Faded Fragments
part 25
"Okay, what'd you do to him?" Paige Matthews demanded, as she carefully cornered the former half demon, her right index finger slapping itself firmly across his chest.
"Do?" Cole Turner repeated, shrugging, as he did his best to try and dodge her, his attention clearly preoccupied at the moment, as he failed to make eye contact entirely.
"To Nick?" she questioned, her own pair of eyes narrowing, as she continued to pinpoint him with a cold, hard stare, her mouth set in a rather tight line, her arms crossing themselves angrily over her chest.
"Oh, that?" he murmured, his face almost brightening fondly at the sheer recollection of the impact.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Did I really break his nose?"
"No, but you came damn close," she hissed, her palms reaching out to shove at him, as she caused him to abruptly halt all movement. "Has it ever occurred to you that he's really no different than you are? I mean, yeah, I know it probably has, or else you wouldn't have had cause to punch him, right?"
He raised an amused eyebrow, carefully tilting his head to the side. "What's your point, Paige?"
"You didn't have to shed any blood over this. I know you dislike him, I know you still don't approve of him being interested in me- it's all old news. But you could've refrained from using some pathetic violence to resolve your issues."
"Hmm. Well. Has it ever occurred to you, that I don't like someone taking shots at my wife?"
"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," she snapped. "He's not like that, Cole. He's changed- he's...different now."
"Oh, don't waste your breath."
"I've spent more time with him than you have."
"Intimacy doesn't count," he told her quietly.
"It does for you and Phoebe," she remarked matter of factly, her entire expression masking itself in utter disbelief, the words stinging more than she thought they would, her lips slightly parted as she reluctantly carried the blow straight to her heart.
"Paige-"
"It's not okay for me to find somebody, to have somebody, but it's okay for you to be all redeemed, and good, and pure, and have the woman you love by your side?"
"That's not what I meant, but I think you already know that."
"What I know, doesn't even begin to describe what a bastard you're being right now."
"According to you, I'm always a bastard and I've always been a bastard," he quipped, his face leaning dangerously close to hers. "Tell me something I-"
"This isn't solving anything."
"Figure that out all by yourself, did you?"
"I'm not planning on kicking Nick out of my life anytime soon, and you have to start accepting that he might just become part of our family at some point. It's not up for discussion, and I don't think it ever was. I love him, Cole. Maybe not the love you feel for Phoebe right now, but it's the kind of love I'm not just going to throw away, because I know he really cares despite his indiscretions."
"And I don't?"
"I'm not implying that," she stated simply, looking up at him, as their eyes finally connected, their gazes profoundly relentless. "How many times do I have to tell you how wrong I was about you? Your daughter still loves you more than words can say- she still believes in you. You...you got your wife to fall in love with you again, and it wasn't easy. You know what it's like to fight and to struggle and you're doing a damn good job of it, whether this turns out okay or not. But you can't just screw up and lose your temper, and pretend everything's just going to be peachy keen."
"Peachy keen?" he echoed, finally professing a soft laugh.
"God, I can't believe I'm actually going to say this outloud, but you're...you've- dammit, you're like the annoying brother I never had and never really wanted."
He studied her for awhile, as the amusement fought its way back over his gorgeous countenance again, a sly smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his blues plagued with a certain playfulness. "Really?"
"Oh, believe me, it's not a compliment."
He reached out, lightly giving her shoulder a friendly squeeze. "And here I thought we were actually going to begin to bond."
Her eyes widened ever so briefly. "Dream on, dude."
"Actually, I still think a dream is what got me here, and if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer not to have to relive such a painful experience again."
"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about."
"I'm sorry?"
"I try to be nice, you beat me down for it. It's a vicious cycle."
"Look, I'm...I...apologize for Nick, alright? I know it wasn't the most mature thing in the world to-"
"No, it wasn't."
"Do," he finished. "But I think the guy is way past verbal abuse now."
"Oh, c'mon, Cole. It still doesn't mean he deserved what you did to him."
"Yeah, and while I'd love to sit down with you and write a nice little book on that, I think we have much more important things at stake here."
"You mean like that?" she offered.
"Like what?"
"Your...well look at it. I mean, that can't be normal, right?"
"As opposed to what?"
"Your hand," she whispered. "Dammit, Cole, look at your hand."
His eyes lowered themselves to his skin, which was slowly twisting in and out of an all too familiar red hue. He studied both his palm and his fingers in complete puzzlement, curling them in and out, bewildered and yet strangely afraid, as a flicker of disappointment began to cloud his features, the shock almost leaping up to catch him and grab him around his throat, losing the ability to properly breath. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and the deafening bout of silence instead hung in a tattered web around him, as he seemed to feel his whole world crashing down in that particular fragment in time. He winced, still not quite grasping the truth, his blues trapped in a vast state of emptiness. "I think we just lost some time," he whispered, his tone oddly fragile.
"Something must have happened," she told him. "It...it doesn't make any sense. This was supposed to-"
"Paige, where's Phoebe?"
"She's with Piper in the attic. They're with Seth. Why?"
"Are you sure about that?"
"Cole, I'm sure they can handle him-"
"No," he said almost cryptically, as he glanced up towards the stairwell, gently shaking his head. "Not now."
"What are you talking about? What's going on?" she clamped a hand down on his wrist as he started to move, her face coated in complete seriousness. "Cole?"
He noted the gesture only vaguely, his concentration never wavering. "He's sped up his plans," he reasoned.
"Who, Seth?"
"Rickman."
"But he's not even here," she protested. "He's not even- Cole, there's no way...we'd know." She was almost pleading with him, her hand shaking as it remained glued to his wrist. "Cole, listen to me."
"I can feel him," he said simply.
"You think he's bringing this on because-"
"It's his way of saying he's ready," he murmured.
"For what?"
"Get Merrick and Prue," he told her. "Make sure my little girl is safe."
"You can't- there's no way I'm letting you go up there by yourself. You're in no condition to fight him, and you know it."
"I feel fine."
"You might think you do, but what about a minute from now, five minutes from now? Don't you get it? He wants you to become your past, Cole. And that's- it's a little less protected than what you've worked damn hard to become. You can't do this, and I won't let you."
"You pick the strangest time to care, Paige." The words were practically lifeless, his features drawing a blank slate.
"You can't do this," she repeated.
"I have to," he concluded, his voice not even a whisper.
"No," she countered. "You've...you've proved your love for her time and time again. She knows. Believe me, she knows. And what you've gotta do right now? What you should do right now? Is let the four of us handle it."
"Paige, kindly step of my way, or I'll show you what it feels like to get in it."
"Are you challenging me?"
"Get out of my way," he breathed. "Consider this the last time I'm asking nicely."
"You can't let Belthazor out, Cole. He'll become you in this world. He takes over, and what'll you have left? Nothing. You won't recognize yourself anymore."
"You think I asked for this?!" he demanded, his voice coming close to bestowing a low growl, his beautiful unshaven face conflicted with traces of terror and madness. "You always think love is enough. You always think the odds would never play this way against you, because you sure as hell don't deserve it, and you've worked hard to become a respectable human being. Something right, and something...tangible. Something you can actually reach out and touch, because it truly does exist. But sometimes, love isn't. No. Not when so many have tried so desperately to take it away from you, to reveal the Godforsaken monster you really are. All I've ever been is a monster, Paige. And it's all I'll ever be, unless I kill him."
"And there'll always be more," she insisted. "You can't- you think you're doing the world a favor by getting rid of one evil son of a bitch, when there might be a thousand more to come? You're only ridding this world of yourself."
"At least she'll remember me as a good man though, right?" A sharp tear had trickled down his cheek, his expression plagued with pure rage, his hands rolling in and out of fists at his side. And still, he stood his ground, his tall, lean frame towering over hers.
"You don't understand-"
"Dammit, Paige, get the hell out of my way, or I'll-"
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"What?"
"But I can't let you do this." Reaching behind her, she grabbed the small empty vase she'd been eyeing up, gripping the glass object firmly in her hands. Shutting her lids tight, she brought it down hard and quick over his head, watching as he tumbled unconsciously to the floor below, immediately regretting the action with everything she had, her fingers trembling absentmindedly from the shock. "I'm really, really sorry."
"Paige! Paige, are you okay! Paige!" Prue stopped herself just in time, as her feet slid within inches of the shards that lay scattered around Cole's body, a hand pressing itself against her mouth, as she quickly glanced at her half sister, her eyes wide with horror and demanding answers.
"No, he's not evil, and yes, you're probably gonna hate me, but I honestly had absolutely no choice in the matter."
"Maybe not, but Phoebe's seriously going to kill you," she threw in. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," she added, "but I'm not so sure about Phoebe and Piper. Cole thinks Rickman's already here, so I-"
"So you eliminated the only help we had," she quipped sarcastically. "Brilliant. Oh, yeah. Phoebe's gonna love this one."
"Dammit, Prue, the effects were setting in, and I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk what he might do. His wife's life is probably hanging in the balance up there, and I'm not about to let her have another little memory lapse. And seeing as you've already had your fair share of him as the Big Red long before I did, I thought you'd- I remember what he was like when he went after Sykes, and I don't want him jeopardizing our ticket home. Now where's Alex?"
"She's in the basement," she muttered, her eyes giving their full attention to the still form again. "I still don't buy Cole telling us to keep her out of it, but I-" She shook her head then, as if to pull herself out of it. "Dammit, Paige, it still doesn't condone what you did to him."
"He'll forgive me."
"Yeah, in a million years."
"I'm keeping our niece safe, aren't I?"
"Paige, Cole was the only person who knew what Rickman would and could be capable of. He-"
"Can't we just say I did it out of kindness and leave it at that?"
"Yeah, well, Nick's already out of the running. His little spat with Cole earlier kind of left him...shall we say...a broken man?"
"It's broken?" she countered, gritting her teeth.
"It's an expression."
"Thank God," she breathed. "I would've hated to think I should have hit Cole harder-"
"Did you actually find anything to stop this guy?" Prue cut her off.
"You're kidding, right?"
"No matter how powerful they are, they always have a weakness."
"Oh, really? Yeah. The question is what?"
"We don't have the time to sit on it!" she hissed.
"He doesn't hide behind who he is," she murmured.
"Neither did Cole," Prue reminded her. "It's not what he is, it's who he is. We need Seth- the real Seth."
"Yeah, and you saw what happened when we trusted whatever was up there," Paige told her, her voice struggling to stay level. "I'm not about to go and trust the actual former associate of the big bad, who's probably borderline psycho right now. But if you have a death wish, feel free. We don't exactly have the time to deal with a drunk has been, Prue."
"If Phoebe dies in this world, she won't exactly get a chance to wake up in the next," her sister added firmly.
"Don't you think I know that?"
"We need magic."
"And any spell we've written up until this point, won't really do any good, now that the bastard is in our house. It's useless- it's not gonna force him back out, no matter how many stupid verses we get to rhyme."
"We may not even be able to use one," she whispered.
"What?"
"Think about it. Why would he make it this easy for us?"
"Yeah, and you know what? It's fricking Christmas- so lighten up!" Paige retorted angrily, shooting the other woman a cold glare. "You think everything has to be this complicated little web of miracles- this...notion of black and white, but what you're not grasping, what you've always failed to grasp, is that it was never about us- he just needed two. Rickman obviously didn't know Seth had schemed this far ahead, and he hates likes hell- pardon the pun, to be put in a world he can't get anything out of. Everyone you ever knew is gone, they're now someone you never met, and the only thing that could change that is bargaining for a better world, the old world."
"He's not gonna let us walk out of this alive. We know who he is."
"So we compromise."
"In other words, we'll be blackmailing each other. You know, I just came back from the dead, and I so don't need this right now. If it's any consolation to you, I'm guessing they never gave you the brains."
"No," she stated matter of factly, ignoring her. "No. See, the trick is getting him to buy it, making him vulnerable."
"Ladies, I hate to break it to you, but the only thing that's going to make him vulnerable at this point, is if one of you volunteers to make out with him." Nicholas Merrick stumbled aimlessly into the foyer, a white cloth still pressed tight against his nose, his eyes completely watered down from the pain. "Or...on second thought, who just made my dream come true? Either I'm starting to suffer from horrible delisions, or someone finally put Turner down. Woohoo, way to go, my favorite ones who just happen to be Charmed. I'd jump for joy if I this didn't hurt so damn much."
"Did you give him something?"
Prue just looked at her.
"Two things about a former demon," a familiar voice sided pleasantly, the tone only vaguely plagued with the slightest hint of exhaustion, the remaining half coated with a playfulness he preyed on so well. "We don't croak that easily and we're known for playing dead- so unless you or your brilliant sister has something a hell of a lot bigger than a damn vase, I suggest you get a running head start, before I show you why I was about to become the Source's right hand man." Cole had lifted himself off the ground with great effort, calmly dusting the shards from his sweater, intricately drawing out the ones already tangled in the heavy fabric, a hand drawing a bit of blood from the side of his face. He sighed, the amusement never failing to seep tiredly beneath his blues. He took a single step towards Paige, who mechanically took an equal step back, her eyes nearly falling on the floor. "You don't want to rush into this, I get that. You don't want to see me hurt, I get that, too. But if you so much as ever come near me with a heavy object that leaves one hell of a bump on my skull again, I won't hesitate to show you what I'm made of. Are we clear? Because if we're not, I'm thinking maybe you'd actually like to take me up on my word."
"Honey, I think he means it."
"Shut up, Nick."
"I'm the good guy here, and I trust you'll remember that," Cole continued softly, his voice strangely frightening. "You obviously haven't been taught a damn thing if you're that eager to strike up a bargain with evil. Have you learned nothing about where you came from?"
"Since when did you become all high and mighty?"
"It won't happen here," Nick interjected. "He's trying to tell you Rickman has already taken them elsewhere. If you and Prue hadn't carried on and on about it and hit your only meal ticket, you might've been there already."
"He wanted to go up to the attic," she insisted. "You wanted to go up to the attic," she accused Cole, meeting his gaze dead on.
"I needed the Book of Shadows to save her," he whispered.
"The Book isn't going to save anybody," Prue told him. "Not anymore."
"This is my mistake, and I'll fix it."
"What the hell aren't you telling us?!" Paige demanded.
"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."
"This firm," she started.
"Oh...God." He let out a breath, steadying himself with a hand on either side of his head. "Look. The firm has nothing to do with it, it never did. I was a distraction," he snapped. "Is that what you want to hear? I was just there for their convenience- their pleasure, so they could toy with me, and make me less of a man, simply because they could. They never wanted me, or my daughter, or anything I stood for. I was child's play, a way in. This...this place? It's not- Thomas Rickman goes further back than I do. You know that. You've always known that. He's only surfaced until now, because he sees it as an opportunity to get what he's wanted more than life itself. It's never been about breaking up love or destroying my humanity- he used Seth's hatred brought on by Celia's death, and now he's going to use it to destroy the Halliwell line. You both go all the way back to Melinda Warren, as far back as the 1600's, as far back as the Salem Witch Trials. Although, I'm sure you probably already know the story." He tried to smile, but it was strained, and his head had begun a slow, dull ache. "He was there...he knows- he felt her presence the minute she set foot in that town. If he has to, he'll make all four of you go back and relive it, if only so he can make sure her daughter forfeits your existence in history."
"You pretty much tried to do the same thing," Prue told him, her hands against her hips, her mouth tightening as she addressed him, her composure filled with tension. "Phoebe said that right after you had Alex, you told her you tri-"
"My past is the past," he informed her. "I'm here to help, I'm not here to kill. And if it means I have to sacrifice myself in the process, then...I guess it's the price I'm willing to pay for your respect and love. I'm telling you what I know, and I'm telling you what he's always known."
"So why now? It still doesn't add up. Today isn't-"
"He has his own sacrifice to make for redemption," Cole countered plainly, shrugging. "Heaven won't take him, Prue."
"And it will if he kills innocents?" Paige proclaimed, scrunching up her nose. "What kind of warped vision is that?"
"Okay, so I was destined to meet you?" Nick questioned, clearly puzzled, "and I was destined to take you out before, so you couldn't save them? I was destined to be fired, and I was destined to fall for a Charmed One?"
"Oh, for crying out loud, give the man a prize," Prue drawled.
"You'll need Melinda," Cole told her, throwing a threatening glance Nick's way . "You don't exactly have the Power of Three, or Four anymore, so-"
"The Book will send us back," Paige breathed.
He nodded. "And I'm coming with you."