As Paige and Phoebe followed the young woman with dark hair down the corridor of light, they gripped each other's hands tightly. When the light became so bright it was blinding, the sisters interlocked their arms and clung tightly to each other. Then suddenly Paige felt Phoebe being pulled away from her. She couldn't see who was doing the pulling. All she knew was that she felt her sister being torn away from her....again. Paige felt panic overtake her as she lost her grip on Phoebe, then that panic turned to terror when she heard her sister scream.

"You can't go to her yet," Paige heard the woman they had been following say. Something about the woman's touch on her shoulder calmed her, but she was still upset she had been separated from Phoebe.

"Why not? I thought I was suppose to be her guide in all of this," Paige responded much calmer than she expected.

The young woman smiled. "You have to understand, even though she doesn't realize it, Phoebe controls everything about this dream walk. She has decided that she has to face this trial alone at first. She will allow you to go to her when she is ready for you."

Paige looked at the young woman and nodded her understanding. "I don't like it, but I will wait."

*****

Phoebe pulled hard away from her captor. She didn't care who it was or what this trial was about, she wanted to be back with Paige. She had a hard time seeing in the corridor because the light was so bright. The man pulling on her let her go in a darker room lit by surrounding fires. Her eyes were adjusting, but she still couldn't see who had taken her.

Phoebe was getting scared and frustrated when she felt a man press up behind her. She felt herself start to tingle as he kissed the back of her neck. He felt familiar somehow though she knew it wasn't Cole.

"Cole!" Phoebe screamed as she opened her eyes to face her ex-husband.

Cole smiled widely. "I see I wasn't the first bad boy you betrayed your family for," Cole said with a laugh as Phoebe turned to face the warlock lover from her past life.

Phoebe shook her head emphatically, "No. That wasn't me. That was her. He wanted her, not me."

Her former lover smiled at her objection, "It's your soul I want Phoebe. It's your soul I love. Any lifetime will do," he said as he pulled her into a close embrace.

Phoebe felt herself go weak in the warlock's arms. "If you want him dead, I can give you the power to do that," he whispered in her ear as they both looked toward Cole.

Phoebe regained her composure and pulled away from his embrace. "I don't need you for that. He's already dead," she said as she faced Cole. "You are dead, and you can't hurt me anymore!"

Cole walked over toward Phoebe and put one arm around her waist and a hand under her chin. "Now Phoebe, when did I ever hurt you?" he asked gently leaning in for a kiss. "But if it's power you want, noone can give it to you like I can," he whispered in her ear rather than kiss her.

"That's not exactly true," Phoebe heard a deep voice say from a dark corner of the room. "I can give her power like she can't imagine. Is that what you want Phoebe?" said the voice she recognized as the Woogie man.

Phoebe's head was spinning as she pulled away from Cole. She was surrounded by three beings that had all seduced her with power at one time or another. Was this the answer she was seeking? Was she learning that she was indeed evil, seduced by power so readily that more than once she had put her family at risk? She feel to the ground in tears.

*****

The warlock sat before the evil enchantress with little patience. "Are you almost finished? I need to get going. If she warns her sisters, they will develop a plan to stop me. But if I get there before they have a chance to work it out......"

"Hush," said the old woman as she looked up from her work. "The bag is almost ready. You still won't be able to touch the Book, but if you can get it in this bag, you will be able to take it from the house."

"Good," said the warlock as he stood and started rapidly pacing the room, "that should be easy enough. I'll just throw the bag over the stand and zip out of there. I'll be gone before they know I was there....."

"Hush," the old woman said again. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What makes you think you are too fast for them all together?"

"I was too fast for the one that can freeze me. What can the others do to stop me? Nothing, that's what. I will do what noone else has done. And when I have the Book, all of the Underworld will be coming to me......"

"You mean to rule the Underworld?" the old woman said with a smirk.

"Rule?" the warlock responded, "No, not rule. You think I could? No. I couldn't. But I could be important to whoever does. That would be good. That would be very good. Are you almost finished?"

*****

Paige felt a twinge inside her, a calling almost, her sister was reaching out for her. She turned to face the young woman who had been keeping her company.

"Go to her." the woman answered her unspoken question, "She is ready for you now."

"How?" Paige asked feeling excited that she could help in some way.

The young woman smiled, "Orb silly, your powers still work here."

Paige wondered for a minute at the familiar tone the woman just took with her. She really did look like someone Paige should know. Then Paige felt Phoebe calling for her again, so she orbed away.

*****

Paige orbed into the dark room to find Phoebe on her knees in the center of it doubled over crying and screaming for people to get away from her. When Paige rushed to hold her, she jerked away at first. Then she raised tear-filled eyes and hugged Paige tightly.

Paige heard three voices coming from different directions in the room. As she held Phoebe, she looked around to see who they were. She recognized Cole and the Shadow from the Nexus, but she wasn't sure who the other guy was.

Paige stroked Phoebe's head as she asked, "Sweetie, what is going on? What's wrong?"

"I'm evil Paige. They were all too strong for me. I gave into all of them at one point or another. They all seduced me, and I gave in so easily," Phoebe answered.

"Ha!" screamed Cole. "Seduced you nothing. Maybe they did, but I loved you and you loved me. Everything you did with me was voluntary. I never seduced you."

Phoebe was angry now. Paige helped her stand up to face Cole. "Are you trying to pretend that I knew I was marrying the Source of All Evil!" she screamed back at him.

Cole waved off her objection, "One small deception."

"Oh and I suppose I knew I was carrying the spawn of the devil as well?" Phoebe retorted.

"Another minor deception," Cole said. "It's not like you weren't happy with me."

"It's not like I had much choice considering I was being drugged!" Phoebe screamed.

Cole snorted. "You weren't being drugged when you choose to become my Queen."

Phoebe took in a deep breathe. "You're right. I loved you. I loved you so much I wanted to keep you even though I knew it was wrong. I was a fool," she said as she turned her back on him.

Paige took Phoebe in her arms. "You aren't evil Phoebe. We all have weaknesses, but it is what we do with those weaknesses that define us, not the weaknesses themselves."

"Easy for you to say," Phoebe said as she looked at Paige. "You're every bit as strong as Prue was. Maybe stronger."

Paige took a deep breathe. "Noone ever said this would be a spiritual journey for me as well," she said with a small smile. "My weakness is my insecurities with you and Piper. Sometimes I still don't feel like I'm a part of this family."

Phoebe looked into Paige's eyes as they started to tear up. She hugged Paige tightly. Then ignoring all the voices coming at her, she looked at her sister and admitted, "I am attracted to power. Ever since we first found out we were witches, power was a big thing with me. I'm the one most likely to use my power for personal gain or vengeance. I don't deserve to have any powers at all."

Phoebe wanted to hang her head in shame, but she stayed focused on her sister. The voices around her started to fade. "Is that why you haven't been working on advancing your gifts?" Paige asked.

Phoebe nodded. "I don't want to be strong. I'm afraid I will hurt someone if I am," Phoebe answered.

"But you risk not being able to save people if you aren't," Paige responded.

"I guess I was a bad choice for a Charmed One," Phoebe said sadly.

"No you weren't," Paige said firmly. "You will only turn out to be a bad choice if you don't live up to your potential." She grabbed one of Phoebe's hands and turned her around to face each of the evils in the room. "You defeated each of them, didn't you? I don't care if you gave into them once, you still defeated them in the end, right?"

Phoebe nodded. "Then do it again," Paige said.

Phoebe turned to face her past life lover. He approached her gently. "We could be so strong together," he said as he held her close to him.

The Woogie man pulled her away from the warlock and surrounded her. "You can feel my strength, can't you Phoebe? You never need to feel weak again."

Phoebe did feel weak though. "I am light," she said in a whisper.

"Not again!" The Woogie man screamed. "You would reject me again?"

"I am one too strong to fight," Cole said as the Woogie man left her and she feel into his arms.

"Our love is eternal Phoebe," he said as he kissed her.

"No," Phoebe said as she ended the kiss, "You cannot have this Halliwell either."

"What?" Cole said with hurt in his voice. "I love you."

"And I loved you," Phoebe said gently as she kissed him lightly on the lips.

"But you cannot have this Halliwell," she said loudly more sure of herself. "None of you can."

Phoebe turned to each of them, then stopped facing her sister. "I'm done here," she said to Paige.

Instantly the room vanished and Paige and Phoebe found themselves back in the lighted corridor facing the young woman they had been following earlier.

"Well done," the young woman said. "Ready to continue?" she asked.

Paige and Phoebe nodded to each other, locked arms again, and turned to follow her only to find themselves standing in the manor.