Poltergeist: The Legacy - The Halloween Pumpkin

Poltergeist: The Legacy

The Halloween Pumpkin

Rating/Warning: PG - Humor.

This story is about Derek, Nick and Tristan. None of the characters from PTL are mine. If you liked this story send me some feedback please. Please don't post this story anywhere without asking me first.

A PTL Short tale. October 2002

The Halloween Pumpkin

By SuzyRed.

Nick opened the box and found a small-carved pumpkin; it was made of wood, but not one he'd ever seen before. The note inside had read 'Happy Halloween Derek, From James'. James was a friend of the Legacy that found unusual items of magical intent, but Nick thought this one looked more like a gift for Halloween. Nick grinned at the carved pumpkin, and thought it might look good on the table with a candle inside. Traces of old wax littered the inside, telling Nick it wasn't a new item, he touched the outside with his finger and marvelled at the smoothness of the carving, probably from a master carver.

First Nick took scans of every side of the object just in case, and when it showed nothing strange, he grinned at it again. Perhaps it wouldn't do any harm to put a candle in it just to see what it looked like.

Down in the kitchen Nick found some tea lights, dropped one inside, and then with a taper he lit it. The pumpkin's eyes glowed softly. Nick crouched down to look at it properly and heard a soft voice. Standing up he turned towards the door, expecting to see one of the team behind him, but there was no one. Shaking his head, he turned back to the pumpkin, thinking he'd imagined the sound. Then he heard the voice again, this time louder.

"What did you say?" he asked, not expecting a reply, but was surprised to hear the voice whisper again.

"Tell me your desire."

Nick grinned and ran a few things through his head. Then he heard another noise, a voice that made him groan, Tristan had arrived.

Nick turned back to the pumpkin and said, "I desire to turn Tristan into a toad." He giggled and then turned towards the door.

As soon as Tristan entered the room, he was bathed in a green glow and began to shrink, the look of utter amazement on his face made Nick laugh, and then slowly Tristan faded and shrank into the shape of a toad.

Nick blinked and stared, at first he thought he was hallucinating but no, on the floor hopped a toad, with pale amber eyes and a look that would kill him if it could. Nick reached down, grabbed the amphibian and put it on the table. It stared at him for a second and when its mouth opened instead of a croak out came the tiny voice of Tristan.

"What have you done, you cretin?" Tristan's voice squeaked out of the toad's mouth.

Nick laughed, "Turned you into what you deserve, a toad."

Tris-toad hopped towards Nick, held up a leg and chanted a phrase, but although the spell worked, it only leapt out a few inches. Nick laughed again and listened to the curses and swearing that Tris-toad uttered.

Nick found a box in the pantry and placed him into it. Not listening to the protests and moans. With the lid on Nick felt better for a while, and then he started to actually feel sorry for Tristan. The Halloween pumpkin head sat on the table grinning at him and it whispered.

"But it was your desire, it's always been your desire to make Tristan pay, hasn't it."

Nick sighed, yes it had, but now it was done, he felt sorry for the silly git. Then Tristan called him some very uncomplimentary names and threatened to set the Legacy hierarchy onto him.

The pumpkin's voice floated up, "He really needs a lesson in manners. Why don't you teach him one?"

Nick nodded, "Yes he does, doesn't he." Nick thought for a moment. "Can I change him back when I like?" he asked the pumpkin and the soft voice whispered.

"Yes, just wish for it. You can do anything you like to him. Why don't you change him into something worse?" The voice was soft and compelling, Nick opened his mouth and then bit his lip.

"No not yet, I want him to stay as a toad for now." Nick grinned; he'd had a great idea. "I want the kind of bugs toads eat?" he said loudly and a jar appeared on the table filled with flies and caterpillars and beetles.

Nick picked it up and held it in front of Tris-toad.

Tris-toad gulped and his eyes showed fear, "No, please I didn't mean it," the tiny voice squeaked, "If you put those in here the toad in me will eat them."

Nick grinned wickedly and tipped a beetle into the box, Tris-toad tried to back away but the toad part of him rebelled and his tongue flicked out and the beetle disappeared with a gulp. The Tristan part of him wanted to throw up, but the toad part felt happy. Tris-toad shot out his tongue and hit the glass bottle, it fell out of Nick's hand and shattered on the floor, scattering the insects everywhere. Nick leapt back from the beetle that had fallen on his foot. He turned back to see an empty box and the hind legs of a toad disappearing over the edge of the table. Nick shot after it and managed to catch him before he got under the cooker.

"Oh no you don't, come here," Nick said and dumped Tris-toad back in his box. At that moment, the door banged and Derek came in.

"Oh Nick has Tristan arrived yet," Derek stopped dead at the sight of Nick, the box, the smashed glass and the insect strewn floor.

Nick tried to put on an innocent expression, but failed when the tiny voice of Tristan sounded out. Derek frowned and then avoiding treading on milling beetles and caterpillars, he looked at the box.

"Nick, what are you doing with a toad?"

Nick took a breath but Tris-toad beat him to it.

"The stupid idiot has meddled with magic and turned me into a toad." His voice got higher and squeakier.

Derek frowned for a moment, "Tristan is that you? Nick did you do this? No, wait a minute. How did you do it?" Derek was completely thrown by this turn of events.

Nick explained about the gift of the pumpkin and Tris-toad moaned and whined in the background.

Derek hunkered down and looked at the pumpkin, it didn't speak to him. "Are you sure it was the pumpkin, I don't hear a thing?"

Nick bent down and the voice whispered to him, "I can change Derek into a toad too if you want, he'd make a good toad. You could watch him fight Tristan. You know you really want Tristan to suffer." It whispered to him seductively, Nick felt himself swaying and he opened his mouth.

Derek turned to look at Nick and saw the blank look on his face, "Nick, snap out of it, Nick," he called and grabbed Nick's arm.

Nick turned in Derek's direction and spoke, "I wish that Derek was a.........." The last word was muffled with Derek's hand. Struggling Nick tried to get away. Derek stood up, bringing Nick with him and blew out the candle in the same movement. There was a loud pop and Tristan sat crouched on the tabletop.

Nick shook his head and swayed. Derek let go of him.

Tristan climbed off the table swearing and raised his hand at Nick.

"Finish that movement and I'll re-light the candle and you will be back as a toad quicker than you can croak, somewhere in the cupboard are some 5 day candles. Five days eating as a toad might give you some manners." Derek gave Tristan a 'you know I'll do it' look. Tristan backed away and scowled.

Derek closed his eyes for a second when the thought of keeping Tristan as a toad for a week became so desirable he almost gave in and did it.

"Now gentlemen, let me catch my breath please. Nick put on some coffee, Tristan stow your bags, and then we'll meet in the main room and calm down."

Thirty minutes later, they were all sat in comfortable leather armchairs and sipping coffee. "Right you first Nick, tell me what happened again?" asked Derek.

Nick told his tale again, Derek listened and then he turned to Tristan, "And you?"

"Well I had only just got into the room when that Neanderthal turned me into a toad. A toad, for god sake, he has no imagination." Tristan took and breath and Derek jumped in to the breach.

"No what I meant was, do you know what the pumpkin is, I know you were a toad, I saw that." Derek sighed and tried not to think about turning Tristan back into a toad for some peace and quiet.

"Oh that, it's a wish pot, they are carved by high wizards and sent out as gifts for Halloween parties. It's a bit of fun really. Although sometimes things can get out of hand." He glared at Nick's grinning face. "Someone must have ordered it for you. They don't keep for long. It must have been made a few days ago; its power will fade the day after Halloween."

"So it was a gift then. Nick you said James sent it, did you check on that?" Derek sighed at Nick's shaking head.

"How many times do I tell you to check stuff out?" He was not pleased to be dragged into silliness like this.

In the kitchen, the pumpkin head grinned at an empty room, then wobbled gently and the candle inside sparked back to life.

"Look Derek I did check it, I scanned it and nothing showed up. I thought it was a gift. As it turned out it was a great gift as it turned fat head there into a toad, something that should have been done years ago," said Nick, grinning at the anger in Tristan's face.

"I'll turn you into something you won't like, fat head indeed, you're the one with the fat head." The words left Tristan's mouth and Nick's head began to swell to twice its side. Tristan laughed but Derek's face was like thunder.

"Tristan I told you not to do that. Now if you don't reverse that spell you will become a toad again." Before Derek's eyes, Tristan again shrank into a toad.

"What the hell?" Derek stood up, and with a warning look that stopped both men from commenting. He walked back into the kitchen and saw the pumpkin with the lit candle. Sighing he blew it out again and this time he removed the candle and picked up the carved head.

Back in the other room, Nick and Tristan were back to normal and glaring at each other. Derek sighed, "Nick have you got any work you should be doing?"

Nick nodded and stalked out. Derek turned to Tristan, "Now what was it you found that made you hot foot it over here?" he directed at Tristan. The pumpkin head he placed on the table so he could keep an eye on it.

Tristan launched into the reason he was there and Derek forgot about the head as they both wandered off to check out Tristan's notes.

A few hours later, the dinner bell went and the guys went down to eat. Derek walked into the dining room to see a pink rabbit and a blue kitten on the table giggling in Rachel and Alex's voices.

Derek sighed as he saw the lit pumpkin head on the table, "Here we go again," he said.

Happy Halloween

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