A/N: This chapter will be a little better. I was going to put a whole other thing in with this chapter but I think I'll save it for chapter 8.

Fanmania: You don't have to worry, I couldn't be that cruel…

Chapter 7: The Big 'Bomb'

Leo stood outside of the council room "Up There." Their meeting had just been adjourned but the Elders requested that everyone stick around for a little in case more information came up. About five feet away from him, there was a group of Elders that stood conversing amongst themselves. Something in the back of his mind nagged at his Whitelighter senses but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He began to walk over to the group of Elders to ask them if he could check on the sisters.

Kyle, who had also been called to the meeting, saw the pained look on Leo's face as he went to the Elders. He slowly walked behind him.

When he had walked about three of the five feet, Leo felt an enormous surge of pain circulate throughout the entirety of his body. He automatically doubled over from the pain. The group of Elders saw what was happening and rushed by his side. One of the two women knelt beside him.

"Leo? Leo, are you okay? Leo?" She asked.

"I need to go," he said through gritted teeth. "One of the sisters is in pain."

"It's not Paige," Kyle said, stepping in. "But I would still like to go with him. Paige may not be in physical pain but she is in emotional pain, I can sense it."

"Fine, both of you go!" Mariah, the other woman Elder instructed as the two men orbed out.

XoXoXoXoX

Sitting at his desk, Jason looked over the list of things that he had completed. He called Elise and told her that when the evening edition was out, she could have the rest of the night off. One of the younger inters that was helping him around the office popped his head in the doorway.

"Anything else you want me to do?" he asked.

"Nope. You've done all that I can ask—" Jason stopped as an overwhelming pain sprouted in his chest. He put a hand to his chest and took long ragged breaths.

"Is everything okay boss?" the intern questioned.

"Call the valet and tell them to have my car waiting for me by the time I get down there," Jason instructed. Phoebe he thought, worried.

XoXoXoXoX

When Leo and Kyle orbed in, they were surprised, yet overcome with sadness to see Piper and Paige sitting next to each other, a lifeless Phoebe in front of them. The front door burst open and Jason came stumbling through it.

"Where's Phoebe?" he demanded. Leo and Kyle solemnly looked from Jason to Piper and Paige. Jason could see a pair of feet in front of Paige. He also heard both of them crying. "What h-happened?" he asked.

"We don't know," Kyle said. "They won't talk to either of us."

"Is she…?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"I don't know. I can't sense her. I mean I can but it's a very weak connection," Leo explained.

Piper and Paige were now holding each other with one arm and cradling their fallen sister with the other. Suddenly, Piper broke. "Damn you!" she screamed at the ceiling and the forces beyond it. "You can't take another sister from me! You can't! So what, are you just going to tell me that I have another half-sister out there just waiting for me to find her!"

The moment Piper shouted this, Paige winced. She knew that Piper wasn't ungrateful for her, it was just that she was intensely angry.

"Try sensing her again," a hysteric Jason prodded.

"It's still the same," Leo replied after a moment of concentration. Something didn't feel right about his ability to sense Phoebe. He now focused on sensing Piper. He got the same type of connection as he did with Phoebe. There was one flaw in all of this. Clearly, Piper wasn't even close to being dead. Trying Paige, he found himself 0-for-three. He had an idea.

"Jason, I need you to read this spell," he instructed as he jotted something down on a piece of paper.

"But he's not even a witch," Kyle stated, frowning.

"He doesn't have to be to read this spell," Leo responded, thrusting the paper into Jason's hand. Jason looked at him, uneasy. "Trust me," Leo said firmly. Jason nodded and began to read.

"As a mortal, I may be

Guide me the powers that be

Show me now, let me see

The forces that surround these three"

There was a flash of white light that formed over the sisters. It clouded around them for a minute and then dispersed. A glowing greed dome pulsated around the trio. Leo had seen what he needed to see. He orbed away, momentarily and returned, a red potion in hand. He threw the potion at the dome and it faded. Leo closed his eyes and tried once more to sense Phoebe. The force from her hit him harder than he had expected.

"She's sleeping!" He said laughing. "She's sleeping."

As if on cue, Phoebe coughed and opened her eyes. The first sight she took in was the angry, once crying faces of her sisters. "What's going on?" she asked, sitting up.

"What going on?" Piper spat. "What's going on is that we thought you were dead and we've been shedding tears over your sleeping body. That's what going on!"

Phoebe scratched her head. "Sorry. That wasn't just any energy ball. I mean, yea, it hurt but it like put me to sleep."

"And it somehow put an energy barrier around you," Leo added.

"Wait a minute—"Piper said as something occurred to her. "You said that when it hit you, it hurt right?"

"Right," Phoebe replied, rubbing her chest. She had a sheepish feeling that she knew where Piper was going with this.

"But you're not hurt," Paige said slowly.

"And I think I know why," Piper said, mimicking Phoebe's thoughts. "And I think that Paige should too."

Leo, Kyle and the relieved Jason took this as their cue to leave. You didn't want to be anywhere near when the Charmed Ones were headed into a dangerous discussion. They turned and headed toward the attic where they could avoid the bomb that was about to explode in the living room.

"Paige," Phoebe started. "For the past three months, I haven't exactly been honest with you." She felt so guilty, she was unable to look her sister in the eye.

Paige placed a finger under Phoebe's chin and lifted her head so that she no other option but to look Paige in the eye. "It's okay. I already know," she said softly.

Piper looked from one sister to the other as confusion set in.

"But how?" Phoebe frowned.

"Let's just say that a little bird told me."

Phoebe turned and glared at Piper. "Piper!"

"Hey, don't blame me! I didn't say a word, I swear!" she protested.

"No, no, it wasn't her!" Paige assured her.

"Then who—" Phoebe was cut off by Paige's wave of hand.

"Don't worry about it." She stood up and brushed off her pants. Two gruff looking demons shimmered in behind her.

"Paige!" Piper and Phoebe shouted, pointing at the demons.

"Piper, blow them up!" Paige instructed. Piper responded, blowing up one of them. When she tried for the other one, he shimmered out, causing her to blow up and end table.

"Crap!" she muttered.

XoXoXoXoX

Hearing the loud crashing noise, Jason smiled. "I guess bombs really do go off." The three laughed and then realized the severity of the situation.

"We need to go downstairs," Kyle insisted.

Leo walked over to that cabinet full of potions and grabbed a handful of them, hoping that at least one would work. He handed two to both of them and kept two from himself. "Throw them at any sight of demons."