Author's Note: Hope everyone's having a fun December so far. My winter break has officially started, which means it's time to start a brand spankin' new story. Remember, all things "Nightmare" do not belong to me. I own plenty of "Nightmare" stuff, but thank Tim Burton for making it all up in his head in the first place. For those following the timeline, this story takes place during Origins, from when Jack arrives in Halloween Town to the very last time Henry Cadaver acts as the Pumpkin King. Hope it was worth the wait.

"Halloween Town, I present to you Jack Skellington, my heir."- Henry Cadaver

"Excuse me?" - Jack Skellington - Origins

Jack's Training Days

There were buildings everywhere, very tall buildings. For some reason, they were going out of focus. There was an intense, searing pain in his body and the face of a young woman hovering over him. He wanted to tell her so many things, but he could only sputter out a few words at a time. Was he dying? Was he dreaming? He couldn't tell the difference. All he knew was that after a while, everything went black.

Jack Skellington woke with a start. He sat straight up in his bed and stared at the large window for a moment before getting up. What was he just thinking? He wasn't sure. There was however one thing he knew. In spite of the fact that he was a skeleton, he was hungry. Judging by the large full moon hovering over the town, it was the middle of the night, not the best time to ask his host for food. Still, Jack's hunger would not leave him alone. With a reluctant sigh, he made his way down the spiral staircase, tripping over his tiny feet once or twice before making it to the first floor. Surprisingly enough, his host was still awake and appeared to have been waiting for him.

"Hello, Jack," he said, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Hello, Mr. Cadaver, sir… I mean, Your Majesty. Right?" Jack asked, wary of just how he was to refer to the Pumpkin King.

"Henry will be just fine," he said as he got up. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Actually, I'm a little hungry," Jack said sheepishly.

"I see. Well, just follow me into the kitchen. I might still have some candy lying around from before."

"With all due respect, Henry, I'm not sure I can eat just candy."

"You can for now, unless you have an affinity for steamed cockroaches I didn't know about."

"Steamed what?" Jack asked, feeling nauseated and appalled at the same time.

"It's the only thing I really have at the moment; other than candy, that is," Henry said in a knowing tone as he pulled out a chair for Jack and watched him sit down with a blank stare on his skeletal face.

"I'll stick with the candy then, thank you," Jack said, quietly looking at the large bowl in the center of the table filled with all sorts of candies,

"So, what woke you?" Henry asked as he sat down across from Jack.

"Henry, I'm dead."

"Yes. Yes you are."

"You're dead too. Everything here is dead, isn't it?"

"To some people, yes, we are dead. I prefer to think we are reincarnated."

"Reincarnated?" Jack asked, grabbing a small, wrapped chocolate bar from the bowl and opening it as he asked.

"It's a lot to go into on your first night here, Jack. I don't want to overload your mind," Henry warned.

"No, go ahead. I want to know what's happened to me."

"Well, think of this as your first lesson if you must," Henry said before clearing his throat. "Jack, roughly twenty-four hours ago, you were living in a different plane of existence, what we folks here call the Real World. Not to say that this world isn't real, for it is. That is just the way we refer to the land of mortals."

"Why?" Jack asked, biting into the chocolate bar.

"I'm not too sure. As far as I know, that is what it has always been called, so there's really no point in changing the name. As I was saying, you were brought from that plane of existence to this one because you were meant to be my successor."

"Who made that decision?"

"The decision was made long before either of us existed. The point is once your soul served its time in the Real World, it was to come here."

"Why didn't I just come here in the first place then?"

"You said so yourself, Jack. You're dead, everything here is. Nothing has ever been born here. The only way to reach Halloween Town is to have lived in the Real World for a period of time and be marked for this destination."

"But that doesn't make sense. I saw children on the streets before."

"Their time in the Real World was much shorter than yours," Henry said bluntly, causing Jack to lean back on his chair.

"How tragic," Jack said after a momentary pause. "If only there was another way."

"There could be, it's just that no one has found it yet. Ah, but we're getting off topic. Where was I?"

"Coming to Halloween Town."

"Right. Well, once a soul lands in Halloween Town, he or she is transformed into a being that reflects both their individual personality and the meaning of the day."

"Can't we just look the way we did when we were alive?"

"No. Once one goes from one existence to another, every aspect of their life, or in our case afterlife, is transformed. Besides, we need our new forms to do our duty."

"Our duty?" Jack asked before he bit his finger, only realizing then that he had finished his candy bar. "Ow! I'm sorry, go ahead," he said to Henry while he grabbed another candy bar.

"To terrify every mortal on Halloween. Everyone has a fear, but not everyone fears the same thing. In order to scare as many people as possible, souls take on all sorts of shapes when they get here. You however, are special. Jack, since you are my heir, you have untapped powers of fear," Henry explained.

"I don't feel anything like that," Jack said.

"Well, you will. I'm going to teach you how to control and use your powers. That way, when I leave the throne, you'll be more than ready to take it over."

"There's no way I can say no to this, is there?" Jack asked nervously.

"No. But don't worry; we have plenty of time, about eight years. That should be enough to completely show you the ropes. Now, I think it's time you go back to sleep to digest all of this, and that candy as well."

"I don't think I'll be able to, Henry."

"If you can't, then you're more than welcome to pick up a book there and read. They are yours as well as they are mine. I do have to go to sleep however."

"Why?"

"I have a Post-Halloween meeting with the Mayor," Henry said as he left the kitchen table. "He likes to discuss what he liked, didn't like, and what we can do for next year."

"Are you serious?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Yes. If there is one thing you will learn about the Mayor, it is that he loves planning. He's probably up now sketching some new horrors for next year," Henry said with a chuckle.

"Do I have to go?" Jack asked, feeling a bit frightened at the prospect of having to meet someone that obsessed with Halloween.

"No, not this time around. Just get some sleep. I want to show you around town, help you get to know your subjects. Goodnight, Jack," Henry said as he left the kitchen.

And there Jack was again, alone and confused as ever. He had lived for the sole purpose of dying and ending up in the strangest place he ever could have imagined. Not only that, but he was supposed to rule over it one day. Now that was scary. Still, there was no way he could get out of it. With a sigh, Jack left the kitchen table, grabbed a few more candy bars, and made his way back up the stairs. Something told him he was going to need all the sleep he could get.

So, just how will the Pumpkin Prince really react to Halloween Town? When will he begin his training? What exactly does Henry Cadaver have in store? More to come, so keep looking for updates, dearies.