In the Clutch of Circumstance
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud;
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
-William Earnest Henley
Disclaimer: I do not own the Nightmare Before Christmas. I do not own the above poems. I technically don't even own the idea for this story.
AN: I actually got the idea from an RPG called Epiphany, which has been abandoned by all but me since about December of 2002. Pretty sad, huh? If you want to join me on Epiphany, I'm sorry, but it's closed and dead. I have, however, started an RPG at tcot . avidgamers . com.
The poems are courtesy of Encarta. I'd like to try starting every chapter with a quote or something like that, so tell me if you like it.
Also, I am strictly against swearing. Please, please, please, if you see me use a word that you find offensive, inform me immediately. I will then update as soon as humanly possible and replace it with something else. But just in case, I feel the need to inform you that I live an extremely sheltered life and own a big thesaurus, so I honestly don't know if some of the things I write are swearwords.
Okay, now that I have sufficiently bored you with my notes and half of my life story, R&R, and enjoy!
AN: Oh yes, and to avoid confusion, this takes place a few years before TNBC. Just so you know.
Chapter 1: Raised Dust
We have first raised a dust and then complain we cannot see.
-Bishop Berkeley
Halo flew effortlessly through the air above Halloween. She glided over the many houses, until, at last, she came to Jack's tower. She landed gracefully and sat on the sill of one of the many windows, and tapped on the glass with one finger. A moment later, the window opened and the Pumpkin King poked his skeletal head out from it, bracing himself.
"What news?" He asked.
"Another attack on the Barricade, sir." Halo said gravely. "Seven injured. None dead."
"At least one good thing. Has everyone been taken to Doctor Finklestien?"
"He's swamped as is, but yes. The overflow is being taken care of by Sally, his assistant. His neonate, as well, I suppose."
"Good. Anything else?"
"The Barricade is weakening. There are too many fractures, all too widely spread. Whenever someone is sent to fix it, they are sent back half dead. Whenever someone lasts long enough to make repairs, the damages are redone immediately, and worse. I'm afraid they will break through soon."
"We'll be there to meet them."
"I hope so. But for now, I don't think they're about to do anything major yet. There isn't any formation. Only random attacks. For now, anyway. And there isn't any distinct effort on the Barricade. There's still time."
"Time for what, I wonder," Jack said.
"I don't know, sir," Halo said. "I don't know."
Halo finished her report and took to the skies again. She flew for another half-hour, checking the Barricade for any further damages, then rested her wings in the branches of a weeping willow tree. Once she was safely in the boughs of the willow, she folded her wings against her back and drifted to sleep.
It was a strong tree, deep in the graveyard and away from many people, but it still made Halo sleep uneasily. She was used to sleeping deep in the forest, with no creature, living or dead for miles in any direction. It used to be that she would sleep in the forests, then glide over the town of Halloween during the day, staying always out of the way, soaring higher and higher like some great bird, circling, watching, remembering.
But then the fighting started. One of the monsters, a powerful one, started challenging Jack for the position of Pumpkin King. People began to get tense. The town split cleanly, some of its citizens remaining loyal to Jack, others siding with the challenger. The challenger, Pset, was beaten, and with him went a small army of werewolves, demons, devils, phantoms and ghouls. They moved into the forests and wild lands, and were quickly joined by the few exiles of Halloween. One of those exiles had been Halo, though she had chosen not to side with Pset. At first she was shunned for her lack of support, but soon threats began to pursue her. Threats turned to reality, and she fled the attacks of Pset's followers, until at last she was forced to stay within the borders of Halloween Town. The attacks stopped there. None of them wanted to deal with Jack. Halo's hide wasn't worth that.
A month later, they began to attack Halloween Town. Dozens of innocent people were hurt, some almost killed, before the Barricade could be set up. The Barricade, and a small volunteer defense force, and Jack were all that stood between Pset and Halloween.
Halo woke up, stretching, an hour before the sun began to rise, as always. She quickly checked the Barricade, but it had suffered no further damage during the night. She turned and sailed over town, searching for any sign of change or trouble.
One of the witches, Grizelda, looked skyward as a dark shadow fell over her. She recognized the dark shape in the sky as Halo's and shook her head. Jack had handpicked that girl for her duties, though Grizelda couldn't understand why. Halo had long since proven herself worthless. Recognizance, Jack had said. Grizelda shook her head again. She didn't see how that girl could do anything to help Halloween, or even if she would remain loyal to Jack when things got worse, but Jack trusted her. For the moment, that was enough. She would trust Jack's decision.
Halo felt as well as saw the icy stares of the townspeople. It hurt a bit, but the edge had long since left their hostility. She was no more than an old sore in the back of their minds. Still scanning the ground below her, Halo allowed herself to drift into memory.
"Hey, angel, where's your Halo?"
"Forgot your Halo, angel?"
"Oh, look, a little black angel, how cute. Does it have a little black Halo too?" She had been taunted about her appearance as long as she could remember. Her shining black hair, her razor claws and fangs, her tense obsidian eyes, slitted like a cats', and her huge bat-like wings, black as well, were proud marks of her demonic nature. But they only added to the ridicule. Everyone agreed: Halo was too slender to be a real demon, her skin was too creamy, too soft. Her claws were too short, and her fangs almost nonexistent. She was too weak to be any fun to play with, unable to carry more than a few dozen pounds when she took to the skies. Her screams and moans were pathetic. She couldn't scare even the smallest child. In most respects, she was more like an angel than a demon, and the ridicule of Halloween.
"Halo-less," they called her. "Halo-less, sing us a song! Play us something on your harp!"
"Halo! Halo! Do you have any frilly bows I could borrow?"
"Halo!"
"Halo!"
"Halo!"
And so that became her name. If she had a name before it, it was long since forgotten. For years she had tried to fit in. She had worked tirelessly to scare someone, anyone. But every attempt failed miserably. And every time she failed, the taunting and shame grew worse. It came to the point where anyone who looked at her either laughed at her or hung his head in shame. One day Halo decided she couldn't take any more of their abuse, and she left. She had lived in the Forgotten Forest ever since.
Halo was shaken from her memories by a shout from below.
"Go home, Halo!" it was the Oogie Boogie Man. He had never given her peace. "Go home! We don't want a little black angel like you in this town. Go back to the forest and stay there. Hear me? Stay there!" Halo set her jaw and continued flying. Oogie Boogie was telling the truth, of course. Nobody actually wanted her there. Blast, she didn't want to be there. She would never have returned to Halloween Town if not for Pset and his followers.
She flew at an easy speed over the Barricade, and then over hostile territory. She saw the masses beneath the trees. Many of them sneered as she passed. Some threw rocks at her, though none of them could throw high enough to hit her. Careful to avoid their efforts, she scouted. Pset was rallying his minions, pausing briefly to glare at Halo as she passed overhead. This was nothing new. Pset's forces needed daily encouragement to even consider defying the Pumpkin King. A small party was preparing to sabotage the Barricade again, apparently on the southern side. She made a note to tell Jack about it when she got back that night. All seemed relatively quiet. Almost in a lull. She enjoyed the peace for the moment and retreated into herself.
Once she had made up her mind to escape from Pset's followers, Halo found herself sorely lacking a place to sleep. In the end, she decided to spend the night in town, then look for a new place to live in the morning. It would have to be somewhere far away, somewhere out of reach of ridicule and abuse and Pset and Halloween.
She got sleep that night, but little rest. If the townspeople found her, she would certainly feel their wrath. The night passed fretfully, and in turn, she slept in. When she awoke, she was surrounded by dozens of the angry residents, all of them shouting up at her.
"Go home, Halo!" they howled, "Get lost, you black angel! We don't want you here! A useless wretch like you has no place in Halloween!" Halo would gladly have left immediately, if it hadn't been for Lock, Shock, and Barrel. She wasn't sure witch of them had started it, but one of the three children picked up a stone and sent it flying, until it stopped dead, hitting her squarely in the chest. Instinctively, her wings folded against her back, defended against being broken or torn by any more flying objects. True enough, another rock flew through the air, this one catching her in the shoulder, drawing blood. More rocks were sent flying, until the air was thick with chunks of stone. Halo cowered against the trunk of the tree, trying to protect her head with her arms, hoping that the townspeople's aim continued as badly as it had been. Just then, there was a sharp cry, and the hurled stones thinned until the sky was clear.
"It's Jack!" one of the witches called out.
"Jack!"
"He'll get rid of Halo!"
"You'll be sorry you came back, angel," The crowd parted, and the lone, skeletal figure of the Pumpkin King walked slowly to the tree.
"What is going on here?" he commanded. Halo cringed. She felt betrayed, and it hurt more than the stoning had. It was a hundred times more painful than the taunting and shame had been.
"That Exile had the nerve to show her face here!" declared the mayor. "Right after all that commotion over Pset, too!" Halo remained silent. Jack turned to face her, and she became acutely aware of the blood running down the side of her face. She turned away, bracing for the worst.
"I'm sorry I caused any trouble." She said. "I'll be on my way." she opened her wings to take flight, but Jack interrupted.
"Halo, come down here." He said. For a moment, Halo hesitated. She was in trouble and she knew it. Jack couldn't fly. None of the crowd below could. If she left now, if she simply lifted off and never came back...
She beat her wings a few times and glided slowly to the ground in front of Jack, readied for whatever punishment he had in mind.
"You're hurt pretty badly," he said evenly. "But I think Dr. Finklestien will be able to patch you up." This was not what Halo had expected. She stood in shock for a moment. "Well, come on," Jack said. "Can you walk?" Still in shock, Halo nodded, then gingerly followed the Pumpkin King.
"Hey!" one of the townspeople shouted, "Aren't you going to punish her?" Many of the others also recovered from their stupor and began murmuring in agreement. Jack stopped and turned around.
"What for?" he said. "As far as I know, this girl has done nothing wrong. Or am I mistaken?"
"She doesn't belong here!" shouted Oogie Boogie. "She left a long time ago, and I say good riddance! Why should we let a deserter like her back into this town?"
"Who does and doesn't belong here isn't for you do decide, Oogie," Jack said evenly. "Now, if anyone has any real arguments, they can take them out with me later. Now, if you please," he turned and led Halo away from the crowd, to Dr. Finklestien's dome. Under Jack's order, the doctor bandaged her cuts and treated her bruises. One of the stones had cut her side, and she wasn't to fly for the next day. Dr. Finklestien, it turned out, was very tolerant about Halo's lack of intimidation. He had, in fact, recently created a young girl, Sally, who shared the unusual trait. Halo stayed in Finklestien's dome during the day when she was forbidden to fly. It seemed far safer than the rest of town, and Sally and she were becoming fast friends.
"It looks like there'll be another attack on the southern Barricade tomorrow." Halo said. Her scouting was done for the day, and she was now giving Jack her report, as usual, from his windowsill. "Aside from that, very little. If I didn't know better, I would guess that Pset is losing steam."
"If you didn't know better?" the Pumpkin King asked.
"He's planning something. I know it..." She looked Jack in the eye. "Something's coming, sir."