VinnieStokerLover, who owns Summer and Forrest, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs to Disney. I only own Rachel.
Two Others You Can Depend On
"Forever King! Return my children!" Rachel demanded, Proto-Tool ready as she faced them with Rook, Ultimate Humungousaur, Water Hazard, AmpFibian, Whampire, Alien X, and Snare-Oh beside her.
The Forever King motioned to his men who had Summer and Forrest in a cage. "Mommy! Daddy!" Summer cried out.
Rook looked ready to charge. "Let them go!" He demanded.
"If you want your children," the Forever King said. "Try to find them."
He pointed an all-too-familiar weapon at the children and fired it, and a beam of light surrounded the two and they disappeared into thin air. "NOOOOOOOO!" Rachel screamed in horror.
Snare-Oh snarled. "Take them down!" He called out.
The Forever Knights didn't stand a chance against them and Rachel gave it her all with her powers and Proto-Tool. A handful of the Knights were captured and stripped of their armor, tied up and waiting for the Plumbers for pick up and Rachel had the Forever King pinned down.
"You better pray my children are unharmed," she snarled. "If I find any injuries on them, you will pay."
Summer and Forrest found their surroundings were very dark and spooky looking as they began looking around. "Forrest, what is this place?" Summer asked.
"I don't know," he answered as he felt his little sister cling to him and they suddenly ducked down as they saw a creepy clown ride by them on a unicycle. Then, ghosts appeared overhead, moaning and making the siblings cling to each other. But then, a werewolf spotted them and howled, making them jump and move back.
"Scared?" He asked with a chilling smile.
Summer screamed, which made Forrest look around to decide where to run when the clown came back and pulled his face away from his head.
Forrest and Summer both screamed at that and suddenly the wind blew harshly, blowing the monsters back, making them retreat fast while a tree came forward with skeletons hanging from his branches, seeing the two terrified children. Summer was actually crying as she clung to her older brother, who held her as they looked at the Hanging Tree fearfully.
Just then, the wind came back and very gently nudged the children forward. The Hanging Tree also stepped towards them, moving behind them. "Come, little ones," he said gently.
Forrest flinched as the tree came closer and Summer continued crying fearfully as the Hanging Tree and the wind very gently guided them to the Town Hall. Jack and Sally were just emerging from the building when they saw the Hanging Tree leading the two children to the building and the wind seemed to have formed a protective barrier around the two.
"Hanging Tree, what seems to be the trouble?" Jack asked.
"These two young ones were terrified by the werewolf and the clown," the tree explained.
Sally then noticed the tears falling down Summer's face. "Jack, the little girl is crying," she said, worry in her voice.
Jack at once kneeled down to the children's height and both of them flinched sharply and Summer whimpered. "There, there, don't cry," Jack said soothingly.
The mayor came out. "Jack, we need to…,"
He stopped short at seeing the two children and his face turned from his happy expression to his worried expression.
That did it for the children as Forrest grabbed Summer's hand and began running. "Little ones! Wait!" Jack called, but the two didn't stop running. "Wind, guide them to our home. Hanging Tree, can you let the others know that Sally and I will be unavailable for a bit?"
"Yes, Jack," he said.
Sally took her husband's arm. "Jack? What do you have in mind?" She asked.
"I think those children will feel safer in our house right now than if they run through the streets and run into the other inhabitants," Jack said. "It would also give us a chance to calm them down and comfort them."
Sally nodded understandingly, feeling worried about the children. "I'm worried for the little girl, Jack. She looked so terrified," she said.
"I know, and so did the young boy, but he was bravely hiding his fear and thinking about his sister," the tall, suit-wearing skeleton said. "Come, my dear."
When they arrived at their home, they found the children outside the gate and curled up on the ground, their fearful expressions only made worse by the tears running down their faces. Sally kneeled down beside them and placed one hand on the boy's shoulder. "Why don't you two come inside?" She offered kindly. "You can rest and I'll make you a snack."
The children didn't look too reassured, so Jack decided to help Sally out. "Those two that scared you are gone," he said. "They won't enter the house of the Pumpkin King and his Queen."
They noticed that the titles caught the children's attention and the boy looked over his shoulder at the house and then looked confused. "Um, where's…your castle?" He asked, stammering a little.
Jack chuckled in amusement and Sally giggled a little. "Well, our home is like a castle to us," Sally said with a smile.
"Would you two like to see it?" Jack asked.
The siblings didn't look all that sure, but nodded, holding onto each other as Jack opened the gate and Sally gently ushered the two to the house and took them inside. It was a little dark and Summer glanced around. "Are there…monsters here?" She asked in a fearful voice.
"Well, yes," said Sally. "Halloween Town is home to monsters. Jack and I are monsters too."
The little girl's eyes immediately filled with tears and Jack kneeled down, looking at Forrest. "Will you allow me to comfort your sister?" He asked gently.
The young boy looked at him and, judging the skeleton on his actions, nodded, allowing Jack to pick up Summer, who seemed to just have wanted someone to pick her up and hold her. Jack held her and stroked her head in a soothing manner, drying away the tears running down her face. "Don't cry," he again said soothingly. Sally picked up Forrest and the motherly air about her made him cling to her and want to get back home to his parents.
As promised, Sally went and fixed a snack for the children while Jack got Summer to stop crying and Forrest to not be afraid of him. "How did you children get here?" He asked curiously.
"The Forever Knights," said Forrest. "They took us from Mommy and Daddy."
Jack's eyes widened when he heard that. "The Forever Knights?" He asked, recalling hearing Rachel mention them to him a few times.
Summer then noticed something and gasped. "That's Mommy!" She said, pointing to a picture on the mantle of the fireplace.
Jack stood up and went over to the fireplace with Summer in his arms and Forrest standing beside him and the skeleton picked up the picture. "This lady is your mother?" He asked.
She nodded. "And that's Daddy," she said.
Jack showed the picture to Forrest, who nodded and then looked up at him. "How come you have a picture of them with you two?" He asked.
"Because Rook and Rachel are two very dear friends of mine," Jack said.
Sally, who had come in with the children's snacks, stopped short. "You two are Rachel and Rook's children?" She asked.
Summer looked hopeful. "You know Mommy and Daddy?" She asked.
"Yes, we do," said Jack with a smile. "Why don't you two have your snacks and I'll call your mother."
The children immediately went over to Sally, thanking her and began eating while Jack dialed Rachel's number.
Rachel jumped when she heard her cellphone ring and she answered it fast. "Hello?" She asked, worry clear in her voice.
"Rachel?"
Hearing the familiar voice of her friend, the young woman slumped down on the couch. "Hello, Jack," she said sadly.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
"No. The Forever Knights kidnapped my children and sent them somewhere. My brothers have searched all over, but we can't find them," she said.
Jack heard the unspoken fears and decided to put her mind at ease. "Rachel, the Forever Knights sent them to Halloween Town," he said. "They're here with me and Sally."
Rachel's head shot up at that. "Summer and Forrest are with you?" She asked hopefully.
"Yes," said the skeleton. "Hold on a moment."
A second later, Rachel heard her daughter's voice. "Mommy? Is that you?" She asked.
"Summer, are you alright, sweetie?" Rachel asked her.
"Yes, Mommy. Mr. Jack and Miss Sally are very nice," Summer said.
She then heard Forrest's familiar laughter in the background, giving her an idea that Sally was no doubt tickling the boy and Jack got back on the phone. "Sally made a snack for them. We'll bring them by in a bit," he said.
Rachel felt tears run down her face. "Thank you, Jack," she said. "I was so afraid I'd lost them for good."
"I know," he said soothingly. "See you soon."
Rachel signed off and jumped to her feet, running to find Rook, who saw her running to him and caught her as she fell into his arms. "They're okay," she said, tears falling down her face. "Jack and Sally found them. Our babies are safe."
Hearing that, Rook immediately broke down, tears in his eyes. "Thank God," he said in relief. "Are they going to bring them?"
"Yes," said Rachel as she clung to her fiancée and he clung to her. The news spread fast through the Mansion and the relieved aliens kept lookout for the skeleton and rag doll's arrival, which happened not too long after.
Rachel and Rook flew out of the house. "Summer! Forrest!" Rachel called out.
"Mommy!" Summer called to her, running to her. Forrest followed close behind and Rachel caught them both in her arms, hugging them tight. Rook came up behind them and hugged the three of them.
"Summer, Forrest. Are you two alright?" He asked.
The children hugged him too. "We're okay, Daddy," said Forrest.
Jack and Sally came forward and the relieved parents hugged them too, thanking them profusely and inviting them in for a visit.
The children were amazed to hear that their mother had known Jack since she was very young and the skeleton had saved her life, leading to them being friends. "Mommy, is Mr. Jack our uncle?" Summer asked.
"And Miss Sally our aunt?" Forrest asked hopefully.
Rachel chuckled. "Yes, sweethearts, they are," she said.
Jack smiled and playfully tickled Summer's sides, making the little girl sitting beside him giggle happily. Forrest saw Sally reach for him and wiggle her fingers at him, making him giggle as he curled up, but she tickled his sides, making him giggle and squirm. "I believe we are some of the few monsters to have human children for nieces and nephews," Sally said.
"I believe you're right, my dear," said Jack as he now lifted Summer up and stood up, letting the little girl move to his back so that he was giving her a piggy-back ride and Summer held onto his shoulders as he made sure he had a good hold on her so she didn't fall off.
Forrest was still giggling uncontrollably as Sally stopped tickling him and lifted him up into her lap and he hugged her, settling down in her arms.
Rook then came in. "We've got more Intel on the Forever Knights and what's even better is the Plumbers have captured several of the Forever Knights, which means their numbers are dwindling quite rapidly," he said.
"So we're beginning to win the war," Rachel said, a smile on her face before she frowned a bit. "But they can still recruit others."
"Actually, my love, we've hacked into the Knights' systems," Rook said. "We'll know their every move. They won't be able to surprise us like that again."
"That's good to hear," she said.
Jack and Sally came up to them and Rachel and Rook smiled at seeing their children had fallen asleep in their friends' arms, having found two others they could depend on to keep them safe.
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GoldGuardian2418