A/N: I feel so long making you guys wait so long. School has been hectic lately. College assignments can really be brutal, plus my other stories. Anyway, hope you all like!

PhoebeColefan: More Phole moments are definitely coming up! Keep reading, and I hope you like this nect chapter.

Bleu Feenix: Thanks!Hope you like this chapter.

lizardmomma: Thanks, I'm trying write Phoebe being evil as I believe she would've been on the show. I think she would have second guessed herself and gone through this inner torment. Hope you like this next chapter!

FanficFemale: Thanks! Me too. I was quite surprised that there weren't more evil Phoebe/Cole stories out here. Anyway, hope you like the next chapter!

Shadow Cat17: Thanks, hope you like this one!

stephanie1994: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it! Hope you continue reading and that you enjoy this chapter!

BellaCullen666: That's okay. I'm jealous, hope you went somewhere exciting. I would NEVER disappoint a reader and turn Phoebe good. That was never my intention, I'm just giving Phoebe some dimension. This is how I believe she would have been if she had stayed evil longer on the show. Anyway, hope you like this next chapter!

Chapter Eighteen

It seemed as though for the first time in a really long time, the book was finally failing her.

Although Phoebe was evil now, and she knew in her heart that the Book of Shadows could sense that, she had honestly thought that everything would be the same. The book would open to a random page that would help her out with her problems, and she would go along with it even if she didn't see how it would help.

She hadn't expected for everything to be different, despite being different herself.

Of course the only reason she was still able to touch the book in the first place was because of her spell. Otherwise it would be treating her like any demon that had ever attempted to make a play for it. And even though she knew this was the truth, it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Screw this," Phoebe muttered under her breath. If the Book of Shadows wouldn't help her by itself, she would just have to make it help.

The words came from her mouth as though they had been waiting to be spoken aloud.

'Hear these words, hear the rhyme

An answer now I seek to find.

Send me now a way to be

At last in peace and harmony.'

Phoebe stood up as a swirl of white lights appeared in the center of the living room, and a second later the last person she had ever expected to find there appeared.

And she didn't look happy.

"Grams?"

The old witch stepped outside the circle she had appeared in and became corporeal. "Phoebe! What in the world are you doing?"

Phoebe knew she didn't mean summoning her. She meant what was she doing being Queen of the Underworld with Cole. And Phoebe wasn't sure how she was going to answer.

"Uh..."

Grams rolled her eyes. It was a sign that she was about to become really angry, and Phoebe would know. She'd certainly seen it enough times growing up.

"You wrote a spell to get an answer, right?" she asked impatiently.

Phoebe could only nod.

"Well, this is your spell in action, though obviously not how you intended it. And now you have to accept the consequences of that because I am certainly not going away until you get your answer," Grams interrupted, and began circling Phoebe, her eyes never leaving her own.

"Grams, if you've come here to try to persuade me back to the other side with my sisters, then let me tell you right now that you're wasting your time," Phoebe said agitation beginning to creep its way back into her system.

"Please, Phoebe. Give me a little credit. I'm not here to persuade you back. I just want to know why," Grams replied, her tone softening slightly.

Phoebe sat back down on the couch. "What do you want me to say? That Cole somehow has me brainwashed and now that I'm alone you can take me back to my sisters?"

"Dear, I've been watching. I know you've already seen your sisters, and I know you've made it quite clear to them that you don't have any intention of going back to your dest-"

"Grams, if you say 'destiny' I swear I'll scream. I am so sick of everyone telling me of my destiny, and the Charmed Ones! I've been there, and done that, okay? It wasn't my destiny. This is my destiny!" Phoebe exclaimed, gesturing around her.

Grams watched her, looking bemused. "Only because you threw away your old one."

"No. It turned its back on me along with my sisters."

"You turned your back on your destiny, and you know it!" Grams snapped, and went to sit on the sofa beside Phoebe. "I'm not here to preach at you, Phoebe. I know how useless that would be. You are your own woman, but that does not mean that you aren't making the biggest mistake of your life."

"I thought you weren't going to preach," Phoebe mumbled, resting her head in her hands.

Grams smirked. "I'm not. I'm merely stating a fact." Then she relaxed her tone again. "None of this has been easy on you, Phoebe. You and your sisters never had any guidance on being witches, at least not any permanent guidance. You were born in the manor, and since it rests on a spiritual nexus, that makes you more susceptible to evil. But that doesn't mean you have to give in to it."

"I haven't given in to anything, Grams! You and my sisters make it seem as though Cole did something to turn me evil, but you haven't even considered the possibility that I chose to be with him with my own free will!" Phoebe threw back.

Grams didn't say anything at first. She seemed to be about to say something she didn't necessarily want to.

"Just answer one question for me. When you chose to be evil all on your own, were you down in the Underworld?" she asked finally, meeting her second-youngest granddaughter square in the eye.

"Yeah," Phoebe started questioningly, wondering what her grandmother was getting at.

"And this was right after you vanquished the old Source, right?"

"So?"

Grams sighed, and she looked as though her greatest concern had just been realized. "I hate to tell you this, dear, but you didn't make that choice as willingly as you think you did."

Phoebe frowned. "Excuse me?" she asked tiredly.

"Well...I don't want to be the one to burst your bubble, but you were under the influence when you made that decision."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Under the influence of what?" she hissed. She was getting tired of this.

Grams smiled, and it could only be described as one of sympathy. "Of evil."

Phoebe sighed and stood up. She didn't want to be anywhere near Grams anymore, especially when she knew deep in her gut that she was right.

The ghost of Penny Halliwell went on. "Staying down in the Underworld for a long period of time and vanquishing the Source can influence evil all on their own, but when you combine the two...you might have thought you were thinking clearly, and maybe on some level you were. But you don't honestly believe that you turned your back on your sisters all on your own, did you?"

"Yeah, actually, I did! I still do. Grams, I love you and everything, but what you're saying makes no sense. Cole and I tried being good up there, but it didn't work. Now that we're the rulers of the Underworld it's working, and you guys can't stand that fact because it means that you just might have to consider that maybe evil is more powerful and understanding than good!" Phoebe exclaimed. It felt good to say this face to face with someone.

Grams looked at her as though she didn't know her at all. "You don't mean that."

"Don't I? At least down here we're accepted. If demons and warlocks can accept a former Charmed One as their queen, why couldn't you and my sisters accept Cole when he was trying to be good?" she asked.

"Because he was a powerful demon, Phoebe, and he had an agenda. And even though it didn't exactly work out the way he might have wanted it to, in the end he got what he wanted. The Charmed Ones split up. And the demons and warlocks who supposedly accept you as their queen only do so because the Source has threatened to vanquish them if they don't. But trust me. When they see an opening to go after you, don't think they wouldn't go after it. It's only a matter of time before they betray you. You might want to think about that before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" Phoebe asked through gritted teeth.

"For your sisters to forgive you. They've reconstituted the Charmed Ones, so they don't really need you for that anymore. But they're trying to save you because you're their sister, but do you really think they'll just keep trying to find a way to save you for the rest of their lives? Sooner or later they'll come to the point where they'll think it is a hopeless case, and they'll disown you. Is that what you want?" Grams continued.

She knew she was hitting a nerve, but Phoebe needed to hear it. And Phoebe knew it, too. So she went on to drive the point home.

"I'm not saying to leave Cole and run back to them. As much as I'd love to see that, I think that you need to find a balance between Cole and your sisters. That doesn't mean act as spy; that doesn't mean hide what you're doing from both of them. You don't even have to relinquish your evil crown. You just have to come to a truce. That way you'll no longer have to split yourself in two agonizing over this, and your sisters won't resort to desperate measures in getting you back," Grams explained.

As Phoebe heard these words, she couldn't help but see the truth in this.

Grams smiled, and this time it was a genuine one. "It hurts me to say this, but you don't have to be a powerful force for good to be a Halliwell. And now you have your answer."

Grams was gone a second later in a swirl of bright white lights.

"Thanks, Grams," Phoebe whispered to the empty room.

Piper needed to see a shrink. She felt as if she were going crazy.

She had realized something about herself after Phoebe had stolen the Book of Shadows and Prue and Paige were going about their everyday lives as though nothing as amiss.

She had some serious attachment issues.

Though one could argue that they didn't just keep that book for sentimental value. It was an imperative source of information when they went up against demons and warlocks they had no clue about. While Prue wasn't worried since there were hardly any demons coming after them now, Piper wasn't convinced. She felt like she was walking on a tightrope without a net.

Both Prue and Paige were at their jobs, but Piper hadn't even had the strength to get out of bed. She was laying in her and Leo's queen-sized four poster and stared up at the ceiling. If a demon were to attack, she'd be no match for them. She barely had the strength to breathe. Lifting her arms or speaking would prove to be downright impossible.

Piper didn't even have the strength to hate Phoebe. At least not at the moment. She felt nothing at all. She was on pause.

She also happened to alone in the house. Leo was off on official whitelighter business, and she didn't think he would appreciate it if she called to him to get her a bagel from the kitchen.

So, with a lot of grunting and complaining to no one, Piper crawled out of bed, not bothering to put her robe on. It didn't matter since no one else was in the house.

She shuffled downstairs to the kitchen and got her bagel. Then she went to the attic, though she wasn't exactly sure why. But her feet had a mind of their own at the moment, and it wasn't as if she had anything better to do.

Piper found the boxes simply labeled, 'Phoebe' and found herself kneeling beside them. Prue had been the one to box their younger sister's things and put them in the attic since Piper hadn't had the heart to do it herself. But now she was curious to see what Phoebe had left behind.

As Piper was pulling open the first box, an unexpected form appeared in front of her.

"Hello, Piper."

Piper looked up to find Grams standing before her, smiling down at her.

"Hi. What are you doing here? We didn't summon you," Piper pointed out obviously.

"I know. I wanted to see how you were doing," she said, moving to stand closer to her granddaughter.

Piper closed her eyes, somehow wishing she could block out the events of the last couple of weeks.

"Do you want me to lie to you, or do you want the truth?"

"That bad, huh?" Grams laughed softly.

"I just..." Piper shook her head, suddenly very grateful that Grams was with her. "I feel like a failure as a sister."

Grams didn't look as though she'd been expecting that answer. "Oh Piper, how can you say that?"

Piper laughed bitterly. "It's quite easy to do if it's the truth."

"You didn't fail Phoebe. Phoebe failed herself. None of this is because of you, Prue, or Paige," Grams said, moving to stroke Piper's back. She moved a stray hair behind her ear.

"Then why do I feel this way, Grams? Phoebe has so much anger in her, and she's directing it at us. Why else would she do that if not for us failing her? I keep thinking that maybe if we hadn't ganged up on her so much, or if we had listened to her more that maybe things would have turned out differently," Piper confessed.

"No one could have predicted the path that Phoebe would go down. Especially you. You were always the one who get through to her the most," Grams pointed out.

"Yeah. Always the mediator," Piper muttered.

"No, darling. You were, and still are, so much more than that. Your sisters look to you for so much. You carry so much weight on your shoulders, and it's not fair."

"Is that why you came here? To help me feel better about myself?"

Grams shook her head. "I know you're feeling lost. And before you beat yourself up any more than you already have, I wanted to let you in on a little secret."

Piper perked up in spite of herself. "What?"

"Phoebe's feeling just as lost as you do."

Piper furrowed her brow in confusion. "You've seen Phoebe?"

Grams nodded. "I just came from a little heart-to-heart with her. She's at a turning point in her life and is in desperate need of some guidance."

"Did you tell her to go see the demonic shrinks? Because if that's how she feels, she certainly doesn't show it," Piper said dryly, a little disappointed by the choice of secrets Grams had decided to divulge.

Grams gave her a pointed look. "Since when has Phoebe ever been one to wear her emotions on her sleeve?"

She had a point there.

"Go talk to her. It may seem pointless now, but I promise you it will be for the best," Grams went on. She backed away to the spot that she had reappeared in.

Before Piper could object any further, Grams smiled at her and met her in the eye.

"She misses you, too."