Ascension of the Halliwells by bBsya-aJa

Pendulum

-

9 March 1994

Rain poured down over Ipswich, Massachusetts, accompanied by frequent heart-stopping explosions of thunder and bright flashes of lightning. It was a dark night, far darker than those any of the townspeople had ever seen. Wayne Parry hurried his son into the house, immediately grabbing the towel that the butler at the door offered and rubbing Pogue's hair furiously with it before draping the cloth across the poor boy's shoulders.

Seven-year-old Pogue trembled like an earthquake as he tried to stop his teeth from chattering. He wished he had taken up his mother's advice and brought along a jacket but he had been so enthusiastic about the motocross race that he had dragged his father out of the house and arrived there two hours earlier. It had seemed like a warm afternoon then. The engines from the bikes and the adrenaline pulsing through his veins as he waited for the race to start had kept him warm.

"Oh Christ, Pogue; I did tell you to bring a jacket!" Jessica Parry had exclaimed when she saw the state her little boy was in.

"Sorry Mum." Pogue had mumbled. He was immediately wrapped up in warm blankets by maids who had been called in by the butler. Pogue looked about him. So many people were making a fuss over him; about how he was going to fall sick eventually due to his persistent defiance against Nature, about how the Manor wasn't going to be the same if he was sick in bed – no familiar little sounds of skipping footsteps in the morning when he ran around the house, searching for the family dog to play with. Could anything else be missing from his perfect, perfect life? People cared about him, loved him. He had family. What else could he have wished for?

29 April 2000

Pogue sat at the huge dining table, chin resting upon his crossed arms. It was the day before his 13th birthday. The house was quiet; a wretched reflection of what had once been a home, lively and welcoming. Mother was ill and Father was away on business. He wouldn't even make it back by tomorrow. No, the ones to witness him receiving his small portion of Power would be the butler and Mr. Twoberry.

"Sir?" Pogue looked up.

Paul, the family butler, beamed kindly at him. "What is the matter?" He asked gently.

"It's… just… Dad's not here and tomorrow…"

"Pogue…" The butler hesitated for a second as if instantly regretting his choice to speak. "Your father loves you. He just cannot bear to see you walk down the same road that he did – and having to choose the right paths."

Pogue shrugged. "The least he could do was be here for me. I bet if I had a brother… or a sister, they'd be here with me in a second."

Paul was silent. "Yes, I expect they would. You know…" He paused, yet again, this time not bothering to complete his sentence. "Just don't fret over it too much, young master." He patted Pogue lightly on the shoulder before moving on to his daily duties.

-

Pogue sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. There was something special about today although he couldn't quite recall what it was. The twenty-second day of May… his mother's death anniversary. Four years to the day she had died. His father, yet again, had not been in Ipswich at the time. He had been in Europe, closing some stupid deal with another one of his high-end clients. Damn the man.

He got out of bed, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. Still early. He didn't have practice or an extra lesson today so there would be time to stop by the Black Raven's and visit his mom. Stepping into the shower, he ignored the sudden flow of water, despite the fact that his hand had not so much as touched the tap. He had told Caleb who had told Gorman who had assured Pogue that it was nothing to worry about. After-effects of his Ascension, Caleb had relayed the message.

Pogue didn't think so. It had been almost a month and it didn't seem to show any signs of stopping. Pogue was starting to worry that it would take a toll on his aging but so far, there hadn't been any apparent side-effects which was good news for him; he wouldn't be buying hair dye any time soon unlike Caleb who occasionally had to get a bottle of it every now and then. The power would manifest itself so suddenly that Pogue had absolutely no control over it. He had kept his emotions in check as Caleb had advised and watched every step he took in public.

In fact it was beginning to get ridiculous. He was getting stiff from having to make sure that he didn't accidentally expose himself.

-

Reid snickered as he watched Baby Boy trying to speak into the phone without being overheard. From the blush in Tyler's cheeks it was probably something that the whole table wouldn't want to hear at lunchtime anyway. Nevertheless, ignoring the chicken sandwich set before him, he pricked up his ears.

"Yeah, I'll see you later babe." Tyler nodded before ending the call and snapping his phone shut. Glaring suspiciously at an innocently whistling Reid, he started on his lunch, taking small bites.

"So… you and Hannah seem to be getting along good." Caleb commented.

"Yeah, we are." Tyler replied slowly.

"She still living at the hotel?" Kate wondered.

"Mmm… about that." Tyler placed his sandwich back on the plate. "I've been thinking… about moving back to the house and asking Hannah to come with me."

Everyone at the table froze. "But Tyler…" Reid started but Caleb interrupted him.

"Congratulations, Ty." Caleb grinned. "I'm sure your Mom and Kari especially would be happy that you'll be bringing a girl home."

"To stay?" Reid burst.

Everyone stared at the blonde. Reid fumed, rising from his seat before taking off. Caleb, excusing himself, followed the hot-tempered boy.

"Reid, wait up!" Caleb jogged to catch up with him. "What the hell's the matter with you?"

"Nothing." Reid muttered, brushing the older boy off.

"Then why'd you blow up like that? I thought of all people, Reid, you should be the one supporting him. After all, he did the same for you. So what if he's moving back to the house – he'll still be coming to school."

"Yeah, but what about me?" Reid shot back. "On the last year at Spencer, I lose my roommate. The year before we all get separated. Jeez, Caleb - the chick lives in San Francisco! What if Tyler decides not to come back at all huh? And exposure, Caleb. You can't seriously be telling me that letting her have free roam of the Simms Mansion doesn't jeopardize our chances of being exposed."

Caleb was quiet. "Reid, everyone deserves a chance to choose their future, their own paths. If Tyler doesn't want to come back here, nobody can force him. I let Sarah know and so did Pogue with Kate. They turned out fine. Time to let Baby Boy go and grow up, Reid."

At this, he turned away and walked back to the canteen.

-

Pogue switched off the engine and pocketed the keys to his Ducati before opening the door of the Black Raven. The Raven was a magic shop; a little store that sold unique and sometimes antique bits and pieces that possessed certain mystique about them, claiming to come from some foreign land where black magic and the dark arts were abound.

Stepping into the shop, Pogue had to squint for a while before his eyes got used to the darkness. His mother frequented the shop, being a devoted Wiccan, and had sometimes brought Pogue along. He had found the place intriguing as a child, often begging to be taken along. Now he found it downright sinister. Jars of who-knew-what were stacked on shelves near the walls, labels bearing words he could not see marking them.

He found his way to the counter where the owner's daughter, Aqua, sat, chatting with another girl. "Pogue." Aqua grinned when she spotted him.

The Other Girl immediately whipped around and Pogue registered the shock on her face before he actually recognized her. "Phyliss?" He blurted.

"Pogue!" She sounded surprised – a little shocked – but nothing else betrayed her expression. "What're you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same thing." Pogue replied ignoring the chaos Aqua made behind the counter as she tried searching for Pogue's annual purchase.

"I'm just… you know, acquainting myself with my fellow Wiccans." Phyliss waved a hand at Aqua who grinned at him.

"And she knows a lot about 'em too." Aqua gushed. "Phyliss has been saying about how she actually managed to chat up a spirit during Samhain."

"Really?" Pogue asked, his voice lightly skeptical. He turned to Phyliss. "I didn't know you were Wiccan."

"I might have told you the same thing." Phyliss retorted defensively.

Pogue leaned against the counter. "So… you really… talked to a spirit before?"

Phyliss blinked. "We… made contact." She agreed, choosing her words a tad more careful than Pogue would have liked.

"There you are!" Aqua cried, holding up a bunch of dried flowers held together by a paper bag.

"What are those for?" She inquired.

"Uh… I'm visiting my mom's grave today." He held up the paper bag. "She used to love these when she was still alive."

His mom must really be into this magic stuff. Phyliss thought, recognizing a few charms that had been twisted into the stem of the dried flowers.

Holding the bag gently in his hands, Pogue inspected the trinkets that were displayed beside the counter. A tag sitting at the very center of the glass case told him that the objects inside were either extremely valuable or not for sale. "What's this then?" He asked tapping on the glass case, his eyes never leaving the object he was asking about.

"A pocketwatch, once owned by a Prince of Wallachia. In fact, he was the son of Vlad the Impaler." Sam, the owner of the shop and a friend of his mother's, stepped out from the back room behind the counter and eyed Phyliss suspiciously.

When Pogue's expression remained perplexed, Sam rolled his eyes. "Dracula."

"Oh." Pogue's attention shifted to another artifact beside the pocketwatch. "And this is?"

Sam frowned, squinting at the object in question. "Ahh, now that's not for sale, especially not to you, young Master Parry."

Pogue raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Sam hesitated before leaning in, as if about to share some great secret. "Your mother brought this in… two weeks before she died. Pale and sickly she was. She gave it to me, making me swear on me mother that I would never sell it to anyone. As for the reason… I don't know. She never told me."

Phyliss who had been studying a jar full of eye-of-newts stared at the three people huddled around the glass case and gazing at something.

"It is lovely." Aqua commented.

"All works of gnomes are." Sam nodded.

"Gnomes?" Pogue sounded highly amused.

"Yes. Look at the design on the pendant. Now usually, lockets like these would have another part to them, two of a kind, especially since the back of it's hollow."

"Hollow?"

"Yeah, y'know. Except for this little frame to put someone's photograph in o'course."

Walking slowly and quietly over to the small group, Phyliss tiptoed to get a peek at the object over Pogue's shoulder and sucked in air in between cleched teeth when she realized what it was. Pogue turned his head.

"Phyliss?"

Phyliss didn't answer. How could it be? How could it be that there was another part to the pendant? She touched a spot on her chest. Under her blouse was the necklace her mother had given her. Only she had never told her that there was another like it. What had Sam said? Two of a kind… The words echoed in her mind endlessly.

"Phyliss!" Pogue's raised voice brought her back to the dark little shop. His concerned hazel eyes became the only thing in Phyliss's focus.

"I'm fine, Pogue. Just zoned out for a minute there."

"You want a ride home?" He asked.

Phyliss nodded. "I'd appreciate that." Of course, she hadn't actually remembered that Pogue didn't own anything with four-wheels.

"Sam… do you mind if I have that necklace back? If it belonged to my mother, I really want it."

"Well… I dunno, Pogue." Sam said tentatively. "Your mother did specify that nobody was to own this necklace."

"Please." Pogue was begging now; hands clenched, voice soft and pleading.

"Well, boy let me consider and you come round on Friday."

Pogue's lips curled up in a relieved smile. "Thanks, Sam."

"Eh, I never said I'd give it to ya fer sure. Just considering here."

"And I appreciate that Sam." Pogue replied. Turning to Phyliss, he gently shooed her out of the shop.

"Wait!" Phyliss all but yelled when she spotted Pogue's Ducati. "We're going back on a motorbike?"

"Well, yeah." Pogue retorted as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "What else?"

"Well, I dunno… I guess I forgot." Phyliss was extremely uncomfortable around motorbikes, even if her cousin was a freak about them.

"C'mon, you'll be safe." Pogue comforted, straddling the seat of the mean machine.

Softly moaning in dread, Phyliss slowly hopped on behind him. She had barely gotten into a comfortable position when Pogue impatiently revved up the engine and off they were.

-

A/N: Ahh… another chapter off my back and one on yours to review! Please do tell me what you think about it. There is nothing more hurtful in the world for an author than of being under the impression that her stories are unappreciated and unread.