"She's been up there for an hour!" Chris complained, putting aside the book of mythology he'd been poring over and rising in a single fluid motion. "What does she think, that she can just sit with her son like this isn't happening?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead mounting the stairs and heading for Piper and Leo's bedroom.

Phoebe looked up at Cole, the oddity of ancient Grecian dress emphasized by the laptop she was holding. "Should we stop him?"

"No. You can't fight them if Piper won't work with you. Let's just hope that he annoys her enough to snap her out of…whatever this is." He glanced over at Paige, who was playing out miniature battle simulations in the middle of the living room floor. "Anything?" She might not have a perfect plan, but he'd settle for a starting point, something to work with.

"I've run through every battle fought from the Peloponnesian War to the present," she said flatly, "and so far—no matter what angle you approach it from—we're not strong enough. These combat simulations all end with our deaths."

"Then you haven't been through all the angles," he insisted. "There has to be some variable you're leaving out, something the ancient Greeks did that you're not." He couldn't believe Leo would knowingly set them up to die, even to avert an apocalypse. He wasn't capable of that kind of ruthlessness.

"Says here that in the first war, Athena crushed a Titan with a mountain," Phoebe said, looking up from the computer screen and glancing over at Paige. "Can you do that?"

"Do I look like I could lift a mountain?" Paige waved a hand, causing the illusionary figures she'd been manipulating to dissipate. "Anyway, if anyone's going to be moving the earth, it's Piper, not me."

"Speaking of Piper—" he began, but cut himself off when Chris stomped down the stairs, visibly seething.

He guessed their conversation had not gone well.

"She refuses to do anything until Leo gets home," he reported through clenched teeth.

That was it.

He was beyond tired (Phoebe's drawing on their bond had taken more out of him than he'd led her to believe), he was scared, he was getting angry, and he had a splitting headache. They had no time, no time, no time for Piper's denial or self-pity or whatever the hell she thought she was doing.

"Can you get him down here?" he asked, very calmly.

"No," Chris said, sounding thoroughly sick of the question. "For the last time, he's needed Up There."

"Okay," he said, still very calmly. "You stay here and figure out whatever Paige didn't, and I'll be right back."

He could feel Phoebe's look of concern at his back as he headed upstairs, knocked on Piper's door and went in without waiting for an answer. She was standing by the bassinet with Wyatt in her arms and a serene smile on her face.

"Your sisters need you downstairs," he said.

She looked up, met his gaze. "I heard this from Chris, Cole, and I told him—"

"I know. And I understand, and I empathize, but enough is enough. Like it or not, you're the center. You have to stand up if we're going to have any hope of living through this."

"I've done my standing. And I'm not doing any more until Leo pulls his head out of the clouds and gets the hell back down here!" He felt a shockwave of power at her shout, force that rocked the furniture and made him throw up glowing hands to steady himself. "You want any centering done, you go down there and do it."

He gritted his teeth, drew and released a breath. "Piper. If I could, I'd drag Leo's ass here and throw him on your mercy, but I can't. And I can't beat the Titans. And neither can Phoebe and Paige, unless you stop bitching about your husband and switch your maternal instincts out of overdrive. There are larger priorities, like living to see tomorrow!"

"You barge into my bedroom, disturb Wyatt's nap, and now you're giving me orders?" Her eyes blazed—not literally, thank goodness. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm a hundred and seventeen years old, and I've been through enough battles to know what I'm talking about," he said. "If you want to blast Leo, great—I could take a shot myself over the goddess of love brainstorm—"

"So we agree."

"No." He squared his shoulders and closed the distance between them, getting into her personal space. "Let's recap," he said in a low voice. "Downstairs, we have Chris—if that's even his real name—who's going to screw us all with his good intentions to change history; Phoebe Aphrodite, who's trying not to have her way with me on the nearest convenient surface; and Paige Athena, who is a loose cannon and dangerous if someone's not pointing her somewhere."

"That's an excellent idea."

"Directing Paige?"

"No, you having sex with Phoebe," Piper said. "Lovemaking is life-affirming and would help you calm down."

Was she completely out of her mind? The Titans could be planning a counterattack as they spoke, and she was recommending sex? Now?

"I don't want to calm down!" He noticed, but didn't really care he was almost shouting. His wife and baby were under threat, and Piper was being completely useless. This was no time to be genteel. "I want you to get a reality check, go downstairs,and lead your sisters so we don't. All. Die!"

He gestured for emphasis at the door, and BANG—it rocketed off its hinges and halfway down the hall, and Wyatt started wailing. Cole stared at the empty doorway, his first instant of shock drowned under a wave of relief. Telekinesis meant firepower—not enough to stand against the Titans, but if Phoebe borrowed it and amplified it with her powers as a goddess, it was at least something. Every small advantage counted.

"Cole?" Phoebe's voice, sharp with concern. She didn't wait for an answer, just came running up the stairs and into the bedroom. "What the hell was that?"

"Power advancement," he said. He thought of his desperate anger a moment ago and gestured at a small plush bear Piper had left sitting on her bed. It flew to hit the wall, hard enough to bounce back and hit the wall opposite before falling to the floor. He'd have to fine-tune his control to produce small, deliberate movements—he'd had some limited telekinesis once; it wouldn't be hard to relearn—but for right now, he was satisfied with the ability to generate force. "For once, the timing is convenient."

"If we survive, Cole, you're paying to fix that door," Piper said. She'd hushed Wyatt, and her eyes had lost the earth goddess serenity of a moment ago. He wasn't sure whether it'd been his words or the crash of the door that'd shocked her out of it, but this was Piper Halliwell, not Piper Demeter, which meant they might just have a chance.

"First we need a plan that doesn't end like Paige's combat simulations," he said. The adrenaline spike was ebbing now, his body warning him that there was only so much farther he could push it. This had better have been caused by the distance or Phoebe's being a goddess or both, he thought, because if sharing power does this every time, it's going to be a lot less useful than I'd like.

"She and Chris were still working on it when the door blew out," Phoebe said. She closed her eyes for a moment, frowning in concentration, then opened them again, shaking her head. "Lots of frustration down there. No luck."

"You outnumber them—"

"Barely," Piper broke in.

"—and your powers are supposed to be able to beat them," he said. "The last group of deified mortals did it."

"That was a group of twelve," Phoebe said. "So unless Leo's going to empower a local coven to back us up—"

"Since he hasn't," Cole said, "either he's a complete idiot, or he has some reason to think your power as witches is enough to offset the disadvantage of the numbers."

"We've been up against them," Piper said tightly. "Our power as witches got us a stalemate long enough for Leo to orb us out before we got killed."

Then the only reasonable thing was to assume that, for whatever reason, their powers weren't enough. At least he had an offensive power now, something Phoebe could use—but if last time she'd used his power was any indication, once more was likely to put him out for the count. If he had powers at least closer to hers—

Wait.

"You have an idea," Phoebe said. "What is it?"

"I'm going to summon the Nexus." Before she could say anything, he held up a staying hand. "You need power you can tap into, something with more firepower than either of us has. Maybe it's not the power of a god, but it's old, and it's strong." And while it wouldn't defeat the Titans, it was more power than they'd expect. Catching them off guard could only be a momentary edge, but in combat, a single moment of distraction could be the difference between killing and being killed.

Besides, his vulnerability was a weakness Phoebe couldn't afford. He didn't expect to be able to fight the Titans, but between the Nexus and his own powers, he'd probably be able to survive long enough to escape an attack.

"Do you think you could control it?" Piper asked. "Containing the Nexus isn't demonic possession, but it's…"

"It's tied to the house," Cole said. The Nexus' power was primal, but it belonged to the manor, and the manor to Phoebe and her sisters. Nothing so deeply connected to his home would be malevolent. "So is Phoebe, and I'm linked to her. So are the wards; some of the power that made them was mine. I should have enough connection to the manor to handle it, at least for a while." He wouldn't need to contain it for more than a few hours, maybe a day at the most. The Titans knew they had the advantage; they wouldn't wait long before they attacked again.

He could see the worry in Phoebe's eyes, but she must have sensed his resolve, because she didn't try to talk him out of it. "I wish we weren't at the point of digging up the Nexus. And if we are—it should be me, not you. I'm already sensitive to it."

"You're also already a goddess, Phoebe," he said. He remembered the powers he'd had after the Wasteland, acid blood and twisted thoughts. "Too much power in one body—that way lies madness."

"And before Cole has to play the worried-father card, you're also pregnant," Piper said. "Carrying a baby does not mix with carrying anything else." She looked from Phoebe to him. "This is a good idea. Kind of a counterweight."

"To balance me?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes, but also…" Piper frowned. "I can sort of sense the Nexus. It's not the same thing as my power—these powers," she clarified, gesturing to indicate her earth goddess outfit, "but it's related, I think."

"Chthonic," he said with a nod. "It comes out of the earth."

"And so does the Shadow," Phoebe said, and turned to Piper. "Think you're up to a quick vanquish?"

"Yeah. The last thing we need on top of everything else is a possession," Piper said grimly. "And while our goddess powers might not be enough to deal with the Titans, we can at least use them to finally clear that thing out of our basement."

"It won't take all three of us," Phoebe said. "I'll reword the Shadow banishing spell. Once the Shadow's gone, we'll only have to deal with the Nexus."

"I think I should be able to save us digging up the floor," Piper said. "Cole, do you know the summoning spell?"

"I've read it, but I have no idea what it means. Whoever wrote it went for Latin and ended up with gibberish."

"And that bothers you," Phoebe said.

He nodded. "If I'm going to tap that thing, I'd rather know what I'm asking it for." He'd learned enough by now to know that incantations went wrong if they weren't precise, and he'd feel safer with one of his own than with nonsense words. "I can write my own spell."

"Okay," Piper said. "You do that, and I'll take Wyatt to Dad's. I can't focus on the Titans while I'm worried about my son." She waved her free hand, cueing the appearance of Wyatt's diaper bag, then picked it up, balanced Wyatt against her hip, and vanished in a rush of wind.

Good. Now that the Titans could strike here at any time, Wyatt would be safer anywhere but the manor.

He followed Phoebe back downstairs. By now, Paige had given up illusionary war games and gone back to the Book. Chris, who'd been pacing the floor, looked up when they came in. "Where's Piper?"

"She took Wyatt to our dad's," Phoebe said. "She should be back in a minute."

"Please, just tell me you managed to get her focused on the Titans," Chris said. "We're running out of time."

Earlier, in the nursery, Cole had gotten confirmation that Chris hadn't expected his presence or Phoebe's pregnancy, maybe because it'd been so obvious from Chris' reactions that the Whitelighter had reasoned he already knew.

He'd also said that in his future, Phoebe and her sisters were dead, and that he wasn't going to let that happen.

After a century in the Underworld, Cole knew manipulation in all its forms, and a calculatedly mentioned truth was one of the most effective. The exchange had been short, but beneath it had been: We share a goal. Trust me or not, but you have to cooperate either way.

Cole accepted the pad and pencil Phoebe handed him and reached for old memories of Latin declensions. Framing what he wanted in English was easy; translating it into the correct form would take a few minutes.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked.

"Writing a spell to summon the Nexus," he said, not looking up. "If I'm holding it when the Titans get here, that's one more available weapon."

"First, we have a spell for that," Paige said. "And second—are you sure that's safe?"

"It's not," Phoebe said, taking a stray sheet of paper from the table and reaching for a pen. "And I don't like the idea either. But since your combat simulations said that the three of us are toast without some extra firepower, we don't have that much of a choice."

"Then why didn't Leo just make him a god in the first place?" Paige asked.

"Maybe because someone we trust had to be sober while all of us are under the influence," Phoebe said. "Piper's hearth and home tendencies are just barely out of overdrive, my hormones are raging—"

"—and I still want to blow things up," Paige said with a nod. "Okay, yeah. I can see how Leo might think we didn't need another god in the mix."

"That may've been a mistake," Chris said. "The Nexus will give you a power boost, but it's always been—kind of unpredictable."

"Considering 'predictable' ends with our deaths," Paige said dryly, "that may not actually be a bad thing."

His thoughts exactly. Besides, divine powers hadn't proven so easily controllable either, and he'd rather take his chances with a power tied to the manor than have his personality influenced by some unknown magic from an urn. Finishing the last line of the spell, Cole lifted his gaze to Phoebe. "Are you ready?"

Phoebe nodded. "One Shadow-vanquishing spell, check. Now we just need Piper."

"I'm sure I could dig up the—" Paige began, but was cut off by Piper's appearance in a rush of wind and stray leaves.

"We want to dig up the floor, not obliterate it," she said. "You stay up here and factor the Nexus into our combat plans. And you"—turning to Chris—"are going to give us some answers as soon as this is over. If you want us to trust you, 'I came to change history' is not enough."

"I'm here to keep you alive."

That was true, and so long as Chris went back to his own time once the Titans were defeated, Cole was satisfied to let him keep his secrets. But if he stuck around past this crisis, they'd need to know who he was and what future event he'd come back to change.

"Titans first, detailed explanation later," Piper said. She turned toward the basement, and he and Phoebe followed.

Downstairs, the chalk lines of the pentagram Phoebe and Paige had drawn for the ritual that'd raised the wards were still intact on the floor. Piper eyed it thoughtfully, then said, "I'm going to leave that intact for the summoning. The Nexus by itself shouldn't be that dangerous, but…"

Cole nodded. He'd studied enough by now to know the symbol's meaning—protection and balance—and having those influences on his side could only help. "Good idea."

Phoebe reached to squeeze his hand briefly, then moved to stand beside Piper, handing a copy of the vanquishing spell to her sister. "Ready when you are."

Piper nodded, then lifted her hands and drew them sharply apart, and the center of the pentagram cracked open. Instantly, a chill swept through the room, and a black thing like a tornado made of smoke rose from the floor.

He raised his own hands, wary, ready to shield or strike if necessary, and Phoebe and Piper began the spell.

"Your darkness cannot dim this light;

You are not too strong to fight.

Shadow, go, and leave our sight—

We cast you into endless night!"

He'd learned the incantation Penny Halliwell had written to banish the Shadow—of course he had, since this was San Francisco and the kind of seismic activity that would set it loose wasn't exactly rare—but that's all it'd been: a way to send it creeping back under the floor. Even Charmed power hadn't been enough to destroy it.

The power of goddesses was enough, and the Shadow writhed in sudden flames—a bolt of silver-white heat so intense they all had to step back—and was gone, leaving the air of the basement warm and the whole space still.

Phoebe released a long breath of relief and laughed softly. "It wasn't the Nexus after all."

"What wasn't the Nexus?" he asked.

"I thought it was the Nexus that made me more sensitive to the pull of evil," she said, "but with the Shadow gone, the Nexus feels different." She gestured toward the pentagram on the floor. "I think the Nexus was what it took to contain the Shadow. A good power strong enough to nullify all that evil."

"Maybe one of your ancestors used the Nexus to draw it here and trap it," Cole suggested. It was easy to imagine some long-ago Halliwell matriarch choosing to take responsibility for keeping the Shadow contained. "Something that malevolent, it would've been safer to know where it was than to let it run around loose. Even if that meant living on top of it."

Piper nodded, gesturing again to seal the floor. "The Nexus isn't light magic, but it's not dark either. It's balanced. That's what you'd need to hold in all that chaos." She dropped her hands. "Okay, Cole. Your show."

Phoebe's look of concern followed him as he moved to the pentagram's center, kneeling there and putting the spell down in front of him before pressing both palms to the floor. Standing would probably have worked as well, but he'd rather be physically braced, and offer the Nexus a point of entry he could predict.

He swallowed against the memory of the Hollow swarming into his mouth and eyes. This wasn't the same thing as possession. This wasn't a trap.

"Cole—" Phoebe said, and he heard her step forward.

"Don't," he said, looking up to meet her gaze. "I need to do this." He knew Phoebe wanted to argue, but also that she understood they'd reached the point of desperate measures.

"All right," she said at last. "Just please, be careful!"

He nodded, then looked down at the words he'd written, focusing on the call of the spell. "Protegam me et familiam." It was a declaration, a vow—I will protect myself and my family—and he felt magic stir beneath his hands, prickle up through his feet and the base of his spine as the power beneath him heard his intent and listened.

He had the Nexus' attention now.

"Venite ad me," he said firmly. "Te accerso."

Come to me. I summon you.

There was a pause, no more than a few seconds, and then the Nexus answered, reached for him with a current of power that resonated to his bones. Not the blaze of pain he'd expected—not fire at all. This came from the earth, from some deep place where life and death met and balanced, and it found the pathways of blood and breath and took them, a rush of all-over pressure like ivy twining around a tree. Like roots securing themselves.

It should have hurt, should have felt like an invasion, but this power's hold wasn't the Source's crushing, killing grip. This felt…steadying.

Family.

He felt his own sharp intake of breath as the word bloomed in his mind, not quite language, but the echo of impressions that carried the meaning. The sense that the Nexus was…not aware the way a human mind was aware, exactly, but that it knew the people who lived above it.

You. Family.

It was stating a fact, not asking, but he answered Yes, and felt satisfaction from it.

Protect, the Nexus said. It was an agreement.

"Cole?" Phoebe was trying to keep the fear out of her voice, but he could hear it there. "Are you okay?"

He found her gaze and nodded, turning his attention back outward. He could feel the entity he was containing, its depth and reach, but he had control. It wasn't trying to take him over. "Yes," he said, rising. "The Nexus is…strange. But it'll help."

"It's conscious?" Piper asked.

"It knows who we are, and it understands what I asked it for," Cole said, "so yes. Just…not the same way as a human mind."

"Slower," Phoebe said, frowning as she sensed him—them—and searched for words for what she felt. "Like…it's aware, but only of things that have been going on for a long, long time. Generations. Things that don't work like that are…too fast for it to take in that well."

"But our family has lived in this house for long enough that it knows us," Piper said with a nod. "Or at least that we belong here. Okay. Good. We can definitely work with that. Let's go back upstairs and talk to Paige. And if this isn't enough, I am going to bring Leo back myself!"

He started to move to follow her and Phoebe, but froze when the lines of the pentagram he stood in suddenly blazed with white light, and the Nexus said No and Here, a clear instruction to stay put. "Phoebe?" She and Piper turned back toward him, taking in the glowing pentagram, and he said evenly, "I think I shouldn't move."

"Probably not," Phoebe agreed. "Piper, why don't you check on Paige, and we'll…figure this out." When Piper had gone, she moved to stand just beyond the pentagram's limits. "Could you move if you had to?"

"I can," he said. "The Nexus isn't physically stopping me. But we're agreed that it's a bad idea." He'd learned long ago it was better to take obvious warnings. "I think the pentagram is helping me handle holding the Nexus. Or helping it hold me in a way I can stand."

"I think you're right," she said. "When you called it, I could feel that it—balanced with you, sort of. But if you can't leave that spot…"

"You can," he said. "You should be able to tap my powers, including whatever comes from the Nexus."

"I know how to use your deflection," she said, "and I remember telekinesis from that time I switched with Prue. But I don't know what the Nexus has—just that the one time we tapped it, it made our powers incredibly strong."

"So it should be enhancing mine," he said. "Try something."

She raised open hands, and the blue light of deflection flashed in her palms—flashed and then spread, enveloping her in a glowing bubble not unlike Wyatt's shield. He could feel the draw, feel that she was pulling from him, but it wasn't exhausting this time. He'd been right: the Nexus was supporting him, making it possible to lend Phoebe power without the risk of harm.

"That's not how it worked when I used it before," she said, dropping the shield. "So it's safe to say this is the Nexus working. But even with this—"

"With this and your sisters, it'll be enough," he said. "The three of you together can take on anything."

"But we haven't been working together," she said. "Or not together enough. We've been so busy just trying to control these powers instead of being controlled by them that—" She broke off, realization bright on her face. "You stay right there. I think I just had an idea."