Normal, Illinois
1958
A man wearing a grey coat watched as his son slept. He always hated this, leaving before saying goodnight. But he had responsibilities. At least this was the final night, after this, he could work a day shift. At least for awhile.
Henry Winchester walks up to his son's bed, he wanted to tuck John in before he left for work. When John stirred awake, Henry smiled at him.
"Hey, Sport. Sorry to wake you." Poor John was blinking at him sleepily.
"Where are you going?" Four year old John asked. He noticed his father wearing his coat and hat.
"Work." Millie wasn't happy that Henry was working late again, but she knew Henry needed to provide for his family.
"Just wanted to check up on you before I left." Henry tucks in John again, he always wanted to be close to John. John smiles at Henry. Noticing a button on Henry's tie, he asked what that was.
"What's that Pops?" It was a crooked star.
"One day, I'll tell you all about it." Henry remembered his father telling him about it. His schooling started when he was fourteen. "Now get some shut eye, I'll see you first thing in the morning." Henry picks up John's music box.
''As Time Goes By'' starts playing.
"Goodnight son." Henry turns off the light and walks out of the room.
"Is John asleep?" Millie was wearing her nightgown and rollers.
"He will be in a minute." He kisses his wife. "I'll see you tomorrow. If you want, I'll take you and John to breakfast at Lauren's Diner first thing tomorrow."
"John would like that. He loves his blueberry pancakes. Love you."
"I love you too. Goodnight."
"Night." They kiss. "Tell Josie I said hi."
"Will do."
Twenty minutes later Henry arrives at the secret hideout. He knocked twice, then once, and three times. It was their secret knock. When he saw the door open, he stepped back for a second to let the doorman see his face. Once the door opened wider, her stepped inside.
"Good evening Sir." The doorman says, greeting Henry.
Henry hands him his coat and hat. Apologizing silently for the rain. Walking down the hall, he smiles at his old friend.
"Josie." Wow, she looked incredible. "No one told me it was a formal affair." He felt so underdressed, even though he was wearing his newest suit and tie. She looked so regal, the stained glass window made her grey dress stand out.
"Someone has to class up the joint." Josie stands up and straightens Henry's pin.
"Ain't that the truth."
"The hard part's over, we made it." Josie tells him. Henry was about to say something back when the door opened.
"Miss Sands?" A man wearing a maroon velvet hood and cape came out of the room next to them.
Henry nodded at Josie. It took them years to get where they are. Henry wondered what was the initiation was like. When he asked his father, all Walter said that it was different for every generation. But he did warn Henry not to be squeamish around blood. Henry was wondering what Josie was going through when he heard screams.
Henry rushed in, not knowing what to expect. But when he saw "Josie" breaking someone's neck, he knew he had to get out of there. Before he ran out, his friend, Larry Ganem hands him a box.
"Henry. Don't let Abaddon get it." His eyes were blinded, but he still had a job to do.
Henry nods, he knew what to do. Luckily Walter gave him directions. He knew what Abaddon was, no way was he giving in to a Knight of Hell.
Present Day
Dean was smiling as he mowed the lawn. The Ramones were blasting in his ears, their song, "It's a Wonderful World" was playing on his playlist from his phone.
When he saw his wife carrying their daughter out of the house, Dean turns off his music, and takes his wireless buds and puts them in his pocket.
"Oh thanks!" Dean takes the beer out of her hand and takes a long sip. "That hits the spot." He hands the bottle back and picks up Laura. "How's my little Winchester?" He smiles at Laura giggles.
"I never thought I'll witness you mowing the lawn." Jenna takes a sip of the beer. She rarely drank, but the sun was hot today. "And loving it."
"I don't. But for you, and for Laura Mary here, sacrifices need to be made." He starts swinging his baby around, smiling as Laura laughs in her baby voice.
Jenna was smiling as well, she loved it when Dean spent time at home. Seeing a familiar face she waves.
"Hey Piper! Sam! Just in time! Lunch is almost ready!"
"Enjoying yourself?" Dean was smirking at Sam's salad. "You sure you married the right girl?" Jenna was enjoying the same salad, while Sam's own wife was wolfing down a cheeseburger.
"Not a doubt." He thanks Dean as Dean hands him a burger. He rarely ate meat, but it was a special holiday.
"Hey Sam! Dean! Coming to the lake tonight?" Their neighbour asked.
"With bells on!"
"Uh uh. Laura's too young for loud fireworks. Maybe later on." Piper scolded as she takes the plate from Sam. "Besides, I have work tonight." The restaurant where Piper was at was open tonight for a private party. "Ugh." Her belly was aching.
"Piper you okay?" Sam asked worriedly. He was very overprotective of her, he didn't want her getting stressed out with her pregnancy.
"I'm fine. Just hungry." She takes some ketchup and sprays the contents on her burger. "I'm starving." Before she walked away, she told Sam a few old friends were coming to visit. "I have some friends coming over in the next few days. Mind if you crash here?" She wanted to go to San Francisco, but with her pregnancy, didn't feel comfortable traveling.
"Dean?"
"Jen won't mind, she can take the baby to your place. I'm sure she needs a girls night out anyways." Dean was looking forward to spending some manly time with his brother. As much as he loved his wife and baby, he was itching for a break. "Got to work tonight, but come tomorrow after four, Jen is heading out with the baby to visit some friends."
"Sure." Sam understood. He too was getting restless. He and Piper needed a mini break. Not that their marriage was in trouble, they just missed their siblings. Dean was rarely available these days, ever since having his baby, he worked more hours to provide for his family. Same with Sam, he worked long hours working odd jobs to provide for his wife.
Once Jenna left, and after Sam finished cooing to his niece, they head back to the house. After Sam thanks Dean for the beer, they start reminiscing about old times.
"Remember that werewolf we hunted back in Fairfax? You wrote a paper on it." Sam was in seventh grade, Dean was in high school.
Sam smiles at the at the memory.
"He told me to be honest." The assignment was supposed to be something like 'What I Did Last Summer.' It was supposed to be what the students did with their families. Sam wrote that he, Dean and John were hunting. AKA, doing the 'Family Business.'
"Did you flunk?" They were watching a baseball game. Neither cared who was playing, they just wanted to hang out.
"Nah. I got a A. Called it a very well work of fiction." Sam smiled at the grade, he used that same paper on his essay to Stanford. "So how's things?"
"Can't complain. I have a career, a beautiful wife, and a baby. Plus we have a normal life. Life is good. Yourself?"
"Good. Piper is finally over her morning sickness. But the baby, they are showing their powers." It wasn't just the tree, it was also the hovering. Piper rarely went out anymore, not since the grocery store incident. She was reading a cereal box when she heard a gasp. A little girl asked why she was floating in the air. Piper was horrified when she saw her feet a few inches off the ground. She made a excuse she was a magician and ran out. "She is trying to make a potion to bond the powers, without bonding hers. It's hard, she was forced to quit her job."
"That sucks." Dean was glad his baby was mortal. "Anyways, let's order some chicken wings."
Later that night, Dean woke up with a full bladder. It was late, the room was dark. Looking over, he saw the bed was empty.
'Jenna must be with Laura.'
Once he finished his business, he went back to bed. He was about to fall asleep when he heard screams.
He woke up in a split second, grabbing his gun, he runs towards the nursery. The heck? The room was empty. He jumped when he heard a voice.
"Dean?" Jenna was holding Laura. "Why are you up? You have to be at work in the morning." She looked at the gun. "Dean. You promised. No guns in the house." Dean reluctantly agreed to keep his weapons in the Impala.
"Jen? I..." What could he say? "Just a bad dream." He looks at Laura. "Why are you up?"
"She was crying. I been up for an hour." She looks at their baby. "She's finally asleep. Let's go to bed."
"I'll stay here." Dean didn't know why, he wanted to be close to her.
"You sure?" When Dean nodded, she handed him the baby. "I'll get you a blanket. Have a good night." Once she kissed Dean goodnight, Dean carefully sets his daughter down in her crib.
"I'll protect you. Always." He never wanted to leave her side. He sits down on the rocking chair watching the crib. Feeling his eyes closing, he fought to keep them up. Soon he lost his battle and falls asleep.
Dean didn't feel anything as he shot Peter. Poor bastard was infected.
"Okay, you know the drill."
"Yes sir." His men pull out their hazmat suits and carry Peter's body away. They usually piled the bodies in a mass grave and burn the corpses afterwards. The croatoan virus was deadly. Once Dean took off his clothes, he threw them on the ground and set them on fire. No way was he getting sick.
No one gave him a second look as he walked nude across the camp. Everyone here was desensitized about the world. After he had a quick shower, he heads to the mess tent. He nods at a tired looking Jenna.
"Hey babe." He sits down next to her. He picks up his fork and shuffles the food hungrily in his mouth.
"How was the hunt?" Kansas City was a hotbed for Croatoan. Dean was here helping the soldiers keep the infection was escaping the city.
"Pete's dead."
Jenna sighed.
"This war, it's costing us so much. What are you going to tell Zoe and the kids?"
"That Peter died a honorable death." He did manage to blow up that building. The leader of the croats was inside. After the fire went out, Dean and the others stayed behind to make sure no one came out. "He knew what he was getting in to."
"I know. Laura, she wants to tell you she is heading south. Garth gave her new orders."
"Our girl is all grown up." No matter how old Laura was, she will always be Dean's little girl. "I'm gonna say goodbye before she leaves."
"Just don't crash the farewell party. Her cousin is hosting it."
"Then I know she'll be safe." Laura was a great hunter, but her cousin was a talented witch. "I'm gonna see Sam and Cas, have a few beers. There's a baseball team tonight."
"Awesome. Piper and I will be there with the girls. Save us a few beers."
Dean was cheering as the MoL lost. His favorite team, the Hunters won by one point. He was drunk, but so was everyone else. Nights like this were very rare.
"What a great game." Dean was having fun. "The casino is open, what to play some craps?" Money was useless, instead a new form of currency was used.
"Sure, I need a new bed. I wore out mine."
"Only because you keep bringing back randoms." Dean almost was envious, he missed his younger days when he slept around. "You using protection?"
"Duh." Dean and Sam laughed. Castiel was so different then when they first met. "I may have lost my wings, but I know about safe sex." Cas smiles as a woman, who winks back. "You sure you don't want to come over?"
"No thanks." Dean and Sam say simultaneously. Cas, he often asked both to invite their wives and them over for a 'party'.
"Not for that. Although my offer still stands. I just want to hang out and play poker. Cole showed me how to play. I'm getting good. Meg is coming over, she is bringing Anael. Both are betting big."
"Poker? I'm in. Dean?"
"Another time." Dean wanted to see Laura before she left town. "Have fun."
It took Dean twenty minutes to walk to the house. The music was blasting with Taylor Swift. Trying not to flinch, he rings the doorbell.
"Hey Castiel." Garth's son was holding a joint.
"HEY DEAN!" Dean smiles as they hug. Both Castiel and Sam were huggers like their dad. "Want some?"
"No thanks. Where's Laura?"
"She's not here." He starts coughing. "Phew. Strong stuff." He takes another puff.
"Where is she?"
"Her and DJ went out. Something about a croat."
"Dammit." DJ was a great hunter, but can be very reckless. "Where?"
"They said the old mall."
"Oh great." That mall was in a hot zone. "Are they alone?" Dean hoped not, Laura's cousin usually went with her. When Castiel shook his head, Dean thanks Castiel. "Loan me your keys." Dean didn't care that Laura was a adult. Her and DJ were getting dragged home.
"Tell Laura to bring back some chips!" Castiel calls out as Dean drives away.
Dean's knuckles were white as he drove. He knew Laura was a great hunter, but so was Peter. He knew if anything happened to her or DJ, Dean would never forgive himself.
"Laura? DJ?" Dean didn't care who heard him. A leviathan could be nearby, Dean already had a machete. The mall was dark. "Laura?" When he heard screams, Dean goes running. What he saw, Dean heart went cold.
"What's the matter Daddy? DJ here, he was trying to kill me." DJ was laying on the ground with his neck slashed. Laura, she was infected.
Dean didn't show any emotions as he, Jenna, Sam and their families watched the pyres going. He was holding his wife who was sobbing.
''We'll be okay." Dean lied. His heart, it went cold as a block of ice that day.
Dean was walking with the stroller. He was tasked with picking up some diapers. Jenna finally gave up on cloth diapers, it was a lot harder than they thought. He didn't want anyone touching Laura, not even a old lady. Even with her swearing at Dean for being rude. For all Dean knew, she could be a demon.
"That's all?" When Dean nodded, he told him the price. "That will be $22.99."
Dean tried not to flinch as he pulled out his wallet. He and Jenna made enough, but Dean didn't expect their baby to be so expensive. This was the third box this week. When he was about to pay, he saw a monstrous face. Immediately, he pulls out his gun.
"You." Leviathans were rare, but very deadly. "This gun won't kill you, but it will slow you down."
"Dean!" Sam walked in to pay for his gas. Laura was crying in her stroller. Hearing Sam's voice, Dean saw the terrified clerk frozen in terror.
"Never mind. Take them. It's on me." He pushes the box of diapers towards Dean.
Dean blinked at the clerk. Seeing Sam, he woke up from his daze.
"Um, my brother is suffering from PTSD. My car backfired from outside. He still has nightmares about being overseas." Sam lied. He takes out his wallet. "Here's a hundred. Should cover my gas, and the diapers." He smiled at the shaking clerk. "We're really sorry about that. Please don't call the cops. Dean, you should make a appointment with the doctor." He takes the gun from Dean. "Again, my apologies." He tucks the gun in his jeans. ''Laura sounds hungry. Let me drive you both home, I'll strap Laura in the back seat." Sam drove Piper's SUV. With their baby coming, they agreed to buy a identical SUV that she had in San Francisco.
Dean couldn't believe what he did. He was still shaken. He asked Piper to take Laura for the day, Jenna was out visiting a friend.
"So what happened out there." Sam was sitting with Dean in his living room.
"I don't know." Dean threw his head in his hands. "I was fine, then I freaked." That clerk, if Sam didn't interfere...
"I can give that guy a amnesia spell if you want." Sam knew his wife would disapprove, but this was an emergency. Devon told them about his stint in prison, and that FBI Agent who kept asking questions.
"That won't help. I keep having those nightmares." He told Sam what happened. "I see monsters everywhere."
"Sorry. Um, Dean. I hate to ask."
"I'm not seeing a shrink. Especially Phoebe." Dean knew she was almost finished med school, but Dean wanted privacy. "Don't even mention it to Cas." Castiel was Head Director, and once he saw Dean as a patient, he wouldn't leave him alone. "I'm not going to California."
"Okay." Sam wasn't gonna push Dean. "Want to order a PPV? Jericho is fighting for the Championship tonight."
"Dean? It's late." Jenna was rubbing her eyes in sleepiness. "Come to bed."
"I will. I just want to make sure she's alright." Sam and Piper gave Dean crystals and spells to take away Dean's nightmares. "Look at her. She is getting bigger." Laura already outgrew the diapers Dean bought her. "Soon she will be entering kindergarten." Dean was so glad Sam got hired a substitute teacher at the local school. Feeling his wife's arms, Dean smiled.
"You think about having another one?"
"Maybe. But you know Sis. She'll get jealous." She and Sam had a hard time getting pregnant. "Maybe in a few years." He heard Jenna turning on the small music box that was sitting on a shelf.
"Rock a Bye Baby" started playing.
"Come on. Lets go to bed." Jenna takes Dean's hand and leads him out. "Goodnight Laura."
Dean woke up feeling cold. Seeing the hallway light on, he checked the side of the bed.
"Babe?" Seeing the hallway light on, Dean figured Jenna was checking on the baby.
After ten minutes, Dean got up. He went to pee. Once he was done, he saw the bathroom light flickering. Looks like Dean had to change the lightbulb in the morning. Yawning sleepily, he goes back to bed. He was about to fall asleep when he heard screams.
He was awake in a instant.
"Babe? He rushes to Laura's nursery.
"Rock a Baby" was still playing on the music box.
"Babe?" He saw the kitchen light on down the hall. Jenna must be heating up a bottle. Laura was awake. "Hey. You're up pretty late." Dean walks up to her. Laura smiles up at Dean. "You hungry? Mom is making a snack." He looked up to see the time. Looks like he had a battery to change as well. The clock said it ten after eight. "You scared me. Thought I heard screams. Must have been you crying." Dean smiles down at her. He was about to head back to bed, when he saw blood. Instinctively he looked up.
Jenna was staring down at Dean in horror, her mouth hanging open in a silent scream, her pink nightgown stained with blood seeping from her stomach.
"No. No. No. JENNA!" Dean screamed. When she burst into flames, Dean immediately grabs a crying Laura. "Babe!" He had to get outta there. When he turned around, he found himself frozen.
"Dean? How's it going?" The eyes were glowing yellow. "Like my welcome back present?" Azazel was smiling from the shadows.
"You." Dean was so glad he grabbed his gun. He promised Jenna to get rid of it, but after the last nightmare, he needed to keep it. He held the gun at Azazel's face.
"What's the matter Dean? Come on. I just need you strong. Armageddon is on Its way. Your wife, she was too much of a distraction. Little Laura here, she and her cousin would be perfect for my army when they get older. I need you strong. I need a General to lead them."
Laura was screaming in terror, but Dean didn't hear her. Instead he clicks the trigger.
"Dean. Please." Jenna was crying. Hearing Laura's cries, she went to check up on her. While she was heating up her bottle in the kitchen, she heard Dean's screams. She ran up to see a gun pointing at her face. "Dean. Laura's crying. Baby, please." She wanted to grab her baby and get as far away as possible from Dean.
Dean was furious at Azazel. He was mocking Dean's mom.
"Mary didn't suffer long. Your dad, he screamed her name the entire time she burned. Your sister in law, I'll make sure she burns slowly, just like Melinda."
Laura's screams were getting louder, but Dean didn't hear it. Instead he squeezes the trigger.
"Wha..." Dean felt himself getting thrown on the floor. "Sam?" Sam was on top of him, holding his wrists. "Where's Azazel?" He looked over to see Jenna holding on to Laura crying her eyes out in the corner.
Dean was watching Jenna packing her suitcases the next day.
"Babe? Jen? I...I didn't.."
"I know." Jenna couldn't look at him. "You need help." Jenna already called her parents. "Laura and I, we need some time." She heard Dean crying. "I have to do what's best for her." She was heading back to Boston. "Devon will be driving me home, and Piper will be driving me to the airport."
"This is your home." Dean was crying openly. How close he came to killing his wife, and possibly their daughter.
"I know. But until you see someone, I won't be back." She was crying herself. Dean's eyes. She had no doubt he would have killed her. Thank god Phoebe had a premonition and called Piper. Sam immediately ran over to their house, underwear and all, to stop Dean.
"I'll see someone. I already called Cas, Sam and I are driving to California. I'm checking in as a in patient." Dean didn't care how long he was in, he needed to get better. "I'll get rid of the Colt."
"Okay." Jenna didn't care. "Get better." She left Laura with Piper and Sam. Piper had her magic, she'll protect Laura. Jenna was flying home, she didn't want anything to do with magic. "Take care of yourself." She didn't want to look at Dean, she was afraid she'll cry again. "See you later." She hated saying goodbye.
Down in the Underworld, two demons were standing close to the edge of Hell.
Demon One was staring down in fear. The screams of the damned were echoing from the narrow walls.
"Argh!" The demon, nicknamed, 'Stimple' was trying desperately to not fall in. "How long do I have to stay in here! I'm hot! All the time!"
"Patience." Demon Two tells him. "I been here for centuries. It's not that hard to keep your balance."
"Easy for you to say. I only just got here." It took him forty eight years to climb up here. And the doorway to Hell was right there. "I need to escape."
"Try meditating. Hummm." He closed his eyes in concentration.
"Hmmhhh." Stimple looks down. He knew his punishment would be severe, he was not going on the Rack again. "Explain to me how we escape out of here?" There was nowhere to go.
"We have to wait. The Queen, watches over Hell too closely." He forces his mind to concentrate. "Simple."
"Stimple."
"Whatever. Add your powers to mine, unlike the other demons of Hell, I don't break my promises. Just give me sometime. We'll be outta here in a few decades." He closes his eyes in concentration. Hmmm. Interesting.
"Here you go. Hot chicken soup." Cole sets down down the bowl. "You need help?"
Gabriel shook his head. He was still weak, but was slowly getting better. He picks up his spoon.
"Ow!" The spoon missed his mouth.
"You sure you don't need my assistance?" When Gabriel shook his head, Cole understood. Gabriel had no eyesight, his eyesight was completely gone. His vessel's anyways. Cole had no idea what he truly looked like, or if he can see at all. "Okay. Once you're done, I'll get the dishes, and pick up some more groceries. You want anything?"
Gabriel shook his head no.
"Alright." Cole wasn't gonna push him. He knew Gabriel needed time to heal. He wished he knew how to help him, but he was limited on want to do. Once Gabriel was done, he helped him to the couch. "Here you go, I bought a special remote, it has braille on it. I heard there is a game on, I heard the Yankees are playing against the Giants." When Gabriel turned the channel to porn, he puts on his coat. "I'll be back in a few hours." Cole had to leave before the actors took off their clothes.
Cole was at a library reading up on a toxic oil spill off the coast of Atlanta. The company's spokesperson was saying that it was a one in a million accident.
'Sure it was.' Cole was a attorney for years. He used to represent big name clients such as this one. As he turned the page of the newspaper he was reading, he overheard two people talking about him.
"Look at him. Pretending to be something he's not."
At first Cole didn't pay attention, not until the same guy whispers again.
"Like he can suppress who he really is." The guy was whispering to his friend.
"You mean being a demon?" When Cole looked up, both were smirking at him.
"You have something to say to me?" Cole asked the demons.
Guy One looked surprised.
"No."
"We are just talking about Fantasy Football." His friend chimed in.
Cole stares at them for a few seconds and reads his newspaper again. When he heard his name, he looked up.
"Cole. You will never change." Guy One's eyes were red. "You want to make a Deal? Ten Years."
Cole immediately leaps up. Both men looked surprised when he leaned over their heads with his fists clenched.
"You watch your mouth. You're just a salesman. I used to manage scum like you." Cole used to be the Ruler of the Underworld, Crossroad Demons got their assignments from him.
"Are you okay?" His friend asked. When Cole blinked, both men's eyes were back to normal.
"Sorry. Excuse me." Cole had to get out of there. The hell?
He pushed the button on the elevator, he had to get home. Maybe ask Gabriel for advice. Once he got inside, he pushes the button to the ground floor. Two men were inside, they were wearing maintenance uniforms.
"He can run all he wants, he'll never change." Man One was smirking at Cole.
"What did you say?" Cole turned around.
Man Two was taunting Cole.
"For a demon, he's pretty pathetic. You drove Phoebe away, you couldn't even be a good leader. Pleh." When both men's eyes went black, Cole conjures up a fireball and throws them at the two demons who both explode.
"Agh!" Their screams echo across the elevator.
When Cole's vision cleared, he saw two frightened maintenance men.
"Are you alright?" Man One asked. He saw Cole yelling at air.
Cole pushed the button to get off ASAP.
"I have to get outta here." He needed to leave. Quickly using the emergency exit, he runs down the staircase.
Cole ran down to his car. When he saw who was standing next to it, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phoebe. Thank god." Phoebe. Phoebe will fix everything. "I need help. I keep seeing things." He had no idea why Phoebe was in town, but he didn't care.
"Slow down. You're talking too fast." Phoebe places her hand on his chest.
"I keep seeing demons." He saw Phoebe looking around.
"Shhh! Not here. Open your car doors, we can talk privately inside. Once Cole opened the doors and go in the car, they start talking again. "Now, from the beginning."
Cole for the first time in a long time was scared.
"I feel like I'm going crazy. Phoebe, I need help." No way was he seeing Gabriel, he was scared of what he was going to see. He looked down and saw Phoebe holding a knife. "What's that for?"
"A demon blade. You like it? I borrowed it from Dean. It's guaranteed to kill you."
"Suicide? Phoebe. You know I cannot die. Believe me, I tried for years. Even your Power of Three couldn't stop me."
"Then why are you here? You're pathetic. You couldn't die properly like a normal demon. Pfft. Even as a human, you could never fit it. You're evil. Way evil."
Cole just stared at her in disbelief.
"Even as a Avatar you can't deny what's in your blood."
"Get out." Cole was beyond angry. Not at Phoebe, but himself.
"Fine." Phoebe gets out of the car. "Don't fight it, you can't run from yourself."
Cole stares straight ahead.
"What's the matter Cole? Why hide what you are?"
"I'm not evil." The voice in his head starts talking again.
"The blood in your veins cannot change what you are. You're a demon. A pure demon. A demon with a soul.''
Cole slams his head against the wheel.
"I know." He had no way to hide who he was. He left a message to someone Gabriel could trust. No way can he take care of him at the moment.
San Francisco, California
"Ahem." Paige coughs at the smoke. "That was the sixteenth batch!"
"Sixteenth of what?" Phoebe walked in to see Paige waving smoke away from her cauldron. The Book of Shadows was open beside her.
"Trying to conjure doves. If only Billie was here, she could have done this with her eyes closed." Billie was the best potion maker she knew.
"Well she's in Boot Camp, we won't likely see her anytime soon." Phoebe looked at the page that was open. "Animal Conjuring Spell? That's a toughie. Took me weeks to perfect it."
"Who wrote that?" Paige picks up a herb.
"Prue." She saw Paige look up. "She wanted to learn how create her own spells. It took her days to figure this out."
"She's good." Paige threw in a another ingredient. "How is she?" She always felt like she lived in Prue's shadow. Even now with her gone.
"Fine. Her and Andy are in Antarctica. Don't ask me why. It was his idea, he wanted to see penguins."
"Love can make people do crazy things." Richard surprised Paige with a hot air balloon ride the other day. But that wasn't what surprised Paige, it was after when he made his family's garden grow a field of flowers in a instant just for her.
"What are you trying to do anyways?" Paige wasn't much of an animal lover.
"Trying to conjure doves. Remember Steve? Richard's brother? He's getting married. I want to give him this as a wedding present. Before you ask, she's a witch herself. So it's a magical wedding." Paige already had her dress.
"Good luck with that." When they heard a doorbell ring, they go downstairs.
"So how's your dating life?" Paige knew Phoebe rarely dated these days, she claimed med school kept her busy.
"No rush."
"But school doesn't start till September."
"I know, but even if I meet someone, I won't have any time. This is my final year. I want to be on the Dean's List. I'm applying as many internships I can get." Phoebe was terrified, but also excited. She was so close getting her medical degree.
"Still cannot believe you're about to be a doctor."
"Still cannot believe you'll be a cop! Grams would have heart failure. She always hated cops." Once they got downstairs, Phoebe answered the door. "Piper?" She hugs her. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be traveling in your condition." Phoebe knew how nervous Piper was in public.
"Grandmother Penny hated cops? Why?"
"Remember when we went back to the sixties? Her and Grandpa Allen always protested and attended sit ins. She had a bad temper. It was her husband that always paid her bails." Piper closed the door behind her. Immediately Phoebe went down to Piper's belly and started talking in baby talk.
"How's my wittle nibling. Auntie Phoebe sure misses you."
"Well, she's not here." It was the weekend, Paige didn't have classes till Monday. "Speaking of, why are you here."
"I caught a ride with Sam and Dean."
"How is Dean?"
"Fine, he checked in. His wife is paying for his treatment." Piper didn't want to talk about Dean at the moment, she respected his privacy.
"Poor guy." Phoebe was so glad she got that premonition. If she didn't... Phoebe pushed that thought away.
"How's Sam taking it?"
"He is worried about his brother. He couldn't stay, he has a case. He took Castiel with him. You should have seen how relieved Dean was. Good thing Kevin is a professional." Their friend Kevin Tran was promoted as Castiel's assistant. "He'll be there for a few days. Sam even left the Impala for Dean to drive home afterwards."
"Poor Jen." Paige heard from Piper how terrified she was. If that was her and Richard, Paige didn't know what she'll do. "So how's things."
Later that night, all three were at the hottest nightclub in town.
"Club Trinity." Piper looks at it in disdain. "We had P3 first." She missed her club.
"Well, times change. Most nightclubs are gone now. Clubs like this are special. Not that I don't miss P3." Seeing Piper's face. "Speaking of, where's Phoebe?"
Piper tilted her chin. When Paige looked up, she saw Phoebe talking to a cute guy.
"Nice to see her happy for once." Paige was getting worried about her. She knew a few med students, most managed to juggle their lives as well as school. Phoebe these days was turning into a workaholic. "How about you? How are you doing?" Piper was pretty big, although she still had a few months left.
"Well my morning sickness is finally gone. Sam is finished the nursery, and I'm on a health kick." Piper took a lot of tips from Jenna. She was attending yoga classes for pregnant women. "I'm also perfecting my cooking. Soon I'll be as good as Phoebe." Piper was jealous of Phoebe's pancakes. How she made them so fluffy and mouthwatering, Piper had no idea. "Life is good. At least till Dean gets better." Guess his hunting lifestyle finally caught up to him. Sam himself was checked in as a patient way back when. She gestures to a passing waitress for another bottle water.
"Are you thinking of having another one?" It was only her first pregnancy, but Paige knew Piper wanted a big family.
"Yep. I know Jenna and Dean were thinking of giving Laura a sibling. Sam and I, we have a extra bedroom." When she saw a spider, she immediately leaps off the couch.
"Piper? What's wrong?" Paige never saw a pregnant woman move so fast.
"There's a spider. A big, ugly spider." Piper HATED spiders.
"A spider?" Paige looked at where Piper was looking at. It was tiny. "That's a baby."
"Kill it." Piper ordered.
"I will not. It's a living creature." She walks over to it and picks it up. "It's dangerous here. I'll be back." Paige was going to take it outside.
Ugh. Piper checks around her area. Satisfied there was no more spiders, she sat down. She was about to text Sam when she saw Cole shimmer in front of her. Instinctively, she freezes the room before anyone notices. As expected Cole didn't freeze. "Are you crazy! This is a public place!"
"Piper. I need help." Those visions. "Please. I don't know where else to go."
Phoebe walks over to Piper.
"Hey! My first date in forever, and...Cole. What are you doing here?" She demanded.
"The spider is safe and sound." When she saw a fireball, Paige ducked. "The hell? What was that about?" She looked around. "What's going on around here?" Luckily the fireball hit no one.
"Get away from me." There was a demon glaring at Cole. When he saw the demon with fireball, Cole immediately conjures up a energy ball. Before he could throw it, Paige threw a glass of water at him.
"Snap out of it!" Paige demanded.
"Cole. The hell is wrong with you?" Phoebe asked with annoyance.
"And who's taking care of Gabriel?" Piper knew he was still ill.
Cole turned around. He saw Paige standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, Phoebe looking annoyed, and a heavily looking Piper glaring at him.
"I didn't hurt anyone did I?" He noticed his clothes were wet.
"Not here." Paige saw a back room. Luckily she didn't see anyone using it. "Quick, everyone go back to your positions." The room was going to unfreeze at any moment. "Cole, come with me." She saw Piper sitting back down, and Phoebe rushing back to her date. Once they were gone to the back, the room unfroze again.
The guy was flirting hard with Phoebe.
"So you're a med student? That's impressive." He was the owner of the club, when he saw Phoebe, he was immediately enamored with her. "What are you studying?"
"Psychiatry. I want to be a psychiatrist. Will you excuse me?" Ugh. She finally meets a cute, single guy, and Cole ruins it. Typical. "I'll be back." Once she goes to the back, she demanded on a explanation. "Well?"
"Sorry. I would have handled things myself, but I think someone's trying to kill me."
"Take a number." Piper still didn't trust Cole.
"Look. I don't want to hurt anyone. My Avatar side won't allow it. But my demon side is demanding blood. I think someone is trying to turn me back to a demon."
"Careful Phoebe. This is just Cole's way to dragging you back to evil."
Phoebe glared at Cole.
"Nice try. I'm not putting myself in danger again. Go to hell." She stormed out.
"But. Fine." He shimmers out.
"The heck was that about?" Paige was confused.
"I don't know." Cole was a powerful demon, but ever since he came back as a Avatar, he changed. "This isn't like Cole at all." Piper knew Cole for years. She didn't know much about Avatars, but she knew they followed a strict code.
Paige didn't like him, but unlike her sisters, she didn't hate him. "Crazy idea, but what if he's telling the truth."
"Then he has to figure it out. Oof." The baby kicked. Paige immediately looked worried.
"Easy there."
"I'm fine. You seen Sam's long legs, I'm sure the baby would grow up to be a major soccer player." That kick hurt! "It's getting late."
"I'll let Phoebe know were leaving." The guy Phoebe was talking to looked familiar. "I already have your old room ready."
"Sorry about that." Phoebe tells the cute guy.
"No worries. I have to relieve the bartender. He had to rush home, his wife's in labor."
Back at the manor, both Paige and Piper were talking about Dean and Cole.
"What made Dean snap like that?" Paige couldn't believe it. "And Cole seeing demons? Something's not right."
"Dean was always more serious about hunting then Sam. It was only a matter of time."
"Piper?" Piper looked lost in thought.
"What? Oh. Dean is sick. That reminds me." Piper picked up her phone. "Hi honey. How's things. I need a favor. Quit hunting. It's not worth it. Call me."
"What are you doing?"
"Telling Sam to quit. I don't want him to snap as well."
"Okay. Then what about Cole?"
"Cole can unravel everything you ever worked for. Helping a demon, do you want to get mixed up, the way Phoebe and Sam both were. It didn't end well for either."
"Piper?" She looked deep in thought.
"Why open old wounds. Cole wasn't exactly the best person. He hurt Phoebe really badly. And Sam, no way am I'm letting that bitch near my husband." She clenched her fists thinking about Ruby.
"Yeah, but what if Cole is telling the truth? He is half human after all. Besides, wasn't Sam soulless before? He almost killed his friend." Paige heard about Bobby Singer.
"True."
"He'll ruin everything. Just like your mom. Hunting evil cost her her life. Do you want your baby with no parents?"
Piper stood up.
"Piper?"
"I'm not doing this. Mom died hunting evil. Helping Cole will just bring bad luck. Good night." Piper had to get a hold of Sam, to demand he come home.
"But." Paige watched helplessly as Piper waddled up the stairs. Now what.
'And there was only one.'
The Underworld
"Ahhh!" That was close!
"Careful now. You almost slipped." The demon tells Stimple.
"It's been twenty years, how long will it take to get out of here?"
"Patience. This is delicate work. The Underworld isn't easy to escape. Hell is impossible." He was deep in concentration, he was only helping this moron only because he was the only one that successfully escaped Hell. Too bad he picked the wrong doorway. "I just need more time."
"How long?"
"Maybe another forty years, give or take. Now shut up. I have to concentrate." He closed his eyes, he had to break Cole's mind.
Paige was flipping through the Book.
"If only Leo was still here." He always gave good advice. She had no idea why she was helping Cole, he tried killing her and her sisters several times. Her social worker background was rubbing off of her.
"You don't turn away anyone, remember? That old job of yours is rubbing off of you."
"I know." Paige felt silly talking to herself, but no one else was available.
"You want to save Cole? There is only one way.''
"Wait a moment." Paige knew what to do.
Cole was huddled in the corner, he was forced to watch every crime he ever did as a demon. The guilt was overwhelming. But when he saw the vision of Phoebe saying goodbye, is when he started shaking. He was debating on killing himself, when the door to his former condo opened.
"Cole? It's me, Paige. I have something to help you." Paige was holding a bottle. "Cole?"
"Down here." Cole didn't care if a demon was in the room.
"What are you doing?" Paige was about to turn on the light when Cole shouted at her to leave it.
"Leave it!" The light was worse than the dark.
"Okay." Paige walks cautiously towards Cole.
"What do you want with me?" Cole asked in a weak voice. He saw his mother killing his dad. Benjamin Turner wanted to take a three year old Cole away, he found a witch to vanquish his demonic side. But Elizabeth wasn't having it, and blew him up with a fireball.
"I have a potion. It's a power stripping potion. Cole, if you become mortal, you won't have those visions again. I adjusted it so it suppresses your Avatar side." The Avatar powers were way beyond demon powers, Paige had no idea how to get rid of them.
"You want me to become human? Again? What makes you think it will work, it didn't work last time." Cole remembered how hard that was, being human sucked. It didn't take long for the Seer to track him down and make him the Source of All Evil.
"But what about Phoebe? You can protect her forever by staying away. As a human man, evil won't use her to get to you."
"Hand me that potion." Once Paige hands him the potion, Cole downed it. "Argh!" He collapsed in pain. This potion, it was a hundred more times stronger than the last one he drank.
"Ahhh, it's good to be back."
Paige turned around to the voice.
"You." Barbas was smiling at both.
"It's good to be back." He uses his new powers to throw Cole out the window.
Paige was horrified to hear Cole's screams as he fell down the side of the building to his death.
"How?" She heard that Sam sent him straight back to Hell. It was supposed to be a eternal prison.
"Very cool powers." He flexes his hand. "I been in the Pit for eons. As the Demon of Fear, it didn't take me long to escape. They should have sent me to Solitary." He smirks at Paige. "Tell your sisters I said hello." He shimmers away.
Her sisters were going to kill her.
"Barbas? Really! You couldn't have brought back someone we can actually kill!" Piper was furious. "It took us the Power of Three to vanquish him, and it nearly killed Sam to send him back to Hell!"
"Plus kill Cole." Phoebe didn't know to feel relieved or sad that Cole was dead. "With those powers, Barbas is invisible. He has a power of a Avatar now."
"Which makes him a god." They were so screwed. "Dammit Paige!" Feeling woozy, Piper wobbles.
"Easy there." Phoebe immediately eases Piper on the couch. "Don't stress out the baby."
"I just wanted to help." Paige felt so stupid. "You didn't see the pain Cole was in."
"If he stayed dead won't be in this mess." Phoebe never felt so angry. "Jenna and Laura would have been killed." She should have known that Barbas that was giving Dean those hallucinations.
"Just how did he get out?"
"We known Barbas way longer than you." Piper never forgot about the last battle they did with Prue. "We made a mistake letting our guard down."
"Who knows what kind of evil he's up too." Phoebe was getting a headache.
Back at Cole's condo, Barbas was playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 on the grand piano. He closed his eyes in contentment, he always loved this piece.
"Sir Barbas?" He quickly shuts up when Barbas looks up.
"Didn't lose my touch." He takes his hands off the piano. "That's good." If only Barbas knew how to harness the Avatar's powers. "Cole did good. Keeping himself in plain sight."
"Thanks for breaking me out of there, sir." He only knew Barbas for a short time, but also knew how he frightened the other demons of Hell. Even Alistair kept his distance. "What is your plans?"
"Revenge for starters." The visions he sent to Dean, that was fun. Shame he didn't kill his wife, her death would have destroyed him, especially his brother and child's deaths once he gave him the hallucinations. He didn't go after Sam, he would have sensed him immediately. "The Charmed Ones, I have plans for them." He didn't care about Prue, she wasn't his problem.
"Why waste your time? You should instead form an army." Stimple heard rumors, that a great Evil was coming. The demons in Hell were terrified of It. Lilith and Crowley both left because of those visions.
"Patience. I'll fail before I can begin." They were strong, but with these new powers, so was he. He lost his primary powers in Hell, but thankfully not his main power. Fear wasn't easy to control. Feeling white hot anger at his banishment he felt a fireball appear in his hand.
"How did you do that sir?" The visions Barbas gave everyone, it was thanks to Stimple who allowed Barbas to tap in his Power of Thought Projection.
"It only appears when I get angry." He saw Stimple step back. "Remember your place, or I can amplify your own fears."
Stimple swallowed.
Paige was flipping through the Book.
"Forget it. You won't find anything in there." Piper was making a potion, while Phoebe was placing protective crystals everywhere.
"Doesn't mean there is something we missed. There! It says there a weapon to kill demons."
"Ruby's knife? The Colt? Uh huh. Some demons are invisible to those for some reason." Phoebe already thought about it. "Even if we vanquish his demonic side, the Avatar side will make him invisible."
"Which would make him unstoppable." Piper didn't want to thank about it. He'll use those powers to inflict fear on Earth. Everyone would destroy each other before Armageddon does.
"Then we can send him back to Hell. Ask a demon to cage him for all eternity."
"Demons are not trustworthy, besides Barbas can use that demon's fears against them." Phoebe was still processing Cole's death, again.
"I give up." Paige slams the Book. "Any ideas?"
Piper already called Sam back, warning him about Barbas. He was with Gabriel, he said Cole asked him and Castiel to keep an eye on him.
"We can summon him here." Phoebe saw her sisters looking at her. "Look, he used our own fears against us. If we don't show any fear, then it will weaken him."
"What about Cole's Avatar powers?" It was a very risky plan.
"We'll figure it out." Piper had a spell to write.
At Cole's condo, Barbas was holding a meeting with Cole's former advisors.
"You summoned us? And managed to escape from The Pit? Tell me Barbas, what makes you a better leader than Cole? Argh!" He explodes when Barbas throws a fireball at him.
"Any more dumb questions?" The other demons look at each other.
"No sir."
"Good." Before Barbas or any demons could say a word, Phoebe astral projects in.
"Hi ya. Been awhile. Hey." She nods at the demons staring at her with disdain. "Don't bother with your powers. I already conquered my fear. See you later!" Phoebe vanishes the same way she came, in thin air.
In frustration, Barbas blows up every demon in the room, except for Stimple who was sitting quietly in the corner.
"Sir Barbas? You should know, that she is leading you in a trap."
"I don't care." She made a fool out of Barbas, Barbas was going to make her and her sisters pay.
"Okay, we're done." Piper finished writing the spell. "Paige?"
"Almost finished." Thank god Billie showed her a way to stabilize a potion.
"Phoebe?" When Phoebe appeared in.
"He bought the bait." She quickly grabs a crystal. Feeling cold air, she gets ready. "Incoming."
As predicted, Barbas appears in the circle. Phoebe immediately puts down the crystal, caging the demon.
"Now!" Piper calls out.
"Prudence, Penelope, Patricia..." Phoebe chants.
"Melinda, Astrid, Helena..." Piper chants as well.
"Laura and Grace." Paige continues.
"Halliwell witches stand strong beside us, vanquish this evil from time and space." All three chant together.
"It can't be." Piper couldn't believe it.
"You wanted me, now you have me." Barbas immediately uses his powers to seal the women in. Every exit outside, the doors and windows were bricked up. "Now I have you." He vanishes away.
"Any ideas?" Phoebe suggested.
An hour later, all three meet back in one of the bedrooms.
"Nothing." Piper tried blowing up the walls, her powers couldn't make a dent.
"I tried getting out of here, nada." Paige tried warping, she kept coming back to the manor.
"Leo's tools didn't work." Phoebe tried chiseling out, the bricks didn't even make a scratch.
"I need to get out." Paige felt her throat closing. "I can't stay inside." She was breathing hard.
"Easy there Paige. Calm down. Take deep breaths." Phoebe studied claustrophobia in college. "He's just harping on your fears."
"Then why not kill us?" Paige was trying to calm her breathing.
"Because that's boring. I know demons, they like to have their fun first." Piper hated demons, but Barbas the worst one she ever faced.
"Typical narcissist." Phoebe did a paper on human behavior. Narcissists were the hardest to treat.
"Huh?" Paige looked at the closet in Prue's former bedroom. "Did you see that?" She saw sunshine. She starts walking towards it. Once she walked in, she was dismayed there was no window. When the room started getting hot, Paige started sweating. "Guys?" She started panicking when the room started closing in. "Get me outta here!" The walls were closing in.
"Paige? You're okay! That's just Barbas messing with your mind. Calm down!"
"I can't! Piper! Help! I can't get outta here!" Paige was perfectly fine, she was just standing in the closet doorway. "Argh!"
"That's just an illusion! Paige fight it!" Phoebe calls out.
"Agh!" Piper saw a spider. "Oh god." There was lots of spiders. "Spider. There's a spider. Lots of spiders." Seeing a tarantula crawling on her shoulder, she shuddered. "They're not real. This isn't happening."
"Good girl. Paige! You are perfectly okay!" Phoebe calls out.
She was so glad she took psychology. She refused to see Barbas' illusions. Seeing that cute guy she met at Club Trinity, she forced herself to not listen to anything he says.
"Phoebe. I have something to tell you. I'm married. My marriage is dead. But I can't leave my wife, not since the kids still live at home."
"Nope. Not listening." She already knew he was divorced. She quadrupled everything this time. "You have to try better Barbas!"
Hearing her words both her sister's illusions vanish.
"Thank god you're a psych major." The closet was perfectly still. No crushing walls, no hot air.
"Remind me to thank that actress." She watched clips of Dr Linda, no wonder Phoebe wanted to became a doctor. "Now what?"
"He gets power from our fears. Even as a Avatar, he'll weaken without them." Phoebe knew immediately what her next paper was going to be. "Paige, make another potion. We're going to strip him completely."
"But he needs a host." Cole was dead. Paige saw his body on the ground, or what was left of him. Ugh.
"I'll take them."
"Phoebe?"
"Look. I been with Cole, I know how his powers work. Piper can't, she's pregnant. And I don't want you hurt. I'll be the host. You don't have a choice."
"But." Piper didn't know what to say.
"Just do it." Phoebe hoped this worked.
Piper was in the kitchen making a snack. Hearing her stomach growling, she went to make a sandwich. When she heard a voice, she immediately drops her plate of food.
"Piper."
"No. No. No. You're dead." Leo was standing in front of her.
"Guess who brought me back."
"That's impossible." No way was He that generous. Old Death, He followed the Rules. New Death, She was even more strict about It. "No one has the power to make souls." Not even that Avatar, Kierkan. True souls, they are unique and priceless.
"But God does. He told me to give you a message."
"What."
"That your baby will grow up to have no parents, like you three. Your baby, they'll won't grow and get strong with both parents coddling them. You and Sam are going to die. Just like Patty."
Piper started crying when she saw her younger self saying goodbye to her mom.
"Mommy? Where are you going?" Little Piper was carrying her favorite doll.
"I have some last minute business to attend to."
"Patty!" Gram's voice was stern as she walked in. "Leave that monster to professionals! You have three young daughters that need their mother!"
"No hunter or witch can destroy that beast. I don't want any more blood on my hands." Patty was putting on her coat.
"How could you be so selfish Patricia Halliwell!"
"Even your grandma knew. Chasing ghosts, that killed your mother." Leo tells a teary Piper.
"You sure about this?" Paige was adding last minute ingredients to her potion.
"Yep. Here." Phoebe passes her a mandrake root. She nods towards a small bag. "Don't forget to add a tiny pinch." Once the potion was done, Paige uses a baster to put her potion inside.
"Okay. I think we're done." Phoebe takes the bottle from Paige. "Now where's Barbas?"
"Right here. My apologies for making you wait." Barbas was standing where Paige was.
"What did you do to my sister." Barbas transformed from Paige to himself.
"Phoebe?" Her sister was glaring at Paige.
"You can't scare me. I conquered my fears. That made me a stronger person." She was giving Barbas a dirty look.
"Maybe. That degree you have, it made you smart. But with intelligence comes pride." Barbas taunts.
"What did you do with my sister? Tell me. Now." Phoebe was sick of his games.
"Dead. Unlike you, she was too weak. Her fears, they killed her."
"Phoebe! He's tricking you! Snap out of it!" Paige was getting scared seeing Phoebe's expression. When Phoebe walked menacingly towards her, Paige immediately backs away. "Phoebe!"
Barbas, his smug face made her sick. She kicks him in the stomach, making him gasp.
Paige gasps in pain when Phoebe kicks her in the belly.
"It's me! Paige! He's tricking you!" She felt pain in her jaw when Phoebe socked her.
Maybe she can't kill Barbas. But damn did it feel good kicking his ass.
"Hah yah!" Phoebe karate kicks him in the face, knocking him backwards, breaking a nearby chair.
Paige was crying.
"Phoebe! You're under a spell!"
"I fallen, but I can still get up."
"The hell you will." She grabs Barbas by the throat and starts strangling him. "I'm going to vanquish you forever."
Downstairs, Piper was crying as she watched the scene.
"Mrs. Halliwell?" Two cops were standing by the door. Little Piper stopped chasing Little Prue to watch.
"Yes?" Penny was looking at the cops with a worried expression.
One cop takes off his hat.
"We have some terrible news."
"No. No. I don't want to watch this." Piper remembered that day. It was the day after her mom died.
"This is the day your fears started." Leo taunts. "It wasn't your daddy leaving, it was losing your mom. Victor left the year after."
Piper was sobbing openly.
The cops and Grams fade away. "Since this moment, ever since you try to be happy, tragedy strikes. Leaving you a lifetime of pain." Little Piper vanishes. "Generation after generation. All the women experience loss. You won't be any different."
Piper doubles over in pain. Feeling blood dripping between her legs, she doubles over, holding her pregnant belly.
"My baby. My baby." She moans.
"Leo" vanishes.
Back in the attic, Paige cries as Phoebe flips Paige over on a small table, breaking it.
"Ahhh!" Paige was bruised and bloody from Phoebe's beatings. "Phoebe." She groaned. "It's me, Paige. Your sister."
"What's the matter Phoebe? Afraid?" He looked to the side. A athame was sitting by Barbas head. He saw Phoebe picking it up. "No weapon exists to kill me."
"We never tried this one." She stabs Barbas in the heart. He smiles as he dies and fades away. Only when the hallucination faded away till Phoebe realizes what she done.
Phoebe was sobbing as she held Paige's body. Paige was dead, no one could bring her back, not even Leo.
"You weren't afraid to lose your sister. But becoming vengeful, that was your undoing."
"Shut up!" Phoebe didn't want to hear it. Her sister, she killed her sister.
"That dark nugget of darkness in your heart. You always suppressed it. You and Cole's baby. Even if he was human, your baby would have been born evil. It's in your blood. Just like Pearl's." Before he can taunt her some more, he blows up in a black mist.
"Playing on a expectant mother's fears. Nice try." Seeing Barbas appear again, she blows him up.
"You can't kill me." After Barbas puts himself back together.
"No, but I can keep trying." She saw the brick walls start to come down. The early morning sunshine starts pouring in. Barbas shimmers away. "Phoebe?"
"Paige is dead. I killed her." She had streaks of tears pouring down her face.
Piper forced herself not to cry. She had to be strong, or Paige will die for good.
"I'm evil. Just like Pearl was." That was Phoebe's most hidden fear. She remembered being her. Pearl's heart was shrouded in darkness.
"No you're not. Remember what Pearl did? She sacrificed herself to save her cousins and their friends. She begged for death, and made sure to taunt her cousins to make sure she died. Your soul, it is cleansed. Her visions, they frightened her."
Phoebe remembered that. Pearl had nightmares herself. Even before Anton, she had restless sleeps. Over time, her heart became dark.
"Paige..." Even with all the bricks gone, Paige was still dead.
"Overcome it. Forever."
Phoebe closes her eyes. When she heard groans, she was overjoyed to see Paige awake.
"Ugh. Where's Barbas?" She let's out a groan as Phoebe grabs her in a tight hug.
Barbas was furious at himself. His plans failed. He knew, his powers won't work with the Sisters anymore.
"My Lord. This is your chance! Forget about them!" Stimple begged. "You can start anew! Build your army! Us demons, we'll follow you everywhere you go!"
"I don't care!" He didn't care if God Himself was standing in the room. "All I wanted was my revenge!"
Stimple for once was disgusted.
"You are weak, just as he said." He screamed when Barbas blows him up.
"No I'm not. I won't be ever again." Maybe he can't use the Charmed Ones fears against them, but they are human. No whitelighters can bring back natural deaths. He walks over to a end table and pulls out a gun. "Three bullets, three sisters."
"What if this wouldn't work." Paige was worn out by Phoebe's hugs.
"Have faith. I know all of his tricks." Piper knew he'll be back.
"Hmm hmm." Phoebe wasn't stupid, he'll either bring an army or a weapon. "We warded this place better than Fort Knox. We're invisible."
"Okay." When Paige saw Barbas with a gun, she immediately uses her mind to send her potion to Barbas' mouth. "Potion!"
"Now Cole!" Piper calls out.
Once the powers left Barbas, Cole uses his Avatar powers to send Barbas down the deepest trenches of Hell.
Later that night, Piper and Phoebe were enjoying themselves at Club Trinity.
"So how did you know about Cole?"
"Sam filled me in. Even if Barbas tried, only a Avatar can take another Avatar's powers. When Paige told me Cole was dead, I knew he wasn't. He bought us enough time to get ready."
"Those Winchesters, they knew so much."
"It was Henry that found that out. One of their former members became a Avatar."
"Well, let's drink to that." They click their drinks. Seeing her new friend, Phoebe immediately downs her drink. "If you excuse me."
"Play it safe!" Piper was looking at flights, she wanted to visit her sister in law in Boston. She wanted to ask Jenna about what going in labor was like.
Paige watched as the doves appear.
"That wasn't so hard." Paige knew it was a sign, that things would be okay.
Cole was watching the San Francisco Harbor. He loved this spot, it was so peaceful. Feeling a cold presence, he turned his head.
"How's things?"
"Just the way I left it. Hot and smelling of sulfur. I miss home so much." Barbas pretends to wipe away a tear. "Thanks for breaking me out."
"Helping a former Knight of Hell escape wasn't easy. I would have been killed if it wasn't for my new powers." Cole, he killed almost every Avatar. The ones that were allowed to live gave Cole their eternal loyalty.
"No one called me a Knight in centuries. Cain, he hated me for surpassing him." Barbas was so glad he went into hiding when Cain slaughtered all the Knights. Abaddon herself went into hiding as well, Cain didn't bother looking for either one after 1863. "Why didn't you allow me to kill the sisters? It would be been orgasmic!" Feeling his pants go tight, he quickly turns around.
"You are wise to follow my orders, I have him on speed dial."
Barbas blew a raspberry.
"Whatever. He gave on on Hell centuries ago." Barbas stretches. "I have a vacation coming up, lots of beautiful woman willing to feed me grapes." He shimmers away.
Cole takes out his cell.
"I did as you asked. The Sisters, they conquered their fears. They'll be ready to fight. Hmm hmm. And Dean Winchester? I see. Yes sir. Have a good day." Cole hangs up his phone. He was strong, but the person he was working for was stronger. He needed to head back, he hoped Sam and his angel took good care of Gabriel.