Confrontation (AU Story)

[noazmale]

FIFTY-SIX

Wyatt made a throwing motion as if to cast a fireball directly at Lucan. The Avatar brought his hands up in a defensive motion intent on using his own magic to block that of his opponent. Except that nothing happened. No fireball or any form of magic was cast from Wyatt’s hand. And no magical shielding appeared for Lucan.

Simultaneously, the demons with Wyatt each attempted to cast fireballs at their intended targets. Their instructions had been clear. Simply kill everyone in the manor. But no fireballs materialized. Several of the demons looked at their hands in total amazement.

Spike, Angel, and Buffy had no magical powers to rely on. Instead, they did as they always did. They began to pummel their opponents with their greater-than-human strength and reflexes. Many of the demons were taken by surprise when their magic did not manifest. The three defenders were definitely on the winning end, at least initially.

Giles had no such strength or reflexes. All he apparently had was a large tome he had been looking through. When he realized the demon before him was startled by the fact it wasn’t able to cast a fireball, the former Watcher seized the opportunity. Wielding the tome as a weapon he struck the demon directly in the face with it, sending it careening back against the wall, stunned.

Chris attempted to use his own magic against a demon but found it just as useless. Phoebe and Paige struck out against their own opponents knowing that most of their powers weren’t offensive in nature. Willow, finding her own magic as mysteriously absent as the rest, was less equipped than the others. She had rarely had to rely on physical prowess. She backed away as one of the demons struck out at her with its fist, narrowly missing the young witch.

In a state of confusion The First attempted to simply teleport out of the manor. Although its magic was substantial, it reasoned that something must have been blocking the magic in the manor. If it concentrated all of its magic in a single burst, it might be able to overcome the blocking and get out of the manor unscathed. It failed to teleport completely.

The three Avatars weren’t faring any better than Willow. Like the young witch, they had normally relied on their magic for decades. They were ill equipped for a physical confrontation. Although they were successfully defending against the attacks by their respective demons, it was only a matter of moments before one of them made a mistake.

Leo suddenly appeared at the head of the stairs, tears in his eyes. It was evident what had happened. He hadn’t made it to the nursery in time. Lucan’s energy ball had vanquished the young child who didn’t even have the opportunity to defend himself. Leo’s normally pacifistic nature was completely overwhelmed by the anger and hatred he now felt for the Avatar. The Dark Mage had murdered his son. Even though he was an Elder, he was still a father. And, at the moment, that was of paramount importance to him. Lucan would pay for his crime, Leo swore to that.

Piper quickly recovered from her “breakdown” and rose to join in the fight. She turned on the nearest demon and, with the rage of a grieving mother, turned her explosive power on it. Except the demon didn’t explode. Her power seemed to be as non-existent as the others. The demon smiled, seeing what he thought to be a defenseless witch with no powers.

Its glee didn’t last long however. As it moved in for the kill, Piper suddenly sidestepped the attack and pulled an athame from the back of her belt. She drove the dagger completely into the demon that sputtered once in shock, and then fell dead to the floor.

The battle was not going well for the defenders. Spike, Angel, and Buffy were barely able to fend off the attacks of the demons they fought. The demons were equal in strength and agility to the three and were as used to physical combat as they were. Neither side could gain the upper hand.

Paige suddenly pulled out the explosive potion Piper had made. She threw it on the demon standing in front of her expecting the demon to explode as they had done so many times before. Instead, the vial shattered and simply covered the demon in the liquid potion that apparently had no affect. Phoebe tried the same thing with the same results. Willow was furiously defending against the attacks by the demon she faced and was unable to pull out her potion.

The battle wouldn’t last much longer. Angel and Spike, being vampires, could hold their own against most demons. But even sheer numbers could overcome them. Buffy, although human, was the Slayer. She was stronger, faster, and more agile than the vampires. But even she couldn’t defend against all of the demons.

Phoebe had her martial arts skill but compared to Buffy she was an amateur. She was able to keep the demon she was fighting at bay but it was larger, stronger, and faster than she was. Eventually she would tire and the demon would have the upper hand.

The rest of the defenders were all human. All, with the exception of Giles, had magical abilities they had come to rely on. Abilities that had served them well in the past. When they were forced to use physical strength, they were usually able to defend themselves quite well.

But the number of demons they faced was just too great. Without their magic they were vulnerable to the demons. And the demons fought with the fury that they were so well known for. All of the demons saw their victory over the Charmed Ones close at hand. And since the witches, and none of their friends, had any magical powers, they would be easy prey for the larger, faster opponents. It would only be a matter of minutes before the greatest champions for the forces of good would be destroyed forever. And they would gain the added advantage of three Avatars as well. It was going to be a glorious day in the underworld.

[noazmale]

FIFTY-SEVEN

Suddenly a light flashed in the manor so brightly that everyone was blinded. They all stood with their hands over their eyes waiting for the blindness to pass. They were all defenseless in their blinded state and they also knew that those who regained their sight first would have an advantage over the others.

As their vision cleared, they all prepared to continue the battle. That’s when they noticed a change in the manor. Standing in the middle of the living room was a man. A man they all knew.

“Cole?” questioned Phoebe.

“I’m tired of this,” said Cole. “The fighting stops now.”

The demon behind Phoebe saw an opportunity. She was startled, as they all were, by Cole’s appearance. Phoebe was distracted and an easy target. The demon lashed out in an attempt to strike the witch down.

Cole’s eyes flashed one. In that instant, the demon behind Phoebe simply vanished. Vanquished by the power that Cole now possessed. Cole looked around the room at the other demons.

“I suggest,” he said, “that you leave here now. While I’m still in a generous mood.”

His eyes flashed again and the demons didn’t hesitate. All of them shimmered and were gone from the manor in an instant. Even the body of the demon Piper had vanquished vanished from the floor where it had been lying.

“You betrayed us,” said Lucan. “You never gave the potion to the Slayer.”

“No, I didn’t,” said Cole, anger in his voice. “I knew what that potion would do to her. You had no right to do that.”

“He murdered my son,” said Piper angrily, glaring at Lucan.

“Wyatt is fine,” said Cole.

Suddenly the child appeared in his arms. He gingerly handed him to Piper who hugged him close and kissed his head several times. Leo moved over next to Piper, thankful that Wyatt was uninjured.

“What happened here?” Buffy asked.

“I put a dampening field on the manor,” said Leo. “That’s why your magic wouldn’t work. If I hadn’t, many of you would be dead now.”

“How?” Trembor asked. “You shouldn’t have such power.”

“I’m half demon,” said Cole. “I was also the Source and at one time one of the most powerful beings on the mortal plane. And you gave me Avatar powers. Did you think that none of it would have an affect on me? Even with my powers stripped from me, there’s still a residual affect from them. What did you think would happen when the residual affect from all that power began to combine inside me?”

“Who do you think you are?” the grown up Wyatt nearly screamed. “Do you think you can manipulate me? No one is more powerful than I am. And power is the only thing that matters.”

“You’re a fool,” said Cole. “And, yes, I’m more powerful than you are. I’m more powerful than them,” he looked at the three sisters. “I’m even more powerful than the so-called Avatars. I made a little side trip of sorts. To the Wasteland. You have no idea of the extent of my power now.”

“Why?” Paige asked. “The last time you came back from their you were so powerful you couldn’t even vanquish yourself. I thought you hated that?”

“That’s because I wanted to get Phoebe back,” said Cole. “I thought we could be together. When she refused me, I didn’t have anything to live for. And I couldn’t end my own existence. It was a living nightmare.”

“But now you do have a purpose,” said Lucan. “You joined us. You agreed that there could be no ultimate winner in the fight of good versus evil. Why are you doing this?”

“Because what you’re doing is wrong,” said Cole, looking over at The First. “Maybe neither side can ultimately win, I don’t know. But I do know that it’s not up to you to decide who wins which fights. To decide what the balance should be.”

“We gave you a place with us,” said Mellock. “We gave you purpose. And you repay us with betrayal and deception.”

“You used me,” said Cole. “Just like everyone has always used me. My mother trained me up to be a demonic bounty hunter. She repressed my human half so that I would be hampered by it. The Triad used me to further the ends of the Source. Even the Source used me to do his bidding. Without any thought of what I might have wanted.”

He turned to Phoebe.

“Even you and your sisters used me,” he said. “Oh, I know you had the best of intentions. I can’t fault you for that. But I was a demon for a hundred years. And you expected me to change overnight. To go against everything I had be raised to believe in. You wanted me to be perfect. To never make a mistake.”

“I never wanted that,” said Phoebe.

“Yes you did,” said Cole. “You all did. I was only human for a few months. And yet every time I made a mistake or fell back into old patterns, you chastised me for it. Told me that if I really wanted to be good I wouldn’t do things like that.

“You did what no one else was able to do in over a hundred years. You showed me that I wasn’t the demon I had always thought I was. That there was some of humanity in me. And I tried, I really tried, to be what you wanted. But it can never be. The Cole Turner you fell in love with could never be what you wanted. Even with the humanity in me, there was still the demonic half.”

He looked around at the group.

“Everywhere I’ve gone,” he said, “I’ve been manipulated and controlled and coerced into being what others wanted me to be. Not what I wanted or what I really was.”

“And what is that?” Paige asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” said Cole. “I only know I won’t find it here. Phoebe and I can never be together and I’ve finally accepted that. But they,” he looked over at the Avatars, “they planned to kill you all. To restore the balance that had existed for centuries. I couldn’t allow that. If there is to be a balance or if one side or the other is to ultimately win, it has to be natural. It can’t be imposed by anyone no matter who they are.”

He looked over at The First. With a wave of his hand The First simply vanished from the manor.

[noazmale]

FIFTY-EIGHT

“What happened to it?” Leo asked.

“I’ve sent it back to where it came from,” said Cole. “It may reappear again one day. But if it does, it will be because that’s the natural order.”

“I’m going to destroy you,” said Wyatt, contempt in his voice.

“No you won’t,” said Cole. “You can’t stay here, you know that. This isn’t your time. And if you do, they will be forced to vanquish you to protect themselves. Once you get back to you own time you’ll revert to what you were meant to be. Without The First possessing you as a child you won’t have the evil in you that made you do the things you did.”

Cole waved his hand and a vortex opened near Wyatt.

“You don’t belong here,” said Cole. “This isn’t your time. You came back to change things in your favor but we both know that isn’t going to happen. You had your chance to destroy them earlier but you couldn’t do it, could you? We both know why you didn’t kill the Charmed Ones when you had the chance. As powerful as you are their magic still protects them. Even from you. And if you stay here, you know they’ll have to destroy you.”

Wyatt looked at Cole, anger in his eyes. He hated this man with everything in his being. But he also knew Cole was telling the truth. It would be almost ten years before he would have the opportunity to destroy his family. And he was just as sure he would never live to see that day.

“You’re going back where you belong,” said Cole. “Just as Chris will soon return to his own time. But he has the choice of when to do that. You don’t.”

Cole’s eyes flashed and the vortex began to draw Wyatt into it. Without his magic the grown up Wyatt was unable to resist the power of the vortex. Within seconds he was sucked into the vortex, returned to his own time.

“Why didn’t he destroy us?” Piper asked. “He had the opportunity.”

“He couldn’t,” said Cole. “Do you remember the day he was born?”

“Of course,” said Paige. “We all lost our magic because of a convergence or something.”

“Everyone did,” said Leo. “It was only after he was born that the magic returned.”

“There’ll be another one in about ten or twelve years,” said Cole. “It will be minor compared to the last one. And it will only last a couple of hours. But Wyatt will be protected from it because he’s the twice-blessed child. That’s why he destroyed you when he did. As I told him, your magic protects you as it always has. He had to wait until that protection was suspended before he could do anything about it.”

“I remember that,” said Chris. “I didn’t completely understand what was going on at the time only that none of us could use our powers. That’s when Wyatt attacked. He had vanquished all of you before I even knew what was going on. I never did understand why he still had his powers when the rest of us didn’t.”

“Now you know,” said Cole. He turned to the Avatars. “I’d like to tender my resignation from your little group. I’m through being used and manipulated by anyone. I could wipe you out of existence but that would make me as bad as you are.”

“They upset the balance,” Mellock protested, looking at the Charmed Ones. “Piper said as much when they vanquished the Seer and the demon council.”

“Maybe so,” said Cole. “But when that happened, it was a natural order of events. Not some supposed balance imposed by anyone. The Charmed Ones came by their powers naturally. The Elders didn’t give them their powers. They only knew the Charmed Ones would receive them. So the Elders prepared them for those powers. What you want to do is impose your own rules on them. You don’t have that right. No one does. If there’s to be a balance, it has to be a natural balance.”

“This is not over,” said Lucan.

“Yes it is,” said Cole. “You can’t oppose the Charmed Ones any more than Wyatt could. You’ll have to go back to manipulating people and trying to instill your precious balance the way you always have. But it will be a very long time before you get a chance like this again.”

Lucan looked at Cole for a long time. It was clear that not even the three most powerful Avatars in existence could face Cole’s power. All of their carefully laid plans were now useless. Resigned to the fact that there was nothing any of them could do about it, Lucan, Mellock, and Trembor simply vanished from the manor, returning to the nether reaches they called their home.

“What about Wyatt?” Piper asked. “What will happen to him when he gets back to the future?”

“He’ll be what he was meant to be,” said Cole. “Without The First possessing him, he won’t turn evil as he did. He’ll be whatever he was supposed to be.”

“Cole,” said Phoebe.

“No,” said Cole. “Don’t say anything. Nothing has changed. I can’t stay here. You must know that. There’s too much history between us. You’ve moved on. So have I. I will always cherish what we had together but it’s over now. We have to learn to accept that.”

Phoebe laid her head on Cole’s chest. He was right, of course. Their time had come and gone. And a lot of the time had been good. Some of the happiest times of her life. She still loved him and always would. But he was right. It was time they both got on with their lives. She raised her head and looked up at Cole.

“I know,” she said. “I’ll always love you. Don’t ever doubt that.”

“And I’ll always love you,” said Cole, kissing her lightly on the lips.

He turned to Buffy and the others.

“You do have a new destiny ahead of you, Buffy,” he said. “As do your two vampire friends. What that destiny is I can’t really say. I only know you won’t find it here. I wish you well, Slayer. You helped defeat The First Evil twice in your life. No small accomplishment.”

“Thanks,” said Buffy. “I only hope we don’t get a chance to do it again for a long, long time.”

“You won’t,” said Cole, smiling.

He waived his hand and Buffy, Angel, Spike, Giles, and Willow simply vanished from the manor. He turned back to Leo, Chris, and the girls.

“I sent them to be with their friends,” Cole said. “It seemed the least I could do after all the help they gave you.”

“Thanks,” said Leo. “And thanks for protecting Wyatt. When I saw the crib upstairs I was sure Lucan had killed him. Oh, Piper, by the way. We need a new crib.”

“I’m not surprised,” said Piper. “I’m only glad it’s just a crib we need.”

“I intercepted baby Wyatt’s orb,” said Cole. “I knew where he was heading just as grown up Wyatt knew. Lucan’s energy ball only destroyed the crib. Wyatt was in no danger.”

“How come he could orb when no one else’s magic was working?” Paige asked.

“I exempted him from the magical dampening field,” said Cole. “He’s still too young to adequately understand what’s going on or how to protect himself. I knew if things got sticky he’d orbed to where he felt the most safe. So I allowed his magic to work.”

“Thanks,” said Piper. “If not for you I don’t know what we would have done.”

“Chris,” he said turning to the young White Lighter, “you can return to your own time whenever you want. I think you’ll find things a bit different from when you left. Not to mention there’s someone waiting to see you. A particular Phoenix witch I believe she is.”

“But she’s dead,” said Chris. “I watched her die.”

“That’s the trouble with altering the past,” said Cole smiling. “It has such a weird affect on the future.”

“Where will you go?” Paige asked Cole. “You said you couldn’t stay here.”

“I don’t know,” said Cole. “It’s a big universe. Other dimensions, other realities. The past, the future. Who knows where I’ll end up? But just know that no matter where I go I’ll always remember you guys.”

He suddenly kissed Phoebe a long, passionate kiss. Even though they still loved each other they both knew that sometimes love alone wasn’t enough.

“Thanks,” said Leo. “And we won’t ever forget you, either.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” said Cole. “I’ve always hated long goodbyes.”

Cole suddenly vanished from the manor. This time, Phoebe and her sisters knew they had truly seen the last of him. Phoebe most of all had seen a chance in Cole. No longer half human, half demon, he was something different. Something more than he had been before. And wherever he was, she knew he would think of her often.

[noazmale]

FIFTY-NINE

It had been a week since Cole had vanished from the living room of the manor. As much as he wanted to get back to the future, Chris wanted to spend time with his family even more. There were no demon attacks in all that time. And the Avatars didn’t make an appearance. Cole had apparently been right about that. The Avatars weren’t strong enough to oppose the Charmed Ones.

“You have no idea how good it’s been to be here this last week,” said Chris as they finished dinner. “No demons, no warlocks, no subterfuge to try to set things straight. I’ve never had such a relaxing week before.”

“What are families for?” Piper asked. “At least you have a good appetite. I guess you take after you father in that respect.”

“I guess so,” said Chris. “Having a mom who’s such a good cook doesn’t hurt either.”

“You’re right about that,” said Leo. “When I first started staying at the manor I gained ten pounds in one week. It’s a good thing that orbing burns calories or I’d weigh three hundred pounds.”

“No one forces you to eat,” said Phoebe.

“Like I could refuse,” said Leo. “I don’t see you pushing the fork away all that much.”

“I’m an active woman,” said Phoebe. “I need my strength.”

“Chris, what do you think you’ll find when you get back to the future?” Paige asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” said Chris. “I’m a little apprehensive about it. Things are definitely going to be different, that’s for sure.”

“At least you won’t have to worry about your big brother,” said Piper, wiping Wyatt’s mouth. “Since he wasn’t possessed by The First he shouldn’t be the evil you left there.”

“I suppose,” said Chris. “I just don’t know what he’s going to be like. Or how much of what happened he’s going to remember. It’s possible I may get back and find he has no memory of anything that’s happened.”

“At least he won’t be trying to kill you,” said Leo. “You’ll just have to deal with the normal sibling rivalry that most brothers have to put up with.”

“That will be different,” said Chris. “It can get very tiring trying to stay ahead of him all the time. Maybe when I get back I can just take it easy for a while.”

“Leo,” said Phoebe, “what about the organizing of the demonic underground? What’s going on with that?”

“Nothing,” said Leo. “Without Wyatt to keep them stirred up the organization fell apart. The supposed leaders that Wyatt had chosen to lead his new army quickly went back to the bickering and infighting they’re famous for. Things are pretty much the same way they were before Wyatt starting organizing them.”

“Thank God,” said Piper. “I hate to think what might have happened if they had stayed organized. We have enough trouble with demons as it is without them actually organizing against us.”

“Mom, dad,” said Chris hesitantly, “there’s something we haven’t talked about. I’ve really enjoyed my time here this past week. And one of the reasons I haven’t gone back yet is because I’m not sure what I’m going back to. Or if I’ll even exist when I get there.”

“Well,” said Leo, smiling at Piper, “there are still some problems we’re working on. I still haven’t figure out a way to balance my responsibilities to the Elders with my duties to my family. Both demand that I spend most of my time with them. But we’re making progress. We’ve been talking a lot about that. Hopefully we can work something out relatively soon.”

“We have a date tomorrow,” said Piper nonchalantly.

“A date?” questioned Phoebe. “This is the first I’ve heard about that.”

“Well,” said Leo, “we do if we can find a babysitter for Wyatt. It’s kind of hard on such short notice.”

“Oh, me, me, me,” said Paige waving her hand in the air. “I can baby sit my nephew. Like Phoebe said we don’t get to spend enough time with our nephew.”

“I kind of figured you might volunteer,” said Piper smiling. “We’re going out to dinner and then to a movie. After that, we’ll just have to see what happens. We both think it’s best if we just take things slow for now.”

“Are you going to shave your legs?” asked Paige.

“That’s none of your business,” said Piper in mock anger. “You shouldn’t even ask such a thing.”

“Play your cards right and you could get lucky tomorrow,” Phoebe whispered to Leo loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Stop it you two,” laughed Piper. “It’s not like we’re teenagers or something.”

“You’ll probably be acting like them tomorrow night,” snickered Phoebe.

“Hey, these are my parents we’re talking about,” Chris said smiling. “Can we change the subject? This is just way too creepy for me.”

Piper leaned over and kissed Chris on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, honey,” she said. “I don’t think you have to worry about existing when you get back. Like Leo said we’ve been doing some talking. And things are looking…. promising. That’s all I can really say.”

“Looks like we might be babysitting a lot more in the next few weeks,” Phoebe whispered to Paige.

“Does she get to wear white to her second wedding?” Paige whispered back, smiling coyly at Piper.

“That’s enough,” said Leo. “I think we’re making Chris uncomfortable.”

“Why Chris?” Piper asked.

“Why what?” Chris asked.

“Why did I name you Chris?” Piper asked. “I don’t know anyone named Chris. I do like the name but I think I’d need more of a reason than that to pick the name for you.”

“Well,” said Chris, “as I understand it, it was dad’s idea. It was his father’s name.”

“I see,” said Piper. “I can’t think of a better reason for naming my second son after someone.”

“Well,” said Chris standing up from the table, “I guess I should be going. I think I’m going to have a lot to catch up on when I get back.”

“Thanks for everything,” said Piper hugging him close. “It’s a shame we won’t see you again like this. And it’s going to be many years before we can even talk about it with you.”

“It was nice meeting you,” said Phoebe as she hugged Chris. “You’re a great nephew. I’m glad you’re one of the good guys.”

“Goodbye nephew,” said Paige, also hugging Chris. “Try not to do much more time traveling in the future. It’s pretty taxing, especially for us.”

“Thanks, everyone,” said Chris. “I’m glad everything worked out okay.”

“You’ve been a royal pain in the ass,” said Leo standing before his son. “You trapped me on the mythical island of Valhalla, got me trapped in the prehistoric past, nearly got us killed on a dozen occasions, and just generally caused us more trouble than most demons ever do. I’m glad to see you can take care of yourself.”

“I learned a great deal from you,” said Chris. “I’m sure I can still learn more from you. We’ll just have to wait and see when I get back.”

“Take care of yourself,” said Leo, hugging his son close. “We’re looking forward to seeing you in the future.”

“I will,” said Chris, wiping a tear from his eye. “I’d better get going. I hate long goodbyes.”

Chris stepped into the foyer of the house while his family watched from the kitchen. He prepared the archway on the floor that would open the vortex to the future. When he was finished, he incanted the spell that opened the vortex. It opened and he looked back at his family one last time.

“I love you,” he said, his voice breaking slightly.

Without another word, Chris stepped into the vortex and disappeared from the manor.

“I’m going to miss him,” said Paige. “It was never dull with him around.”

“Well,” said Piper picking Wyatt up from his high chair, “I think I’m going to go up to my room. I need to pick something out for tomorrow night.”

“Are you okay?” Leo asked Phoebe as Piper went upstairs. “You seem preoccupied.”

“It’s nothing,” said Phoebe, “really. Chris said he didn’t like long goodbyes. That’s the same thing Cole said just before he left. I was just wondering where he was and what he was doing right now.”

“We may never know,” said Leo, putting his hand on her shoulder. “But he was a hero. He saved everyone.”

“I know,” said Phoebe. “I never thought I’d ever say this again but I miss him.”

“So do I,” said Leo. “But I’m sure wherever he is, he’s thinking about you.”

Phoebe smiled at Leo. She was sure he was right. Cole could be anywhere or in any time. She had no idea if she would ever see him again. But she also knew she would be thinking about him a great deal, especially in the near future.

The End