Eternal Flame
part 15
"So you're telling me she can go either way?"
"In a manner of speaking," Cole Turner offered, as he briefly inspected his lightly stubbled countenance, slowly grabbing a seat beside her on the ground, his gaze trained to her soft brown eyes. "She wants to be good and we advocate that good. I think it's safe to say she's in the best hands."
"Yeah, until Xavier returns," she commented.
"Actually, I'm more worried about what the duchess will do once she sees her favorite minion has failed."
"So what did you say to her?"
"Who?"
"Chloe. What made her-"
"Her parents were evil. In short, they were working opposite the Source, but were planning something of epic proporations. He wanted them out of the way as soon as possible. End of story."
"So who were they working for, if not-"
"That's just it," he added. I don't know...haven't quite figured that part out yet. But if it was enough to compromise both the evil and the good in this world, I'd say it was probably forces that had never been meddled with prior to their attempt."
"Cole-"
"Their deaths were quick," he interrupted. "I mean, contrary to the norm, they never put up much of a struggle. And I just...well, I just did my job...as accurately as I could, for that matter. And then...well...I left them there to bleed to death, as I went off to the next kill. I was so damn void of any feeling back then, Phoebe. And the scary thing was...was that I knew it. Every inch of me knew it. I really didn't feel any ounce of guilt at all. None whatsoever. I used to tell myself it was the Source, that he made me what I am-"
"Was," she corrected quietly. "What you were, Cole. You're not him anymore. And in a way, you did do a good thing. Maybe not the fact that you were working for the biggest, baddest guy in the land, but you now know your intentions were good. That has to speak for something."
"Does it? There really isn't any difference. I'm still hurting someone. Maybe not in the physical sense of the word, but I'm still causing her to remember it all firsthand, just by being here in her presence. And the memories she's had to repress....I'm responsible for those. All of them."
"You can't feel that way," she insisted. "Just listen to yourself, Cole."
"No? Well, then what if I told you that I'm going to let her take me on?"
"Why would Chloe want to- does she actually want to hurt you for this of her own free will now? What aren't you telling me?"
"Celia," he emphasized. "I can already sense her getting closer. There's more of them too. She'll be here before-"
"No," she protested, her voice coming out just above a whisper. "We are going to fight this, Cole. We're going to fight this, and we're going to win. You've come so damn far to prove yourself, and you are not giving up on me now."
"And I love you more than anything," he offered, his blue eyes tracing a vacant sense of pain, as they suddenly lit up, his tone slowly beginning to trail off. "Remember when you told me there was always a choice? That we can choose...."
"There is a choice, Cole, but it's not asking you to choose her side. You've fought before, you've-"
"But this time it's not about fighting," he told her calmly. "Don't you get it? It's about the balance."
"The balance," she murmured, as she repeated it, wincing slightly.
"Between the good and the bad. We've been through this. No matter how honest of a person I've become, it's still present. It's still going to haunt me."
"So you want to act on it," she realized softly. "Again."
"It's different this time. Everything's different."
"How?" she whispered again. "How is it any different when the risk is still the same?"
"We take risks everyday," he admitted painfully, as he gently took her hand in his, tightly giving it a reassuring squeeze. "And we're always going to be taking them if we expect to survive."
"Even if it means losing each other along the way?"
"I'm not going to-"
"But what if I lose you?"
"I'm not going to let that happen," he countered. "If you ever- if you still have that faith in me, I'm going to need you to keep it. Keep it close to your heart, and you can't go wrong. Because I'm not going anywhere."
"Her lover's spirit was strong. It's not enough to hold you here."
"That's why I have you," he told her. "That's exactly what's going to let me do everything in my power to make sure I stay true to us. We've been through a lot together, and I-"
"Like the time I found you out?" she asked him. "We were in your apartment, and I kept thinking you'd move in at any moment and kill me right there on the spot. We were at each other's throats, and Belthazor put a knife to mine."
"Phoebe, don't..."
"Then we shimmered to the cemetery, and I flipped you over onto your back and threatened to have you vanquished." She laughed slightly, her voice breaking. "I knew you weren't lying even then, yet a part of me was scared to believe what would happen if I was wrong. But there was just something in your eyes- that same something you still had in you...even when the Source took you over. It was you, Cole. I saw you in there, behind those sad blue eyes- the man I knew I'd fallen for, despite the power that fought to ruin you. I was never as sure of that as I am right now. You gave me the most beautiful little girl...you helped me create such a wonderful little girl- I told Paige I knew how much you loved her from the moment you held her in that hospital...as soon as she was born. And I never had any doubt you'd continue to love her unconditionally for the rest of your life. Even now, she's just so attached, and she still looks up to you just as much as she did when she was barely able to form a sentence. She loves you, Cole. Just as much as I do. But if it's anyone that can still sense- she'll know it's you."
"Or maybe I'll end up just like Stephen," he murmured.
"No, Cole."
"Alone and hell bent on revenge. I've still got so much inside of me, and I'm still not entirely sure."
"And we all have that little bit of evil that works against our will. It only means that you're human."
"I know, and that's what scares me."
"I don't....I don't understand," she finally uttered, her eyes narrowing slightly, as she searched his face. "When we were on the Crimson Star, you told me-"
"I know what I said," he managed. "I just don't know if I believe it anymore."
"What, are you kidding me?"
He shook his head. "If the worst does happen, and you know there's absolutely no way I can possibly come out alive, I want you to do it. Just....end it. You have no idea what it's like to have something you can't control inside of you- a whole other essence taking over your body as if it were its own. Truth be told, you might as well be as good as dead right then and there."
"Lulu," she reminded him, smiling.
"What?"
"Remember those two ghosts? We talked about how their intentions appeared good, but their actions consisted of pure evil. Still, she could sense me there, even while all she wanted to do was get married to Frankie, and-"
"It's not the same. They weren't rulers trying to destroy the entire world," he argued. "The problem with buying Celia's story up to this point, is the fact that her history indicates no prior means of exerting leadership over anything. She was a peasant girl, a mere shadow of her time. Nobody cared..."
"I know. I saw them in your office."
"Saw what?" he asked, fairly confused, as he quietly raised an eyebrow.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you knew about this before you even agreed to take Alex to that museum. And if that was the case, I still don't believe that gave you the right to keep it from me. We're in this together, Cole. We help each other, remember? You never have to try to be some kind of famous...hero for me. You've showed you can save this world just as well as we can," she whispered. "If not better... You risked our daughter's life in there, and there was no way-"
"So that's it, isn't it? You're going to give me another lecture?"
"Talk to me," she pleaded.
"There's nothing to say," he offered, shrugging. "Because you've already got it all figured out, don't you?"
"If you knew she was going to target you, you should have said something."
"And I didn't," he exclaimed, his voice rising an octave. "Dammit, Phoebe, I went in to save her because it's my job. Because it's what I had to do."
"And you had no idea where that portal would take you, right?"
"Don't you get it? Your-"
"Celia baited you, and you took her on with absolutely no clue of how to free yourself. Grams knows we can't help you, and I thought that if-"
"What are you talking about?"
"You walked through this ghost town with a one way ticket. And by doing that, you've trapped yourself here. Did your papers tell you that? Did they give you any valid information at all?"
"I didn't trust what was printed on that piece of paper....pappers...I didn't trust that guy worth a damn when he walked into my office."
"Guy?"
"Yes. The man that came to me. Another firm was apparently requesting my services on a permanent basis, and were willing to pay me a large amount of money if I would comply with their guidelines," he explained, shrugging. "I'd never heard of them before, so I declined his offer. He...wasn't too happy about that. But it was the last I ever saw of him. I researched the name he'd provided me with, and I came up empty-handed with only a curse at my fingertips."
"I don't understand."
"I think they represent a branch of the Underworld," he suggested. "I've had my suspicions from the very beginning."
"So, what? They're making you into some monster because they suddenly started to care?"
"They're just getting what's coming to them."
"And Chloe?"
"Must have been an extra added bonus. Afterall...every bad guy has to have a team," he concluded briefly. "They're going for the best there is."
"And rightfully so," a voice cut in, its tone coated thick with a sense of extreme satisfaction. "So Miss Franklin knows, and she's still a player for your team. Brilliantly executed, Turner. Bravo. You definitely deserve an award for that performance."
"Walk away now, Merrick."
"What? And miss all the fun that's about to begin? Like hell. We're just getting to the good part! I mean, you've got it all solved now, haven't you? Quite the detective in your spare time. Right down to the very last detail."
"And I think we have a spy we should probably wash our hands clean of," Cole interjected, rising up off the ground rather slowly, his blue eyes never leaving his opponent.
"Hey, I watched your little girl, didn't I?"
"You did," he considered. "But then again, I never gave you a lot of ways to go with that, did I?"
"And normally I'd complain like a stark raving madman, but I digress."
"Come to think of it, I'm still not so sure you work alone."
"I'm sensing a lot of negative forms of energy in this room right now," he proclaimed, smiling. "And my empathic abilities tell me that's never good."
"Too bad your abilities never allowed you to read a crystal ball," Phoebe quipped. "Because I happen to be sensing a lot of pummeling in your future."
"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a nice wedding by the sea with your cute little sister all clothed in white. But hell, a guy can dream, can't he?"
"My sister? Paige? Wha-"
"You've still got a lot of spunk, don't you? I like that."
"You already knew about-" Cole started.
"Turner, I'm not a member of that God forsaken firm, if that's what you're thinking. But if I know how you are, I'd say that's exactly what you're thinking."
"You're the one with the powers," Cole countered, shrugging.
"And so are you. Yet you're still afraid to show the world what you are." He chuckled slightly in his throat. "I'm not going to fight you, Cole. I've gone up against better men."
"And what makes a good man? He never exists long enough for you to make that distinction."
"The firm did want your soul. But I broke away from their pointless cause ages ago," he confessed. "The only reason I came on so strongly with the violence and all that crap before, was because I could recall who you were and what you'd done. There was never any disputing that. And if you want to try your hand at proving me wrong this time, heaven knows I'm all ears. I know you're anything but a phony, Mr. Turner. I left that title for the Source well before your time."
"And what's in it for you?"
"What isn't? Look, haven't we-"
"He's going to wait until Celia's made her mark, and then he's going to betray us," Phoebe said quietly. "He wants in again, don't you, Nick?"
"Hardly," he whispered. "I'm no better at living a normal life anymore than you are. I want complete and utter freedom, and if we...you prevail, I get that coming to me. I can have this damn scar washed clean from my memory like nothing ever happened."
"So you weren't born with it. Wonders never cease."
"But there are some benefits. For instance....the passion between you two right now, is enough to set the entire world on fire." He smiled, ignoring her completely. "You've been a threat to them since some pissed off demon first established headquarters there. I would guess he must have had a pretty nasty run-in with you that left him with a song in his heart. Unfortunately, after awhile, he forgot the lyrics."
"And this is the only goal they've been working towards?"
"Turner, they've been hot on your trail since who knows when."
"Crimson Star?"
"Oh. No. Stephen really was that crazy. It wasn't just a gift."
"Then if-"
"Open your eyes. The Dark didn't just find you out from her own means of surveillance. She knew what to look for, and how your little girl was the primary source of all the energy she would ever need. The Source was gone, and it was her time to party."
"They set me up?" he whispered.
"Think of it this way....you won and they lost. Isn't that enough to satisfy you until the next big kill?"
"Where are they located?"
"Cole-"
"Where?"
"Look, there are other means of elimination," he offered. "Other demons to deal with, demons they may send out in disguise....you have to watch your back real close now."
"What's Celia doing with her newfound alliance with them then?" Phoebe asked.
"That's where I fall short," he added, raising his eyebrows. "But Turner's a damn quick study on these things- I'll bet he'll have it figured out in no time...if he hasn't already."
"It comes back to the spirit- the corpse she refuses to leave for dead," he murmured. "If she got him back, she was going to be the one to remove and forfeit my soul in place of his. He'd already be nursing himself back to full health in my body."
"Tell him what he's won," he quipped, grinning.
"But it sounds too easy," Phoebe argued.
"Celia has lived her existence pretty much going unnoticed," Nick continued. "The fact that it's supposedly the anniversary of his death, could just make him even more powerful than he already was."
"As I was saying...." Cole stated, rolling his eyes rather briefly, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"And who in their right mind would want to submit themselves to celebrating someone's being undead?" Phoebe mused thoughtfully. "Actually...considering the culprit behind it all, that's not even up for discussion, is it?"
"Which means it'll be to his advantage when he-" Cole began.
"I never said she'd love him back," Nick noted. "On the contrary, he's most likely using her to rejuvenate his strength. This is exactly why xavier keeps crossing paths with you, and struggles to take her away from her so called plan in creating the perfect superhuman. He knows it can only end one way, just as your fate can. You two can promise all the love in the world to each other, but when destiny hits, it's never enough."
**********
"So....do you....know anything more about this crazy woman who wants to kill us all?" Paige Matthews asked hopefully.
Prue shrugged. "That depends. Do you guys always just sit here and wait for impending doom to strike you?"
"Phoebe's the boss," she retorted simply. "I'm just tagging along for the ride."
"Yeah, well, Phoebe wasn't always the boss."
"And I'm also guessing you guys have a few issues you never really got to sort out."
"Actually, that's not even the half of it. Cole's human with a daughter....two more kids at home....Cole has a home...with Phoebe....and I'm still trying to figure out how it all came into play in the timeline. When I last talked to her, she wanted nothing to do with him- and next thing I know, she goes down to the Underworld to save him, and apparently he was all sunshine and roses again. I mean, what gives?"
"Oh, believe me," Paige uttered, yawning, "their on again-off again stuff can get pretty exhausting. Granted, he's a new man now, but Phoebe's had her share of problems over the years."
"Aunt Paige, are Mom and Dad really going to break the Power Of Three?"
Paige turned toward the small voice, her expression softening as she met the worried gaze of Melinda Wyatt, the little girl slumping down beside her, easily folding her hands into her lap, as she stared up at her rather thoughtfully. "Is everything okay, sweetie?"
"I know something bad is coming, but I want them to be together when it does."
"Lindy, I never meant to...about what I said earlier-"
"They can work it out, can't they? You said Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Cole have, right?"
She smiled. "How much have you heard?"
"I know my mom," she confirmed, "And Aunt Phoebe always used to tell me she never gave up on Dad, even when the big powers wanted them to never see each other again."
"I was there when they found out about the wedding," Prue informed her.
"Really?"
"Well, not the actual wedding, but the one where they were supposed to get married. You're mom's tough. She proved herself to the Elders in the end, and she still got her man. If I know Leo, he's not about to let Piper get away from him again. Not ever," she assured her.
"Some kids at school said their parents lived in separate houses. I don't want that to happen to me."
"Lin, you can't stop the future from happening, but you can always try to change it," Paige whispered. "In fact, Cole speaks for himself."
"Hang in there," Prue told her, throwing her a wink.
"Can I live with you, Aunt Paige?"
"Trust me, you wouldn't like it. I'm terrible at keeping house, and there are clothes everywhere."
"But Aunt Phoebe could make room for me, right?"
"Aunt Phoebe was also blessed with twins quite recently," Paige reminded her. "It's like I said. If they get more busy than they already are, that house will not be big enough for all of them, and I'll be out on my butt in no time."
"What about you, Aunt Prue? Where do you live?"
"Farther than you know," she stated briefly, rolling her eyes.
"With the big powers," Paige added.
"You means with Grams?"
"And Mom," Prue finished, nodding. "You know, your real grandma? Have you ever met her?"
The petite girl shook her head. "Do you like it there?"
"Um...can I think about that, and get back to you, sweetie?"
Melinda laughed. "Sarcasm."
"How do you know about that?"
"Aunt Phoebe said Uncle Cole uses it all the time."
"Should have guessed," Prue told her. "He's a bad influence already."
"I think he's funny."
"Really?"
"She also said he's very sexy when he does it too."
"Okay! Well! Can...can we, um, get back to Piper and Leo one more time, in that case?"
"Amen to that," Paige commented eagerly, scrunching up her nose. "The last thing I want to know about right now, are Phoebe's thoughts on my biggest, closest...most loathed enemy. Moving on?"