A/N: Tiger'sEye, afw, danielle, and homer. thank you so much for reviewing my work :) it means a lot to me. here's chapter 17 for you guys! Hope you'll like it! what would Phoebe see in this latest premonition? and what payment would the Watcher ask for in exchange of her services?

Chapter 17

"Paige!" Phoebe cried in horror as the first thing she saw as her vision adjusted to her new environment was her sister lying on the ground, bound and unconscious. "Paige!" She was in a circle of fire, the orange and red flames leaping high up to the ceiling. Wait, this is exactly what I saw in my premonition, Phoebe realized. And, as if on cue, another smaller circle of flames, its fires blue, erupted in the center of the dimly lit room. Soon, laughter filled the room, a shrill and maniacal sound, like sharp nails being scraped against a blackboard.

She spun around, and gaped at what she saw next. Only five feet away from Paige was Leo, tied naked to a post, pale and barely breathing. "Leo!" What's he doing here? Questions raced inside Phoebe's mind, running through her head like scared mice. She couldn't focus and think clearly. Paige. Leo. What's going on?

Before Phoebe could process the entire scene in front of her, a cloaked figure blinked in front of Paige, a small dagger in its hand.

"No," Phoebe heard Leo whisper weakly, "Don't hurt her."

Melissa, Phoebe thought angrily, recognizing the figure from her premonition. She turned her attention back to Paige.

Phoebe's shoulders tensed, as she saw Melissa raise the dagger above her head, ready to strike Paige. On instinct, she sprang forward, attempting to knock the dagger out of the warlock's grasp. Much to her surprise, instead of hitting the warlock's raised hand, Phoebe's own hand passed through it, as if she were a ghost.

"What the?" Phoebe looked down at her hand, and gave a yelp of surprise. She was transparent- her hand, her feet, her entire body. "How?" Then, remembering what happened in the Manor with the Watcher, she realized that she, or rather her body, wasn't really in there with Paige- her mind was. Her spell must have pulled me back into my premonition, she thought, so that I could 'look deeper.'

Expecting to see Melissa lower her hood and reveal herself to Paige before killing her, Phoebe jumped back as she saw another figure materialize a few feet behind Melissa. Squinting her eyes, she was stunned, recognizing the figure when her eyes focused- it was Melissa herself.

"The hell?" If that's Melissa, then who's this?

"I'm sorry," Melissa muttered to the cloaked figure, "I failed. They were too strong for me."

This isn't my premonition, Phoebe suddenly realized, I'm in it! All this is happening now!

Realizing the danger that Paige was in, Phoebe began to find means of freeing Paige. She tried diving for the rope, but it was no use- she was a ghost here, wherever here was. She tried unbinding spells, but to her frustration, they didn't work. Phoebe was going to attempt a shot at another spell when she heard the cloaked figure speak.

"No matter," it said, "We have all the time here in Magic School, don't we, Paige? She won't be going anywhere with Arachne's Rope binding her." It turned around to face Paige and at an invisible Phoebe. "We'll just settle for torture first." The hooded figure spoke seductively into the darkness, "Then, when I'm through with her, she'll beg me to end her life."

"NO!" Phoebe screamed. But before she could do anything, an invisible force began to pull her; a black hole of energy that clamped down on her and dragged her back- to her body and out of her premonition.

Phoebe's eyes fluttered and snapped open instantly, her mouth still opened in an ear-piercing scream. Then she stopped as soon as she felt her premonition end. She felt a pair of hands holding her, and realized that she was back in the Manor. "Flames. Danger. Melissa. Cloak." She uttered senselessly, her brain still wrapped up with her latest premonition.

"Easy, Phoebe," Phoebe heard Piper from behind her, and realized that she was wheezing, the breath knocked out from her. Phoebe let Piper help her to the couch and drew in quick breaths. She forced herself to calm down, told Piper and the Watcher what she saw.

"Wait. Back up. Did you just say Leo?" Piper said, incredulous, eyes widening in confusion. "You saw my husband? In Magic School? But… But I… I thought that he… he," Piper stuttered, fear and panic rising. "How could we be so blind?" Piper's fear turned to rage, and now anger crept into her. Her blood was boiling and it took every ounce of her self-control not to blow the nearest article of furniture up. "I should have seen this coming! We shouldn't have trusted that bitch!"

"We couldn't have, Piper, not even me. I have the power to see, remember?" Phoebe said, reassuring her sister and rubbing her throbbing head. "We were led to believe that Leo was in a faraway dimension. Paige has been teaching in Magic School for quite some time, and she didn't even know that Leo was right there with him. And we thought that Paige was safe, too, because she in Magic School. It's Magic School, for goodness' sakes! Demons are getting more and more creative these days." She reached over and touched Piper's hand, giving it a firm squeeze. "We're going to save them and get them back, Piper."

"Damn right we will! And when I get my hands on that bitch, she'll regret the day she ever laid a hand on my husband and my sister." Piper stood and began to pace the living room. Thoughts were whirring inside her head, ideas coming and going, images of Leo and Paige alone and helpless. Unable to contain her anger any longer, Piper thrust her hands forward, blowing a nearby vase up with her powers.

"Anger will not solve anything. The answer lies within the sister's vision," the Watcher advised, "and the unity of the Charmed Ones."

"Right," Piper said. Closing her eyes, Piper momentarily stopped walking and took a breath, willing the tension in her body to dissolve. She inhaled sharply, taking in another breath, and released it.

"My vision," Phoebe agreed. She looked at the Watcher, gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you for showing me, showing us, and helping us find our sister. We would probably still be searching in vain if it weren't for your help."

The Watcher simply bowed, "Do not thank me yet, Charmed One. Everything comes for a price. And the price that I ask for is steep." She chanted another spell in the same language that she used earlier, and in a heartbeat, her eyes- all three of them- turned completely white. Her brows were furrowed, and her once peaceful face was marred with anger and indignation.

Is she talking with someone else? Piper thought, looking uneasily around the living room of the Manor; her frustration momentarily subsided and forgotten at the Watcher's sudden outburst.

Finally, the Watcher sang another phrase in the alien language, the color of her eyes returning. "Your Book of Shadows," she declared nonchalantly, which caused Phoebe's eyes to widen in alarm.