Q/A - Buffy Anne Halliwell - I had forgotten about Paige and her hangover cures when I was working on Beer Bad. Of course I forgot about Paige entirely in that chapter. She should have been there when Xander told them that the beer had been cursed.
Chapter 87: Black as Cole
Buffy, Piper and Paige are up in the attic. Piper is pacing, while Buffy and Paige look through both Book of Shadows.
"A demon who likes to kill witches. Well, that narrows it down to about every page in the book." Paige says.
"We have one clue. We know he likes to use an athame." Piper says.
"How does that help?" Paige asks.
"Well, it means he has hands. Keep flipping." Piper says.
"So I hear you and Leo are thinking about having a baby." Paige says.
Buffy keeps her mouth closed. She knew Phoebe's big mouth could get her in trouble sometimes. Who knew how many times Phoebe had told stuff to Prue that Buffy had told Phoebe in confidence.
"Where did you hear that from?" Piper asks looking at Buffy.
Buffy shakes her head, "Don't look at me."
Paige shrugs. "From Phoebe." Piper rolls her eyes. "Oh, did I just break some sort of sister confidentiality clause?"
Piper shakes her head, "No, you didn't, and no we aren't."
"Really? Don't you want to? Not to be nosey but I'm going to be an aunt and all." Paige says.
Piper sighs. "You're not going to be an aunt, all right? At least not any time soon, it's too risky. It would be in constant danger around us."
"As much as I want to be Auntie Buffy. Piper's right, our lives are just too dangerous right now for kids." Buffy says.
"What does Leo think?" Paige asks.
"Leo thinks that there's enough magic around here we'd be able to protect it." Piper says.
"Maybe he's right." Paige says.
Buffy thinks about it for a moment. Maybe Leo is right. Since there is four Charmed Ones now. That means they were better able to protect each other than when there was three Charmed Ones and the Charmed Slayer.
"Maybe he's not. Keep flipping." Piper says.
Paige nods, "I'm flipping." She flips a couple of pages and stops. "You know, it's not like having a baby isn't hard enough even without demons attacking. But for what it's worth, there are ways of seeing what it's like before you actually have one."
"Mm-hmm, great. Well, the next time you pass a baby rental, pick one up for Leo." Piper says.
Paige smiles, "Maybe I will."
Leo orbs in, frightening Piper. "So did you find anything out?"
Buffy nods, "Yeah, Piper scryed for the location of the demon using the slime from the last victim, and Phoebe and Cole are checking it out."
"Alright, well, I hope that it pans out because with two dead witches they're pretty concerned up there." Leo says.
"Okay, well, we are pretty concerned down here too." Piper says.
"Hey, I think I found something. "Upper level demon who likes to kill witches using an athame, sometimes with energy balls…" His name, Belthazor." Paige says.
Buffy, Piper and Leo look at each other and back at Paige.
"No." Buffy says.
"I don't think so." Leo says.
"Why not?" Paige asks.
"That's Cole," Buffy says. "That's what he changes into when in his demonic form."
"You knew he was half demon." Piper says.
Paige nods, "Yeah, but I didn't know he could turn into that."
The phone rings. Piper answers it. "Hello?"
"We're at Battery and Clay but there's no sign of any demons." Phoebe says.
Piper sighs, "Okay, I'll scry for him again. Talk to Paige." She hands Paige the phone.
"Hey Phoebe. How's Cole? Morphed into any demons lately?" Paige asks.
"Paige!" Buffy says. She takes the phone from Paige. "Sorry about that Pheebs. Paige saw the Belthazor page. And we were explaining about that being Cole's other form."
"Oh." Phoebe says.
Piper scrys and the crystal points to a place on the map. "Battery and Clay. He's still there."
"Piper says he's still there." Buffy says.
"Okay," Phoebe says. "Thanks, Buffy."
Later Phoebe and Cole walk in from the front door, covered in slime.
"Don't you think we should talk about this?" Cole asks.
"Talk about what?" Phoebe asks.
Buffy comes down the stairs. "Wow, looks like you two got a juicy one."
"Yeah, but unfortunately not the one that kills witches." Phoebe says.
Buffy sighs, "How do you know?"
"Because upper level demons have a human form, and they bleed, red, not green." Cole says as Phoebe heads up the stairs. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going up to take a shower first, and then I'm going to check the Book of Shadows. I wanna I.D. this demon that I'm wearing, try to find some answers." Phoebe says.
"Speaking of unanswered questions…" Cole says.
"There is a demon on the loose, Cole, we don't have time for this." Phoebe says.
"Shouldn't we make time for it?" Cole asks.
"No, not now we shouldn't." Phoebe says.
"What are you guys talking about?" Buffy asks.
"Nothing." Phoebe and Cole says.
"Please, Cole, let's just focus on vanquishing the demon." Phoebe says.
"Fine. I'll, uh, go see what I can find out." Cole says and he shimmers out.
"Honey, did you two have a fight?" Buffy asks.
Phoebe shakes her head, "No, he just… never mind." She walks up the stairs.
Later in the attic Phoebe has the Book of Shadows open to the black and green demon. "Okay, so the demon that Cole and I nailed is a Scavenger demon. Apparently he feeds on the remains of other demons victims. Nice, huh?"
"Well, that explains why we scryed for him accidentally." Piper sats.
Phoebe continues to flip through the book.
"Hey are you gonna tell me what happened out there?" Buffy says.
"Happened?" Piper asks. "Something happened?"
Phoebe sighs, "There's not much to tell. The demon jumped in behind us…"
"That's not what I mean. What happened between you and Cole?" Buffy says.
"Oh, yeah, that. Um…I'm not exactly sure. He asked me to marry him." Phoebe says.
"What? He-he did what? He did?" Piper says, shocked.
Phoebe nods, "More or less."
"Well, what did you say?" Buffy asks.
"I didn't know what to say. I was too surprised. I mean, with all my power of premonition and I never saw that one coming." Phoebe says.
"Uh, wow, I-I don't think a witch is allowed to marry a demon. Honey, we can't have a demon in the family." Piper says.
"You say that now after I was dating a vampire." Buffy says.
"Piper, that is the least of my concerns right now." Phoebe says.
Piper sighs, "Well, don't kid yourself. If you decide to go through with this, it's gonna be a source of huge concerns. Especially for them." She points up. "Just as I am sure it would have been for you Buffy if you had continued with Angel."
Buffy sighs, "I know."
"I have to be concerned with my own concerns." Phoebe says as Buffy and Piper sits down next to her. "I love Cole, you two know I do, but demon stuff aside, I never thought of myself as the marrying type. You know, it's not something I fantasised about. Ever."
"So then, what are you gonna tell him?" Piper asks.
Phoebe shrugs, "I don't know."
"Well, you're gonna have to tell him something because a question like that doesn't go away by itself." Piper says.
"Are you sure?" Phoebe asks.
Piper nods, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
They laugh as Cole shimmer in. "Hey."
Phoebe smiles, "Hey."
Buffy smiles, "Hey, Cole. We'll be downstairs. Come on, Piper." She and Piper get up and leave the room.
Downstairs Paige is holding onto a plastic baby. A crying noise is coming out of it.
"You got a baby?" Piper asks.
"You told me to rent one, so I did." Paige says.
Buffy shakes her head, "She didn't think that you could. Where did you get it, anyways?"
"The clinic." Paige says.
"Great. Take it back." Piper says.
Phoebe and Cole walk in.
"What's going on?" Phoebe asks.
Paige smiles, "Piper and Leo wanted to try out having a baby before actually having one, so I got them a mechanical baby. They use them in parenting classes all the time."
"Wow, it sounds so real." Phoebe says.
"And so annoying. Look, Paige, I appreciate the thought, but we are on a demon hunt and the last thing I want to do is protect a fake baby." Piper says.
"Oh, really?" Paige asks as she throws it up in the air. Piper freezes it. "See? Your instincts were to save it."
"My instincts were to shut it up." Piper says.
"The doll has a sensor. It'll stop crying if you just hold it." Paige says.
"But I don't want to." Piper says.
"Come on, just try it. If it doesn't work I will take it back, I promise." Paige says.
Piper sighs. She unfreezes the baby and catches it.
Phoebe puts her arms around Piper. "Okay, now you just rock it gently." She helps Piper rock it.
"Phoebe? I know how to hold a baby, that is not the issue, thank you." Piper says as Phoebe lets go.
"Just give it a shot. What have you got to lost?" Paige says.
"How about some sleep." Buffy says.
Leo orbs in. "Another witch has been killed."
"Oh, no." Phoebe says.
Leo nods, "Yeah, the police found her body at the Canon Theatre."
"Well, we should go there and see what we can find out." Buffy says.
Phoebe nods, "We've gotta call Morris on the way. Make sure he can get us in." She looks to Cole. "And no you can not come. Someone might recognise you from when you posed as a DA."
"I don't get to go anywhere anymore." Cole says.
"You were a demon and a lawyer? Insert joke here." Paige says.
Buffy shakes her head, "Paige, now's not the time."
"Where'd you get it?" Leo asks, laughing.
"It's Paige's." Piper says.
Paige shakes her head, "No, it's yours. You need to figure it out." She leaves.
"Yeah, daddy." Piper says as she gives him the baby. "Figure it out. Excuse me." She leaves.
Leo looks at it. It continues to cry. He goes over to Cole and gives him a look.
Cole shakes his head, "Don't look at me." He walks away.
Leo looks at Buffy who shakes her head.
"Sorry, Leo. Your out of luck. I don't know the first thing about babies. Only child, remember. Besides…"
"Buffy, you coming?" Piper calls.
"Coming." Buffy says.
Later Darryl, Buffy, Piper, Phoebe and Paige walk in the alley.
"Look, I can't guarantee much this time. Just promise me you'll stay on the fringe." Darryl says.
"We promise." Phoebe says.
"So what do we know?" Paige asks.
"Man called 911 from that pay phone, reported he found a body." Darryl says.
Piper sees black scorch marks on the wall. "Looks like she wasn't the only victim. Scorch mark. Definitely demonic. Looks like one of Cole's, actually."
"Don't you mean Belthazor?" Paige says.
"Paige!" Buffy says. "Now is really not the time."
"Oh, it's too bad Cole can't check it out. He'd probably be able to tell us who did it. Is anyone from the DA office here?" Phoebe says.
Darryl points to a man. "Yeah, that guy over there's an ADA. He's interviewing one of the victim's friends. They also found this on the victim." He pulls out the necklace the witch was wearing.
"Triple crescent." Paige says.
"Yeah, does this mean something to you?" Darryl asks.
Paige nods, "I studied it in one of Piper's quizzes. It's an ancient wiccan symbol, a cousin to the triquetra."
Piper nods, "Could be the mark of a coven."
"A coven someone's trying to wipe out. We have to figure out who else is in it." Phoebe says.
Piper nods, "Maybe the victim's friend."
"Only one way to find out." Buffy says.
"Buffy, fringe, okay?"
"Fringe," Buffy says.
"And she hadn't complained about any disgruntled friends, co-workers, ex-boyfriends?" ADA asks.
Woman shakes her head, "No. Carrie was a beautiful person, everyone loved her."
ADA takes a business card out and hands it to her. "If you think of anything else at all, please, don't hesitate to call."
Woman nods. He walks away. She starts to walk away.
Buffy comes up to her. "I like your necklace."
"Do I know you?" Woman asks.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, but you might know of me and my family." She whispers in the woman's ear. "The Charmed Ones. You and Carrie were in the same coven?"
Woman nods, "Yes."
"And your mark is the triple crescent." Buffy says and she touches the necklace and has a premonition of a Belthazor look-a-like, stabbing this woman.
"What is it? Are you alright?" Woman asks.
Phoebe, Piper and Paige race over to Buffy.
"What happened? What did you see?" Piper asks.
"The demon. He's after her." Buffy says.
"Where?" Phoebe asks.
"Uh... By the steps in some park. I think it was like an old amphitheatre or something." Buffy says.
"I know that. That's in Stanley Arboreta. I walk past it everyday on the way to work." Woman says.
"What did the demon look like?" Paige asks.
Buffy looks at Phoebe and hesitates.
"Well?" Piper asks.
"Your going to hate me, Pheebs. A little like Belthazor. Not exactly like him, just similar." Buffy says.
The ADA walks over to them. "What the hell is going on here? This is a murder investigation. Who are these people?"
"I'll get rid of them. Come on, ladies, move along. First time I ask nicely." Darryl says.
"We're going, mister." Piper says.
They all leave.
The next morning Buffy, Piper, Phoebe, Paige and the woman (Susan) are walking along in the park.
"I don't understand. If you know the demon is meant to attack here, shouldn't we go someplace else?" Susan says.
Piper shakes her head, "Not if we want to get rid of him for good."
"Power of three spell?" Paige asks.
Buffy shakes her head, "No, the only way to vanquish an upper level demon is with the potion of his own flesh."
"Sounds like you've done this before." Paige says.
Phoebe nods, "Once. On my fiancé."
"Your fiancé?" Paige asks.
Phoebe nods, "Yeah, I just wanted to hear how it sounded."
"And?" Piper and Buffy asks.
"Kinda weird." Phoebe says.
Piper nods, "Yeah."
"Wait, wait, wait, back up. Did you say you once tried to vanquish Cole?" Paige says.
"No, Belthazor, there's a difference." Phoebe says.
"Is there?" Paige asks.
They stop walking.
Buffy nods, "Yes there is, Paige. Okay, let's review. I play decoy, demon attacks. Piper freezes, you slice and dice until we get the demon sushi. And then we get out of there. Everybody ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Paige says.
Paige takes a knife out of her purse.
"Okay, I'm gonna need your coat and your hat." Buffy says and Susan takes off her hat and coat and hands them to Buffy. "Oh, and your necklace."
Susan takes off her necklace and gives it to Phoebe.
"Uhm, Buffy." Phoebe says. "One problem with you doing it."
"What?" Buffy says.
Phoebe points to Buffy's wrist where the tattoo of the triquetra is. "If he sees that he's going to know your not her."
Buffy nods, "Ok change of plans. Phoebe will be decoy. And I'll flame Susan out of here."
Piper nods, "Good thinking."
Buffy hands the coat, hat and necklace to Phoebe. "Where should I take her?"
"Well you can't take her home." Phoebe says.
"How about to my old loft, it's not rented out yet." Paige says.
"Alright." Buffy says and then she walks over to Susan, taking her hand and flames out.
"Okay, we gotta do this fast because this demon won't stay frozen for long. Ready?" Piper says and Paige nods. "Let's go."
Moments later Phoebe is walking through the path by herself. Piper and Paige are looking through some bushes.
The demon shimmers in behind Phoebe. "Hello, witch."
"Goodbye..." Phoebe says as she spins around. "Demon."
The demon runs for her with his athame. Phoebe flips him over and Piper and Paige come out of the bushes. A woman runs out and throws a dagger at the demon. The demon shimmers out and the dagger hits a tree.
"I had him." Woman says.
"Who the hell are you?" Piper asks.
Back at the Manor Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Cole and the woman are there.
The woman is holding the dagger. "He used this to kill my fiancé. It's a ceremonial knife. The demon left it behind after the struggle. I've been hunting for the last year and a half. It's all I care about."
"May I?" Cole asks.
The woman look at him and then at Piper and Phoebe. They nod and she hands the dagger to Cole.
"Look familiar?" Phoebe asks.
"He looked familiar to me." Paige says.
"I meant the athame." Phoebe says.
Cole nods, "It's one used by the brotherhood."
"Emma, do you know why the demon wanted to kill your fiancé?" Piper asks.
"Because Andrew was a witch." Emma says.
"Are you a witch too?" Piper asks.
Emma shakes her head, "No. But after Andrew died, I studied his books and devoted myself to the craft."
"To continue his work?" Piper asks.
"To track down his killer." Emma says.
"And you just happened to be in the park at the same time the demon was going to attack Susan?" Paige asks.
Emma nods, "I know his MO. I know when he kills a witch, he goes after the entire coven."
"You've taught yourself well. But still, if we hadn't come along we would have lost you both." Piper says.
"Vengeance empowers me." Emma says.
Cole shakes his head, "But it won't save you. Your desire for revenge is keeping you from the truth. You want the demon vanquished, my advice is to stand back and let the Charmed Ones handle it."
"This is my fight." Emma says.
Cole nods, "Then you shall lose it."
"Cole's right. You should trust us. Trust that we want the same thing you do." Phoebe says.
"It's just, his face has haunted me ever since Andrew died. It's the face of pure evil. I can't let him get away." Emma says.
"Why don't you scry for him again while we prepare the vanquishing potion. Once we get a piece of his flesh, he's dust." Piper says.
"We'll get him. I swear we'll get him." Phoebe says.
The baby cries from the other room.
"Ignore that." Piper says.
Paige hits her lightly. "Piper!"
"Alright. Excuse me." Piper says as she leaves the room. "Leo!"
"She has a baby?" Emma asks.
"Actually, she's not sure yet." Paige says.
"Hm." Emma says.
Buffy and Susan are at Paige's old loft.
"How much longer do you think I'll have to stay here?" Susan asks.
"Well, I'd have to talk to your Leo or Whitelighter but my instincts tell me that everyone in your coven should break the routine until the threat is over." Buffy says.
Susan's phone rings. "Excuse me." She answers it. "Hello?"
"Ms. Coleman, this is the assistant district attorney Sikes."
"Who is it?" Buffy asks.
"ADA. Uh, I'm sorry, yes, hi." Susan says.
"I'm calling because I've received new evidence and I'd like to talk to you about it if that's alright." Sikes says.
"Uh, okay, when?" Susan asks.
"Can you come over to the office now?" Sikes asks.
"He wants me to come in." Susan says.
"No," Buffy says.
"You know as well as I that if I don't that it'll look suspicious." Susan says.
Buffy sighs, "Okay."
"Alright, I'll be there." Susan says.
"I'll be waiting." Sikes says.
At the Manor Emma is scrying. Phoebe and Cole are sitting on a chair looking through the Book of Shadows.]
"I-I feel the crystal pulling, he's still in the area." Emma says.
"Well, I can't find him in the book anywhere." Phoebe says.
"Did you notice how he vanished? Did he smoke out, flame out?" Cole asks.
"Actually, he shimmered, like Belthazor." Phoebe says.
"Wait, I think I found him." Emma says.
"Where?" Phoebe asks.
"He's at, uh, Prescott and..." Emma says.
"Pine." Phoebe says.
"How'd you know?" Emma asks.
"That's where we are." Phoebe says.
"Wait, he's here in the house?" Emma asks.
"I'll go check upstairs. You find your sisters, get ready." Cole says.
At the District Attorney's office, Buffy and Susan exit the elevator.
"Hello?" Susan says.
Sikes comes out of his office. "Ah, Ms. Coleman. Who's this?"
"I'm a friend. Is it a problem?" Buffy says.
Sikes shakes his head, "No, no, no problem at all. Um, why don't you just wait over there and uh, I'll let you know when it's over." Buffy looks at Susan not liking the situation one bit. She reluctantly sits down. "Right this way." He takes Susan in his office and shuts the door. Buffy sees the shadow demon go under the door.
Inside the office Sikes pushes Susan against the door and holds up his athame. Buffy flames in and knocks Sikes out. She then flames out with Susan.
At the manor Cole runs down the stairs. "Phoebe?" Phoebe races in. "He's not upstairs."
"He's not downstairs either." Phoebe says.
Buffy flames in with Susan.
"It's the ADA." Buffy says.
"Sikes?" Phoebe asks.
Buffy nods, "He tried to kill Susan, I don't know if he followed us here or not."
Sikes shimmers in.
"Watch out!" Phoebe says as Sikes throws an energy ball at them. They duck. Cole throws an energy ball at Sikes. "Take her upstairs."
Buffy and Susan run up the stairs.
"You're gonna have to do better than that." Sikes says as he changes into his demon form. Piper, Paige and Emma run in.
Piper freezes him. "Hurry, slice him." Paige runs over with a knife. She pulls a face. "Oh, Paige, just do it. This is no time to be squeamish."
Paige slices a piece of flesh off his arm. It drops on the floor and she picks it up. "Got it."
Sikes unfreezes and hits Paige. Phoebe goes over to her. Sikes throws an energy ball and Cole pushes Piper and Emma out of the way. The energy ball hits the fake baby on the table. Cole turns into Belthazor.
"Belthazor, we meet at last." Sikes says.
"But not for long." Belthazor says.
They each throw an energy ball and it hits together. The house shakes.
"We'll finish this later." Sikes says and he shimmers out.
"Is everybody okay?" Piper asks as she and Emma stand up.
"I'm okay. Emma?" Phoebe asks.
Emma frowns, "He's not the demon who killed my fiancé." She points to Belthazor. "He is." Belthazor turns back into Cole. "He's a killer. What's the matter with you people?"
"Emma, I know you're upset but you have to understand." Piper says.
"Let go of me." Emma says.
"You're making a huge mistake. He's not who you think he is." Phoebe says.
"He's the demon who killed my fiancé and that is all I need to know." Emma says as she pushes her way to the table.
"Whoa, whoa, hey!" Piper says.
Emma grabs the dagger and throws it at Cole. He catches it before it stabs him. "How can you protect a murderer? How can you live with yourself?" She storms out of the house.
"Is she right? Are you the one who killed him?" Paige asks.
Phoebe shakes her head, "Honey, now's not the time, we need to worry about Sikes. We got what we need, you guys work on the vanquishing potion."
Paige grabs the flesh and she and Piper head for the kitchen.
"We need to talk." Phoebe says.
In the kitchen Piper and Paige are making the potion. The table is covered in herbs and ingredients.
"Okay, we just need the pigs feet, over there by the mandrake root." Piper says.
"Poor piggy, piggy. They're sensitive creatures, you know. Smart too." Paige says.
"Yeah, not that one." Buffy says as she walks into the kitchen.
Paige puts the pig feet in the potion and flames shoot up.
"Okay, so all we need to do is drop in the Sikes flesh." Piper and Buffy gradually steps away from the potion. "Right, just drop it in."
Paige adds the flesh and the potion explodes. Paige falls to the ground. Piper giggles. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"
"Yeah, she did." Buffy says.
Piper helps Paige up. "Yeah, it happened to me last year. No substitute for experience." She looks to Buffy. "Where's Susan?"
"With, Leo." Buffy says. "I figured you could use the extra firepower."
Cole races in. "You girls alright?"
Piper nods, "Yeah, just doing a little sisterly bonding, that's all. Where's Phoebe? The potion will be ready in a couple of minutes."
"Yeah, she wanted to talk to Emma, explain things." Cole says.
"Good luck." Paige says.
Cole frowns, "Look, I don't need the guilt from you, okay, I've got enough of my own to deal with."
"What, and you think that covers it? What you did?" Paige says.
"Paige, don't." Buffy says.
"Don't what, Buffy? He killed a man, are you condoning that?"
Buffy shakes her head, "No, of course not. But it's just not that simple. He can't change the past and you've seen how much good he's helped us to do. That's who he is now and we've accepted that."
"If you say so." Paige says.
"Thank you, Buffy. Do you want me to help you find Sikes?" Cole says.
"Can you?" Piper asks.
Cole nods, "If he's still emulating me, all I have to do is figure out what I'd do next."
"Which would be...?" Buffy asks.
"Go after the Charmed Ones." Cole says.
"Oh, that's nice." Paige says.
"First I'd have to regroup somewhere. Tend to my cut." Cole says.
"The mausoleum?" Piper asks.
Cole nods, "Except Sikes will anticipate that. He'll be expecting you to come after him which means he'll be probably be lying in wait. Maybe set up some kind of trap."
"One that you can identify." Buffy says and Cole nods. "So let's go."
"Wait, don't we need Phoebe?" Paige says.
Piper shakes her head, "No, all we need is this." She holds up the viles of potion. "Besides, it's better to keep Emma away from the action." Leo walks in with the baby. It has scorch marks on it and is crying strangely. "Oh, honey, what happened?"
"Sikes. I guess you were right." Leo says.
"Oh, sweetie, I didn't wanna be right. I'm sorry." Piper says.
"You're sorry? Who's gonna pay for this? Well?" Paige asks.
"We're gonna go after Sikes so we should probably orb Susan out of here just to be safe." Piper says and she kisses Leo on the cheek and leaves the kitchen. Buffy, Paige and Cole follow.
At the mausoleum Buffy, Cole, Piper and Paige walk down the stairs.
"Any sign of him?" Paige asks.
Cole shakes his head, "No."
They reach the bottom of the stairs and Cole pulls Paige back.
"What?" Piper asks.
"Trap. Back up." Cole says as he picks up a candle and throws it on the ground. It explodes and the whole floor is covered in flames. It disappears. Cole runs across the room and looks around.
"Where is he?" Buffy asks.
Cole shakes his head, "I don't know."
"Well, why would he set a trap for us and not be here?" Paige asks.
"Unless this is just a distraction." Cole says.
"What do you mean distraction? You said he was after us." Piper says.
"I was wrong. He's after me. And the best way to get to me is through..." Cole says.
"Phoebe." Buffy and Piper says looking at each other.
At the Manor Phoebe walks in through the front door. "Cole?"
Sikes shimmers in behind her and grabs Phoebe around the neck. She gasps and drops her purse. He points an athame at her. "Close."
"What do you want?" Phoebe asks.
"Same thing you do. Only I call him Belthazor." Sikes says as he looks at the potion that has fallen out of her purse. "Except I don't need a potion to vanquish him. I just need you."
Later Buffy, Piper, Paige and Cole walk in. They see Phoebe's purse on the floor.
"Phoebe." Paige says.
"Buffy and I'll check upstairs, you two check downstairs."
Up in the attic Sikes has Phoebe tied to a chair. "You must be something very special, to turn a demon. Something very special indeed." He touches her neck with the athame. "Unfortunately though, when you made him less evil, you made him less powerful. Hmm, I wonder, are you gonna have the same affect on me after I kill him?" Buffy and Cole walks in. "Well, well, well. The mighty Belthazor. You don't disappoint. I knew you'd figure out what I was up to... sooner or later. Though I did expect you to come alone." He points the athame at Phoebe's neck.
"Cole, get outta here. He won't hurt me. He's bluffing." Phoebe says.
"I can't take that chance." Cole and Sikes says.
"Ooh, it's kinda eerie, isn't it? How I know you better than you know yourself. The student has surpassed his mentor." Sikes says.
"Something tells me Cole was never your mentor, Sikes." Buffy says.
"By reputation he was." Sikes says before looking back at Cole. "By your legend. It'll be an honor to kill you." He tucks his athame in his belt. "And assume your rightful place in the hierarchy."
Cole looks at Phoebe. She shakes her head. "Remember what I told you? What I asked you to do?"
"Cole, please, don't." Phoebe asks.
"What did you ask her to do?" Buffy asks.
Cole screams and turns into Belthazor. Sikes turns into his demon form. Belthazor throws an energy ball at Sikes as Belthazor and Sikes start fighting.
Sikes tries to strangle Belthazor. "Die!"
"Cole?" Phoebe and Buffy asks.
Cole embraces his demonic self completely. He pushes Sikes up and he hits the roof. Belthazor grabs him and pulls Sikes' athame out of his belt. They suddenly freeze. Piper and Paige have entered the room. They race over to Phoebe and Buffy as Buffy finishes untying Phoebe.
Downstairs Emma walks in through the front door and picks up the potion.
Belthazor and Sikes start to unfreeze. Piper and Paige quickly untie Phoebe. Belthazor pulls Sikes up and stabs him with the athame. Sikes screams and bursts into flames. He disappears. Belthazor turns to the girls.]
"Cole?" Phoebe asks as he walks towards them with the athame. "It's over. You can turn back now. Cole, you can do it. For me, for us."
"Hurry, throw the potion. maybe it'll work on him." Paige says.
Piper holds up the potion.
"No, don't. Cole, please, you can do this, you're good." Phoebe says.
Emma runs in and throws the potion at Belthazor. Flames surround him and he screams. The flames disappear and Cole drops to his knees.
"What happened?" Paige asks.
"The power stripping potion?" Buffy asks.
Phoebe nods, "That was the power stripping potion I made to free Cole." She goes over to him. "Are you okay?" She hugs him. Emma picks up the athame. Phoebe sees her. "No!" She goes over to Emma. "You got your revenge. You killed the demon you were after. Belthazor's dead, gone forever. Cole's a human being, an innocent."
Emma hands Phoebe the knife.
At Payson's P4 Buffy, Piper and Paige are at the bar.
Piper is writing out a check as Leo comes up to them. "You know, this baby was your idea."
Paige nods, "I know, I know, that's why I'm paying for half of it. I still haven't quite figured out how to explain what happened to it though." Piper hands her the check. "Thank you."
"Well, at least it served its purpose." Piper says.
"In spades unfortunately." Leo says.
Buffy shakes her head, "That's disappointing. I was hoping to be Auntie Buffy someday."
"Well, honey, it doesn't mean that Leo and I can't ever have children. Just, you know, we have to wait until it's safe." Piper says.
"Promise?" Leo asks.
Piper smiles, "Promise." She leans over the bar and kisses him.
"Aww, that's sweet. You two oughta get married. Unlike Phoebe and Cole." Paige says.
"You don't think they should?" Leo asks.
Paige shrugs, "I don't know, I guess it's not my business. Probably just really the fact that Cole killed people."
Buffy nods, "Yeah, but that wasn't Cole, it was Belthazor."
"Splitting hairs if you ask me." Paige says.
Leo shakes his head, "It's not though. His human half had absolutely nothing to do with any of that, it was totally subjugated. Phoebe's right, he's an innocent."
"The question is, what does he do now?" Piper asks.
At the Manor Phoebe is waiting around for Cole. After a while, Cole finally walks in.
"Cole. Oh my god, I was so worried." Phoebe says as she runs over and hugs him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I had to take a walk, and then I lost track of time and I tried to shimmer back here and I realised I, I didn't have my powers anymore." Cole says.
"But that's a good thing. Isn't that what we always wanted?" Phoebe asks.
Cole shrugs, "I don't know, do we? I mean, I get it that I'm finally off the Source's radar and that I don't have to worry about demons tracking me down all the time but, I-I-I'm grateful for that, don't get me wrong. It's just..." He laughs.
"What? Come here." Phoebe says as they sit on the bed.
"For all intense purposes I've been a demon for over a hundred years, it's all I've ever known. Or been. What am I supposed to do now? Who am I?" Cole says.
"Well, you're still the good man I fell in love with." Phoebe says.
Cole nods, "But not the one you wanna marry."
"I love you, Cole. And nothing will ever change that. But I'm not ready, not yet. And that's got more to do with me and my issues, than it does you." Phoebe says.
"I still don't know where that leaves us, especially now." Cole says.
"Well, just because you're not a demon anymore doesn't mean we can't live in sin." Phoebe says as they kiss and lay down on the bed.