A/N: I'm so sorry for the amount of time it's taken for me update. This was through no fault of my own. My internet stopped working completely and I had to send off for my MAC code so that I could change providers (it had been one thing after another with them and I finally had enough!) then wait for my new wireless hub and everything to arrive. I did try and upload it at my local library but they wouldn't let me in case I had a virus or something *sigh* But anyway, I'm back online now with a much faster connection speed than I had before so it's all good. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it :)

The narrow passageways were dark and gloomy, the odd torch doing little to penetrate the darkness. A lone sentry guard stood outside the entrance to a cavern, a spear-like weapon clutched in his hand. He straightened up as he saw a figure approaching. "Who goes there?"

A hand shot out of the darkness and clamped over the guard's mouth. "How dare you question me!" A voice hissed, "Don't you know who I am?"

The hand was removed and the guard nodded quickly, "Of course, I'm sorry. I didn't recognise you." He struggled to place a name to the face, not daring to question him.

"Zoltar sent me to deal with the witches. Where are they?"

The guard frowned, "Which one? They were split up."

The stranger paused for a split second, "The middle sister."

"Are you going to finish her off? It makes no sense keeping her around. We don't need her now do we?"

"Just answer the question!" The man snapped, "Where is she?"

Sullenly, the guard extended his arm and pointed to the passageway to their left, "Down there. Third cavern to the right."

"Thank you," The man said quietly. A swift movement of his left arm was all the guard saw before flames engulfed him. He cast a horrified look into the dark eyes of the man stood in front of him before the pieces clicked into place. The last thought to cross his mind before he exploded into nothing was that he was glad it was this person who had killed him and not Zoltar.

The man cast a quick glance down at the scorch mark which was all that was left of the guard before turning and walking briskly down passageway towards the place where Phoebe was.

Paige could feel her strength returning to her with every step. She still felt tired, cold and shaky but she no longer felt like she was going to pass out. They'd been trudging along in silence for the past few minutes although Paige could feel Piper's eyes on her every now and again.

Deep in thought and not paying much attention to her surroundings, Paige stumbled on some loose gravel. She nearly fell flat on her face but Piper reached out quickly and grabbed her arm, steadying her.

"Thanks…" Paige mumbled, brushing herself off.

"You don't need to sound so surprised," Piper grumbled as she surveyed their surroundings.

Paige glanced at her and felt bad when she saw a slightly hurt expression on her face, "I'm sorry. It's just…" She shrugged not knowing what to say.

"It's okay. It's my own fault. I've brought it on myself." Piper turned so that she was facing Paige, "It's the same reason you sounded so confused when you woke up earlier. I haven't exactly been acting very sisterly since you moved in have I?"

Paige shrugged again feeling that silence was easier than words.

"I don't hate you, Paige. I never have. That day that you and Phoebe walked in on me speaking to Leo… Well, it wasn't what it sounded like."

"It's okay…" Paige mumbled, "We should probably keep moving."

"No." Piper took Paige by the arm gently and held her back, "I have to tell you this now. Before we go any further. The reason I've been so off with you… Why I've made you feel so unwelcome… It's not because I don't like you. And it's not because I think you're replacing Prue in any way. In fact it's not for any of the reasons you've been thinking."

Paige frowned, "Then why?"

"I was stupid. I didn't think it was fair for you to be dragged in to all this witch craft stuff. I didn't think it was fair for you to have to risk your life the way we do. I was scared that you'd end up where Prue is now. And I couldn't face losing another sister."

Paige shook her head, her eyes starting to well up, "That doesn't explain why you treated me like crap. All my life I wondered who I was, where I came from… Why my parents gave me up… If I had any brothers or sisters. And then when I finally find you and Phoebe I'm made to feel like an outcast. I haven't felt as low as I have these past couple of weeks since my parents died. It was like I was losing my family all over again." Paige turned and walked away a couple of steps trying to compose herself. She heard quiet sniffing and guessed that Piper was doing the same. She turned back to face her when she heard her starting to speak again.

"I had this stupid idea in my head that if I pushed you away and didn't get close to you then it wouldn't hurt so much if anything happened," Piper stepped closer to her sister, her eyes matching the redness of Paige's', "I was stupid. I didn't realise that by doing that all I was doing was causing more hurt for you. I didn't stop to take your feelings into consideration."

Paige remained silent, unsure how to respond.

"It didn't work anyway. The harder I tried to push you away, the more I felt towards you. Because we're sisters. And nothing trumps that. It doesn't matter how much I tried to deny it. I love you. And if you could find it in your heart to give me another chance, I swear I'll be the best sister ever."

Piper stopped speaking and stood in front in front of Paige waiting for her to say something. Anything. When no answer came, Piper closed her eyes and allowed her tears to fall. She felt a pair of arms wrap softly round her body and she opened her eyes to see Paige gently holding her. She let out a sound that sounded like a cross between a sob and a laugh and brought her arms up to hold onto Paige.

"I'm so sorry…"

Paige squeezed her gently, "It's okay. I forgive you."

A sound echoed up the tunnel interrupting the moment and the pair sprang apart quickly, both trying to see further into the gloom.

Paige squinted in the dim light, unable to see anything, "Do you think it's him?"

"I don't know…" Piper answered cautiously, she stepped round Paige, "I'm going to go take a look. You wait here."

"No way!" Paige grabbed hold of Piper's shoulder and held her back, "I'm not letting you go on your own."

"It's okay. I'll be right back."

"No! What if you're caught?"

"Better me than you!" They both stood still for a moment, glaring at each other stubbornly. Another noise made them both turn quickly again. They could just make out the faint outline of a figure up ahead. The low lighting made it difficult to see but they both had a pretty good idea of who it was. Piper stood in front of Paige and held out an arm to keep her back, "Stay behind me…"

This time Paige didn't argue and she stepped back slightly. Piper raised her hands in a defensive gesture, ready to use her power if she had to. She raised her voice angrily, "We know you're there! Get your ass out here you son of a bitch!"

The figure moved closer and they could hear his footsteps approaching them slowly. Paige held onto Piper's shoulder, needing the contact.

Piper raised her voice again, "Get out here you bastard! Before I blow your ass into the wasteland!"

The figure sped up slightly until finally the light from one of the torches was thrown over him. He smirked at the pair of them, "That's not very nice…"

Paige let out an audible breath, "Cole! What are you doing down here?"

"I came to help. And it looks like not a moment too soon." He looked her up and down, "You look awful."

"Gee, thanks." Paige touched her face self consciously, she's managed to get most of the dried blood off but there was still some crusted around her nose. And her lips were swollen and split from where Zoltar had booted her. She knew she was limping and she could feel bruising starting to appear around her ribs and in patches on her face.

Piper nudged her gently, "You know what he means." She turned back to Cole, "She's fine. You should have seen her an hour ago. Have you seen Phoebe anywhere?"

"Yeah. She's back there in another cavern. I can't get to her. That's why I came looking for the two of you."

Piper looked anxious, "What do you mean you can't get to her?"

"What do you mean they're gone?!" Zoltar roared, sending a blast of energy from his hand into the wall above the minion's head and causing a cascade of rubble and dust showering down on him.

"I'm sorry my Lord, I checked in on them just now but the cave is empty."

Zoltar turned away angrily, "The beating I gave her should have kept her unconscious for at least another hour… That's the second time I've underestimated her. It won't happen again." He turned back to face the minion, "If they're roaming free in the underworld then they've obviously gone to look for their other sister. Gather the others and get down there before they do. If they free her then they'll have the Power of Three on their side."

The minion bowed low, "As you wish." He straightened up and shimmered from the cave.

"Where is she, Cole?" Piper asked.

The three of them were now stood in the cave where, according to Cole, Phoebe had been less than ten minute ago. Now, all that could be seen was a strange looking type of cage. It was long but very low to the ground.

Cole pointed at it, "She was under there. It zapped me when I got too close though and I didn't want to risk throwing an energy ball at it in case it hurt her."

"Did she say anything?" Paige asked.

"She'd have had a job, she was unconscious. She was in a bad way too, I don't know what he'd done to her but she looked quite badly injured. I did call to her a few times but she didn't stir."

Piper ran a hand through her hair and slowly exited the cave, Cole and Paige following close behind her. She stood still for a moment trying to figure out what to do. Hearing a slight noise behind her, she turned and saw Paige sliding down the wall into a sitting position, "Are you okay?"

Paige nodded wearily, "I'll be fine. I just need to rest a moment."

"Our best bet is to try and find Zoltar. We need to get the athame back anyway."

"No," Piper shook her head, "You should take Paige back to the manor and…"

"What?!" Paige interrupted, "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you!"

"Paige, you can barely stand, let alone walk any further. If Cole takes you back then Leo can heal you. Then you can bless another athame and bring it back here. We'll be better prepared then. Otherwise we're going to have to try and get the athame away from him before we can even attempt to vanquish him."

Paige opened her mouth to argue some more but Cole cut her off, "Piper's right. It's be better all round if you were back to 100%. You're tired now, you won't last long in a fight."

"Fine…" Paige turned to Piper, "But you be careful, don't try anything too heroic until I'm back."

"I promise," Piper said, giving her a hug, "Don't be to long."

Paige smiled at her then held onto Cole's hand. The two of them shimmered out of the underworld.

Leo looked up sharply as Cole and Paige appeared in the middle of the living room. As Cole let go of Paige's hand she sank to the floor with her head in her arms. Leo rushed over to her, "Paige! Are you okay? Where's Phoebe and Piper?"

"How about you heal her first and ask questions later…" Cole suggested, "I'm going to get everything from the attic." He disappeared up the stairs.

Leo held his hands out over Paige and a golden glow appeared. Within seconds her injuries had vanished.

Paige took a deep breath, she could feel her strength returning to her instantly and got to her feet, "Thanks Leo."

"Piper and Phoebe?"

"They're okay… Well… Phoebe's less okay but she will be once I get back with another blessed athame." Leo looked at her questioningly and she gestured for him to follow her as she went through to the kitchen, "Zoltar attacked me and took the athame with him then Piper and I set off to look for Phoebe and ran into Cole who already had but when he led us back to the cave where he'd found her she was gone so we're guessing she's with Zoltar now." Paige gulped in air as she finished gabbling out what had happened to Leo.

Leo looked unsure of what to say, "Oh…" He frowned, "So where's Piper now?"

"She's gone to look for Phoebe. I've got to bless another athame and meet her back down there." She pulled the Book towards her, which was still conveniently on the side, and flipped to the right page.

Cole shimmered into the kitchen next to her and lay the ingredients out on the side before pulling an impressive looking athame from his belt and placing it carefully down on the counter. The hilt was encrusted with jewels and the blade was curved at the top, ending in a viscous looking point.

"Right," Said Paige, "Let's get cooking…"

Piper walked cautiously down the passageway. The path was sloping steeply downwards leading her deeper into the underworld. She was having a little trouble keeping her balance as there was a lot of loose gravel on the ground which kept sliding out from under her feet.

Paige and Cole had been gone for nearly twenty minutes now. It wasn't a huge amount of time but the longer they were apart the more danger Piper knew she could be in. Not to mention Phoebe.

"Where are you?" She whispered. Her concerns over the sister she hadn't seen for many hours now since they'd been separated were growing, making her feel like there was a tight band round her chest.

Taking another tentative step forward, Piper was unpleasantly surprised when her foot went out from under her sending a heap of loose rubble thundering down the passageway. She landed heavily on her back and fought desperately to regain her footing as she slid down the slope on a river of dust and stone.

She skidded to a stop at the bottom and rolled painfully onto her side. Her back and arms were scraped and bleeding. She pushed herself into a kneeling position and got carefully to her feet, brushing the dirt from her jeans. She pressed her hand to the back of her head and was alarmed to see blood on her palm. She probed the cut with her fingers, wincing, but soon established that it was just a graze and wasn't deep.

Piper glanced around at her surroundings and saw that she was in a large cavern, much larger than any of the ones she'd seen before. A stone table stood at one end with a throne like seat behind it and in the middle of the room stood a stone urn which was emitting wafts of green smoke. Other than that the room was empty. Four wooden doors were set into the wall on the far side, each looking very familiar to the door she and Phoebe had been imprisoned behind earlier that day. Except that there were no guards to be seen.

She took a couple of steps towards the doors and then sped up until she was running. She peered through the bars of the first one to see the same tiny room they'd been confined in earlier. The only difference being a few handfuls of straw had been thrown in, presumably to soak up any blood spilt. She moved onto to the next door, and then the next. Both were as empty as the first.

She reached the last door and glanced through the barred window with bated breath. There, lying in a crumpled heap on the floor, was her sister. She'd found her. She was alive, unconscious maybe, but alive. Piper released the breath she'd been holding and tugged on the door handle but, as she'd expected, it didn't budge. She knew from previous experience that her power didn't work on the doors but never the less she raised her hands and delivered a blast of explosive power at it. She jumped in shock and amazement when the door blew to pieces. Guessing that it must only block powers from the inside, she sprang into action.

Rushing forward, she dropped to her knees at Phoebe's side and pulled her towards her so that she was lying in Piper's lap. She ran a hand through her sister's tangled hair, "Phoebs…? Can you hear me, sweetie?"

She glanced down and saw the mess she was in. Her clothes were torn and stained with blood, her leg which had looked bad last time Piper had seen her now looked ten times worse. Her nose was obviously broken, dried blood formed around her mouth and was matted into her hair. Thin streaks ran down her face where tears had cut through the grime and blood.

"Oh Phoebe… What has he done to you?" Piper asked softly. She reached for her sister's hand, intending to hold it and offer some form of comfort but was horrified to see that the fingers on Phoebe's right hand were broken and, from the look of it, her wrist too. "Come on… I'm getting you out of here…" Piper wriggled out from under Phoebe and hooked her hands under her sister's arms, lifting her from the ground. She tried to ignore the way Phoebe's head lolled back, making her look dead.

She took a couple of slow steps backwards, dragging Phoebe as carefully as she could, not wanting to inflict anymore damage to her broken body.

The slope. Piper stopped in her tracks. The slope had been steep, hell, it had sent her tumbling down. She wasn't sure she'd be able to get back up it on her own, let alone with Phoebe's unconscious form with her. She lowered Phoebe back to the ground gently and straightened up, running a hand over her face tiredly. She turned to see if there was any other way out of the cavern and shrieked in surprise when she saw Zoltar stood nearby, watching her with an amused expression on his face. Four demons stood behind him, each brandishing a fireball.

"Take the unconscious one back to her cell," He instructed the demons. He glanced over Piper's shoulder, "You broke my door."

"Happy to be a pain in the ass…" Piper muttered bitterly.

"Take her through to cell one instead." Two of the demons nodded and stepped forward to retrieve Phoebe but Piper threw out her hands and blew them up.

"You're not touching her again. I won't let you."

Zoltar smirked, "Oh yeah?" He pointed his hand towards her and once again Piper was greeted by a blinding pain through her head. It felt like there were a thousand white hot needles penetrating her skull. Her legs gave out from under her as the pain intensified and nausea bubbled up from her stomach causing her to be sick onto the cave floor. Then as suddenly as it had appeared it was gone. Piper sat back shakily and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"You really like that little party trick of yours, don't you?" She said through gritted teeth as she willed the room to stop spinning. She glanced back to where Phoebe had been lying and was dismayed to see she was gone. She snapped her gaze to the left and saw the two demons throw Phoebe roughly into one of the other cells. The door was slammed and the demons stood either side of it, guarding it.

Piper hung her head. She was tired. She hurt. And she was rapidly giving up hope that they'd ever make it out of here alive. She raised her head again in time to see Zoltar swinging a cosh type object towards her.

"Oh crap…" She muttered just before the object made contact with the side of her skull. She saw stars and then everything went black.

A/N: I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. If there were any mistakes or anything then I apologise but I have to admit that I never had a chance to read this through properly. As always, please leave a review (even if you hated it), every review I recieve gives me the motivation to write the next chapter. Until next time!