Ember stumbled along the path, grumbling softly under her breath. "Lock, it's dark out, why do I need a blindfold?" she asked, annoyed. She would much rather be in bed sleeping, but he refused to let her. She had to admit that the first part of his gift was pretty cool. After all, a bird's skull was hard to come by and now she had one to wear round her neck all the time. So, she figured this surprise would be well worth it.

"Alright, take it off," Lock muttered in her ear. She eagerly snatched the cloth from her eyes and looked around. She made a face when she recognized the abandoned hospital at the farthest edge of town. "Trust me, this is gonna be cool. Just go inside and wait."

Ember rolled her eyes and did as he instructed, sitting down on the floor. She waited patiently for Lock until she was sure it had been an hour. She sighed and laid back, trusting him. Maybe it was just one of his stupid pranks. Even so, she was sure it was nothing she couldn't handle. Slowly but surely, the girl fell asleep.

Ember stirred slightly and opened her eyes, trying to pinpoint the smell in the air. She sat up quickly, realizing it was smoke. She looked around and saw that the building had caught on fire. Panicking, she looked frantically for signs of Lock before bolting to the door, finding it locked. She screamed, banging on the door violently in hopes someone would hear her, but she knew better. Where had Lock gone? Or was this his fault? Fueled by her anger, she banged on the door harder before giving up on it. She ran to find another door or a window or anything. She came to the realization that this wasn't an ordinary hospital, but a sanitarium for crazy people. Everything was barred and her screams quickly turned into cries of agony, tears streaming down her face.

"Lock!" she called as loud as she could manage. The fire had spread quickly and she was finding it harder to breathe. "Lock! Help me, please! You win, you scared me, now let me out!" She could manage no more than that, coughing harshly as the air filled with smoke. Her eyes stung and she could no longer inhale without a rough, burning sensation in her throat. She started to feel lightheaded and eventually, she collapsed onto the floor and curled into a ball. After that, everything went black as she fell into the most painful sleep she'd ever endured.

"Lock!" He could hear her, but he couldn't get to her. He had no clue how this went so wrong. The fire was supposed to be small, just enough to scare her. How had it spread so quickly? He honestly had no clue. He tried with all his might to get through the door, but his human form wasn't strong enough. Not to mention the heat was unbearable. Eventually, Ember's cries stopped and that made him panic. In this state, he managed to kick down the door and rush through the building. He covered his face with his sleeve and ran through the fire, ignoring the burning sensation in his legs.

Lock found her in a small room, under a window that she was clearly trying to get the bars off of. He lifted her into his arms and kicked out the glass, slipping through the window carefully. He carried her to a nearby patch of trees and laid her on the ground. He laid his ear on her chest, but found no heartbeat. He scrambled away from her lifeless body and pressed his back against a tree, letting out a sob. "No," he whispered softly, burying his face in his hands for a moment. He crawled back over to her and shook her gently. "Ember, come on wake up. Please, I'm sorry." He pulled her to him in a rough embrace, trying to make her stir. "Ember, please! I'm so sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen! Wake up!" He buried his face in her shoulder, letting the tears fall freely now.

Lock stayed like that for a long while, ignoring the sirens when they came to put out the fire. He simply rocked her body back and forth, sobbing into her chest. He was grateful he made it when he did because the flames had not touched her. She remained unscathed and perfect as ever. He would've given anything to see her open her eyes again, to hear her mutter 'Just kidding' and shove him away. Thinking this made him break down again, his shoulders shaking violently as he held her tight. Finally, he was unable to shed anymore tears. He set her back onto the leaves and wiped his face on his sleeve, gazing at her. That was when a thought occurred to him. Maybe there was still time.

"I'm gonna make this right," he whispered to her corpse, kissing her cheek softly before picking her up again. He carried her back to the portal to Halloweentown, staying hidden. He watched a few monsters come out of the portal and realized it was after midnight; Halloween. He didn't want anyone to see him pull her through, frightened they might ask too many questions so he waited until he saw a clear gap in the stream of monsters-turning-humans. He darted through the hole and found himself in the cemetery, just on the edge of the pumpkin patch. He was careful not to get too comfortable and change back into his devil form. Otherwise, he'd never be able to carry her the rest of the way. He tossed her over his shoulder and climbed into the tree house, slamming all the windows and doors shut and locking them. He laid her out on the bed gently and sat on his knees next to her, gripping her hand tightly.

He woke up roughly an hour later, disoriented and confused. He lifted his head off the mattress and looked over at Ember, still gripping her hand. He let it fall when he saw that she was still dead, fighting back a new wave of tears. He stood to collect her body, intending to give her a proper burial service, when her eyes fluttered open. She looked around the room and sat up, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. He nearly tackled her back down with joy, but refrained. "Ember!" he murmured, wiping a few fresh tears from his eyes and tugging her into a tight hug.

"Is that my name?" she asked, not bothering to hug him back. His heart fell slightly, but he knew that this might happen so he remained strong, letting her go.

"Yes, your name is Ember," he replied, letting her sit back and look at him. "Ember Blake. I'm Lock. We're friends.'

"You have a tail," she replied bluntly, making him smile.

He flicked his tail from side to side and studied her as she watched it. Then, he wrapped it around her waist, lifting her off the bed so he could sit down. She struggled slightly but gave up as he set her in his lap. "Yes, I have a tail. I'm a devil. I don't look like one because I'm in my human form right now, but I'll change back in a little while."

Ember nodded, as though this were the most normal statement in the world. She fiddled with her necklace a bit before sighing softly. "You're cute," she muttered, climbing out of his lap and walking around his bedroom. "So where am I?"

"Halloweentown," he replied. "Well, right now, you're in my bedroom, but we're in Halloweentown. You died in a fire. Inhaled too much smoke. So I brought you here."

"So you saved me," she murmured, leaning against his wardrobe and watching him carefully. "How did the fire start?"

Lock swallowed and held her gaze. "A rogue bottle rocket caught some insulation on fire," he replied. He was relieved when she nodded in response, seeming to buy it. He was surprised when she bounded across the room and into his arms. She pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss, shocking him out of kissing back right away. He barely had time to really get into it before she pulled back.

"Thanks for saving me." And with that, she was gone. "I'll be back before sunrise."

Lock walked over to the window and watched her skip out to the cemetery, stopping every few graves to study the names. He licked his lips, savoring the taste of her before making his way back over to the bed and collapsing onto his back. He was exhausted.