At first, his palms were sweating, nervous for the upcoming confrontation. If this meeting was anything like their last, he knew he'd end up banished to the spirit-world again, which he found unpleasant even though he was dead. The necromancer flinched as he remembered the spell Penny had thrown at him, the fire which consumed him;he knew it burned as intensely as her hatred for him.

"Which is only because her love for me still burns as strongly," he thought, calming his nerves. He wiped his palms and took on his regular confident demeanor. He reassured himself that she still loved him, and that she had to cover her love for him with a hatred twice as strong; the thought fed his enormous ego. "Which is one of things she secretly loves about me. A woman loves a man confident in himself."

He furrowed his brow in determination; it was time to set his plan into motion.

"Go," he ordered his lesser demon henchman. He hoped the charmed ones would kill the nitwit while it provided the necessary distraction. But, he couldn't fantasize about the Charmed ones taking Skreek off his hands, he needed to get going.

"10...9...8..." He began his countdown, his adrenaline surged. He focused on fading to somewhere outside her field of vision.

"3...2...1..."

He appeared about 10ft behind her, she was raising her hands into the crossed position which triggered her power. Every Halliwell had a trigger move; for some it was eye-flicks, some it was a mental focus point, and for others it was some type of hand gestures. He'd always thought Penny's was especially sexy.

"Oh no you don't," he thought. He raised his hand and she was frozen and pulled to him. He felt her tense instantly in his grip, she drew a sharp breath. "Surprise," he said softly. He tightened his grip and orbed back to his lair, but not before giving the two present Charmed one a smug grin of success.

They materialized in his lair, but Penny didn't miss a beat. She tore away from him and spun around. He braced himself for some consequence of her power, but it did not come. She seemed too stunned to act, her eyes were wide with...fear? Anger, anxiety, hatred...love? He couldn't be sure, her emotions were so mixed.

And he was now on the ground, thrown back by her telekinesis. He didn't wait further though, with a flick of his wrist her powers were frozen again, but he gave her free will of her body.

"Penny, Penny, Penny..." he said standing up, trying to soothe her. Still, she could hear the triumph in his voice. He stepped closer. "You didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. I want to make a truce with you." He closed the distance between them to a few inches, with her stumbling backwards at every step he took until she was against the wall with nowhere to go. "Just hear me out," he pleaded, grasping her arms.

"No!" she said, tearing away from his hold. "I will never trust you again." She pushed him backwards, jabbing and hitting him with each word, intensifying with each blow.

"You betrayed me to threaten my family, and you threaten them yet again. Never!" She raised her hand to strike his face, but he caught it. He was stronger than her, he threw her hand away and grasped her roughly this time by the arms.

"I do what i have to do! Even if it means..." he yelled, tapering away at the end. It was the fear in her eyes which made him stop. He enjoyed it, drank it in at first; but, the part of him that loved her dearly and deeply made him stop.

"No..." he whispered to himself, turning from her gaze.

"This is not the me i want her to know," he thought. He turned to her. "Sleep," he said, waving his hand in front of her face. His spell worked instantaneously; she went limp, falling into his arms, and he lay her down on the settee which they were now next to. He brushed her hair away from her face, and then turned away in frustration. Why must his emotions get in the way?! He turned back with a sigh and pulled the memory from her mind. She would be afraid and angry all over again when he woke her up again. But first he needed a moment to regroup his thoughts, his emotions.

He sat, lacing his fingers together in thought. He focused in on his goal, how it was easily in his grasp: he needed Penny to go through with the wiccaning summoning the strong spirits of the Halliwell line, the spirits which he would absorb and come to life-forever. For now he could not live without the spirits of others fueling him.

"And Penny," he added to his thoughts. "I can't live without Penny. Even if she doesn't want me to live she's going to make it happen, and she'll live with me."

He stood and approached her. He knelt down beside her, gazing at her closed eyes that he thought were so lovely, the mouth he thought was so perfect. He stroked her hair that she kept short, a rebellious style back in their time. He loved the rebel in her, and smiled a little remembering her fresh attitude. "Your spirit is strong, Penny," he said to her in her slumber, "Almost strong enough to sustain us both." His smile became sad as his gaze turned downward. "Almost." He strode away and waved his hand in the air. "Awaken," he commanded.

The spell did its job, Penny awoke in fright and sprung up.

"Don't worry, Penny, you're safe here." She immediately went to use her power. "Ah, ah, ah ah," he said, freezing her arms mid-cross. "You're well aware of my powers, Penny. I covet your spirit," He stepped towards her. "And any spirit i covet i can control."

"You son of a-"

"Ssssh!" he cut her off. "Of course you know, the more you fight me the more i know that you still love me." He lowered her arms from where they had been frozen, allowing her to once again take control of her body.

"Oh you're crazy," she deflected, backing up from him. "I hate you!" She exclaimed with enough poison in her tone he was sure the only reason he didn't die was because he was already, technically, dead.

"Yes," he said as a matter of factly. "But you only hate me because you once loved me." He had a slight vibrato in his speaking voice. Penny tried to ignore the fact that she noticed; that trait was one of his quirks which she had loved about him.

"After all," he continued, "we only hate those who've gotten close to us, don't we? Those who've gotten close enough to touch our hearts."

Penny felt her resolve begin to weaken. "You used me." His eyes dropped. Armond felt a pang of guilt and sadness. "You preyed on my affections just to get to my family"

"And for that i am truly, truly sorry," he said earnestly. "I was just trying to survive!" He honestly did feel sorry for his actions, he truly hated that he had to betray the woman he loved to sustain himself. He wished he could make her understand. "I never intended to fall in love with you either." He set his hands on her shoulders, but she turned from him.

"What do you want, Armond?"

He spun her around to face him, mere inches keeping them apart."The same thing that i wanted then: Life! With you! Think about it. Think about it, Penny! There's enough magic in the Halliwell line to resurrect us both! To have a second chance together! All you have to do is to summon the spirits of the matriarchs. I'll do the rest."

"No, no you'll never make me do that!" she said, tearing away from his grasp again. She was terrified of her family getting hurt. She didn't want him to touch her, all it did was bring back unwanted memories and feelings that she wished she could just forget.

"I can if i have to," he said, with a menacing look, though it was sadness in his voice. Still, Penny was afraid for her family.

"I'll tell my granddaughters, they will destroy you-ah!" She was cut off by a sharp pain in her head. She sensed it was him taking over her will. "Oh, you haven't changed one bit," she said with hatred.

"Isn't that why you loved me?" he said sensuously, taking a step towards her. She did not back away; he was right. Her pulse quickened and her fear relaxed. "Because i was exciting. Dangerous. Why your heart quickens when i'm near you. When i do this."

He took her face in his hands and drew her in for a kiss. He kissed her with all the passion of their youth, and she kissed back. In that moment, he was no longer the necromancer demon and she was no longer a charmed witch; they were the two people who had overcome all odds and differences and fallen in love. He pulled away and their eyes connected.

"You still love me, Penny. You know it and i know it. And you're going to help us both to live. Forever." He tuned in to his power over her and resumed his role of power-wielder. He loved power almost as much as he loved Penny. He felt it coursing through his body, knowing that it wasn't even at it's full potential like it was when he was completely alive.

She didn't want to make their spirits complete. She tried so hard to resist his will, but his power was to strong, she felt it willing her to do his bidding. He was in her head now. Yes, with his powers, but his words had gotten to her heart. Had gotten to her memories and feelings and brought them to the surface. Part of her wanted to just give into him completely, to summon the wiccaning and return from the land of the dead to live forever with him. To have a second chance at a happy life with someone who was her true love.

But, the other part of her hated him, hated him with a fire hot as a white flame. He threatened her family, not just the girls she had helped raise, but the women who had raised and inspired her.

And all these feelings didn't matter; he was in control of her. She would not be able to use her powers against him, nor would she be able to speak against him to alert her granddaughters; she would speak the words of the wiccaning.