A/N: Okay this chapter is better than the second one. I hope you like it…please review and let me know, I have finished the next chapter now. Sorry it took so long to post this chapter I have been busy with schoolwork.

Disclaimer: See the first chapter for disclaimer.

Chapter 3 – The Pain and Prophecy

Piper swerved into the alley and put on the breaks.

"Whoa! Piper I never knew you were a dangerous driver!" Quipped Paige.

"Well I'm in a hurry." Said Piper as she jumped out of the car and slammed the door behind her.

"Piper wait up." Said Paige as she raced after Piper down the dimly lit alley, Cole close behind.

Cole had been extremely quiet since they'd found out about Melinda and Phoebe's disappearance. Piper knew he was just as upset as she was, but he found it hard to share his emotions with anyone, Phoebe was the only one he would truly open up to.

Piper, Paige and Cole finally reached the dead end and their first thoughts were to begin searching for clues.

"Paige you check by the wall, Cole you check over there." Said Piper pointing towards the left side of the alley. "I'll look over there." She said pointing to the opposite side of the alley.

Cole began to slowly pace the length of the left wall looking for clues, he froze in his tracks when he spotted Phoebe's coat crumpled on the floor. He knelt down to pick up the coat desperately hoping it wasn't Phoebe's. He leaned in to smell the coat. He began to smell the familiar scent of Phoebe and her favourite perfume, any other time this would have been heaven for him but right now it wasn't.

"Phoebe" Cole muttered, as he pulled the coat closer and hugged it. He then took it to show Piper, he didn't want to, but he had to tell her, she had a right to know.

"Piper" Cole's voice startled Piper, especially since he hadn't spoken for many hours. Piper turned to face Cole and saw the look of pain in his eyes.

"Phoebe's" Cole muttered, whilst handing the coat to Piper.

"Oh no!" said Piper as she examined the coat, she noticed a blood stain on the collar. "God! Cole…Look" she said pointing to the bloodstain.

"It might not be hers." Said Cole trying to convince himself more than anyone else, although he knew he was in a state of denial. "Piper did you find anything?" Cole said trying to keep his thoughts off the worst.

"No." she replied.

"Wait…what's that?" said Cole bending to pick a small hair clip.

"Oh Gawd that's Mindy's." said Piper her eyes welling with tears, as she took the small clip from Cole. "Paige get over here now." She shouted in a rather croaky voice.

"Piper…I found Phoebe's bag and cell… and if I have to be honest this doesn't look good." Paige said disappointed.

"I know." Sighed Piper.

"Check inside the wallet, will know if it's Phoebe's then."

Paige pulled the wallet from the bag and handed it to Cole, while she searched the bag for more clues.

Cole opened the wallet and his heart skipped a beat at the photo of him and Phoebe inside, Piper's at the smiling photo of Melinda on the right.

Paige's heart sank when she looked at the wallet, along with Piper and Cole.

******

"Oh I won't hurt you…well at least not enough for you to die…I have something planned for you…and well your baby is an added bonus." The source laughed, as he left the room Salden close behind.

Phoebe let her head slump and the tears begin to fall, as there was no way out, and no way to save Melinda.

Salden returned just minutes later though, Phoebe looked through teary eyes to see what he was carrying in his hand, but couldn't quite work out what it was, it looked metal, and it appeared to be a pole like shape.

"Where's Melinda?" Phoebe choked between tears.

"Oh…she's just fine, don't you worry about her she got her own cage, Phoebe winced and her heart sank at the thought of Melinda trapped in a cage. Piper would never forgive her if something happened to Melinda, and she would never forgive herself either.

"Its yourself you should worry about." He continued, giving a look to the metal in his hand.

Phoebe gave a closer look to the metal, and noticed he was wearing a glove to hold it with, her heart skipped a beat when she realised it was a hot poker. Oh Gawd...he's going to burn me…Melinda!

"You don't want to hurt me the source said he had something planned for me, how do you know I won't die of shock."

"Well I guess I'll just have to take that chance." He laughed "Anyway I know it won't kill you, because you want to stick around and find out what the source has planned for Melinda, and for you and your baby…that's of course if you survive…"

"What!" she tried to keep back the more tears that threatened to fall.

"Well Melinda's more of a challenge for him and she is the chosen one, your baby is just an added bonus."

"What are you talking about?" She spat.

"How do you know the source didn't have this planned for you?" He said raising the hot Poker.

"You just said…" she argued but got cut off.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it now, its time for the fun and games to begin."

Phoebe gulped and leaned back against the wall, to get as far away as she could, from Salden and the hot poker he held in his hand.

******

"Leo, Leo Please!" Piper called from the manor after they had returned with the clues, another day was nearly over and they still didn't have much more information. She knew Leo was away on important white-lighter business, and she was told only to call him in last resort, and now she desperately needed him. Her daughter was missing and she needed answers, and Leo to comfort her, she couldn't stand not having Leo by her side.

Eventually Leo orbed into the manor, he looked at the 3 glum faces and sighed.

"What happened?"

"Melinda and Phoebe are missing and they've nearly been gone for at least 48 hours." Piper replied.

"Oh God! Piper why didn't you call early? Never mind what do you know?"

"Hardly anything." Sighed Paige, Cole nodded when Leo turned to look at him.

"We think it's demonic though." Paige continued, though sleep threatened to send her into a restless dream. Leo pulled Piper into a comforting hug, as he realised his daughter was missing; Piper finally relaxed a little in his embrace and leaned into him.

"What if we don't find them!" sobbed Piper into Leo's shirt, as she could contain her fear no longer.

"We will find them Piper…don't you ever give up hope." He replied, though he himself thought like he might break down at the thought of anything happening to Melinda and Phoebe.

******

Melinda stirred from a restless sleep, when she heard footsteps on the cold floor.

"Who's there?" she whispered, no one answered but the footsteps got closer.

"I brought you some food." Said the source as he reached her cage. "But first I think we have to move you out of that cage" he said.

"Who are you?" she asked looking up at the dark cloak and hood that hid his face.

"I'm your new family." He replied.

"Have family." Melinda replied.

"Are you sure of that?"

"Yes"

"Then why haven't they come to get you?" he asked the small quivering girl.

"They will." She said as she began to cry again.

"But don't you want to stay here?"

"No!" the little girl spat, showing through some of the Halliwell temper, which defiantly got passed down through the generations "I want to go home, please let me go home."

"Well you can one day, but not until I say you're ready." He replied coldly.

******

Piper, Paige, Cole, and Leo stood restlessly in the attic searching for a spell that might help them find something. Piper slammed the book shut annoyed. "There is nothing in this god dam book! Nothing!"

"Piper calm down" said Leo placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You just need to think clearly."

"I am thinking clearly Leo, there is nothing!" She snapped back, just as she said the word 'nothing'. The book fell open and the pages began to flip rapidly. The group all watched silently, this usually meant that they were going to get a helping hand. Finally the book stopped flipping and Piper and Paige stood behind it, Paige looked down, it lay open on a page titled 'The Prophecy'. Piper sighed, "What the hell does that do to help us?" She asked no one in particular, as she slammed the book shut annoyed.

Immediately the book flew open again, and the pages flipped to 'The Prophecy' page once again. "What the hell are you playing at Grams this has nothing to do with it?" Before Piper could slam the book shut again Paige stopped her.

"Piper maybe we should read it, I don't think grams is messing around."

"Okay." Piper sighed again as Leo began to read the words of the passage, which was written above a small picture of a baby.

'A baby, created by good will be born into a family of powerful witches, the three sisters destined to do good by protecting the innocent. The baby will be born from a father of great power, who sacrificed many for one to love.

When this child is born, only fate will decide its destiny. The child can be shown the path of evil or the path of good. Whichever path the child chooses will affect the world's fate. If the child is to choose evil over good, then darkness will fall upon the world, and evil will rein. But if the child is to choose the path of good, light will rise and life will continue as normal.

The Child has to discover by its 16th birthday, which path it will follow. If the child is to choose the side of good, it is know that there is a weapon to protect the child. This weapon will help to bring death and destruction to evil, and to guide the chosen one. All anyone knows of this weapon is that it was born from a powerful combination of magic.

This weapon will be used in a powerful battle of good and evil, in a chosen land on the strike of midnight at the end of the 1st day, of the full moon, after the child has turned 16. Where the world's fate will come to rest upon the chosen path, of the child.'

"What the hell does this have to do with us?" asked Piper. "Well apart from the three witches part." She added defensively when everyone turned to look at her.

"Well maybe…" Paige paused to think about what her brain was trying to process. "The source thinks Melinda is the…"

"Chosen one" Leo finished.

"Yeah" said Paige.

"So Melinda has a prophecy…" Said Piper.

"This gives us more time…they won't hurt Melinda at least." Cole said speaking up "But there isn't much hope for Phoebe." He added as a small tear ran down his face, at the thought of his wife alone and scared somewhere or even dead for that matter.

"She can't be dead Cole you have to believe." Said Leo.

"How do you know that Leo, the source has no need for her, if this prophecy is right." He added. Anger sweeping through him at the fact that he had let Phoebe down…again.

The 4 of them all looked at each other with worried faces, at the thought that Phoebe could already be dead…

A/N2: For those of you reading the Fascino Chronicles, the next story, disappearing Orbs, will be posted soon, we are just editing it. So you don't have to wait long to see what is in store for Piper.