Surprise! When was the last time I updated this quickly? Never!
HUGE shout out to Firephoenix, who did something that I myself still haven't done- going back to chapter one and re-reading the entire story, as well as leaving a review on each chapter. That some incredible time and effort to put into this creation, especially since I can't wait to head back to those earlier chapters and do some serious heavy editing. Unfortunately, Firephoenix is a guest so I can't PM you directly to thank you for this, but please feel free to message me here or over on Tricked Out's tumblr so I can address the reviews without making this author's note as long as the book!
Jackharknessfan: It'd been requested quite a bit; one of these days I'll have to work it in! Thank you for the Ciaran love! This week's illustration features him, which is hopefully an update to the other sketches I have of him, drawn way back in 2016! As for Ciaran and Jack meeting...:)
Guest: I am so glad that I've been able to fully indulge in the Jack & Ivy fluff these past few chapters. Utterly self-serving but we'll sneak some character development in there as well. Except now we need them to #shutupandbefriends again!
Tmntf4ever: Thank you for waiting so long! Ciaran is absolutely going to play more and more of a role as the story goes forward, so I'm glad y'all like him!
Haley: The Review: "omg if he doesn't find her next chapter I'm gonna riot." I: ;)
Anglo: I'm glad you liked it & am very sorry for the painful wait!
Gre3nleaf: Ciaran has spent the past 400 years in near-isolation, immediately pack bonded with the only other human around but for whatever reason she keeps running back to the monsters and the poor ghost is like ? But we love him for this, damn it.
Tilly Northman: Tricked Out's drinking game will be posted and 'Jack messing with Ivy's hair' is probably gonna be at the top!
Guest #2: Did you peek at my writing outline when posting your review? Stay tuned!
GoldGuaredian2418: The Creature is wonderful, but a total bastard who hates that he's been pulled out of his isolation. Thank goodness Jack knows how to handle him!
Now onto the chapter!
Edge of the Forbidden Forest
After Ciaran asks four times
"Have you found one ye-"
"Ciaran, I swear, I will turn this car around."
"Beg pardon?"
Ivy blew a tuft of hair from her face, reminding herself to stay calm. "Nothing, 'Keer. I'm going as fast as I can, but it's a lot harder than Jack made it look."
Ivy leaned against the trunk of a tree, closing her eyes once more. Now, what had Jack said about Gateways?
They're a disturbance in the fabric of reality.
She tried to narrow her awareness to what she could hear, feel, and...sense, for lack of a better word. God. She'd never been one for meditation.
They're places where reality feels a bit off. Where you're not quite sure if you're alone or not, where time doesn't seem to exist.
She breathed out slowly, feeling the chill at her shoulder of Ciaran hovering anxiously.
Lineal spaces, Kunze, c'mon. Find one.
They were in a forest with nobody around, even the spiders seeming to be hiding. There wasn't much noise...the blackened moss seemed to absorb everything, even the sound of her own breathing. The Wind was nowhere to be found, the air was stale...it was the kind of place where you might take a nap and wake up hundreds of years from now.
THERE!
Keeping her eyes closed, Ivy flapped her hands frantically at a spot forward and left.
"...Ivy?"
The Gateway didn't immediately flee and Ivy felt pathetic at the rush of relief she felt.
"Move me forward," she hissed, keeping her voice low. "I think I found one!"
"Oh, you brilliant girl," Ciaran breathed, a strange edge to his voice that Ivy completely passed over in favor of stumbling forward. Ciaran's cold grip secured her shoulders, turning her just so until-
Her fingers tingled and she knew she'd hit it.
Ivy cracked one eye open, but the strange pulsing sensation didn't stop. Her fingers hung limply in the air, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to see-
"Oh, there!" Ciaran all but laughed, thankfully quiet. "I see it, yes!"
"I...I don't see it," Ivy said, voice small. "Why can't I see it?"
"Perhaps you must be dead to see it," Ciaran suggested, leaning close as though he were trying to memorize...whatever it was that he saw.
"What does it look like?" Ivy asked, sitting back onto her heels.
Ciaran cocked his head, curls flopping to the side. "It's...it's a shimmer, in the air. It reminds me of the hot summer air."
"Whatever," Ivy muttered, shaking off her weird jealousy. "Let's see if this works, huh?"
She stood and backed a few paces away from the Gateway, steeling her nerves. "How big is it?"
"We can both easily fit," Ciaran said, his own nerves showing in his voice. Ivy felt a twinge of guilt for putting the ghost through this...this-
Oh, what, the thing that almost killed him?
-but it had to be done.
She reached out and gripped his hand as best she could, squaring her shoulders and taking a steadying breath.
"Did it hurt?" she asked, feeling more like a child than ever.
Ciaran returned her grip, cool mist sticking close to her. "Yes."
"Did you go through easily?"
"No."
"You ready?"
"No."
Ivy nodded. "Me either. Let's go."
They squeezed their hands, ran forward and leapt-
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Outside Finkestein's Tower
"Thanks for helping me, Miss Sally!" Agnus grinned, his untorn wing flapping. Sally smiled and gently shifted the bat's weight so she could finish the stitches on the torn patch of his left wing. "See, Vinnie, I told you Miss Sally was cool!"
"She's alright," Vinnie sniffed, mulishly tucking her bandages back into the dips of her ankles. Sally noticed the gesture, chest stitches pulsing in concern.
"If you'd like, Vinnie, I can secure those bandages for you," Sally offered shyly. "That way they wouldn't trip you."
Vinnie dropped the chunk of gauze in shock. "You can do that?"
Sally nodded, blushing.
Vinnie tilted her head, face screwed in concentration. "In that case," she began solemnly, "I think you're the worstest monster, Miss Sally."
"Oh, don't let your parents hear you say that," Sally scolded gently, still fighting a blush. "Jack is the worst of us all."
"Can he stitch?"
Sally paused, needled hovering above Agnus' wing. "I'm not quite sure," she finally said. Though he desperately needs to learn, with those rags of his...although I'd do it for you, Jack, I'd make you look like the worst Halloween ever has or ever will see…
"What are you losers doing?"
The voice was Shock's, no doubt, and judging by the heavy footfalls Barrel was with her, and where there were two there was alway a third…
Sally sighed and looked up, ready to wearily greet the trio, but then-
The ground opened up, cobblestones flying. The trick or treaters screamed, clutching one another as the Wind blew dust & debris around. There was a terribly genuine fear in Shock's eyes as she gripped her cohorts close, one hand up throwing sparks of weak magic as tree branches (what?) fell around them, a terrible green glow pulsing behind Sally's eyes (what?) water slowly filling the room (but we're outside?) and the sound of a terrible laugh, giving Sally her first taste of true fear overwhelming and never ceasing and-
"What's wrong with you?"
Sally gasped and the world flickered back to normal. The trio, along with Vinnie and Agnus, stared openly to where she had pushed herself backwards in her panic. The street was intact, the Wind was nowhere to be seen, and the trio weren't-
Dying?
Drowning?
Being crushed?
Ivy's swears popped into the forefront of her mind, but Sally stubbornly pushed them away.
"Di-did any of you see that?" She asked, hating the shakiness of her voice.
"..uh, see what, Miss Sally?" Agnus asked hesitantly, slowly pulling the needle out of his wing.
"She's crazy," Vinne said in a terrible stage whisper to Barrel, who nodded with every ounce of childish seriousness he possessed. Lock's face was openly twisted in revulsion, and Shock…
"Seriously, doll, what's your problem?" Shock snapped. "I mean, we are scary, we know, but I didn't think you'd be such a scaredy-cat."
"She's new!" Agnus piped up, seemingly happy to ignore Sally's oddity in favor of a new friend to defend.
The children continued to bicker but Sally sat herself on her haunches, scrubbing her eyes in an attempt to rub the last few bits of green from her vision. What under the Earth had that been? Surely the doctor would have mentioned if she were to have...visions? Hallucinations? This was Halloween, after all, perhaps she'd simply taken in the air wrong or been the victim of a practical joke or…
Or what she had seen was real, or going to be.
"Excuse me," Sally said, soft and shaky yet cutting through the argument like a monster's claw. "I think...I had better go lie down."
Shock snorted. "Whatever."
"Bye, Miss Sally," Agnus waved, his repaired wing fluttering happily.
"But-"
"I'll do your bandages later, Vinnie, I promise," Sally assured, feeling a strange pressure behind her eyes. "Draw and quarter me if I don't."
Vinnie brightened. "Usually I'm the one gettin' drawn," she mused. "Sure, Miss!"
Sally painted on her first truly fake smile and stumbled towards the door of the tower.
"Why, my dear," the doctor exclaimed from his workshop table as she passed. "Are you alright? You look as though you've been possessed by a ghost!" His concerned gaze darkened. "Have they been hanging around the windows again? Nasty little buggers. Get the spray for them, Sally, they'll leave us be then."
"Yes, Doctor," Sally responded moodily, rubbing the fabric of her temples and shuffling to the supply closet.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Somewhere in Halloween Town
When Jack's patience runs thin
Jack knew that every Town member had a Past. Some were more well-known than others (the Creature had spent a solid two weeks inside his Town Dwelling to escape Monsters seeking autographs), but Jack was not so naive as to pass over the seemingly innocuous members either. After all, while he'd taken control of the narrative by telling his version of the Stingy Jack tale, there were things that he hoped the Town would never find out, both for his own reputation and their own safety.
Did he want them to know that he'd had a wife and child? Hardly. That he'd lost more bets and paid dearly for them? Not particularly. That he'd begged the Devil for entry multiple times? Even less so. That he'd once made a demonic deal that condemned a future descendant of his to Halloween at best, and at worst...well. He hoped he'd never face that day. At the beginning, after those he cared about most had left the face of the earth to where he could never follow, he'd harboured the selfish wish that his bloodline would simply die off before the demons came to collect. Instead of following the line, he'd faded into the mist, joined Halloween, and put any thoughts of his deal out of his mind.
Jack glanced at the treeline at the edge of town with disdain. And he might have been able to keep his head in the sand forever, he thought to himself bitterly on long and lonely nights, if it hadn't been for the demons.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Halloween Borders
The First Week that Jack is King
"Jack! The demons are coming!"
The new king froze in the street, sockets turning to the witches sounding the alarm. "Helga? How close?"
"About a kilometer, give or take," Helga grit out, her black eyes burning with rage. Few monsters could fully control their auras, but this was not the case with the witches. Helga's normally cheerful yellow burned around her, and she gripped her broom hard enough for the wood to splinter.
Other Citizens who'd heard the alarm groaned, halting in their tasks of removing more of the...colorful of Oogie's propaganda messages around Town.
"Those damn demons," one grouched, throwing down a human's hollow severed head that Oogie had used for lanterns. "They come in here, stink the whole town of sulfur, without a hint of subtlety…"
"They always run my rotten cabbages!" Another complained. "We get it, you can set fire to whatever you touch. That hardly dictates that one should!"
Similar grumbles and discontent echoed the statement, a few Citizens abandoning their work altogether to take refuge.
Jack wished he still had a lip to gnaw at, but settled for grinding his jaw as he looked over the town. "No doubt they're expecting to meet with Oogie," he said, only half to Helga.
"If I may, your Majesty," Helga ventured, the new title clumsy in her mouth, "every Ruler has had...their own ways of dealing with the demons, and almost all maintain some form of communication with them, but after Rosalyn…" she trailed off, and Jack was able to distract himself from the general dread of the Town . "I understand that you must do your job, but I ask you to respect that myself and the other witches will not provide any assistance they ask for. Sir."
Jack couldn't quite make eye contact with Helga, even as his mind counted down the seconds until the demons would likely arrive. "I understand," he said softly. And he did. How could he ask anything of them when their mentor, Rosalyn, who'd been a member of the Town since the mid 1500's, had been driven mad and sent to her second grave by demons?
Oogie hadn't seen it as worth pursuing. The demons were too helpful, he'd claimed, too risk upsetting over one ancient witch. It had taken everything within Jack to not leap from his position at the mock council tabe...he had to bide his time until he could confidently challenge Oogie…
Jack scoffed to himself even as he dipped his head to Helga, showing a humility he knew would have Oogie ripping his threads out. What use were demons, anyway? They'd never seen Halloween as anything other than an easy link to the human world, filled with hosts to corrupt. They'd never once fought in defense of the Town, Jack thought bitterly as he stalked towards the border. Oogie had just let them in because he knew he could never beat them, and in turn let the Town be used like an eager whore...it would be better for everyone if…
If…
Jack froze. The threads of an idea, a dangerous idea were rapidly connecting behind his sockets at a speed that almost knocked him down. Yes...this might be the solution...he'd already done away with Oogie's rituals of hazing new arrivals, of sending a lackluster Town member to their second grave once a month, of hoarding more resources than he could ever use while his own citizens went without...what was one more change?
"I say," Jack said mildly to the two faced man who'd been trouting what old Halloween records expected of Jack's role. "Is there anything in these dusty tomes of yours that say we must deal in demonic business?"
The head spun in fear. "Pa-pardon, Majesty?"
"Is there any law saying that we must even allow them within the limits of Town?" Jack asked again, urgency creeping into his voice. If he was going to pull this off, he'd need all the time he could get.
There was sputtering and stammering but eventually an answer. "Nothing formally written saying you must, Majesty, but...tradition...and they are a dangerous lot, good Sir…"
"Traditions that cannot evolve on their own deserve to be changed," Jack countered, "and I have faced the Devil himself. What have I to fear from these low-level demons?"
The man could give no response, and Jack grinned a yellow smile that reminded those viewing it that despite being much friendlier in disposition than their old ruler, the gangly skeleton was Pumpkin King for a reason.
Helga broke the stunned silence. "What would you have us do, your Majesty?" Her aura dipped in subservience to Jack for the first time, and the skeleton's own lit up.
"Helga, your coven is to cast some sort of protection or shield spell for the Gates. We can refine once they leave, but they ought to know they aren't welcome anymore."
Helga gave her own dark grin, bowing her broom low before Jack and speeding off into the night, a loud cackle carried on the Wind.
"Inform all Citizens to take refuge in their homes- or, ah, any building they can find," he amended, cursing Oogie's policy of refusing any monster not on the council their own dwelling. "The demons won't take this lightly, tell everyone to stay prepared!"
With that, Jack bolted down the road, leaping over yet-to-be-mended gaps in the cobblestone road (it was not nearly as funny as Oogie proclaimed to see Citizens nearly drowning in the goo, stuck there for days). The treeline was bending under the gale of the Wind, and it wasn't until Jack had reached the edge of Town and dug his bare bones into the dirt that he recalled a rumor from long ago, that the Wind would speak to members of Halloween….nearly every non-corpal aspect of Halloween had been distant after Oogie took over, but perhaps…
In lieu of a calming breath, Jack focused on the cold dirt between his metatarsals and called out.
"I am attempting to contact the entity within the wind." The dead grass around the gates bobbed and weaved, and Jack felt a different kind of breeze across his bones. Reaching his aura out, he was overcome with a wave of sheer age, of passive destruction and chases and explorations, of pushing the first waters of the planet to create ripples in the wave, of calling out to centuries of humans on lonely nights only for them to close their doors and windows. Jack took an unnecessary swallow and forced himself to speak, aware that his own aura had shrunk down.
"Oogie Boogie is no longer in power," he said haltingly, unsettled in a way he hadn't been in decades. "I am Jack Skellington, the new King of Halloween."
Jack got the impression of laughter as the Wind caused the Gates to creak.
"I know my...predecessor...did not deem you valuable to Halloween's cause," he continued, hoping suddenly that this wasn't some fabrication the demons had whipped up as a precursor to their visit. "I cannot change his actions, only improve my own." (The grass moved a bit faster at that, and Jack finally heard the shrikes of the demons in the distance.)
There was a strange whistling as the Wind raced through his skull, a sharp pressure that might correlate with pain if he were still alive, and then…
"We have watched your journey to Halloween and subsequent rise through its ranks," a raspy, low voice echoed from the edges of his hearing. It was layered and androgynious, and Jack found himself straining to catch the faintest whisper. "You are different from the past Rulers of Halloween, this is for certain. And yet your first attempt to contact myself is to ask for help."
Jack couldn't help flinching with shame. "I, ah…"
The Wind laughed. It wasn't a sound Jack had ever thought possible and he wasn't sure if he'd like to hear it again. "I sense your intentions are good, Jack Skellington," the Wind rasped. "You have come quite a ways since knocking on the Gates of Hell, so I will give you a fair warning. I am but a neutral party, you must understand. No matter what actions occur, I can only act as a Witness. I am not a Citizen, nor a monster. I simply am what I am."
"You are as much a part of this Town as any other," Jack retorted before he could stop himself. "If you wish to take Citizenship, I will gladly speak on your behalf- that is, once I make some less barbaric changes to the Ceremony."
The Wind laughed again and Jack had the unique and unpleasant sensation of his non-existent skin crawling. "Your Town is amusing," the Wind continued. "Its inhabitants do bring a certain sense of...unity that I can appreciate after centuries alone. It will be fascinating to witness."
Jack thought fast. "Is there, perhaps, you could witness how much time we've got until our vile visitors arrive?"
The Wind swirled around Jack, causing his waistcoat to flutter, before answering. "Sooner than you'd hope for."
"What is that supposed to-"
"Look at this! Oogie's sent out his little messenger to greet us!"
Oh, hell.
Seven demons broke from the treeline, shrinking down to a modest 8 feet with enough bone crunching and grinding to turn Jack's stomach. He forced himself to let go of his ceremonial coat, feeling absurdly like a child in their father's clothing.
"Horrid greetings to you all," Jack called, folding his arms behind his back to hide the fidgeting of his fingers. "There has been a change of command within Halloween."
Their leader crossed all three sets of arms, tilting the goose-like neck down to peer at Jack. "Oh? Have you been promoted from messenger boy to Gate Guard?"
"Must be pathetic to do a bird's job," another chimed in, the numerous tails lashing. "What, did he make the bird deputy or something?"
"Oogie Boogie is no longer King of Halloween," Jack said simply.
The expressions were worth every bit of anxiety in Jack's stomach. The leader's brow furrowed, and the one who'd joined the mocking sprouted blades from their shoulders in shock. The group as a whole had a bizarre mix of indifference and morbid curiosity on their faces (and multiples of faces).
"So the old sack of shit was finally challenged," the leader sighed, pulling off a fingernail in boredom and flicking it to the ground, where the grass pulled away until there was a small circle of scorched earth. "No surprise there, he's lost too many gambling matches to me to have any strategic sense in order to keep power."
"Inevitable, really," another sighed. "Shame we couldn't have a hand in booting him out though."
The leader turned lazily to Jack, sheer boredom etched across their numerous eyes. "Very well then, who is the new ruler?"
"I am," Jack responded.
There was a pause.
The demons fixed hundreds of eyes upon Jack, giving him their full attention at last.
"You wouldn't be close to my first choice," the leader concluded, "but I suppose you'll do. Very well, bone boy. Shall we take this inside your lovely manor-" here the demon was already shouldering past Jack and making for the Gates, the crew following behind- "and we'll discuss what you can do for-"
"No."
It was the leader's turn to freeze. "I must be mishearing," they said without turning around. "Because that sounded like a refusal to a clear command."
"You have never been my superior," Jack retorted, "and I am telling you that any and all demons are no longer welcome in Halloween Town."
The leader laughed and spun around. "Perhaps you're misunderstanding," they said, throwing one massive (and flaming) arm around Jack's thin shoulders. "Demonic entities are an inherent part of the human's little celebration that allows your…'town' to thrive. The origins came from keeping us at bay!"
"Keeping human fears away is their goal," Jack agreed, "but humans fear far more than a simple demon these days. They've evolved, and their imaginations alongside, to where you are merely one of many bumps in the night."
The leader snarled, grip tightening around Jack. "You cannot evict us from this Holiday."
"Perhaps not," Jack conceded. "You will forever have a place in the realm of human fears, this is true. But there are many planes beyond this small town; there is plenty of room for your demons to wander outside of Hell that doesn't endanger my Citizens. You are a part of Halloween, but you are not a part of Halloween Town."
"These are some bold claims," the leader said slowly, "from a Ruler with no way of stopping us."
"There are ways of stopping you."
"Really? Because we heard from a voice on the Wind- one of your lot, I thought- that you've no defenses prepared, and let me be frank, Jack, that some pretty words are not enough to scare us off."
The demon spun Jack out and stalked back towards the Gate. Jack steadied himself and tried not to scowl at the Wind moving through the grass once more.
"Both sides asked for information, Jack," the voice came anyway.
Gritting his teeth, Jack watched as the demons got closer to the Gates...their burning feet leaving scorches in the Earth...and closed his sockets. Another trick for Stingy Jack. Another trap, another lie, another way to come out on top.
As the demons reached the Gate, Jack dug his feet into the Earth, gathered his aura, and called in his mind.
Spirit of Halloween, and of Halloween Town, Jack thought as venomously as a prayer. I am the new Ruler of Halloween, and I seek to protect us from the demons about to breach our border.
A presence at the back of his mind- no, hundreds of presence, all gathered into a swirl of history and fright and horror that made Jack want to fall to his knees in reverence.
An image was pushed to the forefront of his mind, one of the papers detailing the powers of the Pumpkin King.
The Pumpkin King may call upon the Spirit of Halloween and Halloween Town, using the power of centuries of monsters and rulers in any way they see fit.
I know, Jack thought, sensing time slowing down. But I don't want to seize this power. It is not mine to use. I can only ask.
"Alright, Halloween," the leader drawled. "Let's see what-"
CRACK!
Jack's sockets flew open at the Gates swung open and struck the leader across the face. The ground beneath all the demons began to swirl, climbing up their massive bodies and trapping the demons as they writhed. The Wind came back in full force, creating a gale that diminished the fires of rage the demons attempted to strike with.
There was a mental nudge at the back of Jack's skull, a don't let us do all the work, and Jack leapt forward, his aura at full power for the first time since challenging Oogie.
The leader was not to be easily deterred, twisting free from the ground and evaporating into a black mist that the Wind struggled to pierce. The moon's light was blotted out, and the remaining demons began to grow, bodies twisting and snapping.
Jack let his aura suffocate one, twitching at the familiar feeling of hellfire against his awareness for the first time in decades. He shook it off and leapt onto one of the other demons, crawling in a spider-like fashion to a crack in their shoulder and balling his fist, striking in the crevice and forcing it apart, causing the demon's shoulder to fall apart.
A flash of light caught his attention as Helga sent her broom into a tailspin, casting a spell that caused a high-pitched tone, until the very air vibrated.
"This is for Rosalyn, you bastards!" She screamed, raw grief punctuating her attacks. A demon drew a sword of fire from the air, but with Gretchen dive bombing the head it was easy for Helga to cast a water spell that evaporated the sword, with only a thick smog ever showing it existed. Jack fell to the ground and summoned his aura and the power that Halloween pumped through his veins, and pushed a wall of black fire at the demons, a shockwave that threw them into the pumpkin patch by the tree line.
"Demons of Hell," Jack yelled, aware that the same black fire crawled from his eyes and caused his voice to ring, "you are no longer welcome in Halloween Town, and are forbidden to interact with any of its Citizens."
"Hell yeah, Jack!"
The cheer caught them all off guard, and Jack spun about to see some of the Citizens lining up at the edges of Town- though thankfully, all still within the limits of the glowing orange line that marked the Town's border.
One child slowly raised a slingshot with a single red tomato, and all- figurative- hell broke loose.
Citizens were throwing anything they could get their hands on, the trees were uprooting themselves to smack the demons with, the auras of everyone in Town grew and blended together as the Town felt a sense of unity for the first time in centuries-
-and then everything froze.
Jack twitched, caught off guard that he could still move. Objects and weapons were halted midair, Helga was a picture of fury mid-dive, and even the demons were stopped in mid-swing towards the Town.
Everything has been halted, except for-
"This insult will not go unpunished," the leader growled, eyes glowing and limbs manifesting from the existing legs to wave angrily. "You've lived with one blind eye to your past for too long, that is obvious."
"What would you know of that?" Jack mocked. "I thought I was simply a messenger boy."
A flash and Jack was pressed against the stone wall, twelve hands wrapped around his neck. The demon tilted their heads, a look of twisted pity almost outweighing the sheer hatred. "Word of the deal of Stingy Jack gets around," they mocked in return. "While you've been playing at being King, have you given any thought to your deal?"
A jolt of cold fear ran through Jack. "What of it?" He rasped. "A descendant of mine will die. Why should I concern myself with where or when?"
"If that is how you think," the demon growled, "than you are as stupid as your predecessor and not worthy of the cleverness your reputation gives you."
"How kind! You think I'm clever?"
Jack's neck snapped as the demon squeezed. "100, Skellington!" The demon roared. "100 of your kin have died since you made your deal. If you truly believe we will simply drag your kin to Hell and leave this little playground be...well, I suppose I have no reason to break you of this disillusionment." He dropped Jack, who let his hands fly to his neck as he directed his energy towards repairing the break. He knew he wouldn't die here- the demon would want him alive to see his Deal come to fruition.
"Do you plan on telling the Town what you know?" Jack spat as soon as he was able. "To make me a Fool, cast enough doubt to remove me from power?"
The demon laughed, and Jack preferred the Wind's to the sound of rusted bed springs that echoed out of the demon's mouth. "Oh, no, Stingy Jack," he chided, as though he were speaking to a child. "I'd much rather them grow attached to you, trust you...and then have it all shatter when your dirty little skeleton-in-the-closet arrives." The demon leaned close, grinning. "Unless, of course, you choose to tell them yourself?"
Jack remained silent.
"That's what I thought." The demon straightened up, flicking Helga absently and sending her into a spin.
"Don't touch her," Jack growled, pushing himself to his feet.
The demon's eyes flashed. "I'll do much worse than that, Skellington."
Those clawed fingers snapped, and-
-there was a black mist that covered everything, Jack threw up his hands both to protect his face and have some grip on reality, but there were the sounds of growling and screaming and he could sense fear in the way tha Halloween should never feel, and there was something like the Wind pushing at everything but much more oppressive and cold and destructive-
There was a voice, though, slimy and smug, in his ear. "Don't think you can outrun this, Jack," the demon purred. "There is nowhere far enough to escape what you've done."
And with that, the black fog lifted, and Jack blinked at- well.
The buildings of Halloween had been utterly ripped to shreds, deep claw marks in the pumpkin patch and what was left of the cobblestone roads. Citizens were scattered about like leaves, though Jack was relieved that his aura registered no second deaths.
The demons were nowhere to be seen.
His subjects turned towards him, clearly waiting for- inspiration? Instructions? An explanation?
"Well," he began, feeling hopelessly out of his depth, "we were looking for an excuse to redecorate."
The Town collectively groaned.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Needless to say, Jack had learned his lesson. As soon as the Town was (partially) rebuilt, he'd sought out Finkelstein and told him he'd needed to run genetic tests of certain humans and compare it to his own. The Doctor had been reluctant until Jack threw in first priority building for a whole tower in which Finkelstein could reside, and Jack would fetch him anything he wanted from the human world for a decade- no questions asked.
(Well, aside from Jack asking himself why the hell he'd ever offered that.)
But no matter. He was tracking his potential descendants now, having no clue which ones had married in or if they carried his blood. They ranged from Washington state to the country of Georgia, and Jack lived in quiet terror that the day one of them arrived in Halloween would be sooner than he expected.
There had been a horrible suspicion in the first few weeks of Ivy's stay, clawing at his insides when the idea occurred to him that the Deal had somehow been altered to catch him off guard. He had suspected descendants in Germany..she'd arrived on Halloween Night...was the 'death' meant to be symbolic? Sure, she didn't resemble wth bloddied spirit that had haunted him for centuries but...what if? Was she meant to die here in Halloween, condemning Jack to the guilt of watching his kin die and then deal with their anger for all of eternity?
Which was why, shortly after the last demon attack, he'd begun to look for ways to test her DNA.
Finkelstein was insistent that if Jack was unwilling to remove a finger or blood sample from those he wished to test, than hair was the next best thing. He'd proudly presented Finkelstein with the handful of hair that he'd cut from her head after her encounter with Bloody Mary, only for Finkelstein to scoff. "Cut hair has no DNA, my dear boy. It has to be pulled from the source if I'm to use it."
Oh, well. Luckily Ivy looked alright with the close cut.
Nevertheless, he'd persisted, asking the Wind to bring her jacket back- surely that would hold something!
The Wind was- what a surprise- deciding to be difficult.
"No, Majesty," the entity had said smoothly. "You took her jacket for the purpose of forgetting a core piece of her identity. If it is to be forgotten, then it ought to remain that way."
"And yet you retain the memory," Jack snapped, feeling petulant.
"I cannot forget," the Wind replied. "It is not within my nature. I simply exist, observe, and pass along the winds of change."
So another dead end. That was fine, it was manageable, Jack could adapt- right?
December 6
Skellington Manor
Late Afternoon
His opportunity had come late one rainy day, when he'd been surprised by his ward leaving her bedroom, hair puffed up and a rare look of true exhaustion in her eyes.
"A bit early to wake, isn't it?" The skeleton asked, carefully.
Ivy grumbled and began to rummage around his cabinets.
"Didn't know you cared for my shoe fly pie so much that you'd be seeking seconds," he continued, turning his paperwork like a newspaper.
"Shoofly," Ivy grunted, her voice rough and irritable. "Not su'p'sed to be a shoe sole and flies. Y're lucky I din' vomit it up."
"I'll count myself lucky in that regard. Hearing the Tailypo hack up your hair is bad enough."
That finally got her to crack a grin, and the tension in Jack's ribs eased slightly.
"What are you looking for then, if not my culinary masterpiece?"
The girl sighed and slumped to the floor, rubbing at her eyes with one hand. "D'you have any kind of painkillers?" She finally mumbled. "I used my last one up when I was.." she waved in the general direction of her stomach. "...y'know."
"Ah." Jack pressed the seams of his mouth together, tilting his head as he mentally scanned his inventory. "I don't think so," he admitted sheepishly. "What do you need them for? Are you alright?"
Ivy shrugged one shoulder, a jerking motion that seemed to make her wince. "'It's fine. It's just…" she turned her head to look at the window beyond Jack's head, where pumpkin seeds, hail, and the odd raindrop pelted against the window. "I broke my elbow a long time ago, and whenever it rains it hurts. 'M not sure if it's the pressure difference or all in my head, but it hurts."
Jack hummed in sympathy, intimately familiar with the aches and pains of bones. "We could ask Finkelstein to whip up something-"
"No." She shook her head vehemently. "I don't trust that bastard not to put a little something extra in there."
"What, to help you sleep? Might be needed, at this point-"
"Oh god please don't start this again-"
"But nevertheless," Jack spoke over her, "there may be something I can do."
Ivy cracked one eye open to stare at him suspiciously. "You got some kind of bone cream?"
"I do, but I don't believe you'll be able to use it without removing your skin."
"Hard pass. What is it then?"
Jack smiled and patted the couch beside him before rising himself, opening a chest shoved into the corner of the room. He heard the sound of Ivy's socked feet across the hardwood, stepping around the creaky floorboards even in her dazed state. Once the springs of the couch screamed in protest (quite literally), Jack turned around, a set of leaves and sticks in his hand. At Ivy's raised eyebrow, Jack shook the sticks at her with an indulging smile. "Come now! Let's get you feeling better!" When the girl huffed but rolled her eyes in a way Jack had come to feel a surge of fondness for, he sat beside her and gently grasped her arm, feeling the strange heat bleed between his fingers and the soft thump of her pulse, slow as it was.
"This some kind of magic?" Ivy asked, eyes narrowed in skepticism as Jack ground the bark together between his fingers and dropped it into a mug of hot water. "Never took you for the herbalist type."
"I'd think you'd be advocating for our taking advantage of the resources that surround us." Jack used a spare finger bone to stir the concoction and gestured to Ivy to continue pressing the leaf to her elbow. "How did you break it, anyway?"
"Take a guess."
"I really am going to destroy that board," Jack muttered angrily. "Infernal contraption. What were your parents thinking?"
He instantly regretted the question when Ivy's brow furrowed and eyes clouded over, but before he could change the subject she haltingly said, "I think...I think they were glad it kept me busy. I don't remember them hating it...but then we know how my memory is." She gave a sad, accepting smile afterwards that made Jack want to smash the mug on the ground, but he settled for pressing it into her hands. At her hesitation, he tapped her wrinkled nose playfully. "It's willow bark, my dear. I haven't used it for centuries other than for aroma, but I recall healers using it."
Ivy sipped the tea and shuddered, but swallowed dutifully. "Glad I didn't break my elbow when you were alive," she joked. "I don't think I'd be able to stand it if this were all I got. Probably would've tied my arm up too- no proper cast." She made a face. "I hated that cast- probably why I remember it at all."
"What do you mean?"
"Wind said something about bad stuff sticking in memory easier than good stuff. What we hold onto an' all of that. Figures that's what we get stuck with, right?"
Jack thought of his own fragmented memories with a jolt- aside from the newly awoken memory of cradling James when he'd held Ivy, little other moments of joy remained in his skull. He sat down on the couch beside her and cast his sockets to her elbow once more, his gaze trailing to the faint scar on her hairline from Halloween night and a few lingering scrapes and bruises across her arms.
"Do your friends get injured as often as you, or are you simply particularly reckless?"
Ivy did her half-shrug again. "When we were kids, yeah, but as we've gotten older it's mostly me. But they're not that bad anymore; my elbow was when I was like 10. And it's not totally my fault- I usually got hurt because the places I was practicing weren't that great. One time I fell into some beer bottles that were in the bushes and that hurt like hell. The other kids got the park!"
"The one where you were a mentor?"
Ivy huffed. "Before I got kicked out, yeah."
"Kicked out? Whatever for?"
Ivy stilled, biting her lip and staring at Jack from behind her bangs. The tension in the air grew, and Jack got the distinct impression that she was weighting her words carefully. "This girl Bezata got hurt and blamed me for it," she finally said, her whole body tense as she focused her attention on her elbow. "Dodgers- my mentor- couldn't keep me as an employee 'cause Bezata's rich-ass mom was threatening to sue him and my family for her hospital bills. She agreed to drop the suit if I was fired."
Jack mulled his next question over in his mind, casually positioning himself so that he could stop her if she bolted. "Well, did you hurt her?"
Ivy shot him the first truly angry glare in weeks, and Jack would've flinched if he hadn't been expecting it. "No. Her board was busted or something, so she fell. I never touched her." She breathed out and sipped the mug again, blinking rapidly. "This is working a little," she grumbled, gesturing with the cup. "Guess it takes a while to kick in, though."
"How long has it been hurting you?" Jack asked, accepting the change in subject.
"Most of the day," she admitted. "Thought I could tough it out, but the Tailypo tried to climb up that arm and made it so much worse."
"There is something else I could try," Jack offered. "Though I warn you, it is not as 'scientifically sound' as I fear you'd hope." He nudged her good shoulder with a grin, and when she returned it some of the anxiety of the room lessened.
"Alright," she said, laughing slightly. "What is it?"
He reached out and gently took hold of her elbow, letting it sit between his hands. "I can use some of my aura to minimize the pain," he said, sockets already fixed on the steady pulse of red coming from the afflicted joint.
"Aura? Like, the colors?"
"Exactly so."
"What does that have to do with pain?" She asked in disbelief.
"An aura can double as one's awareness," he explained, "and I'd say you're aware of your own pain-"
"No kidding-"
"So I can diminish your own awareness of it." He blinked his sockets and took in her own weak and flickering aura. "Come now, don't you trust me?"
Ivy gave a tiny smile and seemed to hesitate before pitching forward and knocking her head against Jack's upper arm, where he could feel that grin against his bone. She relaxed there, seemingly unbothered by the way Jack froze. "'Course I trust you, Bone Boy," she laughed. "You know that."
And damn it all, he did. He knew that as he made to smooth her hair, took a small strand, and yanked.
"Ow!" The girl pulled herself up as Jack tucked the few strands that had come off out of her sight. "What was that for? I try to be all nice and that's what I get?"
"Just testing the reaction of your aura," Jack said smoothly. "Looks good to me!"
"You're an ass." She shook her head, grin not fully faded. "You just wanted to mess with me."
"Well, you do make it so easy."
Ivy smacked his shoulder and Jack let himself roll with it, using the movement to tuck the strands into his pocket. He took her elbow once more and let one misty black strand wrap around it, gently suppressing the over-saturated colors bleeding from it. Ivy scowled but gradually relaxed once more, and Jack took the opportunity to scan her own aura. Everything appeared to be in order- there were flashes of red and brown waving around, emanating as a soft, blurry glow around her form. Jack nearly let down his own guard, thinking it was merely an error of his vision, but-
There it is.
Dancing at her chest level and temples were the same flashes of green Jack had seen prior. It clashed with her usual colors, froze as if it knew it had been seen, and darted back inside Ivy's body.
"Weird that you guys can always see something that I can't," Ivy said, breaking the spell of silence. She used her other hand to gesture at where Jack's fingers still held her elbow. "What colors are you, anyway?"
"Usually just black," Jack responded, hoping Ivy never had to see his full aura.
"Ooh, edgy. I love it." She leaned back into the couch as best as she could, much more awake than she had been. "Your color gonna do something to mine? I saw some of the other monsters' mixing at my party."
"Sharing of aura is not common," Jack explained. "Intentionally, anyway. As I said, it is an extension of one's self, not just a collection of colors. If you were to spend quite a bit of time with a monster, you may have some aspects of theirs for a short term, such as couples, but if you ever see a monster lose their own colors altogether, it can be a very bad sign."
Ivy frowned, brow furrowed as she thought. "So I might have a little bit of black 'cause we're doing this, but not forever?"
"Less than a day, I would guess. Any longer and it may mean corruption or a loss of identity."
"Weird," she muttered. "Well, since I can't see it, I'll have to trust you to keep an eye on it for me, alright big guy?"
"Certainly," he murmured, eyes still fixated on where the green had vanished.
Xxxxxxxxxx
December 9th
Finkelstein's Tower
Jack rocked back and forth on his heels anxiously, running his fingers over the vial of his DNA, the dark red concoction bubbling away as he stared at the Ivy's potion slowly boiling. The Doctor had stared skeptically at the strands Jack claimed were from another set of descendant potentials, but he hadn't pressed the matter so Jack was fairly sure he was in the clear.
Ivy's concoction popped, and Jack stared as the murky brown contents twisted in on itself, then flared bright red.
Jack's stomach dropped.
"My boy," Finkelstein started, goggles somehow conveying a sense of deep pity, "perhaps we can-"
The potion shook, popped a few red sparks, and then faded to a light mahogany once more.
The two monsters stared, then in a flurry of motion Jack handed Finkelstein his vial as the Doctor used an eyedropper to extract some of Ivy's as he yanked the microscope over. Jack stood uselessly in the corner, trying his very best not to throw up.
Finally Finkelstein pushed away the microscope and laid his head down on the desk and groaned.
"Doctor Finkelstein?" Jack called. "Kindly share your results, or- or I truly do believe I am going to shake apart."
Finkelstein turned off his goggles and shoved the vial away. "My old bones can't take these close calls anymore, boy," he grouched as Jack vibrated at an alarming frequency. "But no. She hasn't a drop of Skellington in her blood."
Jack collapsed onto the floor.
"Wait a moment," the skeleton said after a moment of trying not to faint from relief. "I don't believe I ever said it was a girl."
Finkelstein shot him a look of utter disdain. "Jack, give me an ounce of credit. One of these strands is blue, you numbskull." He began to clean off the worktable, politely ignoring where Jack still shook on the floor. "Frankly, I'd consider you lucky. I'd be ashamed to call that collection of air and meat my descendant."
So he had gotten his answer. Ivy wasn't some trick of fate here to collect on his Deal; it was just a horrific coincidence. He knew he should be glad- not being a part of his Deal meant she was safe from the death and torment the demons had been planning for centuries, and he would never have to face her anger that he'd gambled her life away.
But there was a smaller part of him, relentlessly stubborn and mournful, that ached with the knowledge that she wasn't his.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
December 13
Outside a Gateway
SLAM!
Ivy spat dirt from her mouth and hefted herself onto her elbows, feeling the odd sensation of Ciaran draped across her back, simultaneously a pressure and weightless breeze. Ciaran's green glow enveloped them both, and Ivy groaned as she pushed the ghost off (which felt oddly like running her hand through a fog machine).
"That sucked," she said, casting her eyes to the familiar Halloween sky and resisting the urge to bury her head in the dirt and scream.
"It was not as horrendous as the last time I used one," Ciaran commented in his usual light manner, "but I cannot pretend that was a pleasant experience. Are you alright?"
Ivy recalled the suffocating tightness of the Gateway in the few seconds she'd been inside before it had twisted and rejected the two figures, without even a hint of whatever lay on the other side.
"Fine," she settled on, clamouring to her feet and offering her hand to the ghost. "Scheiße. The Gateway didn't let us through."
Ciaran glanced back at the spot where the Gateway had been, eyes narrowing even as he held his tongue.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Ivy continued, not noticing Ciran's odd demeanor. "How can I get to him? I can't trust anybody in Town to carry a note back...maybe…" she halted her pacing and blinked hard. "Should I just tell Jack? I'm just going to forget everything soon...he'll know what to do-"
"No!"
Ciaran sprung forward, grabbing her arm and spinning her towards him. "You cannot give this up, and you cannot trust them, Ivy!" His hands moved frantically to her shoulders, shaking them slightly. "If there is a way to get you home, then that is the path I hope to take. But for that to happen, those monsters can play no part!"
"Why not?" Ivy snapped, twisting from his grip. "Jack might be able to know who's threatening An...my brother!"
Ciaran let out a growl of frustration, looking moments away from tearing his hair out. "What proof do you have that Jack isn't behind the threats?"
Ivy scoffed. "That makes no sense. My brother can't hurt Halloween."
"But he is your brother," the ghost retorted. "He holds a memory of you, does he not? Has it occurred to you, perhaps, that they are attempting to erase you in the living world just as they are here? They have already damaged and tampered with your memories. They have given you no way to get back to where you belong. They have offered no way to contact your family, even if to alleviate their concerns. Wait until next Halloween?" He gestured to her and shook his head. "Look what they've taken in two months! What will be left of you by next Halloween?"
Ivy had started shaking her head halfway through Ciaran's spiel and held up her hands to placate the ghost. "That's not true," she stammered. "They- they aren't doing it on purpose, and I'll remember what's important-"
"Then, without me backing up your memory, what is your last name?"
"That's easy, it's-" she broke off, a gap where she knew herself to be.
"Well?"
"It's, it's-"
"How about where you're from?" The ghost took a step forward, normally kind eyes narrowed.
"Stop it!"
"Where is your home?"
"Deutschland-"
"Wherein?"
"I- stop it, Ciaran!"
"How about the name of the brother you're trying so hard to reach?"
Ivy stared at the ground, trying to hold onto the image of-
"Anton." She whispered it without a hint of victory. "Anton."
Ciaran sighed, the anger bleeding out until he looked as worn as Ivy felt. "Please, Ivy. Who do you trust? Me, or those monsters?"
Ivy shook her head again. "That's not fair. They've helped me too, they're my friends."
Ciaran threw his hands up. "They're monsters!"
"But not like that!"
The two glared at each other, neither backing down. Succumbing to the human instinct to blink, Ivy glanced away from the ghost and took a few steading breaths.
"I won't go to Jack," she said, still not looking at the ghost, "yet."
Ciaran's green glow flared, but after a moment he sighed heavily. "I suppose that is all I can ask for at the moment," he conceded. "Though, pray tell, what do you see as being our next step, given that you cannot go through the Gateways?"
Ivy raked a hand through her hair and began to pace once more. "I don't know, 'Keer." She groaned and kicked at the dirt. "This whole thing is a night-" she froze.
Ciaran was instantly on the alert, floating to the human's side and staring where she had her gaze fixed. "What? What is it?"
"Nightmare," she breathed almost reverently. A smile broke over her face as she spun towards the ghost, previous hostility forgotten. ""Keer, that's it!"
"What is it now?"
"Nightmares! We can go through somebody's nightmare and give a message!"
Ciran blinked several times, looking more baffled after each. "Is this something you know to be possible, or-"
"No, no, it's totally doable!" Ivy flapped a hand in excitement, oblivious to how much it matched Jack's. "That's how I knew about Quincey when we met- this Entity in charge of all the nightmares in the world or whatever had his memories of Halloween."
Ciaran's eyes narrowed and his frame tensed. "And you saw all these memories?"
Ivy blew a piece of hair from her forehead in frustration. "No, Jack woke me up right after Quincey escaped Oogie and the others."
Ciaran relaxed and tilted his head in thought. "Then you didn't see me in these memories?"
"Nope."
Ciaran smiled and shook his curls in embarrassment. "I am grateful. I had not yet perfected this form-" here he waved to his face "-and I fear I looked far worse than you witnessed earlier." The ghost suddenly locked eyes with Ivy, form swirling. "Do you believe this monster has my memories as well?"
Ivy thought back to the white and green smoke cloud that the Entity had curled through their fingers, the same colors that matched her friend. "I think so?"
Ciaran nodded, a new determination in his stance. "Then we must visit this...Entity. I would love to have those memories out of another's control."
"I'm with ya." Ivy bumped her shoulder with the ghost's. "I've done it before, except- shit. How am I going to convince them that I need to get in my little brother's nightmare?"
"I assume you're not on good terms?"
"You assume correctly."
"I cannot say I am surprised."
"Whatever, smartass." Ivy began marching towards the Field, hands shoved deep inside her jacket pockets. "When I went through Quincey's nightmare, I had the Cat's Eye- a drink showing me stuff that I usually can't see, but the Citizen's can. There was something about the Entity that they must not have wanted me to see, 'cause they made me un-drunk or something and I couldn't see their other forms like I did before."
"So many questions," she heard Ciaran mutter to himself as he floated alongside her. Then in a normal pitch, he asked, "can you describe what this monster attempted to hide?"
Ivy pressed her lips together and thought. "It was like...there were all these hats? And one didn't match and was like...hidden from the others?"
Ciaran's eyes lit up in recognition. "What is the name of this creature? This sounds similar to a tale I once heard in my travels."
"Ammuttadori," the human answered. "The hat that was hidden was-"
"A different color?" Ciaran cut in excitedly. "Perhaps...red or black?"
"Black. The others were red."
Ciaran grinned and Ivy was struck with the certainty that he'd be fist pumping if he knew the gesture. "I know this monster!" He practically crowed. "It is meant to be a challenge to those suffering from sleep paralysis, who could see the night terror. I've heard the tale from some that I blessed in life, to alleviate demons they faced in their sleep. The story was that if you could gain possession of the hat, the terror had to obey you."
Ivy blinked rapidly. "Are you serious? So all I have to do is grab that hat and I can force the Entity to put me in Anton's dreams?"
"I see no reason why not," Ciaran assured. "Of course, I suppose there is no hope this creature is easy to overwhelm?"
Ivy shook her head, resuming her mad pacing. "If Jack hadn't been there the first time I met it, I'm pretty sure it was going to tear me apart."
"Lovely. Well, we can't have that."
Ivy spun around to face the ghost, her eyes narrowed and her mind focused in a way that made her feel more alert than she had in weeks. A sly smile crept over her face and she watched as Ciaran turned his own gaze to one of suspicion. "Hypothetically," she said, tone indicating the exact opposite, "if I had access to a potion that paralyzes anything, Dead or Alive, y'think I could use that?"
Ciaran closed his eyes. "I'll refrain from asking how you have access to this-"
"Hey now, for once it's totally legit. It'd take a bit but I could get us some."
"'Us', she says," Ciaran grumbles. "It is certainly a better scenario than striding in there with nothing but your own bravo."
Ivy opened her mouth to argue, then reconsidered and glared at Ciaran instead.
"I can provide aid as well," Ciaran added. "I do not wish for this creature to see me, so I may not be visible, but I can lend you the...spiritual aid you may require."
Ivy grinned. "Probably will, if we're bein' honest. And I'd rather have you with me than not."
Ciaran gave an odd smile at that, reaching out to tousle her hair. "And I am grateful for that." Ivy pulled away and turned to look at the edge of the treeline, knowing Halloween Town lay just beyond. Or perhaps- perhaps more than knowing. It was as though there was a rope tied to her insides, with Halloween at the other end, tugging her to come...well. To place that she had been coming to think of another home.
"So what is the first step?" Ciaran asked, breaking her contemplation.
Ivy turned fully towards the Town, glancing over her shoulder at her friend.
"Not getting caught by Jack," she laughed before taking off into a sprint, hearing Ciaran's sputter fade behind her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Last Place Jack has Looked
She wasn't in the Manor.
Nor was she at Finkelstein's Tower.
The scene was the same at Witch Tricks, and the Town Square, and even the graveyard outside of Town. Jack could feel his frustration boiling over, even as his urgency dwindled with the rising of confusion. Why hadn't she told one of the other monsters she trusted? Who would that be? Sally hadn't seen her (the poor thing had looked rather ragged, and Jack had temporarily abandoned his own displeasure to feel bad for placing yet more strain upon her). What could she gain from hiding from him? Did she believe herself to be the decedent, as he himself had suspected? Jack cured, digging the palms of his hands into his sockets. It was no use driving himself mad with possibilities, he thought. The sooner he found her, the sooner he could explain and ease the tension in his ribs and this time, for sure, not ever let her out of his sight.
A cool breeze caused the edges of his tattered tailcoat to lift, and Jack grit his teeth at this new annoyance.
"Here to be a neutral party once more?" Jack all but growled, in no mood for the Wind's cryptic disinterest. Then again, it had seemed to take a liking to Ivy...but no, it was more likely to aid her in some backhanded-
"Ivy is currently outside the Wicked Pub & Grubs," the Wind said, louder and clearer than Jack had heard the being in decades. "She has spoken to no other Halloween Town Citizen since fleeing from the Creature." The Wind's tone had a harsh undercurrent that had Jack swallowing his own less than gracious words.
"Dare I ask why you are aiding me?"
There was such a sudden drop in tempurature that Jack was amazed the Earth didn't shrivel up beneath his feet. "I see all in this world," the Wind moaned, with an old sorrow that had Jack's chest seize in sympathy. "Not speaking to me, lying by omission...it does not mean I do not bear witness."
A new jolt of fear went through Jack. "What do you mean? What's she done?"
But it seemed the Wind had revealed enough- the grass rustled and the air grew still once more, and Jack resisted the urge to shout at the now empty space surrounding him. He closed his sockets and methodically clenched and unclenched each bone in his body, recentering his focus. One problem at a time.
Wicked Pub & Grubs. The local Tavern, where she hadn't been since the night of the super moon.
Now, what on Earth could she be doing there?
You know how in An American Tail the mouse keeps just barely missing his family? That's these chapters with Jack & Ivy.
Huge thanks to those who are active on Tricked Out's tumblr (tricked-out)! I'm posting illustrations to go along with every chapter, plus a teaser for the next chapter on Wednesdays. I've also been working through those asks and generally looking forward to interacting with you all!
Thanks again for reading; make sure you're still taking care of yourselves!
-Aria