Chapter 30: Long Live the Queen – Part 4
Phoebe and Cole's Apartment
Phoebe was seated at the desk in the living room, tonic standing next to her, as she scribbled on a piece of paper, her expression unreadable, when Cole flamed into the room.
"Phoebe we have too—" Cole trailed off as he laid eyes on her, sensing the tension radiating off of his wife.
Phoebe turned to him slowly, her eyes dark.
Cole frowned, "What's the matter?"
Phoebe had turned to him but she refused to meet his eyes. "Did you know about the Seer's tonic? What it really does?"
"What's this?" Cole asked, nodding towards the desk and cleverly avoiding the question. "You're planning to leave me?" he questioned, seeing his name at the top of the page.
"I wrote two letters," Phoebe informed him, nervously twiddling the pen between her fingers. "One saying goodbye to you, and one saying goodbye to my sisters." She raised her eyes to meet his slowly. "I haven't decided which one I'm going to send."
"Well you better decide," Cole retorted harshly. "Right now."
"Did you know about the tonic?" Phoebe asked again, her voice strong and demanding.
Cole stared her in the eye and answered, "Yes."
Phoebe scoffed. "So, you knew she was poisoning me and Willow with evil," she sought to confirm.
Cole sucked in a deep breath and turned away, smoothing out his coat. "You took my hand and walked me through that coronation long before anybody gave you anything to drink."
Phoebe dropped her head into her hand, willing the forming headache away.
"So, if you want to pretend that you're poisoned—"
"So why even bother with the tonic?" Phoebe demanded, cutting him off. "Why not just let me think for myself?"
"Because I know what it feels like to have good and evil fighting inside of you, ripping your insides out," Cole replied heatedly. "I wanted to save you that pain."
Phoebe shook her head and looked to the floor. "You should have trusted me...to stand by you all on my own," she retorted, raising fiery eyes to meet his dark ones.
Cole stretched out his arms. "So..." he walked towards her purposefully, "...show me I can. You know what's in the tonic now. You know how it works." He lifted the dainty glass from its place on the desk and placed it down in front of her. "Drink it... all on your own."
Phoebe stared at the drink with hard eyes then shook her head. "Cole," she chastised, pushing to her feet and walking away.
"I don't have time for games, Phoebe," Cole called after her, staying in place and she turned back to him. "Just drink the tonic or leave...now."
"What is going on with you?" Phoebe demanded breathlessly, his attitude unsettling her. "What happened?"
"What happened is you had to go and play demon catcher with your sisters'." Cole replied tersely.
"Cole, it's who I am!" Phoebe hollered in frustration.
"And now we're in danger," Cole announced to her calmly and Phoebe covered her face with her hands. "Serious danger." He walked towards her slowly. "If you don't care about your life or mine or Willow's..." he stopped directly in front of her, staring down, "What about your sisters? Your niece?"
Phoebe cut her eyes to his sharply. "Don't you threaten them," she growled furiously.
"I'm not," Cole shook his head. "But if there's a coup, do you think whoever takes over from me will let them live?" he asked her. "How long do you think it will be before demons start going after Dawn again? A thrice-blessed child."
Phoebe shook her head minutely, staring at the ceiling, arms wrapped around herself. "I don't know what to do," she whispered, utterly lost.
"You can't go back," he told her certainly, turning back to the desk and lifting the tonic, "There is only one choice. Drink the tonic." He held it out to her expectantly but Phoebe stared at the floor. Cole took a breath and walked closer. "You have to know...that I would never do anything to hurt you. Please? For us? For our daughter?"
Phoebe inhaled deeply, eyes closed, and his scent overwhelmed her. She opened them slowly, looked at the tonic then up into his eyes and back down before snatching the tonic from his hands and downing it, slamming the empty glass back into his palm.
Cole swallowed his smirk as he took his wife into his arms and held her. "I love you, Phoebe," he told her sincerely. "Just remember, whatever happens next, we can handle it as long as we stay together."
Phoebe's body tensed in his arms at his words. "What do you mean...?" she questioned fearfully, "Whatever happens next?"
"The Conroy thing got serious." Cole revealed. "I had to take care of it."
Phoebe's eyes widened and she pushed out of his arms. "You..." her raspy voice cracked and she shook her head, staring at him with fearful, angry eyes. "You killed him?"
"It was your mess," Cole fired back. "I was just cleaning it up."
"Cole!" Phoebe sighed. "They're going to come after you. They're going to come here!" she exclaimed desperately.
"Well, if they do—"
"No," Phoebe interrupted, shaking her head and walking away.
"Phoebe, if it comes down to them or us..." Cole insinuated.
"Oh god!" Phoebe gasped, one hand moving to her stomach as she raced towards the bathroom.
"Phoebe, wait," Cole called after her but she slammed the door and brought the tonic right back up again in the toilet. "Phoebe?" he called knocking on the door but his wife ignored him.
Phoebe moved away from the toilet on shaking legs and turned on the faucet, splashing her face with cold water as she gulped in deep breathes. "Willow," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Phoebe?" Cole called again but she ignored him, staring at her reflection in the mirror, sick to her stomach at the thought of her husband so willing to kill the only people in her life that she would die for, her whole family.
Cole closed his eyes and shook his head at himself before walking away from the bathroom, into the living room.
Halliwell Manor
Tara looked into the crib and smiled at Dawn. Behind her the Seer appeared and smirked. The Seer waved her hand and Tara disappeared. She smiled as her form rippled and in the next instance she looked exactly like Tara.
Phoebe and Cole's Apartment
Bright white lights filled the air and Leo and Piper orbed in, in front of the fireplace. Buffy, Paige and Willow orbing in to their right seconds later.
Cole whirled around, angry eyes meeting theirs as he walked, slowly, to the center of the room, making sure to keep an eye on the Buffy and Piper's hands.
"You evil son of a bitch," Paige spat venomously, Cole's eyes flying to hers as Piper brought up her hands and flicked her wrists. Cole exploded, scattering into millions of buzzing black dots.
"Phoebe?" Piper called towards the bathroom, assuming that was where her sister was hiding, "Get out here and help us damn it!" she ordered as Paige and Buffy surrounded Cole with the enchanted crystals.
Phoebe pressed herself up against the door, listening to the chaos just beyond it and shook her head as Piper's voice penetrated the wood. Phoebe gasped as a sob passed her lips, the gravity of her current situation slamming into her like a ton of bricks, knocking the wind right out of her as she battled with her head and her heart.
Buffy placed the last of her three crystals down just as Cole fused back together.
"Paige," Piper warned and Buffy turned back sharply.
Paige raised her head and her eyes widened as they met Cole's black ones. He threw out his arm and sent her soaring back into the wall above the fireplace, right above Piper and Leo.
Paige's head snapped back, the wall splitting it open before she hit the ground hard, the crystal flying out of her hand.
"Don't make me kill you," Cole pleaded, his tone warning them that he would if forced.
"Phoebe you heard what he said!" Willow bellowed to her sister-in-law. "He's going to kill us all! Get out here and help us!"
Phoebe looked at the door shocked. "Willow?" she breathed. She hadn't expected her daughter slash sister-in-law to be with her sisters.
Buffy tore her eyes away from Paige as Leo's healing power began to work, Piper at their baby sister's side, and turned slowly to face her brother-in-law.
"You bastard!" Buffy seethed striding forwards and throwing out her arm. Cole deflected her power then swiftly caught her wrist jerking her forwards. Buffy smirked as their eyes locked and she stared at him, the challenge shinning in her eyes as she watched him debate what to do next.
Cole's fist clenched around her wrist to a painful degree and Buffy didn't even give him the satisfaction of wincing. She of course had been a Slayer and had things with more strength than he had attack her.
"You do remember I already got my strength back, Cole," Buffy said as she glared at the man. "I can easily break the grip if I want to."
Cole's nostrils flared and he snarled.
"What I thought," Buffy said as she slammed her free hand into his chest, using all of her Slayer strength as well as her telekinesis.
Cole groaned as strength of the hit combined with her magic tore through him like a knife and he felt his feet leave the floor. At the last second, as she slipped from his grasp, Cole released a fireball her way, the flaming weapon crashing into her chest and sending her soaring backwards, slamming into the wall nearest the bathroom.
Piper and Leo pulled Paige to her feet just as Buffy flew past them. Piper's eyes widened fearfully and she gasped. "Leo," she whispered tugging on her husband's sleeve.
"Buffy!" Willow cried, running to her wife's side and rolling her over as Leo dropped down on the other side.
In the bathroom Phoebe had heard Buffy hit the wall outside the bathroom door. Then she had heard Willow's scream. Her daughter's wife was in trouble. She knew she had a choice to make here and now. Kill her husband or kill her sister slash daughter-in-law.
Piper's gaze flickered between Buffy and Cole, holding Paige's hand tightly in hers as the youngest rested heavily against her.
Paige swallowed hard against the dizziness, forcing herself to find her bearings as quickly as possible. "Phoebe?" Paige yelled pleadingly, "Phoebe! Please! We need you!"
Buffy groaned painfully as her eyes fluttered open and she found Leo and Willow hovering above her. Wincing as they lifted her to her feet slowly Buffy snarled, "Bastard!"
"Buffy?" Piper demanded, looking her up and down.
"I'm fine," Buffy assured her quickly then shrugged the Leo and Willow off and turned on her heel, running towards the bathroom door, banging on it loudly, "Phoebe! Phoebe, open the door!"
Piper watched silently as Cole stumbled to his feet, and fell back into the room breathing heavily, glass from the balcony doors sliding off him. She threw up her hands and flicked her wrists once more, blowing Cole to pieces and buying her sister more time.
Inside the bathroom, Phoebe jumped as Buffy's fists pounded on the door.
"Phoebe?" Buffy called loudly wincing as the volume of her own voice struck pain in her head. "Phoebe please I'm so sorry," she whispered, leaning her head against the door.
Phoebe approached the door again, listening intently.
"I should have gone with you when you came to us to save Greg," Buffy said. "I was so distraught that I was distracting myself from my own pain. I pushed you away as a result. I'm sorry. I'm going to tell you something, something I have only told one other person, your niece. But I am going to modify it for you." She paused as she took a breath. "Phoebe. Listen to me, listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Piper that I figured it out. And, that and I'm okay. And give my love to Paige, Leo, Willow and Tara. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You, have to be strong. Phoebe, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live... for me."
Phoebe swiped at the tears leaking from her stinging eyes. "I love you too," she whispered to herself.
Buffy turned and walked away from the door as she strolled forward passing Leo and Willow.
Phoebe closed her eyes as she understood how Dawn had felt when Buffy had been ready to sacrifice herself for her. Her choice was finally made, she chose her family… She gripped the handle and yanked open the bathroom door as she ran out.
Buffy reached her sisters and Piper snatched up her hand, holding it in a vice-like grip. Buffy's eyes locked onto her wife's as she positioned herself in front of Piper and Paige, shielding them from Cole as he once again fused back together. "This is the work I have to do," Buffy muttered to herself.
Piper swallowed hard and met Leo's eyes before her husband moved to stand behind her, Willow on his left behind her own wife.
Cole formed a large fireball in his hand as he turned unfeeling eyes on the three sisters.
Paige's eyes widened slightly and she gripped onto Buffy's arm, inching closer. Piper narrowed her own and squeezed her Buffy's hand who squeezed back just as hard.
Phoebe picked up the forgotten crystal, her presence unknown to all in the room until Cole turned to her, sensing her presence, her sisters' eyes following his.
"I'm sorry," Cole apologized turning back to the three sisters. "It's...it's for the best."
Phoebe stared into space silently, gripping the crystal tightly in her hands. "I know it is," she agreed walking towards her husband.
Cole extinguished the fireball and his wife pulled him down into a kiss.
Piper's brow creased deeply, her heart unable to comprehend the betrayal she was experiencing, "Phoebe?"
"Wait," Buffy whispered, her Slayer senses telling her there was no evil in Phoebe. That the only evil she could feel in the room came from Cole.
Phoebe kissed her husband like she had never kissed him before, pouring all of her love and devotion and happiness into that one kiss. Every dream, every hope, every plan she ever made for them, their entire future together, she kissed him with all that she had praying it gave Cole enough strength to fight to the surface one last time, if only to say goodbye and then she reluctantly pulled away.
Cole stared down at her—the real Cole—her love giving him that last ounce of strength to fight back. His heart pounded in his chest, the look in her eyes and the feel of that kiss turned his blood to ice... he knew. It was too late. The Source had won. This was the end.
Phoebe licked her lips, bringing her hands to her chest as she saw Cole in the eyes of the man staring back at her. It had worked and now he was here. He was here to say goodbye. "I'm sorry too," she apologized, placing the last crystal in its rightful place, charging up the crystal cage which trapped her husband inside.
Cole nodded slowly. "Do what Buffy said."
"I promise," Phoebe said as she backed into her sister, Buffy pulling her in between herself and Piper who gripped Phoebe's right hand tightly in her free one. Buffy snaked her arm around Phoebe's waist and her sister rested back against her. Paige closed her eyes as she stepped closer to them, one hand resting on Buffy's arm the other holding Phoebe's free hand.
"Penelope, Patricia, Prudence, Melinda," Buffy and Piper chanted together and Cole's legs caught fire.
Paige opened her eyes and looked to Phoebe, waiting for her to begin. "Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace," they chanted slowly, Phoebe's voice breaking the whole way through.
"I love you; I will always love you," Cole promised echoing Buffy's words as the fire grew, resigned to the fact that the end had come, and Phoebe gasped in pain.
Buffy rested her head against Phoebe's as her sister closed her eyes and then they continued.
"Halliwell witches stand strong beside us. Vanquish this evil from time and space."
The Charmed Ones concluded in perfect unison, Phoebe turning her head into her sister's shoulder as Cole screamed in pain and exploded, the force of the blast blowing out all the windows and balcony doors in the penthouse.
Phoebe turned back to the scene slowly and her breath caught in her throat, eyes widening when she saw the destruction they had caused. The black scorch mark on the tile floor the only evidence that Cole had ever been standing there.
Her sisters' released her and Phoebe moved slowly towards it, her hands covering her mouth as she struggled not to fall to her knees.
Piper watched her little sister with tears in her eyes, averting her gaze when Phoebe stopped staring at the spot, where her husband once stood.
Buffy wiped a lone tear away and took a hesitant step forward, her hands trembling, but couldn't bring herself to approach, knowing that it was them who had forced their own sister into killing the man that she loved, the father of her unborn child.
Paige stared at Phoebe with regret filled eyes, she may not have liked Cole or trusted him but she hadn't wanted it to end this way if only for Phoebe's sake, the pain she must be feeling... Paige shook her head and looked down to the floor.
Phoebe stared at the black mark on the floor unable to comprehend what she had just done to her husband. She glanced toward Willow, her daughter who was both here and in her womb at the same time. At least Willow to a degree knew her father. That was the only bright shining spot in her life, her daughter. She walked toward Willow and pulled the redheaded woman into her arms as she began to cry.
Halliwell Manor
Leo approached his wife, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs staring up at them longingly, and trailed his hand down her arm. "Hey," he whispered and Piper shot him a small smile.
"Hey," she replied, shifting her position under her husband's watchful stare.
"Why don't you go up and see her," Leo suggested casually.
Piper shook her head. "I don't know what to say," she admitted shakily. "I mean, I can't imagine...if it had been you..." her voice trembled and Leo took her hand pulling her against him.
"Hey," Paige greeted quietly, hating to intrude on their moment as the couple broke apart.
"Hey," Piper replied, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"How is she doing?" Paige questioned, her gaze travelling up the stairs.
Piper took a breath. "I don't know. She hasn't come down yet."
Paige nodded. "How long you been standing there?" she asked with a smirk.
"A while," Piper grinned and Paige chuckled.
"Where's Buffy?" Paige questioned, glancing around them.
Piper frowned. "I don't—I'm actually not sure," she revealed slowly. "Last I saw her she was down here somewhere."
Paige turned towards the stairs, her thoughts on Phoebe. "Maybe we should go see her," she suggested and Piper's body tensed.
"Okay," Piper agreed nervously climbing the stairs before she could change her mind.
Paige smiled at Leo as she passed, running into Piper when she stopped abruptly and turned back.
"What if she wants to be alone?"
"She's going to be alone a lot," Paige pointed out sadly. "Maybe right now she needs us."
"Right," Piper agreed turning back and climbing the rest of the stairs.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the backyard Buffy was lying on one of the lounge chairs, she had positioned it so she could not only see Phoebe's room but also the sky overhead.
"What are you doing out here?" Willow asked looking at her wife.
"Thinking," Buffy answered.
"Piper and Paige were looking for you," Tara said. "I think they went upstairs to check on Phoebe."
"I probably should join them," Buffy said knowing that Phoebe didn't need anyone actually talking to her right now, just that her sister needed comfort. Out of her sisters she knew what it was like to kill someone you love, after all she had sent Angel to hell. She got up and left her wives in the backyard.
Buffy made her way through the house passing Leo and up the stairs. She found both Piper and Paige waiting at the door.
"We wondered," Paige said as she stared at her last sister.
Buffy nodded. "I know how she's feeling. I sent my first real boyfriend, who I loved dearly, to hell."
"Then maybe," Piper said as she waved at the door indicating Buffy should be the first to go in.
Buffy turned the doorknob and the three sisters entered silently.
Phoebe was lying on her bed, on her left side, in sweat pants and a large jumper clutching a pillow to her chest as she sobbed painfully. The voices outside her door, she could hear, drowned out and the door clicked signaling the entry of her sisters and, even though she had thought she wanted to be alone, Phoebe couldn't help but sob in relief that she no longer had to be and was suddenly desperate to be in the arms of her sisters.
Buffy climbed onto the bed right away, trailing her hand up Phoebe's back then brushing the hair from her sister's face.
Phoebe squeezed her eyes closed and sobbed harder, turning towards Buffy and burying her head in her chest.
Buffy's eyes fell closed as Phoebe clutched to her desperately, like she was her lifeline. "Phoebe," Buffy whispered, wrapping her in her arms tightly and kissing her head.
Piper stopped at the side of the bed, hesitating as she fought her tears sparked by her baby sister's cries. Paige came up behind her and squeezed her hand, nodding towards their sisters.
Piper slid up beside Buffy, reaching for Phoebe whose hand shot out towards her and grabbed Piper's hand tightly, holding on for dear life. Piper kissed Phoebe's hand and brought it to her chest, reaching out to stroke her face with her free hand in a continuous, soothing motion.
Paige smiled slightly at the scene before shaking herself, taking a deep breath and moving around to the other side of the bed. She climbed on behind Phoebe scooting as close to her as possible and wrapping her arm around Phoebe's middle, burying her face in her sister's hair.
Phoebe's heart-wrenching sobs grew louder, their force raking her small frame painfully as she grieved for her devastating loss in the loving arms of her three sisters.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Willow looked up at Phoebe's bedroom and smiled.
"It's time," Tara whispered and suddenly Warren burst into the backyard carrying a gun. "Willow!" she yelled.
Willow's head snapped around as Warren began firing indiscriminately, hitting Tara in the chest. Willow spun towards Tara as Warren ran out of the backyard. "Tara?" she said as she raced over to her wife. She caught Tara and helped her to slide to the ground. "Tara?"
Willow looked at Tara and she saw that there no life in her wife's eyes. That Tara was dead. "No!" she screamed as her eyes suddenly went fiery and then black as the Source took control. And then she flamed out.
Tara stood and smiled as she morphed into the Seer and then she disappeared.