The Nightmare Before Christmas

For The Love Of Death

Chapter One: Thanatos

Kelly stared up through a haze of shock at the hooded figure standing above him, the gun still smoking in his hands. He trembled, hissing through bared teeth as It drew closer, scythe glinting in the sun. His chest felt so wrong; broken, raw and…soggy was the only word to describe that awful sense of collapse.

"You've been shot, little one," said the dark thing, but It's voice was soft and kind; not monstrous at all. It bent down, a skeletal hand hovering over the gaping hole through the boy's lung and now mangled ribcage. "Shh, it's alright," It said softly when Kelly whimpered and tried to shy away. "Everything will okay soon. My name is Thanatos, Keladry Elric. Yes, I know who you are."

"Tha-Thanatos…?" Kelly murmured, his voice shaking. He was having trouble breathing, but strangely he wasn't in any pain. "…De-death…"

"Smart boy," Thanatos replied, a smile in his voice. "Just relax; I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry this had to happen. It's going to be over very soon…"

Suddenly Kelly wanted to cry, and turned his head away from Death's obscured face to hide the tears stinging his eyes. That's when he saw the body, lying crumpled against the wall beneath a long streak of blood. It was such a violent shade of red, and abruptly he wanted to scream but he just couldn't get enough air…

He looked back at Thanatos, gripping he pistol weakly. "I-I'm…dying….are-aren't I?"

"Yes," Thanatos said gently. "I promise it won't hurt. You just sleep now, everything will be alright."

But Kelly was shaking, an unadulterated terror coiling deep in his gut. I don't want to die…I don't want to go…he thought as panic set in. I wanted to stay here…I wanted to stay…! I have to take care of them…

It was then that a window blew open as the north wind rushed into the room, upsetting a stream of golden dust motes before it flew over them, throwing the Reaper's hood as it passed. What Kelly saw made his heart seize, and unbidden the pistol leapt up and fired, right into the eyeless socket of Thanatos' grim, grinning skull. Its body was thrown back, and landed with a strangely solid thump upon the floor.

Kelly let his hand drop, the gun slipping from his fingers, as instantly his breath returned in full force. At once he began to scream.

.xXx.

Nikodemos Skellington, youngest son of the infamous Pumpkin King Jack, was not sure what to make of Easter. His father had explained it to him some years ago, but he failed to see how pink rabbits and colored chocolate eggs had anything to do with some guy getting nailed to a tree for suggesting that everyone be nice to each other. It seemed quite ironic to the Pumpkin Prince that this particular holiday, one which he could only describe as "bubbly", would symbolize death.

Granted, Halloween Town's version of Easter was anything but cheerful. They'd made sure all the eggs were sufficiently rotten before painting them in macabre colors and distorted designs. Now the streets were prevalent with that unmistakable stench as somebody smashed another one, whooping off in the distance.

"Hey there, sweet Prince."

Demos turned to find Lock coming up the path towards him, his red devil's tail swish-swishing in his wake. He had grown in the past few centuries into a tall and sinewy being, his adolescent appearance belying his actual age. Demos turned and smiled at his old friend.

"Hello, Lock," he greeted amiably, brushing away the tail as it attempted to slide playfully up his leg. "Come on, don't tease."

"Aw, but you're so cute," Lock chuckled. "It's a shame you're a boy…"

"Honestly, I don't know why you flirt, and then refuse the sheets," Demos pouted. "That's just mean."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Lock said, not sorry in the least. Demos just shook his head, sighing softly in exasperation. It was useless to expect contriteness from a devil.

"But what can I say? Tail's got a mind of its own," his friend continued, with an exaggerated shrug. "I like girls, my sweet little lambs. You know that."

"Well, I think you like seeing me all hot and bothered," the Prince cheekily replied. "You're an egotistical bastard like that. But if you really would prefer the concave, I know a girl who'd just love to have you for dinner…"

"As much as I like your sister, I'd rather not get myself eviscerated this early in the morning, thank you very much," Lock said delicately.

"So Jezabel already had a go at you, huh?" Demos grinned.

"Well, now that you mention it, yes, I did have a minor encounter with the shrew," Lock muttered. "Nearly broke my tail, too…"

"Nearly? That's a shame," Demos agreed. "I would have hoped she'd at least get rid of the troublesome thing."

"Hey!" the devil cried, grasping his tail and looking scandalized. Demos laughed.

"Anyway…Did you want something in particular, or are you just here to bug me?"

"Actually, it's the Mayor. He wants to go over the plans for next Halloween with Jeza, but you know she can't stand him," Lock said, smirking. Demos gave a low chuckle, and nodded understandingly.

"I see. She wants me to take her place, is that it?"

"You hit it right on the mark."

Demos sighed, exasperated, and ran hand across his face. The Mayor, once such an indecisive and weak-willed fellow, had gained something of an ego over the past few years. He was bolder now, having ceased running to Jack about every little thing some time ago, and somewhere along the way developed a pompousness no one could stand for very long. It was a well-known fact that Jeza particularly disliked the man, and Demos was inclined to agree with his twin, though he managed to mask his feelings with far more success than she.

"Alright," he conceded. "Lead the way."

.xXx.

"BE QUIET!"

Kelly stopped screaming at once, startled into silence by the sudden voice. Dust had been shaken from the warehouse rafters by its sheer booming magnitude, and echoes continued to roll of the walls for several seconds afterward. There was an air of command in that tone that demanded obedience, and he found he was quite helpless to do anything other than immediately comply.

"That's better," said the voice, and Kelly chanced to look up. A stooped old woman stood in the doorway, leaning heavily upon a cane and regarding him with eyes like flint. Slowly, she shambled forward, and on instinct Kelly rose to assist her…and stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, the bullet wound's gone," the woman said in gravelly tones as he stared in bewilderment. His shirt was ripped and saturated red, but the hole in his chest was gone, leaving only a savage scar as testimony that it had ever been there at all.

"This…Is this real…?" Kelly whispered, tripping back in astonishment. "It's got be a dream, this just isn't possible…"

"I'm afraid this is quite real," the woman replied. "My name is Atropos, the Incarnation of Fate, and there's been a mistake. You were not meant to assume this Office…"

"What are you talking about?" Kelly cried shrilly, starting to panic. "What mistake? What office—"

It was then that his foot hit something, and he staggered, falling back onto something soft. But then he looked down to find he was sitting on his own corpse. In that instant, he lost his mind. Screaming his guts out, he hurled himself away, flesh crawling as he stared into his own glassy eyes…

A sharp slap resounded throughout the empty warehouse, and Kelly gaped at the woman in stunned silence.

"Pull yourself together, lad," she told him sternly, in a voice that absolutely would not tolerate insubordination. "You're not dead; far from it, actually. You're immortal, now. At least until the next Death kills you."

"Wait…what?"

"Come on, deary," Atropos said, trying to sound gentler. "Let's…go somewhere else, and I'll explain everything."

Kelly dazedly allowed himself to be led out of the warehouse to a nearby park, where Atropos seated herself upon a bench and motioned for him to follow. He anxiously perched himself on the edge, glancing back worriedly.

"Sh-shouldn't we tell someone…? There's two…"

"Don't you worry about that, it'll be taken care of," Atropos replied. "Now, would you like some chocolate?"

"Huh?"

"Here," she said, holding out a Hershey's bar. "It'll make you feel better." Kelly accepted the candy numbly, and nodded his thanks.

"Um…back there…I saw—"

"What you saw was the Incarnation of Death," Atropos explained. "Dressed as the Grim Reaper and riding a pale horse, he is but one of the seven Incarnations. The others are Time, Nature, War, Fate, Good, and Evil. However, these titles are merely the titles of Offices. Like you, we are all human beings, given the powers of our Offices until it comes time for us to step down…or in your case, be overthrown."

"Overthrown?"

"If Death, or Thanatos if you prefer, is killed by a mortal then that mortal shall take his place," Atropos said. "You have killed Death, and now you must take his Office. You are now the Grim Reaper."

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Kelly cried, jumping up. "What are you saying? That…that I have to kill people now?"

"You've already done so," Atropos pointed out.

"Th-that was…I didn't mean…" Kelly stammered, and shook his head. "What was I supposed to do? He was a skeleton!"

"That's not who I meant."

Kelly opened his mouth, but there was nothing he could say. A tight feeling clutched at his heart, and he looked away.

"But that doesn't matter now," Atropos went on quietly. "As I said, all Incarnations are human. What you saw was an illusion."

Kelly blinked, and looked up at her in horror. "You mean…what I shot…was a person?" The need to sit down was imperative, and he complied as quickly as possible, putting his head in his hands. "Oh god…"

Atropos rubbed his back soothingly as he tried to get his breathing under control, trembling all over. Despite the circumstances, her heart went out to the poor child, and a wave of sympathy overtook her.

"You won't have to kill people," she said softly. "Only collect their souls as they depart."

"Thousands of people die every day," Kelly protested weakly. "How am I supposed to get to them all?"

"You're very presence allows most to die without your assistance," she answered. "However, there are some whose souls are balanced in both good and evil, and thus will not be able to get to their respective resting places without your help."

"You mean…Heaven and Hell?"

"Yes. These souls you will have to collect yourself, and personally send them to wherever they need to go."

"You said…this was a mistake, and that you were Fate," Kelly began slowly. "Couldn't you have done something?"

Atropos ducked her head a little in embarrassment. "I was…distracted, and by the time I noticed what was to happen, it was already too late."

"Oh…" Kelly said, unable to think of anything else to say. A part of him resented such a careless mistake, but another breathed a sigh of relief that his life had been spared.

"I'm…sorry this happened, Kelly," she said, sounding genuinely apologetic. He just nodded, but felt a little better. "Usually, those chosen for the Office of Death have nothing else to live for."

"What do I do now?" he asked.

"First, call Mortis. He should have everything you require," Atropos said. "After that, I'm afraid you'll be on your own. Just remember, the Office of Death and its responsibilities are yours now, whether you wanted them or not. If you need me, I or the other Incarnations will be in touch."

With that, and a curt nod, she vanished. There was no smoke or noise, it was just as if she'd never been, and Kelly was alone with his thoughts. He stared at the spot where she'd stood, then, without any other direction in which to go, he began walking home.

He'd only taken about five steps, though, when he suddenly stopped.

"My body!" he cried. "I can't let them find it!"

Turning on his heels, he raced back towards the warehouse, sneakers pounding the pavement until he rushed out of the park and skidded to a halt before the warehouse doors. Trying not to look at the corpse slumped against the wall, made his way towards his own. It took a moment to gather his courage, but finally his quelled the bile rising in his throat, grabbed himself around the waist and began to drag his body towards the door.

There, he balked. It was broad daylight, and there was no way someone wouldn't notice him hauling a corpse through the streets. On top of that, he wasn't sure where he could possibly take himself anyway.

Something glinted out of the corner of his eye, and turning his head he spotted a white limousine that had not been there before, parked just to his left. He would have ignored it, had the license plate not caught his eye. It read RIGOR MORTIS. Carefully, he set himself down and walked over to investigate, laying a careful hand upon the vehicle.

"Could you be…?"

The car shifted, glimmering brightly in the light and so abruptly changed into a great white stallion that Kelly leapt back in surprise. The horse turned its head and whinnied, pawing at the ground with one enormous hoof. Despite its size, however, it did not look very healthy. Completely emaciated, its bones protruded everywhere, and it alabaster skin clung was so tightly drawn the creature appeared almost skeletal.

Death rides a pale horse… he thought before timidly asking, "Are you…Mortis?"

Unsurprisingly, the creature gave a short nod, and eyed the body.

"You can set that in the trunk if you really want to hide it," the steed said, his voice sounding in Kelly's mind rather than his ears, and for a second the boy was rather dumbfounded. At the moment, though, he was already in such a state of shock that he accepted this quite readily. Without a word, he turned and proceeded to drag his body towards this strange creature, which turned back into the limousine and popped the trunk. Once the body was stowed away, Kelly timidly slid into the driver's seat and laid his hands upon the steering wheel.

"Can you drive?" asked Mortis, his voice coming from the radio this time.

"Well, I have a license, but I never drove something this big before…"

"That's not a problem. I can take us wherever we need to go. Now, little Master, where's the first stop?"

"Hold on," Kelly said. "I'm…your Master?"

"Correct."

"Who says?"

Mortis paused for a moment. "If you desire another mount, I believe you can request one in Limbo…"

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Kelly said hurriedly. "Who says I'm your Master?"

"It has been so for as long as I can remember," the limo replied. "I have served those who take the Office of Death since the beginning. Now, where do you wish to go?"

"Somewhere we can dump m—the body," Kelly replied, and the car purred to life.

"I know just the place."

To be continued…

Disclaimer: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas, or the characters therein. Neither do I own Mortis, Thanatos, or Fate, who are characters of the great and mighty Piers Anthony. The whole thing with the Offices of Immortality is also his creation, but since I haven't read the books in a while I decided to take some liberties with his ideas. Mortis, for example, couldn't talk. I just decided it was more convenient, and full of awesome. Kelly and the Skellington kids are mine, though.

Welcome to yet another Brain-Child of mine! I've had this idea for a while, and when it wouldn't go away I decided to write it down. It took me even longer to post it though, due in part to the large amount of laziness I have. However, I really like the idea of a crossover of On a Pale Horse and The Nightmare Before Christmas, with a dash of anything else that catches my fancy. That's why I love fanfiction—I can "reference" anything I want, and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it! HA! Take that, lawyers!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please don't forget to review!

Calfuray