The trip back to Halloween Town took almost half a day's walk through the thick vegetation of the forest floor. Fortunately, Raven didn't seem to mind the journey quite as much as Zalen.
Every twist and turn was different in this new world, and looking up into the lush, green trees she was able to spot several different types of animals which she had never seen before. It was unreal how much life could thrive in a place like this, and she couldn't seem to get enough of the sights and smells that surrounded her.
Unfortunately, the fun ended once they reached the 'true' holiday gates. Certainly every realm possessed it's own copies of the gates, but just this once she wished for an exception. "Please don't take me back. I-I don't want to know what dad has planned for me when I get back."
Placing her on the ground near the pumpkin shaped door Zalen folded his arm's with a sigh. "You know something? You're starting to become a real pain in my side Miss. Raven."
Clutching the stick Chan had given her firmly in her right hand she looked up in total disbelief. "A pain in your side? I am a pain in your side!" forcing herself up on both feet she marched forward. "I otta kill you right now for that load of-"
"Shh~" he whispered holding a finger over her mouth. "I've told you before. A lady should not use foul language." Arrogantly smiling down at her he chuckled as if he had now completely ended the conversation.
Backing up with a blank expression Raven simply stared back at him.
"Well. Good to see you're finally coming around to my way of thinking." Strolling over to the Halloween Town gateway Zalen grasped the handle and smoothly opened the door. "You know something?"
Holding up her thumb she made sure the angle was just right. "No. I don't know anything." she exaggerated.
Leaning into the doorways he placed both hands in his coat pockets. "These gateways are the oddest thing I think I've ever come across."
"Really?" Grasping the walking stick firmly in both hands she tapped it on the end of her shoe.
"Well yes." he replied reaching one hand into the darkness. "It's a whole world in one tree. Isn't that strange?"
Holding the staff as if it were a baseball bat she narrowed her eyes. "Sure. I guess it could be called strange." Finally it was time to fish or cut bait. "Hey, before you say anything else…could you do me a favor?"
"You need help again? What is it this ti-"At the sight of Raven's staff hurtling toward him, Zalen's smile seemed to almost flea from his expression. The pain from the blow was minimal, however it did cause him to fall back against the tree. "O-ouch! What the he-"
Pressing the larger end of the staff up to his throat, she turned scarlet in fury. "I swear if you ever talk down to me again I…I'll…!"
"You'll what? Kill me?" Forcing her back with one graceful motion, he cackled in a bit of amusement. "You cannot kill what has already DIED!"
Catching herself with the help of her staff, Raven reached into her pant pocket. Revealing a knife she sighed. "I'm offended that you think I don't know the logistics of death." Limping forward her teeth began to show behind a wicked smile. "Murder isn't my thing."
Backing into the doorway with a nervous grin he eyed the knife in her hand. "N-now now… don't be hasty with that thing." Waving his hands in front of him in defense Zalen's eyes grew wide. 'She wouldn't dare…'
Using the walking stick to push herself off the ground, she lunged forward, grabbed his shoulders, and together they began to plummet through the darkness into the land of Halloween.
Meanwhile, chaos ran rampant through the streets and hills of Halloween Town. Every ghoul, phantom, witch and monster roamed the land searching for the two lost teens. Everyone other than Jack and Sally hoping for the worst.
"Just think about it Simon." Medea, an intoxicatingly vile witch cackled from atop her broomstick. "We'll hand the body over to that fat old Christmas oaf, and he won't be able to do a thing to anyone! Jack will finally be free to raise a family of his own! Perhaps he'll even give the town an heir to the title of Pumpkin King!"
Simon, a funny dwarf of a creature, sat in a cauldron dangling from the end of the broomstick scanning the hills below. "Keep dreaming. With our luck, she'll come back with more humans just like her." Slumping back in his cauldron he yawned. "Actually, to tell the truth…I don't think she's all that bad."
Rolling her eyes she agreed. "Yeah, I suppose she isn't the most awful thing in the world. Why…if it weren't for the fact that our Jack had to postpone everything for the little brat, she might even be good company."
"Humph…" Simon groaned straightening out his top hat. "We'd better get back to town with out report. Nothing this way but a lake and some sink holes."
"Yeah." Pulling the broomstick to face town, Medea gave it a stern smack. "Go one broom! Back to town square!"
Off they went in a blur of black and green shooting through the sky. Unfortunately for them, their timing couldn't have been worse.
"I'll rip you apart!" Raven's voice broke through the silence as both she and Zalen slammed into the broom from above.
"Give me that knife!" Reaching for the small pocket knife in her hand, Zaiden was instead shocked to find a strange old woman where Raven had been only moments before. "What the-"
"-hell?" Clutching the cauldron Raven was completely taken by surprise as Simon's face pressed against her cheek. "Simon? What in the world are you doing here?"
Pushing away from her face he looked down. "Falling!"
"What?" Turning to see what had him so alarmed, she too began to scream. "Up! Up now!"
Medea however, appeared to be quite preoccupied. "Get you're hand's off of me pretty boy!" she screeched with her boot in his face. "I! Said! OFF!" Forcing him into a sitting position she finally made an attempt to set the broom right.
Watching the lake grow larger Raven continued to scream. "Any day now please!"
"I'm givin er' all she's got! We've got too much weight on board!" Medea screamed as she continued to pull up on the broom. "Looks like we're all gunna get wet!"
"Medea! You can't get wet!" Simon cried. "You'll turn to stone!"
"What?" Looking between Medea and the lake, Raven watched as the water drew nearer. "We have to do something!"
Taking a moment to think, Zalen began to hatch an idea. "You! Creature in the pot!" Gripping the cauldrons handle, he began to push it forward. "Can you swim well?"
Not wishing to know where the boy was coming from, Simon simply swallowed hard and watched as his cauldron slipped from the broom.
"Wait! Raven let go of the pot!" Realizing too late that he had launched Raven into the lake along with the cauldron and Simon, Zalen reached out in vain. "Raven! Turn around!"
Seeing that the broom had nearly come to a complete stop, Raven smiled, momentarily unaware that she remained plummeting towards the lakes surface. This however, soon became apparent. "Za-agh…!" Closing her mouth as she entered the water, she squinted in the murky water. 'Well…that wasn't too awful.' she thought before simply swimming around the heavy cauldron as I sank to the bottom.
"Mmm! Hemm memmm!" The gurgled sound of Simon's voice sank with his iron pot.
Turning to see the pot dissapear from view, she floated motionless in blind confusion. Her lungs burned, and the sunlight at the waters surface looked more inviting than it ever had, but could she bring herself to save her own skin? No. he was a citizen of Halloween Town. Not only that, but it was her father's job to protect them. No. She wouldn't let Jack down, and she couldn't leave Simon to die.
Angling herself downward, she swam as fast as her body would carry her into the darkness. It only took a moment to reach the bottom, but where was the cauldron? "Simon!" she called, releasing nearly all of the air she had left.
*tang-tang-tang* came a few small taps from a few feet to her left.
Narrowing her eyes even further, she could vaguely make out the round shape of the pot. 'Got it.' reaching down she could feel the place where Simon's shirt had become ensnared on the pot's handle.
'What's she doing? Doesn't she know what danger she's in?' Inside, Simon had always known he would be ok until help arrived. For a Halloween spirit such as himself, suffocation or death normally took much longer than it did for a normal human. Looking up as his shirt broke free he smiled in appreciation.
Sadly, Raven's body slumped against the cauldron as the last bit of air poured from her body. 'It's weird to think…I was so mad a few minutes ago. Now look at me. Saving someone from the town of people who despise me.' It was almost funny to think that not ten minutes ago, she was ready to rip Zalen a new one, and now…she was lying at the bottom of a lake.
These thoughts and more raced through Raven's head as somehow he body seemed to somehow be floating to the surface. He body ached for air that it couldn't find, and water desperately tried to force it's way in.
'I can't just give up…my parents, my new friends, and my future all depend on me!' with these thoughts her body twitched a bit in an attempt to float up faster.
For a moment her attempt appeared to be working. Faster and faster she seemed to float through the water. Then it occurred to her that perhaps she wasn't the one doing all of the work. Opening her eyes she could vaguely spy the surface quickly approaching, and among the golden blur of light, something large appeared to be swimming just above her.
Fortunately her eyes once again snapped shut, and the pain vanished with the air's return to her body. She could hear her name, however it was far away now. "I'll be just fine…" she breathed.
"Raven! Raven you idiot, wake up!" Dragging her sleeping form to shore as quickly as he could, Zalen did his best to check her over. "Damn you…why did you go and do something so stupid?"
"Is stupid what you call saving my hide?" Simon wheezed, dragging himself from the water. "I-It seam's to me…" he gasped. "…that I- have vastly underestimated her value to my health!" Falling to the sand to catch his breath, he began to laugh. "Man oh man…what a great time that was."
Reaching over to grasp Simon's neck, Zalen restrained himself. "She almost died to save someone who's already dead, and you're sitting there like it was a blast?"
"Hey there pal." Rolling over onto his side Simon pushed himself into a sitting position. "Do I look dead to you?"
"Well…"
"Don't answer that." He responded, realizing his question was obviously NOT the right one to ask. "Let me explain something to ya kid. I'm no stiff." Getting to his feet and stretching his back, he walked over to be sure Raven was still alive. "She knows something youz don't know. Spirits like me aren't like Jack and Sally and all a them. Spirits like me are living, breathing creatures."
"So you're like a human?" Zalen asked perplexed by this new information.
"Well uh…no. You see, we spirits can sometimes live hundreds of years. In fact, my uncle Vinny once said that he saw-"
"Focus."
"Oh. Right, right." he said giving Zalen a stern look. "Well any how. She knows a spirit like me can die. I'm pretty tough though, so she could have left me down there for a little while…but…" Watching her face regain a bit of color he smiled. "She came back for ol' Simon. For a human, that takes a lot of moxy."
A/N: Ok. It's late, and I hope this chapter is at least sort of up to par. If it got confusing please tell me so I can take it down and fix it. Maybe tell me how to fix it? If you found it boaring then please bare with me. It will get interesting soon! I promise! As always R&R so I know you care (please review for every chapter so I know I'm not skimping on quality) Plus, reviewing is the only way I know I'm doing a good job!
