Ichabod heard something breathing fast, and it sounded like sniffing, then he felt something cold and wet press nudge against his face. His eyes fluttered open and he saw Valentine and Jinx hovering over him.
"Oh thank god, I thought you were dead" Valentine sighed, but he looked completely confused as he tilted his head to the side.
Ichabod launched up from the ground, grabbed at Valentine's shirt and then slammed him into the brick wall next to a window of a store.
"What were you thinking?! Shooting me with an arrow! I ought to-...!" Ichabod's sight was caught by the reflection of a mirror in the store window and almost couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He was looking at himself, but he looked completely different, his hair was blonde and his eyes were blue.
"You know, I never took you for a blonde" Valentine spoke, then tried to pry Ichabod's death grip from his shirt, "Now, do you mind letting go?"
Ichabod looked back at Valentine with a confused glare, "What did you do to me?"
"It wasn't me, it was Manny"
Ichabod looked up at the full moon, then back at Valentine, "Explain"
"I can't, he never told me anything. He suddenly gave me that arrow that I just shot at you and told me to use it on you; I thought it was a special arrow to make you forget about Mr. Green eyes because this kind of affair is forbidden and considering she doesn't know you exist. He told me about what had happened between you two when she was nearly run down by that truck, that you had touched her when she doesn't know you exist, for you to do something like that is dangerous because you did something to her"
"What did I do to her?" Ichabod asked nervously; what could he have done to her?
"I-I don't know, he didn't explain, it's like he's keeping this a secret until the day comes or whatever, you know how he is"
"No, I don't because he doesn't talk to any of us other than you and Sandy because you two were practically the first of any of us" Ichabod let Valentine go and started to pace, "What exactly is he trying to do with turning me back to human?"
"Oh, it's not permanent" Valentine explained, "You turn back to your spirit form when Halloween comes because it's your responsibility"
"So I only have until then" Ichabod sighed sadly, that doesn't seem like enough time for him.
"No, because here's the best part, when Halloween is over, you revert back to your human form"
"Why would he do something like this? To me? I'm the brother of the boogeyman, I'm practically like him"
"No you're not. You are nothing like him. You actually care about humans even when they don't believe in you, you protect them and no matter how Pitch tries to convince you to join his side, you stand on the path that you choose because you have a heart of gold"
"Would you stop with the sappy speeches, it sickens me, really. You are the most annoying person I've ever encountered; even the Easter Bunny would be a pleasant conversation"
Jack laughed to himself, but Bunnymund heard him with his heightened hearing and elbowed him in the back.
"Why do you push me away? I'm the only person who actually talks to you when everyone practically ignores you because they know Pitch is your brother"
"We're not even blood related!"
"That stuff doesn't matter when you've crossed over into this world, so you just have to deal with it!"
"How can I deal with 'this'!" Ichabod questioned, motioning his human self.
"You go after Mrs. Green eyes, that's the whole point of the arrow that was shot into your chest"
"How exactly am I supposed to do that?"
"You're lucky that you're friends with the spirit of love"
"Stop saying that!" Valentine just rolled his eyes and then started to lead Ichabod down the street with Jinx following them behind.
The scene changed and the next projection came up.
Carrie was walking down the thinly crowded street with a brown paper grocery bag in her arms. Then the screen moved and it showed that Ichabod was peeking around the corner of the alley just down the street from Carrie.
"How exactly am I going about this?" Ichabod questioned, pulling back into the alley way where Valentine was standing next to him as he leaned against the wall.
"I have an idea" Valentine said.
He reached into his small leather brown satchel bag and pulled out a small purple drawstring bag. He whistled a little and Jinx came running up until she was standing between the two men. Valentine opened the bag and poured silver dust in his hands.
Ichabod looked at the silver dust and his jaw dropped slightly, "Hey!"
Valentine blew the dust on Jinx and she sneezed once and shook her body of the dust. Jinx started to suddenly shrink down until she looked like a puppy; she looked behind her, then she bowed her upper body and her wings folded and then disappeared into her back, making her look like a normal dog.
"That was my shrinking dust spell! How'd you get that?" Ichabod questioned angrily.
Valentine pulled on the strings of the bag and placed it back in his satchel, "Now's not the time for questions, she's coming! Go Jinx go!"
Jinx ran off and Ichabod was conflicted about going after Jinx or killing Valentine. Ichabod pointed threateningly at Valentine and then ran off to catch up with Jinx. When he caught up with her, he saw that she was with Carrie and she was kneeling on the ground with her grocery bag on the ground next to her as she affectionately petted Jinx.
Ichabod stood there for a second frozen, then he started to smooth his hair back and straightened his trench coat of his new, more modern clothes and then approached Carrie as she laughed as Jinx was playfully growling.
"U-um, excuse me" Ichabod called out a little nervously, Carrie looked up at him and their eyes clashed in a way that seemed indescribable, "T-that's my... dog, she accidently got loose"
"Oh" Carrie said as she gathered Jinx into her arms and stood up, "Well, let's be glad she just came running up to me and not past me, who knows what would have happened to this little cutie. What's her name?"
"Jinx. Her names Jinx"
"That's an interesting name, I like it"
Ichabod smiled nervously as a small blush covered his face, "She seems to taken a liken to you"
"I can say the same thing" As Carrie handed Jinx to Ichabod, their hands touched and they felt a small shock between them and it surprised them.
Carrie looked at her hands for a second before looking at Ichabod with slight confusion, "I know this seems a little weird to ask, but have we met before?"
Ichabod started to get nervous for a different reason, "U-um, no, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"I... I don't know, I just have this strange feeling like we know each other"
Ichabod replaced his nervousness with a charming smile, "Well, maybe we can know one another again, maybe over some coffee"
Carrie laughed a little as a small blushed covered her face, "Wow, instantly switching into Prince Charming; that sounds nice. How about tonight?"
"Sounds like plan"
"I'm Carrie by the way"
"I'm Ichabod"
"Wow; Jinx, Ichabod, I think we'll get along just fine"
"I was hoping so"
Carrie picked up her grocery bag and then started to walk down the street again, looking back once more to wave goodbye and he waved back and smiled contently.
The scene changed and the next projection came up.
Carrie and Ichabod were walking down the street with Jinx on a leash, holding hands, which were swinging back and forth at a fast rate and they were both laughing.
"So Carmen is hosting another Halloween party at her house" Carrie informed, stopping their hands and stood closer to Ichabod, "Can you come this time?"
"I wish I could" Ichabod said.
"This is like the third time, what do you do every year on Halloween?"
Ichabod was quite, trying to come up with a reason, "I-it's uh... it's a family matter"
"You have family matter on Halloween?"
"Yes, it's a little complicated to explain"
"I hate that we can't spend Halloween together. We spend every day for the last three years together, yet when Halloween comes around, you disappear completely. I'd like to spend at least one Halloween together, it's the one year that I get to dress up and act like a kid again"
"You really love Halloween, don't you?"
"It's the third most important thing to me"
"Third most important thing? What's the first two" Carrie looked up at him with a smirk, then used her fingers to zip her lips shut.
Ichabod laughed a little, then he thought of something, "Do you want to hear a story?"
"What's the theme?"
"Halloween"
"Wow, you haven't told it yet and I'm already hooked"
Ichabod laughed again, "Do you know the boogeyman?"
"A timeless classic"
"Well, there's an untold story about him"
"If it's untold, how do you know it? Are you just making this up?"
"Does it matter?"
Carrie shrugged, "No, not really"
"Well, the untold story is that he has a brother"
"A brother?"
"Yes, his brother is the Halloween King"
"Halloween King? But I thought that title was automatically the boogeyman's because it involves creatures of the night and nightmares"
"No, it's not his title. Yes, Halloween is about nightmares, but the real reason underneath it is because Halloween is meant to show that you can laugh at your fears, that you shouldn't be afraid of them"
"Wow. I can understand that, when me and my siblings scare each other, we just laugh afterwards"
"And he's also meant to protect people as well"
"Like putting out pumpkins in front of people's houses to protect them from evil spirits?"
"Exactly"
"Wow, the Halloween King sounds like an awesome guy, real nice too"
"...I guess he is. But he's a little misunderstood by everyone"
Carrie heard the sadness in his voice and she thought that he was sad because he was reflecting his sadness through the story. She moved his arm so that it was wrapped around her and she stood closer to him.
"It's ironic that it takes two misunderstood people to understand one another" Ichabod looked down and they smiled at each other, then they leaned forward and kissed each other.
Luna was gripping at her forearms as the scene changed again.
Carrie was sitting outside on the porch wearing a purple and black witch costume while the music of a party inside the house was booming loudly. She was looking up at the full moon, fiddling with a white hand woven dream catcher that was given to her by Ichabod on their fourth anniversary.
The door opened and Carrie looked over to see her friend in a fairy costume walk out laughing loudly. She closed the door and walked towards Carrie, her laughing died down as she sat down on the porch steps.
"What's wrong little witch?" she asked, wrapping her arm around Carrie's shoulder.
"Nothing Carmen" Carrie sighed.
"Don't lie, we've been friends since we were little, I know you better than anyone. Are you down because Ichabod couldn't come again?" Carrie just sighed again, "I don't know why you get so down whenever he can't come, it's been like this since you first met him"
"Even I can't explain why I get so down. I just feel something whenever Halloween comes around and he's not here with me"
"Aww, you're in love"
"Shut up! Am not" Carrie laughed, looking away with a blush on her face.
"Carrie's in love~! Carrie's in love~!" Carmen singed.
"I may not be a real witch, but if you don't knock it off, I'm gonna curse you"
"Hey, I'm friends with you, I'm already cursed"
Carrie and Carmen laughed as they started to playfully hit each other. But it was stopped short when Carrie noticed something out of the corner of her eye and she was surprised to see Ichabod walking down across the street from them, kneeling down in front of the walkway and placed something in the ground. She was a little surprised to see him when he said that he was busy and saw that he looked completely different and was carrying a scythe.
"Ichabod?" Carrie called out, standing up front of the steps and walked down the walk way.
Hearing his name being called while he was in his spirit form surprised him and had distracted him from his protection spell as he looked towards where the voice came from. He was startled to see Carrie right across from him and making her way towards him.
"I thought you said that you had a family matter to attend to. Did you finish early?" Carrie asked as she stood right in front of him and gave him a hug. It was an impact for him to be touched while in his spirit form since he spent his entire life not being believed in.
"W-what are you doing here?" Ichabod asked, pulling out of the hug, "I thought you said that you were going to a friend's party downtown"
"No, I said that I was going to pick a friend up from downtown to go to a party here. And you're all dressed up, I love it, its so 18 century, and the dyed hair and color contacts, you've really dedicated yourself to the warlock costume. I love the scythe, it may not go with the outfit, but it's so original"
"Carrie!" Carmen called out as she walked towards Carrie, completely confused, "What's wrong with you?"
"What are you talking about?" Carrie questioned.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Carmen asked, holding up two fingers.
Carrie pushed her hand away, "Would you tell me what you're doing?"
"I should be asking you that; why are you talking to yourself?"
"I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to Ichabod"
"Are you delusional?"
"He's standing right here, he's right next to me"
"Nobody's standing there"
Carrie turned to look at Ichabod, "Do you have any idea what she's talking about?"
Ichabod had this look on his face that only confused Carrie more, she looked between him and Carmen a couple times before she looked like she was about to panic. Carrie grabbed Carmen's hand and then pulled it towards Ichabod, and she was shocked to see her hand go through him.
"Carrie, are you sure you're ok?" Carmen asked, pulling her hand away.
"I'll be alright, I'm gonna go home" Carrie said, grabbing Ichabod's wrist and started to pull him along with her.
When they made it to a street that was completely empty, Carrie spun around and punched Ichabod right in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and groaned loudly.
Jack winced slightly when he remembered the pain of being punched in the stomach by Luna.
"I can't believe you!" Carrie shouted in anger, "You better start explaining 'Halloween King'!"
Ichabod tried to straightened up, but she packed a real punch there, "I-I'm sorry"
"Is that all you have to say to me, 'I'm sorry'!"
"Would you have believed me if I told you I was the Halloween King, that I was a spirit?"
"Of course not, who would believe that nonsense, the reason that I'm mad at you is because you lied to me!" Ichabod looked at her confusingly, "You lied when I asked you if you had any siblings, but the boogeyman is your brother"
"Not by blood"
"That's not the point! He's a brother to you in some way. What else have you lied to me about? Were you really born in New York?"
"Yes... like eight hundred years ago, though it wasn't really called New York then"
Carrie threw her hands in the air and groaned in frustration, "I can't believe you; you know, you still could have told me you had a brother"
"If I told you, you would probably would have wanted to meet him when you introduced me to your family"
"You know, forget about your brother, the main point is that you lied to me. And that story you told me last year, was that true?"
"Yes, it was true"
"Why did you tell me that story anyways? For me to feel sympathy for you? For me to believe that you exist? And exactly how long were you planning to keep this secret from me?" Ichabod looked at Carrie with guilt in his eyes, "You were never going to tell me, were you? God! I can't believe you kept this from me for four years, I practically wore my heart on my sleeve and told you everything; you now know me like the back of your hand! How can I trust you now that your secret's been exposed? Why would you keep this from me?"
"Because I was scared!" Ichabod snapped.
Carrie scoffed, "You were scared?"
Ichabod stepped forward until he was towering over Carrie, "More than when I died"
Carrie had a slightly scared and surprised look on her face and swallowed, then spoke in a much calmer voice, "Why?"
"Because for the first time since forever, I actually care about being believed in, in being seen, and the first time that I'm actually afraid. Since we've been together, I've lived in fear and guilt; the guilt of not telling you who I really am and fear that I would wake up from this dream"
Carrie laughed a little that barely had any humor in it, "It ironic to be calling this a dream when you're related to the boogeyman"
"It's hard for me to have dreams because of what my background is, that's why I lied; you are the only light that can break through the darkness that shrouds me"
Carrie's eyes started to fill up with tears and she turned away, "This is so messed up, I don't know what to do"
Ichabod sighed sadly and rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm sorry that I lied to you, keeping something this big from the one person I actually love and care about. I understand if you don't want to see me again"
Carrie turned around and then hit Ichabod in the arm, "You're an idiot" Ichabod looked confused, "Yes, I was mad at you. Was. But that's not what's messed up"
"Then what is it?" Carrie brushed her hands through her hair and paced back and forth a couple times before she stopped and crossed her arms.
She let out a small laugh, "What's so messed up and that I don't know what to do is... is that I'm still in love with you"
Ichabod looked surprised, but relieved, "You still love me?"
"My mind tells me I shouldn't, but my heart just has a mind of its own and it just over powers me, it wins every time"
Carrie wiped her tears away and then stepped towards Ichabod until she was close enough and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Ichabod smiled in relief and hugged her back.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Carrie asked as she pulled back enough so they could look at each other.
Ichabod thought about it for a bit, "I saved you from that truck"
Carrie looked completely shocked, "You saved me?!"
"I didn't want anything to happen to you"
Carrie scoffed and shook her head, then she looked up at Ichabod with a warm smile, "My hero"
Ichabod laughed slightly too, then they leaned towards each other and kissed.
The scene changed.
Ichabod was running frantically down the street with Jinx running beside of him. Then he threw his scythe in front of him, hopped on it and used it to fly faster and higher into the air. He flew rapidly through the sky for a while before he finally arrived at a hospital and flew up to a window near the middle of the building. The window was open and Ichabod flew in, landing on his feet on the polished floor.
"I was wondering when you were gonna get here" Carrie called out from the hospital bed, sitting up straight. Ichabod gave an irritated look when he saw Valentine sitting on the edge of the bed with her.
"What's with the evil look?" Valentine questioned.
"What's that doing here?" Ichabod questioned, placing his scythe against the wall.
"Carrie!" Valentine whined.
"What're you whining to her for?"
"Ichabod, cut out the denial, he's your best friend" Carrie said, shaking her head with a smile.
"And Godfather" Valentine added.
"What?" Ichabod questioned.
"What's wrong with him being Godfather?" Carrie asked.
Ichabod just groaned, "Forget it. So, where are they?"
"They'll be bring them back soon" Carrie answered. Ichabod grabbed Valentine by the arm and pulled him up from the bed and sat down next to Carrie.
"It amazing" Ichabod said with a smile.
"I know, I can't believe we're parents!" Carrie said excitedly.
"So?"
"It's a boy and a girl" Ichabod let out a happy laugh and he and Carrie hugged each other.
"You picked out any names yet?" Ichabod asked as they pulled out of the hug.
"I was waiting for you so we can pick them together" Carrie said.
"I suspect that you already have names"
"Well, maybe for the boy"
"What is it?"
"It's Casper"
Ichabod laughed a little, "That's a wonderful name. What about the girl?"
"Well, since I named our son, you can pick a name for your daughter"
"Wow, that's putting a lot of pressure on him" Valentine spoke out.
"Why would that be pressure for me?" Ichabod questioned.
"Because a name goes a long way for a girl and it's important to pick a beautiful name for a beautiful girl-I have an idea! Name her Aphrodite"
"You are not naming my daughter, if you want to use that name, go have a child of your own"
"Would you two calm down" Carrie interrupted, "I don't want my kids crying because you two are making the room feel tense"
"Sorry" Ichabod and Valentine said at the same time. A knock came at the door and it opened up as a nurse came in wheeling in a plastic crib that had two babies sleeping in.
"Hello Carrie" the nurse greeted, obviously not seeing the two spirits in the room and settled the crib next to her bed, "The little ones are sleeping peacefully and are perfectly healthy, congratulations"
"Thank you" Carrie said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed to look closely at her children as the nurse soon left. The two spirits gathered around the crib at the two sleeping twin wrapped in blankets.
Carrie reached in the crib and picked up the baby in the blue blanket and cradled him close, then looked at Ichabod, "Say hello to your son"
Ichabod scooted closer to Carrie and smiled down at the sleeping baby. Then he looked at the crib and leaned on the edge slightly. He moved his hand into the crib and lightly brushed his finger against the baby's cheek, and he was surprised to see the he didn't go through her. He moved both of his hands and gathered the little baby in his hands and cradled her in his arms and Valentine and Carrie were just as surprised as he was.
"How can you touch her? You're still in your spirit form" Valentine asked.
"Well, she is my daughter" Ichabod said, smiling down at the sleeping baby, "She's my daughter"
"Have you picked a name yet?" Carrie asked.
"Uh, not yet, but now that I see her, I want to pick a perfect name for this beautiful miracle"
"Aphrodite" Valentine whispered to him.
"Back off" Ichabod said without looking at him and using a calm tone. As he continued to gaze at the baby, she started to stir and her eyes fluttered open, revealing big green eyes.
"Whoa, she has big eyes" Valentine gasped in awe, "Maybe you should name her Kitty"
Ichabod laughed slightly, "I'll use that for a nickname, but that won't be her name"
"Well we can't call her baby girl forever" Carrie said.
Ichabod nodded and brushed his finger against the baby's cheek. The baby looked up at him and reached out with her little hand and gripped tightly onto his finger. Ichabod became distracted when he saw light shine in through the window and he looked out to see a full moon. He looked at the moon for a second before looking back down at the little baby.
"I think Luna would be a fitting name for her" Ichabod said. Carrie smiled warmly at the sight of Ichabod giving a kiss on Luna's forehead and Valentine smiled happily to see his friend finally happy and with a family.
The scene disappeared and the Guardian Stone disappeared into the floor again. Everyone's attention turned to Luna and she looked to be in complete shock and her hand was covering her mouth. She then turned to look at Ichabod and they stared at each other for a bit in the deafening silence. Just when he opened his mouth to say something, she turned and walked away.
"I need to be alone" Luna said in a strained voice as she walked towards the doors to North's office. She opened the door, walked in and closed the door softly as the clicking echoed in the silent room.