October 18th
Author's Notes: I guess I didn't think it through very well; Eddy, singing? Man, I screwed up big-time. Well, only one person seemed to notice. So, just read this chapter.
11:00 PM:
Double D's eyes opened tiredly and he sat up. Somehow, the lights in his room had all come on while he was asleep. How was that even possible? Tiredly, Double D walked over to the light-switch and turned it off. When he turned to walk back to bed, he found himself face-to-face with a tall, well-dressed skeleton.
"OH, GOOD LORD!" Double D yelled in fear in shock. The skeleton laughed cheerfully. "Well, you're more fun than Wesley!" The skeleton said good-naturedly. "But, in all seriousness, down to business; you're in terrible danger."
"Danger from a heart attack, maybe!" Double D replied angrily. "Who are you, anyways?!" "Oh, I apologize." The skeleton said, bowing his head courteously. "MY name is Jack Skellington; I am, and I intend to always be, the King of Halloween!"
"Okay, I'm calling the cops." Double D said as he walked to the door. Jack grabbed his collar and stopped him. "Let me explain things to you." Jack said simply. "Everything is in danger; Halloween Town, you, everyone you know!"
"What are you talking about?" Double D asked. "A long, long time ago, there existed a race of beings." Jack explained calmly. "These beings had many names; the Cold-Gray, the Colorless Ice, the Warm-Takers. They were the enemies of Everything.
"These beings would sneak into the homes of people with life." Jack continued, letting go of Double D. "They would suck the warmth from them, the life from them, like a vampire sucks blood. However, not even vampires were safe from them; anything that wasn't as cold as them could be taken.
"The beings whose lives were taken became colorless, emotionless husks. The Enemies soon began doing much worse things; they began breeding with the humans, creating horrible beings that lived to commit every crime imaginable. Anyone with a drop of Pale blood wouldn't hesitate to kill; some of the most infamous killers have been the Colored Pale."
"How does this affect me?" Double D asked. "They were locked away a long time ago in my world of Halloween Town." Jack explained. "However, very few locks are perfect; some always escape, taking warmth from us and breeding with humans. However, the lock is still good enough to keep ninety-three percent in their Gray World."
"You still haven't affected why you should be warning me!" Double D yelled. "You had an ancestor who passed down an artifact through the generations." Jack explained. "The key that could lock or unlock the gate; I need it to lock the gate, the Enemies need it to unlock it so they may flood the world and make it lifeless."
Double D was confused. "Why do I have the key?" He asked. "You have it because…" Jack began, but he hesitated. "Well, I like scaring people, but if I told you, well… you wouldn't be too happy.
"All you need to know for now is that the Queen of the Warm-Takers wants your key and you." Jack continued. "She wants you as her mate; Petrificia will try anything to make you enter the Gray World."
Double D's eyes turned gray for a very brief second; the name Petrificia seemed to trigger something inside of him… however, he returned to normal quickly.
"I believe that a servant of Petrificia somehow found a way to enter your world without leaving Gray World." Jack explained, not having noticed Double D's eye change. "To do that, however, they'd need a body of some sort; either they would posses someone or they'd put a bit of their spirit in an inanimate object and send it to your world…"
The doorknob to Double D's room suddenly turned. The door quickly opened, revealing Edd's floating, empty costume. The costume stood, staring at Jack apparently, for a few seconds. "Crap…"
"Speak of the devil…" Jack muttered. "So, you use my own assistant against me, eh? I recognize that material as something Wesley had in the shop! You hid yourself in the material for the boy's costume and had Wesley deliver it himself, eh? Quite clever, mister…"
"My name is D'Crane." The costume answered calmly. A being suddenly appeared inside of the costume; a creature that resembled a boy of Double D's age, though with a skull over his head like a mask.
"Well, D'Crane, I suggest you leave that costume." Jack said angrily. "Otherwise, I'll be forced to tear it to pieces." "This is none of your business." D'Crane said, his voice hostile. "I'm merely working for the good of my kingdom and the good of my family."
"So, you were hiding in my costume?" Double D asked angrily. "Yes." D'Crane answered after he turned to Double D. His voice had lost all hostility and even seemed… friendly. "Sorry to have to trick you like that, but Queen Petrificia said you'd need some convincing in order to come with her. You're not mad, are you?"
Double D narrowed his eyes, clearly mad. "Get out of here; I'm not giving you the key." He said angrily. "Oh, no; I had hoped you wouldn't say that." D'Crane said sadly. "Now Queen Petrificia will have to release the Impgoblins."
"What?" Double D asked, confused. Suddenly, D'Crane vanished and the costume crumpled to the floor. "What?" Double D said again as he turned to face Jack, who had vanished. "What?"
11:59 PM:
"Eddy fed us to a plant…We deserved it after hurting Nazz… No, we must get our revenge on him! … I don't think we—I don't care! You have not become strong; you have not lost all of your human weakness! Join the rest of your soul in that accursed mask!"
Black Kevin opened his eyes in a familiar trailer in a familiar trailer park. He angrily got up and tossed his baseball cap off. "Who saved me?" He asked mockingly. "Come out here so I can give you your reward!"
Black Kevin felt two tentacles suddenly wrap around him. "What?!" He roared angrily. "What are you doing?!" "We told you that you'd help us…" three voices whispered all at once. "Now we'll make you…"
