mainly Cole/Phoebe centric. Hope you like the next chapter!
BellaCullen666: Cole and Phoebe will get some time to themselves, as you'll find out in this chapter. As for kids, I don't know I haven't decided yet. It would sure be a plot twist! Hope you like this next chapter!
Draco's-Loyal-Longing: Thanks! Reactions are more next chapter, though you'll get a hint in this one. Anyway, hope you like this chapter!
funluvr151: Thank you! I'm so glad you're liking this. Hope you like this chapter!
Mama Darkness: Phoebe will get her powers very soon! Possibly even next chapter...*wink* Lol. Anyway, I'm glad you like it, and hope you like this next chapter!
Chapter Eleven
A day later Cole and Phoebe were laying together on a towel designed for two, lounging in the sun and basking in each other's presence. At first Cole had been hesitant about going away on a honeymoon with Phoebe. Not because he didn't want to be alone with her; quite the opposite. But business in the Underworld was growing, and the never-ending battle between good and evil was only gaining momentum.
But Phoebe had convinced him that they were fine to go away. After all, upper-level demons had the ability to sense the Source's power so that they were reminded of it at all times. Should they be needed, they would be found.
So, in the end, Cole had taken them to a beach resort in Cancun. It wasn't exactly the Source's first choice in a romantic getaway, but no Source before him had taken a queen, and it was what Phoebe wanted. So that's where they went.
He had to admit, after seeing his new wife in her skimpy bikini showing off her flawless figure, this had been a good idea after all. They both deserved some time in the sun after being cooped up in the Underworld for so long. The heat meeting his skin was a welcome change to the dank cold of the endless caves down below.
Cole shifted his position so that he could get a better look at Phoebe. She was lying face down on the towel, the top of her bikini off so that her back was exposed to the sun's rays. Her sunglasses were on, but Cole knew that her eyes were closed. He hadn't seen her this relaxed in a long time.
His own tropical designed shirt was off so that he wouldn't get overheated. And if he happened to gain a tan, that was an added bonus. Judging from the intensity of the rays and the three hours they had been out on the beach, he would say that a tan was a guarantee.
"Cole?" Phoebe murmured, and Cole turned his attention to his wife.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Thank you for bringing me here. I know you didn't think it was a good idea to get away, but..."
Cole cut her off. "No, no. You were right, this was a good idea. You needed to get away from everything. And I'm sure I did, too."
Cole watched as she formed a small smile. "Are you kidding me? You were dying to get away from all that responsibility. It's good to get away from all that every now and then. It keeps us sane."
"Well, you're right about that. Plus," he added, sinking down to wrap his arms around Phoebe's bare stomach, "you're sexy when you're happy."
Phoebe moaned as Cole brushed his lips on her neck, and began working his way down. She allowed his hands to explore her body, and was tempted to turn around so that they weren't in such an awkward position, but Cole was too busy kissing her body. Plus, Cole knew that Phoebe wouldn't appreciate being exposed to the entire beach. Not that there were many people there.
Cole didn't know how much time had passed, nor did he care. He had never felt as content with his life as he did at that moment. Being with Phoebe just felt so right. And being on the beach in Cancun with her, all responsibilities gone, made him want to stay here with her forever.
"Hey, get a room!" A passer-by exclaimed as he walked by Cole and Phoebe all but making love.
Cole stopped and sat up, looking at the man who dared talk to him like he was nothing.
Phoebe sat up too, covering her breasts with her bikini top. She was staring at him as well, and Cole knew that she was thinking the same thing as he was.
Cole felt his eyes turn black again, and he watched as the man screamed as flames engulfed him. However, it didn't last long before the man was gone, and no one turned a head to what had just happened.
It was like the man hadn't been there at all.
"No one talks to my girl like that," Cole muttered, kissing Phoebe's cheek as he did so.
Phoebe smirked. "You mean, no one talks to us like that." She slid into his lap and returned Cole's kiss with one of her own, and this time it was Cole who was lying on the towel as Phoebe kissed his neck and moved on to his mouth.
Cole returned it passionately, and soon they were all over each other, earning shocked and somewhat disgusted looks from the people around them. But no one was brave enough to stop them, which was lucky.
A small part of his mind was wondering how all those people hadn't noticed that passer-by disappear, but he didn't really care. All he cared about was Phoebe.
It felt like they had been like this forever, but soon the sound of a man clearing his throat interrupted them. Once again, Cole reluctantly pulled away, glaring at who dared interrupt them.
He saw that it was a demon.
Cole stood up. "What?" he asked.
"Sorry to intrude, my liege, but we've got a problem," the demon said, bowing slightly in addition to the apology.
"What kind of problem?" Cole snapped.
The demon leaned in closer so that no one could overhear them. "The kind we shouldn't talk about out in the open like this."
Cole sighed, knowing whatever this nameless demon had come to tell him couldn't wait. He turned to Phoebe. "Sorry, honey. This will only take a minute."
He and the demon started towards the resort at the top of the beach, but Phoebe stood up. "Wait. I'm coming with you."
"Phoebe, that's okay. You don't have to, but..."
"No, Cole. I'm your queen, and whatever he has to tell you he can tell me," Phoebe interrupted, and Cole knew better than to argue.
Cole took the dark blue towel and folded it as Phoebe somehow managed to clasp the bikini top back in place without showing anything, and together the demon, Cole, and Phoebe left the beach and went to the resort.
They went up to the top level and opened the last door on the right. Once Cole had locked the door behind him, he turned to the demon, who was standing in front of the closet with his arms behind his back.
"I'm sorry, sir, but this could not wait. Danill has gone missing, and many believe that it is the work of the Charmed Ones," the demon began.
Cole felt Phoebe stiffen beside him on their bed, but he temporarily ignored this as the news sunk in.
"That explains why you are the one telling me this and not him. Danill would never willingly go to them since he knows of the consequences of doing that. This must mean that they summoned him," he said, more to himself than to the demon or Phoebe.
"Why would they do that?" the demon asked, sounding as though he didn't believe Cole's theory.
"To get information. Why else?" Phoebe put in, her voice low.
"Information? On what?" the demon scoffed.
"On us, you idiot!" Phoebe exclaimed with venom in her voice.
The demon looked scared, afraid that they might vanquish him for arguing with them. Though Cole had to admit it was tempting, he knew he couldn't. They needed him.
"Okay, everyone just calm down."
"Cole, don't tell me to calm down! My sisters just summoned the one demon who knows the most about us! And if Danill talks, they'll know I'm alive. They'll try to come after us, and they'll ruin everything," Phoebe snapped.
Cole nodded. "Maybe, but Danill won't give in that easily."
"If I know my sisters, and I like to think that I do, they won't take no for an answer, and they'll use any means necessary to get what they want out of him. He might've already cracked for all we know. You need to get rid of him now before he tells them anything else!" Phoebe argued, sounding both fearful and angry.
Cole had never seen her like this before. It was like she would do anything to get away from her sisters. He could understand it, but it wasn't Phoebe. She loved her older sisters, and Cole knew that being Queen of the Underworld wouldn't change that. It was part of the reason he had ordered all other demons, warlocks, and other evil beings to stay away from them. He knew that Phoebe would be devastated if anything ever happened to them.
But still, he hadn't seen Phoebe so anxious to stay away from them.
"She's right, sir. Going up against the Charmed Ones is suicide, even you. You haven't been the Source long enough-"
"I've been the Source long enough!" Cole hissed, turning on this demon who dared tell him what to do.
The demon gulped and looked at the ground in haste. "I'm sorry, sir. I meant no disrespect. I only mean to warn you against a potential vanquish. The Charmed Ones won't give up until they get what they came for. Or unless they're dead."
"No," Phoebe and Cole said at the same time, and the demon quickly looked to his feet again.
"Well, then you might want to get rid of Danill before he talks," the demon pointed out.
Cole nodded, and was about to send his power to his former trusted advisor when Phoebe stopped him.
"Wait, Cole. Before you do, summon Danill here."
Cole looked at her in confusion. "Why?"
Phoebe sighed before answering. "Because I want to know who the witch is who replaced me."
"That can't be a coincidence," Prue muttered as she followed Piper out of the attic. Piper was retreating quite quickly to her room, and Prue knew that it would take a miracle to get her to think clearly.
Piper spun on her heel and turned to face Prue, angry tears in her eyes. "Prue, you know as well as I do that this isn't a coincidence. Phoebe...she's betrayed us."
And with that Prue felt rather than saw Piper's door slam shut in her face.
She knew that it would be pointless to try and reason with Piper right now, so she went back up to the attic to try and squeeze more information out of their captive demon. But, to her horror, when she got there she found Danill smirking and waving his hand at her, as if saying goodbye.
"What the...?"
And the next thing she knew, Danill was gone.
She stared at their empty crystal cage in shock, her mouth hanging open. They hadn't used the cage very much, but Prue knew that once it contained somebody, that somebody couldn't get out.
So how did this one manage to escape?
"Leo!" Prue called, deciding not to tell Piper about their new problem just yet.
A second later Leo orbed in, looking at the oldest Charmed One in anticipation. "Yes?"
Prue pointed to the cage her her index finger, still too shocked to speak. Somehow she managed to get out, "Our demon escaped."
"What?!" Leo exclaimed, staring at her as he moved over to the crystals. He moved one aside and stepped inside, as if trying to find a trap door or something. "How could you let this happen?"
"I did not let this happen, Leo! Piper and I left the attic for just a minute, and when I came back up...I don't know. It was like he shimmered out or something!" she exclaimed, anger brushing through her body at the audacity of their whitelighter accusing her of something beyond her control.
Leo sighed. "I know, Prue. But still, no one could've gotten out of that cage on their own. I'd be willing to bet that some outside force summoned him out."
Prue returned Leo's sigh with one of her own as she muttered, "Phoebe."
"Phoebe?" Leo asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Yeah. We were getting Danill--the demon--to tell us who the Source was, and he confirmed that it is Cole. But then I decided to ask him who it was that he was planning on marrying...and he said that it was Phoebe," Prue explained, the painful information of their sister still being alive coming back and hitting Prue hard in the stomach.
"Wait a minute. Phoebe's alive?" Leo asked, obviously still trying to come to terms with it.
Prue nodded. "According to Danill. And besides that, it makes sense. Who else would Cole be marrying so quickly?"
Leo didn't say anything. Prue was glad that he was taking it better than his wife was. But she decided not to tell him that just yet. They needed to come up with a plan for getting Phoebe out of the Underworld.
"We need to figure out a way to get her out of there," Prue stated obviously. To her surprise, however, Leo was shaking his head. "No. We can't just storm down there and drag her out. Who knows what powers she has now being married to the Source?"
Prue stared at him incredulously. "But Leo, we can't just leave her down there! Who knows what kind of danger she's in? What if Cole has her brainwashed somehow? Or torturing her?"
Leo looked helpless. "We don't know that he is. For all we know, Phoebe married him of her own free will."
"No. I know my sister, and I know that no matter how much she loves Cole, she would never put up with him turning evil again! She would never let us think that she's dead of her own free will! She might be trying to get back to us and we would never know because we're too scared go down there and rescue her!" she snapped. She had never spoken to Leo like this before, and she felt guilty about it. But he was wrong.
"I know how you feel. She's your sister, and I can respect you wanting to rescue her. But going down there without a plan, without being prepared, will not do her or yourself any good," Leo said.
Prue sighed, anger rising in her with every word. "Then what do you suggest I do? Wait until she's dead?"
"No! You need to go to Piper and Paige, and together you need to figure out the best way to approach this."
Prue smiled bitterly and crossed her arms. "You know, all of this could've been avoided if we had just summoned her back here when this whole mess started. If we had done that, Phoebe would still be a Charmed One, she wouldn't be married to the Source of all Evil, and we wouldn't be worrying about evil siblings with the possibility of being killed by them!"
"Yeah, and you also wouldn't have found Paige or done all the good that you're still meant to do with her. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but everything happens for a reason. Maybe all of this was supposed to happen. Either way, we need to wait for more information before we go diving in head first," Leo argued.
"You're right, Leo. I didn't want to hear that. And I'm sorry you feel that way."
And with that, Prue turned and left Leo standing alone in the attic.
Danill appeared in front of Phoebe and Cole back in the honeymoon suite of the little resort in Cancun. He looked proud of himself, but when he saw where he was, the smirk vanished from his face.
"Thank you, sir. I thought I'd never get out of there," he said, moving to stand next to Maseras, the other demon.
"We need to know what you told the Charmed Ones," Cole said, ignoring Danill's words.
"And who the third witch is," Phoebe added pointedly.
Danill looked scared, and Phoebe could already tell that he told them about her. But she waited, wanting to hear him say it himself.
When he hesitated, Cole thundered, "Tell us, or you're dead!"
"I had no choice. They were going to kill me if I didn't tell them!"
"And what makes you think that I won't kill you for telling them?" Cole countered.
Danill threw himself at Cole's feet. "Please, sir. I had no choice! The Charmed Ones were going to find out anyway! What did you expect me to do?"
"I expect you not to betray me! Especially to our biggest enemies! All you had to do was keep your mouth shut, and we wouldn't be in this mess!" Cole exploded, causing Phoebe to take a couple steps away from him.
With a wave of Cole's hand Danill was gone. Phoebe wasn't sure whether or not he was actually vanquished or not, but she supposed it didn't matter.
"Cole, he didn't tell us who the third Charmed Ones is," Phoebe pointed out.
Cole sighed, taking a couple of calming breaths before he replied. "We'll be finding out soon enough. Now that Danill betrayed us, it'll only be a matter of time before they come after us."
He turned to the demon he now knew as Maseras, who was waiting patiently by the door. "Congratulations. You've just been promoted. Go down to the Underworld and gather all of your best demons."
Maseras nodded in understanding then shimmered out of the room.
Cole turned around to face Phoebe, who was staring at him, her eyes flooded with disappointment.
"Don't worry, baby. We'll get back to our honeymoon just as soon as this mess is cleaned up. I promise," he said, touching her shoulders.
Phoebe shrugged. "I guess it doesn't really matter what I say, does it?"
"Phoebe, I need you. Now more than ever. I could understand it if you didn't want to get directly involved, but we've got work to do."
He held out his hand to her, waiting for her to take it.
Phoebe looked at it, wanting more than ever to shake her head and refuse and demand that they stay in Cancun and finish their honeymoon. But she knew that the matters they had were more pressing. Plus Cole would be so disappointed if he thought she wasn't with him all the way.
And she was definitely on his side. There was no questioning that.
So she decided to hold him on his promise, and took his hand, allowing him to shimmer her back into the Underworld.