"What??"
"Why would you --"
"You're not evil --"
"Are you sure --"
Piper and Paige hit Phoebe with a barrage of unanswerable questions. She sat limply in the chair, her face covered by her hands. Leo lifted his hand to quiet them, but neither of the sisters noticed. Finally, Leo shouted, "Stop!" All three sisters turned to him in surprise. "Phoebe's just been through an awful experience. Attacking her and putting her on the defensive is not going to help. Piper, Paige, you two get started on all the defensive and protection spells you can find. Phoebe," and here his voice grew noticeably gentler, "I think you and I should have a talk, okay?" Phoebe nodded, weeping softly, and allowed Leo to help her up from the chair and guide her to her room.
Phoebe sat on the bed, hugging a pillow tightly. Leo looked at her seriously. "First of all, I think you need this," he said, and gave her a warm hug. She gave him a tight smile in return, still too overwrought to speak.
"Now, listen to me," Leo said. "You are a good witch."
"But I'm going to turn evil again!" Phoebe cut in.
"Listen to me," Leo said again. "You are a good witch. You're a good person. Most of the premonitions you get are warnings to stop something from happening, and this is no different. This was probably just a reminder that you need to be on guard."
"But how come it's always me who turns evil?" Phoebe asked pitifully, sniffling.
"It isn't," Leo reminded her. "Paige became a vampire, Piper's been a Fury..."
"But --"
"Phoebe. Everyone has a dark side. You were born in this house, on the Nexus, and so you're more easily influenced toward one side or the other than your sisters. That's not an excuse, it's a fact. All it means is that you have to be more vigilant. You have to think about what you're going to do, consider the consequences, and decide if it's what you really want to do. But when it comes down to it, you can't blame the Nexus, or fate, or anything else -- or anyone else -- for your actions. That's what free will is all about -- you're the one who chooses what you do, and you're the one who has to take responsibility for your actions. You have to remember that what you do affects others, but ultimately the choice is yours." Leo reached out to touch Phoebe's arm, to show her that this was brotherly concern, not a scolding, but Phoebe pulled back and turned away.
Leo sighed. "Phoebe, you're angry with me, I know. But deep down, you know that this is the truth. The two things you need to focus on are that you are good, and you have all the strength you need to stay that way."
"What if I'm already evil, Leo?" Phoebe said quietly. "That's my biggest fear, that I'm really evil inside, and no matter how hard I fight it, the evil will win out in the end."
"Phoebe, you were sent a fireball from the Font of Goodness. Trust me, the Font doesn't make mistakes. It knows you're good. And so do I," Leo said comfortingly. "The fireball boosted your power, that's probably why you got that wild ride of premonitions. You've changed your future in dramatic ways before, and you can do it again."
Phoebe looked pensive. "Will you help me? Will you warn me if you think I'm on that path?"
"Of course," Leo assured her. "But I can only help if you let me. I'm going to need you to talk to me, check in with me. You have a bad dream, I want to know about it. You have a premonition of yourself throwing fire, I want to know. You daydream about being the Queen of the Underworld, I want to know. Don't shut me out."
"I won't. I promise," Phoebe answered.
Suddenly, Leo jumped up. "Piper! And Paige! Something's happened, come on!" Grabbing Phoebe's hand, he orbed them to the attic.
But the attic was empty. The only movement was a scrap of paper wafting slowly to the floor.
"Piper! Paige!" Phoebe yelled her sisters' names as loudly as she could.
"I can't sense them," Leo said anxiously.
Phoebe shook her head. "No, no, no, I did NOT just lose two more sisters!"
"They're not necessarily -- they could be in the underworld. Or -- I don't know." Leo picked up the piece of paper that had fallen. "It looks like they were in mid-sentence -- mid-word, even."
Phoebe took the paper and read it quickly. It was nothing more than Piper and Paige's notes: "Benecaedus -- 'she' -- Phoebe as Queen?? -- past/fut"
Tears running down her face, Phoebe gripped the paper tightly. She looked up at the ceiling. "C'mon, please, if you're ever going to give me a premonition when I ask for it, give me one now. Please, I have to save my sisters!"
As if in response to her impassioned plea, visions once again filled Phoebe's mind.