Pudding Chan: Thanks for reading! Certainly I will be pondering a new story to follow from this, after I start working we'll see how motivated I am. I may just go back to laying on my face…

Hellstorm: Epilogue

Paige followed the voices down into the basement despondently. When everyone saw that had ruined another outfit with Darryl's blood they ran to her, asking questions all at once. She held up a hand quickly, sighing.

"Guys, I'm fine," she said, watching them all calm. Cole, Paige noticed, was among the group coming to her aid and a chill came over her that nothing to do with the temperature.

"Well," Piper said, unsure if she should ask. "whose blood?" Paige held herself, shaking herself from the memory of the scene.

"Darryl's," she replied then held her hands up again. "don't worry, I got him to the hospital, and I made sure before I left that he was stable,"

"What happened," Phoebe asked, focusing her eyes as if the story were in the red smears on her white pants. "why didn't you bring Darryl here," Paige glanced at Leo for a moment, and she could tell the question on his mind was 'why didn't you heal him yourself.'

"I saw Darryl at the court house," she started, trying to figure out which parts of her surprisingly long day should be mentioned and which didn't. "He was working on this case, with this felon, and he wasn't sure what was going on, why he kept getting off," she passed a hand through her hair then paused, looking down at her red hand. "then he got this call, it was him, Benjamin, and we drove to the scene and chased him down, but," she got quieter and quieter. "It was the Seer," she said. The only one standing in the basement that had the beginnings of a knowing look was Cole, and he still looked a little perplexed.

"Wait, what?" Piper said, "the Seer what, was the guy?" Paige shook her head.

"She, gave him the athame, I think," Paige worked the situation back and forth in her mind. "She must have. Well, anyway, he had it, and it made him,"

"Like me," Cole said hollowly, a far away look over his face. Phoebe's touch brought him back to the present. "or at least, like I was,"

"Kinda wish I had known you were bullet proof before today," Paige said, anger in her voice, then she sighed "but it wouldn't have mattered, I didn't see it until it was too late, and Darryl got cut up pretty bad," Leo squinted up at the young witch.

"Where is the weapon," he said flatly. Paige gestured forward with her hand.

"I called it to me, but when I touched it," she shuddered visibly. "It was horrible. But then Darryl shot Benjamin, and then the Seer showed up. She said something about it being sealed by good or the blood of innocents or something,"

"Are you sure, that's all she said?" Leo asked directly. Paige shook her head.

"I had to get Darryl out of there, he'd been hit with a ricochet I think, and I didn't, she had the athame, and," she shook herself "I was just freaked out. How are we supposed to stop that? It's like,"

"Stopping Cole," Piper said, dread creeping into her bones.

"Yeah when he was invincible, except whoever has it will really want to kill us," she caught Cole's expression out of the corner of her eye, and she cut her eyes at him. "What?" Cole shrugged, defensively.

"Well," he started, unsure "you just accepted that I was different, at least marginally. Thanks," he smiled.

"Shut up," Paige retorted.

"Paige," Phoebe said, Paige threw her hands up.

"Dammit Phoebe," Paige started.

"Paige," Piper chimed in. Paige growled at all of them and stomped up the stairs, pulling at her hair. "We need to let her calm down," she said, directing her attention to Cole, though she couldn't say why.

"That may not be an option," Leo said. "I still need to talk to you three," Piper rolled her eyes, putting her head against Leo's chest.

"This is turning into the longest week ever," she said to no one in particular.

"At least breakfast was nice," Cole said.

"Yeah," Phoebe said, smiling at him. "You have to take the bad with the good," she rubbed a hand over his chest, her eyes imagining. Piper sighed, stepping forward to grab Phoebe by the arm.

"Ok, let's go hear about how the world is going to end this time," dragging her sister up the basement stairs. "You," she directed at Cole "Stay down here and figure out what other creepy and nifty things you can do now that you're, all," she waved her hand and walked up the stairs faster.

Upstairs in the kitchen Paige was making a sandwich angrily. Phoebe, her arm still gripped in Piper's hand watched along with Piper and Leo as she slapped the food together, kicking the counter and slamming the refrigerator door at intervals. She stopped with her back turned to them, knowing that they were there.

"What, now," she sighed, staring up towards the ceiling.

"We're sorry, Paige," Phoebe said.

"Really," Paige said, turning around. "just what are you sorry for?" Phoebe glanced at Piper, who also had nothing, stepping forward.

"Well, we understand," her big sister said. Paige rolled her eyes.

"No, you don't," she started angrily, then visibly calmed. "Look, guys. I just,"

"Can't help but blame Cole,"

"Phoebe, that is not helping," Piper shushed her.

"No, I'm not angry," she said, moving towards Paige. "I understand Paige, this tracks back directly to what he did, what he was, but," she looked between her sister. "how many times did something we did back fire and get people we care about hurt? We can't judge him for that. We can be mad at him, I mean I'm mad at him, but I'm working through it," Paige deflated a little.

"Well that's easy, you love him," adding under her breath "despite popular wisdom," Phoebe let the comment slide, breathing deeply.

"The point is that we can't condemn him for trying to do something he thought would help and there is a difference between reprimanding him and pushing him away for no good reason," she said.

"Yeah," Piper frowned, suddenly realizing Phoebe had for once said the right thing and she hadn't needed to help. She bent sideways, looking up at her husband "now what were you saying," Leo looked down at her and then over at her sisters.

"There's going to be a new source," he said without preamble. Piper's mouth dropped open.

"Alright, well that was sudden," she said. Leo held up his hand.

"Well, maybe not a new source, per se," he said, explaining "it doesn't involve any prophecy or anything, but at the mention of what happened with Cole the Elders revealed that there's always been some powerful demonic artifact associated with the leader of the underworld. We're familiar with the source and the grimoire but the person with the position has had different names, and possessed different artifacts to gain the rank," he paused "but a change is coming,"

"I and I think we know what this new person is going to use as a leg up," Phoebe said, looking around.

"Still level headed about going downstairs and kicking his head in?" Paige glanced at her sister. Phoebe scratched the bridge of her nose.

"No," she said calmly. "I still love him. I will always love him, but sometimes I want to strangle him," she admitted.

"Welcome to my world," Piper said, smiling at Phoebe. Leo frowned momentarily, looking down at his wife. Paige couldn't help but grin, feeling the stress ease from her frame.

"Alright," Paige said. "So, there's going to be a new leader of the underworld that will unite the forces of darkness under him. He'll have Cole's old powers and probably a bunch of his own," she paused to put the sandwich together and taking a hefty bite. "Cool, after I shower I'll be in my room with the book," she said walking from the kitchen. She stopped before leaving, addressing Phoebe "Smack him good for me, will you?" she said. Phoebe smiled shaking her head.

"Absolutely."

The Seer waited patiently in the huge chamber. Walls of jagged earth curved inward aggressively as if the entire place were a dark maw. In front of her was a huge door bolstered with huge slabs running laterally and chains leashing the door closed. All around her there was activity as demons went about with magical and mundane tools, trying at every turn to pry the door open. The Seer smiled, staring forward. As it was foretold, with the balance shifted, certain pathways, thought forgotten, had been remembered and reopened. Dark ways had become renewed with menacing promise and she had been the one to see it all, the grand architect of a grander design.

The doors budging pulled her from her reverie. It was a cross between the screams of rust metal and the screams of innocents.

"Come forth, my lord," the Seer intoned. "Come forth and lead us, accept this boon and take your throne," she finished, revealing the athame, extending it forward to the then opening door way.