"Leo!" Piper called, "Leo, we need your help!"
Leo orbed in front of them. "What's wrong?"
"The Mazging got Joy and Chris. We can't scry for them because we don't have anything of theirs. Can you, I don't know, sense either one of them?"
Leo closed his eyes. After a minute he opened them. "I think I've got Joy. She was easier to sense. She's absolutely terrified right now."
The Charmed Ones looked at one another. Then Phoebe said, "Can you take us to where they are?"
Leo nodded. They all joined hands and he orbed them out of the manor. To the outside of a cave. There was no entrance, only solid stone.
Piper tried to blast it, but she couldn't. "There must be a spell surrounding it."
Something went off in Phoebe's head. "Oh, God. I can feel them. Both of them. Joy's scared to death. And Chris...he's in so much pain."
Piper resumed trying to blast the cave wall open. Again nothing happened.
"Keep trying," Paige said, "We have to get them out of there."
--------------
Francis stepped forward while Carter and Michael moved back. He clutched a knife in his hand. He started toward Chris when he suddenly turned to Joy. He moved closer to her and she backed against the wall.
"I suppose you heard from your disobedient friends what the three stages of this punishment were?" Joy nodded, tears glistening on her face. "Skin, metal, and finally, fire. We've already done skin. That still leaves metal and fire. Are you ready to continue the show?" Joy shook her head. He grinned. "Too bad."
Francis turned back towards Chris, the knife in his hand. Slowly, ever so slowly, he dug a long line into Chris's skin, from his shoulder to his hip. Chris screamed.
Pain. Unbelievable pain.
Francis dug the knife into Chris's skin again. This time around he cut Chris across his stomach. Chris gasped, trying to breathe through the pain that clouded his mind.
Tears fell from Joy's eyes. She closed them, trying to block out Chris's screams.
This is all my fault. Why did I have to be so selfish? None of this would've happened if I had just married one of the men from my world. Why did I have to drag Chris into this?
Suddenly, Chris's screams stopped. The only sound that was left was his harsh, ragged breathing.
Joy opened her eyes to see Chris's head hanging limply on his shoulders. His shirt was reduced to rags from the many times that Francis had cut him. Blood from the cuts slid heavily down his body.
Francis stepped back and announced to the entire room, "We have now concluded Step Two. In just a moment, we shall begin and end with Step Three. But first, let's let the two lovers look at each other for a moment."
He turned to Joy. "Do you see now why you shouldn't break the law? This is all your fault, you know. If you hadn't fallen in love with him, neither of you two would be here right now."
Then he turned to Chris. "Don't you think you should've left her when you had the chance? She warned you that this would happen, but, no, you wouldn't listen to her. You had to have her. See where love has gotten you now?"
Chris locked eyes with Joy, and whispered, "I love you."
She smiled, "I love you, too."
"Enough!" the Mazging screamed, infuriated. "On with the show!"