Faded Fragments
part 26
"Would you please stop doing that?"
"Doing what?" came Paige Matthews' confused response, letting out a breath of air, as she casually rolled her eyes at her older half sister with a tinge of dismay, calmly shrugging her slender shoulders in a helpless gesture.
"I think she means the fact that you're constantly fidgeting, and it's probably starting to drive her nuts," Cole Turner added bluntly, throwing her a terribly amused smirk, as he neatly crossed his arms over his chest, his blues professing an equally suited crinkle across his gorgeous unshaven profile.
"I am not," Paige hissed, immediately becoming flustered.
"Then what do you call it?" he returned curiously, as he leaned closer to her, obviously loving every minute of it.
"Did it ever occur to you that we're back in the old days and we have no clothes?"
"Are you...seeing something I'm not?"
"The era, Cole. We're in the Stone Age, for crying out loud. We don't have any old witch clothes, and I don't know about you, but there really was a time when they mastered the craft the old fashioned way, and wore really long dresses, and had brooms do tricks, bending to the way of Wicca."
"You don't say," he quipped. "Guess I must have missed that one."
"Oh, I think you remember it quite well," Prue Halliwell assured him, giving him a firm pat on the back, as she threw him a forced grin.
He raised an eyebrow, holding back a soft laugh. "I put in a good word for you back then, trust me."
"I'm sure you did," she agreed, nodding. "But tell me. Exactly how smug did you feel when we broke apart your little plan- which was, for lack of a better word, tasteless and disorganized, and finally saved the day?"
"Maybe I missed my calling as a warlock."
"Or maybe you missed your calling when the Triad made you become Thomas Jefferson," Paige suggested sarcastically.
"That's cute, Paige," he sided, smiling, "because luckily for you, you just proved one village didn't lose their idiot."
"And if you've actually got a plan, I'm all ears," she retorted.
The were literally stranded in the middle of little more than a patch of bushes and a few tall trees, the green grass softly folding beneath their feet. A deadly strain of silence hung rather thickly in the air, and a quiet breeze rumpled the multitude of leaves as they swayed in it ever so slightly. He ran a hand across his jeans then, his eyes roaming the abandoned stretch of land with a renewed sort of interest. "Blood of our blood," he echoed, reciting the familiar words once again. "We summon thee."
"We used it when we contacted her before," Prue explained. "She's our great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother."
"Impressive," he concluded.
"Not really," she mused, frowning. "The Book should have shown her to us already. Instead, it left us out here to fend for ourselves. Not exactly up to working speed."
"Maybe it missed you," he suggested, smiling.
"Yeah, well, when you've been dead as long as I have, it tends to do that to a person."
"Joke now, guys, but Cole doesn't have a whole lot of time left here," Paige went on, staring up at him, her hands finally slinging themselves against her hips. "And we can't really afford to play with fire, Prue. Like it or not, we're still on the clock with the former el grande rojo here."
Cole tilted his head to the side. "On the contrary, time doesn't have the same effect on me here."
"You want to bet on that?" she challenged.
"Demons age much slower than humans do," he argued. "I was born in the late 1800's, and I don't look much older than you do right now."
"Yeah, I think I got that part already."
"I could consider myself lucky, but when you've spent the better part of your life the way I have, you have everything to be sorry for, and almost everything to regret. Thomas Rickman obviously hasn't seen me upset."
"Daddy, I really want to help," a small voice urged, as a tiny hand tugged on the right side of his pants. Alexandra Turner looked up at him, her green eyes intense and pleading, her face a massive outlet of emotions. Her small and delicate mouth was set in a surprisingly firm line, and her hair appeared just a little longer, and a slightly lighter shade of brown. "I hate just doing nothing. You need me, don't you? We can't let him do this to us. You gave me my powers back for a reason, didn't you?" she inquired, referring to their previous confrontation with The Dark not all that long ago, when Cole had found just how much his family had meant to him, and had dove into the depths of hell to bring her back. He'd do it again, not a moment’s hesitation, if her safety was comprised, and he still wouldn’t regret it.
"I still say Nick could've helped us just fine if you hadn't tried destroying the only face he had," Paige offered, shooting him a quick glare.
"And he'll get over it," Cole snapped, immediately becoming irritated.
"Physically, yeah, but what about mentally? The guy's going to be scarred inside for months."
"Then he needs to see Dr. Phil," Prue chimed in. "Look, I don't exactly have the patience or the time to sit around talking about Nick Merrick, and if it's all the same to you, I'm thinking we'd better find one of those dresses, if we don't want a noose thrown around our necks."
"In that case, what size does Cole take?" Paige questioned inquisitively, giving the former demon a rather large smile.
His countenance drew a blank and never cracked a smile, as he bent down to the level of the small girl waiting beside him. "Can I have a moment alone with my daughter?"
Her own expression rapidly softened, her entire demeanor shifting, as she slowly nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
"Take a few minutes," Prue added, "Paige?"
"We'll try and see if we can locate a path to town or something," the other Charmed One told him. "And we'll find her, Cole. Look-" She paused a moment, very nearly regretting the jabs she'd taken at him yet again without even thinking, her conscience welling up deep down inside of her, painfully falling just an inch or two short of the surface. It was the man she saw now, the same man who had never let them down, despite his previous indiscretions, the man who never failed in caring for and loving his little girl with everything he had, and the little girl who looked up to him the way she was doing right now, admiring him for the good that had found its way into his heart when he'd met and fallen for her mother- twice. Maybe she'd never understand it as much as she should've, but she continued to understand it enough. "I...just- we will, okay?"
"Yes, I gave you your powers back for a reason, young lady," he stated, his voice just above a whisper, as he watched Paige and Prue take some steps back, waiting until their attention was focused elsewhere, before he let his beautiful blue eyes soften, his generous mouth falling loose around the edges, as his entire composure almost seemed to relax and belie a certain amount of hidden fatigue. "But it doesn't mean you can just run off and play the heroine, when you have absolutely no idea what you're up against here."
"I know enough," she insisted, as she sat herself cross-legged on the grass, a tiny hand reaching out for a thin strand of it, as her round face almost seemed to contemplate it in greater detail. "I know he tried to get her to forget who she was, so she wouldn't love you anymore."
"Kellerman might still be in this with him, Ally, and I don't want to see you getting yourself hurt. These men have a lot of power between them, and it's power we've never seen before."
"Not even with the Source?"
He sat himself down beside her, his heart becoming somewhat fragile in his chest, as he winced, throwing his arms atop his knees, and slowly folding his hands together. "Sweetheart, you're better off not knowing much more about The Source."
"So why doesn't Rickman like us, Daddy? What did we ever do to him to-"
"You existed," he cut her off, a sad smile crossing his attractive visage, "and that was all the motivation he needed."
"Because we're witches and he doesn't like them?"
"Oh, he doesn't like me very much at this point, either- only...I'm about to give him another reason." He almost laughed, seemingly pleased with that. "He shields himself well. He's not your average demon, and he's definitely not as vulnerable as Celia was. It'll take some time."
"But Aunt Prue said we don't have a lo-"
"I know she did, and we don't," he interjected. "But we're playing with darker arts here, Ally."
"You don't think you'll make it out," she whispered, "do you, Daddy?"
"Ally-"
"You don't, do you?" she repeated.
"I never said that."
"But you kind of know it already, right?"
"This world isn't the same as our world," he carefully explained. "It's what it's become, but it's not ours, Alex. None of it is, not even the past. And no matter how hard I fight to bring back the one we lost, it still won't mean anything if I can't get Phoebe back."
"Mommy loved you from the minute she saw you in this one," she reminded him. "You know she did."
"Maybe," he considered. "But I'm not-" He took a deep breath, his eyes grazing the sky above them, the clouds drifting calmly overheard. "We're on shaky ground now. To be honest, I didn't actually think we'd get here."
"What did Aunt Prue mean when she said you were already here before though?"
"It was a long time ago," he whispered. "It's not important."
"Was it when you were bad?" It was said so innocently, so simply, that he nearly caved.
"I was under orders," he answered, shrugging. "When we're under orders, we all do things we don't wanna do, right?"
"You mean like when my substitute teacher Mrs. Norton tells me it's my turn to clean the chalkboard at the end of the day, or else I get a bad slip and have to have a time-out?"
He grinned. "Something like that."
"Well, what's the problem with that? I mean, it's not like you're really hurting anyone but yourself."
"Ally, that's exactly why I regret it so much. I tried to destroy their line, when I was already falling so much in love with her that it hurt. I just...you know when you see something that's almost out of your reach, but not quite, and you start to think you have to have it?"
"Like a candy bar at the checkout when Mommy takes me shopping," she volunteered.
It did his heart good to hear her comparisons, and he offered a short pat to her knee, quietly nodding. "Yes, like a candy bar at the store," he repeated. "You feel the guilt, the nagging at your brain that what you're about to do is wrong, because even though that candy bar may look good and sound good, there's a price to pay if you eat it, because you know it's not what the people you answer to want, and they know it's not good for you."
The little girl merely shook her head, a bright smile settling on her pretty face. "Daddy, whatever it was, you didn't do it, and you should be proud of yourself for it."
"And yet when you've found you've won that candy bar more than once," he continued, "you start to feel like you've finally accomplished something you never could before. You start to think you might just be okay on your own, and that you don't have to answer to those people anymore, no matter what they try and do to you."
"Because of a candy bar?" she pressed. "Wow, that sounds pretty serious."
"Well, some candy bars are worth fighting for," he told her, his face mocking surprise, as he raised his brows.
"But candy's bad for your teeth," she argued.
"Yes, and you'd be wise to remember that when you go shopping again," he added quickly, finally changing the subject to the real thing.
"So you think we'll be okay then?"
"I don't think," he added. "I know."
"Can you sense anything yet?"
"Like I said, he's shielding himself pretty good right now."
"And Aunt Paige seems to think the bad side is coming back too, right?"
"Sweetie, I don't think-"
"I'm not scared," she said defiantly, crossing her tiny arms over her chest, as she met his gaze right on. "You might think I am, Daddy, but I'm not. I know you can't help it, but I'm not scared."
"Your mom was a different story."
"She saw you covered in all that red?" Alex asked, a brief wave of disbelief clouding her complexion.
"When I showed her who I was," he sided, "I could control him, so I knew I'd never- let's just say Phoebe was more concerned with hitting me, than she was with thinking I'd kill her."
"It's honest," she added hopefully, her eyes slightly widening.
"Yes, it is," he agreed. "And it's like I told her before. I don't regret a second of it. I'm glad she came into my life when she did."
"Or else I probably wouldn't be here."
He laughed. "Well, that's one way of looking at it, isn't it?"
"And I hate to interrupt any kind of potential Kodak moment here, but I think you guys are going to want to see this. We're definitely in the right place, we just need to put our heads togeth-"
"This better be good." Cole glanced up at Paige with a slight frown, casually rolling his eyes.
"Like I said, you're going to want to see it. It seems our guy's been leaving us bread crumbs, and by the looks of it, he didn't expect us this soon."
"So he had to improvise," he countered.
"That's basically what Prue said. But by bread crumbs, I mean fairy tale. I mean, this is the real deal, Cole."
"Hansel and Gretel?" he suggested.
"Cheesy, I know, but apparently the dirtbag is enjoying this with everything he has. He knew we'd get it sooner or later."
"But he'd hoped it would be later."
"Yep. Now, Prue said we might be able to try for Melinda again if we try and include Alex this time around. She said it probably wasn't strong enough before. So I'm guessing it'll at least give us the power of two and a half and hey, it's better than nothing, right?"
"Where do the crumbs lead?" he questioned, hurriedly lifting himself up off the ground, as he held out a firm hand to his little girl, watching as she latched onto it, coming up beside him. "I mean it's not going to be that simple, Paige. Rickman's not just going to- how do we even know it’s Rickman?"
"I know, I know, he's too good for that. But this obviously just succeeded in telling us we're the bait, so I say we follow the little shop of horrors and see where we end up."
"I can help with the tales," Alex spoke up. "I know a lot of them from school."
"Yeah, I was kinda hoping you'd say that," Paige added quietly, grinning.
"They're supposed to educate you on this kind of thing in school?" Cole asked her, a puzzled expression plaguing his features.
"Maybe it wasn't on their list in the 1800's, Daddy."
"You know, I'm really starting to like her a lot lately," Paige confirmed, nodding, as she put an arm across the petite girl's shoulders, giving her a small squeeze.
"Paige, so help me, if you keep this up, you might just need a damn frog to kiss you when this is over."
"I'd just call Nick," she responded, tossing out her tongue at him.
"Or maybe you'd like me to change you into an inanimate object. I mean, I got Darryl with a water cooler once, so it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with something, right? I was thinking more along the lines of a coat rack. I mean, nobody ever uses those damn things anymore."
Alex shyly giggled, while Paige forced down a comeback, her lips finally settling themselves into a tight frown. "Didn't I apologize for the crack I made before- didn't I?"
"Yeah, but where's there's one, there are a thousand more from you, so I'd say this makes us about even."
"Or do you think you'd like to try and break my nose, too?"
"Oh, the offer's awfully tempting, but I think I'll pass. Tough call though."
"I'm sure it was," she quipped.
"And as of now, this conversation just turned PG." He stopped a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. "Unless of course you'd like my daughter to know the proper way to let immaturity run its course."
"Are you any good at riddles?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Think I forgot to mention that part," she replied, indicating an index finger straight ahead, where the tiny crumbs came to an abrupt sense of closure and a series of letters had taken shape, and were neatly carved onto the bark of a nearby tree, the print rather thick and entirely encased in caps.
"Where there is one, there are more, catch the trickster, and you shall find all four," he read aloud, raising a perplexed brow.
"Make anything of it?" Prue inquired.
"Seth Kellerman sure fits the definition of a trickster, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah, except that's too easy."
"Maybe it's supposed to be."
"What?"
"Consider that Tom wants us to find him in a decent frame of time- I mean, at least before time's completely run out, and he's stuck here, right?"
"Maybe that's what he wants though," she pointed out. "If he's tainted the past just as much as he's done to the present, there's no telling what his motives are anymore. Our line would be gone, banished, and he wouldn't care which one he was living in."
"There's that," he nodded. "But there's also the fact that he probably wants his firm back awfully bad, and he wants to rally the troops together again for world domination. Just like old times, you know? Didn’t you tell me demons never changed?"
She almost laughed. "It would explain the thirst for power, wouldn't it?"
"He wouldn't just let the Kellerman and Rickman establishment slip away from him," Cole whispered. "He may have let on that he was letting Seth and Patrick run the entire show before, but he also used Seth's revenge to give him a way out, and use me as a way in. It's smart, if you're looking at it from a demonic standpoint, but to be honest, I haven't figured out what this son of a bitch is yet. We know what he wants, but what is he?"
"Daddy?" Alex questioned, tossing him a look, quietly shaking her head.
"Oh. The- the very...the very bad and angry...man," he corrected, shooting her a small smile. "That better?"
"Much," she stated, her face brightening.
"So Phoebe's been on you about the cursing too, huh?" Paige quipped, offering a short laugh in response.
"It's not proper for a child to pick up on a parent's bad habits, because it could lead to bigger problems later on," he quoted exactly, with a quick shrug of his shoulders. "We're working on it, okay?"
"I bet she got you good with that one."
"Paige, can we please focus here a minute?"
"Sure, sure. But it must really suck that she has to reprimand you like that."
"Well, when you love someone as much as they love you, you tend to overlook it."
"Just like we're overlooking it now," Prue managed, her eyes still trained on the message, briefly narrowing, as she cocked her head ever so slightly. She traced an invisible outline of the print with an index finger, as she quietly pursed her lips. "Piper, Phoebe, Melinda, and-"
"He's not talking about witches," Cole informed her.
"Unless he means the Power of Four. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and myself," she told him then, considering it a bit more.
"Melinda might factor into it, but chances are he's going to go to the heart of the matter, which is why he needed The Charmed Ones to make it happen," he pointed out. "When you found out you were witches, it changed everything, because there were three of you, not just one, and there was tremendous power at stake."
"And with Prue back, this gives us twice the power we had before," Paige suggested.
"So he split you up," Cole finished. "Thing of it is, I suspect he doesn't know my little girl is already halfway there. This is your fight."
"It doesn't mean we're not going to need your help," Prue reiterated, staring up at him.
"Oh, you mean like you needed my help in that saloon fight and put yourself on overkill with all of those discrepancies in film?"
"Who lied and said they're favorite movie was Kill It Before It Dies?" She grinned ridicuously now, putting a finger lightly to his chest. "Matter of fact, maybe you should've realized just how true to life that was for you when we found out what you were really after."
"Now that you mention it, I was a little jealous when Phoebe told me Billy had a little school boy crush on her, but I assure you, it's long past," he added, shrugging off the faintest bit of amusement. "Did I ever tell you I had a cameo in that film and all’s forgiven?"
"And you really think sending messages to the woman you love by hopping into her favorite film of all time is a great accomplishment and the best way to woo her?"
"Well, I did sweep her off her feet in the end," he confirmed, "which is more than I can obviously say for Billy or Clay. I mean, what’d you do with a guy who isn't even in color?"
"Uh guys?"
"Well, apparently she found enough to do with him if she was that attracted to him, didn't she?"
"As opposed to me?"
"I still think she should have dug deeper when she married you," Prue neatly quipped.
"Guys!" Paige's voice rose an octave, as she yelled it out, using two fingers to point in the direction directly in front of them. "Look! Over there. Now. It looks like we've not only got company, but a whole army of them by the looks of it."
More men than they could count- men riding atop horses of all sizes and colors, were already galloping their way, weapons raised high and mighty above their heads in a shout of battle, as they charged over the land full force, their faces dirty and covered with drops of sweat, their features coated with what appeared to be a great deal of rage. The noise became deafening as they gained momentum, nearly riding up on top of them, as the sky began to cloak itself in a cloudy mask of gray, thunder rumbling not far into the distance. Cole immediately pulled his daughter close to him, the little girl already covering her ears with two tiny hands, her lids shutting themselves tightly and bracing for impact.
"Can you take care of them!" Prue shouted, her body tensing.
"Give me a minute!"
"We don't exactly have a minute!!!" she shouted back.
"I'm working on it, all right?!"
"Work a little faster!" Paige chimed in. "They're gaining on us!"
"Dammit!" He hurriedly grabbed Alex's hand firmly in his own, motioning to the two sisters with his other hand, rapidly urging them forward. "Grab onto me!"