Claire Dearing was just about to staple a set of forms together when a yellow dragon burst into her office and sent papers flying everywhere with a single beat of her wings. Claire's jaw dropped as her desk was blanketed with a hundred different documents, all overlapping in a disorganized mess. She gave the winged reptile a glare that was borderline homicidal.

"This had better be important."

The dragon nodded emphatically.

"I promise, it is. It's SO important, in fact, that we have NO time to lampshade the fact that you're a Stegoceratops and I'm a dragon and we live in a FanFiction world that barely resembles the source material at this point. That, and the fact that we are aware of our aforementioned situation, will never be explained."

"You literally just did."

She shrugged.

"Regardless, I've decided that this year's Halloween short will be based on The Nightmare Before Christmas."

"Okay . . ."

"People always joke about the fact that the story has two holidays in its premise, but really, it's a Halloween movie, and anyone who thinks otherwise is stupid and dumb and probably smells bad."

"Yeah, alright, but why-"

"So I was thinking that we could be stop motion for a while. I've already given you the role of Sally, since you're a hybrid-type character. We can put stitches between the stegosaurus and triceratops parts of you, which will be a funny visual gag."

"That sounds horrifying."

"Everyone is gonna be animated, which means the dinosaur characters are gonna look like Phil Tippett's wet dream."

"I'm starting to think that this is a one-sided conversation on your end . . ."

"Do Stegoceratops-ghosts say 'Moo' or 'Boo'? . . . Maybe 'Bmoo'? . . . Moob? . . ."

Claire sighed and pushed her chair away from the desk, gathering the papers that had landed on the carpet.

"I'd like to help you, Elkay. Really, I would. Trouble is, my ACTUAL job requires a lot of attention, so I can't spend much time entertaining your bizarre escapades."

"Is this because I freaked you out yesterday by polishing a window and inadvertently creating a sound reminiscent of the theme from Psycho, a gag which can only be executed in a medium with auditory features?"

Claire gave her a long, serious look.

"Are you done inserting sloppy jokes into the narrative?"

"That was my last one. I couldn't find a way to bring it up organically."

"You don't say."

Elkay sighed, ears drooping.

"Can I really not count on you to help me this Halloween?"

Claire shook her head.

"I know you enjoy holidays, Elkay, but sometimes the fate of the world takes precedence over tradition. When I say 'sometimes', I mean 'always', by the way. It's more or less important to make sure that the world doesn't end."

Sulking, the dragon lumbered towards the door.

"I don't like having to choose between celebrating Halloween alone and perishing in flame."

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Well, strictly speaking, Elkay, there's nothing preventing you from bothering someone ELSE with these requests."

The dragon perked up immediately, ears pricked and tail wagging.

"You're right! The last time I had to deal with a stuffy Queen who didn't want to do a Halloween crossover, I just celebrated the holiday with my adoptive sister, Raven."

Claire paused. She turned around slowly and gave the dragon a look of sympathy.

"Oh, Elkay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up . . ."

"What do you mean?" she asked, cocking her head obliviously.

Claire bit her lower beak.

"Elkay, haven't you heard?"

"About the bird?"

"No, Elkay, I'm serious."

"That the bird is the word?"

Claire's face pulled into a scowl.

"No, Elkay!"

"Then what-"

"Raven is dead!"

***TJBP***

Sure enough, Raven had been murdered only two days prior. Her body had since been removed from the bedroom of the haunted mansion that served as her residence, though the same could not be said of the blood that stained the surrounding carpet. Having flown to the scene of the crime immediately after her conversation with Claire, Elkay found that she was uncharacteristically disturbed by the morbid sight, on top of being troubled that it had taken so long for the news to reach her. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

"I should have come sooner."

"That's alright. I know you're not generally aware of the people around you. Kind of surprised you didn't hear about a literal murder, though."

"Well, I've been tuning out these kinds of things. It's almost Halloween, as you know, so there's been talk of murder in a fictional context . . . erm, you know what I mean."

Raven stared at the bloodstained bedsheets.

"I never thought I'd die in a haunted house."

"Maybe that's why you became a ghost."

"Just following in my mentor's ectoplasm trail, I suppose."

Another ghost, elderly in appearance, rose through the floor.

"Darling, I haven't produced slime at ANY point after death. It's the Living who secrete mucus and other bodily fluids."

Raven sighed and sat on the bloody bed. The image of her legs sunk deep into the fabric, nearly disappearing. She wasn't used to recreating what had come so naturally in life.

"Madame, I don't think I'll like being a ghost. I don't have anything against the dead, exactly, but . . . I thought I'd live longer, I guess."

The woman sat beside her poor student, patting her shoulder sympathetically.

"We ALL do, pumpkin. But I know how hard it is."

Raven nodded calmly, but suddenly, she burst into tears and covered her face.

"Does this mean I can't be a witch?"

The old ghost clicked her tongue.

"Oh, sweetheart, you can still learn to be a witch. How do you think I was able to teach you so well? Sure, being dead has its drawbacks, but you can still use a wand, my dear."

She sobbed.

"I tried picking it up, but I couldn't!"

"It takes practice."

Elkay snapped her claws.

"Exactly. Have you ever seen 'Ghost'? Patrick Swayze was unable to pick up objects because he died. Before that, however, he starred in a movie where he played a ghost who possessed Whoopi Goldberg to touch his girlfriend, and then they made a dildo out of clay or something."

The two ghosts gave her a questioning look. She batted her eyes.

"Should I stop helping?"

Raven stood up and floated across the room.

"I appreciate the effort. I'm just having trouble coming to terms with the fact that my life has ended."

Elkay closed her eyes and nodded solemnly.

"You may be surprised to hear that I've died more than once in my lifetime, though it wasn't as permanent as your situation. Whenever I die, I try to envision my killer being brought to justice. Makes me feel better."

Raven bit her lip.

"I don't know . . . It's kind of painful to think about what he . . . what happened."

Elkay rubbed her chin.

"You know, Raven, it might be a good idea to persecute the murderer . . . for what I hope are obvious reasons."

Raven shrunk away uncomfortably.

"Elkay, I don't know if I can."

"Why not?"

"Because . . . Oh, god, this is such a NIGHTMARE!"

The dragon flinched, then folded her wings shyly.

"Well . . . Doesn't that mean it's up to us to set things right?"

Raven gulped.

"I . . . I guess so . . . But I don't know if I can face him again."

"Don't you want to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else?"

"Of course I do, but . . . It's just so hard."

Elkay twisted her beak.

"Well, can you at least tell me who the murderer is?"

". . . It was my boyfriend."

The dragon winced.

"Yikes. That's awkward. Nevertheless, we gotta stand up for what's right."

"But how? . . ."

She frowned with determination.

"Raven, lemme get real for a second. You're pretty badass. You did a Ghostbusters parody with me when nobody else would. You practiced witchcraft under the tutelage of a spirit. Most importantly, you have purple hair. I'm sure that's relevant somehow. I sincerely believe that there is nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it. You are strong. You are brave. You are a witch, and I believe in you."

Raven considered this for a moment, then brushed her weightless hair away from her cheek.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Elkay beamed.

"Great! We'll book a court for the day after tomorrow."

"Because it's Halloween?"

Elkay smiled sadly.

"No, Raven, because we need time to prepare ourselves. I'm not gonna sacrifice the well-being of my adoptive sister for a bag of candy, tempting as it may be."

Without warning, Raven gave her a ghostly hug.

"Thank you. When this is over, I'm gonna buy you a million Aero bars."

The dragon quirked a brow.

"I hope that's not a hyperbole."

Raven smiled warmly.

"I'll make sure it's not."

"Can we also rent Ghost?"

"I'll download a torrent."

"High definition?"

"If I can find a good file."

"Beautiful. Let the preparations begin! . . . For the legal case, I mean, not movie night."